A U.S. Air Force B-52H Stratofortress bomber is stationed at Royal Air Force Fairford airfield in Fairford, England. It is part of a Bomber Task Force that flies missions in Europe. REUTERS REUTERS In a show of unity, U.S. and British commanders said March 11 that joint military exercises are vital for providing Europe with a deterrent to Russia. Air Marshal Johnny Stringer, the British officer serving as NATO’s deputy air commander, and U.S. Eighth Air Force Commander Maj. Gen. Jason Armagost joined forces to praise the Bomber Task Force, which had completed nine missions in Europe since the start…
The Watch
A Russian serviceman stands guard by a military truck on the island of Alexandra Land, which is part of the Franz Josef Land archipelago in the Arctic. Russia has sought to restore its Arctic primacy by repairing and upgrading military facilities. AFP/GETTY IMAGES DR. CHARLES E. MORRISON In my elementary school days, textbooks portrayed the Arctic as an icy region inhabited by friendly Eskimos living in igloos amid polar bears, walruses and seals. In more recent decades, a new narrative appeared of the region, with melting sea ice providing access to new trade routes and resources. This has led to…
A U.S. Navy Sailor with Combat Logistics Battalion 2, Combat Logistics Regiment 2, 2nd Marine Logistics Group, participates in an ice breakthrough event in preparation for Exercise Joint Viking 25 in Setermoen, Norway, on February 7, 2025. The exercise demonstrates the Marine Corps’ unique ability to rapidly deploy during a crisis and aims to enhance interoperability between the U.S. Marine Corps and NATO allies and partners. SGT. ANTONINO MAZZAMUTO/U.S. MARINE CORPS THE WATCH STAFF U.S. Marines are used to serving in harsh conditions, but going from the mild late winter of Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, to the icy, rugged mountains…
The Skyraider II soon will arrive in support of U.S. Air Force Special Operations, providing an update to a classic close-ground support and surveillance model that saw service in the Korean and Vietnam wars. U.S. AIR FORCE THE WATCH STAFF An updated version of a Vietnam-era surveillance and precision strike warplane could be deployed to the U.S.-Mexico border, a U.S. Air Force general said in February 2025. The OA-1K or Skyraider II provides a 21st century update to the Skyraider, which earned two Medals of Honor for Air Force pilots during the 1960s. The Skyraider II is a cost-effective crewed…
The U.S. Coast Guard cutter Valiant partcipated in one of six interdictions in the Caribbean Sea that netted more than $141 million of cocaine in February 2025. U.S. COAST GUARD THE WATCH STAFF The United States Coast Guard collaborated with two allies in February and March 2025 to seize more than $141 million in illicit drugs in the Caribbean Sea. Six interdictions of drug smuggling operations involving U.S. Coast Guard law enforcement teams on Netherlands Forces in the Caribbean and Canadian Royal Navy ships, as well as Coast Guard cutters operating alone, resulted in 17 arrests. The alleged drug smugglers…
U.S. Soldiers assigned to Task Force Sentinel survey the southern border wall in a UH-72A Lakota at Dona Ana, New Mexico, on February 22, 2025. U.S. Northern Command is working with the Department of Homeland Security to augment U.S. Customs and Border Protection along the border with additional military forces. PFC. DOMINIC ATLAS/U.S. ARMY THE WATCH STAFF The total number of troops deployed or scheduled to deploy to the U.S.-Mexico border has surged to more than 10,000, U.S. Northern Command (USNORTHCOM) said in a news release March 17. In the latest announcement, USNORTHCOM said about 400 service members, including about…
The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Gravely is moored at Naval Weapons Station Yorktown in Virginia on March 15 before getting underway for a deployment to the U.S. Northern Command area of responsibility. U.S. Northern Command is working with the Department of Homeland Security to augment U.S. Customs and Border Protection along the southern border with additional military forces. RYAN WILLIAMS/U.S. NAVY THE WATCH STAFF The Department of Defense (DOD) has deployed a Navy destroyer to bolster the U.S.-Mexico border mission, defense officials said, sending a warship to waters typically patrolled by the Coast Guard. The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer…
U.S. Navy Lt. Maria Jarrett has the temperature of her hands assessed using a frost-bite sensor after below zero medical procedures on mannequins. LANCE CPL. MADISYN PASCHAL/U.S. MARINE CORPS SETH CAIN Arctic Edge 2024, a biennial exercise led by United States Northern Command (USNORTHCOM), is a joint and combined multi-domain Field Training Exercise (FTX) designed to prepare U.S. forces for Arctic warfare. The exercise provided a foundation for innovative medical solutions tailored to the Arctic’s unique challenges. One of the most critical components of Arctic Edge 2024 was Below Zero Medicine, a specialized initiative focusing on medical readiness in extreme…
Members of the Canadian Armed Forces conducted an annual winter training exercise, Arctic Bison, in the Yukon Territories in February 2025. CANADIAN ARMED FORCES THE WATCH STAFF Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) Soldiers conducted annual Arctic readiness training in the Far North in February 2025, training with Japanese Self-Defense Force Soldiers and strengthening bonds with Indigenous communities in the Yukon Territory. The Arctic Bison exercise involved elements of the 38 Canadian Brigade Group, the Winnipeg Rifles and cultural exchanges with the Carcross Tagish First Nation, according to the Yukon News, a Canadian newspaper. The operation focused on demonstrating task competencies in…
People watch as the Ground-based Midcourse Defense element of the United States ballistic missile defense system launches during a flight test from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, on May 30, 2017. U.S. President Donald Trump has said he wants to develop a new anti-missile system for the country. REUTERS THE WATCH STAFF Canada and the United States are discussing Canada’s possible participation in U.S. government’s planned “Golden Dome” missile defense system for North America, with an eye on research involving the detection of incoming threats, the U.S. commander for North American Aerospace Defense (NORAD) told a defense conference on March…