– Stars and Stripes – The Makin Island amphibious ready group with more than 4,000 Marines and sailors has arrived in the Middle East.

– USNI News – The three ship Bataan Amphibious Ready Group (ARG) has left U.S. Central Command and transited into the U.S. 6th Fleet area of operations ahead of an expected October return to Naval Station Norfolk, Va.

– National Interest – Now may be the time to break up the nuclear monopoly. To wit, imagine permanently forward-deploying a squadron of diesel attack boats, or SSKs, to likely hotspots. Such a force would expand America’s silent service, reversing the ongoing slide in numbers of hulls. It would do so at reasonable cost in this age of budgetary stress. A standing East Asia squadron would be close to the action. Likely based in Japan and Guam, it would amplify the U.S.-Japanese fleet’s prowess vis-á-vis China’s navy and merchant marine. It would empower Washington and Tokyo to deny China access to offshore waters without committing the whole fleet of U.S. nuclear-powered boats to the endeavor. And in the process it would open up new vistas for building and reinforcing alliances.

– CNN – The United States and several Arab nations rained bombs on ISIS targets in Syria on Tuesday — the first U.S. military offensive in the war-torn country and a forceful message to the militant group that the U.S. would not stand by idly while it carried out its rampage of terror. The operation began with a flurry of Tomahawk missiles launched from the sea, followed by attacks from bomber and fighter aircraft

– Marine Corps Times – About 1,500 Marines and sailors have been busily testing the capabilities of the USS America, the Navy’s newest amphibious assault ship during a two-month transit in a region that rarely sees a warship of this size.

– US Navy – The Navy’s Cutest Planes Are Flying Research Missions – S-3 Vikings used to operate from carriers—now they’re working for science – and in the future they could return to the carrier-onboard-delivery role.

– Jane’s – The US Navy (USN) expects to deploy Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) USS Fort Worth (LCS 3) to the Asia-Pacific region by the end of 2014. There will be two significant differences from the deployment carried out in 2013 by USS Freedom . The first would be drills to test Fort Worth ‘s mine countermeasures (MCM) capability in South Korean waters while the second would be to focus on using the LCS to provide “non-traditional maritime lift” for the US Marine Corps.

– USNI News – Austal USA has delivered the latest Joint High Speed Vessel (JHSV) to U.S. Military Sealift Command (MSC).

– Stars and Stripes – The U.S. Navy bills its submarine fleet as the world’s most advanced, a boast that few in the Asia-Pacific region would argue. However, the one thing that the U.S. fleet hasn’t been able to do is escape the realities of both age and cost.

– Virginian Pilot – After tracing the cause of a helicopter crash that killed three sailors to a wiring bundle that had been rubbing against a worn-out fuel line, the Navy turned its attention to the remaining fleet of MH-53E Sea Dragons sitting on the flight line at Norfolk Naval Station. The findings: The chafing problem existed to some degree in every Sea Dragon helicopter, placing each at risk for a similar catastrophe. In the weeks that followed, maintenance crews replaced degraded fuel lines and any wires that showed signs of chafing. Soon the remaining 28 Sea Dragons were flying again over Hampton Roads and abroad. Although the Sea Dragon is the Navy’s oldest, most maintenance-intensive and most crash-prone helicopter, the service remains confident in the long-term safety of the aircraft.

– National Interest – Here’s a thought experiment: would America build the U.S. Navy currently plying the seven seas if it were starting from scratch? Color me skeptical. If not, what kind of navy would it build, and how can we approximate that ideal in light of budgetary constraints, a slew of legacy platforms that can’t simply be scrapped and replaced, and an organizational culture and history that frown on revolutionary change?

– USNI News – The U.S. will launch a comprehensive air campaign to exterminate the Islamic State of Iraq and the Syria (ISIS or ISIL) terrorist group that has been ravaging those two nations. President Barack Obama announced the launch of the new full-scale American intervention during a televised speech on Sept. 10.

– Stars and Stripes – The USS Bonhomme Richard will likely miss its next underway deployment after a botched $3 million resurfacing of the amphibious assault ship’s flight deck.

– Defense News – The USS Independence had a successful RIMPAC exercise.

– Real Clear Defense – Greenert’s Navigation Plan Makes the Best of a Terrible Hand.

– Breaking Defense – You wouldn’t expect the Navy to test its weapons in the desert. But that’s just what happened Thursday at White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico, an Army facility 500 miles from the sea, where a Standard Missile-6 successfully intercepted a mock cruise missile flying low and slow over land. Hitting that target is one sign of how far Navy missile defense programs have cast their net beyond their traditional domain.

– National Defense – While unmanned underwater vehicle technology is advancing, it is not maturing as quickly as UAVs.

– USNI News – China and Russia’s submarine forces are flexing their prowess in the undersea domain by operating further from their respective country’s homeport – in some cases within striking distance of the United States. Given the expansion in operations, anti-submarine warfare (ASW) platforms on both coasts of the United States will be required to monitor and defend the nation more frequently. Foreign submarine operations near the homeland are not necessarily immediate threats, but do require careful thought as the Navy prepares to execute future ASW missions. As budget and naval policymakers continue to plan for the future, ASW must remain a high priority for either homeland or overseas defense. The good news is that the U.S. Navy has new platforms and technology coming online that can provide a significant advantage in the undersea domain.

– Aviation Week – It would be nearly impossible to steal even a wink of sleep in the stateroom of CVN 76 Ronald Reagan during nighttime air ops in the middle of the Pacific off the Hawaiian coast during the Rim of Pacific (Rimpac) exercise…

– USNI News – Four NATO warships are due in the Black Sea in the next several days ahead of an international maritime exercise to include Ukraine.

– Defense News – Powerful forces in Congress are working to buy the US Navy an extra amphibious ship, and lawmakers in both the House and Senate have added between $650 million and $800 million to the proposed 2015 shipbuilding budget to begin construction.But, even if the money is approved and signed into law, it won’t be enough to cover the more than $2 billion needed to buy the ship.

– Navy Times – The littoral combat ship USS Coronado will get a chance at an historic LCS first this fall when it launches a surface-to-surface missile in tests off Southern California.

– The Atlantic – A network of Internet-connected undersea microphones is picking up more than whale songs.

– Navy Times – The building program of the US Navy’s Virginia-class submarines has an outstanding reputation, both for keeping to cost and for on-time delivery. There’s even a modest competition between the two shipyards that build the subs to see who can shave off more time of the contractual delivery date. Bets are off, however, for the North Dakota, the 11th and newest unit of the class. The submarine is the first of the Block III version, with the most significant design changes to date — that led to delays that were acknowledged in the spring. The Navy hoped to continue the march of early deliveries and begin the sub’s first round of sea trials in mid-April, but it was apparent more time was needed to resolve a number of problems.

– San Diego Union Tribune – The Navy announced a new study that aims to document the travel patterns and the feeding and diving habits of whales off Southern California. The study comes as environmental groups continue to fight the U.S. military and the National Marine Fisheries Service over a recently renewed 5-year permit that allows the Navy to use sonar and explosive charges and do other maritime training that affects marine mammals.