A military working dog deployed from Tinker AFB, Okla., to Iraq was killed in action Jan. 19 during a patrol in Baghdad. Marco, a 7 year-old Belgian Malinois, was on weapons and explosives detection patrol with his handler, SSgt. Alissa Jones, deployed from the 72nd Security Forces Squadron at Tinker, when he died subsequent to electrical shock. It was Marco’s third tour in Iraq.
The Pentagon is counting on Congress to navigate a legislative tightrope and pass a party-line bill to fund nearly a quarter of its $1.5 trillion budget request for fiscal 2027, including billions of dollars for top priorities like Golden Dome, the F-35, munitions, and unmanned systems. Experts and lawmakers from…