Joe Klein’s cover story, How Service Can Save Us in last week’s Time, identifies several critical issues that must be further explored and better understood if we are to more successfully engage and support the men, women, and …
National
Gay Pride…at the Pentagon
It may be tough for some to believe, but Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel led the celebration of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Pride Month in the Pentagon auditorium Wednesday.
“We’re very proud of everything the gay and …
“I think that the biggest threat to our future sits in Washington, D.C., and not some place else. The rest of the problems of the world wouldn't worry me if we had a functional government and a Congress that could actually begin to address some of the longer-term problems.”
— Former defense secretary and CIA chief Robert Gates, speaking to Hearst media executives Monday night in New York City.
Making a Difference in Farah Province
FARAH Province — It’s been an amazing experience out here in western Afghanistan, where I spent the last nine months. I’ve had the opportunity to work with local communicators as a liaison to the local Provincial Reconstruction …
The Hastings-Snowden Axis: What’s Going On?
The tragic death of reporter Michael Hastings last week, and the flight of NSA leader Edward Snowden this week, suggest — crudely but effectively — why the center of U.S. national-security strategy is weakening.
Pondering PTSD Progress
The beauty of last Saturday morning, so close by the Capitol’s gleaming dome, made the incongruity of discussing post-traumatic stress disorder all the more startling.
But that’s what we were there to do by commemorating …
Looming Student Loan Spike Stirs Controversy
Over seven million college students will see their subsidized student-loan rates double on July 1 if Congress can’t reach a compromise to avert the hike
Sniffing Out Allies
Staff Sgt. Alex sniffs for bombs among the bags of new Afghan police officers in Kunar province June 5.
When Something’s Not Quite Right
You might get a sense something’s a little fishy when Company 1 bids half the total of Company 2 for a year-long contract to “ensure that the ORION O2 program is successfully and seamlessly integrated onto the ORION Data …
Fresh from War, Veterans Need Interpreters to Land Jobs
Up Next: Scum
An Army contract announced Monday:
McMillen LLC, Boise, Idaho, was awarded a firm-fixed-price, option-included contract with a value of $10,088,000 for the maintenance and development of ponds in Napa, Calif., with the goal of
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“The ongoing literacy program deserves mention with regard to the development of ANA [Afghan National Army] leadership. The success of this program was essential to improving nearly all aspects of the ANA and was critical to leader development. Literacy remains an enabler for soldier and NCO development, and creates a more discerning citizen for Afghan society. Despite challenges, the program had achieved impressive results and appeared to be well received throughout the ANA.”
— From a Pentagon inspector general's report, here, released Monday.
A One-Time SEAL on Those Female SEAL-Wannabes
The decision to scrap the Direct Ground Combat Definition and Assignment Rule of 1994 by then-defense secretary Leon Panetta earlier this year did not immediately put women into combat.
But it has led to Pentagon review of how …