Senate and House conferees have reached an agreement of the fiscal 2020 National Defense Authorization Act, according to multiple reports. Conferees are expected to sign the bill on Monday afternoon, and then the House would hold a floor vote on Wednesday, Dec. 11, with a Senate vote to follow soon after. Key disagreements that had…
Seventy-eight years ago today, the sailors at Pearl Harbor probably didn’t feel in danger when they woke up that morning. It was just another day in the United States Navy, after all. But by the end of the day, 2,403 Americans made the ultimate sacrifice. Sailors who expected their most exciting activity that day to…
The Federal Circuit Court of Appeals ruled this week that the Department of Veterans Affairs may not extend a stay on claims from Navy veterans who were exposed to Agent Orange while aboard ship during the Vietnam War. The court would not immediately lift the stay, but said that the stay could not be extended…
In a potential complication to efforts to complete at least some of fiscal 2020 appropriations before the current stopgap spending measure runs out, House Democrats reportedly are insisting that all 12 overdue appropriations bills be finalized before any of them get to the floor. This would prevent a repeat of last year, when some spending…
Navy Secretary Richard Spencer has been forced out by Defense Secretary Mark Esper in connection with the ongoing case of Navy SEAL Chief Petty Officer Edward Gallagher, who is accused of war crimes in Iraq. Esper reportedly asked for Spencer’s resignation, but in a letter Spencer “acknowledge[s] my termination.” The Navy reportedly planned a review…
The guided missile cruiser USS Lake Erie (CG-70) and Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron (HSM) 49 have returned to their homeport of Naval Station San Diego after a deployment to the U.S. 3rd and 7th Fleet areas of operations, according to the Department of Defense. Lake Erie conducted Enforcement Coordination Cell operations while in the Western…
Members of AUSN’s Board and AUSN Chapter Presidents paid a visit to Walter Reed National Medical Center on Nov. 14. They toured the Navy Wounded Warrior Training Facility and observed a volleyball match. The visit lasted for about two hours. Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, located in Bethesda, Md., is one of the most…
The Association of the United States Navy asked House Speaker Nancy Pelosi at a recent roundtable with Veterans/Military Service Organizations at the U.S. Capitol to include an amendment in the next Continuing Resolution that would provide funding for a 3.1 percent pay raise for service members in 2020. A new report suggests that such an…
AUSN Chief Executive Officer RADM Christopher W. Cole (USN, Ret.) was on hand with several U.S. Navy sailors for the laying of wreaths at Arlington National Cemetery on Veterans Day, Nov. 11, 2019. Arlington National Cemetery and the Military District of Washington hosts the ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknowns. The event takes place…
Military-Veterans Advocacy and John Wells, a member of the AUSN Board of Directors, participated in oral arguments before the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit on Friday, Nov. 8, in an attempt to force the Department of Veterans Affairs to lift a stay on benefits claims for 90,000 Blue Water Navy veterans. While the…