The D Brief is a newsletter dedicated to developments affecting the future of U.S. national security. In this edition, we'll be covering a range of topics, from a shooting at Ft. Stewart Army base in Georgia to Spain's decision to reject the F-35 fighter jet and China's nuclear endgame.
The Shooting at Ft. Stewart
A soldier opened fire on his coworkers at Fort Stewart Army base in Georgia, injuring five before he was subdued and taken into custody, according to Army officials who held a press conference on Wednesday afternoon.
Two of the wounded remain hospitalized Thursday morning, while three others were released Wednesday, CNN reports. The incident lasted about 30 minutes and triggered a lockdown across the base.
The alleged shooter was a 28-year-old supply sergeant with no prior deployments who used his personal handgun for the violence, Brig. Gen. John Lubas told reporters.
He had purchased the 9mm Glock in Florida less than three months ago, the same month he was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence. Investigators are still digging into a possible motive.
The Army Awards Meritorious Service Medal
Last night, the Army awarded the Meritorious Service Medal to six soldiers who intervened in a brief presentation livestreamed Thursday morning at Fort Stewart.
This marks an effort by the military to promote unity and camaraderie among its troops. The award is the highest honor for service performed while in the line of duty.
Spain Rejects F-35, Chooses Eurofighter or FCAS
The downselect is a consequence of Spain’s decision to spend some of the funds earmarked for new fighter jets on more immediate needs, in a bid to raise defense expenditures to 2 percent of GDP.
The country will buy either the European-made Eurofighter and the tri-national Future Combat Air System. This makes Spain the latest nation to drop or go wobbly on the F-35 since Trump took office.
China’s Nuclear Endgame
No one knows how many nuclear weapons Beijing will build, but we can game out some logical endgames, writes Jacob Stokes, a senior fellow and deputy director of the Indo-Pacific Security Program at the Center for a New American Security.
"Since 2020, China is believed to have tripled its nuclear arsenal to 600 warheads—enough to begin to shift the strategic balance, if still well short of the thousands held by the United States and Russia," Stokes writes.
DNI’s Document Released
The Trump administration recently released a thinly-redacted, classified report on Russia’s interference in the 2016 election. In doing so, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard “with the blessing of President Donald Trump, overrode arguments from the CIA and other intelligence agencies that more of the document should remain classified to obscure U.S. spy agencies’ sources and methods,” the Washington Post reported Wednesday.
Cash for Deportations
The Homeland Security Department’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement formally opened up its ranks to 18-year-olds this week, removing its 21-year age limit in an effort to boost Trump’s aggressive deportation agenda and hire 10,000 more staff members.
Restoring Confederate Monuments
The Trump administration recently released a plan to restore monuments at Arlington National Cemetery, including the one dedicated to Civil War-era treason. The memorial was removed at the recommendation of Congress, and putting it back will take about two years.
"It features a classical female figure, crowned with olive leaves, representing the American South, alongside sanitized depictions of slavery," SecDef Pete Hegseth wrote on social media Tuesday.
ICE’s No-Bid Contract
The manufacturer—Massachusettes-based Bi2 Technologies—promises positive identification “in seconds from virtually anywhere” using “the nation's only secure, encrypted, real-time national criminal justice data sharing network.”
This contract has raised concerns about the use of facial recognition technology by ICE agents.
The D Brief: Tomorrow’s Drone Defense; US Envoy in Moscow; RIP, 5-things Email; Cash for Deportations; And a bit More
This will be our next edition. We'll have updates on tomorrow's drone defense, the US envoy in Moscow, and more.
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