TOKYO — Dozens of U.S. Navy and Japan Maritime Self Defense Force warships gathered in the East China Sea last week as part of a major war exercise — but not that you’d know it. Exercise Keen Sword is held every other …
19%
— The share of the Congress taking office in January with military service. That’s down from the outgoing Congress’s 22% vet share – and less than a quarter of its modern-era 1977 peak, when 80% of the nation's 535 lawmakers were veterans. “Congress cuts the military slack because of their lack of experience,” military historian Richard Kohn told Time last year. “They don’t have a sense of the institutions and the culture, so they’re less likely to exercise insightful or determined oversight.”
Turkey, Pumpkin Pie…and PTSD
When we think of the holidays, phrases like “A holly jolly Christmas” and “It’s the most wonderful time of the year” come to mind for most of us. For our military heroes suffering with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder …
Another Engagement Party
U.S. Army 2nd Lt. Ryan Schulte, platoon leader for the Farah Provincial Reconstruction Team security force, heads back to post after a key-leader engagement gathering in the Pusht-e Rod district of Farah province, Nov. 19.
Turkey Day in Afghanistan
The Pentagon may not be able to audit its books, but it’s always able to get Thanksgiving dinner – with all the fixins’ – to U.S. troops far from home over the holiday.
Just like clockwork, a delicious aroma wafted …
Are Female Troops More Likely to Get PTSD?
Women may be at greater risk of developing post-traumatic stress disorder than men because of what researchers call their “heightened fear response.”
California scientists examined individuals with PTSD symptoms and found that the women in the study developed a stronger fear response than the men during so-called “conditioning …
“The Kellys, like thousands of other military families over the last decade, have felt the heartbreak of war in the most profound way possible.”
— Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta, speaking Monday in Miami of his outgoing senior military assistant, Marine General John Kelly, and his wife, Karen, as Kelly became chief of U.S. Southern Command. Their son, Marine 2nd Lt. Robert M. Kelly, 29, was killed by a land mine while on a foot patrol in Helmand province, Afghanistan, two years ago this month.
Why the Pentagon Costs So Much…
We all grumble about how much the U.S. military costs to run. When we do, we tend to focus on troops (pay, health care, benefits, retirement) and weapons (costly stealth coatings, turbine tank engines, electro-magnetic launchers …
“Improved Ram Air Canopy systems, in particular when used in High Altitude High Opening (HAHO) parachute insertion operations, have extended and continue to extend the parachutist's time aloft. Future insertion operations could exceed 60 minutes from aircraft exit to ground.”
— The Army, explaining why it is in the market for an Advanced High Altitude Parachutist Oxygen Breathing System.
Down in the Weeds with the Pentagon’s Auditors
“Bomber Versus Bomber”
Army Major Miguel Torres spent two tours in Iraq – 2003-2004, and 2007-2008 — doing one of the most important missions there: disabling roadside bombs. You know something is becoming a major problem for the U.S. military when …
Marine Guardian Angel
Marine Corporal Jeffery L. Allen, crew chief with Marine Light Attack Helicopter Squadron (HMLA) 469, Marine Aircraft Group 39, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing (Forward), provides close air support from the door of his UH-1Y Venom …
False Ceiling
A “contract ceiling,” to normal people, is an amount a contract cannot exceed. Brilliant metaphor. Monday evening the Pentagon announced an $8.4 million boost to an engineering contract “to increase the ceiling amount.” Then why call it a ceiling?