The Navy says it will change who commands amphibious warships. According to reporting from Military Times and Navy Times, the Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) has directed that surface warfare officers will become the only commanding officers for amphibious ships, beginning in fiscal year 2028. Under the planned policy, naval aviators will no longer serve as commanding officers of these vessels.
Both outlets describe the same shift in command selection, framing it as a directive from the CNO rather than a one-time assignment change. The policy is set for implementation next fiscal year, indicating a planned transition period for future command assignments.
While the reports focus on the change in officer qualification for command billets, they both emphasize that the intent is to standardize leadership roles for amphibious warships by aligning command authority with surface warfare officers. Details beyond the command restriction and the fiscal 2028 timeline were not covered in the provided excerpts.
