Guam’s Camp Blaz to Welcome Okinawa Transfers

The first of thousands of Marines currently stationed on Okinawa Island may take up residence in their new digs in Guam as early as June 2025, according to a base spokesperson. Maj. Diann Rosenfeld said that “current planning efforts support the commander’s priority to begin moving Marines and Sailors into the barracks aboard the Main Cantonment,” she wrote. “The barracks …

China’s Mercenary Presence Expanding Worldwide

A prominent scholar is one of the first voices to sound the alarm over China’s growing and unregulated military presence in Africa. “Domestic laws in China lack jurisdiction over mercenaries operating abroad, and the enforceability of international laws remains a formidable challenge,” according to Habib al-Badawi, a professor at Lebanese University. “The absence of a robust regulatory framework raises concerns …

What Does the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act Do?

For our purposes, the most important thing the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act does is extend the workers’ compensation benefits in the Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act to employees who work on the outer continental shelf. Most of these individuals work in energy exploration and production, two of the most hazardous industries in terms of workplace injuries. However, this …

Congress to Pull the Plug on Burn Pit Funding

In March 2025, the House of Representatives passed a continuing resolution to keep the government funded. That CR eliminates $22.8 billion in burn pit and toxic exposure injury benefits.  The six-month government spending package, which largely holds federal spending at fiscal year 2024 levels, would cut the Toxic Exposures Fund (TEF) for the VA next year. The controversial fund was …

Violence Continues in Iraq

On March 26, 2025, authorities arrested multiple suspected ISIS members in a series of well-coordinated raids executed throughout the country. Carried out in coordination with ground forces, the directorate conducted operations in al-Anbar, Kirkuk, and Nineveh, leading to the capture of seven suspected ISIS members, an official statement confirmed. Security forces reportedly set up ambushes and raided militant hideouts, resulting …