Alison Bath

Alison Bath reports on the U.S. Navy, including U.S. 6th Fleet, in Europe and Africa. She has reported for a variety of publications in Montana, Nevada and Louisiana, and served as editor of newspapers in Louisiana, Oregon and Washington.

@alisonbath_

bath.alison@stripes.com

A U.S. Navy officer in dress uniform, seen from the chest up, poses in front of U.S. and Navy flags.

Navy’s former No. 2 admiral convicted of bribery and conspiracy

A retired four-star admiral who once was the Navy’s second-highest ranking officer was convicted of federal bribery and conspiracy charges in a scheme to direct lucrative contracts to a training company in exchange for a $500,000-a-year job.

The aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman sails through the Mediterranean Sea on May 18, 2025, in the U.S. 6th Fleet area of operations. Truman just ended about five months on duty in the Red Sea as part of U.S. military operations against the Houthis in Yemen.

USS Truman due to join NATO drill in Mediterranean after eventful stint in Red Sea

Petty officers 1st Class Luke Reed, right, and Christopher Bettler, of the Naval Forces Europe and Africa Band, march down the street at an outdoor concert May 9, 2025, in Praia, Cabo Verde, during this year's Obangame Express exercise.

As Chinese ambitions in Africa grow, so does the US military’s role in security partnerships

A man stands at a clear podium and talks into several mics while reporters stand nearby taking notes.

US-led exercise in West Africa aims to help thwart growing sophistication of maritime crime

A military fighter jet speeds down the flight line as it takes off from an aircraft carrier at sea.

Turning a Navy carrier isn’t enough to cause a jet to fall into the sea, US defense official says

A hard turn by an aircraft carrier isn’t enough on its own to cause a $67 million Navy fighter jet to slide off a ship, a Defense Department official said as investigators determine how a plane fell into the Red Sea.

Jewel Ingram accepts the Navy and Marine Corps Medal posthumously awarded April 18, 2025, to her husband, Navy SEAL Nathan Gage Ingram, at the Silver Strand Training Complex in Imperial Beach, Calif.

Navy SEAL who drowned in Arabian Sea raid given lofty heroism honor

The 27-year-old Navy SEAL died trying to save a fellow sailor during a dangerous nighttime mission off the Somali coast last year. An investigation released in October concluded that the deaths of both sailors were preventable.

A plaque in remembrance of Pfc. Noah Samuel-Siegel, who was found dead in his barracks room at Camp Humphreys, South Korea, Nov. 8, 2021. His parents contend in a federal lawsuit that the Army didn't protect their son from a toxic commander and also purposefully obscured the circumstances behind his death, according to court records.

Parents of soldier who died by suicide sue US over Army’s actions after he refused COVID-19 shot

The parents of a 19-year-old soldier who died by suicide in 2021 say in a recently filed lawsuit that he faced months of threats, retaliation and bullying after objecting to getting the COVID-19 vaccine, court records show.

U.S. 6th Fleet commander Vice Adm. J.T. Anderson, second from left; Charge d’Affaires Jeremy Berndt, middle; and Ambassador Richard Norland, far right, greet key Libyan military and civilian officials before reception aboard the USS Mount Whitney during a port visit in Tripoli, Libya, April 20, 2025. That visit and another to Benghazi marked the Navy's first Libyan port calls in more than five decades.

Navy port calls in Libya end half-century lull as US seeks to fortify North Africa presence

The presence of the 6th Fleet flagship and the service’s second-highest-ranking officer in Europe and Africa is a notable message to competitors that the U.S. remains interested and involved in North Africa, an analyst said.

A food service worker prepares pizza at Ristorante Bella Etna at Naval Air Station Sigonella, Italy, July 31, 2020. Earlier this month, Bella Etna was named best overseas galley for 2025, marking the seventh time it has won the Capt. Edward F. Ney Memorial Award, the Navy’s highest honor for food service.

Wow, Bella: Sigonella galley earns top Navy food service award for 7th time

Ristorante Bella Etna at Naval Air Station Sigonella on the Italian island of Sicily recently received the Capt. Edward F. Ney Memorial Food Service Award as the best overseas galley for 2025, the base said in a statement Thursday.

Sailors form a human ribbon on the flight deck of the aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush, July 22, 2017, in support of Suicide Prevention and Awareness Month. The Navy has no way of knowing whether commanders are following the requirement to create a suicide crisis prevention plan or whether existing plans are adequate, the Defense Department Inspector General found.

Navy falls short in ensuring adoption of suicide crisis response plans, watchdog agency says

The Navy has no way of knowing whether its commanders have created a suicide crisis plan as mandated by the service in the face of persistently alarming numbers of sailor suicide deaths, a Defense Department Inspector General audit found.

Two gray military patrol boats are docked side by side at a pier, adorned with colorful signal flags and the red Tunisian national flag. Several naval personnel stand on the deck of the left vessel, and a group of people is visible onshore.

Tunisia celebrates 2 new US patrol boats, 6th Fleet flagship visit in show of security cooperation

The transfer of two American patrol boats to Tunisia and a Navy command ship’s visit embody a centuries-old U.S. commitment to maritime partnership with the North African country, a top service official said this week.

Sailors aboard the aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman observe Passover on April 12, 2025, with a traditional Seder, including a retelling of the story of the emancipation of Israelites from slavery in ancient Egypt. For more than a month, the Truman has conducted daily flight operations against Iran-backed Houthi militants as part of a U.S. campaign to undercut the group's ability to attack military and commercial ships in the Red Sea.

USS Truman hosts Passover events in Red Sea as strike group continues fight against Houthis

Sailors with the Harry S. Truman Carrier Strike Group are celebrating an ancient story of liberation this week as they battle Iran-backed Houthi militants intent on throttling freedom of navigation in the Red Sea.

Daniel Martins stands behind a podium and speaks into a microphone.

Seasoned helicopter pilot takes command of Navy base in Sicily

A Navy helicopter pilot with more than 3,000 hours of flight time behind the controls took command of Naval Air Station Sigonella.

Sailors wearing hard hats and red lifeguard vests over their uniforms stand in a row facing the carrier.

Navy opens $5.2 million warehouse in Greece, boosting Mediterranean operations

A $5.2 million Navy logistics facility that recently opened in Greece will better support ships operating in Europe, Africa and the Middle East, service officials say.

More author news

Follow Us:

Alison Bath

Sign Up for Daily Headlines