Evening Brief: Six Fort Stewart Soldiers Honored for Heroism in Active-Shooter Incident, Germany Suspends Military Exports to Israel Over Gaza Offensive

· Guy D. McCardle

Fort Stewart heroes (left to right) 1st Sgt. Joshua Arnold, Master Sgt. Justin Thomas, Staff Sgt. Melissa Taylor, Staff Sgt. Robert Pacheco, Sgt. Eve Rodarte, and Sgt. Aaron Turner, awarded the Meritorious Service Medal. (US Army)

Here’s your SOFREP Evening Brief for Friday, August 8, 2025. Six Fort Stewart soldiers are honored for stopping an active shooter, NASA bids farewell to veteran astronaut Butch Wilmore, and VP JD Vance meets UK’s David Lammy on Gaza, Ukraine, and trade. An Israeli strike kills a senior PFLP official in Lebanon, Syrian minorities push for a decentralized state, and the UN warns Afghan refugee reintegration is key to peace. Germany halts arms exports to Israel, Ukraine braces as Trump’s deadline to Putin passes, and Pakistani forces kill 33 militants in Balochistan.

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Six Fort Stewart Soldiers Honored for Heroism in Active-Shooter Incident

US Secretary of the Army Dan Driscoll awarded the Meritorious Service Medal to six soldiers at Fort Stewart, Georgia, for their actions during Wednesday’s active-shooter attack that injured five troops and briefly locked down the base.

Driscoll praised the soldiers for their bravery, decisive action, and lifesaving medical care, crediting their efforts with preventing further casualties.

Master Sgt. Justin Thomas and Sgt. Aaron Turner helped physically subdue the gunman, while First Sgt. Joshua Arnold, Staff Sgt. Melissa Taylor, and Medics Staff Sgt. Robert Pacheco and Sgt. Eve Rodarte secured the scene and treated the wounded.

All five injured soldiers remain in stable condition.

Authorities arrested the suspected shooter, Sgt. Quornelius Radford, about 30 minutes after the attack began in the 2nd Armored Brigade Combat Team area. He allegedly used a personally owned handgun. The motive remains unclear.

Driscoll called the honorees “the best among us” and said their actions reflected the highest standards of the US Army.

 

Navy Veteran, NASA Astronaut Butch Wilmore Retires After 25-Year Career

NASA announced this week that astronaut Barry “Butch” Wilmore is retiring after 25 years of service and 464 days in space.

A retired US Navy captain, Wilmore joined NASA in 2000 after graduating from the US Naval Test Pilot School. He is one of only a handful of astronauts to have flown on four different spacecraft: the Space Shuttle, Russian Soyuz, Boeing Starliner, and SpaceX Crew Dragon.

Wilmore’s most recent mission made headlines as he commanded Boeing Starliner’s first crewed flight to the International Space Station (ISS) in June 2024.

Mechanical issues forced NASA to return Starliner to Earth without its crew, keeping Wilmore and crewmate Suni Williams aboard the ISS for nearly 10 months before returning on SpaceX’s Crew Dragon Freedom in March 2025.

The Tennessee native first flew to space in 2009 as pilot of Space Shuttle Atlantis and later spent 166 days aboard the ISS in 2014 via Soyuz. Across his missions, he completed five spacewalks totaling more than 32 hours. Wilmore, known for his outspoken Christian faith, regularly attended online church services while in orbit.

His retirement follows those of fellow astronauts Kate Rubins and Jeanette Epps, reducing NASA’s active astronaut roster to 42.

Wilmore leaves behind a record of technical mastery, adaptability, and leadership that NASA leaders say set a high standard for future crews.

 

Vance, Lammy Discuss Global Conflicts, Trade in UK Meeting

US Vice President JD Vance met British Foreign Secretary David Lammy at Chevening, the foreign secretary’s official country residence, on Friday to discuss global economic issues, the Israel-Hamas war, and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The talks come as Washington and London debate strategies for ending both conflicts, and as the United Kingdom seeks favorable steel and aluminum export terms alongside a broader trade deal announced in June.

Vance declined to comment on whether US President Donald Trump had prior notice of Israel’s plan to occupy Gaza City and questioned the UK’s decision to recognize a Palestinian state in September without a Gaza ceasefire, citing the lack of a “functional government” there.

The meeting took place a day before Trump’s deadline for Russia to show progress toward ending the war in Ukraine, with Putin expressing hope for a meeting with Trump next week.

While Trump focuses on direct talks with Putin, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer and other European leaders insist Ukraine must be part of any negotiations.

The US and UK have also differed on their approach to the Gaza war.

Vance and Lammy, despite political differences, have developed a personal rapport over shared working-class backgrounds and Christian faith.

The visit is part of Vance’s broader trip to the UK, which includes official events, fundraising, cultural visits, meetings with US troops, and time in the Cotswolds, a region popular with wealthy American tourists.

 

Israeli Airstrike in Eastern Lebanon Kills Senior PFLP Official

An Israeli airstrike near the Masnaa border crossing in eastern Lebanon on Thursday killed Mohammed Wishah, a senior member of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), along with his bodyguard, Mufid Hussein, as they traveled to Syria.

The PFLP confirmed the deaths, while Israel said Wishah was coordinating with other militant groups and strengthening ties with Iran’s “axis of resistance.”

Lebanon’s state-run news agency reported six killed and ten wounded in the strike, without naming all the victims.

Wishah, born in Gaza in 1954, joined the PFLP in 1973 and spent five years in Israeli prisons. He later became the group’s top security official in Syria after his predecessor was killed in a Beirut airstrike in September 2024.

Since the start of the Israel-Hamas war in October 2023, Israel has targeted Palestinian officials in Lebanon, including multiple PFLP members.

On Friday morning, an Israeli drone strike in southern Lebanon killed Hezbollah member and citizen journalist Mohammed Shehadeh.

Israel has conducted numerous airstrikes in Lebanon since the end of its 14-month war with Hezbollah, primarily targeting the group’s fighters and leadership.

 

Syrian Minorities Call for Decentralized State, New Constitution

Some 400 representatives of Syria’s ethnic and religious minorities convened Friday in Hassakeh to demand a decentralized state and a new constitution guaranteeing religious, cultural, and ethnic pluralism.

The conference, held in Kurdish-led, US-backed territory, follows the December 2024 fall of President Bashar al-Assad and comes amid post-transition violence targeting minorities, including Alawites, Druze, and Christians.

Delegates condemned attacks by pro-government gunmen as crimes against humanity and urged protections for minority rights.

Alawite spiritual leader Ghazal Ghazal called for a federal system to safeguard religious and cultural freedoms. Druze leader Sheikh Hikmat Al-Hijri said pluralism “strengthens unity,” while conference organizer Hakemat Habib argued only a democratic, decentralized government agreed upon by all Syrians can succeed.

Senior autonomous administration official Elham Ahmad described the gathering as a message of civil peace and reconciliation. Meanwhile, Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) commander Sipan Hamo accused interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa’s government of perpetuating dictatorship and refusing to embrace democratic reform, though the SDF has expressed willingness to join a national army.

The interim government in Damascus has not commented.

The September elections and constitutional process remain key milestones in shaping Syria’s political future, but ongoing violence against minorities underscores the fragility of the post-Assad transition.

 

UN Official Warns Afghan Refugee Reintegration Key to Preventing Future Conflict

The United Nations says reintegrating millions of Afghan refugees returning from Iran and Pakistan is critical to Afghanistan’s stability, warning that failure to do so will fuel competition for scarce resources and weaken social cohesion.

Since January, about 2.2 million Afghans (60 percent of them under 18) have crossed back into a country already facing economic collapse, climate challenges, and a humanitarian crisis.

Stephanie Loose, country program manager at UN Habitat, said the influx must be met with dialogue between local communities and returnees to prevent tensions from becoming “another root cause for war and conflicts.”

Loose stressed that returnees bring skills and should be seen as part of the solution, not a burden.

Afghan authorities provide cash, food, shelter, health care, and transport at the border, but women and girls face severe restrictions under Taliban rule, including bans on secondary education and many jobs, as well as requirements for male guardians to leave home, creating particular hardships for female-headed households.

The Taliban have urged neighbors to avoid forced deportations, but both Iran and Pakistan say they are removing only those living illegally.

Violence, discrimination, and the lack of opportunities for women remain major concerns as Afghanistan navigates the return of such a large, displaced population.

 

Germany Suspends Military Exports to Israel Over Gaza Offensive

Germany will halt all exports of military equipment to Israel that could be used in Gaza “until further notice,” Chancellor Friedrich Merz announced Friday, following the Israeli Cabinet’s decision to seize Gaza City.

The move marks a sharp policy shift for one of Israel’s strongest backers and adds to growing European pressure over Israel’s conduct in the nearly two-year Gaza war.

Merz said Germany still supports Israel’s right to defend itself against Hamas but warned that the new offensive makes it harder to achieve a ceasefire and secure hostage releases. He urged Israel to allow full humanitarian access to Gaza and not to advance toward annexing the West Bank.

Germany’s decision affects a significant share of Israel’s arms imports, which include engines for Merkava tanks, components for armored personnel carriers, and Sa’ar corvettes used in Gaza operations.

The Israeli government criticized the suspension, accusing Berlin of rewarding Hamas and undermining Israel’s “just war.”

Germany, second only to the US in supplying Israel’s military, had approved roughly $565 million in arms exports since October 7, 2023.

Analysts expect the pause to be temporary but view it as a major signal of Berlin’s discomfort with Israel’s actions.

The announcement comes amid widening European criticism, with leaders in the Netherlands, Denmark, and the European Commission calling Israel’s expanded operations “wrong” and urging a rethink.

Slovenia has already imposed a full arms embargo, and the UK suspended some weapons exports last year over legal concerns.

International outrage has intensified as Gaza’s civilian toll mounts, with tens of thousands killed, most residents displaced, and the territory on the brink of famine.

 

Ukrainian Troops See No Hope for Peace as Trump’s Deadline to Putin Expires

Ukrainian soldiers on the front lines voiced skepticism about any diplomatic end to the war as US President Donald Trump’s Friday deadline for Russia to make peace arrived without progress.

Trump had warned of new sanctions and secondary tariffs on countries buying Russian oil if the Kremlin did not move toward a settlement but expressed disappointment Thursday that Russian President Vladimir Putin had not eased attacks on Ukrainian cities.

Fighting remains intense along Ukraine’s 1,000-kilometer (621-mile) front.

The Pokrovsk area in Donetsk is under heavy assault as Russia pushes toward Dnipropetrovsk, while battles in the Sumy border region aim to divert Russian reinforcements.

Ukrainian commanders say Moscow is unwilling to negotiate, leaving military victory as the only option.

Putin held calls this week with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and other allies, possibly to brief them on potential settlement talks with Trump. However, analysts, including the Institute for the Study of War, say Putin remains uninterested in ending the war and is seeking US concessions without genuine peace efforts, believing Russia can outlast Ukraine and the West.

Trump has signaled willingness to meet Putin even without Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s involvement, raising European fears Kyiv could be sidelined.

Putin has floated a possible meeting next week, potentially in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), but no details have been finalized.

Russia continues its slow, costly advances in Ukraine while keeping up heavy bombardments of cities.

 

Pakistani Forces Kill 33 Militants in Balochistan Border Clash

Pakistani security forces killed 33 militants in an overnight operation in Zhob district, Balochistan, after spotting fighters crossing from Afghanistan, the military said Friday.

The government refers to the insurgents as “Khwarij,” a term used for the Pakistani Taliban (TTP). A search is underway to eliminate remaining fighters.

The military accused the militants of having Indian backing but offered no evidence; India has not commented.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif praised the operation as a success.

Authorities in Balochistan also suspended mobile internet until August 31 for security ahead of Pakistan’s Independence Day, citing past insurgent attacks targeting flag sellers.

Balochistan has faced long-running separatist violence, as well as attacks by the TTP and Baluch Liberation Army. Officials say the insurgency has been mostly contained, but sporadic violence persists.

Pakistan has also seen a surge in TTP attacks since the Afghan Taliban’s 2021 takeover, with many TTP fighters finding sanctuary in Afghanistan.

In April, security forces killed 54 militants in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in the year’s deadliest single-day clash for insurgents.

 

Sources: News Agencies