The Inaugural events start tonight. Here's how to watch.
This Marine will make you want to let the bodies hit the floor
Shannon Corbeil
U.S. Marine Chloe Mondesir is not in any way predictable.
First, as is often the case with women, you wouldn't expect her to be a military veteran (let alone a Marine), but she served as an Ammunition Technician in Iraq. She also holds multiple college degrees (something you wouldn't expect from a Marine — zing!) and is a mother of an 8-year-old (and her daughter, by the way, knows the lyrics to Drowning Pools' "Bodies" and headbangs accordingly).
Probably what's the most refreshing when you meet Mondesir is how fun-loving and energetic she is. If you're a fan of Season 2 of John Cena's "American Grit," then you already know this.
"It's pretty hot in Iraq so sometimes things get really tough and you need that extra motivation, and music just does it."
In her Battle Mix video, she even makes the heat of Iraq sound not so bad. She also talks about how she was privy to Usher's 2004 hit "Yeah" before the rest of her buddies at boot camp, and I grin every time I watch it.
Fun fact: she's the only one of WATM's Battle Mix veterans we had to censor. Just another great Chloe Mondesir surprise.
Check out her interview here:
And you can catch her full Battle Mix right here:
China's growing submarine fleet is 'armed to the teeth'
Posted On March 31, 2018 03:02:55
In October 2006, a Chinese Song-class diesel-electric submarine capable of carrying torpedoes and antiship missiles surfaced within firing range of the aircraft carrier USS Kitty Hawk.
"Some navy officers interpreted it as a 'Gotcha!' move," journalist Michael Fabey wrote in his 2017 book, Crashback. It was "a warning from China that US carrier groups could no longer expect to operate with impunity."
Almost exactly nine years later, China again demonstrated its growing naval prowess, when a Kilo-class diesel-electric attack sub shadowed the aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan near southern Japan.
Also read: The Navy gets more money for its next nuclear-armed submarines
One defense official told The Washington Free Beacon that the sub's appearance "set off alarm bells on the Reagan," though there was no sign of threatening behavior.
The US still "owns the undersea realm in the western Pacific right now and is determined" to maintain it, Fabey told Business Insider in a February 2018 interview. But "China has grown — in terms of maritime power, maritime projection — more quickly than any country in the region," he added. "The growth has been incredible."
That expansion has prompted similar moves by its neighbors, who are asking whether China will abide by or remake the rules of the road.
'Armed to the teeth'
The Virginia-class attack sub USS North Dakota. (Photo by US Navy)
Since 2002, China has built 10 nuclear subs: six Shang I- and II-class nuclear-powered attack subs — capable of firing anti-ship and land-attack missiles — and four Jin-class nuclear-powered ballistic missile subs, according to a 2017 US Defense Department assessment.
"China's four operational JIN-class SSBNs represent China's first credible, sea-based nuclear deterrent," the assessment notes. Documents accidentally posted online by a Chinese shipbuilder also revealed plans for a new, quieter nuclear-powered attack submarine as well as a separate "quiet" submarine project.
More: Why Russian submarines are causing alarm all over the world
The brunt of China's undersea force, however, is its diesel-electric subs. It has access to 54 diesel-electric subs, but it's not clear if all of them are in service, according to the International Institute for Strategic Studies, which said China's current operational diesel-electric fleet was likely 48 subs.
The Defense Department believes China could have about 70 subs by 2020. While it looks unlikely to build more nuclear subs by then, adding 20 Yuan-class diesel-electric subs "seems to be entirely reasonable," IISS says.
That expansion would require more investment in training and maintenance, but diesel-electric subs are potent, Fabey said.
"The submarine force [China is] putting out there is substantial, and partly because they have a lot of diesel-electrics and nuclear forces," he told Business Insider. "Those diesel-electrics especially are … armed to the teeth. They're armed with antiship missiles that really can give anyone, including the US forces, serious pause."
China's subs are also stretching their legs.
In May 2016, a Chinese nuclear-powered attack sub docked in Karachi, Pakistan — the first port call in South Asia by a Chinese nuclear attack sub, according to the Defense Department. (Chinese subs previously made port calls in Sri Lanka, much to India's chagrin.)
In January 2017, a Chinese attack sub returning from anti-piracy patrols in the western Indian Ocean stopped in a Malaysian port on the South China Sea, over which Beijing has made expansive and contested claims. A Malaysian official said it was the first time a Chinese sub had visited the country.
In January 2018, a Chinese Shang-class nuclear-powered attack sub was detected in the contiguous zone around the Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands in the East China Sea— the first confirmed identification of a Chinese sub that area. That wasn't the first unannounced maneuver by Chinese subs in the East China Sea, but those islands are disputed, and Japan protested the sub's presence in that zone.
"You're seeing Chinese submarines farther and farther and farther away" from China, Fabey said. "Chinese subs now make routine patrols into the Indian Ocean … This is a very big deal, just in terms of what you have to think is out there."
'Driving the Chinese absolutely crazy'
A Chinese Shang-class nuclear attack submarine in the contiguous zone of the Senkaku Islands. (Photo by Japanese Ministry of Defense)
The US Navy has roughly 50 nuclear-powered attack subs. But many are aging, and the Navy's most recent force-structure analysis said 66 attack subs were needed.
US Navy Adm. Harry Harris, head of Pacific Command, has said his command has half the subs it needs to meet its peacetime requirements. Adm. John Richardson, chief of naval operations, has also said maintenance backlogs could hinder efforts to deploy additional subs in the event of a conflict.
A sub shortfall was expected in the mid-2020s, as production of new Virginia-class attack subs was reduced after production of new Colombia-class ballistic-missile subs started in 2021. But the Navy has said US industry can continue to build two Virginia-class subs a year, even after starting to build one Columbia-class sub a year in 2021.
Related: The US Navy's most advanced submarines will soon be using Xbox controllers
The 2018 budget included also money for increased production of Virginia-class subs — which are "the creme de la creme," Fabey said.
China's neighbors are also racing to add subs, looking not only for a military edge, but also to keep an eye on their turf.
Diesel-electrics are relatively cheap, and countries like Russia and China are willing to sell them, Fabey said. "So you have this big proliferation of diesel-electric subs, because with just the purchase of a few diesel-electric subs, a nation can develop a strategic force."
"All those countries, they're the home team, so they don't need to have nuclear subs necessarily to go anywhere [and] project power," he said. "They want to just project power in their little neighborhoods, and that's why diesel-electrics are so amazingly good."
"When you go and you go down to the thermals, the different layers of the ocean, it becomes very hard to detect subs … and you shut off everything except for electric power — it puts out less of a signal than a light bulb would," Fabey added.
Between 2009 and 2016, Vietnam bought six Russian-made Kilo-class subs. That force "is driving the Chinese absolutely crazy," Fabey said, "because China can no longer just operate in the Gulf of Tonkin, for example, at will."
Japan is also growing its navy, which had 18 subs in early 2016. In November 2017, it launched its 10th Soryu-class diesel-electric sub, and in March 2018 it commissioned its ninth Soryu-class sub. Those subs have air-independent propulsion systems that allow them to remain submerged for up to two weeks. They also have quieting technology, can carry torpedoes and antiship missiles, and excel at navigating tough seascapes.
Indonesia, which had two subs as of spring 2017, is looking to add subs that can operate in shallow coastal waters. In August 2017, it commissioned its first attack sub in 34 years — a diesel-electric capable of carrying torpedoes and guided missiles and of performing anti-surface and anti-sub warfare.
In early 2017, Indonesia was working with or in talks with South Korean, French, and Russian shipbuilders to acquire more subs. (Jakarta has since reduced its original requirement for 12 new subs by 2024 to eight.)
A Japan Maritime Self-Defense Forces diesel-electric submarine in an undated photo released by Japan. (Photo by Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force)
Taiwan, whose efforts to buy foreign subs to join its four aging subs have been thwarted by China, announced a domestic sub-building program in spring 2017.
India already more than a dozen subs in active service. The country's first domestic nuclear-powered ballistic-missile sub, INS Arihant, was commissioned in late 2016, after a seven-year development process. The next Arihant-class sub, INS Aridaman, was poised for launch in late 2017. India's latest sub, the diesel-electric, first-in-class INS Kalvari, was commissioned in December 2017.
The next two Kalvari-class subs, built by a French firm, have already arrived. The six and last Kalvari-class sub is due to join the fleet in 2020. In July 2017, New Dehli contacted foreign shipyards with a request for information about building its next six nonnuclear subs.
Read more: Trump pardoned a sailor who took illegal photos of a submarine
India's efforts have been plagued by delays, however. The Kalvari was supposed to be delivered in 2012 but was four years late. Mistakes have also set India back — the Arihant, for example, has been out of service since early 2017, when it flooded because a hatch was left open as it submerged.
India has expressed considerable concern about Chinese naval activity in the Indian Ocean, which includes submarine patrols, as well as its efforts to court countries in the region.
Beijing has sold subs to Bangladesh, which has bought two, Pakistan, which has bought eight, and Thailand, which may buy up to four.
Countries buying Chinese subs rely on China's naval officers and technicians for support and maintenance — which extends Beijing's influence.
India's first-in-class Kalvari submarine at Naval Dockyard in Mumbai in October 2015. (Photo by Indian navy)
"I believe that's a counter to the increasing encroachment by Chinese forces," Fabey said of India's naval activity
"What the two countries have established on land, they're now looking to establish in the ocean, India especially," he added. "It's not about to let China encroach just willy-nilly."
All these countries are likely to face challenges developing and maintaining a sub force, Fabey said, pointing to the case of Argentina's ARA San Juan, a diesel-electric sub lost with all hands in the South Atlantic last year. But subs are not the only military hardware in demand in East Asia, and the buildup comes alongside uncertainty about the balance of power in the region.
More: What it's like having a submarine crash into your ship
Apprehension about China's growth has been tempered by increasing economic reliance on Beijing. And the current and previous US administration have left countries in the region, including longtime allies, unsure about what role the US is willing to play there.
"Everyone out in Asia is on one hand scared of China, and the other hand, they need China for trade," Fabey said. "Also there's a real sense of, 'China's right here, America's on the other side of the world.'"
"And there's a sense of reevaluating China," he added, "because if you don't have the 500-pound gorilla from the West, then you've got to worry about the 500-pound dragon in the East a little bit more."
7 ways for the US military to get its swagger back
While the Pentagon's new strategy is being released in 2018, it feels more like the year 2000 on Capitol Hill with members itching for the maverick spirit of then-presidential candidate John McCain's campaign bus, the Straight Talk Express.
The substance of the document is classified at the request of Capitol Hill, but there is a growing consensus about how to grade its success or failure. It is past time for a new National Defense Strategy that seeks to break the mold in honesty, clarity, conciseness, and fresh thinking. As an official articulation of Pentagon doctrine, this is an opportunity to mend the broken dialogue between the military and the government and people they serve.
To be relevant beyond a few news cycles, the Pentagon's new defense strategy must:
7. Connect the strategy with geopolitical reality.
The most recent generation of strategies has repeatedly watered down the Pentagon's force-sizing construct with each iteration — from the aspirational objective of fighting two wars at once to the declinist "defeat-and-deny" approach. Since a 2014 defense strategy was published, the dangers of a lack of credibility in American military power and political willpower have become evident in Ukraine, Iraq, and North Korea — just to name a few.
The newest defense strategy should emphasize three theaters of importance. As it is getting harder for planners to differentiate between war and peace, the need for a strong American presence in Asia, Europe, or the Middle East cannot be wished away as politically inconvenient. Planners should size forces to maintain robust conventional and strategic deterrents forward in all three of these theaters while equipping a force for decision in the event deterrence fails.
To effect this change, the strategy must clearly differentiate between forces and capabilities required to prevent a war versus those needed to win one. Unfortunately, the panoply of threats spanning from North Korean ICBMs to ISIS demands the American military maintain a broad array of capabilities.
A North Korean ICBM (Image from Wikimedia Commons)
6. Tie means with ends.
Even with declining force-sizing constructs, U.S. forces have largely continued to do all that they have done under previous super-sized strategies. The armed forces have been asked to do more with less, resulting in various missions being shortchanged, ignored, or dropped altogether as the supply of American military power is consistently outstripped by demand.
Consequentially, there is now a general dismissal of strategy because the reductions in force structure proposed in each iteration have not resulted in substantive changes in operations of the force. Nowhere is this more tragically clear than in the U.S. Navy's Pacific Command. It is time to stop putting the cart before the horse by constructing budgets and then diving strategies, as the budget caps have encouraged but unrealistic strategies have exacerbated.
5. Identify what missions the military can stop doing.
Effective strategy is about choices and tradeoffs. In the last year, cargo shipments to Afghanistan were delayed due to hurricane relief, a private contractor evacuated U.S. troops after the fatal ISIS ambush in Niger, and the Air Force outsourced "red air" adversary training to non-military pilots. Instead of papering over these realities, the new strategy should identify what needs to be restored and which ancillary assignments may actually be more efficiently conducted outside the military.
Combat missions should not be exempt, either. For example, the sustained use of naval aviation to provide fire support to counterterror fights in the Middle East that could be resourced with light attack aircraft or artillery is expensive and ties up increasingly scarce aircraft carriers better employed elsewhere, particularly in Asia.
4. Prioritize among threats.
Claiming the five challenges of China, Russia, Iran, North Korea, and persistent counterterrorism operations are all equally important is not a strategy — it is the absence of one.
Policymakers must clearly rank the relative severity of these threats to help planners prioritize and make tradeoffs. Given the limited supply of American defense resources, not all of these threats can receive the same amount of attention or bandwidth — nor should they.
Also Read: Iranian protests have ebbed, but the anger remains
3. Don't let perfection get in the way of good enough.
The military needs more extant force structure and capabilities rather than an obsessive hunt for technological silver bullets. Putting too much stock in the wonder weapons of the future could be the military's ruin — not its salvation — if it comes at the expense of immediate and medium-term needs.
If enemies know we are weak today but will be strong tomorrow, they have every incentive to strike sooner rather than later. Leaders should balance the acquisition risks introduced by speculative technological gambles with tried-and-true systems suited for immediate use to diminish any window of opportunity for aggression.
2. Recognize the Pentagon is a more than a Department of War — it is a Department of Defense.
As the largest federal agency, the Pentagon engages in a bewildering variety of deterrence and presence missions every day, in addition to fighting. It also supports part-time forces, families and children all over the world.
It is called the Department of Defense for a reason, and the strategy should reflect these large organizational, financial, educational, and bureaucratic demands. For example, while achieving reforms and efficiencies are noble goals, the belief that ongoing organizational changes will result in tens of billions in potential savings that can be reinvested elsewhere within the defense budget has yet to be proven.
1. Finally, stop scapegoating Congress and tackle problems head-on.
While sequestration has degraded the military's capacity and capability gaps and encouraged the self-destructive practice of constructing budgets before inventing strategies to justify them, budget caps must cease to be the blame for all the military's woes.
The western front of the United States Capitol, the home of the U.S. Congress. (Photo: Architect of the Capitol)
An over-emphasis on budgetary neglect creates the false expectation that a higher topline alone will solve the Pentagon's problems overnight. The National Defense Strategy will need to address not just America's declining fiscal ability to support all instruments of national power, but also the deteriorating international situation. Higher spending can alleviate the former, but new investments will need to be tied to clear strategic goals to address the latter.
It took years for the Pentagon to realize its current predicament, and it will likewise be years before it overcomes its contemporary challenges. To get there will require a redoubled commitment to the military by Congress through stable, sustained, and sufficient defense funding. But the Pentagon must also do its part to ensure that when fiscal relief arrives, there is a thoughtful strategy in place commensurate with the multitude of threats assailing the United States today. Now is the time to go big and bold.
Career Marines talk life as a dual-serving couple
Military Families Magazine
Posted On May 27, 2020 19:05:13
The Vanscoyk family in Yuma, Arizona. All photos by Kayla Mattox Photography.
Family first, mission always.
Marine Gunnery Sgt. Charles Vanscoyk and his wife, Staff Sgt. Alexandra Vanscoyk, are both aviation supply specialists who recently returned to the fleet after completing tours on recruiting duty. The transition has been met with unexpected challenges that magnify the logistics needed for couples seeking successful careers and a growing family.
The Vanscoyks met in 2013 shortly after Alexandra left college and enlisted in the Marine Corps. She says the two quickly became friends, deciding to date after being stationed at Camp Pendleton, California, together.
"For three years our lives crossed paths on and off and eventually timing lined up where we were both single and we decide to try dating each other," she explained in an email.
Alexandra said it came natural to date someone who understood the military lifestyle.
"It was always difficult finding civilians who wanted to date a 'female Marine.' I'm not really sure why. My best guess is our job title is intimidating to most civilians and we usually have an alpha personality which can also come off as intimidating. It also made conversations easier. We use so many acronyms and random jargon that most people will never understand, no matter how many times you tell them. So, for me, dating a Marine was what seemed realistic," she said.
Missouri-native Charles Vanscoyk followed his twin brother into the Marines in 2004 after a short stint at college proved school wasn't for him. Charles says a conversation with the recruiter made him realize the military was what he had been looking for.
"Growing up I was an athlete and liked to be challenged and stay competitive. Plus coming from a small town in the middle of nowhere the idea of travel and adventure sounded cool," he said.
Both Marines were attached to Recruiting Station Houston, completing the independent duty assignment then relocating to Marine Corps Air Station Yuma in Arizona. They both admit it's been an adjustment to not only be back in the fleet, but doing so with the added stress of the current COVID-19 pandemic.
Under normal circumstances, childcare is a trending issue for households with working parents. Alexandra says a good command definitely makes it easier for them.
"Since we are both active duty it's very difficult to come up with a solid routine while the daycares are closed. We've got two kids at home — one school aged who needs to complete online class work and an infant who needs constant attention. Thankfully our command has been very helpful but I know other dual couples who have not been as fortunate," she said.
Prior to the pandemic, she adds, some of the challenges "were deciding who would stay home if the kids got sick, who would take time off work for appointments, worrying about when you or your spouse has 24–hour duty," though she is quick to point out their family has benefitted from "very understanding units and leadership." And the exposure to solid leadership over the years has guided her throughout her career.
"The commanding officer at my first unit had a moto: "family first, mission always." At the time I didn't have a family but it stuck with me. At my second unit I had two different COs and both were huge family men. Seeing them, 15 years plus into their career and still having a strong family made me realize it is possible to have the best of both," she said.
Alexandra adds that her advice for younger service members is to find a good balance for work-home life, especially if you're in a dual military relationship. Charles echoes that sentiment.
"The best advice I could give is put your family first. Still be a good Marine and proficient at your job, but understand this machine that is the Marine Corps will not fall apart if you are not there. Be there for you kids and family. Don't miss those moments you will never get back with your family," he said.
The Vanscoyks have their sights set on serving in the Marines for the long haul, with Alexandra weighing the idea of either pursuing warrant officer school or becoming a career recruiter. Charles says he has checked the box on many of his goals making career progression the natural focus.
"As a Marine you always strive for the next rank, so MSgt is my goal. And continue to try and motivate and inspire these next generation of Marines that will carry on the legacy," he said.
This article originally appeared on Military Families Magazine. Follow @MilFamiliesMag on Twitter.
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How food causes stress for women veterans
The military is no picnic when it comes to consuming food. Eating quickly and at strange hours is a way of life in the armed forces. For many women veterans, these experiences can affect their eating habits, and relationship with food after their military service is over.
For a study published in the journal Appetite, researchers Dr. Jessica Breland of VA Palo Alto Health Care System and Dr. Shira Maguen of San Francisco VA Health Care System talked with 20 women veterans about how military service affected their eating habits. They found that many had developed unhealthy patterns such as binging, eating quickly, eating in response to stress and extreme dieting. In many cases, those habits carried over into civilian life.
Poor eating habits
The veterans described three military environments that promoted poor eating habits: boot camp, deployment, and on base.
Almost all of the women recalled that in boot camp, they were forced to eat quickly.
"My family asks why I eat so fast, and I say I learned it from the military," one woman veteran said. "We were always timed."
Finding healthy food choices in the military was not easy.
Others ate quickly in order to get second helpings. In addition to eating fast, they also ate a lot. Since they were physically active, they didn't gain weight. But when they got out of boot camp and continued eating large meals, they gained weight, which then affected their self-esteem.
Deployment changed eating habits even further since there was no set schedule for meals.
"You ate as much as you could before the flies ate your food, or you had to run off and do something and get [to] … the next stressful situation" said one woman veteran.
On base, meals were less stressful than in boot camp or on deployment, but healthy choices were limited.
"Your options are the mess hall or Burger King and Cinnabon," said another woman bveteran.
Security Forces Airmen with the 121st Air Refueling Wing participate in quarterly weapons training during a regularly scheduled drill at Rickenbacker Air National Guard Base, Ohio, May 5, 2019.
(U.S. Air National Guard photo by Staff Sgt. Wendy Kuhn)
For many women, the need to "make weight" — not exceed maximum military weight limits — was an ongoing struggle. This involved continually monitoring what they ate and being monitored by others. For some, this struggle was tied directly to the stress of being female in the military.
"There is just a whole host of things that we have to deal with that [male service members] don't have to," one woman said, "and one of those things is being constantly judged on our appearance. It's like there is nothing we can do right as women in the military and … that translates into these eating issues when we get home."
Challenges making weight
Making weight was even more challenging — and critical — after pregnancy.
"They give you nine months to gain the weight [during pregnancy], and if you're over[weight] when you come back to work in six weeks, it's career death," one participant said. "They start writing you up, they start demoting you, but the men don't have that, you know?"
Some women ate as a way of finding comfort and control in stressful situations. One Navy veteran said she and a female colleague felt isolated and bullied due to their gender. They used food as a way to feel good and cope.
"When we got in port, we would just hole up in a hotel room, and just buy a whole bunch of just comfort food, candy, cookies, and whatever it was that we wanted to pig out and eat on. So we [were] in a relationship with the food, her and me, which … helped us out a lot."
Some became trapped in a cycle of overeating and extreme dieting.
Army 2nd Lt. Caitlyn Simpson prepares her platoon for a training mission from inside a tank at Fort Irwin, Calif., May 28. 2019.
(Photo By: Army Cpl. Alisha Grezlik)
"You [could have] the start of a really serious eating disorder that could have killed you and it was reinforced by people saying, 'Oh my god, look how much weight you are losing,' like it was a good thing," one female veteran said. "Were they going to wait until you were dead before they said, 'You know, this might not be so healthy'?"
Adapting to civilian life
Some women found it hard to readjust to civilian eating patterns after leaving the service.
"[My family said], 'We're not in the military. You have to slow down and back away and think about what you are doing,'" another female veteran said. "So that was hard … it wasn't clicking in my head that I was no longer in the military. They didn't know my norm, and I didn't know their norm, and we were just clashing all the time."
Other women reported that they no longer took pleasure in food because years of consuming mediocre military meals had reduced eating to the level of a chore.
"You just eat it or you starve," as one woman put it.
The researchers caution that their findings may not apply to all women in the military, but only to those with certain risk factors. They hope to do larger-scale research to further explore the issue.
This article originally appeared on VAntage Point. Follow @DeptVetAffairs on Twitter.
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US government listed Black Panther's Wakanda as a free-trade partner
President Donald Trump may be preparing to slap tariffs on Wakanda, the fictional homeland of the Marvel superhero Black Panther.
That's one explanation for the US Department of Agriculture's removal of the high-tech African nation from a list of free-trade partners that includes Panama and Peru in addition to other actual countries. In reality, officials uploaded Wakanda and its supposed exports to test a tariff-tracking tool and neglected to remove it.
"Wakanda is listed as a US free trade partner on the USDA website??" tweeted Francis Tseng, a fellow at the Jain Family Institute, after he spotted the gaffe while using the agency's Tariff Tracker tool.
Tseng tweeted a screenshot of the list and another detailing Wakandan exports such as horses, goats, and sheep. The "Heart-Shaped Herb" that gives Black Panther his superhuman strength and agility didn't make the cut.
"I definitely did a double take," Tseng told NBC News. "I Googled Wakanda to make sure it was actually fiction, and I wasn't misremembering. I mean, I couldn't believe it."
Wakanda was added to the USDA Tariff Tracker after June 10, NBC reported, and removed Dec. 18, 2019.
"Over the past few weeks, the Foreign Agricultural Service staff who maintain the Tariff Tracker have been using test files to ensure that the system is running properly," the USDA said in a statement to NBC. "The Wakanda information should have been removed after testing and has now been taken down."
This article originally appeared on Business Insider. Follow @BusinessInsider on Twitter.
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MIGHTY MILSPOUSE
DoD tests cyber warriors in deployment-like conditions
Exercise Patriot Warrior featured airmen, sailors, and soldiers practicing their cyber defense skills in highly challenging environments.
"We have to stay ready at all times to defend our networks at home and abroad," said Air Force Senior Airmen Christopher Hillen, an exercise participant. "This exercise is so important, once we get deployed and experience different situations we're going to lean on the training we received here and apply it to real world situations."
One part of Patriot Warrior enabled Air Force and Army personnel to interact and train together in realistic scenarios providing both services with a unique perspective on the exercise and future missions.
Staff Sgt. Michael Bigee and Airman Steven Hilton, 265th Combat Communications Squadron cyber operations specialists, work on systems at Fort McCoy, Wis., June 12, 2015.
(U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Andrea Salazar)
Challenging Scenarios
"These scenarios provide our soldiers and also the airmen with a very realistic outlook on what both entities could expect in the real world," said Army Maj. Robert Bell, 261st Theater Tactical Signal Brigade operations and plans officer. "Everyone learns great lessons in trainings like this, it develops different skills that each other has learned and also builds confidence in our airmen and soldiers.
The exercise was comprised of joint forces from around the country to showcase deployment capabilities and was hosted here. The exercise hosted Army, Navy and Air Force personnel from 22 different bases.
"Working with other services is an invaluable experience for our Airmen and their development as cyber operators," said Air Force Maj. Bennett Reid, director of operations.
Airmen and Soldiers gather during Exercise Patriot Warrior for cyber defense training on Aug. 8, 2018 at Fort McCoy, Wisc. Patriot Warrior is Air Force Reserve Command's premier exercise, providing an opportunity for Reserve Citizen Airmen to train with joint partners in the combat support training exercise.
(U.S. Air Force Photo by Staff Sgt. Xavier Lockley)
Cyber Combat Support Training
"With this being the first time that we've integrated with the Army in a cyber combat support training exercise, it allowed us to see areas in which we aren't as strong and fix the issue as team," Reid said. "We got to work with a network we'd never seen before, and we had to learn how to get plugged into our weapon system which we had to learn but it helped us understand how to operate other networks outside of our comfort zone."
Exercises like Patriot Warrior provide critical contingency oriented skills for all members who participate, but there is also a bigger picture in mind.
"The way the fight is won nowadays is through cyberspace," said Air Force Tech Sgt. Christian Coleman, a reservist from the 911th Communications Squadron cyberspace operations controller and member of the Cyber Mission Defense Team.
"All branches continue to evolve as the battlefield changes and now the World Wide Web is where we have to maintain dominance," Coleman added.
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A Bataan Death March survivor just died at 100
A San Francisco Bay Area man who survived the infamous 1942 Bataan Death March and symbolized the thousands of unheralded Filipinos who fought alongside American forces during World War II has died. He was 100.
Ramon Regalado died Dec. 16 in El Cerrito, California, said Cecilia I. Gaerlan, executive director of the Bataan Legacy Historical Society, which has fought to honor Regalado and others. She did not have a cause of death.
U.S. Army National Guard and Filipino soldiers shown at the outset of the Bataan Death March. (Image from The National Guard Flickr)
"He really embodied the qualities of the greatest generation and love for country," she said.
Regalado was born in 1917 in the Philippines. He was a machine gun operator with the Philippine Scouts under U.S. Army Forces when troops were forced to surrender in 1942 to the Japanese after a grueling three-month battle.
The prisoners were forced to march some 65 miles (105 kilometer) to a camp. Many died during the Bataan Death March, killed by Japanese soldiers or simply unable to make the trek. The majority of the troops were Filipino.
Also Read: This POW led over 3,000 guerrillas after escaping the Bataan Death March
Regalado survived and slipped away with two others — all of them sick with malaria. They encountered a farmer who cared for them, but only Regalado lived.
Afterward, he joined a guerrilla resistance movement against the Japanese and later moved to the San Francisco Bay Area to work as a civilian for the U.S. military.
In his later years, he gave countless interviews to promote the wartime heroics of Filipinos, who were promised benefits and U.S. citizenship but saw those promises disappear after the war ended.
More than 250,000 Filipino soldiers served with U.S. troops in World War II, including more than 57,000 who died.
POWs on the Bataan Death March. (U.S. Air Force photo)
The veterans have won back some concessions, including lump-sum payments as part of the 2009 economic stimulus package.
In an October ceremony in Washington, D.C., remaining Filipino veterans of World War II were awarded the coveted Congressional Gold Medal, the nation's highest civilian award.
Gaerlan said Regalado did not make the trip due to poor health, but he got his medal in December in an intensive care unit in Richmond, California.
He is survived by his wife, Marcelina, five children, and many grandchildren.
US-backed forces killed a Taliban leader in Afghanistan
Afghan forces backed by the U.S. airpower have intensified the offensive against the insurgents in the country, killing scores of militants including a Taliban shadow governor in fresh air raids, a security official said.
Mawlawi Helal, the Taliban's self-proclaimed governor for northern Baghlan province, has been killed along with his top four commanders and up to 15 more fighters in Dand-e-Ghori district, Ikramuddin Saree, the security chief for the province, told Anadolu Agency.
Local media reported a few civilian casualties in the raid, but the officials have not acknowledged any.
U.S. Marine Corps Cpl. Daniel Hopping during a mission to disrupt Taliban forces in Larr village and establish a presence in the area. (DoD photo by Cpl. Joseph Scanlan, U.S. Marine Corps/Released)
In February, the Taliban confirmed the death of their governor for Kunduz Mullah Abdul Salam in a U.S. airstrike in the Dasht-e-Archi district.
In mid-April, the Afghan officials also claimed to have eliminated the militants' shadow governor for Takhar province in the same district.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Defense (MoD) has stated in a message that three al-Qaeda affiliates have been killed in an air raid in southern Zabul province.
The Taliban, on the other hand, claimed to have killed a district police chief and 10 other policemen in the Shenkai district of the province.
Also read: 300 Marines will deploy to help counter Taliban insurgents
Zabul lies between Ghazni and Kandahar, where the Taliban are quite active, particularly in the rural parts.
Gul-e-Islam, spokesman for the provincial government, has only confirmed the death of district police chief Saifullah Hotak and one of his guards. He claimed the militants' assault on security check posts has been repulsed.
The NATO mission in Afghanistan has announced strong desire to eliminate Daesh and other terrorist groups in 2017, however, aspiration for a peace deal with the Taliban has been expressed on a number of occasions.
U.S. Navy veteran detained in Iran freed, on his way home
Radio Free Europe Radio Liberty
Posted On June 05, 2020 20:05:15
U.S. citizen Michael White, pictured here with his mother, Joanne, had been detained in Iran since 2018. (Free Michael White Campaign)
U.S. Navy veteran Michael White, who has been detained in Iran for nearly two years, is returning home as part of a prisoner swap between Washington and Tehran.
White's release on June 4 is part of a back-channel deal involving the release of an American-Iranian doctor prosecuted in the United States, U.S. and Iranian officials said.
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Twitter he had spoken by phone with White, who took a Swiss plane to Zurich on his way to the United States.
"Thank you to Iran, it shows a deal is possible!" Trump wrote, in an apparent olive branch to Iran.
White was sentenced to 13 years in prison last year for allegedly insulting Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and posting private information online.
In March, he was temporarily released on medical grounds amid the coronavirus pandemic to the Swiss Embassy, which represents U.S. interests in Iran.
The navy veteran was detained in July 2018 while he was visiting a woman he had met online and fallen in love with.
White's mother, Joanne White, said in a statement that "the nightmare is over, and my son is safely in American custody and on his way home."
The AP news agency quoted U.S. officials as saying his release was part of an agreement involving Majid Taheri, an Iranian-American physician prosecuted by the Justice Department.
Taheri served 16 months for violating U.S. sanctions against Iran and on June 4 a federal judge released him to go see family in Iran.
The developments follow the deportation to Iran this week of Sirios Asgari, an Iranian scientist detained in the United States.
U.S. and Iranian officials have denied that Asgari's release was part of a prisoner swap.
Switzerland, the intermediary between the U.S. and Iranian governments, has facilitated months of quiet negotiations over prisoners, reports said. Qatar, which has good relations with both the United States and Iran, reportedly also facilitated the prisoner swap.
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said on Twitter he was pleased the two Iranians and White will join their families.
"This can happen for all prisoners. No need for cherry picking. Iranian hostages held in — and on behalf of — the U.S. should come home," he said.
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Iranian authorities had been "constructive" on freeing White but urged the release of three other U.S. citizens, all of Iranian descent, who are detained in Iran.
Observers have speculated that prisoner swaps can offer a rare opportunity for back-channel diplomacy between the two adversaries to start official dialogue, but few see any serious progress before the U.S. election in November.
Relations between Washington and Tehran have become increasingly hostile since 2018, when Trump withdrew the United States from a landmark nuclear deal between Iran and world powers.
This article originally appeared on Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. Follow @RFERL on Twitter.
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Russia now claims the US is interfering in their elections
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov says that Moscow believes a hotly anticipated U.S. list of rich Russians seen as close to President Vladimir Putin is an attempt to meddle in the country's March 18 2017 election.
Peskov made the remarks on Jan. 29, 2018, ahead of the expected release by the U.S. Treasury Department of what is known as the "Kremlin Report."
"We really do believe that this is a direct and obvious attempt to time some steps to coincide with the election in order to exert influence on it," Peskov told journalists.
The report was mandated by Congress in a law aimed to increase pressure on Russia after the U.S. intelligence community said that Putin ordered a concerted hacking-and-propaganda campaign aimed to influence the U.S. presidential election in 2016.
The Kremlin in Russia. (Photo from Wikimedia Commons)
President Donald Trump, who called for warmer ties with Russia during the campaign, reluctantly signed the bill into law in August 2017.
It gave the Treasury Department, the State Department, and intelligence agencies 180 days to identify people by "their closeness to the Russian regime and their net worth."
Also read: Trump's strategy to prepare the US for power war with Russia and China
Russian business leaders and others named on the list — part of which may be kept classified — will not immediately be hit with sanctions but could face them in the future.
The expected release of the report has caused concern in the Russian elite, according to U.S. officials and U.S. advisers to Russian business leaders.
Peskov shrugged it off, however, saying that "we are convinced that it will have no influence" on the Russian election.
With the Kremlin controlling the levers of political power nationwide after years of steps to suppress dissent and marginalize political opponents, the election is virtually certain to hand Putin a new six-year term.
Related: Russia's elite are nervous about new US sanctions
Political commentators say Putin, 65, is eager for a high turnout to strengthen his mandate in what could be his last stint in the Kremlin, as he would be constitutionally barred from seeking a third straight term in 2024.
U.S. Justice Department Special Counsel Robert Mueller and three congressional panels are separately investigating alleged Russian meddling in the 2016 U.S. election and any potential ties between the Trump campaign and the Russians.
Trump denies there was any collusion, and Putin has denied that Russia interfered in the U.S. election process, despite what U.S. officials say is substantial evidence.
New light attack aircraft one step closer to reality
After years of discussion, the U.S. Air Force has taken the initial steps to buy commercial, off-the-shelf aircraft for its light attack aircraft fleet.
The service is alerting defense firms hoping to compete for the Light Attack Aircraft program that it intends to begin soliciting bids in December, according to a presolicitation announcement posted on FedBizOpps on Aug. 3, 2018.
"LAA will provide an affordable, non-developmental aircraft intended to operate globally in the types of Irregular Warfare environments that have characterized combat operations over the past 25 years," the post said. "A contract will be awarded in fourth quarter of [fiscal 2019]."
While the program would remain a full and open competition, Air Force officials said the most viable aircraft are the Textron Aviation AT-6 Wolverine and Sierra Nevada/Embraer A-29 Super Tucano.
"Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC) and Textron Aviation are the only firms that appear to possess the capability necessary to meet the requirement within the Air Force's timeframe without causing an unacceptable delay in meeting the needs of the warfighter," the FedBizOpps post said.
The two single-engine turboprop aircraft were most recently part of the service's light attack experiment at Holloman Air Force Base, New Mexico. The second phase of the experiment was canceled in July following a fatal crash.
Navy Lt. Christopher Carey Short, of Canandaigua, New York, was piloting an A-29 when it crashed over the Red Rio Bombing Range within White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico, on June 22. The Air Force temporarily suspended exercises with the two aircraft before announcing the remainder of the live-fly exercises and combat maneuvers were canceled.
A-29 Super Tucano
(U.S. Air Force photo by Capt. Eydie Sakura)
A Light Attack Distinguished Visitors Day, originally set for July and canceled after the fatal crash, has been rescheduled for Sept. 14 at Andrews Air Force Base, Air Force officials said.
Lt. Gen. Arnold Bunch, top acquisition official for the Air Force, told reporters at the time that the service would continue to work with defense industry partners to complete remaining test requirements, which mostly consist of maintenance and sustainment data.
He said then that a potential request for proposal for light attack, also known as OA-X, could be issued by December.
"If we decide that we're going to go forward with the acquisition … if that's the direction we're going to go, we want to get an RFP out on the street by December," he said last month. "If we go down that path … what we then want to do is make a downselect decision within the next fiscal year."
The Air Force in 2016 announced plans to hold flight demonstrations with a handful of aircraft to test whether lighter, inexpensive and off-the-shelf aircraft might be suitable in ongoing wars such as Afghanistan.
As part of Phase I, four aircraft — the A-T6 and A-29, as well as AirTractor and L3's AT-802L Longsword and Textron and AirLand LLC's Scorpion — conducted demonstrations and weapons drops during the experiment at Holloman in August 2017. After Phase I was completed, the Air Force selected the Wolverine and Super Tucano to undergo more demonstration fly-off scenarios between May and July of this year.
A Beechcraft AT-6 experimental aircraft during ground operations is prepared for takeoff from Holloman AFB. The AT-6 is participating in the US Air Force Light Attack Experiment (OA-X), a series of trials to determine the feasibility of using light aircraft in attack roles.
(U.S. Air Force Photo by Ethan D. Wagner)
In November, key lawmakers agreed to provide the Air Force with 0 million to continue experimenting with the planes. Additionally, lawmakers recently passed the fiscal 2019 National Defense Authorization Act, which authorizes 0 million "to procure Air Force light attack aircraft and associated long lead material," according to the bill's summary.
If the planes can be interoperable with other militaries' planes, the result would be a diverse fleet of aircraft with partners across the world, officials have said.
"We must develop the capacity to combat violent extremism at lower cost," Secretary of the Air Force Heather Wilson said in a statement released Aug. 3, 2018. "Today's Air Force is smaller than the nation needs and the Light Attack Aircraft offers an option to increase the Air Force capacity beyond what we now have in our inventory or budget."
Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David Goldfein told Military.com in September that the light attack initiative should be viewed as a new way of doing business — not just a plane, but part of a larger communications system.
OA-X "is actually not about the hardware — it's about the network," he said, adding he wants the service to train more often with coalition partners who may not have high-end fighter aircraft.
"At the same that we're looking at a relatively inexpensive aircraft and sensor package, can I connect that into a network of shareable information that allows us to better accomplish the strategy as it's been laid out?" Goldfein asked.
Bunch last month added, "We're still going to experiment and try out the network in other areas over time. The goal of this network is to get it to the point where we can utilize it in other platforms beyond light attack."
This article originally appeared on Military.com. Follow @militarydotcom on Twitter.
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North Korea reportedly behind South Korean cyptocurrency hack
North Korea's involvement in major hacking offensives appears to be growing.
The country has been linked to a recent attack on South Korean cryptocurrency exchanges, according to cybersecurity experts.
Researchers from the U.S. cybersecurity firm Recorded Future say a new hacking campaign targeting South Korean cryptocurrency exchange Coinlink employed the same malware code used in the 2014 attack on Sony Pictures and last year's global WannaCry attack.
Beginning in late 2017, hackers attempted to collect the passwords and emails of employees at Coinlink, but were unsuccessful.
Recorded Future released a full report on Jan. 16 analyzing the methods used in the recent Coinlink attack versus methods used in previous cyberattacks. The firm found what it called strong evidence that a cybercrime unit called the Lazarus group was behind the Coinlink attack, as well as several previous large-scale campaigns, based on the type of code they have used in previous attacks.
According to the report, the Lazarus group operates under a North Korean state-sponsored cyber unit.
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The group has been conducting operations since at least 2009, when they launched an attack on US and South Korean websites by infecting them with a virus known as MyDoom, the report said. The group has mainly targeted South Korean, U.S. government, and financial entities, but has also been linked to the major attack on Sony Pictures in 2014.
In recent years, researchers noticed a change in North Korean cyber operations as they began to shift their focus to attacking financial institutions in order to steal money to fund Kim Jong Un's regime, the report said.
In 2017, the group began targeting cryptocurrencies, and their first offensive was aimed at Bithumb, one of the world's largest bitcoin exchanges. Lazarus hackers stole $7 million in the Bithumb heist at the time, according to the report.
The WannaCry attack in 2017, which affected computer systems at schools, hospitals, and businesses across 150 countries, also used malware code that was linked to Lazarus.
Additionally, a December attack on the South Korean bitcoin exchange YouBit reportedly mirrored previous North Korean offensives, leading experts to suggest that groups associated with the North were behind that attack as well.
Recorded Future's report comes amid recent allegations that North Korea has begun mining and hacking cryptocurrencies in order to sidestep crippling economic sanctions.
"This is a continuation of their broader interest in cryptocurrency as a funding stream," Priscilla Moriuchi, director of strategic-threat development at Recorded Future, told the Wall Street Journal this week.
The U.S. has released statements blaming North Korea for several recent attacks. North Korea still denies any involvement, despite mounting evidence.