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Archive for the ‘Navy’ Category

SCUBAPRO Sunday – BMCM (MDV) Carl Brashear

Sunday, January 24th, 2021

Master Diver Carl Brashear was born on January 19, 1931, in Tonieville, Kentucky. He joined the Navy in Feb 1948. A 31-year Navy veteran, Brashear retired in 1979 as a Master Chief Boatswain’s Mate, the highest enlisted rank in the U.S. Navy. In 1966 while diving to recover a lost nuclear weapon off Spain’s coast, Brashear was severely injured in an accident. As a result, surgeons amputated his left leg below the knee. He refused to submit to a medical board’s attempt to retire him as unfit for duty. After demonstrating that he could still dive and perform his other duties, he was assigned to Harbor Clearance Unit 2, Naval Air Station Norfolk, Experimental Diving Unit. He was the first person to be returned to full service as a Navy diver after losing a limb in a diving salvage accident. There was a movie made about him in 2000 called Men of Honor. Master Chief Brasher was everything a good senior leader should be; he led from the front, he didn’t take no for an answer when he knew he was right, took care of the people below him, and left the Navy a better place then he found it.

Below, Carl training after he lost his leg, getting back to full active duty status.

usnhistory.navylive.dodlive.mil/2018/01/16/overcoming-hurdles-the-legacy-of-master-chief-carl-brashear

Atlantic Signal Receives Orders in Excess of $2 Million for Below H2O Maritime Headset Originally Developed for US Naval Special Warfare

Thursday, January 7th, 2021

(4 JAN 2021 Topeka, KS) Atlantic Signal recently received orders totaling in excess of 2 million dollars for the company’s Below H20 headset, various maritime push-to-talks assemblies and radio interface cables.

Atlantic Signal developed the Below H20 headset several years ago to meet the requirements established by USSOCOM for maritime communications and a Program of Record. Ultimately, the company was awarded a multi-year contract for the headset and accessories for Naval Special Warfare and MARSOC with deliveries beginning in 2018.

During the Below H20 headset’s development, the company began development of three all-new push-to-talk assemblies: * a single comm known as the Below H20 Single Comm Push-to-Talk, * a dual comm known as the Below H20 Dual and * a multi-comm Push-to-Talk known as the Anaconda. The company debuted an all-new Maritime multi-comm Push-to-Talk during the fourth quarter of 2020 known as the SHIELD. The SHIELD PTT was developed initially, specifically, for the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s nationwide Special Operations Units and Hostage Rescue Team. The PTT will be universally available to clients in early 2021.

USSOCOM’s maritime requirement changed several years ago for ancillary communication devices from a 2 hour / 20-meter exposure to 10 hours / 10 meters in both salt and freshwater.

Atlantic Signal began working with the 3M/Peltor ComTac headset to modify the ground/swimming headset traditionally offered by 3M (1 meter / 30 minutes). Modifications included multiple custom headset downleads, sealing of the earcups, development and manufacture of an ambidextrous boom microphone designed to withstand the harsh conditions associated with maritime operations / exposure and silicone replacement ear shell seals among other modifications.

While the initial orders from USSOCOM were specific to an interface to another company’s push-to-talk, the demand for alternative PTTs from non-program clients was overwhelming.

“We were receiving sometimes weekly calls requesting alternative push-to-talks to the model the program office had chosen for one specific client at the time of the contract award which was Naval Special Warfare, stated Randall Hedrick, President and Managing General Member of Atlantic Signal. “We recognized at that point that the demand for a new maritime headset for the U.S. Military must include alternative push-to-talks. We reached out immediately to our select group of military and Federal law enforcement clients who assist us with the development of nearly every single product we eventually bring to market. The requirements were across the board and we therefore decided to design and manufacture multiple maritime push to talks simultaneously. From meetings, to design, 3D model and functioning prototypes, re-works and eventual production – the total time was less than 90 days before products were completed and an initial purchase was made. This scenario is indicative of how we operate. There is a demand, we hold meetings with the client and assess marketability. Traditionally a decision is made internally within one week whether or not to move forward. Once a project is accepted, CAD drawings are created and sent to the client. After discussions with the client, non-functioning 3D models are generated and shipped out. Further meetings are held with the client and modifications made to the 3D model. Following ergonomic acceptance, functioning prototypes are created and shipped for user fielding. Once accepted, first articles are produced, a bill of materials is generated, production time studies are completed and eventually a new product is born and introduced to the marketplace. I’ve literally seen concepts brought to the table by clients and a finished product ready for the market within 30 days. It is commonplace for us to be in the development, prototype and production phases of multiple products simultaneously. We have become highly adept at meeting customer expectations in a timeframe rarely achieved by others”, stated Hedrick.

The Below H20 headset, PTTs and cables have proven to be highly sought after solutions for both the U.S. and foreign militaries as it has been over two decades since a new circum-aural maritime headset had been available. The company offers simple maritime PTT solutions all the way to PTTs that will interface up to four nets, various ICS platforms and smartphones all in EMI shielded designs with added cross banding capabilities. The company has developed and manufactures maritime radio cable assemblies for old school PRC 148 and 152 radios to modern day multi-band portables including manufacturers such as Trellisware, Silvus, Thales and Harris RF.

The Below H20 headset, maritime PTT solutions and various accessories including custom cables can be viewed on the company’s website at www.atlanticsignal.com.

Four Additional Schiebel Camcopter

Friday, December 18th, 2020

Vienna, 14 December 2020 – Naval Group, on behalf of the French Navy, has accepted for operational use two further CAMCOPTER® S-100 Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) with a total of four Unmanned Air Vehicles (UAVs). They will be deployed on the Mistral-class amphibious helicopter carriers (Porte- Hélicoptères Amphibie – PHA) Tonnerre and Mistral.

The acquisition comes after the successful integration of the CAMCOPTER® S-100 on the French Navy Mistral-class vessel Dixmude, which was finalised in 2019. This was the first time in Europe, that a rotary wing UAS had been connected to the combat system of an amphibious helicopter carrier.

The acceptance tests of the two systems took place in the last week of October with representatives of Naval Group and the French Navy in attendance.

Over the next few months the newly acquired CAMCOPTER® S-100 UAS will be integrated on the French Navy’s vessels Tonnerre and Mistral, significantly enhancing the helicopter carrier’s Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) capabilities.

The CAMCOPTER® S-100 VTOL UAS operates day and night and can carry multiple payloads up to a combined weight of 50 kg. Due to its minimal footprint, reliability and airworthiness pedigree, it is ideally suited for maritime operations around the globe.

Hans Georg Schiebel, Chairman of the Schiebel Group, said: “After the successful integration on the Dixmude, we are very proud of the confidence the French Navy has in the proven and reliable CAMCOPTER® S-100 and we are looking forward to the integration on the Tonnerre and Mistral and their operational deployment.”

LCDR Serge D., UAS program officer, French Navy: “The S-100 on Mistral-class will be the first operational tactical UAS for the French Navy and this is a major step towards the Mercator plan.”

Porte Hélicoptère Amphibie Maintenance Architect at Naval Group, Philippe V., said: “We participated in the successful factory acceptance test, which was an important milestone for this acquisition, prior to the global integration onboard conducted by Naval Group.”

Navy Announces Aerial Vehicle Operator Warrant Officer Specialty

Friday, December 11th, 2020

The Navy announced a new warrant officer specialty designator whose job will be to operate carrier-based MQ-25 Stingray unmanned aerial vehicles, which are expected to start appearing in fleet carrier air wings sometime in 2024.

The Navy announced a new warrant officer specialty designator whose job will be to operate carrier-based MQ-25 Stingray unmanned aerial vehicles, which are expected to start appearing in fleet carrier air wings sometime in 2024.

The establishment of the Aerial Vehicle Operator (AVO) warrant officer specialty became a reality Dec. 9 with Secretary of the Navy Kenneth J. Braithwaite’s approval of the new designator, which was announced in NAVADMIN 315/20.

Over the next 6-10 years, the Navy will recruit, train and send to the fleet, a community of roughly 450 warrants in grades W-1 through W-5.

Those selected for the program will first complete Officer Candidate School in Newport, R.I. Upon graduation, they will be designated as Warrant Officer One and must complete basic flight training as well as advanced training on the MQ-25 aerial vehicle. Once complete with basic flight training, these officers will earn their own distinctive Navy “wings of gold” warfare device and be assigned the 737X designator.

“AVO’s will start out operating the MQ-25 Stingray, the Navy’s first carrier based unmanned aerial vehicle, which is expected to join the fleet with an initial operating capability in 2024,” said Capt. Christopher Wood, aviation officer community manager at the Bureau of Naval Personnel in Millington, Tenn.  

The use of warrant officers as the primary operators of unmanned aerial vehicles came about because the expected career path they’ll have as they move up the ranks will be as technical specialists who complete repetitive tours, which fits the Navy’s model on how warrant grades are utilized.

“Unlike traditional Navy Chief Warrant Officer’s, the majority of these officers will be accessed much younger and trained along the lines of current Naval Aviators and Naval Flight Officers in the unrestricted designators,” Wood said.

“However, Naval Aviators and Naval Flight Officers require assignments that progress in tactical and leadership scope to be competitive for promotion, while warrant officer AVO’s will be technical specialists and spend their careers as operators.”

Navy Recruiting Command will begin accepting applications for initial AVO accessions in fiscal year 2022. In addition to street-to-fleet warrants, enlisted Sailors will also be able to apply for the program, and potentially earn the 737X warrant officer designator.

“Currently, the plan is to grow the community from the ground up with Warrant Officer AVOs,” Wood said.  “However, Naval Aviation will continue to evaluate the requirements of the program as it matures.”

Commanding and executive officers, as well as department heads of MQ-25 squadrons, will be filled by aviators and flight officers administratively screened for those commands.

“During the first 4-5 years of the program, some MQ-25 AVOs will come from other Type/Model/Series as we build up the knowledge base, with the first 3-4 deployments having a mix of existing unrestricted line and new warrants making up the ready room.”

And though right now the community will be focused on the MQ-25, in the future, warrant officer AVOs may also operate the MQ-4C Triton while on shore duty following their initial MQ-25 sea tour.  As the Navy’s footprint in unmanned aerial vehicles increases, so could the scope of the AVO community.  

SCUBAPRO Sunday – How Elvis saved the U.S.S. Arizona

Sunday, December 6th, 2020

I ran this last year, but I wanted to do it again as I think it is great story.

The Japanese attacked on Pearl Harbor killed 2,403 military and civilians personal. A further 1,178 people were injured in the attack. 19 ships were sunk or damaged, and 188 aircraft destroyed. The efforts of the greatest generation raised all but three (The Arizona, The Utah, and The Oklahoma).

The wreck of the Arizona immediately became a memorial. Passing ships rendered honors to the Arizona and her crew throughout WW2 and still due to this day. Proposals for a permanent memorial started as early as 1943, but not until 1949 did an organized effort began to take shape with the creation of the Pacific War Memorial Commission (PWMC). As the PWMC considered ideas to formally recognize the role of Hawaii during the war, which would include a memorial to the Arizona, Admiral Arthur Radford had a flagstaff placed on the wreck in 1950. He ordered that the colors be raised at the site every day. This modest memorial was later expanded to include a wooden platform and a commemorative plaque.

In 1958, President Dwight Eisenhower signed Public Law 85-344 that allowed the PWMC to raise money on the Navy’s behalf for the construction of a memorial to the Arizona. A fundraising goal of $500,000 was set and the initial response from the public was promising. An episode of the popular T.V. series This is Your Life dedicated to Medal of Honor recipient Rear Admiral Samuel Fuqua. (Then Lieutenant Commander Fuqua serving as the U.S.S. Arizona ship’s Damage Control Officer and first lieutenant, and was on board her during Japan’s December 7, 1941, attack on Pearl Harbor. Though knocked unconscious by a bomb that hit the ship’s stern early in the attack, he subsequently directed firefighting and rescue efforts. After the ship’s forward magazines exploded, he was her senior surviving officer and was responsible for saving her remaining crewmen.)

That initial call for donations raised over $95,000. However, the project quickly stalled as donations dried up. By the start of 1960, only $155,000 had been raised.  

“Colonel” Tom Parker read about the struggling campaign in a newspaper and spotted an opportunity. As Elvis Presley’s manager, he was eager to get a bit of positive publicity for his client who had been out of circulation for a couple of years after being drafted into the U.S. Army. Parker surmised that a benefit concert for the U.S.S. Arizona Memorial would raise much-needed awareness of the fundraising campaign while also demonstrating that Elvis still had drawing power. Elvis was not only pleased to be able to perform for an audience. He was a patriot who genuinely believed in the cause and wanted to help.

The PWMC accepted Elvis’s generous offer and began making arrangements with the Navy to use the 4,000 seats Bloch Arena at Pearl Harbor as the venue for the concert. It was the same arena that had hosted the “Battle of Music” the evening before the attack in 1941. The “Battle of Music” was a spirited competition to determine the best ship band in the Pacific Fleet. Although they had been eliminated from contention, the band from Arizona was present and played dance music for the attendees. They would never perform again. The entire band was killed in the explosion on the ship the next morning.

With the venue secured and the show scheduled for March 25, 1961, Parker set ticket prices ranging from $3 to $100 and announced that everyone would have to buy a ticket to see the show. Rank usually has its privileges. Still, Parker seemed to take pleasure in rebuffing admirals and generals who approached him about complimentary tickets. When he said he everyone had pay, he meant everyone had to pay — even the performers. Elvis bought a $100 ticket for himself then bought dozens more to give to staff and patients at a military hospital.

After a brief introduction by Rear Admiral Robert Campbell of the 14th Naval District, Elvis took the stage as hundreds of teenagers screeched in excitement. The King looked resplendent in his signature gold lame jacket with silver sequin lapels. He let out a brief yell of his own in response to the ecstatic audience before launching into his hit “Heartbreak Hotel.” All accounts state that Elvis was in peak form, giving an enthusiastic and energetic performance that included favorites “All Shook Up,” “Don’t Be Cruel,” “Are You Lonesome Tonight,” and “It’s Now or Never.” He finished the show with a rollicking version of “Hound Dog,” during which he slid across the stage on his knees. The 15-song set, and 45 minutes of stage time were among the longest of his career. The concert would also be his last for 8 years.

The benefit was a resounding success. Ticket sales accounted for $47,000 with additional donations ($5,000 coming from Elvis), pushing the total take to over $60,000. Funding for the memorial was still well short of its target. Still, the electricity of Elvis had generated the jumpstart the campaign needed. In 1961, Hawaii Senator Daniel Inouye got legislation passed to secure another $150,000 in federal funds. Money began to flow from other sources. The combination of public funds and private donations (including $40,000 from Revelle raised through sale of model kits of the Arizona) reached the goal of $500,000 by September 1961 – just 5 months after the concert. The end of the year completed construction on the memorial.

The U.S.S. Arizona Memorial was officially dedicated on May 30, 1962. Elvis certainly took pride in his role in building a permanent memorial to the crew of the Arizona. He made several visits to the site on subsequent trips to Hawaii. The memorial has reached its own iconic status and welcomes 1.5 million visitors a year.

Elvis did not forget the Arizona, and the Navy did not forget Elvis. When Elvis passed away in 1977, the Navy showed its gratitude by placing a wreath for him at the U.S.S. Arizona Memorial.

Much of today’s upkeep comes from the fundraising of the American Veteran (AMVETS), a veteran’s service organization that helped to secure around $250,000 in total for the memorial during the 1950s. The organization is responsible for the upkeep of the white marble wall inscribed with the names of the men who perished aboard the U.S.S. Arizona. In 1983, and again in 2014, AMVETS raised funds needed to replace the deteriorating Wall of Remembrance.

The Navy’s New Fitness Test Is Here – What You Need To Know

Tuesday, December 1st, 2020

From MC1 Mark D. Faram, Chief of Naval Personnel Public Affairs

The Navy will hold a single, six-month physical fitness assessment cycle during calendar year 2021, allowing the service to resume fitness testing while limiting Sailor exposure to COVID-19. That cycle will also see the Navy rollout the forearm plank, which as a replacement the curl-up, and the 2000-meter row as a new optional cardio event.

The Navy will hold a single, six-month physical fitness assessment cycle during calendar year 2021, allowing the service to resume fitness testing while limiting Sailor exposure to COVID-19.

The cycle was announced in NAVADMIN 304/20, released Nov. 18. The message also detailed rollout plans for the forearm plank, which will replace the curl-up, and the 2000-meter row as a new optional cardio event.

“Shifting the PFA cycle to March allows Navy to execute the PFA after the primary influenza season, leveraging outdoor venues as the weather warms,” Vice Adm. John B Nowell, Jr., the chief of naval personnel, wrote in the message.

The shift also “acknowledges the fact that while vaccines and therapeutics are expected to be available, their timing and impact are unknown.”

July’s NAVADMIN 193/20 announced the spring 2021 restart of the normally semi-annual Navy Physical Fitness Assessments, after two cycles were canceled due to COVID-19. Out of an abundance of caution, the Navy decided to proceed with the single cycle option for 2021 as the COVID crisis shows no signs of abating yet.

The Navy will resume two testing cycles once conditions permit. The Department of Defense has long mandated all services conduct annual fitness testing.

However, COVID-19 mitigation measures in place since the spring allow services to waive the requirement as a force protection measure.  The message notes that permission will carry over to allow Echelon II Commanders to waive the 2021 cycle if COVID 19 prevents its safe execution.

Where conditions permit, the message said, all Sailors must participate in the single 2020 cycle, meaning exemptions for scoring excellent or above from the previous cycle will not apply.

Going forward, however, those who score excellent or outstanding on the 2021 PFA will be exempt from participation in the first PFA cycle of 2022.

The message also details how the new plank and 2000-meter row optional cardio events will fit into the physical testing process as well as how they’re expected to be accomplished and graded. It’s the first major change to the assessment since the Navy introduced fitness assessments in the early 1980s.

Sailors have long complained about the curl-up. As Navy researchers studied the exercise, they found it was not a true test of abdominal strength. Also, it did not prepare Sailors to better accomplish shipboard tasks. In fact, curl-ups have been linked to an increased risk of creating or aggravating lower back injuries.

The forearm plank, however, is a functional movement required in 85 percent of regular shipboard tasks, including pushing, pulling, lifting and carrying.

The forearm plank uses isometric contraction to activate key abdominal and trunk muscles, mimicking the main function of the abdominal musculature – to act as stabilizers to resist the spine from moving while strengthening the lower back.

Training for the forearm plank strengthens the body’s core, improves posture, and reduces the risk of lower back injuries throughout a Sailor’s career.

Because there is overlap in the muscle groups used for the push-up and the forearm plank, the decision was made to conduct the push-up event first, followed by the plank and cardio portions.

This sequence was used in the initial tests. Researchers found it allows for maximum performance on the push-ups while limiting residual fatigue during the forearm plank.

The cardio portion’s new addition will be a 2000-meter row on the “Concept-2 Rower.” The other options remain as the 12-min stationary cycle, 500-yd/450-m swim, and 1.5-mile run. 

A non-weight bearing, low impact exercise, rowing reduces stress on the legs, while providing a great full-body cardio workout as it works 80 percent of the body’s muscles. 

A big benefit of the Concept-2 Rower is that it’s space saving and thus able to be easily used on any naval vessel as well as at shore installations.

A detailed description of how each of the new events will be conducted can be found in NAVADMIN 304/20.  As previously announced, the Navy will give Sailors a one-cycle grace period for the forearm-plank. Though the event will be conducted during the 2021 Cycle, it won’t officially count until 2022.

Initial performance standards for scoring the forearm plank and 2000-meter row were developed by the Naval Health Research Center (NHRC) and are available to both individuals and command fitness leaders on the Navy Physical Readiness Program website at www.public.navy.mil/bupers-npc/support/21st_Century_Sailor/physical.

Navy Sunday – The Navy First Jack

Sunday, November 29th, 2020

I wanted to write about the U.S. Navy’s first Jack and the history of “Don’t tread on me” in the U.S. Navy, to give people the history of it and to show where it came from and that it had nothing to do with anything other than to tell the King of England we don’t work for you no more. The Navy Jack is not to be confused with the Gadsden flag (yellow flag with a collided up snake, see below). Which possibly started as the flag of South Caroline and later the first Commodores of the U.S. Navy fleet.  

The rattlesnake (specifically, the Timber Rattlesnake) is especially significant and symbolic to the American Revolution. The rattle has thirteen layers, signifying the original Thirteen Colonies. Additionally, the snake does not strike until provoked, a quality echoed by the phrase “Don’t tread on me.”

 The United States Navy originally started as the Continental Navy, established during the American Revolution by the Continental Congress by a resolution of 13 October 1775. There is a widespread belief that the Continental Navy ships flew a jack consisting of alternating red and white stripes, having the image of a rattlesnake stretched out across it, with the motto “Don’t Tread on Me.” That is actually hard to prove as “fact.” But there was a letter in 1778 that John Adams and Benjamin Franklin wrote to the Ambassador of the Kingdom of Sicily, thanking him for allowing entry of U.S. ships into Sicilian ports. The letter describes the U.S. flag according to the 1777 Flag Resolution but also tells a banner of “South Carolina, a rattlesnake, in the middle of the thirteen stripes.

It is well documented that the rattlesnake and the motto “Don’t Tread on Me” were used together on several flags during the War of Independence or The American war’ / ‘the war with America ‘as the British call it. The only question in doubt is whether the Continental Navy used a red and white striped flag with a rattlesnake and the motto “Don’t Tread on Me” as its Jack. The evidence is inconclusive, but there are a lot of reasons to think it was. There is reason to believe that the Continental Navy Jack was simply a red and white striped flag with no other adornment.

The rattlesnake emerged as a symbol of the colonies of North America about the time of the Seven Years War or the French and Indiana war( the Seven-year war was a global conflict that involved every great European power from 1756-1763 ) when the motto “Join or Die.” first appeared in Benjamin Franklin’s Pennsylvania Gazette in 1754, like a political cartoon reflecting on the Albany Congress. It was intended to get the Americans to join against the French during this time.

By the time of the War of Independence, the rattlesnake, frequently used in conjunction with the motto “Don’t Tread on Me,” was a common symbol for the United States, its independent spirit, and its resistance to tyranny. Two American military units of the Revolution are known to have used the rattlesnake and the “Don’t Tread on Me” motto: Proctor’s Independent Battalion of Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, and Sullivan’s Life Guard during the Rhode Island campaign of 1777. The rattlesnake and the motto also appeared on military accouterments, such as drums, and state paper currency, during the Revolution.

The rattlesnake’s image and the motto “Don’t Tread on Me” certainly had associations with the Continental Navy.

On 27 February 1777, a group of Continental Navy officers proposed that the full-dress uniform of Continental Navy captains include a gold epaulet on the right shoulder with “the figure of a Rattle Snake Embroidered on the Strap . . . with the Motto don’t tread on me.” 

In early 1776 Commodore Esek Hopkins, the first and only commander in chief of the Continental Navy fleet used a personal standard (flag) designed by Christopher Gadsden of South Carolina. This flag consisted of a yellow field with a coiled snake and the motto “Don’t Tread on Me.” There is no doubt about the authenticity of Hopkins’s standard, usually referred to as “the Gadsden flag.”  

The only written description of the Continental Navy jack contemporary with the American Revolution appears in Commodore Hopkins’s “Signals for the American Fleet,” January 1776, described as “the striped jack.” No document says that the Jack had a rattlesnake or motto on it. Elsewhere, Hopkins mentions using a “striped flag” as a signal. Since American merchant ships often displayed a simple red and white striped flag, there is a good chance that the striped Jack to which Hopkins refers was the same striped flag used by American merchant ships.

An 18th-century portrait of Esek Hopkins shows him where several warships are displayed. One flies a white flag, with a tree, and the mottos “Liberty Tree,” and “An appeal to God.”(posable Massachusetts first flag, and as the U.S. Navy was started in Mass) Another warship flies a striped flag with a rattlesnake and the motto “Don’t Tread Upon Me.”

The flags in these prints are not at the bow, where a jack would go, but at the stern, the proper place for the national ensign. Again, the pine tree flag was the flag that Mass wanted as the Nation ensign and used by all ships from Mass, and again the Navy was born in Mass, so it goes to say that might have that flag on there. Also, let’s be clear that New England and South Caroline basally started the war. So it also goes to say they would be on our ships. The historical evidence makes it impossible to say whether the Continental Navy used the striped rattlesnake flag as its Jack.

Simultaneously, the evidence suggests strong connections between the symbol of the rattlesnake with the motto “Don’t Tread on Me” and the United States’ earliest naval traditions. Fast forward to 9/11/ 2002. The Navy authorized all active merchant and coast guard ships to fly the First Navy Jack on their bow in port. They did this on the first anniversary of 9/11. Before then, the longest servicing ship was the only ship that was allowed to use it to show they were the oldest commissioned ship still in service (not counting the USS Constitution). All U.S. Navy personal adopted it in the Persian Gulf to wear on their shoulder fighting in the War on Terroir. It is still allowed to be worn on the Navy Working Uniform. The Navy has since gone back to the tradition of only the oldest ship using the “don’t tread on me” flag. Now the USS Blue Ridge. I hate to think this is happening because people think it means something that it doesn’t. So, it is clear that the flag has a long history with the Navy and the U.S.

I wanted to write this because it is now apparently a racist symbol. I am tired of things being highjacked by groups, and, let say, someone who has served 26 years in the Navy can’t wear it, or people think they are a racist. I am not pollical (I say as I write this). If you are a racist, white, black, green, blue, whatever color you are, go out and make a shirt that says “I am a racist” stop taking things from our history that have nothing to do with race and saying that it does. Stop taking history and twisting it into something for yourself. Man, up if you want to be a racist, come up with your own symbol. Don’t make it complicated. Make hats, shirts, and stickers that just say you are a racist. That way, it won’t confuse you or your buddies, and everyone will know where you stand. But don’t use something that has meant so much to this great country’s history and claim it implies something that it never has.

US Navy Approves Full Color Alternate Rank Tabs for Type III Work Uniform

Tuesday, November 3rd, 2020

The Navy has authorized Sailors the option to wear the black Cold Weather Parka (CWP) sleeve-style rank insignia with the Navy Working Uniform Type III (NWU Type III) in non-tactical environments.

The Navy has authorized Sailors the option to wear the black Cold Weather Parka (CWP) sleeve-style rank insignia with the Navy Working Uniform Type III (NWU Type III) in non-tactical environments. 

Effective immediately, the change was announced Oct. 29 in NAVADMIN 292/20. It allows wearing of the black CWP rank insignia with the NWU Type III parka and shirt as well as with the black fleece liner for all ranks, E-4 through O-10.

The black tab is not authorized in tactical environments, or where training requires complete camouflage protection, the message said.

“This policy change is based on the feedback received from the fleet via the rank insignia wear evaluation, Question of the Day video responses regarding insignia options, and ongoing complaints regarding the limited visibility of the camouflage pattern NWU Type III rank insignia,” Vice Adm. John B. Nowell, the Navy’s chief of personnel, wrote in the message.

Opting for the solid black parka tab was the best decision because fleet feedback showed it provides quick and easy identification of the wearers rank at the greatest possible distance with just a glance.

In addition, the items are already approved, in production and available at the Navy Exchanges, both in select uniform stores and can be ordered online at the Navy Exchange website.

Though metal insignia are authorized for wear with the cold-weather parka, the authorization is only for the sleeve-style rank insignia.  The message describes the insignia as being of “solid black fabric with color thread (gold, silver, scarlet) denoting the wearers rank,” the message states. 

“The back of the insignia is sewn together in the center to form a loop which facilitates placement on the NWU Type III rank tab.”

Feedback and recommendations regarding uniform policy, uniform components and uniform availability are welcome and can be provided via MyNavy Portal at www.mnp.navy.mil. Select Professional Resources, U.S. Navy Uniforms and *Ask The Chiefs.*  Feedback can also be provided via the MyNavy UNIFORMS Mobile App.

By MC1 Mark D. Faram, Chief of Naval Personnel Public Affairs