If you trust the corporate press you’d think Americans have all but given up on the whole patriotism thing.
Night after night we see rioters tear down statues, hear major news channels reduce the Founding Fathers to “slave owners” and watch pundits say it’s time to shake America like an Etch-A-Sketch and start anew. Mt. Rushmore? That’s the next statue to be toppled if <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/nyt-lays-out-the-case-against-mount-rushmore-critics-remind-paper-of-its-own-problematic-past">The New York Times</a> has any say on the matter.
The media narrative couldn’t be more obvious, but is it real?
We’re seeing three examples from the pop culture world suggesting just the opposite.
Last week the military saga “The Outpost” hit VOD services. The film, co-starring Scott Eastwood (son of Clint), scored the top slot on iTunes’ American movie list. The film also gave its company, Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment Inc., its largest opening day in company history.
The film also snared the top spot on FandangoNow’s movie streaming service, topping “Trolls World Tour,” “The King of Staten Island” and Jon Stewart’s “Irresistible.”
Director Rod Lurie’s fact-based film, co-starring Orlando Bloom and Caleb Landry Jones, follows a small unit of U.S. soldiers battling a massive Taliban force in a coordinated assault.
The <a href="https://www.militarytimes.com/off-duty/military-culture/2020/05/21/watch-the-first-trailer-for-the-battle-of-kamdesh-film-the-outpost/">numbers from the Battle of Kamdesh are staggering</a> – “a 13-hour assault by nearly 400 Taliban forces on a detachment of only 50 American soldiers at Combat Outpost Keating.”
While Hollywood routinely cranks out films critical of the U.S. Military, particularly true during the Iraq War, “The Outpost” takes a different path. Like “American Sniper” before it, “The Outpost” treats soldiers with respect and honor. These aren’t oppressors or imperialists. They’re men and women fighting valiantly for their country.
The film even features three soldiers who fought in the battle in question, including Medal of Honor recipient Ty Carter (played by Jones in the film).
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The folks behind “The Outpost’s” press division didn’t downplay the film’s patriotic bona fides. It leaned into them.
“We are excited to release The Outpost and are very honored to bring this true story of American heroism and valor to U.S. audiences on the Fourth of July weekend,” David Fannon, president of Screen Media Ventures said in a press statement.
Hardly sounds like a must-watch movie for the Antifa crowd … or Don Lemon.
Another pro-America film is enjoying healthy returns over at Netflix.
“Patriots Day,” an underrated homage to the Americans who caught the Boston Marathon bombers, recently joined the streaming platform. It didn’t take long for it to jump to the number one title on the service.
Earlier today “Patriots Day” slumped to number five, a still-impressive showing for a four-year-old movie that hardly caused a commotion in theaters. The film’s weak box office tally &#8211; $33 million despite the combined star power of Mark Wahlberg, Kevin Bacon and John Goodman.
And then there’s “Hamilton.”
Lin-Manuel Miranda’s blockbuster musical made its small screen debut July 3 on Disney Plus. Any attempt to portray the Founding Fathers as heroes could draw the PC Police to the scene. Right on cue, #CancelHamilton began trending on Twitter shortly after its debut.
The film adaptation of the Tony winner <a href="https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/hamilton-drives-disney-plus-app-122613753.html">still drew a crowd</a>, above and beyond the lavish press coverage afforded the event. The platform’s app got a 74 percent download boost over the weekend.
From Friday through Sunday, the Disney Plus app was downloaded 752,451 times globally, including 458,796 times in the U.S., according to analytics firm Apptopia.
Perhaps American consumers who watched “The Outpost,” “Patriots Day” or “Hamilton” came away with a better appreciation for their homeland … at least until a news outlet tells them differently.
More from Christian Toto: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/meet-the-few-the-proud-the-free-speech-heroes-of-hollywood">Meet The Few, The Proud, The Free Speech Heroes of Hollywood</a>
The Daily Wire is one of America’s fastest-growing conservative media companies and counter-cultural outlets for news, opinion, and entertainment. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/subscribe">member</a>.

Scott Eastwood

TOTO: Pro-American Military Film ‘The Outpost’ Crushes The Competition

Hollywood

Military

Patriotism

On Sunday, Senator Joni Ernst (R-IA) appeared on CNN’s “State of the Union” with host Dana Bash to discuss a variety of topics.
Bash first asked Ernst about President Trump’s Mount Rushmore speech, which he delivered during his recent Independence Day celebration. Some in the mainstream press have characterized the speech as “dark” and “divisive.”
Bash played a brief clip in which Trump said: “Our nation is witnessing a merciless campaign to wipe out our history, defame our heroes, erase our values, and indoctrinate our children. &#8230; No movement that seeks to dismantle these treasured American legacies can possibly have a love of America at its heart.”
The host then asked Ernst if she is “comfortable with that.”
The Senator responded, saying that there is much “frustration across the United States,” and that she believes the U.S. is the “greatest nation on the face of the planet” despite past sins.
“We need to come together and have some very hard discussions about our past,” Ernst said. “But the great thing about this nation is that we can learn from those blemishes, learn from those hard times in the past, and continue to evolve as a continually blessed nation.”
Bash asked Ernst if the majority of demonstrations seen across the country have been “peaceful,” and the senator agreed that there have been “many peaceful protests,” and that she supports such things.
However, Ernst also condemned the violent rioters, some of whom have been tearing down statues of historical figures, saying of such behavior: “We can&#8217;t allow that to happen.”
After Ernst emphasized the need to have “very hard discussions” if we are to “come together” as a nation, Bash asked the senator about a “must-pass military spending bill that the president is now threatening to veto because it would rename U.S. bases named after Confederate officers.”
<blockquote>BASH: You sit on the Armed Services Committee. You support renaming those bases. Should the president sign the bill?
ERNST: Well, I absolutely believe that we need to have a discussion on this – and, again, sometimes, those discussions are very hard. But I do believe that we should talk about these military bases that were named for generals that took up arms against the United States.
So, I welcome that discussion. I think we all should. And, again, we want to focus on the meaningful things that will move our country forward, but I don&#8217;t believe in the destruction, again, of property. If we&#8217;re talking about statues that belong to other jurisdictions – those decisions should be made at that local level, not by those that are out there vandalizing that property.
So, again, hard discussions all the way around, but we need to have a little bit of peace across the nation. And we can only do that if we&#8217;re all sitting down in discussions.</blockquote>
“So, just to be clear, that&#8217;s basically what the bill says, is to start the process,” Bash said. “Given that, should the president sign the bill?”
Ernst replied: “Well, I would love that he would sign the bill and move forward. But, absolutely, we have to have the discussions. We have to do that. And if that&#8217;s what will help, if we can all get together as stakeholders, then I think it&#8217;s the right thing to do.”
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The Daily Wire, headed by bestselling author and popular podcast host Ben Shapiro, is a leading provider of conservative news, cutting through the mainstream media’s rhetoric to provide readers with the most important, relevant, and engaging stories of the day. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/subscribe">member</a>.

Sen. Joni Ernst

Sen. Ernst: ‘We Should Talk About’ Bases ‘Named For Generals That Took Up Arms Against The United States’

confederate

Joni Ernst

U.S. military personnel, particularly pilots from the Air Force and the Navy, have encountered numerous unidentified flying objects, with at least 25 reports filed since 2014.
The War Zone, a website dedicated to national defense and military reporting, used the Freedom of Information Act <a href="https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/34377/here-are-the-air-forces-reports-on-aircrew-encounters-with-unidentified-flying-craft">to obtain information</a> relating to the reports, following last year’s bombshell revelation that Navy Fighter pilots have had several encounters with UFOs in recent years, some of which <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/ufos-pentagon-officially-releases-video-of-unidentified-aerial-phenomena-spotted-by-navy-pilots">were caught on film</a>.
Some of the reports gathered by TWZ were mundane, such as military units being unable to establish contact with an unidentified aircraft. Others were troubling, including multiple near-collisions with the unidentified aircraft.
For example, On July 2, 2014, an “unidentified helicopter” flew close beneath two aircraft, who could not establish contact with it:
<blockquote>The HC-130P&#8217;s crew had first spotted to object when they saw a bright light near the aircraft. The HH-60G crew also saw it and initially thought it might be headlights on a vehicle on the road below. However, the light grew brighter to the point of blinding the Pave Hawk&#8217;s pilots, who were operating using night-vision goggles at the time. This resulted in an extremely dangerous situation in which the helicopter&#8217;s crew was no longer aware of their distance from the HC-130P, or that they were moving backward away from it, until the HH-60G&#8217;s aerial refueling probe inadvertently disconnected from the drogue basket trailing behind the Combat King.</blockquote>
In another incident, on May 15, 2015, an aircraft’s Traffic Collision Avoidance System (TCAS) alerted the crew to a potential collision. The did as the TCAS suggested and performed a 4,000 feet-per-minute climb. The TCAS no longer sensed danger. The crew never saw another aircraft or received any calls from another aircraft about a potential collision, TWZ reported.
Several other reports included near-collisions with unmanned drones.
“Now, regardless of how complete the reporting of incidents involving unidentified aerial objects in AFSAS is, the 25 reports that we do have still show some interesting trends. The most immediate of these is the steady rise of lower-end drone activity in general, something that has been an increasing <a href="https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/25627/theyre-back-drones-briefly-bring-u-k-reopened-gatwick-airport-to-a-grinding-halt-again">issue for commercial air operations</a>, as well. Regulators around the world, including the Federal Aviation Administration, have struggled to develop rules and guidelines <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2020/03/05/drone-rules-faa-camera-license-plane-helicopter-crash-terrorism/4783041002/">that are practical and enforceable</a>,” TWZ reported.
As The Daily Wire’s Emily Zanotti previously reported at the end of April, the Pentagon officially released three videos featuring “unidentified aerial phenomena,” which were first leaked in 2007 and again in 2017.
“DOD [Department of Defense] is releasing the videos in order to clear up any misconceptions by the public on whether or not the footage that has been circulating was real, or whether or not there is more to the videos. The aerial phenomena observed in the videos remain characterized as ‘unidentified,&#8217;” the Pentagon said in a statement at the time.
The Daily Wire, headed by bestselling author and popular podcast host Ben Shapiro, is a leading provider of conservative news, cutting through the mainstream media’s rhetoric to provide readers the most important, relevant, and engaging stories of the day. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/subscribe">member</a>.

Moon over ocean

The U.S. Military Has Reported At Least 25 Encounters With Unidentified Flying Aircraft Since 2014

unidentified flying objects

Just in time for Memorial Day, on Saturday The New York Times editorial board accused the United States military of racism in a <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/23/opinion/sunday/army-base-names-confederacy-racism.html">piece</a> titled, “Why Does The U.S. Military Celebrate White Supremacy?”
Pentagon spokesman Jonathan Rath Hoffman <a href="https://twitter.com/ChiefPentSpox/status/1264698425582510080">tweeted</a>: “On a solemn day for remembering those that have given their lives for our country fighting against tyranny and subjugation, the NYT has more than a million possible stories of the ultimate sacrifice by American patriots that they could tell. But they don’t … The Department of Defense is the most diverse meritocracy in the country and the most powerful force for good in world history. We have many stories of valor still waiting to be told this Memorial Day weekend.”
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Instead they chose to attack the US military &#8211; the most diverse meritocracy in the country and the most powerful force for good in world history. We have many stories of valor still waiting to be told this Memorial Day weekend.
&mdash; Jonathan Hoffman (@ChiefPentSpox) <a href="https://twitter.com/ChiefPentSpox/status/1264698426966650886?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 24, 2020</a></blockquote>
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Retired Staff Sgt. Jones, a bomb technician who lost his legs in an explosion in Afghanistan and is a Fox News contributor, ripped the Times on Fox &amp; Friends, saying:
<blockquote>It’s something that just stirs your blood a little bit, but then you have to realize who’s doing it; this is The New York Times … There are 365 days in a year. There has been 150 years since the Civil War. Why is the New York Times writing this on Memorial Day this year of all years? Because it&#8217;s relevance, right? It&#8217;s the opportunity to get people to talk about them.
And so right now, today, there’s a black man or woman in the Marine Corps, probably a first lieutenant who will become the very first black commandant of the Marine Corps, and that person has to wake up this morning knowing the goals and dreams ahead of him and that service loves them and wants them to succeed and read something about bases that were named probably before he or she was born for people that were alive 100 years before that, and worry about that?  The New York Times tells them that’s what they should be focused on, that’s what they should care about rather than defending the country, or leading, or achieving some of the goals they have in front of them, and to me that’s offensive, that’s as bad as saying that coronavirus was warranted because we had slavery two hundred years ago. That’s not how we look at our country … I find it offensive and repulsive.</blockquote>
The Times, boasting that its editorial board “is a group of opinion journalists whose views are informed by expertise, research, debate and certain longstanding values,” began its polemic by citing the Charleston, S.C., massacre in 2015, saying it “dispensed with the fiction that the Confederate battle flag was an innocuous symbol of ‘Southern pride.,’&#8221; adding, “A murderer’s manifesto describing the killings as the start of a race war — combined with photos of the killer brandishing a pistol and a rebel flag — made it impossible to ignore the connection between Confederate ideology and a blood-drenched tradition of racial terrorism that dates back to the mid-19th century in the American South.”
After listing the places where the Confederate flag or images of Confederate generals had been removed, the Times wrote, “Institutions that could once have wrapped themselves in Confederacy ideology without consequence were put on notice public sentiment had shifted.” The Times declared, “Innocent intentions cannot obscure the truth that secessionists embarked on the Civil War to guarantee the rights of some human beings to own others, or the fact that the Confederate banner represents the same white supremacist values as  — and is often displayed in tandem with ‘the Nazi swastika.”
Then the Times got to the heart of its attack: “This same toxic legacy clings to the 10 United States military installations across the South that were named for Confederate Army officers during the first half of the 20th century. Apologists often describe the names as a necessary gesture of reconciliation in the wake of the Civil War. In truth, the namings reflect a federal embrace of white supremacy that found its most poisonous expression in military installations where black servicemen were deliberately placed under the command of white Southerners — who were said to better ‘understand’ Negroes — and confined to substandard housing, segregated transportation systems and even ‘colored only’ seating in movie houses.”
The Times then pronounced, “The base names were part of a broad federal sellout to white supremacy that poisoned the whole of the United States.”
The Times concluded, “Military installations that celebrate white supremacist traitors have loomed steadily larger in the civic landscape since the country began closing smaller bases and consolidating its forces on larger ones. Bases named for men who sought to destroy the Union in the name of racial injustice are an insult to the ideals servicemen and women are sworn to uphold — and an embarrassing artifact of the time when the military itself embraced anti-American values. It is long past time for those bases to be renamed.”
Writing at Townhall, columnist Ellie Bufkin <a href="https://townhall.com/tipsheet/elliebufkin/2020/05/25/the-new-york-times-is-on-a-snipe-hunt-to-associate-u-s-military-with-white-supre-n2569397">noted</a>:
<blockquote>The editorial board of the Grey Lady then revises history entirely by characterizing the whole cause of the south in the Civil War as being driven by white supremacy and a desire to &#8220;keep black people in chains.&#8221; Referring to leaders of the Confederacy as &#8220;traitors&#8221; on multiple occasions, the board dismisses any defense which claims the base designations are historic marks that represent only the individuals, not ideologies …</blockquote>
The Daily Wire, headed by bestselling author and popular podcast host Ben Shapiro, is a leading provider of conservative news, cutting through the mainstream media’s rhetoric to provide readers the most important, relevant, and engaging stories of the day. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/subscribe">member</a>.  
Video below:
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San Francisco Giants v San Diego Padres

WATCH: Afghan War Vet Blasts NYT Editorial Accusing Military Of White Supremacy

New York Times

Racism

Socialist Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), a <a href="https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/494275-ocasio-cortez-says-she-will-vote-for-biden-in-november">supporter</a> of Democrat presidential candidate Joe Biden, has joined a call to cut U.S. military funding at a time when tensions, including the possibility of a military conflict, with communist China are rapidly increasing.
Ocasio-Cortez signed onto a letter with 29 other far-left Democrat lawmakers to the House Armed Services Committee that demanded a &#8220;reduction in defense spending during the coronavirus pandemic.&#8221;
&#8220;As you draft this year’s National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), we encourage you to authorize a level of spending below last year’s authorized level,&#8221; the letter stated. &#8220;Congress must remain focused on responding to the coronavirus pandemic and distributing needed aid domestically. In order to do so, appropriators must have access to increased levels of non-defense spending which could be constrained by any increase to defense spending.&#8221;
The Democrats&#8217; argument that we must reduce defense spending in order to better fund the coronavirus response flies in the face of recent statements by officials. The U.S. federal government has spent trillions of dollars in multiple stimulus bills to combat the coronavirus pandemic, and the Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said in an interview this week that in terms of the financial ability that the U.S. federal government has to combat the pandemic, &#8220;there&#8217;s a lot more we can do.&#8221;
&#8220;I will say that we&#8217;re not out of ammunition by a long shot,&#8221; Powell said. &#8220;No, there&#8217;s really no limit to what we can do with these lending programs that we have. So there&#8217;s a lot more we can do to support the economy, and we&#8217;re committed to doing everything we can as long as we need to.&#8221;
The letter that Ocasio-Cortez, who is helping <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/biden-goes-far-left-aoc-gets-top-campaign-spot-to-push-radical-green-new-deal-after-she-cheered-job-losses-last-month">advise</a> the Biden campaign on policy, signed onto calls the coronavirus &#8220;our greatest adversary.&#8221;
&#8220;America needs a coronavirus cure, not more war,&#8221; the letter concluded. &#8220;We need more testing, not more bombs. In order to reopen our nation in a data-driven, safe manner, we need to focus our spending efforts on the millions of additional coronavirus tests and tens of thousands of additional contract tracers we will need, as well as covering treatment costs, developing therapeutics, and distributing future vaccines.&#8221;
The move by Ocasio-Cortez comes as the risk of military confrontation with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has dramatically increased in recent months over China&#8217;s handling of the coronavirus outbreak in Wuhan. Reuters <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-china-sentiment-ex/exclusive-internal-chinese-report-warns-beijing-faces-tiananmen-like-global-backlash-over-virus-idUSKBN22G19C">reported</a> at the start of the month:
<blockquote>As a result, Beijing faces a wave of anti-China sentiment led by the United States in the aftermath of the pandemic and needs to be prepared in a worst-case scenario for armed confrontation between the two global powers, according to people familiar with the report’s content, who declined to be identified given the sensitivity of the matter. &#8230;
Xi has revamped China’s military strategy to create a fighting force equipped to win modern wars. He is expanding China’s air and naval reach in a challenge to more than 70 years of U.S. military dominance in Asia.</blockquote>
President Donald Trump <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/it-all-comes-from-the-top-trump-unloads-on-china-for-their-lies-and-the-pain-and-carnage-they-have-spread-throughout-the-world">hammered</a> China late last night in a series of tweets, writing, “Spokesman speaks stupidly on behalf of China, trying desperately to deflect the pain and carnage that their country spread throughout the world. Its disinformation and propaganda attack on the United States and Europe is a disgrace. It all comes from the top. They could have easily stopped the plague, but they didn’t!”
Trump later added, “China is on a massive disinformation campaign because they are desperate to have Sleepy Joe Biden win the presidential race so they can continue to rip-off the United States, as they have done for decades, until I came along!”
The Daily Wire, headed by bestselling author and popular podcast host Ben Shapiro, is a leading provider of conservative news, cutting through the mainstream media’s rhetoric to provide readers the most important, relevant, and engaging stories of the day. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/subscribe">member</a>.

Ocasio-Cortez

Biden-Supporter AOC Calls For Military Cuts As China Military Threat Rapidly Increases

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez

China

Coronavirus

The annual National Memorial Day Concert on PBS will take place on May 24, the Sunday before Memorial Day, albeit with some changes because of the coronavirus.
Actors Joe Mantegna and Gary Sinise will host the program to honor military members who died in the line of duty. The program will feature at least a dozen other well-known figures, such as Gen. Colin Powell and gospel singer CeCe Winans, and music by the National Symphony Orchestra.
“We&#8217;re excited to announce our 2020 Memorial Day show, airing on Sunday, May 24, 2020, from 8:00 to 9:30 p.m. E.T.,” the event organizers announced last month. “Due to coronavirus, we will not host the show from the West Lawn of the U.S. Capitol. The show will air on PBS and the Armed Forces Network and will be live streamed on Facebook, YouTube, and our website.”
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Due to coronavirus, we will not host the show from the West Lawn of the U.S. Capitol. The show will air on PBS and the Armed Forces Network and will be live streamed on Facebook, YouTube, and our website.
&mdash; National Memorial Day Concert (@MemorialDayPBS) <a href="https://twitter.com/MemorialDayPBS/status/1255921927530692608?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 30, 2020</a></blockquote>
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The concert, sponsored by Lockheed Martin, has taken place every year since 1989.
“The concert unites the country in remembrance and appreciation of those who gave their lives for our nation and serves those who are grieving through the mission put forward by Abraham Lincoln in his second inaugural address, ‘Let us strive on to finish the work we are in; to bind up the nation&#8217;s wounds; to care for him who shall have borne the battle, and for his widow, and his orphan,’” the concert’s <a href="https://www.pbs.org/national-memorial-day-concert/about/the-concert/">page</a> on PBS’s website says.
Sinise is a staunch advocate for military members, veterans, first responders, and their families. His Gary Sinise Foundation, founded in 2011, has built dozens of special smart homes for wounded veterans, distributed hundreds of grants to military and first responder organizations, and most recently <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/watch-gary-sinise-launches-emergency-covid-19-combat-service-to-help-first-responders-healthcare-professionals">delivered</a> thousands of units of protective equipment to healthcare workers combating the coronavirus.
“With the continued spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19) across the nation, the Gary Sinise Foundation has launched a dedicated campaign called, Emergency COVID-19 Combat Service, which addresses the needs and priorities of those it is entrusted by the American people to serve and honor, with the addition of healthcare professionals,” the foundation announced last month.
“During this public health crisis, Emergency COVID-19 Combat Service will be the gateway for providing grants to first responders in need of personal protective equipment when answering COVID-19 service calls,” the foundation said. “Financial assistance is also available to healthcare professionals, service members, veterans, first responders, and their families who have been impacted by the novel coronavirus.”
Last year, Sinise celebrated a quarter of a century advocating for injured veterans with the non-profit Disabled American Veterans (DAV). He first partnered with DAV after the group gave him an award for his performance as Lt. Dan in the 1994 film Forrest Gump.
As <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/actor-gary-sinise-celebrates-25-years-veterans-eric-quintanar">The Daily Wire</a> reported at the time: “In 2003, as part of his calling to help veterans, Sinise started a rock cover band called the ‘Lt. Dan Band.’ Through performances on military bases around the globe, Sinise hopes to let veterans and active-duty military members know that ‘there are people out there who are aware of, and who understand the importance of keeping our military families strong in difficult times,’ according to an open-letter on the band’s website.”

2018 National Memorial Day Concert

Star-Studded National Memorial Day Concert Will Continue Despite The Coronavirus

Gary Sinise

Veterans

On Monday, a memo from the United States Military Entrance Processing Command (USMEPCOM) was released on social media.
One user, Nathaniel Free, sent out the following tweet with the memo attached:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
“During the screening process, a reported history of confirmed COVID-19 will be annotated ‘Considered disqualifying’“ <a href="https://t.co/ZKx91AUbXo">pic.twitter.com/ZKx91AUbXo</a>
— Free (@Nathaniel_Free) <a href="https://twitter.com/Nathaniel_Free/status/1257380066343956486?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 4, 2020</a></blockquote>
The memo, which was allegedly written to “provide interim guidance on rendering a medical qualification determination for an applicant with a history of confirmed COVID-19,” reads in part:
<blockquote>During the prescreen process, a reported history of confirmed COVID-19 will be annotated as &#8220;Considered Disqualifying&#8221; (CD) and documented in section VII of the DD form 2807-2&#8230;
During the medical history interview or examination, a history of COVID-19, confirmed by either a laboratory test or clinician diagnosis, is permanently disqualifying&#8230;</blockquote>
According to <a href="https://www.militarytimes.com/news/your-military/2020/05/06/coronavirus-survivors-banned-from-joining-the-military/">Military Times</a>, which first wrote about the issue, the memo’s authenticity was confirmed by Pentagon spokesperson Jessica Maxwell.
In a <a href="https://www.militarytimes.com/news/your-military/2020/05/07/updated-guidance-allows-unhospitalized-covid-19-survivors-to-join-the-military/">follow-up piece</a>, Military Times added that the policy had been updated, “loosening restrictions banning anyone who has been diagnosed to only those who were hospitalized because of complications.”
However, further details were not provided regarding more specific rules about hospitalization.
The piece speculated that because COVID-19 is a new and little-understood illness, MEPCOM is simply being circumspect, noting that there have been “preliminary studies” showing “<a href="https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/conditions-and-diseases/coronavirus/what-coronavirus-does-to-the-lungs">significant lung damage</a> in COVID-19 patients, which could affect fitness for combat in a service member,” and that the duration of potential immunity following infection is unknown.
According to <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2020/05/06/politics/pentagon-recruits-coronavirus/index.html">CNN</a>, which reportedly spoke with a defense official:
<blockquote>The guidance is being put in place because there is little understanding of the “long-term” effects of the virus and there is a concern that potential recruits who have been hospitalized may need further medical assessments.</blockquote>
Speaking with <a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/coronavirus-live-updates/2020/05/07/851925815/pentagon-issues-guidance-banning-recruits-previously-hospitalized-with-covid-19">NPR</a> on Thursday, Army Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, stated that the memo “has not been approved,” and that it “got out there by accident.”
“It hasn&#8217;t been rigorously thought out and reviewed by the service secretaries – the chiefs – or the secretary of defense,” Milley said, reports NPR.
According to Milley, the standards as they pertain to COVID-19 infections will have to be exhaustively examined with medical professionals.
Milley also stated that the final version of the guidance will possibly arrive in the coming weeks, and that it wouldn’t necessarily make sense to issue blanket disqualifications to those whose COVID-19 cases were so severe as to require hospitalization.
“We&#8217;re going to have to implement a whole series of protocols,” the General said.
The original memo’s five-part instructions can be read in their entirety here:
<blockquote>Instructions: All 65 MEPS and one RPS will implement the following:
1. An applicant with a positive MEPS screening for COVID-19, but without confirmation by either a laboratory test or clinician diagnosis, will be allowed to return to the MEPS to continue processing after the 14-day RJ date has been met IAW the current version of reference (a). Upon return to the MEPS, the applicant will be processed IAW references (a) and (b) unless otherwise stated in this information message.
2. An applicant with a history of COVID-19, confirmed by either a laboratory test or clinician diagnosis, will be authorized to process 28 days after the documented date of diagnosis. The applicant will submit either as a prescreen or as a med read, all supporting medical documentation pertaining to the COVID-19 diagnosis. The supporting medical documentation should include all clinical notes pertaining to diagnostic testing, treatment and prognosis.
3. During the prescreen process, a reported history of confirmed COVID-19 will be annotated as &#8220;Considered Disqualifying&#8221; (CD) and documented in Section VII of the DD form 2807-2. The DoDI 6130.03 section 5.30.a. will be cited with the AP approved ICD-10 code Z22.9. &#8220;Processing Not Justified&#8221; (PNJ) will not be used as a prescreen determination for an applicant with a history of confirmed COVID-19.
4. During the medical history interview or examination, a history of COVID-19, confirmed by either a laboratory test or clinician diagnosis, is permanently disqualifying, and the &#8220;P&#8221; PULHES letter designator will be annotated as &#8220;3P&#8221; in item 76 on the DD form 2808. The DoDI 6130.03 section 5.30.a. will be cited in item 79 with the AP approved ICD-10 code Z22.9 in items 77 and 79. Item 52 &#8220;Other&#8221; from the DD Form 2808 will be used as the associated item number for annotation.
5. All other applicant screening or processing not detailed in this information message will be conducted IAW the current versions of references (a) and (b).</blockquote>
The Daily Wire, headed by bestselling author and popular podcast host Ben Shapiro, is a leading provider of conservative news, cutting through the mainstream media’s rhetoric to provide readers the most important, relevant, and engaging stories of the day. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/subscribe">member</a>.

U.S. soldiers

Is The Military Not Accepting Applicants Who Have Had COVID-19? Here’s What You Need To Know.

COVID-19

The Trump administration is undertaking major moves to revamp America&#8217;s military presence in Asia to reign in communist China&#8217;s military expansion, and foreign military analysts have said that the moves taken by the United States are so aggressive that &#8220;there is a serious risk for [China] that their military developments will be obsolete.&#8221;
A new report from Reuters highlighted how the Trump administration is deploying new weapons and military strategy for how the United States will deal with the growing Chinese threat. Reuters <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-china-missiles-specialreport/special-report-u-s-rearms-to-nullify-chinas-missile-supremacy-idUSKBN22I16W?utm_source=twitter&amp;utm_medium=Social">reported</a>:
<blockquote>China derived an advantage because it was not party to a Cold War-era treaty &#8211; the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF) &#8211; that banned the United States and Russia from possessing ground-launched ballistic and cruise missiles with ranges from 500 kilometers to 5,500 kilometers. Unrestrained by the INF pact, China has deployed about 2,000 of these weapons, according to U.S. and other Western estimates. &#8230;
This accumulated firepower has shifted the regional balance of power in China’s favor. &#8230;
But the decision by President Donald Trump last year to exit the INF treaty has given American military planners new leeway. Almost immediately after withdrawing from the pact on August 2, the administration signaled it would respond to China’s missile force.</blockquote>
Reuters noted that the Trump administration will be arming the Marines with a wide range of new missiles that can accomplish a variety of mission objectives; the administration is ramping up the research and development on a variety of new ballistic missiles that were previously banned under the INF treaty, and the administration will be deploying new weapons to the region that will pose a serious threat to communist China.
Ross Babbage, a former senior Australian government defense official and now a non-resident fellow at the Washington-based Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments, a security research group, told Reuters: “The Americans are coming back strongly. By 2024 or 2025 there is a serious risk for the [Chinese military] that their military developments will be obsolete.”
The biggest ringing endorsement of the Trump administration&#8217;s military moves in Asia comes directly from communist China, who said in a statement that they &#8220;firmly opposed&#8221; the moves by the U.S. military. Reuters added:
<blockquote>The United States has other counterweights. The firepower of long-range U.S. Air Force bombers could pose a bigger threat to Chinese forces than the Marines, the strategists said. Particularly effective, they said, could be the stealthy [new] B-21 bomber, which is due to enter service in the middle of this decade, armed with long-range missiles.
The Pentagon is already moving to boost the firepower of its existing strike aircraft in Asia. U.S. Navy Super Hornet jets and Air Force B-1 bombers are now being armed with early deliveries of Lockheed Martin’s new Long Range Anti-Ship Missile, according to the budget request documents. The new missile is being deployed in response to an “urgent operational need” for the U.S. Pacific Command, the documents explain.</blockquote>
China has been able to catch up to the U.S. in military prowess due to bad decisions made by the Obama administration that weakened the U.S. military and also because China is a criminal nation that steals U.S. technology.
The Department of Defense <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/facing-coronavirus-fallout-chinese-leaders-told-to-be-ready-for-war-with-u-s-report-says">reported</a>: &#8220;China uses a variety of methods to acquire foreign military and dual-use technologies, including targeted foreign direct investment, cyber theft, and exploitation of private Chinese nationals’ access to these technologies, as well as harnessing its intelligence services, computer intrusions, and other illicit approaches.&#8221;
The Daily Wire, headed by bestselling author and popular podcast host Ben Shapiro, is a leading provider of conservative news, cutting through the mainstream media’s rhetoric to provide readers the most important, relevant, and engaging stories of the day. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/subscribe">member</a>.

US-POLITICS-economy-manufacturing

‘The Americans Are Coming Back Strongly’: Trump Moving To Reclaim U.S. Military Dominance In Asia

Donald Trump

The vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff praised President Donald Trump&#8217;s order this week to destroy Iranian gunboats that harass U.S. ships in the Persian Gulf, saying that if the the world&#8217;s leading state sponsor of terrorism tries to take action against U.S. military forces that the U.S. force &#8220;will come large&#8221; after Iran.
&#8220;Well, I&#8217;ll just say that every capability that we deploy, every ship that deploys into harm&#8217;s way has the inherent right of self-defense, as the secretary just described,&#8221; Vice Chairman Gen. John Hyten told reporters. &#8220;What that means is if we see a hostile act, if we see hostile intent, we have the right to respond up to and including lethal force, and if it happens in the Gulf, if it happens in any way, we will respond with overwhelming lethal force, if necessary, to defend ourselves, and it&#8217;s really that simple. But nobody should doubt that the commanders have the authority right now to respond to any hostile act or hostile intent.&#8221;
Trump tweeted earlier in the week that the U.S. Navy has been instructed to &#8220;shoot down and destroy any and all Iranian gunboats if they harass our ships at sea&#8221; after 11 gunboats swarmed U.S. ships in the Persian gulf last week.
&#8220;So, I like that the president warned an adversary,&#8221; Hyten added. &#8220;That&#8217;s what he&#8217;s doing. He&#8217;s providing a warning. If you want to go down that path, we will come and we will come large, so don&#8217;t go down that path. That is what he&#8217;s saying. He&#8217;s saying it in clear, uncertain terms. We understand that direction, and every commander that&#8217;s deployed has the ability to execute that.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
The leader of Iran&#39;s Revolutionary Guard has warned he ordered his forces to potentially target the U.S. Navy after President Donald Trump&#39;s tweet a day earlier threatening to sink Iranian vessels. <a href="https://twitter.com/JenGriffinFNC?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@JenGriffinFNC</a> reports <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/specialreport?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#specialreport</a> <a href="https://t.co/2iZxPDdIOc">pic.twitter.com/2iZxPDdIOc</a>
&mdash; Bret Baier (@BretBaier) <a href="https://twitter.com/BretBaier/status/1253477602947457025?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 24, 2020</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
The U.S. Navy documented the incident in a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/iranian-general-orders-naval-forces-to-destroy-any-american-ship-in-persian-gulf-that-threatens-security">statement</a> last week from the terrorist regime against the U.S. ships:
<blockquote>On April 15, eleven Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy (IRGCN) vessels repeatedly conducted dangerous and harassing approaches of the USS Lewis B. Puller (ESB 3), USS Paul Hamilton (DDG 60), USS Firebolt (PC 10), USS Sirocco (PC 6), USCGC Wrangell (WPB 1332) and USCGC Maui (WPB 1304) while the U.S. vessels were conducting joint integration operations with U.S. Army AH-64E Apache attack helicopters in the international waters of the North Arabian Gulf.
The IRGCN vessels repeatedly crossed the bows and sterns of the U.S. vessels at extremely close range and high speeds, including multiple crossings of the Puller with a 50 yard closest point of approach (CPA) and within 10 yards of Maui’s bow.
The U.S. crews issued multiple warnings via bridge-to-bridge radio, five short blasts from the ships’ horns and long-range acoustic noise maker devices, but received no response from the IRGCN.
After approximately one hour, the IRGCN vessels responded to the bridge-to-bridge radio queries, then maneuvered away from the U.S. ships and opened distance between them.</blockquote>
Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) commander Gen. Hossein Salami ordered his naval units on yesterday that he ordered them to destroy American ships if they threatened Iran&#8217;s security.
“I have ordered our naval forces to destroy any American terrorist force in the Persian Gulf that threatens the security of Iran’s military or non-military ships,” Salami <a href="https://nypost.com/2020/04/23/iran-warns-us-warships-in-gulf-will-be-destroyed-if-threatened/">said</a>. “Security of the Persian Gulf is part of Iran’s strategic priorities.”
The Daily Wire, headed by bestselling author and popular podcast host Ben Shapiro, is a leading provider of conservative news, cutting through the mainstream media’s rhetoric to provide readers the most important, relevant, and engaging stories of the day. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/subscribe">subscriber</a>.

Confirmation Hearing Held For Gen. John Hyten To Be Vice Chairman Of Joint Chiefs

Top Military Commander Warns Iran On Latest Provocation: ‘We Will Come Large’

Iran

Twitter users tried desperately to &#8220;cancel&#8221; Star Wars star Adam Driver this week after noticing a 2019 New Yorker interview in which Driver said he joined the military after 9/11 to serve in the Afghanistan War.
Driver was 18 at the time of the attacks and quickly enlisted in the Marines, looking to serve his country &#8212; a move The New Yorker seemed disdainful of, accusing Driver of looking for an outlet for &#8220;retribution.&#8221;
&#8220;After 9/11, he found himself filled with a desire for retribution, although he wasn’t sure against what or whom,&#8221; the New Yorker wrote, filling in Driver&#8217;s motivation for him and, it seems, implying he was driven by Islamophobia. &#8220;&#8216;It wasn’t against Muslims,&#8217; [Driver] said. &#8216;It was: We were attacked. I want to fight for my country against whoever that is.'&#8221;
Driver says he joined the Marines because the service was notoriously difficult and he was looking for a challenge. He trained as an artillery specialist and served for two years before sustaining a career-ending injury. He went on to attend college and graduate from Julliard, and he eventually made his way to Hollywood, where he earned a memorable part in HBO&#8217;s &#8220;Girls,&#8221; before being cast as Sith Lord Kylo Ren in Star Wars, episodes 7, 8, and 9.
Driver has used his fame to advocate for veterans and runs an organization called &#8220;Arts in the Armed Forces&#8221; which performs for troops stationed abroad and works with members of the military interested in pursuing careers in the performing arts.
That&#8217;s a lot of depth, though, for social media, and Twitter users, famous for jumping to conclusions, quickly assumed Driver was, in fact, motivated by a hatred for Muslims and went to work skewering him for it.
&#8220;Well, okay, I’ve said that I have nothing against him,&#8221; one user wrote, <a href="https://www.cbr.com/twitter-cancels-adam-driver-with-new-hashtag/">according to CBR</a>. &#8220;That’s over now.&#8221;
&#8220;#AdamDriverIsOverParty forget that ugly islamophobic troll,&#8221; wrote another.
The good news is &#8212; for Driver, at least &#8212; that many of his fans rushed to his defense, including Muslim producer and filmmaker, Kamran Pasha.
&#8220;Adam Driver is one of the finest actors of our generation, and a decent and honorable man by all accounts,&#8221; Pasha wrote. &#8220;As a Muslim filmmaker working in Hollywood, he has my full support. With everything happening in the world, today is not the day for an #AdamDriverIsOverParty.&#8221;
A twitter user named &#8220;Price of Reason,&#8221; put it more bluntly: &#8216;Adam Driver wanted to join the Marines after 9/11 so that he could fight for his country. Now a bunch of Fart-Sniffers on Twitter want to cancel him. I couldn&#8217;t make this stuff up.<a class="PrettyLink hashtag customisable" dir="ltr" href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/AdamDriverIsOverParty?src=hash" rel="tag" data-query-source="hashtag_click" data-scribe="element:hashtag">#AdamDriverIsOverParty&#8221;</a>
Others blamed the dustup on segments of Twitter finding themselves lacking in attention amid the coronavirus pandemic, which has wiped out most entertainment news and left those who comment on celebrity life without much to talk about.
The Daily Wire, headed by bestselling author and popular podcast host Ben Shapiro, is a leading provider of conservative news, cutting through the mainstream media’s rhetoric to provide readers the most important, relevant, and engaging stories of the day. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/subscribe">subscriber</a>.

Adam Driver

Social Media Tried To ‘Cancel’ Adam Driver Because He Joined The Military After 9/11

Social Media

Star Wars

Actor and musician Gary Sinise and his foundation have launched a new initiative in response to the ongoing coronavirus crisis: the &#8220;<a href="https://www.garysinisefoundation.org/emergency-covid-19-combat-service/">Emergency COVID-19 Combat Service</a>,&#8221; which is doing its part to meet the needs of first responders and healthcare professionals. Since launching just a few weeks ago, the campaign has provided over 4,700 pieces of personal protective equipment, assisted nearly 50 first responder departments and provided over $200,000 in total grants to those on the front lines of the effort to combat COVID-19.
&#8220;With the continued spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19) across the nation, the Gary Sinise Foundation has launched a dedicated campaign called, Emergency COVID-19 Combat Service, which addresses the needs and priorities of those it is entrusted by the American people to serve and honor, with the addition of healthcare professionals,&#8221; a press release published on the foundation&#8217;s website reads.
&#8220;During this public health crisis, Emergency COVID-19 Combat Service will be the gateway for providing grants to first responders in need of personal protective equipment when answering COVID-19 service calls,&#8221; the foundation states. &#8220;Financial assistance is also available to healthcare professionals, service members, veterans, first responders, and their families who have been impacted by the novel coronavirus.&#8221;
In a video posted on YouTube on April 1, Sinise announced the new COVID-19 campaign:
<iframe title="Gary Sinise Addresses COVID-19 Campaign Supporting America&#039;s Heroes and Their Families" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/FZA-S01xWpA?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>
&#8220;Since announcing the availability of First Responder grants on March 9, the Foundation has made strides in reaching departments in need of personal protective equipment and essential gear utilized in the fight against COVID-19,&#8221; the release reads. Thus far in its effort to fight the pandemic, the campaign has contributed 4,722 pieces of personal protective equipment, assisted 47 first responder departments across the nation, assisted 21 states, and provided $208,930 in grants.
The <a href="https://www.garysinisefoundation.org/mission/">mission</a> of the Gary Sinise Foundation, which the actor founded in 2011, is to serve the nation &#8220;by honoring our defenders, veterans, first responders, their families, and those in need&#8221; by &#8220;creating and supporting unique programs designed to entertain, educate, inspire, strengthen, and build communities.&#8221;
&#8220;Freedom and security are precious gifts that we, as Americans, should never take for granted,&#8221; said Sinise. &#8220;We must do all we can to extend our hand in times of need to those who willingly sacrifice each day to provide that freedom and security. While we can never do enough to show gratitude to our nation&#8217;s defenders, we can always do a little more.&#8221;
Below are some of the <a href="https://www.garysinisefoundation.org/by-the-numbers/">contributions</a> the popular actor&#8217;s foundation has made to the nation&#8217;s defenders over the years:
<ul>
<li>61 specially adapted smart homes complete for severely wounded veterans</li>
<li>197,313+ meals served to the nation’s defenders</li>
<li>102,400+ people have attended the organization’s Invincible Spirit Festivals since 2012</li>
<li>233 emergency relief grants awarded to police, firefighters, and EMTs</li>
<li>445 essential pieces of equipment donated to first responders</li>
<li>1,135 first responder training grants</li>
<li>20 homes modified for defenders</li>
<li>16 adapted vehicles</li>
<li>17 mobility devices for veterans</li>
<li>5,250+ children of fallen military heroes and their surviving parent or guardian have joined the organization’s Snowball Express since 2018</li>
<li>488+ support concerts since 2003 in which Gary has performed, of which 273 were performed since the Gary Sinise Foundation began</li>
</ul>
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/dan-crenshaw-dismantles-wapo-writers-attempt-to-rewrite-history-on-trumps-coronavirus-response">Dan Crenshaw Dismantles WaPo Writer’s Attempt To ‘Rewrite History’ On Trump’s Coronavirus Response</a>

WATCH: Gary Sinise Launches ‘Emergency COVID-19 Combat Service’ To Help First Responders, Healthcare Professionals

First responders

General Mark Milley, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, issued a stern warning to anyone who is thinking about exploiting the coronavirus pandemic: &#8220;That would be a terrible and tragic mistake if they thought that.&#8221;
Milley and Secretary of Defense Mark Esper made the warnings on Thursday during a Department of Defense virtual town hall.
Milley was asked about the U.S. Military&#8217;s readiness to fight during the coronavirus pandemic, which originated in China, and about America&#8217;s ability to win right now.
&#8220;I mean, I think our military, as I stated before and I wouldn&#8217;t want any mixed messages going out there to any adversaries that think they can take advantage of an opportunity, if you will, at a time of crisis,&#8221; Milley said. &#8220;That would be a terrible and tragic mistake if they thought that.&#8221;
&#8220;The U.S. military is very, very capable to conduct whatever operations are necessary to defend the American people,&#8221; Milley continued. &#8220;And we are ready today, we&#8217;ll be ready tomorrow. And we will adapt ourselves to be able to operate within a COVID-19 environment. We&#8217;re already doing that.&#8221;
&#8220;So I&#8217;m very confident in the U.S. military&#8217;s ability to respond if necessary,&#8221; Milley concluded. &#8220;Hopefully, it won&#8217;t be necessary, but we can and will, if necessary.&#8221;
Esper echoed Milley&#8217;s remarks, noting that the numerous actions taken across the military to handle the coronavirus have proved to be effective.
&#8220;At this point in time we have fewer than 2,000 of our service members infected by the virus, and most of them are mild to moderate,&#8221; Esper said. &#8220;We have a far, far, far smaller number of hospitalizations. But when you look at that number, it&#8217;s less than 2,000, it&#8217;s much lower in terms of a rate of infection than you see in our civilian counterparts.&#8221;
&#8220;I attribute that to the measures we took very early on going all the way back to, I think, 3 February, when we issued our first guidance to the field with regard to health protection,&#8221; Esper continued. &#8220;And we gave our commanders, our four-star commanders, our service secretaries, our service chiefs, I gave them the authority to implement that broad guidance as they saw best fit, depending on the types of units they have, the locations, the people, the readiness levels and all that, and they&#8217;ve done a very good job for the most part in terms of protecting our force and ensuring that mission readiness is there, and at the same time, helping protect our fellow Americans.&#8221;
Milley also had strong words for America&#8217;s enemies at the start of the month when the Trump administration announced that it was ramping up the war on drug cartels.
“There’s thousands of sailors, coast guardsmen, soldiers, airman, Marines, involved in this operation,&#8221; Milley <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/general-milley-drops-hammer-on-mexican-cartels-we-will-defend-our-country-regardless-of-the-cost">said</a>. &#8220;We came across some intelligence some time ago that the drug cartels as a result of covid-19 were going to try to take advantage of the situation and try to infiltrate additional drugs into our country.”
“We are at war with terrorists and we are at war with the drug cartels as well,” Milley continued. “This is the United States Military. You will not penetrate this country. You will not get past jump street. You’re not going to come in here and kill additional Americans. And we will marshal whatever assets are required to prevent your entry into this country to kill Americans.”

President Donald J. Trump

America’s Top Military Officer Issues Warning For Nations Thinking Of Exploiting Pandemic

Mark Esper

Capt. Brett Crozier, who was removed from duty on the USS Theodore Roosevelt last week after penning a demand letter to his superiors, begging for assistance with a coronavirus outbreak on board the aircraft carrier, has tested positive for COVID-19, <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2020/04/05/politics/brett-crozier-coronavirus-navy/index.html">CNN reported Sunday</a>.
Crozier began exhibiting symptoms of the virus &#8220;before he was removed from the warship on Thursday, the [New York] Times reported, citing two Naval Academy classmates of Crozier&#8217;s who are close to him and his family.&#8221;
The news comes just days after Crozier was removed from duty &#8212; a decision made, the Department of Defense says, after Crozier decided to copy more than a dozen additional officials on what should have been a communication made directly to his superiors.
In the letter, Crozier pleaded with Navy higher-ups, noting that &#8220;decisive action is required&#8221; to handle the outbreak, which has so far sickened 155 sailors. &#8220;We are not at war, and therefore cannot allow a single Sailor to perish as a result of this pandemic unnecessarily,&#8221; Crozier wrote.
The letter leaked to the press and was published, in full, in the San Francisco Chronicle.
Acting U.S. Navy Secretary Thomas Modly made the decision to remove Crozier from command last week, citing &#8220;panic&#8221; created when Crozier&#8217;s memo hit the media. Modly noted that Crozier &#8220;exercised extremely poor judgment&#8221; in disseminating the letter to those outside of the chain of command.
Defense Secretary Mark Esper appeared on CNN&#8217;s State of the Union Sunday morning and defended Modly&#8217;s decision, according to the network.
I think acting Secretary (Thomas) Modly made a very tough decision &#8212; a decision that I support. It was based on his view that he had lost faith and confidence in the captain based on his actions,&#8221; Esper told host Jake Tapper. &#8220;It&#8217;s just another example (of) how we hold leaders accountable for their actions.&#8221;
Esper did say that there is an &#8220;ongoing investigation&#8221; into the matter, however. He also assured Tapper that Modly did not act on orders from the White House, despite rumors to the contrary that floated on social media Sunday morning.
The military has not been immune from the coronavirus pandemic. <a href="https://www.militarytimes.com/news/your-military/2020/04/01/the-defense-departments-coronavirus-cases-are-rising-on-par-with-the-rest-of-the-us/">Military Times reports</a> that five members of the military have now died from the virus, and infections are &#8220;on par&#8221; with the general American population. Two aircraft carriers, including the USS Theodore Roosevelt, have seen cases of the virus.
“During these times, it is important that we minimize person-to-person interaction and practice social distancing, whenever possible,” Secretary Esper said in a memo released to service members on Friday. “I know this can be challenging in certain situations, as every unit, installation, and mission is unique.”
Some members of the U.S. military will be deployed to help in hot zones, President Donald Trump said Saturday, including &#8220;1,000 military personnel are being sent to New York City, including military doctors and nurses,&#8221; per <a href="https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/trump-says-thousands-of-military-to-be-sent-to-help-states-battle-coronavirus/ar-BB12aCUM">MSN</a>. The military is also operating several &#8220;overflow&#8221; hospitals in major cities like New York and Chicago, handling patients who exhibit only mild symptoms of coronavirus, or non-coronavirus related overflow from nearby hospitals.

C-2A Greyhound

Ex-Navy Captain Removed From Command Over Coronavirus Letter Tests Positive For Virus

President Donald Trump announced on Wednesday that the administration was launching an all out assault on Mexican drug cartels using the U.S. military.
&#8220;As governments and nations focus on the Coronavirus, there is a growing threat that cartels, criminals, terrorists, and other malign actors will try to exploit the situation for their own gain and we must not let that happen,&#8221; Trump said. &#8220;We will never let that happen. Today the United States is launching enhanced counter narcotics operations in the western hemisphere to protect the American people from the deadly scourge of illegal narcotics.&#8221;
&#8220;We must not let the drug cartels exploit the pandemic to threaten American lives,&#8221; Trump continued. &#8220;In cooperation with the 22 partner nations, the U.S. Southern Command will increase surveillance, disruption, and seizures of drug shipments, and provide additional support for eradication efforts that are going on right now at a record pace.&#8221;
&#8220;We are deploying additional Navy destroyers, combat ships, aircraft and helicopters, Coast Guard cutters and Air Force surveillance aircraft, doubling the capabilities in the region,&#8221; Trump continued. &#8220;Very importantly, our forces are fully equipped with personnel protective equipment, and we have taken additional safety measures to ensure that our troops remain healthy.&#8221;
Secretary of Defense Mark Esper said, &#8220;Today at the president’s direction, the Department of Defense in close cooperation with our interagency partners began enhanced narcotics separations in eastern Pacific oceans and the Caribbean sea.&#8221;
&#8220;To conduct to the enhanced operations, the president has directed deployment of ships, aircraft and security forces to the United States Southern Command area of responsibility,&#8221; Esper continued. &#8220;Included in this force package are Navy destroyers and littoral combat ships, Coast Guard cutters, P8 control aircraft, and elements of an Army security force assistance brigade. These additional forces will nearly double our capacity to conduct counter narcotics operations in the region.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Secretary of Defense Mark Esper: enhanced operations will keep pressure on the drug cartels during coronavirus pandemic <a href="https://t.co/llnEaB96rH">pic.twitter.com/llnEaB96rH</a>
&mdash; Steve Guest (@SteveGuest) <a href="https://twitter.com/SteveGuest/status/1245474159846711298?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 1, 2020</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
The DEA reported in its most recent threat assessment guide that Mexican drug cartels remained by far the greatest criminal threat to the U.S.
&#8220;Mexican TCOs remain the greatest criminal drug threat to the United States; no other groups are currently positioned to challenge them,&#8221; the DEA <a href="https://www.dea.gov/sites/default/files/2020-01/2019-NDTA-final-01-14-2020_Low_Web-DIR-007-20_2019.pdf">stated</a>. &#8220;The Sinaloa Cartel maintains the most expansive footprint in the United States, while the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (Cartel Jalisco Nueva 
Generación or CJNG) has become the second-most dominant domestic presence over the past few 
years.&#8221;
The DEA added, &#8220;Although drug-related murders in Mexico continue to reach epidemic proportions, U.S.-based Mexican TCO members still generally refrain from domestic inter-cartel conflicts, resulting in minimal spillover violence in the United States.&#8221;
The DEA noted that Colombian TCOs’ have a heavy but indirect influence on U.S. drug markets because they supply cocaine to the Mexican cartels, who then move it into the U.S.
Mexican cartels are responsible for the overwhelming majority of illicit drugs that are present in the U.S., including cocaine, meth, fentanyl, heroin, and marijuana.
The report added, &#8220;DEA reporting continues to indicate the Sinaloa and CJNG Cartels are likely the primary trafficking groups responsible for smuggling fentanyl into the United States from Mexico.&#8221;
This report has been updated to include additional information.

ISRAEL-DIPLOMACY-NAVY-EMERGENCY

Trump Launches Massive All Out Military Offensive On Drug Cartels

Drug Cartels

Drugs

The Department of Defense is deploying Crisis Response Forces to the U.S.-Mexico border to make sure one of its key asylum policies is enforced, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) announced Friday.
The task forces are part of the Department of Defense&#8217;s mission to support the CBP, which has faced difficulty this year with large migrant caravans flooding the border. “At peak of the crisis in May 2019, there were more than 4,800 aliens crossing the border daily – representing an average of more than three apprehensions per minute,&#8221; the CBP <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/thousands-of-foreigners-sent-back-to-mexico-under-trump-policy-have-given-up-asylum-claims">said</a>.
Under the new plan, more than 150 troops will be shifted from their standby location in Louisiana to the southern border, <a href="https://www.abc57.com/news/trump-administration-to-send-approximately-160-troops-to-southern-border-as-it-awaits-asylum-policy-ruling">CNN reported</a>. About 80 will go to the Paso del Norte port of entry in Texas and another 80 will go to the San Ysidro port of entry in California. All will arrive before Sunday and will be in place for two weeks.
The Trump administration&#8217;s move comes after a federal appeals court last week blocked the so-called &#8220;Remain in Mexico&#8221; policy, which requires foreigners to wait in Mexico until their court hearings to enter the U.S. take place. Before the rule, foreigners were simply stopped at the border, given a court date, then released into America under a policy known, unofficially, as &#8220;catch and release.&#8221;
After the ruling, foreigners gathered at some locations along the border, CNN said. &#8220;But while the ruling has been temporarily paused, senior agency officials told reporters Friday that last week&#8217;s events prompted concerns about personnel safety. Several ports of entry were closed or partially closed last week.&#8221;
&#8220;Based on the pending &#8230; decision, continued concern of large groups attempting to forcibly enter through (ports of entry), and COVID-19 containment and mitigation concerns, CBP has activated the crisis response force,&#8221; the official said.
In January, the Trump administration began sending Mexicans who enter the United States illegally deep into the country’s interior in an effort to solve the ongoing crisis at the U.S.-Mexico border.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) started to fly illegal aliens from Tucson, Ariz., to Guadalajara, more than 1,000 miles away.
“Officials say the migrants being returned are all Mexican nationals from non-border Mexican states who typically have either recently illegally entered the U.S., or who had gone through the court system but were ruled to be deportable by an immigration judge,” <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/us-mexican-migrants-mexico-border-crisis">Fox News</a> reported.
<blockquote>DHS says it plans to run two flights a week starting at the end of January and expects to return about 250 migrants a week. Officials say the move has been requested by the Mexican government, with which the U.S. has been working for months to stem the border crisis — which peaked in May but still concerns officials.</blockquote>
“This is another example of the Trump Administration working with the Government of Mexico to address the ongoing border security crisis,” DHS spokeswoman Heather Swift told Fox News. “Mexico has been a great partner in stopping illegal migration before they reach our border and in standing up the Migrant Protection Protocol which has allowed us to provide court dates to more than 55,000 individuals.”
The administration, in December, set in place a <a href="https://s3.amazonaws.com/public-inspection.federalregister.gov/2019-25137.pdf">rule</a> that stems from new “Asylum Cooperative Agreements” (ACA) with Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador.
Under the new agreements, the three Central American countries are required to stop foreigners from attempting to get to the U.S.-Mexico border. Should a country fail to do so, and foreigners are eventually apprehended at the U.S. border, the U.S. government can send the foreigners back to the country from which they immigrated. The move follows a rise in “caravans,” huge groups of Central Americans crossing numerous borders to get to the United States.

TOPSHOT-GUATEMALA-HONDURAS-US-MIGRATION

U.S. Military Dispatches Crisis Response Units To Mexican Border

Illegal Immigration

Immigration

Southern Border

The U.S. Navy and Marine Corps issued &#8220;disease containment preparedness&#8221; guidelines this week outlining the measures U.S. Northern Command is now implementing to prepare for a possible outbreak.
The orders were issued amid <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/test-kits-for-novel-coronavirus-hit-a-snag-in-the-u-s-11581565817">reports</a> revealing that the number of people in the U.S. who have contracted the potentially deadly virus has reached 14, included two currently being quarantined at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, while the number of confirmed cases in China reportedly increased by <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/breaking-number-of-confirmed-cases-deaths-of-coronavirus-explodes-in-china">nearly 15,000</a>.
As reported by the <a href="https://www.militarytimes.com/news/your-military/2020/02/13/us-military-prepping-for-coronavirus-pandemic/">Military Times</a>, service-wide announcements issued Tuesday and Wednesday by the Navy and Marine Corps reveal that the U.S. Northern Command &#8220;is executing plans to prepare for a potential pandemic of the novel coronavirus, now called COVID19.&#8221;
&#8220;An executive order issued by the Joint Staff and approved by Defense Secretary Mark Esper this month directed Northern Command and geographic combatant commanders to initiate pandemic plans, which include ordering commanders to prepare for widespread outbreaks and confining service members with a history of travel to China,&#8221; the Military Times reports.
The service-wide messages cite an executive order directing U.S. Northern Command to &#8220;implement the Department of Defense Global Campaign plan for Pandemic Influenza and Infectious Diseases 3551-13,&#8221; which provides instructions for preparing for a widespread outbreak, the outlet explains.
Military Times reports that U.S. Northern Command said it was directed on Feb. 1 by the Joint Staff to begin &#8220;prudent planning&#8221; for a potential pandemic. As stressed by Navy Lt. Cmdr. Mike Hatfield, the planning in no way &#8220;indicate[s] a greater likelihood of an event developing.&#8221;
&#8220;The current threat of the 2019 Novel Coronavirus has raised concern that this virus could result in a pandemic disease,&#8221; read the guidelines issued by the Marine Corps on Wednesday (full text below). &#8220;In such a scenario, nCoV could spread, infecting U.S. personnel, and threaten the operational readiness of the U.S. Marine Corps.&#8221;
&#8220;An outbreak of a new (novel) coronavirus is rapidly evolving, but currently poses a LOW RISK to personnel located in CONUS [continental United States],&#8221; the guidelines background section states. &#8220;Plan, and take preparatory and precautionary actions to ensure that an outbreak of 2019-nCoV does not incapacitate Marine Corps forces, installations, and facilities,&#8221; the method section reads. &#8220;If 2019-nCoV is introduced on USMC installations and facilities, or within the Fleet Marine Force (FMF), execute plans and procedures to improve Force Health Protection (FHP) and readiness.&#8221;
Below is an excerpt from the &#8220;<a href="https://www.marines.mil/News/Messages/Messages-Display/Article/2081806/us-marine-corps-disease-containment-preparedness-planning-guidance-for-2019-nov/">Disease Containment Preparedness Planning Guidance For 2019 Novel Coronavirus</a>&#8221; issued by the U.S. Marine Corps Wednesday (formatting adjusted):
1. Situation. 
1.A. General. 
1.A.1.  Commanders will take specific actions to review and validate Disease Containment Plans to prepare for and respond to a potential occurrence of the 2019 Novel (New) Coronavirus (2019-nCoV). 
1.A.2. The current threat of the 2019 Novel Coronavirus has raised concern that this virus could result in a pandemic disease.  In such a scenario, nCoV could spread, infecting U.S. personnel, and threaten the operational readiness of the U.S. Marine Corps. 
1.A.3. The Marine Corps’ response to a pandemic outbreak focuses on five major areas:  1) Force Health Protection (FHP); 2) Disease Containment Planning (DCP) and Readiness; 3) Continuity of Operations (COOP); 4) Defense Support of Civilian Authorities (DSCA); and 5) Support to U.S. Government response efforts.
1.B. Background. 
1.B.1. An outbreak of a new (novel) coronavirus is rapidly evolving, but currently poses a LOW RISK to personnel located in CONUS.  The 2019-nCoV is a viral respiratory disease related  to Middle-East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS-CoV) and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS).  Symptoms of 2019-nCoV may include fever, cough, and shortness of breath. 
1.B.2. Chinese health authorities identified 2019-nCoV as the cause of the pneumonia outbreak in Wuhan, China.  There are confirmed cases in over 20 countries, including the United States, with validated cases in Arizona, California, Illinois, Massachusetts, Washington State, and Wisconsin, with one reported death of an American citizen in China. 
1.B.3. The U.S. State Department issued a LEVEL 4 DO NOT TRAVEL advisory to China on 30 January 2020.  The World Health Organization (WHO) has categorized risk as VERY HIGH for China, and HIGH globally, and declared that nCoV constitutes a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC). 
1.B.4. Although the United States Government, in conjunction with private industry, is conducting research to identify protocols that may treat the 2019-nCoV disease, there are no U.S. Food and Drug Administration-approved treatments at this time.  Standard treatment for 2019-nCoV includes prompt implementation of recommended infection prevention and control measures and supportive management of complications.  Per the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), a person under investigation for 2019-nCoV infection should be isolated, and healthcare professionals, and local or state health departments, should be notified immediately. 
1.B.5.  Presently, the U.S. Marine Corps is planning, conducting routine surveillance, and commencing engagement activities, to assure and solidify collaborative relationships, and inform all personnel, to be prepared for disease containment operations and support. 
1.B.6.  This MARADMIN aligns with validating Disease Containment and Installation CBRNE Protection Plans IAW references F and J.
2.  Mission.  The U.S. Marine Corps will prepare for potential outbreaks of 2019-nCoV.  If an outbreak occurs, the Marine Corps mitigates, responds, and recovers from the effects in order to maintain force readiness.
3.  Execution. 
3.A.  Commander’s Intent. 
3.A.1.  Method. 
3.A.1.A.  Plan, and take preparatory and precautionary actions to ensure that an outbreak of 2019-nCoV does not incapacitate Marine Corps forces, installations, and facilities.  If 2019-nCoV is introduced on USMC installations and facilities,  or within the Fleet Marine Force (FMF), execute plans and procedures to improve Force Health Protection (FHP) and readiness. 
3.A.1.B.  Planning will address protection of all Marines, government civilian, contract workforce personnel, and military family members. 
3.A.1.C.  Planning will address FHP, both in garrison and during deployment. Per reference E, the following prescriptive measures must be adhered to: 
3.A.1.C.1.  Identify all Marines returning from mainland China after 2 February 2020 and place service members under a 14-day restriction of movement (ROM). 
3.A.1.C.2.  During the 14-day ROM: 
3.A.1.C.2.A.  Restrict Marines to their residence for a 14-day ROM period, starting from the day of departure from mainland China. 
3.A.1.C.2.B.  Marines will be assessed by cognizant medical staff (by phone consultation or in person), as soon as possible, within the first 24 hours of arrival to home station or their final destination, for the development of fever or symptoms of 2019-nCoV. 
3.A.1.C.2.C.  Marines living in open-bay settings, or rooms with shared bathrooms and/or kitchen facilities, will be placed in separate lodging to span the 14-day ROM period.  The command to which the Marine is assigned will arrange for the separate lodging. 
3.A.1.C.2.D.  Marines will be assessed daily for fever and symptoms by cognizant medical staff (by phone consultation or in person).  For all in-person assessments of members, (including those which are asymptomatic), medical personnel should wear appropriate PPE. 
3.A.1.C.2.E.  Marines will separate themselves from other people in the home/dwelling if residing with roommates/family members to avoid sharing personal items, to the extent possible pursuant to existing guidance. 
3.A.1.C.2.F.  Marines may not travel, visit public/crowded areas, or use public transportation and should avoid interaction with pets or other animals, to the greatest extent possible. 
3.A.1.C.2.G.  Medical evaluation and care will be immediately arranged if the Marine displays fever and symptoms consistent with the 2019-nCoV, as per CDC guidance. 
3.A.1.C.2.G.1.  The Marine will call ahead before going to a medical treatment facility (MTF), informing the MTF of his/her symptoms and travel history. 
3.A.1.C.2.G.2.  MTF staff should follow CDC guidance when assessing Marines who display fever and symptoms consistent with 2019-nCoV. 
3.A.1.C.2.G.3.  If a Marine or Sailor is identified as a patient, per previously published guidance, appropriate reporting will be initiated. 
3.A.1.C.3.  Until further notice, it is recommended that civilian employees and contractor personnel, and family members returning from China follow existing CDC guidance.  Key aspects include voluntarily:  remaining at home, avoiding congregate settings, limiting close contact with people and pets/other animals to the greatest extent possible, avoiding travel, self-monitoring, and seeking immediate medical care if symptoms develop. 
3.A.1.C.4.  Potentially affected personnel will be identified in coordination with Federal, State, and local medical planners, healthcare providers, and Public Health Emergency Officers (PHEOs).  Actions will mitigate the spread of 2019-nCoV to unaffected personnel. 
3.B.  End State.  The U.S. Marine Corps is postured to mitigate, contain, respond to, and recover from the effects of a public health crisis, and is capable of conducting assigned missions in a pandemic environment. 
3.C.  Concept of Operations.  The concept of operations in response to a viral disease crisis retains the phased approach structure outlined in NORTHCOM CONPLAN 3551, IAW  reference I. 
3.D.  Tasks. 
3.D.1.  Commanders will: 
3.D.1.A.  Review, update, and validate existing disease containment plans and policies in order to implement procedures for response, isolation, quarantine, restriction of movement, and community-based intervention. 
3.D.1.B.  Restrict travel and movement of personnel to areas experiencing 2019-nCoV outbreaks.  Provide appropriate medical and non-medical screening of, and protection for, personnel returning from affected areas.  Monitoring and screening of individuals potentially exposed to 2019-nCoV should be based on the guidance set forth in reference E. 
3.D.1.C.  Develop measures to contain and treat U.S. service members DOD employees, contract employees, and family members exposed to, or possibly exposed to 2019-nCoV. 
3.D.1.D.  Interim guidance and recommendations for reporting, testing and specimen collection can be found at the CDC website:  https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/HCP/clinical-criteria.html. 
3.D.1.E.  IAW reference K, report suspected cases of Marines and Sailors meeting the CDC’s definition of a patient or confirmed cases of 2019-nCoV through service and combatant command reporting channels, and to COMMARFORNORTH for tracking and reporting to CDRUSNORTHCOM.  OPREP-3 and/or SIR formatting guidance is contained in reference L. 
3.D.1.F.  Ensure DCP is incorporated into COOP plans, including continuity of essential services. 
3.D.1.G.  Coordinate with MTFs in development and execution of DCP responses. 
3.D.1.H.  Commanders will protect personally identifiable information and protected health information, as applicable, in accordance with U.S Law and DoD regulations and policies. 
3.D.1.I.  Coordinate with Navy Regional Medical Command to request PHEO support. 
3.D.1.J.  Become familiar with authority to declare a public health emergency, restrict movement, quarantine and isolate.  Coordinate with Federal, State, local, and military treatment facilities and public health emergency officials outlined in Section 3 of reference B. 
3.D.1.K.  Validate Public Health Emergency Preparedness and Disease Containment Response Plans for 2019-nCoV that incorporate the requirements of this MARADMIN. 
3.D.2.  Coordinating Instructions. 
3.D.2.A.  The U.S. Marine Corps will follow CDC guidance for healthcare providers at: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-nCoV/clinical-criteria.html.  Additional reference material for protective equipment that may go beyond current CDC guidelines are available at:  https://health.mil/Reference-Center/Policies/2018/09/25/Personal-Protective-Equipment-Policy-Guidance.  Due to the dynamic nature of this outbreak, individuals should frequently check the CDC 2019-nCoV website for additional updates at:  https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html.
4.  Administration and Logistics.  This MARADMIN has been coordinated with HQMC Operations Division, HQMC, Health Services – Preventive Medicine, and HQMC Judge Advocate.
5.  Command and Signal.  A.  Command.  This MARADMIN applies to the Total Force.  B. Signal.  This MARADMIN is effective immediately.

Marine Corps

READ IT: U.S. Military Issues Coronavirus Containment Plan Orders

Marines

U.S. Navy

During a recent interview with Fox News&#8217; Brian Kilmeade, retired U.S. Navy SEAL Jocko Willink — who was a former commander of the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/navy-seal-jocko-willink-top-lesson-dont-quit-2018-6">most decorated</a> special operations unit of the entire Iraq War — described President Donald Trump&#8217;s recent ordered strike on top Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps–Quds Force general Qassem Soleimani as a &#8220;gamble&#8221; that nonetheless clearly &#8220;paid off&#8221; for the president.
&#8220;Retired Navy SEAL and author Jocko Willink applauded the &#8216;gamble&#8217; taken by President Trump in ordering the killing of top Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani, which was followed by anti-regime protests that erupted on the streets of Tehran,&#8221; Fox News <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/media/navy-seal-jocko-willink-trump-iran-soleimani-killing">reported</a>.
“When you look at it from that perspective you could say that this was a brilliant move to kill a person that was an enemy of America and an enemy of the Iranian people,” Willink said on “The Brian Kilmeade Show,&#8221; Fox News wrote.
“Was it a risk to do this operation?&#8221; Willink continued. &#8220;Absolutely. And if you were to poll everyone that had knowledge about what the conflict is like over there, &#8216;Hey should we do this or not?&#8217; There would have been mixed feelings.”
Willink then explained how such operations are always a risk, analogizing to the famous Navy SEAL raid in Pakistan to take down 9/11 mastermind jihadist Osama bin Laden of al-Qaeda.
“It was a risk to do this just like it was a risk when Obama sent SEALS in to go kill [Osama] bin Laden. That was huge risk,” Willink continued, as also reported by Fox News. “He’s going into Pakistan, he didn’t tell Pakistan what we’re doing. There was massive risk. You know the whole building could have been bombed. That’s a massive risk to do that operation. Pulled it off. Bravo. Outstanding.”
“We don’t know what could have happened. Trump took a gamble and did this, and you know what? From what it looks like right now the gamble paid off,” Willink said as he wrapped up his remarks.
In a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/hammer-the-just-and-proper-strike-of-mastermind-iranian-jihadist-qassem-soleimani">Daily Wire op-ed</a> published the day after President Trump&#8217;s successfully ordered strike of Soleimani, I wrote approvingly of the &#8220;just and proper strike&#8221; of &#8220;mastermind Iranian jihadist&#8221; Qassem Soleimani:
<blockquote>The world has awoken today a safer and more just place. And the unraveling of former President Barack Obama’s pro-Iran regional Middle East realignment, which began with President Donald Trump’s <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/watch-trump-just-shredded-iran-deal-here-are-5-ben-shapiro">thunderous exit</a>from his predecessor’s pro-ayatollah nuclear capitulation, has now reached its logical conclusion.
The Obama Middle East foreign policy legacy is dead. As is the Islamic Republic of Iran’s infamous jihadist mastermind, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/breaking-trump-responds-to-u-s-military-killing-2-top-iranian-military-leaders-involved-in-terrorists">Qassem Soleimani</a>.
Good riddance to both. &#8230;
Qassem Soleimani was a monstrous thug. In addition to the hundreds of Americans killed in Iraq via Iranian-supplied roadside IEDs, Soleimani personally oversaw the jihad-led destabilization of all nations within Tehran’s coveted <a href="https://www.jewishpolicycenter.org/2019/09/03/the-shiite-crescent-and-regional-disaster/">“Shiite crescent”</a> of desired regional hegemony. He likely is responsible, on net, for tens of thousands of deaths. He was a relentless and unceasing foe of Western civilization, more broadly, though he held a special disdain for the mullahs’ “Little Satan” of Israel and “Great Satan” of the United States.</blockquote>
As The Daily Wire&#8217;s Emily Zanotti <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/ted-cruz-dares-democrats-offers-senate-resolution-praising-soleimani-mission">reported</a> earlier this month, Iran hawk Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) introduced a formal Senate resolution praising the Soleimani strike. &#8220;Senator Ted Cruz wants Democrats to publicly declare their feelings on the Trump Administration’s mission to kill Iranian Gen. Qasem Soleimani,&#8221; Zanotti wrote.

President Donald J. Trump Watches Raid On Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi’s Compound

Retired SEAL: Trump’s ‘Gamble’ On Soleimani Strike ‘Paid Off’

Al Qaeda

Foreign Policy

Fox News

Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps

Middle East

Osama bin Laden

Qassem Soleimani

According to Fox News, at least one U.S. official in Iraq claims the U.S. military had advance notice of Iran&#8217;s tepid and futile <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/breaking-multiple-missiles-from-iran-hit-air-base-in-iraq-housing-american-troops-reports-say">missile strikes last night</a> that were targeted at Iraqi military bases hosting U.S. troops.
&#8220;U.S. military officials were warned about Iran’s pending ballistic missile strike &#8216;when the air defense systems went active&#8217; shortly before the attack was launched, a U.S. official in Baghdad told Fox News on Wednesday,&#8221; the outlet <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/world/us-military-iran-iraq-missile-attack-warning-officials">reported</a>.
&#8220;U.S. intelligence picked up &#8216;chatter&#8221; from Iran and inside Iraq, tipping off American forces to a strike around 1:30 a.m. local time — or 5:30 p.m. ET,&#8221; the outlet continued. &#8220;Soon after, Iran launched more than a dozen short-range ballistic missiles into Iraq, striking military bases housing American and coalition troops.&#8221;
&#8220;That warning was not a surprise to us,&#8221; the U.S. official, according to Fox News. &#8220;We already knew it was coming.&#8221;
Furthermore, according to Fox News, Pentagon officials told the outlet that &#8220;the advance warning of the Iranian missile attack is the reason Defense Secretary Mark Esper held a hasty press conference&#8221; yesterday.
The missile strikes, which Fox News characterizes as &#8220;most brazen direct assault on America since the 1979 seizure of the U.S. embassy in Tehran,&#8221; took place last night. &#8220;U.S. officials confirmed to Fox News on Tuesday that Iran is firing multiple missiles at U.S. bases and targets throughout Iraq in response to the U.S. killing Iranian terrorist leader Qassem Soleimani,&#8221; The Daily Wire&#8217;s Ryan Saavedra <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/breaking-multiple-missiles-from-iran-hit-air-base-in-iraq-housing-american-troops-reports-say">reported</a> at the time.
Saavedra quoted Fox News&#8217; <a href="https://twitter.com/JenGriffinFNC/status/1214687328515624962">Jennifer Griffin</a>, who noted that the missile strikes were expected: &#8220;This is something we have been expecting all afternoon. There were situation room meetings as well meetings with top officials here at the Pentatgon. There was a lot of chatter, we were told intelligence suggesting that the Iranians would strike at U.S. bases in Iraq after the that mourning for Qassem Soleimani ended earlier today.&#8221;
President Donald Trump addressed the nation today, in the aftermath of the feckless Iranian strikes last night, as The Daily Wire&#8217;s James Barrett <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/breaking-trump-addresses-nation-after-attack-no-lives-lost-iran-appears-to-be-standing-down">reported</a> earlier.
“As long as I am president of the United States, Iran will never be allowed to have a nuclear weapon,” Trump began his speech.
“I am pleased to inform you, the American people should be extremely grateful and happy: No Americans were harmed in last night’s attack by the Iranian regime,” the 45th commander-in-chief continued. “We suffered no casualties, all of our soldiers are safe, and only minimal damage was sustained at our military bases.”
“Last week, we took decisive action to stop a ruthless terrorist from threatening American lives,” Trump added. “At my direction the United States military eliminated the world’s top terrorist, Qassem Soleimani. As the heads of the Quds Force, Soleimani was personally responsible for some of the absolutely worst atrocities. He trained terrorist armies, including Hezbollah, launching terrorist strikes against civilian targets. He fueled bloody civil wars all across the region.&#8221;
Earlier today, Daily Wire Editor-in-Chief Ben Shapiro <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/shapiro-iran-loses-its-showdown-with-trump">wrote approvingly</a> of the president&#8217;s seeming decision not to plan a retaliation for the mullahs&#8217; largely symbolic overnight salvo:
<blockquote>At this point, it behooves the administration to allow Iran to save face. No Americans were killed; the base was not American. What’s more, the Iranians will seek the last word in this latest exchange — which means that unless the United States is truly willing to go to war, we ought to let the Iranians save face with this tepid response.</blockquote>

Defense Secretary Mark Esper And Joint Chiefs Of Staff Chairman Army Gen. Mark Milley Brief The Media At The Pentagon

Official Claims U.S. Had Advance Warning Of Iran’s Missile Strikes, Report Says

Iraq

The United States Army has been forced to clarify how a possible military draft might work after thousands of Americans received a text message warning them that they&#8217;d been drafted to serve in the Army and might be soon shipping out to Iraq.
According to <a href="https://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2020-01-08/no-draft-and-definitely-no-draft-by-text-message-us-army-warns-of-hoax">U.S. News and World Report</a>, several thousand people received spam text messages earlier this week telling them that their selective service card had been pulled and that they were now required to report to military recruiting as part of a nationwide draft. But there is, of course, no such draft in process.
U.S. military recruiting <a href="https://recruiting.army.mil/News/Article-Display/Article/2051787/urgent-news-army-recruiting-discredits-military-draft-texts/">released a statement Tuesday</a> reassuring those who received the message that they do not need to report for duty.
&#8220;A number of fraudulent text messages informing individuals they have been selected for a military draft have circulated throughout the country this week,&#8221; the statement reads. &#8220;U.S. Army Recruiting Command has received multiple calls and emails about these fake text messages and wants to ensure Americans understand these texts are false and were not initiated by this command or the U.S. Army.
&#8220;The decision to enact a draft is not made at or by U.S. Army Recruiting Command. The Selective Service System, a separate agency outside of the Department of Defense, is the organization that manages registration for the Selective Service.&#8221;
&#8220;Fact check: The U.S. Army is NOT contacting anyone regarding the draft. If you are receiving texts, phone calls or direct messages about a military draft, they are not official communications from the U.S. Army,&#8221; the U.S. Army General Command office reiterated on social media.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Fact check: The U.S. Army is NOT contacting anyone regarding the draft. If you are receiving texts, phone calls or direct messages about a military draft, they are not official communications from the U.S. Army <a href="https://t.co/3S32De8ekP">pic.twitter.com/3S32De8ekP</a>
&mdash; U.S. Army CGSC (@USACGSC) <a href="https://twitter.com/USACGSC/status/1214905880732459009?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 8, 2020</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
The text message warn the recipient that the U.S. Army has been trying to contact them through other means, but has now resorted to text message, and that the individual receiving the message is &#8220;marked eligible&#8221; for service and must appear at a military recruiting office within a few days for &#8220;immediate departure to Iran.&#8221; The message warns that failing to heed the appeal will result in a &#8220;fine&#8221; and up to six years in prison.
There have been several waves of panic over a possible draft since the United States launched a surgical strike in Iraq last Friday, killing a top Iranian general responsible for fomenting violence against the American military across the Middle East. The United States Selective Service website crashed Friday night after mainstream media outlets and self-described experts fomented concerns about a &#8220;World War III&#8221; on Twitter, and the Federal student financial aid office, or FAFSA, was forced to clarify that &#8220;fine print&#8221; noting that 18 year old males must register for the selective service before they are deemed eligible to receive Federal student loan money is not new and would not be used to mandate military service in exchange for funds.
The United States abolished the draft in 1973 in the wake of the Vietnam War. In order to begin drafting eligible adults for military service again, Congress would have to pass a law reinstating the draft, which the President would then have to sign. Given the current state of the military &#8212; and current tensions between the two parties in Congress &#8212; its unlikely that the Federal government will reinstate the draft any time soon.

US Army

U.S. Army Warns Of Hoax: You Will Not Be Drafted For ‘WWIII’ By Text Message

UPDATE: The Department of Defense has <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/breaking-pentagon-pushes-back-on-letter-media-says-it-verified-that-claimed-u-s-forces-leaving-iraq">pushed back</a> on the letter from AFP and Reuters.
The United States military has informed Iraq this week that it is preparing to &#8220;move out&#8221; of the country, according to an official letter.
In a letter verified by AFP and Reuters, William H. Seely III, Brigadier General, U.S. Marine Corps, wrote to Iraq&#8217;s Minister of Defense:
<blockquote>Your Excellency,
Sir, in due deference to the sovereignty of the Republic of Iraq, and as requested by the Iraqi Parliament and the Prime Minister, CJTF-OIR will be repositioning forces over the course of the coming days and weeks to prepare for onward movement.
In order to conduct this task, Coalition Forces are required to take certain measures to ensure that the movement out of Iraq is conducted in a safe and efficient manner.
During this time, there will be an increase in helicopter travel in and around the International Zone (IZ) of Baghdad. This increased traffic will include CH-47, UH-60, and AH-64 security escort helicopters.
Coalition Forces will take appropriate measures to minimize and mitigate the disturbance to the public. In addition, we will conduct these operations during hours of darkness to help alleviate and perception that we may be bringing more Coalition Forces into the IZ.
As we begin implementing this next phase of operations, I want to reiterate the value of our friendship and partnership. We respect your sovereign decision to order our departure.</blockquote>
President Donald Trump stated over the weekend that if Iraq forces the U.S. military to leave that it will be hit very tough sanctions.
“We have a very extraordinarily expensive air base that’s there,” Trump <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/05/us/politics/trump-iran-cultural-sites.html">said</a> of Iraq. “It cost billions of dollars to build. Long before my time. We’re not leaving unless they pay us back for it.”
“If they do ask us to leave, if we don’t do it in a very friendly basis, we will charge them sanctions like they’ve never seen before ever. It’ll make Iranian sanctions look somewhat tame,” Trump continued. “If there’s any hostility, that they do anything we think is inappropriate, we are going to put sanctions on Iraq, very big sanctions on Iraq.”
The move comes after Trump last week ordered the U.S. military to take out Qasem Soleimani, the head of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Quds Force, which is a designated terrorist organization.
Soleimani was killed when an American military drone fired a missile at a convoy that he was traveling in, along with Abu Mahdi al-Mohandes, who headed the Iranian-linked Popular Mobilization Forces, as the convoy left Baghdad International Airport.
In a non-binding vote, the Iraqi parliament voted on Sunday to expel all foreign forces out of the country.
The U.S. and its allies across the region have been embracing for anticipated retaliatory attacks by Iran, which is the world&#8217;s leading state sponsor of terrorism.
Trump has since issued a series of stern warnings to Iran, saying that any retaliatory attacks will be met with severe consequences.
Trump tweeted on Saturday, &#8220;Iran is talking very boldly about targeting certain USA assets as revenge for our ridding the world of their terrorist leader who had just killed an American, &amp; badly wounded many others, not to mention all of the people he had killed over his lifetime, including recently hundreds of Iranian protesters.&#8221;
&#8220;He was already attacking our Embassy, and preparing for additional hits in other locations,&#8221; Trump continued. &#8220;Iran has been nothing but problems for many years. Let this serve as a WARNING that if Iran strikes any Americans, or American assets, we have targeted 52 Iranian sites (representing the 52 American hostages taken by Iran many years ago), some at a very high level &amp; important to Iran &amp; the Iranian culture, and those targets, and Iran itself, WILL BE HIT VERY FAST AND VERY HARD. The USA wants no more threats!&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
&#8230;.targeted 52 Iranian sites (representing the 52 American hostages taken by Iran many years ago), some at a very high level &amp; important to Iran &amp; the Iranian culture, and those targets, and Iran itself, WILL BE HIT VERY FAST AND VERY HARD. The USA wants no more threats!
&mdash; Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1213593975732527112?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 4, 2020</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
This report has been updated to include additional information.

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