Navy

American warships will lead a multinational contingent of naval forces in a massive maritime combat exercise off the coast of Iran this week, designed to sharpen the Navy's mine-hunting skills along the contentious Straits of Hormuz and Persian Gulf region. 

The third American killed in Libya during the attack on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi was a former Navy SEAL from Massachusetts, The Boston Globe reported Thursday.

The sister of Glen Doherty identified him as the third of four victims in the Tuesday evening attack where U.S. Ambassador to Libya Chris Stevens was also killed.

Katie Quigley told the Globe that Doherty, 42, was working for a private security company for protecting U.S. officials overseas after he left the SEALs about four years ago.

A foundation that provides support for Navy SEALs and their families said it does not want any of the proceeds from a new book that details the SEAL raid on Osama bin Laden.

The Navy SEAL Foundation said on its website Wednesday that it would not accept any proceeds from the book, No Easy Day, which was released Tuesday and is atop the best-seller charts.

“The Navy SEAL Foundation is committed to providing immediate and ongoing support and assistance to the Naval Special Warfare community and their families,” the foundation said in a statement. “With this principled mission in mind, the Foundation will not be accepting any donations that are generated from the book or any related activities.”

The author of a firsthand account of the bin Laden raid says he "faithfully fulfilled his duty" to keep secrets. 

Two Russian submarines reportedly conducted a handful of separate patrol missions in the Gulf of Mexico in June and July.

A U.S. federal judge on Monday sentenced a Somali-born pirate to 12 life sentences for his role in the murder of four American citizens aboard a yacht off the coast of Oman last February. 

Navy biofuels spending might be preserved in a $604.5 billion defense appropriations bill scheduled for a Thursday markup, according to a Reuters report.

The Senate Committee on Appropriations Defense subcommittee on Tuesday approved alternative fuel spending that includes money for a hotly contested Navy biofuels program. The full Senate Appropriations Committee will now determine whether that alternative fuel proposal survives at the Thursday markup.

Senate Appropriations Defense subcommittee Chairman Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii) told Reuters, “I think we do have funding” for the Navy biofuels program, though he would not reveal the specific dollar amount requested in the bill passed Tuesday.

The Armed Services Committee already has effectively blocked the Navy biofuels program on the grounds of cost.

Inhofe has criticized the Navy's spending on biofuels but supported spending on a similar fuel a decade ago.

Sailors aboard the Navy tanker USNS Rappahannock followed the proper procedure before firing on a civilian fishing vessel off the coast of the United Arab Emirates on Monday, despite reports the ship fired without warning. 

Navy Secretary Ray Mabus said Thursday that continued Navy biofuels use will create markets that help drive prices down.