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US military picks up distress signal, helps coordinate rescue of 131 migrants in the Mediterranean
A vessel carrying 131 migrants was deflating off the coast of Libya on July 21 when a U.S. unit conducting surveillance received their distress call.
By Harm Venhuizen
DoD ships Thanksgiving turkeys to troops deployed along the border
Troops will be spending the holiday on base, and leave is up to individual commanders, Pentagon officials said.
By Tara Copp, AP
Why migrants won’t see armed US troops on the border
As thousands of migrants in a caravan of Central American asylum-seekers converge on the doorstep of the United States, what they won’t find are armed American troops standing guard.
Pentagon: Troop contingent on border ‘pretty much peaked’
The number of U.S. active-duty troops deployed to the U.S.-Mexico border has “pretty much peaked” at the current total of 5,800, the Pentagon’s No. 2 official said Thursday.
By Robert Burns, The Associated Press
Mattis: Troops to stop using the term ‘secure’ at border locations
The military will have met initial the DHS request within the next week, but forces will remain through the holidays, at least.
By Tara Copp, AP
Homeland Security secretary expected to leave
President Donald Trump has soured on Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen and she is expected to leave her job, perhaps as soon as this week, according to two people with knowledge of the issue.
By Zeke Miller, The Associated Press
Mattis to visit border troops; still no cost estimate for mission
Up to 7,000 active-duty forces are responding to the caravan. But are they in the right place?
By Tara Copp, AP
Extra pay for border deployment? Here’s what troops can expect
Troops away from their families for more than 30 days may see extra pay.
By Tara Copp, AP
Why were active-duty forces picked over Guard to defend the border? Capabilities, Pentagon says
Pentagon faces questions over the roles and limits U.S. forces will have when migrants reach the border.
By Tara Copp, AP
‘I didn’t say shoot’: Trump says migrants will be arrested, not shot, if they throw rocks
The president seemed to walk back earlier remarks that troops should consider rock-throwing akin to using guns.
By Tara Copp, AP
Border mission doesn’t fit Mattis’ focus on ‘lethality’
Defense Secretary Jim Mattis has left no doubt that his top priority as leader of the military is making it more “lethal” — better at war and more prepared for it — and yet nothing about the military’s new mission at the U.S.-Mexico border advances that goal. Some argue it detracts from it.
By Robert Burns, The Associated Press and Lolita C. Baldor, The Associated Press