Latest news with #NATIONALHARBOR
Yahoo
08-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Top Marine's deployment plans face familiar wrinkle: Inert Navy ships
NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. — The top Marine has a key objective for the Corps: getting Marine Expeditionary Units back on full deployment schedules. But he's going to need some help. 'My top priority ... is restoring a 3.0 MEU presence worldwide,' Commandant Gen. Eric Smith said April 7 at the Navy League's annual Sea-Air-Space Exposition. More specifically, that means a three-ship MEU with an Amphibious Ready Group, or ARG-MEU, deployed out of the East Coast, one out of the West Coast and a third on periodic deployments out of Okinawa, Japan. The primary impediment? Amphibious ships. The Corps needs 31 amphibious ships under law at a readiness level of 80% or greater to consistently meet that need, Smith said. But the readiness of that fleet is hovering at about 50% at any given time. Marines hindered by Navy's amphibious ship maintenance delays An Amphibious Ready Group includes an assault ship, a landing ship with helicopter platform and a dock landing ship. The MEU consists of a battalion landing team, aviation combat element and combat logistics element to form a Marine Air Ground Task Force. Bringing the amphib fleet back up to speed will cost maintenance and procurement dollars over multiple years, Smith said. It will take the Marine Corps, the Navy, Congress and shipbuilders. Smith didn't shirk the Corps' role in the state of the fleet. After two decades of land-based wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Corps had largely left its fleet behind. Money for maintenance and building new ships went to those wars instead. And the way the four-star sees it, a 3.0 presence is the bare minimum. That's because combatant commanders are requesting the combat power of more than five MEUs throughout the years, he said. Marine Corps Times reported in December that the Government Accountability Office had audited Naval Station Norfolk, Virginia, and Naval Base San Diego, California, regarding amphibious ship maintenance status. From 2011 to 2020 amphibs were only available for operations 46% of the time. Also, in 2024 the Boxer and America amphibious readiness groups missed exercises and experienced delayed deployments due to the unavailability of vessels. One ship had not deployed in 12 years due to maintenance issues. At the time, Marine spokesman Lt. Col. Joshua Benson told Marine Corps Times, 'The current state of readiness impacts the Marine Corps' capacity to support Combatant Commander's needs, to maintain a 3.0 presence with Marine Expeditionary Units performing heel-to-toe deployments, and ultimately limits our ability to respond to crisis around the globe.' Beyond regular maintenance and catch-up work, the lifespan of much of the fleet is in doubt. Out of 32 amphibious-warfare ships, 16 are not expected to reach their 40-year service life. But the entire fleet must serve beyond that time limit to maintain at least a 31-amphibious warfare ship requirement, according to the report. Also at the expo Monday, America's largest naval shipbuilder, HII, reached an agreement to partner with South Korea's HD Hyundai Heavy Industries to boost shipbuilding across numerous vessel classes. 'By working with our shipbuilding allies and sharing best practices, we believe this [agreement] offers real potential to help accelerate delivery of quality ships,' Brian Blanchette, HII executive vice president and president of Ingalls Shipbuilding, said in a release announcing the partnership.
Yahoo
07-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
HII and HD Hyundai Heavy Industries Sign Memorandum of Understanding
NATIONAL HARBOR, Md., April 07, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- HII (NYSE: HII) and HD Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI), two of the world's leading shipbuilders across multiple classes of ships, signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) today to explore opportunities to collaborate on accelerating ship production in support of defense and commercial shipbuilding projects. The signing ceremony took place in HII's booth at Sea Air Space, the largest global maritime expo in North America, and was attended by HII Executive Vice President and President of Ingalls Shipbuilding Brian Blanchette and Won-ho Joo, chief executive of the naval & special ship business unit at HHI. 'Today's agreement reflects our commitment to explore all opportunities to expand U.S. shipbuilding capacity in support of national security,' Blanchette said. 'By working with our shipbuilding allies and sharing best practices, we believe this MOU offers real potential to help accelerate delivery of quality ships.' This strategic partnership aims to leverage the combined expertise and resources of both companies to advance technological innovation, maximize production efficiency, and strengthen the global defense industry. 'This partnership marks a new milestone for both of our companies and provides us with the unique opportunity to expand our expertise in shipbuilding,' Won-ho Joo said. 'We look forward to working with HII to explore new possibilities and deliver even greater value to our customers.' The efforts applied under the MOU aim to increase the collective maritime industrial base strength of both the U.S. and South Korea. A photo accompanying this release will be available following the signing event at: About HII HII is a global, all-domain defense provider. HII's mission is to deliver the world's most powerful ships and all-domain solutions in service of the nation, creating the advantage for our customers to protect peace and freedom around the world. As the nation's largest military shipbuilder, and with a more than 135-year history of advancing U.S. national security, HII delivers critical capabilities extending from ships to unmanned systems, cyber, ISR, AI/ML and synthetic training. Headquartered in Virginia, HII's workforce is 44,000 strong. For more information, visit: HII on the web: HII on Facebook: HII on X: HII on Instagram: About HHI: HHI is the world's number one shipbuilder, leads the global shipbuilding industry with roughly 10% share of the market. It had delivered more than 2,300 ships to 335 shipowners in 51 countries until 2023. As a licensed national defense industrial shipbuilder and engineering consultant for the Republic of Korean Navy, has the technology to design and build modern and reliable surface and underwater combatants and auxiliary support vessels of various proven and advanced hull forms. With 50 years of naval shipbuilding experience and accumulated warship technology, HHI operates as one of the most reputable naval shipbuilders in the world. For more information, visit: HHI on the web: HII Contact:Kimberly K. HHI ContactSeong Gu in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
23-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Trump uses CPAC to hype first month in office, despite legal setbacks
NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. — In a speech that amounted to an attempted post-inauguration victory lap, Donald Trump on Saturday hyped his first four weeks in office, even as much of his agenda is bogged down in court fights and has Republicans facing pushback in their districts. Trump spent more than an hour addressing the Conservative Political Action Conference near Washington, his first major rally-style address since formally being sworn in to office on Jan. 20. The first weeks of Trump's administration have overwhelmingly been defined by swift action to reduce the federal workforce and slash the size of government, an effort led by the Elon Musk-helmed Department of Government Efficiency. Many of DOGE's actions have been at least temporarily halted by courts, including by Trump-appointed judges, but he used his CPAC speech to frame his first few weeks in office as an unchallenged victory. 'Welcome back to the nation's capital, where our movement is thriving, fighting, winning and dominating Washington like never before,' Trump told the packed conference hall at Gaylord National just outside of Washington. Trump has scored some legal victories as he attempts to quickly reshape the federal government at a breakneck pace, but his early attempts to fulfill campaign promises for his MAGA base have been bogged down by skeptical judges. In his speech at the conference, however, Trump ignored his early administration losses and framed even what were clear legal setbacks as victories. 'I signed an order that will end birthright citizenship for the children of illegal aliens,' Trump told the crowd to loud applause. On Wednesday, a three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals declined the Justice Department's emergency request to implement Trump's executive order limiting birthright citizenship, which extends citizenship to anyone born on U.S. soil regardless of underlying immigration status. Despite constitutional concerns, removing birthright citizenship was among Trump's top focuses on the campaign trail. A federal court also blocked Musk and DOGE's access to sensitive data, including Social Security numbers, housed in the U.S. Treasury, something that sparked widespread concern from Democrats, some Republicans and government watchdogs. In his first major political speech since his inauguration, though, Trump ignored this series of losses. 'We want the government smaller, more efficient,' Trump said. 'We want to keep the best people, and we are not going to keep the worst people. … If they don't report for work, we are firing them.' Trump, without question, has used DOGE to take the most fast-paced action to shred federal government infrastructure in the history of the nation. There have been mass layoffs across several federal agencies, in some cases necessitating reversals when key personnel were accidentally let go. The most notable was the Trump administration's attempt to un-fire dozens of National Nuclear Security Administration staffers, most of whom were responsible for the critical task of overseeing the nation's nuclear stockpile. Trump also doubled down on his controversial economic policies that lean heavily on imposing tariffs on countries he perceives as attempting to take advantage of the United States. Trump has pushed to implement 10% tariffs on Chinese imports and 25% duties on steel and aluminum imports, plus a 25% duty on imports from Canada and Mexico, which has so far been suspended until at least the first week of March. 'We were very rich because of tariffs,' Trump told the CPAC crowd of the early 1900s, which he often romanticizes because it was a period marked by higher tariffs than have been implemented in modern times. Trump's tariff-heavy focus has gotten pushback from many in the business community, most recently from hedge fund billionaire Steve Cohen, who also owns the New York Mets. 'Tariffs cannot be positive, OK? I mean, it's a tax,' he said Friday at the FII Priority Summit in Miami Beach. Trump also continued to boast about his administration's deportation numbers, a key part of an immigration agenda that he promoted heavily during the 2024 campaign. He has deployed active-duty troops to the U.S.-Mexico border, terminated temporary protected status for Haitian immigrants and taken steps to pause the nation's amnesty process. During his CPAC address, Trump said his administration has ushered in the 'largest deportation operation in American history.' The claim comes the day after Trump removed Caleb Vitello as acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement as Trump and border czar Tom Homan have openly expressed anger about the number of people being deported, arguing the figures should be higher to align with Trump's campaign promises. 'It's driving him nuts,' a person familiar with Trump's thinking told NBC News earlier this month. 'They're not deporting more people.' This article was originally published on
Yahoo
23-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Trump uses CPAC to hype first month in office, despite legal setbacks
NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. — In a speech that amounted to an attempted post-inauguration victory lap, Donald Trump on Saturday hyped his first four weeks in office, even as much of his agenda is bogged down in court fights and has Republicans facing pushback in their districts. Trump spent more than an hour addressing the Conservative Political Action Conference near Washington, his first major rally-style address since formally being sworn in to office on Jan. 20. The first weeks of Trump's administration have overwhelmingly been defined by swift action to reduce the federal workforce and slash the size of government, an effort led by the Elon Musk-helmed Department of Government Efficiency. Many of DOGE's actions have been at least temporarily halted by courts, including by Trump-appointed judges, but he used his CPAC speech to frame his first few weeks in office as an unchallenged victory. 'Welcome back to the nation's capital, where our movement is thriving, fighting, winning and dominating Washington like never before,' Trump told the packed conference hall at Gaylord National just outside of Washington. Trump has scored some legal victories as he attempts to quickly reshape the federal government at a breakneck pace, but his early attempts to fulfill campaign promises for his MAGA base have been bogged down by skeptical judges. In his speech at the conference, however, Trump ignored his early administration losses and framed even what were clear legal setbacks as victories. 'I signed an order that will end birthright citizenship for the children of illegal aliens,' Trump told the crowd to loud applause. On Wednesday, a three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals declined the Justice Department's emergency request to implement Trump's executive order limiting birthright citizenship, which extends citizenship to anyone born on U.S. soil regardless of underlying immigration status. Despite constitutional concerns, removing birthright citizenship was among Trump's top focuses on the campaign trail. A federal court also blocked Musk and DOGE's access to sensitive data, including Social Security numbers, housed in the U.S. Treasury, something that sparked widespread concern from Democrats, some Republicans and government watchdogs. In his first major political speech since his inauguration, though, Trump ignored this series of losses. 'We want the government smaller, more efficient,' Trump said. 'We want to keep the best people, and we are not going to keep the worst people. … If they don't report for work, we are firing them.' Trump, without question, has used DOGE to take the most fast-paced action to shred federal government infrastructure in the history of the nation. There have been mass layoffs across several federal agencies, in some cases necessitating reversals when key personnel were accidentally let go. The most notable was the Trump administration's attempt to un-fire dozens of National Nuclear Security Administration staffers, most of whom were responsible for the critical task of overseeing the nation's nuclear stockpile. Trump also doubled down on his controversial economic policies that lean heavily on imposing tariffs on countries he perceives as attempting to take advantage of the United States. Trump has pushed to implement 10% tariffs on Chinese imports and 25% duties on steel and aluminum imports, plus a 25% duty on imports from Canada and Mexico, which has so far been suspended until at least the first week of March. 'We were very rich because of tariffs,' Trump told the CPAC crowd of the early 1900s, which he often romanticizes because it was a period marked by higher tariffs than have been implemented in modern times. Trump's tariff-heavy focus has gotten pushback from many in the business community, most recently from hedge fund billionaire Steve Cohen, who also owns the New York Mets. 'Tariffs cannot be positive, OK? I mean, it's a tax,' he said Friday at the FII Priority Summit in Miami Beach. Trump also continued to boast about his administration's deportation numbers, a key part of an immigration agenda that he promoted heavily during the 2024 campaign. He has deployed active-duty troops to the U.S.-Mexico border, terminated temporary protected status for Haitian immigrants and taken steps to pause the nation's amnesty process. During his CPAC address, Trump said his administration has ushered in the 'largest deportation operation in American history.' The claim comes the day after Trump removed Caleb Vitello as acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement as Trump and border czar Tom Homan have openly expressed anger about the number of people being deported, arguing the figures should be higher to align with Trump's campaign promises. 'It's driving him nuts,' a person familiar with Trump's thinking told NBC News earlier this month. 'They're not deporting more people.' This article was originally published on
NBC News
21-02-2025
- Politics
- NBC News
French far-right leader cancels CPAC speech, calling out Steve Bannon's 'Nazi ideology' hand gesture
NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. — French far-right leader Jordan Bardella on Friday canceled his planned remarks here at the Conservative Political Action Conference after Steve Bannon, the former adviser to President Donald Trump who is now popular conservative podcast host, made a hand gesture that some said appeared to be a Nazi salute. "Yesterday, while I was not present in the room, one of the speakers out of provocation allowed himself a gesture alluding to Nazi ideology. I therefore took the immediate decision to cancel my speech that had been scheduled this afternoon," Bardella said in a statement to French media outlets. The controversy comes a month after Elon Musk was accused of giving a Nazi salute at one of Trump's inauguration events, further embroiling conservatives in a debate about whether their leaders are intentionally paying homage to a brutal regime responsible for the systemic murder of millions of Jews in the 1940s. It's also the most recent incident at CPAC where an attendee appeared to reference Nazi ideology. Bannon's incident came Thursday, when he spoke to the crowd of conservative activists. "The only way they win is if we retreat," Bannon said at the end of his speech. "And we're not going to retreat. We're not going to surrender. We're not going to quit. Fight, fight, fight!" He then extended his right arm. In an interview with NBC News Thursday at the conference, Bannon denied that the gesture was a salute. "I do that all the time. I wave to my crowd, because it's all about them," Bannon said, saying the controversy was a distraction from the substance of his speech. "The only thing it's done is made the speech even bigger," he added. "But the guy in France, you need to be combat-hard. He's just a p---y." "MAGA will never support him. ... He's a pretty boy," Bannon added, referring to Bardella. "He's never going to be able to lead France if you're afraid by the mainstream media." The National Rally did not respond to a request for comment for this story. At the conference, the gesture drew a muted response from attendees. The crowd registered no notable additional reaction to the gesture. Many attendees in line for a meet-and-greet with Bannon Friday had either not watched Bannon's speech, or had seen it and thought calling it a salute was incorrect framing or leftist-trolling. Greg Conte, a national socialist who attended the deadly 2017 Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, said afterward in the conference lobby that speakers like Musk and Bannon who have used the gesture are virtue-signaling, calling the conference "zio-conservative" and criticizing its support of Israel. "Any 'Nazi salute' by Bannon, Musk or any other capitalist oligarch is stupid posturing," Conte said. Musk, a tech billionaire who has become a force with conservative Trump supporters even as he has at times quarreled with Bannon, later joked about his own controversy and mocked those who said he had referenced Nazism. 'Frankly, they need better dirty tricks,' Musk posted on X at the time. 'The 'everyone is Hitler' attack is soooo tired.' Bardella has been president of the far-right National Rally (RN) since 2022. He has both expressed support for Trump in the past but also signaled that support has limitations. 'Liking Donald Trump's patriotism does not mean being the vassal of the United States,' Bardella said in early 2024, according to France 24. Bardella, 28, is the president of Marine Le Pen's far-right party and has been a member of the European Parliament since 2019. He has a strong following with young voters and a heavy presence on social media. He and his party have pushed for more restrictive immigration policies. On Saturday, Trump is set to address CPAC, an event where his presence looms large just over a month after he formally took office. Trump's victory in each of the major swing states during the 2024 race against former Vice President Kamala Harris gave his team what they viewed as a mandate, which they have used to move aggressively. A prominent piece of that agenda has included installing Musk and the so-called Department of Government Efficiency, which have worked quickly to reduce the size and scope of government. Musk was greeted like a rockstar on the CPAC stage Thursday, walking on with a chainsaw given to him by right-wing Argentinian President Javier Milei. The gift was meant to symbolize that Musk is taking a ripping apart government waste. ' I am become meme,' said Musk told the CPAC crowd. He went on to tell them that DOGE is 'fighting the Matrix.'
