Committee On Armed Services News

The future USS Carl M. Levin (DDG 120) completed acceptance trials on December 9, returning to General Dynamics Corp’s Bath Iron Works (BIW) Bath shipyard after spending two days at sea.During acceptance trials, the ship and its crew performed a series of demonstrations for review by the U.S. Navy’s Board of Inspection and Survey (INSURV). These demonstrations are used by INSURV to validate the quality of construction and compliance with Navy specifications and requirements prior to delivery of the ship to the U.S. Navy.

The Gulf States Shipbuilders Consortium (GSSC) announced that its fall meeting will be held October 18-19, at the Holiday Inn in Mobile’s historic district. Highlights of the meeting include a presentation by U.S. Representative Bradley Byrne (R-Fairhope). Byrne will deliver an Update from Washington at the official meeting kick-off at the recently opened GulfQuest Maritime Museum on Oct. 18. Byrne is a member of the prestigious House Rules Committee, Committee on Armed Services, and Committee on Education and the Workforce and is a member of the Congressional Shipbuilding Caucus.

Today, during a ceremony in Detroit, Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus announced that the next Arleigh Burke class destroyer, DDG 120, will be named Carl M. Levin in honor of the longest serving senator in Michigan history. During his 36 years in the Senate, Levin was a member of the Senate Committee on Armed Services and its chair for more than nine years. He also served as chairman of the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, as a member of the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, and Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship. He led the Senate in adoption of the Defense Authorization Acts from 2007 through January 2015 when he retired.

Conservative think tank The Heritage Foundation argued for increased U.S. port cybersecurity in a report published online this week. "The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and maritime stakeholders need to stay ahead of [cybersecurity] risks in order to keep trade flow maximized, while avoiding the creation of regulations that may slow trade and hinder business," wrote author and Heritage Foundation research assistant Riley Walters. The report was published just a day before U.S. Coast Guard Commandant Adm.

Ship construction programs move ahead, but it’s not smooth sailing. Navies and Coast Guards everywhere face budgetary pressure, even in the U.S. which has the largest Navy in the world. The balance between desire for capacity and capability and pressure for affordability has never been more acute with the precarious budgetary issues presented by declining defense budgets, sequestration, continuing resolutions and government shutdowns. Even so, there are ongoing major construction efforts to include large nuclear aircraft carriers and submarines…

U.S. Senator Roger Wicker, R-Miss., a senior member of the Senate Committee on Armed Services, has voted in favor of the FY2014 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). The legislation authorizes $625.1 billion in funding for America’s national defense. “Funding our military and defense operations is essential to the safety and security of every American,” Wicker said. Wicker included a provision to ensure that the Navy pursues a balanced force structure. This provision requires…

The secretary of the Navy announced that the next Virginia-class attack submarine will be named in honor of recently retired Virginia Senator John Warner. Warner retired Jan. 3, 2009, after 30 years of service in the U.S. Senate. The USS John Warner, honors Warner's lifetime of service to the nation and the Commonwealth of Virginia. Sen. Warner's career in public service began in Jan. 1945, the last year of World War II, when he enlisted at the age of 17 in the U.S. Navy, where he earned the rank of Petty Officer 3rd class. In the Fall of 1949, he joined the Marine Corps Reserve. At the outbreak of the Korean War in Oct. 1950, he volunteered for active duty and was commissioned in the U.S. Marine Corps and served with the 1st Marine Air Wing as a ground communications officer in Korea.

U.S. "We are pleased to note that the Secretary of Defense has agreed with the position of the Committee on Armed Services that an officer in the grade of Vice Admiral would be a valuable addition to the staff of the senior Navy acquisition executive. The Committee has long felt that a senior officer serving as the Principle Deputy to the Assistant Secretary for Research, Development and Acquisition would be a valuable link between the uniformed service and the civilian acquisition professionals.

The Subcommittee on Emergency Preparedness, Science, and Technology of the House Committee on Homeland Security and the Subcommittee on Terrorism, Unconventional Threats and Capabilities of the House Committee on Armed Services conducted a joint hearing on Responding to Catastrophic Events: The Role of the Military and National Guard in Disaster Response . Among the witnesses was Admiral Thomas H. Collins , Commandant, U.S. Coast Guard, who summarized the Coast Guard’s actions following Hurricane Katrina. He testified that the Coast Guard’s primary missions in disaster response are: (1) saving lives in distress and survivability of our own forces for post-disaster response…