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Sam LaGrone

@samlagrone.bsky.social
1.4K followers 400 following 294 posts

Lester Bangs, but for like the ocean. *stab, look, stab, stab* Signal: SamLaGrone.13

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Sam LaGrone @samlagrone.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
In today's major announcements at the end of FY 26 coming at the last minute like a high school essay: JFK deliveres Truman gets a $5B RCOH Navy buys 30 Robot boats at $40M per and Boeing wins F/A-XX news.usni.org/2026/09/29/b...
news.usni.org
Boeing Picked to Build Navy’s F/A-XX Carrier Fighter in Estimated $20B Deal - USNI News
Boeing will build the Navy’s next-generation fighter after decades of indecision on the future of the carrier air wing, according to a Tuesday Pentagon announcement. “The contract is valued at more th...
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Reposted by Sam LaGrone
Secretary of Defense Rock @sodrock.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
WERE SO BACK
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Sam LaGrone @samlagrone.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
FWIW, Air Education and Training Command PA was unaware/did not have a holding statement when I called about it today. We plan on following up as information comes out. Signal is in the bio.
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Sam LaGrone @samlagrone.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
Lovely to see our mainstream colleagues have rediscovered aircraft carriers. Including the elusive USS George Washington, "a nighttime vessel."
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Sam LaGrone @samlagrone.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
Friendly reminder that the lack of quality assurance and testing workers is a larger barrier to delivering ships than welders.
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Sam LaGrone @samlagrone.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
Wait, what? www.defenseone.com/defense-syst...
defenseone.com
US military has ‘on-orbit’ space weapons, Air Force Secretary reveals
Experts said the acknowledgment may lead to overt action by China, Russia.
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Sam LaGrone @samlagrone.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
I'm so confused. Are they practicing chart law?
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Sam LaGrone @samlagrone.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
Really love how the Navy can take an already generous 92 hour break for a federal holiday and stretch it to a 108. Pour one out for the emails that won’t get read until Tuesday.
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Sam LaGrone @samlagrone.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
“The only thing the sea loves more than screwing with sailors is trying to kill them and eat their ships.” Gold.
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Sam LaGrone @samlagrone.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
By far one of my favorites.
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Sam LaGrone @samlagrone.bsky.social · 20/08/2026
Freebie alert, this is our crib sheet to the new White House shipbuilding executive order for @usni.org members in our Sea Scroll newsletter. Pay your $45 for an annual digitial sub and get it every week. www.usni.org/membership/d... mailchi.mp/usni/usni-ne...
mailchi.mp
USNI News: Sea Scroll #135
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Sam LaGrone @samlagrone.bsky.social · 15/08/2026
For four days, the crew of Benfold was stuck with out power, AC or heads in the South China Sea.
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Sam LaGrone @samlagrone.bsky.social · 14/08/2026
Come for the electro drama, stay for the first foreign warships built for the U.S. Navy in more than a 100 years. (We're not counting rhibs and CB90s). news.usni.org/2026/08/13/n...
news.usni.org
New White House Memo Calls for Foreign-Built Warships - USNI News
President Donald Trump has ordered the Pentagon to consider foreign-built warships and auxiliary vessels for the U.S. Navy, in addition to other proposed changes to shipbuilding, in a sweeping preside...
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Reposted by Sam LaGrone
U.S. Naval Institute @usni.org · 29/07/2026
BREAKING: Navy Awards $76.6B for 9 Virginia, 5 Columbia Subs to General Dynamics, HII — USNI News news.usni.org/2026/07/29/n...
news.usni.org
Navy Awards $76.6B for 9 Virginia, 5 Columbia Subs to General Dynamics, HII - USNI News
The U.S. Navy awarded General Dynamics Electric Boat a $76.6 billion contract on Wednesday for the next batch of attack and ballistic missile submarines after a nearly three-year delay. The award is s...
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Sam LaGrone @samlagrone.bsky.social · 23/07/2026
My read is this new policy is violating DoD regs, if not Title 5 FOIA law. There’s a lot of muddle on what regulates these public releases. Regardless this is a major departure from decades of practice. apnews.com/article/medi...
apnews.com
Navy says it will no longer release sailors' service history, another restriction on press access
The U.S. Navy is restricting press access to information about service members by no longer releasing details about sailors' service history.
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Sam LaGrone @samlagrone.bsky.social · 19/07/2026
Dr. Teeth and Dudamel famously have beef.
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Sam LaGrone @samlagrone.bsky.social · 18/07/2026
US ship skippers are in command of 292 tiny embassies and, by extension, public figures. The Navy told us this just extends to the websites. However, the Navy has suppressed accountability actions for previous mishaps so creep on this policy bears watching. www.navytimes.com/news/your-na...
navytimes.com
Navy instructs commands to remove portraits, biographies from websites
Commands led by vice admirals and any rank below will no longer publish portraits or biographies of leadership online to protect security, the Navy said.
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Sam LaGrone @samlagrone.bsky.social · 16/07/2026
These stats always floors me: From 1949 to 1988: "...the Navy and Marine Corps lost almost twelve thousand airplanes of all types (helicopters, trainers, and patrol planes, in addition to jets) and over 8,500 aircrew..." digital-commons.usnwc.edu/cgi/viewcont...
digital-commons.usnwc.edu
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Sam LaGrone @samlagrone.bsky.social · 15/07/2026
I'm calling for a moratorium on citing "Freedom's Forge" in your shipbuilding speeches. Please file next to the ship repair speech prohibitions on invoking USS Yorktown's 1942 72-hour maintenance period after the Battle of the Coral Sea and any and all references to the cruise ship industry.
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Sam LaGrone @samlagrone.bsky.social · 03/07/2026
Had some fun with this one.
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Sam LaGrone @samlagrone.bsky.social · 26/06/2026
These are starting to get more traction as we've been doing them and we're still tinkering with the formula. Any suggestions?
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Sam LaGrone @samlagrone.bsky.social · 16/05/2026
We break down the longest carrier deployment since the Vietnam War.
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Sam LaGrone @samlagrone.bsky.social · 13/05/2026
Read this very good piece from @heathermongilio.bsky.social on how the Navy trains for combat in major metro emergency departments.
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Reposted by Sam LaGrone
H I Sutton @covertshores.bsky.social · 05/05/2026
Sober guide to military’s operating marine mammals -> www.hisutton.com/Navy-Marine-... Was not aware that Iran was on the list. Not sure of the credibility of claims that they have them.
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Sam LaGrone @samlagrone.bsky.social · 01/05/2026
I approve this use of the word "tragic" in the HED, as the essay alludes to hubris and pathos rather than just shit being awful. Other than that, I have no opinion on this essay. www.nytimes.com/2026/05/01/o...
nytimes.com
Opinion | The Tragic Decline of the American Navy
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Sam LaGrone @samlagrone.bsky.social · 29/04/2026
Operation Epic Fury has cost $25 billion to date. Supplemental incoming, according to Pentagon comptroller.
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Sam LaGrone @samlagrone.bsky.social · 27/04/2026
Friendly reminder, X-47B "Salty Dog" 502 landed on USS George H.W. Bush in 2013. news.usni.org/2026/04/27/n...
news.usni.org
Navy Pushes MQ-25A Stingray IOC Back to 2029 while Production Aircraft Takes First Flight - USNI News
The first unmanned tankers for the U.S. Navy won’t be ready to deploy on aircraft carriers until 2029, according to Navy budget documents. The Boeing MQ-25A Stingray, the unmanned carrier tanker devel...
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Sam LaGrone @samlagrone.bsky.social · 27/04/2026
The Arabian Sea is full of iron. news.usni.org/2026/04/27/u...
news.usni.org
USNI News Fleet and Marine Tracker: April, 27 2026
These are the approximate positions of the U.S. Navy’s deployed carrier strike groups and amphibious ready groups throughout the world as of April 27, 2026, based on Navy and public data. In cases in ...
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Sam LaGrone @samlagrone.bsky.social · 25/04/2026
There’s enough pressure from big Pentagon and OMB on domestic yards to think this might be a threat.
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Sam LaGrone @samlagrone.bsky.social · 22/04/2026
We haven't been a show daily shop, but I thought we'd give it a shot and make it a little different.
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Sam LaGrone @samlagrone.bsky.social · 20/04/2026
CNO Caudle says F/A-XX downselect expected in August.
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Reposted by Sam LaGrone
Nicholas Slayton @nslayton.bsky.social · 17/04/2026
Definitely check out @taskandpurpose.com 's interview with the photographer of this great shot and what the experience was like. taskandpurpose.com/news/august-...
taskandpurpose.com
How a Navy photographer snapped an iconic Artemis II astronaut photo
The photographer who snapped the photos of the Artemis II crew’s return to Earth spent years honing his craft on a Navy aircraft carrier.
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Sam LaGrone @samlagrone.bsky.social · 15/04/2026
This is deployed, ie certified for national tasking. In the early days of the pandemic, Nimitz sailors were quarantined and separated from their families for 340+ days. While not certified, that length of separation is always worth noting.
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Sam LaGrone @samlagrone.bsky.social · 13/04/2026
Writing a USS Boise item for our wildly popular USNI News Sea Scroll Newsletter and found myself searching the internet for "potato idioms." Please send help.
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Sam LaGrone @samlagrone.bsky.social · 11/04/2026
.@heathermongilio.bsky.social and I do a quick context update on the SoH movement. Details are scarce, but my guess is we'll see a combo of the 2 FDNF-J MCMs, the 3 LCS w/ MCM and the EoD MCM companies all working together.
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Sam LaGrone @samlagrone.bsky.social · 11/04/2026
A little annoyed the NASA reporter doesn't know the bow from the stern. Now stumping for USNI News to be on the amphib in 2028.
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Sam LaGrone @samlagrone.bsky.social · 09/04/2026
There's a lot of remaining questions as to what the status of the Strait of Hormuz is. Here's where we are:
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Sam LaGrone @samlagrone.bsky.social · 03/04/2026
Big, big money. Like "41 for Freedom" money.
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Sam LaGrone @samlagrone.bsky.social · 01/04/2026
L-53 minutes until I crank Wild Horses and ugly cry.
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Sam LaGrone @samlagrone.bsky.social · 01/04/2026
Y'all did it again. It took me until the NATO reporting name to realize you got me.
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Sam LaGrone @samlagrone.bsky.social · 01/04/2026
Sometimes you gotta write the featurey lede. news.usni.org/2026/03/31/u...
news.usni.org
USS George H.W. Bush Departs for Deployment - USNI News
NAVAL STATION NORFOLK, Va. — The sun peeked over the horizon tinting the haze gray hull of carrier USS George H.W. Bush (CVN-77) orange while sailors on Pier 14 busied themselves preparing for the car...
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Reposted by Sam LaGrone
WarshipCam @warshipcam.bsky.social · 31/03/2026
USS George H.W. Bush (CVN 77) Nimitz-class aircraft carrier leaving Norfolk, Virginia - March 31, 2026 SRC: Sam LaGrone 📸
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Sam LaGrone @samlagrone.bsky.social · 21/03/2026
Guarantee this will be an essential bookmark.
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Sam LaGrone @samlagrone.bsky.social · 18/03/2026
Bloomberg confrims our scoop from yesterday.
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Sam LaGrone @samlagrone.bsky.social · 18/03/2026
We got cited in @nymag.com That's a first. nymag.com/intelligence...
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Sam LaGrone @samlagrone.bsky.social · 17/03/2026
The Navy is sending 1,000 mattresses and 2,000 sweatsuits to the crew after the fire due to smoke damage and the lack of laundry facilities.
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Sam LaGrone @samlagrone.bsky.social · 13/03/2026
Missile Attacks Define Strait of Hormuz Risks, Officials Say — USNI News news.usni.org/2026/03/13/m...
news.usni.org
Missile Attacks Define Strait of Hormuz Risks, Officials Say - USNI News
THE PENTAGON — Missiles are currently the largest threat to merchant shipping in the Strait of Hormuz and Persian Gulf instead of sea mines, defense officials told reporters Friday. Iran has used surf...
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Sam LaGrone @samlagrone.bsky.social · 13/03/2026
There’s a credible argument to be made that the speed of the early US and Israeli strikes took out a lot of capability for the Iranians to mind the strait of Hormuz. What I would like to hear more about is fast attack craft, and the threat they pose.
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Sam LaGrone @samlagrone.bsky.social · 12/03/2026
Per a US official the fire is out and damage control operations like looking for hot spots, clean up etc.
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Sam LaGrone @samlagrone.bsky.social · 12/03/2026
Unclear how bad the fire was, CENTCOM says the carrier is fully operational.
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