Early Bird Brief - Military Times

Today's Top 5

1. Marines deploy to Syria with artillery (Military Times) A contingent from the 11 th Marine Expeditionary Unit has deployed within artillery range from the Islamic State group's de facto capital of Raqqa, a military official told Marine Corps Times on Wednesday.

2. Nude photo sharing Facebook group is only 'the tip of the spear,' top enlisted Marine says (Marine Corps Times) The Facebook page where Marines allegedly shared nude photos of women without their consent is just “the tip of the spear,” as cyber predators can safely operate on many websites, the Corps’ top enlisted adviser told lawmakers on Wednesday.

3. Trump administration looks to resume Saudi arms sale criticized as endangering civilians in Yemen (Washington Post) The State Department has approved a resumption of weapons sales that critics have linked to Saudi Arabia’s bombing of civilians in Yemen, a potential sign of reinvigorated U.S. support for the kingdom’s involvement in its neighbor’s ongoing civil war.

4. US House passes 2017 defense appropriations to uncertain prospects in Senate (Defense News) The U.S. House voted 371-48 to pass an overdue $578 billion defense spending bill for fiscal 2017 on Wednesday, but the measure faces an uncertain future in the Senate, where Democrats will be unwilling to advance it on its own.

5. The Navy's 5 most dangerous at-sea deployments (Navy Times) The pair of Russian fighters were coming in fast and very, very close.

Early Bird Brief - Military Times