WASHINGTON -- President Joe Biden announced the formation of a DOD China Task Force to provide a baseline assessment of department policies, programs and processes in regard to the challenge China poses.Ely Ratner, a special assistant to Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III, will lead the...

SANTA RITA, Guam -- The Coast Guard medevaced a 51-year-old crewmember from the 211-foot Japanese-flagged fishing vessel Shoyo Maru 1,501 miles east of Guam on Wake Island, Tuesday.An Air Station Barbers Point HC-130 Hercules aircrew successfully transported the man from Wake Island to awaiting...

WASHINGTON -- Pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby provided the following readout:Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III and Philippines Secretary of National Defense Delfin Lorenzana held an introductory phone call during which they discussed a number of priority of bilateral defense issues for...

OKINAWA, Japan -- Marines with Marine Aerial Refueler Transport Squadron 152 (VMGR-152) and Marine Wing Support Squadron 172 (MWSS-172), 1st Marine Aircraft Wing, showcased expeditionary advanced basing capabilities Feb. 7, 2020 as part of MEFEX 21, travelling from Okinawa to the Republic of Palau...

SOUTH CHINA SEA -- The Theodore Roosevelt Carrier Strike Group conducted dual carrier operations with the Nimitz Carrier Strike Group in the South China Sea, Feb. 9.The ships and aircraft of the two strike groups coordinated operations in a highly trafficked area to demonstrate the U.S. Navy's...

DONNELLY TRAINING AREA, Alasak -- Paratroopers from the 4th Brigade Combat Team (Airborne), 25th Infantry Division, “Spartan Brigade,” executed a joint forcible entry operation into Donnelly Training Area, Alaska, to begin Exercise Arctic Warrior 21.Spartan Paratroopers conducted an airborne...

U.S. Embassy & Consulates in India -- President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. spoke today with Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India, committing that the United States and India will work closely together to win the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, renew their partnership on climate change, rebuild the...

KAPOLEI, Hawaii -- Alaska Air National Guard personnel completed four weeks of training during Exercise H20 in Hawaii, Feb. 6, honing their long-range search and rescue capability for the NASA human spaceflight program they are responsible for supporting.The Air Guard’s 176th Wing at Joint Base...

WASHINGTON -- The Defense Department's glass ceiling is cracking: Kathleen H. Hicks was confirmed by the Senate as the 35th deputy secretary of defense late yesterday, Feb. 8, 2021.Hicks, a career civil servant who started at the Pentagon as a management intern in 1993, returns to a department...

Japan -- The U.S. Navy and the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF), began Mine Warfare Exercise (MIWEX) 1JA 2021 off the coast of southwestern Japan, Jan. 28.MIWEX 1JA is part of an annual series of exercises between the U.S. Navy and Japan Maritime Defense Force (JMSDF) designed to increase...