USNI News
Top Stories 2020: Marine Corps Operations
December 23, 2020 11:14 AM
Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Austin McBain, a fire support specialist with 1st Air Naval Gunfire Liaison Company, I Marine Expeditionary Force (MEF) Information Group, monitors a radio during exercise Summer Fury 20 in Yuma, Ariz., on July 14, 2020. US Marine Corps Photo
This post is part of a series of stories looking back at the top naval news from 2020.
2020 was a turning-point year for the Marine Corps. After previewing changes to come in his Commandant’s Planning Guidance released last year, Commandant Gen. David Berger released a Force Design 2030 document this year outlining major changes in how the service would operate and equip itself. No longer would the Marine Corps be a service schlepping around tanks for sustained ground operations; rather, it would be light and mobile, using small ships to maneuver around islands and shorelines to attack an adversary from all angles and challenge their abi
USNI News
First Female Nuclear Carrier CO Will Command USS Abraham Lincoln
December 23, 2020 4:53 PM
Capt. Amy N. Bauernschmidt, then commanding officer of USS San Diego (LPD-22), met with Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy Russel Smith during MCPON’s visit to the ship in 2019. US Navy Photo
Capt. Amy Bauernschmidt, a veteran pilot, will take the helm of the Nimitz-class USS
Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72), becoming the first woman to command an aircraft carrier, the Navy announced Wednesday.
Bauernschmidt will take command of
Lincoln this summer after she completes nuclear power, aviation and leadership training the Navy require of officers assigned to command its 11-ship fleet of aircraft carriers, according to the service.
The U.S. Navy’s nuclear-power submarine USS Georgia has entered the Arabian Gulf after transiting through the Strait of Hormuz.
The Navy said the sub was accompanied by the guided-missile cruisers USS Port Royal (CG 73) and USS Philippine Sea (CG 58) when it transited on December 21.
“Georgia’s presence in the U.S. 5th Fleet area of operations (AOO) demonstrates the U.S. Navy’s ability to sail and operate wherever international law allows,” the Navy said in a statement.
The USS Georgia is deployed to the U.S. 5th Fleet area of operations in support of naval operations to ensure maritime stability and security in the Central Region, which connects the Mediterranean and Pacific through the Western Indian Ocean and includes critical chokepoints such as the Strait of Hormuz, the Bab el-Mandeb Strait and the Suez Canal.
USNI News
Top Stories 2020: U.S. Navy Operations
December 23, 2020 11:31 AM
Boatswain’s Mate (Handling) Airman Oliver Aguirre Torres, from Bloomington, Calif., left, mans the rails as the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71) arrives at Naval Air Station North Island, Calif., on July 9, 2020. US Navy Photo
This post is part of a series of stories looking back at the top naval news from 2020.
As the U.S. continues to recalculate its strategy to counter Russia and China, naval operations this year focused on maintaining a presence in multiple theaters during a global pandemic.
While the Navy continued its sustained carrier presence in the Middle East, the service also conducted operations and exercises throughout the Indo-Pacific region.
USNI News
Destroyer USS John S. McCain Performs South China Sea FONOP
December 22, 2020 11:12 AM
The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS John S. McCain (DDG 56) transits through Peter the Great Bay while conducting routine underway operations on Nov. 24, 2020. U.S. Navy Photo
A U.S. guided-missile destroyer performed a freedom of navigation operation in the South China Sea on Tuesday, the Navy announced.
USS
John S. McCain (DDG-56) operated near the Spratly Islands, which Taiwan, China and Vietnam have all staked a claim to, U.S. 7th Fleet said in a news release.
“Unlawful and sweeping maritime claims in the South China Sea pose a serious threat to the freedom of the seas, including the freedoms of navigation and overflight, free trade and unimpeded commerce, and freedom of economic opportunity for South China Sea littoral nations,” the Navy said.