Category: Military

Here is a quick overview on this 17th day of Trump’s war with Iran.

• Cost of war — it was estimated that in the first 6 days of the war, it cost the U.S. nearly $2 Billion a day. The Pentagon reported that the first week cost us $11.3 Billions, not counting the expenses of the build-up. Tomahawk cruise missiles, like the one the U.S. military used in that deadly strike on an Iranian girls’ primary school, cost $2.2 million each. It may be worth keeping these figures in mind as the Trump administration argues it doesn’t have enough money to make health care more affordable.
• Cost of gas — since the war started on Feb. 28, the average cost of gas has risen 25%; the cost of oil 40%.
• The war is unpopular with Americans; only 1 in 4 support it. A good portion of the MAGA base is seething over the war, since their guy ran against “endless wars.”

Trump’s Assault Undermines Protections of Our Coastal Waters

By David Helvarg / The Progressive / March 11, 2026

My half-century as a journalist and two decades as an ocean advocate has taught me that democracy is not a guarantee of environmental protection for our public seas or people—it’s a prerequisite.

That’s why, in advance of what will be the third No Kings Day of mass protest against President Donald Trump’s increasingly authoritarian and unpopular administration, on March 28, a few activists from my organization, Blue Frontier, among others, are pushing for a greater focus on ocean-related issues, including clean beaches, safe and sustainable seafood, and oil- and plastic-free public seas.

While previous administrations have promoted offshore drilling and attacked climate science, the Trump Administration stands alone in ignoring the law and Constitutional separation of powers to undermine protection of our coastal waters.

Among other assaults on legal precedent, it has acted to undo the U.S. Civil Service Act during mass firings at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and elsewhere. It has also thumbed its nose at the Congressional War Powers Act and the military code of conduct in the September 2 killing of two survivors of a shipwreck, as part of a wave of deadly attacks on alleged drug-runners at sea.

From The Washington Post / March 11, 2026

The Iranian elementary school building where scores of children were killed as the U.S. and Israel began their massive aerial campaign was on a U.S. target list and may have been mistaken for a military site, multiple people familiar with the strike told The Washington Post.

The deadly attack occurred in the first few hours of the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran — just as parents were hurrying to the two-story schoolhouse to take their kids home to safety — and killed at least 175 people, many of them children, according to Iranian state media.

It is still not clear why the building was hit, but one person familiar with the school strike said the building had been identified as a factory and had been an approved strike target. A second person familiar said there was an arms depot target located in the same area and did not know if the United States hit the school by mistake, or if U.S. officials had the wrong intelligence and thought the building was the arms depot.

“Initially there was some confusion on why it was on the target list,” said a third person familiar with the strike. The individual would not go into further detail, citing the military’s ongoing investigation into the strike.

By Steve Rodriguez

List of operational code names reads
like a best hits collection. Just Cause
and Desert Storm titles evoking
nostalgic memories of victory.

Not so much Iraqi Freedom, begun
with WMD promises and statues
toppled. Surging to a crescendo,
then lingering like a bad relationship.

The San Diego Veterans For Peace, Hugh Thompson Memorial Chapter #91, is very pleased to announce that a billboard reminding Active Duty Troops that they have a duty to disobey illegal orders, has been installed on the NE side of Harbor Drive going north, between 32nd and 28th Streets in San Diego.  This billboard is part of a national program by Veterans For Peace, with many similar billboards now being posted across the United States.

The San Diego billboard will be up for one month ending in early April.

Please see the VFP website: https://www.veteransforpeace.org/take-action/service-member-support

Background

Veterans For Peace has launched a campaign to remind our brothers and sisters, sons and daughters and grandchildren, who have joined the military, that they have the right and the responsibility to refuse illegal orders, and that we will support them when they do.

Only one in four Americans approves of ?U.S. strikes on Iran that have plunged the Middle East into chaos, while about half — including one in four Republicans — believe President Donald Trump is too willing to use military force, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll.

Some 27% of respondents said they approved of the strikes, which were conducted alongside Israeli attacks on Iran, while 43% disapproved and 29% were not sure. About nine in 10 respondents said they had heard at least a little about the strikes, which began early on Saturday with a ?surprise attack that killed Iran’s leader.

The poll, which closed on Sunday, showed that 56% of Americans think Trump, who has also ordered strikes in Venezuela, Syria and Nigeria in recent months, is too willing to use military force to advance U.S. interests. ?The vast majority of Democrats – 87% – held this view, as did 23% of Republicans and 60% of people who don’t identify with either political party.

The poll was conducted amid ongoing attacks on Iran by the U.S. and Israel, and closed before the U.S. military announced the first American casualties in the operation.

No one still knows  why these 4 American servicemembers had to die. Trump doesn’t know. Hegsleth doesn’t know. Rubio doesn’t know.

They were killed in an Iranian drone strike on Sunday, March 1.

Yet, here they are – as the Pentagon has identified them of the six US service members who have died. The multiple reasons that Trump and gang have given for attacking Iran since it all began have varied with the time of day and night. From “regime change” to wiping out missiles they don’t have, or to making the first strike before they did ….Trump still hasn’t addressed the nation on the widening war. 

CNN:

The soldiers are Capt. Cody Khork, 35; Sgt. 1st Class Noah Tietjens, 42; Sgt. 1st Class Nicole Amor, 39; and Sgt. Declan Coady, 20. All four were assigned to the 103rd Sustainment Command, an Army Reserve sustainment unit out of Iowa.

The two other soldiers who were killed in the strike on Sunday have not yet been identified.

CNN first reported that the suspected drone strike hit a temporary tactical operations center at the port of Shuaiba in Kuwait on Sunday. At the time of their deaths the soldiers were serving with 1st Theater Sustainment Command.

A source familiar with the situation described the operation center as a triple-wide trailer with office space inside; the building was surrounded by concrete barriers that are typically used to protect military structures overseas from things like car bombs and improvised explosive devices. However, there was nothing overhead that could shield the building from drones or missiles.

By Alex Cheney / CBS8 / February 27, 2026

A Navy investigation has determined that human error caused an E/A-18G Growler military jet to crash into San Diego Bay during a training exercise on Feb. 12, 2025, according to information the Navy shared with reporters today. The two crew members safely ejected from the aircraft and sustained only minor injuries.

The investigation revealed that unfamiliar software triggered warnings during aerial refueling, complicating the crew’s approach to Naval Air Station North Island. Pilots contended with a wet runway and a tailwind while attempting to land, employing an aero brake in an effort to slow the aircraft. However, investigators determined the measures proved insufficient.

Gregory Feith, a former senior investigator with the National Transportation Safety Board, said naval air traffic control should have directed the pilots to use a different runway. “In aviation we try to never land with a tailwind,” said Gregory Feith.

Every Saturday at 10:30 am. San Diego Climate Mobilization Coalition Meetings March 7th, 14th, 21st and 28th

Every Saturday 10 am – 12 pm Peace Vigil for Palestine

The San Diego River Park Foundation has volunteer opportunities in Ocean Beach:

Every Sunday 1:30 pm – 4 pm Otay Mesa Vigil Otay Mesa Detention Center

March 2nd Monday 4 pm San Diego Townhall on Mental Health Programs in County Jails.

March 2nd Monday  12 pm – 1 pm Interfaith Vigil For Earth Justice

March 5th Thursday 2:30 pm and 6 pm Critical Incidents: Death At the Border Film Screening

March 6th Friday 5 pm – 8 pm Active Duty Social Event by Vets for Peace

March 7th Saturday 12 pm – 2 pm Election Volunteer Fair: Preparing for 2026 Elections

March 8th Sunday 10:30 am International Women’s Day Event by Women’s March Waterfront Park

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By many indications, it appears that California will be one of the targets of the next “ICE surge.” Even though there won’t be any surge during this current government shutdown, ICE still is currently expanding its physical presence across the country. Its parent, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is carrying out a hush-hush campaign to open up 250 facilities and offices in nearly every state, and the Golden State — long a demises for Trump — is at the top of the list.

Check out the following coming down in California:

• Irvine: New offices at 2020 Main Street, located directly adjacent to a childcare agency.
• Los Angeles: General expansion of existing federal office spaces.
• Sacramento: Security upgrades and expansion at the John E. Moss building, which houses a DOJ immigration court.
• San Diego: Growth at the Edward J. Schwartz Courthouse and federal building.
• Santa Ana: Expansion at the Santa Ana federal building, situated blocks from a church and a major high school football stadium.
• Van Nuys (Los Angeles): Expansion at the James C. Corman federal building.

This secret federal government campaign to purchase warehouses for the massive expansion of ICE is now known due to documents posted online late last week by  Republican New Hampshire Gov. Kelly Ayotte. Also, a federal official said that California — and New York are among the “next” for a surge similar to the campaign in Minneapolis. These plans include embedding hundreds of new ICE offices in Sacramento, Irvine, Santa Ana and Van Nuys, according to an explosive report by WIRED magazine.