Medal of Honor Monday: Army Sgt. William D. Port
Trusted Traveler Program Reinstated Following Suspension After New Orleans, Las Vegas Attacks

Military bases throughout North America will resume a program that makes it easier for Defense Department personnel to bring visitors onto base, one week after it was suspended amid heightened security concerns from public attacks on New Year's Day.
Capt. Mayrem Morales, a U.S. Northern Command spokesperson, told Military.com in an emailed statement Friday afternoon that the Trusted Traveler Program -- which allowed those with Common Access Cards or Defense Biometric Identification System cards to escort people onto base -- was reinstated following last week's order.
"U.S. Northern Command (USNORTHCOM) has returned the use of [the] Trusted Traveler Program subject to installation commanders' local policy," Morales said. "This follows recent increased force protection measures directed by USNORTHCOM in response to attacks in New Orleans and Las Vegas."
Read Next: Air Force to Put Renewed Emphasis on Safety and Uniform Standards[1]
One main benefit of the Trusted Traveler Program is making waiting lines move more efficiently at base gates. When the initiative was stopped last week, meaning visitors needed to secure base passes and there were 100% identification checks, service members posted photos on social media of long lines[2] to enter installations.
The security measures came after Shamsud-Din Jabbar, an Army[3] veteran, killed 14 people in New Orleans when he drove his rented truck down Bourbon Street in the city's French Quarter, and was killed by police shortly after the New Year's Day attack.
That same day, Master Sgt. Matthew Livelsberger, an Army Green Beret, drove a rented Tesla Cybertruck in front of the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada, where he detonated an explosive and died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound prior to the blast.
It was not clear how the Trusted Traveler Program would have stopped those attacks, since both men would have had access to bases.
"These measures, which cover installations, facilities and units within the USNORTHCOM Area of Responsibility -- including the continental United States and Alaska -- were implemented as a precautionary step to ensure the safety and security of personnel and installations," Morales added in the emailed statement.
There has been at least one public security situation during the week that the Trusted Traveler Program was shut down.
On Thursday, Patrick Space Force Base[4] in Florida closed its East Gate amid an "ongoing investigation" starting around 2 p.m. local time, a Facebook post from the installation detailed.
"For everyone's safety and security, the area has been closed to ensure the investigation proceeds without interruption," Emre Kelly, a Space Launch Delta 45 spokesperson, told Military.com in an emailed statement.
By 8 p.m. local time, the gate and State Road A1A were reopened, but there was no explanation as to the cause or details of the incident provided by Patrick Space Force Base or the Brevard County Sheriff's Office.
Related: Trusted Traveler Program at Bases Across US Suspended Following Las Vegas, New Orleans Attacks[5]
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Pentagon, California National Guard Deploying Aircraft and Personnel to Fight Raging LA Wildfires

Military aircraft and technology are being deployed to assist the California National Guard[1] and state firefighters as Los Angeles wildfires continue to rage and thousands flee their homes, but the current smoke and wind conditions are hindering more significant military support, according to the Pentagon.
Ten Navy[2] helicopters equipped with water delivery buckets were being sent to assist with the firefighting efforts, Sabrina Singh, a Pentagon spokesperson, told reporters Wednesday afternoon. Additionally, four military Modular Airborne Fire Fighting System units -- technology that can turn large C-130 Hercules[3] airplanes into firefighting aircraft without major modifications -- can be used if needed.
LA has been gripped for days by the worst fires in the city's history, which have been made more intense by seasonal winds. The blazes have killed at least five people, destroyed thousands of structures and triggered evacuation orders for 180,000 people, according to The Associated Press.
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Singh added that the Department of Defense couldn't immediately provide more assets due to the environmental conditions caused by the fires.
"We can surge assets, and the president has directed this department to bolster whatever California needs. But we have to work with California, and right now we can't even get assets up in the air because the fires are so bad and the winds are so bad," Singh said.
This week, a fire started in Pacific Palisades, an area of LA, and began to spread quickly. As of Thursday, California residents were under evacuation orders amid four other fires that have also sprung up in the region, scorching nearly 30,000 acres combined, according to CNN[5].
Upward of 600 California National Guardsmen were deployed on state orders to assist firefighters and law enforcement with the blazes, California Gov. Gavin Newsom's office said in a statement.
California National Guard assets include 10 rotary-wing aircraft, two C-130 airplanes and a total of 10 handcrews to help firefighters, as well as military police.
"We are putting all available resources behind fighting these wildfires, including leveraging local and federal assets," Newsom said in the statement. "California has thousands of boots on the ground working to combat these fires. The state is leaving no stone unturned to protect California communities."
Two more Modular Airborne Fire Fighting System units are being readied by the Nevada National Guard to assist them, Singh said Wednesday.
According to the state of California, more than 305,000 veterans live in Los Angeles County, with more than 84,000 served by the West Los Angeles Veterans Affairs Medical Center, roughly three miles east as the crow flies from the edge of the massive Palisades fire that has burned more than 17,000 acres.
Veterans Affairs Secretary Denis McDonough said Wednesday that the department is working with state and local governments with support planning and emailed area veterans to let them know what services are available through the department.
"We're reaching out to all impacted veterans in that area of the wildfires and making sure that they know that we're here for them," McDonough said.
He added that the department also is "communicating clearly with the workforce," some of whom may have homes in the burned or evacuated areas.
"The bottom line is this: If you want to know about how VA can help you through this storm, or you want to check on your local facility, please call 1-800-MyVA411," he said.
The VA offers housing assistance to veterans who experience homelessness[6] as a result of a fire, and several veterans service organizations, such as Disabled American Veterans[7], provide disaster relief and grants to members and non-members.
As of Thursday, the state of California had opened four shelters for residents displaced by the fires.
The Los Angeles fires this week were unusually early for California's fire season, which is often at its height in the summer. The Department of Defense sounded the alarm on the effects of climate change -- including more frequent wildfires -- in a 2021 report[8].
"The unprecedented scale of wildfires, floods, droughts, typhoons and other extreme weather events of recent months and years have damaged our installations and bases, constrained force readiness and operations, and contributed to instability around the world," Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said in that report. "Climate change touches most of what this department does, and this threat will continue to have worsening implications for U.S. national security."
Related: National Guard, Deployed Across Southeast, Sees 'Long Recovery' Ahead as Helene Death Toll Rises[9]
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