Once upon a time, I lived a life where Memorial Day weekend marked the beginning of summer, with backyard barbecues and three days off from work and school.
I was always touched by the parade and cemetery services in that …
Can President Obama End the War on Terror?
In his broad address on drone strikes, al Qaeda terrorists, and the prison at Guantanamo Bay Thursday, Barack Obama wrestled with some of the hardest moral questions that have defined national security policy since
On Memorial Day, Remember the Sequester
Remember the sequester? Those broad, blunt government cuts that kicked in on March 1?
There were lots of doomsday predictions about what would happen when the $85.4 billion in spending reductions took effect for fiscal year …
Should A Former Man Be Able To Fight Women
When Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) fighter Fallon Fox, the former Burton Boyd, told Sports Illustrated in early March that she used to be a man, the condemnation came quickly.
BattlelandSpecial Operations
Canine Commandos
We noted back in March that the SEALs were seeking outside trainers to mold the dogs that accompany them on their secret missions into lean, mean biting machines, and whatever else might be required.
Naval Special Warfare …
Tornadoes Were Just the Beginning. This Hurricane Season Is Going to be Stormy
The tornado that hit Moore, Oklahoma may have caused more than $2 billion in damages. But that could pale in comparison to the destruction coming our way this hurricane season.
No More Getting Lost in Translation
By now, we must be in “stanza 10” of a song that’s been playing on repeat for years.
Each stanza, although worded with its own flavor, tells the same story: service members risk their lives for our country; they …
What’s Behind The Drop in U.S. Teen Birth Rates
Teen birth rates in the U.S., which have been declining for two decades, have reached a record low, with significant drops in almost every state.
$21,615,600,000
— The cost growth in Pentagon weaponry, from December 2011 to December 2012, due to increased quantities of arms slated to be bought. Twenty-two billion dollars may sound like a lot of money, but it represents only a 1.3% boost in the $1,660,983,300,000 total the U.S. military is spending on its 78 major weapons systems, according to the Pentagon's latest Selected Acquisition Report released Thursday, here. Overall cost growth was nearly $40 billion; the $22 billion increase is solely due to 2012’s plan to buy more ships, planes and missiles than had been called for in 2011. And you thought the Pentagon was cutting back.
An Airway Created with a 3D Printer Saved This Baby’s Life
If you think 3D printing’s overhyped with all this talk of plastic guns and strange, spider-like houses, you clearly haven’t seen this: a tiny airway splint created using a 3D printer that saved a three-month-old’s life.
MRAP Medevac
Marines fasten a damaged MRAP to a Kalmar RT240 rough terrain container handler in Helmand province, May 19.
Are School Closings Discriminatory?
Chicago returned to the center of the national debate over the future of public education this week as the city’s school board voted to shut down 50 schools.
“We expect, first of all, commanders to pick their very best. We don't have data on it, but I'm concerned to this point. Too many of these positions may have been filled in a way in which someone had an honorable record, but was otherwise available, so they were assigned to these what we believe to be critically important positions.”
— Army Secretary John McHugh acknowledging to a Senate committee Wednesday, sort of, what many in the service whisper: that too many less-than-stellar officers have been put in charge of the Army’s sexual-assault prevention programs and training efforts.