Tag: U.S. Navy

Navy battles growing coronavirus outbreak on hospital ship Mercy as 7 test positive

Naval health officials are fighting an outbreak of the novel coronavirus among the crew of the hospital ship Mercy, where four more sailors tested positive for COVID-19 over the weekend, bringing the total cases among the crew to seven, a Navy official said Monday.

The affected sailors, as well as those with whom they had close contact, have left the ship and are either isolated or quarantined off the ship, according to Cmdr. John Fage, a 3rd Fleet spokesman.

“The ship is following protocols and taking every precaution to ensure the health and safety of all crewmembers and patients on board,” Fage said in an email. Continue reading.

Navy removes aircraft carrier captain who raised alarm about coronavirus response

Washington Post logoThe Navy on Thursday removed the captain of an aircraft carrier crippled by the coronavirus, two days after a blunt letter the officer wrote warning the service of the need to get more sailors off the vessel created a furor.

Navy Capt. Brett Crozier, the commanding officer of the USS Theodore Roosevelt, was relieved of command at the direction of acting Navy secretary Thomas Modly.

The Navy had become increasingly convinced that Crozier was involved in leaking the letter to the news media to force the service to address his concerns over the outbreak on his ship, a defense official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue. Continue reading.

Navy confirms request was made to ‘minimize the visibility’ of USS John S. McCain during Trump’s visit to Japan

The U.S. Navy on Saturday confirmed that it received a request to “minimize the visibility” of the USS John S. McCain warship while President Trump was visiting Japan last month — an episode that has raised concerns about whether the commander in chief’s political grievances might be infecting military culture.

Rear Adm. Charlie Brown, the Navy’s chief of information, said in a statement that a “request was made to the U.S. Navy to minimize the visibility of USS John S. McCain, however, all ships remained in their normal configuration during the President’s visit.”

He added that there were “no intentional efforts to explicitly exclude Sailors assigned to USS John S. McCain,” and that the Navy was “fully cooperating” with a review of the situation ordered by acting defense secretary Patrick Shanahan.

View the complete June 1 article by Matt Zapotosky on The Washington Post website here.

China hacked a Navy contractor and secured a trove of highly sensitive data on submarine warfare

The following article by Ellen Nakashima and Paul Sonne was posted on the Washington Post website June 8, 2018:

China’s sole operating aircraft carrier. Credit: Li Gang, Xinhua, AP

Chinese government hackers have compromised the computers of a Navy contractor, stealing massive amounts of highly sensitive data related to undersea warfare — including secret plans to develop a supersonic anti-ship missile for use on U.S. submarines by 2020, according to American officials.

The breaches occurred in January and February, the officials said, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss an ongoing investigation. The hackers targeted a contractor who works for the Naval Undersea Warfare Center, a military organization headquartered in Newport, R.I., that conducts research and development for submarines and underwater weaponry. Continue reading “China hacked a Navy contractor and secured a trove of highly sensitive data on submarine warfare”