Police union, Navy at odds over security staffing when D.C. Navy Yard attacked
One week after the attack at the Washington Navy Yard, the labor union that represents security forces at the installation and the U.S. Navy have widely differing views on whether the yard was fully staffed by the required number of security forces.
Both sides agree on one thing, though - that the staffing situation would not have prevented Aaron Alexis from entering the facility because he had a legal badge to get through the gate.
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Forces were ready to strike Syria, surprised by Obama decision
By Chris Lawrence
U.S. forces in the Middle East tasked with carrying out military action against Syria were ready to go this past weekend and were caught off guard by President Barack Obama's decision to first seek congressional approval.
Navy destroyers in the eastern Mediterranean equipped with cruise missiles had ramped up operations from the previous week, thinking they would be ordered to launch a strike as early as Saturday.
"I thought that was the night," a Defense Department official told CNN.
"We were standing multiple watches. Everyone was pretty sure it was going to happen," the official added.
He said the sudden change in direction from the White House late on Friday was surprising.
"The tempo went from 'go-go-go' to nothing," he said.
How a military strike on Syria might unfold
By CNN's Barbara Starr and Jennifer Rizzo
The U.S. military could execute a strike against Syria very quickly, if it's ordered to, according to Pentagon sources.
President Barack Obama is still debating a limited strike after Syrian regime forces allegedly unleashed a brutal chemical attack against civilians and rebel forces earlier this month, killing at least 1,429 people, according to Secretary of State John Kerry.
Before any missiles start flying, the president would issue an "execute" order for operations to begin.
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Budget cuts spell end of fire-ravaged nuclear sub
By Emily Smith
Casey James Fury simply didn't want to be at work, and in the process cost the Navy nearly a half-billion dollars and one attack submarine.
Fury admitted to setting fire to the USS Miami, a nuclear sub, in May 2012 while it was in dry dock. He was sentenced to 17 years in federal prison in March and ordered to pay $400 million in restitution - roughly the cost of the damage.
The Navy won't see anything close to that amount from Fury, of course, but neither will it from Uncle Sam.
On Tuesday, the Navy announced that despite the demand for attack submarines being "as strong as ever," the Miami is being inactivated. The reason: Under sequestration, the federal government's forced budget cuts, the Navy simply can't afford to make the repairs.
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Navy says sex at root of more than a third of its court cases
By Larry Shaughnessy
No other crime, not even drugs, leads to more court cases in the U.S. Navy than sex offenses, according to an internal report out this week.
The Navy reported there had been 135 courts-martial involving sailors around the world in the first six months of 2013 and about 36% involved a sex-related charge.
The report covers charges like adultery or attempted indecent acts up to sex assault and rape.
The report was conducted at the insistence of Navy Secretary Ray Mabus.
First on CNN: Navy, Marine Corps hope some publicity helps deter sexual assaults
The Navy and Marine Corps will begin publishing their own versions of a sex offenders list as part of an effort to crack down on sexual assaults, CNN has learned.
Both branches will start posting the results of courts-martial, including sexual assault proceedings in the services, on their home pages.
Convictions and acquittals will be listed, according to a Navy official who described the plan to CNN. He declined to be named until it is officially announced.
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A cereal imposter: Is Cap’n Crunch really a captain?
By Dan Merica
Another case of stolen valor?
After over 50 years of reported service, the U.S. Navy said Wednesday that Cap’n Crunch, one of the Navy’s most recognizable captains, has no record of service with the military branch.
A number of blogs noticed this week that the jolly, cereal selling caricature who has graced the front of Cap’n Crunch boxes since 1963 was actually wearing a commander’s uniform, the rank below a captain. The U.S. Navy uses bars on a uniform’s cuff to signify the rank of the person wearing the uniform. Cap’n Crunch’s uniform has only three bars – the sign of a commander – not four bars – the sign of a captain.
Blogs like Gawker and Consumerist recognized the missing bar and labeled Cap’n Crunch a liar.
“In other words, the Cap'n is nothing but a lousy Commander,” Neetzan Zimmerman of Gawker wrote. “Our entire cereal-eating lives could be based on a lie because of one little yellow stripe,” wrote Mary Beth Quirk of Consumerist.
DoD plans for women in combat
A dramatic moment at the Pentagon Tuesday, and another milestone for military women.
Declaring "the days of Rambo are over," officials announced that in a few years, women will be allowed in combat units.
Eventually, that may including the country's most elite special forces.
CNN Pentagon Correspondent Chris Lawrence explains how long the transition will take.
Charges possible in Navy football sex assault claim
By Barbara Starr
Up to three U.S. Naval Academy football players could in coming days face charges relating to an alleged sex assault of a fellow midshipman, a Navy official told CNN.
Academy Superintendent Vice Adm. Michael Miller has ordered an Article 32 proceeding in which evidence is presented during a hearing to a military legal officer, who decides whether to proceed with a court-martial, the official said.
The official, who declined to be named, would not say if all three athletes could face charges.
The case comes with concern mounting about sex abuse reports in the armed forces.
Naval Academy sex-assault probe advances
By Barbara Starr
Investigators have completed their probe of allegations that three U.S. Naval Academy football players were involved in an alleged sex assault of a female midshipmen almost a year ago, according to a Navy spokesman.
Now the academy superintendent, Vice Admiral Michael Miller, will review the Naval Criminal Investigative Service's report and decide how to proceed, said Navy spokesman Lt. Cmdr. Ryan Perry.
According to a Defense Department official, the midshipmen were first accused by the female student at the time of the alleged incident, but she dropped her complaint a few months later.
She revived the complaint this year and the Navy proceeded with an investigation.
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