Texas Border Business
U.S Department of War
More than 50,000 service members are supporting Operation Epic Fury, which started Feb. 28, said Pentagon Press Secretary Kingsley Wilson today in the War Department’s Weekly Sitrep video.
Those forces have established control over air and sea domains and struck thousands of identified Iranian targets, demonstrating operational dominance, she said.
This is what we did this week at the WAR DEPARTMENT: pic.twitter.com/hRyK3iUWmC
— DOW Rapid Response (@DOWResponse) March 13, 2026
“We continue to deliver devastating combat power. Every day our resolve increases and the regime’s ability to threaten our forces, our partners and the American people, is being systematically dismantled,” Wilson said.
Yesterday, U.S. Central Command reported about 6,000 targets struck, with more than 60 ships and 30 minelayers damaged or destroyed to date, reflecting substantial progress in diminishing hostile capabilities.
Weapons employed in the operation, per the fact sheet, include a wide range of bombers, fighter jets, electronic warfare and reconnaissance aircraft, unmanned aerial systems, missile defense platforms, artillery systems, warships, counter-drone equipment, refueling assets and cargo aircraft.
On March 11, Centcom issued a warning to civilians that the Iranian regime is using civilian ports along the Strait of Hormuz to conduct military operations that threaten international shipping.
“This dangerous action risks the lives of innocent people. Civilian ports used for military purposes lose protected status and become legitimate military targets under international law,” the warning reads.
The War Department honors the American heroes who made the ultimate sacrifice in support of Operation Epic Fury, Wilson said, adding, “These patriots paid the price in full, and the Department of War will deliver total victory in their name.”
Shifting to homeland security, the District of Columbia National Guard activated the 260th Special Purpose Brigade at the D.C. National Guard Armory, March 7, Wilson said. It is the only brigade in the Army specifically designed to coordinate military support to civil authorities and protect critical infrastructure in the nation’s capital.
The brigade was created in response to President Donald J. Trump’s Executive Order 14339 and a subsequent directive from Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, calling for the immediate establishment, training and equipping of a dedicated National Guard unit to support public safety operations.
“The brigade will coordinate military support to civil authorities and enable National Guard forces to rapidly integrate with federal and local agencies responsible for safeguarding our capital,” Wilson said.
“Partnerships like this are essential in Washington,” said U.S. Marshal Jurgen Soekhoe at the brigade’s activation ceremony. “The 260th Special Purpose Brigade brings a level of coordination and readiness that allows federal law enforcement and the National Guard to operate as a unified team when security demands it.”
This week, the North American Aerospace Defense Command and U.S. Northern Command concluded Arctic Edge 2026, a three-week, multidomain field training exercise conducted across Alaska and Greenland, Wilson said.
U.S., allied and interagency partners trained together to sharpen Arctic operations, improve interoperability and strengthen homeland defense capabilities in the high north, she said.
Key objectives of the exercise, according to a Northcom press release, were:
- Cruise missile defense;
- Coordination with interagency partners on the protection of critical infrastructure such as power grids in Alaska;
- Counter-small UAS defense;
- Joint and service-level experimentation and technology demonstrations;
- Arctic survival and mobility training in Greenland.
On March 8, at the direction of U.S. Southern Command commander, Marine Corps Gen. Francis L. Donovan, Joint Task Force Southern Spear conducted a lethal kinetic strike on a vessel operated by a designated terrorist organization, achieving its objective without U.S. casualties, Wilson said.
Intelligence confirmed the vessel was transiting along known narco-trafficking routes in the eastern Pacific, and the operation resulted in the elimination of six male narco-terrorists, she said.
