Independent voices from the TWT Communities
Military chiefs acknowledged Tuesday that more needs to be done to combat sexual assault within the ranks but insisted that commanders need to maintain the ability to discipline their troops, rather than giving that authority to an outside entity, as some lawmakers suggest.
The Navy will have "80% capacity and manning coverage" across the department if automatic defense budget cuts begin March 1st and the service is forced to furlough its 186,000 civilians, according to a 10-page document released this week by the Chief of Naval Operations, Adm. Jonathan Greenert.
With military concern about budget cuts set to hit the Pentagon and federal government March 1 reaching a crescendo, the Navy is prepared to ground the famous squadron for the second half of the 2013, according to an internal Navy memo.
The Navy's top officer sent a memo to his admirals Thursday ordering them to curtail activities because of a $3.6 billion shortfall for operations and maintenance.
Sailors and Marines serving on aircraft carriers can expect long deployments for the next few years because of ongoing crises in the Middle East and a shrinking number of carriers available for duty.
The world's first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier was retired from active service on Saturday, temporarily reducing the number of carriers in the U.S. fleet to 10 until 2015.
The chief of naval operations has penned an opinion column that has military analysts buzzing over whether it signals the Navy may be the first military branch to jettison the costly F-35 stealth fighter jet.
A superstealthy warship that could underpin the U.S. Navy's China strategy will be able to sneak up on coastlines virtually undetected and pound targets with electromagnetic "rail guns" right out of a sci-fi movie.
The Navy's top officer detailed Tuesday the strategy for making sure the South China Sea and Western Pacific remain open to international shipping, saying an emerging China might try to "limit access in the region."
The top U.S. Navy officer on Tuesday said the United States will not be "taking its eye off the ball" in the Middle East as it looks to strengthen its military presence in the Asian Pacific.
Left-leaning Pentagon critics are panning congressional testimony by Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta and his top officers, who warned of catastrophes if the military is forced to cut $1 trillion if congressional budget talks fail.
The Army's top officer told Congress on Wednesday that he would have to cancel nearly every new weapons system now planned if automatic, across-the-board spending cuts of $1 trillion-plus hit the Pentagon.
As Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Jonathan Greenert recently pointed out, these decisions come at a price -- much like putting off an oil change because you can't afford the $20 service, you save in the short term but shorten the car's life and add to the backlog and cost of work that must be done later.
LUMME: How reckless defense cuts threaten the nation's security →
Greenert wrote in a Feb. 20 memo.
