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The Admiral in Charge of Navy Intelligence Has Not Been Allowed to See Military Secrets for Years

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For more than two years, the Navy’s intelligence chief has been stuck with a major handicap: He’s not allowed to know any secrets.

Vice Adm. Ted “Twig” Branch has been barred from reading, seeing or hearing classified information since November 2013, when the Navy learned from the Justice Department that his name had surfaced in a giant corruption investigation involving a foreign defense contractor and scores of Navy personnel.

Worried that Branch was on the verge of being indicted, Navy leaders suspended his access to classified materials. They did the same to one of his deputies, Rear Adm. Bruce F. Loveless, the Navy’s director of intelligence operations.

More than 800 days later, neither Branch nor Loveless has been charged. But neither has been cleared, either. Their access to classified information remains blocked.

Although the Navy transferred Loveless to a slightly less sensitive post, it kept Branch in charge of its intelligence division. That has resulted in an awkward arrangement, akin to sending a warship into battle with its skipper stuck onshore. (Read more from “The Admiral in Charge of Navy Intelligence Has Not Been Allowed to See Military Secrets for Years” HERE)

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New $360 Million Navy Ship Breaks Down

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One of the Navy’s newest ships had to be towed more than 40 miles to port after it broke down Friday less than a month after it was commissioned into service.

The littoral combat ship USS Milwaukee, which boasts a $360 million price tag, broke down Thursday evening, days after the ship’s crew discovered “fine metallic debris in the port combining gear filter system,” the Navy said in a news release. The crew later discovered similar debris in the ship’s oil filter . . .

The ship is now undergoing a full inspection in Little Creek, Virginia. The incident was first reported by the Navy Times.

The breakdown happened as the ship was on its way to its home port of San Diego after it was commissioned in Milwaukee. The long journey took it through the Great Lakes and Halifax, Canada. It was scheduled to stop next in Florida.

Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John McCain called the ship’s “complete loss of propulsion … deeply alarming, particularly given this ship was commissioned just 20 days ago.” (Read more from “New $360 Million Navy Ship Breaks Down” HERE)

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U.S. Navy Destroyer Nears Islands Built by China in South China Sea

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The United States on Monday sent a guided-missile destroyer to challenge 12-nautical-mile territorial limits that China claims around artificial islands it built in the South China Sea.

A U.S. defense official said the USS Lassen was nearing Subi and Mischief reefs in the Spratly archipelago, features that were submerged at high tide before China began a massive dredging project to turn them into islands in 2014.

The Lassen would be in the area for several hours in what would be the start of a series of challenges to China’s territorial claims in one of the world’s busiest sea lanes, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Earlier, the official said the ship would likely be accompanied by a U.S. Navy P-8A surveillance plane and possibly P-3 surveillance plane, which have been conducting regular surveillance missions in the region.

The patrols represent the most serious U.S. challenge yet to the 12-nautical-mile territorial limit China claims around the islands and are certain to anger Beijing, which said last month it would “never allow any country” to violate its territorial waters and airspace in the Spratlys. (Read more from “U.S. Navy Destroyer Nears Islands Built by China in South China Sea” HERE)

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U.S. Navy Teaching Sailors to Combat ‘Male Privilege’

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The United States Navy’s Bureau of Medicine and Surgery has issued a warning about “male privilege” and is teaching ways to combat it.

The agency has issued two charts, the “Power and Control Wheel” and the “Equality Wheel,” in a new document posted on the Navy’s website . . .

As Social Memo points out, the Navy’s document appears to only address physical and sexual violence perpetrated by men.

A 2012 study by Bert H. Hoff, J.D. found “More men than women were victims of intimate partner physical violence within the past year, according to a national study funded by the Centers for Disease Control and U.S. Department of Justice.”

Hoff’s research found that in the 12 months prior to the study’s release, “an estimated 5,365,000 men and 4,741,000 women were victims of intimate partner physical violence.” That’s 53% and 47% respectively. (Read more from “U.S. Navy Teaching Sailors to Combat ‘Male Privilege'” HERE)

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Navy Will Challenge Chinese Territorial Claims in South China Sea

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The Navy is preparing to send a surface ship inside the 12-nautical-mile territorial limit China claims for its man-made island chain, an action that could take place within days but awaits final approval from the Obama administration, according to military officials who spoke to Navy Times.

Plans to send a warship through the contested space have been rumored since May, but three Pentagon officials who spoke to Navy Times on background to discuss future operations say Navy officials believe approval of the mission is imminent.

If approved, it would be the first time since 2012 that the U.S. Navy has directly challenged China’s claims to the islands’ territorial limits.

The land reclamation projects in the vicinity of the Spratly Islands have been the focus of increasing tensions between China and the United States along with its regional allies, including the Philippines, since reports of the land reclamation project began surfacing in 2013. However, the U.S. and other nations have disputed the legitimacy of the islands built by China in what is viewed as an act of regional aggression.

A spokesman for the National Security Council deferred questions regarding the Navy’s plans to the Office of the Secretary of Defense, but drew attention to President Obama’s remarks before the U.N. General Assembly Sept. 28, where he said the U.S. has “an interest in upholding the basic principles of freedom of navigation and the free flow of commerce, and in resolving disputes through international law, not the law of force.” (Read more from “Navy Will Challenge Chinese Territorial Claims in South China Sea” HERE)

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Iranian Warships Confront US Navy on ‘Daily Basis’

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Mideast IranU.S. naval forces operating in and around the Strait of Hormuz, a critical shipping lane, are “routinely approached by Iranian warships and aircraft” on a “nearly daily basis,” according to a Pentagon official familiar with operations in the region.

During these interactions between U.S. and Iranian forces, American aircraft and ships are routinely photographed by the Iranians for intelligence purposes, according to the official, who said that most confrontations between the sides are “conducted in a safe and professional manner.”

The disclosure of these daily run-ins comes following the release of footage by the Iranian military purporting to show a reconnaissance mission over a U.S. aircraft carrier station in the Strait of Hormuz.

The clip, which was filmed at the end of August and is punctuated by dramatic music, shows U.S. personnel aboard the ship and shots of U.S. warplanes stationed on it.

Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps “drones have carried out such missions many times; although the drone remains for a long time above the [American crew’s] heads, they didn’t notice it,” Iran’s state-control media reported in Persian at the time, according to a translation by the Middle East Media Research Institute. “In some cases, [the American crew] did notice the IRGC drone awhile after the filming and tried to drive it off by sending a helicopter or fighter jet after it.” (Read more from “Iranian Warships Confront US Navy on ‘Daily Basis'” HERE)

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Watch: Navy Destroyer Smashes Through 60 Foot Waves

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“Give me a fast ship, for I intend to go in Harm’s Way.”
John Paul Jones

The below video shows a US Navy ship encountering heavy seas while in transit. During my 10 years of sea duty, while serving in 6 Navy Destroyers and in one Navy Amphib, I encountered heavier seas in the North Atlantic than those recorded in the below listed video. My Navy ships transited the seven seas, circumnavigated the globe twice, crossed the equator 6 times, visited every continent, and made port calls in 38 countries.

“I’m so sick, will someone throw me overboard?”
Isaac Baker Merrimac

[Editor’s note: The author of this short piece, Captain Joseph John, was interviewed on Restoring Liberty recently. Listen to his extreme warning about the Obama Administration:]

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Over A Weekend, US Navy Shrinks By 9 Ships

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Something odd happened to the US Navy a few days ago. Somewhere between February and March, the fleet lost nine ships.

The web page where the service lists its vital statistics — number of people, number of ships, etc. — showed a fleet of 284 ships as Feb. 27 came to a close. But on March 2, that same fleet was officially listed as 275 ships.

But no real ships were decommissioned, sold, sunk or otherwise disposed of. So what happened?

. . .The Democratic administration likes to point out the fleet is growing since it dropped below the 300-ship level in August 2003 — under the administration of President George W. Bush — hitting a low of 275 ships in early May 2007. . .

A year ago, the administration altered the way it counts the fleet, adding some ships not previously counted, resulting in a jump from 283 ships to 290. Opponents on the Hill cried foul, arguing the Navy was artificially inflating the fleet’s size, and inserted language into the 2015 Defense Authorization Act to force the service to return to the old rules. It’s those new — uh, old — requirements that the Navy has just implemented. (Read more from “Over A Weekend, US Navy Shrinks By 9 Ships” HERE)

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Former SEAL Chaplain Could Be Kicked out of Navy for Christian Beliefs

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A chaplain who once ministered to Navy SEALs could be thrown out of the military after he was accused of failing “to show tolerance and respect” in private counseling sessions in regards to issues pertaining to faith, marriage and sexuality, specifically homosexuality and pre-marital sex, according to documents obtained exclusively by Fox News.

Lt. Commander Wes Modder, who is endorsed by the Assemblies of God, has also been accused of being unable to “function in the diverse and pluralistic environment” of the Naval Nuclear Power Training Command in Goose Creek, S.C.

“On multiple occasions he discriminated against students who were of different faiths and backgrounds,” the Chaplain’s commanding Officer Capt. Jon R. Fahs wrote in a memorandum obtained by Fox News.

Modder is a highly decorated, 19-year veteran of the military. Prior to becoming a Navy chaplain, he served in the Marine Corps. His assignments included tours with the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit and Naval Special Warfare Command – where he served as the Force Chaplain of the Navy SEALs . . .

In Modder’s most recent review, Fahs declared that the chaplain was “the best of the best,” and a “consummate professional leader” worthy of an early promotion. (Read more about the former SEAL chaplain HERE)

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Three Admirals Forced Out Amid Massive Navy Bribery Investigation

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Photo Credit: Stripes By Erik Slavin. The commander of naval forces in Japan and two other admirals are retiring following letters of censure issued by the secretary of the Navy in connection with a wide-ranging bribery scandal in the Asia-Pacific region.

Naval Forces Japan commander Rear Adm. Terry Kraft, along with rear admirals Michael Miller and David Pimpo, were censured by Secretary Ray Mabus to “document their failure of leadership” related to dealings with Glenn Defense Marine Asia between 2006 and 2007, according to a Navy statement.

Navy officials spanning the ranks from enlisted to commanding officers, as well as high-placed civilians, have pleaded guilty since December 2013 to trading classified information in exchange for luxury travel, cash and prostitutes with ship support contractor GDMA and its owner, Leonard Glenn “Fat Leonard” Francis.

Francis, 50, pleaded guilty to bribery charges in San Diego federal court in January. (Read more about the Navy bribery investigation HERE)

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Navy Contractor at Center of Navy Bribery Scandal Helping Investigators

By Craig Whitlock and Matt Zapotosky. The Navy’s sex-for-secrets corruption scandal may be about to get worse: Investigators’ prized catch has started to squawk.

Leonard Glenn Francis, the Malaysian defense contractor who made a fortune by supplying Navy ships throughout Asia, has begun cooperating with federal investigators and pointing the finger at new suspects, court records indicate.

According to an affidavit filed this week by federal investigators, a confidential witness who matches Francis’s description detailed how a former senior U.S. contracting official accepted several hundred thousand dollars in bribes in exchange for driving Navy business to Francis’s company.

The witness was not identified by name but was described in the affidavit as a person who has already pleaded guilty in the corruption investigation and who was separately convicted of firearms charges in a foreign country about 30 years ago. (Read more from this story HERE)

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