A California Air National Guard HH-60 Pave Hawk helicopter hoists a badly-burned fisherman from a Chinese fishing vessel more than 700 miles off the coast of Acapulco, Mexico. Just how a rescue chopper was able to reach so far out into the middle of the Pacific Ocean to pluck the injured man from his ship and bring him to the …
For Want of a Nail…
It’s an ancient proverb about military snafus wrought by small oversights or neglect that has been recited in various forms for centuries. But the same thing, believe it or not, can still happen with the Pentagon’s 21st …
A New Kind of PT: Female Vets Running…for Congress
Four female veterans are making history by running for Congress this year. While women make up more than 50% of the population, they are severely underrepresented in public office. It’s about time that started changing.
A few weeks ago, I received an email from Colonel Martha McSally (USAF, ret) announcing her intention to run for …
General Allen Takes the Hill
Despite a rash of recent bad news – culminating last week with the apparent slaughter of 16 Afghan civilians by a U.S. soldier – the architect of the campaign didn’t step on any landmines Tuesday in testifying before …
Japan Threatens To Shoot Down NoKo Missile. Really
TOKYO – Japan knows just what to do if North Korea goes ahead with a thinly disguised test of a new ballistic missile next month: shoot the @#$! thing down.
Japanese Defense Minister Naoki Tanaka told Diet members Monday …
Marines Publish a Book On The End of `Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’
When the Pentagon was wrestling with the idea of ending the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” ban on gay men and women serving openly in the military, the Marine Corps quickly came to be seen as the service most opposed to the change. After all, General James Amos said he feared lifting the ban would be a “distraction” that could lead …
Afghan Massacre: Potentially Toxic Exposures?
In the national quest to understand what motivated Army Staff Sergeant Robert Bales to leave his compound in the middle of the night, and allegedly gun down 16 men, women and children, there have been many motives already put forth. These include a “witches brew” of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), traumatic brain injury …
The Army’s Continuing Dearth of Mental-Health Workers
The Afghan massacre, allegedly carried out by Staff Sergeant Robert Bales a week ago Sunday, is only going to highlight the chronic shortage of Army mental-health experts that we reported on in 2010. An Army social worker in …
Afghan Massacre Suspect: News From Home
Time’s Bonnie Rochman files from Seattle on Afghan massacre suspect Robert Bales:
In 2007, Staff Sergeant Robert Bales participated in a bloody, two-day battle in Iraq in which 250 enemy troops died. After the bullets stopped flying, he and his comrades pitched in to assist the wounded and their families. “We ended up helping the
…
Up in the Mushroom Clouds Somewhere, Curtis LeMay Is Smiling
The directorate director at the Air Force Nuclear Weapons Center Nuclear Capabilities Directorate’s Nuclear College has just announced he’s launched an advanced nuclear concepts course. (“Directorate director”? “Nuclear Weapons Center Nuclear Capabilities Directorate’s Nuclear College?” Department of Redundancy Department: your …
Yesterday’s Top Army Psychiatrist Ponders Today’s Mental-Health Army Ills
I drove home past the now-shuttered Walter Reed Hospital last night. The cherry trees are blooming pink within the compound, and the hospital where I spent so much of my life is visible through the bars and closed gates. I graduated four times on the wide lawn: from psychiatric internship, residency, and forensic and disaster …
Alcohol In The Ranks
There are reports that alcohol illicitly consumed by Army Staff Sergeant Robert Bales in Afghanistan a week ago may have been the final link in a chain of stressors that caused him to “snap” and slaughter 16 …
Battleland Diary, March 10-16
TIME’s photo editors bring you the best pictures from the front lines and home.