In the Navy, many toss around the word “family” casually. Divisions become families. Departments become families. Berthing members become families. Co-workers who spend 18 hours a day working together and another six sleeping near each other become family members.

The U.S. is shifting military aircraft and warships into and around the Middle East to protect Israel from Iranian attacks.

The United States has given initial approval to sell $3.5 billion worth of air-to-air missiles for Saudi Arabia’s fighter jets, the latest proposed arms deal for the region ahead of President Donald Trump’s planned trip to the region later this month.

A nuclear-powered U.S. aircraft carrier and its battle group have begun exercises with South Korean warships hours after North Korea fired two short-range ballistic missiles in an apparent protest of the allies’ expanding drills.

The United States Navy and Marine Corps are holding drills in the South China Sea at a time of heightened tensions with Beijing over the shooting down of a suspected Chinese spy balloon.

The remains of five people and the wreckage of a U.S. Navy helicopter that crashed in the ocean off California have been recovered.

A Navy narrative of a fatal helicopter crash off Southern California last week says the aircraft experienced side-to-side vibrations that caused the main rotor to hit the deck of an aircraft carrier while landing.

The U.S. Navy has identified five sailors who died when a helicopter crashed in the Pacific Ocean off of Southern California.

Navy via AP)WASHINGTON – Activity by the U.S. Navy in its campaign to challenge China's efforts to restrict transit in the South China Sea and in the Taiwan Strait increased sharply over the past two years. And Navy ships sailed through the Taiwan Strait 13 times in 2020, the highest number of transits in at least 14 years. AdChina claims ownership over virtually the entire South China Sea and has built military installations on reefs and atolls by covering them with sand and concrete. To erode China’s claims on the South China Sea, U.S. ship conduct "freedom of navigation” operations, sailing into international waters that China is trying to claim as its own. The U.S. ship transits through the Taiwan Strait, which divides China and Taiwan, are viewed by Beijing as provocative.

FILE - In this July 9, 2020 file photo the USS Theodore Roosevelt aircraft carrier makes its way into San Diego Bay as seen from San Diego. Three sailors aboard the USS Theodore Roosevelt have tested positive for COVID-19, the Navy said Monday, Feb. 15, 2021, less than a year after a massive outbreak on the ship sidelined it in Guam for nearly two months. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull, File)WASHINGTON – Three sailors aboard the USS Theodore Roosevelt have tested positive for COVID-19, the Navy said Monday, less than a year after a massive outbreak on the ship sidelined it in Guam for nearly two months. The outbreak on the ship last year was the largest the military has seen so far, with more than 1,000 sailors testing positive. Other ships that have been underway or at their home ports over the past year have had smaller numbers of sailors test positive, but none have had such a major outbreak.

The Pentagon announced Thursday, Dec. 31, 2020, that the USS Nimitz, the only Navy aircraft carrier operating in the Middle East, will return home to the U.S. West Coast. Navy via AP)WASHINGTON – The Pentagon has decided to send home the only Navy aircraft carrier operating in the Middle East, a move that will reduce American firepower in the region amid heightened tensions with Iran. Sending the aircraft carrier, the USS Nimitz, home to the U.S. West Coast would seem at odds with the idea that a show of force is needed to deter Iran. “Some friendly health advice to Iran: If one American is killed, I will hold Iran responsible. The U.S. has maintained a near-continuous aircraft carrier presence in the Persian Gulf region since the USS Abraham Lincoln was sent in May 2019 amid concerns that Iran was considering attacking U.S. interests in the region.

The long-range heavy bombers, which are capable of carrying both conventional and nuclear weapons, are a formidable sight and are flown less frequently in the Middle East than smaller combat aircraft, such as American fighter jets. Bomber deployments and short-term flights to the Middle East and Europe have been used in the past to message Iran, a few times in the last two years. According to officials, the bombers flew out of Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana on Wednesday and conducted the flight into Thursday. The two bombers left the U.S. Wednesday evening, arrived in the Middle East early Thursday morning, and then began the return trip home. U.S. bombers from Minot Air Force Base in North Dakota flew a similar mission in late November.

The Navy says a fighter jet has crashed in the Mojave Desert but its pilot safely ejected. The F/A-18E Super Hornet from Naval Air Station Lemoore in California's Central Valley went down Tuesday, Oct. 20, 2020 in Superior Valley south of Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel, File)CHINA LAKE, Calif. – A Navy fighter jet crashed Tuesday in the Mojave Desert, but its pilot safely ejected, the Navy said. “The pilot ejected safely and was taken to a local medical facility for examination,” it said. Last month, a Marine Corps fighter pilot safely ejected from a F-35B jet after colliding in mid-air with another plane during a refueling operation in a remote desert area of Southern California.

FILE - In this July 6, 2020, file photo provided by U.S. Navy, the USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76, front) and USS Nimitz (CVN 68, rear) Carrier Strike Groups sail together in formation, in the South China Sea. The U.S. Navy says the aircraft carrier Ronald Reagan and its strike group entered the South China Sea earlier in August, 2020, and have been carrying out air operations. Navy via AP, File)WASHINGTON The Trump administration said Wednesday it is imposing sanctions on Chinese officials responsible for Beijings military build-up in the South China Sea. The State Department announced it had hit an unspecified number of Chinese officials and business executives responsible for the militarization of disputed South China Sea areas with travel bans. The United States will act until we see Beijing discontinue its coercive behavior in the South China Sea, and we will continue to stand with allies and partners in resisting this destabilizing activity.

In this Feb. 15, 2020, satellite photo provided on July 27, 2020, by Maxar Technologies, a mockup aircraft carrier built by Iran is seen at Bandar Abbas, Iran, before being put to sea. Iranian commandos also fast-roped down from a helicopter onto the replica in the footage from an exercise called Great Prophet 14." It remains unclear when or if the Nimitz will pass through the Strait of Hormuz or not during its time in the Mideast. The USS Abraham Lincoln, deployed last year as tensions initially spiked, spent months in the Arabian Sea before heading through the strait. We do not seek conflict, but remain ready to defend U.S. forces and interests from maritime threats in the region.___Associated Press journalist Mohammad Nasiri in Tehran, Iran, contributed to this report.

In this July 26, 2020, satellite photo provided on July 27, by Maxar Technologies, an Iranian fast boat, top left, approaches a mockup aircraft carrier built by Iran in the Strait of Hormuz. Satellite photographs released Monday, July 27, showed Iran has moved the aircraft carrier out to sea likely for naval drills amid heightened tensions between Tehran and the U.S. (Maxar Technologies via AP)DUBAI Iran has moved a mock aircraft carrier to the strategic Strait of Hormuz amid heightened tensions between Tehran and the U.S., satellite photographs released Monday show, likely signalling the Islamic Republic soon plans to use it for live-fire drills. The USS Abraham Lincoln, deployed last year as tensions initially spiked, spent months in the Arabian Sea before heading through the strait. The replica carries 16 mock-ups of fighter jets on its deck, according to the satellite photos taken by Maxar Technologies. Last summer saw a series of attacks and incidents further ramp up tensions between Iran and the U.S.