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Pentagon: Use of surveillance planes in protests was legal
The use of National Guard reconnaissance planes in four U.S. cities to monitor the widespread protests earlier this year didn’t violate rules against the military collecting intelligence on Americans, a Pentagon report has concluded.
The investigation by the Air Force inspector general found that the planes were used to gather information about crowd size, crowd flows and fires but they did not monitor individuals. The probe was ordered by Defense Secretary Mark Esper in response to questions within the department and Congress about whether the military illegally conducted surveillance of American citizens during the unrest after the death of George Floyd.
The flights in late May and early June came as President Donald Trump was calling for tougher measures to quell the widespread unrest. Floyd was a black man who died after a white Minneapolis policeman pressed his knee into his neck for several minutes.
National Guard troops were used to assist local law enforcement in a number of cities around the country.
Air Force helicopter shot while flying over Virginia; crew member injured
An Air Force UH-1N Huey helicopter was forced to conduct an emergency landing at a local airport in Manassas, Virginia, Monday after being shot from the ground.
A crew member received a minor injury, and was treated and then released at a local hospital, a spokesman for Joint Base Andrews said in an email. The helicopter — which was on a routine training mission and is assigned to the 1st Helicopter Squadron at Andrews — was damaged.
Live Ordnance Found Inside Nebraska Museum Storeroom
The Associated Press | By The Associated Press
NORFOLK, Neb. — A bomb squad and military experts had to be called to a northeastern Nebraska museum after live military ordnance — including a World War II grenade and two artillery shells — were found in a museum storeroom, officials said.
The staff at the Elkhorn Valley Museum in Norfolk discovered the grenade, ammunition and ordnance on Wednesday, shut down the museum and called Norfolk police, the Norfolk Daily News reported.
Local officers were unable to determine if the vintage ordnance was live and called the Nebraska State Patrol bomb squad. The bomb squad determined that some of the items were live, and called the Nebraska Air National Guard explosive ordnance disposal team to help, which removed all of the live items.
Army to Eliminate Officer Promotion Photos to Curb Racial Bias in Selection
The U.S. Army will remove photographs from their process of selecting and promoting officers, as part of an initiative to combat racial biases.
The Army announced the launch of Project Inclusion on Thursday, a “holistic effort” aimed at promoting diversity and tackling racial disparities in the service. As part of the initiative, official photographs will no longer be part of officer selection boards beginning in August, while other personnel decisions will be reviewed under similar “evidence-based standards.”
“The Army must continue to put People First by fostering a culture of trust that accepts the experiences and backgrounds of every Soldier and civilian,” Gen. James C. McConville, Army Chief of Staff, said in a press release. “Our diverse workforce is a competitive advantage and the Army must continue to offer fair treatment, access and opportunity across the force.”