Shawn Snow
Early Bird Editor
Shawn Snow is the senior reporter for Marine Corps Times and a Marine Corps veteran.
All Stories By Shawn
Special operators will be countering violent extremists for the ‘long haul’
The commander of SOCOM said battling violent extremists groups will remain the number one priority for American commandos.
The US is bombing the hell out of the Taliban as munitions dropped reaches nearly 10-year high
According to U.S. Air Forces Central Command, U.S. aircraft dropped 7,423 munitions in 2019 — that’s the highest number of bombs released in nearly a decade.
US delivers attack helicopters to Kenya following attack on Manda Bay
The arms sale comes after the Jan. 5 attack on the base at Manda Bay that killed three Americans.
Deployed 82nd Airborne unit told to use these encrypted messaging apps on government cell phones
“Unfortunately, those apps are more secure than texting in the clear, which is more or less the alternative. Granted, if a hostile party has access to the handset, that encryption isn’t particularly helpful.”
11 troops injured after Iran’s strike against al-Asad airbase, says CENTCOM
Despite the fact Defense officials initially said the attack resulted in zero “casualties,” CENTCOM spokesman Navy Capt. Bill Urban admitted Thursday some troops were transported out of Iraq to receive additional medical assistance.
US military may send missile defense batteries to the Middle East in wake of Iran strike
“There has always been a supply and demand problem when it comes to U.S. air and missile defenses. We have 15 battalions of Patriot defenses, for example, deployed in at least 10 countries and territories around the world."
Families of deployed paratroopers received ‘menacing’ messages, warned to double-check social media settings
Separately, a U.S. source told Military Times the WiFi access was suspended over fears of a potential hacking and leak of sensitive contact information.
Iran’s support to the Taliban, which has included MANPADS and a bounty on US troops, could be a spoiler for peace in Afghanistan
The Quds Force “usually asks the Taliban commanders to send their best fighters for the training, likely due to the more advanced training involved in learning MANPADS systems or possibly to allow these fighters to become future trainers of other Taliban fighters inside Afghanistan.”
Al-Shabab warns US partner forces in Africa that America will abandon them like it did Syrian Kurds
Al-Shabab said in a message that the raid on Manda Bay should “serve as a stern warning” for African forces that “when the situation gets difficult” American troops will “abandon you" just as they did with the Syrian YPG after entangling them in an “unwinnable war.”
Iran-backed militia calls for lone wolf attacks against US troops
The message said the “door of jihad” against American troops in Iraq was open and called for “all jihadists” in or outside of Iraq to carry out attacks against U.S. forces.
