Proponents of having a National Guard and Reserve in the new Space Force are eager for Congress to take up the matter. "Any determination of Space Command composition must include the National Guard, whose conduct of domestic operations will require access to and coordination of Space Command assets," said ROA Executive Director Jeffrey Phillips.
The Defense Department is following guidance from the Defense Innovation Board when it comes to the development of artificial intelligence technology for the battlefield. "The United States, together with our allies and partners, must accelerate the adoption of AI and lead in its national security applications to maintain our strategic position, prevail on future battlefields, and safeguard the rules-based international order," Defense Secretary Mark Esper said.
The Coast Guard station in Charleston, S.C., will be transformed into a major base of Coast Guard assets, with more personnel and cutting-edge vessels, according to Commandant Adm. Karl Schultz, who announced the upgrades in his State of the Coast Guard address last week. The makeover will take about five years to complete, starting with $140 million in improvements to its shoreside facilities.
Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, has called on VA Secretary Robert Wilkie to provide workers with the Veterans Crisis Line with updated technology to locate callers who may be in imminent danger of harming themselves. Collins' actions were prompted by a news report that emergency responders were sent to the wrong house in the wrong state by crisis line workers to investigate a possible suicide attempt.
Six patients with COVID-19 are in quarantine at Lackland Air Force Base in Texas, one is quarantined at Naval Base Ventura County, Calif., and 198 patients are being housed at March Air Reserve Base in California. Other bases designated as possible COVID-19 quarantine sites are the 168th Regiment, Regional Training Institute in Fort Carson, Colo.; Travis Air Force Base, Calif.; and Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, Calif.
The Michigan National Guard is being honored for environmental stewardship at its Fort Custer Training Center, winning National Guard Bureau recognition in the small installations category. The center uses technology to monitor wildlife in the area.
Florida's Duke Field, home to the Air Force Reserve's 919th Special Operations Wing and the Air Force's 492nd Special Operations Wing, and Hurlburt Field, which houses the 919th Special Operations Wing's 6th Special Operations Squadron and the 711th Special Operations Squadron, may get more personnel and aircraft, thanks to basing decisions made by Air Force Secretary Barbara Barrett. The decision may expand Duke Field by 123 more personnel and five light aircraft, while Hurlburt could get three to five new light-attack aircraft.
Veterans organizations behind Honor Flight Chicago, which transports veterans to Washington, D.C., to visit war memorials, has added a trip dedicated to honoring female veterans called Operation HerStory. The flight will take place Oct. 7.
