Nimitz Strike Group Participates in Cooperative Exercises with Indian Navy

200720-N-MY642-0207INDIAN OCEAN (July 20, 2020) The Nimitz Carrier Strike Group, consisting of flagship USS Nimitz (CVN 68), Ticonderoga-class guided missile cruiser USS Princeton (CG 59) and Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyers USS Sterett (DDG 104) and USS Ralph Johnson (DDG 114), along with Indian Navy ships Rana, Sahyadri, Shivalik and Kamorta, steam in formation during a cooperative deployment in the Indian Ocean July 20. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Donald R. White, Jr.)

INDIAN OCEAN (NNS) July 20, 2020 -- The Nimitz Carrier Strike Group, consisting of flagship USS Nimitz (CVN 68), Ticonderoga-class guided missile cruiser USS Princeton (CG 59) and Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyers USS Sterett (DDG 104) and USS Ralph Johnson (DDG 114), participated in cooperative exercises with the Indian Navy in the Indian Ocean commencing July 20."It was a privilege to operate with the Indian Navy,” said Rear Adm. Jim Kirk, commander, Nimitz Carrier Strike Group. “RADM Vatsayan, Flag Officer Commanding Eastern Fleet, leads a powerful and highly skilled Fleet. The opportunity to have the Nimitz Carrier Strike Group join with his Fleet for a series of exercises improved our interoperability and is a testimony to the flexibility of both our Navies."While operating together, the U.S. and Indian naval forces conducted high-end exercises designed to maximize training and interoperability, including air defense. Nimitz CSG’s operations are designed to provide security throughout the region while building partnerships with friends and allies.Naval engagements such as these exercises improve the cooperation of U.S. and Indian maritime forces and contribute to both sides' ability to counter threats at sea, from piracy to violent extremism. These engagements also present opportunities to build upon the pre-existing strong relationship between the United States and India and allow both countries to learn from each other.Nimitz Carrier Strike Group is currently deployed to the Indian Ocean in support of a free and open Indo-Pacific.

By Carrier Strike Group 11 PAO

Distributed by permission of DOD.

Pandemic Revealed Supply Chain Vulnerability, Pentagon Official Says

Staff Sgt. James Krobot, 911th Maintenance Squadron aircraft structural maintenance technician, sands down anti-chafing tape on a C-17 Globemaster III main landing gear assembly during a home station check inspection at the Pittsburgh International Airport Air Reserve Station, Pennsylvania, May 18, 2020. Airmen are performing the first ever HSC in Pittsburgh on the flightline due to the travel restrictions in place because of COVID-19 while the new hangar is still under contruction. (photo by Joshua J. Seybert)

One of the biggest lessons learned during the COVID-19 pandemic is that the supply chain is vulnerable to offshore suppliers, particularly adversaries such as China, a senior Pentagon official said.

The 4th: Do our troops fight in vain, because we are destroyed from within?

The Fourth of July celebrates our independence, which was secured for us by our soldiers in the Continental Army, and protected by our Armed Forces ever since. We have asked them to defend it from Fascist, Marxist, and Communist aggression. Are we good stewards of their sacrifices? Do we keep our national house in proper order? Or are we to be infiltrated and destroyed from within while they are deployed protecting us? How might that happen? Watch and learn.

Video Rights. Creative Commons license: Public Domain.

Esper: We'll Handle Our Own Alleged War Criminals

Advisors from the 2nd Security Force Assistance Brigade conducting advising during their 2019 deployment to Afghanistan.

The United States has a good track record of investigating and prosecuting the alleged criminal actions of its own service members, and the International Criminal Court should stay out of U.S. business, Defense Secretary Dr. Mark T. Esper said.

In 2017, the International Criminal Court announced its intention to investigate U.S. service members for alleged crimes related to missions in Afghanistan. The United States was not a party to the Rome Statute, which created the ICC.

D-Day, June 6, 1944

D-Day Bird's-eye view of landing craft, barrage balloons, and allied troops landing in Normandy, France on D-Day, 1944. Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress.

On the morning of June 6, 1944, Americans heard on their radios that over 100,000 thousand of our soldiers had landed on the beaches of northern France to set Europe free from Nazi control. This day marked the beginning of World War II, one of the bloodiest wars ever. Thousands of men died during the effort to get ashore and establish a beachhead. But enough soldiers struggled up onto the bluffs that, by nightfall, American and British forces had conquered a small area of Nazi-occupied France and could begin the push to set Europe free.

Mountaineer ChalleNGe Academy stays on track despite virus

A West Virginia Army National Guard Soldiers assists with COVID-19 testing preparation June 1, 202, at the Mountaineer ChalleNGe Academy at Camp Dawson in Kingwood, W.Va. The Mountaineer ChalleNGe Academy was closed in March to in person classes due to the COVID-19 pandemic but WVNG and MCA staff developed plans to ensure cadets were afforded the opportunity to test and graduate. (U.S. Army National Guard photo by Sgt. Davis Roher)

KINGWOOD, W.Va. – As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to maintain its grip on the United States, the Mountaineer ChalleNGe Academy (MCA) has developed innovative ways to ensure at-risk youth can continue the course and, for some, earn their high school diploma.

West Virginia was one of the last states in the nation to announce its first case of COVID-19. As cases were reported and schools were shut down across the state, it was evident that the MCA would need to send its cohort of cadets home to finish their education.

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