She sat, buckled into her car seat, as U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials ordered the windows rolled down and announced they would be detaining Cristy Maryori Villafranca Trejo — the child’s mother and Turcios’s wife — for a missed court appearance.

The child watched as the figures handcuffed her mother.

“It took me a minute to realize what was going on — my heart just dropped,” Turcios told Military Times about the encounter. “It was very hard looking at my daughter crying because of what was going on and not being able to do something and keep my family together.”

On July 11, ICE detained Villafranca Trejo as the family drove home after a trip to Walmart. Turcios said he observed a vehicle following his family out of their military housing subdivision on the way to the store and then, when the family left Walmart, it reappeared.

He was pulled over shortly after, the sergeant said, as unmarked vehicles boxed in the family’s Dodge Durango.

“All I was trying to do was stay calm because my daughter was watching everything that was going on and that was already a lot for her,” he said more than a month after his wife was detained. “She’s only six, and she was going through a lot. She’s still going through a lot right now.”

Turcios, who is stationed at Fort Bliss, Texas, has been legally married to Villafranca Trejo since August 2022, according to the couple’s Louisiana marriage certificate. His wife is registered as his dependent in the Army’s personnel system, along with her son and the daughter the couple share. Prior to her detention, the family of four was preparing for a military move to an Oklahoma base where Turcios was set to be stationed.

Instead of preparing to report to his new unit, Turcios said he visited his wife at Camp East Montana, an immigration detention center located on the Fort Bliss grounds.

A July report published by Human Rights Watch, a New York-based international nonprofit, in collaboration with the American Civil Liberties Union, found that detainees at the camp were subjected to excessive use of force, medical neglect, barriers to legal assistance and “conditions of confinement that amounted to enforced disappearance.”

Turcios said his wife had experienced an infection. He told Military Times that she was concerned the underwear she had been given was not clean. She also said she had to wear the same clothes for about a week. Human Rights Watch reported accounts of laundry at the facility being returned irregularly and dirty.

As of publication, Villafranca Trejo had not received updates on her status.

“They don’t give us any updates on her case. They’re completely silent from their part — like nobody at all,” he said. “They don’t communicate with my lawyer. They don’t communicate with my wife. They don’t communicate with me. We don’t know what’s going on.”

After his Monday visit last week, authorities tried to deport his wife. They woke her up in the middle of the night, he said, and took her to the airport. Turcios said Villafranca Trejo had a panic attack trying to explain that her appeal was in process and her husband was in the military.

Turcios received a call in the early morning hours asking him to verify her account. Another call came later in the morning saying that authorities had verified his wife’s status and she would be returned to the detention camp.

A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson confirmed that on Aug. 17, Villafranca Trejo “was removed from her scheduled deportation flight after a legal impediment developed.”

In response to questions about her July apprehension, the department responded that on the date in question, “ICE conducted a targeted immigration enforcement operation to arrest Cristy Maryori Villafranca Trejo, an illegal alien from Honduras. Villafranca Trejo illegally entered the United States in 2016 and was released into the country under the Obama administration.”

The statement also added, “Being in detention is a choice.”

Turcios said that his wife, who was born in Honduras, came to the United States looking for “a better life,” before the couple met in late 2018.

He said his wife believed her case had been closed after a series of initial appointments in the early years after her arrival. When the couple began applying for her citizenship in 2024, Turcios said they learned that a missed appearance had led to the issuance of a removal order in 2017.

The couple immediately began working with legal counsel to appeal.

Efrain Diaz-Carrasquillo, an attorney working on Villafranca Trejo’s case, said even though the case is being appealed, her detention is technically legal. She was likely detained because her name popped up in ICE’s system, he said, and because ICE is authorized to detain her, they did.

“The fact that ICE has, or is entitled to detain her doesn’t mean they have to,” he said, adding she has no criminal record. “She married an American citizen, and they are trying to adjust her status in USCIS,” Diaz-Carrasquillo said, referring to the U.S. Customs and Immigration Services, the federal agency that processes residency and citizenship authorizations.

“She’s doing everything possible to adjust her status and be legal in the United States,” he said, but her case could take years.

Turcios, who deployed to the Middle East in 2023, said the unexpected detention has upended his family’s life and made fulfilling his duties as a noncommissioned officer difficult.

He said Villafranca Trejo supported him throughout his career and was the mainstay of his military family care plan, a formal document detailing who will care for a soldier’s dependents during a deployment. Without her, he is essentially a single parent, responsible for school drop-offs and leading soldiers.

Military Times spoke with an active-duty soldier who worked with Turcios, who described the noncommissioned officer as approachable and dependable.

“You can see the results of his leadership in his soldiers,” said the soldier, who was granted anonymity for fear of reprisal. “They’re consistently on time, prepared, know what they’re supposed to be doing, and are ready to execute whatever mission or task is put in front of them.”

When ICE pulled the family’s vehicle over, Turcios said his patrol cap — marked with sweat from extensive wear in uniform — was on the dashboard. Despite the ordeal, the soldier said his wife’s detainment has not changed his feelings about his service.

“I love this country, and I’m proud of serving in the Army,” he said, adding that his wife supports his career wholeheartedly.

The situation faced by Turcios’s family, however, is becoming more common.

An Associated Press report published in August found that more than 50 parents and spouses of active-duty service members had been detained under the Trump administration, and at least six have been deported.

In response to the AP’s investigation, over 60 lawmakers penned a letter announcing the launch of an investigation into whether or not the Pentagon is coordinating with the Department of Homeland Security to deport military members and their families.

In the letter, lawmakers said reports suggested the two agencies were collaborating “to identify and detain non-citizens during routine check-ins, visits, and drop-offs at military installations — converting military bases into ‘traps’ for individuals this Administration deems deportable, all while DoD continues to recruit new service members with the promise of immigration protections.”

Though military spouses and close family members are not guaranteed legal residency or citizenship, spouses have historically been offered programs like Military Parole in Place, which grants legal temporary residence to a service member’s undocumented family.

The Pentagon did not respond to questions from Military Times about whether DoD tracks immediate family members who have been detained or deported, or if it has assessed the effects on readiness.

Asked about resources available to soldiers should their family members be detained, a Pentagon official said in a statement, “We would refer you to the military service departments, as each service provides varying but limited legal assistance in line with federal law.”

Turcios, meanwhile, said he is paying out of pocket for his family’s legal assistance.

For now, he makes appointments to visit his wife. They speak through a window and cannot touch.

The couple’s daughter, who watched her mother’s arrest from the back seat, often wonders aloud about her. The child started school this year without Villafranca Trejo.

“She asks me every day, ‘When is my mom coming back home?’ and I don’t have an answer to that,” Turcios said. “It’s just heartbreaking for me, just looking at her and not being able to give her an answer when her mom is coming back to our family.”

In November 2025, U.S. Army Europe and Africa, in collaboration with the Department of the Army and U.S. European Command, charged the unit with learning from dedicated drone forces, including those fielded by Ukraine, and feeding those lessons back to the Army to support the Pentagon’s push for U.S. drone dominance.

The official, who spoke on background, said in a statement that after the massive, multinational Exercise Saber Junction in August and September, the battalion will return to its airborne infantry mission.

The statement did not include the unit’s name or the number of soldiers.

The move, first reported by the Wall Street Journal, comes as Acting Chief of Staff of the Army, Gen. Christopher LaNeve, issued the Army’s strategic roadmap titled “The Army Azimuth.”

In the public statement, LaNeve said the Army needed to “counter enemies who employ stand-off weapons, including unmanned systems and WMD.” For American troops, he emphasized, “the fundamentals of Soldiering, ensuring a strong grounding in warrior ethos, individual Soldier readiness, and small unit tactical skills.”

The Pentagon has focused heavily on expanding its drone arsenal following a June 2025 executive order directing the U.S. military to enhance its unmanned aerial systems capabilities. Following that order, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth issued a July 2025 memorandum in which he said that “U.S. units are not outfitted with the lethal small drones the modern battlefield requires,” and pledged to revamp the military’s drone acquisition and fielding efforts.

U.S. Central Command this month announced the creation of a multinational task force that will use one-way attack drones in the air, on the water and underwater alongside regional partners. CENTCOM’s task force follows its 2025 establishment of Task Force Scorpion Strike, which is based in the Middle East and outfitted with one-way attack drones.

According to a memorandum that circulated on social media, eligible soldiers in the 9th Engineer Battalion at Fort Stewart who reenlist by Nov. 14 will be authorized a four-day pass that aligns with the release of Grand Theft Auto VI, or GTA 6, at the end of November.

An Army official confirmed that the document, signed by the unit’s commander, Lt. Col. Ryan D. Hodgson, was authentic.

“The battalion has a new career counselor who approached unit leadership with an idea for an updated creative incentives program to reach FY27 reenlistment goals,” said Lt. Col. Angel Tomko, with the 3rd Infantry Division’s public affairs office.

To qualify for the video game spree, soldiers must re-up for at least two years, Tomko said. So far, 20 out of 130 eligible soldiers have given Uncle Sam a few more years in exchange for 96 hours of simulated criminal bliss.

The video game franchise, which allows players to roam through cityscapes as criminal masterminds, has been a cornerstone of gaming culture for decades. The upcoming edition is highly anticipated, and according to the game’s publisher, Rockstar Games, it will feature an Army veteran named Jason Duval who “grew up around grifters and crooks” and has now “found himself in the Keys doing what he knows best, working for local drug runners.”

First reported by Task & Purpose, the July 28 memorandum says the incentive is for eligible soldiers who sign a reenlistment contract between Aug. 1 and Nov. 14.

“This special pass is specifically designated to coincide with the highly anticipated release of the video game Grand Theft Auto VI (GTA 6),” it reads. Soldiers who acquire the reward will coordinate days off with their individual unit leadership.

Unfortunately for uniformed GTA fans interested in extended carjacking opportunities, the pass cannot be combined with any other passes to give the soldier an absence of more than four days.

The unconventional incentive comes as the Army becomes more selective with traditional reenlistment incentives, with new guidance tying cash bonuses to soldiers’ physical fitness, job proficiency and command assessments.

M1 Support Services won a contract to operate the service’s new Flight School Next Program, the Army announced Thursday, shifting training and equipment to a “contractor-owned, contractor-operated” model at Fort Rucker, Alabama.

The award, worth up to $10 billion for up to 26 years, comes amid growing concern about aviation catastrophes that, according to Pentagon data released in 2025, showed around a 55% jump in serious accidents during the 2024 budget year, compared to four years prior.

“Flight School Next delivers a critical improvement in our Initial Entry Rotary Wing Training model. Simply put, it delivers new military helicopter pilots with far better foundational skills,” said Maj. Gen. Clair A. Gill, head of the U.S. Army Aviation Center of Excellence, in the release. “The fact that it delivers this increased capability at a significant long-term savings to our Army is a great added benefit.”

As recently as last week, the Army directed a service-wide AH64 Apache training flight standdown after a helicopter crash near Fort Hood, Texas, killed two soldiers.

Under the new plan, M1 is set to train 800 to 1,500 Army pilots each year. The company, which beat out Bell for the contract, focused its plan on using Robinson Helicopters’ R66 airframe. The Army currently trains around 1,250 rotary-wing pilots annually on a UH-72 Lakota helicopter, which some have argued allows students to rely too heavily on advanced technology instead of developing basic flight skills.

The transition is expected to take three to four years, and eventually, M1 will provide the helicopters, maintenance, flight simulators and instruction. The Army retains training oversight.

In an Army release, Brent G. Ingraham, the assistant secretary of the Army for acquisition, logistics and technology, called the move “a major step forward in modernizing how we train our aviation force.”

Chief Warrant Officer 2 Deontre T. Huey and Warrant Officer Seth L. Olmstead were killed when their aircraft went down around 1:40 p.m. Central Standard Time on Wednesday near Salado, Texas, the Army said.

“Our hearts and deepest condolences are with the families of the Soldiers we lost Wednesday,” Lt. Gen. Kevin D. Admiral, III Armored Corps and Fort Hood commanding general, said in a release. “The Army is a family, and a tragedy like this is felt throughout our formations and our community.”

Huey, 34, joined the Army in February 2014 as a motor transport operator. The Army listed his home of record as Killeen, Texas. Olmstead, 25, joined the Army in January 2023 as a warrant officer candidate. The Army listed his home of record as Belton, Texas.

The Army said a team from the U.S. Army Combat Readiness Center in Fort Rucker, Alabama, is leading an investigation into the crash.

Two people are dead after an Apache helicopter crashed outside of Fort Hood, Texas, according to local authorities.

Emergency calls reporting the crash came in around 1:34 p.m. Central Standard Time, said Cliff Coleman, a spokesperson for the Bell County Sheriff’s Office, during a news conference Wednesday afternoon.

The individuals were pronounced dead at 2:30 p.m., he said, directing additional questions about the military statuses of the deceased to the Fort Hood Criminal Investigation Division.

Fort Hood did not immediately respond to an inquiry.

Earlier in the afternoon, Fort Hood announced that an Apache helicopter crashed in Salado, outside of the base, and said that emergency services were involved.

“Our immediate priority is securing the site and supporting the initial response efforts,” said Brig. Gen. Ethan Diven, acting commanding general of the 1st Cavalry Division. “Our thoughts are with the crew and their families as we await further information.”

Companies will be able to request range access even if they do not have an ongoing partnership with the government, according to the release. The effort, the Army says, is designed to hasten the development and testing of drones, counter-drone systems, long-range fires and cheap interceptors.

The service said it is launching four ranges in the U.S. and one internationally. The ranges include Dugway Proving Ground in Utah, West Cibola Range in Arizona, Camp Shelby Joint Forces Training Center in Mississippi, Camp Grayling in Michigan and Africa Multidomain Training and Experimentation Center in Morocco.

“A company with a good idea shouldn’t need a team of lawyers and a program of record just to prove their equipment works,” Army Secretary Dan Driscoll said in the release. “So we fixed that. One front door — testrange.army.mil — a real person to walk you in, and on the other side, everything the modern battlefield demands: contested airspace, degraded signals and the space to test at real scale.”

The move comes as the Pentagon implements sweeping changes to speed up drone and counter-drone acquisition. The Defense Department created the Joint Interagency Task Force 401, a unit charged with streamlining counter-drone efforts, which recently launched an online marketplace.

It also follows reports that the U.S. has depleted around two-thirds of the Patriot missile interceptor inventory it had before the country’s war with Iran. Though Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth disputed a CNN report that said military commanders had warned U.S. interceptor stockpiles were critically depleted, the Pentagon is pressing the defense industry to expedite the production of critical weapons.

Companies can request to use the ranges using an online portal, but the service cannot guarantee a specific location or timeline. The website includes range parameters and a list of capabilities that can be tested at each site.

Additionally, the Army announced that Camp Grayling will host an “electromagnetic unreliability test event” for the private sector beginning in September and then likely on a quarterly recurring basis. The event will simulate conditions seen in Ukraine during the country’s ongoing war with Russia.

Dugway Proving Ground, for instance, offers long-range fires testing, while West Cibola Range is currently only available for drone and counter-drone assessments.

The initiative has been led by the U.S. Army Test and Evaluation Command in collaboration with the Mississippi and Michigan National Guard and U.S. Africa Command, according to the release.

Soldiers with the 2nd Infantry Division/ROK-U.S. Combined Division trained alongside Marines to outfit Neros Archer Strike first-person-view, or FPV, drones with C4 explosives to attack targets at Rodriguez Live Fire Complex in South Korea.

It was the division’s first time using live ordnance with the system.

The training represents part of the military’s broader push to place attack drones directly in the hands of smaller units, giving them the ability to strike targets without relying on assets at higher echelons. Both the Marine Corps and the Army have created specialized units and groups dedicated to the small sky-fliers that have changed the course of modern warfare.

“At my level, the modernization with drones is allowing for on-the-ground troops to, rather than call in company-level or battalion-level assets, within their platoon or squad-sized element, be able to support long-range fires up to 20 kilometers,” said Pfc. Gavin Zerrull, a military intelligence systems maintainer and integrator who participated in the training.

Zerrull is also an FPV coach and operator with Talon Technologies, the “innovation arm” of the 2nd Combat Aviation Brigade, according to the Army’s early August release. The effort assesses unmanned aircraft systems for one-way strike missions, intelligence collection, surveillance and cargo delivery.

The Neros Archer Strike drones are made for long-range missions. As seen in photos released by the Army, the drone is small enough to be carried in one hand, with spindly, spider-like legs and antennas.

According to Zerrull, the platform has already been used in the war between Russia and Ukraine, where drones dominate the battlefield.

“What makes this different from a typical drone training event is the fact that we’re working with live ordnance and using a platform that has actively been tested in real-world situations in Ukraine,” he said.

Lt. Gen. Charles Costanza, who was leading V Corps, was removed from command. The Army did not provide the date of his removal or disclose a reason for his departure but confirmed in a statement that “the matter has been referred to the appropriate authority in accordance with Army regulations.”

Brig. Gen. John B. Mountford, the deputy commanding general of readiness for V Corps, is serving as the acting commanding general.

According to the Army last week, Maj. Gen. Thomas M. Feltey, who was selected for promotion to lieutenant general, is set to assume command of V Corps at Fort Knox, Kentucky.

Before assuming command of V Corps in April 2024, Costanza served as the Deputy Commanding General of U.S. Army Europe-Africa. He also commanded the 3rd Infantry Division.

V Corps oversees ground forces in Europe, including those along NATO’s eastern flank. The Corps works with allied forces to integrate defense, counter-drone systems and long-range fires in the region. Costanza was the Corps’ second commanding general since its reactivation in October 2020.

In 1991, he commissioned as an armor officer from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point.

The removal was not political and had nothing to do with Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, an Army official told Military Times.

Costanza’s removal comes amid mass leadership shakeups at the Pentagon. Since entering the position, Hegseth has removed or replaced at least a dozen senior leaders.

In early July, U.S. Army Gen. Christopher Donahue, who previously led the XVIII Airborne Corps and the 82nd Airborne Division, unexpectedly relinquished command of U.S. Army Europe and Africa. The Army did not provide a reason for his departure.

The Army recently established the 08H Army Equestrian military occupational specialty and Staff Sgt. Shawn Tabor and Sgt. Daimien Copeland, both assigned to the Caisson Detachment at Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall, are among the first soldiers to qualify for the new role after completing an 18-week horsemanship program.

“When the 08H opportunity came around, there was no hesitation; I immediately jumped on it. There was no second thought or doubt about doing it,” said Tabor, who has served in the detachment for eight years as an infantryman.

The 08H specialty replaced the “military horseman” identifier and, according to an Army release, is open to infantry soldiers in the grades of E5 to E9. It is a role the Army says contributes to recruiting, public outreach and military funeral honors.

During the initial 12-week program, soldiers learn grooming, groundwork and communication with horses in the Basic Horsemanship Course before moving on to horse driving and the Caisson Detachment’s distinctive postilion riding method during the Advanced Horsemanship Course for six more weeks.

Copeland, who has served in the detachment for four years, said that when he was in-processing, he was excited to learn about the opportunity to work with horses.

“During my time at Caisson, we had our first state funeral in more than 20 years for former President Jimmy Carter. Taking part in that funeral reinforced the importance of our mission and the honor of serving in a role that very few soldiers have the opportunity to experience,” he said in the release.

Previously scheduled to end, the Army in Dec. 2025 announced it was retaining military working equid programs — which include Defense Department horses, mules and donkeys — in Texas and Kansas.

The designation comes after the Army resumed limited use of horse-drawn caissons at Arlington National Cemetery in mid-2025 following a two-year suspension prompted by concerns over the welfare of the horses. The service halted the program in 2023 after two horses — Mickey and Tony — died in 2022 from colon impactions linked to substandard feed and living conditions.

According to the Defense Department, the Army upgraded equipment to replace wooden saddles with lighter, custom leather saddles. The service also decreased the caisson’s weight by over 1,000 pounds and made other adjustments to lessen the strain on the horses.

A 2025 release also said the soldiers’ training had “shifted from impromptu methods to a structured pipeline,” with the basic course — launched in 2024 — held at a private stable in Virginia and then a six-week camp located at an equestrian sports facility in Florida.

“We don’t get soldiers from horse backgrounds anymore,” said Army Maj. Wes Strickland, the 3rd Infantry Regiment public affairs officer at the time, said in the 2025 statement. “So, we teach everything — how to walk up to a horse, saddle it, clean a stall.”