News of the Force: Saturday, December 9, 2017 - Page 1

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Saturday, December 9, 2017 - Today is International Anti-Corruption Day

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New U.K. defense secretary wants every Brit who fights for terrorists killed

    

    The Rt. Hon. Gavin Williamson, Britain's new defense secretary, has unequivocally threatened to kill Britons who leave the country to fight for ISIS.

 

North Korea says U.N. envoy expressed willingness to ease tensions

    

    The U.N.'s political affairs chief expressed willingness to ease tension on the Korean Peninsula during a visit to North Korea this week, state media said today amid a rising war of words over the North's missile and nuclear programs.

    The U.S. envoy for North Korea will travel to Japan and Thailand next week to discuss how to increase pressure on Pyongyang after its latest ballistic missile test.

    No one wants to fight a nuclear war. Not in North Korea, not in South Korea and not in the United States. And yet leaders in all three countries know that such a war may yet come - if not by choice then by mistake.

    Kim Jong-un's regime cannot feed its soldiers as many of the 1.2 million troops are "in poor physical condition and in no fit state to fight” as military training is ramped up amid fears of war on the Korean Peninsula.

    Born and raised in Japan, three North Korean soccer players are expecting to face boos from the home crowd in a match that comes less than two weeks after the latest North Korean test missile splashed into the Sea of Japan.

    And the Japanese police arrested three crew members of a North Korean boat today for stealing a generator from a hut on an uninhabited island. The North Korean fishing boat was recaptured yesterday after escaping from its Japan Coast Guard escort ship near Hakodate while being investigated in connection with the plundering a remote Japanese fishing hut. The North Korean boat was on the loose for about an hour when the Coast Guard caught up with it.

 

Trump takes credit for ISIS' defeat

    

    U.S. President Donald Trump said this week that the U.S. military has "knocked the hell" out of the Islamic State, adding that the battlefield success is based on his decision to give commanders more latitude in fighting the terror group.

    Iraq's Prime Minister Haider Al Abadi has announced that Iraq's armed forces have secured the western desert and the entire Iraq-Syria border, saying this marks the end of the war against Daesh terrorists who have been completely defeated and evicted from Iraq.

    And the U.S. military estimates the terror group now controls just 3 percent of Iraq and only 5 percent of Syria after the fall of Raqqa.

 

More than a dozen U.N. peacekeepers killed

    

    Over a dozen United Nations peacekeepers, known as "blue helmets," have been killed in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in the worst attack on them in history.

 

Ex-president of Georgia arrested

    

    Mikheil Saakashvili, the former president of Georgia, was arrested yesterday in Ukraine during a late-night police raid on an apartment where he had been sheltering after his escape from custody following a rooftop struggle with government security forces.

 

U.N. approves peacekeeping force for Mali

    

    The U.N. Security Council unanimously approved a resolution yesterday that will enable the U.N. peacekeeping force in Mali to provide support to the new 5,000-troop African force that is charged with fighting extremists in western Africa's vast Sahel region.

 

Fourteen Security Council members criticize U.S. action on Jerusalem

    

    One by one, 14 members of the U.N. Security Council spoke out against President Donald Trump's decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel at an emergency meeting yesterday, some with regret and some with anger.

    U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday celebrated an "especially special" Hanukkah at the White House, a day after declaring Jerusalem Israel's capital and setting off criticism and clashes.

    President Trump's decision to move the U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem was welcomed by evangelical voters, pro-Israel organizations and some of his biggest donors.

    The Imam of Egypt's highest Sunni institution has canceled a meeting with U.S. Vice President Mike Pence due to the U.S.' recognition of Jerusalem.

    A high-ranking commander of the mostly Kurdish force has defected to Turkey and claimed his former comrades made a secret deal to allow ISIS fighters to flee Raqqa.

    Yesterday in Syria, Coalition military forces conducted five strikes against ISIS targets near Abu Kamal, engaging four ISIS tactical units and destroying an ISIS headquarters, two fighting positions and an ISIS vehicle. On Dec. 6th, Coalition military forces conducted four strikes against ISIS targets near Abu Kamal, engaging two ISIS tactical units and destroying three ISIS vehicles, 13 ISIS watercraft and two ISIS-held buildings. On Dec. 5th, Coalition military forces conducted eight strikes against ISIS targets near Abu Kamal, engaging eight ISIS tactical units and destroying 17 ISIS watercraft, an improvised explosive device, an ISIS line of communication, an ISIS headquarters, a heavy weapon, an ISIS vehicle and an ISIS motorcycle. And on Dec. 4th, Coalition military forces conducted a strike against ISIS targets near Abu Kamal, engaging an ISIS tactical unit and destroying an ISIS fighting position.

    U.S. residents Stuart and Robbi Force were heartbroken to learn their son, Taylor, died in Israel, stabbed by a Palestinian terrorist. Those feelings grew worse when they learned the assailant was hailed as a hero and richly rewarded for the murder of their son with money from U.S. taxpayers.

    The deputy foreign minister Deputy has joined school children in returning to site where Arab lynch mob attacked children during a Bar Mitzvah hike last week.

    Israeli forces fired live ammunition yesterday at Palestinian protesters who burned tires and threw stones near the border fence with the Gaza Strip, and Israeli jets responded to rocket fire with an airstrike, in a sharp escalation of violence. The IDF has targeted sites in Gaza belonging to militant group Hamas in retaliation for rocket strikes. Israel's military said it also hit weapons sites early today.

    And Lisa is off today performing military duty with her army reserve unit.

 

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    Couzin Gym's Thought for the Day: When you get to the point where you really understand your computer, it's probably obsolete.

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U.S. Coast Guard

    

    It was windy, cold and icy on Thursday in Sturgeon Bay, Wis., and the Coast Guard personnel aboard USCGC Mobile Bay couldn't have been happier - it meant a buoy run was in store for the 25 or so men stationed aboard the ice cutter.

    The U.S. Coast Guard has a split-identity - it's a military service, but it falls under the purview of the Homeland Security Department, not the Defense Department. That means its Cyber Command has to balance the competing demands of protecting operational capability in an armed conflict.

    The Coast Guard has rescued three Dauphin Island, Ala., mariners who needed help in Mississippi. The U.S. Coast Guard dispatched a 45-foot boat to the area and towed the catamaran to Scranton Park.

    The Pacific Paradise went aground just off Waikiki in Hawaii just before midnight on Oct. 10th. Over the two months since, commercial and government experts have worked to remove the vessel as fast as possible. Update: The the fishing vessel Pacific Paradise has sunk 13 miles south of the Hawaiian island of Oahu following a near two-month effort to remove the vessel from a reef off Honolulu's Waikiki.

    In Cape Cod, Mass., the U.S. Coast Guard is asking the public to participate in a Buzzards Bay Ports and Waterways Safety Assessment workshop next year, according to a statement from the agency. The workshop is a joint effort involving people who use the waterways, stakeholders, and other agencies.

    Work goes on all year to protect people on Presque Isle, whether it's on the beaches or in the water. Now, there are two chances to learn more. The work of the U.S. Coast Guard in Erie, Ohio, will soon be on display during a free open house at the station on Presque Isle on Dec. 10th.

    A team of divers contracted by the Coast Guard examined a container ship's hull yesterday after the ship broke free from a terminal in Boston, Mass. "We require those divers to verify the integrity of the hull of the vessel, and we do that to ensure the safety of the crew before the vessel is allowed to depart for sea," U.S. Coast Guard Cmdr. Matthew Denning said.

    The Coast Guard rescued three mariners in the Pascagoula Channel in Mississippi, yesterday. Coast Guard Sector Mobile watchstanders received a notification at 1 p.m. of a 34-foot catamaran that became disabled upon its arrival to the Pascagoula Channel on its voyage from Dauphin Island, Ala.

    The Coast Guard, along with local agencies, are searching for two people after their vessel sank at mile marker 733 on the Mississippi River near Memphis, Tenn.

    U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers based out of Corpus Christi, Texas, said they captured a drug submarine attempting to smuggle nearly two tons of cocaine into the U.S. with the help of the U.S. Coast Guard. Crews from the CBP Air and Marine Operations Center tracked the sub last month while it was operating in international waters.

    And the police chief in Palmetto, Fla., says more resources are needed to tackle the problem of derelict boats. "We continue to work on marine enforcement and right now we are working on agreements with the Coast Guard Auxiliary and te Manatee County Sheriff's Office to use their boats," the chief said. "The problem with availability is that Hurricane Irma caused a lot of derelict boats that those agencies are already busy chasing around."

 

NOAA news

    

    Lockheed Martin delivered NOAA's GOES-S weather satellite to its Florida launch site on Dec. 4th. NOAA's next weather satellite in the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite – R Series, GOES-S, left its Colorado home where it was built and is now in Florida.

 

U.S. Navy and Marine Corps

    

    War came to Washington, D.C., on a cold, blustery Sunday afternoon, Dec. 7, 1941. Griffith Stadium was hosting the final professional football game of the season between the Washington Redskins and the Philadelphia Eagles. Kick-off was set for 2 p.m. Eastern Standard Time. It was 8:30 a.m. in Honolulu.

    A sailor aboard the Norfolk,Va.-based USS George H.W. Bush (CVN 77) aircraft carrier staged racially-charged graffiti and vandalism on his bunk, an NCIS investigation has revealed. Back in November, the sailor posted on Facebook several pictures showing his bed slashed and a racial graffiti painted on it.

    The Navy has deployed firefighting helicopters near Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, Calif.

    The U.S. Marine Corps said a small cylindrical object that hit a nursery school's roof in Okinawa on Thursday is unlikely to be a part of one of its aircraft that flew over the area at that time, Japanese government sources said yesterday. No one was injured in the incident, which occurred about 300 meters from U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma that sits in the middle of a densely populated residential area in Ginowan. According to local police and the Okinawa government, the cylindrical object was about 9.5 centimeters long.

    The U.S. Marine Corps Reserve and members of the Goodyear blimp crew continue accepting new and unwrapped toys and cash donations inside the Suffield Township, Ohio, hangar from 1 to 9 p.m., today and tomorrow.

    Spouses and other loved ones assigned to MCAS or Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island, S.C., a few miles to the south, work diligently to help ensure America's security. Yet the U.S. military over the years kept Laurel Bay residents largely uninformed about the specifics of potentially widespread water contamination.

    The Marine Corps Systems Command is gathering insights for an enterprise mobility management (EMM) solution. An EMM solution would provide management capabilities for mobile devices inside the U.S. and across the globe, according to a new solutions sought notice.

    And few are aware of comedian Rob Riggle's 23 years in the Marines and Marine Corps Reserve, from which he retired as a lieutenant colonel in 2013. Riggle is now moving into dramatic roles with the forthcoming military-themed film, 12 Strong.

 

Trump's deputy national security adviser is leaving the White House

    

    Dina Powell spent the bulk of her time at the National Security Council focused on Middle East peace, working closely with Trump top aide and son-in-law Jared Kushner on building relationships with leaders in the region.

 

U.S. Public Health Service

    

    African-American women are 300 percent more likely to die from pregnancy and childbirth than white women, according to Shalon Irving, a lieutenant commander in the Commissioned Corps of the United States Public Health Service. She was also an epidemiologist at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

 

In California, the Thomas Fire has grown to 132,000 acres

    Thousands of masks were donated by Direct Relief. The Medical Reserve Corps, a group of health-care professionals who volunteer their time, passed them out at several places throughout Santa Barbara County. According to the county's public health officials, more than 25,000 masks were distributed.

 

American Red Cross

    

    The American Red Cross has opened a warming center at 100 Edgewood Road in Asheville, N.C., for those needing to escape the cold as winter weather pours into the Carolinas.

    More wildfires broke out overnight in Southern California, pushing the number of people forced to leave their homes to nearly 200,000. In the midst of the devastation, the American Red Cross is making sure those affected have a safe place to stay. 

    A new executive director has been named for the American Red Cross in Southwest Michigan. Breeze Ettl will direct Red Cross programs and volunteers for the eight county region which includes Branch, Calhoun and St. Joseph counties. Ettl currently lives in St. Joseph, Mich.

    And 2017 was a year of record-breaking disasters and the American Red Cross mobilized quickly to help people in need, providing more food, relief supplies and shelter stays than all of the last four years combined.

 

UFO news

    

    Eerie footage which shows a bright object zooming above Kim Jong-un's land was uploaded on the YouTube channel UFOmania. Stunned viewers who have been watching a live-feed from the International Space Station (ISS) claim to have spotted the alien aircraft floating above North Korea.

    The History Channel is coming up with a scripted drama series entitled Blue Book. The 10-episode series will chronicle the top-secret U.S. Air Force-sponsored investigations into UFO-related phenomena that occurred in the 1950s and 60s.

    And a video showing a strange light hovering over the Gateway Arch in St. Louis, Mo., about a year ago before vanishing and reappearing has surfaced online.

 

 

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