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:
- Ukraine says cluster munitions will be ‘game changer’ against Russia
July 11, 2023
Kyiv sees cluster munitions as the next “game changer” in its battle against Russian forces, Ukraine’s defense minister said Tuesday. Speaking on the sidelines of the NATO summit, Oleksiy Reznikov rejected disapproval from some countries and humanitarian groups over the U.S. government’s decision last week to send Ukraine the controversial weapons. Reznikov insisted the use of ...
- Missouri: Explosive device found during search of suspicious vehicle
July 10, 2023
A search of a vehicle considered suspicious resulted in the location of an improvised explosive device (IED) early Sunday morning in Howell County. The device was safely removed, and the two occupants of the vehicle were taken into custody. The deputies located the item thrown from the vehicle and a second device reportedly determined to be ...
- Game-changer or war crime? D.C. divided on cluster bombs
July 9, 2023
President Joe Biden’s decision to include cluster bombs in the latest $800 million weapons package for Ukraine has drawn disparate reactions from members of Congress, with some Democrats breaking with Biden. “Cluster bombs should never be used. That is crossing a line,” Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.) said Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union.” “I think ...
- US to send cluster munitions banned by over 100 nations to Ukraine after months of debate
July 8, 2023
The US will send cluster munitions to Ukraine as part of a new military aid package, national security adviser Jake Sullivan confirmed on Friday, following months of debate within the Biden administration about whether to provide Kyiv with the controversial weapons banned by over 100 countries, including key US allies. “I’m not going to stand up ...
- Florida: Meet FDLE’s police dogs who are responsible for finding explosives, electronics
July 7, 2023
A select group of officers in Florida don’t understand the impact of their work. And at the end of a shift, which may include finding explosive devices or electronics that contain illegal material, some of them just want to chase a tennis ball. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement is a statewide agency of about 1,900 ...
- Washington DC: Three businesses targeted with explosive devices as hooded suspect on loose
July 3, 2023
Explosive devices were detonated outside three businesses in Washington DC in the early hours of Sunday, according to law enforcement. The devices exploded outside stores in the northeast of the capital within 15 minutes of each other, according to the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD). The first attack occurred around 4.30am when the suspect detonated an explosive ...
- Washington: Tennis ball rigged with fuse leads bomb squad to man’s truck
June 30, 2023
A driver found a tennis ball rigged with a fuse in his truck, prompting a bomb squad response in Washington, troopers said. The man was driving to get an estimate for a shattered window on June 29, Washington State Patrol Trooper Rick Johnson said in a tweet. At about 6:30 p.m., he saw a “tennis ball ...
- Washington DC: Man wanted on January 6-related charges arrested with guns and bomb making materials
June 30, 2023
A man with numerous firearms and materials to make an explosive was arrested Thursday in former President Barack Obama’s Washington, DC, neighborhood after claiming on an internet livestream that he had a detonator, law enforcement officials told CNN. Taylor Taranto, who had an open warrant for his arrest related to the January 6, 2021, US Capitol ...
- US Army Explosive Ordnance Disposal techs train with Charlotte Police Bomb Squad
June 27, 2023
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – U.S. Army Explosive Ordnance Disposal technicians honed their lifesaving skills together with the police bomb squad in Charlotte, North Carolina. Army EOD techs from the Fort Liberty, North Carolina-based 18th Ordnance Company (EOD) trained with their civilian law enforcement counterparts in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department Bomb Squad. The training involved six U.S. Army ...
- 50 years since US troops left Vietnam, bombs continue to kill
June 26, 2023
Ho Sy Bay, 62, was rummaging around in his garden in central Vietnam when he struck something harder than sand or soil. Cautiously, he brushed aside the surrounding dirt and realised he was staring at an unexploded missile. Although Sy was unsure if the fuse was still intact, he picked up the bomb and placed it ...
- Maryland: Overturned tanker carrying ammonium nitrate force businesses to evacuate
June 26, 2023
A tanker truck carrying potentially explosive ammonium nitrate has overturned on a Maryland highway – sparking mass evacuations. The truck carrying the materials tipped over on the southbound side of Interstate 81 in Hagerstown, about an hour west of Baltimore. Authorities have asked businesses within 1,500 feet of the scene to evacuate and the road will ...
- Wyoming: 60,000 pounds of an explosive chemical lost during rail shipment
June 22, 2023
About 60,000 pounds of a chemical used as both a fertilizer and an explosive is missing after likely disappearing during a rail trip from Wyoming to California last month, according to federal records. A rail car carrying ammonium nitrate left a plant operated by explosives manufacturer Dyno Nobel in Cheyenne, Wyoming, on April 12, according to ...
- Cluster munitions would be useful for Ukraine, Pentagon says
June 22, 2023
The United States military believes that cluster munitions would be useful for Ukraine in pushing back against Russian forces, a senior Pentagon official said on Thursday, but they had not been approved for Kyiv yet because of congressional restrictions and concerns from allies. Kyiv has urged members of Congress to press President Joe Biden’s administration to ...
- EXU-1 Conducts Maritime Post-Blast Investigation Course
June 20, 2023
U.S. Navy Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) Expeditionary Exploitation Unit One (EXU-1) alongside the FBI’s Critical Incident Response Group (CIRG) section conducted a maritime post-blast investigation course at Naval Air Station (NAS) Key West, Florida, June 2-9. The course focused on training EOD exploitation specialists in the tactics, techniques, and procedures regarding underwater search techniques and the ...
- US Army, Air Force EOD techs train for clearance operations during island hopping missions
June 14, 2023
PATRICK SPACE FORCE BASE, Fla. — U.S. Army and U.S. Air Force Explosive Ordnance Disposal technicians trained for explosive clearance operations designed to support remote airfield operations during island hopping missions against a near-peer adversary. Army EOD technicians from the 38th Ordnance Company (EOD) trained with EOD Airmen during Joint Operation Island Hopper on Patrick Space ...