29 Jan AA&F Morning Paper

Wednesday, January 29, 2025

This week's editions of Naval Academy Alumni Association & Foundation Morning Paper are brought to you by Otterson Wealth Advisors and Naval Academy graduate Caleb Cronic '11. Otterson Wealth  Advisors of Raymond James is not just a team. It's a vast resource of financial knowledge, with each member bringing their unique expertise to your financial success. Caleb Cronic '11, financial advisor and Naval Academy graduate is a CIMA-certified pro. His strategic prowess is your asset working towards your financial goals. Ready to begin to your journey? Otterson Wealth Advisors … your goals, our expertise. (Otterson Advisors)

1944 - Task Force 58, the Pacific Fleet's carrier striking force under Rear Admiral Marc A. Mitscher, Class of 1910, begins launching air strikes against the Marshall Islands in preparation for U.S. landings. Commanded by the pioneer naval aviator throughout the entire war, Task Force 58 spearheads the Central Pacific offensive toward the Japanese home islands.

 

1947 - As part of Operation Highjump under the command of Rear Admiral Richard E. Byrd, Class of 1912, six R4D Skytrain transport aircraft launch from the aircraft carrier Philippine Sea (CV-47) for a flight to Little America in the Antarctic. Equipped with skis to facilitate operating from the ice cap, the aircraft conduct aerial mapping flights covering some 150,000 square miles, completing their work in March.

 

1991 - The first serious ground fighting of Operation Desert Storm broke out when Iraqi troops mounted an attack into Saudi Arabia along a 40-mile front. Iraqi units centered their efforts on Khafji, a port city six miles south of the border. Saudi and Quatari troops, supported by artillery from the 1st Marine Division and attack helicopters and other allied coalition aircraft, recaptured the town two days later.

1996 - LCDR John Bates '84, USN was lost when the F-14 Tomcat he was piloting crashed into a house near Nashville, Tennessee. His radar intercept officer was also killed as were three people on the ground.

ACADEMY & GRADUATE HAPPENINGS

Natasha Smith '93 brings logic, discipline and professionalism into her classroom, and she's completely open to new ways to reach her students. The daughter of a high school teacher in Hazard, Kentucky, and a U.S. Navy veteran, Smith teaches in the University of Virginia's School of Engineering and Applied Science. “From the first engineering class I had, I thought, 'I like doing this,'” she said. “This is something that I can wrap my head around – the logical approach to things, the clarity, the methodical approach to things.” Smith gained practical experience in the Seabees, the U.S. Navy's construction arm, and was stationed in San Diego, Guam and Brunswick, Maine. After she left active duty in 1999, Smith remained in the Naval Reserves and deployed to Iraq in 2005 as the executive officer of a Seabee battalion. Smith is a 1993 graduate of USNA.

This week is a big one for Navy Midshipmen safety Rayuan Lane III. He gets a chance to do something only a few other Midshipmen have ever done. Lane is participating in the Senior Bowl this week in Mobile, Ala., one of the top showcases for NFL draft talent in the offseason. It is the final major all-star game before the next stage of the scouting process, which culminates at the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis in late February. Lane is just the fifth Navy player to accept an invitation to the Senior Bowl, joining Napoleon McCallum (1986), Eric Kettani (2008), Joe Cardona (2014) and Chris Swain (2015).

GOVERNMENT & MILITARY NEWS

The United States has recently sent two of its nuclear-powered submarines to the Western Pacific Ocean, where they visited an island that can project military power against China. Newsweek has contacted the U.S. Pacific Fleet Submarine Force for comment by email. The Chinese military did not immediately respond to Newsweek's request for comment. Photos released by the U.S. Navy show USS Columbia, a Los Angeles-class fast-attack submarine, and USS Vermont, a Virginia-class fast-attack submarine, visited Guam on January 12 and 20, respectively, during their deployments supporting the Seventh Fleet.

President Donald Trump signed an executive order directing Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to revise the Pentagon's policy on transgender troops, likely setting in motion a future ban on their military service. He also on Monday ordered troops to be reinstated who had left voluntarily or been booted for refusing COVID-19 vaccines, outlined new rollbacks in diversity programs and provided for the deployment of a space-based missile defense shield for the U.S. — all on Hegseth 's first day.

Military.com

President Donald Trump footstomped his agenda to remove all diversity efforts within the ranks on Monday evening by issuing an executive order directly related to the military, a move that comes as the services are working to comply with similar actions issued on his first day in office.

 

The executive order titled "Restoring America's Fighting Force" aims to "abolish every [diversity, equity and inclusion, or DEI] office within the Department of Defense and the Department of Homeland Security," meaning it would apply to all the uniformed services -- including the Coast Guard.

 

Trump's order comes on the heels of his first executive orders signed last week, which already sent the military services scrambling to remove anything they deemed would be related to diversity efforts. Initial actions included removing Air Force groups that advocated for better quality-of-life changes, canceling a wide range of seemingly unrelated Navy policies, and stopping all outward-facing media related to diversity in the Army.

 

"The EO [executive order] and DEI efforts signed last night extend the original EO from issues that more broadly affected all government employees to the specific implementation for uniformed service members," Katherine Kuzminski, the deputy director of studies and the director of the Military, Veterans and Society Program at the Center for a New American Security think tank, told Military.com on Tuesday.

 

While some specific policies related to Trump's executive actions have been cut, none of the services has provided a comprehensive explanation or list of what is deemed in violation of the executive orders. The Pentagon on Tuesday was still unpacking what the latest directive means for the Department of Defense.

 

"The Department of Defense will fully execute and implement all directives outlined in the executive orders issued by the president, ensuring that they are carried out with utmost professionalism, efficiency and in alignment with national security objectives. We will provide status updates as we are able," according to a department statement.

 

Implementation of Trump's initial executive order last week seemingly caused widespread confusion among the services, and even led to the Air Force temporarily removing educational material related to the historic Tuskegee Airmen and female pilots during World War II from the service's boot camp curriculum. The courses were reinstated days after being removed for review if the lessons were in violation of the president's orders.

 

 

Some programs within the services seem like they may be a clear target for Trump's executive order, such as the Air Force's 2022 initiative to recruit more diverse candidates into the officer corps.

 

Military.com reported last month that the service failed to reach many of its aspirational and lofty diversity goals in the 2023 and 2024 school years for the Air Force Academy and Reserve Officers' Training Corps, or ROTC. Air Force officials have not disclosed the status of that program to Military.com.

 

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem have 30 days to provide guidance to their respective departments, the order says.

 

Additionally, in 10 days, Hegseth and Noem must submit a report "documenting the progress of their respective departments in implementing this order."

LOCAL, EDUCATION & OTHER ACADEMY NEWS

Since President Dwight D. Eisenhower's second inauguration parade in 1957, U.S. Air Force Academy cadets have participated in the nation's transfer of power. Cadet Squadron 36 became the latest cohort of cadets to be chosen for the honor to march in the inauguration parade. The cadets spent every military training time block marching on the Terrazzo to prepare for their appearance at the 47th president's inauguration parade. The parade was canceled due to frigid weather. However, the squadron were able to follow the rest of their itinerary and visit places such as the National Mall, Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Virginia, and Arlington National Cemetery. The cadets watched the changing of the guard ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery.

NAVAL ACADEMY ATHLETICS NEWS & RESULTS

Army Leads 9-3. (Navy - M Rugby, M Cross Country, Football; Army - Volleyball, Sprint Football, Golf, M Soccer, W Soccer, W Cross Country, W Rugby, Men's Swim and Dive, Women's Swim and Dive)

REMAINING STAR MATCHUPS

 

15 Feb - Women's Basketball - Annapolis - 11 a.m.

15 Feb - Men's Basketball - Annapolis - 1:30 p.m.

15 Feb - Wrestling - West Point - TBA

15-16 Mar - Baseball - Annapolis - TBA

5 Apr - Women's Outdoor Track & Field - Annapolis - TBA

5 Apr - Men's Outdoor Track & Field - Annapolis - TBA

5 Apr - Women's Tennis - West Point - 10  a.m.

12 Apr - Men's Tennis - West Point - 1 p.m.

12 Apr - W. Lacrosse - West Point - 12:30 p.m.

12 Apr - M. Lacrosse - Annapolis - TBA

USNA AND AA&F EVENTS

FEBRUARY

6 Feb - USNA Ship Selection

15 Feb - Commissioning Week 101, Fluegel

21 Feb - 85th Brigade Boxing Finals

21 Feb - Louisville Chapter + NAPC of Kentucky Roadshow – Louisville, KY (**in support of Navy Men's Gymnastics competing at the Winter Cup Feb 21-23)

22 Feb - Indianapolis Chapter + NAPC of Indiana Roadshow – Fishers, IN)

23 Feb  Cincinnati Chapter + NAPC of Greater Cincinnati Roadshow – West Chester, OH

24 Feb  Columbus Chapter + NAPC of Central Ohio Roadshow – Dublin, OH

27 Feb - Naval Academy Entrepreneurs event, Fluegel, 5 - 9 p.m.

27 Feb - Astronaut Convocation, USNA

 

MARCH

7-16 Mar - USNA Spring Break

12-13 Mar - SACC Atlanta

21 Mar - Distinguished Graduate Award Ceremony and Dinner, USNA (T)

22 Mar - Distinguished Graduate Leadership Panel, Mahan, USNA

22 Mar - Annual Gathering for USNA Women - 1 p.m. @ Hopper Hall

22 Mar - Fencing (club) Alumni Meet - Dahlgren Hall

27-29 Mar - Naval Academy Minority Association, (NAMA) Leadership Forum

30-31 Mar - Volunteer Leader Summit

 

APRIL

5 Apr - Annapolis Cup - USNA v St. John's Croquet Match

5 Apr - Women's Lacrosse Alumni Appreciation Day (Home Game vs. Holy Cross)

10-12 Apr - Class of 1955 - 70th Reunion

11 Apr - Athletic & Scholarship Programs Spring Meeting - Fluegel Alumni Center

11-12 Apr - Men's Soccer Alumni Weekend

12 Apr - Navy Letterwinners Association Army/Navy Men's Lacrosse Tailgate

23 April - Bonds of Gold Ceremony

24 Apr - AA&F Vietnam Legacy of Valor Series Speaker Event - FAC

24-27 Apr - Class of 1970 - 55th Reunion

25 Apr - Council of Class Presidents Spring Meeting, Fluegel, TBD

25 Apr - USNA Dedication Parade, Worden Field

30 Apr - USNA Capstone Day

30 Apr - USNA Foundation Spring Board of Directors Welcome Reception

 

MAY

1 May - USNA Foundation Spring Board of Directors Meeting, Fluegel

6-8 May - Class of 1957 - 70th Reunion

7-9 May - USNA Alumni Association Spring Board of Trustees Meeting, Fluegel

8-9 May - SACC Washington DC

14 May - Class of 2028 Herndon Climb

21 May - Blue Angels CFR Event - Hospital Point, USNA

22 May - Color Parade, Worden Field

22 May - USNA Prizes & Awards, Alumni Hall, 2 p.m.

23 May - Class of 2025 Graduation and Commissioning Ceremony, NMCMS

 

17-18 Jun - Entrepreneur Summit - Fluegel Alumni Center

25 Jun - Athletic & Scholarship Program Pre-I Day Reception, Fluegel

26 Jun - USNA Induction Day, Class of 2029