Based on current construction performance, the Navy reported in April 2024 that the first (lead) Columbia class submarine is estimated to be delivered 12 to 16 months after its originally planned date. This would result in delivery between October 2028 and February 2029. A late delivery could ultimately jeopardize the lead submarine’s planned availability for operations in 2030.
According to GAO’s analysis of program data from January 2022 through May 2023, cost and schedule performance for lead submarine construction has consistently fallen short of targets. Through early 2024, those trends had not improved, and future risks will likely add to current cost and schedule growth. The program has reported that the shipbuilder needs to take swift and significant actions to address the causes of poor construction performance. However, as GAO has previously reported, the program has tried to mitigate some of these causes—such as late materials and detailed design products—for years.
WASHINGTON—Today, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs announced that it will conduct a scientific assessment to determine if there is a relationship between per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) exposure during military service and kidney cancer among Veterans.
This scientific assessment — a process codified under the PACT Act — will help VA determine if kidney cancer should be considered a presumptive service-connected condition for Veterans exposed to PFAS. When a condition is considered presumptive, eligible Veterans do not need to prove that their service caused their disease in order to receive benefits for it; instead, if they served in certain locations during certain time periods, VA automatically assumes (or “presumes”) that exposure during military service caused the disease and provides benefits accordingly.
This review is a part of the Biden-Harris Administration’s efforts to expand benefits and services for toxic-exposed Veterans and their families, and helps advance the President’s Unity Agenda and Biden Cancer Moonshot goals to understand and address environmental and toxic exposures and end cancer as we know it. As a part of these efforts, VA expeditedhealth care and benefits eligibility under the PACT Act by several years — including extending presumptions for head cancer, neck cancer, gastrointestinal cancer, reproductive cancer, lymphoma, pancreatic cancer, kidney cancer, melanoma, hypertension for Vietnam Veterans, and much more. Since the PACT Act was signed into law, VA has extended presumptions for more than 300 new conditions, includingmost recently for male breast cancer, urethral cancer, and cancer of the paraurethral glands.
“At VA, we want to understand the health conditions that Veterans are living with so we can provide them with all of the benefits they deserve — and that’s what this review process is all about,” said VA Secretary Denis McDonough. “As a result of this scientific review, we may be able to make kidney cancer a presumptive condition for Veterans exposed to PFAS, thus lowering the burden of proof on these Veterans. But make no mistake: Veterans should not wait for the outcome of this review to apply for the benefits and care they deserve. If you’re a Veteran and believe your military service has negatively impacted your health, we encourage you to apply for VA care and benefits today.”
PFAS are a class of over 12,000 chemicals and have been used in the military since the early 1970s. VA’s assessment methodology follows guidance from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine and other key stakeholders, and will consider available peer-reviewed scientific literature, Veteran claims data, and other relevant data. Regardless of whether a condition is an established presumptive condition, VA will consider claims on a case-by-case basis and can grant disability compensation benefits if sufficient evidence of service-connection is found — and VA is always working to get to yes.
VA prioritizes claims processing for Veterans with cancer and offers comprehensive cancer care services to Veterans across the nation — from screening through treatment. Since President Biden signed the PACT Act into law, VA has delivered disability compensation benefits to more than one million Veterans and their survivors, amounting to more than $7 billion in earned PACT Act benefits. During the same period, nearly 740,000 Veterans have enrolled in VA care and more than 5.6 million Veterans have been screened for toxic exposures.
VA is soliciting public comment on the proposed scientific assessment between PFAS exposure and kidney cancer via the Federal Register. The public will have a 30-day period to provide comments. VA will also host a listening session on Nov. 19, 2024, to allow individuals to share research and input. Individuals interested in participating can registerhere. The public may also comment via either forum on other conditions that would benefit from review for potential service-connection. ###
VA encourages all eligible Veterans and survivors to enroll in health care and file a claim. For more information about the PACT Act and a full list of presumptive conditions covered under the law, visit VA.gov/PACT.For more information about VA cancer care, visitcancer.va.gov.
Mahalo,
Yolanda R. Ehere Secretary State of Hawaii Office of Veterans’ Services (Tripler Army Medical Center) 459 Patterson Rd. E Wing, Rm 1-A103 Honolulu, HI 96819 Phone: (808) 433-0423 Fax: (808) 433-0385 Email: yolanda.r.ehere@hawaii.gov Website: http://dod.hawaii.gov/ovs/
Shipuilder Newport News Shipbuilding, Va., informed the Department of Justice of faulty welds that may have been made intentionally on non-critical components on on new construction and in-service submarines and Ford-class aircraft carriers, USNI News has learned.
Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Research, Development and Acquisition Nickolas Guertin told Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro and Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Lisa Franchetti the workers did not follow proper techniques to weld the suspect joints with an early indication that some of the welding errors were intentional. Based on the Newport News assessment of the welds, the shipyard notified the Department of Justice over the issue.
A U.S. fast-attack submarine and its crew of around 130 sailors arrived at South Korea’s largest port on Monday, the first stop in Busan by a U.S. sub that’s been closed since December.
The USS Vermont’s visit to the city, about 200 miles south of Seoul, is a scheduled port visit, Submarine Group 7 spokesman Lt. Cmdr. Samuel Boyle said in an emailed statement Monday.
The future Virginia-class nuclear-powered attack submarine SSN 812 will be named USS Baltimore, secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro announced Friday during a ship naming ceremony in Baltimore.
“The city of Baltimore maintains a strong connection with our maritime services and is a critical enabler of our National Maritime Statecraft,” Del Toro. “It is my honor and privilege to announce the name of the next Virginia-class nuclear-powered submarine, SSN-812, USS Baltimore.”
The Navy’s new Virginia-class submarines are projected to run $17 billion over their planned budget through 2030, a problem emblematic of a crisis in the program, the House’s top lawmaker on defense spending disclosed.
“It’s clear that the Navy and shipbuilders have known about this shortfall for at least 18 months” but “Congress was notified just two weeks ago,” Representative Ken Calvert, chairman of the House defense appropriations subcommittee, said in remarks released Thursday before a classified hearing with Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro.
The crew of the USS Indiana, a Virginia-class, fast-attack submarine that spent three weeks in the seas near the North Pole during Operation Ice Camp 2024, were awarded the Navy’s Arctic Service Medal on Tuesday.
The Arctic Service Medal is awarded to Navy and Marine personnel who show “excellence and significant contributions to national security and maritime superiority in the Arctic region,” according to a Navy statement.
The submarine USS Georgia has arrived in the Middle East, joining two aircraft carrier strike groups in the region, the Pentagon said Tuesday.
The Georgia — an Ohio-class, ballistic-missile submarine — was ordered Aug. 11 to sail to the CENTCOM region by Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin as tensions between Israel and Iranian proxy forces reached a boiling point. The submarine carries up to 154 Tomahawk cruise missiles along with Mk48 torpedoes, according to the Navy.
The first submarine fully integrated for mixed gender crews will join the Navy fleet next week during a commissioning ceremony in its namesake state of New Jersey.
The USS New Jersey (SSN 796) is the 23rd Virginia-class submarine, but it is the first of its kind — designed from the keel up with specific modifications for gender integration.
The White House is asking Congress for $1.95 billion to make up for a price gap for two submarines already funded as part of the congressional Fiscal Year 2024 budget, USNI News has learned. The request was included in a list of anomalies the White House asked Congress to support in the event the government is funded by a continuing resolution past the end of the fiscal year on Sept. 30.
Bowfin Pearl Harbor Base 