The Navy seems to have hit rough seas in recent years, repeatedly canning command officers who have fallen short on the job. To the Navy’s credit, it announces these ousters more loudly and clearly than the other services. But …
Military Justice
“Going Postal”
Any soldier’ll tell you that mail from home – even in this day of cell phones and email – is a real morale-booster for troops on the front lines.
Army Major Peter Perzel pulled postal duty during his assignment in Iraq in 2008-09, before a second tour in Afghanistan in 2009-10. He shared some of what he learned in a …
Pentagon: We Don’t Call Them POWs Anymore
Lots of people call Bowe Bergdahl, who has been held by insurgents on the Afghanistan-Pakistan frontier for nearly three years, a prisoner of war. Even his father, Bob, used the term for his son in a recent chat with Time’s …
Staff Sergeant Bales – Or His Lawyer — Refuses a Sanity Board
John Browne said Friday that he has refused to let his client participate in what’s known in the Army as a 706 Board or “sanity board.” His client is Army Staff Sergeant Robert Bales, who stands charged by the U.S. Army with murdering 17 Afghan civilians outside Kandahar last month during a nighttime of fury.
As I noted here a …
Witches’ Brew: Alleged Afghan Slayer’s Growing List of Mitigating Circumstances
The trickle of mitigating circumstances trying to understand the motive of the Army soldier who allegedly slaughtered 16 Afghan civilians last Sunday has turned into an avalanche over the past 24 hours.
According to a defense attorney retained by his family, and news reports of rumors, innuendo and perhaps some facts, Staff Sergeant X …
Is The Army Responsible for the Afghan Massacre?
Colleague Jim Frederick is asking some tough questions over at the Time Ideas blog:
American and Afghan authorities are scrambling to ensure this tragedy does not derail the planned departure of NATO forces in 2014, and it is
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Koran Burning: Pre-Judgment Day
Reports from Afghanistan say five U.S. troops are likely to face punishment in connection with the Koran-burning at Bagram air base last week that triggered a spate of riots and the killing of six U.S. military personnel. …
A Bright Shining Line
Those of us of a certain sell-by date recall John Paul Vann’s searing tale of Vietnam in Neil Sheehan’s A Bright Shining Lie.
The title resonates in light of recent screw-ups by the U.S. military, with the addition of one …
Military Same-Sex Partner Benefits: “Separate But Not Equal”
The impact felt at the ground-level from our troops involved in same-sex marriages is gaining some high-level attention. On Friday of last week, Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. issued this controversial letter to House
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Should Fake Boasts About Battlefield Valor Be Criminal?
This coming Wednesday is George Washington’s 280th birthday. So it’s only fitting that the Supreme Court will be asking on Feb. 22 if lying about military heroics violates the First Amendment’s guarantee of free speech.
This …
IG Probe into F-22 Crash Seems Fairly Unroutine
Last week the Pentagon inspector general confirmed that its investigators are looking into the November 2010 fatal crash of an F-22 fighter. Pilots have long grumbled that the super-jet’s oxygen-supply system doesn’t always …
F-22 Crash: IG Looking Into Air Force Probe That Concluded Pilot Was To Blame
The Pentagon inspector general is investigating the Air Force’s official probe into a fatal F-22 crash that concluded the pilot was to blame. “The assessment will focus on the adherence of the AIB [Accident Investigation Board] …
Corporal Gets 30 Days in Brig For Hazing Fellow Marine Who Killed Himself in Afghanistan
The sad and sorry case of Marine Lance Corporal Harry Lew has won its first conviction. On Monday, Lance Corporal Jacob Jacoby was sentenced to 30 days in jail – and a reduction in rank to private first class – for his role in the hazing that led Lew to take his own life in Afghanistan last April 3.
The government urged Jacoby …