Month: November 2024

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Defense News: DESRON 15 SCC Completes Deployments with USS Ronald Reagan, USS George Washington

Source: United States Navy

“After the completion of these patrols, DESRON 15 has reaffirmed our underway proficiency,” said Capt. Dave Huljack, deputy commodore and sea combat commander for DESRON 15. “We are thrilled to reintegrate with our team ashore and realign with our theater surface warfare responsibilities.”

DESRON 15 splits its staff between two distinct missions. In addition to serving as the Theater Surface Warfare Commander (TSUWC) for U.S. 7th Fleet from the shore, DESRON 15 embarks deployed aircraft carriers as the Sea Combat Commander (SCC).

Throughout patrols for the two carriers, DESRON 15 directed maritime strike operations and managed the anti-surface and anti-submarine warfare operations of the forward-deployed Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyers and Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruisers attached to Carrier Strike Group (CSG) 5 as the SCC.

The SCC team, in concert with Commander, Task Force (CTF) 70, planned and executed numerous exercises to include Valiant Shield, Freedom Edge, and Keen Sword. The CSG and SCC teams operated alongside nations of Japan, the Republic of Korea, and Canada to conduct routine security and stability operations.

“It is invaluable to lead a team that can operate on two fronts,” said Capt. Justin Harts, Commander, DESRON 15. “While half of our staff is ashore conducting independent theater surface operations with allies and partners, our other half is seamlessly integrating with the CSG to provide continuity underway.”

CTF 70 has operational control of Carrier Strike Group 5 from aboard USS George Washington (CVN 73), America’s only forward-deployed aircraft carrier.

DESRON 15 is the Navy’s largest forward-deployed destroyer squadron and the U.S. 7th Fleet’s principal surface force. It is forward deployed to the U.S. 7th Fleet area of operations in support of security and stability in the Indo-Pacific.

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Defense News: First Forward-Deployed Virginia-Class Submarine Arrives in Guam

Source: United States Navy

Minnesota arrives as the first Virginia-class fast-attack submarine to be forward deployed to Guam.

“The entire crew is thrilled to be in Guam,” said Cmdr. Isaac Pelt, commanding officer, USS Minnesota. “Minnesota is composed of exemplary individuals who represent some of our brightest Sailors in the Fleet. They’re eager to get out into the local community and stand ready to contribute to our strategic objectives and maintain warfighting readiness in the Pacific.”

Commissioned Sept. 7, 2013, in Norfolk, Virginia, Minnesota was the 10th Virginia-class submarine commissioned for service. Virginia-class submarines are the Navy’s next-generation attack submarines and are set to replace Los Angeles-class submarines as they retire. Minnesota has a crew of approximately 140 Sailors and is capable of supporting various missions, including anti-submarine warfare, anti-surface ship warfare, strike warfare, and intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance.

The security environment in the Indo-Pacific requires that the U.S. Navy station the most capable units forward. This posture allows flexibility for maritime and joint force operations, with forward-deployed units ready to rapidly respond to deter aggression and promote a peaceful and prosperous Indo-Pacific region.

“I would like to personally extend a warm welcome to the Sailors and families of Minnesota,” said Capt. Neil Steinhagen, commander, Submarine Squadron 15. “Guam serves as a strategic outpost in the Western Pacific, playing a vital role in maintaining stability across the region. With its motto, ‘From the North, Power,’ Minnesota embodies the strength and resolve that will make it an exceptional addition to our forward-deployed submarine force. Its presence will enhance our operational capabilities and further strengthen deterrence efforts throughout the Indo-Pacific. We are excited to have Minnesota as part of the team and look forward to the great accomplishments it will achieve while deployed forward.”

Minnesota joins four Los Angeles-class fast-attack submarines forward deployed in the Pacific. Regarded as apex predators of the sea, Guam’s fast-attack submarines serve at the tip of the spear, helping to reaffirm the submarine forces’ forward-deployed presence in support of a free and open Indo-Pacific.

For more information about Commander, Submarine Squadron 15, visit www.csp.navy.mil/css15/

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Massachusetts Man Pleads Guilty for Threatening to Kill Members of Jewish Community and Bomb Places of Worship

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

A Massachusetts man pleaded guilty today in federal court in Boston to threatening to kill members of the Jewish community and bomb Jewish synagogues.

John Reardon, 59, of Millis, pleaded guilty to one count of obstruction of free exercise of religious beliefs by threat of force, one count of transmitting in interstate commerce a threat to injure a person, and one count of stalking using a facility of interstate commerce. In January, Reardon was arrested and charged.

“This defendant’s threats to bomb synagogues and kill Jewish children stoked fear in the hearts of congregants at a time when Jews are already facing a disturbing increase in threats,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. “No person and no community in this country should have to live in fear of hate-fueled violence. The Justice Department is committed to using the full force of our investigative and prosecutorial authorities to root out these threats and ensure that all people are protected in the expression of their faith.”

“John Reardon now stands convicted of inflicting terror on the greater Boston Jewish community by threatening violence against fellow residents of Massachusetts solely because they of their Jewish faith,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Joshua S. Levy for the District of Massachusetts. “This insidious, pernicious conduct must be met with the full force of the criminal justice system to make sure victims and potential offenders alike know that hate crimes and acts of antisemitism will never be tolerated.”

“When John Reardon threatened to kill members of the Jewish community and bomb places of worship, the FBI and our partners immediately mobilized. After all, you cannot call and threaten people with violent physical harm and not face repercussions,” said Special Agent in Charge Jodi Cohen of the FBI Boston Field Office. “People of all races and faiths deserve to feel safe in their communities. With today’s guilty plea, John Reardon is now a convicted felon.”

On the morning of Jan. 25, Reardon called a synagogue in Attleboro, Massachusetts, and left a voicemail that included threats of violence.

Within 10 minutes of leaving the voicemail at the Congregation Agudas Achim, Reardon called another local Synagogue in Sharon, Massachusetts, and left a voicemail that included threats of violence.

Reardon was arrested by law enforcement after the calls were made. Following his arrest, investigators learned that Reardon had called the Israeli Consulate in Boston 98 times between Oct. 7, 2023, and Jan. 29. In many of those calls, Reardon also made statements intended to harass or intimidate.

A sentencing hearing will be scheduled at a later date. For obstruction of free exercise of religious beliefs by threat of force, Reardon faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a fine of up to $250,000. For transmitting in interstate commerce a threat to injure a person, Reardon faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a fine of up to $250,000. For stalking using a facility of interstate commerce, Reardon faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a fine of up to $250,000. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

The FBI Boston Field Office investigated the case. The Attleboro and Wrentham Police Departments, Massachusetts State Police, Bristol County District Attorney’s Office, and Bristol County Sheriff’s Office provided valuable assistance in the investigation.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Torey B. Cummings for the District of Massachusetts is prosecuting the case.

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Florida Telecommunications and Information Technology Worker Sentenced for Conspiring to Act as Agent of Chinese Government

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

Ping Li, 59, of Wesley Chapel, Florida, was sentenced to 48 months in prison today for conspiring to act as an agent of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) without notification to the Attorney General. Li was further ordered to pay a fine of $250,000 and to serve three years of supervised release.

According to the plea agreement and other court filings, the PRC’s Ministry of State Security (MSS) is in charge of civilian intelligence collection for the PRC. The MSS often uses “cooperative contacts” located in countries outside of the PRC in furtherance of their intelligence goals, which include obtaining information concerning foreign corporate or industrial matters, foreign politicians or intelligence officers, and information concerning PRC political dissidents residing in those countries. These cooperative contacts assist the MSS in a variety of ways, including by conducting research on topics of interest to the PRC that can be used to further the MSS’s mission.

Li is a U.S. citizen who immigrated to the United States from the PRC. At various times, Li worked for a major U.S. telecommunications company and an international information technology company.

Li admitted that, from at least as early as 2012, he served as a cooperative contact working at the direction of officers of the MSS to obtain information of interest to the PRC government. Li obtained a wide variety information at the request of the MSS, including information concerning Chinese dissidents and pro-democracy advocates, members of the Falun Gong religious movement, and U.S.-based non-governmental organizations, and reported that information to the MSS. Li also provided the MSS with information obtained from his employer. Li used a variety of anonymous online accounts for the purpose of communicating with the MSS, and traveled to the PRC to meet with the MSS.

For example, in August 2012, an MSS officer requested that Li provide information about practitioners of Falun Gong and pro-democracy advocates in the United States. Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, is a religious movement that originated in the PRC in the 1990s. Falun Gong is not one of the five religions formally recognized by the PRC government, and it has been banned since 1999. Its adherents both in China and abroad are of particular interest to the PRC government because of Falun Gong’s advocacy of ideas deemed subversive to the PRC government. Less than a week after receiving this request, Li sent the name and biographical information of an individual affiliated with Falun Gong residing in St. Petersburg, Florida.

In March 2015, an MSS officer requested information from Li about branch offices that Li’s employer, a major U.S. telecommunications company, had opened in the PRC. Li responded with the requested information three weeks later.

In March 2017, an MSS officer requested a training instruction plan from Li. In April 2017, Li responded indicating that he had uploaded materials to an online account that he shared with the MSS officer and asked the MSS officer to delete the materials after reading them.

In May 2021, an MSS officer requested information from Li concerning hacking events targeting U.S. companies, including a widely publicized hacking of a major U.S. company by the Chinese government. Within four days, Li responded with the requested information.

In March 2022, an MSS officer requested information from Li concerning Li’s new employer, an international information technology company, as well as materials relating to cybersecurity training. That same day, Li sent the requested information about his employer as well as materials relating to cybersecurity training.

In June 2022, an MSS officer requested information from Li concerning an individual who, according to the officer, had resided in the PRC but fled to the United States, and the officer provided Li with the name and suspected residential address in the United States of that individual. That same day, Li responded with information about the owners of that residential address.

Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen of the Justice Department’s National Security Division, U.S. Attorney Roger B. Handberg for the Middle District of Florida, and Executive Assistant Director Robert Wells of the FBI’s National Security Branch made the announcement.

The FBI investigated the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Daniel J. Marcet, Karyna Valdes, and Jordan Howard for the Middle District of Florida and Trial Attorney Scott Claffee of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section prosecuted the case.

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Defense News: Rings and Anchors – Married Couple Brave Chief Season Together

Source: United States Navy

PORTSMOUTH, VA. – The U.S. Navy has over 345,000 personnel among its ranks both active and reserve. Of that number, around 140,00 are spouses, around 38% of the total number of personnel. While the Navy does have programs in place to co-locate, it is no guarantee spouses will be stationed close to one another. Rarer still is it for couples to be in the same rate. The odds of achieving the rank of chief petty officer together are astronomically smaller still. The chances of a married couple who are the same rating, stationed within walking distance going through the same initiation as a part of the same class? Extremely low.

Despite the odds, that is just what happened for Chief Hospital Corpsman Eric Garcia, a native of Mission, Texas, and a biomedical equipment technician assigned to Navy and Marine Corps Public Health Force Protection Command , and Chief Hospital Corpsman Jessica Garcia, a native of Cranston, Rhode Island, and the Leading Chief Petty Officer for the Pulmonary, Respiratory Therapy, and Sleep Clinic assigned to Navy Medicine Readiness and Training Command (NMRTC) Portsmouth.

“I was working night shifts as a respiratory therapist at the time and my phone rang and I couldn’t sleep anyway because I was waiting for results,” began Jessica Garcia, “I got the phone call, and I was extremely excited. I called my husband and told him, ‘Hey, I just got the call.’” She smiled at her husband during the interview, gripping his hand. Eric, not knowing he would also be selected, supported her despite initially being disappointed at seemingly not having been selected.

Eric Garcia continues the story of when they got the news, his own confirmation coming a short time later. “About an hour or so after her call, I finally was called and told I made it, admittedly, I was a little bit overwhelmed. I called Jessica and told her, ‘We’re going to do this together, we’re going to handle this all together. Let’s support each other the way we have been and we’re going to be all right.”

The future Garcia’s had met at Navy Medicine Readiness and Training Command (NMRTC) Camp Lejeune just two years earlier.

“I had just gotten to Camp Lejeune,” began Eric, “I was trying to get my chief’s package reviewed by one of my favorite [Command Master Chiefs], Jason Roeder, I had unknowingly walked into the executive spaces trying to figure out where our meeting was going to be. And-“

“He walked past my desk, so I had to go get him,” laughingly continued Jessica, “He told me he had an appointment and I said, ‘I didn’t set an appointment for you’, but he did have an appointment with our CMC. Later on, he ended up joining my committee’s for Recreation as well as the First Class Petty Officers Association. We started working together on the Corpsman Ball and the holiday parties and other events like those.”

The two would marry a year later.

Swearing into the Navy from Massachusetts in 2011 , Jessica Garcia was first introduced to a career as a hospital corpsman by her cousin who recently returned from deployment. Having been interested in medical work before enlisting, he urged her to pursue a military career, citing the training and certifications gained through service.

Wanting to help others, Eric Garcia joined the Navy in 2008. He served in patient intensive roles before discovering a love for a special role or rather a Navy Enlisted Classification (NEC), the hospital corpsman Biomedical Equipment Technician classification. Navy Biomedical Equipment Technicians are an electro-mechanical technician who ensures that medical equipment is well-maintained, configured and installed properly, will function safely, and is all-around ready for use.

After serving in the Navy 13 and 16 years respectively, the duo would enter ‘Chief Season’ or “The Season,” as it is well known, together. As if marriage wasn’t challenging enough on its own, Chief Season is a period of six weeks that tests mental and physical resilience and stamina. The intense demands of the process—long hours, emotional highs and lows, and the pressure to perform—can test not only your resilience but also your ability to balance work and personal life. For a married couple, this period may require additional effort to communicate, support each other, and navigate the strain it can place on both your professional and personal relationships.

During Chief Season, ‘selects’ learn from their respective Chiefs’ Mess, absorbing knowledge of leadership, history and heritage, and many other things while also being physically tested through various physical challenges. The Season serves to establish a foundation of fraternity with mentors and is truly the crossing from the deckplate, to deckplate-leadership.

“There were a lot of challenges over the weeks,” stressed Jessica. “We had to make sure we were very cautious with our time management. We needed to make sure we weren’t so overwhelmed with season that we couldn’t make the conscious effort to spend time with each other. No matter how late it was we made sure we weren’t only ‘season’ things that way we could nurture our relationship.”

“We did a lot together,” continued Eric with a chuckle. “’Season’ didn’t really stop for us. But we still did make that time whenever we had, even if we were just eating a frozen meal together for dinner. A few times, that was our time together.”

No two chief petty officer initiation seasons are the same. Heritage stands stalwart changing only in its presentation, but the locations, challenges, and most importantly the people all vastly vary throughout time. However, sometimes, that single moment in time, with all the challenges presented, they are perfect for those involved.

“Honestly, I wouldn’t have chosen to do season any other way,” stated Eric with a smile. “I hadn’t imagined that period could ever be that great; but having gone through it together? I would’ve hated not experiencing it with my wife. Sharing those experiences, talking about the same things, assisting each other with those things. It was great.”

NMFL, headquartered in Portsmouth, Virginia, delivers operationally focused medical expertise and capabilities to meet Fleet, Marine and Joint Force requirements by providing equipment, sustainment and maintenance of medical forces during combat operations and public health crises. NMFL provides oversight for 21 NMRTCs, logistics, and public health and dental services throughout the U.S. East Coast, U.S. Gulf Coast, Cuba, Europe, and the Middle East.

Navy Medicine – represented by more than 44,000 highly-trained military and civilian health care professionals – provides enduring expeditionary medical support to the warfighter on, below, and above the sea, and ashore.