Month: May 2023

Source: United States Navy

The principal speaker is Joe Torre, Major League Baseball executive, former manager, and member of the National Baseball Hall of Fame. Additional speakers include the Honorable Kathy Hochul, Governor of New York; the Honorable Eric Adams, Mayor of New York City; the Honorable Carlos Del Toro, Secretary of the Navy; Vice Adm. John Mustin, Chief of Navy Reserve; Jane Forbes Clark, chairman of the Board, National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum and Honorary Sponsor; and Chauncey McIntosh, vice president and general manager, Integrated Warfare Systems and Sensors, Lockheed Martin.  The ship’s sponsor is Mrs. Alba Tull, a business woman, philanthropist and accomplished photographer.  She is the wife of Thomas Tull who is on the Board of the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. 

“I am pleased to be here in my hometown of New York City to commission the Navy’s newest littoral combat ship, USS Cooperstown,” said Del Toro. “LCS 23 honors the baseball greats, who in service of our nation, sacrificed their baseball careers for us. I have full confidence that the officers and crew of this great ship will continue to honor their legacy.”

LCS 23 is the 12th Freedom-variant LCS, the 23rd in the class. She is the first ship to bear the name of Cooperstown, New York. Cooperstown received its name on July 25, 2015, during a ceremony at the National Baseball Hall of Fame, which is located in Cooperstown. Her name honors the 70 members of the National Baseball Hall of Fame who served in the United States Armed Forces during times of conflict, ranging from the Civil War through the Korean War.

The LCS class consists of two variants, the Freedom and the Independence, designed and built by two industry teams. Lockheed Martin leads the Freedom-variant team, the odd-numbered hulls, in Marinette, Wis.  Austal USA leads the Independence-variant team in Mobile, Al., for LCS 6 and the subsequent even-numbered hulls.

Littoral Combat Ships are fast, optimally-manned, mission-tailored surface combatants that operate in near-shore and open-ocean environments, winning against 21st-century coastal threats. LCS integrate with joint, combined, manned and unmanned teams to support forward-presence, maritime security, sea control and deterrence missions around the globe.

The ceremony will be live streamed at: https://www.dvidshub.net/webcast/31424. The link becomes active approximately ten minutes prior to the event (9:50 a.m. EST).

Media may direct queries to the Navy Office of Information at (703) 697-5342. More information on the Littoral Combat Ship Program can be found at:  https://www.navy.mil/Resources/Fact-Files/Display-FactFiles/Article/2171607/littoral-combat-ship-class-lcs/.

Source: United States Navy

WASHINGTON – The Navy will christen one of its newest Virginia-class fast-attack submarines, the future USS Massachusetts (SSN 798), during an 11 a.m. EST ceremony Saturday, May 6, 2023, at Huntington Ingalls Industries-Newport News Shipbuilding, in Newport News, Virginia.

Source: United States Navy

“The Navy is committed to providing high quality accommodations to all Sailors, especially those residing in UH,” said Steve Drumm, CNIC Director of Housing. “This Bill of Rights & Responsibilities makes it clear what guarantees we promise UH residents while establishing what their obligations are for maintaining their housing. These barracks are their homes and they are expected to maintain cleanliness and report maintenance issues in a timely manner, which can be done quickly and conveniently by utilizing our new QR Code maintenance reporting process.”

The Resident Rights for government-controlled Unaccompanied Housing are as follows:

1. The right to reside in a community that is safe, secure, and meets applicable health and environmental standards, with well-maintained common areas, and amenities.
2. The right to reside in a housing unit that has working fixtures, appliances, and utilities.
3. The right to verify the condition and cleanliness of the assigned room, shared space (if applicable), and the furnishings provided during check-in and check-out inspections.
4. The right to clearly defined regulations regarding occupancy of UH and use of common areas and amenities.
5. The right to report inadequate housing standards or deficits in habitability of the housing unit to the UH staff, housing management office, and the chain of command without fear of:
   • reprisal or retaliation;
   • decreased services, or increased obligations as a resident;
   • interference with right to privacy or harassment as a resident;
   • refusal to honor the terms of occupancy; or
   • interference with the career of a resident.

Resident Responsibilities for government-controlled unaccompanied housing are as follows:

1. The responsibility to take pride and ownership of your assigned quarters, common areas, and amenities, and to comply with UH Rules and Regulations.
2. The responsibility to maintain daily living standards in accordance with the Welcome Aboard Handbook.
3. The responsibility to allow access to your room and shared space for inspections, necessary maintenance, and repairs.
4. The responsibility to report any issues in the housing unit to the UH staff for corrective actions in a timely manner.
5. The responsibility to provide a minimum of 30 days notification prior to move-out and correct any discrepancies identified during the pre-termination inspection prior to the final checkout inspection.

The creation of the UH Bill of Rights & Responsibilities came about after the Chief of Naval Operations and fleet commanders identified unaccompanied housing as an area of improvement that would positively impact Sailor morale. Navy Housing worked with fleet commanders to come up with rights that succinctly addressed their Sailors’ needs and concerns in unaccompanied housing, while setting clear expectations that residents must also do their part in maintaining high quality housing.

“The Bill of Rights & Responsibilities is just the first in a series of efforts that Navy Housing plans to roll out in the coming months,” said Drumm. “Our hope is that by setting a collaborative tone with residents, we will be able to maintain and improve the quality of unaccompanied housing long-term.”

Installation commanding officers must post the UH Bill of Rights & Responsibilities throughout the UH facilities and incorporate its content into all UH Welcome Aboard/new resident orientation handbooks by May 26, 2023.

Commander, Navy Installations Command is responsible for worldwide U.S. Navy shore installation management as the Navy’s shore integrator, designing and developing integrated solutions for sustainment and development of Navy shore infrastructure as well as quality of life programs. CNIC oversees 10 Navy regions, 70 bases, and more than 43,000 employees who sustain the fleet, enable the fighter and support the family. Follow CNIC on social media: Facebook, Facebook.com/NavyInstallations; Twitter, @cnichq; and Instagram, @cnichq.

Source: United States Navy

“Sailors assigned to 815A duties will serve as sentries, protecting access to our installations, and supplementing base law enforcement, which will still be primarily comprised of masters-at-arms,” said Ron Herb, CNIC’s director of force protection. “This is a great opportunity for young Sailors who may be interested in exploring other career options in the Navy, such as force protection.”

815A Sailors perform specialized duties as members of installation Navy Security Forces (NSF) through the prevention of unauthorized access to installations and restricted areas. They are responsible for controlling entry and exit of vehicles and equipment; patrolling property concentration areas; enforcing order and regulations in their area of operations; and perform inspections of vehicles and defense against intrusion by hostile individuals.

“The 815A program replaces the previously very successful Navy law enforcement specialist billet, FP NEC 9545,” said Herb. “FP NEC 9545 was available to enlisted personnel prior to September 11, 2001 and then was sun-downed due to increase master-at-arms support to the global war on terrorism.”

Since 815A Sailors aren’t expected to have prior law enforcement experience, once attached to their new duty station, they receive thorough and comprehensive training for sentry duty, including law enforcement practices, self-defense and force protection in order to support their installation’s Naval Security Force. Should 815A Sailors become interested in pursuing a career in law enforcement, 815A can serve as a stepping stone to becoming a master-at-arms.

There are 120 815A billets available now for Navy CONUS installations, with an additional 130 billets slated for advertisement in June. CNIC will continue to monitor and evaluate the program’s mission support efficacy and overall performance throughout the coming months. If the program is successful, CNIC may look to release additional billets later this year.

If you’re interested in applying to one of the 815A billets, ask your detailer for more information.

Commander, Navy Installations Command is responsible for worldwide U.S. Navy shore installation management as the Navy’s shore integrator, designing and developing integrated solutions for sustainment and development of Navy shore infrastructure as well as quality of life programs. CNIC oversees 10 Navy regions, 70 bases, and more than 43,000 employees who sustain the fleet, enable the fighter and support the family. Follow CNIC on social media: Facebook, Facebook.com/NavyInstallations; Twitter, @cnichq; and Instagram, @cnichq.