United States Marines deployed to northern Norway in January 2026 to participate in NATO’s Cold Response exercise, which is designed to enhance the troops’ ability to operate in harsh Arctic climates and defend the alliance’s northern flank. About 3,000 Marines from Camp Lejeune in North Carolina will take part in Cold Response alongside troops from 14 NATO countries when the exercise begins in March, according to the Army Times. “This exercise isn’t just about preparing for today’s threats,” Maj. Gen. Daniel L. Shipley, commander of U.S. Marine Corps Forces Europe and Africa, said in a Marine Corps news release. “It’s…
The Watch
A Canadian warship returned to its home port in December 2025 after a five-month deployment where it took part in NATO operations in the Arctic region. The HMCS St. John’s took part in patrols and exercises with NATO allies, including Operation Reassurance, in the North Atlantic and Norwegian Sea. The St. John’s mission reflects Canada’s commitment to defending the NATO alliance and its capability to project force in the maritime domain far from Canadian shores. “The deployment of His Majesty’s Canadian Ship St. John’s reflects Canada’s steadfast commitment to peace and security in Europe. Serving with professionalism and determination, the ship’s company…
United States officials say large amounts of weapons and ammunition were seized at two Texas border checkpoints in recent months, and a father and son have pleaded guilty to attempted arms smuggling in one of the cases. “Every weapon and round of ammunition seized represents a potential threat neutralized,” Del Rio, Texas, Port Director Liliana Flores said. U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officials at the Del Rio Port of Entry said they seized three weapons, nine magazines and 1,389 rounds of ammunition in a vehicle headed south at the Del Rio International Bridge into Ciudad Acuña, Mexico, on December…
The Royal Bahamas Defence Force (RBDF) apprehended 440 migrants in 2025, a 78% drop from the previous year, as interdictions plummeted along Cuban, Haitian and mixed-nationality routes in the Bahamas-Florida corridor, The Tribune newspaper in The Bahamas reported. In 2024, 2,019 people were intercepted. United States Coast Guard cutters and RBDF forces detained 84 Cubans on the Cay Sal Banks as they were trying to reach Florida in 2025. In addition, 64 Haitians were apprehended as they traveled from Haiti to The Bahamas. Most of the migrants, 292 of them, were of mixed nationalities and entered The Bahamas as tourists,…
The United States Army has signed a deal with the United Kingdom setting up guidelines for sharing intelligence on drone and counter-drone operations, and Army Secretary Dan Driscoll said he’s seeking similar partnerships in the event of a future conflict where allies must battle an adversary together. The “end state” of such preparation, Driscoll said: “Hopefully, dealing with counter-drone and the threat of drones today has made us a lot stronger for that fight in the future.” Driscoll said he and Brig. Gen. Matthew Ross, head of the Army’s Joint Interagency Task Force 401, went to the U.K. in December 2025, and the allied nations approved…
United States Coast Guard forces seized more than 231,786 kilograms of narcotics worth over $3.8 billion in 2025 — the largest haul in the service branch’s history. The successful disruption of transnational criminal organizations, or TCOs, in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific Ocean prevented more than 193 million lethal doses from reaching U.S. shores and saved more than $10 billion in costs in health care and other areas, according to a Coast Guard news release. “The men and women of the Coast Guard delivered extraordinary results for our Nation in 2025,” Adm. Kevin E. Lunday, the Coast Guard’s commandant,…
North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) F-15 warplanes and Civilian Air Patrol aircraft conducted an air defense exercise over southwestern Louisiana in January 2026 as part of the long-running Operation Noble Eagle, designed to reinforce air sovereignty and defense missions in North America. The January 14 exercise, which lasted about one hour between Lafayette and Lake Charles, is part of a series of air defense training operations for a variety of scenarios, including airspace restriction violations, hijackings, and responding to unknown aircraft to test responses, systems and equipment, according to a NORAD news release. NORAD air exercises, including Noble Eagle,…
The United States Department of War has created a new task force in January 2026 to coordinate a whole-of-government effort to detect, disrupt and dismantle transnational criminal organizations, or TCOs, along the Mexico-U.S. border. The Joint Interagency Task Force-Counter Cartel (JIATF-CC) will be run by U.S. Northern Command (USNORTHCOM) and based in Tucson, Arizona. “The JIATF-CC will work with the Homeland Security Task Force National Coordination Center to ensure we are sharing all intelligence between our Department of War, law enforcement, and Intelligence Community partners to ensure our operations across the whole-of-government are synchronized and coordinated to have the greatest…
The United States awarded $3.3 billion in construction contracts to build 156 kilometers of border wall and even more waterborne barriers in Texas and Arizona in November and December 2025, part of a larger effort to the secure the 3,145-kilometer border with Mexico. The new construction will include 90 kilometers of wall and 106 kilometers of waterborne barriers along the border of Laredo, Texas, and Nuevo Laredo, Mexico, a part of the frontier that has never been secured with barriers. The new contracts, awarded by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), will add 156 kilometers of primary border wall,…
The United States Space Force (USSF) is exploring possible upgrades at Vandenberg Space Force Base (VSFB) to launch much bigger rockets from the California facility. The USSF released a request for information, or RFI, on December 29, 2025, seeking industry interest in leasing and developing a site that could accommodate heavy and superheavy lift vehicles like SpaceX’s Starship. USSF is seeking responses from launch service providers by February 12, 2026. SpaceX is already the most active tenant at Vandenberg, with frequent launches of its smaller Falcon 9 rockets, and the space community has been vocal about the possibility of billionaire Elon…