Heading for the Hills:Homeland Defence Forces Take Special Precautions

In the wake of the COVID-19 crisis, the Pentagon's homeland defence forces have gone to the highest level of health protection in order to safeguard personnel capable of deterring and responding to adversarial threats,as well as to the pandemic at hand.These troops include those of US NORTHCOM and NORAD.
NORTHCOM and NORAD Commander GEN Terrence O'Shaughnessy, US Air Force,told a Facebook Live town hall with his personnel:
To ensure that we can defend the homeland despite the pandemic, our command and watch teams here in the headquarters have been split into multiple shifts, and portions of our watch team began working from Cheyenne Mountain Air Force Station, creating a third team at an alternate location as well.
Our dedicated professionals of the NORAD and NORTHCOM command and control watch have left their homes, said goodbye to their families and are isolated from everyone to ensure that they can stand watch each and every day to defend our homeland.It's certainly not optimal, but it's absolutely necessary and appropriate given the situation.
This is a marathon, not a sprint.
My primary concern was...Are we going to have space inside the mountain for everybody who wants to move in there, and I'm not at liberty to discuss who's moving in there.*
Other sites national security personnel may be relocating to include the Raven Rock Mountain Complex (Site R) in Southcentral Pennsylvania and Mount Weather, Virginia.Both impressive bunkers are hidden in the Appalachian​ Mountains.Another possibility for isolation may be found at Camp Peary,officially called the Armed Forces Experimental Training Activity,a US Navy holding in York County, Virginia that serves as a training base for the CIA and the DIA.The highly classified 9,000 acre compound includes a 1500 m/ 5,000 foot runway that has been used by CIA aircraft.*
Other military personnel known to be isolating include B-52H Stratofortress bomber crews; ballistic missile submarine crews; ICBM personnel; and certain Special Operations Forces units.*
NORAD and US NORTHCOM normally operate out of Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado Springs, Colorado."

Space Force Is Sifting Through 700 Crowdsourced Name Suggestions for its Troops

Space Force Is Sifting Through 700 Crowdsourced Name Suggestions for its Troops

Second GPS III Satellite Declared Ready for Military Use

Second GPS III Satellite Declared Ready for Military Use: The U.S. Space Force’s Space and Missile Systems Center (SMC) successfully transferred the second GPS III system to Space Operations Command on March 23, the center said March 24. The satellite, built by Lockheed Martin, is now officially under the control of the Second Space Operations Squadron located at Schriever

NASA Super Guppy Lands and Loads (MAR 2020) - 179th Airlift Wing, Ohio Air National Guard,loads the Super Guppy with the Orion spacecraft for Artemis I Mission on its way to Kennedy Space Center, having completed testing for its 2021 launch

Atlas V launches AEHF-6 , Advanced Extremely High Frequency-6 satellite for the US Space Force

Pence swears in Space Force General John Raymond

US Space Force Assumes National Security Launch Role

Despite the COVID-19 crisis,the new US Space Force, part of the Department of the Air Force,is to proceed with its critical missions of supporting military payload launches and responding to the outer space threat environment,a USSF spokesman told news organisations. According to MAJ Will Russell:
At this time, there are no impacts to the US Space Force mission-essential activities due to COVID-19 concerns.*
Indeed,on 26 March 2020 the Lockheed Martin Advanced Extremely High Frequency  satellite,AEHF-6, will be launched from Cape Canaveral on a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket with USSF support.As for ULA,a Lockheed-Boeing joint venture,it also is determined to forge ahead.CEO Tory Bruno said:
We have a critical role to support both national security and rare exploration opportunities.*
GEN John "Jay" Raymond is the first Chief of Space Operations,and more than 16,000 uniformed and civilian personnel, mostly from the US Air Force Space Command, have been assigned to the new armed service.More such transfers are imminent,USSF vice-commander LTGEN David Thompson said.As well, several capabilities and personnel from the US Army, Navy and Marine Corps will be transferred to the Space Force.The transfers are voluntary.
There is no opportunity for civilians to enlist in the Space Force at this time.*
The USSF has taken over the Boeing X-37B secret space plane.Its next launch is slated for April 2020.Altogether, the Space Force will launch 8-10 National Security Space Launches (NSSL) this year.*
Patrick Air Force Base and Cape Canaveral Air Force Station are to be renamed Patrick Space Force Base and Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, respectively.*
The necessity of the US Space Force is illustrated by the concern that China will establish a base on the Moon in 2024.It could be used to supply China with unique military intelligence,in light of China's civilian-military fusion policy.*
Lockheed Martin (LMT), Boeing (BA)

Orion Program Update: Artemis I Recovery Test Completed

NASA and the US Navy have completed a capsule recovery test, Underway Recovery Test - 8, in the Pacific Ocean in preparation for NASA's Artemis I Mission.Helicopters from Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron 23 (HSC-23) and the USS John P. Murtha (LPD 26) supported the first full mission profile test.The Landing and Recovery Team successfully met their objectives, NASA said.*
The Artemis I Mission is a fully integrated flight test of NASA's Deep Space Exploration Systems, including the Orion spacecraft; Space Launch System rocket; backed by the upgraded Exploration Ground Systems at Kennedy Space Center, Florida.The recovery test furthered NASA's goal of assuring a safe crew module entry, descent,spashdown and recovery at the conclusion of Artemis I.*
HSC-23, the "Wildcards", are based at NAS North Island,San Diego.They fly the MH-60 helicopter and MQ-8B Firescout VTUAV.The USS John P. Murtha is a San Antonio-class Amphibious Transport Dock ship homeported at Naval Base San Diego.*
NASA's critical missions,such as Artemis I and the James Webb Space Telescope, are being safeguarded during the COVID-19 crisis to minimise disruption.Certain personnel have reportedly been moved to remote locations to help ensure the missions remain on course.*
Artemis I is slated for launch in the second half of 2021.*

Cramer: Companies that can weather coronavirus without government help w...

NORAD Conducts Intercept Exercise Falco-Virgo Over Washington,D.C on 11 March 2020 with a US Coast Guard MH-65D Dolphin helicopter and a Civil Air Patrol Cessna 182T general aviation aircraft

The Coast Guard MH-65D comes in an armed version for the Airborne Use of Force Mission.

Iraq:British Soldier Killed in Action Identified

The British Soldier killed  during an Iran-backed militia attack on Camp Taji,Iraq has been identified by the Ministry of Defence as LCPL Brodie Gillon.She was a reservist member of the Scottish and North Irish Yeomanry.*
In civilian life,LCPL Gillon was a self-employed sports physiotherapist.She had joined the regiment in 2015 as a Combat Medical Technician (CMT),and qualified as a Class I CMT in 2018.*
LCPL Gillon had volunteered to serve in Iraq.She was highly regarded both within the Regiment and beyond.*

Oxford presents American Legion legislative agenda to Congress

Oxford presents American Legion legislative agenda to Congress: National Commander James W. “Bill” Oxford presented a three-step mission to lawmakers during a joint session of the Senate and House Committees on Veterans’ Affairs March 11.

US,British Troops Killed in Rocket Attack on Coalition Base - Updated

Two US troops, reportedly a US Army Soldier and a US Air Force Airman,as well as a British service member, were killed in a rocket attack on the Operation Inherent Resolve base Camp Taji,Iraq on 11 March 2020, several official sources reported.Twelve other Coalition members were wounded.Identities are being withheld pending family notification.*
Camp Taji hosts Coalition personnel for their train, advise and assist mission to the Iraqi Security Forces.The base was hit by about 18 107mm Katyusha rockets.The ISF located an abandoned rocket launcher truck a few miles from Camp Taji.*
Subsequently the monitoring group Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said an airstrike by unidentified aircraft hit Iranian-backed militia bases in the al-Hasyan area of Syria near the Iraqi border, killing 26 militia members and wounding more than 15 others.Apparently this was a retaliatory strike.Both US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson had promised to hold those responsible for the rocket attack to account.*
Update:The US says it launched airstrikes on five bases containing advanced Iranian weapons such as Katyusha rockets.The bases belong to the Iranian-backed militia Kitaib Hezbollah,which US CENTCOM commander Kenneth "Frank" McKenzie,USMC,notes is the only militia that has attacked Coalition bases with such weaponry.At the same time,the US denies that it participated in the airstrikes reported by the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
Possibly Israel carried out those strikes.*
Most likely the rocket attack by Iranian proxies in the region is a continuation of Iran's hostility to the West in general, and the United States in particular, which flared up in 2019 with similar attacks on OIR bases that killed an American contractor.In response, the US carried out an airstrike that killed Major General Qasem Soleimani of Iran's Revolutionary Guard.*

United States Marine Raiders | 2018 | " Bad Company "

US Marine Raiders Combat training

Operation Inherent Resolve:Two Marines Die in Iraq Battle

On 8 March 2020,two US Marines died in combat against Islamic State forces in the mountains of Northcentral Iraq.They were accompanying and assisting Iraqi Security Forces on an air assault mission in the Southern Makhmur Mountains to evict the IS militants from a well-fortified cave complex.
In the course of the raid,a fierce firefight ensued at close range.Killed in the battle were CAPT Moises A. Navas,34,of Germantown, Maryland and GYSGT Diego D. Pongo,34,of Simi Valley, California.They were members of 2nd Marine Raider Battalion, Marine Corps Special Operations Command, out of Camp Lejeune, North Carolina.
About 12 US Marines accompanied several dozen Iraqi counterterrorism troops in the attempt to evict IS from the caves.Besides the USMC deaths, three other Marines​ were wounded along with another Coalition member, while 17-19 IS militants were killed.*
Gunney Pongo had served heroically in Helmand Province, Afghanistan in 2013, receiving a Bronze Star Medal with Combat Distinguishing Device.He is survived by his daughter and mother.CAPT Navas,a native of Panama,had served in Japan and was awarded the Joint Service Commendation Medal and National Defense Service Medal.He leaves behind his wife and three daughters.*
They are the first American troops killed in action in Iraq this year.*
Thou shalt seek them,and shalt not find them, even them that contend with thee: they that war with thee shall be as nothing, and as a thing of nought.
- Isaiah 41:12

CRS-20 Mission - Cape Canaveral Air Force Station

In

Norway Sends F-35 Lightning II Fighter Jets To Iceland for NATO Air Policing

LC-130 "Skibird" Resupplies Far North Outpost (MAR 2020)

USS VELLA GULF BREAKAWAY WITH AERIAL SHOTS - Impressive speed for a ship of that size.

USS Vella Gulf Conducts Operations in the Atlantic Ocean - Much of a Sailor's work is still done manually.

Europe's Lifeline:Return of the Convoy

The U.S. 2nd Fleet,on behalf of US Naval Forces Europe (NAVEUR),and Military Sealift Command (MSC) have been conducting convoy operations in the Atlantic Ocean.It's a skill set that was perhaps best exemplified during the two World Wars of the twentieth cenury,but has lately regained relevance in an era of renewed great power competition,in which sealift remains an essential component of logistics for the warfighter.
Recently a number of US Navy assets have been involved in a simulated convoy across the Atlantic.First,the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69),Patrol Squadron-4 (PV-4),as well as a submarine cleared the maritime battlespace prior to the convoy transit,the Navy said.Then,escorted by the guided-missile cruiser USS Vella Gulf (CG 72),the convoy,consisting of cargo vessels USNS Benevidez (T-AKR 306),MV Resolve and MV Patriot,executed an Atlantic crossing in a scenario representing an opposed transit of cargo and/or troops.
According to ADM James G. Foggo III,commander,US Naval Forces Europe (NAVEUR) and US Naval Forces Africa (NAVAF):
This exercise allows us to sharpen our ability to move critical resources across the Atlantic,from the United States to Europe.As I have said before,logistics is the sixth domain of warfare,and a crititcal part of any successful operation or exercise.*
Added CAPT Andrew Fitzpatrick,commander,USS Vella Gulf:
Practicing convoy operations flexes a blue-water,high-end skill for the first time in many years,enabling us all to operate on,above,and below the sea in a contested environment.*
PV-4 flies P8-A Poseidon aircraft,undertaking maritime patrol;anti-submarine warfare;and Intelligence,Surveillance and Reconnaissance missions.Established in 1943,it is based at NAS Whidbey Island,Oak Harbor,Washington,and most recently saw action in the Gulf War,Iraq War and Operation Enduring Freedom (Afghanistan).

Arctic Edge ground attack interview - US,Canadian,British forces participating

Canadian Air Force supports Exercise Arctic Edge 2020 - US Army 1-40th Cavalry Regiment