Milton ‘Rip’ Ripple, One of Last WWII and Bikini Atoll Atomic Veterans, Dies at 98
The Navy veteran, who served aboard USS Pollux in the Pacific, rendered a final salute at Pearl Harbor’s 84th commemoration just months before his death.
COMMANDER ALYSSA J. NORRIS
Commander Alyssa Norris is a native of Plainfield, Illinois. She graduated from Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in 2008 with a Bachelor of Arts in Public Relations and received her master’s degree of Professional Studies in Strategic Public Relations from George Washington University in 2017.
After more than half a century, these veterans returned to Vietnam
It was a homecoming of sorts — decades overdue. A dozen Vietnam veterans returned to the Southeast Asian country — with all but one having not been back since their combat boots left the soil of Vietnam for the last time some 50 years ago. “I got back from Vietnam in ‘68 and luckily, I didn’t experience any disrespect,” Jerry Melcher, a combat medic in the U.S. Army told Military Times. “Just expe...[Read More]
Commander Omar A. Garcia
Commander Omar A. Garcia is a native of Eagle Pass, Texas. After graduating from Abilene High School in 1999, he enlisted in the Navy and attended Navy Boot Camp at Great Lakes, Illinois.
Military families: DOD wants your input on quality of life improvements
Military families and others have the opportunity over the next month to provide input for defense officials on quality of life issues at the state level for service members and their families. Defense officials are specifically interested in issues where state governments are the primary agents for positive change, according to the request for information posted in the Federal Register on Tuesday...[Read More]
Naval Postgraduate School Alumni Lead NASA’s Artemis II Moon Mission
Two Naval Postgraduate School (NPS) alumni will lead the historic Artemis II mission on a 10-day space flight around the Moon — mission commander retired U.S. Navy Capt. Reid Wiseman and spacecraft pilot U.S. Navy Capt. Victor Glover. The target launch window opens on April 1, 2026, the first of seven possible launch days in April. Artemis II will be the first crewed lunar fly-by in more than 50 y...[Read More]
Coast Guard relieves commander of Alaska-based cutter
The Coast Guard temporarily relieved the commander of the fast response cutter Douglas Denman, based in Ketchikan, Alaska, on Monday. Lt. Edwin Kuster, a 2017 graduate of the U.S. Coast Guard Academy, was removed “following an investigation leading to a loss of confidence” but was not related to misconduct, according to a Coast Guard media release. A Coast Guard spokeswoman said Tuesday the servic...[Read More]
U.S. Navy Opens New Expeditionary Maintenance Facility at Camp Mitchell
U.S. Navy leaders, Sailors, and civilian partners marked the completion of a new expeditionary maintenance facility (EMF) during a ribbon-cutting ceremony at Camp Mitchell aboard Naval Station (NAVSTA) Rota, Spain, March 23, 2026.
China maps ocean floor as it prepares for submarine warfare with US
SYDNEY — China is conducting a vast undersea mapping and monitoring operation across the Pacific, Indian and Arctic oceans, building detailed knowledge of marine conditions that naval experts say would be crucial for waging submarine warfare against the United States and its allies. In one example, the Dong Fang Hong 3, a research vessel operated by Ocean University of China, spent 2024 and 2025 s...[Read More]
Hundreds Go On Strike at Major Navy Shipbuilder in Maine over Wages and Benefits
Hundreds of designers, clerks and technicians went on strike in Maine at one of the U.S. Navy’s largest shipbuilding contractors.
The ‘simple maneuver’ of opening Hormuz strait carries great risks, analysts say
PARIS — U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday called NATO allies “cowards” for their unwillingness to help secure maritime traffic in the Strait of Hormuz, which he said would be a “simple military maneuver” with little risk. Analysts studying military matters and geopolitics disagree. While countries including the U.K. and France have said they’re ready to “contribute to appropriate efforts” to e...[Read More]
The US has counter-mine ships homeported in the Middle East. Are they effective?
U.S. Navy counter-mine ships that replaced minesweepers last year in Bahrain have yet to demonstrate their reliability and effectiveness in the face of potential naval mine warfare, according to the Defense Department’s testing office and military experts. The Pentagon was unable to determine the operational effectiveness or suitability of Independence-class littoral combat ships equipped with the...[Read More]