Caudle Leads List for Navy’s Top Officer Post
ADM Daryl Caudle, commander of the US Navy’s Fleet Forces Command, delivers remarks during a commissioning ceremony for the fast-attack submarine USS Iowa (SSN 797) in Groton, CT, April 5, 2025. (US Navy photo by Chief Petty Officer Joshua Karsten)
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ADM Daryl Caudle, commander of the US Navy’s Fleet Forces Command, has emerged as the front-runner for the service’s top officer post, reports Politico. The likely selection of Caudle, a four-star admiral who heads the command that trains and equips the Navy’s sailors, comes after President Donald Trump fired ADM Lisa Franchetti, the first female in the chief of naval operations role. If selected, Caudle would inherit a fleet that has struggled with embarrassing and costly shipbuilding delays, and a fleet which is now 14 times smaller than China’s. Caudle has been critical of the Navy’s ship maintenance and manning faults.
A Trump executive order signed April 9 aims to revitalize an American shipbuilding industry that has fallen behind production levels of its rivals from China, reports Navy Times. Language in the EO, which cites the need to strengthen a “commercial shipbuilding capacity and maritime workforce,” mirrors the concerns of some industry’s defense counterparts.
What does modernization look like in the Marine Corps? LTGEN Bradford Gering, deputy commandant for aviation, addressed that question at the Navy League’s annual Sea-Air-Space Exposition in Oxon Hill last week. Gering said that Marine aviators should see more F-35s, an upgraded MV-22 Osprey fleet, a larger fleet of cargo aircraft, and data-enabled predictive aircraft maintenance. “It’s an all-fifth-gen tactical air force of F-35s augmented by collaborative combat aircraft,” Gering said. “It’s a full fleet of CH-53K helicopters for the heavy lift mission.” He added that the MV-22 program will have finished its platform midlife upgrades over the remainder of the next five-year budget cycle.
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan has reportedly said he hoped his country would return to the US-led F-35 fighter program, outlining the “process” underway to facilitate the move, reports Breaking Defense. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan raised the F-35 issue directly on a recent phone call with President Donald Trump, asking Trump to “ensure Turkiye’s reentry” into the program, according to a government readout. Turkey had been booted from the F-35 program in 2019 after purchasing air missile defense systems from Russia, the BBC reported at the time.
John Ullyot, the former top Pentagon spokesperson who found himself at the center of several controversies in the first months of the Trump administration, was expected to resign on Friday, reports Politico. The departure comes in the midst of a tumultuous week for the Pentagon. Three political appointees were put on administrative leave Tuesday and Wednesday during an investigation into potential leaks at the Defense Department.
The three top Pentagon official placed on administrative leave amid the investigation into information leaks are Colin Carroll, chief of staff to deputy secretary of Defense Steve A. Feinberg; Dan Caldwell, Hegseth’s senior adviser; and Darin Selnick, the department’s deputy chief of staff, reports The Hill. Caldwell and Selnick previously worked at Concerned Veterans for America, a nonprofit group previously led by Hegseth.
Resignations at the Pentagon’s Defense Digital Service will effectively shut down the decade-old program, reports Politico. Nearly all the staff of DDS — the Pentagon’s technology development office — are resigning over the coming month.
US Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), a member of the Senate Armed Services and Appropriations Committees, is concerned about the Trump tariffs’ potential impact to the defense industry, reports Breaking Defense. “According to the Chamber of Commerce’s Defense and Aerospace Council, ‘prices will increase’ for DOD’s defense acquisitions due to these tariffs, and I am concerned these increased costs will hurt both DOD’s purchasing power and small contractors,” Shaheen writes.
US Army and Air Force libraries are combing through their stacks to find books related to diversity, equity, and inclusion, reports Military Times. The orders come after the US Naval Academy removed nearly 400 books from its library after being told by DefSec Pete Hegseth’s office to get rid of those that promote DEI.
The Defense Health Agency will stop providing rape kits for civilian workers and contractors overseas, reports Marine Corps Times. A memo from Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs Stephen L. Ferrara said that extending kits to individuals who aren’t eligible for care within the Military Health System doesn’t comply with DoD policy and will be discontinued.
Secure Families Initiative, a military family organization, has joined a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of Trump’s executive order imposing stricter voting requirements, reports Navy Times. The lawsuit argues that it would add barriers for troops and families who vote by absentee ballot. And advocates say there are other efforts at the state level and in Congress that could also undermine the ability of service members and families, as well as overseas citizens, to vote absentee.
The US State Department is offering a $15 million reward for information linked to four Chinese nationals it says have helped the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps obtain US military equipment and drone technology, reports The Hill.
Military leaders have suggested that the US Navy revive a World War II-era military base on Adak Island in Alaska as part of the US Arctic Strategy, reports Task & Purpose. ADM Samuel Paparo told the Senate Armed Services Committee that the move would give the US “an opportunity to gain time and distance on any force capability that’s looking to penetrate.” Paparo said at a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing. Paparo is the commander of the US Indo-Pacific Command.
US airstrikes Thursday hit a fuel port in western Yemen used to supply Houthi rebels, reports CBS News. “[April 17] US forces took action to eliminate this source of fuel for the Iran-backed Houthi terrorists and deprive them of illegal revenue,” reads a statement from US Central Command, which oversees U.S. military operations in the Middle East. The Houthis claim the airstrikes killed 58 people and wounded 126 others.
The US Army has restored the name Fort Benning to its storied training post just outside Columbus, GA, reports Army Times. This time the name honors an 18-year-old corporal who fought in World War I rather than a Confederate general.
US Navy Boatswain’s Mate 1st Class Ahmed El Haroun was honored by the Surface Navy Association for his gutsy role in responding to a Somali pirate attack on a commercial tanker in the Gulf of Aden, reports Military Times. While the USS Mason’s intervention in the tanker’s attempted seizure and capture of the five pirates made headlines, El Haroun’s role in the rescue — one informed by his Egyptian heritage and knowledge of the pirates’ language and Middle Eastern culture — has never before been made public. Somali pirates had been known to take advantage of situations like the high tensions in the Middle East, a Pentagon official said after the November 2023 incident, USNI News reported at the time.
Two service members deployed to the US southern border were killed and a third is in serious condition after a vehicle accident near Santa Teresa, NM, last week, reports Army Times. They were Lance Cpl. Albert Aguilera, 22, and Lance Cpl. Marcelino Gamino, 28, both combat engineers assigned to 1st Combat Engineer Battalion, 1st Marine Division, reports Air Force Times.
Command Chief Master Sgt. Anthony Green, the top enlisted leader for the Air Force Special Operations Command, was fired for “loss in confidence in his ability to fulfill his duties,” reports Tsk & Purpose. Green fired last week as the command chief and reassigned outside of AFSOC headquarters at Hurlburt Field, FL, pending the outcome of an investigation. Officials would not comment on the nature of the investigation.
The Trump administration plans to eliminate the IRS’ Direct File program, an electronic system for filing tax returns directly to the agency for free, reports The Hill. The program was credited by users with making tax filing easy, fast, and economical.
A Seniorly Resource Center study shows Maryland is the No. 4 best state for older workers. The Best States for Older Workers survey analyzes data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Census Bureau, and Federation of Tax Administrators. Six factors specific to seniors in each state were analyzed: median income, income tax, remote work, labor force participation, business growth rate, and age-related workplace discrimination.
Contracts:
General Dynamics NASSCO – Norfolk, Norfolk, Virginia, is awarded a $127,247,319 firm-fixed-price contract for maintenance, modernization and repair of USS Oak Hill (LSD 51) Fiscal 2025 Docking Selected Restricted Availability. The scope of this acquisition includes all labor, supervision, equipment, production, testing, facilities, and quality assurance necessary to prepare for and accomplish the Chief of Naval Operations Availability for critical modernization, maintenance, and repair programs. This contract includes options, which, if exercised, would bring the cumulative value of this contract to $138,724,205. Work will be performed in Norfolk, Virginia, and is expected to be completed by April 2027. Fiscal 2025 other procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $126,320,130 (99.3%); and fiscal 2025 operations and maintenance (Navy) funds in the amount of $927,189 (0.7%), will be obligated at the time of award, of which $927,189 will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured using full and open competition via the System for Award Management website, with two offers received. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, DC, is the contracting activity (N0002425C4400).
Amentum Services Inc., Chantilly, Virginia, was awarded a $7,824,259 modification (P00021) to contract W58RGZ-25-C-0003 for global aviation and maintenance services. Work will be performed in Chantilly, Virginia, with an estimated completion date of Nov. 30, 2025. Fiscal 2010 operation and maintenance, Army funds in the amount of $7,824,259 were obligated at the time of the award. Army Contracting Command, Redstone Arsenal, Alabama, is the contracting activity.
