Pool Reports of December 25, 2023

In-Town Pool Report — Dec 25th — Biden calls service members

Good afternoon & Merry Christmas,

President Biden and Dr. Biden called militarymembers to thank them for their service. Please see below.

The White House passes along the following:

The President and the First Lady called units from each branch of our military to wish them Merry Christmas and thank them and their families for their service and sacrifice.

• Army – Maneuver Advisor Team 2221 (Kaolack, Senegal)
• Marine Corps – Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 261 Reinforced (Camp Lemonnier, Djibouti)
• Navy – USS MICHAEL MURPHY (DDG 112) (Pearl Harbor, Hawaii)
• Air Force – Special Operations Task Group (Mediterranean)
• Space Force – 5th Space Warning Squadron Detachment 2 (Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar)
• Coast Guard – CGC KATMAI BAY (WTGB 101) (Sault St. Marie, Michigan)

In-Town Pool —Dec 25th—NSC Comment on Iraq Drone Attack

Good evening,

Please see the comment below from NSC spokesperson Adrienne Watson on a drone attack in Iraq this morning which targeted "U.S. military personnel."

Early this morning in northern Iraq, U.S. military personnel were targeted by a one-way attack drone. The attack wounded three U.S. service-members, one critically. The Iranian-backed militia Kataib Hezbollah and affiliated groups, under an umbrella of Iranian-backed militants, claimed credit for the attack.

President Biden was immediately briefed on the attack this morning, and he ordered the Department of Defense to prepare response options against those responsible. Those options were then presented to the President during a call this afternoon with Secretary of Defense Austin and members of the President's national security team. During that call, the President directed strikes against three locations utilized by Kataib Hezbollah and affiliated groups focused specifically on unmanned aerial drone activities.

The President places no higher priority than the protection of American personnel serving in harm's way. The United States will act at a time and in a manner of our choosing should these attacks continue.

Merry Christmas to you and your family,

ZTP