MIAMI, Fla. – U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) announced the establishment of a new Joint Task Force (JTF) under II Marine Expeditionary Force (II MEF) today to synchronize and augment counter-narcotics efforts across the Western Hemisphere.
The JTF will integrate the expeditionary capabilities of II MEF with Joint Force and U.S. interagency partners, represented by the Homeland Security Task Force. “Transnational criminal organizations threaten the security, prosperity, and health of our hemisphere,” said Adm. Alvin Holsey, Commander, SOUTHCOM. “By forming a JTF around II MEF headquarters, we enhance our ability to detect, disrupt, and dismantle illicit trafficking networks faster and at greater depth – together with our U.S. and partner-nation counterparts.”
Read more…
Source: U.S. Sothern Command
Sign up for the Counter-IED Report Newsletters
The latest news and insights delivered right to your inbox
Related:
- US to conduct new interviews into the deadly 2021 bombing at Kabul airport
September 15, 2023
The United States military has announced it will conduct interviews with service members about the events leading up to a deadly suicide bombing near Kabul’s airport in August 2021, when the country was withdrawing its troops from Afghanistan. On Friday, the Pentagon’s Central Command said that it would interview about two dozen people about the explosion ...
- US Army Airborne EOD techs hone skills during international parachute competition
September 14, 2023
For a group of American Soldiers who jump out of airplanes and defuse bombs for their nation, X marks the spot. Eight Airborne Explosive Ordnance Disposal Soldiers from the 192nd Ordnance Battalion (EOD) competed against U.S. and international airborne troops during Leapfest 2023. Held in Exeter, Rhode Island, and hosted by the Rhode Island National Guard, ...
- Michigan: Bomb squad diffuses homemade explosive on truck in Wayne
September 13, 2023
A slew of police departments and bomb squad agencies converged on a Wayne County neighborhood Sunday afternoon after a suspicious package alert was determined a credible threat. Residents were evacuated for hours as crews disassembled the device. The homemade explosive device was found in the wheel well of a truck parked at a home in the ...
- US trains Bangladesh Police in preventing WMD terrorism
September 13, 2023
The US Department of State’s Office of Weapons of Mass Destruction Terrorism, along with partners from CRDF Global and Thin Blue Line, International, trained Bangladesh Police officials on investigative skills to counter chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, and explosive terrorism from August 20-28. The programme, split into a five-day technical course and a two-day instructor development workshop, ...
- Romania and US to conduct exercises with Ukraine in Black Sea and Danube Delta
September 8, 2023
The Romanian and US navies are organising Sea Breeze 23.3, a multinational exercise that will take place from 11 to 15 September in the Black Sea and Danube Delta. Military personnel from Bulgaria, France, the United Kingdom, Türkiye and Ukraine will also take part in the exercise. The main purpose of the exercise is to develop ...
- Texas: Authorities Discover Backpacks Filled With Ammo, Homemade Explosive At Southern Border
September 7, 2023
U.S. Border Patrol authorities on Wednesday discovered backpacks with ammunition and a homemade explosive along the Rio Grande Valley sector, where authorities have previously admitted Mexican cartels maintain control of the region. According to Chavez, the McAllen Police Department helped detonate the homemade explosive device after border patrol agents patrolling around Fronton, Texas, discovered the bullets ...
- US to arm Kyiv with depleted uranium tank shells
September 7, 2023
The US has announced it will send controversial weapons to Ukraine as part of more than $1bn (£800m) in military and humanitarian aid. Russia condemned the move to equip US Abrams tanks with shells strong enough to pierce conventional tank armour. They are made of depleted uranium – a by-product of uranium enrichment stripped of most ...
- California: Unattended Explosives Found at Camp Pendleton Triggered Evacuation
September 1, 2023
Packaged military explosives were found unattended in an office building at Camp Pendleton, California, on Wednesday, triggering a temporary evacuation of the area. No one was hurt, the Marine Corps told Military.com on Friday. The material — which was not specifically identified by the service — was removed by explosive ordnance experts after the discovery. EOD ...
- Army Explosive Ordnance Disposal officer tackles new challenges in US Space Force
August 30, 2023
A senior U.S. Army Explosive Ordnance Disposal officer who spent decades tackling one of the most prevalent threats on the modern battlefield has set his sights on a new warfighting domain. U.S. Space Force Col. Dorian C. Hatcher made the leap from combatting explosives to transforming space acquisition to outpace global competitors in the U.S. Space ...
- Navy Explosive Ordnance Disposal and Navy Divers Complete Large Scale Exercise 2023
August 25, 2023
VIRGINIA BEACH, VA – Navy Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) and Navy Divers from EOD Mobile Unit 6 (EODMU 6), Mobile Diving and Salvage Unit 2 (MDSU 2), and Explosive Ordnance Disposal Mobile Unit 12 operated with the United States Navy and Marine Corps across the East Coast and the Atlantic Ocean during Large Scale Exercise ...
- Springfield FBI sets off homemade explosives as part of a workshop for law enforcement, other agencies
August 23, 2023
The Springfield FBI set off several homemade explosives Wednesday as part of a workshop making sure law enforcement, first responders and others are aware of the chemicals used to make them. “We teach them a classroom portion on the dangers of mixing chemicals,” Rick Box, the Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) coordinator for the Springfield FBI, ...
- TSA proposes additional background checks of US public transit workers
August 23, 2023
The Transportation Security Agency proposed regulations to require additional security vetting of public transit employees to mitigate the threat of “insiders” attacking the nation’s commuting networks. TSA is asking the public and stakeholders to weigh in on an idea to require security-sensitive employees working on railroads or buses to undergo federally led background checks that would ...
- Arkansas man pleads guilty to firebombing police cars during George Floyd protests
August 23, 2023
An Arkansas community activist accused in the firebombings of police cars after the 2020 murder of George Floyd pleaded guilty Wednesday in federal court. Mujera Benjamin Lung’aho, 33, of North Little Rock, pleaded to one count of malicious destruction of a vehicle by means of fire. Lung’aho was initially indicted Oct. 6, 2020, on one count ...
- Pennsylvania: Bomb squad personnel attend unexploded ordnance course at Gettysburg Museum
August 22, 2023
GETTYSBURG, Pa. – U.S. Army and U.S. Air Force Explosive Ordnance Disposal technicians joined Federal, state and local bomb squad personnel at a Civil War era unexploded ordnance course at the Gettysburg National Military Park. Around 35 bomb squad personnel from nine U.S. military, state and local bomb disposal units attended the UXO awareness course. Read more… Source: ...
- Amtrak police dogs: Dutifully trained to serve and protect the rails and its passengers
August 21, 2023
More than 50 police dogs serve and protect Amtrak’s trains and stations throughout the United States. From birth to adulthood, these canines are trained to work with their human counterparts, protecting them from threats such as bombs. A few of the dogs are solely trained to detect narcotics. In fact, when Amtrak’s canine program began ...
