DOD Condemns Capitol Attack | 6,200 Guardsmen Head to D.C.

Jan. 8, 2021

Edited by Amy McCullough with Brian W. Everstine and Jennifer-Leigh Oprihory

Acting Defense Secretary Briefs Pentagon Reporters

Acting Defense Secretary Christopher C. Miller briefs reporters from the Pentagon on Nov. 17, 2020. Defense Department photo by Air Force Staff Sgt. Jack Sanders.

Military Leaders Condemn Capitol Attack, Call for Unity

By Brian W. Everstine

The Jan. 6 violence at the Capitol building has prompted senior military officials, including the Acting Defense Secretary, to reiterate the Pentagon's commitment to a peaceful transfer of power and to address concerns among troops. Acting Defense Secretary Christopher C. Miller, in a statement released Jan. 7, said the mob attacking the Capitol “was reprehensible and contrary to the tenets of the United States Constitution.” He praised the Guard personnel who responded with “honor, integrity, and alacrity.” In a thread on Twitter, Air Force Lt. Gen. S. Clinton Hinote, the deputy chief of staff for strategy, integration, and requirements, related the situation to 9/11, saying the nation must come together as it did then.

SECARMY Approves 6,200 Guard Troops to Quell Chaos in D.C.

By Jennifer-Leigh Oprihory and Brian W. Everstine

Less than 24 hours after the U.S. Capitol was penetrated by violent rioting that temporarily placed the area on lockdown, more than 6,000 Guard personnel from Washington, D.C., and multiple states are being mobilized to address chaos in the District. Troops are erecting a seven-foot fence around the U.S. Capitol to stop a subsequent invasion, and D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser called on Congress to give it control over its own National Guard. During a Jan. 7 joint press conference with Bowser and the chief of the Metropolitan Police Department, Army Secretary Ryan D. McCarthy said 850 troops were slated to be on the U.S. Capitol grounds by noon on Jan. 7, and a total of 6,200 Guard troops from D.C., Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, and New York would be in the National Capitol Region by this weekend. It's not clear how many of those are in the Air National Guard.

B-52s Fly Direct to Middle East for 4th Time in 2 Months

By Brian W. Everstine

Two B-52s flew a direct, 36-hour round-trip flight from Minot Air Force Base, N.D., to the Persian Gulf this week in the latest of a series of task force missions to the region. The B-52Hs from the 5th Bomb Wing took off from Minot on Jan. 6 and linked up with multiple refueling tankers before flying over an undisclosed area of the Persian Gulf “to send a clear deterrent message by displaying the ability to deploy overwhelming combat power on short notice,” U.S. Central Command said in a statement. The long sortie is the fourth in the past two months and the first of 2021. It comes as CENTCOM postures the USS Nimitz aircraft carrier and other assets in the region as well.

Department of the Air Force Cracks Down on Climate, Disciplinary Issues

By Jennifer-Leigh Oprihory

The Department of the Air Force recently rolled out two policy changes aimed at holding commanders more accountable for climate-related deficiencies and disciplinary equity within their units. The first requires commanders with low diversity and inclusion-related scores to develop a plan to remedy those shortcomings. The second policy change requires commanders to record demographic data about themselves and the Airmen or Guardians they counsel, admonish, or punish.

SASC to Consider Austin Nomination for Defense Secretary on Jan. 19

By Brian W. Everstine

The Senate Armed Services Committee will consider the nomination of retired Army Gen. Lloyd J. Austin III to be Defense Secretary on Jan. 19. Because Austin retired from the Army in 2016, from the position of commander of U.S. Central Command, Congress must approve a waiver before Austin can become Defense Secretary, due to a law prohibiting a former military official from taking the job within seven years of leaving service. Congress approved such a waiver for James N. Mattis in 2017.

Radar Sweep

Snapshot: DOD and COVID-19

Air Force Magazine

Here's a look at how the Defense Department is being impacted by and responding to the COVID-19 pandemic.

This is Why the National Guard Didn’t Respond to the Attack on the Capitol

Military Times

Investigations are imminent, to determine whether the Capitol Police were undermanned and unprepared for the threat posed by two days of rallies against the results of the 2020 election, but the answer as to why troops posted blocks away were unable to respond to the siege is as simple—or as complicated—as a morass of bureaucracy. Simply put, the National Guard only shows up when they’ve been invited, and the Capitol Police did not extend that invitation until after the breach, according to a source with knowledge of the process, who was not authorized to speak about it on the record.

Military Officers in Congress Join Call to Invoke 25th Amendment, Remove Trump

Military.com

An Air National Guard lieutenant colonel who serves as a Republican in Congress is calling for President Donald Trump to be removed from office after his supporters stormed into the U.S. Capitol, disrupting a vote to affirm Joe Biden as the next commander in chief.

How the Space Force Foiled an Iranian Missile Attack with a Critical Early Warning

C4ISRNET

The public now knows what many in the national security community suspected: That early warning system was the Space Based Infrared System, a constellation of satellites that surveils Earth’s surface 24/7 to detect missiles. Rarely has the Defense Department offered such a high profile example of the system’s capabilities and its direct impact on the American warfighter.

DARPA Satellites Damaged at Processing Facility Ahead of SpaceX Launch

SpaceNews

The satellites are part of the Blackjack program, an effort led by DARPA and the Air Force Research Laboratory to deploy a constellation of small satellites in low-Earth orbit.

As New Member of IC, Space Force Is Looking for a Clearer Picture of Orbit and Beyond

Federal News Network

New details are emerging on how the 18th member of the Intelligence Community will be set up as the Space Force continues to entrench itself as the newest service of the military.

Iran Just Fired Its Sidewinder Missile Clone from a Drone

The Drive

Reports claim that the drone-launched Azarakhsh missile successfully brought down an aerial target.

Iron Dome Heads for Key US Integration Test

Breaking Defense

With the second battery now bound for the U.S., the Israeli-made missile defense system must prove it works with American command networks. “We have a very detailed plan to do the integration,” Rafael’s Pini Yungman said.

One More Thing

Cormac the Llama Yields Antibodies That May Prove Effective Against COVID-19

Defense Department release

Researchers at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences recently identified pint-sized antibodies, or "nanobodies," that could protect against COVID-19. At least one of these nanobodies—produced by a llama named Cormac—also appears to work well in either liquid or aerosol form, suggesting it could also help protect a person's lungs from infections.