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Tag: Army

  • Army recruiting is up, but data show trend began before the election, current and former Army officials say

    Army recruiting is up, but data show trend began before the election, current and former Army officials say

    Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Sen. Tom Cotton attributed increased Army recruiting numbers to “America First” leadership and “the Trump effect.” However, data indicates that recruiting numbers began to improve months before the U.S. Presidential election, according to current and former officials.

    “You had some number of young men and women who didn’t want to join the army over the last four years under Joe Biden and Christine Wormuth, the former secretary of the Army, when they thought it was more focused on Wokeness and DEI and climate change,” Cotton told Fox’s America’s Newsroom. “That’s not why young men and women join our military. They do it because they love the country.” 

    The uptick in recruiting started months before the election on November 5.

    “No, it did not all start in December,” former Army Secretary Christine Wormuth, who served until Jan. 20, said in an interview with Fox News.

    ARMY RECRUITING SHATTERS RECORDS AFTER PRESIDENT TRUMP ELECTION WIN

    Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., praised President Donald Trump’s election for having a positive effect on Army recruitment, but the numbers tell a different story.  (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

    “Army’s recruiting started getting better much earlier. We really started seeing the numbers, the monthly numbers, go up in February of 2024. We were seeing sort of in the high 5000 contracts per month, and that accelerated, you know, into the spring all the way into August, when the Army really hit a peak.”

    Starting in Oct. 2023, the Army put 1,200 more recruiters in the field. By Sept. 2024, before the election, the Army announced it had exceeded its recruiting goals. 

    The groundwork was laid that October when Wormuth and Gen Randy George, the Army chief, began a sweeping initiative to help those who did not meet academic standards or fitness requirements. The six-week pre-boot camp, called the Future Soldier Prep Course, helps lower-performing recruits meet enlistment standards. They also moved away from just recruiting in high schools to posting on job message boards. Recruiters got trained by Amazon, Wells Fargo and other industry leaders in talent acquisition. And the Army brought back the “Be All That You Can Be” branding campaign from the 1980s.

    “We’ve been selecting soldiers who have personalities that are more suited to recruiting. We improved our marketing very dramatically in terms of being very data driven and very targeted. And then, of course, the future Soldier Prep course, which the Army established some time ago, has been a big success and has accounted last year for about 25% of the new recruits that came in,” Wormuth said. “If you look at our Army ads, we show young people, you know, jumping out of helicopters. We show kids doing, you know, night patrols in the jungle.”

    DEMOCRATS PRESS ARMY SECRETARY NOMINEE IF ‘READINESS’ AFFECTED BY SOUTHERN BORDER DEPLOYMENTS

    Army soldiers stand in formation

    U.S. Soldiers of the 330th Movement Control Battalion stand in formation at Zagan, Poland, April 1, 2022. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Joseph Aleman)

    Army data shows the Army has struggled with recruiting numbers since COVID, including a shortfall of 15,000 recruits in 2022.

    It reported record-breaking recruitment in Dec. 2024, with nearly 350 recruits enlisting daily and the total number of active duty soldiers reaching 5877 recruits that month. Secretary Hegseth praised the recruiting numbers in a post on X:

    “@USArmy: @USAREC had their most productive December in 15 years by enlisting 346 Soldiers daily into the World’s greatest #USArmy!

    “Our Recruiters have one of the toughest jobs – inspiring the next generation of #Soldiers to serve.

    “Congratulations and keep up the great work!”

    But August of last year, three months prior to the election, saw a higher number of recruits than in December – 7,415 recruits compared to the 5,877 in December. And January 2025 still has not surpassed August 2024 for the highest monthly count of the past year. 

    In other words, the positive recruiting trend began before the election.

    ARMY SEC NOMINEE QUESTIONS WHETHER MILITARY PILOTS SHOULD TRAIN NEAR DC AIRPORT

    A U.S. Army recruiting event in Florida

    Miami Beach, Florida, Hyundai Air & Sea Show, Military Village vendor, Army soldier recruiter, goarmy.com, Warriors Wanted truck.  (Jeffrey Greenberg/Universal Images Group via Getty Image)

    The increased recruiting numbers resulted from more women joining. Women made up 19% of the recruits last year, the highest rate to date. 

    “For example, right now, 16% of the overall Army is women. And so, having a year where almost 20% of the new recruits are women is a notable increase,” Wormuth said. “In 2024, we also had the highest ever recruiting year for Hispanics.” 

    There is a lag of about 10–12 weeks from the time a recruit enters a recruiting office and actually signs up due to medical exams and other paperwork.

    “The biggest reasons young people are hesitant to join the Army is because of fear of death or injury, fear of leaving their families, a sense that maybe somehow, you know, joining the Army will put their lives on hold for a period of time,” Wormuth said. “Concerns about so-called wokeness are very low on the list of obstacles for most young people. And the last time the Army ran that survey, we didn’t really see a change. That remains to be a small concern.” 

    During its recruiting crisis, the Army had seen a drop in the number of families who typically send their children to serve, families whose members have served for generations. Many of those families tended to be white and from one of the 10 states that make up nearly half of the recruits: Texas (13.3%), California (10.5%), Florida (9.7%), Georgia (5.1%), North Carolina (4.6%), New York (4.3%), Virginia (2.9%), Ohio (2.8%), Illinois (2.6%) and Pennsylvania (2.4%). 

    There is no data suggesting a surge in white males joining the Army last year. In FY2024, 40% of the Army recruits were Caucasian, 25% were Black and 26% were Hispanic.

    “From the data we saw, there was no discernible change in young white men joining the Army compared to the spring of 2024. The Army had about 7400 recruits in August, and in December it was about 5800,” Wormuth said.

    The Army is also set to expand its basic training capacity in the spring.

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    “U.S. Army Recruiting Command is on track to exceed the fiscal year 2025 recruitment goal of 61,000 new Soldiers and an additional 10,000 in the Delayed Entry Program,” Madison Bonzo, U.S. Army Recruiting Command spokeswoman, said in a statement. “As of today, USAREC has contracted 59% of the current FY25 goal. Our success couldn’t be possible without the hard work of our Recruiters, continued transformation of the recruiting enterprise and modernization initiatives to attract qualified talent into America’s most lethal fighting force.” 

    Wormuth said: “I would say we saw in the Army recruiting numbers, we started seeing us really get traction in February of 2024.”  

    “And we continued to build those numbers up to about, you know, high 5,000, 6,000 a month in August. And the Army has continued that momentum going into the end of the year. And I think the winds are at the Army’s back for coming into 2025,” she continued. 

    Former Army officials warn that it is dangerous to link Army recruiting successes to the election cycle, since the military is supposed to be apolitical. Soldiers sign up not to serve a president or a party but to serve the Constitution.

    Jennifer Griffin currently serves as a national security correspondent for FOX News Channel (FNC) and is based out of the Washington D.C. bureau. She joined the network in October 1999 as a Jerusalem-based correspondent.

  • Army saw spike in deadly aviation accidents in year before DC plane crash disaster

    Army saw spike in deadly aviation accidents in year before DC plane crash disaster

    Wednesday’s deadly collision between an American Airlines flight and a military helicopter outside Washington, D.C., followed the Army’s highest rate of flight mishaps in more than a decade. 

    Army aviation saw 17 class A mishaps, accidents that killed someone or caused more than $2.5 million worth of damage during fiscal year 2024. Fifteen of those were during flights, and two were ground aircraft mishaps. 

    That followed nine flight and one aircraft ground incidents in 2023 and four flight and four ground mishaps in 2022. 

    “FY24 will be a year that Army Aviation looks back on in hopes of never repeating,” stated a dismal Army report, released just before the deadly collision near Reagan National Airport that killed 67 people.

    THIRD SOLDIER INSIDE BLACK HAWK HELICOPTER INVOLVED IN DC MIDAIR COLLISION IDENTIFIED

    Capt. Rebecca M. Lobach, of Durham, North Carolina, was the third pilot identified in the Black Hawk crash last week. (Getty/US Army)

    Fiscal year 2024 saw the most class A mishaps per 100,000 flight hours since 2007. Nine soldiers and one civilian died in flight mishaps, while one contractor died in an aircraft ground accident, according to the report.  

    The 1.9 class A mishaps per 100,000 was nearly four times the rate of 2022, 0.5 per 100,000.

    In an average year, Army aviation mishaps kill six crew members. 

    There were 66 class A-C mishaps, meaning aviation incidents where over $60,000 worth of damage was incurred or personnel were injured enough to miss work. 

    READ THE ARMY REPORT BELOW. APP USERS: CLICK HERE

    The UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter involved in the Washington, D.C.-area crash is not the force’s most accident-prone aircraft; it was only involved in one of the 2024 major incidents, while nine such incidents involved AH-64 Apaches.

    Last week’s crash was the first class A mishap for fiscal year 2025. 

    55 VICTIMS IN WASHINGTON, DC MIDAIR COLLISION PULLED FROM POTOMAC RIVER AS RECOVERY OPERATION CONTINUES

    Black Hawk

    The UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter involved in the Washington, D.C.-area crash is not the Army’s most accident-prone aircraft. (US Army-Cap. Adan Cezarez)

    The Navy had 11 Class A aviation mishaps in FY 2024, and the Marine Corps had six. Five Marines died in a CH-53E Super Stallion crash last February. The Air Force, which has more aviators than any other branch, had 20 class A mishaps in FY 2024. 

    The Army attributed the spike in incidents to an “ineffective safety culture.” 

    Its aviation review called for more recording and reviewing of flight footage with superiors after it found that the average flight experience is down 300 hours per aviator from 2013. While crew experience was not cited in every incident, the Army deemed it “a hazard that must be considered.”

    “While it’s understandable to have concerns about “big brother” monitoring, the primary goal of flight data analysis is to improve safety, not to punish or scrutinize individual pilots,” the Army’s Combat Readiness Center said in the report. 

    HARROWING VIDEO FROM MILITARY BASE SHOWS NEW ANGLE OF MIDAIR CRASH CATASTROPHE

    Search efforts in DC after a collision between an American Airlines jet and a U.S. Black Hawk helicopter

    This image shows the wreckage of a plane that collided with a Black Hawk over the Potomac River. (Leigh Green for Fox News Digital)

    After more than a dozen aviators died in the first half of fiscal year 2023, the Army conducted an aviation-wide stand down in April 2023, temporarily grounding all regular missions and training to assess safety issues. 

    However, the accidents continued. In April 2024, the Army executed a safety “stand up” with training on new safety protocols and procedures. After the stand up, the class A mishap rate for the remainder of FY 2024 dropped to 0.86 per 100,000 flight hours. 

    Last week Army secretary nominee Daniel Driscoll promised senators he would emphasize a “culture of safety” after the deadly crash, which he said “seems to be  preventable.” 

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    “There are appropriate times to take risk and there are inappropriate times to take risk,” he said. “I don’t know the details around this one, but after doing it, if confirmed, and working with this committee to figure out the facts, I think we might need to look at where is an appropriate time to take training risk, and it may not be near an airport like Reagan.”

    The Black Hawk, carrying three Army pilots, was conducting an “annual proficiency training flight” when it collided with a commercial regional jet from Wichita, Kansas, as it was on the descent to land at Reagan, according to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. 

    The Army did not immediately respond to a request for comment. 

  • Trump urged to look into US funding of Lebanese army amid accusations of its ties to Hezbollah

    Trump urged to look into US funding of Lebanese army amid accusations of its ties to Hezbollah

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    JERUSALEM – The seeming alliance between the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) and the Hezbollah terrorist movement is adding greater urgency to calls for the Trump administration to pull the plug on its generous aid to the LAF, some analysts charge.

    “Hezbollah and the Lebanese army are the same,” Edy Cohen, a Lebanese-born Israeli scholar of Hezbollah, told Fox News Digital. Cohen, a researcher at the Eitan Center, added, “Trump must not fund the Lebanese.” He noted the Lebanese army gave Hezbollah intelligence information about Israel. 

    The London-based Times newspaper reported last week that an LAF chief sent a classified document to Hezbollah. The LAF‘s Suhil Bahij Gharb, who oversees military intelligence for southern Lebanon, secured the confidential material from a military facility run by the U.S., France and the U.N. interim force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), the newspaper reported.

    LEBANON’S NEW PRESIDENT STRIKES A NATIONALISTIC TONE AMID REGIONAL SHIFTS, FURTHER WEAKENING OF HEZBOLLAH

    Lebanese soldiers take security measures as the Israeli army extended the deadline for its withdrawal from the southern region of Lebanon on Jan. 26, 2025. (Stringer/Anadolu via Getty Images)

    On the day of President Donald Trump’s inauguration, the U.S. State Department posted a fact sheet about USA-LAF cooperation. “Since 2006, U.S. investments of more than $3 billion to the LAF enabled the Lebanese military to be a stabilizing force against regional threats,” noted the document.

    A senior Trump administration official told Fox News Digital that “Nothing really has been honored by Hezbollah since 2006” and “Lebanon has a chance because Israel destroyed Hezbollah’s leadership.” The official added there is a “historic opportunity” with President Aoun. In early January, the Lebanese Parliament elected the commander of the LAF, Joseph Aoun, as president of Lebanon.

    The growing questions over the U.S.-LAF partnership come at a time when the U.S. agreed to Israel’s request to extend the ceasefire arrangement between Jerusalem and Hezbollah until Feb. 18. The U.S. government said in a statement, “The Government of Lebanon, the Government of Israel, and the Government of the United States will also begin negotiations for the return of Lebanese prisoners captured after October 7, 2023.”

    Hezbollah, however, seeks to inflame the fragile ceasefire, according to Israeli experts.

    AP reported that Israeli forces killed two people and wounded 17 last Monday, according to Lebanese health officials. Hezbollah’s new leader Naim Kassem said his group won’t accept the extension of the ceasefire – a stinging indictment of the Lebanese government that agreed to extend the pause in combat.

    CHRISTIAN LEADER IN LEBANON URGES US, ALLIES TO INTERVENE TO STOP HEZBOLLAH

    President Joseph Aoun

    President Joseph Aoun reviews an honor guard upon his arrival at the Lebanese Parliament, in Beirut, Lebanon, Jan. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

    “Israel has to withdraw because the 60 days are over,” Kassem said. “We won’t accept any excuses to extend one second or one day.”

    “Any delay in the withdrawal is the responsibility of the United Nations, the U.S., France and Israel,” he added.

    Last week, pro-Hezbollah Shiite residents of southern Lebanon defied Israeli army orders and sought to storm into their villages. As a result, at least 22 people were killed and 124 others injured by Israeli forces, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry. Hezbollah has used the Shiite villages and residents to attack Israelis since its ally, Hamas, massacred over 1,200 people in southern Israel. Hezbollah launched its attack one day after the Hamas invasion.

    A spokesperson for the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) told Fox News Digital about the fast-moving developments in Lebanon that there is “nothing new on that front except what you saw from PMO.”

    The PMO is an abbreviation for the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office. Fox News Digital reported on Friday that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said, “Since the ceasefire agreement has not yet been fully enforced by the Lebanese government, the gradual withdrawal process will continue, in full coordination with the United States.”

    When asked about the collusion between the LAF and Hezbollah, the IDF spokesperson said, “We won’t comment on that.”

    Walid Phares, a leading expert on Hezbollah and Lebanon, told Fox News Digital, “It is clear that Hezbollah has had a massive opposition to its military presence in Lebanon at least since May 2008 when they invaded half of the capital and parts of the mountain to bring down the government of the ‘Cedars revolution’ after the Syrian withdrawal in 2005.”

    ISRAEL DEGRADES IRAN-BACKED HEZBOLLAH TERRORISTS IN SPECTACULAR PAGER EXPLOSION OPERATION: EXPERTS

    Israeli soldiers raise their fists from a moving APC in northern Israel near the Israel-Lebanon border

    Israeli soldiers raise their fists from a moving APC in northern Israel near the Israel-Lebanon border, Oct. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Baz Ratner)

    Phares, who has previously advised candidate Trump, added, “In Washington, D.C., there is a debate about arming or not the Lebanese army. Hezbollah has a lot of influence in the LAF. Some lawmakers want to stop the support to the army, others preach that maintaining that support will keep it away from Hezbollah.” 

    He recommended a new policy: “Rerouting the money to new units in the Lebanese army dedicated only to disarm Hezbollah. These units should report to the command of the army and the president of the republic and should be funded on projects only.”

    Phares said, “When Israel eliminated the leadership of the terror militia most Lebanese hoped it was the moment to end Hezbollah and have the army disarm it. People hoped Lebanon will be able to free itself and join the Abraham Accords. But again, the Biden administration didn’t help because of the Iran deal.”

    Foreign policy critics of the Biden administration argued that he was wedded to the Iran nuclear deal and did not want to pick fights with Iranian regime allies, so he rekindled the Obama-era nuclear agreement with Tehran. Trump withdrew from the Iran nuclear deal because, he argued, it did not stop Tehran from building a nuclear bomb.

    arch in Lebanon honoring terrorists

    An arch glorifying Hezbollah and Iranian leaders decorates a street of Beirut’s southern suburb on Jan. 16, 2011. (Anwar Amro/AFP via Getty Images)

    IDF Lt. Col. (Res.) Sarit Zehavi, president and founder of the Israel-based Alma Research and Education Center, told Fox News Digital, “Hezbollah is coming back in south Lebanon [and is] opposed to the arrangement. The Lebanese Army is not fulfilling its mission to deploy effectively in south Lebanon to prevent Hezbollah from coming back.”

    A spokesman for Lebanon’s embassy referred Fox News Digital to a spokesperson in Beirut, who did not answer multiple press queries.

    Zehavi, who lives close to the Lebanese border, said, “We did not see the Lebanese Army disarming Hezbollah. Hezbollah is coming back to those towns. If there are still weapons in those towns, I believe there is, it means that they will be capable of executing terror attacks.”

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    She said, “It is within the interests of Hezbollah to cause death, to cause friction to its own Lebanese civilians. And to present the IDF as a force that should not be in Lebanon.” She warned, “We should not fall into the fake message of Hezbollah.” Zehavi said after the second war in Lebanon between Hezbollah and Israel it was agreed that Hezbollah should not be in south Lebanon. UNIFIL has ignored the Hezbollah military buildup since the Second Lebanon War in 2006, according to Israel.

    A U.S. State Department spokesperson did not immediately respond to a Fox News Digital press query about whether the American government will end aid to the LAF.

    THE Associated Press contributed to this report.

  • American ice skater Anton Spiridonov ‘was not on’ the plane that collided with an Army helicopter

    American ice skater Anton Spiridonov ‘was not on’ the plane that collided with an Army helicopter

    U.S. ice skater Anton Spiridonov refuted claims suggesting he was on board the commercial jet that collided in midair with an Army helicopter Wednesday night near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.

    “Russian news outlets have included me on a list of presumed people on the flight from Wichita to Washington D.C.,” the skater shared on Instagram. 

    “I was NOT on this flight, thank you for everyone’s concern for my safety. My heart goes out to all the families affected by this tragedy.” 

    CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COM

    Anton Spiridonov bows after skating in the championship free dance competition during the U.S. figure skating championships at SAP Center in San Jose, Calif., Jan. 28, 2023. (Kyle Terada/USA Today Sports)

    Spiridonov won the silver medal at the World University Games in 2023. He also finished sixth at the U.S. Championships that same year. Spiridonov also paid tribute to his father’s former “skating partner,” Inna Volyanskaya. 

    “Dads skating partner,” he wrote on a post to his Instagram story. “Rest in peace, Inna.”

    LIVE UPDATES: AMERICAN AIRLINES PLANE, ARMY HELICOPTER COLLIDE OUTSIDE REAGAN NATIONAL AIRPORT NEAR WASHINGTON DC

    Flight 5342 carried 60 passengers and four crew members, according to a statement from American Airlines. The flight took off from an airport in Wichita, Kansas.

    Authorities confirmed there were three U.S. service members aboard the Army Black Hawk helicopter when the aircraft departed Davison Army Airfield at Fort Belvoir in Virginia. The airfield is located about 15 miles southwest of Reagan Washington National.

    Emergency response units respond to the crash site of an American Airlines plane and Black Hawk helicopter

    Emergency units respond to the crash site of an American Airlines plane and Black Hawk helicopter on the Potomac River in Arlington, Va., Thursday, Jan. 30, 2025. (Leigh Green for Fox News Digital)

    The passenger jet and the military helicopter both crashed into the Potomac River as the commercial plane was approaching one of the airport runways. In a news conference Thursday morning, officials confirmed that 27 bodies from the plane and one from the Black Hawk helicopter had been pulled from the frigid waters.

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    U.S. Figure Skating released a statement confirming that “several members of our skating community” were aboard the flight. The organization said they were returning home from a development camp after the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Wichita, Kansas, which concluded Sunday.

    Fox News’ Paulina Dedaj contributed to this report.

    Follow Fox News Digital’s sports coverage on X, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.

    Chantz Martin is a sports writer for Fox News Digital.

  • Democrats press Army secretary nominee if ‘readiness’ will be affected by southern border deployments

    Democrats press Army secretary nominee if ‘readiness’ will be affected by southern border deployments

    Democrats sounded off about the White House sending U.S. troops to the southern border, but Army secretary nominee Daniel Driscoll insisted that he did not believe it would affect readiness. 

    “Is there a cost in terms of readiness?” Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., the top Democrat in the Senate Armed Services Committee, asked Driscoll during his confirmation hearing on Thursday. 

    “The Army has a long, 249 history of balancing multiple objectives,” Driscoll said. “If this is important to the commander-in-chief, the Army will execute it.” 

    “I think border security is national security,” he went on. “We’ve had soldiers at the border for a number of years, and the Army stands ready for any mission.”

    Sen. Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., also voiced concerns about sending the military to the U.S. border.

    “We’re seeing now active duty military, Army, be sent to the border, being sent on missions right now to support DHS,” she said. “But according to our Constitution, the US military active duty cannot perform law enforcement roles.” 

    ARMY SEC NOMINEE QUESTIONS WHETHER MILITARY PILOTS SHOULD TRAIN NEAR DC AIRPORT

    U.S. soldiers patrol the US-Mexico border at Eagle Pass, Texas, on Jan. 24, 2025.  (Charly Triballeau/AFP via Getty Images)

    Slotkin, a former CIA agent, said she was concerned that without proper training an incident could occur that would turn public opinion against the nation’s armed forces. 

    “I’m deeply concerned that active duty troops are going to be forced into law enforcement roles, and we’re already hearing stories that really, really touch right on the line,” she said.  

    “They’re not properly trained. There’s going to be an incident,” she said. “Someone’s going to get hurt, there’s going to be some sort of blow up, and suddenly we’re going to have a community that’s deeply, deeply angry at uniformed military who were just told to go and drive those DHS vehicles through that building, perform support for somebody.” 

    Slotkin asked Driscoll if he would follow an order from President Donald Trump or Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth if it “contravened with the Constitution.” 

    “I reject the premise that the president or the secretary would ask for an order like that, but I will always follow the law,” Driscoll said. 

    HEGSETH SHARES DETAILS ON BLACK HAWK CHOPPER TRAINING FLIGHT

    Slotkin shot back: “Your predecessor, Army Secretary [Mark] Esper, had this exact thing that he wrote about in his book, 82nd Airborne Army was asked to come in and clean up a peaceful protest in Washington, DC. So I reject your rejection that this is theoretical.”

    “We’re counting on you to protect the integrity of a non-political military that is not trained in law enforcement roles.” 

    Daniel Driscoll, President Donald Trump's nominee to be secretary of the Army, said: "I think border security is national security." 

    Daniel Driscoll, President Donald Trump’s nominee to be secretary of the Army, said: “I think border security is national security.”  (AP)

    Elissa Slotkin

    Sen. Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., a former CIA agent, said she was concerned that without proper training an incident could occur that would turn public opinion against the nation’s armed forces.  (Reuters)

    Immediately upon taking office, Trump declared a national emergency at the southern border and 1,500 active duty troops — 1,000 Army personnel and 500 Marines — deployed to the southern border. 

    There already were 2,500 U.S. service members stationed at the southern border. The troops were ordered there in May 2023 during the Biden administration under Title 10 authorities approved by former Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and are planned to be there until the end of fiscal year 2025, according to a U.S. Northern Command spokesperson. 

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    “Whatever is needed at the border will be provided,” Hegseth said Monday, hinting at the possibility of additional deployments in the coming weeks.

    Trump also signed an executive order designating drug cartels in Latin America as foreign terrorist organizations, granting the military greater authority to interdict them. 

  • Army sec nominee questions whether military pilots should do flight training near Washington airport

    Army sec nominee questions whether military pilots should do flight training near Washington airport

    Army secretary nominee Daniel Driscoll questioned whether Army helicopters should be flying training missions in one of the nation’s most congested flight paths after Wednesday’s tragic Washington, D.C.-area collision.

    “It’s an accident that seems to be preventable,” Driscoll, an Army veteran, said during a Thursday confirmation hearing at the Armed Services Committee.

    “There are appropriate times to take risk and inappropriate times to take risk,” he said. “I think we need to look at where is an appropriate time to take training risk, and it may not be at an airport like Reagan.” 

    Sixty-four people were aboard the American Airlines flight inbound from Wichita, Kan., which collided with an Army Sikorsky H-60 Black Hawk helicopter just before it was set to touch down at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. Authorities do not believe anyone survived. 

    BLACK HAWK CHOPPER UNIT WAS ON ANNUAL PROFICIENCY TRAINING FLIGHT, HEGSETH SAYS

    Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth revealed the three soldiers who were aboard the chopper were a “fairly experienced crew” doing a “required annual night evaluation.” 

    Dan. Driscoll questioned whether Army helicopters should be flying training missions in one of the nation’s most congested flight paths after the Jan. 29, 2025, Washington, D.C.-area flight collision.  (Screenshot Pool)

    “We anticipate that the investigation will quickly be able to determine whether the aircraft was in the quarter at the right altitude at the time of the incident,” he said. 

    In a blunt Truth Social post, President Donald Trump called the crash “a bad situation that looks like it should have been prevented.”

    AMERICAN FIGURE SKATER SAYS HE WAS BARRED FROM FLIGHT THAT COLLIDED WITH ARMY HELICOPTER

    “The airplane was on a perfect and routine line of approach to the airport. The helicopter was going straight at the airplane for an extended period of time,” Trump wrote. “It is a CLEAR NIGHT, the lights on the plane were blazing, why didn’t the helicopter go up or down, or turn. Why didn’t the control tower tell the helicopter what to do instead of asking if they saw the plane.”

    Video appears to show midair plane crash at Reagan Washington National

    An Army Black Hawk helicopter collided midair with an American Airlines jet at Ronald Reagan Washington National airport near Washington.  (EarthCam)

    Emergency response units search the crash site of the American Airlines plane on the Potomac River

    The following day emergency response units search the crash site of an American Airlines plane after it crashed on approach to Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport on Jan. 29, 2025, in Arlington, Virginia.  (Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images)

    Ronald Reagan Washington National, an airport owned by the federal government, has been the subject of debate for years. It has one of the shortest runways in the industry, yet Congress approved additional flight slots in 2024 as part of its Federal Aviation Administration bill. The flight from Wichita, Kan., had just been added in 2024. 

    The airport faces complicated aviation logistics near hyperprotected airspace near the Pentagon, White House and Capitol, but lawmakers have pushed to keep it open due to the convenience of its proximity to D.C. 

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    “We’re gonna have to work together to make sure that never happens again,” Driscoll said in his Thursday confirmation hearing, promising to take a hard look at what training was needed, particularly amid the Army’s increased use of its vertical lift aircraft. 

    Less than 30 seconds before the crash, an air traffic controller asked a helicopter if it had the arriving plane in sight, according to air traffic control audio. The controller made another radio call to the helicopter moments later, saying “PAT 25 pass behind the CRJ” — apparently telling the chopper to wait for the Bombardier CRJ-701 twin-engine jet to pass. There was no reply. Seconds after that, the aircraft collided.

    Military helicopters regularly cross over the D.C.-area airport’s flight paths to ferry senior government officials over the Potomac River into D.C. No senior officials were on board the downed Black Hawk, according to the Army. 

    Fox News’ Chad Pergram and The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

  • American Airlines regional jet, Army helicopter collide near Washington, DC

    American Airlines regional jet, Army helicopter collide near Washington, DC

    Check out what’s clicking on FoxBusiness.com.

    More than two dozen bodies have been recovered from the Potomac River after an American Airlines flight and a military helicopter collided Wednesday night near Washington, D.C., according to officials. 

    American Eagle Flight 5342 was flying from Wichita, Kansas, to the nation’s capital when it was “involved in an accident” at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, American Airlines said.

    As of 9 a.m. Thursday, authorities recovered 27 bodies from the plane and one from the helicopter, D.C. Fire and EMS Chief John A. Donnelly said.

    “The district office of the medical examiner has lead on reuniting these bodies and these people, with their loved ones,” Donnelly said during a press conference. “And we will continue to work to find all the bodies and collect them and reunite them with their loved ones.”

    There were 60 passengers and four crew members on board the aircraft, which was operated by American Airlines subsidiary PSA Airlines. 

    The Army told Fox News Digital that the UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter, carrying three soldiers, was “from Bravo Company, 12th Aviation Battalion, out of Davison Army Airfield, Fort Belvoir” and was conducting a “training flight.”

    DC PLANE CRASH INVESTIGATORS TO REVIEW COMMUNICATION BETWEEN 2 AIRCRAFT: SENATOR 

    Donnelly said authorities do not believe there are any survivors from the crash, and despite the immense effort from hundreds of first responders, authorities switched from a rescue operation to a recovery operation.

    Emergency personnel and divers work at the site of the crash after American Eagle flight 5342 collided with a Black Hawk helicopter while approaching Reagan Washington National Airport and crashed into the Potomac River, outside Washington, D.C., on (REUTERS/Carlos Barria / Reuters)

    LIVE UPDATES: AMERICAN AIRLINES PLANE, MILITARY HELICOPTER COLLIDE NEAR REGAN NATIONAL AIRPORT IN WASHINGTON, DC

    American Airlines is asking people to call the airline if they believe they had loved ones on board the flight.

    Emergency personnel work at the site of the crash after a Black Hawk helicopter and an American Eagle flight 5342 approaching Reagan Washington National Airport collided and crashed in the Potomac River, outside Washington, Jan. 30, 2025.

    Emergency personnel work at the site of the crash after a Black Hawk helicopter and an American Eagle flight 5342 approaching Reagan Washington National Airport collided and crashed in the Potomac River, outside Washington, Jan. 30, 2025. (REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque / Reuters)

    “I’d like to express our deep sorrow about these events. This is a difficult day for all of us at American Airlines. And our efforts now are focused now entirely on the needs of our passengers, crew members, partners, first responders, along with their families and loved ones,” American Airlines CEO Robert Isom said in a video statement Wednesday evening. 

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    Isom said that at this early stage he doesn’t have many answers, but that the airline is working with federal, state and local authorities. 

    President Donald Trump said he has been “fully briefed” on the incident and that the crash “should have been prevented.”

  • American figure skater’s eerie social media post sparks concern after plane collides with Army helicopter

    American figure skater’s eerie social media post sparks concern after plane collides with Army helicopter

    An American figure skater’s social media post sparked concern about his whereabouts as it appeared he was on the plane that collided with a U.S. Army helicopter on Wednesday night.

    Spencer Lane posted a photo on his Instagram while the American Airlines flight was on the runway at Wichita Dwight D. Eisenhower National Airport. The plane appeared to be waiting to take off for Reagan International Airport near Washington, D.C.

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    A boat works the scene near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport on Thursday, Jan. 30, 2025 in Arlington, Virginia. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

    “ICT (to) DCA,” the post on his Instagram Stories read.

    Lane did not post anything else after that. Another post on his Instagram Stories showed him warming up with Kohaku Murai. He had also shared a collage of pictures with other team members who were in Wichita, Kansas.

    LIVE UPDATES: MILITARY HELICOPTER COLLIDES WITH AIRCRAFT NEAR REAGAN NATIONAL AIRPORT

    Mid-Air Collision At DC's Reagan Airport Suspends All Flights

    Onlookers watch as emergency crews respond to the crash site near the Potomac River after a passenger jet collided with a helicopter while landing at Ronald Reagan National Airport in Arlington, Virginia, on Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2025. (Alex Wroblewski/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

    U.S. Figure Skating said earlier Thursday that athletes, coaches and family members involved with its organization were on board the flight.

    “U.S. Figure Skating can confirm that several members of our skating community were sadly aboard American Airlines Flight 5342, which collided with a helicopter yesterday evening in Washington, D.C.,” the organization said. “These athletes, coaches, and family members were returning home from the National Development Camp held in conjunction with the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Wichita, Kansas

    “We are devastated by this unspeakable tragedy and hold the victims’ families closely in our hearts. We will continue to monitor the situation and will release more information as it becomes available.”

    Rescuers work on the Potomac River in Washington DC after a tragic plane crash

    Emergency vehicles stage at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport on Wednesday night, Jan. 29, 2025 in Arlington, Virginia. (Kevin Wolf/AP)

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    Officials said Thursday they didn’t think there were any survivors.

    Follow Fox News Digital’s sports coverage on X, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.

    Ryan Gaydos is a senior editor for Fox News Digital.

  • American figure skater says he was barred from flight that collided with Army helicopter

    American figure skater says he was barred from flight that collided with Army helicopter

    An American figure skater was barred from the American Airlines flight that collided with a U.S. Army helicopter near Reagan International Airport on Thursday night.

    Jon Maravilla told Russia’s Sputnik he was not allowed on the flight because his dog was too big to board. He said he ultimately decided to make the 14-hour drive back from Wichita, Kansas, to Washington, D.C. He also mentioned the issue on his personal Instagram account.

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    Rescue workers respond to the scene on the Potomac River near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport on Thursday, Jan. 30, 2025, in Arlington, Virginia. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

    “Not allowed past gate to board flight,” he wrote in one post. “Get me tf out of Kansas please.”

    He added, “14 hour journey begins.”

    Maravilla told RIA Novosti that there were “about 14 figure skaters on the plane, not counting their parents and coaches,” according to The New York Times.

    LIVE UPDATES: MILITARY HELICOPTER COLLIDES WITH AIRCRAFT NEAR REAGAN NATIONAL AIRPORT

    Rescuers work on the Potomac River in Washington DC after a tragic plane crash

    Emergency lights are reflected in the Potomac River near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport on Thursday, Jan. 30, 2025 in Arlington, Virginia. (Alex Brandon)

    “Such a tragedy,” he added.

    At least 60 people were aboard the American Airlines flight.

    U.S. Figure Skating did not confirm the number of members of its organization on the plane.

    “U.S. Figure Skating can confirm that several members of our skating community were sadly aboard American Airlines Flight 5342, which collided with a helicopter yesterday evening in Washington, D.C.,” the organization said. “These athletes, coaches, and family members were returning home from the National Development Camp held in conjunction with the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Wichita, Kansas.

    American Eagle flight 5342 crashes in the Potomac River near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport

    Emergency service vehicles stand near the site of the crash after American Eagle Flight 5342 collided with a helicopter while approaching Reagan Washington National Airport and crashed in the Potomac River, outside Washington, D.C., Jan. 29, 2025. (REUTERS/Carlos Barria)

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    “We are devastated by this unspeakable tragedy and hold the victims’ families closely in our hearts. We will continue to monitor the situation and will release more information as it becomes available.”

    Follow Fox News Digital’s sports coverage on X, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.

    Ryan Gaydos is a senior editor for Fox News Digital.

  • Field Marshal KM Cariappa Birth Anniversary 2025: Army, Leaders Pay Tributes to First Indian Commander-in-Chief of Indian Army

    Field Marshal KM Cariappa Birth Anniversary 2025: Army, Leaders Pay Tributes to First Indian Commander-in-Chief of Indian Army

    On the 126th birth anniversary of Field Marshal KM Cariappa, tributes poured in from across the nation, honouring the first Indian Commander-in-Chief of the Indian Army. The Indian Army took to X on January 28, writing, “Remembering the Legend…On his 126th Birth Anniversary, #IndianArmy pays homage to Field Marshal KM Cariappa, OBE.” Union Minister Nitin Gadkari also shared his respect, posting, “Remembering 1st Indian Commander-in-Chief of the Indian Army Field Marshal Sir Kodandera ‘Kipper’ Madappa Cariappa.” Leaders from various political parties followed suit, with Madhya Pradesh CM Dr Mohan Yadav praising Cariappa’s dedication, bravery, and unique war skills. Union Minister Manohar Lal Khattar and Congress MP Varsha Eknath Gaikwad also paid their tributes to the national hero. Army Day 2025 Date in India: Know Significance of the Day When KM Cariappa Became the First Indian Commander-in-Chief of the Army.

    Indian Army Pays Tribute to Field Marshal KM Cariappa on 126th Birth Anniversary

    Union Minister Nitin Gadkari Remembers Field Marshal Cariappa on His Birth Anniversary

    Madhya Pradesh CM Dr Mohan Yadav Honors Field Marshal Cariappa’s Legacy

    Union Minister Manohar Lal Khattar Pays Homage to KM Cariappa

    Congress MP Varsha Gaikwad Pays Tribute to Field Marshal Cariappa

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