We live in a busy world with a lot of information being thrown at you. Don’t feel overwhelmed. OpsLens will give you a weekly briefing on the major stories you need to know about and cut out all the extra information that isn’t important. Here’s your weekly briefing on what’s going on in national security and military news.
President Trump Announces Space Force
On Monday, President Donald Trump announced that he had directed the Pentagon to create a sixth branch of the U.S. military and called it a Space Force. It would be the first time a new branch of service will be created since the establishment of the United States Air Force after World War II.
“We must have American dominance in space. Very importantly, I’m hereby directing the Department of Defense and Pentagon to immediately begin the process necessary to establish the Space Force as the sixth branch of the armed forces. That’s a big step,” President Trump said in the White House East Room during a meeting of his National Space Council.
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The President would still need authorization from Congress to create a Space Force, but the idea of a military branch to oversee space operations makes sense. Space is primarily the domain of the Air Force’s Space Command, along with the Army’s Space and Missile Command and the Navy’s Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command.
Remains of Korean War MIAs Return Home
North Korea is expected to hand over the remains of missing U.S. troops from the Korean War in the coming days. The North Koreans may have possession of as many as 200 of the missing U.S. servicemembers.
President Trump cleared the way for the transfer of remains during his historic summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Singapore earlier this month. Once the remains are released, they will be sent to one of two Department of Defense facilities for identification. One facility is located at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam and the other is at Offutt Air Force Base in Nebraska.
Over 7,000 U.S. military personnel remain missing or unaccounted for from the Korean War and over 36,000 were killed during the war.
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Ceasefire Over in Afghanistan
The temporary ceasefire between the Taliban, Afghani security forces, and U.S. and NATO troops has ended.
Afghanistan’s President Ashraf Ghani announced the temporary ceasefire between June 12 and 21, during the Muslim festival of Eid al-Fitr. Afghan security forces, along with U.S. and NATO troops, halted offensive combat operations against the Taliban during this period and attacks against Coalition forces were down significantly.
“In support of the Afghan government’s initiative, NATO’s Resolute Support Mission and US forces in Afghanistan will respect the ceasefire, as it applies to the Taliban,” U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a statement earlier this month. “It does not apply to ISIS and al-Qa’ida, nor does it prohibit operations to defend Afghan and Coalition forces from attack.”
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The level of violence in Afghanistan has risen in recent months, despite the possibility some factions of the Taliban have expressed an interest in engaging in peace talks with the U.S. and the Afghan government.
Major Military Exercise in South Korea Officially Cancelled
The United States officially cancelled an upcoming joint military exercise with South Korea following President Trump’s summit with Kim Jong Un. Ulchi Freedom Guardian was scheduled to take place this August, as it has nearly every year since it was first conducted in 1976.
Ulchi Freedom Guardian is the world’s largest computerized command and control military exercise and usually involves 50,000 South Korean troops and roughly 17,000 U.S. military personnel.
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“We will be stopping the war games which will save us a tremendous amount of money, unless and until we see the future negotiation is not going along like it should. But we’ll be saving a tremendous amount of money, plus I think it’s very provocative,” President Trump said after his summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
Executive Order Ends Family Separation Policy
President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Wednesday ending the controversial policy of separating children from parents who illegally cross the U.S.-Mexico border.
“Today, I signed an executive order,” President Trump said. “We’re going to keep families together, but the border is going to be just as tough as it’s been. The Democrats want open borders—let everybody pour in, we don’t care. Let them pour in from the Middle East, we don’t care, we’re not going.”
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The U.S. will maintain a “zero tolerance” policy of charging people with a misdemeanor for entering the U.S. illegally. The order also includes a directive for the Defense Department to house and care for the families. Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis says the Pentagon will “respond if requested” to house migrants detained after crossing the U.S.-Mexico border illegally.
Female Ranger School Student Dropped for Pregnancy
A female student at the U.S. Army’s Ranger School was released from the course after it was discovered that she became pregnant while attending the school. The male student is currently continuing the course.
The Army has neither confirmed nor denied the information, but it has been reported by SOFREP after several sources reached out to the special operations forces news website.
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Ranger School is considered to be one of the toughest schools in the United States military and was only open to men until 2015. Since then, and after much controversy, 12 female students have graduated from the course and earned the right to wear the Ranger tab.
