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The Duffel Brief · the free edition, Monday, Wednesday and Friday

Vol. 15 · No. 130 · Friday, 30 October 2026

Veterans

Spirit Halloween store to become pop-up ICE detention center

DHS praises seasonal retailer's expertise in occupying abandoned buildings and disappearing overnight

Army FRG unveils haunted house featuring spouses saying ‘I’m fine’

Hasan execution venue double-booked with Comic-Con

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Vol. 15 · No. 130

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Vol. 15 · No. 130 · Deployed worldwide

Friday

30 October 2026

1200 Zulu

Next edition Monday

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· Page 2

US military deploys two Airsoft battalions to Syria for 'operation: Softening blow'

Filed · 1544

DAMASCUS — The U.S. military took an unusual move Tuesday with the deployment of two battalions of amateur airsoft players to the Syrian capital, in an attempt to depose Bashar al-Assad, or at a bare minimum, just look like they are at least doing something in the two-year-old civil war.

Indeed, the battalions of fully-grown men — who dress up in military uniforms and shoot each other with Airsoft guns on the weekend — are currently en route to the conflict zone via an extremely short C-130 airbus.

"I've been training for this my whole life," said Jeremy Lyons, a 32-year-old college dropout who swears "Airsoft is just a hobby," even though his entire Facebook features photos of him looking like a goddamn Navy SEAL.

Sources were unable to confirm whether Lyons had ever actually had sex with a woman.

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