Staff Sergeant Robert Bales, charged with murdering 16 Afghan villagers last year, is going to plead guilty to avoid the death penalty, his lawyer says.
That’s as good, as these things go, as Bales can expect to get, …
PTSD’s Vexations
Post-traumatic stress disorder has always been a controversial diagnosis, and so it was at last week’s annual gathering of the American Psychiatric Association.
They date back to when the term “PTSD” was first listed in …
When Grumman Stood Alone
The dictates of the market first consolidated hundreds of military contractors into dozens, and now only a handful remains: Boeing, General Dynamics, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman and Raytheon.
Sometimes it takes, of all …
“I want you to guard your integrity. No one can take your integrity away from you. It's uniquely yours, don't lose it. You allegiance is to the institution, to the country, to the Constitution -- not your buddies. It's in your oath today, think about it when you take your oath. Be kind to everybody; treat everybody with dignity and with respect. And trust your shipmates because your life is going to depend on them. Learn your heritage, that's what we're about, know who you're about. And wear sunscreen, it takes about 20 years to take effect. Wear sunscreen.”
— Admiral Jonathan Greenert, chief of naval operations, speaking to the class of 2013 at the U.S. Naval Academy, May 24. Perhaps the "C" in CNO stands for Coppertone...
MRAPs: Too Much Now, Too Late Then
Earlier this month, the Marines said they wouldn’t be needing all the Mine-Resistant, Ambush-Protected vehicles the corps bought for the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. In fact, they only want to hold on to 1,200 of the 4,000 …
Perimeter Patrol
Pfc. Chadallen J. Romero patrols Forward Operating Base Zangabad May 23 in Panjwai district, Kandahar province.
“The Only Chief Petty Officer in the National Baseball Hall of Fame”
100
— The number of chaise lounges the U.S. Embassy in Khartoum, Sudan, wants to buy. It’s specifying, here, the Polywood brand, made of 90% recycled plastic and retailing for about $440 each. It’s also in the market for 60 patio dining tables and accompanying chairs.
Mark Twain’s Cyber Perspective
So the response to Tuesday’s Washington Post story that computer hackers had stolen secrets associated with U.S. weapons was Pavlovian. Within hours, it was all over the internet that China had hacked into the designs of U.S. …
107,796
— That’s the number of contractors supporting the 65,700 U.S. troops in Afghanistan in March. They represented 62% of the total, according to a new Congressional Research Service report, here. Contractors outnumbered troops in Afghanistan until December 2010, when President Obama’s troop surge arrived. But a subsequent contractor surge made the hired help a majority once again beginning in September 2011. h/t Steven Aftergood, FAS.
A U.S. Army Post Named Fort Osama bin Laden?
Why not?
Former Time colleague Jamie Malanowski had an intriguing piece in the New York Times over the holiday weekend wondering why the U.S. military has at least 10 major bases named in honor – there is no other way to put …
42%
— How much of the Army's tuition assistance -- $127 million of $304 million in 2013 -- is going to for-profit universities. That's a relatively big chunk of change for schools that only enroll 13% of the nation's post-secondary pupils.
Bringing the Uniform Out of the Closet
The unveiling of the of American Psychiatric Association’s fifth edition of its Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders – the key reference in how mental-health professionals diagnose mental ailments – dominated …