Troops

An Eye-Opening Peek at the Pentagon’s Weird Budget Math

If you’ve been paying attention, you may have heard that President Obama has pledged to cut $400 billion out of security spending between now and 2023. But what you may not know is that the $400 billion won’t be a cut as far as Joe and Jane Taxpayer are concerned. Todd Harrison, Washington’s defense-budget wizard, says letting Pentagon …

Stand By to Stand By

This is all getting very confusing. Within the past few weeks there have been some major developments in the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” repeal process, all of which I have failed to mention here. Each turn in events has had its own reason for staying out of my blog, and I’m not going to use my packed schedule as an excuse.

Earlier this …

The “Right Stuff” for a Drone Pilot

So wondering if you have what it takes to pilot one of those MQ-1 Predator or MQ-9 Reaper unmanned drones for the U.S. Air Force? Huh? Well, drones have pilots, just like more traditional aircraft. The only difference is the drone operator’s controls tend to be in some trailer – safely on the ground – far away from the drone …

Ping-Pong? No, Just The Latest Ruling on “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”

Late Friday, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals bowed to the wishes of the Obama Justice Department and said the Pentagon could continue its all-but-gone enforcement of the ban on gay men and women serving openly in the U.S. military. This on-again, off-again life of the 17-year old “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” law has everyone pretty …

Don’t Ask…About “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell…”

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…because it is getting really confusing, as I tried to detail Wednesday night on the PBS NewsHour, along with Aubrey Sarvis of the Servicemembers Legal Defense …

Military Suicides: The Families Left Behind

In the recent swirl of articles and blogs about the new Presidential policy on honoring those who suicide in combat with a condolence letter, there are some who may be lost: the Families. The controversy seems to be about whether or not you should “honor” the Soldier who died with a letter of condolence. Recently the White House …

Military Housing: Trials and Tribulation

Compared to many of my gay and lesbian colleagues, my time in service has treated me well. In general gay officers have it easier than our enlisted counterparts, and our options with housing play a large role.

Many newly enlisted troops are forced to live in small dorms with roommates. It’s usually not the barracks scene that …

Leroy Petry, the Medal of Honor and Intrepidity

This past weekend, I attended the wedding of my Army roommate who’s still on active duty. Among the many conversations of the assembled veterans, all junior officers who fought together in Iraq, was the award of the Medal of Honor to Sgt. First Class Leroy Petry, who sacrificed his hand to save his fellow Rangers in Afghanistan. …

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