Friday, June 18, 2021

10th United States – Mexico Defense Bilateral Working Group Discuss Bilateral Defense Cooperation

 June 18, 2021


On June 17, 2021, Under Secretary for Policy, Dr. Colin Kahl, and Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence and Security, Mr. Ronald Moultrie, co-hosted the tenth meeting of the United States – Mexico Bilateral Defense Working Group with Major General Ricardo Trevilla Trejo, Chief of Staff of the Mexican Secretariat of National Defense (SEDENA) and Vice Admiral Luis Javier Robinson Portillo Villanueva Chief of Staff of the Mexican Secretariat of the Navy (SEMAR). The Defense Bilateral Working Group is the bilateral defense component of United States – Mexico high level cooperation efforts.

The co-chairs established mutual objectives, lines of effort and priorities to address the shared bilateral and transnational challenges facing our region. The co-chairs recognized that North America has regional responsibilities and complex challenges are best addressed by collaborative and cooperative responses. Together with the supporting Defense Bilateral Strategic Framework, the Defense Bilateral Working Group provides a process for bilateral cooperation between the United States and Mexico's defense institutions.  The purpose is to build a common understanding of challenges and to identify and implement initiatives to promote bilateral defense cooperation.

The co-chairs agreed to expand U.S. and Mexican defense cooperation; advance bilateral capability to address mutually identified regional defense challenges; expand bilateral support and cooperation for regional defense cooperation activities; and, exchange lessons-learned and best practices.

Flag Officer Announcements

 June 17, 2021


Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III announced today that the President has made the following nominations:

Vice Adm. William R. Merz, U.S. Navy, has been nominated for reappointment to the rank of vice admiral and assignment as deputy chief of Naval Operations for Operations, Plans and Strategy, N3/N5, Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, Washington, D.C.  Merz is currently serving as commander, SEVENTH Fleet, Yokosuka, Japan. 

Rear Adm. Francis D. Morley, U.S. Navy, has been nominated for appointment to the rank of vice admiral and assignment as principal military deputy assistant secretary of the Navy (Research, Development, and Acquisition), Washington, D.C.  Morley is currently serving as director, Navy International Programs Office, Office of the Secretary of the Navy, Washington, D.C.

Rear Adm. Darse E. Crandall, Judge Advocate General Corps, U.S. Navy, for appointment to the rank of vice admiral and assignment as Judge Advocate General of the Navy, Washington, D.C.  Crandall is currently serving as deputy Judge Advocate General of the Navy/commander, Naval Legal Service Command, Washington, D.C.
 
Capt. Max G. McCoy, Jr., has been nominated for appointment to the rank of rear admiral (lower half).  McCoy is currently serving as commander, Naval Aviation Warfighting Development Center, Fallon, Nevada.

Night Maintenance

 

Navy Petty Officer 3rd Class Hunter Flick conducts maintenance on a rotor on an MH-60S Seahawk helicopter on the flight deck of the amphibious assault ship USS America in the Philippine Sea, June 16, 2021.

Statement by Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III on Juneteenth

 June 18, 2021


The men and women of the Department of Defense are honored to participate in the first commemoration of Juneteenth as a federal holiday. Juneteenth holds particular significance for the United States military since it marks the date in 1865—more than two years after the Emancipation Proclamation—on which Union soldiers, led by Army Major General Gordon Granger, issued the famous General Order No. 3, informing the people of Texas that "all slaves are free." We are proud to build upon that legacy of emancipation as we work to defend our freedoms and to make real the full promise of American democracy for all our citizens, on June 19 and every day. I wish our outstanding men and women in uniform and our dedicated civilian workforce a meaningful Juneteenth.

Rocket Trail

 

A Falcon 9 rocket carrying a GPS III-5 satellite into orbit launches from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Fla., June 17, 2021. The GPS III satellites have signals three times more accurate than the current generation of satellites and eight times the jamming resistance.

Rappel Ride

 

A Sailor rappels from an MH-60S Seahawk helicopter while training in Apra Harbor, Guam, June 2, 2021.