Thursday’s New York Times reports that the outgoing International Security Assistance Force commander, U.S. Marine General John Allen, has submitted three options for a post-2014 “residual force” in Afghanistan
BattlelandNavy
Obit for a Carrier
The U.S.S. Enterprise has left the oceans. She is survived by 10 flat-topped behemoths. Services will be private.
Last month, the Big E, also known as CVN-65, left active-duty Navy service in a formal deactivation ceremony at …
Thinking of Suing a Private Military Contractor? There May Be a Way…
Even if you’re not a lawyer, you may be aware that traditionally the U.S. military establishment enjoys a lot of immunity for casualties that happen to those who wear the nation’s uniform.
For example, the Federal Tort Claims …
BattlelandSnafus
Senate Shoots Down Wayward Navy Pilot’s Promotion to Admiral
It appears the Navy’s nomination of a one-time F-14 pilot who deliberately shot down a U.S. Air Force plane 25 years ago won’t make admiral, as the Navy had recommended. The peacetime downing of an Air Force F-4 over the …
Online Reviewers Beware: You Can Get Sued
Everyone’s a critic these days, but defamation laws still exist in the Internet age
Military Photos: A Month Inside the Armed Forces, December
TIME’s photo editors bring you the best pictures from the front lines from around the world, and the home front.
Massachusetts Town Bans Plastic Water Bottles
For many people, a new year means resolutions. For one Massachusetts town, that means no more disposable plastic water bottles.
“The one thing I make pretty good is gnocchi. People have commented on it. I do it for the holidays. So if I were inviting Kim Jong Un over for dinner, I'd make him a plate of gnocchi. We'd have a glass of wine. And basically I'd try to understand: What's his thinking?”
— Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, in a recent interview with Esquire magazine.
BattlelandMilitary History
West Point, Yesterday
The adjacent post deals with the West Point of tomorrow. But our comrades at LIFE have posted a wonderful photo essay on what being a cadet there was like in 1936.
It was the second cover story in the magazine’s history, …
$261,538
After Newtown, School-Shooter Training for Teachers
After the shootings in Newtown, Conn., attendance soars at an active-shooter simulation in Alabama
Have Gun, Will Hover
A U.S. Marine CH-53E Super Stallion lifts a four-ton, M777 155mm howitzer over Helmand province on Dec. 29.
BattlelandVeterans
Doctors’ Disorders
The Department of Veterans Affairs can’t decide on the right yardstick to ensure its 7,000 doctors are pulling their weight. The agency has been squabbling about it for more than 30 years. Thursday, the VA inspector general …