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

Vol. 15 · No. 132 · Wednesday, 4 November 2026

Pentagon

Pentagon confident U.S. will be ready for 2027 war with China by 2035

Officials cite historically proven American strategy of entering wars completely unprepared

Hegseth wears Eisenhower's globe as Halloween costume

Spirit Halloween store to become pop-up ICE detention center

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Vol. 15 · No. 132 · Deployed worldwide

Wednesday

4 November 2026

0206 Zulu

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· Page 2

Deployed airman struggles to balance work with education, relaxation time

Filed · 1539

SOUTHWEST ASIA — A young airman deployed to an undisclosed location in Southwest Asia for Third Country National (TCN) escort duty is wondering how he will balance his exhausting eight-hour workdays with other activities, such as off-duty education, chilling at the pool with his buddies, and maybe even hitting the gym, sources confirmed today.

Airman 1st Class Jason Brooks arrived in-theater a few days ago and has spent that time in-processing and learning the ropes. As a TCN escort, Brooks' daily work has nothing to do with his normal job as Cyber Systems Operations specialist. Instead, he spends eight hours a day escorting workers from the Middle East and various third-world countries to make sure they don't try to sabotage anything on-base or spy for the Russians.

"It really is tiring work, both physically and mentally, to babysit these off-base workers while they clean bathrooms and stuff to make sure they don't [mess] stuff up," said Brooks, during an interview in the air-conditioned base library. "I need to find something to do in my off-time to help me take my mind off of work. Quite a few of the guys on their way out suggested volunteering for base activities, tanning at the pool, or taking classes."

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