Roger That: NGA uses social media to track Syrian exodus

The National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency — whose western headquarters, along with 3,100 jobs, St. Clair County wants to lure to a spot next door to Scott Air Force Base — engages in some of the most highly classified intelligence work there is. But sometimes its activities percolate into the non-classified world — such as this recent story on DefenseOne.

The website is reporting that streams of Facebook, Instagram and other social media posts shared by smartphone-toting children and families at border crossings are providing NGA analysts with a real-time map of the Syrian exodus. It’s not picture perfect, but it fills in gaps for the nation’s spy cartographers, a top Defense Department official told DefenseOne.

Viewing Defense Department satellite imagery from “space isn’t a great way to sense human activity of that magnitude, but people talking on the ground and people tweeting about lack of food, or pictures about lines at gates at borders is really incredibly useful,” said Sue Gordon, the spy map agency’s deputy director.

The images are made possible, in part, by governmental organizations. As of August, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees had distributed 33,000 mobile SIM cards to displaced Syrians in Jordan alone.

NGA Director Robert Cardillo is scheduled to announce on April 1 whether the St. Clair County site or one being considered for North St. Louis will serve as the venue for NGA West, the $1.6 billion new home for the agency that will replace its current location south of downtown St. Louis.

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More than a dozen airman who provide security for a nuclear missile base in Wyoming are under investigation for “illegal drug activity,” defense officials said, according to Air Force Times.

It’s the latest scandal to hit the Air Force’s Intercontinental Ballistic Missile community, where morale and misconduct have been a top concern for Pentagon officials for several years.

The Air Force is investigating 14 junior enlisted airman from the 90th Security Forces Group at F.E. Warren Air Base outside Cheyenne, Wy., officials said. About one-third of the Minuteman 3 force of 450 intercontinental ballistic missiles are operated by the 90th Missile Wing.

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Fox News is reporting that after months of losing ground in Iraq and Syria, the Islamic State group is showing signs of wear and tear, and its opponents say they have seen an increase in desertions among the extremists. But the jihadis appear to be lashing back with more terrorist and chemical attacks.

Under a stepped-up campaign of U.S.-led and Russian airstrikes, as well as ground assaults by multiple forces in each country, the jihadis are estimated to have lost about 40 percent of their territory in Iraq and more than 20 percent in Syria. At their highest point in the summer of 2014, the group had overrun nearly a third of each country, declaring a “caliphate” spanning from northwestern Syria to the outskirts of Baghdad.

At that time, the extremists were riding high, known for their courage, experience, readiness to die and brutality. Now, those battling them on the ground say they appear to be flagging.

“What we are witnessing is that Daesh are not as determined as they used to be,” said Lt. Col. Fares al-Bayoush, commander of a Syrian rebel faction, using an Arabic acronym to refer to IS. His 1,300-strong Fursan al-Haq Brigade has been fighting against IS and Syrian government forces for more than a year.

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A man charged with assaulting a protester at a Donald Trump rally in Tucson has been identified as an Air Force airman at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, a public affairs official confirmed.

The man seen throwing the punches has been identified as 32-year-old Tony Pettway. He was arrested on a misdemeanor charge of assault with injury, according to Tucson Police Public Information Officer Sgt. Kimberly Bay.

Video captured by KOLD News 13 shows Pettway attacking the protester as he was walking up the steps inside the Tucson Convention Center during a Donald Trump rally on Saturday.

This story was originally published March 21, 2016 at 10:40 AM with the headline "Roger That: NGA uses social media to track Syrian exodus."