U.S. Navy orders removal of leadership portraits, bios from public websites

Published Jul 17, 05:19 PM UTC

The U.S. Navy has issued an administrative message instructing commands led by vice admirals and officers of lower rank, including civilian equivalents, to remove portraits and biographies of leadership from public-facing websites. The decision, announced on July 17, 2026, aims to enhance security for sailors and their families by reducing publicly available data that adversaries could aggregate to track, profile, and target personnel. Affected positions include commanding officers, executive officers, chiefs of staff, deputies, and command master chiefs. However, official flag and senior executive service biographies will remain on Navy and Secretary of the Navy websites, and commands led by admirals are exempt. Internal non-public websites will continue to host such information. The policy reflects growing concerns over online data aggregation by hostile actors.