Tag: usn

Land Along Southern Border Is Transferred to Navy To Become Part Of ‘National Defense Area’

The Trump administration said on Dec. 10 that it would transfer roughly 760 acres of public land along the U.S.-Mexico border in California to the Navy for three years to support border security operations.

While announcing the decision Wednesday, the Interior Department said the land would become part of a “National Defense Area,” or militarized zone, to bolster immigration enforcement.

The land stretches from roughly a mile west of the California-Arizona state line to the western edge of the Otay Mountain Wilderness Area in San Diego and Imperial counties, according to the Interior Department.

“This corridor is one of the highest-traffic regions for unlawful crossings along the southern border, creating significant national security challenges and contributing to environmental degradation,” the department said.

The Interior Department said the land was originally set aside in 1907 by President Theodore Roosevelt for “border protection purposes,” and the Navy will use it to “strengthen operational capabilities while reducing ecological harm associated with sustained illegal activity.”

Since April, the federal government has transferred large portions of land along the southern border to the military, allowing troops to detain migrants attempting to cross the border or arrest people accused of trespassing on military bases.

The process began with a 170-mile swath of land along the border in New Mexico before the government expanded into Texas and Arizona.

While the Interior Department referred to the Southern California lands as a high-traffic area for illegal border crossings, arrests along the U.S.-Mexico border have dropped to the lowest level since the 1960s as the Trump administration continues its crackdown on illegal immigration.

“President Trump has made it clear that securing our border and restoring American sovereignty are top national priorities,” Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said in a statement.

“This action delivers on that commitment. By working with the Navy to close longstanding security gaps, we are strengthening national defense, protecting our public lands from unlawful use, and advancing the president’s agenda to put the safety and security of the American people first.”

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NJ Gubernatorial Candidate Needs To Tell The Truth About Her Cheating Scandal

Mikie Sherrill, a Democrat congresswoman and candidate in the competitive race for the New Jersey governorship, is under fire for serious ethical lapses. One of those is her still unexplained but suspicious involvement in a widespread cheating scandal at the U.S. Naval Academy (USNA). She still refuses to provide a full public accounting by stonewalling any release of USNA’s disciplinary records that would show the nature and extent of both her and her husband’s involvement in the cheating scandal.

Sherrill’s continued cover-up raises even more questions that only she can clear up.

A Stolen Exam and the Investigation

The cheating in which Sherrill was implicated occurred in December 1992. As The Baltimore Sun has reported, a master copy of the final exam for the electrical engineering course (EE 311) was stolen days before the exam was scheduled. Copies of the stolen exam were then circulated and even sold to some midshipmen, not all of whom have ever been identified. According to The Sun, “more than 130 midshipmen were implicated by the Navy’s inspector general in the theft and distribution of the exam.”

After several midshipmen sent emails to faculty the day of the exam, telling them that the exam had been compromised, the Navy inspector general launched a formal investigation.

The investigation was complicated and lengthened by the decisions of many midshipmen not to cooperate and even to lie to investigators. It concluded on Jan. 20, 1994, with a 30-page report of investigation. The report notes numerous instances where midshipmen refused to answer questions either because they wanted to protect themselves or because they did not want to “bilge” their classmates by giving truthful answers about the cheating.

Sherrill was interviewed, but the record of her interview is still being withheld.

The IG’s report details how some midshipmen lied repeatedly to investigators, even when under oath. Others retained attorneys who advised them to “plead the Fifth” by refusing to answer questions, even after the academy superintendent dropped a criminal investigation and granted them immunity from criminal charges. The IG also found “much evidence that midshipmen conspired to conceal their involvement” in the cheating scandal, including efforts “to coordinate and perfect the testimony they would give.”

All of this hindered the search for the truth.

The report was finalized and approved by the secretary of the Navy just weeks before the 1994 graduation. His final disciplinary decisions included 29 expulsions and other punishments for 42 others.

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Active duty Navy chief who witnessed UFO convinced doubtful colleagues with radar expertise: ‘It was like checkmate’

An active-duty Navy chief saw four tic-tac shaped UFOs off the coast of California while working on the USS Jackson — and convinced a doubting radar officer the craft were real with an undeniable “checkmate.”

US Navy Senior Chief Petty Officer Alexandro Wiggins witnessed multiple UFOs on radar on the evening of February 15, 2023 — observing the first one emerge seamlessly out of the ocean, he said.

“What am I seeing?” recounted Chief Wiggins, who spoke to The Post on behalf of himself as an individual and not as a representative of the Navy. “From my observations, it did in fact come from the water.”

“It was first seen on radar and once I saw it on radar, I wanted to confirm visually what I was seeing on radar if it was clouds and atmospherics and something else.”

Wiggins then moved out to the core bridge wing of the USS Jackson and went through his mental checklist of things the object could be — but was convinced by an odd maneuver it made that it was not standard human technology.

“It [was] rising into the air high enough to where I’m like, alright, that’s definitely: A. too fast and B. not something I’ve seen before,” the 21-year Navy veteran said.

The keen-eyed officer saw three other objects moving in coordination roughly 8 nautical miles away from the USS Jackson — then reported the unknown objects to a tactical officer and rushed to observe the craft on a Sapphire radar.

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NYT: Seal Team 6 Killed Civilians During Mission In North Korea

Today the New York Times revealed U.S. Navy SEALs killed North Korean civilians during a failed covert operation in 2019.

In 2019, U.S. Navy SEALs embarked on a clandestine mission to install a listening device inside North Korea, at a time when then-President Trump was engaged in landmark discussions with Kim Jong Un. 

The operation was reportedly green-lit by Trump.

The mission went awry when the SEALs encountered civilians fishing or diving for shellfish at night. The Americans opened fire, resulting in the deaths of all aboard the fishing vessel.

A subsequent classified Pentagon review deemed the killings justified under the established rules of engagement.  

The disclosure is significant as many have wondered how President Trump got the reclusive and belligerent North Korean leader to be so docile in the public face of the peace negotiations at the time.

There has also been rumors that Trump threatened Kim with assassination via SEAL Team 6.

The origin of those rumors now seems more clear.

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Hegseth Savagely Fires She/Her Navy Commander and Medical Director for “Transgender Healthcare” at Naval Center in California

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth savagely fired Janelle Marra, a she/her DEI Navy Commander and medical director for “transgender healthcare” at a naval center in California.

“Navy Cmdr. Janelle Marra, a native of Massachusetts, began her Naval Service by the Health Professions Scholarship program in 2004,” her bio read.

“She is currently serving as the Senior Medical Officer over the medical clinics on MCRD-SD, the Deputy Medical Director of Transgender Care for the Navy and Director of Medical Services for Expeditionary Medical Facility Bravo,” Marra’s bio said.

Social media users asked Hegseth to look into this DEI hire who was still serving at a naval center several months into the Trump Administration.

Yikes

This she/her Navy Commander is apparently a medical director for “transgender healthcare” at a Naval center in California

Can you please look into this? @PeteHegseth @DODResponse https://t.co/5im1ocJzSC pic.twitter.com/eFy93JsMca

— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) September 4, 2025

Hegseth on Thursday evening announced Marra had been fired.

“Pronouns UPDATED: She/Her/Fired,” Hegseth said.

Pronouns UPDATED: She/Her/Fired https://t.co/j8nboQZO9Z

— Pete Hegseth (@PeteHegseth) September 5, 2025

The day after Pete Hegseth was confirmed, he announced that the Department of Defense will no longer tolerate Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion under his leadership.

“The President’s guidance (lawful orders) is clear: No more DEI at the Department of Defense. The Pentagon will comply, immediately. No exceptions, name-changes, or delays,” Hegseth said back in January.

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US To Fund and Build a Fast Boat Base for the Philippines on the South China Sea

The US will fund and construct a base for fast boats for the Philippine military on the South China Sea amid heightened tensions between Manila and Beijing over disputed rocks and reefs in the area.

The base will be built on the west coast of the Philippine island province of Palawan and is expected to be completed by the first quarter of the 2026 fiscal year. According to USNI News, the base will house five boats, including both “assault boats” and rigid-hulled inflatable boats, which will be constructed by the US-based company ReconCraft.

The USNI report said that the base will be situated approximately 160 miles east of Second Thomas Shoal, a major source of tensions in the maritime dispute and the site of collisions and encounters between Chinese and Philippine vessels. Despite the distance, the Philippine military frequently deploys small boats to the disputed reefs, and the US project will give them a more effective way to do that.

It’s unclear how much the project will cost the US, but it’s the latest in a series of US-funded military construction projects in the Philippines. In 2023, Washington and Manila signed a deal to expand the US military presence in the country, and the US has also been increasing military aid to the Southeast Asian nation.

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Pentagon Pulls Promotion Of Admiral Who Allowed Drag Shows After Federalist Inquiry

The Defense Department is pulling the recommendation for Rear Admiral Michael Donnelly’s promotion, one week after the DoD refused to answer The Federalist’s inquiries, as the Daily Wire first reported.

“Secretary Hegseth has chosen to withdraw Admiral Donnelly’s nomination to lead [the] 7th fleet. The Secretary is thankful for his continued service and wishes him luck in his next position. The Department will open up nominations for the 7th fleet commander.”

Donnelly gained infamy for allowing drag shows aboard his ship, the USS Ronald Reagan, during Trump’s first term. The Federalist reached out to the White House to ask why Donnelly was being promoted despite his apparent opposition to Trump’s vision for the military, but did not receive a response. Upon reaching out to the Secretary of Defense’s Office with the same question, the Federalist was referred to Navy Public Affairs, which also did not respond.

On the campaign trail, Trump promised to fire woke generals and admirals, rid the military of other woke elements, and make the armed forces strong again. He even featured a video that spliced clips of Full Metal Jacket alongside Admiral Rachel Levine and Navy drag queen “Harpy Daniels” to illustrate the strength of the military under Trump versus wokeness under Biden.

“Harpy Daniels,” an openly nonbinary sailor and drag performer whose real name is Joshua Kelly, was crowned a Navy digital ambassador in 2022. In 2017 and 2018, he performed drag for Morale, Welfare, and Recreation Department events onboard the aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan. Donnelly was the ship’s captain at the time.

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Two Chinese Nationals Arrested, Accused of Espionage Targeting U.S. Navy Personnel

Two individuals believed to be working on behalf of the Chinese Communist Party’s intelligence agency have been arrested by U.S. authorities for allegedly spying on U.S. Navy service members and recruiting military personnel to assist their efforts.

The Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that Yuance Chen, residing in Happy Valley, Oregon, and Liren Lai, who entered the country on a tourist visa and was apprehended in Houston, Texas, were taken into custody last Friday. 

Both men face serious charges for acting as agents of China’s Ministry of State Security (MSS)—the country’s primary foreign intelligence service—conducting covert operations across the United States.

According to the DOJ, the pair engaged in a range of clandestine activities, including gathering sensitive information on Navy bases and personnel, facilitating cash payments through “dead drop” techniques and attempting to recruit U.S. Navy members to cooperate with the MSS.

FBI Director Kash Patel emphasized the importance of these arrests in protecting national security.

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US Navy Used Munitions at ‘Alarming Rate’ To Intercept Iranian Missiles Fired at Israel

A senior US military official told Congress on Tuesday that the US Navy used munitions at an “alarming rate” while defending Israel from Iranian missiles during the 12-day war that Israel started with massive strikes on Iran.

Adm. James Kilby, the acting chief of naval operations, was asked during a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing whether the US Navy had enough SM-3 interceptors, an advanced missile that can reach space and can cost between $10 million and $30 million for a single missile.

“We do, sir, but we are, to your point, using them at an alarming rate,” Kilby told Sen. Brian Schatz (D-HI), who said the US was using a large number of munitions to defend Israel.

Kilby continued, “As you know, those are missiles procured by the Missile Defense Agency and then delivered to the Navy for our use. And we are using them quite effectively in the defense of Israel.”

It’s unclear how many SM-3 missiles the US Navy fired to defend Israel during the 12 days of war. The munitions were also used last year when Iran fired missiles and drones at Israel in April 2024 in response to the Israeli bombing of its consulate in Damascus and in October when Iran launched another attack over Israel’s assassination of Hamas’s political chief, Ismail Haniyeh, when he was in Tehran.

The US also expended a lot of munitions during its bombing campaigns against the Houthis in Yemen. President Trump’s airstrikes in Yemen, which lasted from March 15 to May 6, were particularly violent and killed more than 200 civilians. Despite the heavy attacks, the Houthis, officially known as Ansar Allah, were able to keep up attacks on US warships, and Trump eventually gave up trying to stop them from firing at Israel.

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Violent Trump-hating anonymous X account is revealed to be high-ranking Naval JAG officer…

Another day, another unhinged leftist crashing and burning on social media… this time, it’s a Navy JAG officer who thought hiding behind an anonymous X account would give him a free pass to spew violent, anti-American garbage online.

Boy, was he wrong.

Meet Benjamin “Benny” France.

Just last year, he was posting proud updates on LinkedIn about joining the US Navy JAG Corps—something he was doing to follow in his dad’s footsteps—and taking the oath to defend the Constitution. Fast forward to this week, and Benny, behind a burner account, was threatening to “hunt down” federal agents, including ICE officers and January 6th defendants. Yes, you read that right: an active-duty US military officer publicly threatening federal agents.

When his identity was finally exposed, Benny panicked. He quickly deactivated his account and hoped to slip quietly back into the shadows. But the internet doesn’t work that way. The damage was done.

His chain of command has been notified, and for anyone interested in following up with Benny’s bosses, the contact info is already circulating. And it should be. This kind of threatening behavior toward law enforcement agents, who are already under constant fire, cannot be tolerated, especially from an officer whose entire job is to provide legal advice to command and influence policy that impacts thousands of sailors.

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