The Naval Brief: USS Reagan to aid drawdown; Vaccination benefits; Former Navy Secretary dies; and more...

Welcome to The Naval Brief, a weekly look at the news and ideas shaping the sea services’ future. 

Aircraft carrier to aid Afghanistan drawdown: The USS Ronald Reagan—currently the lone carrier in the western Pacific region—will head to the Middle East for four months to help with the U.S. military drawdown in Afghanistan, the Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday.

The withdrawal in Afghanistan is up to 25% complete, CENTCOM announced Tuesday. The U.S. has handed over five facilities to the Afghan Ministry of Defense, flown about 160 C-17-loads out of the country, and “turned over more than 10,000 pieces of equipment to the Defense Logistics Agency for disposition.”

No more COVID squestering: Vaccinated sailors will no longer have to quarantine for 14 days before a deployment, the Navy announced Monday. Those who get the jab will also be able to use base services like gyms and the commissary at safe ports such as Guam, Bahrain, and Yokosuka.

U.S. and Russia naval representatives met this week for the annual Prevention of Incidents On and Over the Waters Outside the Limits of the Territorial Sea consultations. The meeting is the result of a 1972 agreement signed by then-Secretary of the Navy John Warner, who died Tuesday at the age of 94. A Navy and Marine Corps veteran who served in World War II and Korea, Warner became the chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee as a Virginia senator.

Sign up to get The Navy Brief every Thursday from Caitlin M. Kenney, Defense One’s military services reporter. On this day in 1967, the first John F. Kennedy aircraft carrier launched, the only one of its class and the U.S. Navy’s last oil-powered carrier. The new John F. Kennedy, a Ford-class carrier, was christened in 2019. 

From Defense One

US Naval Services Aim to Put Network-War Concepts to Global Test // Caitlin M. Kenney: Enormous exercise will combine several new concepts in scenarios up to major combat.

More Actions Expected After 2nd Investigation Into Deadly AAV Sinking // Caitlin M. Kenney: “I have what I need,” the Marine Corps commandant said Wednesday.

Introducing ‘The China Intelligence’ // Peter W. Singer and Peter Wood: Everyone needs to understand China better. Open-source intelligence can help.

With Half Its Troops Unvaccinated, Pentagon Aims to Persuade Skeptics // Elizabeth Howe: Instead of a “personal health choice,” leaders now call shots a “critical part” of fighting the pandemic.