The Oregon National Guard redesignated the 3rd Battalion, 116th Cavalry Regiment as the 2nd Battalion, 186th Infantry Regiment, creating the state’s first mobile infantry battalion. The shift replaces a heavy armored role with a lighter force built around Infantry Squad Vehicles, unmanned systems, and dispersed operations. The new battalion trades M1A2 SEPv2 Abrams tanks and M2A3 Bradley fighting vehicles for a structure centered on nine-soldier Infantry Squad Vehicles, expanded drone employment, and greater tactical mobility. The change reduces protected direct-fire capacity while increasing deployability and placing greater reliance on anti-armor weapons, mortars, reconnaissance assets, and supporting fires. Read more. A U.S. Army M1A2 SEP Abrams tank assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 116th Cavalry Regiment fires during training at Orchard Combat Training Center in Idaho in July 2013. The Oregon Army National Guard unit has now been redesignated as the 2nd Battalion, 186th I...
The U.S. military recovered two Air Force officers shot down over Iran through separate rescue operations that escalated from a 21-aircraft extraction to a ground mission involving more than 90 personnel. The operation shows the concentration of airpower, intelligence, special operations forces and support assets required to recover isolated aircrew inside defended Iranian territory. Newly released declassified footage shows how the two-man crew of an F-15E Strike Eagle was recovered after a surface-to-air missile brought down the aircraft south of Isfahan, leaving the pilot and weapons systems officer separated by several miles as Iranian forces searched for them. The first extraction used an HH-60W Jolly Green II under an extensive air package, while the second combined MC-130 aircraft, MH-6M Little Birds, deception measures, and strikes on nearby Iranian forces to create a temporary recovery window nearly two days after the shootdown. Read more. Read the full Defense News....