Navy Orders Personnel and Families to Scrub Social Media as ‘Epic Vigilance’ Threat Warning Takes Effect

Acting Navy Secretary Hung Cao directs Sailors, Marines, reservists, civilian employees and military families to hide Department of the Navy ties amid doxing, drone surveillance, cyber threats and suspected physical-security probes.

WASHINGTON | The Department of the Navy has issued an urgent force-protection warning directing personnel and their families to review social media accounts, restrict public access and remove information that could expose their military connections or daily routines.

The Aug. 19 message, titled “Epic Vigilance: Immediate Actions for Force Protection and Personal Security,” describes what Navy leaders characterize as a coordinated, multidomain threat campaign targeting Department of the Navy personnel, installations, warships, aircraft and families.

Released as ALNAV 050/26 by Acting Secretary of the Navy Hung Cao, the directive applies broadly to Sailors, Marines, reservists, civilian employees and family members. It warns of online harassment, doxing, uncrewed aircraft surveillance, suspicious activity near installations, attempted physical-security breaches and campaigns intended to test the endurance of security forces.

The Navy’s central message is direct: Personnel and their families should assume that adversaries are collecting publicly available information and combining seemingly harmless details to identify military affiliations, movements and vulnerabilities.

“Adversaries are actively mining this data,” the notice states.

The official ALNAV 050/26 force-protection message does not identify a single triggering incident or name the foreign governments, extremist organizations or individual actors believed to be responsible. Instead, it describes a pattern of activity that naval leaders say has intensified since the beginning of Operation Epic Fury.

ICE Halts Deportation of Fort Bliss Soldier’s Wife After Last-Minute ‘Legal Impediment’

The Honduran national remains detained on the same Army installation where her husband serves, raising questions about due process, military family-care plans and coordination between immigration and defense officials.

EL PASO, Texas | Federal immigration officials halted the deportation of an Army sergeant’s wife after determining that a “legal impediment” prevented her removal, leaving the Fort Bliss military family facing continued separation and uncertainty over what comes next.

Cristy Maryori Villafranca Trejo, a 29-year-old Honduran national, was removed from a scheduled deportation flight after the legal issue arose, according to the Department of Homeland Security. Her claims will now receive consideration through the Justice Department, DHS said.

The department did not publicly identify the legal obstacle, explain when officials discovered it or indicate whether another attempt to remove Villafranca could occur.

DHS said the scheduled deportation was stopped Aug. 17. Her husband, Army Sgt. Hedár Leonel Turcios Juárez, said the incident unfolded during the early morning hours of Tuesday, Aug. 18. Federal officials have not reconciled that discrepancy.

The episode adds another layer of uncertainty to an immigration case that has disrupted the soldier’s household, complicated his child-care arrangements and raised broader questions about how immigration enforcement involving military dependents can affect troop readiness.