Good Morning.
This seems important today.
The Marines Are Leaving Los Angeles
Hundreds of Marines sent to Los Angeles in response to anti-immigration raid protests are set to head home after a little more than a month in the city, according to the Pentagon, ending a controversial domestic deployment of active-duty troops not seen in more than three decades.
Roughly 700 troops with 2nd Battalion, 7th Marines -- an infantry unit out of Twentynine Palms, California -- rapidly left their installation bound for LA early last month after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth put them on a heightened alert status in response to protests in the city.
It was days until a contingent of the infantry unit actually arrived in LA after having to complete a hasty civil disturbance training course at a local Navy base. Earlier this month, those Marines began rotating out with another infantry unit -- and now all of them are leaving the city.
"With stability returning to Los Angeles, the secretary has directed the redeployment of the 700 Marines whose presence sent a clear message: Lawlessness will not be tolerated," Chief Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said in a statement. "Their rapid response, unwavering discipline, and unmistakable presence were instrumental in restoring order and upholding the rule of law."
Sure, and if you believe the official line - I know a nice bridge in New York that's up for sale. The people have spoken. The military doesn't want any part of this fiasco. Somewhere behind the scenes, a way to save face was devised, and this is the result.
But let's move on quickly. I will likely be back in Florida within a week to ten days. My aged aunt, who I visit on an annual basis, fell on her birthday (July 11) and broke her leg. Fortunately not a hip - but she is in rehab right now and will need some help when she gets out. I am not looking forward to putting another 3,000 miles on my car, but the
alternative mode of travel doesn't make me feel any better right now.
An incident involving an Air Force B-52 Stratofortress and a regional Delta airline passenger jet in North Dakota has now prompted multiple investigations after the bomber appeared near the plane's flight path and the commercial pilot was suddenly forced to evade the military aircraft.
SkyWest flight 3788, operating Friday as a Delta connection between Minneapolis, Minnesota, and Minot, North Dakota, "landed safely in Minot after being cleared for approach by the tower but performed a go-around when another aircraft became visible in their flight path," the regional airline said in an unsigned statement to Military.com on Monday.
The aircraft the passenger jet encountered was allegedly a B-52 bomber. An Air Force spokesperson told Military.com they were aware of the incident and that a "B-52 assigned to Minot AFB conducted a flyover of the North Dakota State Fair Friday evening."
The alleged incident was vividly detailed in a TikTok video that was widely circulated over the weekend showing the pilot of the SkyWest flight apologizing to the passengers aboard for the "aggressive maneuver." The situation comes nearly six months after a passenger plane collided with an Army Black Hawk helicopter in Washington, D.C. -- marking one of the deadliest commercial crashes in recent history -- and brought significant scrutiny to military aviation mishaps.
Naturally, I looked it up. The North Dakota Fairgrounds are literally next to the airport. It doesn't take much of an aviation scholar to see how this would be a problem. Military flybys take place under strict guidelines, believe it or not. Minimum altitude is generally 1,000 feet above ground level. According to the news reports, it sounds like somebody in the tower lost track of the B-52 and neglected to warn the aircraft on final. I also heard that the bomber's transponder was off, which is a pretty big no-no in a Terminal Control Area. Remember when flying was safer than driving?
And let's finish up with the ongoing national military misogyny policy. The superintendent of the Naval Academy was Admiral Yvette Davids, the first woman to ever hold the post. Naturally, we can't have that anymore.
The Trump administration has chosen a Marine officer to replace the first woman to lead the U.S. Naval Academy, trading out one history-making officer for another, well short of the typical three-year tenure for the position.
Lt. Gen. Michael Borgschulte, who currently oversees the Marine Corps' personnel directorate, has been nominated to replace Vice Adm. Yvette Davids as superintendent of the academy, the Pentagon formally announced Friday.
Davids was the first woman to head the service's storied academy. Meanwhile, Borgschulte will be the first Marine to head the academic institution in its 180-year history.
Davids' tenure at the academy was shorter than usual and, in that time, the institution had become a focus for Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and his campaign against topics and materials that the Trump administration considers "woke."
Davids presided over the cancellation of several classes on gender and sexuality that ran afoul of the administration, as well as the abrupt cancellation of a foreign affairs conference on campus over Trump administration directives.
She also complied with orders to remove and review hundreds of books from the shelves of the academy's library that included titles by prominent Black authors -- though ultimately only 21 books may be permanently removed.
And ever onward we go into oblivion.