Author: MIL-OSI Publisher

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Defense News: Friebe relinquishes responsibility after three years as 18th Military Police Brigade's senior enlisted leader

Source: United States Army

GRAFENWOEHR, Germany – After nearly 28 years in uniform and three years as the senior enlisted leader of the 18th Military Police Brigade, Command Sgt. Maj. Jeffrey R. Friebe thanked the Soldiers, leaders and Family members who shaped his Army career before relinquishing responsibility during a ceremony at Tower Barracks Parade Field, June 16, 2026.

The ceremony marked the formal transfer of responsibility through the passing of the brigade colors, a longstanding Army tradition symbolizing the authority and stewardship entrusted to a unit’s senior enlisted leader.

During the ceremony, Friebe was also awarded the Legion of Merit for exceptionally meritorious service as the brigade’s command sergeant major.

Col. Francisco A. Cortez, commander of the 18th Military Police Brigade, reflected on Friebe’s role as his senior enlisted advisor and partner in command.

“The role of a command sergeant major is sacred in our profession,” Cortez said. “To the Soldiers, the command sergeant major is the ultimate advocate, mentor and enforcer of discipline. To a commander, the command sergeant major is the most trusted advisor and an indispensable partner in command.”

During Friebe’s tenure, the brigade supported Operation Trident Spear, participated in two V Corps Warfighter exercises and executed missions across Germany, Italy and Belgium. The formation also played a key role in Defender 25 while providing law enforcement, corrections, explosive ordnance disposal and military working dog capabilities throughout the European theater.

Cortez said Friebe emphasized training and leader development across the formation while helping prepare Soldiers for increasingly complex missions.

Under his leadership, brigade units earned recognition for excellence across multiple mission areas, including military police operations, corrections and maintenance programs. During the ceremony, Cortez credited Friebe with helping establish the conditions for those achievements through his focus on standards, readiness and Soldier development.

“You changed Soldiers’ lives for the better,” Cortez said. “The NCOs and officers that were developed here will carry your lessons forward for the next two decades.”

Command Sgt. Maj. Denice Malave, command sergeant major of the 21st Theater Sustainment Command, said Friebe’s leadership left a lasting impression on those who served alongside him.

“At the end of the day, I was very grateful to work with Jeff because he became one of the best brigade command sergeants major I have worked with in my 28 years in the Army,” Malave said. “Just a great leader, great sergeant major and, most importantly, a great human being.”

Malave also described Friebe as one of her strongest teammates and advocates within the command.

In his farewell remarks, Friebe thanked the Soldiers, noncommissioned officers, officers, civilian employees and Family members who contributed to the brigade’s success during his time with the organization.

“I want to thank the officers, NCOs and Soldiers in the best military police brigade in the Army,” Friebe said. “The Soldiers are the most important reason why I enjoyed coming to work every day.”

Friebe also acknowledged the sacrifices made by his wife, Jamie, and their children during years of deployments, overseas assignments and relocations.

“You provided me the love and support so I could continue to be in this great profession,” Friebe said. “I want to say thank you, and I love you very much.”

Following the ceremony, Soldiers, Family members and leaders gathered to congratulate Friebe and his Family, marking the conclusion of his tenure as the brigade’s command sergeant major. Friebe will depart Germany later this year for Fort Bragg, North Carolina.

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Defense News: USAG Rheinland-Pfalz hosts Sembach Cup, Summer Fest

Source: United States Army

SEMBACH, Germany– Nine military units from U.S. Army Garrison Rheinland-Pfalz’ Sembach Kaserne gathered June 11 to compete in the Sembach Cup and Summer Fest, with the 10th Army Air and Missile Defense Command taking first place overall.

The event drew participation from across the echelons, featuring food, drinks, music and informational booths alongside the day’s main activities. Competitions included kickball, table tennis, “Just Dance,” cornhole, pickleball, a cook-off, a water balloon toss and tug-of-war. Senior leaders and junior enlisted Soldiers competed alongside one another throughout the festival.

A highlight of the event occurred outside the formal competition. During the tug-of-war, a Soldier lost a wedding ring in the grass. Competitors immediately paused the competition, the installation’s corrections team loaned a security metal detector to another unit, and personnel from multiple commands assisted in sweeping the area until the ring was recovered.

The 10th AAMDC secured the overall victory, followed by the 30th Medical Brigade in second place and the 68th Theater Medical Command in third. Other participating units included the Navy, 409th Contracting Brigade, Medical Readiness Command-Europe, American Forces Network-Europe, U.S. Army Correctional Activity-Europe and U.S. Army NATO Brigade.

Community sponsors supported the event, including the USO, Better Opportunities for Single Soldiers (BOSS), Family and MWR, Kaiserslautern Landstuhl Spouses’ Association, American Legion, Stars and Stripes, the Sembach Education Center and Military and Family Life Counselors.

U.S. Army Garrison Rheinland-Pfalz sets, serves and secures the total force community, enabling power projection for the European Theater.

Connect with us: https://linktr.ee/usag_rp

*Editor’s note:*This courtesy article was drafted with the assistance of generative AI. It was subsequently reviewed, edited, and fact-checked by USAG Rheinland-Pfalz public affairs to ensure accuracy, compliance with DoW security guidelines, and to reflect the appropriate tone.

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Mexican Citizen Sentenced for Role in Prolific Human Smuggling Organization that Moved Aliens from Central Asia, Africa, and the Middle East

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

A Mexican national extradited from Mexico was sentenced today to 87 months prison for his role in a smuggling organization that operated for several years at the U.S.-Mexico border.

According to the indictment, Raul Saucedo-Huipio, 51, of Mexicali, Mexico, and co-conspirators facilitated the travel of large numbers of aliens from and through numerous countries into the United States between 2018 and 2022. The smuggling organization charged the aliens as much as tens of thousands of dollars to illegally cross the Mexico-U.S. border. Saucedo-Huipio was a manager or supervisor in this extensive alien smuggling operation and would frequently brandish a firearm in his waistband before they crossed the border. The aliens traveled from and through Bangladesh, Yemen, Pakistan, Eritrea, India, the United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan, Russia, Egypt, Brazil, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Mexico to ultimately reach the United States. The conspiracy moved well over 200 people, and the actual number is likely much higher.

“Human smuggling is not a victimless crime. It is a direct assault on our national security and an exploitation of some of the world’s most vulnerable people,” said Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “This criminal organization not only moved aliens across the border; it stole from them and left them in desperate situations. Human smuggling causes so many additional problems that communities and government programs ultimately inherit. It is dangerous and a drain on our resources.”

“Violent human smugglers like Saucedo-Huipio use intimidation, violence and coercion to achieve their goals – financial gain no matter the harm caused,” said Special Agent in Charge Jason T. Stevens for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Arizona. “One of the many HSI missions include investigating human smuggling organizations to dismantle them and bring those responsible to face justice in a court of law. The sentence imposed today serves not only as punishment, but as an opportunity for the offender to reflect on the damage inflicted on so many people. Behind bars is where Saucedo-Huipio belongs.”

Saucedo-Huipio and co-conspirators directed aliens to cross the border by various means. They provided a ladder to climb over the border fence, pointed out holes in the fence that could be crawled through, and provided a plank for waterway crossings. Saucedo-Huipio oversaw one smuggling event where three small children had to cross a wooden plank lying atop a body of water. In addition to moving aliens across the border, Saucedo-Huipio and his co-conspirators also robbed the aliens of money, cell phones, and other belongings, often while armed with guns and knives. 

In March 2023, Saucedo-Huipio and Ofelia Hernandez-Salas were arrested in Mexico pursuant to an extradition request from the United States. In December 2024, Hernandez-Salas pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to bring an alien to the United States and three substantive counts of bringing an alien to the United States for commercial benefit or private financial gain. She was sentenced to 11 years in prison on May 13 for her role in the organization. In March 2026, Saucedo-Huipio pleaded guilty to conspiracy to bring an alien to the United States and bringing an alien to the United States.

The investigation and charges are supported and prosecuted by Joint Task Force Alpha (JTFA), the Department’s lead effort in combating high-impact human smuggling and trafficking committed by cartels and Transnational Criminal Organizations (TCOs). A highly successful partnership between the Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), JTFA investigates and prosecutes human smuggling and trafficking and related immigration crimes that impact public safety and border security. JTFA’s mission is to target the leaders and organizers of Cartels and TCOs involved in human smuggling and trafficking throughout the Americas. The Attorney General has elevated and expanded JTFA to target the most prolific and dangerous human smuggling and trafficking groups operating not only in Mexico and the Northern Triangle countries of Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras, but also in Canada, the Caribbean, and the maritime border, and elsewhere. Led by the Criminal Division’s Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section and supported by the Money Laundering, Narcotics and Forfeiture Section, the Office of International Affairs, and the Office of Enforcement Operations, among others, JTFA has dedicated Assistant U.S. Attorneys from the Southern District of California; District of Arizona; District of New Mexico; Western and Southern Districts of Texas; Southern District of Florida; Northern District of New York; and District of Vermont. JTFA also partners with other U.S. Attorney Offices throughout the country and supports high-priority cases in any district. All JTFA cases rely on substantial law enforcement resources from DHS, including HSI and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) U.S. Border Patrol (USBP), and Office of Field Operations, as well as FBI and other law enforcement agencies. To date, JTFA’s work has resulted in more than 458 domestic and international arrests of leaders, organizers, and significant facilitators of alien smuggling and/or trafficking; more than 408 U.S. convictions; more than 357 significant jail sentences imposed, and forfeitures of substantial assets.

HSI Yuma investigated the case with assistance from CBP USBP, ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations, FBI, and the U.S. Marshals Service, working in concert with HSI Tijuana, INTERPOL, and the HSI Human Smuggling Unit in Washington, D.C. HSI also received substantial assistance from CBP’s National Targeting Center International Interdiction Task Force and U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC).

The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs (OIA) provided significant assistance in securing the defendant’s arrest and extradition from Mexico. The Justice Department thanks its Mexican law enforcement partners, who were instrumental in arresting Saucedo-Huipio, and the Mexican Attorney General’s Office and the Mexican Foreign Ministry for making the extradition possible. The Justice Department’s Office of Overseas Prosecutorial Development, Assistance and Training (OPDAT) provided significant assistance as well.

Trial Attorney Alexandra Skinnion of the Criminal Division’s Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Jason Crowley for the District of Arizona prosecuted the case, with significant assistance provided by the Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs.

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Bridal Shop Owner Sentenced to Prison for Willfully Failing to Pay More Than $1.3M in Employment Taxes

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

A Parker woman was sentenced today to 12 months and one day in prison for willfully failing to pay over employment taxes on behalf of the bridal shop company she owned and operated for more than a decade.

According to court documents and statements made in court, Donna M. Savoy owned and operated Donna Beth Creations, a bridal studio in Denver, Colorado. As the owner of the company, Savoy was responsible for withholding Social Security, Medicare and income taxes from her employees’ wages, paying those funds over to the IRS and filing quarterly employment tax returns with the IRS.

For more than a decade – that is, from the first quarter of 2014 through the fourth quarter of 2024 – Savoy admitted that she withheld taxes from her employees’ wages but willfully failed to pay them over to the IRS. Savoy also willfully failed to file employment tax returns for that entire period. Savoy spent the tax money she withheld from her employees on personal and business expenses. In total, Savoy caused a tax loss to the United States exceeding $1.3 million.

Savoy pleaded guilty to one count of willful failure to account for and pay over trust fund taxes.

Assistant Attorney General Colin McDonald of the Justice Department’s National Fraud Enforcement Division made the announcement.

IRS Criminal Investigation investigated the case.

Trial Attorney Stuart A. Wexler of the Criminal Division’s Tax Section prosecuted the case.

On April 7, the Department of Justice announced the creation of the National Fraud Enforcement Division (“Fraud Division”). The Fraud Division is laser-focused on investigating and prosecuting those who commit fraud against the American people. The Department’s work to combat fraud supports President Trump’s Task Force to Eliminate Fraud, a whole-of-government effort chaired by Vice President J.D. Vance to eliminate fraud, waste, and abuse within Federal benefit programs.