Peter Kassig is a former U.S. Army Ranger who deployed to Iraq in 2007. I met this 24-year-old Indiana native while taking an entry-level Arabic course in Beirut last year. Since then, Peter has gone on to help Syrian refugees in …
National
The Hagel Choice
“We are committed to achieving auditable financial statements in the Department of Defense…I recognize there's more to do here and that we haven't fundamentally changed some problems for the Department of Defense, like growth and operating costs, and acquisition costs, and, indeed, also growth in military compensation.”
— Robert Hale, the Pentagon's comptroller – aka, the top money man – speaking Monday at the Brookings Institution in Washington.
President Obama Taps Former GOP Senator Chuck Hagel to Run Pentagon
For the third time in 15 years, a Democratic President has turned to a member of the Republican Party to run his Pentagon. On Monday afternoon, President Obama nominated former Senator Chuck Hagel of Nebraska to serve as …
The Cost of a Post-2014 U.S. Force
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
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 …
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 …
“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.
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
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 …
The War on Tater Tots: Enlisting Daycare Centers in the Fight Against Childhood Obesity
Mississippi, the state with the highest rate of both childhood obesity and childhood poverty, is trying to improve the diets of its youngest inhabitants