Tony

Washington (CNN)A federal judge in Texas on Monday ruled against the Biden administration's vaccine requirement for members of the military in a decision that took aim at how the Navy's policies handled those who sought religious exemptions from receiving the Covid-19 vaccine. US District Judge Reed O'Connor issued a preliminary order blocking the Navy from taking adverse action against 35 Navy Seals who sued in court because they are seeking exemption from the vaccine requirement for religious reasons. The order blocked the Navy from implementing policies that would allow those religious objectors to be deemed non-deployable or disqualified from Special Operations.

Nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln made history Monday when it set sail from San Diego, becoming the first US Navy carrier to deploy under the leadership of a female commanding officer. Capt. Amy Bauernschmidt assumed command of the carrier in August, becoming the first female carrier skipper.

OKLAHOMA CITY (Tribune News Service) — The adjutant general for the Oklahoma National Guard said Thursday that unvaccinated airmen may not participate in drills after Jan. 1, 2022. In an emailed statement, Adjutant Gen. Thomas Mancino informed members of the Oklahoma Air National Guard that due to the state's loss in court on Tuesday, members must be vaccinated or they cannot participate in the National Guard. The message is an about-face from Wednesday, when a spokesperson for the Guard said unvaccinated airmen would not face repercussions.

The Navy recovered and rebuilt after the Vietnam War—a low point similar to the situation today. How it regained its position as the dominant navy in the world is an interesting and instructive tale.

When it comes to confronting the environmental risk that the Navy’s underground fuel storage tanks at Red Hill pose to Oahu, the state of Hawaii should not take “no” from the military as the final say. Predictably, the Navy has chosen to downplay just how dangerous their aging World War II-era fuel facilities are. It has apologized for Assistant Secretary of the Navy James Balocki’s comments that Red Hill poses “an urgent and compelling situation, perhaps. Not a crisis.” But apologies are useless platitudes when corrective actions are not taken.

COVID ADSEP Checklist and NAVADMINs

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – One of the two men who died in a small plane crash on the Westside was active duty Navy. NAS Jacksonville confirmed he was 27-year-old Louis Charles Pasderetz.

China is using part of its internal internet surveillance network to mine data from Western social media and provide its government agents with information on foreign targets, The Washington Post reported on Friday. Reviewing hundreds of Chinese bidding documents, contracts and company filings, the Post reported that China's public opinion analysis software - used to detect politically sensitive information online - was also being used to collect information on foreign targets through U.S. companies like Twitter and Facebook.

Also: The loss of confidence is connected to a mishandled sexual harassment complaint on the ship, a San Diego Navy official familiar with the vessel but not authorized to comment publicly told the Union-Tribune Thursday.

SAN DIEGO (CNS) — The commanding officer and executive officer of the San Diego-based USS Montgomery were relieved of command Thursday, according to a Navy statement. Cmdr. Richard J. Zamberlan and Cmdr. Phillip Lunderberg were relieved "due to a loss of confidence in their ability to command," a Navy statement read.

It appears as though NMCI has implemented new network access restrictions that have negatively impacted NAVFIT98A functionality. From what NWIC/SPAWAR has determined, NAVFIT98A is unable to open the ACCESS database residing on a network server location. This is not a NAVFIT98A issue, it is an NMCI-driven privilege and/or permissions issue. However, we have identified a workaround. For your NAVFIT98A to function properly, you must: 1. Copy the NAVFIT98A ACCESS database file from the network and put it on the local machine’s hard drive. 2. Launch NAVFIT98A and open the database file that was copied to the local machine’s hard drive and perform your NAVFIT98A-related work. 3. Once you have completed your NAVFIT98A-related work, the ACCESS database file can be copied back to the original network server location for storage thereby enabling the next NAVFIT98A user to gain access to that data by repeating the steps outlined above. Until NMCI changes this new network privilege/permissions restriction, NAVFIT98A will only be able to open database files that reside on the local machine hard drive.

More than 8,000 members of the Navy remain unvaccinated after deadlines for both active-duty and reservists passed. There are 5,328 active-duty sailors and 3,002 Ready Reserve service members who are unvaccinated, as of Dec. 29, according to the Navy. Included in the number are those who are in the process of getting vaccinated, have an exemption or are waiting for an exemption request to be adjudicated.

Every week, VA sends a weekly newsletter called #VetResources that is filled with valuable content – including free resources, important updates and discounts for Veterans, their families, caregivers and survivors. While VA makes no endorsements of the privately offered resources, we share them to generate awareness of all that is available to the Veteran community. So, here are the Top 10 most popular Veteran resources from 2021:

The Department of Defense recommended COVID-19 vaccine booster shots for all eligible civilian employees and service members on Tuesday as the U.S. hit a record number of new coronavirus cases. The DOD urged anyone over age 18 and already vaccinated to get the booster as a means of mitigating the surge in coronavirus cases associated with the delta and omicron variants, according to a memo from Michael Donley, director for administration and management at the Pentagon.

(Tribune News Service) — The last of USS Gerald R. Ford’s 11 weapons elevators, one of four major new technologies on the Navy’s newest carrier, has been formally delivered — some 11 years after the original due date. The elevators can lift more weight — up to 24,000 pounds — than those on other carriers. Their design also allows significantly safer operation. But formal delivery meant verifying how each of the elevators fit in their different spaces on the Ford, a challenging task since they don’t work properly if critical parts are knocked out of place. The tolerances for that are less than one-sixteenth of an inch.

A person from Sasebo Naval Base, Japan, who died in the past week of unknown causes was afterward confirmed positive for the coronavirus, according to a base spokesman on Tuesday. The deceased was affiliated with the Navy, but the base did not specify in what capacity. That person was tested prior to receiving care at a Japanese hospital and subsequently died there, base spokesman Aki Nichols told Stars and Stripes in a phone call Tuesday. He said the test came back positive for COVID-19, the coronavirus respiratory disease, after the person’s death.

A U.S. carrier strike group is lingering in the Mediterranean Sea rather than journeying to the Middle East on orders from Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, USNI News learned on Tuesday. USS Harry S. Truman (CVN-75), Carrier Air Wing 1 and its escorts are now operating in the Ionian Sea between Greece and Italy rather than resume a planned transit through the Suez Canal to U.S. Central Command, a defense official confirmed to USNI News. USNI News first reported the Harry S. Truman Carrier Strike Group in the Ionian Sea Monday, according to the USNI News Fleet Tracker.

UNCLASSIFIED// ROUTINE R 281801Z DEC 21 MID200001367298U FM CNO WASHINGTON DC TO NAVADMIN INFO CNO WASHINGTON DC BT UNCLAS NAVADMIN 296/21 PASS TO OFFICE CODES: FM CNO WASHINGTON DC//DNS// MSGID/GENADMIN/CNO WASHINGTON DC/DEC/ SUBJ//ANNOUNCING NEW YEARS DAY DECK LOG POEM CONTEST FOR 2022// POC/NHHC DECK LOG PROGRAM//LOC: WASHINGTON, DC/EMAIL: NHHC_HAD _DeckLogs(at)us.navy.mil// RMKS/1. The Naval History and Heritage Command (NHHC) is excited to announce the annual New Years Day Deck Log Poem Contest for 2022 and calls for submissions by 2359 Eastern Daylight Time, 25 February 2022. 2. Celebratory congratulations to our winners from last year. First Place: USS ROOSEVELT (DDG-80) written by LTJG Jacob C. Singleterry. Second Place: USS CAPE ST. GEORGE (CG-71) written by FC1 David Sean Willis. Third Place: USS LITTLE ROCK (LCS-09) written by OS1 Charles Casey Smith. Thank you to everyone that submitted entries for last years contest. We look forward to reading your 2022 entries! 3. The deck log is the official record maintained by all commissioned U.S. Navy vessels. While regulations normally restrict the types of entries in logbooks, the Navy has long held the tradition of the Midnight New Years Poem. The first entry of the New Year, written in verse, allows Sailors to express their creativity, experience of shipboard life, and pride in their command. To highlight this unique tradition, NHHC will host a New Years Day Deck Log Poem Contest. Sailors, we want to hear your voice. 4. Reviving aspects of our heritage like this time-honored tradition enhances our warfighting effectiveness. As CNO Admiral Michael M. Gilday noted in FRAGO 1, As we focus on the future, we will value and celebrate our heritage. Harkening back to our heritage connects us with the generations of Sailors that came before us, creating a sense of belonging and responsibility to uphold their legacy of valor and sacrifice. 5. The focus of this contest is to celebrate the voices of our Sailors and to preserve this Navy tradition. The contest also reminds the Fleet of the importance of the deck log as a historical document, one that preserves for future generations the actions and voices of our Sailors. 6. Contest details: a. Deadline for submissions is 2359 Eastern Daylight Time, 25 February 2022. b. Due to the public-facing nature of the contest, all entries shall be unclassified. c. Submissions will be accepted by email. Email a PDF copy of the deck log page(s) with your poem to NHHC_HAD_DeckLogs(at)us.navy.mil. d. Eligibility. While it is not uncommon for squadrons and staffs to write New Years Day poems in their watchstanding logbooks as well, this contest, for now, is limited to commissioned Navy vessels. e. Poems can be submitted with either an identified or anonymous author. Commanding Officers that would like to recognize the poems author, please provide the authors contact information with the submission email. In the case of an anonymous author, the command will be recognized and receive the award. f. Selections will be made for first, second, and third place. First place prize is a piece of historic copper sheathing from USS CONSTITUTION. Winning entries will be featured on NHHCs website alongside examples from generations past. The NHHC Director will also recognize the winners. g. Winners will be announced in late April in coordination of National Poetry Month. 7. For examples of poems and more information, see NHHCs website: https://www.history.navy.mil/content/history/nhhc/research/archives/resources -for-the-fleet/deck-logs/new-years-contest.html. 8. For questions, please contact the NHHC Deck Log Program, email: NHHC_HAD_DeckLogs(at)us.navy.mil. 9. Released by Mr. Andrew S. Haeuptle, Director, Navy Staff.// BT #0001 NNNN UNCLASSIFIED//

UNCLASSIFIED// ROUTINE R 281905Z DEC 21 MID200001367435U FM SECNAV WASHINGTON DC TO ALNAV INFO SECNAV WASHINGTON DC CNO WASHINGTON DC CMC WASHINGTON DC BT UNCLAS ALNAV 091/21 MSGID/GENADMIN/SECNAV WASHINGTON DC/-/DEC// SUBJ/PROHIBITION OF ENGAGEMNENT WITH THE NAVAL ATTACHE ASSOCIATION BY DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY PERSONNEL// REF/A/EMAIL/JOINT STAFF/03DEC21// NARR/REF A IS NSC APPROVAL AND CONFIRMATION OF INTERAGENCY COORDINATION ON THIS PROPOSED DON POLICY CHANGE.// RMKS/1. Engagement of naval representatives of our foreign partners by Department of the Navy (DON) leadership is of paramount importance to our international engagement and cooperation, and to advancing strategic and operational interests of the Department of Defense and the DON. Active and informed engagement by DON leadership with foreign naval representatives is expected and encouraged. 2. That engagement must be conducted in accordance with overarching U.S. interests and values, and must not provide advantage to our strategic competitors or allow those competitors to disadvantage the appropriate engagement of foreign partners with the DON leadership. 3. However, recent actions by the Peoples Republic of China (PRC) have complicated the Departments ability to utilize the Naval Attache Association (NAA) as a forum to facilitate partners access to senior DON leadership. The Department does not support PRC coercive tactics and censorship and will always oppose such efforts to manipulate independent organizations and actors. 4. Accordingly, effective until further notice, unless specifically authorized by the Secretary of the Navy, the members of the Department will no longer participate in NAA-sponsored or hosted events. The Department WILL continue to engage with the entire Corps of Foreign Naval Attaches, and looks forward to hosting inclusive opportunities to continue fostering open dialogue and understanding with our valued naval attache colleagues. 5. The Deputy Under Secretary of the Navy is the DON office responsible for oversight of this policy. 6. Released by the Honorable Carlos Del Toro, Secretary of the Navy.// BT #0001 NNNN UNCLASSIFIED//

President Joe Biden signs National Defense Authorization Act authorizing a 5% increase in military spending, a product of intense negotiations between Democrats and Republicans over issues ranging from reforms of the military justice system to COVID-19 vaccine requirements for soldiers.

WASHINGTON -- About two dozen sailors on a U.S. Navy warship — or roughly 25% of the crew — have now tested positive for COVID-19, keeping the ship sidelined in port at Naval Station Guantanamo Bay Monday, according to U.S. defense officials.

U.S. Navy commanders whose ship is hobbled by a coronavirus outbreak are consulting with military medical personnel about providing vaccine boosters to the crew, officials said, as senior Defense Department leaders assess how the USS Milwaukee can resume its deployment amid a global spike in infections fueled by the highly transmissible omicron variant. The Milwaukee, a littoral combat ship with a crew of 105 plus a detachment of Coast Guard personnel and an aviation unit, remained idle Monday at the U.S. military base in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, where it stopped to refuel Dec. 20. It had been at sea less than a week. The Navy has not disclosed how many of the ship’s personnel have tested positive for the virus, saying only that some exhibited mild symptoms and that measures were taken to isolate those infected.

The Department of Defense (DoD) announced last week that troops in 15 metropolitan areas and 21 non-metropolitan counties in the continental United States will be cut off from a cost-of-living allowance starting Jan. 1. The change will lead to approximately 48,000 troops missing out on the Continental United States Cost-of-Living Allowance (CONUS COLA), according to Stars and Stripes.

WASHINGTON (AP) — A U.S. Navy warship has paused its deployment to South America because of a coronavirus outbreak, the Navy said Friday. The USS Milwaukee, a litorral combat ship, is staying in port at Naval Station Guantanamo Bay, where it had stopped for a scheduled port visit. It began its deployment from Mayport, Fla., on December 14 and was heading into the U.S. Southern Command region.

The Navy wants to procure in FY2022 the first of a planned new class of seven TAGOS(X) ocean surveillance ships. The Navy’s proposed FY2022 budget requests $434.4 million for the procurement of the first TAGOS(X). TAGOS Ships in the Navy TAGOS ships support Navy antisubmarine warfare (ASW) operations. As stated in the Navy’s FY2021 budget submission, TAGOS ships “use the Surveillance Towed-Array Sensor System (SURTASS) to gather undersea acoustic data. They also carry electronic equipment to process and transmit that data via satellite to shore stations for evaluation.”