Source: United States Navy
MONTEREY, Calif. – The Naval Postgraduate School (NPS) celebrated the achievements of its 2026 Spring Quarter graduating class during a commencement ceremony in King Hall, June 18, recognizing more than 400 U.S. and allied military officers and government civilians prepared to excel in the fleet and force through advanced education and research.
Source: United States Navy
SAN DIEGO (June 19, 2026) – Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Fitzgerald (DDG 62) returned to its homeport of Naval Base San Diego following a three-month underway to the U.S. 3rd Fleet and 7th Fleet areas of operations, June 19.
Source: United States Navy
PEARL HARBOR, Hawaii – U.S. Pacific Command joint forces, along with allied and partner forces, are scheduled to participate in exercise Valiant Shield (VS26) 2026, June 22–July 1, in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, Japan, and at sea around the Mariana Islands Range Complex.
Source: United States Army
BOISE, Idaho – The Idaho Army National Guard’s 2-116th Combined Arms Battalion reorganized as a mobile infantry battalion June 18 in a ceremony at Gowen Field, part of a strategic modernization effort designed to strengthen the military’s capabilities in response to emerging global threats.
“The nature of warfare is evolving, and so too must we,” said Lt. Col. Jared Mckie, executive officer of the 116th Cavalry Brigade Combat Team (Mobile Brigade Combat Team). “Defeating the adversaries of tomorrow requires a force that is more agile, more deployable and capable of operating across vastly different, complex terrain.”
During the ceremony, the unit was reorganized as the 2nd Battalion, 116th Cavalry Regiment (Mobile Infantry). Its two armor companies and one mechanized infantry company were redesignated as mobile infantry companies; a newly formed multi-purpose company was activated; and its logistics support company was reorganized as a combat logistics company.
The reorganization is part of the 116th Cavalry Brigade Combat Team’s transition from an armor brigade to a mobile brigade combat team as part of the U.S. Army’s Transformation Initiative. The modernization effort is designed to strengthen the military’s capabilities by adapting fighting formations and integrating new technologies to prepare units and Soldiers to fight on the battlefield of the future.
The regiment has turned in its Abrams Main Battle Tanks and Bradley Fighting Vehicles for Infantry Squad Vehicles, which are based on the Chevrolet Colorado ZR2 platform and can carry up to nine Soldiers.
“The tools we fight with are changing, but the mission remains the same: to find the enemy, fix them and destroy them,” Mckie said. “The vehicles we fight on will change, but the lethality, the discipline and the proud heritage of the 2-116th will remain intact.”
The unit’s headquarters and headquarters company will remain in Caldwell. A Company will relocate from Emmett to Burley. B Company will remain in Nampa. C Company will remain on Gowen Field. D Company, the newly formed multi-purpose company, will be located in Emmett and provide the regiment with organic strike, reconnaissance and sensing capabilities.
G Company, 145th Brigade Support Battalion, was reorganized as C Company, 145th Light Support Battalion and will remain on Gowen Field. The event also featured a change-of-command ceremony for all the battalion’s company commanders and a change-of-responsibility ceremony for all its first sergeants.
Earlier this month, the 116th Cavalry Brigade Combat Team (Mobile Brigade Combat Team)’s engineer battalion was inactivated, and a signal, engineer and military company were each reactivated as part of the brigade’s transition to a mobile brigade combat team. In July, the Idaho Army National Guard will activate the 1st of the 116th Cavalry Regiment (Mobile Infantry), which will be headquartered in Lewiston. Logistics and engineer companies in northern Idaho will convert to infantry units.
In August, the 145th Brigade Support Battalion will relocate from Lewiston to the new Jerome Readiness Center and become the 145th Light Support Battalion. The Jerome Readiness Center will be dedicated to former Idaho Gov. Dirk Kempthorne on June 29.
Units in Twin Falls and Jerome were already scheduled to relocate to the Jerome Readiness Center later this summer and will now become logistical support units. Elsewhere in the Magic Valley region, the field artillery battery in Burley will relocate to Boise.
In eastern Idaho, the 1st of the 148th Field Artillery Regiment’s headquarters will remain in Pocatello. The region will gain an infantry company in Saint Anthony and gain nearly 275 additional part-time Soldiers. Following the transition, which is expected to be completed by the end of September, Idaho Army National Guard units will be located in 19 communities across the state.
Outside Idaho, subordinate battalions of the 116th Cavalry Brigade Combat Team from the Montana and Oregon Army National Guards converted to infantry battalions and ceased affiliation with the brigade. The 1st of the 221st Cavalry Regiment, headquartered in Las Vegas, Nevada, will remain affiliated with the brigade and convert to a mobile infantry battalion.
The 116th Cavalry Brigade Combat Team (Mobile Brigade Combat Team) will retain its cavalry lineage and designation following its transition.
The brigade traces its lineage to the 1st Cavalry, which was constituted on March 4, 1920, and organized throughout Idaho’s Snake River Valley. The unit was redesignated as the 116th Cavalry on Oct. 12, 1921, and has been headquartered in Boise since Dec. 9, 1930. Elements of the brigade and its predecessor organizations have served in every major conflict since 1891, including the Spanish-American War, the Mexican Border Campaign, World War I, World War II, Korea, Vietnam and operations in support of the Global War on Terrorism.
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Source: United States Army
FORT INDIANTOWN GAP, Pa. – Soldiers with the Pennsylvania National Guard’s 1st Battalion, 112th Infantry Regiment, 56th Mobile Brigade Combat Team conducted training June 17-18 on the new vehicle they will use for movement to and from mission locations.
The Infantry Squad Vehicle, or ISV, is a light, unarmored vehicle capable of transporting an infantry squad of nine Soldiers and their gear over rugged terrain, emphasizing speed and agility over armor and firepower. The ISV is the primary vehicle used by the Army’s relatively new mobile brigade combat teams.
Staff Sgt. Jordan Briggs, the battalion master driver, led the initial training on the ISV, training the trainers for each company. Briggs walked through each step of the preventive maintenance checks and services for the vehicle, a vital step in caring for and maintaining each vehicle to remain mission-ready and capable.
He then walked them through the vehicle’s capabilities and how to operate it. Each Soldier then completed a driving course around Fort Indiantown Gap.
“The companies’ representatives performed exceptionally well throughout the course, demonstrating strong technical proficiency disciplined execution, and a clear commitment to safety,” Briggs said. “The training not only met but exceeded expectations, producing confident and capable ISV operators ready to support mission requirements.”
The next training was conducted by the companies to develop confidence in the vehicle platform.
“I thought the training was very thorough,” said Spc. Nathan Breitenstein of A Company. “It addressed everything from walking up to the vehicle not knowing anything about it to being comfortable driving it. I feel confident in operating it based on our training.”
Sgt. Connor Vaughan, also with A Company, has experience driving several military vehicle platforms. He praised the training as well, explaining that it was very easy to understand the ISV’s purpose and capabilities.
“I’m looking forward to the implementation into the company, to see their scope and how we will use them in the field,” Vaughan said. “I think they’re pretty slick.”
The 56th Mobile Brigade Combat Team had been a Stryker brigade for 20 years before converting to a mobile brigade combat team in March. As a Stryker brigade, it was centered around eight-wheeled, armored Stryker vehicles.
Several ISVs arrived at Fort Indiantown Gap earlier in 2026 for driver training. The remainder of the brigade’s ISVs are expected to begin arriving in 2027.
The battalion plans to continue training Soldiers on the ISV throughout annual training to build a strong base of confident drivers, fully capable of operating the vehicle during any mission.
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Source: United States Army
ASUNCIÓN, Paraguay – Friendship, or amistad in Spanish, brings more than 20 National Guard medical professionals from throughout the country to Paraguay, but this is more than a cultural exchange. The seasoned practitioners brought thousands of hours of clinical experience to share with Paraguayan medical professionals and offer care to locals during Exercise Amistad 2026.
The annual exercise – which includes rotations in both Paraguay and the Dominican Republic this year – is tailored to the host nation’s needs. Guard members from Arkansas, Colorado, Iowa, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Utah are taking part in the exercise in Asunción, Paraguay, June 15-26.
The overall goal is to deliver care while strengthening partnerships and exchanging expertise in real-world conditions.
“It is absolutely incredible to watch a U.S. joint medical operations team come to a country they may have never been to and operate in multiple locations,” said U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Peter Mudge, commander of the Arkansas Air National Guard’s 188th Medical Group, and mission commander of the Paraguay portion of the exercise. “They are doing all this with teammates and all foreign partners they have never met, with a common goal of providing world class medical care in whatever situation they are given. They are, plain and simple, amazing.”
The Guard members and their Paraguayan partners are melded into four teams to provide aid at clinics selected by Paraguay’s Ministry of Health, each of which sees an average of about 100 patients a day. This year is focused primarily on optometry and audiology services, but also included dental and family care.
“Audiology and optometry definitely impact people’s lives,” said Mudge. “You can see it on people’s faces when they get glasses or hear better than they have ever have in their lives. Seeing the brightness on their face is just an incredible experience.”
U.S. Army Maj. Meghan Hart, a physician assistant with the Massachusetts Army National Guard Medical Detachment, echoed Mudge’s enthusiasm.
“It’s a special mission that we have, being able to treat the local community where they’re resource limited, so we’re able to bring a little bit of outside support to them,” she said.
“But we’re also able to see our impact almost immediately, and that’s the most rewarding thing.”
Although providing care in South America was new to many of the team members, interacting with patients is what most of the team does in their civilian careers.
Serving in the Guard allows Soldiers like U.S. Army Capt. Brad Daniels-Demers to be a nurse practitioner as a part-time military member with the Massachusetts Army Guard Med. Det. and work full time in a hospital as a nurse practitioner on the civilian side.
“I think the Guard has a particular advantage, because not only do we have our military-trained skill set, but we also have civilian career skills,” he said. “So, when we match those things together, not only do we offer a variety of knowledge, but we can offer more to the local community.”
For the Massachusetts National Guard members, working with Paraguayans is familiar territory. The Massachusetts Guard has a 25-year partnership with Paraguay through the Department of War National Guard State Partnership Program. The program pairs Guard elements with partner nations for mutual training and subject matter expert exchanges.
Although Amistad is not an SPP event, it builds on foundations developed through the program and mirrors its focus of exchanging best practices. The emphasis was on Guard members mentoring Paraguayan medical students working alongside them in the clinics.
For U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Kirk Drennan, an optometrist with the Utah Air National Guard’s 151st Medical Group who is also fluent in Spanish, the ability to communicate without a translator increased his ability to provide care. It has also improved his working relationship with his Paraguayan counterpart, Paraguayan Dr. Petter Gumercindo, who has finished medical school and is working toward becoming an ophthalmologist, he said.
“Hopefully that translates into perpetual care where they can go on to treat more and more, and we can snowball this into bigger and greater things,” he said.
Drennan’s snowball effect is already coming to fruition, with the next phase of the exercise scheduled to bring Guard members to the Dominican Republic later this summer.
Amistad is just one of many exercises and operations Guard members participate in globally.
“Our Soldiers and Airmen gain invaluable experience working alongside trusted partners, sharing expertise, strengthening readiness and building relationships that enhance security,” said U.S. Air Force Gen. Steve Nordhaus, chief of the National Guard Bureau.
Related Links
The Official Website of the National Guard | NationalGuard.mil
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Source: United States Navy
When U.S. Marine Corps Maj. Nickolas Mohr graduated from the Naval Postgraduate School (NPS) in September 2025, he left with more than a master’s degree in computer science — he carried with him a new way of thinking about complex problems.
Source: United States Army
FORT INDIANTOWN GAP, Pa. – The Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) Training and Innovation Facility soon will undergo modernization changes that will strengthen its readiness to train Soldiers, including creating an innovation classroom, a high-tech classroom, a simulator room, a locker room and a mock urban village for training.
Plans also call for the facility to eventually have a drone racecourse and host competitions.
“We are building this facility out so that everybody is going to get a better level of education,” said Chief Warrant Officer 2 Nathan Shea, the facility’s officer in charge. “We truly are trying to embrace building smarter Soldiers for the future Army. In addition, we’re giving them the tools and training them how to use those tools. The more tools we can put in their back pocket as they move forward, the more ready they’re going to be for future fights.”
The facility has been a beehive of activity over the last few months. On Feb. 19, a team of Soldiers from the facility won the innovation competition at the U.S. Army’s inaugural Best Drone Warfighter Competition in Alabama. Since then, activity at the facility has “exploded,” Shea said.
“We’re going through a massive amount of changes,” said Shea, who is assigned to M Company, 56th Mobile Brigade Combat Team. “This facility has become a massive hub for training, and our lab space has never been busier.”
Since the Best Drone Warfighter Competition, the UAS Training and Innovation Facility has been designated as a training site for the 15X military occupational specialty transition course and as the primary training site for drones selected in the Department of War’s Drone Gauntlet competition.
As a result of these additional programs, construction is underway on upgrades to the facility, and the number of full-time employees has increased from six to 16.
“We’ve had a lot of new people come in, a lot of building changes and a lot of equipment changes,” said Sgt. 1st Class Brent Wehr, course manager for the 15X MOS transition course. “There’s been a lot of big changes here.”
A ‘heavy lift’
The UAS facility was established in 2007. Initially, it was home to 28th Infantry Division units that used the RQ-7 Shadow, a fixed-wing UAS with a 20-foot wingspan, designed for surveillance, reconnaissance and target acquisition.
The Army stopped using Shadows in January 2024, and Soldiers at the facility then began experimenting with small, first-person view, or FPV, drones as they awaited a new mission. New missions arrived this year in the form of the 15X MOS-T course and the Drone Gauntlet training program.
Pennsylvania was selected to be one of two states, along with Mississippi, to host the 15X MOS-T course for the reserve component. The course is part of the effort to merge two MOSs, 15W (Shadow UAS operator) and 15E (UAS maintainer), Shea said.
“The idea moving forward is an operator and a maintainer will be the same thing, and that’s where we get the 15X,” Shea said.
The first class is expected to begin in October, and Shea expects six classes per year to be conducted at the UASTIF.
The Drone Gauntlet competition, meanwhile, is part of the Department of War’s “Drone Dominance” guidance issued in 2025. Through the program, the Unmanned Aircraft System Training and Innovation Facility, or UASTIF, will receive eight drones that are selected during the Drone Gauntlet, and Soldiers at the facility will receive training on the drones from their manufacturers.
The Soldiers will then train Soldiers from active- and reserve-component Army units selected to receive the drones.
The UASTIF was selected for this program because of its close relationship with Tobyhanna Army Depot in northeast Pennsylvania and Picatinny Arsenal in New Jersey, as well as the work the facility was already doing in the drone space, Shea said.
“We get the new equipment training from the vendor, and then our job is to train all of active duty as well as some National Guard that have been selected for it,” Shea said. “It’s quite the heavy lift as we go through this.”
Upgrades on the horizon
With the new programs, significant changes are coming to the facility. A maintenance area that was previously converted into an innovation lab will be expanded to become an innovation classroom. The lab currently has several soldering stations and three 3D printers, with two more printers on the way.
“It’s a space where we can instruct in soldering skills, printing skills, everything like that,” Shea said. “It’s designed to be lab space for Soldiers to receive instruction and give our own people the space to work, tear apart systems, repair systems and everything else along those lines.”
The 3D printers are used to prototype drone parts or to print repair parts that may have broken on an existing drone.
Elsewhere in the facility, a high-tech classroom, a simulator room and a locker room are being added, as well as office space for the facility’s full-time personnel.
In addition to changes inside the UASTIF, several upgrades are underway outside. The facility has had an indoor drone obstacle course for about a year and recently built an outdoor course. They are both made primarily from construction materials such as lumber and PVC pipe. The indoor course is where Soldiers first start learning to fly drones, and the outdoor obstacle course was designed to mimic flying through windows and doors in an urban setting, Shea said.
In the coming weeks, a mock urban village made from shipping containers will be moved from elsewhere on Fort Indiantown Gap’s grounds to the facility’s grounds to create a UAS-specific urban operations site. Eventually, Shea said, the facility will have a drone racecourse and host competitions.
An exciting time
Wehr, who has worked at the UASTIF for six years and has been involved in UAS operations for his entire 12-year military career, said it’s an exciting time to be at the facility.
“Shadow was fun back in the day,” said Wehr, who is assigned to M Company, 56th Mobile Brigade Combat Team. “It was a more standard schedule, but with all these changes it’s definitely more exciting and more hands-on than it used to be.”
Today’s UAS operators have to know more than just how to fly one; they need to be able to fix them as well, Wehr said. The UASTIF will help Soldiers learn to do both.
“I think it’s a great facility,” Wehr said. “It’s a perfect place to learn how to fly and how to fix drones.”
The UASTIF was already a great facility, Shea said, and with all the changes coming, it’s going to be even more technologically advanced. He noted that six months ago the facility didn’t have any 3D printers or soldering stations, and its classroom space was limited.
Related Links
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Source: United States Army
Back to U.S. Army Southern European Task Force, Africa
VICENZA, Italy — When U.S. Army Master Sgt. Chad Spencer was a young infantry Marine deployed overseas, he wanted something simple: a comfortable place to sleep.
It was one of the small things that mattered most after long days in the field — the kind of thing people take for granted until they don’t have it.
Years later, Spencer carries that memory with him as an Army engineer. Now, when he attends planning events for exercises like Justified Accord, he looks at the mission through the lens of taking care of the next generation of service members.
That mindset helped shape discussions during the Justified Accord 2027 Initial Planning Event that took place June 8-12, when U.S., Kenyan and Tanzanian planners gathered to refine exercise requirements and explore how innovation can improve training, operations and support for multinational forces in the field.
U.S. Army Southern European Task Force, Africa (SETAF-AF) hosted the planning event that gathered U.S. military and interagency planners, as well as representatives from the Dutch army, the Czech army, Kenya Defence Forces and Tanzania People’s Defence Force, to continue developing the framework for Justified Accord 2027.
Led by SETAF-AF, Justified Accord is U.S. Africa Command’s premier exercise in East Africa. The exercise focuses on strengthening multinational readiness, improving crisis-response capabilities and building interoperability among participating forces.
“Collaboration during JA27- IPE goes far beyond event planning,” said Kenyan Brig. Gen. Samuel Kimani, the lead Kenyan planner for Justified Accord 2027. “It translates the conceptual framework established during the concept decision event into concrete, synchronized activities. This is where our practical commitment to interoperability takes root.”
Throughout the week, planners discussed exercise objectives, training locations, movement requirements, logistical support, public affairs coordination and ways to integrate technology and innovation into the exercise.
Innovation does not always mean creating something new from the ground up, according to Spencer. Sometimes, it means finding a better way to solve a familiar problem.
As an Army engineer, Spencer said that planning events provide an opportunity to look at what service members will need in the field and identify practical solutions early. That can include everything from infrastructure and life support, to how units move, communicate and sustain themselves during an exercise.
“I always think back to being a younger service member in the field,” Spencer said. “That experience is why I do what I do now to make sure troops are taken care of.”
Those discussions are especially important during an exercise like Justified Accord, where forces from multiple nations and U.S. government agencies must operate together across different locations and training environments. By identifying requirements early, planners can better support the military personnel and civilian partners who will execute the exercise on the ground.
“Through the deliberate coordination of movements, exercise locations and logistical requirements, planners ensure participants from all contributing nations can operate seamlessly as a unified force,” Kimani said. “The goal remains constant: to prepare our forces for effective and efficient crisis response by drawing on international best practices, integrating technology and innovation, and fostering mutual respect that endures long after the exercise concludes.”
The initial planning event also allowed U.S., Kenyan and Tanzanian planners to continue building relationships ahead of future planning events. Those relationships are central to the success of Justified Accord, where shared understanding and coordination are just as important as the training itself.
“We’re looking forward to working with our Kenyan and Tanzanian partners during Justified Accord,” said U.S. Army Col. Benjamin Roark, SETAF-AF’s G7 director. “During this initial planning event, we made great strides toward building a successful exercise. Bringing our partners and allies together here in Italy, including senior planners from the Kenya Defence Forces and Tanzania People’s Defence Force, helps ensure we are aligned early in the planning process.”
As planning continues, SETAF-AF and partner-nation planners will further refine training objectives, confirm support requirements and continue identifying ways to bring innovation into the exercise.
For Spencer, that work comes back to a simple idea: taking care of the people who will carry out the mission.
The same small details he remembers from his time in the field now inform how he approaches planning for others. Whether that means improved infrastructure, better coordination or new technology, the goal is to ensure participants have what they need to train effectively.
Justified Accord 2027 is scheduled to take place Feb. 19 to March 5, 2027, in Kenya and Tanzania.
About SETAF-AF
U.S. Army Southern European Task Force, Africa (SETAF-AF) prepares Army forces, executes crisis response, enables strategic competition and strengthens partners to achieve U.S. Army Europe and Africa and U.S. Africa Command campaign objectives.
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Source: United States Army
WEST POINT, New York -New York Army National Guard Command Sgt. Major Jonathan Cross, a Lakeview resident, is now the top enlisted leader for more than 4,000 Soldiers of the Guard’s 27th Infantry Brigade Combat Team.
Cross assumed responsibility as new top enlisted leader during a June 14 ceremony at the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York.
The brigade is headquartered in Syracuse and has units across New York and in Massachusetts.
The 27th Infantry Brigade Combat Team has a long lineage of history dating back to World War I where the unit saw its first major action in 1918 in France as the then 27th Infantry Division. Nicknamed the “Orion Brigade” the unit’s name plays off the name of Maj. Gen. John F. O’Ryan, the 27th Division Commander in World War I.
The unit’s patch is designed with seven stars in red on a black circled background with a monogram NYD for New York Division in red. Black stands for iron, the red for blood.
“The mission of the Infantry remains clear, to close with and destroy the enemy,” said Cross. “This brigade exists for one reason, to fight and win our nation’s wars”, he added.
Cross deployed to Iraq in 2004 in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom completing his active duty obligation then subsequently joining the New York National Guard from 2005 to 2007 before transferring to the North Carolina National Guard and deploying for a second time in his career to Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.
This is Cross’ second position as Command Sergeant Major. He previously served as the 2nd Squadron, 101st Cavalry Regiment senior enlisted leader.
Col. Bradley Frank, the outgoing commander of 27th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, presided over the ceremony and said, “you bring a well rounded foundation that will serve this brigade exceptionally well. You are known for leading from the front and getting into the mud with your Soldiers, exactly the kind of leader this formation needs.”
Frank moved out of the command position, replaced by Col. Matthew Kilgore, following the ceremony.
As brigade command sergeant major, Cross will be responsible for the readiness and training of more than 4,000 enlisted Soldiers within the 27th.
Cross, who is a Hamburg police lieutenant in civilian life, enlisted in the Army in 2002. While on active duty he served with 1st Battalion 509th, Parachute Infantry Regiment (Airborne) before leaving active duty and joining the New York Army National Guard in 2005.
In 2013, Cross transferred back to the New York National Guard serving as a Mortar Section Leader with the Alpha Troop 2nd Squadron, 101st Cavalry Regiment. In 2016, he reached the rank of first sergeant and served as top enlisted leader of Charlie Troop 2nd Squadron, 101st Cavalry Regiment.
His most recent deployment occurred in 2017 when he mobilized to Ukraine in support of Operation Atlantic Resolve, assigned to the Joint Multi-National Training Group-Ukraine.
His awards include the Bronze Star Medal, the Meritorious Service Medal, the Army Commendation Medal, the Army Achievement Medal, the Iraqi Campaign Medal, the Afghanistan Campaign Medal, the NATO Medal, the Master Combat Infantryman Badge, Air Assault Badge, the Combat Aviation Badge, the Drivers and Mechanics Badge, and the Parachutist Badge.
Cross’ military education includes Airborne School, Warrior Leaders Course, Infantry Mortar Leaders Course, Basic Non-Commissioned Officers Course, Battalion Career Counselor Course, Route Reconnaissance Clearance Course, Maneuver Senior Leaders Course, Air Assault, Reconnaissance and Surveillance Leaders Course, the Cavalry Leaders Course, and the Sergeants Major Course.
He and his wife, Rachel, have two daughters, Alana and Ainslee