Wednesday is the final day in office for the Army’s surgeon general, Lieutenant General Eric Schoomaker. He became the Army’s top doctor four years ago this month. He got the slot after helping improve conditions at the (now …
Pentagon
Sexual Assault in the Military…Again and Again and Again
Sexual harassment, sexual assault and rape are problems that undermine military readiness, reduce morale, harm retention and destroy lives, yet they persist. The issue has been studied ad nauseum with scant progress. Recently, a small group of former service men and women decided to take the fight to the courts. This brave group is …
Super Committee Failure Hits Military Hard
Politicians can shrug off the congressional Super Committee’s failure to agree on meaningful deficit reduction. To them, it’s just another budget gimmick that didn’t pan out. But for the U.S. military, the Super Committee …
War Prize: Iraq Orders Its F-16s
Three weeks before all U.S. troops are out of Iraq, the U.S. Air Force has just awarded – on behalf of Baghdad – an $835 million contract to Lockheed Martin for 18 F-16 jet fighters. Even before the deal was inked, Iraqi …
$27 a Gallon: Fueling the Navy’s Great Green(back) Fleet
The Navy – along with its newest ally, the Agriculture Department – announced Monday that they are purchasing nearly a half-million gallons of biofuels for an air-sea military exercise next summer. “Our use of fossil fuels …
Watching SEAL Team 6
U.S.-Pakistani Relations Continue Tailspin
So how well did President Obama’s telephoned condolences to Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari on Sunday go over? The call was intended to smooth relations between the two nations ruptured 10 days ago when NATO aircraft …
Iran: We Shot Down That Missing U.S. Drone
The Iranian government declared on Dec. 4 that it had downed a U.S. RQ-170 Sentinel drone over the eastern part of the country. U.S. officials quickly disputed the claim but acknowledged that one of their drones had been flying …
Charges of “Cruelty” by a Second Navy Female Skipper Substantiated
Last year, we wrote about Navy Captain Holly Graf, and how she was found guilty of “cruelty and maltreatment” of her crew aboard the cruiser USS Cowpens. One year ago Saturday, a panel of three admirals recommended she be booted …
Afghanistan: Looks Like Victory From Here
Charts can make clear too often what words only obscure. Take this arresting graphic, contained in a new Congressional Research Service study made available by Steven Aftergood of the Federation of American Scientists (CRS …
New, Improved Marine Targets
Targets have long been a low-tech item in the military’s hardware account. But that may soon be changing: the Marines are now testing life-size moving targets – mounted on Segway scooters – so its riflemen can practice against something more realistic. Bonus: once hit, the dummy falls down, as in this screen grab. Check out a …
Live: Pak Death Attack Scene
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Pakistan’s military has released video footage from the scene of Saturday’s mistaken nighttime U.S. air raid that killed 24 Pakistani troops. While U.S. officials believe Pakistan’s civilian government would like to get relations between Islamabad and Washington …
The Return of the Keening Violins
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The Republicans on the House Armed Services Committee have rolled out another video predicting doom for the nation if defense spending is cut back to 2007 levels (check out the prequel). And, under the sequestration provisions contained in the super-committee legislation, the cuts …