NEWPORT NEWS, Va. — The final piece of the John F. Kennedy’s (CVN-79) flight deck, the upper bow section, was installed July 10 on the future aircraft carrier, Huntington Ingalls Industries announced in a release.

The
addition of the upper bow section at the company’s Newport News Shipbuilding
division is one of the last steel structural units, known as a superlift, to be
placed on Kennedy. It was built using digital technology, such as visual work
instructions to install piping in the upper bow on the final assembly platen
instead of on the ship.

“We are
very pleased with the progress being made on Kennedy as we inch closer to
christening the ship later this year,” said Mike Butler, Newport News Shipbuilding’s
program director for the JFK.

“The upper
bow is the last superlift that completes the ship’s primary hull. This
milestone is testament to the significant build strategy changes we have made —
and to the men and women of Newport News Shipbuilding who do what no one else
in the world can do.”

Weighing
780 tons, the superlift took 18 months to build.

Kennedy is
being built with an improved build strategy that includes the increased use of
digital tools to build superlifts that are much larger and more complete at
ship erect than on prior carriers. Kennedy is on track to be built with
considerably fewer man-hours than the first ship in its class, USS Gerald R.
Ford.

More than 3,200
shipbuilders and 2,000 suppliers from across the country are supporting the
construction of aircraft carrier Kennedy. The ship is in the early stages of
its testing program and is on schedule to launch during the fourth quarter. Christening
is planned for late 2019.

Editor’s Note: This story has been updated as of July 18, 2019, to reflect Gilday’s formal nomination.

ARLINGTON,
Va. — For the first time since the 1970s, a three-star admiral is the nominee for
chief of naval operations.

Vice Adm. Michael Gilday, who earlier this year became director of the Joint Staff, has been nominated by President Trump for promotion to admiral and to become CNO, according to a July 18 announcement from Acting Defense Secretary Richard. V. Spencer.

Gilday was selected to succeed Adm. John M.
Richardson after Adm. Bill Moran’s announcement that he would retire amid
questions about his ongoing professional relationship with a disgraced former
aide, sources confirmed.

Richardson had been scheduled to leave Aug. 1 and
retire in September but will stay on until the U.S. Senate confirmation process
for Gilday is complete.

The
nominee for the Navy’s next chief typically comes from a small pool of
four-star commanders. Gilday is the first three-star admiral to be chosen since
Vice Adm. Elmo Zumwalt was nominated by President Nixon in April 1970.

In a statement, Moran said he made the decision to retire “based on an open investigation into the nature of some of my personal email correspondence over the past couple of years and for continuing to maintain a professional relationship with a former staff officer, now retired, who had while in uniform been investigated and held accountable over allegations of inappropriate behavior.”

Press
reports identified the staff officer as Chris Servello, former public affairs
officer for Richardson.

Moran
added that he did not condone the staff officer’s conduct, but said he
understands how “toxic it can be to any team when inappropriate behavior goes
unrecognized and unchecked.”

“Every Sailor is entitled to serve in an environment free of harassment or intimidation,” Moran said. “As painful as it is to submit my request to retire, I will not be an impediment whatsoever to the important service that you and your families continue to render the nation every day.”

Spencer
said he admired Moran’s Navy service, but his decision to maintain the
relationship with the staff officer “has caused me to call his judgment into
question.”

Moran
called his 38 years of Navy service a “high honor and privilege” and said he
deeply regrets “any inconvenience” his decision causes Trump and Spencer. 

Gilday, a
native of Lowell, Massachusetts, is the son of a Navy Sailor, according to his
official biography. He is a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy and holds master’s
degrees from the Harvard Kennedy School and the National War College.

As a
surface warfare officer, Gilday deployed on two cruisers and a destroyer before
rising to command two more destroyers. Subsequently, he commanded Destroyer
Squadron 7, serving as sea combat commander for the Ronald Reagan Carrier
Strike Group.

As a flag
officer, he served as commander, Carrier Strike Group 8, embarked aboard USS
Dwight D. Eisenhower, and as commander, U.S. Fleet Cyber Command and U.S 10th
Fleet. Ashore, as a flag officer, he served in joint positions as director of
operations for NATO’s Joint Force Command Lisbon; as chief of staff for Naval
Striking and Support Forces NATO; director of operations for U.S. Cyber
Command; and as director of operations for the Joint Staff. 

His earlier staff assignments include the Bureau of Naval Personnel, the staff of the chief of naval operations, and the staff of the vice chief of naval operations. Joint assignments include executive assistant to the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and naval aide to the president.

Additional reporting by Megan Scully.

Gen. David H. Berger relieved Gen. Robert B. Neller on July
11 to become the 38th commandant of the Marine Corps in a ceremony at Marine
Corps Barracks, Washington.

Acting Defense Secretary Mark T. Esper said of Berger: “In
this era of ‘Great Power Competition,’ I can think of no better leader to
assume the post of commandant.”

Berger “understands well the challenges we face in today’s
complex strategic environment. His work to shape the way we train and equip the
Marines for future battles makes him the perfect fit for this position,” Esper
said, referring the Berger’s previous job as deputy commandant for combat development
and integration.

“He is a visionary who is committed to marching the Marine
Corps down the path of modernizing,” Esper added. “He has demonstrated
throughout his career, he possesses the intellect, the stamina and courage to
lead in this demanding position.”

In his initial statement to the Marines he now will lead,
Berger said: “I consider it a privilege just to wear the uniform, just to stand
in their ranks. Whether commandant or corporal, just the privilege of wearing
this uniform, of calling yourself a Marine. It’s an honor.”

“I know we need to modernize the Marine Corps. I know we
need to train better. We need to recruit the very best people we can and keep
them in our ranks,” Berger added.

He also repeated a promise from Marine Gen. Joseph F.
Dunford, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who was in the audience: “We
will never send our force, we will never send our Marines, into a fair fight. I
know what we need to do.”

In his confirmation hearing before the Senate Armed Services
Committee, Berger said among the most significant challenges he will face as
commandant “will be to sustain readiness at high levels for our operating
forces while concurrently modernizing the force.”

He predicted “a deliberate redesign of the force to meet the
needs of the future operating environment,” which would include divesting
legacy equipment and programs and “consider potential end-strength reductions
in order to invest in equipment modernization and necessary training upgrades.”

With the rising concerns over China, Berger brings highly
relevant experience to his new post, having commanded the California-based I
Marine Expeditionary Force, then Marine Forces Pacific. He also commanded the
Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center, Twentynine Palms, California, where the
Marines test new equipment and operating concepts and have begun training for
high-intensity combat against a peer competitor.

Esper gave extended praise to Neller, who will retire next
month with 45 years and six months of service as a Marine officer, calling him
“a proven combat veteran” who has commanded at every level and “always took
care of his Marines. As commandant, he led the Marine Corps through a critical
inflection point,” from two decades of counter-insurgency operations “to a renewed
focus on high-intensity conflict against Great Power Competitors.”

In his farewell to the Marine Corps, Neller said among his
regrets was that the Corps “has been so slow to make changes” and that
“sometimes we may not always have met the mark of the Marine Corps. But that
was just a few of us. … If there has been any failing in our Corps, that
resides with me and any success belongs to the Marines.”

“At the end of the day, it’s not about me. It’s
not about Dave Berger, it’s about our Corps,” about the active duty and Marine
Reserves “who do the nation’s business. … It’s been a great ride, but its time.
I’ve had my time, but it’s done. I’m going home.”

BOSTON —
The crew of Coast Guard Cutter Escanaba returned to Boston on July 11 following
a three-month patrol conducting drug and migrant interdiction operations in the
Caribbean Sea, the Coast Guard 1st District said in a release.

Throughout
the patrol, Escanaba’s crew focused their efforts on law enforcement, completed
a three-week training assessment of mission capabilities in Portsmouth,
Virginia, and held a change-of-command ceremony.

Escanaba’s
crew partnered with U.S. Customs and Border Patrol within the Mona Passage for
migrant interdiction operations. Crews terminated three illegal migrant
ventures and repatriated more than 100 migrants.

The crew’s
counter-narcotics efforts resulted in the disruption of more than 5,500 pounds
of cocaine illegally trafficked by transnational criminal organizations.

During
Escanaba’s change-of-command ceremony, Cmdr. Michael Nalli relieved Capt.
Michael Turdo as the cutter’s commanding officer.

“It is an
honor and privilege to serve as the commanding officer of such a capable ship,”
Nalli said. “The crew is well-trained, and we are excited to get underway to
conduct the missions of the Coast Guard.”

Coast Guard Cutter Escanaba
— known as “The Pride of Boston” — is a 270-foot medium-endurance cutter with a
crew complement of 100.

ALAMEDA,
Calif. — The crew aboard the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Bertholf (WMSL 750)
returned July 2 to their homeport of Alameda following a 164-day deployment to
the western Pacific, the Coast Guard Pacific Area said in a release.

The crew
steamed nearly 32,000 nautical miles since they departed Alameda Jan. 20 amid
the partial government shutdown.

Under the
tactical control of commander, U.S. 7th Fleet, the crew patrolled and conducted
operations as directed, including enforcing United Nations Security Council resolution
sanctions against North Korea by monitoring and gathering intelligence on
vessels conducting ship-to-ship transfers in the East China, South China and
Yellow Seas.

Bertholf’s
crew made history March 24-25 as the first U.S. Coast Guard cutter to transit
the Taiwan Strait.

Bertholf’s
crew engaged in professional exchanges, community relations events and
capacity-building exercises with navies and coast guards in Japan, South Korea
and the Philippines, including at-sea joint search-and-rescue and interdiction
exercises.

Bertholf also
made a multiday port call to Hong Kong, marking the first U.S. Coast Guard
cutter to visit the city in 17 years.

The Coast
Guard has an ongoing role in the Indo-Pacific, going back more than 150 years.
The service’s ongoing deployment of resources directly supports U.S. foreign
policy and national security objectives in the Indo-Pacific region.

“The U.S.
Coast Guard is proud to operate with our Pacific counterparts, and together we
are dedicated to enhancing our capabilities and strengthening maritime
governance and security while promoting individual sovereignty,” said Vice Adm.
Linda Fagan, commander of the U.S. Coast Guard’s Pacific Area.

Commissioned
in 2008, Bertholf is the first of the Coast Guard’s Legend-class national
security cutters and the first NSC to deploy to the western Pacific.
Alameda-based U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Stratton departed June 5 for a
months-long deployment in the same region.

“The
U.S. Coast Guard’s unique authorities, capabilities, and missions make us the
maritime safety and security partner of choice for sea-going countries around
the world,” Fagan said. “Our increased presence throughout the Indo-Pacific
will enhance regional stability and improve maritime governance and security.”

SAN DIEGO —
Naval Information Warfare Systems Command (NAVWAR) joined the Swedish Defense
Research Agency and the Swedish Coast Guard in Lulea, Sweden, to test how ice
effects sound in the underwater domain March 11-23.

As part of
an ongoing program with Swedish authorities, personnel from the NAVWAR Reserve
Program (NWRP) and Naval Information Warfare Center Pacific (NIWC Pacific)
Unmanned Maritime Vehicle (UMV) Lab teamed to support the event.

NWRP
Sailors and NIWC Pacific engineers utilized various sensors, magnetometers and
a Seabotix vLBV, a remotely operated vehicle (ROV), to identify the potential
impact of ice on sound propagation and background noise underwater. 

NWRP
Sailors operated the ROV to test acoustic transceivers and collect sonar and
video imagery of the conditions beneath the ice and to provide logistic mission
support with programming magnetometers.

“Sonar
and camera data from the ROV provided insight into the structure of the ice,”
said Tom Pastore, a NIWC Pacific engineer. “Simultaneous acoustic measurement
data between various fixed points will allow researchers to characterize the
impact of ice-covered waters as compared to an open surface. This is an
important addition to the scientific body of knowledge and leads us towards
better modeling capability in under-ice regions.”

The
collective team from NAVWAR and Sweden have a second trial scheduled for first
quarter of fiscal year 2020.

NWRP
Sailors leverage their education, corporate knowledge and military experience
and apply those skills to UMV and other technology testing events to address
potential challenges with respect to complex command, control, communications,
computer and intelligence systems.

“NAVWAR
Reservists provide manpower with diverse technical and operational skill sets,
enabling the sponsor to successfully complete the mission no matter the challenges,”
said Thomas McDermott, NWRP UMV program manager.

WASHINGTON
— The U.S. Navy is leveraging the talent of an independent team of government
and outside experts to assist in advanced electromagnetic, production and
software technology aboard USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78), said Research,
Development and Acquisition Public Affairs in a July 1 release.

“We have a
full court press on the advanced weapons elevators,” said the Honorable James
Geurts, assistant secretary of the Navy for research, development and
acquisition. “We’ve gathered a team of experts on the carrier right now, which
will work with the shipbuilder to get Ford’s weapons elevators completed in the
most efficient timeline possible — they will also recommend new design changes
that can improve elevator activities for the rest of the Ford class.

“This team
of experts in electromagnetic systems, fabrication and production control,
software, systems integration, and electrical engineering will focus on
completing the production of the remaining elevators on CVN 78 and recommending
design changes for future ships in the class. In doing so, they will execute
corrective actions and adapt best practices to ensure the completion of the
Advanced Weapons Elevators in support of the USS Gerald R. Ford’s operations.”

Arriving
on the carrier two weeks ago, the Navy-led team has quickly formed a linked and
integrated approach between the shipbuilder, the government, Ford crew and
industry experts. The team is comprised of specialists in their respective
fields and many have had a number of successes at solving developmental
technological challenges.

AWE, as a
first-of-its-kind developmental system, has had its share of production and
technological challenges. 

The AWEs are
operated via electromagnetic, linear synchronous motors.  This new technology increases both speed and
weapons carrying capacity of the platform while reducing required manning,
maintenance and total ownership cost. Due to the concurrent nature of AWE
development and construction, the shipboard weapons elevators have been test
beds for discovering developmental issues that have delayed the scheduled
turnover to the crew.

For those
elevators working on Ford, the ship’s weapons department has been training on
them daily.

“The two
upper stage elevators have absolutely operated as designed,” said Lt. Cmdr.
Chabonnie Alexander, Ford’s ordnance handling officer. “We operate the
elevators 10 times a day, five days a week, and Ship’s Force subject matter experts
continue to get smarter and more comfortable each day with the system and its
operating capabilities. Additionally, as we become more comfortable and more
proficient with the elevators we’re also becoming better able to anticipate and
diagnose any technical issues that may arise.”

Ford
elevators will allow the ship to be able to move up to 24,000 pounds of
ordnance at 150 feet-per-minute. This is in contrast to the 10,500 pounds at up
to 100 feet-per-minute on a Nimitz-class carrier. AWE contributes to a 33%
improvement in sortie generation rate over the Nimitz-Class, which is the heart
of Ford-class warfighting capability.

In
parallel with standing up the team of Navy-led government and industry experts,
the Navy is constructing a land based test site at Naval Surface Warfare Center
Division Philadelphia, and contracted for the production, test and delivery of
system components to complete the site in 2020. The Navy and shipbuilder are
also completing a digital twin co-located at the shipyard facility in Newport
News that will be complete in fall 2019. Both systems will allow the Navy and
shipbuilder to mature the system and aid in troubleshooting.

These
shore efforts combined with the collective team of experts aboard Ford will
bring these elevators online making the Ford-class more lethal and efficient,
while also providing it with the ability to implement future advancements in
technology with relative ease.

NEWPORT NEWS,
Va. — The Apprentice School at Huntington Ingalls Industries’ Newport News
Shipbuilding division celebrated its 100-year anniversary on Monday.

The company
held a ceremony to mark the day, July 1, 1919, when the school was established.
During the event, a historical highway marker was unveiled, and tools,
textbooks, commemorative coins and other items were placed in a time capsule.
The alumni room also was dedicated in honor of Danny Hunley, an Apprentice
School graduate and retired vice president who was instrumental in getting the
new school building built in downtown Newport News in 2013.

The school is
celebrating its centennial with special events throughout the year and has
received special proclamations from the Commonwealth of Virginia and City of
Newport News.

The
Apprentice School opened at the end of World War I to recruit, train and
develop shipbuilders. Since then, Newport News has evolved over the years and
currently is undergoing a massive technological transformation. Advanced
digital shipbuilding concepts and technology in The Apprentice School
curriculum are now supporting the company’s integration of digital technology
across the shipyard.

“The
Apprentice School is one of our national treasures,” said Latitia D. McCane,
director of education at The Apprentice School. “The school not only produces
skilled craftsmen and women, but future leaders of our company. Its legacy and
tradition of excellence have sustained the school for all these years, and as
we move forward, our ability to transform ourselves to continue to meet the
needs of Newport News Shipbuilding will be paramount to our success for another
100 years.”

Over the last
100 years, The Apprentice School has produced more than 10,800 graduates who
have designed and built ships for the U.S. Navy. The school currently enrolls
850 students.

“The
Apprentice School is a national model for apprenticeship programs and a shining
example of our commitment to workforce development,” said Xavier Beale, Newport
News’ vice president of trades. “When an institution has operated for 100
years, it’s easy to fall back on what we’ve always done. That’s not how you
succeed. Our faculty and staff go to great lengths to make the apprentice
experience at Newport News Shipbuilding relevant, and I applaud them for this
outstanding accomplishment.”

The
Apprentice School accepts about 225 apprentices per year. The school offers
four- to eight-year, tuition-free apprenticeships in 19 trades and eight
optional advanced programs. Apprentices work a 40-hour week and are paid for
all work, including time spent in academic classes. Through partnerships with
Thomas Nelson Community College, Tidewater Community College and Old Dominion
University, The Apprentice School’s academic program provides the opportunity
to earn associate degrees in business administration, engineering and
engineering technology and bachelor’s degrees in mechanical or electrical
engineering.

ARLINGTON,
Va. — The Navy has awarded a contract for Blackjack and ScanEagle unmanned
aerial vehicles for the Navy and Marine Corps and several foreign nations.

Insitu Inc.
of Bingen, Washington, was awarded by the Naval Air Systems Command a $390.1
million firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for
up to 63 RQ-21A [Blackjack] attrition air vehicles for the U.S. Marine Corps
and U.S. Navy,” a June 28 Defense Department announcement said. “In addition,
this contract provides for up to six RQ-21A unmanned aircraft systems and up to
17 RQ-21A air vehicles for foreign military sales customers, including the
governments of Canada, Poland and Oman.”

Insitu also will
also provide up to 93 ScanEagle UASs in various configurations, the
announcement said. “In addition, this contract provides for associated
services, including training, test and engineering, development of engineering
change proposals, operations support, organizational level maintenance, field
service representatives, land and ship surveys, hardware site activations,
hardware installs, repairs, and data.”

The RQ-21A
Blackjack has seen service as a surveillance platform with the Marine Corps in
Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria and Libya. Contractor-owned and operated ScanEagles
have operated in support of U.S. and partner nations in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The ScanEagle also has be operated by U.S. Special Operations command and by
several foreign nations. 

The orders
are expected to be completed by June 2022.

MAYPORT, Fla. — Chile will host maritime forces from 12 countries to participate in exercise Unitas LX (60) Pacific from June 24-July 3, the U.S. Naval Forces Southern Command-U.S. 4th Fleet said in a July 1 release.

Joining
the U.S. and Chile this year are 11 countries including Brazil, Colombia, Costa
Rica, Ecuador, Germany, Honduras, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Turkey and the
United Kingdom.

This
year’s exercise will include 10 warships that will conduct maritime maneuvering
operations in the Pacific Ocean through July 2.

U.S. forces participating in Unitas this year are USS Michael Murphy (DDG 112), Mobile Diving and Salvage Unit 2, Patrol Squadron (VP) 4, Destroyer Squadron 40 and U.S. 4th Fleet. While participating in the exercise, U.S. forces will be under the operational control of Commander, U.S. Naval Forces Southern Command/U.S. 4th Fleet, Rear Adm. Donald Gabrielson.

Unitas, Latin for ‘unity,’ is the world’s longest running multinational maritime exercise. Conceived in 1959 and first executed in 1960, Unitas is a demonstration of U.S. commitment to the region and the strong relationships forged between partner nations and their militaries. In addition to the Pacific phase of Unitas LX, there will be Atlantic and amphibious phases hosted by Brazil in August.

Unitas will focus on strengthening existing regional partnerships and encouraging the establishment of new relationships through the exchange of maritime mission-focused knowledge and expertise during the exercise. The exercise develops and tests participating navies’ capabilities to respond to a wide variety of maritime missions as a unified force.

U.S. Naval
Forces Southern Command/U.S. 4th Fleet is responsible for U.S. Naval forces in
the U.S. Southern Command area of responsibility, including the Caribbean,
Central and South America.