US Navy Status Report;MK V Special Operations Craft

US Navy personnel as of November 2013 numbered 323,951 active duty and 109,738 Ready Reserve,for a total of 433,689 in uniform.They were supported by 201,000 civilians in the Department of the Navy.*
Battle force ships and submarines totalled 283.That is 17 short of the Navy's stated goal of 300.There are also a number of unnamed force protection,Coastal Riverine Force and Special Operations armed small boats.
One of these small,little known combat vessels is the MK V Special Operations Craft.It inserts and extracts Navy SEALs and possibly other Special Operations Forces in low to medium threat environments.The radar-equipped boats can be transported to theatre by ship or US Air Force C-5 Galaxy aircraft;are deployable in 48 hours;and operational in 24 hours from delivery in theatre.These Halter Marine-built vessels carry up to four Combat Rubber Raiding Craft to transport the SEALs to and from shore.
With a crew of 5 and up to 16 passengers,the 82 foot-long Special Operations Craft can sail at a formidable speed of 50 knots for more than 500 nautical miles.The MK V is armed with an assortment of up to 5 .50-caliber,7.62mm or Mk19 40mm machine guns.

Navy Secretary Leads Massacre Recovery

The horrific events of Monday at the Washington Navy Yard have brought Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus into the spotlight,an official the general public is not normally aware of.We are dealing with this as a Navy family,Mabus said Monday.We lost friends,family,co-workers.We're gonna marshal all the resources the US Navy and Government have to deal with this.
I meet with families.I write a handwritten letter to every family member.These people were patriots no less than those who go into combat.They died patriots.They died serving their country.We will mourn them in an appropriate manner.*
All of the twelve victims of Aaron Alexis' rampage were civilians,some with the Navy Department,others working for Navy contractors like Alexis himself.Two of the dead were US Naval Academy graduates who went on to serve more than 20 years in the Navy,then continued to work after military retirement in a civilian capacity at the Navy Yard.*
Mr.Mabus has been Navy Secretary since 2009.A surface warfare officer from 1970-72,serving on the cruiser USS Little Rock,he had been state auditor and then Governor of Mississippi from 1988-92.He was Ambassador to Saudi Arabia from 1994-96.In the wake of the Navy Yard tragedy,he has ordered a quick look at the physical security of Navy and Marine Corps installations,to be followed by a longer,in-depth review.
Mabus attended a brief wreath laying ceremony Tuesday morning with Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel and others at the Navy Memorial in Washington.The eight victims who were wounded are eligible for treatment at miltary hospitals,and grief counseling has been made available.*
The organisation many of the victims worked for,Navy Sea Systems Command,or NAVSEA,designs and builds Navy ships.The District of Columbia had eagerly sought the location of the NAVSEA building at the Navy Yard.
The Navy Yard is a gated compound that includes the Navy Museum and several other tenants.It is secured by US Marines and civilian guards,and has a mixed military-civilian workforce of about 3,000.*
Aaron Alexis,a former Navy Reserve Aviation Electrician's Mate 3rd Class,was authorised to enter the base and had a Secret clearance as a Navy IT contractor there.Although he had a long history of gun violations and anger management issues,he had no felony convictions and had only recently sought psychiatric treatment at Department of Veterans Affairs hospitals,which do not share such information.
Alexis' father felt his son's troubles stemmed from the Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder he acquired while helping to rescue victims of the 9-11 attack.

Department of the Navy Status Report

The US Navy had 318,406 active duty personnel as of October 2012.There were also 108,718 Ready Reservists.
Battle force ships totaled 288 vessels.
Raymond E. Mabus is Secretary of the Navy,overseeing more than 200,000 civilians of the Department of the Navy as well as the active duty and reserve forces and the US Marine Corps.He was a surface warfare officer in the Navy,then governor of Mississippi and ambassador to Saudi Arabia.
Robert O. Work,a retired US Marine Corps officer,is Undersecretary of the Navy.
Admiral Johnathan W. Greenert is Chief of Naval Operations and a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff..He was a career submariner.
General John F. Amos,a former naval aviator,is Commandant of the US Marine Corps.Always close and members of the same Department,the Navy and Marine Corps plan to become even more of a cohesive force in the years ahead.
Marine Corps personnel carry Department of the Navy ID cards.

Navy Personnel

As of October 2007,the Navy had 337,690 active duty personnel.There were 51,428 officers,281,872 enlisted and 4,390 midshipmen.Mobilized reserves totaled 5,805.The Department of the Navy employed 175,416 civilians.