Special Air Guard Unit Gears Up: The Texas Air National Guard’s 204th Security Forces Squadron, which calls Ft. Bliss home, has been training for border security duty, reports El Paso’s KFOX TV. However, unit airmen tell KFOX that the one-of-a-kind Air Force unit is not part of President’s Bush’s “Guard to the border” plan, which restricts Guardsmen to a non-security, non-law enforcement role. The 204th is a heavy weapons squadron geared to defend air bases and attached to the rapid-deploying active duty 820th Security Forces Group. Members have deployed—sometimes with only a few hours notice—to such places as Albania, Africa, Southwest Asia, and to hurricane duty in the states.
President Donald Trump’s nominee for Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff touted his highly unusual background for the job as an asset and reaffirmed his commitment to stay apolitical during a confirmation hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee on April 1.