Ops Brief 074: Daily Drop - 11 July 2025 (Drones, Dress Codes, and Space Wars)

Welcome to the July 11th edition of the Daily Drop, where the Pentagon plays Monopoly with rare earth minerals, drones become the new IEDs, and Trump hands out Patriot missiles like party favors—with NATO picking up the tab (allegedly). Jared unpacks the latest military madness with his usual blend of sarcasm, side-eyes, and straight-up disbelief. From AI drone swarms to banned eyelash extensions, from therapy dogs saving morale to space lasers tracking Chinese satellites—this one’s got it all. Oh, and apparently we bombed Iran’s nuclear sites… but maybe didn’t hit anything? It’s like a military-themed episode of “Nailed It!”

🔥 Key Takeaways:

🧨 Trump greenlights NATO-funded weapons for Ukraine… totally won't backfire.
💥 Drone warfare = IEDs 2.0. Welcome to the chaos.
🥾 Air Force bans fake lashes but keeps outdated procurement pipelines.
🛰️ China’s satellites playing bumper cars in space, but we're the bad guys?
🐕 South Dakota Air Guard hires a therapy dog. Name’s Captain. He’s a good boy.
💬 Gen. Deptula’s warning: Kill the F-35 and E-7, and you kill future air dominance.
⚛️ Iran’s nukes: bombed or not? Depends on your political flavor of the day.
🔥 Washington Army Guard trains for wildfires; Coast Guard saves Texans from floods.
🇵🇼 A Marine from Palau goes full circle in Koa Moana 25—heartwarming but vague.
👨‍🚀 Space Force rolls out SWARM and warns China to knock it off in orbit.
⏱️ Timestamps:
00:00 – Atakalite discount + rocket fins, booties, and gadgets
01:10 – Trump sends weapons to Ukraine (NATO’s problem now?)
02:00 – Pentagon’s drone reform: UAS go full budget-friendly
03:00 – DoD invests in rare earth mining, coz China bad
03:45 – Air Force bans lashes, updates boot regs, and triggers outrage
04:30 – Retired generals: Cut the F-35 and Wedgetail? Big mistake
05:20 – Pacific exercise goes full “high-end fight” mode
06:10 – Meet Captain: the morale-boosting therapy dog
07:00 – Space Force’s digital SWARM training kicks off
07:50 – China’s satellite shenanigans… again
08:40 – Commerce wants to axe space traffic control (what could go wrong?)
09:20 – Space Force goes international with new partnership strategy
10:00 – Resolute Space 25: Guardians get busy
10:40 – India’s Operation Sindor vs. China’s junk weapons
11:20 – Iran’s uranium: Schrödinger’s enrichment
12:20 – SecDef Hexeth on thin ice after weapon shipment pause
13:00 – Army Guard preps for wildfires; Coast Guard rescues in Texas
14:00 – Marine returns home in Koa Moana 25
14:30 – Marines and Navy flight ops in Atlantic
15:00 – Space Force reorganizes for great power competition
15:40 – Cape Canaveral launch site gets greenlight (with eco-check)

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