Soldier Critically Injured During Gaza Pier Mission Dies at 23

U.S. Army soldiers at the Trident Pier on the Gaza coast

A soldier who was seriously injured under unknown conditions this summer during the Pentagon’s temporary Gaza pier mission has died, the Army confirmed. Sgt. Quandarius Davon Stanley, 23, passed away Oct. 31, according to an online obituary. The Army confirmed to Military.com that Stanley was the soldier injured during the humanitarian aid mission, adding that […]

Army's Pier System Now Faces Second Watchdog Review After Troubled Gaza Mission

Trident Pier operations briefing in the Port of Ashdod, Israel

Following the seemingly bungled Army mission establishing a pier off the Gaza Strip to deliver aid to the region, the Pentagon’s internal watchdog has launched an investigation into the service’s capabilities to conduct such a mission. The Department of Defense’s Office of Inspector General earlier this month announced that it’s investigating how the military runs […]

About Half of the Troops Who Deployed on the Gaza Aid Pier Mission Are Home Now

U.S. Army soldiers gesture as trucks loaded with humanitarian aid arrive at the U.S.-built floating pier Trident

The Pentagon said Thursday that nearly half of the troops it deployed to the Mediterranean as part of the mission to deliver aid to Gaza via a temporary pier are either home or will be home shortly. Pentagon spokeswoman Sabrina Singh told reporters that 235 soldiers returned to Joint Base Langley-Eustis in Virginia earlier this […]

'At What Cost': Guard Chief Argues Border Mission Is Getting in the Way of Warfighting

Army Gen. Daniel Hokanson

The outgoing chief of the National Guard is doubling down on his recent criticisms of the service component’s long-troubled security mission on the U.S.-Mexico border, saying it’s a detriment to the Guard’s ability to wage war. “The reason the Guard exists is to fight and win our nation’s wars, period,” Gen. Daniel Hokanson, the National […]

Duty, Honor, Outrage: Change to West Point's Mission Statement Sparks Controversy

Parade Day at the U.S. Military Academy in West Point

WEST POINT, N.Y. — “Duty, Honor, Country” has been the motto of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point since 1898. That motto isn’t changing, but a decision to take those words out of the school’s lesser-known mission statement is still generating outrage. Officials at the 222-year-old military academy 60 miles (96 kilometers) north of […]

West Virginia Guard Troops on Texas Border Mission Unhappy with Pay Level

Soldiers and Airmen of the West Virginia National Guard

Several volunteer members of the West Virginia National Guard say they are unhappy with the level of pay they are receiving at the southern border as part of Operation Lone Star. The troops departed West Virginia late last month for the southern border following a deployment ceremony in Charleston. They are assisting the Texas Military Department with that state’s ongoing efforts to secure […]

The Pentagon Is Pulling 1,100 Troops from the US-Mexico Border Mission

Migrants escorted by a U.S. Army soldier after entering into El Paso

WASHINGTON — The Pentagon is pulling 1,100 active duty troops from the U.S.-Mexico border it deployed earlier this year as the government prepared for the end of asylum restrictions linked to the pandemic. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin approved the deployment of a total of 1,500 active duty troops for a temporary 90-day military presence surge […]