Latest news with #TennesseeNationalGuard
Yahoo
a day ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Tennessee National Guard to join D.C. police order
Tennessee Governor Bill Lee has authorized 160 members of the Tennessee National Guard to deploy to Washington, DC. (Photo by Tenn. Air Guard Master Sgt. Kendra Owenby) Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee is dispatching National Guard troops to Washington, D.C., this week to join the president's law enforcement takeover in the nation's capital. Acting on orders from President Donald Trump, the governor granted a request to help the District of Columbia National Guard with a 'security mission,' spokesperson Elizabeth Johnson said. Tennessee will join several other Republican-controlled states and send 160 Guard troops this week to D.C. 'to assist as long as needed,' according to Johnson. They will work with local and federal law enforcement agencies on monument security, community safety patrols, federal facilities protection and traffic control, she said. The Tennessee Guard deployment will be funded and regulated by the federal government. At least four other Republican governors are sending nearly 1,000 National Guard troops to D.C. after Trump activated 800 D.C. soldiers. Trump ordered the federal takeover of Washington, D.C., law enforcement despite opposition from local officials who said crime is down some 30%. Following a legal challenge by D.C. officials, the Trump administration backed off appointing a federal official to head the department and agreed to leave the city's police chief in command. U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi, though, told local police to work with federal officers on immigration enforcement even if city laws are conflicting. Lee also said he would deploy National Guard troops to provide logistical help with Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers in Tennessee so they can spend more time on deportation. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLESolve the daily Crossword
WIRED
07-08-2025
- WIRED
Thieves Target Tennessee National Guard Facilities, Stealing Night Vision Googles and More
Aug 7, 2025 2:21 PM A string of US armory break-ins, kept quiet by authorities for months, points to a growing security crisis—and signs of an inside job. A string of previously undisclosed break-ins at Tennessee National Guard armories last fall marks the latest in a growing series of security breaches at military facilities across the United States, raising fresh concerns about the vulnerability of US armories to theft and intrusion. A confidential memo from the Tennessee Fusion Center reviewed by WIRED details four break-ins at Tennessee National Guard armories over a seven-week span. In one incident, thieves made off with night vision goggles, laser target locators, and thermal weapons sights, among other equipment. At others, intruders breached fences, tripped alarms, and gained access to supply rooms discovered in the aftermath to have been unlocked. At least some of the break-ins seem to point to potential insider help. In Covington, Tennessee, for example, evidence suggests intruders may have known in advance the location of a secure key control box. At other sites, attempts were made to bypass alarms and entry points. The memo, which was intended solely for law enforcement use, does not indicate that any weapons were stolen; however, a government anti-terrorism coordinator is quoted as saying: 'These events are concerning not only due to the stolen items being sensitive in nature but also because of the indicators for some insider knowledge being needed for successful breach and theft.' The document, first obtained by the nonprofit watchdog group Property of the People, was shared exclusively with WIRED. The break-ins remain under active investigation and have drawn the attention of the Pentagon's Office of the Provost Marshal General—the US Army's leading law enforcement authority. A senior police source informed WIRED on Tuesday that the Federal Bureau of Investigation is leading the investigation. The FBI declined to confirm. 'FBI policy prohibits confirming or denying an investigation unless in rare circumstances when publicity would help the investigation, such as in seeking a missing child or trying to identify a bank robber,' Elizabeth Clement-Webb, an FBI public affairs officer, says. 'The matter you're inquiring about does not meet that exception, so it would not be appropriate to comment.' The Pentagon referred questions to the National Guard. The Guard did not respond to a request for comment. Initially regarded as isolated incidents, the memo cites years' worth of FBI and Defense Department reporting on what agents call 'domestic violent extremists,' or DVEs, discussing plans to raid armories for weapons and gear, leading analysts to suspect organized activity. Domestic intelligence has consistently flagged violent militia members and racially motivated extremists eyeing armories as soft targets. 'Although DVEs previously have stolen some lower-level military gear, the FBI has not identified any instances in which a DVE successfully raided an armory to steal heavy military equipment,' the memo reads. 'To circumvent such a raid, FBI and DoD are enhancing liaison with local armories and military facilities to address gaps in reporting about current plots to exploit armory vulnerabilities and increase opportunities to detect and prevent DVE theft of military equipment.' Between 2020 and 2024, the memo says, at least four FBI subjects discussed raiding military facilities for heavy weapons, including .50-caliber firearms and machine guns. Three had confirmed military backgrounds. One—a former Guard member—identified specific armories that he had served in, while describing how best to exploit their security. It's unclear whether any charges were brought. Extremist chatter cited by the document echos these ambitions. In early 2024, a militia-linked Telegram user proposed assessing armory vulnerabilities with help from sympathetic firefighters and sought military or law enforcement recruits for inside information. In another case, an active-duty tank commander claimed he could sway an armorer to hand over weapons, while a former Air Force contractor talked about raiding a Guard facility to seize mortars and secure land. Together, these incidents point to a persistent and ideologically varied interest in exploiting armory weaknesses. The Tennessee break-ins, meanwhile, preceded several other armory breaches around the country, underscoring a broader trend in security threats. "Especially when coupled with more recent events, the document makes clear that violent neo-Nazis and far-right militia groups continue to pose a serious and ongoing threat—and that state governments are failing in their duty to secure dangerous military hardware,' says Ryan Shapiro, executive director of Property of the People. This year alone, thieves stole three Humvees and other military gear from an Army Reserve center in Tustin, California; raided storage containers at a Colorado National Guard facility; and allegedly attempted to steal body armor and communications gear from a US Army Ranger site in Washington. In the latter case, law enforcement claim the suspects used their status as veterans to gain entry to the base, highlighting ongoing concerns about insider access. Similarly, a break-in at a Massachusetts Army Reserve center in 2015—during which numerous rifles and pistols were stolen—was carried out by a former service member, later sentenced to 11 years in prison. Their familiarity with the facility's security systems and physical layout reportedly enabled the robbery. For decades, US military stockpiles have been prime targets for high-stakes theft. In the 1970s, arms traffickers raided facilities in California, escaping with caches of powerful weapons. A 1976 heist at a Massachusetts armory turned up a shoulder-fired missile launcher. And in 1995, a former soldier commandeered a tank in San Diego, leading police of a destructive, city-wide chase. Despite repeated policy changes and years of heightened scrutiny, the nation's thousands of armories remain vulnerable to both external intruders and those with insider access. Modern security improvements have done little to deter interest in breaching them. In Tennessee alone, the fusion center memo notes that state officials have received at least 25 suspicious activity reports over the past decade, detailing attempted surveillance and theft. Luke Baumgartner, a former Army officer and extremism researcher at George Washington University, says the Tennessee armory break-ins do appear to bear the hallmarks of an inside job—assuming suspicions about the intruders knowing the locations of secure keys are accurate. 'It's not an uncommon occurrence,' he says, pointing to the recent thefts at Washington's Joint Base Lewis-McChord. In June, the FBI arrested two former service members for their alleged involvement in the thefts and the hammer assault of a soldier on base. The FBI recovered a stockpile of weapons found in the suspects' home, amid an assortment of Nazi iconography and white supremacist literature. Extremist ties to the military can run in both directions, Baumgartner explains: Some groups actively recruit veterans, contractors, and even active-duty troops to exploit their skills and access. Others will join the military explicitly to gain tactical training, weapons experience, and insider knowledge they can later pass on. Weapons, meanwhile, aren't the only concern. 'There's sensitive equipment in there,' he says. 'There's secure radios. There's equipment that contains classified information. You have to have a certain level of clearance to access some of that.' Such heists could also carry symbolic weight for anti-government extremists, Baumgartner says, by casting the federal government as weaker than it appears. 'To the casual observer, what it signals is that even institutions we think of as being shielded from this sort of action are not actually immune.'
Yahoo
15-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Smyrna Airport could be new home for TN Air National Guard's 118th Wing
SMYRNA, Tenn. (WKRN) — The town of Smyrna is in the running to become the new home of the Tennessee National Guard's 118th Wing Unit. Currently, the unit is located at Joint Base Berry Field at Nashville International Airport. Initial discussion to move the unit was spurred by their lease ending with BNA in 2045. According to Senior Master Sgt. Jeremy Cornelius, who also serves as the public affairs superintendent for the 118th Wing, there is talk about moving the unit to Smyrna. However, no decisions have been made and discussions are 'very preliminary.' Behind the scenes of blimp storage at Smyrna Airport Dr. Murat Arik, director of the Business and Economic Research Center at Middle Tennessee State University, spoke to News 2 about how the move would bring significant economic impact to Smyrna. 'You have the operation side, significant number of people of more than a thousand coming, who will live, eat and spend their time there,' Arik said. 'It doesn't matter if it's a business, military unit or any other institution, this will generate a significant amount of economic impact.' Arik will reportedly work with the Tennessee National Guard for an in-depth economic study later this year. He believes there are only positives when it comes to this move. ⏩ The 118th Wing serves a variety of missions. In particular, they focus on intelligence, cyber, combat support, and domestic emergency response. Smyrna Town Manager David Santucci provided the following facts and figures of the 118th Wing's potential move to Smyrna: 8 to 10 years to complete Estimated $1.93 billion in economic impact and investment to the local area Total projected impact of $5.9 billion through 2050 National Guard presence would also enhance local events, such as the Great Tennessee Air Show, and strengthen the region's emergency response capabilities To learn more about the 118th Wing, click here. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
13-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Tennessee National Guard, TEMA and more conducting disaster response exercise in Davidson County
DAVIDSON COUNTY, Tenn. (WKRN) — More than 30 agencies are partnering with the Tennessee National Guard and the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency to conduct a disaster response exercise in Davidson County. 📧 Have breaking news come to you: → On Friday, the agencies will conduct a bridging operation at Cleece's Ferry Boat Ramp at the Cumberland River. The operation is one of several taking place during 'Vigilant Guard 2025,' which started Monday and will last through Sunday, May 18. Other operations will take place across the Volunteer State and is meant to help improve mission command and cooperation between federal, state and local agencies. 'These exercises, where we operate jointly and with various emergency responders, are crucial to our organization's readiness,' Maj. Gen. Warner Ross, Tennessee's Adjutant General, said. 'The more we work alongside one another, the more we fine-tune our policies and procedures. Building these relationships are vital to our effectiveness, and continuing to practice what we do will make all of us much better when it's time to respond to the real thing.' National Guardsmen from Georgia, Mississippi, South Carolina, Texas, Utah, and Wyoming are co-sponsoring the exercise, which is based on a 7.5-magnitude earthquake occurring along the New Madrid Seismic Zone in Tipton County, Tennessee. 📧 Have breaking news come to you: → You might see an increased military presence in Davidson County because of the exercise, especially in Davidson County. The Tennessee Air National Guard will employ the MQ-9 'Reaper,' which is a remotely-piloted aircraft that will fly over the exercise site to conduct damage assessments and route reconnaisance. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
30-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Trump is right to turbocharge American AI and confront Chinese government
Today's military conflicts look vastly different than when I joined the Tennessee National Guard in 1990. Back then, we trained for traditional combat missions. Now, our biggest fights happen in cyberspace where hostile nations wage round-the-clock attacks against American targets. Adversaries of the United States have invested billions in sophisticated hacking operations targeting our military and civilian infrastructure — from power plants to water systems to hospitals. These attacks aim not just to steal sensitive information, but to compromise critical systems and gain advantages that could give them the upper hand in future conflicts. As a retired Army Brigadier General who served for 30 years, including a deployment during Operation Iraqi Freedom, I have seen how American technological supremacy helped protect our national security. But the challenges we face in 2025 and beyond are more complex and dangerous than ever before. Thankfully, President Trump is addressing the challenge head on by bringing tech leaders together with the new Stargate Program, which will turbocharge AI development in America and ensure we protect emerging technologies and maintain our dominance. President Trump's decisive action on AI is not a moment too soon. Chinese tech companies have rapidly developed and unveiled competing AI models like DeepSeek, despite technology export bans preventing the export of advanced chipmaking tools to China. This raises troubling questions: How did these developments emerge so quickly, and are American companies operating in China inadvertently aiding Chinese AI development? U.S. tech companies have rushed to gain a foothold in China. It makes sense – China's massive population and appetite for American tech makes it an irresistible market. But working in China comes with its own rules thanks to the iron grip of the Chinese Communist Party. One of the American companies with the largest footprints in China is Microsoft. They maintain over 9,000 employees in China, with 80% working as software engineers who develop source code for products used throughout our government. This arrangement might make business sense, but the risks to our national security are significant. Chinese law requires Microsoft to provide Communist government authorities access to this source code, encryption keys, and even backdoor access to their products. Even more concerning, Microsoft must report software vulnerabilities to Chinese regulators before notifying American customers or authorities, giving potential adversaries advance notice of weaknesses they could exploit. The consequences of these arrangements became painfully clear in the summer of 2023 when Chinese state-backed hackers breached Microsoft's systems and accessed over 60,000 emails from high-ranking officials, including our Commerce Secretary and Ambassador to China. Months later, Russian hackers penetrated Microsoft's defenses again, stealing correspondence between U.S. federal agencies and the company itself. Plain and simple: the Chinese Communist Party is using American technology to threaten our national security. Opinion: Taiwan shows how Tennessee with TVA support will be at forefront of innovation. The scale of this threat becomes even clearer when you understand just how dependent our government has become on Microsoft's products. Approximately 85% of federal employees use Microsoft software for their daily work. A core military principle is to never rely on a tool with a single point of failure − always maintain backup systems and alternate capabilities. Yet we have abandoned this wisdom in our digital infrastructure, allowing our agencies to become dangerously reliant on a single provider that maintains deep ties with an adversary. Microsoft has also worked to stifle competition by locking these agencies into restrictive contracts and charging them significantly more to use their software with other providers. The federal and military apparatus of our country is massive, yet we accept occasional security breaches of poorly secured software by China as inevitable. That's why I am encouraged by the Trump Administration and the Federal Trade Commission continuing to look at these concerning business practices. Along with this investigation, Congress must examine American tech development in China and establish new requirements ensuring companies that handle sensitive government data are not compromised by foreign adversaries. We must also promote competition in government procurement to reduce our vulnerability to any single provider. The oath I took to protect and defend the Constitution did not end when I retired from military service. Congress and the executive branch must act now to close this dangerous gap in our cyber defenses before more damage is done to our national security. Our enemies are already inside the wire – it is time to strengthen our digital fortifications and ensure American technology serves American interests first. Kurt Winstead is a retired U.S. Army Brigadier General and a practicing attorney in Nashville. He has served on the board of directors for numerous Middle Tennessee nonprofits and as an adjunct instructor for undergraduate Business Law at Belmont University. This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Chinese state interference in U.S. businesses is a danger | Opinion
