Two US Troops Killed in Afghanistan Mission Identified

Two US Soldiers killed in Afghanistan on 20 November 2019 have been identified as CWO 2 David C. Knadle,33, of Tarrant, Texas and CWO 2 Kirk T. Famiguchi,25,of Keaanu, Hawaii.They were piloting a helicopter during a mission to provide security for troops on the ground in Logar Province, Eastern Afghanistan near the Afghan capital Kabul.This brings the US Combat death toll up to 19 for 2019;in 2018, the US lost 13 service members in Afghan War combat.*
About 13,000 US troops remain in Afghanistan serving in support of NATO's Resolute Support Mission and the counterterrorism Operation Freedom's Sentinel.The incident is being investigated.Although the Taliban Islamist extremists claimed responsibility,they routinely falsely claim to have shot down US aircraft.A Defense Department source said initial reports suggest the Soldier's AH-64 Apache crashed when the rotor blade clipped a mountain peak.*
The Soldiers were members of 1st Battalion,27th Aviation Regiment,1st Air Cavalry Brigade,1st Cavalry Division out of Fort Hood, Texas.They were both posthumously awarded the Bronze Star Medal.*
President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump,as well as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff GEN Mark Milley and National Security Advisor Robert O'Brien were on hand for the dignified transfer of the Soldiers' remains at Dover Air Force Base, Delaware.*
"Though an host should encamp against me, my heart shall not fear: though war should rise against me,in this I will be confident.
One thing I have desired of the Lord, that I will seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to enquire in His temple."
Psalm 27:3-4

Afghan War:Pentagon Identifies Green Beret Killed in Combat Operation

The Pentagon has released the identity of a US Soldier killed in action on 29 August 2019 in Zabul Province,Southern Afghanistan,just Northeast of Kandahar.He was SFC Dustin B. Ard,31,of Idaho Falls,Idaho.SFC Ard,a Special Forces Communications Sergeant serving in support of NATO's Resolute Support Mission,was reportedly taking part in an air assault on a Taliban militant-held area.The battle is being investigated.He is the fifteenth US service member to die in combat this year in Afghanistan,the highest death toll since the end of large-scale combat operations in 2014.*
SFC Ard was a member of 2nd Battalion,1st Special Forces Group (Airborne) out of Joint Base Lewis-McChord,Washington State.On his second tour in Afghanistan,he had completed the Special Operations Sensitive Site Exploitation Course and the Special Operations Joint Terminal Attack Controller Course,among many others.*
Among SFC Ard's decorations were the Bronze Star Medal;Purple Heart Medal;NATO Medal;Army Good Conduct Medal (2);Afghanistan Campaign Medal with Campaign Star;Combat Infantry Badge;and Military Free Fall Parachutist Badge.He is survived by his wife,Mary;his daughter,Reagan;and an unborn child.*
President Donald Trump said he plans to reduce the current US troop level in Afghanistan of about 14,000 to 8,600,pending the successful conclusion of negotiations with the Taliban Islamist extremists.*
"But ye are a chosen generation,a royal priesthood,an holy nation,a peculiar people;that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light;"
- I Peter 2:9

Afghan War Developments:Two US Troops Killed;One Croatian Soldier Killed Near NATO Base

NATO's Resolute Support Mission said two US troops were killed on 29 July 2019.According to the Afghan Army,they were shot dead by an Afghan soldier in a green-on-blue attack (insider attack).The US Army's 82d Airborne Division revealed that the two were its Soldiers.Their identities will be withheld until 24 hours after notification of next of kin.*
In a separate incident,a Croatian Soldier was killed in action and two others were wounded on 24 July near a NATO base on the outskirts of Kabul,when a suicide bomber on a motorcycle collided with their vehicle.It was the first non-US NATO death in the Afghan War of 2019.*
President Donald Trump has informed Secretary of State Mike Pompeo that he wants more US troops withdrawn from Afghanistan before the 2020 American election.Some US troops would remain to continue the counter-terror Operation Freedom's Sentinel.

President Trump Participates in the Swearing-In Ceremony for the Secretary of Defense Mark T. Esper

Brink of War:Constellation of US Forces Gathers in the Middle East

A number of US troops,ships and aircraft have been deployed to the Middle East in the past month to ensure the protection of US forces already in the region,at the request of US combatant commanders.This is in light of Iran's threats and/or aggression against maritime traffic and US troops in the US Central Command AOR.*
On 24 May 2019,former US Acting Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan said an initial bolstering force:
will include approximately 1500 military personnel and consist of
-a Patriot battalion to defend against missile threats,
-additional intelligence,surveillance and reconnaissance aircraft,
-an engineer element to provide force protection improvements throughout the region
-and a fighter aircraft squadron to provide additional deterrence and depth to our aviation response options.*
On 17 June 2014,Mr.Shanhan said:
I have authorized approximately 1,000 additional troops for defensive purposes to address air,naval,and ground-based threats in the Middle East.The recent Iranian attacks validate the reliable,credible intelligence we have received on hostile behavior by Iranian forces and their proxy groups that threaten US personnel and interests across the region.*
Besides these assets deployed to undisclosed bases,it is known that the US Navy's Carrier Strike Group 13,led by aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72),is underway in the Middle East to deal with the Iran crisis.Carrier Air Wing 7,with its 9 squadrons and detachments,is aboard the Lincoln.
The Carrier Strike Group includes Destroyer Squadron 2:
-USS Bainbridge (DDG 96),
-USS Mason (DDG 87),
-USS Nitze (DDG 94);
as well as guided-missile cruiser USS Leyte Gulf (CG 55).A submarine may also be assigned to a CSG,but would not be disclosed.*
Mr.Shanahan has resigned from his position for personal reasons.President Donald Trump has appointed Secretary of the Army Mark T. Esper as Acting Secretary of Defense.Mr.Esper is a graduate of the US Military Academy (West Point) and a combat veteran of the Gulf War 1990-91,having served with distinction as a US Army Infantry officer with the 101st Airborne Division.

Orion Program Update: Strategy and Timeline

In late 2017, President Donald Trump issued Space Policy Directive-1, calling on the NASA Administrator to:
Lead an innovative and sustainable program of exploration with commercial and international partners to enable human expansion across the solar system and to bring to Earth new knowledge and opportunities.Beginning with missions beyond Low-Earth Orbit, the United States will lead the return of humans to the Moon for long-term exploration and utilization, followed by human missions to Mars and other destinations.*
This Exploration Campaign strives for four strategic goals:
1. Transitioning LOE missions to commercial operations which support NASA and the needs of an emerging private sector market;
2.Extend long-duration U.S. human spaceflight operations to lunar orbit;
3.Enable long-term robotic exploration of the Moon;
4.Enable human exploration of the Moon as preparation for human missions to Mars and deeper into the solar system.*
Building on 18 years of ISS partnership with other nations, the Exploration Campaign also:
Leverages advances in the commercial space sector, robotics and other technologies, and accelerates in the next few years with the launch of NASA's Orion spacecraft and Space Launch System rocket.
NASA is building a plan for Americans to orbit the Moon starting in 2023 and land astronauts on the surface by the late 2020s.*
The plan requires NASA to:
Conduct the uncrewed SLS/Orion first flight in 2020 to the lunar vicinity;
Conduct a crewed flight sending Americans around the Moon in 2023;
Establish a human-tended lunar orbiting platform for crews to visit from Earth, to  transit to and from the lunar surface, and to depart to and  return from Mars;
Develop the Gateway that at a minimum:
Emplaces a power-propulsion (communications) element (PPE) around the Moon by 2022.*
The Gateway is to be incrementally transported to lunar orbit by the SLS/Orion and  commercial launch capabilities.*
At this time, everything is on track for a 2020 launch of Exploration Mission-1 and 2023 launch
of Exploration Mission-2, the first crewed Orion Program mission.
EM-1 will carry a German Space Agency (DLR) radiation protection experiment
using an Israeli radiation protection
spacesuit and two dummies.

US Coast Guard Reacts to Russian Corvette - Icebreaker Project

More and more,nations see the Arctic as a bulwark of their economic and military futures.As a case in point,the new Russian Project 23550 Ice-class patrol ships,or corvettes,resemble warships more than anything else.The idea of the project was to add full surface combatant capability to an icebreaker-apparently a first in naval history.
Besides a medium caliber deck gun,the 23550 will have two payload bays astern to accommodate containerised missile systems.They will also have a flight deck and hangar for anti-submarine/utility helicopters.What is more,there may even be an anti-aircraft system and small arms emplacements.
Thus the two 23550s will have strategic,and not just tactical,military implications,since cruise missiles can range for hundreds of miles/kilometers.The class is slated to enter service by 2020.*
On a more detailed level,it's been ascertained that the Ice-class will feature a 76 mm AK-176 MA naval gun in a stealth turret for deflecting radar rays,and will be armed with up to eight 3M-54 Kalibr supersonic cruise missiles.Military intelligence publisher IHS Jane's quotes a Russian defence ministry source as saying it will be:
a fully featured combatant designed in accordance with the navy's requirements for ships of such a class;she can break ice of up to 1.7 m.*
Russia currently has a fleet of about 40 icebreakers and is planning to acquire at least 12 more.*
In January 2018,then US Coast Guard Commandant ADL Paul Zukunft confirmed a Washington Times report about the capabilities of the proposed Coast Guard heavy icebreaker cutters.He revealed that,for the first time ever,Coast Guard icebreakers would be fully weaponisable,with the space,weight and power supply to support cruise missiles and other advanced weapons.
According to his successor,ADL Karl Shultz,the Coast Guard aims to award the first contract for the first of three new heavy icebreakers,to be known as the Polar Security Cutter,in spring 2019.He is cautiously optimistic this will happen.The estimated cost is 950 million dollars per ship.An additional three medium icebreakers are also on the service's shopping list.
ADL Shultz told the National Press Club on 6 December 2018:
Diplomacy and cooperation are really hollow without presence.If we're not present,if we don't own the environment today,guess who owns it tomorrow:our competitors.*
On Christmas Day 2018,President Donald Trump made phone calls to a number of military units,including Coast Guard District 17 in Juneau,Alaska.On the Polar Security Cutter,he observed that:
The bad part is the cost.The good part is,it's the most powerful in the world.The ice is in big trouble when that thing gets finished.It'll go right through it.It's very expensive,but that's OK.*
Currently,the US Coast Guard only has two operational icebreaker cutters:the Healy,assigned to the Arctic;and the Polar Star,assigned mainly to the Antarctic.The Polar Sea has failed engines and is used to supply its sister ship the Polar Star with obsolete parts.

Reflecting on Islamic State's Losses and the Security Surrounding His Trip - President Donald Trump From Iraq: 'I Had Concerns For The Institution Of...

President Trump Re-establishes US Space Command - no Space Force for now

President Donald Trump has signed a one page memorandum authorising the Pentagon to re-establish the US Space Command,which had existed from 1985-2002.It will be the eleventh combatant command,headed by a four star flag officer and a deputy.
Combatant commands are leadership nodes comprised of personnel from all the services working together in a joint manner to advance a common mission set.They are not separate armed forces.Among the existing combatant commands are US Strategic Command,;US European Command;US Special Operations Command,etc.The original US Space Command was abolished in the wake of the 9-11 attacks so that US Northern Command (including NORAD) could be established to protect the continental homeland.Its elements were absorbed by US Strategic Command and Air Force Space Command.
The complex new organisation will have a staff of about 1600 personnel:600 of them from existing space organisations,and 1,000 of them new hires.It is estimated it will cost about 800 million dollars to set it up over a period of years.The first step will come next year with the nomination of a flag officer for commander,plus a deputy commander,for approval by the US Senate.*
President Trump considers this a move in the direction of creating a new armed service,the US Space Force.It's widely believed,however,that it isn't possible to create the force in the immediate future,while the US faces immediate challenges in space from Russia and China.*
Vice President Mike Pence made the announcement while visiting NASA Kennedy Space Center and the US Air Force 45th Space Wing at Patrick Air Force Base in Florida.He explained that:
The US Space Command will integrate space capabilities across all branches of the military.It will develop the space doctrine,tactics,techniques and procedures that will enable our warfighters to defend our nation in this new era.*
The Pentagon says that the renewed US Space Command is a critical step in accelerating our space capabilities and posture to defend our vital national interests and deter our adversaries.This combatant command will lead space operations and develop space warfighting doctrine,tactics and procedures.

West Virginia Soldier Killed in Afghanistan as New Commander Takes the Reins

A senior US Army non-commissioned officer was killed in a green on blue attack,an attack by a person disguised as an Afghan soldier or police officer against a coalition member,on Monday 3 September 2018 in Eastern Logar Province.CSM Timothy Bolyard of Thornton,West Virginia,42,was the sixth US combat death of the year in the Afghan War,and the second to fall in a green on blue attack.CPL Joseph Maciel was killed in a green on blue attack in July in Uruzgan Province.*
A second US Soldier was wounded in the most recent attack and is in stable condition.Reportedly, there had been a meeting of key Afghan leaders and US military advisors at Forward Operating Base Shark preceding the attack.Then of a sudden a spray of bullets from an Afghan National Police Humvee struck the two Soldiers in the back.An ANP officer was shot dead in response,and four others were arrested.
The Taliban miltants have an office that promotes and encourages green on blue attacks.*
CSM Bolyard was a member of 1st Squadron,38th Cavalry Regiment,currently a unit of the 1st Security Force Assistance Brigade (SFAB) out of Fort Benning,Georgia.The SFAB concept was formulated by the Trump Administration as part of its South Asia Strategy.It assigns members of non-special operations units to train,advise and assist the Afghan National Defence and Security Forces on the frontlines,thus freeing up Special Operations Forces and Brigade Combat Teams to concentrate on counter-terror missions against the Taliban,ISIL-K and al-Qaida Islamist extremists.*
Another US service member was killed in Afghanistan on 4 September in a so-called non-combat incident,the seventh US military death in Afghanistan for 2018.This service member's identity is being withheld pending family notification.Both incidents are under investigation.*
CSM Bolyard,who was married and the father of two,was on his thirteenth deployment and had been repeatedly decorated for his accomplishments,having been awarded six Bronze Star Medals,two of them with combat V device for valour;six Army Commendation Medals;nine Army Achievement Medals;four Meritorious Service Medals;the Iraq Campaign Medal with four Campaign Stars;the Kosovo Campaign Medal;and the Combat Action Badge.
BGEN Scott Jackson,commander of 1st SFAB,said of CSM Bolyard that:
He will live in our memories and the hundreds of Soldiers he led and cared for throughout his exceptional career.*
On Sunday 2 September 2018,the former Commander,US Special Operations Command,GEN Austin Scott Miller,US Army,assumed command of NATO Resolute Support Mission and US Forces-Afghanistan from GEN John Nicholson after his 30 months of service.GEN Miller has served in both Iraq and Afghanistan,as well as Somalia,having been decorated with the Bronze Star Medal,Purple Heart Medal and the Legion of Merit,among other awards.

Interior Secretary Pledges Support for Grizzly Bear Reintroduction to the North Cascades Ecosystem (Washington State/British Columbia)

US Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke,a former Navy SEAL,startled environmentalists and cattlemen alike when he announced his support for reintroducing the grizzly bear (Ursus arctos horribilis) to the North Cascades Ecosystem.The Ecosystem stretches from Northcentral Washington State and across the Canadian border into British Columbia.Jewel of the Ecosystem is North Cascades National Park,which is located some 75 mile/121 km north of Seattle,Washington.
In his first year in office,Mr.Zinke has developed a tough guy reputation,seeming totally oblivious to conservation concerns,in the eyes of many,and apparently all in on resource extraction and exploitation.
The other side of the man was revealed in his recent comments at North Cascades National Park in Sedro-Woolley,Skagit County,Washington:
The grizzly bear is part of the environment,as it once was here.It's part of a healthy environment.*
Restoring the grizzly bear to the North Cascades Ecosystem is the American conservation ethic come to life.The loss of the grizzly bear in the North Cascades would disturb the Ecosystem and deprive the region of an icon.*
I grew up on the flanks of Glacier National Park (Montana) and I have dealt with grizzly bears all my life.I'm in support of the Great Bear,and in support of doing this right.This is not reintroduction of a rabbit.*
I have always loved grizzlies.*
I am confident we have the skill to have grizzlies in the Ecosystem in a way that managers don't have unintended consequences.*
Few grizzly bears have been seen in recent years.It is believed there are no more than a few dozen grizzlies left in the entire Ecosystem.They were largely hunted out for their fur from the mid-nineteenth to the early twentieth centuries.
There is also a small population of grizzly bears in the Selkirk Mountains of Northeast Washington.*
Mr.Zinke was educated in citizenship by the American Legion Boys' State programme,going on to become a decorated Navy SEAL,with whom he served in theatres from Kosovo to Iraq,as well as a state senator and Member of Congress.*
The Environmental Impact Statement for grizzly reintroduction to the North Cascades was halted when President Donald Trump took office.Indeed,Mr.Zinke had lifted Endangered Species Act protection for the grizzly bears in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem.*
Secretary Zinke aims to have the EIS and a Record of Decision completed by year's end.*
The grizzly bear is a subspecies of brown bear (Ursus arctos).It is viewed with hostility by those with agricultural interests as a threat to both people and livestock;but considered a keystone species in conservation circles.

Lunar Orbital Platform - Gateway Planning Accelerated as the ISS Partnership Met In Holland

Construction of the Lunar Orbital Platform-Gateway,as the ISS successor is now being called,is projected to begin in the first half of the 2020s.The LOP-G is the main destination for the Orion Program in the 2020s,building up enough experience for missions beyond the Moon and possibly to Mars and even a Venus flyby in the 2030s.The LOP-G is being designed by the five space agencies of the ISS Partnership to succeed the aging Low Earth Orbit station:NASA,ESA,Roscosmos,the Canadian Space Agency and the Japanese Space Agency.The second meeting for LOP-G planning was held in August 2017 at the European Space Centre,ESTEC,in Noordwijk,the Netherlands.*
An outline of the LOP-G initiative has been drawn up.It lays out establishing a cislunar presence as Phase 1 of the project,the core of which is the new space station.The LOP-G is not meant to be continually staffed,unlike the ISS;instead,with the Orion spacecraft docked,a crew of four would work in space for 42 day periods.The LOP-G would consist of a power/propulsion module;a habitation module;a possible airlock for space walks,similar to the Space Shuttle setup;likely an updated Canadarm robot arm;and possibly an advanced glass cupola for a 360-degree view of the Moon and Earth.
The core LOP-G would be assembled by 2025 over three SLS flights,each with a crewed Orion capsule.This could possibly be changed to two SLS flights plus a less expensive SpaceX Falcon 9 Heavy flight for the power/propulsion module deployment,given the President's 2019 NASA budget proposal.
Commercial or international partners could provide the resupply flights.The final construction mission,to bring up the airlock,is projected for 2026.*
With the LOP-G,NASA will practice complex deep space rendezvous,while learning to live and work where a quick return to Earth is not possible.The 40kw solar-electric propulsion system,more powerful than any SEP currently operating,will allow LOP-G to transition between an always-sunlight halo lunar orbit to other orbits that could be used for other applications,including lunar landings.Anyone can come and use the LOP-G,both the commercial and international partners.*
In Phase 2,the Deep Space Transport,depicted as a cylindrical vehicle in concept artwork,will be developed.The LOP-G will be a lunar port of call for a large crew vehicle,the DST.Between each trip,the DST will be resupplied,refurbished and maintained at the LOP-G.Each DST will be good for a total of three roundtrips to Mars.One SLS cargo flight will carry a DST to lunar orbit in 2027.No other launch vehicle but the SLS can carry the 41 metric tonnes of the DST to the Moon in one piece,the minimum size for a Mars-class transport.*
In 2029,a crew would board the DST for a one-year shakedown mission.In 2033,there will be the first crewed flight to a Mars orbit.If a Venus assist,or slingshot,is used to reach Mars,the astronauts could observe the clouds of Venus and the volcanoes of Mars on one mission.*
This is the basic outline sketched by the ISS partners in Holland last summer.Details may be altered,but President Donald Trump and the National Space Council under Vice President Mike Pence are committed to the Orion Program and its commercial and international partnerships.The President's 2019 NASA Budget proposal funds both EM-1 and EM-2,which are the first two Orion missions;the ISS through 2024;as well as the Parker Solar Probe,James Webb Space Telescope and other important missions such as New Horizons.

Afghan War:B-52 Upgrade Pulverises Islamist Militants

A press release has been issued by NATO's Resolute Support Mission,Afghanistan.Dated 6 FEB 2018,it reads:
United States Forces-Afghanistan launched a series of precision strikes in Northern Afghanistan in a direct effort to destroy insurgent revenue sources,training facilities,and support networks.Over the past 96 hours,U.S. forces conducted air operations to strike Taliban training facilities in Badakhshan province,preventing the planning and rehearsal of terrorist acts near the border with China and Tajikistan by such organisations as the East Turkistan Islamic Movement and others.The strikes also destroyed Afghan National Army vehicles in the process of being converted to vehicle-borne improvised explosive devices.
During the strikes,a U.S. Air Force B-52 Stratofortress dropped 24 precision-guided munitions on Taliban fighting positions,setting a record of the most guided munitions ever dropped by a B-52.The aircraft has played a leading role for decades,and was recently reconfigured with a conventional rotary launcher to increase its reach and lethality.
Continued U.S. strikes disrupt Taliban support networks in Helmand province,as well as destroying their sources of revenue such as illegal narcotics.*
This Blog's Analysis:Such strikes were made possible by President Donald Trump's new South Asia Strategy.In the past four years,the only strikes allowed were those in response to NATO or Afghan troops coming under fire.Proactive operations against the enemy in such areas as the Hindu Kush Mountains were off limits.Thus the Islamist extremists were able to build up an infrastructure for the proliferation of terrorist acts against civilians,as well as the land grabs and blue on green attacks that we have seen over the past four years.

US Soldier Killed in Afghanistan - counterterror operation

An American Soldier was killed and about seven others wounded in a clash with Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant-Khorasan militants on 16 August 2017,US Forces Afghanistan in Kabul and the Utah National Guard said.The battle took place in Achin district of Nangarhar Province,a longtime stronghold of the Islamist extremists.All of the Americans were members of the Utah National Guard serving in a partnered operation with the Afghan National Defence and Security Forces.
General John Nicholson,US Army,Commander of US and NATO forces in Afghanistan,said he wants to eradicate ISIL-K from Afghanistan by the end of the year.Eleven Americans have died in the Afghan War so far this year,already exceeding the death toll of ten for all of 2016.*
On Friday,US President Donald Trump is reportedly to hold a meeting about Afghanistan with his National Security Council at the presidential retreat,Camp David,Maryland.A Trump decision on strategy for the war is regarded as being past due on Capitol Hill.The Pentagon favours sending up to 4,000  US troops back to Afghanistan,a partial reversal of the 2014 widescale withdrawal.There are currently about 8400 permanently assigned US service members there.*
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said the three key areas are Special Operations Forces,air power and better command and control by the ANDSF.It isn't going to be easy and nonviolent in Afghanistan this year or even next year.
NATO Allies  may be approached by the US for additional troop contributions once a strategy is set.

Bulletin:NASA Rejects Revision to Orion Program Schedule - thanks,but no thanks

NASA has politely declined the White House's suggestion that it might speed things up and make the first launch of the integrated Orion system,Exploration Mission -1,also the first crewed Orion mission.While expressing gratitude for President Trump's obvious enthusiasm for the space program,the agency feels it would not be in the long-term interests of the Orion Program to skip the uncrewed fully integrated test flight it originally planned for,this late in the mission planning process.It would be difficult.*
Instead,NASA will proceed with a focus on the uncrewed EM-1 test flight,while at the same time constructing hardware for the first crewed Orion mission,EM-2.EM-1 is now planned for a 2019 launch,taking all factors into consideration,including hurricane damage that was sustained by NASA facilities.EM-1 will be a technological milestone,as it takes a human-rated spacecraft to a high lunar orbit,farther than one has ever gone before.It will also be a definitive confirmation that Orion is indeed on track for safe,reliable operations in deep space.

Bulletin:Two More US Soldiers Die in Afghanistan Combat - joint US/Afghan raid

Pentagon spokesman Captain Jeff Davis,USN,announced that two US Special Operations Forces members were killed in action overnight in Nangarhar Province of Eastern Afghanistan.A third US Soldier was wounded but is expected to survive.They were on a raid with Afghan National Defence and Security Forces members in a village near Achin district.The area has been a hotbed of Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant-Khorasan militants,who have been posing a threat to US and ANDSF Soldiers operating in the area.*
ISIL refers to Nangarhar as Khorasan Province.*
The battleground was in the same area where US Army Staff Sergeant Mark R DeAlencar was killed in action on a similar raid on 8 April,just over two weeks ago.In response,the US dropped a Massive Ordnance Air Blast bomb,or MOAB,formally designated the GBU-43.The 11-tonne weapon was targeted at a complex of ISIL-K tunnels in Achin district,and killed between 36-100 of the Islamist extremists,by Afghan estimates.The US has yet to disclose any bomb damage assessment.*
The American deaths came after a long day of fighting,according to an Afghan military official.US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis had recently made a secret visit to the Afghan capital Kabul to discuss the deteriorating security situation in the country with President Ashraf Ghani and other Afghan leaders.Commander of all US and NATO forces in Afghanistan General John Nicholson,US Army,has told Congress that,in fact,a few thousand more troops are needed for train,advise and assist,as well as counterterrorism operations,in the beleaguered nation,in addition to the 8400 US service members currently serving there and about 5,000 from other NATO and partner nations.GEN Nicholson wants to drive ISIL-K out of Afghanistan by the end of 2017 because it is important for the world,which would leave the Taliban and remnant al-Qaida forces to deal with.
Mr.Mattis has yet to make a recommendation on Afghanistan to President Donald Trump.

NASA To Build Spaceport Near the Moon-reusable transport spacecraft also planned as agency unveils Deep Space Gateway concept

Yesterday,28 March 2017,NASA posted an article to its website unveiling the most detailed plan yet for the Orion Program.The new projects,which it calls Deep Space Gateway,expand upon the basic concept of using cislunar space,the area in the lunar vicinity,as a testing ground for missions to the Mars system and elsewhere in the solar system.These projects will enable the building and testing of systems needed for the Mission to Mars and other celestial bodies.*
NASA now intends to build a spaceport,essentially a small space station,within the early Orion crewed missions,to serve as a gateway to deep space and the lunar surface as well.It will contain a power bus;a small habitat that would extend crewed mission time;docking capability;airlock;and servicing by logistics modules to enable research.The spaceport,which NASA also calls the gateway,will be propelled by high power electric and chemical propulsion to sustain the station's orbit or transfer it among a family of orbits in cislunar space as needed.The gateway will be made possible by the Space Launch System rocket's cargo capability plus the Orion spacecraft's crewed deep space capability.The project will be developed,serviced and utilised in collaboration with commercial and international partners,NASA pointed out.*
Dr.William Gerstenmaier,NASA Associate Administrator for Human Exploration and Operations,described the Deep Space Gateway thusly:
I envision different partners,both international and commercial,contributing to the gateway and using it in a variety of ways with a system that can move to different orbits to enable a variety of missions.The gateway would move to support robotic or partner missions to the surface of the Moon;or to a higher lunar orbit to support missions departing from the gateway to other destinations in the solar system.*
The agency also intends to build a reusable transport spacecraft powered by electric/chemical propulsion that will depart from the gateway for destinations such as Mars.It will take crews to their destination,then return to the spaceport for servicing and eventual reuse.This transport vehicle will also take advantage of the SLS capability to launch large volumes and mass,as well as advanced exploration technologies now being developed and tested on the ground and in the ISS.*
The first integrated flight of the Orion system,Exploration Mission-1,including the new SLS rocket,Orion spacecraft and ESA Orion Service Module,is currently scheduled for 2018,but would be delayed to 2019,if a NASA study now underway recommends making EM-1 a crewed mission.*
This burst of energy from NASA no doubt reflects the strong commitment of President Donald Trump to the agency and America's continued leadership in aerospace.

Operation Inherent Resolve:US Marine Corps Artillery Moves into Syria-hefty reinforcements may be staged in Kuwait

About 400 US Marines of the 111th Marine Expeditionary Unit and US Army Rangers of the 75th Ranger Regiment have arrived in Syria,augmenting the 500 US troops already there on a train,advise and assist mission for the Syrian Democratic Forces,a conglomeration of militias led by the YPG Kurds.The Marines are there in a combat role with their light but powerful M777 155 mm Howitzers.This artillery has been assisting the SDF soften up Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant positions in and around Raqqa,the ISIL capital,since at least 9 March 2017.The Rangers have been patrolling around the newly liberated town of Manbij in Northern Syria in their armoured personnel carriers to stabilise the security situation and reassure skittish allies such as Turkey.
Besides the Marines and Rangers,US Army HiMARS rocket artillery is reportedly also in or headed for Syria to participate in the liberation of Raqqa,thus mirroring US on the ground activity in neighbouring Iraq.The extra firepower is part of the Trump administration's plan to accelerate the lasting military defeat of ISIL.Although the deployments are considered temporary,no end date has been set.
Additionally,the Pentagon is contemplating sending at least 1,000 more troops to Kuwait as potential reinforcements for the approximately 1,000 US forces already in Syria.Indeed,the number in Kuwait could go as high as 12,000 US troops being held in reserve for support of the momentous Battle of Raqqa,which could be intitiated within a few weeks' time.*
The M777 is a towed cannon with a range of 32 kilometers/20 miles.It has been used in the Afghan War as well.The HiMARS is already being used against ISIL in Iraq.According to US Air Force Colonel John Dorrian,spokesman for Combined Joint Task Force OIR:
We are going to prepare to liberate the city of Raqqa.This is an important task that has to be accomplished,because liberating that city is going to damage the enemy's prospects.It has a tremendous amount of symbolic importance.It's also a major command and control node for their external operations.
We have what I would describe as a pretty relentless air campaign to destroy enemy capabilities and to kill enemy fighters in that area already.That is something that we are going to continue and intensify with this new capability,COL Dorrian explained.*
On 20 March 2017,coalition military forces conducted 22 strikes consisting of 28 engagements against ISIL in Syria,including:
Near Abu Kamal,three strikes destroyed three wellheads and a pump jack;
Near Raqqa,19 strikes engaged eight ISIL tactical units;destroyed four pieces of oil lubricant equipment;three barges;three fighting positions;three headquarters;two VBIED facilities;two VBIEDs;a VBIED factory;a tunnel;a vehicle;a weapons storage facility;a command and control node;and damaged two supply nodes.*
Strikes are conducted by fighter,attack,bomber,rotary-wing or remotely piloted aircraft;rocket-propelled artillery;some ground-based tactical artillery when fired on planned targets.Ground-based artillery fired in counterfire or in fire support to manoeuvre roles is not classified as a strike,the CJTFOIR says.*
Those who have participated in Syria strikes include Australia;Bahrain;Canada;Denmark;France;Jordan;the Netherlands;Saudi Arabia;Turkey;the UAE;and the UK.

The Afghan War:Mattis Scouts the Way Ahead for NATO

US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis,as he prefers being called,spoke with reporters yesterday in Abu Dhabi,UAE:
We anticipated that we might not be able to get into Afghanistan due to weather.We got the weather report yesterday.I was fortunate yesterday,before we left Munich,to speak with Afghan President Ghani at length.We were both there,and we took advantage of that opportunity,knowing I might not be able to see him today as we initially planned.I had a very in-depth discussion about the way ahead in Afghanistan.
And then I spoke by picture-video teleconference-with our NATO commander in the field,General Nicholson,and that went on for several hours,and this is all part of my getting my feet on the deck in terms of getting current on the situation that the coalition forces in Afghanistan face,both politically and strategically,and identifying the way ahead.*
On the situation in Afghanistan right now,again,my point in talking to President Ghani and talking to our field commander,the NATO field commander,is to gain their political and military appreciation of the situation.We're putting our thoughts together now.*
President Trump has been rightly reticent on it,because he's waiting for my assessment and the assessment from the intelligence community.And he's open to my advice on it;but first of all,I've got to formulate where I stand,and so this is the normal collection of the information,and to assess what other countries in the region are doing to help or hinder our efforts there.So we're still sorting that out and here shortly I'll have my thoughts collected.It shouldn't take too long;but I've got a fair number of issues in order to give a good recommendation for the way ahead.*
So I think it was a lot more damaging to the Taliban,and the Afghan National Defence and Security Forces paid a very heavy price to keep the Taliban on their back foot,but they paid it;they've held;and the Taliban is in a worse position today,even though I do not equate that to success on our side.*
I would not in any way contest it has been a hard fight all the way through.I think that's a very accurate point.I would question who came out on the shorter end of the stick.Right now I'd rather be on NATO's-be in NATO's position right now than I would want to be in the Taliban's,the retired US Marine Corps general and new Defense Secretary Jim "Mad Dog" Mattis told the journalists in Abu Dhabi yesterday.

New Details,Updated Special Report:Navy SEAL Killed in Combat with Al-Qaida - Trump's first ground combat operation

More than 15 years after al-Qaida pulled off the bloody 9-11 attacks on the US mainland,a US Navy SEAL was killed in firefight action in Yemen during a pre-dawn raid against al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula,an actively anti-Western organisation,over the weekend,and four others were wounded,the Pentagon said,as President Donald Trump ordered his first ground combat operation.AH-64 Apache helicopters and fighter jets provided close air support during the raid,which was aimed at gathering intelligence on future plans by al-Qaida directed against the US,and indeed did so successfully.Foreign troops assisted the US,as UAE commandos participated in the raid.*
About 14 al-Qaida in the Arabian Penninsula militants were killed in the raid,plus up to several dozen civilian relatives of the Islamist extremists,who had gathered at a headquarters facility in either the Shawba or Bayda governate next door to chew the narcotic plant called "qat,"in accordance with Yemeni tradition.Several civilian homes were possibly destroyed in the pitched battle that raged from nighttime till dawn,beginning with an air assault by the SEALs of Team Six-meaning they arrived by helicopter or possibly tilt-rotor MV-22 Ospreys.One MV-22 indeed crash-landed at a staging area when it undertook a rescue mission for injured troops,resulting in another injury.The plane was destroyed on the ground by friendly aircraft in order to protect sensitive information. *
Both al-Qaida and the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant have been active in Yemen in recent years,taking advantage of the civil war in the country between the Saudi-backed Yemeni government and Houthi rebel tribesmen in order to expand their influence.*
The SEAL killed has been identified as Chief Special Warfare Operator William "Ryan" Owens,36,of Peoria,Illinois.
Defense Secretary James Mattis said of CSWO Owens in a statement of condolence:
Ryan gave his full measure for our nation,and in performing his duty,he upheld the noblest standard of military service.The US would not long exist,were it not for the selfless commitment of such warriors.*
In the course of his career,CSWO Owens had been decorated with:
two Bronze Star Medals;Afghanistan Campaign Medal;Joint Service Commendation Medal;Navy/Marine Corps Commendation Medal;Navy/Marine Corps Achievement Medal;and the National Defense Service Medal.*
Planning for the raid had begun under former President Barack Obama;but was authorised by President Donald Trump,an anonymous defence official revealed.It was intended to be a clandestine operation,and would not have been disclosed,were it not for the death of CSWO Owens.