Tag: usn

US Naval Academy Will No Longer Use Affirmative Action for Admission Decisions

The U.S. Naval Academy has announced it will no longer use affirmative action in its admissions process — ceasing to consider race, ethnicity, or sex as factors for entry.

This decision was explained in a federal court filing made public on Friday.

Earlier this year, President Donald Trump signed an executive order calling for the elimination of federal diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs and ending affirmative action in hiring and admissions.

The Associated Press reports:

The change in policy was made in February by Vice Adm. Yvette Davids, the academy’s superintendent, in response to an executive order issued by President Donald Trump in January, according to a court filing by the U.S. Justice Department in the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

The president’s order on Jan. 27 said that “every element of the Armed Forces should operate free from any preference based on race or sex.” It also directed the secretary of defense to conduct an internal review with respect to all “activities designed to promote a race- or sex-based preferences system,” including reviews at the service academies.

“Under revised internal guidance issued by the Superintendent on Feb. 14, 2025, neither race, ethnicity, nor sex can be considered as a factor for admission at any point during the admissions process, including qualification and acceptance,” according to the court filing made public Friday.

The policy change comes amid an ongoing legal challenge from Students for Fair Admissions (SFFA), a conservative group that successfully overturned affirmative action at civilian universities in a 2023 Supreme Court ruling against Harvard and the University of North Carolina.

Although that decision included a footnote exempting military academies due to their “potentially distinct interests,” SFFA sought to extend the ban to the Naval Academy and the U.S. Military Academy at West Point.

In October 2023, SFFA sued the Naval Academy, arguing that its admissions process unfairly discriminated against white and Asian applicants by prioritizing racial diversity.

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US Navy Announces Voluntary Separation For Transgender Sailors

The Department of the Navy on March 13 announced voluntary separation for sailors with a current diagnosis or history of gender dysphoria, as it will only recognize the male and female sexes, “with gender being immutable.”

The update affects military service eligibility, and sailors “impacted by these changes may request voluntary separation,” the department said in a statement. The department said it will not make active efforts to identify individuals with gender dysphoria.

“Waivers for retention or accession may be considered on a case-by-case basis. Sailors eligible for voluntary separation pay will receive twice the amount of involuntary separation pay, though this is not available to those with fewer than six or more than 20 years of service,” the statement reads.

Those who opt for voluntary separation will be placed in an administrative absence status, with full pay and benefits, until their separation is complete. The Navy has committed to the “privacy and dignity” of those impacted by the policy change.

Furthermore, the Navy said that those who separate voluntarily do not need to repay education benefits or bonuses previously received.

According to an official Navy document released by Terence G. Emmert, acting secretary of the Navy, sailors have until March 28 to request voluntary separation.

The Navy’s decision was made according to President Donald Trump’s Executive Order 14168, titled “Defending Women From Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government.”

The Navy document further says that a history of cross-sex hormone therapy, sex reassignment, or genital reconstruction surgery as part of gender-related treatments will be deemed disqualifying for military service applicants.

Waivers may be considered on a case-by-case basis by the secretary of the Navy.

To be eligible for the waiver, military personnel or applicants must demonstrate 36 consecutive months of stability in the individual’s sex and other important areas of functioning while meeting applicable standards associated with their sex.

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Destroyer Has Become First U.S. Navy Ship To Deploy Artificial Intelligence System

The Navy destroyer USS Fitzgerald (DDG-62) became the first warship to deploy with a program-of-record artificial intelligence (AI) platform. Its creators say the system will help the fleet predict and tackle maintenance needs in a far less disruptive fashion. The system aims to reduce surprise equipment casualties while ensuring that more of the fleet is available should an all-out war break out, requiring a surge of forces. 

Known as Enterprise Remote Monitoring Version 4 (ERM v4), the system is the shipboard aspect of a Pentagon program called Condition Based Maintenance Plus, which in part aims to leverage machine learning to help ship crews, ashore commands, logistical nodes, and other units keep more assets ready to fight, Zac Staples, a retired Navy officer whose Austin-based company, Fathom5, created the system, told TWZ Wednesday. Staples spoke at the annual WEST conference in San Diego this week, which TWZ attended, about his company’s innovation before chatting with TWZ. 

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Cost Of Navy’s Newest Arleigh Burke Destroyers Is Ballooning

The U.S. Navy’s Flight III Arleigh Burke (DDG-51) class destroyers are facing cost increases and delays, jumping from an average of $2.1 billion per ship to $2.5 billion per hull, with even steeper cost increases coming in the future, according to a new Congressional Budget Office (CBO) report. The report analyzes the Navy’s 2025 shipbuilding plan, which calls for a 390-battle force ship fleet by 2054, and includes nine more vessels than in last year’s plan. 

Beyond destroyers, the versatile workhorses of the Navy’s combat fleet, the CBO’s assessment notes cost hikes among other platforms, as well as systemic American shipbuilding industry shortfalls that could impede the service’s fleet size goal. All this long-term planning comes as the sea service races to prepare for a near-term war with China if Beijing invades Taiwan in the coming years. These destroyers and their anti-air, anti-submarine and anti-surface warfare capabilities would be crucial to such a future fight.

The Navy currently has 74 destroyers of the Arleigh Burke class, in Flight I, Flight II, Flight IIA and Flight III variants. Two Flight IIAs and 18 Flight IIIs are already either under construction or their purchase has already been authorized by Congress. CBO’s assessment also found that, overall, the 23 Flight IIIs laid out in the 30-year shipbuilding plan will end up costing $2.7 billion on average. 

“The Navy stated in a briefing to CBO and [the Congressional Research Service] that the increase in its estimates of the cost of the DDG-51 Flight IIIs was attributable to shipbuilding inflation’s outpacing economywide inflation as well as declining shipyard performance,” the CBO report states. 

The report added that the destroyers currently under construction “have experienced substantial delays.” To date, just one Flight III destroyer, the USS Jack Lucas (DDG-125) has been commissioned, and the keel was laid for the second Flight III, the future USS Louis H. Wilson Jr. (DDG-126) in 2023. Inside Defense reported in June that other Flight III vessels could see six-to-25-month delivery delays. 

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You Can’t Make This Up: U.S. Navy Shoots Down Its Own F/A-18 Super Hornet Fighter Jet in Apparent ‘Friendly Fire’ Incident in Red Sea

A U.S. Navy guided-missile cruiser mistakenly shot down an American F/A-18 Super Hornet fighter jet over the Red Sea in an apparent “friendly fire” incident.

The two-seat F/A-18F Super Hornet, assigned to the “Red Rippers” of Strike Fighter Squadron 11 from Naval Air Station Oceana, Virginia, had just launched from the aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman.

The USS Gettysburg, part of the same carrier strike group, erroneously identified the aircraft as a hostile target and engaged it, leading to its destruction.

“The guided missile cruiser USS Gettysburg, which is part of the USS Harry S. Truman Carrier Strike Group, mistakenly fired on and hit the F/A-18,” Central Command said in a statement.

The Navy’s Central Command confirmed that both pilots ejected safely, with one sustaining minor injuries.

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US Navy successfully trials 13-foot giant electric transforming drone

PteroDynamics’ innovative folding wing Transwing drone has completed a vital sea trial for the United States Navy. Fully autonomous, the all-electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) was able to approach and land safely on a moving target. If the drone is to have any future with the likes of the Navy, this test has been a necessary hurdle to overcome, and, by all accounts, it passed it with flying colors.Sea trials passed

Last week, PteroDynamics’ latest prototype, the Transwing X-P4, demonstrated its capabilities by completing nine autonomous launch and recovery flights from the Spearhead-class expeditionary fast transport USNS Burlington deck sailing near Key West, Florida. The demonstration was attended by Vice Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Lisa Franchetti and representatives from the U.S. Navy, the Royal Navy, the Royal Australian Navy, the Royal Netherlands Navy, and the Swedish Navy.

“Participating in The Hybrid Fleet Campaign Event brought us closer to our goal of providing the U.S. Navy with a flexible and scalable shore-to-ship, ship-to-ship, and ship-to-shore automated cargo delivery capability,” said Tim Whitehand, PteroDynamics VP of Engineering.

“Flight testing on board the USNS Burlington gave us a unique and valuable opportunity to collect performance data on the Transwing system in an operational environment. The information gathered during the event will accelerate development and seed further innovation. We are grateful for the opportunity to participate in this important exercise and the support of the Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division (NAWCAD) and Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR),” he added.

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Navy Blocks Release of UAP Photos Amid Capitol Hill Hearing on Government Secrecy

The U.S. Navy has formally denied access to 78 “documents” containing photos marked as “unidentified aerial [anomalous] phenomena” (UAP). The denial, issued yesterday in response to a FOIA request filed by The Black Vault in 2022 and given case number DON-NAVY-2022-012661, highlights the Navy’s continued use of national defense and intelligence exemptions to keep UAP data classified. The response arrived less than an hour before a highly anticipated UAP hearing on Capitol Hill, where members of Congress heard testimony about the government’s lack of transparency on the issue.

The hearing, titled “Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena: Exposing the Truth,” was led yesterday by Chairwoman Nancy Mace and Congressman Glenn Grothman, heads of various Congressional subcommittees on cybersecurity, government innovation, and national security. This marked the second time Congress has convened specifically on UAP matters, with the hearing aimed at addressing the classified veil surrounding government-held UAP data. The witness panel included Navy Rear Admiral Dr. Tim Gallaudet, former Department of Defense official Luis Elizondo, NASA Associate Administrator Michael Gold, and journalist Michael Shellenberger. Each expressed concerns about the DoD’s ongoing reluctance to disclose UAP information.

The Navy’s response to the FOIA request, ironically timed alongside the Capitol Hill session, raises significant questions about the scope and depth of information kept from public scrutiny.

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U.S. Marine Corps Releases UAP Information Sharing Policy to The Black Vault

The U.S. Navy / U.S. Marine Corps has released its policy and procedure for sharing UAP-related information with the Department of Defense’s All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO). This release follows a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request filed by The Black Vault on April 14, 2024, and is similar to a different directive previously released to Mr. Douglas Dean Johnson in March 2024 by the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

The FOIA request sought “a copy of records (which includes videos/photos), electronic or otherwise, of all records that pertain to your agency’s policy and procedure on sharing information with the DoD’s All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO).” This included all policy, procedure, memorandum of understanding, memorandum of agreement, letters, other memos, etc., outlining the Navy’s policy on sharing information at any classification level with the AARO. The request also asked for any procedures adopted from prior efforts such as the UAP Task Force and the Airborne Object Identification and Management Synchronization Group (AOIMSG).

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Retired Navy Admiral Charged in Bribery Scandal

Federal prosecutors have announced the arrest of former Naval Officer Robert P. Burke, 62, on serious bribery charges.

Burke, a retired four-star Navy Admiral, was arrested on Friday.  According to the Justice Department, he accepted bribes in exchange for steering government contracts to a company that promised him a lucrative job after his retirement from the Navy.

The indictment reveals that from 2020 to 2022, Burke, who oversaw Naval operations in Europe, Russia, and most of Africa and commanded thousands of civilian and military personnel, conspired with CEOs Yongchul “Charlie” Kim and Meghan Messenger of “Company A”) that provided a workforce training pilot program to a small component of the Navy from August 2018 through July 2019.

The Navy terminated a contract with Company A in late 2019 and directed Company A not to contact Burke.

Despite the Navy’s instructions, Kim and Messenger allegedly still met with Burke in Washington, D.C., in July 2021, in an effort to reestablish Company A’s business relationship with the Navy.

It is alleged that at the July 2021 meeting, the charged defendants agreed that Burke would use his position as a Navy Admiral to steer a sole-source contract to Company A in exchange for future employment at the company.

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We’ve Blown $1B In Ammo and Navy Secretary says, “Oh well”

We have an industrial base problem and an Administration that has this childish inclination to grab everything off the shelves, rip the boxes open, use some of the contents, throw the partially empty box away, and then lunge for another box on the shelf.

And like a child, they never pause to think where the boxes of stuff come from or ensure new boxes are placed on the vacant shelves.

It’s the mindset of the globalist utopian, just take, never give. They know how to consume, not create or produce. Classic projection – that’s what they accuse of everyone else.

We’re approaching 2 and ½ years of grabbing ordnance off the shelves and not really placing orders with signed contracts. The Biden officials will lecture industry endlessly about the woeful state of the industrial base and then not do two key things. Create more Government owned, Contractor operated plants and place signed orders.

Air Force Plant 44, the singular most important American missile factory, on the southern perimeter of Tucson International Airport, Arizona, where flights are landing daily with illegals and 9,000 illegals a day are streaming up from Nogales has plenty of room for expansion – but no signs of it. Contractors should not be expected to invest in capitalization and expansion when the buying patterns are psychotic which is why many leave the industry.

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