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Category: Military Intelligence

  • MIL-OSI USA: Reps. Lee, Amodei Introduce Bipartisan Legislation to Expand Health Care for NV Veterans’ Exposed to Radiation and Toxins

    Source: United States House of Representatives – Congresswoman Susie Lee (NV-03)

    WASHINGTON – Congresswoman Susie Lee (NV-03) and Republican Congressman Mark Amodei (NV-04) introduced bipartisan legislation expanding access to health care for Nevada veterans who have suffered from exposure to radiation and toxic materials as a result of nuclear testing in Nevada. The Presumption for Radiation or Toxin Exposure Coverage for Troops (PROTECT) Act would establish a presumption that certain veterans were exposed to radiation and other toxins at the Nevada Test and Training Range (NTTR). 

    In 2000, Congress passed the Energy Employee Occupational Illness Compensation Act (EEOICPA) which entitled nuclear weapons workers as well as some Department of Energy personnel to receive free medical treatment and fair financial compensation for specific illnesses they contracted as a result of nuclear weapons production and testing. However, it did not cover veterans not involved in DOE operations or that were otherwise omitted for national security reasons. This bipartisan legislation would expand similar VA benefits to veterans that were assigned to impacted areas of NTTR, offering them the potentially life-saving medical treatment and financial compensation they need and deserve. 

    “Our men and women in uniform make countless sacrifices to keep our nation safe, so it’s our duty to protect them from invisible enemies like toxic radiation exposure,” said Congresswoman Susie Lee. “I helped pass the bipartisan PACT Act to do just that, and I’m continuing that work to get these veterans the long overdue care they deserve. This legislation will help save lives and bring justice to thousands of veterans who proudly served our country.” 

    “Veterans, who made such selfless sacrifices for our nation, should not have to move mountains to prove they are suffering as a result of their service,” said Rep. Mark Amodei. “Yet, hundreds of veterans who were stationed at the NTTR during that time frame have been denied the benefits they rightfully earned because exposure to toxic chemicals is microscopic, often referred to as the invisible enemy. I will continue to amplify the indisputable access to care our veterans deserve throughout their post-service lives.” 

    The legislation is endorsed by The Invisible Enemy, a veterans-rights organization composed of veterans and downwinders fighting for the thousands of military personnel who suffered or died from exposure to toxic radiation and materials from decades of nuclear weapons testing at NTTR. You can read more about their work here. 

     

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    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Rep. Ralph Norman Sends Letter to President Trump Medal of Honor to Major James Capers, Jr.

    Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Ralph Norman (SC-05)

    Washington, D.C. – Last week, Rep. Ralph Norman (R-SC) and Senator Lindsey Graham sent a letter to President Donald Trump urging him to award Major James Capers, Jr. the Medal of Honor. 

    Major Capers was responsible for incredible acts of valor when his Marine Corps special operations team was ambushed during a mission in Phu Loc, Vietnam in 1967 during the Vietnam War.

    Rep. Norman has introduced legislation to award Major James Capers, Jr. the Medal of Honor during the 117 and 118 Congresses.

    This letter was cosigned by six Senators and forty Members of Congress.

    Background

    The Medal of Honor is awarded to a military service member who: “distinguishes himself conspicuously by gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty.

    1) While engaged in an action against an enemy of the United States;

    2) While engaged in military operations involving conflict with an opposing foreign force; or

    3) While serving with friendly foreign forces engaged in an armed conflict against an opposing armed force in which the United States is not a belligerent party.”

    Major James Capers, Jr., born in Lee County, South Carolina, exemplified actions above and beyond the call of duty, more than meeting the requirements for a Medal of Honor when he led his team of nine out of an ambush where they were outnumbered 3:1 during the Vietnam War.

    Thanks to the selfless sacrifice by Major Capers, all nine members of the team were brought to safety and survived the attack, though all members of the team, including Major Capers, were injured.

    Major Capers, who now resides in North Carolina, served 22 years in the Marine Corps. He served in combat infantry during the Vietnam War, followed by his re-enlistment where he became the first African American to serve in the Marine Corps’ elite special operations unit, Force Recon. 

    During his career, Major Capers and his team conducted over 50 classified missions in Vietnam, amphibious assaults, covert missions to rescue POWs, and a recovery mission for a downed B-57 bomber, while enduring countless injuries including a broken leg.

    He continually sacrificed himself before his team, earning three Purple Hearts, the Silver Star, two Bronze Stars and Combat V, Vietnam Cross of Gallantry, a Joint Service Commendation Medal, Combat Action Ribbon, three Good Conduct Ribbons, Battle Stars, Navy Commendation Medal, Navy Achievement Medal, CG Certificate of Merit, and multiple letters of Merit, Appreciation, and Commendation.

    Upon returning to the U.S., he then became the face of the “Ask a Marine” recruiting campaign.

    At 85 years old, Major James Capers, Jr. continues his public service by mentoring young Marines.

    Statements

    “Mr. James Capers, Jr. is a legend and should be honored as one,” said Rep. Norman in a statement on Wednesday. “He has lived, seen, and done more in this life than most people could dream of. Major Capers has handled every struggle with strength, humility, and grace. He deserves to be honored as a decorated Marine and for his exemplary character.”

    “Major James Capers, Jr. has served his nation with great distinction and is an inspiration to all Marines,” said Senator Lindsey Graham. “I am proud to join my colleagues in honoring him for his heroic and selfless action.”

    “Major James Capers, Jr. overcame humble beginnings to become an American hero,” said Senator Tim Scott. “His sacrifice and selflessness on behalf of his brothers in arms embody the American spirit and what it means to go above and beyond the call of duty. I’m proud to recommend to President Trump that this great South Carolinian be rightfully awarded with the Medal of Honor.”

    “Major James Capers, Jr. is a hero and his battlefield actions during the Vietnam War are worthy of America’s highest military honor,” said Rep. Joe Wilson. “South Carolina is proud of its native son and appreciates his dedicated service to our nation.”

    “Major Capers’ courage and sacrifice exemplify the very best of our nation’s ideals. His heroism deserves the highest recognition, and we strongly urge President Trump to award him the Medal of Honor,” said Rep. Nancy Mace.“Honoring Major Capers is not just about recognizing one Marine’s extraordinary service—it’s about reaffirming our nation’s commitment to those who have given everything in defense of our freedoms.”

    “Major James Capers’ service and sacrifice exemplify the best of our armed forces. His bravery saved lives and demonstrated exceptional leadership,” said Rep. Sheri Biggs. “I proudly stand with my colleagues in urging President Trump to recognize his remarkable service with the Medal of Honor.”

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: President Lai attends opening of 2025 Halifax Taipei forum

    Source: Republic of China Taiwan

    On the afternoon of February 20, President Lai Ching-te attended the opening of the 2025 Halifax Taipei forum. In remarks, President Lai thanked the Halifax International Security Forum for their strong support for Taiwan, and for having chosen Taiwan as the first location outside North America to hold a forum. Noting that we face a complex global landscape, the president called on the international community to take action. He said that as authoritarianism consolidates, democratic nations must also come closer in solidarity, and called on the international community to create non-red global supply chains, as well as unite to usher in peace. President Lai emphasized that Taiwan will work toward maintaining peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait, and collaborate with democratic partners to form a global alliance for the AI chip industry and together greet a bright, new era.
    A transcript of President Lai’s remarks follows:
    To begin, I want to give a warm welcome to all the distinguished guests here at the very first Halifax Taipei forum. The Halifax International Security Forum, held every year in Canada, has been an important gathering for freedom-loving nations worldwide.
    I would like to thank Halifax and President [Peter] Van Praagh for their strong support for Taiwan. Every year since 2018, Taiwan has been invited to participate in the forum. Last year, former President Tsai Ing-wen was invited to speak, and this year, Halifax has chosen Taiwan as the first location outside North America to hold a forum.
    As President Van Praagh has said, “While the security challenges ahead are too big for any single country to solve alone, there is no challenge that can’t be met when the world’s democracies work together.” Today, we have world leaders and experts who traveled from afar to be here, showing that they value and support Taiwan. It demonstrates solidarity among democracies and the determination to take on challenges as one.
    I would like to express my gratitude and admiration to all of you for serving as defenders of freedom. At this very moment, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is still ongoing. Authoritarian regimes including China, Russia, North Korea, and Iran continue to consolidate. China is hurting economies around the world through its dumping practices. We face grave challenges to global economic order, democracy, freedom, peace, and stability.
    Taiwan holds a key position on the first island chain, directly facing an authoritarian threat. But we will not be intimidated. We will stand firm and safeguard our national sovereignty, maintain our free and democratic way of life, and uphold peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait. Taiwan cherishes peace, but we also have no delusions about peace. We will uphold the spirit of peace through strength, using concrete actions to build a stronger Taiwan and bolster the free and democratic community.
    I sincerely thank the international community for continuing to attach importance to the situation in the Taiwan Strait. Recently, US President Donald Trump and Japan’s Prime Minister Ishiba Shigeru issued a joint leaders’ statement expressing their firm support for peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait, and for Taiwan’s participation in international affairs.
    As we face a complex global landscape, I call on the international community to take the following actions:
    First, as authoritarianism consolidates, democratic nations must also come closer in solidarity.
    Just a few days ago, the top diplomats of the US, Japan, and South Korea held talks, underlining the importance of maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait. They also conveyed their stance against “any effort to destabilize democratic institutions, economic independence, and global security.” On these issues, Taiwan will also continue to contribute its utmost.
    I recently announced that we will prioritize special budget allocations to ensure that our defense budget exceeds 3 percent of GDP. 
    Soon after I assumed office last year, I formed the Whole-of-Society Defense Resilience Committee at the Presidential Office. This committee aims to combine the strengths of government and civil society to enhance our resilience in national defense, economic livelihoods, disaster prevention, and democracy. We will also deepen our strategic partnerships in the democratic community to mutually increase defense resilience, demonstrate deterrence, and achieve our goal of peace throughout the world.
    Second, let’s create non-red global supply chains. 
    For the democratic community to deter the expansion of authoritarianism, it must have strong technological capabilities. These can serve as the backbone of national defense, promote industrial development, and enhance economic resilience. So, in addressing China’s red supply chain and the impact of its dumping, Taiwan is willing and able to work with global democracies to maintain the technological strengths among our partners and build resilient non-red supply chains.
    As a major semiconductor manufacturing nation, Taiwan will introduce an initiative on semiconductor supply chain partnerships for global democracies. We will collaborate with our democratic partners to form a global alliance for the AI chip industry and establish democratic supply chains for industries connected to high-end chips. The achievements of today’s semiconductor industry in Taiwan can be attributed to our collective efforts. Government, industry, academia, and research institutions had to overcome various challenges over the last 50 years for us to secure this position. 
    We hope Taiwan can serve as a base for linking the capabilities of our democratic partners so that each can play a suitable role in the semiconductor industry chain and develop its own strengths, deepening our mutually beneficial cooperation in technology. This benefits all of us. Moreover, it allows us to further enhance deterrence and maintain global security.
    Third, let’s unite to usher in peace.
    China has not stopped intimidating Taiwan politically and militarily. Last year, China launched several large-scale military exercises in the Taiwan Strait. Its escalation of gray-zone aggression now poses a grave threat to the peace and stability of the Indo-Pacific region. As a responsible member of the international community, Taiwan will maintain the status quo. We will not seek conflict. Rather, we are willing to engage in dialogue with China, under the principles of parity and dignity, and work toward maintaining peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait.
    As the agenda of this forum suggests, democracy and freedom create more than just opportunities; they also bring resilience, justice, partnerships, and security.
    Taiwan will continue working alongside its democratic partners to greet a bright, new era. Once again, a warm welcome to all of you. I wish this forum every success. Thank you.
    Also in attendance at the event were Mrs. Abe Akie, wife of the late former Prime Minister Abe Shinzo of Japan, and Halifax International Security Forum President Van Praagh.

    MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

  • MIL-OSI Economics: Growing concerns over phthalates in plastic packaging highlight importance of alternative packaging solutions, says GlobalData

    Source: GlobalData

    Growing concerns over phthalates in plastic packaging highlight importance of alternative packaging solutions, says GlobalData

    Posted in Packaging

    Environmental organizations are increasingly highlighting the numerous health risks associated with phthalates, leading to a rise in consumer awareness and concern over the use of plastic packaging in processed food and beverage products.

    The use of phthalates in plastic packaging is facing increased scrutiny due to a growing body of research that underscores significant health risks linked to these chemicals, observers GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company. This concern has led to legal action by environmental organizations such as Earthjustice and the Environmental Defense Fund against the FDA over its alleged refusal to address regulation concerning the issue.

    One notable health risk associated with plastics is their propensity to absorb flavors, colors, and odors, which consequently raises concerns about the potential leaching of harmful chemicals into food and beverage products packaged with this material.

    Chris Rowland, Packaging Consultant and Analyst at GlobalData, comments: “The European Union has implemented a ban or imposed restrictions on certain phthalate compounds that come into contact with food, a regulatory move adopted by other nations such as the United Kingdom and Canada. To future-proof their packaging capabilities, FMCG companies could explore innovative alternatives, including paper or plant-based materials, regardless of lagging regulation in the US. While initially this shift may entail higher costs, the growing consumer awareness of health risks associated with plastic packaging, coupled with a rising preference for sustainable packaging solutions and the tightening of global regulations on plastic packaging use, suggests that a failure to adapt could lead to a long-term competitive disadvantage.”

    Physical health and fitness concerns could be impacting packaging choices

    According to the latest consumer survey by GlobalData for Q4 2024, nearly half of global consumers (47%) are “extremely” or “quite” concerned about their physical fitness and health.

    The same survey also highlights that over 50% of consumers are “extremely” or “quite concerned” about the amount of processed food they eat or give to others in the “meat”, “pre-packaged meals”, and “food/drinks for children” categories.

    Rowland continues: “Consumers who are concerned about their physical fitness and dietary intake of processed foods tend to be more open to alternatives to plastic packaging. Consequently, an opportunity may arise for consumer packaged goods manufacturers to respond to these concerns, by providing packaging free from phthalates, prominently displaying this feature on the packaging, and working with their packaging suppliers to pioneer innovations in paper and biodegradable packaging for processed foods.”

    “Phthalate-Free” claims associated with personal care products

    At present, “Phthalate-Free” claims are predominantly associated with products within the personal care category, including soaps, cosmetics, and skincare products. Brands that provide phthalate-free options, such as Ecover, MyPure, and Natural Beauty, are at the forefront of this initiative. Additionally, certain niche food producers are making strides by advocating for packaging that is plastic-free, biodegradable, and recyclable. A case in point is Pheasants Hill Farm in the UK, which markets a range of food products, including steaks, mince, and burgers—in plastic-free pouches. These pouches are constructed from plant-based materials, which are claimed to be biodegradable, compostable, and ocean-friendly.

    Alternative packaging formats are increasing in both variety and popularity.

    Numerous packaging formats are now being presented as safer and more environmentally friendly alternatives to phthalate-containing plastic packaging. For example, mushroom packaging employs mycelium—the root structure of mushrooms—to bind agricultural waste into biodegradable packaging materials. This method is not only more sustainable but also provides natural insulation and protection for fragile goods. Seaweed is another material gaining popularity in the packaging industry because of its biodegradable properties and its ability to decompose without leaving harmful residues.

    Rowland adds: “The health and environmental concerns associated with plastic packaging are significant and complex. Addressing these issues necessitates a collaborative effort from consumers, businesses, and regulators to adopt sustainable practices and alternative materials. By adopting paper-based packaging and other alternative materials, brands can align with consumer preferences, comply with regulations, and demonstrate their commitment to health, well-being, and sustainability.”

    GlobalData Consumer Custom Solutions

    GlobalData Consumer Custom Solutions offers sector-level expertise in the Consumer Packaged Goods, Food, Beverages, Foodservice, Retail, Apparel, Packaging, Agribusiness and Automotive industries. We use our unique data, expert insights, and analytics to answer your bespoke questions with a tailored approach and deliverables. To learn more or have a chat, just drop us an email at consulting@globaldata.com or contact us here, and we’ll get in touch! CCS0210

    MIL OSI Economics –

  • MIL-Evening Report: A defence treaty with PNG might seem like a ‘win’ for Australia. But there are 4 crucial questions to answer

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Joanne Wallis, Professor of International Security, University of Adelaide

    Today, Australian Defence Minister Richard Marles began negotiations with his Papua New Guinean counterpart, Billy Joseph, on a defence treaty. This builds on the bilateral security agreement signed between the countries in 2023.

    Analysts have been quick to link the new defence treaty with Australia’s anxiety about China’s increasingly visible presence in the Pacific region.

    This reflects Australia’s longstanding anxiety about powers with potentially hostile interests establishing a foothold here.

    Because it’s only three kilometres from Australian territory, PNG has always been a particular concern. TB Millar, one of the architects of modern Australian strategic policy, went so far as to observe in 1965 that:

    if the whole island [of Papua New Guinea] were to sink under the sea, the net result for Australia in terms of military strategy would be a gain. It is an exposed and vulnerable front door.

    So, the possibility of a defence treaty seems like a “win” for an Australian government keen to bolster its security credentials in the frantic months before the federal election.

    But the government needs to have good answers to four questions before it signs on the dotted line.

    1. How will Australia enforce the treaty?

    Although treaties are theoretically legally binding, there are very few practical enforcement mechanisms.

    The constant agonising in Australia about whether the United States will meet its obligations under the Australia, New Zealand and United States Security Treaty (ANZUS) exemplifies this.

    The Trump administration’s actions also illustrate how quickly a change of government can switch foreign and strategic policy directions, including obligations under longstanding treaties. Like ANZUS, the risk of unenforceability of the PNG treaty is higher for Australia. Australia’s anxieties about China mean that it needs the treaty more than PNG does.

    Sanctions are the most likely way Australia could try to enforce the treaty if, say, PNG breached it by striking a security deal with China. But sanctions can be ineffective.

    Alternatively, Australia could threaten to withdraw its support if PNG breached the treaty. But this is also unlikely because Australia knows China is likely to step into any gap.

    This has been demonstrated in Solomon Islands. Even though Australia has a security treaty with Solomon Islands and invested A$3 billion in the 2003–17 Regional Assistance Mission, Solomon Islands still signed a security agreement with China in 2022.

    2. Has Australia mitigated any risks?

    No previous Australian government has offered PNG a binding security guarantee.

    In 1977, Australia and PNG adopted a formal defence relationship. Australia, however, was cautious about instability in PNG and the risk of being drawn into a conflict along its land border with Indonesia. As such, it didn’t provide a commitment to defend PNG.

    In the mid-1980s, PNG requested a defence commitment from Australia. Again, Australia was reluctant. As then-Defence Minister Kim Beazley recalled, PNG was “right in the frame of our relationship with Indonesia”, due to the shared border with Indonesia and the challenge of West Papuan independence activists crossing it.

    As a compromise, the two countries made a Joint Declaration of Principles in 1987 that only provided the two governments “will consult … about matters affecting their common security interests”.

    As the self-determination struggle in West Papua continues, PNG currently has defence units posted on its border with Indonesia.

    Under what circumstances, if any, would Australia provide military support to PNG if violence on the border worsened? And what impact would this have on our relationship with Indonesia?

    Not responding to a call for support from PNG could damage Australia’s reputation in the region. But if Australia did become involved in a conflict, it may be criticised for supporting activities that breach human rights.

    The risk of Australia being unable to respond to a PNG request for military assistance is high because Australia does not have the defence (or policing) capacity to defend or stabilise a sprawling country like PNG.

    Australia’s reliance on US assistance to stabilise Timor-Leste after its 1999 independence referendum illustrates the logistical challenges it faces when making large deployments, even in the region.

    While Australia’s defence capabilities have improved since then, it would still likely only have the capacity to secure key cities in PNG and evacuate Australian citizens if there was serious unrest.

    3. Can Australia justify the cost at home?

    Australian taxpayers – already experiencing cost-of-living pressures – need to be told what funding commitments the government is willing to make to facilitate the treaty negotiations.

    Australia’s promise of A$600 million to fund a PNG team in the National Rugby League is already attracting opposition at home.

    4. What are the long-term defence plans?

    PNG’s strategic location means Australia and the US have long had designs on establishing a permanent military base there.

    Manus Island, for example, has been identified as an ideal submarine base. With Australia developing nuclear-powered submarines under the AUKUS partnership, are there plans to eventually base – or at least resupply – Australian submarines there?

    This could have an impact on Australia’s relationships in the broader Pacific Islands region. There are already concerns in the region about whether the nuclear-powered submarines will comply with Australia’s obligations under the South Pacific Nuclear Free Zone Treaty.

    Australia has legitimate strategic interests in PNG. As such, it’s understandable why a defence treaty is tempting.

    But for 50 years, Australian governments have resisted this temptation because they decided that the risks outweighed the rewards. The current government will need to provide a good justification for its change of course.

    Joanne Wallis receives funding from the Australian Research Council and the Australian Department of Defence. She is a Nonresident Senior Fellow of the Brookings Institution, a nonprofit public policy organisation.

    – ref. A defence treaty with PNG might seem like a ‘win’ for Australia. But there are 4 crucial questions to answer – https://theconversation.com/a-defence-treaty-with-png-might-seem-like-a-win-for-australia-but-there-are-4-crucial-questions-to-answer-250396

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: By land and by sea: UK supports US-led military exercises improving African security and stability

    Source: United Kingdom – Government Statements

    The UK Armed Forces are working with allies to deliver joint exercises with African partners to protect our people, prosperity and shared values.

    UK advisors guide partner forces in urban operations drills at Justified Accord, Kenya (Credit: U.S. Army Southern European Task Force, Africa)

    Thursday 20 February 2025 – The UK Armed Forces have been one of the biggest contributors to two large-scale military exercises that are reaching their climax this week across the land and sea of East Africa. The United States is leading both exercises and has brought together over 2,000 personnel from the armed forces of 29 countries, including 22 African nations.

    The UK is responsible for delivering component parts of these multinational training exercises, under United States stewardship. The UK has been one of the biggest contributors to the Exercise Justified Accord ‘Field Training Exercise (FTX)’ which sees B Company 3 RIFLES exercise alongside a company from the US 173rd Airborne Brigade, a company of Kenya Army infantry, a troop of Kenyan Marines, Kenya Airforce fixed wing and rotary wing assets and, one infantry platoon each from Tanzania and Somalia.

    Exercise Justified Accord is a land multinational exercise being delivered between 10 – 21 February hosted by Djibouti, Kenya and Tanzania. It began with table-top exercises that have laid the foundation for full-scale live activity, which are now underway. The action-packed drills involve coordinating and executing ground attacks, calling in air-support, urban warfare, using drones, and breaching and clearing buildings, as well as medical evacuations.

    Cutlass Express is being conducted simultaneously, mostly in Mauritius, Seychelles and Tanzania. It is a naval warfare exercise which focuses on boarding various types of vessels at high speed to take command and control. The exercise challenges teams to complete scenarios which become increasingly harder and involve different types of vessels – from boarding small boats and dhows, to gaining control of larger vessels whilst under fire.

    In another example of the United Kingdom and the United States being long-term partners for long-term stability and security, Exercise Cutlass Express is taking place for the 15th time, whilst Exercise Justified Accord has been conducted in various forms since 1998. Further joint exercises with African partners are planned for 2025.

    Both exercises will ensure that the different forces involved work together to achieve combat objectives and prepare for real-life scenarios where they may have to collaborate quickly and effectively to counter threats in the region.

    Falling just after the election of the new African Union Chairperson, the exercises also support the African Union’s security objectives by preparing partners for United Nations and African Union missions in Africa.

    It serves as another example of the UK’s support for improved security not just in East Africa, but across the whole of Africa. These include the creation of the history-making, first-ever Kenyan marines and joint-training with the special forces of Nigeria and Ghana.

    Olly Bryant, Defence Attaché at the British High Commission Nairobi, said:

    The UK is a long-term partner, helping to deliver long-term stability and security across East Africa, and we are proud to be working with our allies on delivering high-capacity and high-quality activity. We are also proud of our security partnerships with our partners across Africa, which protect our people, prosperity and shared interests – we go far when we go together.

    EDITOR’S NOTES

    Video and photo content

    Please find free-to-access video and photo content for Justified Accord here: https://www.dvidshub.net/feature/JustifiedAccord

    Please find free-to-access photo and video content for Cutlass Express here: https://www.dvidshub.net/feature/CutlassExpress2025

    Here is a link to a small selection of photos on Google Drive taken from the sites above: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1DOz2ajnRjFK4vAMN7KxajL57RgXO-9aJ?usp=sharing 

    Background on Exercise Justified Accord

    You can find more information here, via U.S. Army Southern European Task Force, Africa.

    Background on Exercise Cutlass Express

    You can find more information here, via U.S. Naval Forces Europe-Africa/U.S. Sixth Fleet.

    List of participating nations

    Exercise Justified Accord

    Angola

    Botswana

    Djibouti

    DRC

    Ghana

    Kenya

    Madagascar

    Malawi

    Mozambique

    Nigeria

    Republic of the Congo

    Somalia

    Tanzania

    Tunisia

    Uganda

    Zambia

    France (Observer)

    India (Observer)

    Italy

    Netherlands

    United Kingdom

    United States

    Exercise Cutlass Express

    Comoros

    Djibouti

    Kenya

    Madagascar

    Malawi

    Mauritius

    Morocco

    Mozambique

    Senegal

    Seychelles

    Somalia

    Tanzania

    Tunisia

    France

    Georgia

    India (Observer)

    United Kingdom

    United States

    CONTACT

    For media enquiries, please contact Tom Walker at the British High Commission Nairobi on tom.walker2@fcdo.gov.uk.

    Updates to this page

    Published 20 February 2025

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Maj. Gen. Gavin Gardner Visits COMLOG WESTPAC, Feb. 4, 2025 [Image 1 of 3]

    Source: United States Navy (Logistics Group Western Pacific)

    Issued by: on

    SINGAPORE (Feb. 4, 2025) U.S. Navy Rear Adm. Todd F. Cimicata, center, Commander, Logistics Group Western Pacific/Task Force 73 (COMLOG WESTPAC/CTF 73), and Capt. John-Paul Tamez, left, Deputy Commander, COMLOG WESTPAC, meet with U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Gavin Gardner, third from right, 8th Theater Sustainment Command, and staff during a scheduled visit to Sembawang Naval Installation, Feb. 4, 2025. COMLOG WESTPAC supports deployed surface units and aircraft carriers, along with regional partners, to facilitate patrols in the South China Sea, participation in naval exercises and responses to natural disasters. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Jomark A. Almazan/Released)

    Date Taken: 02.03.2025
    Date Posted: 02.19.2025 23:42
    Photo ID: 8877659
    VIRIN: 250204-N-DB724-1015
    Resolution: 8231×5487
    Size: 4.51 MB
    Location: SG
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    This work, Maj. Gen. Gavin Gardner Visits COMLOG WESTPAC, Feb. 4, 2025 [Image 3 of 3], by PO1 Jomark Almazan, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.

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  • MIL-OSI USA News: 80th Anniversary of the Battle of Iwo Jima

    Source: The White House

    class=”has-text-align-center”>By the President of the United States of America

    A Proclamation

    On the morning of February 19, 1945, the first wave of United States Marines landed on the island of Iwo Jima — commencing 36 long, perilous days of gruesome warfare, and one of the most consequential campaigns of the Second World War.  With ruthless fervor, the Japanese struck our forces with mortars, heavy artillery, and a steady barrage of small arms fire, but they could not shake the spirit of the Marines, and American forces did not retreat.

    Five days into the conflict, six Marines ascended the island’s highest peak and hoisted Old Glory into the summit of Mount Suribachi — a triumphant moment that has stood the test of time as a lasting symbol of the grit, resolve, and unflinching courage of Marines and all of those who serve our Nation in uniform.

    After five weeks of unrelenting warfare, the island was declared secure, and our victory advanced America’s cause in the Pacific Theater — but at a staggering cost.  Of the 70,000 men assembled for the campaign, nearly 7,000 Marines and Sailors died, and 20,000 more were wounded.

    The battle was defined by massive casualties, but also acts of gallantry — 27 Marines and Sailors received the Medal of Honor for their valor during Iwo Jima.  No other single battle in our Nation’s history bears this distinction.  Eighty years later, we proudly continue to honor their heroism.

    American liberty was secured, in part, by young men who stormed the black sand shores of Iwo Jima and defeated the Japanese Imperial Army eight decades ago.  In spite of a brutal war, the United States–Japan Alliance represents the cornerstone of peace and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific.

    Nonetheless, our victory at Iwo Jima stands as a legendary display of American might and an eternal testament to the unending love, nobility, and fortitude of America’s Greatest Generation.  To every Patriot who selflessly rose to the occasion, left behind his family and his home, and gallantly shed his blood for freedom on the battlefields at Iwo Jima, we vow to never forget your intrepid devotion — and we pledge to build a country, a culture, and a future worthy of your sacrifice.

    NOW, THEREFORE, I, DONALD J. TRUMP, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim February 19, 2025, as the 80th Anniversary of the Battle of Iwo Jima.  I encourage all Americans to remember the selfless patriots of the Greatest Generation.

         IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this nineteenth day of February, in the year of our Lord two thousand twenty-five, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and forty-ninth.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA News: President Trump Announces Appointments to the Council of Governors

    Source: The White House

    class=”has-text-align-left”>Today, President Donald J. Trump announced new appointments to the Council of Governors, a bipartisan group of state leaders tasked with strengthening state-federal partnerships on key national security, disaster response, and military coordination issues.
     
    Appointed Members

    • Governor Glenn Youngkin (VA) – Co-Chair
    • Governor Josh Stein (NC) – Co-Chair
    • Governor Ron DeSantis (FL)
    • Governor Brian Kemp (GA)
    • Governor Jeff Landry (LA)
    • Governor Wes Moore (MD)
    • Governor Gretchen Whitmer (MI)
    • Governor Kathy Hochul (NY)
    • Governor Josh Shapiro (PA)
    • Governor Henry McMaster (SC)

    About the Council of Governors
    The Council of Governors was established by the National Defense Authorization Act of 2008 and formally created by Executive Order 13528 in 2010. It serves as a key forum for governors and federal officials to enhance collaboration on disaster response, National Guard operations, and military integration within the states.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI China: China reveals cases on military facilities’ protection

    Source: China State Council Information Office 3

    China’s top court disclosed five influential cases involving the protection of military facilities to further enhance the public awareness of national defense and the rule of law.

    “Military facilities are an important component of national defense construction, serving as the foundation of the military to fulfill its missions, and providing crucial support for national strategic capabilities and military operations,” the Supreme People’s Court said on Wednesday.

    “The disclosure of the cases not only emphasizes the significance of protecting military facilities, but also demonstrates the steadfast determination and relentless efforts of Chinese courts in safeguarding national defense interests,” it added.

    It revealed that crimes involving the destruction of military facilities, such as military optical cables, have occurred from time to time in recent years. “Such actions endanger military security and affecting the military ability to carry out its missions, so they must be severely punished,” it noted.

    One disclosed case showed that a defendant surnamed Xu was sentenced to 18 months in prison for the crime of sabotage of military communications.

    Xu, who worked for an information technology company, was responsible for the daily inspection and maintenance of optical cable lines. He used metal pliers to cut a military optical cable during one inspection with the intention of selling it, causing the interruption of critical business systems for over two hours and disrupting military communications for three units that were conducting exercises.

    Xu’s actions resulted in economic losses of more than 40,000 yuan ($5,490), and the loss of the involved optical cable amounted to over 9,000 yuan.

    “Military communication is the method by which the armed forces use communication tools or other means to transmit information for command purposes,” the top court said, stressing that military optical cables are vital military communication facilities.

    “In the information age, the damage to military optical cables can have significant adverse effects on military communications and activities, not only causing financial losses but also severely influencing the readiness and training of troops, thereby endangering national defense interests and national security,” it added.

    It praised the conviction and sentence given to Xu, noting that the ruling has shown the judicial high-pressure on those who harm national defense interests and military combat effectiveness.

    While requiring courts nationwide to continue the fight against such crime, it has also called on more people from all walks of life to strengthen the protection of military facilities.

    MIL OSI China News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Statement by Performing the Duties of Deputy Secretary of Defense Robert G. Salesses

    Source: United States Department of Defense

    President Trump’s charge to the Department is clear: to achieve peace through strength. We will do this by putting forward budgets that revive the warrior ethos, rebuild our military, and reestablish deterrence.

    To achieve our mandate from President Trump, we are guided by his priorities including Securing our borders, building the Iron Dome for America, and ending radical and wasteful government DEI programs and preferencing.

    Accordingly, Secretary Hegseth has directed a review to identify offsets from the Biden Administration’s FY26 budget that could be realigned from low-impact and low-priority Biden-legacy programs to align with President Trump’s America First priorities for our national defense.

    The Department will develop a list of potential offsets that could be used to fund these priorities, as well as to refocus the Department on its core mission of deterring and winning wars. The offsets are targeted at 8% of the Biden Administration’s FY26 budget, totaling around $50 billion, which will then be spent on programs aligned with President Trump’s priorities.

    The Department of Defense is conducting this review to ensure we are making the best use of the taxpayers’ dollars in a way that delivers on the President Trump’s defense priorities efficiently and effectively.

    Through our budgets, the Department of Defense will once again resource warfighting and cease unnecessary spending that set our military back under the previous administration, including through so-called “climate change” and other woke programs, as well as excessive bureaucracy. The time for preparation is over – we must act swiftly to deter current and impending threats and make the best use of taxpayers’ dollars in doing so.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: On Senate Floor, Shaheen Blasts Trump Administration’s Reckless Firing of FAA Personnel Critical to Aviation Safety

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for New Hampshire Jeanne Shaheen

    (Washington, DC) – On the Senate floor, U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) raised concerns for public safety after the Trump Administration recklessly decided to fire hundreds of Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) personnel critical to aviation safety. This week’s decision will further strain the system at a time when incidents and near-misses are at a high. Last week, Shaheen and U.S. Senator John Hoeven (R-ND) sent a bipartisan letter calling on Acting Administrator of the FAA, Chris Rochelau to urgently work with Congress to address air safety workforce staffing shortages. You can watch her remarks in full here. 

    Key Quotes:

    • “Many towers and facilities are operating buildings and on equipment that’s five, ten, even fifteen years old and when something goes wrong, they need to know there’s someone on call to fix things because lives literally depend on it. Americans need to know that the skies are secure and that their safety is a top priority.” 
    • “I think we should do everything we can to make government run efficiently and effectively. But indiscriminately freezing hiring across the board [and] pushing out thousands of civil servants makes that problem worse, not better.” 
    • “I don’t think people elected Donald Trump to dismantle this country’s air traffic control system. I think they elected him because they wanted to see inflation go down, they wanted to see their grocery prices reduced, they wanted to see help with rental costs, mortgage rates, with energy costs, and what have we seen in the weeks since Donald Trump got inaugurated? No effort to address any of those things.” 

    Full Remarks as Delivered:

    I come to the floor today to call attention to the Trump Administration’s unconscionable disregard for air safety. 

    Last month, here in Washington, we saw the deadliest commercial aviation event on U.S. soil in over 23 years.

    And while this loss of life was horrifying, it was unfortunately not unimaginable. 

    In recent years, near misses at airports across the country have increased, and the incident at DCA illustrated just how quickly these dangerous situations can take a turn for the worst. 

    Several times last year, runway incidents were narrowly avoided, due in no small part to the heroic actions of certified professional air traffic controllers who staff our towers. 

    These controllers are hardworking Americans.

    They often log six-day weeks and ten-hour days—and that’s on a good week.

    So even before this week’s misguided and, frankly, stupid—I mean, I have to say, I think it’s a stupid decision to lay off hundreds of FAA workers and air traffic controllers who have been overworked and understaffed.

    And this is not a new problem.

    We’ve known about it for years. 

    For years in Congress, we’ve been sounding the alarm about the need to invest in our air traffic control workforce.  

    In last year’s FAA reauthorization bill, we worked in a bipartisan fashion to address this issue—to support our air traffic control workforce so they can do their vital, often lifesaving jobs effectively.

    By partnering with the National Air Traffic Control Union and the FAA, we successfully adopted a new staffing method, model, staffing model, in the reauthorization bill, and they’ve been making good progress, but of course we have more work to do.

    It’s important to acknowledge that any response to the tragedy at Reagan National Airport must include a commitment to reinforce all parts of our aviation safety workforce. 

    Controllers would be the first ones to tell you that they don’t work in a vacuum. 

    The equipment they use is maintained by hundreds of dedicated support personnel who go through years of highly specialized training.

    Many towers and facilities operate in buildings and on equipment that’s five, ten, even fifteen years old, and when something goes wrong, they need to know that there’s someone on call to fix things because lives literally depend on it.

    Americans need to know that the skies are secure and that their safety is a top priority. 

    Sadly, I can’t say that the actions we’re seeing from this administration does any of that. 

    Secretary Duffy said he wants to surge air traffic controller hiring.  
     

    I agree with him on that. 

    We can and we should hire more air traffic controllers, but not at the expense of the rest of FAA’s workforce. 

    We can hire any number of air traffic controllers tomorrow, but without the dedicated support staff that make their work possible, it wouldn’t matter. 

    So how is the Administration responding to the American people’s distress over increasingly frequent close calls and, indeed crashes, sadly, like the one we saw in Toronto this week?

    Well, over the weekend this administration fired nearly 400 FAA employees, some of them in my state of New Hampshire. 

    We heard an outpouring of concern over the weekend from controllers, pilots, airlines and passengers who want to know that they’re going to be safe when they fly.

    I’m sure the Administration must be hearing this too.

    But when asked about the impact of the irresponsible and reckless effort, this is what Secretary Duffy had to say, he said and I quote, “zero critical safety personnel were let go.”

    Well, so I’m not sure I understand this. 

    We’re telling the American people that if a communications system goes down while the plane is approaching the runway, the person who knows how to get it back up and running isn’t critical?

    That if the power goes out at an en-route facility while 747s are flying overhead, the eighteen fired maintenance personnel who know how to turn the lights back on won’t be necessary?

    That the staffers who develop innovative safety and flight procedures every time there is an incident, to make sure your plane takes off on time and arrives safely, are fair game to be fired?

    Because we just lost 13 of them. 

    And to anyone who’s worried about our national security, good news: According to this administration, the FAA employees working on a classified radar system to detect cruise missiles, aren’t all that important either, and they also were fired.

    So I’m going to say that again because this administration thinks that the civil servants at the FAA’s National Airspace System Defense Program are apparently not critical to our safety. 

    None of this makes me or my constituents sleep better at night, but I bet you it makes our enemies happy. 

    The Administration has tried to defend this by saying that everyone who [they] fired was probationary.

    They’d like you to believe that these are all brand-new employees. 

    Sort of the philosophy that the last one in, is the first one out. 

    But that’s not how the system works, and it sure as heck isn’t how you keep Americans safe. 

    In fact, employees who were promoted based on stellar performance within the last year, many of them who have been with the FAA for ten or fifteen years, are also labeled as probationary employees when they start their new positions.

    So in fact, the Administration just fired some of the people with the most experience, not the least.

    And this speaks to what is a bigger problem. 

    Time and again, we’re seeing this happen with so-called “government efficiency,” in quotes, experts. 

    Listen, like most of us in this chamber, I think we should do everything we can to make government run efficiently and effectively, but indiscriminately freezing hiring across the board, pushing out thousands of civil servants, makes that problem worse, not better. 

    Last week, hundreds of employees at the National Nuclear Security Administration were fired without warning. 

    This week, the Administration is scrambling to try and hire most of them back because they didn’t realize they oversee our nuclear stockpile.

    And the Department of Energy fired more than a thousand employees, including three-quarters of the State and Community Energy Program’s office.

    Now, I don’t know if the people who are making these decisions in the Administration even know what that office does.

    But I can tell you that in New Hampshire we depend on them because they help keep weatherization programs up and running, they support emergency operations in the wake of disasters.

    And with folks in New Hampshire dealing with some of the highest home heating costs, who are worried about how they’re going to keep themselves warm this winter, and states around the country still recovering from floods and fires and winter storms, I can’t imagine why anybody would think that it’s a good idea to get rid of the people who are helping make sure those programs operate. 

    And then on Monday, we found out that dozens of USDA employees, so the Department of Agriculture, who have been working to prevent bird flu, were fired. 

    And then the White House realized what they had done, they panicked and they tried to bring them back. 

    Now that’s on top of all of the people around the globe who have been monitoring the bird flu potential epidemic—who have already been fired with the closure of the U.S. Agency for International Development.

    And just this afternoon, we heard that nearly 500 employees at the National Institute of Standards and Technology would be fired, including almost 60 percent of the CHIPS office.

    So the effort that we stood up, that this Congress stood up, to try and make sure we could compete with China, with Taiwan in the production of semiconductors, which are included in almost everything we use from our cell phones to our refrigerators to our cars, 60 percent of those people are now gone.

    So who’s going to provide that effort that we need in order to compete with China? 

    These are the staff that make sure our high-tech semiconductor manufacturing industry stays competitive. 

    Example after example shows that the firings that Elon Musk has taken credit for have not been thought through. 

    Either he’s doing it deliberately in an effort to undermine the United States or he’s doing it because he’s so ignorant he has no idea what any of these people do or what their operations do.

    Either way, it’s inexcusable. 

    I heard from a constituent this week who works, who worked, past tense, for the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department for 24 years, and she just took a job as a wildlife biologist with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service last year. 

    Her job focused on implementing the Pittman-Robinson Wildlife Restoration Act. 

    As my colleagues on both sides of the aisle know, this involves conserving bird and wildlife habitat, hunter education and shooting ranges. 

    Its funds come not from taxpayer dollars, but from excise taxes on firearms, ammunition and archery equipment.

    And yet, her job was terminated under the guise of government efficiency. 

    She has a mortgage; she has kids in college who need health care coverage, but her main ask to me was to help put a stop to these firings and to simply help her get her job back because like most of our public servants, she cares about the mission of her work.

    Over and over, we’re seeing this administration take out irresponsible, reckless initiatives with devastating consequences for critical positions without taking a second to think through or learn about what those positions do. 

    And when things inevitably break as a result, they don’t own up to their mistakes. 

    Instead, they try to convince you that keeping the lights on at control towers or inspecting airplane engines, making plans to manage some of the busiest airspace in the country really isn’t critical to your safety. 

    Well, I don’t believe that and I don’t think you should either. 

    For the sake of the American people, we can and we must do better.

    I don’t think people elected Donald Trump to dismantle this country’s air traffic control system. 

    I think they elected him because they wanted to see inflation go down, they wanted to see their grocery prices reduced, they wanted to see help with rental costs, with mortgage rates, with energy costs and what have we seen in the weeks since Donald Trump got inaugurated?

    No effort to address any of those things. 

    All we’ve seen is an effort at retribution against his perceived enemies, at firing and undermining of services and programs within the government to serve the American people. 

    For the sake of our citizens, we must do better. 

    I’m calling on this administration to right this wrong as quickly as possible, before it’s too late. 

    I yield the floor.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Security: CN25 tests partner nations fifth-generation capability

    Source: United States INDO PACIFIC COMMAND

    This year’s main focus is the relationship of the U.S. Air Force, joint services, Japan Air Self Defense Force and Royal Australian Air Force fifth-generation aircraft and strengthening the interoperability of allies. 

    “Cope North 25 is an opportunity for the USAF, RAAF and JASDF to integrate at a level of training that you can’t accomplish anywhere else,” said U.S. Air Force Capt. Bobby Evans, 134th Fighter Squadron electronic combat pilot. “The airspace here is unrestrictive, and the amount of time we are able to spend tackling problems together is a fantastic experience.”

    CN25 marks the first year where there are F-35A Lightning IIs from all three participating nations with the U.S. Marine Corps bringing in the F-35B Lightning II. 

    The F-35A Lightning II is the coalition forces’ latest 5th generation aircraft. This specific aircraft was designed to operate with its ability to survive in a contested environment, with its advanced avionics, situational awareness, aerodynamic performance and reduced vulnerability for the United States and partner nations. 

    “The number one goal of Cope North is the integration of the F-35 tactics between the three nations, Japan, Australia and the United States,” said U.S. Air Force Col. Charles Schuck, 3rd Wing commander. “We all use the F-35, so you would think that one airplane means that we do everything the same, but that’s an assumption we have to validate.” He went on to explain that each country operates in a unique way, which is why trilateral integration exercises such as CN25 are vital. 

    With a few days left of CN25, JASDF, RAAF, USAF and other joint nations continue to sharpen aerial warfighting integration, strengthening joint integration and partnership for a free and open Indo-Pacific. 

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: U.S., ROK forces forge interoperability with combined arms exercise

    Source: United States INDO PACIFIC COMMAND

    It is only through robust cooperation between ROK and U.S. forces that defense against aggression on the Korean peninsula can be deterred or, if need be, repelled.

    This interoperability is forged through joint trainings, exercises and drills. A prime example of this took place between the U.S. and ROK forces Feb. 12-13, 2025.

    “A combined maneuver exercise took place with the 112th Mechanized Infantry Battalion, ROK Army Special Forces, the 25th Fighter Squadron and joint terminal attack controllers from the 607th Air Support Operations Group,” said U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael Murphy, 51st Fighter Wing ground liaison officer.

    The purpose of training, from the ground perspective, was for the 112th MIB to train on establishing and executing a hasty defense in response to a simulated attack, said Murphy. Additionally, ROKA Special Forces exercised their targeting and terminal guidance operations in coordination with U.S. air assets.

    “Opportunities to train in a combined environment can be limited, so training like this is incredibly important to the U.S.-ROK Alliance,” said Murphy. “The ability to work side by side increases our overall effectiveness by allowing one another to grow our understanding of our partners’ tactics and capabilities.”

    This training was a new opportunity from the aerial perspective as well, providing valuable experiences for members of the 25th FS.

    “This was really the only opportunity that I have seen that there has been actual live tanks out there playing as an opposition force that is postured against friendly infantry,” said U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Justin Davis, 25th Fighter Squadron commander. “It helped us practice how we would actually fight. If we get called for close air support it could be for a U.S. unit or a ROK unit. It helped them understand what support we can provide and it helped us understand what kind of support they might need.”

    Increased tactical proficiency is crucial to effective mission completion, but is not the only benefit that was seen from this exercise.

    “It makes us better at our job of close air support, but more than that it showcases that we have a strong alliance, that we put a lot of time and effort into maintaining the alliance and strengthening those bonds, even at the lowest tactical level,” said Davis. “From the 7th Air Force and U.S. Forces Korea, all the way down to the squadron level, we are integrating to improve our ability to support each other if war were to come.”

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: 521st CRS Airmen battle cold in PACIFIC DAGGER

    Source: United States INDO PACIFIC COMMAND

    Many historic American military operations in the Pacific were set on steaming jungle islands, but the US Indo-Pacific Command Area of Responsibility includes some cold and snowy places. PACIFIC DAGGER, an exercise designed to test skills needed in an INDOPACOM contingency scenario, included a new desired learning objective for the 521st CRS “Hydras”: cold weather operations. The Westover’s 439th Airlift Wing “Dogpatch” training area hosted tents, generators, a forklift, and bundled-up Airmen.

    “Our mission is simple, but complex. It’s to rapidly assess, open, operate, sustain, and defend expeditionary airfields and aerial ports. And the reason we’re out here today is we’re putting the Hydras through a pretty tough expeditionary test,” said Lt. Col. Ryan Frost, commander of the squadron. “We put the whole Contingency Response Element through these cold-weather paces while dealing with difficult force protection condition change injects and chemical and biological attack injects. And our airmen did the test.”

    PACIFIC DAGGER was the first time the 521st CRS Senior Enlisted Leader, Chief Master Sgt. Mark Erwin, saw a Contingency Response Element in action. “The rate at which people accomplish their tasks, some of which were not inherent to their own Air Force Specialty, that’s what really impressed me. We have some professionals in certain AFSC’s that are knocking out some technical tasks, but they need extra hands of people pitching in. They looked for the task at hand, and everybody got after it. It was really cool to watch.”

    Contingency Response Airmen routinely practice responding to chemical & biological threats as well as armed opposing forces. In the wooded winterscape at Westover, the Hydras found themselves scraping freezing rain off their gas masks and knocking ice from their weapons before they could engage the enemy during a firefight.

     

    Tech. Sgt. David Cope, security forces assessor with the 621st Contingency Response Group, observed and coached the exercise participants. “Any exercise is valuable to be able to practice the ‘hub-and-spoke’ situation, coordinating with other squadrons to employ real-time intelligence updates. However, the weather puts many of us in a completely new situation. The cold and ice impacts everything from tent zippers to how we operate our generators. The team found out how important toe warmers are, and that [chemical, biological, and radiological] protective clothing also helps protect from the cold.”

    “When you don’t operate in the cold, there are things you don’t know,” said Erwin. “Coming out here, we’re learning and getting that experience, so if we have to deploy somewhere cold, we’ve got lessons learned to overcome problems. That way we can focus on whatever new problems occur whenever they come up.”

     

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: 38th Air Defense Artillery Brigade Strengthens Bonds with Japanese Ground Self Defense Force through Co-Op Program

    Source: United States INDO PACIFIC COMMAND

    During the visit, JGSDF Soldiers were provided an in-depth mission briefing on the sophisticated integrated air and missile defense systems of the brigade, which included insights into the capabilities of the mobile interceptor missile – 104 surface-to-air missile system Patriot and the terminal high altitude area defense systems. This knowledge-sharing initiative is pivotal to bolstering the interoperable defense architecture between the United States and Japan, showcasing a unified stance against a myriad of aerial threats.

    As tensions and strategic interests heighten across the Indo-Pacific theater, such collaborations are pivotal to ensure shared understanding and interoperability among allies. The Co-Op Program, spanning nine compelling weeks, immerses JGSDF members in the nerve center of U.S. Army operations at Camp Zama, the heart of U.S. Army Japan’s mission to safeguard peace and security in the region.

    During their stay, JGSDF soldiers did not only gain insights into the operational imperatives of the 38th ADA brigade but also engaged in intensive language training designed to facilitate seamless communication in mission-critical scenarios. Each participant is paired with a counterpart from a different unit at Camp Zama, who guides them through their daily responsibilities, promoting a hands-on experience of the U.S. Army’s rigorous duties and responsibilities.

    This holistic approach to exchange and cooperation underscores the U.S. Army’s commitment to deepening ties with its Japanese partners. By fostering such interpersonal and professional relationships, the 38th ADA brigade and USARJ are paving the way for a resilient and responsive integrated defense force, ready to confront the challenges of the 21st century.

    The 38th Air Defense Artillery Brigade is a key component of the 94th Army Air and Missile Defense Command, U.S. Army Pacific, strategically forward-deployed and tasked with the vital mission of integrated air and missile defense in Japan as well as across the Indo-Pacific region. With a focus on readiness, modernization, and integration, the brigade stands at the forefront of strategic defense operations, ensuring peace and stability through unwavering vigilance and strong alliances.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI China: Top court reveals cases involving military facilities’ protection

    Source: China State Council Information Office 2

    China’s top court disclosed five influential cases involving the protection of military facilities to further enhance the public awareness of national defense and the rule of law.
    “Military facilities are an important component of national defense construction, serving as the foundation of the military to fulfill its missions, and providing crucial support for national strategic capabilities and military operations,” the Supreme People’s Court said on Wednesday.
    “The disclosure of the cases not only emphasizes the significance of protecting military facilities, but also demonstrates the steadfast determination and relentless efforts of Chinese courts in safeguarding national defense interests,” it added.
    It revealed that crimes involving the destruction of military facilities, such as military optical cables, have occurred from time to time in recent years. “Such actions endanger military security and affecting the military ability to carry out its missions, so they must be severely punished,” it noted.
    One disclosed case showed that a defendant surnamed Xu was sentenced to 18 months in prison for the crime of sabotage of military communications.
    Xu, who worked for an information technology company, was responsible for the daily inspection and maintenance of optical cable lines. He used metal pliers to cut a military optical cable during one inspection with the intention of selling it, causing the interruption of critical business systems for over two hours and disrupting military communications for three units that were conducting exercises.
    Xu’s actions resulted in economic losses of more than 40,000 yuan ($5,490), and the loss of the involved optical cable amounted to over 9,000 yuan.
    “Military communication is the method by which the armed forces use communication tools or other means to transmit information for command purposes,” the top court said, stressing that military optical cables are vital military communication facilities.
    “In the information age, the damage to military optical cables can have significant adverse effects on military communications and activities, not only causing financial losses but also severely influencing the readiness and training of troops, thereby endangering national defense interests and national security,” it added.
    It praised the conviction and sentence given to Xu, noting that the ruling has shown the judicial high-pressure on those who harm national defense interests and military combat effectiveness.
    While requiring courts nationwide to continue the fight against such crime, it has also called on more people from all walks of life to strengthen the protection of military facilities.

    MIL OSI China News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Department of Defense Chief of Staff Joseph Kasper Statement on U.S. NORTHCOM Commander Gen. Gregory M. Guillot’s Meeting With General Ricardo Trevilla Trejo, Secretary of National Defense of Mexico (Defensa) Regarding Cooperative Activities Along the United States and Mexico Border

    Source: United States Department of Defense

    General Gregory M. Guillot, Commander, US Northern Command, and General Ricardo Trevilla Trejo, Secretary of National Defense of Mexico (Defensa), met recently to discuss cooperation on security along the Mexico and U.S. border. The engagement resulted in the formulation and signing of a Joint Statement of Understanding regarding cooperative activities along the border.

    General Trevilla and General Guillot agreed to conduct coordinated patrols on their respective side of the border, increase information sharing, and establish methods for immediate communications. The agreement emphasizes that each country will respect the sovereignty of the other.

    Both leaders expect their agreement will serve to enable further conversations and coordination in greater detail at varied levels to ensure the mutual security of the border. 

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Cramer Questions Witnesses on WOTUS at EPW Hearing

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND)
    Click here to download video. Click here for audio.
    WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee held a hearing today to discuss how to improve the federal permitting process, which has long been a frustration for those trying to build infrastructure, housing, energy, and transportation projects. Recent efforts to streamline and reform the process have not gained consensus, but the EPW Committee is exploring bipartisan solutions to provide clarity and consistency in the permitting process.
    U.S. Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND), Chairman of the EPW Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee, questioned witnesses on the 2023 Supreme Court decision, Sackett v. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The Sackett ruling explicitly defined Waters of the United States (WOTUS) and significantly narrowed the scope of federal regulation over jurisdictional waters. Despite the Supreme Court’s ruling in Sackett, paired with West Virginia v. EPA and the overturning of the Chevron Doctrine in Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondowhich peeled back bureaucratic overreach, Cramer stated the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Army Corps) still has not adequately responded to the ruling.
    [embedded content]
    Cramer asked Leah Pilconis, the General Counsel for the Associated General Contractors of America, and Carl Harris, Chairman of National Association of Homebuilders, “why do we even have to seek jurisdictional determination or permission when any home builder can read the law and see this isn’t a jurisdictional water? In other words, we don’t put a highway patrolman on every car on the interstate, just in case one of them speeds. We presume most of them are not going to violate the law. How can we simplify?”
    “The problem is that it’s not clear, and you can ask one person if something is jurisdictional and the next person if something is jurisdictional, and you might get two different answers,” responded Pilconis. “For the construction community we need clarity. It’s very difficult to move forward when you don’t know what is a Water of the United States. Not getting a permit when you are in federally controlled water has very significant civil and criminal penalties. The consequences and what’s at risk are huge for the developer, for the contractor. [Sackett v. EPA] did provide some guardrails. It provided some clarity, but what came out of that Supreme Court decision is not being implemented by the agencies. As Mr. Harris said, there are very unclear terms that have not been defined in the regulations, and that’s what’s causing a lot of confusion.”
    “Along with clarity, we need consistency,” replied Harris. “We need consistency between the [Army Corps] districts. If we could get true definitions of the terms that we were talking about, then our builders, our developers would know when they could take reasonable risk before they make a tremendous investment in the property and start moving dirt. We do need that consistency and clarity.”
    Cramer referenced permitting for electricity transmission projects. He warned against building out transmission and generation absent a planning process by local utilities and state regulators, and the potential for costs to be shifted to customers. “We have to find a federal backstop, but I think on linear siting for a transmission line should be the same as it is for a water pipeline or any other any other linear infrastructure. We can do that, but we do have to recognize those state regulators, having been one at one point myself.”

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: President Trump Announces Appointments to the White House Office of Intergovernmental Affairs

    US Senate News:

    Source: The White House
    class=”has-text-align-left”>Alex Meyer will join the White House as a Deputy Assistant to the President and Director of the White House Office of Intergovernmental Affairs. Meyer previously served as the Deputy Political Director for the Trump-Vance 2024 Campaign directly managing President Trump’s victorious operations in the battleground states of Georgia, North Carolina, and Pennsylvania. Meyer in the 2024 Presidential Primary served as the Senior Advisor for President Trump’s Iowa Caucus Campaign. Meyer brings over a decade of successful campaign experience up and down the ballot. Jared Borg will join the White House as Special Assistant to the President and Deputy Director of the White House Office of Intergovernmental Affairs for State Governments. Jared is a campaign veteran of both President Trump’s 2020 and 2024 campaigns. He has also been a part of several high-profile national races throughout his career. Borg is a graduate of The Ohio State University and is a United States Navy Veteran. Christine Serrano Glassner will join the White House as Special Assistant to the President and Deputy Director of the White House Office of Intergovernmental Affairs for Local and Tribal Governments. Prior to joining the White House, she served as Mayor of the Borough of Mendham, New Jersey for the last six years and on Council for two years. Connor Reardon will join the White House as Associate Director in the White House Office of Intergovernmental Affairs. Prior to this role, Reardon served as Pennsylvania State Director for the Republican National Committee and, most recently, as Pennsylvania Director of Operations for the Trump-Vance 2024 Campaign. Chase Wilson will join the White House as Associate Director in the White House Office of Intergovernmental Affairs. Prior to joining the White House, Wilson served as State Director of Oklahoma during the 2024 Presidential Primary and then Deputy State Director in North Carolina for the Trump-Vance 2024 Campaign. Michael Silvio will join the White House as Associate Director in the White House Office of Intergovernmental Affairs. Most recently, Michael served as the Nevada State Director for the Trump-Vance 2024 Campaign. Prior to that, Michael served as Political Director for Trump-endorsed Daniel Cameron for Governor (KY). Sam Martinez will join the White House as Associate Director in the White House Office of Intergovernmental Affairs. Prior to joining the White House, Martinez served as Pennsylvania Deputy State Director for the Trump-Vance 2024 Campaign. Hope Moreland will join the White House as Deputy Associate Director in the White House Office of Intergovernmental Affairs. Prior to joining the White House, Moreland served as Iowa Political Coordinator and Fulton County Field Director for the Trump-Vance 2024 Campaign. Finley Varughese will join the White House as Coordinator in the White House Office of Intergovernmental Affairs. Prior to joining the White House, he served as Programming & Political Manager and Regional Political Coordinator at the Republican National Committee. Elizabeth McAlindon will join the White House as Staff Assistant in the White House Office of Intergovernmental Affairs. Prior to joining the White House, McAlindon served as Assistant to the Chief of Staff for U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn (TN). 
    About the Office of Intergovernmental Affairs:The White House Office of Intergovernmental Affairs (IGA) reports to Assistant to the President and White House Deputy Chief of Staff James Blair. The Office is managed by Deputy Assistant to the President and IGA Director Alex Meyer. The White House Office of Intergovernmental Affairs serves as the Administration’s principal liaison to state, local, tribal, and territorial governments, fostering an open channel for advancing key administration priorities and interagency coordination.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Australia: Interview – ABC Afternoon Briefing with Patricia Karvelas

    Source: Australian Ministers for Education

    PATRICIA KARVELAS: To discuss this, and there’s a whole lot more, let’s bring in our panel, Early Childhood Education Minister Anne Aly and Shadow Immigration Minister Dan Tehan. Welcome to both of you.

    MINISTER ANNE ALY: Thank you.

    DAN TEHAN: Thanks, Patricia.

    KARVELAS: We’re going to start on that. Dan, was that just a thought bubble? Because it’s unconstitutional, it’s been tested in the High Court.

    TEHAN: No, it wasn’t. I think there is a real frustration with how the system is currently working at the moment and how the courts are clogged up, how appeal after appeal is used. And I think what the Leader of the Opposition was expressing was that frustration that at some stage we are going to have a look at this.

    Now, the High Court obviously made a decision last year. So, you know, there does need to be a discussion around these issues because it would be good if we had clear rules and clear guidelines and clear laws as to how we can make sure that those people who do come to Australia do and know and understand our values and especially our laws.

    KARVELAS: But after you become a citizen shouldn’t you be dealt with by the law, and the law should deal with if you have a particular view, which, you know, is hate speech, isn’t that the law that should be dealing with it rather than just kicking people out?

    TEHAN: Well, I think what – you know, what we do need to look at is that a lot of these people have dual citizenship. And so we need to look and see, okay, if you’ve got dual citizenship and you breach your trust that the Australian people have given in you with regards to your Australian citizenship, well, if you’re a dual citizen, do you have the right to keep your Australian citizenship?

    KARVELAS: The High Court thinks yes.

    TEHAN: Well, the High Court made a decision last year. Now, obviously we can have a look at the way that they made that and the laws around that and see whether we do need to have a conversation around whether we need to change some of the laws around this and see whether if people do come here – and especially if they are dual citizens – whether we can act.

    KARVELAS: Anne Aly?

    ALY: I’m a bit – I’m a bit angry that this conversation about antisemitism has been conveniently turned into a conversation about immigration as if somehow the two are connected. I think that’s a very deliberate political ploy by Peter Dutton, who, I might add, has said that he wants to re-introduce the “golden ticket” visa, which can be bought by people with money and that we know brought in people from organised crime gangs and people of, frankly, unworthy character into Australia.

    So I would like to see us talking about the substantive issue here about hatred and the growth of hatred and the spread of hatred in our society. And when we have those conversations, not have those conversations hijacked by another conversation about immigration as if it’s only immigrants that are responsible for spreading hatred in this country. That’s what really disturbs me here, Patricia.

    KARVELAS: Anne Aly makes a point about the fact antisemitism is a lot wider than anyone who may have come to this country more recently. It is clearly a big problem. Isn’t that what you really want to deal with?

    TEHAN: Well, we have been dealing with that, and we have been appealing to the government now for a very long period of time to deal with that and deal with it right across this nation. So I don’t think you can say that all of a sudden we’ve just made this about immigration. This is an issue which the Leader of the Opposition has led the nation on in trying to rid this country of antisemitism. And it is about ridding it right across our nation, whether it be Australian citizens, whether it be dual citizens, whether it be those who are here as guests of our nation. And I don’t think that we can say all of a sudden that this has just had a narrow focus to it, because his leadership on this issue has been inspiring and outstanding. And so to just try and narrow cast it like that is completely and utterly wrong.

    KARVELAS: But Peter Dutton even questioned why a male nurse – this male nurse got citizenship. I understand that actually happened when the Morrison government was in power.

    TEHAN: Well, what Peter Dutton has said is that we do need to look as to how this has happened. And there will be –

    KARVELAS: But it did happen under –

    TEHAN: Yeah, yeah. There are incidences where this will have happened under Labor, under Liberal. But what we do need to do is look at it and say, okay, where is the system failing? How are we getting people coming into our country with these views when they’re required to take a citizenship pledge, we should be looking, okay, what do we do to try and fix this system. And that’s the point that he’s trying to make, because there is a frustration.

    KARVELAS: Anne Aly?

    ALY: I want – I just want to make this point. When you say, Dan, people coming into this country with these views, what if people are coming into this country as children – and I’m the Minister for Early Childhood, I see a lot of children, and let me tell you, they don’t – they’re not born with hate. They’re not born hating, right? People who are coming to this country may not be necessarily coming with those views. They may form those views because of this country, right?

    So what are we doing more broadly in this country to ensure that we have a society that is cohesive and that is harmonious and that we don’t tolerate hatred? When we talk about that, we talk about the concrete steps that our government has done to ensure that – the doxing laws, the hate speech laws, standing up against racism in all its forms and expressing our contempt for hatred.

    You know, I think it’s a very simplistic view to say that migrants come into Australia with a particular view and therefore that the whole situation that we’re talking about here around the increase of hatred is somehow linked to immigration.

    TEHAN: But that’s not what we’re saying. We’re saying –

    ALY: But it’s exactly what you just said.

    TEHAN: We’re saying that is one component of it. We’ve also called for a proper National Cabinet meeting to address this issue, so it can be –

    KARVELAS: Well, there was. There was one.

    TEHAN: Yes, but it was one which wasn’t done with all the chief ministers, all the leaders there, you know, everyone coming to Canberra – a proper serious discussion as to how we address this.

    KARVELAS: I have to bring our viewers on Afternoon Briefing here on the ABC News channel some breaking news: a Chinese fighter aircraft has released flares in front of an Australian military plane during what Defence describes as an unsafe and unprofessional interaction in the South China Sea this week. Officials have revealed the encounter occurred on Tuesday during daylight hours with the Peoples Liberation Army J-16 coming within 30 metres of the RAAF P-8 Poseidon. Defence says no personnel were injured and there was no damage to the P-8, but it has lodged formal objections with the PLA, both in Canberra and Beijing. So that’s just breaking news.

    I am aware – and I always think, to be fair, you would just be hearing perhaps that news too. But just quick thoughts from you both. Obviously Defence has sent a pretty strong signal here that this is unacceptable.

    TEHAN: And let’s see what sort of signal now the Prime Minister sends, because that’s what I think the Australian people will be waiting for and wanting to hear, what sort of strong signal and strong message now the Prime Minister sends. So, as we’ve seen, this is not the first time that this has occurred. So I think we will all watch with great interest to see how the Prime Minister responds to this, this act by the Chinese military.

    KARVELAS: Anne Aly?

    ALY: My first thought, of course, is relief that nobody was hurt and nobody was injured, Patricia. That’s my first – my first reaction to this news.

    KARVELAS: Do you expect the Prime Minister will have strong words?

    ALY: Absolutely. Absolutely. This is a pretty serious issue, and I absolutely expect that the Prime Minister will stand up for the Australian people, as he always has done.

    KARVELAS: Now, there is another piece of breaking news, which is that your child care bill has just passed.

    ALY: Yes.

    KARVELAS: You know this?

    ALY: Yes.

    KARVELAS: Okay, what can you tell us?

    ALY: So this is a great bill. It is good policy –

    KARVELAS: This is the three day –

    ALY: This is the Three Day Guarantee, 72 hours a fortnight for every child. What it basically does, Patricia, is it replaces the activity test, and parents out there who have tried to access subsidised care will know that they have to pass an activity test in order to be eligible to subsidise that care. It means that every child in Australia can now access those really transformative benefits of early childhood education and care. And it is good policy. It was recommended by the PC Review, a number of reviews, and has strong, strong support from across the sector. It’s a good day today for Australian children.

    KARVELAS: It didn’t have to pass now, though, did it? I mean, it really could have happened after the election. Was it a political – is it a political play –

    ALY: Well, no.

    KARVELAS: – so you can talk about this at the election and say, “We got this through,” because it doesn’t start till next year, right?

    ALY: That’s right. But, you know, it’s something that had strong support from the sector and it was a recommendation by the PC Review. You know, this is us taking action on things that we know are good policy, part of our reform package in early childhood education and care, getting to that place of a universal system that benefits every child.

    KARVELAS: Dan Tehan, you are actually a former Education Minister so you are across these portfolios. I understand at the end the Liberals were not in favour of this change. But actually it is true that there has been a lot of research to say that this change should happen to get children to have the right to have these three days compulsory. Why didn’t you see it that way?

    TEHAN: So just a question before, Patricia, I answer that question. So, are we talking about it just passing the House? Or –

    KARVELAS: I think it just passed the House –

    ALY: It passed the Senate – it’s in the Senate at the moment. So, I know – but it did pass the House earlier.

    KARVELAS: It’s going back to – yeah.

    TEHAN: Yeah, so it’s – just so your viewers are clear of where we’re at, it’s passed the House. It hasn’t passed the Senate, and it’s actually going to a Senate review which, as I understand it, will report in March. So this legislation –

    ALY: I think they’re actually voting on it in the Senate.

    KARVELAS: Yeah, my understanding is it’s passed the Parliament. But either way –

    TEHAN: Right, okay.

    KARVELAS: – I’ll let you continue with the broad political point.

    ALY: Last I saw was they were voting on it.

    TEHAN: So they are going to now go ahead? So this is sort of –

    KARVELAS: So, you can still apparently do the inquiry even if the Bill’s passed.

    TEHAN: Right, okay. All right. Well, there’s obviously been a change in the approach that the government’s taking as we’re speaking.

    KARVELAS: Let me take you to first principles.

    TEHAN: Yes, let’s go back to the Bill itself. We obviously wanted it to go to an inquiry. And the main concerns that we have with this Bill is that the actions that it’s taking, especially with regards to the activity test, without expanding the number of places, and especially the number of places in regional and rural areas, will basically mean for those people who are working or wanting to work, trying to get access to child care will become harder. And so that is one of the concerns that we have.

    The second concern is that what we’ve seen with regards to costs under this government when it comes to child care is we’ve seen the costs go up by over 20 per cent. We’ve seen out-of-pocket expenses go up by over 10 per cent and nothing around this is addressing that issue, which obviously, with cost of living the number one issue, is of deep concern to us. So for those reasons and others is why we think that this Bill should have gone to a committee.

    KARVELAS: Anne Aly?

    ALY: Well, those figures are just wrong, Dan. The cost has come down. Out-of-pocket costs for families across Australia have come down. And in terms of access, yes, we know that access is one of those key areas of reform. That’s why we have a $1 billion Building Early Education Fund targeting those seats, those areas where there is no child – early childhood education or where there is little access to early childhood education and care.

    So, you know, you’re talking to a government that’s able to chew gum and walk at the same time. We’re very well aware of all the key pieces of reform that are necessary in early childhood education and care, and only our government has that vision to ensure that every child has access and every child has access to quality, affordable early learning.

    KARVELAS: I have to ask –

    TEHAN: Anne, I was just going to say, your track record, sadly, doesn’t show that to be the case. So – and the problem here is that what we’re going to see is basically working people having to compete with new entrants now, and that’s going to cause even more trouble for you.

    KARVELAS: Now, Dan Tehan, I just have to ask you, just to you before we say goodbye – we’ve had a great conversation; it might be the last day of the Parliament of this term. We don’t know. But it’s –

    ALY: Don’t know.

    KARVELAS: Well, you don’t know. We don’t know. So, it’s rather – we’re all on the edge of our seats. But I do have to ask you about – you’re a former Trade Minister as well. You’ve had a few hats, so you’re very helpful here. Was Australia so desperate to hang on to our tariff exemption with the US that we agreed to unofficial quotas?

    TEHAN: No. No.

    KARVELAS: Well, hang on a minute. That’s been reported that that’s what we agreed to. That’s what the US Government thinks.

    TEHAN: So the arrangement was very clear. We were given an exemption, and obviously the US said to us that we wouldn’t want to see you exploit that exemption. And we had no intention of trying to exploit that exemption. The majority of our aluminium exports actually go into Asia, and that’s been a longstanding market for us.

    KARVELAS: But did we agree to these, essentially, quotas that we didn’t publicise?

    TEHAN: No, there was no – no, there was no quotas that weren’t publicised. So –

    KARVELAS: But it was agreed to then?

    TEHAN: Well, the idea – well, after the exemption, what the US wanted to make sure was all of a sudden our exports didn’t go from 10 per cent to 90 per cent. And obviously given that we were given an exemption we said that of course we’re going to make sure that that isn’t exploited, and it was never going to be exploited because the majority of our aluminium goes into our markets in the – in Asia.

    KARVELAS: So that agreement, shouldn’t we know – shouldn’t we have known about it? Shouldn’t you have told the public? Because we didn’t know about it till now.

    TEHAN: Well, it’s – there was no official agreement to tell the public about. I mean, the key thing here and the key thing that I would say to the Albanese Labor government is we worked very hard to be able to put an exemption in place which meant that our aluminium smelters here continued to be profitable and continued to be able to export aluminium into Asia, into the US.

    KARVELAS: Okay.

    TEHAN: My hope is that this government will be able to do exactly the same thing.

    KARVELAS: Anne Aly?

    ALY: Well, I think we’ve already proven as a government that we have the capacity, and we do the necessary actions to rebuild our international standing and rebuild our standing in terms of trade as well as diplomatic efforts, and I think the Australian people can be confident that this is a government that can, you know, deal with these issues. And in a transparent way.

    TEHAN: And we hope so, yes.

    KARVELAS: Well, the country hopes so. Thank you to both of you.

    TEHAN: Pleasure.

    KARVELAS: It’s been a good discussion.

    ALY: Thanks, Patricia.

    MIL OSI News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Readout of Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth’s Call With Thailand Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence Phumtham Wechayachai

    Source: United States Department of Defense

    Pentagon Press Secretary John Ullyot provided the following readout:

    Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and Thailand Deputy Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai held an introductory call this morning to reaffirm our shared commitment to the long-standing U.S.-Thailand alliance and over 192 years of friendship between our nations. The leaders discussed opportunities to strengthen the bilateral defense alliance, including expanding military exercises and deepening cyber and defense industrial base cooperation. The Secretary conveyed his appreciation for Thailand’s support of U.S. presence in the region, and reaffirmed the U.S. commitment to Thailand’s military modernization and professional military education in the United States.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Senator Murray, Former WA State Federal Workers at VA, Forest Service, Bonneville Power Lay Out How Trump and Musk’s Reckless Mass Layoffs Hurt People Across WA State

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Washington State Patty Murray

    ICYMI: Senator Murray on Trump Indiscriminately Firing Workers at Hanford and Bonneville Power Administration, Threatening Energy Security in Washington State

    ***VIDEO FROM PRESS CALL HERE***

    ***NEW FACT SHEET: Impact in Washington State of Trump and Musk’s Reckless Mass Layoffs***

    Washington, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Vice Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, held a virtual press conference with federal workers in Washington state who were recently laid off through no fault of their own and with zero justification, as part of Trump and Musk’s unprecedented assault on the federal workforce. The speakers underscored how the mass firings Trump and Musk have ordered over the last few days will severely jeopardize essential services that families in Washington state rely on—and leave us all worse off. A fact sheet compiled by Senator Murray’s office on some of the impacts in Washington state of these reckless mass layoffs is available HERE.

    Murray was joined for the press call by Gregg Bafundo, Former Lead Wilderness Ranger at the U.S. Forest Service’s Okanogan Wenatchee National Forest and a former U.S. Marine who lives in Okanogan County; Raphael Garcia, a veteran and former Management Analyst for the US. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) who has served as the only management analyst for the Veterans Benefits Administration’s Disability Rating Activity Site at the Seattle Regional Office for the past 7.5 months; and Liz Krumpp, former Washington Constituent Account Executive at the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA), who retired from BPA in 2023 and resides in Olympia. Both Gregg and Raphael were let go last week as part of the Trump administration’s mass firings of federal workers.

    “Right now, President Trump, and his co-President Elon Musk are breaking American government. They are firing workers left and right—with no plan, no strategy, and no concern for who gets hurt,” said Senator Murray.“We know Trump’s firing spree isn’t about merit because they are targeting new employees, people who have been recognized for outstanding performance, and people who were recently promoted—who are now getting fired from their newly earned jobs. Trump and Musk are, by design, pushing out, some of our best performers—and fresh blood in the federal workforce. We know Trump’s mass firings aren’t about saving money. Otherwise, there would be no reason for them to fire hundreds of workers at the Bonneville Power Administration. After all, these positions are funded by ratepayers—by all of us in the Northwest—not from federal funding. And these are people who literally help keep the lights on. But no matter—they’re being fired on a whim because two billionaires don’t have a clue about what they do, and don’t care to learn.”

    “I swore an oath to serve our country—first in the U.S. Army and then at the VA—only to be abruptly terminated by the very institution that promised to care for those who have served,” said Raphael Garcia of Seattle, who was laid off through no fault of his own and with zero justification from the VA last week. “My termination isn’t just a personal tragedy; it’s a stark reminder that our federal government is dismantling essential support systems for Veterans and vulnerable communities. When cost-cutting means sacrificing dedicated, disabled service members and committed federal employees, it isn’t about efficiency—it’s about eroding the trust and dignity that our nation owes to those who answer the call to serve.”

    “For 18 years I have faithfully served the American People—eight as a US Marine and ten as a Wilderness Ranger. I have always put myself between the danger and my fellow citizens and now I have been cast aside as the parasite class or some kind of fraud. These heartless and gutless firings will lead to loss of lives and property,” said Gregg Bafundo of Okanogan County, who was laid off through no fault of his own and with zero justification from the Forest Service last week.

    “Bonneville is the source of nearly 50 percent of the electrical power that is consumed in the State of Washington and owns, operates, and maintains over 15,000 circuit miles of high voltage transmission from Montana, across Idaho, Oregon and Washington, extending into Wyoming, Nevada and California. Critically, Bonneville has over a dozen new transmission projects in the planning stages—which its customers are asking for—to serve the increasing demand for electricity and to interconnect new power generators being built. Bonneville is self-funded by selling transmission service or selling electrical power. That’s it. No federal tax revenues fund its work or its employees. Cutting its employees does not save the federal tax payer a dime,” said Liz Krumpp, who worked at BPA for 15 years before retiring in 2023 and resides in Olympia. “These arbitrary lay-offs and hiring freezes will make it increasingly harder for the remaining employees to do their jobs and do them safely. Currently, its customers are asking Bonneville to expand its transmission system, not shrink it. Bonneville helps keep the lights on in the Northwest.  Its work costs taxpayers nothing.”

    Late last week, Senator Murray released a fact sheet detailing how Trump and Musk’s mass firings at all manner of federal agencies will hurt families, veterans, small businesses, farmers, and so many others across the country who need a government that works for them. Senator Murray has spoken out on the Senate floor against this administration’s attacks on federal workers, and recently sent an open letter to federal workers and a newsletter to her constituents in Washington state outlining her concerns with the administration’s so-called “Fork in the Road” offer. Senator Murray has also sent recent oversight letters demanding answers about indiscriminate staffing reductions across federal agencies including to HUD Secretary Scott Turner on reports of massive staff cuts at HUD, Interior Secretary Doug Burham on National Parks Service staffing cuts, and Acting USDA Secretary Gary Washington on the universal hiring pause for USDA firefighters, among others.

    Senator Murray’s full remarks, as delivered on today’s press call, are below and video is HERE:

    “Right now, President Trump, and his co-President Elon Musk are breaking American government. They are firing workers left and right—with no plan, no strategy, and no concern for who gets hurt.

    “And we know there is no plan because they fired hundreds of people in charge of ensuring the security of our nuclear arsenal—only to desperately turn around and try to hire them back.

    “That is the height of incompetence. And these other firings are just as senseless and reckless.

    “In the middle of the bird flu threat—they are firing public health experts.

    “Weeks after the deadliest plane crash in years—they are firing FAA workers.

    “After the devastating wildfires recently—they are firing members of the Forest Service, and we’ll hear from one of them in a minute.

    “They are firing people who work in law enforcement, who do food and drug inspections, who research deadly diseases, and who are cleaning up nuclear waste.

    “I’ve spent years trying to get the Hanford cleanup the resources it needs. We’ve made so much progress—but it has still been understaffed, even before these pointless layoffs last week cut it down to a skeleton crew.

    “We know Trump’s firing spree isn’t about merit because they are targeting new employees, people who have been recognized for outstanding performance, and people who were recently promoted—who are now are getting fired from their newly earned jobs.

    “Trump and Musk are, by design, pushing out, some of our best performers—the fresh blood in the federal workforce.

    “We know Trump’s mass firings aren’t about saving money. Otherwise, there would be no reason for them to fire hundreds of workers at Bonneville Power. After all, these positions are funded by ratepayers—by all of us in the Northwest—not from federal funding. And these are people who literally help keep the lights on.

    “But no matter—they’re being fired on a whim because two billionaires don’t have a clue about what they do, and don’t care to learn.

    “And Trump is not tossing workers out on the street to make government more efficient.

    “VA researchers are being fired as well—VA Puget Sound workers are being fired despite doing lifesaving research to prevent veteran suicide, build lifechanging prosthetics, address opioid addiction, and more.

    “That is not just a betrayal of these public workers—it is a betrayal of our women and men in uniform who trust we will take care of them when they come home.

    “Especially considering they have laid off many veterans as well—people who served their country and wanted to keep serving their country. And that really underscores an important point about exactly who Trump is firing.

    “These are people who love their country and love their communities. They are people who work hard, make an honest living, and have families to support. And I’m so grateful to be joined by some of them today, who will speak about what they have been through.

    “And I’d like to say to them all—thank you for the work you’ve done for our country. You deserve so much better than how you’ve been treated.

    “What Elon and Trump are doing is going to set our country back. But we are not powerless—and your decision to share your stories today is proof of that.

    “We each have a voice, and we can all speak out for a government that works for middle-class families, regular people—not just billionaires who will never need to call about their Social Security benefits or file a disability claim at VA.

    “So I want to thank everyone for joining this call today—and now I’ll turn it over to Gregg.”

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Photos/Video: Kaine, Heinrich, and Environmental Leaders Hold Press Conference on Trump’s War on Affordable, American-Made Energy

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Virginia Tim Kaine

    FULL VIDEO OF THE PRESS CONFERENCE IS AVAILABLE HERE.

    PHOTOS & VIDEO OF KAINE ARE AVAILABLE HERE.

    WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Tim Kaine (D-VA) and Martin Heinrich (D-NM) and environmental leaders held a press conference calling for the end of President Trump’s war on affordable, American-made energy, which will raise energy costs for Americans and kill high-quality jobs. The senators were joined by Natural Resources Defense Council’s Senior Vice President of Climate Jackie Wong, Sierra Club’s Executive Director Ben Jealous, and League of Conservation Voters’ Senior Vice President of Government Affairs Tiernan Sittenfeld.

    In the hours following his inauguration on January 20, 2025, President Trump signed a slew of executive orders, including the national energy emergency order, to withdraw support for renewable energy—despite its benefits to America’s economy and environment—and grant his administration new powers to promote fossil fuels at the cost of bedrock environmental laws. Kaine and Heinrich introduced legislation to terminate the national energy emergency President Trump declared. The legislation is privileged, meaning that the Senate will be required to vote on it. The vote is expected next week.

    “We are producing more energy now than at any other point in our history, and the U.S. is the envy of the world when it comes to energy innovation and production. The passage of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act have accelerated clean energy projects and created jobs, and we are on an amazing trajectory,” said Senator Kaine. “Trump’s sham emergency threatens to screw all of that up. Why? Because he’d rather benefit Big Oil and suspend environmental protections than lower costs and create jobs for the American people. I hope my colleagues will join me in voting to terminate President Trump’s emergency.”

    “America is producing more energy than ever before including both conventional and renewable sources. This is happening because of the year-over-year certainty Democrats created with tax structures and permitting that has allowed us to make solar, wind, and energy storage cheaper, faster, and less capital intensive to add to the electric grid. We made it possible to build big things in American once again,” said Senator Heinrich, Ranking Member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee. “But now, Trump’s fake emergency declaration is causing enormous uncertainty. If you’re thinking about opening a new factory, you don’t know what your tax structure will be in the next 12 months. If you’re trying to site and build a new transmission line, the federal agencies you work with just had a ton of their expert staff sacked, making it more difficult to get a permit. This is going to kill skilled trades jobs and drive up the cost of your electricity bills by as much at $480 a year by 2030. Trump’s war on affordable, American-made energy is killing jobs and raising costs on working families.”

    “Trump falsely declared an energy emergency as a pretext to assert authority he lacks and to justify a raft of actions meant to lock us into decades more dependence on the fossil fuels that are driving the climate crisis. There is no energy emergency. There is a climate emergency. Trump’s actions will make it worse,” said Jackie Wong, Senior Vice President for Climate and Energy, Natural Resources Defense Council.

    “In the last four years, if you’re under 52, you’ve seen something happen for the first time in your adult life, which is America opening big new factories from coast to coast to give birth to big new industries,” said Ben Jealous, Executive Director of the Sierra Club. “Trump threatened the jobs of 77,000 workers in the wind industry on day one, sent shockwaves through their families and communities, and threatened to derail the United States from seizing the greatest economic opportunity on Planet Earth right now. Donald Trump’s objective here is to cut taxes and allow fossil fuel industries to continue to destroy beautiful places across this country in the interest of greed when we’ve got a better alternative. It’s time for our country’s people to rise up and demand the President of the United States put their interests first.”

    “We are NOT in an energy emergency. In fact, Trump inherited a thriving clean energy economy with more than 400,000 new jobs and more cheaper and cleaner energy than ever before. Yet Trump and Musk are desperate to impound, freeze, and repeal the very clean energy investments that lower energy bills and create jobs – the majority of which are in districts currently represented by Republicans – so they can pay for tax cuts for their billionaire buddies. Trump and Musk are firing civil servants who help keep our electricity grid safe and secure and gutting clean energy industries that employ thousands of other workers. And Trump and Musk are threatening our air and water and pushing to open up our most precious public lands for permanent destruction so Trump can make good on his promise to Big Oil CEOs to drill, drill, drill,” said Tiernan Sittenfeld, LCV SVP for Government Affairs.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Fischer Questions Experts on National Security Risks and U.S. Spectrum Policy

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Nebraska Deb Fischer

    At a Senate Commerce Committee hearing today, U.S. Senator Deb Fischer (R-Neb.) questioned experts about the congressional push to auction off critical U.S. spectrum currently utilized by the Department of Defense. She urged her colleagues to reject attempts to include hastily drafted and short-sighted language in an upcoming reconciliation bill, citing the critical role that the sought-after airwaves play in safeguarding our national defense.

    In her remarks, Senator Fischer mentioned more practical solutions such as sharing the valuable airwaves with commercial stakeholders instead of an outright clearing of the spectrum for private exclusive use, an outcome sought by carriers and their allies.

    During the hearing, Senator Fischer asked Bryan Clark, a senior fellow and director at the Hudson Institute, about the harm to our military capabilities if the Department of Defense is excluded from the process, risking permanent loss of the Department’s airwaves and its ability to protect our country.

    She also asked about misleading influences from foreign adversaries like China in pressuring the U.S. government to auction off exclusive mid-band spectrum that are essential to our national security missions—ultimately, disarming the United States.

    Click the image above to watch a video of Sen. Fischer’s questioning

    Click here to download audio

    Click here to download video


    Senator Fischer questions experts:

    Senator Fischer:     Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and I thank the panel for being here today. We know the context of this hearing is about whether and how to use spectrum in a reconciliation bill. One key focus I’m hearing is on revenues from the new spectrum pipeline that’s only for exclusive commercial use. I want to stress for my colleagues that we must also weigh the cost and the timelines to relocate existing users for this type of pipeline.

    The Department of Defense is one of the users, with missile defense radars and satellite constellations providing critical capabilities. DoD losing access to its spectrum bans entirely, which is what vacating or clearing spectrum means, comes with huge risks and will end up costing us more. Replacing national security systems, if that is even possible, would cost hundreds of billions of dollars, and we all know it would take decades to be able to finish. So, a pipeline estimated to raise, by CBO, based on current proposals, between 10 and 15 billion dollars in a 10-year budget window may actually take 20 years to transition.

    I agree there are technologies that could make sharing spectrum possible. The DoD must have a seat at the table when its spectrum bands are studied and tested, otherwise we lose them. We risk losing access to this finite resource forever. Mr. Clark, what specific military capabilities could we lose if lawmakers on this committee do not fully consider these realities before pressing ahead?

    Mr. Clark: Well, Senator, I think you know, the key capability would be sensing technologies needed for air and missile defense. So, in the lower S-Band, lower X-Band…

    Senator Fischer: Could you explain what S- and X- Band are?

    Mr. Clark: Right. The lower part of the three gigahertz range in the S-Band is really important for air missile defense because it gives you that combination of resolution and range that allows a radar to be pretty effective at tracking incoming targets. And then we need radars that operate up in the X-Band, which is the eight to 12 gigahertz range, but the lower part of that generally, to be able to differentiate small targets and be able to target them and be able to direct an interceptor like a Patriot missile to go hit them and shoot them down.

    Senator Fischer: So we have to see them and identify them.

    Mr. Clark: Right. So, you need to both see them and then target them and track them. And that requires essentially two different sensor technologies to be either combined in the same radar or be in different radars. That’s how the Patriot system works. That’s how the Aegis system works that the Navy has. So, if we were to relocate out of those parts of the spectrum, you’ll lose the physics that allows those sensors to work effectively, and we’d have to either have more sensors or come up with a different approach. So that’s why sharing might be an effective alternative, but relocating them entirely may not be feasible because of the physics.

    Senator Fischer: You know, Mr. Clark, I have concerns about the role that China has played in influencing our spectrum policy in this country. We’re being told that we have to keep up with China, that they have far more mid-band spectrum available, that their carriers can use the lower three for mobile networks, and that there have been no negative impacts to China’s national security.

    Well, you know, in reality, China only has 10 more megahertz of mid-band spectrum available for mobile networks. China also recently imposed restrictions in its lower three band, limiting commercial access to low power, indoor use. And yet, we still hear the China comparison from carriers in their effort to gain exclusive use of these bands, which are needed for our radar systems. If the U.S. blinds its radars purely for economic reasons, that only helps foreign adversaries like China. Do you share my concerns?

    Mr. Clark: I do. I think China could be playing a very sophisticated game here where they’re looking to get us to vacate parts of the spectrum that we need for our military sensors, while they retain that access. And so, we unilaterally disarm while they’re able to retain their capabilities. Because, as I said before, they have the ability to move commercial users out of the spectrum basically whenever they need to for their routine government purposes.

    Senator Fischer: Thank you. Mr. Chairman, I would like to submit some questions for the record to Mr. Clark about spectrum management, and how that also impacts what we’re talking about today. Thank you.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Duckworth, Hirono, Takano Renew Push to Prevent Atrocities like Mass Japanese American Internment from Happening Again

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Illinois Tammy Duckworth

    February 19, 2025

    [WASHINGTON, D.C.] – Today, on the anniversary of Executive Order 9066 that began the horrific internment of thousands of Japanese Americans during World War II, U.S. Senators Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI) and U.S. Representative Mark Takano (D-CA-39) re-introduced the Korematsu-Takai Civil Liberties Protection Act, a bill that would establish a clear legal prohibition against un-American policies that seek to imprison individuals solely on the basis of race, religion, nationality, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, ethnicity or disability. As President Donald Trump and his Administration continue their dangerous efforts to whitewash and ignore our nation’s history, passing this bill would be a first step toward recognizing this dark chapter, honoring the families impacted and safeguarding vital freedoms that are supposed to protect all Americans against arbitrary imprisonment or detention with no due process, as happened to Japanese Americans during World War II.

    “Our nation must never forget or repeat the horrors thousands of innocent Japanese Americans experienced as prisoners within our own borders,” said Senator Duckworth. “While Donald Trump and his allies seek to suppress the dark chapters of our nation’s history, I’m proud to reintroduce this bill with Senator Hirono and Congressman Takano to reaffirm our commitment to upholding constitutional principles and safeguarding civil liberties in honor of Fred Korematsu and in remembrance of my dear friend and former colleague, Mark Takai. Only by recognizing our nation’s most shameful mistakes can we learn from them and help ensure horrific tragedies like these never happen again.”  

    “On this Day of Remembrance, we reaffirm our commitment to ensuring that blatant attacks on civil liberties, such as the incarceration of more than 120,000 Japanese Americans, never occur again,” said Senator Hirono. “Amidst continued attacks on vulnerable communities, I am proud to reintroduce this legislation to safeguard and protect our vital freedoms in honor of the legacies of Fred Korematsu and Congressman Mark Takai.”

    “It is only right that we introduce this bill with the Korematsu and Takai name on the Japanese American Day of Remembrance,” said Congressman Takano. “Their legacies of standing up for what is right and fighting for Japanese Americans incarcerated at the hands of our government is a reminder that human rights require a commitment from us all. I am proud to reintroduce this legislation to ensure the dignity of all people and so that the horror my family and tens of thousands of other Japanese Americans experienced never happens again.”

    This legislation is named in honor of the late U.S. Congressman Mark Takai from Hawai‘i for his long-time leadership on this issue prior to his passing, and Fred Korematsu, who bravely challenged the Civilian Executive Order in the Supreme Court that directed all people of Japanese ancestry be removed from designated areas on the West Coast.

    In 1942, the Lieutenant General of the Western Command of the Army issued Civilian Exclusion Order 34, which directed that all people of Japanese ancestry be removed from designated areas of the West Coast because they were considered to pose a threat to national security. Fred Korematsu challenged that Civilian Exclusion Order. However, on December 18, 1944, the Supreme Court upheld his conviction in Korematsu v. United States. The Non-Detention Act of 1971 sought to remedy this problem by repudiating the legal framework allowing the government to detain U.S. citizens by deeming them national security risks. However, the Non-Detention Act did not specifically bar detentions or imprisonment based on characteristics such as race or religion. The Korematsu-Takai Civil Liberties Protection Act would fix this problem once and for all.

    Along with Duckworth and Hirono, the Korematsu-Takai Civil Liberties Protection Act is co-sponsored by U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Alex Padilla (D-CA), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Brian Schatz (D-HI), Adam Schiff (D-CA), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Jack Reed (D-RI), Patty Murray (D-WA), Ed Markey (D-MA), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Peter Welch (D-VT), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Tina Smith (D-MN).

    Along with Takano, the legislation is co-led by U.S. Representatives Doris Matsui (D-CA-07) and Jill Tokuda (D-HI-02).

    -30-

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Tuberville, Scott Lead Legislation to Restore Merit-Based Hiring

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Alabama Tommy Tuberville

    WASHINGTON – Yesterday, U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) joined U.S. Senator Rick Scott (R-FL) in introducing the Restore Merit to Government Service Act, to bring merit-based hiring back to the federal government and ensure the best-qualified candidates are working in the federal government. This legislation codifies President Trump’s Executive Order last month to end discriminatory hiring practices in the federal government and restore merit-based hiring requirements at all federal agencies.

    “We must wash our hands of DEI,” said Senator Tuberville. “Joe Biden and Kamala Harris nearly destroyed the fabric of our country with this woke, racist ideology. We need to focus on hiring the best and brightest, not dividing people based on skin color. Thank God President Trump is restoring merit-based hiring practices to our government, and prioritizing the recruitment of individuals who uphold the ideals of our nation. Now Congress must do our job to ensure that this poisonous ideology has no place in our government.”

    “For years, Democrats have pushed radicalized policies into the innermost workings of our government, spending tax dollars against Americans’ own best interests. President Trump is right — in order to make the federal government work best for the American people, the federal workforce must hire based on merit above all else. Just like in any business and any job outside of the federal government, our federal agencies should be choosing the best-qualified candidate to show up and get to work for the American people. I encourage my colleagues to pass this good bill that codifies the President’s action so we can make Washington work better for American families,” said Senator Scott.

    BACKGROUND:

    On January 21, 2025, President Trump signed executive actions to reform the federal hiring process and end illegal discrimination in hiring to restore merit-based opportunity at all federal agencies. 

    • The Restore Merit to Government Service Act of 2025:
      • Restores Merit to the Hiring Process: Prioritizes the recruitment of individuals who are committed to improving the efficiency of the federal government, upholding the rule of law and the Constitution of the United States and are passionate about the ideals of our nation.
      • Eliminates DEI Hiring: Prevents the appointment of any individual based on race, sex or religion.
      • Updates Hiring Procedures: Improves the overall hiring process for individuals by establishing a hiring timeline of no more than 80 days, offers a more streamlined communications process with candidates and integrates modern technology to support agencies with the recruitment and selection process. This legislation ensures that the heads, or designees, of agencies are active participants in the new processes. 
      • Holds Agencies Accountable: The Director of the Office of Personnel Management shall establish performance metrics to evaluate the success of the new hiring procedures.

    MORE:
    Tuberville, Schmitt Introduce Legislation To Dismantle DEI
    Tuberville Supporting Elimination of DEI, Restoration of Lethality in Armed Forces
    Tuberville Introduces Bill to Boost American Manufacturing, Remove Woke DEI Requirements from CHIPS Act
    Tuberville Urges Senate to Confirm Hegseth and Rollins, Secure American Farmland with the FARM Act
    Tuberville: “It’s a New Day in America, Greatness Awaits Us if We Answer the Call of the American People”
    Tuberville Questions Hegseth, Encourages Him to Represent War Fighters, Not Warmongers as Secretary of Defense
    Sen. Tuberville Delivers Wins for Alabama in 118th Congress, Will be Sledgehammer for President Trump in Next Congress
    Tuberville Secures Major Wins for Alabama and Military
    Tuberville: “We need a military that is 100% focused on protecting our country and enhancing national security.”
    ICYMI: Tuberville Op-ed: Pete Hegseth, the Change Agent America Needs to Clean up the DOD
    ICYMI: Tuberville Joins Kudlow to Discuss Meeting with SecDef Nominee
    ICYMI: Tuberville in the Daily Caller: The Dangerous Biden-Harris Plan to Leave Our Veterans Behind
    ICYMI: Tuberville Joins Fox Business to Discuss Biden-Harris Administration’s Slow FEMA Response
    ICYMI: Tuberville Joins “Mornings with Maria” to Discuss Secret Service Leadership Failures, Kamala Harris’ Bad Economic Policies

    Senator Tommy Tuberville represents Alabama in the United States Senate and is a member of the Senate Armed Services, Agriculture, Veterans’ Affairs, HELP, and Aging Committees.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Tuberville, Budd Call for Inquiry Into Chinese AI Application on Pentagon Devices

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Alabama Tommy Tuberville

    DNI’s 2024 Annual Threat Assessment rates China as “most active and persistent threat” to U.S. government

    WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) joined U.S. Senator Ted Budd (R-NC) in requesting information from the Pentagon about how many of its employees have used their government devices to access DeepSeek, a Chinese AI application. In a letter to Acting Chief Information Officer at the Department of Defense (DOD), Leslie A. Beavers, the senators also pressed for information surrounding potential cyber threats from the use of DeepSeek, and what practices are being implemented to prevent future cyber security risks.

    “We write to express our concern that Department of Defense (DOD) employees accessed the Chinese artificial intelligence application DeepSeek on their work devices and, as a result, Chinese servers,” wrote the senators.

    “It is also our understanding, based on the DoD’s Use of Mobile Applications 2023 report, that misuse of mobile applications on DoD personnel devices may not be simply a series of isolated incidents. While our immediate concern is to understand the impact of DoD employees’ access to DeepSeek on national security, we are also interested in understanding the DoD’s policy regarding mobile device applications to the end of ensuring we are diminishing cybersecurity risks associated with certain platforms,” they continued.

    Joining U.S. Senators Tuberville and Budd in sending the letter are U.S. Senators Eric Schmitt (R-MO) and Mark Kelly (D-AZ).

    Read full text of the letter below or here.

    “Dear Ms. Beavers,

    We write to express our concern that Department of Defense (DOD) employees accessed the Chinese artificial intelligence application DeepSeek on their work devices and, as a result, Chinese servers.

    We understand that the National Security Council (NSC) is currently reviewing the national security implications of DeepSeek and expect this will be an ongoing conversation between Congress, the NSC, and relevant agencies. However, in the immediate term, we request that the Department provide information regarding potential impacts to the Defense Information Systems Network (DISN) and the Department of Defense Information Network (DODIN) of the recent incident.

    The office of the Director of National Intelligence’s 2024 Annual Threat Assessment states that “China remains the most active and persistent cyber threat to the U.S. Government, private-sector and critical infrastructure networks”. This is evidenced by the recent Salt Typhoon Hack, a breach of at least eight U.S. telecommunications providers, among many other reports of cyberattacks originating from China.

    It is also our understanding, based on the DoD’s Use of Mobile Applications 2023 report, that misuse of mobile applications on DoD personnel devices may not be simply a series of isolated incidents. While our immediate concern is to understand the impact of DoD employees’ access to DeepSeek on national security, we are also interested in understanding the DoD’s policy regarding mobile device applications to the end of ensuring we are diminishing cybersecurity risks associated with certain platforms.

    Therefore, we request answers to the following questions by no later than March 4, 2025.

    • How many Department employees connected their work computers and/or mobile devices to Chinese servers via the DeepSeek Application?
    • Has the DeepSeek app now been deleted from all DoD devices? If not, what steps will you take to ensure the DeepSeek app is removed from all DoD devices?
    • What steps have been made to limit access on DoD devices to only those applications with a justified and approved need?
    • What is the Defense Information Systems Agency’s (DISA’s) initial assessment about whether Chinese servers were able to access and exfiltrate sensitive information due to Department personnel use of DeepSeek?
    • How has the use of the DeepSeek app by Department personnel impacted the operational and cybersecurity risks to the DISN as well as the DODIN?
    • What guidance or training has DISA shared with Department employees regarding accessing Chinese AI app DeepSeek or any other Chinese-affiliated app?
    • We understand that the Navy issued guidance against using open-source AI systems for official work. What guidance (if any) are the other services and/or the Department issuing to employees?
    • What is DISA’s process for assessing which networks, websites and or applications have a connection to the People’s Republic of China and what are DISA’s standard operating procedures when made aware of such a connection?
    • What action (if any) has been taken regarding the DoD employees who connected their work computers and/or mobile devices to Chinese servers via the DeepSeek Application?
    • Have all of the recommendations from Management Advisory: The DoD’s Use of Mobile Applications (Report No. DODIG-2023-041) been implemented? If not, why not?

    Thank you for your consideration and we look forward to hearing from you and working with the Department of Defense to keep our networks safe from persistent cyber threats.

    Sincerely,”

    Senator Tommy Tuberville represents Alabama in the United States Senate and is a member of the Senate Armed Services, Agriculture, Veterans’ Affairs, HELP, and Aging Committees.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: King Scorns “Thoughtful” Cuts at VA, Impacting Veterans’ Benefits

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Maine Angus King

    WASHINGTON, D.C.— Today, U.S. Senator Angus King (I-ME) scorned the recent firing of one thousands employees at the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) across throughout the country as having a detrimental impact on veterans and their ability to access their earned benefits. In a hearing of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee (SVAC), King also questioned the Honorable Paul Lawrence Ph.D., nominee to be Deputy Secretary of Veterans Affairs, on his support for these cuts and how he will work within the department to ensure that veterans are not victims of the VA’s quest to “reduce inefficiencies” – and rely solely on new technology – across the federal government.

    “On the layoffs, here is the problem. You have testified, and the press release has been, that this is done in a thoughtful way with reviews. I am a great advocate of Ronald Reagan’s admonition ‘trust but verify.’ I would like to see some data that verifies that that took place. It is hard for me to believe that 1000 people were laid off in a matter of weeks with the kind of thoughtful process that you are defining,” Senator King said, before posing a question that quoted Project 2025 (italicized). “The next administration should explore how reviews would be accelerated with clearance from OMB to target significant cost savings from revising disability rating awards.’ That is a change of benefits. For future claimants, and listen to this, ‘while preserving them fully or partially for existing claimants.’”

    Senator King continued, “Partially is a pregnant term. That means you are talking about potentially reducing benefits for people who are getting them now…the phrase ‘preserving benefits fully or partially for existing claimants’ is not very reassuring to the veterans of this country.”

    Senator King then questioned the nominee on his support for AI in reviewing veterans claims, noting that AI is a tool, but cannot be used as a medical decision maker when lives are at stake — by again quoting Project 2025 (in italics)

    “One is a suggestion for the VA to increase automation. ‘The best way to provide benefits more faster and more accurately is by using technology to perform most of the work.’ We are already learning in the private sector through insurance companies that giving AI the decision about making these kind of decisions does not work well. Do you think increased use of technology and artificial intelligence in claims processing is a good idea?” King asked.

    Dr. Lawrence responded, “Thank you for the question, Senator. If you noticed it said most of the work. The way the claim comes about is that there is a lot of work where you gather information and it is called development. That’s what takes so long, getting the veterans’ information in front of someone to make a decision. Technology can be used to gather the information faster. So, a government employee and a claims adjudicator can make the decision.”

    King asked again, “You are testifying that you are not talking about AI making the decision but simply automating the collection of data?”

    “It is called development. That is correct. The decision should be made by an individual, a V.A. employee as required by law. But also to bring judgment into things. I think technology is great but it is not the end all be all,” Dr. Lawrence concluded.

    Representing one of the states with the highest rates of military families and veterans per capita, Senator King has been a staunch advocate for America’s servicemembers and veterans. Last year, he led the bipartisan Military Spouse Employment Act — pieces of which passed into law in the FY2024 NDAA — which allows military spouses to have a remote work career with any federal agency and helps them to maintain consistent employment should they move with their spouse. He also introduced the Improving Access to Prenatal Care for Military Families Act to expand military family care to cover critical health care during pregnancies. Most recently, he joined the bipartisan Fairness for Servicemembers and their Families Act to improve financial security for military families by ensuring life insurance packages for servicemembers and veterans adjust for increases in cost of living and inflation.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: The continued advance into DRC of M23 and the Rwandan Defence Forces is a breach of the UN charter: UK statement at the UN Security Council

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    Statement by Ambassador James Kariuki, UK Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN, at the UN Security Council meeting on Democratic Republic of the Congo.

    I will make three points.

    First, we express our deep concern at the continued advance into DRC of the M23 and Rwandan Defence Forces. 

    This is an unacceptable violation of DRC’s sovereignty and territorial integrity and a breach of the UN Charter.

    The occupation of Bukavu is a serious escalation which heightens the risk of a wider regional conflict.

    The United Kingdom is clear that there needs to be an immediate cessation of hostilities and a return to dialogue via African-led peace processes. 

    There can be no military solution. As my Foreign Secretary has said, Rwanda must withdraw its troops.

    The UK is actively considering next steps, alongside international partners, including the possibility of a review of all UK support to Rwanda.

    Second, urgent action is needed to halt the rapidly deteriorating humanitarian situation. 

    The M23 and Rwandan Defence Forces’ takeover of Goma has displaced close to one million people in North and South Kivu.

    Hundreds of thousands are now in desperate need of lifesaving support. 

    Civilians, particularly women and girls, are at increased risk of violence, including sexual violence.

    We have seen harrowing reports, including of 165 women raped and many burned alive at Goma Muzenze Prison earlier this month.

    The parties to the conflict must adhere to their obligations under international humanitarian law. 

    And humanitarian access, especially via Goma airport, should urgently be restored.

    Third, MONUSCO’s freedom of movement is essential to support the protection of civilians and facilitate aid delivery. 

    Restrictions by the M23 and Rwandan Defence Forces are unacceptable.

    The parties must respect MONUSCO’s mandate, as authorised by this Council.

    The UK strongly condemns all attacks on UN peacekeepers and recalls that attacks on MONUSCO could be grounds for UN sanctions.

    President, to conclude, the UK welcomes regional efforts to secure a lasting solution to this conflict. 

    We welcome the contribution of the recent joint EAC and SADC summit and the AU PSC summit.

    We urge DRC and Rwanda to engage in good faith in existing peace processes. 

    We need to see the rapid implementation of the actions agreed at the summits, supported by urgent action by this Council.

    Updates to this page

    Published 19 February 2025

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –