The U.S. Space Force held an opening ceremony Wednesday for its new unit headquartered at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Tucson.
The Space Forces Southern unit has been operational since December, but the Pentagon says it was formally recognized when Colonel Brandon Alford assumed command during the ceremony.
In a press release, the Defense Department said the new unit will join U.S. Southern Command, which coordinates efforts between the various military branches over Central and South America and the Caribbean.
U.S. Southern Command directed the mission ousting Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro earlier this month.
The Defense Department said the new unit will help with space-related efforts against drug trafficking among other duties in the region.
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Community members huddled around a small stage set up on the grass at Tucson’s Catalina Park. A sea of thin white candles twinkled in the crowd as attendees hugged each other and cried. -
Authorities are investigating a deadly shooting at a gay bar in Tucson on Monday as a hate crime. Tucson police allege a man who shot and killed two people and then himself outside Venture-N bar was carrying a list of addresses of several LGBTQ-friendly businesses. -
Thieves made off with tens of thousands of cans of Pabst beer in two separate heists from a Southern California warehouse on the same day, police said. -
Tempe, Gilbert, Scottsdale and Tucson have joined 85 other plaintiffs in the Fire Apparatus Antitrust Litigation. -
The Tucson Unified School District plans to hold roundtables to gather input from families and the public as it considers potential school closures.
