Sailors and their families have grown accustomed to Washington, D.C., showdowns. But this latest one may be the gravest, as the shuttered American government lurches closer to a possible default on its national debt – now about 12 hours away. A default imperils the government’s ability to pay its bills, including military pay and veterans’ benefits. Economists believe it will throw the world economy into a crisis, as the U.S. is the world’s largest economy and holds the largest debt. And long term it would likely diminish the military’s size and power, as the nation would no longer be able…
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Most people who visit the Navy Memorial in Washington, D.C., see a tribute to the nation’s seagoing service, but one man sees something very different: “Vomiting is present.” Robert Royer told the Wall Street Journal that the signal flags flying at the memorial could be sending a message of men overboard, illnesses and icebergs. The signal flags at the memorial, when read as letters, spell out “U-S-N-A-V-Y-M-E-M-O-R-I-A-L.” But Royer says if the flags were flown at sea, they would be read as codes, not letters. A spokeswoman for the memorial points out in the article that the plaza and flags…
Congress is taking a vacation next week — on the eve of what’s been called the biggest potential fiscal disaster to hit the nation in decades, when massive, across-the-board budget cuts begin wreaking havoc on the Pentagon and all other federal agencies. Talk about whistling past the graveyard. The sequestration ax adds big drama to this particular hiatus. But it’s hardly unusual for House and Senate lawmakers; the congressional work schedule has withered on the vine for years. At this writing, there have been 32 regular “workdays” so far this year — Monday through Friday, federal holidays excluded. The House…
An interactive exhibit at the National Museum of the U.S. Navy lets visitors learn about all the sailors who have commanded the USS Constitution. The exhibit, which will soon be available in the USS Constitution Museum in Boston and online as well, includes a timeline, a quiz and biographies of former commanders of the ship. The timeline also includes major events in naval history and how Old Ironsides played a part in them, said Jennifer Marland, assistant curator at the museum. “This ship covers almost all of our Navy’s history, so the biographies provide a way of looking at 215…
Earlier this week, the size of the fleet took center stage in the presidential campaign. Mitt Romney, the former Massachusetts governor widely regarded as the front-runner in the contest for the Republican nomination, raised the issue at Monday’s debate when he cited the fleet’s size as evidence that President Barack Obama is allowing the military to atrophy. “Our Navy is smaller than it’s been since 1917,” Romney said, going on to add: “We simply cannot continue to cut our Department of Defense budget if we are going to remain the hope of the Earth. And I will fight to make…
A ship is making a Halloween port call in Washington, D.C., and not just any ship — ghost ship Barry. “Hundreds have served onboard, but some never left,” reads the invitation to the haunted ship, written by the Naval History and Heritage Command. “Come and find out who still haunts the decks of display ship Barry…” For those who dare, the ghoulish ship — a decommissioned destroyer which spends the rest of the year tied up as a fairly staid display ship at Washington Navy Yard — is open to the public on Friday night from 5 p.m. to 10…
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 Washington Nationals celebrate home runs with a new submarine klaxon. // AP Photo When the Nationals hit a home run, submariners in the stands will hear a familiar sound — a dive klaxon. It blares three times to celebrate each homer, a signal – as any bubblehead will tell you – for emergency surface. The Nationals’ newest home run celebration honors their military fans and is a homage to the area’s naval heritage. The Washington Navy Yard, one block east of the stadium, was founded in 1799 and is the Navy’s oldest shore base. The horn also serves…
The congresswoman seriously wounded in Saturday’s mass shooting in Tucson, Ariz., is a Navy spouse. Rep. Gabrielle “Gabby” Giffords, D-Ariz., is one of 13 survivors in the shooting that left six dead at a supermarket shopping center, including an aide. Giffords was shot in the head by the gunman as she met constituents at a “Congress on Your Corner” event and, as of midday Monday, remained in intensive care. Giffords, a member of the House Armed Services Committee, in 2007 married Navy Capt. Mark E. Kelly, a naval fighter pilot and NASA astronaut. It was a match that led former Labor secretary…
Remember all those exercises South Korea held with the U.S. a few months ago to send a message to its pugnacious northern neighbor? You know, the ones that had the carrier George Washington steaming with the South Korean navy? The exercises that drove U.S.-Chinese relations to a low-point earlier this year? Well Kim Jong-Il didn’t pick up the phone, apparently. This morning, the news broke that North Korea opened a barrage of artillery fire on South Korean troops, killing at least two people. The question must be asked: How do the U.S. and South Korea abide this? The U.S. pulled…
