Navy

SEATTLE - Conservationists and Native American tribes are suing over the Navy's expanded use of sonar in training exercises off the Washington, Oregon, and California coasts, saying the noise can harass and kill whales and other marine life. In a lawsuit being filed yesterday by the environmental law firm Earthjustice, the Natural Resources Defense Council, and other groups against the National Marine Fisheries Service say the service was wrong to approve the Navy's plan for the training.

The first woman to command a major Royal Navy warship is taking up her post. Britain's Ministry of Defense says Commander Sarah West will take control of the frigate HMS Portland Tuesday. The 40-year-old has served in the Royal Navy for 16 years. The ship is being refitted and will be based in Devonport. Officials say women first went to sea with the Royal Navy in 1990 and have served as pilots and mine clearance divers in addition to other posts.

WASHINGTON — The Navy brusquely fired the captain of the USS Enterprise yesterday, more than three years after he made lewd videos to boost morale for his crew, timing that put the military under pressure to explain why it acted only after the videos became public. Senior military officials said they were trying to determine who among Navy leaders knew about the videos when they were shown repeatedly in 2006 and 2007 to thousands of crew members aboard the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier.

The Pakistani Navy has court-martialed three officers for "negligence" in connection with a dramatic Taliban attack on a naval base in the southern port city of Karachi last year, a spokesman said Tuesday. The brazen, 18-hour assault on Naval Station Mehran last May destroyed two U.S.-supplied surveillance aircraft and killed 10 people on the base. The ability of the militants to penetrate the high-security base led to speculation they may have had inside information or assistance.

STONINGTON, Conn. -- A Connecticut fisherman will be getting paid for an unusual catch of the day -- a nuclear submarine. Alan Chaplaski said the Navy has agreed to pay him for damages to his boat from an incident last summer when the USS Montpelier, a 362-foot-long submarine, allegedly snagged his gear and almost capsized the boat. "I'm satisfied because I got just compensation," Chaplaski said Tuesday. "They gave me what I asked for. " The Aug. 25 incident occurred 95 miles southeast of Stonington as Chaplaski's boat, the Neptune, was trawling for shrimp.

The US Navy Band Northeast is set to perform at 3 p.m. Sunday in Cahill Auditorium in Town Hall, on Kennedy Memorial Drive. The free concert is sponsored by the Friends of the Thayer Public Library. - Christine Legere

On the same field where Barry Sanders ran wild 17 years earlier, speedy little Reggie Campbell of Navy claimed his share of bowl lore. Campbell tied the NCAA bowl record with five touchdowns last night and had 290 all-purpose yards, leading the Midshipmen to a 51-30 win over Colorado State (6-6) in the Poinsettia Bowl at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego. The 5-foot-6-inch sophomore slotback had touchdown catches of 55 and 34 yards, and scoring runs of 22, 2, and 21 yards. Campbell was spectacular practically every time he touched the ball for Navy (8-4)

Mexico's navy says the first woman has joined the ranks of its special forces. The unidentified woman graduated from special forces training along with 12 men. The navy is giving no other details and doesn't say in its Friday announcement if women had previously been barred from joining its special forces units, or whether none had applied. The navy's special forces have taken an increasing role in the Mexican government's fight against drug traffickers, but the navy hasn't specified what duties the woman will be performing.

PORTSMOUTH, R.I. -- Raytheon Systems Co. showcased a new center yesterday where it will design, build, and test a shared technology system for the US Navy's next generation of surface warships. Raytheon is being paid $1.3 billion over the next three years to work on a system for the ships called DDX. Executives at Raytheon said DDX will allow ships -- such as cruisers, aircraft carriers, and a new fleet of destroyers -- to be more automated, by sharing data about surface, air, and sea warfare tactics.

KITTERY, Maine - As the Navy explores private development of the former Portsmouth Naval Shipyard prison, US Representative Carol Shea-Porter is pushing to bring the US Air Force's Cyber Command to the long-neglected castle-like structure. Navy officials have asked private developers to submit proposals in the next two months with a goal of signing a contract in spring 2009. But if the Air Force were to choose the shipyard for its planned Cyber Command center, a government-to-government transfer essentially would trump outside uses, Shea-Porter's staff said.

Defense contractor Raytheon Co. said Friday it won a contract worth $57.8 million with the U.S. Navy to upgrade nine weapons systems and build two missile defense systems. The company said it will overhaul nine so-called Phalanx close-in weapon systems, which are computer-controlled radar and gun systems that detect and destroy threats to Navy ships. Ratheon said it will build two anti-ship missile defense systems called SeaRAMs. The contract also includes the purchase of 20 radar upgrade kits.

Sporting crumpled catwalks and smashed lifeboats, the U.S. Navy vessel USS Essex managed to glide into San Diego Bay on Thursday, 24 hours after colliding with a tanker when the aging warship's steering apparently failed. Families of the crew aboard the "Iron Gator" waved homemade flags in celebration as the 21-year-old amphibious assault ship — which officials say needs to be overhauled — came into view through the morning's thick marine layer. Wednesday's midmorning crash 120 miles off the coast of Southern California resulted in no injuries or fuel spills.

The U.S. Navy says its training and testing using sonar and explosives could potentially hurt more dolphins and whales in Hawaii and California waters than previously thought. The new research and more thorough analysis are part of a draft environmental impact statement covering Navy training and testing planned for 2014-2018. A notice about the study is due to appear in the Federal Register on Friday. In the study, the Navy estimates its use of explosives and sonar may unintentionally cause more than 1,600 instances of hearing loss or other injury...

A former Navy man is being detained under a suicide watch after being charged with torturing his wife in their home for nearly five hours. The Day of New London reports ( http://bit.ly/K4RZA0) that 36-year-old James Tapp of Groton was charged Monday with kidnapping, cruelty to persons, assault and other crimes. The woman told police the ordeal began at about 11:30 p.m. Sunday and ended at about 5 a.m. Monday. She alleges Tapp beat her, squeezed her finger with pliers, threatened to shoot her and threatened to slice her from ear to ear with a knife.

A former civilian naval engineer from Virginia pleaded not guilty in Rhode Island on Tuesday to charges stemming from what prosecutors say was a bribery and fraud scheme that cost the U.S. Navy about $10 million over 15 years. Ralph M. Mariano, 54, of South Arlington, Va., and his 80-year-old father, Ralph Mariano Jr., of North Providence, were indicted after three others accused in the plot pleaded guilty to charges and agreed to cooperate with federal authorities. Prosecutors allege Ralph M. Mariano, a former naval civilian engineer, used his authority at the Naval Undersea...

WASHINGTON - In a rare honor for a living person, the Navy plans to announce it is naming a new destroyer after Fall River native Thomas J. Hudner, who earned the Medal of Honor in the Korean War for intentionally crashing his fighter plane in an attempt to save his wingman, the Navy's first African-American pilot. The decision, made by Navy Secretary Ray Mabus, is the culmination of a swift lobbying campaign championed by Senators Scott Brown and John F. Kerry to honor the 87-year-old Concord resident and retired Navy captain.

Aaron Polanco ran for three touchdowns and threw for another as Navy beat Delaware, 34-20, yesterday in a nonconference matchup in Annapolis, Md. The win kept the Division 1-A Midshipmen (7-1) undefeated in five home games this season. Navy has won seven straight at home, its last home loss coming last Nov. 1 to Delaware. The Blue Hens (6-2) came into the game ranked No. 3 in Division 1-AA and had a six-game winning streak snapped. Polanco, the nation's top rushing quarterback, scored on runs of 22, 1, and 7 yards for the third three-TD game of his career.

HARTFORD - Submarine manufacturer Electric Boat in Connecticut has won Navy contracts worth $25 million for maintenance on the USS Annapolis in Groton, Conn., and to support repairs on nuclear submarines and carriers at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard in Washington state. Connecticut senators Joe Lieberman and Richard Blumenthal and Representative Joe Courtney said Tuesday the Annapolis maintenance and upgrade project will be conducted this fall at the Groton site of Electric Boat, a division of General Dynamics Corp.

A civilian engineer charged in Rhode Island in an alleged kickbacks scheme that prosecutors say cost the U.S. Navy about $10 million wants a former U.S. attorney to be appointed by the court as his lawyer. Former Rhode Island U.S. Attorney Robert Clark Corrente has been representing Ralph Mariano since last year. In court papers filed Friday, Mariano says he's depleted all his assets to pay for his defense and wants Corrente to continue to represent him. Mariano, of South Arlington, Va., and his father are scheduled to be arraigned next week.

CLEVELAND - A fugitive was arrested on accusations that he ran a scam that collected millions of dollars in donations from people who believed they were helping Navy veterans, Ohio's attorney general and the US Marshal's office in Cleveland announced Tuesday. The man uses the false identify of Bobby Thompson and was indicted in Ohio in 2010 on theft, money laundering, and other charges related to the Florida-based charity. He disappeared in June 2010. Little, if any, of the money collected by the charity was used to benefit veterans, authorities have said.