July 17 Joint Base Lewis-McChord Daily News Clips

July 17 Joint Base Lewis-McChord Daily News Clips

Local/Regional/ Pacific/Middle East:

Plan ahead for temporary closure of JBLM’s DuPont Gate July 29-Aug. 5 for road construction

(Key words): Beginning 5 a.m. Monday, July 29, the Joint Base Lewis-McChord DuPont gate will close to all travelers. The gate will reopen 5 a.m. Monday, Aug. 5 The closure of this gate allows crews to continue to improve access to and from JBLM. The temporary DuPont Gate closure does not affect other JBLM gates. Travelers will want to plan to take alternate routes and allow for additional travel time during the closure. The Washington State Department of Transportation appreciates travelers’ patience and understanding during this work. 

Reuters

Palestinian factions, including Hamas and Fatah, to meet in China in July

(Key words): Palestinian factions, including rivals Hamas and Fatah, will hold unity talks in China in July, two senior Hamas and Fatah officials told Reuters on Monday, as they try to resolve deep divisions. The two factions met in China in April to discuss reconciliation efforts to end around 17 years of political splits. The meetings come amid rising tensions between the two factions over Hamas' continued war with Israel. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who leads the Fatah movement, has previously criticized the Islamist Hamas group for the war, while Hamas has accused the Palestinian president of taking Israel's side. https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/palestinian-factions-including-hamas-fatah-meet-china-july-2024-07-15/

Newsweek

Japan rocked by military leaks scandal amid Russia, China threat

(Key words): Japan's military has been rocked by a series of scandals, including classified leaks, that have seen over 200 people disciplined and the chief of staff of the country's navy resign. They come as the country's Self-Defense Forces face increasing tensions with neighbors Russia, China and North Korea. Japan's Defense Ministry on Friday announced disciplinary action against 218 military personnel and bureaucrats. https://www.newsweek.com/japan-military-leaks-scandal-amid-russia-china-threat-1925824

The Economic Times

Inda, US carry out mega wargame in Indian Ocean

(Key words): Indian Navy's frontline warships carried out a mega military exercise with the Theodore Roosevelt carrier strike group of the US in the Indian Ocean, demonstrating the growing strategic congruence between the two sides in the key maritime domain. The USS Theodore Roosevelt is a Nimitz-class, nuclear-powered, aircraft carrier of the US Navy. A carrier battle group or carrier strike group is a mega naval fleet comprising an aircraft carrier, accompanied by a large number of destroyers, frigates and other ships. https://www.msn.com/en-in/news/India/india-us-carry-out-mega-wargame-in-indian-ocean/ar-BB1pZWP3?item=flightsprg-tipsubsc-v1a?s

Business World

Head of Joint Chiefs of Staff in Manila to discuss ‘free and open’s Indo-Pacific

(Key words): THE HEAD of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff arrived in the Philippines on Tuesday as part of his wider trip to the Indo-Pacific region, which Washington considers a priority amid tensions with China and nuclear threats from North Korea. US Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman and Air Force General Charles Q. Brown, Jr. will participate in a series of engagements with Philippine military chief General Romeo S. Brawner, Jr. and other military officials, the US Defense department said in a statement. It cited “recent strides in the long-standing US-Filipino defense relationships.” Mr. Brown is also set to visit one of the sites under Manila’s Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) with Washington. https://www.bworldonline.com/the-nation/2024/07/16/608512/head-of-joint-chiefs-of-staff-in-manila-to-discuss-free-and-open-indo-pacific/

National:

U.S. Department of Defense

Pentagon Condemns Political Violence, Details National Guard Aid to Convention

(Key words): There is no place in America for the type of violence demonstrated in Pennsylvania over the weekend in which a gunman tried to assassinate former President Donald Trump, said Deputy Pentagon Press Secretary Sabrina Singh today. Singh said the tragedy that killed a Pennsylvania man and wounded others "is not the way we resolve our differences in America." She said the U.S. military has made no changes to force posture as a result of the attack. https://www.defense.gov/News/News-Stories/Article/Article/3838931/pentagon-condemns-political-violence-details-national-guard-aid-to-convention/

USNI News

HII Awarded $78M for Quality of Life Improvements at Newport News

(Key words): The Navy issued HII’s Newport News Shipbuilding a $ 78 million contract modification for quality-of-life improvements that includes building a facility for sailors who are working on aircraft carriers undergoing their mid-life refueling overhaul, according to Naval Sea Systems Command. The funds are for a “Carrier Refueling Overhaul Work center” that sailors and civilians working on the refueling and complex overhauls can use while in the yard at Newport News, NAVSEA wrote in a post to LinkedIn.

https://news.usni.org/2024/07/15/navy-issues-hii-78m-contract-mod-that-includes-quality-of-life-facility-at-newport-news

The Washington Times

America’s military recruiting challenges: The draft and falling birthrates

(Key words): In a recent essay, professor Edward Luttwak argued that plummeting fertility rates greatly restrict the ability of political leaders to go to war and, once at war, circumscribe the amount of bloodshed they can countenance. Mr. Luttwak concludes that nations with below replacement-level fertility rates (both democracies and dictatorships) are loath to go to war because each casualty potentially represents the end of a family line. https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2024/jul/15/americas-military-recruiting-challenges-draft-and-/

Business Insider

A US Navy captain was in disbelief when his destroyer came under fire from missiles never before seen in combat while dealing with pirates

(Key words): US Navy warships that spent months battling the Houthis have faced unprecedented threats during their restless deployments, chief among them being anti-ship ballistic missiles, a deadly weapon that had never been used in combat until recently. One of these warships, the Arleigh Burke-class destroyer USS Mason, found itself under fire from anti-ship ballistic missiles for the first time shortly after it joined the Navy's counter-Houthi mission last fall. The missiles came in as it was responding to a hijacking attempt by pirates, marking the first operational use of such weapons. https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/a-us-navy-captain-was-in-disbelief-when-his-destroyer-came-under-fire-from-missiles-never-before-seen-in-combat-while-dealing-with-pirates/ar-BB1q5QCj?ocid=msedgntp&pc=U531&cvid=c99490930b204a6984f58c8f8440aa7d&ei=14

Task & Purpose

J.D. Vance is first veteran on Presidential ticket since John McCain

(Key words): J.D. Vance, a former Marine Corporal, is the first military veteran on a major Presidential ticket since John McCain in 2008 and the first former enlisted vet on the ballot since Al Gore in 2000. Vance served a four-year enlistment in the Marines from 2003 to 2007 as a combat correspondent, deploying to Iraq for six months in late 2005. Donald Trump confirmed Monday that Vance is his pick as a Vice Presidential candidate. https://taskandpurpose.com/news/jd-vance-marine-veteran/

Military News

Army rehearses deploying Bradley’s anywhere at a moment’s notice

(Key words): Soldiers in the 3rd Infantry Division are prepared to deploy anywhere in the world, at any given point. This summer, they’re running a force deployment readiness exercise to practice that emergency capability. A company-sized number of M2A4 Bradley Fighting Vehicles and approximately 60 personnel, along with fuelers, cargo trucks, Joint Light Tactical Vehicles and tracked vehicle maintenance vehicles are headed from Fort Stewart and Hunter Army Airfield, Georgia, to Fort Irwin, California, according to a spokesperson from the division.https://www.armytimes.com/news/your-army/2024/07/15/army-rehearses-deploying-bradleys-anywhere-at-a-moments-notice/

USA Today

A happy retirement: Marine K-9s reunite with first handlers

(Key words): In Okinawa, Japan, they conducted inspections for drugs, tracked missing persons and detected explosives, but medical issues forced an end to their storied military careers. Thankfully Poker and Aida, both German shepherds, had Marine Corps handlers eager to reunite with them after their service, and a charity that helped to make it happen. "I'm so happy to have him back, get to train him again, let him be a dog, let him live his life," said Poker's owner, Marine Corps Sgt. Isaac Weissend, who now trains military dog handlers at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio.https://www.usatoday.com/life/

International:

AP International

Israeli military says it will begin drafting ultra-Orthodox men. That could rattle the government

(Key words): The Israeli military on Tuesday said it would begin sending draft notices to Jewish ultra-Orthodox men next week — a step that could destabilize Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government. The announcement followed a landmark Supreme Court order for young religious men to begin enlisting for military service. Under long-standing political arrangements, ultra-Orthodox men had been exempt from the draft, which is compulsory for most Jewish men. https://fox5sandiego.com/news/world-news/ap-international/ap-israeli-military-says-it-will-begin-drafting-ultra-orthodox-men-that-could-rattle-the-government/

U.S. Army News

2nd Security Force Assistance Brigade strengthens ties in Ghana during medical readiness exercise

(Key words): The 2nd Security Force Assistance Brigade (2nd SFAB), part of U.S. Army Southern European Task Force, Africa (SETAF-AF), participated for the first time in a medical readiness exercise (MEDREX) held from May 13-31 at 37th Military Hospital in Accra, Ghana. The participation of the 2nd SFAB, a specialized force comprising approximately 120 advisors on up to 20 teams, marked a significant milestone. https://www.army.mil/article/277929/2nd_security_force_assistance_brigade_strengthens_ties_in_ghana_during_medical_readiness_exercise

Army Times

Afghanistan War Commission wants veteran stories and questions

(Key words): When the congressionally appointed Afghanistan War Commission holds its first public hearing on Friday, witnesses will convene in a location chosen to send a message: the Washington, D.C., headquarters of the Veterans of Foreign Wars.

The 16-member commission, which has spent the last year hiring staff and getting organized, has an historically unique tasking: it aims to produce an accessible and cohesive “after-action review” of the 20-year war that includes perspectives ranging from the U.S. State Department to international governmental partners and possibly even the Taliban. https://www.armytimes.com/news/your-military/2024/07/16/afghanistan-war-commission-wants-veteran-stories-and-questions/

The Hill

Pakistani troops kill 10 militants responsible for attack on military base that left 8 soldiers dead

(Key words): All 10 militants who rammed an explosive-laden vehicle into a Pakistani military facility were killed in an 18-hour operation, officials said Tuesday, adding that militants in a separate attack on a health facility killed five civilians. In its statement, the Pakistani military said eight soldiers were killed when a suicide bomber early Monday rammed his explosive-laden vehicle into the outer wall of an army housing complex in Bannu, a city in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. https://thehill.com/homenews/ap/ap-international/ap-pakistani-troops-kill-10-militants-responsible-for-attack-on-military-base-that-left-8-soldiers-dead/