Sailors...

Zhao worked as a construction electrician and was responsible for installing and repairing electrical equipment on U.S. military installations, according to prosecutors. He had access to unclassified information and information on the Navy’s operation security, but he was not allowed to transmit that information and was required to report suspicious incidents, including attempts by non-Navy personnel who sought that sensitive information.

He had a security clearance and was able to access material up to and including the secret level, according to court documents.

“By sending this sensitive military information to an intelligence officer employed by a hostile foreign state, the defendant betrayed his sacred oath to protect our country and uphold the Constitution,” U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada said in a statement. “Unlike the vast majority of U.S. Navy personnel who serve the nation with honor, distinction and courage, Mr. Zhao chose to corruptly sell out his colleagues and his country.”

Zhao is accused of sharing information about a “large scale” military exercise in the Indo-Pacific region throughout August 2021. From November 2021 through March, Zhao received bribes in Chinese currency, prosecutors said, including a year-end bonus.

“The Department of Justice will continue to use every tool in our arsenal to counter threats from China and to deter those who aid them in breaking our laws and threatening our national security,” Olsen said.

Stacey Moy, special agent with the FBI’s San Diego field office, said the announcement is not an indictment of Chinese or ethnically Chinese American people.

“This is solely based on individuals, regardless of

Continued from 1 news.ed@ocolly.com national origin or ethnicity, conducting criminal activity, violating the rule of law,” Moy said during the news conference. Bryce Miller, a Naval

Criminal Investigative Service agent, said the acts carried out by the sailors threatens Navy

Courtesy of Tribune

“readiness and capabilities.”

USS Mobile Bay, a major player during Operation Desert Storm, will be decommissioned next week in San Diego

Diego on Aug. 10, ending the service life of one of the oldest ships in the Navy.

The cruiser USS Mobile Bay, which launched 22 Tomahawk cruise missiles during Operation Desert Storm and helped carry people to safety when Mt. Pinatubo erupted in the Philippines, will be decommissioned in San

Mobile Bay will become the latest Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser to be sidelined by the Navy, which is phasing out the Cold War-era vessels in favor of the newer Arleigh Burke-class destroyers.

The cruisers were designed for a news.ed@ocolly.com

35-year service life. Mobile Bay was commissioned 36 years ago and initially operated out of Mayport, Fla. It later spent years based in Yokosuka, Japan, then moved to San Diego in 2000.

In the naval community, the ship is known for the moment in January 1991 when it joined other U.S. forces in launching missiles against Iraqi targets during the start of Desert Storm.

Mobile Bay also played a key role in protecting American aircraft carriers in the Persian Gulf area.

The ship also served stateside. It was dispatched to the waters off San Francisco following the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. At the time, the government was concerned that more attacks could be launched against U.S. cities.