With Afghanistan Evacuation, It's Lives Over Equipment ... Period, DOD Spokesman Says

Across Europe, eight military installations in four nations stand ready to take on as many as 25,000 evacuees coming out of Afghanistan, the commander of U.S. European Command said.

Joint Task Force Haiti has conducted some 364 full-spectrum missions, using DOD and U.S. Coast Guard assets, which have assisted in saving about 436 lives and delivered vital aid to earthquake victims, according to an official with the Joint Staff.

Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III issued a memorandum directing the secretaries of the military departments to immediately begin full vaccination of all members of the department on active duty or in the Guard or Reserve who aren't yet fully vaccinated against COVID-19.

Soldiers, airmen, sailors and civilians from California and six other states are actively fighting wildfires burning throughout the state, with nearly 1,000 Cal Guard service members activated for fire missions in the air and on the ground.

The U.S. Space Command has reached initial operational capability and is on the path to meeting full operational capability in the near future, its commander said.

About 21,600 personnel have been evacuated from Afghanistan in the last 24 hours using U.S. C-17 Globemaster III and C-130 Hercules aircraft along with coalition and partner airlift, the Joint Staff deputy director for regional operations said.

Bill Greason did his basic training at Montford Point, N.C., before serving with an all-African American Marine Corps unit that landed on Iwo Jima in World War II. He later played a season of professional baseball with the St. Louis Cardinals.

In the last 24 hours, more than 10,000 evacuees have been moved out of Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, Afghanistan. It's an exhausting pace the U.S. military will sustain so that everyone eligible to leave the country can get out, the commander of U.S. Transportation Command said.

Since the Food and Drug Administration granted full approval of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine, it's very likely the vaccine will soon become mandatory for Defense Department personnel, the Pentagon press secretary said.

Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst in New Jersey is now ready to receive Afghan evacuees, the Joint Staff deputy director for regional operations said.