A U.S. Air Force C-17A Globemaster III, callsign REACH284 with registration 01-0186 and hex code #ae10b5, flew from Whidbey Island Naval Air Station in Washington to Ceiba, Puerto Rico, according to an X post by @Flightwatcher1 shared between 8:16 a.m. and 10:46 a.m. UTC on December 22. The flight occurred during a 2-hour-29-minute reporting window amid ongoing U.S. military activity in the Caribbean. @Flightwatcher1 tracked the Globemaster III en route to Ceiba, a municipality on Puerto Rico's eastern coast formerly home to the Roosevelt Roads naval base. This deployment follows the arrival of a U.S. Air Force EC-130H Compass Call at Luis Muñoz MarÃn International Airport in San Juan, Puerto Rico, as reported earlier on December 22 by Global_Mil_Info citing aviation spotter pinchito.avgeek. U.S. military operations continue in the region, including the active pursuit of the sanctioned Venezuelan-linked oil tanker M/T Bella 1 northeast of Venezuela, confirmed by an official to NewsNation reporter Kellie Meyer at 3:46 a.m. UTC on December 22. The tanker issued repeated distress alerts, with the most recent at 9:13 a.m. PST on December 21 from position 19.02N, 57.23W, per @quietd0cket. Separately, President Donald Trump has scheduled a major announcement with War Secretary Pete Hegseth and Navy Secretary Phelan for 4:30 p.m. ET on December 23 at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, as stated in an X post by @nicksortor and confirmed by Kellie Meyer.
