Sometimes a military investigation sets off fireworks. Sometimes it confirms what we already knew. That’s the bottom line in the Pentagon probe into the downing of that CH-47 helicopter in Afghanistan on August 6 that killed 38 military personnel, including 30 Americans and 17 SEALs:
Military
More Military Abuse in Afghanistan, Another Suicide
Photo Op: Foggy Fleet Week in San Francisco
All Politics Is Local…
Little tales illuminate big issues. Take defense spending and jobs, for example. It always drives me crazy when government bodies do something completely unrelated to their prescribed role. It happened just last week in Montgomery County, Maryland, just north of D.C. where I happen to live. Yet unrelated doesn’t mean there aren’t …
“Can We Cut Pentagon Spending Enough by Eliminating Waste, Fraud and Abuse?”
They’re three of the Pentagon’s perpetual enemies: waste, fraud and abuse. It’s so common it sometimes morphs an acronym – WFA. If it’s such a big part of military spending, can the Defense Department make its needed cuts simply by ridding itself of the trio? John Nagl, of the Center for a New American Security, and I chat …
Beyond the Battlefield…
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David Wood, a one-time Timester, now covers the military for the Huffington Post. He has just launched an ambitious effort into how the nation is tending to the wars’ worst-wounded. It’s well worth your while to check out the video above, and the opening piece of …
Pork Ranger
As the defense-budget battles heat up – they’ll come to a boil later this week when Defense Secretary Leon Panetta heads to Capitol Hill to say where he thinks the ax should fall – you’ve got to be on the lookout for pyromaniacs in fields of straw men (credit: William F. Buckley via George Will). While a comprehensive review of …
Mutually-Assured Economic Destruction
Confirming our report Friday that China is our next big enemy, the Rand Corp. has just issued a study entitled Conflict with China. It paints a pretty dire picture of U.S. military prospects in China’s ‘hood, and encourages the U.S. to keep developing weapons to keep China at bay. While the study says the prospect of war is …
Putting Women Aboard Subs…And Tweaking the Blueprints
I finally had the opportunity to tour a Trident-class submarine; you know, the large ballistic missile boats, four of which are soon to be home to several women officers. I was surprised at how big it was inside…yet not. Being a surface sailor, I was trying to visualize how this ship could be configured to accommodate enlisted …
Happy 10th, Afghan War
I vividly recall being in the Pentagon 10 years ago today, awaiting the beginning of the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan, a military counterpunch to the 9/11 attacks that had shocked the nation four weeks earlier. Army General Tommy Franks was in charge as the head of U.S. Central Command, and Don Rumsfeldwas the maestro overseeing …
China Syndrome
It’s plain China is our Next Big Enemy. All the experts say so. And even if it isn’t, we have to prepare for war with it in case it comes true. Yum! The self-licking ice cream cone never tasted so good.
So folks are marshalling arguments either to support or knock that notion. Here’s a handy list from the American Enterprise …
How Do We Know If Someone Has PTSD?
Post-traumatic stress disorder is one of the most troubling legacies of our wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Hundreds of thousands of troops and their families are affected. How do we ensure the help – both medical and financial – is going to those who need it? Well, that requires, one would think, a uniform yardstick so folks …
Increasingly Gravely Wounded in Action
The current rate for amputations among U.S. troops serving overseas – primarily in Afghanistan – has reached a post-9/11 high, a full 10 years after the U.S. invaded. This chart (click to enlarge), from the Pentagon’s just-released September Medical Surveillance Monthly Report, (see page 19) shows that 19.5 troops per month are …
