Report: China fires missile capable of destroying aircraft carriers

Aug. 26 (UPI) – China fired two missiles, one of which is designed to hit aircraft carriers, as its new amphibious assault ship concluded its first offshore trial.

A source with knowledge of the Chinese military activity said one of the two missiles launched early Wednesday was an "aircraft carrier killer," the South China Morning Post reported.

The DF-26B has a range of more than 2,400 miles and can be used against ground or naval targets, according to the Post. It was launched inland, in Qinghai Province.

The second missile, identified as the DF-21D, was fired from coastal Zheijiang Province. Both missiles targeted a maritime zone between Hainan Province and the Paracel Islands.

'"This is China's response to the potential risks brought by the increasingly frequent incoming U.S. warplanes and military vessels in the South China Sea,"' the Hong Kong-based newspaper's source said.

Military analyst Song Zhongping said the Chinese missiles are sending a signal to Washington.

U.S.-China tensions continue to simmer in the high seas following the visit of U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar to Taiwan.

https://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2020/08/26/Report-China-fires-missile-capable-of-destroying-aircraft-carriers/9281598457049/

>>10426734

Pest Controlanon back…kek

US says airstrike kills 6 al-Shabab in Somalia after ambush

JOHANNESBURG — The United States military says it killed six al-Shabab extremists with an airstrike in Somalia after the al-Qaida-linked group attacked Somali forces while U.S. forces were nearby.

The U.S. Africa Command statement said Monday’s airstrike was carried out near Darasalam village in southern Somalia's Lower Shabelle region after al-Shabab fighters attacked from a building in the area. The statement said three al-Shabab fighters were wounded.

No U.S. forces were killed or wounded, the statement said, dismissing an al-Shabab claim of U.S. casualties. Somalia’s government in a separate statement said the U.S. forces were there to advise and assist local ones.

Al-Shabab remains the most active Islamic extremist group in Africa, and the U.S. under President Donald Trump has increased the number of airstrikes against it. The U.S. Africa Command calls the group a “danger to Africa and the United States.”

In January, al-Shabab killed a U.S. service member and two U.S. contractors in an attack on a military airstrip in neighboring Kenya. It was al-Shabab’s first attack against U.S. forces in that country, and the group quickly shared online images of masked fighters standing next to blazing aircraft.

The U.S. military has since stepped up its warnings about al-Shabab’s increasingly sophisticated use of propaganda.

https://www.startribune.com/us-says-airstrike-kills-6-al-shabab-in-somalia-after-ambush/572227272/

U.S. appeals court sides with transgender student over bathroom access

I guess I could identify as female to gain access to their showers..kek

This just disgusting

WASHINGTON — A U.S. appeals court on Wednesday ruled that a Virginia school board acted unlawfully in preventing a transgender student from using a bathroom at his high school that corresponded with his gender identity.

The Richmond, Virginia-based 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled on a 2-1 vote that Gavin Grimm, now a college student, is protected under federal law that bars sex discrimination in education and the U.S. Constitution's requirement that people be treated equally under the law.

Grimm's lawsuit dates back to 2015. Grimm sued the Gloucester County School Board after officials at a local high school refused to allow him to use the boys' restrooms. Assigned female at birth, Grimm identifies as male.

Grimm's case was previously set to be argued in 2017 before the U.S. Supreme Court but was taken off the schedule after President Donald Trump's administration rescinded guidance previously issued by the administration of President Barack Obama regarding bathroom access for transgender students.

https://www.nbcnews.com/feature/nbc-out/u-s-appeals-court-sides-transgender-student-over-bathroom-access-n1238201

Army Moves to Kick Out 3 Unit Leaders After Deadly Bradley Accident in Korea

The Army's 1st Cavalry Division has ordered changes to its driver training program and is kicking two company-level officers and a staff sergeant out of the Army as the result of an investigation into a deadly Bradley fighting vehicle accident in Korea last year.

Spc. Nicholas Panipinto was killed when the right-hand side tread of the M2A3 Bradley came off and caused the massive vehicle to roll over during a Nov. 6, 2019 road test at Camp Humphreys, South Korea.

Before the road test, Panipinto had received only six hours of hands-on driver training and no classroom instruction.

Current Army regulations require three days of classroom instruction and two days of hands-on driving experience, with an instructor, before military personnel are given licenses to drive Bradleys.

"He never should have been behind the wheel," Kimberly Weaver said she was told during an investigation brief meeting with Col. Kevin Capra, the commander of the 3rd Armored Brigade Combat Team (ABCT).

https://www.military.com/daily-news/2020/08/26/army-moves-kick-out-3-unit-leaders-after-deadly-bradley-accident-korea.html

Army Guard Pilots Get Distinguished Flying Cross for Engaging Taliban at Close Range

Two North Carolina National Guard AH-64 Apache pilots received the Distinguished Flying Cross with Valor last week for providing cover to Army special forces in a remote Afghanistan village in 2018.

Army Capt. Stephen Scott and Chief Warrant Officer 4 Eric Carver, both of the 1-130th Attack Reconnaissance Battalion, received the medals for their support of the 7th Special Forces Group's Operational Detachment Alpha (ODA) 7225 during Task Force Panther, according to a release.

In November 2018, troops from ODA 7225 were dropped off in a remote area of Afghanistan's Uruzgan Province when they began taking heavy enemy fire, the release said. Scott and Carver, flying in an Apache, quickly identified enemy positions and "engaged them after permission was given," it said.

One of the objectives during the night raid was to capture a senior Taliban Leader in Deh Rawud District, Chief Warrant Officer 2 Brandon P. Faia, ground force commander for Special Forces ODA 7225, said in the release.

<Congrats to both

https://www.military.com/daily-news/2020/08/25/army-guard-pilots-get-distinguished-flying-cross-engaging-taliban-close-range.html

>>10427227

Coast Guard Watch Opens Fire After 8-Foot Shark Crashes Swim Call

Probably the most action these snowflakes get

There's nothing like a dip in the Pacific after a long day of work, especially when the job is on the sun-beaten deck or the engine room of a U.S. Coast Guard cutter.

So the crew of the national security cutter Kimball ended Wednesday with a special treat a carefully orchestrated swim call for more than 40 crew members. With a rescue swimmer in place and other precautions taken to ensure safety, the Coasties jumped in the water with swim fins and other paraphernalia, including a massive inflatable unicorn.GAY–

That is, until, an unwanted eight-foot predator crashed the party.

From the flight deck, personnel spotted a shark a longfin mako or pelagic thresher, according to the crew that had surfaced in front of the ship's rescue door and was heading directly toward the swimmers, according to the post.

And here's where it pays that Coast Guard and Navy vessels maintain shark watches and polar bear watches during breaks in places where humans aren't at the top of the food chain:

With the shark roughly 30 feet from its prey, the designated shark watch, identified as Maritime Enforcement Specialist 1st Class Cintron, locked on target, and under orders of his chief, opened fire at the menace – a "well-aimed burst right at/on top of the shark to protect shipmates just feet away."

https://www.military.com/daily-news/2020/08/26/coast-guard-watch-opens-fire-after-8-foot-shark-crashes-swim-call.html