Speakers paid tribute to the family of former Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Gary Roughead at his retirement ceremony last Friday in Annapolis. Navy Secretary Ray Mabus presented an award to his wife Ellen and thanked his daughter Elizabeth “for sharing your father with us.” But for two other members of the Roughead family, Mabus’ compliments proved double-edged. “And I can’t fail to mention the contributions of Clancy, the smiling Labrador, and Arleigh, the latest addition, although I do have to say that the vaunted discipline of Gary Roughead does not seem to have rubbed off on the dogs at…
Browsing: Admirals
As he prepares to step down from the military’s top post in two weeks, Adm. Mike Mullen braved the bright lights and barbs of The Daily Show on Monday one last time. Mullen, while discussing his career, braced himself for the comedic trap, which host Jon Stewart laid about a trip they had taken together to Afghanistan in July to visit the troops. Mullen — a veteran of three wars, not to mention countless comedy show appearances — proved his mettle. “I was surprised that when we landed at Kandahar, that you forced them to carry you around on a litter.…
The Aug. 22 retirement of Adm. Eric T. Olson marked the end of the Navy SEAL officer’s 38-year naval career – and the passing of the title of longest-serving SEAL. Olson, a 1973 graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy, became a SEAL officer in 1974, an achievement that led to a storied career and command at nearly every level, from SEAL team to Naval Special Warfare Command and ultimately to his most-recent job as head of U.S. Special Operations Command, the Tampa, Fla.-based headquarters for the military’s joint special operations forces. For nearly two years, Olson also held the title…
Millions of Americans who’d never felt an earthquake now have a story to tell — thankfully, according to reports so far, not one involving widespread destruction or death. The 5.8-magnitude temblor rattled buildings and nerves from Maine to South Carolina at 1:51 p.m. Tuesday afternoon, stunning East Coast residents for whom earthquakes are a rarity. The quake’s epicenter was in north-central Virginia, which hadn’t experienced a quake of this magnitude since 1897. At Naval Station Norfolk, yours truly and three other reporters covering the Board of Inquiry for former Enterprise skipper Capt. Owen Honors were ensconced on the 3rd floor…
The path toward the Sept. 30 disestablishment of 2nd Fleet, the command that oversees all Atlantic-based naval operations and the training and certification of fleet battle groups, and its merger with Fleet Forces Command, runs this week through a “merged staff functional assessment” — a four-day exercise that aims to evaluate the soon-to-be merged command’s ability to react to a crisis event. It would be interesting to see that evaluation. Concerns about the merged staff’s ability to do so were raised internally by senior officials involved in the planning of the move, according to an internal Fleet Forces Command report…
If your career seems rocky, consider this one: He was nearly booted from college, graduated in the bottom third of his class, and only a few years into his naval career, he struck a buoy with his ship. That lackluster start belongs to Adm. Mike Mullen, now the military’s top officer. Mullen recounted his early stumbles as a midshipman and junior officer to laughs and applause on the Late Show with David Letterman on June 13. In his first month as a senior at the Naval Academy, Mullen said he racked up 115 demerits; only 35 more and he would be…
A tip of the hat to the Navy and its Facebook notifications for the reminder that today marked the 50th anniversary of an event frozen in the minds of many Americans of a (ahem!) certain age: the day Navy Cmdr. Alan Shepard became the first American launched into space. His feat captivated the nation, and won back some American pride bruised by Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin beating him into space by 23 days. The Naval Academy grad and jet test pilot had in 1959 become one of the original Mercury astronauts — the guys with the “Right Stuff,” as Tom…
The vision that began with a January 2001 contract award will be fully realized on Wednesday, May 11, when the carrier George H.W. Bush leaves Norfolk to begin its first-ever combat deployment. The 1,092-foot Bush is the 10th and final carrier of the Nimitz class. Commissioned in January 2009, the carrier, as well as its strike group, have been in training for this cruise for most of the past year. The Bush Carrier Strike Group, led by Rear Adm. Nora Tyson, will consist of five total ships, eight aircraft squadrons and nearly 6,000 sailors, and will operate in the 5th…
The deputy commander of Fleet Forces Command used his keynote speech at the decommissioning of the amphibious assault ship Nassau in Norfolk March 31 to stump for continued support for the “Gator Navy” and the capability to launch U.S. Marines onto contested shore, arguing that such a capability reduces the need for U.S. bases on foreign shores. Vice Adm. Peter Daly pointed to the Essex Amphibious Ready Group and the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit providing humanitarian assistance and disaster response following the earthquake and tsunami that ravaged northern Japan; the Boxer ARG and 13th MEU being accelerated into the Persian…
The Obama administration is working hard to play down the U.S. role in the airstrikes and no-fly zone operations on and over Libya, with senior officials stressing that the U.S. involvement is “limited” and that the operation is a broad-based coalition effort with international participation and Arab League backing — not a U.S.-led foray into yet another predominantly Muslim nation, which could further damage its already poor image in that part of the world. The Navy released at least seven images Monday, all apparently aimed at reinforcing that sense: All but one includes a coalition officer or aircraft. For example:…
