After a decade-long hunt, America’s most wanted man was killed in a daring raid deep inside Pakistan.
On a moonless night in early May 2011, two Black Hawk helicopters slipped silently across the border from Afghanistan into Pakistan. Aboard them were members of SEAL Team 6, America’s most elite special operations unit. Their mission: to find and kill Osama bin Laden, the world’s most wanted terrorist, hidden in a compound deep inside the Pakistani city of Abbottabad.
Now that the Navy has a separate cyber warfare community, cryptologic warfare can refocus on its traditional missions.
By Lieutenant Christian Montgomery, U.S. Navy
Until recently, Navy cryptologic warfare officers (CWOs) were responsible for three disciplines: electromagnetic warfare (EW), signals intelligence (SigInt), and cyberspace operations. To be promoted, officers sought experience in all three disciplines.1 However, the fiscal year 2023 National Defense Authorization Act directed the Navy to create a cyber force apart from the CW community, similar to the Army and Air Force cyber branches.2 In response, the Navy created the maritime cyber warfare officer and cyber warfare technician specialties to focus on offensive and defensive cyber operations.
Continue reading “Navy Cryptology Can Be Great at the Basics—Again”
“He kept fighting despite his painful wounds, continuing to repel the attack until his position was overrun. When last seen he was fighting ferociously against an overwhelming number of enemy soldiers,” according to his Medal of Honor citation.
Continue reading “The Only Medal of Honor the Government Kept Secret”
PETERSON SPACE FORCE BASE, Colo. – The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Gravely (DDG 107) departed Naval Weapons Station Yorktown for a scheduled deployment to the U.S. Northern Command Area of Responsibility (USNORTHCOM AOR), March 15. The ship will operate in U.S. and international waters.
USS Gravely’s deployment will contribute to the U.S. Northern Command southern border mission as part of the DOD’s coordinated effort in response to the Presidential Executive Order. Gravely’s sea-going capacity improves our ability to protect the United States’ territorial integrity, sovereignty, and security,” said Gen. Gregory Guillot, Commander, U.S. Northern Command.
In support of U.S. Northern Command’s mission to restore territorial integrity at the U.S. southern border, Gravely reinforces the nation’s commitment to border security by enhancing maritime efforts and supporting interagency collaboration. The ship’s deployment highlights the Department of Defense and Navy’s dedication to national security priorities, contributing to a coordinated and robust response to combating maritime related terrorism, weapons proliferation, transnational crime, piracy, environmental destruction, and illegal seaborne immigration.
“The deployment of Gravely marks a vital enhancement to our nation’s border security framework,” said Adm. Daryl Caudle, commander, U.S. Naval Forces Northern Command. “In collaboration with our interagency partners, Gravely strengthens our maritime presence and exemplifies the Navy’s commitment to national security and safeguarding our territorial integrity with professionalism and resolve.”
Gravely brings maritime capabilities to the USNORTHCOM AOR in response to Presidential executive orders and a national emergency declaration and clarification of the military’s role in protecting the territorial integrity of the United States.
A U.S. Coast Guard Law Enforcement Detachment (LEDET) will be embarked aboard Gravely. Founded in 1982, Coast Guard LEDETs carry out a variety of maritime interdiction missions, including counter-piracy, military combat operations, alien migration interdiction, military force protection, counter terrorism, homeland security, and humanitarian response.
USNORTHCOM was named the DoD’s operational lead for the employment of U.S. military forces to carry out President Trump’s southern border Executive Orders. The combatant command continues to fill critical capabilities gaps in support of DHS and CBP.
From U.S. Northern Command Public Affairs
By Caitlyn Burchett Stars and Stripes | February 28, 2025
WASHINGTON — The Navy’s approach to managing the shipbuilding industry is ineffective as ships face lengthy construction delays, according to a new federal watchdog report.
Station HYPO 