TYB
https://www.elpasotimes.com/story/news/military/2025/09/19/fort-bliss-says-it-wasnt-told-about-el-pasos-use-of-chinese-drones-near-post/86237271007/
Fort Bliss ‘assessing potential risks’ after city deploys Chinese-made drones next to post
Septemember 19, 2025 7:06 a.m. MT
Fort Bliss officials didn’t know the city of El Paso was operating Chinese-made drones adjacent to the post, and the post is “assessing any potential risks” from the program, officials said in a statement to El Paso Matters.
“Fort Bliss was not made aware in advance of the City of El Paso’s use of foreign-manufactured drones around or near the installation.
The installation takes all potential security concerns seriously and is assessing any potential risks associated with unmanned aerial systems operating in close proximity to the base.
Fort Bliss maintains a positive and productive relationship with local officials and the City of El Paso to address matters of mutual concern,” Maj. William McGehee, the deputy public affairs officer for the 1st Armored Division at Fort Bliss, said in a statement to El Paso Matters on Wednesday evening.
In response to questions from El Paso Matters, city spokesperson Laura Cruz-Acosta said the city government “has maintained communication with Fort Bliss regarding matters of mutual concern, including the use of technology to support public safety.”
When asked if the city has made any changes to its drone program since making it public earlier this month, Cruz-Acosta said: “The City regularly evaluates all of its programs, including the use of drones, to ensure they serve the community effectively and align with applicable requirements.”
On Sept. 2, El Paso public safety and airport officials unveiled a program involving widespread use of drones produced by DJI Technologies, a Chinese company that is the world’s largest drone manufacturer.
A bipartisan array of elected officials have raised concerns about national security risks posed by the drones, which DJI has repeatedly denied.
City officials highlighted the public safety uses of drones by police and firefighters, but much of the drone program is used by El Paso International Airport.
Officials couldn’t provide cost estimates at the news conference but promised to provide that information to the media. The city has not yet done so.
The airport sits adjacent to Biggs Army Airfield on Fort Bliss, one of the U.S. military’s “power projection platforms” used to deploy forces to global hotspots. Fort Bliss is the home of the 1st Armored Division, the Army’s primary tank unit.
Through a program developed with DJI since 2018, El Paso has 22 drone docks across the city for use by police and fire officials, and by El Paso International Airport. About half of the 40 licensed drone pilots employed by the city work at the airport.
At the Sept. 2 news conference, city officials dismissed the possibility that their drones posed national security risks from operating Chinese-made drones near the post. Data collected by the drones is kept on a secure server, they said.
The officials added that purchasing U.S.-made drones would be cost prohibitive and that the industry is dominated by Chinese manufacturers.
In a statement to El Paso Matters, DJI said their drones are sold through authorized dealers. “This means DJI does not hold any contracts with the city of El Paso. Our team simply offers technical product support as part of our after-sales service.”
The statement said no security risks have been shown in repeated reviews. “Since 2017, we have submitted our products to certifications and regular security audits by industry experts and federal agencies.”
All federal agencies – including the Defense Department – are barred by law from buying or using DJI drones because of potential security risks.
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In December 2024, a large bipartisan majority of the U.S. Senate and House passed the 2025 National Defense Authorization Act, which included a requirement that an unspecified national security agency review security risks posed by drones made by DJI and another Chinese manufacturer, Autel Robotics.
If the agency finds a national security risk – or if it doesn’t complete the review by the end of this year – sale of the drones would be banned in the United States.
DJI said the law allows for sales of its products to be banned through inaction by the U.S. government.
“Allowing DJI to be removed from the market due to inaction would have devastating ramifications on the U.S. economy, threatening jobs, stalling innovation, and undermining public safety capabilities.
Thousands of farmers, first responders, small businesses, and others would be cut off from essential tools that enable them to operate safely, efficiently, and cost-effectively,” the company said in its statement.
Texas state agencies are banned from purchasing drone equipment from Chinese companies, including DJI.
A spokesperson for Gov. Greg Abbott didn’t directly respond to El Paso Matters’ questions about the city’s drone program, but said the governor is addressing national security risks posed by potential adversaries.
“Foreign threats to our country are real, and we must safeguard against those who wish to harm us,” press secretary Andrew Mahaleris said in a statement.
“Last month, Governor Abbott signed three new laws to protect Texans from hostile foreign adversaries including the Chinese Communist Party. Governor Abbott will continue to protect Texans from potential threats from the CCP.”
State Sen. Tan Parker, a North Texas Republican who serves as Senate majority leader, called the city’s drone program “reckless” in a social media post.
City officials said the drone program began in 2018 and was developed under the guidance of University of Texas at El Paso officials, including Professor Michael McGee of the Aerospace Center and university President Heather Wilson, a former secretary of the Air Force.
UTEP officials declined to answer a series of questions from El Paso Matters about the university’s role in the project, and whether university officials had concerns about national security risks posed by the DJI drones.
“UTEP is proud to support the City of El Paso in improving our community. Any questions about the City’s drone program should be directed to the City,” spokesperson Nadia Whitehead said in a statement.
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Army cutting 6,500 aviation jobs as it moves toward drones
19th September 2025
The pair, aged 27 and 18, packaged drugs and knives inside drinks cartons before dropping them off between January and June 2024. Their peak month was March when they made 28 drops.
Detectives from the South East Regional Organised Crime Unit (SEROCU) brought the pair to justice after investigation which involved analysing their phones and vehicle movements.
The two men, from Croydon, appeared for sentencing at Lewes Crown Court earlier this month when the older man was sentenced to six years, and the younger was handed a 23-month suspended term.
Following the outcome of the case, police released pictures of some of the drinks cartons used, and their contents.
The court heard that HMP Lewes, in East Sussex, was the prime target for the smuggling operation, with its security breached on 27 occasions.
The other jails involved were Rye Hill, Onley, Guys Marsh, Coldingley, Swaleside, Elmley, Littlehey, Peterborough, Aylesbury, Nottingham, Ford, Leicester, The Mount, Five Wells, High Down, and Downview.
Det Con Ian Bradshaw of SEROCU, the investigating officer, said: “Having drugs, weapons and mobile phones illegally brought into prisons makes the work of prison officers much harder than it already is.
Once the items are inside prisons, they have to be paid for, which creates debts for inmates, which then have to paid, which can then lead to violence.
“Weapons in prisons also puts inmates at a much higher risk of serious injury or even death, along with the obvious risk which is posed to prison staff.”
He said the two men had gone to great lengths to transport the items into prisons and to conceal their offending, adding: “I hope that this case demonstrates that whatever lengths offenders go to, they will be caught and brought to justice.”
https://insidetime.org/newsround/pair-flew-drugs-and-knives-via-drone-into-17-prisons/
<Army cutting 6,500 aviation jobs as it moves toward drones
Pair flew drugs and knives via drone into 17 prisons
Army cutting 6,500 aviation jobs as it moves toward drones
Sep. 19, 2025 at 9:00 AM PDT
The Army is slashing thousands of active duty pilots, flight crews, and helicopter maintenance jobs as the service begins a fundamental pivot towards unmanned drones for modern wars, officials told Task & Purpose.
The service will begin cutting nearly 6,500 active duty aviation jobs in fiscal years 2026 and 2027 as part of the Army’s broader transformation initiative.
The Army currently has around 30,000 aviation branch soldiers, but “talent panels” scheduled for October will decide which officers and warrant officers will be retained and which will transfer to a different branch within the Army.
The service will also decide whether to hold similar talent panels for its enlisted aviation soldiers, which includes most flight crew and nearly all mechanics and maintenance troops, Army officials said.
“The use of airspace for maneuver that was once unique to our formations is now becoming accessible to soldiers in multiple formations via drone technology,” Maj. Montrell Russell, an Army spokesperson, told Task & Purpose.
“The Army is rapidly transforming to meet the changing character of war and leverage these technological advancements, which is inducing changes in both ground and air formations to optimize our collective force structure.”
The strategy to cut aviators is a switch from the Army’s efforts to fill out its pilot force less than a decade ago. In 2019, the service offered pay raises and promotion opportunities to meet a warrant officer shortage of almost 700 soldiers.
As the service reduces its aviation force, Army leaders are doing an ongoing analysis “to determine the appropriate approved excess strength to minimize turbulence,” Russell said.
The 6,500 cuts are separate from the nearly 4,600 reserve soldiers who are facing cuts, a drawdown reported by Military.com. With those moves, the Army plans to eliminate all Army Reserve helicopter units by the end of the summer.
Army officials said the Reserve Command is working on its own manpower plan “to address the unique circumstances” for their soldiers.
Talent panels
The panels will look at first and second lieutenants, captains, and junior warrant officers assigned to Apache and Black Hawk helicopters, according to a MILPER message issued Wednesday by Army Human Resources Command.
“Transitions will be based on needs of the Army in order to fill other aviation population shortages or Army requirements,” the bulletin said.
The panels will be made up of a brigadier general, a former brigade commander, and senior warrant officers, according to the MILPER message.
Those leaders will decide on retention or reclassification based on officer evaluations, “input on potential” from aviation leaders, and “demonstrated tactical aptitude” based on how far in the process warrant officers are for achieving “pilot in command” status, officials said.
Along with assessing “potential,” the panel will also seek input from the officers themselves “to understand their career desires and determine if they have a skillset or interest outside of Aviation that would offer significant benefit to the Army,” Russell said.
Soldiers who are transferred out of Army aviation will be able to use the Officer Rebranch Program & Voluntary Transfer Incentive Program.
In 2024, under the rebranch program, Army Human Resources Command offered a roughly month-long window for infantry, armor, field artillery and engineering lieutenants to voluntarily transfer into “understrength” career fields like air defense, logistics, signal corps, information technology, engineering and space operations.
“The effort to conduct the Aviation talent panel in an expeditious manner is with the intent of providing notification in sufficient time for our officers and warrant officers to consider these opportunities and submit applications,” Russell said.
https://taskandpurpose.com/news/army-cuts-thousands-pilots/
TY
I even tried to stop it short by reloading the page, which sometimes works, but this time it pushed right through.
Oakdale Police intercept contraband being snuck in by drone to federal prison
Sep. 19, 2025 at 9:00 AM PDT
OAKDALE, La. (KPLC) - The Oakdale Police Department has made an arrest after spotting a drone near the Oakdale Federal Bureau of Prisons, which they say was attempting to sneak in contraband items.
The department says Lt. Kevin Johnson was notified of the drone on Monday, Sept. 15, around 1:10 a.m. as part of coordination efforts with several agencies to prevent contraband from entering the facility.
Officers were dispatched to the wooded area to search for the suspect with assistance from the Allen Parish Sheriff’s Office and the Federal Prison Mobile Units.
During their search, a suspect they identified as Davien Phillip Mayo, 47, Highlands, TX, was arrested and later booked for:
Introduction of contraband into a penal facility
Resisting an officer
Criminal trespass
According to the Allen Parish Correctional Center, his bond has been set at $96,000.
The Oakdale Police Department credits Lt. Johnson, Investigator Lisa Rivers of the Allen Parish District Attorney’s Office, Captain Chance Duran of the Grant Parish Sheriff’s Office, and his canine partner “Ziggy” for their additional search of the area, which they say located additional evidence.
They also thank officers Magnolia Nelson and Pete Strother, who assisted in the initial response.
https://www.kplctv.com/2025/09/19/oakdale-police-intercept-contraband-being-snuck-by-drone-federal-prison/
It’s not the UFOs — it’s the cover-up
September 18, 2025
Not only is the longstanding governmental cover-up of UFO sightings continuing, but “whistleblowers” who were told by Congress that they are protected by federal laws are losing their jobs for reporting, in good faith, what they saw.
The most recent congressional hearing on UFOs was as disappointing as the first, but it did reveal one fact that is perhaps even more disturbing than the possibility that unknown objects are invading our skies.
It is the extreme measures that unaccountable government agencies are taking to intimidate, threaten, and silence witnesses of UFOs.
The conspiracy is even deeper than that. Documents subject to FOIA requests have been destroyed.
In other cases, the subject matter of those requests has been deviously moved outside government custody, to private industries, mostly aerospace companies, beyond the reach of FOIA. FOIA does not grant a public right of access to proprietary Lockheed (for example) files.
It is perfectly legitimate for Northrup Grumman to secret its files, but not for the government to move them there, for the purpose of evasion, or for the purpose of violating the right of the public to know — nor, especially, for the purpose of frustrating government oversight that is mandated by law.
If there are irrefutable physical specimens of technology that cannot have been made on this planet, they also may have been transferred to private companies to avoid FOIA access.
Apart from that, a shocking but understated revelation made during the hearings was about an instance in which an elected representative put forth an amendment to a proposed law and was overruled by some unknown, unelected staff person, who pulled the amendment from consideration before it could be seen by Congress. The bill went forward without the amendment. This audacious act is a stunning example of brazen criminality, usurping the powers of the Legislative Branch by someone unaccountable to the voters.
Why is there not an investigation by DoJ?
Perhaps the star of the show during the hearings was not a person, but a short, official video clip that is perhaps the most dramatic one seen so far by the public.
It depicts an object in flight resembling a tic-tac, which is then struck by a hellfire missile, because the object was, according to a report, in a combat zone and did not respond to IFF identification signals — thus posing a potential threat to friendlies.
Amazingly, the missile appears to bounce off the target, which apparently proceeds along its path with little or no disturbance. Also, there appear to be fragments from the collision, but strangely, the fragments do not fly apart, but follow the UFO.
It is not clear whether the fragments are from the missile or from the UFO, or whether the missile was destroyed. A professional analysis of the video is needed, but so far, I have not seen one presented.
Government secrecy is proper and necessary when used legitimately — for example, to keep an enemy from knowing our methods and capabilities.
When used improperly, it poses a threat to the same national security it is supposed to protect. It undermines trust in, and respect for, government agencies entrusted with the dangerous power of censorship.
For example, there are many unanswered questions about lethal actions taken against prominent conservatives (such as Trump and Charlie Kirk).
When the public’s questions are not answered, suspicions of a sinister cover-up become widespread.
It is often said that it is better for an actual flaw to be revealed than for even worse flaws to be suspected.
This is especially true when the public is asked to make sacrifices in support of a government policy.
If the government is not trusted, citizens will tend to refuse to obey orders from that government.
Putting aside for the moment government secrecy, we must ask about the UFO phenomena themselves. What are they? Clearly, they are real; even the government now admits that much.
But so what? What is real about UFOs? Are they weather phenomena, drones, or spacecraft from another planet? Something else?
We do not know what the UFOs are, but we do know that the government is hiding things that we have every right to know about.
When any government agency created by Congress deems itself above the law, then that is more of an immediate threat to us than are the supposed aliens in our skies.
https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2025/09/it_s_not_the_ufos_it_s_the_cover_up.html
New UAP Caucus gag rule? "We're not going to be dropping any leaks," Co-chair Luna tells Ask a Pol
Sep 18, 2025
Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL) — Chair, Task Force on the Declassification of Federal Secrets; Co-chair, Congressional UAP Caucus
Ask a Pol asks:
After last week’s public UAP hearing, where does your UFO investigation go from here, military contractors?
Key Luna:
“As a result of the nature of our investigations, we're not going to be dropping any leaks into whatever else we're doing,” Secrets Task Force Chair Anna Paulina Luna exclusively tells Ask a Pol UAP. “But we're making progress.”
Caught our ear:
“You'll have to see our notices,” Secrets Task Force Chair Luna tells Ask a Pol UAP — the only UAP news outlet in Washington.
https://www.askapoluaps.com/p/secret-new-secrets-task-force-gag-rule
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WVInq53QwRc
Las Vegas Backyard UFO: The Shocking Angel Kenmore Alien Footage & New Enhancements
Sep 18, 2025
Throwback Thursday: one of the most controversial UFO cases of recent years — the Angel Kenmore Las Vegas sighting — gets a full breakdown.
In this video we revisit the original backyard footage, play the chilling 911 call and police bodycam clips, and show upgraded enhancements and stills that highlight the beings witnesses describe.
You’ll also see neighbor Ring cam clips, media exclusives (News Nation), and forensic commentary that asks: is this a genuine extraterrestrial encounter, a clever hoax, or something darker?
What to expect:
• Raw 911 audio & police bodycam highlights
• Ring cam and neighbor footage you haven’t seen on mainstream channels
• My processed enhancements — zooms, brightening, and frame-by-frame freezes that show the alleged entities behind the fence
• Expert takes on “cloaking” / camouflage artifacts and confirmation-bias explanations
• Updates on the family, alleged security cameras, black SUVs, and rumors of a cover-up
• My honest breakdown: what’s convincing, what’s suspicious, and what still needs answers
If you love deep dives into UAP/UFO footage, crime-scene style analysis, and unexplained phenomena — smash that like button, subscribe, and drop your theory in the comments: alien visitors, demons, government cover-up, or misperception?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e6l7An75V9g
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12198761/Las-Vegas-family-claimed-saw-aliens-backyard-LOCKDOWN-home.html
Moneypenny
@nic_moneypenny
Is this what Borland was also describing at the UAP congressional meeting?
Remember he talks about gold plasma glowing exteriors, giant triangles with lights and again this is over a highly sensitive military base which hardly anyone seems to know about
Please check out @polarityjosh
great investigative report on the polarity YouTube channel
7:24 AM · Sep 17, 2025
Evidence that Dylan Borland’s UFO Sighting Was A Secret Space Program…
📚 CHAPTERS 📚
00:00 Introduction
02:02 Evidence of Triangular Spacecraft
13:24 Plasma & Sentient UFOs
20:22 The Hypocrisy of "National Security"
24:19 The Global Connection & Implication
29:55 The Hierarchy of Beings
36:10 The Secret Space Program
42:10 Why is it Always America? (It's not)
51:00 You Live In a Carefully Controlled Reality
https://x.com/nic_moneypenny/status/1968320070695964950
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qz9QYhxDqcQ