Politico
The Pentagon’s top spokesperson said Aug. 31 the Biden administration was “obviously concerned” for the American citizens and Afghan allies still on the ground in Afghanistan following the completion of the U.S. military withdrawal from the country, acknowledging they were under a high level of threat from the Taliban and the regional Islamic State affiliate known as ISIS-K.
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The Wall Street Journal
Thirteen years ago, Afghan interpreter Mohammed helped rescue then-Sen. Joe Biden and two other senators stranded in a remote Afghanistan valley after their helicopter was forced to land in a snowstorm. Now, Mohammed is asking President Biden to save him. “Hello Mr. President: Save me and my family,” Mohammed, who asked not to use his full name while in hiding, told The Wall Street Journal as the last Americans flew out of Kabul on Aug. 30. “Don’t forget me here.”
FedScoop
The Department of Defense’s principal director for 5G technology Joseph Evans has left his post at the Pentagon. He departs after two years in the position, during which time he oversaw the development of the DOD’s 5G strategy and implementation plan and established major public-private partnerships. Following Evans’ exit, Amanda Toman is understood to have taken up the role of acting principal director for 5G.
Defense News
The arduous airlift demands of the Afghanistan evacuation mission haven’t changed the U.K. Royal Air Force’s plans to retire its C-130s by 2030, its top officer said Aug. 27. “This is the first large-scale operation that we’ve done with our A400s, and it’s demonstrated that this is an aircraft with real potential and enormous capacity,” said RAF Air Chief Marshal Mike Wigston in an interview with Defense News. “It flies much higher and much faster and carries a greater payload than the C-130. So as every month goes by, my confidence in that decision increases.”
Defense One
While animal rescue groups across the globe race to get dogs out of Afghanistan, Pentagon officials want to be very clear: The U.S. military did not leave any of its working dogs behind. Viral photos purporting to show dogs locked in cages at Hamid Karzai International Airport have raised the hackles of U.S. lawmakers and dog lovers alike. But the photos are not of military working dogs, as the American Humane Society and others have suggested.
The Drive
The two images aren't separated that much in terms of where they were taken geographically, but they deviate greatly in terms of how far apart they were taken in time. They represent the operation that would send the first Americans into Afghanistan to kick off the war there, as well as the greater Global War on Terror as we now know it, and the last American Soldier to step foot on Afghan soil. The first image was taken Sept. 19, 2001, the other Aug. 30, 2021. They are now the alpha and the omega of America's war in Afghanistan, visually speaking.
Air Force Magazine
With the Air Force aiming to develop, deploy, and maintain the new Ground-Based Strategic Deterrent at a rapid pace starting in 2029 and lasting for decades, the need for a broad strategy encompassing cybersecurity, digital engineering, and other new technologies has never been greater, and that will require integrated support like never before.
Military.com
Roughly 200 Soldiers from Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash., deployed Aug. 31 to northern California to help fight wildfires burning in the state, including the Dixie Fire, which has burned more than 1,200 structures but is less than half contained. Troops with the Army's 23rd Brigade Engineer Battalion and 2-3 Infantry Battalion, both from 1-2 Stryker Brigade Combat Team, were training Aug. 30 at JBLM before traveling to the Lassen and Plumas National Forests to support firefighting efforts there.
Air Force release
The 403rd Wing sent about 35 Reserve Airmen to participate in the Air Force Reserve Command’s premiere training exercise Patriot Warrior 2021 at Fort McCoy, Wis., Aug. 5-27. Wing members from the 36th Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron, 403rd Aeromedical Staging Squadron, 403rd Logistics Readiness Squadron, 815th Airlift Squadron, 803rd Aircraft Maintenance Squadron, and 403rd Wing Public Affairs joined up with about 260 Reserve Citizen Airmen and 4,000 U.S. Army Soldiers from various U.S. installations to train with joint partners in airlift, mobility support, and aeromedical evacuation, or AE.
Breaking Defense
Israeli officials visiting Washington, D.C., last week were met with a request to tighten intelligence cooperation between the CIA and the Mossad in light of the US exit from Afghanistan, government sources tell Breaking Defense. The focus on the improved intelligence sharing—details of which sources would not divulge—comes amid renewed fears that the ISIS terrorist group will use Afghanistan as a hub for new attacks on both American and Israeli targets.
Space News
Reps. Doug Lamborn (R) and Jason Crow (D), both from Colorado, announced Aug. 30 they are introducing legislation to establish a Space National Guard as a Reserve component of the U.S. Space Force. Lamborn and Crow are members of the House Armed Services Committee and co-chairs of the House Space Force Caucus.
One More Thing
Foster’s Daily Democrat
Nottingham resident Jim Taylor walked 22 miles along Seacoast New Hampshire beaches Aug. 28, carrying a 22-pound rucksack, to raise awareness about suicides among veterans. Jim, an Air Force veteran, was accompanied by his wife, Shannon, who rode along in a Jeep. He walked for Mission 22, a veteran-based group that began in Indiana. Mission 22 provides help for treatment for post-traumatic stress and traumatic brain injury as well as other issues veterans face.
