IN THE NEWS: Mike saves Tiger; Space takes a back seat; Trump; Paski mocks Space Force; Floaty Bois; IG probes Space Force relo; Trump; Capitol fence ain’t going away any time soon; The National Guard may not either; Biden’s Three Stooges Syria Solution; ‘American is Back’ like it was before; Trump; We ain’t leaving Afghanistan; or Iraq; Trump brings deaths to zero!; Weeding out extremists; Taking sexual misconduct out of the chain of command; Sunday Ferrari; Action orders; Army gender issues; Bowe Bergdahl goes to court; Navy learns 3-D printing; Pueblo survivors beat North Korea; Marines need cobra blood; Mohawk drug score; Uranium and Gulf War Illness; Better late than never for 99-year-old soldier; Skynet IS real; Premature detonation.
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NOTES:
OPENING
YouTube: 3-Way (The Golden Rule) (feat. Justin Timberlake & Lady Gaga)
https://youtu.be/Pi7gwX7rjOw
SPACE FORCE
Moves and hints portend a worrying shifting of priorities under the Biden administration.
https://www.defenseone.com/ideas/2021/02/dont-downgrade-space/172082/
Biden press sec Jen Psaki mocks branch of the armed forces when questioned about Space Force
https://thepostmillennial.com/watch-biden-press-sec-mocks-armed-forces-when-questioned-about-space-force
Floaty Bois and Homo Spaciens: Space Force Reveals List of Rejected Troop Names
https://www.military.com/daily-news/2021/02/05/floaty-bois-and-homo-spaciens-space-force-reveals-list-of-rejected-troop-names.html
Inspector General Reviews Trump Relocation of Space Command
https://www.military.com/daily-news/2021/02/20/inspector-general-reviews-trump-relocation-of-space-command.html
CONGRESS
Police suggest keeping Capitol fence for months, source says
https://www.federaltimes.com/management/2021/02/19/police-suggest-keeping-capitol-fence-for-months-source-says/
Small contingent of National Guard expected to remain at US Capitol indefinitely
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/small-contingent-of-forces-to-remain-at-us-capitol
Pentagon chief: National Guard has not been asked to stay in DC past March
https://thehill.com/policy/defense/539617-pentagon-chief-national-guard-has-not-asked-to-stay-in-dc-past-march
Police bolster security at US Capitol as QAnon theory claims Trump will become president March 4
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2021/03/02/capitol-police-qanon-march-4-theory-claims-trump-president/6894882002/
DOD
U.S. air strikes in Syria target Iranian-backed militia – Pentagon
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-syria-strike/exclusive-u-s-carries-out-airstrike-against-iranian-backed-militia-target-in-syria-officials-idUSKBN2AP33D
‘America is back’ — Biden vows close coordination with allies on security threats like ISIS, Afghanistan
https://www.militarytimes.com/news/pentagon-congress/2021/02/19/america-is-back-biden-vows-close-coordination-with-allies-on-security-threats-like-isis-afghanistan/
Lloyd Austin mum on Afghanistan withdrawal plan as NATO adds troops in Iraq
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/policy/defense-national-security/austin-mum-afghanistan-withdrawal-plans
Defense Secretary Austin urges immediate reduction in Taliban violence
https://www.militarytimes.com/news/your-military/2021/02/19/secdef-urges-immediate-reduction-in-taliban-violence/
The Biden Administration Is Taking Steps to Stay in Iraq Forever
https://www.defenseone.com/ideas/2021/02/biden-administration-taking-steps-stay-iraq-forever/172209/
Good Tactics Are No Fix For Bad Strategy in Afghanistan | SOFREP
https://sofrep.com/news/why-we-must-leave-afghanistan-don-bolduc/
How Not to Leave Afghanistan
https://foreignpolicy.com/2021/02/23/how-not-to-leave-afghanistan/
It’s crunch time for the Biden administration in Afghanistan
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/policy/defense-national-security/its-crunch-time-for-the-biden-administration-in-afghanistan
President Donald Trump accomplished something in his last year in office that no U.S. president before him was able to accomplish in nearly two decades. Through his deal with the Taliban and accelerated U.S. troop reductions, he drove down the number of U.S. combat deaths over the past year to zero.
Defense secretary orders 60-day stand-down to confront extremism in the military
https://www.militarytimes.com/news/your-military/2021/02/03/defense-secretary-orders-60-day-stand-down-to-confront-extremism-in-the-military/
Extremism in the ranks is a ‘threat,’ but the Pentagon’s not sure how to address it
https://www.militarytimes.com/news/your-military/2021/02/21/extremism-in-the-ranks-is-a-threat-but-the-pentagons-not-sure-how-to-address-it/
Pentagon report reveals details about White supremacists in the ranks
https://www.cnn.com/2021/02/24/politics/pentagon-report-white-supremacists/index.html
Plan to remove handling of military sexual misconduct from chain of command sees new momentum
https://www.militarytimes.com/news/pentagon-congress/2021/02/24/plan-to-remove-handling-of-military-sexual-misconduct-from-chain-of-command-sees-new-momentum/
AIR FORCE
The U.S. Air Force Just Admitted The F-35 Stealth Fighter Has Failed
https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidaxe/2021/02/23/the-us-air-force-just-admitted-the-f-35-stealth-fighter-has-failed/
Movie: The Pentagon Wars
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0144550/
CSAF releases Action Orders to Accelerate Change Across Air Force
https://www.af.mil/News/Article-Display/Article/2442546/csaf-releases-action-orders-to-accelerate-change-across-air-force/
ARMY
Army looking at ways to ‘account for biological differences’ with new fitness test
https://www.armytimes.com/news/your-army/2021/02/12/army-looking-at-ways-to-account-for-biological-differences-with-new-fitness-test/
Bowe Bergdahl targets Trump, McCain comments in lawsuit challenging court-martial
https://www.foxnews.com/us/bowe-bergdahl-targets-trump-mccain-comments-in-lawsuit-challenging-court-martial
NAVY
The US Navy’s postgraduate school is taking a stab at metal 3D printing
https://www.defensenews.com/naval/2021/02/13/the-us-navys-postgraduate-school-is-taking-a-stab-at-metal-3d-printing/
Federal Judge Awards USS Pueblo Survivors and Families $2.3 Billion in Damages
https://news.usni.org/2021/02/25/federal-judge-awards-uss-pueblo-survivors-and-families-2-3-billion-in-damages
MARINES
PETA pushes Pentagon to end the drinking of cobra blood during jungle survival training
https://www.stripes.com/news/pacific/peta-pushes-pentagon-to-end-the-drinking-of-cobra-blood-during-jungle-survival-training-1.662599
COAST GUARD
Cutter Mohawk Returns to Key West after Interdicting $69 Million in Drugs – Seapower
https://seapowermagazine.org/cutter-mohawk-returns-to-key-west-after-interdicting-69-million-in-drugs/
VETS
Study concludes depleted uranium doesn’t cause Gulf War illness
https://www.militarytimes.com/news/your-military/2021/02/18/study-concludes-depleted-uranium-doesnt-cause-gulf-war-illness/
A 99-year-old World War II veteran finally gets his medals
https://www.armytimes.com/news/your-army/2021/02/23/a-99-year-old-world-war-ii-veteran-finally-gets-his-medals/
WHAT ELSE?
BBC – Spaceman: UK Skynet: Not to be confused with The Terminator
https://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/thereporters/jonathanamos/2010/03/uk-skynet-not-to-be-confused-w.shtml
Better than fiction: Does Skynet really exist?
https://defencehq.medium.com/better-than-fiction-does-skynet-really-exist-a89903be4f4a
Feel good story of the day…
30 Taliban killed in explosion at a bomb-making class in Afghan mosque
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9263103/30-Taliban-militants-killed-explosion-bomb-making-class-Afghan-mosque.html
