An intercepted boat laden with Haitian migrants is guided ashore by the Royal Turks and Caicos Islands Police Force Marine Unit. ROYAL TURKS AND CAICOS ISLANDS POLICE FORCE In a late-night operation, the Royal Turks and Caicos Islands Police Force (RTCIPF) intercepted a vessel carrying 194 immigrants on July 5, 2025. Marine Unit officers aboard the patrol vessels Sea Pursuit and Sea Contender were alerted to the unidentified boat in the waters of Turks and Caicos Islands (TCI) by the Marine Operations Centre shortly before 10 p.m. local time. The 15-meter vessel, powered by two outboard engines, was transporting…
The Watch
Maj. Gen. Francisco Jesús Leana Ojeda became commander of the Mexican Army in July 2025. Maj. Gen. Francisco Jesús Leana Ojeda became commander of the Mexican Army in July 2025 during a ceremony in Mexico City. The chief of the joint chiefs of staff for national defense, Maj. Gen. Arturo Coronel Flores, hung the ceremonial sash over Ojeda’s head, marking the latest appointment of Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum to the top ranks of the country’s military leadership. Leana Ojeda has extensive experience in most of Mexico’s military regions and has served in a military-diplomatic role in Canada. Most recently,…
Canada announced in July 2025 that it would spend $123 million to provide its troops on the front lines of a NATO mission in Latvia with protection against unmanned aerial system attacks. CANADIAN DEPARTMENT OF NATIONAL DEFENCE Canada is investing $123 million in counter unmanned aerial system (cUAS) technology to protect its forces on the front lines of a NATO mission in Latvia. The systems are designed to destroy small drones in a wartime scenario, a threat increasingly evident in the Russia-Ukraine war. The outlay was part of the second phase of a program to buy systems that counter…
U.S. Coast Guard cutter Healy transits the Puget Sound en route to the Arctic region on June 19, 2025. The Healy will conduct high-latitude science and research missions in the Arctic. PETTY OFFICER 2ND CLASS BRIANA CARTER/U.S. COAST GUARD The United States Coast Guard cutter Healy left its homeport of Seattle, Washington, on June 19, 2025, as it embarked on a monthslong Arctic deployment. The crew aboard the 128-meter icebreaker will support two high-latitude missions to study the formation and movement of sea ice and the pathways followed by Atlantic and Pacific waters in the Arctic, and ocean circulation…
The guided missile destroyer USS Sampson interdicted a smuggling vessel carrying more than $58 million in cocaine in June 2025. U.S. NAVY A United States Navy guided-missile destroyer spotted a drug-smuggling vessel in the eastern Pacific in June 2025, dispatching a U.S. Coast Guard law enforcement detachment (LED) to board the vessel and arrest three suspected smugglers. The USS Sampson’s interdiction of the smuggling operation was the latest in a recent flurry of activity as the Navy takes on a greater role in homeland defense under the direction of U.S. Northern Command (USNORTHCOM). On June 22, the Sampson was…
Mexico’s Secretariat of the Navy oversees the country’s cyber force and focuses on the growing use of artificial intelligence in the defense sector. Governments and societies worldwide have become increasingly dependent on algorithms with autonomous intelligent machines facilitating daily tasks and decisions previously made by humans. Artificial intelligence (AI) continues to grow exponentially, bringing innumerable advantages for large-scale information gathering. It learns from itself by continuously improving its algorithms in increasingly complex situations. The Mexican Navy’s (MARINA) General Coordinator of Cyberspace trains and develops the cyber force and acquires advanced technologies. It adapts to current needs in cyber defense and…
U.S. Army personnel practice search and rescue techniques in a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter during Fuerzas Amigas 2024. Photos by CATHRYN LINDSAY/U.S. AIR FORCE For the first time, members of the Mexican and United States militaries conducted a joint disaster response exercise outside a military base as Fuerzas Amigas 24 broke new ground in cross-border collaboration. In June 2024, downtown Ciudad Juárez, Mexico, filled with smoke and 30 mock victims lying on the streets as Mexican authorities requested cross-border assistance from the U.S. to help contain a chemical fire from tank cars on a rail line connecting Ciudad Juárez…
A member of AFNORTH participates in Amalgam Eagle 24. / Michael Dougherty/U.S. Air Force Showcasing the close partnership and shared interests of Mexico and the United States in air defense and security, the Mexican Armed Forces, the U.S. Department of Defense and federal agencies from both countries participated in a live-fly exercise November 13-14, 2024, at locations throughout Mexico and the U.S. The Amalgam Eagle 2024 air exercise, organized by the U.S. Northern Command’s (USNORTHCOM) Air Forces Northern (AFNORTH) and Mexican Secretariat of National Defense (DEFENSA), brought together interagency partners to strengthen readiness and improve coordinated responses, contributing to…
A Norwegian Navy Skjold-class corvette is tracked by air assets during a JEF surface exercise in Norway in September 2023. CHRIS SELLARS/U.K. MINISTRY OF DEFENCE The Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF) stands as a testament to a regional multinational framework that has demonstrated adaptive flexibility, retaining relevance in the fast-changing Euro-Atlantic security landscape. As it looks back at its 10-year anniversary, it is an opportune moment to reflect on its history, achievements and value to security in the High North and North Atlantic regions. The JEF was launched at the NATO Wales Summit in September 2014, under the leadership of…
Polar Dagger 24 provided Special Operations Command North with the opportunity to refine a range of capabilities and responses to deter, disrupt, degrade and deny competitor activity in the Arctic. AIRMAN 1ST CLASS JOHNNY DIAZ/U.S. AIR FORCE United States Northern Command (USNORTHCOM), U.S. Special Operations Command North (SOCNORTH) and the U.S. Navy rapidly deployed 150 U.S. special operations forces (USSOF) aboard the USS John L. Canley to conduct multidomain maritime operations in the North American Arctic as part of Operation Polar Dagger 24 (OPD24) in July and August 2024. Operating in the Bering Sea, Arctic Circle and St. Lawrence…