DoD Notified of OPM Cybersecurity Incident — The U.S. Office of Personnel Management announced June 4 of a recent cybersecurity incident affecting its systems and data that may have exposed the personal information of current and former federal employees. According to a Defense Department news release, OPM subsequently notified federal government departments and agencies, including the DoD. OPM is notifying approximately 4 million individuals whose personally identifiable information may have been compromised, the release said. The notifications will be sent beginning June 8 and will continue through June 19 by email and U.S. mail.
USS Mitscher Operates With French Frigate L'Hermione — The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Mitscher (DDG 57) received the honor of steaming alongside the replica Concorde-class frigate L'Hermione of the French Navy. The morning of June 2, Mitscher and L'Hermione sailed together in a photograph exercise to represent and reaffirm the historic relationship between the United States and France. L'Hermione is a replica of the same-named vessel that was one of four fast-frigates constructed in the Rochefort Naval Dockyard by order of the French Crown in 1778.
Naval District Washington Honors Battle of Midway Anniversary — Sailors, Marines, Coast Guardsmen and World War II veterans gathered at the U.S. Navy Memorial in Washington, D.C. to commemorate the 73rd anniversary of the Battle of Midway during a wreath laying ceremony, June 4. Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Jonathan Greenert issued a Navywide proclamation declaring June 4 Battle of Midway Commemoration Day, and invited commands around the world to take part in celebrations honoring the event and the veterans who served. The battle marked what is considered the turning point in the Pacific theater of World War II, when only seven months after Pearl Harbor, the outnumbered and outgunned American fleet halted the Japanese advancement across the Pacific Ocean.
The Flame Lit at the Battle of Midway Continues to Burn Bright — Vice Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Michelle Howard’s remarks on the Battle of Midway.
Memories From That Tiny Atoll 73 Years Later — The voices of Midway speak.
The OPSEC of the Future — With continuous advances in technology and unlimited access to information, the Naval OPSEC Support Team (NOST) is putting forth an effort to bring Operations Security, or OPSEC, standards into the 21st Century U.S. Navy. OPSEC, as a methodology was developed during the Vietnam War to determine how the enemy was able to obtain advanced information on military operations. Under that idea Admiral Ulysses Sharp, then Commander-in-chief, Pacific, established the "Purple Dragon" team which conceived of and utilized the methodology of "Thinking like the wolf," or looking at your own organization from an adversarial viewpoint.
Digital Voltage Regulator Saves Money, Helps Control Generator Output — Engineers at Naval Ship Systems Engineering Station (NAVSSES) completed installation and testing of a Digital Voltage Regulator (DVR) on the mine countermeasure (MCM) ship USS Scout (MCM 8) May 30. The new regulator provides Sailors better control of the Ship Service Diesel Generator's (SSDG) output voltage than the analog regulators currently on MCMs, regardless of load fluctuations. Additionally, use of a DVR to replace a nonfunctioning analog system saves the Navy more than $65,000 per unit and cuts down on the readiness wait time by six months.
BALTOPS 2015 to Kick Off June 5 — Seventeen NATO and partner nations will participate in the 43rd iteration of the multinational maritime exercise BALTOPS 2015 in Poland, Sweden, Germany, and throughout the Baltic Sea, June 5-20. BALTOPS is an annually reoccurring multinational exercise designed to enhance flexibility and interoperability, as well as demonstrate resolve of allied and partner forces to defend the Baltic region. Approximately 5,600 ground, maritime and air forces from participating nations will conduct air defense, maritime interdiction, anti-subsurface warfare, and amphibious operations in a joint environment.
SPAWAR is Changing the Game on Virtual Reality — Battlespace Exploitation of Mixed Reality (BEMR) lab at Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center Pacific (SSC Pacific) is utilizing new technology being developed in virtual reality and figuring out how the Navy can use it to transform the way the Sailors do their jobs.
ONR Awards Outstanding Student With Scholarship — The Office of Naval Research (ONR) recently awarded $10,000 in scholarship money to a high school student doing concussion research, ONR officials announced June 4. Alberto Garcia, of Shallowater, Texas, received the Chief of Naval Research Scholarship Award for his research into traumatic brain injuries (TBI), at the 2015 Intel ISEF (International Science and Engineering Fair) in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
These stories originally published by Navy News Service during June 1-5, 2015. For more Navy news, go to: www.navy.mil/.