Naval News Today
The United States Navy has called an openly gay sailor back to active duty after dismissing him under the military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” ban on lesbian, gay and bisexual service personnel. According to Stars & Stripes newspaper, Petty Officer Jason Knight ‘came out’ to his command and was subsequently discharged from the Navy in 2005. Today, after being recalled to active duty, Knight is finishing a scheduled one-year tour in Kuwait with Naval Customs Battalion Bravo. Service members discharged under “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” are not allowed to return to the services. The Navy has declined to comment on the case.
U.S. Navy replaces Persian Gulf carriers
The U.S. Navy said Sunday that it was maintaining a stepped-up military presence in the Persian Gulf by keeping two aircraft carriers in the area amid tensions with Iran.
The USS Nimitz and the ships in its strike group were expected within two days to replace the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower, said Navy Cmdr. Kevin Aandahl of the Bahrain-based U.S. 5th Fleet.
Germany mulls extending command of UNIFIL navy
Germany is favorably considering a request to extend its mandate as leader of the naval component of the United Nations force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), government spokesmen said on Monday. “The United Nations has asked the German government to stay on in its commanding role for another rotation period,” the country’s Foreign Ministry spokesman, Jens Ploetner, told a news conference.
US Navy develops underwater acoustic weapon
The US Navy has applied for a patent on a new form of weapon that uses sound to kill.
The system uses strong sonar pulses that travel through the water and create a phenomenon known as ‘acoustic remote cavitation’.
This is a large pressure bubble that causes shockwaves that can destroy things in its path.
“A method is disclosed of generating a predetermined field of cavitation around a remote target in an underwater environment,” the patent application states.
“The method includes identifying a remote target location, generating at least two acoustic beams from an underwater acoustic source, and controlling the generated acoustic beams to intersect with each other at the remote target location and thereby create a destructive cavitation field at the intersection of the beams.”
The blast range of the field is estimated at 100 metres and the patent claims an effective range of one kilometre.
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Bio: I am currently a Professor of Security Studies, hold a BS in Management and an MA in National Security Studies, and am pursuing an MA in Systematic and Philosophical Theology. I've written for Navy Times, Proceedings, Armed Forces Journal and a number of blogs. As a 24-year veteran of the U.S. Navy and Navy Reserve, I attained the rank of Commander, deployed five times for four different conflicts and served as a Foreign Area Officer and a Surface Warfare Officer. During my 7 years in the private sector, I worked in the fields of information technology and publishing, and even ran for public office once.
