OPM Data Breach Information — In April 2015, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) became aware of a cybersecurity incident affecting its systems and data that may have compromised the personal information of current and former federal employees. OPM began conducting notifications to affected individuals using email and/or USPS First Class mail on June 8, 2015. Recognizing the inherent security concerns in this methodology, with OPM and CSID support, DoD suspended notifications to employees on June 11, 2015, until an improved, more secure notification and response process is in place. Late June 15, 2015, OPM advised that email notification resumed. Email notifications should be complete by June 22, 2015. U.S. Postal mail notifications will take longer.
Navy Engineer Patents Innovative Data Transfer System — An invention that uses light to transmit data may allow the Navy to increase the security of classified systems.
PCU John Warner (SSN 785) Delivered to the Navy — The U.S. Navy accepted delivery of PCU John Warner (SSN 785) June 25, the 12th submarine of the Virginia Class. John Warner is the second of eight Virginia-class Block III ships and the sixth to be delivered to the U.S. Navy by Newport News Shipbuilding. The submarine is named after John Warner, the five-term U.S. Senator from Virginia who served in both the Navy and Marine Corps, and was Secretary of the Navy from 1972 to 1974. His wife, Jeanne Warner, is the ship's sponsor.
Naval War College Hosts Irregular Warfare Symposium — The Center for Irregular Warfare and Armed Groups (CIWAG) at U.S. Naval War College (NWC) hosted its seventh annual symposium, "Retrospect and Prospect," June 23-24. CIWAG was established in 2008 to promote interdisciplinary study of the challenges presented by irregular warfare and armed groups in the 21st century.
Navy Installations Going Green With Vehicle Fleets — Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus announced in 2009 that the Navy's goal to reduce petroleum consumption by the non-tactical vehicle fleet is 50% by 2020, and Navy installations are doing their part by working on its fleet of government vehicles. Partnering with Naval Facilities Engineering Command (NAVFAC), Navy Installations Command (NIC) is implementing several initiatives to meet this goal to include: investments in alternate fuel infrastructure, implementation of a vehicle monitoring system, replacement of vehicles with hybrid electric vehicles, recoding gas keys for E85 - an ethanol fuel blend of 85% ethanol and 15% gasoline — and increasing awareness among government vehicle drivers.
NAVIDFOR Ensures Shipboard Systems Interoperate — When multi-unit groups deploy, Sailors and Marines can be confident in the interoperability of their computer and communications systems because a Navy Information Dominance Forces (NAVIDFOR) team ensures those systems work and are ready to go to sea.
Navy Installs C4I Aboard Mobile Landing Platform Ships — Naval Surface Warfare Center Panama City Division (NSWC PCD) installed the Command, Control, Communications, Computers, and Intelligence (C4I) suite aboard the afloat forward staging base variant of the mobile landing platform USNS Lewis B. Puller (MLP 3/AFSB) following recently completed acceptance trials.
Project Engineer Richard Childress said the C4I installation efforts were successfully completed to support this first-purpose built afloat forward staging base (AFSB) on the mobile landing platform (MLP). It is the third of five total MLPs planned to augment amphibious assault ships.
Team Navy's Arrows Hit Their Targets at the Warrior Games — The second day of the Department of Defense (DoD) Warrior Games competition kicked off early for Team Navy's archers on June 22, and concluded with two bronze medals. The metal bleachers rang with cheers while seriously wounded, ill, and injured service members battled through several elimination rounds. Teams and individual archers were grouped according to the bows they used — recurve or compound.
Vice Adm. Tidd Receives Surface Navy Association's "Old Salt" Award — Vice Adm. Kurt Tidd, assistant to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, became the 19th recipient of the "Old Salt" award in a ceremony at the Pentagon, June 22. The "Old Salt" award is presented to the surface warfare officer serving on continuous active duty with the earliest surface warfare officer qualification, which is the first milestone qualification an eligible commissioned officer may receive in surface warfare. The award is sponsored by the Surface Navy Association and was passed from Adm. Samuel Locklear to Tidd.
Naval History: Around the Globe and in Communities Everywhere — The director of Naval History and Heritage Command talks about the significance of preserving U.S. naval history.
These stories originally published by Navy News Service during June 22-26, 2015. For more Navy news, go to: www.navy.mil/.