The Second Annual AFNORTH Enlisted Leadership and Development Subject Matter Expert Exchange in May 2024 provided a valuable platform for enlisted leaders across the hemisphere to exchange knowledge. SENIOR MASTER SGT. ALEJANDRO VELEZ/AFNORTH AIR FORCES NORTHERN The Mexican Secretariat of National Defense (DEFENSA) and the Mexican Air Force (FAM) reached a historic milestone March 1 with the establishment of the Sargento Primero Ayudante del Comandante de la Fuerza Aérea Mexicana, the highest enlisted position within FAM. This achievement reflects the dedication of DEFENSA and FAM Commander Gen. Óscar René Rubio Sánchez, whose commitment to enlisted force development has strengthened the…
The Watch
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth speaks during a news conference in Panama City, on April 9, 2025. THE ASSOCIATED PRESS THE ASSOCIATED PRESS U.S. Space Command said April 9 that it has finalized options for the “Golden Dome” missile defense system and has sent its recommendations to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth for his review and approval. The futuristic system was ordered by President Donald Trump during his first week in office and, if successful, would mark the first time the U.S. places weapons in space that are meant to destroy ground-based missiles within seconds of launch. In his January executive order,…
The Finnish government is asking its Parliament to extend a border closure measure, enacted in July 2024, that closes off the Nordic country’s land frontier with Russia. REUTERS REUTERS Finland’s government asked Parliament in March 2025 to extend until the end of 2026 a law that allows it to reject asylum applications from migrants crossing its closed eastern border with Russia and to send them back. NATO member Finland has accused Russia of weaponizing migration by encouraging migrants from third countries to cross their shared border, an assertion the Kremlin has repeatedly denied. “The threat of instrumentalized migration at Finland’s eastern border remains…
A U.S. Soldier, attached to 1st Battalion, 5th Infantry Regiment, wears snowshoes during Joint Pacific Multinational Readiness Center 24-02 at Donnelly training area, Alaska. The Soldiers used the cold weather gear move along the wood line for 1 kilometer. PFC. ELIJAH MAGAÑA/U.S. ARMY THE WATCH STAFF For the first time in more than 50 years, the U.S. Army has released a manual that will serve as a blueprint for Soldiers and Marines operating in the Arctic and extreme cold. The 267-page Army Techniques Publication (ATP) 3-90.96: Arctic and Extreme Cold Weather Operations was published in February. The new document comes…
Russian soldiers march in the Independence Day military parade in Mexico City in 2023. THE ASSOCIATED PRESS THE WATCH STAFF As Moscow rapidly expanded a spy nest at its embassy in Mexico City, Russian migrants surged across the Mexico border into the United States and Russian media outlets blanketed the Mexican people with Moscow’s malign propaganda. After the start of the Russia-Ukraine war in February 2022, the Kremlin set its sights on Mexico to gain closer access to U.S. intelligence and influence. The Kremlin added 37 diplomatic workers — an increase of about 75% — to its existing Mexican embassy…
Federal prosecutors said in March 2025 that Mexican cartel leader Rafael Caro-Quintero may face the death penalty for the 1985 murder of a United States Drug Enforcement Administration agent. THE ASSOCIATED PRESS THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Federal prosecutors are considering seeking the death penalty against Mexican drug lord Rafael Caro Quintero in a sprawling case that includes the 1985 killing of an agent of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. Assistant U.S. Attorney Saritha Komatireddy confirmed that capital punishment remains on the table as a possibility when pressed by a judge hearing the case in Brooklyn, New York, federal court in March 2025. The…
Italian Adm. Giuseppe Cavo Dragone led a NATO military delegation to Colorado in March 2025 to learn about the operations of U.S. Space Command, U.S. Northern Command, North American Aerospace Defense Command and other U.S. military installations. U.S. SPACE COMMAND THE WATCH STAFF A large delegation of NATO representatives, headed by an Italian admiral, spent three days touring U.S. Space Command (USSPACECOM), the joint headquarters of U.S. Northern Command (USNORTHCOM) and North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD), and other military installations in Colorado in March 2025. The tour enhanced the trans-Atlantic relationship of the alliance and shared the scope of…
The motorized 4th Infantry Division’s 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team now can patrol the Mexico-United States border, accompanying and transporting U.S Customs and Border Protection agents, who will carry out any required law enforcement duties. U.S. ARMY THE WATCH STAFF The motorized Stryker brigade, deployed this year to the Mexico-United States border, now can conduct patrols along the 3,145-kilometer border. A March 20, 2025, order from the U.S. Department of Defense authorized the brigade to transport U.S. Customs and Border Protection (USCBC) agents on patrols to reduce the flow of illegal migrants, drugs and other contraband. Previously, the 2,400 Soldiers…
DIÁLOGO AMERICAS ILLUSTRATION DIÁLOGO AMERICAS In its recent report, “The Fifth Wave,” think tank Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime warns of the transformation of organized crime. In addition to reaching new levels of sophistication thanks to drones and artificial intelligence, criminal networks are increasingly infiltrating legal markets. According to the report, in the future “markets will be murky and traditional distinctions between the licit and the illicit will be less discernible. Legal businesses and criminal enterprises could become indistinguishable from one another.” A significant example in Latin America is that of Brazil. According to the Brazilian Forum on Public Security,…
A variant of the C-130 warplane, the LC-130 Hercules or “Skibird,” landed on ice in March 2025 in the Canadian Arctic, the first such landing in decades. U.S. AIR NATIONAL GUARD THE WATCH STAFF A U.S. Air Force LC-130, or “Skibird,” landed on ice in March 2025, signaling a new approach to operational flexibility in harsh Arctic conditions. The New York Air National Guard landed the plane on freshwater ice, the first such maneuver in decades, during an exercise designed to test Arctic force projection in Canada’s Northwest Territories. The Skibird, a variant of the Air Force’s transport workhorse, the…