The entire District of Columbia National Guard, along with Guard personnel from Virginia, were activated Jan. 6 after a mob stormed the U.S. Capitol building, with more violence expected across Washington, D.C. throughout the night. Pentagon leaders spoke with Vice President Michael R. Pence, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), and Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-Md.), about the activity at the Capitol building and activated the entire D.C. National Guard to help federal and law enforcement, Acting Defense Secretary Christopher C. Miller said in a statement. “We are prepared to provide additional support as necessary and appropriate as requested by local authorities,” Miller said. “Our people are sworn to defend the constitution and our democratic form of government and they will act accordingly.”
Democrats appear poised to run defense policy in both congressional chambers for the first time in 10 years, as the party has won control of the Senate with narrow victories in two Jan. 5 Georgia runoff races. The results come at the end of a tumultuous election cycle that has handed Democrats unified control of the White House and Congress after a decade of split government. It’s a notable shift as the Pentagon prepares for stagnant budgets in part due to the coronavirus pandemic and an expected shift toward domestic priorities, and as the military plans for an era dominated by geopolitical conflict with Russia and China rather than counterterrorism operations.
In a first, the Pentagon's Joint Requirements Oversight Council will give the services requirements they must meet to fulfill joint electromagnetic spectrum and electronic warfare demands, JROC chairman and Joint Chiefs Vice Chair Gen. John E. Hyten said. The recent EMS strategy specifies capabilities that the services, not a joint entity, must provide, but the JROC will have to integrate them with common standards. U.S. Strategic Command will also get a boost in EMS resources before it transfers the mission to another, yet-undetermined entity, he said.
The air campaign against the Islamic State group in Iraq and Syria continues, as the U.S. withdraws forces from the region and the operation has largely fallen off the public’s radar. Throughout November 2020, the coalition conducted 14 airstrikes consisting of 34 total engagements in Iraq and Syria, Combined Joint Task Force-Operation Inherent Resolve on Jan. 6. In Iraq, this included 22 engagements resulting in 35 ISIS fighters killed and one weapons cache destroyed. In Syria, the coalition conducted seven strikes consisting of 12 engagements, though the results of those strikes were not disclosed. The total is a sharp drop from previous years.
Air Force Secretary Barbara Barrett visited Niger and Nigeria Jan. 4-5 to increase USAF cooperation with the two countries, including the deliveries of new aircraft. On Jan. 4, Barrett visited Niger, where USAF has operating bases, to participate in a ceremony for the delivery of the country’s first C-130. The U.S. military has since 2015 provided more than $30 million to develop the Nigerien Air Force’s C-130 program, including training, spare parts, infrastructure, fuel and support equipment, according to a U. S. Embassy release. The delivery of the aircraft makes Niger the 70th country to fly the aircraft. Barrett also visited Nigeria Jan. 4-5, with a key focus of the meetings on the Air Force’s plan to deliver 12 A-29 Super Tucano light attack aircraft starting this year. The Air Force plans to train 60 Nigerian pilots, instructors, and maintainers over 12 years largely at Moody Air Force Base, Ga.
