Naval Aviator News

When most people discuss energy sources such as fossil fuel and green energy, it is from an “either-or” perspective. Some favor the former while others advocate for the latter. However, what is often lost in the arguments on both sides is that regardless of the type of energy being extracted or generated, those platforms that are offshore, especially oil rigs, oil and gas pipelines, and wind farms, are incredibly vulnerable to anyone who wants to attack these sources in wartime…

HII on Wednesday announced its Ingalls Shipbuilding division authenticated the keel of the Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer Jeremiah Denton (DDG 129). The ship’s name honors former U.S. Sen. Jeremiah Denton Jr., a Vietnam War veteran who was awarded the Navy Cross for his heroism while a prisoner of war.“Today, we honor the example of heroism and dedicated service to our nation set by the namesake of this ship,” Ingalls Shipbuilding President Kari Wilkinson said. “The inspiring story of Senator Denton reminds us of why we do what we do every day here at Ingalls.

The captain of the U.S. aircraft carrier Theodore Roosevelt, in a blunt letter, has called on Navy leadership for stronger measures to save the lives of his sailors and stop the spread of the coronavirus aboard the huge ship.The four-page letter, the contents of which were confirmed by U.S. officials to Reuters on Tuesday, described a bleak situation on board the nuclear-powered carrier as more and more sailors test positive for the virus.The Navy puts the ship’s complement at 5…

Vice Adm. Jan Tighe assumed the duties of the Deputy Chief of Naval Operations (DCNO) for Information Warfare (N2N6) and Director of Naval Intelligence (DNI) July 15 at the Pentagon. Tighe succeeded Vice Adm. Ted N. "Twig" Branch, who has submitted his retirement request following a 37-year Naval career. Branch assumed office as the DCNO for Information Warfare/DNI in July 2013. He also served as lead for the Navy's Information Warfare (IW) Community, which brings together the people and capabilities of the Navy's Communications, Networks, Intelligence, Oceanography, Meteorology, Cryptology, Electronic Warfare, Cyberspace Operations and Space areas to the fight. He also served as the Navy's Chief Information Officer and as the Director of Navy Cybersecurity. He was the 65th DNI.

1836 - Charles H. Haswell is commissioned as the first regularly appointed Engineer Officer. In Oct. 1844, he is promoted to Engineer in Chief of the Navy. 1916 - The AB-3 flying boat, piloted by Lt. Godfrey de Chevalier, is catapulted from USS North Carolina (ACR 12) while underway in Pensacola Bay, Fla. The launch completes calibration of the first catapult designed for shipboard use. 1943 - USS Taylor (DD 468) sinks Japanese submarine (RO 107), east of Kolombangara, Solomon Islands.

1801 - Commodore Richard Dale's squadron arrives at Gibraltar for the protection of American interests and to strike at the Barbary Pirates in the Mediterranean. Squadron ships were USS President, USS Philadelphia, USS Essex, and USS Enterprise. 1850 - The Naval School at Annapolis, Md., is renamed the U.S. Naval Academy and adopts a four-year course of study. Also on this date, Commander Cornelius K. Stribling becomes the first Superintendent of the Naval Academy and serves until the fall of 1853.

Ex-USS Taylor (FFG-50) was towed from Philadelphia Naval Shipyard to Detyens Shipyard in Charleston, S.C. where the vessel will be converted in preparation for delivery to the Taiwanese government as part of the U.S.’ foreign military sales program. The 33-year-old Oliver Hazard Perry-class frigate was decommissioned at NS Mayport, Fla. in 2015, where it had been homeported since 1993. During its service, Taylor, named for Cmdr. Jesse Taylor, a naval aviator who was awarded the Navy Cross posthumously for his heroism in the Vietnam War…

Last week, 24 midshipmen received commissions to become ensigns in the U.S. Navy at SUNY Maritime College. More than half of the students were selected for duty as strategic sealift officers, who provide logistical and other forms of support in times of military deployment. Many of them will go on to work for Military Sealift Command; others were selected for surface warfare or submarines and one was selected to be a student naval aviator. Admiral Phil Davidson, commander of U.S.

1861 - The Civil War begins with Confederates firing on Fort Sumter, S.C. The Union Navy plays an integral part blockading Confederates, keeping them diplomatically and economically contained from other nations. 1911 - Lt. Theodore Ellyson completes his aviator training at the Glenn Curtiss Aviation Camp at North Island, San Diego, Calif., and becomes Naval Aviator No. 1944 - USS Halibut (SS 232) sinks Japanese army passenger/cargo ship Taichu Maru despite the presence of at least three escort vessels. 1945 - President Franklin D. Roosevelt dies at Warm Springs, Ga.

1820 - Commodore Stephen Decatur was mortally wounded in a duel with Capt. James Barron at Bladensburg, Md., over criticism Decatur had when Barron lost his ship, USS Chesapeake, to HMS Leopard in 1807. 1915 - "Naval Aviator" replaces the title "Navy Air Pilot" for officers who become qualified as aviators. 1929 - Destroyers USS Robert Smith (DD 324), USS Moody (DD 277), and USS Selfridge (DD 320) protect Americans and their property during the Mexican Cristero uprising. 1943 - USS Gudgeon (SS 211) attacks a Japanese convoy 30 miles north Surabaya, Java, sinking an army cargo ship while surviving the depth charge attack by her escort vessels. Also on this date, USS Tambor (SS 198) damages a Japanese transport in the Sulu Sea, off Negros, Philippines.

Late last night, SUNY Maritime College alumnus Scott Kelly, ’87, felt Earth’s gravity for the first time in nearly a year. The astronaut safely landed in Kazakhstan after plummeting hundreds of miles to Earth from the International Space Station with Russian astronaut Mikhail Kornienko. The two have spent more than 11 months on the International Space Station to determine the effect of extended amounts of time in space on the human body. “All of us at SUNY Maritime are thrilled to have Scott back on Earth…

The U.S. Naval Academy (USNA) has held a change of command ceremony in Annapolis, Maryland, where Vice Adm. Walter E. "Ted" Carter Jr. relieved Vice Adm. Michael Miller, becoming the 62nd academy superintendent, informs  U.S. Naval Academy Public Affairs. Carter, a native of Burrillville, Rhode Island, served as president of the Naval War College in Newport, Rhode Island, before he was nominated in June as the next superintendent. A career naval aviator, he graduated from the Naval Academy in 1981. Miller, a native of Minot, North Dakota, and 1974 USNA graduate, retired at the ceremony, completing 40 years of active duty naval service.

Today in U.S. 1858 - U.S. sloop Niagara departs Queenstown, Ireland, to assist in laying first trans-Atlantic telegraph cable. 1898 - Santiago, Cuba surrenders to U.S. Naval forces. 1927 - First organized dive bombing attack in combat by Marine Corps pilots against Nicaraguan bandits who were surrounding U.S. Marine garrison at Ocotal, Nicaraguan. 1944 - Ammunition explosion at Naval Magazine, Port Chicago, Calif. 1975 - Docking in space of the U.S. Apollo (Apollo 18) and Soviet Soyuz (Soyuz 19) space craft. This was the first manned space flight conducted jointly by the 2 nations. Former naval aviator Vance D. Brand was the Apollo Command Module Pilot. The Apollo craft was in space for 9 days and 7.5 hours. Recovery was by USS New Orleans (LPH-11).

Today in U.S. 1800 - First convoy duty; USS Essex escorts convoy of merchant ships from East Indies to U.S. 1801 - U.S. 1911 - Trial of first Navy aircraft, Curtiss A-1. The designer, Glenn Curtiss, makes first flight in Navy's first aircraft, A-1, at Lake Keuka, NY, then prepares LT Theodore G. Ellyson, the first naval aviator, for his two solo flights in A-1. 1916 - Establishment of informal school for officers assigned to submarines at New London, Conn. 1933 - USS Constitution commences tour of principal U.S. seaports.

U.S. Coast Guard Vice Adm. Peter Neffenger relieved Vice Adm. John Currier as Vice Commandant of the Coast Guard during a change of watch ceremony at U.S. Coast Guard Headquarters, Washington, D.C., Tuesday. Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Bob Papp presided over the ceremony and U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson attended. “It has been my honor to serve our nation as the vice commandant,” said Currier. The change-of-watch ceremony is a time-honored event preserved by rich heritage of naval tradition.

The United States government has pursued energy policies based on “the mistaken belief in the unproven science that claims carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from burning of fossil fuels is the major cause of recent and future warming of the Earth,” write naval veterans Admiral Thomas B. Hayward, Vice Admiral Edward S. Briggs, and Captain Donald K. Forbes in a new report for The Heartland Institute. Driven by that unproven science, our energy policies “adversely affect the exercise…

Today in U.S. 1970 - Launch of Apollo 13, commanded by Capt. James A. Lovell, Jr., USN. Former naval aviator Fred W. Haise, Jr. was the Lunar Module Pilot. While 200,000 miles from Earth there was an explosion on board which forced Apollo 13 to circle the moon without landing. Mission duration was five days, 22 hours and 54 minutes. Recovery was by HS-4 helicopters from USS Iwo Jima (LPH-2). 1991 - U.N. For more information about naval history, visit the Naval History and Heritage Command website at history.navy.mil.

The U.S. Navy said it will christen Mobile Landing Platform (MLP) John Glenn Feb. 1, during a 1 a.m. PST ceremony in San Diego, Calif. Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Jonathan Greenert, will deliver the ceremony's principal address. Lyn Glenn, daughter of John Glenn, will serve as the ship's sponsor. Upon delivery to the U.S. Navy's Military Sealift Command (MSC), John Glenn will be designated as a United States Naval Ship (USNS), and will have a core crew of 34 civilian mariners who will operate and navigate the ship.

The funeral of the United States' fourth astronaut to fly in space, and the second to orbit the Earth, U.S. Navy Cmdr. Malcolm Scott Carpenter (retired), was held at St. John's Episcopal Church in Boulder, Colo., with full military honors. Carpenter, 88, died Oct. 10 at the Denver Hospice following complications from a stroke. He was, a dynamic pioneer of modern exploration, and earned the unique distinction of being the first human to penetrate both inner and outer space, thereby acquiring the dual titles of astronaut and aquanaut from NASA. He was commissioned in the U.S.

SUNY Maritime College President Rear Admiral Wendi B. Carpenter, USN (Ret.), announced on Friday, September 6, 2013, that she will step down shortly after the completion of the Fall semester. Admiral Carpenter has served as President since August 31, 2011, and has decided to step down in order to have more time for family and to pursue both personal and professional priorities and passions. SUNY Chancellor Nancy Zimpher will work with the College to form a search committee and will ensure leadership at the campus continues uninterrupted.

Today in U.S. 1800 - First convoy duty; USS Essex escorts convoy of merchant ships from East Indies to U.S. 1801 - U.S. 1911 - Trial of first Navy aircraft, Curtiss A-1. The designer, Glenn Curtiss, makes first flight in Navy's first aircraft, A-1, at Lake Keuka, NY, then prepares LT Theodore G. Ellyson, the first naval aviator, for his two solo flights in A-1. 1933 - USS Constitution commences tour of principal U.S. seaports. 1951 - Responsibility for the Government of Trust Territories transferred from Navy to Department of Interior.

Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus announces that the first Armstrong-class Auxiliary General Oceanographic Research (AGOR) ship will be named 'Neil Armstrong'. Mabus named the future R/V Neil Armstrong (AGOR 27) to honor the memory of Neil Armstrong, best known for being the first man to walk on the moon. Armstrong was an aeronautics pioneer and explorer for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) serving as an engineer, test pilot, astronaut and administrator. Armstrong also served as a naval aviator flying nearly 80 combat missions during the Korean War.

The name of Thomas J. Hudner Jr., has been chosen to honor a naval aviator who retired as a captain and received the Medal of Honor from President Harry S. Truman for displaying uncommon valor during an attack on his wingman during the Battle of Chosin Reservoir in the Korean War. That wingman  was the first African American naval aviator to fly in combat, Ensign Jesse L. Brown. The Arleigh Burke class destroyer will be able to conduct a variety of operations, from peacetime presence and crisis management to sea control and power projection. It will be capable of fighting air, surface and subsurface battles simultaneously and will contain…