THURSDAY PDB – Marines, sailors to get more training on political do’s and don’ts. The Marine Corps and Navy have ordered all Marines, sailors and federal civilian employees to undergo training about off-limits political activities this summer, ahead of the presidential election.
The orders come after the DOD’s Office of Inspector General reported in May that the Pentagon had failed to properly train and guide troops about partisan political activities before the 2024 campaign season.
A Pentagon policy adopted in 2008 encourages service members to vote, serve as election officials and sign political petitions as private citizens, rather than as representatives of the military. Troops shouldn’t participate in those activities while wearing their military uniforms, the rules stipulate.
The same policy spells out the list of prohibited activities, or “must nots.”
The list of off-limits actions include: fundraising for political candidates, participating in letter-writing campaigns, soliciting votes for a political party or candidate, attending political events as official military representatives and displaying large political signs, banners or posters on their private vehicles, among others.
The complex policy also says, broadly, that “any activity that can be reasonably viewed as directly or indirectly associating the DOD with partisan political activity” should be avoided.
FOR YOUR EYES ONLY – Here’s a roundup of today’s other top defense stories from conservative national security expert PAUL CRESPO.
Not the President’s Daily Brief, but almost as good – PAUL’S DAILY BRIEFING – the PDB:
PENTAGON WOKE WATCH
People with HIV cannot be categorically barred from joining the military, judge rules. The ruling strikes down the last remaining policy preventing asymptomatic HIV-positive people from military enlistment, service and promotion.
POLITICS
50 GOP vets in Congress attack VP nominee Tim Walz over his military record. They attacked Walz for “egregious misrepresentations” regarding his time in the National Guard and for what they see as a decision to abandon his troops ahead of a deployment to Iraq.
Can toxic exposure law break GOP’s electoral edge with veterans? Democrats are hoping to wrestle veteran voters away from Republicans this year, and plan to highlight efforts to expand health care access in campaigns for some key seats.
HE DESERVES JAIL TIME! – Former VFW commander gets four years of probation for stealing $40,000 from his Oklahoma post.
US POWER OVERSEAS
Red Sea combat experience helping refine surface warfare education. During a warship’s recent deployment to the Middle East, a guided-missile destroyer commander fired off some five terabytes of data about his crew’s operations in the Red Sea.
Navy’s oldest operational warship wraps up its longest patrol in 5 years. The amphibious command ship USS Blue Ridge steamed into Tokyo Bay on Tuesday.
Carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72) arrived in US Central Command and the Middle East Wednesday.
Guam-based tender helps Australians prepare for nuclear-powered submarines. A U.S. submarine tender recently arrived in Western Australia, where sailors are training to service U.S. and British nuclear-powered fast-attack boats under a mutual defense pact.
ISRAEL’S WAR AGAINST TERROR
An eerie quiet as Biden races to silence the guns in Gaza. A cease-fire deal is tantalizingly close, but negotiations are stalled.
CHINA THREAT
White House downplays Chinese concerns over possible US nuclear strategy change. This, after a report that the U.S. recently approved a secret plan to shift some of the focus of its nuclear strategy away from Russia to deal with Beijing’s nuclear weapons buildup.
RUSSIA THREAT – UKRAINE WAR
Poorly trained recruits contribute to loss of Ukrainian territory on eastern front, commanders say. Some new Ukrainian soldiers refuse to fire at the enemy. Others struggle to assemble weapons or to coordinate basic combat movements. A few have even walked away from their posts, abandoning the battlefield altogether.
Kursk was the site of a massive WWII tank battle – now it’s at the heart of Ukraine’s counterattack. The 1943 battle was the largest-ever clash of armored forces — a battle that would prove a vital turning point in the defeat of Nazi Germany.
Ukraine shows we’re capable of winning after largest invasion of Russia since World War II. Its offensive into the Russian Kursk region has these four tasks.
Moscow sees one of Ukraine’s largest drone attacks as fighting rages in Kursk and eastern Ukraine.
US still needs to improve monitoring of arms sent to Ukraine, GAO finds. The State Department and Defense Department aren’t communicating well about Ukraine aid. That could hurt Ukraine.
NORTH KOREA THREAT
SPACE THREAT
Reliant on Starlink, Army eager for more SATCOM constellation options. It is leaning heavily on SpaceX’s satellite network for advanced command and control, but service officials say they want to keep their options open as new commercial mega constellations materialize.
The Army has a vital role in space, and it continues to grow. A recent op-ed titled “The Army wants its own ‘Space Force.’ They shouldn’t be allowed to have it,” misses key points about the Army’s space capabilities, and requires additional context and objective analysis.
INTERNATIONAL SECURITY
US approves $110 million deal for SAFE Archangel patrol boats for Tunisia.
US and Japan buddy up on Patriot missile production. The U.S. is counting on Japan to produce dozens more Patriot interceptors, described as “probably the most effective anti-missile system” in the world.
UK to build F-35-sized ‘silent hangar’ to test jamming, electronic war. Britain plans to build a hangar-sized isolated chamber big enough for F-35 jets and Chinook transport helicopters to test its military assets against GPS jamming and other types of EW.
Work begins on Germany’s 5,000-strong military base in Lithuania. Construction has commenced on Germany’s first permanent military base abroad. Berlin is set to move a brigade to the Baltic country by the end of the decade.
Aussies investing over $850M in new Kongsberg NSM, JSM plant. In a major breakthrough for Australia’s efforts to build and maintain complex precision-guided munitions and missiles on its shores, it plans to manufacture and service the advanced Naval Strike Missile and Joint Strike Missile.
US MILITARY
Aircraft carrier Bush gets first-ever Stingray drone control room. The George H.W. Bush is now sporting the world’s first air drone warfare center, a control room that will host operators of the MQ-25 Stingray refueling drone in the not-too-distant future.
It’s been a rough time recently for Army senior enlisted leadership. It has fired a string of senior enlisted leaders in recent months, and at least one former command sergeant major faces a court-martial for domestic violence allegations.
Army pursuing new electronic warfare architecture. This, after deciding to split up its integrated signals intelligence and electronic warfare platform.
WATCH – paratroopers leap out of a C-47 at EAA AirVenture 2024 in Wisconsin.
WATCH – soldiers rattle off rounds during mortar gunnery training.
UNACCEPTABLE – Coast Guard’s newest icebreakers may jump 60 percent in cost: CBO. The independent government watchdog estimates the service’s program to build three new heavy icebreakers will now cost roughly $5.1 billion, versus the service’s current projections of $3.2 billion.
Retired Marine general found dead at Twentynine Palms died of natural causes, autopsy shows.
END of PDB
The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the positions of American Liberty News.
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