Last year’s revelations of recruiter wrongdoings—and little Pentagon oversight—has led DOD to usher in a series of initiatives to help prevent future inappropriate situations, including going so far as to install surveillance cameras in recruiting stations, reports Bryan Bender of the Boston Globe (requires free registration). Many of the new steps are aimed at preventing sexual abuse of potential enlistees. One example: Recruiters will be banned from meeting with prospective recruits of the opposite sex unless a supervisor is present.
U.S. Southern Command recently announced its first lethal strike on a suspected narco-trafficking vessel in two months, and the first under a newly formed permanent counter-cartel task force. The U.S. is also reportedly planning to transfer MQ-9 drones to Colombia to bolster its counter-cartel efforts.