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Fort Bliss, Texas. (January 25, 2025): The President has ordered thousands of Army Soldiers and Marines to the southern border to boost security and to augment construction efforts to extend the wall. In this photo by Senior Airman Elizabeth Schoubroek, Soldiers from the 66th Military Police Company exit a Globemaster III to join the fifteen hundred active-duty troops already stationed here. This initial deployment brings the total military presence at the border to nearly 4,000 personnel.
Based at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington, the 66th Military Police Company is one of nine Army military police and three combat engineer battalions mobilized by the President. They will be joined by two Marine detachments from the 1st and 7th Combat Engineer Battalions out of Camp Pendleton, California.
The troops will enhance monitoring efforts and assist in repairing and placing physical barriers at the border. They will not, however, function as police officers. Under the Posse Comitatus Act of 1878, federal law forbids the use of the military for domestic law enforcement. The Pentagon said that the Department of Homeland Security would be in charge of law enforcement, not military personnel.
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Tucson International Airport, Arizona. (January 23, 2025): President Donald Trump this week ordered the U.S. Northern Command and the Department of Defense to augment efforts by Customs and Border Protection conducting immigration removal flights. In this photo by Senior Airman Devlin Bishop, Customs and Border Protection Agents guide migrants as they board a C-17 Globemaster III for transportation to their home countries.
The Pentagon has ordered an additional 1,500 Active-Duty troops to the southern border to join the 2,500 already based there. According to federal officials, the Air Force has begun deportation flights of some 5,400 people currently held in detention by Customs and Border Protection. The Air Force plans to use both C-17s and C-130 cargo aircraft to conduct the flights that will be carried out by over one hundred aircrew and maintainers. The Pentagon said the U.S. is seeking diplomatic clearance to land for future flights as destination countries must be willing to accept the migrants.
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Okinawa, Japan. (January 21): In this photo by Petty Officer 1st Class Austin Ingram, Seabees with Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 3 (NMCB3) show off their construction skills while building bunkers. Based at Port Hueneme, California, NMCB3 can trace its heritage to the early days of World War II. At that time, the Navy needed construction workers to build advance bases in combat zones, likely under enemy fire. The Navy created four Construction Battalions or “CBs” (hence the nickname "Seabees") to build roads, airfields, barracks, and medical facilities.
At the start of the war, senior construction personnel were hired who were willing to adapt their civilian skills to military needs. As such, they were given more latitude to innovate and adapt their approaches to military chores which drew some teasing from by-the-book Marines. By war’s end, these legendary construction workers had built four hundred bases in the Atlantic and Pacific theaters and their efforts were vital to allied victory.
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Setermoen, Norway. (January 17, 2025): One of the founding members of NATO, Norway will once again host U.S. Marines and other allies in Exercise Joint Viking 2025 scheduled for March. In this photo by Lance Corporal Christian Salazar, Marines maneuver with their Norwegian counterparts as they prepare for the bi-annual event. The exercise will involve cold-weather combat operations focusing on small-unit tactics and defensive operations in extreme environments.
The II Marine Expeditionary Force deployed from Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, in January to acclimate to the harsh Nordic environment and terrain. The Army will be sending the 41st Field Artillery Brigade, a HIMARs unit, to Norway in the spring. Troops from the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Germany, and Finland will also participate.
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Grafenwoehr, Germany. (January 19, 2025): It is impossible to recreate actual combat, but the Army has come “electronically” close. In this photo by Markus Rauchenberger, Soldiers assigned to the Regimental Engineer Squadron, 2nd Cavalry Regiment, hone their marksmanship skills in the comfortable surroundings of an Engagement Skills Trainer (EST).
The EST is an extremely realistic simulator that allows Soldiers to practice their marksmanship skills in a series of customized combat scenarios, and much more.
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Nutekpor, Ghana. (January 19, 2025): The Navy’s 22nd Construction Regiment has been busy improving the lives of children living in the tiny village of Galotse in this West African nation. In this photo by Chief Petty Officer Justin Stumberg, Senior Chief Gabriel Miller, Builder 2nd Class Matthew Santini, and Lieutenant Joseph Beasley inspect a new three-room schoolhouse, just one of many of their civil engineering projects this year.
Ghana is one of the poorest countries in the world with twenty four percent of its population, or about 6.9 million people, living on less than $2.15 a day. This is particularly true in rural villages where eighty percent of poverty is concentrated. According to the U.N. Human Development Index, Ghana is ranked 140 out of 189 poorest countries in the world.