Inside the Navy highlights

Some must-reads from this week's issue of Inside the Navy:

1. The Navy is changing how it builds future budgets and realigning headquarters staff to support that change to emphasize earlier in the process the service's strategic goals, according to the vice chief of naval operations.

Full story: VCNO: Navy changing POM build to emphasize strategy, realigning HQ

2. The 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit recently deployed to the Middle East and the Asia-Pacific regions achieved an average readiness rate of 70 percent with its V-22 Ospreys, a marked improvement over past units using the tiltrotor aircraft.

Full story: Marine Expeditionary Unit hits 70 percent readiness rate with Osprey

3. The Marine Corps must determine by 2025 whether to pursue a high-water-speed option getting troops from the ship to the beach or buy a slower wheeled or tracked vehicle to support its lift requirements.

Full story: Marines must determine by 2025 whether to pursue high-water-speed option

4. The Marine Corps' $29 billion project to modernize its heavy-lift helicopter fleet has completed a two-week evaluation of the CH-53K King Stallion -- a key event in the campaign to ready the aircraft development program for low-rate production by prime contractor Sikorsky in early 2017.

Full story: CH-53K concludes initial operational test en route to production decision