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The Pentagon Flew as Many Domestic Drone Missions in 2018 as It Did in the Last 7 Years Combined

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The Pentagon’s drones are an iconic symbol of war abroad, plane-sized matchsticks with wings lurking over cities and countrysides waiting for the moment routine patrol becomes un-routine. For the most part, the missions of those drones have remained abroad, but over the years the Department of Defense has flown drones a handful of times over the United States in support of civil authorities here. From 2011 to 2017, the Pentagon reports just 11 total domestic drone missions.

But in 2018, that total doubled, with 11 domestic missions flown by military drones.

On Jan. 11, the Department of Defense published its 2018 statistics. The drones involved include everything from MQ-9 Reapers down to DJI Phantoms, and involvement in missions ranging from training exercises to border security and emergency response. (Notably, drones operations by the Department of Homeland Security are excluded from these statistics). These numbers are helpfully collected and contrasted with domestic drone use by by the military from 2011 to 2017 by Center for the Study of the Drone at Bard University.

In 2018, military MQ-9 Reapers flew five missions over the United States, four of which were in support of forest firefighting in California and Oregon. One Reaper mission, flown from May 7 to May 10, was described as incident and awareness exercise in the state of New York. RQ-11B Ravens flew two missions, one a base installation in Bangor, Kitsap, Washington, and the other was a Defense Support of Civil Authorities mission in response to Hurricane Florence and requested by the South Carolina National Guard. (Read more from “The Pentagon Flew as Many Domestic Drone Missions in 2018 as It Did in the Last 7 Years Combined” HERE)

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Even Though Supreme Court Upheld Transgender Ban, Pentagon Refuses to Change Direction Citing Technicality

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The Pentagon will not immediately implement President Donald Trump’s ban on transgender men and women serving in the military, the Defense Department said Wednesday, one day after the Supreme Court removed some legal roadblocks that have stalled the controversial policy.

The Supreme Court’s 5-4 decision on Tuesday removed preliminary injunctions that for more than a year halted the Pentagon from implementing the so-called “Mattis Plan,” a policy penned by former Defense Secretary Jim Mattis at Trump’s direction that would ban most transgender men and women from enlisting in the military. However, one such preliminary injunction issued by a federal judge overseeing a discrimination lawsuit in Maryland remained in place as of Wednesday, said Air Force Lt. Col. Carla Gleason, a Pentagon spokeswoman.

The Department of Justice “is seeking relief from this remaining injunction in light of the Supreme Court’s action, but at present it remains in place,” Gleason said. She stressed as of Wednesday that the Pentagon continued to operate under the Defense Department’s 2016 policy, which opened military service to transgender men and women and allowed them to enlist starting Jan. 1, 2018. . .

A White House effort to ban transgender people from military service has been mired in confusion and litigation since Trump’s surprise announcement in July 2017 via Twitter that he would no longer allow transgender people to serve. The directive – made formal in a White House order about one month later – came without any apparent consultation among top Pentagon officials and was decried by Democratic lawmakers and advocates for transgender individuals as a political move.

Mattis’ plan was issued in March 2018 and claimed open service by transgender men and women could undermine the military’s combat readiness. It sought to exclude transgender individuals who had undergone a sex transition or were seeking to transition from their biological gender from joining the military. However, it granted exceptions for active-duty servicemembers who had already identified themselves as transgender. Officials said there were about 900 such servicemembers in the military now. (Read more from “Even Though Supreme Court Upheld Transgender Ban, Pentagon Refuses to Change Direction Citing Technicality” HERE)

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Pentagon: Another Round of Troops Will Head to the Border

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By Townhall. The Pentagon on Monday announced a mission to extend the length of time active duty troops remain on the Southern border. Troops will continue to assist border patrol with and provide security through Sept 30, Reuters reported. The decision was made based on a request from the Department of Homeland Security, the agency that over sees the border patrol.

New troops heading to the border “will include combat engineers to fortify border crossings and aviation units to help ferry Border Patrol agents,” USA Today reported.

“DOD is transitioning its support at the southwestern border from hardening ports of entry to mobile surveillance and detection, as well as concertina wire emplacement between ports of entry. DOD will continue to provide aviation support,” the Pentagon said in a statement Monday.

The current deployment was issued by former Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and was set to expire Jan 30. The new order was approved by Acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan. (Read more from “Pentagon: Another Round of Troops Will Head to the Border” HERE)

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Pentagon to Send More Active-Duty Troops to Southwest Border

By USA Today. The Pentagon will send a fresh deployment of active-duty troops to the southern border at the request of officials from the Department of Homeland Security.

Late Monday, the Pentagon also announced that deployments of active-duty troops would extend through September.

The new contingent of troops will include combat engineers to fortify border crossings and aviation units to help ferry Border Patrol agents, according to a Defense Department official who was not authorized to speak publicly.

The troops will also help with surveillance at the border, according to the Pentagon statement.

The new deployment has been anticipated since Homeland Security officials made the request to the Pentagon for additional resources late last month. There are about 2,350 active-duty troops and an additional 2,200 National Guardsmen at the border. (Read more from “Pentagon to Send More Active-Duty Troops to Southwest Border” HERE)

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It’s Happening: The Pentagon Is Sending U.S. Troops to the Border

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The Pentagon confirmed Thursday hundreds of U.S troops are being sent to the southern border with Mexico in order to stop a Central American caravan that has swelled to 10,000 people.

Earlier this week President Trump threatened to send the military to the border and administration officials have repeatedly vowed the illegal carvan will not be granted entry to the U.S.

(Read more from “It’s Happening: The Pentagon Is Sending U.S. Troops to the Border” HERE)

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Packages Laced With Ricin Sent to the Pentagon, Letter for Mattis

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By Townhall. We have reports that two packages laced with ricin were sent to the Pentagon. They did not get inside the building, however, as the package facility is in a separate building. The Washington Exmainer reports that the FBI is taking lead on the investigation.

(Read more from “Packages Laced With Ricin Sent to the Pentagon, Letter for Mattis” HERE)

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Suspected Ricin Sent to Pentagon, Suspicious Letters to Trump, Ted Cruz Office

By NBC News. A flurry of suspicious envelopes targeting high-profile figures — including President Trump, Secretary of Defense James Mattis and Sen. Ted Cruz — were received in the past two days.

The Secret Service said in a Tuesday evening statement that it intercepted a “suspicious envelope” addressed to the president.

The mail was intercepted at a location outside of the White House. The Secret Service provided no other details about the envelope.

“We can confirm that we are working jointly with our law enforcement partners to fully investigate this matter,” it said in a statement. “Further, all threats directed towards the President, or any Secret Service protectee, are treated seriously and fully investigated.”

Earlier Tuesday, two people were hospitalized in Houston after a “white powdery substance” was found in a letter addressed to the campaign headquarters of Texas Sen. Ted Cruz in Houston, law-enforcement sources said. (Read more from “Suspected Ricin Sent to Pentagon, Suspicious Letters to Trump, Ted Cruz Office” HERE)

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3 Major Cities Sue Pentagon for Texas Church Shooting

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Three major U.S. cities on Tuesday filed a federal lawsuit against the Pentagon to address a “clearly broken system” that they contend allowed a former Air Force serviceman to buy a gun and kill 26 people in a Texas church in November.

New York, Philadelphia and San Francisco seek to have the Defense Department (DOD) “fulfill their long-standing legal obligation to report all service members disqualified from purchasing and possessing firearms to the FBI’s national background check system,” according to a statement from the law firm filing the case.

Law enforcement officials in all three cities “regularly rely upon the integrity of the FBI’s background check system,” the attorneys write.

The case was brought after Devin Kelley opened fire Nov. 5 at a church in Sutherland Springs, Texas, killing 26 people.

It was later discovered that the Air Force had failed to report Kelley’s domestic violence conviction to the FBI. He had been court-martialed and sentenced to a year in prison in 2014 after beating his wife and cracking his stepson’s skull. (Read more from “3 Major Cities Sue Pentagon for Texas Church Shooting” HERE

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    • Pentagon Announces First-Ever Audit of the Department of Defense

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    “The Defense Department is starting the first agency-wide financial audit in its history,” the Pentagon’s news service says, announcing that it’s undertaking an immense task that has been sought, promised and delayed for years.

    Of the tally that is starting this week, chief Pentagon spokesperson Dana W. White said, “It demonstrates our commitment to fiscal responsibility and maximizing the value of every taxpayer dollar that is entrusted to us.”

    “Beginning in 2018, our audits will occur annually, with reports issued Nov. 15,” the Defense Department’s comptroller, David L. Norquist, said.

    The Defense Department has famously never been audited, despite receiving hundreds of billions of dollars annually and having more than $2.2 trillion in assets.

    For the Pentagon to get to this point, it has been, as they say, a process. The U.S. government established requirements for each agency to present financial statements back in the 1990s. But for more than 20 years, the Department of Defense has lagged other agencies that were following modern accounting standards, reporting what they received and spent. (Read more from “Pentagon Announces First-Ever Audit of the Department of Defense” HERE)

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    US Moves to Block Transgender Military Recruits Signing Up

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    By AFP. President Donald Trump’s administration has asked a federal court to block the Pentagon from starting the hiring of transgender recruits next year.

    The filing by the Justice Department late on Wednesday is the latest in a series of legal measures that have unfolded since Trump sent out three tweets in July saying that transgender troops could not serve “in any capacity” in the military.

    Those tweets, later followed by a formal White House memorandum, set off a roar of protest — with several service members and rights groups quick to sue.

    Two federal courts have since temporarily blocked Trump’s ban, and the Pentagon was due to start accepting transgender recruits on January 1.

    The government’s filing calls for a partial delay, specifically that the Pentagon does not accept transgender recruits from that date. (Read more from “US Moves to Block Transgender Military Recruits Signing Up” HERE)

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    Pentagon Prepares to Accept Transgender Recruits by Jan. 1

    By Tara Copp. The Pentagon is preparing to comply with a federal court ruling saying the military must accept new transgender recruits by Jan. 1, even as officials are still weighing how to comply with President Donald Trump’s directive that they not be allowed to serve at all.

    “January 1 means January 1,” said Jennifer Levi, GLBTQ Legal Advocates and Defenders Transgender Rights project director.

    Levi was reacting to a U.S. District Court ruling that the Pentagon must move forward with accepting transgender recruits by the Jan. 1 deadline.

    “That’s the date when the military can no longer deny transgender people from enlisting,” Levi said. “The court’s earlier order was clear on that point. This latest ruling is an exclamation point, not that any was needed.” (Read more from “Pentagon Prepares to Accept Transgender Recruits by Jan. 1” HERE)

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    Pentagon Warns It’s Getting Ready for Transgender Recruits

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    President Trump announced in July the U.S. military would end the practice initiated by President Obama a year earlier of recruiting and accepting transgenders for its ranks.

    So why is the Pentagon revealing this week it is taking steps “to be prepared to accept transgender recruits on Jan. 1”?

    It’s mainly because of the well-funded legal teams pursuing lawsuits against the nation and the activist judges who affirm their complaints. Ironically, they have decided that while the Barack Obama administration was allowed to arbitrarily change the U.S. military rules on the issue, President Trump is not allowed to change them back.

    According to the Washington Examiner, the announcement from the Pentagon follows recent decisions by several judges in Washington and Maryland that halted the orders from the president to the military to phase out transgender service and gender-reassignment surgeries.

    Pentagon spokesman Dave Eastburn told the news organization that the Department of Defense now is “taking steps to be prepared to initiate accessions of transgender applicants for military service on January 1, 2018, per recent court orders.” (Read more from “Pentagon Warns It’s Getting Ready for Transgender Recruits” HERE)

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    Pentagon Makes Big Admission About Women in Combat

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    A new Pentagon report that recommends including women in the Selective Service registration for any future draft includes a backhanded admission that females cannot meet the same combat standards as men.

    The “Report on the Purpose and Utility of a Registration System for Military Selective Service” concludes the present volunteer military is serving the nation’s needs, but it says a draft always should remain an option because of the potential for future threats.

    The report aligns with the Obama administration’s use of the military for social experimentation, with women in combat and tip-of-the-spear roles previously occupied by men, allowance of transgenders, open homosexuality and more.

    It means that while President Trump has moved away from such experimentation, the holdovers from the previous administration still have authority.

    The new report states: “Under current law, women may serve voluntarily in the U.S. Armed Forces but are not, and never have been, required to register for selective service. Since the ban on women in combat was lifted [by Obama], the merits of including women in the requirement to register for the draft have been hotly debated in the media and in the halls of Congress.” (Read more from “Pentagon Makes Big Admission About Women in Combat” HERE)

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