The Justice Department’s Aug. 10 memo saying the Pentagon could close or realign National Guard units without the consent of state governors was greeted with the derision that had been widely predicted. Maj. Gen Frank Vavala, Delaware’s Adjutant General, told Congress Daily’s Megan Scully that, in effect, he will ignore it and continue to press the Guard’s case with the BRAC commission. He surely speaks for many others.
The U.S. military is maintaining a beefed-up presence in the Middle East, including fighters and air defense assets, following the U.S. strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities June 22 and subsequent retaliation by the Iranians against Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar.