The base was originally named Fort Benning for a Confederate general
It was renamed Fort Moore in 2023 for Lt. Gen. Harold Moore and his wife, Julia Moore
www.army.mil/article/2666...
Fort Benning returns
US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has signed a memorandum renaming Fort Moore in Georgia to Fort Benning
Per the memo, the base is now named for Corporal Fred G. Benning, awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for heroism during World War I
Separately, defense officials say a C-17 US military cargo plane carried our a deportation flight Saturday from Fort Bliss, Texas
It made stops in Guatemala and then Honduras
Defense officials deferred to DHS for details on the number of deportees
Sunday's removal flight or flights from Gitmo were conducted by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)
ICE referred questions about the deportations to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS)
DHS has yet to respond to queries from VOA about the removals
UPDATE on US mass deportation efforts thru the naval base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba
2 US defense officials say 48 detainees were deported Sunday
The removal leaves 16 “high threat illegal aliens” at the detention facility and 4 detainees at the migrant operations center
US Director of National Intelligence accuses Ukraine, Zelenskyy of "trying to drag the United States into a nuclear war with Russia/WW3"
Tulsi Gabbard, posting from her personal X account, thanks President Trump for "standing up for the interests of the American people, and peace"
Gitmo UPDATE
Naval Station Guantanamo Bay now holding a total of 68 migrants, per a US defense official
- 33 "high threat illegal aliens" at the detention facility
- 35 detainees at the Migrant Operations Center
US intelligence and allied intel services warned back in 2024 that China was intensifying efforts to recruit current and former Western fighter pilots for training and to gain better insights into how Western air forces operate
www.voanews.com/a/us-allies-...
US Air Forces in Europe – Air Forces Africa asking current or former servicemembers to contact the Air Force Office of Special Investigations if they know anyone who has been recruited to train foreign militaries
"You have a responsibility to protect our tactics, techniques and procedures" per Gen Hecker in statement
"Allies will seek to hold individuals accountable when they compromise the safety of our teammates by pursuing employment backed by our adversaries"
Per US Air Forces in Europe – Air Forces Africa, the new German laws follow laws passed in Britain and Belgium, which call for include jail time -even life in prison- for servicemembers who give defense services or military intelligence to foreign militaries
Former US, NATO pilots and aircrew told "avoid employment with privately-owned aviation companies backing the People’s Republic of China"
Friday's warning from NATO Allied Air Command & US Air Forces Europe & Africa Commander Gen James Hecker comes as new German laws take effect
"The Task Force’s mandate is to bring the full force of the federal government to bear in our effort to eradicate Anti-Semitism, particularly in schools" per DOJ's Terrell, calling the visits "just one of many steps this Administration is taking"
"No one should feel unsafe or unwelcome on campus because of their religion" per Task Force member and Senior Counsel to the Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Leo Terrell, in statement
Per DOJ, the universities were informed of the impending visits on Thursday due to "allegations that the schools may have failed to protect Jewish students and faculty members from unlawful discrimination, in potential violation of federal law"
NEW - US task force to combat antisemitism to visit 10 colleges to investigate allegations, per Justice Department:
Columbia
George Washington University
Harvard
Johns Hopkins
NYU
Northwestern
UCLA
Cal Berkeley
University of Minnesota
University of Southern California
"The US is committed to lasting stability in the region and the security of our regional partners" per the US defense official
"Our continuing mission in Syria will continue to be the enduring defeat of ISIS" a US defense official tells VOA, regarding the possible impact of Thursday's call by PKK's jailed leader for the group to lay down its arms
If US makes good on talk it might pull its forces from Syria, "that will lead to chaos" per SDF Commander, Gen Mazloum Abdi
"There is already security vacuum" per Abdi, calling a continued US military presence "essential for the sake of preserving stability and security"
The SDF's Abdi also expressed concern about the state of the 26 prisons his forces oversee across NE Syria which have been holding about 10,000 captured ISIS fighters
"ISIS has taken advantage of the security gap with the change with the fall of Assad" per the SDF's Gen Abdi in response to a question from VOA
He said ISIS seized weapons caches left by the regime & has also started moving fighters out of their desert hideouts into the cities
Even if tensions between the SDF and Turkey end, the SDF commander warned ISIS is again rearing its head
"We see ISIS become more visible. We see them more active recently...showing more lethal capabilities" per Gen Abdi
Both Washington and Ankara label the PKK as a terrorist organization
The resulting tensions and fighting have, at times, put efforts to counter ISIS at risk
www.voanews.com/a/us-pleas-f...
The US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) have been the main US ally for the fight against ISIS in NE Syria
But that relationship has long rankled Turkey, which says the SDF is led by fighters with the People's Protection Units (YPG) a Syrian-based offshoot of the PKK
"We do know that Turkey's concerned about their own security because of the PKK influence in the region" per Gen Abdi
W/peace, "That means there is no any reasons, and there is not any excuse to keep attacking these regions on the pretext of PKK"
"Just to make it clear, this is only for the PKK. It is nothing related to us here in Syria" per the SDF's Abdi
Still, Abdi said he hoped fighting between the SDF and Turkish-backed forces would dissipate
But the SDF's commander says his group will not put down its weapons
"It is nothing about the NES [North and Eastern Syria] or our forces" per Gen Abdi, speaking to reporters in Washington thru a translator & via a video call
A call by the leader of the Turkey-based Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) for the group to lay down its arms could be good for NE Syria
"When the peace flowers between Turkey and PKK, that will has its own positive consequences on us" per SDF Commander Gen Mazloum Abdi
Manuchekhri faces a max of 45 years in prison if convicted
“Under no circumstances will my Department of Justice tolerate terrorism" per US Attorney General Pam Bondi in statement
Starting in December 2021, DOJ alleges Manuchekhri sent $70,000 in payments to ISIS affiliates individuals in Turkey and Syria, per DOJ
One of those individuals was later arrested in connection with an ISIS-K claimed attack on a church in Istanbul
