Sam LaGrone

Here's our wrap from the peerless @AaronMatthew_L on the missile-heavy #balikatan26. The training goals were unambiguous.

Big day for the tracker. We caught a shout in the Senate, too.

This is a great long read on how Navy medical personnel are learning how to treat combat injuries by working on trauma patients in major metro emergency rooms.

Our man @AaronMatthew_L with his latest in his tremendous work from #Balikatan in the Philippines this year. Based on his reporting, I would say this year's theme was: "Lots of missiles." news.usni.org/2026/05/12/sin…

I really like this kind of news reports that track naval activities in a designated region of interest.

The primary reason the Navy still uses dolphins for the location of mines is that technology hasn't created a sonar system as sophisticated as what a dolphin can detect with its Mark I dolphin brain. Not their lust for blood.

I see we're rediscovering the Navy's marine mammal program? The unit of specially trained dolphins and sealions used for force protection and mine hunting? usni.org/magazines/proc…

What Sal, said.

Maximum tonnage in the Arabian Sea. news.usni.org/2026/04/27/usn…

The last time the U.S. bought a major combatant from a foreign shipyard was in 1900.

.@MalShelbourne with news the Navy is looking to buy the first of the estimated $15 billion battleship in FY 2028.

BREAKING: Navy’s Next Generation F/A-XX Downselect Expected in August news.usni.org/2026/04/20/nav…

CNO Caudle: F/A-XX downselect expected in August.

Not the longest away from home (that's 2020-2021 Nimitz deployment) but the longest period deployed certified for national tasking.

Jesse, Steve, Laddy, and Vlad….such an incredible feeling to welcome you aboard Integrity after a nearly 700,000 mile journey. Forever thankful for your service to our crew and the nation.

I'm putting fries on my sandwich to celebrate.

🚨NAVAL LOGISTICS🚨 The routing of the Bush Strike Group - carrier George H W Bush (CVN-77), Donald Cook (DDG-75), Mason (DDG-87) and Ross (DDG-71) - highlights a critical @USNavy & @MSCSealift underway replenishment lesson. Sailing from Norfolk to Diego Garcia is 10,500 miles via Cape of Good Hope; 8,850 via Suez. The Bush and her escorts will be able to make a high speed run to the Indian Ocean around the Cape of Good Hope because they are supported by the fast combat support ships, USNS Arctic (T-AOE 8). Fleet oilers of the Kaiser and Lewis class have a top speed of 20 knots. Arctic, and her sistership Supply (T-AOE 6) can push 30 knots and support a high speed run around the world. The limitation is not the carrier, as she is nuclear, but the three Burke-class destroyers that will burn through their fuel at a rate twice to three time economical steaming. This also avoids having to sail though Suez or past the Houthis in the Bab el-Mandeb. Just another reason we need to be talking about building more Military Sealift Command logistic ships, including new AOEs.

The USS George Bush carrier strike group is going around the African continent to get to the Middle East in order to avoid potential attacks from Houthis in the Red Sea and Bab el-Mandeb Strait, two U.S. officials confirm to Fox News. First reported by USNI.

@samlagrone can confirm

Read more about it in our weekly look at the U.S. Navy: