At the center of this effort is Ray Domenech, the USAG Wiesbaden installation emergency manager. He joined the Garrison team about a year and a half ago, bringing with him over three decades of Army emergency management experience.
Although this is the Garrison’s third exercise in the last year, Domenech explained that this one is unique because it involved multiple situations that need to be addressed simultaneously.
“It’s pretty intense,” Domenech said. “It gives the staff a lot of work; it gives the staff a lot to think about. Because in real life, incidents are not always isolated. Sometimes it happens one on top of the other. So, we need to be ready to react.”
On one occasion during the exercise, the Garrison was faced with a notional water outage, death on the installation, and fire at the Wiesbaden Army Health Clinic—all within a few hours.
A critical piece to the Garrison’s preparedness arsenal is its host nation partnerships. During the exercise, the Garrison’s Emergency Operations Center welcomed first responders with Technisches Hilfswerk, the German federal civil protection agency, who shared information about their mission and capabilities.
1 / 3Show Caption +Hide Caption –Emergency response personnel respond to a simulated downed aircraft at Wiesbaden Army Airfield, Wiesbaden, Germany, Feb. 26, 2026. This was the culminating event of a weeklong U.S. Army Garrison Wiesbaden emergency response exercise that included a visit from German Air Force observers with Landeskommando Hesse. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. 1st Class Christopher Osburn) (Photo Credit: Sgt. 1st Class Christopher Osburn)VIEW ORIGINAL2 / 3Show Caption +Hide Caption –A U.S. Army Soldier from the Wiesbaden Army Health Clinic tightens a tourniquet on a mock casualty during a simulated downed aircraft incident at Wiesbaden Army Airfield, Wiesbaden, Germany, Feb. 26, 2026. This was the culminating event of a weeklong U.S. Army Garrison Wiesbaden exercise that tested the coordination between the Garrison Fire Department, Military Police, Wiesbaden Army Health Clinic, and airfield operations personnel in response to an emergency. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. 1st Class Christopher Osburn) (Photo Credit: Sgt. 1st Class Christopher Osburn)VIEW ORIGINAL3 / 3Show Caption +Hide Caption –Members of the U.S. Army Fire and Rescue, Wiesbaden Airfield, drag a mock casualty to safety during a simulated downed aircraft incident at Wiesbaden Army Airfield, Wiesbaden, Germany, Feb. 26, 2026. This was the culminating event of a weeklong U.S. Army Garrison Wiesbaden emergency response exercise designed to challenge Garrison staff and leadership to react to some of the worst events it may experience—while continuing to protect the community it serves. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. 1st Class Christopher Osburn) (Photo Credit: Sgt. 1st Class Christopher Osburn)VIEW ORIGINAL
The Garrison was also visited by German Air Force representatives with Landeskommando Hessen, who provided an overview of their response protocols and shared their experience with real-life downed aircraft incidents.
“There are circumstances in which we need their support,” Domenech said. “So, training with them is the right way to understand their capabilities, and for them to understand how we operate and what we can offer them in case we’re the ones supporting them.”
The weeklong exercise culminated in a simulated aviation crash Thursday on the Wiesbaden Army Airfield.
Plumes of smoke, actors covered in fake blood, and even a fake military working dog added to the realism as Garrison firefighters rushed to extinguish a fire and evacuate the injured. U.S. Army Soldiers with the Wiesbaden Army Health Clinic and Military Police also responded by assessing the casualties and triaging personnel.
At the end of the exercise, USAG Wiesbaden Commander Col. Troy Danderson thanked his staff and reminded them about the importance of their work.
“In the event of a crisis, the Garrison’s immediate job is to keep the community safe,” Danderson said. “But the missions of the units we serve must continue. We must continue to support them under any circumstance. It’s a balancing act that takes continuous practice and preparation.”
FORT LEAVENWORTH, Kansas – The Euro-Atlantic security architecture is currently undergoing transformation while U.S. allies work to strengthen the European pillar in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
The U.S. Army Command and General Staff College Cultural and Area Studies Office hosted the fourth panel of the academic year to discuss U.S. and European partner perspectives on these topics March 12, 2026.
“If Russia were to move rapidly against the Baltic states, could NATO effectively defend its territory? What is next for the Euro-Atlantic security architecture by 2027 and beyond?” Dr. Mahir J. Ibrahimov, CASO Director, asked rhetorically as he set the stage for the discussion.
Colonel Thibaud Thomas, French Embassy Military Attaché, highlighted key points of the 2025 French National Strategic Review and shared concrete examples of the country’s commitment to NATO’s collective security.
“Basically, we believe that there is no major security threat to Europe that wouldn’t concern France and we agreed with Germany and other European partners to have a political, operational, and technical dialogue on the nuclear issues,” Thomas said.
Col. Thomas, French Military Attaché, discusses the 2025 French National Strategic Review, sharing key steps France has taken to invest in the country’s defense and NATO’s collective security March 12, 2026, at the Lewis and Clark Center on Fort Leavenworth. (U.S. Army photo by Jim Shea) (Photo Credit: Courtesy)VIEW ORIGINAL
In addition to nuclear deterrence, Thomas discussed countering the Russian ‘Dark Fleet’ and being one of 35 nations in the ‘Coalition of the Willing’ in support of Ukraine.
“France is investing in its defense. We heard the call for an increased burden sharing and we think that makes sense. We are committed to contributing to an increased European strategic awakening,” Thomas said.
Dr. Eike Buellesbach, German Embassy Deputy Branch Head, emphasized the importance of the U.S.-German relationship, strengthening the European pillar, and keeping the alliance strong.
“Germany has initiated significant changes in its security policy. It’s an ongoing process which was initiated after the Russian aggression in Ukraine in 2022,” Buellesbach said.
This includes heavy increases to German defense spending through significant investment in its army and equipment while also actively engaging in NATO vigilance activities.
“The best example for us to showcase that Germany is putting an emphasis here is the 5,000-troop brigade that we will be deploying to Lithuania to protect NATO’s eastern flank to contribute to NATO’s deterrence. This will start by 2027 and it’s well underway,” Buellsbach explained.
LTC Jamal A. Khan, a Eurasian Foreign Area Officer and CGSC instructor, explained the diminishing Russian influence in the South Caucasus, the Russian Federation’s role as the primary driver of instability in the region, and implications for NATO.
“Russia often positions itself as both the arsonist and firefighter, starting crises in the region and then magically appearing to solve them for everyone else, but the invasion of Ukraine has reduced Moscow’s bandwidth to do so,” he said.
Fraught relationships in the region have created a power vacuum, providing opportunity for nations like Turkey, Iran, and China to expand military and economic ties.
“For the U.S., the question is ‘whose influence will shape this region’s future?’” Khan said.
Recent diplomacy efforts and economic initiatives by the Trump administration were offered as solutions to reinforce stability in the region where military dominance has failed.
LTC Drew Shealy, FAO [H(1]and CGSC instructor discussed the current state of the NATO alliance and highlighted ongoing successes in Euro-Atlantic security.
“Despite the headlines we see today, the alliance is arguably stronger now than it has been in decades and the United States continues to see it as central to our security strategy,” Shealy stated.
Shealy explained that calls for Europe to increase its own defense efforts and discussions about burden sharing and strategic autonomy are not new or a sign of failure, but a sign of adaptation.
“The 2026 National Defense Strategy makes it clear that the United States must prioritize homeland defense in Indo-Pacific while expecting allies to take a greater responsibility in their regional security,” Shealy said.
The U.S. will continue to provide critical capabilities.
“Europe is becoming a more capable security partner and the alliance as whole remains one of the most successful and durable security arrangements in modern history. So, if we think about the future of Euro-Atlantic security, the question is not whether NATO will endure. History suggests it will. The real question is how the alliance will continue evolving to meet the next generation of security challenges together.” Shealy concluded.
The CASO panel series is conducted regularly with partner organizations to provide CGSC constituents with expert analysis and informed discussion. The series goal is to enhance collective understanding of the global and regional geopolitical dynamics, to enhance leaders’ understanding of the security environment and enable them to make informed decisions and drive effective solutions.
Dr. Mahir J. Ibrahimov (Dr. I), Director, Cultural and Area Studies Office shares a light-hearted moment after the panel with Col. Ethan J. Diven, Commandant, U.S. Army Command and General Staff College March 12, 2026 (U.S. Army photo by Jim Shea) (Photo Credit: Courtesy)VIEW ORIGINAL
The full panel can be viewed on the CGSC YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/@USArmyCGSC/streams
Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
A Maryland man was sentenced yesterday to 40 years in prison followed by 20 years of supervised release for his involvement with a website dedicated to child sexual abuse material (CSAM).
Sean Edward Young, 47, of Rockville, Maryland, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to advertise and to distribute child pornography on Sept. 24, 2025. According to court documents and information presented at the sentencing hearing, Young was a high-ranking member of a website dedicated to CSAM and discussions of child sexual abuse. He advertised and distributed CSAM on this website, counseled other users on how to avoid law enforcement, and bragged about having sexually abused children in the past.
Young’s sentencing follows the earlier sentencing of co-defendant and co-conspirator Jacob Parker, 49, of Auburn, Alabama. On Jan. 15 Parker was sentenced to more than 24 years in prison, having previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to advertise child pornography. According to court documents, Parker, like Young, was a high-level moderator of the same website and spent time and effort managing it and sharing CSAM with fellow users.
“Sean Young and Jacob Parker were part of an online community of offenders who came together to share, discuss, and celebrate depictions of child sexual abuse,” said Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “Both made every effort to use technology to hide from law enforcement, but they could not. People who prey on our children will pay a heavy price by losing their liberty with the imposition of significant incarcerative sentences like these.”
“The exploitation of children through the distribution of child sexual abuse material is a disturbing crime that causes lasting harm to its victims,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Kevin Davidson for the Middle District of Alabama. “Those who participate in online networks that advertise and distribute this material will be identified, prosecuted, and held accountable. Our office remains committed to working with our law enforcement partners to protect children and bring offenders to justice.”
“It is unconscionable for someone to advertise and brag about sexually abusing children,” said U.S. Attorney Kelly O. Hayes for the District of Maryland. “We must bring depraved people like Young and his co-conspirators to justice and ensure that they lose their freedom for a very long time. The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Maryland will always stand ready to assist our partners to ensure that all predators are met with the full force of the law.”
“Child predators victimize the most vulnerable and innocent members of our society, their families, and their communities,” said Assistant Director Heith Janke of the FBI’s Criminal Division. “Young’s role as a high-ranking member of a website dedicated to CSAM and his purposeful actions to conceal his activities and advise others how to avoid law enforcement makes him amongst the worst offenders. Now he will serve time for what he has done. Along with The Department of Justice and our federal, state, and local partners, the FBI is fully committed to identifying individuals who exploit children and bringing them to justice as quickly as possible.”
The FBI’s Child Exploitation Operational Unit investigated the case along with the FBI’s Auburn Resident Agency and Baltimore field office. Valuable assistance was provided by the FBI’s Cyber Division and the Auburn Police Department.
Acting Deputy Chief Kyle P. Reynolds of the Justice Department’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS) and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Tara S. Ratz and J. Patrick Lamb of the Middle District of Alabama prosecuted the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Megan McKoy of the District of Maryland provided valuable assistance.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and CEOS, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.
Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
An Anchorage doctor was sentenced yesterday to six and a half years in prison and three years of supervised release for executing a $12.5 million health care fraud scheme and evading over $4 million in taxes on the profits of that 15-year scheme. Her husband and co-defendant was sentenced to three years of probation, with two years to be served in home confinement.
According to court documents and statements made in court, Dr. Claribel Tan, 61, and her husband, Daniel Tan, 70, operated a rheumatology medical clinic in Anchorage starting in 2005. Claribel Tan specialized in the treatment of autoimmune and musculoskeletal diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis and psoriatic arthritis, and she prescribed injectable medications to treat those conditions. Although these conditions are often chronic, degenerative and irreversible, certain medicines can slow down or arrest their progression. Daniel Tan assisted as an officer manager at the clinic.
Beginning in 2009 and continuing through 2024, the Tans deceived patients about the medications Claribel Tan administered through injections and then fraudulently billed health insurance plans for reimbursement of medications that the Tans did not purchase. Claribel Tan routinely and surreptitiously injected patients with free samples, expired medications and medications other than those prescribed. The Tans then knowingly billed insurance plans as if she had provided a proper injection to each patient. Specifically, the Tans claimed to have administered 4,829 units of the medications to patients, and billed the insurance plans for that amount, despite only purchasing 369 units of medication.
Daniel Tan helped execute the scheme by ordering insufficient medication for the clinic and creating and submitting fraudulent insurance claims. The Tans also made false statements about the length of Claribel Tan’s office visits with her patients and submitted fraudulent claims to insurance plans for services she never provided. In addition to creating significant health risks for the patients, the Tans’ fraud scheme caused a loss of over $12.5 to more than 10 insurance plans.
The Tans also filed false tax returns to conceal their fraud. Knowing full well the clinic had not purchased the quantity of medications for which they billed insurance plans, they fraudulently overstated the clinic’s expenses on its tax returns for 2014, 2015 and 2017, which allowed them to underreport the clinic’s total income during those years. And from 2018 to 2021, the Tans willfully failed to file tax returns for the clinic. The Tans’ tax fraud scheme caused a total loss to the IRS of more than $4.2 million.
In July 2019, federal law enforcement officers executed a search warrant on the clinic, which uncovered stockpiles of expired medications prescribed to patients for at-home use, free samples clearly marked as not-for-sale and improperly stored and reconstituted syringes of medications. Some of the expired medications, pictured below, were improperly intermingled with other medication stored at the clinic.
Stockpiled Medications
Following the search warrant, the Tans temporarily began purchasing the medications for which they billed insurance companies. In 2021, however, they reverted to their fraudulent billing practices and once again failed to actually purchase the medications they claimed to administer. They persisted in the scheme until they were indicted by a federal grand jury in July 2024.
In November 2025, the Tans both pleaded guilty in the District of Alaska to one count of health care fraud and one count of tax evasion.
In 2024 and 2025, the U.S. Attorney’s Office seized approximately $10.4 million in health care fraud proceeds from the Tans. As part of their plea agreements, the Tans agreed to forfeit the seized funds to the U.S. The Tans also submitted a $6.3 million payment towards their future restitution judgment. A district judge will schedule a separate hearing to determine restitution. The Tans also paid approximately $1.8 million to the United States to settle civil claims under the False Claims Act arising from the health care fraud scheme. Claribel Tan also has surrendered her medical license.
Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney Michael J. Heyman for the District of Alaska made the announcement.
Department of Defense Criminal Investigative Service, IRS Criminal Investigation, the FBI, Defense Contract Audit Agency, Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General Criminal Investigations Division, Department of Labor Employee Benefits Security Administration, Food and Drug Administration Office of Criminal Investigations, Office of Personnel Management Office of the Inspector General, and State of Alaska Division of Insurance Investigation Unit investigated the case.
Trial Attorney Dominick Giovanniello of the Criminal Division’s Tax Section and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Seth Beausang of the District of Alaska prosecuted the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jackie Traini of the District of Alaska led the civil fraud investigation.
Today, the U.S. Department of Justice announced that it has filed and served a civil denaturalization complaint in the U.S. District Court in Baltimore, Maryland, against Emmanuel Oluwatosin Kazeem, a native of Nigeria who organized a vast conspiracy to steal identities and file fraudulent tax returns. In 2017, he was convicted of 19 counts of mail and wire fraud, aggravated identity theft and conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud and sentenced to 15 years in prison. But in 2024, then-President Biden commuted his sentence after only six years.
“The Trump Administration will not permit wrongdoers to retain the U.S. citizenship that they were never entitled to in the first place,” said Assistant Attorney General Brett A. Shumate of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “U.S. Citizenship is a privilege, and we will continue to ask courts to revoke a status that was obtained through fraud and deceit.”
The newly filed denaturalization complaint alleges that Kazeem’s fraud scheme, which he committed in the years before and after his naturalization, along with his concealment of his crimes, precluded him from obtaining his naturalization lawfully. The complaint also alleges that Kazeem had, prior to his fraud scheme, engaged in a sham marriage to obtain permanent resident status and then married a second woman, further disqualifying him from naturalization.
According to court documents and evidence presented at Kazeem’s criminal trial, in May 2013, a victim in Medford, Oregon, notified the IRS that false federal and Oregon state tax returns were filed electronically using her and her husband’s personal identifying information (PII) including social security numbers and dates of birth.
An IRS investigation led to search warrants of residences in Illinois, Maryland, and Georgia and to numerous email and instant messenger accounts used by Kazeem and other co-conspirators. At a Chicago residence, agents seized approximately 150 prepaid debit cards and $50,000 in money orders. In Maryland and Georgia, agents seized more than 50 electronic devices, 40 money orders in amounts exceeding $29,000, $14,000 in cash and numerous prepaid debit cards containing over $12,000 in fraudulent tax refunds. The search warrants helped agents identify Kazeem as the leader and mastermind of the scheme.
The scheme resulted in the conspirators possessing stolen PII of more than 259,000 victims. Kazeem purchased more than 91,000 identities from a Vietnamese hacker that originated from an Oregon company’s private database. The company provided pre-employment and volunteer background checks for thousands of clients. Kazeem divided the identities into batches and shared them with other co-conspirators. They were in turn used to file fraudulent tax returns between 2012 and 2015.
In carrying out the scheme, Kazeem trained and directed his co-conspirators including his younger brother, Michael Oluwasegun Kazeem, to use stolen PII to obtain thousands of electronic filing PINs to bypass IRS authentication procedures. They acquired over 19,500 E-File PINS during the course of the conspiracy. Kazeem also used taxpayers’ PII to gain unauthorized access into many taxpayers’ IRS transcripts, which contain sensitive personal financial information. Conspirators also used pre-paid debit cards with the victims’ stolen identities to receive direct electronic tax refund deposits from the IRS.
In total, Kazeem was linked to 10,139 fraudulent federal tax returns attempting to get over $91 million dollars in refunds and successfully receiving over $11.6 million dollars. Refunds were withdrawn from the debit cards and at least 2,000 wire transfers totaling over $2.1 million dollars were sent to Nigeria. Over 700 of those wire transfers, totaling more than $690,000, were directly linked to Kazeem.
Kazeem used the conspiracy windfall to place a nearly $200,000 down payment on a newly constructed house and to purchase a $175,000 townhouse, both in Maryland. His average monthly credit card payment during 2012 to 2015 was over $8,300. Kazeem also attempted to use his ill-gotten funds to develop a $6 million dollar, 4-star hotel in Lagos, Nigeria.
In May 2015, Kazeem transferred the townhouse to his sister in Nigeria for $10 and included her on the deed to his Maryland residence, also for $10. He was arrested one day later.
On June 20, 2018, Kazeem was sentenced to 15 years in prison and ordered to pay more than $12 million in restitution. However, on Dec. 12, 2024, then-President Joe Biden commuted Kazeem’s sentence, along with nearly 1,500 others who had been serving under house arrest following their release from prison due to conditions associated with the COVID-19 pandemic.
Kazeem’s criminal conviction resulted from a joint investigation by IRS-Criminal Investigation, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General and the FBI. Investigative support was provided by the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration; the U.S. Postal Inspection Service; the U.S. Department of State; the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations (DHS HSI) and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.
Kazeem’s criminal case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Byron Chatfield and Gavin Bruce for the District of Oregon. Kazeem’s denaturalization case was investigated by DHS HSI and will be litigated by the Affirmative Litigation Unit of the Civil Division’s Office of Immigration Litigation.
Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
Tampa, FL – Cristian Daniel Diaz-Garcia (age 27), an illegal alien from Honduras, has been sentenced by U.S. District Judge Steven D. Merryday to three years and two months in federal prison for aggravated identity theft, false representation of a Social Security number, and making a false claim of United States citizenship for employment purposes. United States Attorney Gregory W. Kehoe made the announcement.
Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
A Clarksburg, West Virginia man has admitted to working with others to sell fentanyl and methamphetamine and possessing firearms in furtherance of his drug crimes, announced U.S. Attorney Matthew L. Harvey. Matthew Ryan Lester, 33, pleaded guilty to federal drug and firearm charges.
Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Jay Clayton, announced that Joseph Crocco was sentenced to a total of 15 years in prison for dealing guns, fentanyl, and crack in Poughkeepsie, New York, while on federal supervised release.
Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
ANCHORAGE, Alaska – An Anchorage doctor was sentenced today to six and a half years in prison for executing a $12.5 million health care fraud scheme and evading over $4 million in taxes on the profits of their 15-year scheme. Her husband and co-defendant was sentenced to three years’ probation, with two years to be served in home confinement for his role in the fraudulent scheme.
LIVORNO, Italy – Livorno Elementary Middle School students gathered at the LEMS Media Center on March 13 to lead an immersive math modeling activity.
Divided into four specialized teams, the students demonstrated modern mathematical methodologies to community members in attendance, effectively showcasing both their academic proficiency and their leadership skills.
“The event empowers students to teach parents real world math problems through hands-on modeling and graphing tasks,” said Villet Ferreri, LEMS mathematics teacher. “The primary expectation is for the students to collaboratively teach, model and explain math concepts that each grade level is learning.”
Now in its second year, the event involves all students in grades 6–8. Ferreri noted that the presentation serves a dual purpose: it reinforces the students’ understanding while bridging the gap between the classroom and the home.
“The event also gives the students an opportunity to teach the new modeling techniques and math approaches to their parents, so they are equipped to help with the ‘new’ math at home,” she said.
Reflecting on the presentation, Ferreri expressed high praise for her students’ performance.
“All the students did an amazing job guiding and explaining their reasoning,” she said. “I’m proud of the courage and confidence they displayed and grateful to all the parents and families that came out to support us.”