BattlelandDon't Ask Don't Tell
Gays and Lesbians, OK. Transgender Folks, Wait Your Turn
The non-news that is the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” continues in a new Congressional Research Service report obtained by Battleland. The bar against openly gay men and women serving in the military has gone so smoothly, it seems like the good scholars at CRS have too look for controversy:
The repeal of the ban on
…
BattlelandCongress
Emphasis On The Con
So the White House recently tweaks an Executive Order. Fourteen lawmakers respond by proposing a sense of the Congress resolution that warns President Obama he is not authorized
to confiscate personal or private property, to force conscription into the Armed Forces on the American people, to force civilians to engage in labor
…
BattlelandChina
The Coming War With China
Is China a peaceful nation that only wants to turn out Apple iPads and iPhones? Or is the Middle Kingdom bent on attacking the U.S.? Beijing is the long, and strong, pole in the tent for the U.S. military – and they know it. China is the new Soviet Union, and perhaps it should be.
But is there a downside to view Beijing through such …
F-18 Accident Aftermath: Vacancies
“We have agreed with Iran to launch a new round of talks in Istanbul on 14 April. We are very pleased that these talks, which will address the international community´s concerns on the Iranian nuclear programme, are going ahead after more than one year since we last met.”
BattlelandMilitary Mental Health
America’s Medicated Army, 2.0
The Los Angeles Times does a good job of refilling the prescription we first filled nearly four years ago:
The Times, over the weekend:
After two long-running wars with escalating levels of combat stress, more than 110,000 active-duty Army troops last year were taking prescribed antidepressants, narcotics, sedatives, antipsychotics
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BattlelandIran
Meanwhile, Back in Iraq: I Came. I Saw. I Conquered. Iran.
Pair of disquieting stories in Easter Sunday’s papers, at home and abroad:
— The Pentagon’s official newspaper, Stars and Stripes, warns in a front-page analysis that Iraq is sliding backwards:
Iraq experts say that recent developments in Iraq and a growing Iranian influence are signs that America’s hopes are dimming for Iraq to
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BattlelandMilitary Families
Deployment Wavers
Some Army families think their soldiers deploy too much. Some Army families have it tougher, in some ways: their soldier has never deployed. Army spouse Jenny Williams writes about it in Sunday’s New York Times’ “Modern Love” …
BattlelandProcurement
Lies, Damned Lies, and The Pentagon’s Latest Budget Numbers
There’s a pair of must-reads just out for anyone paying attention to the Pentagon’s acquisition nightmare: one is a routinely scheduled, but important, report from the Defense Department; the other comes from one of the very …
BattlelandKorea
This Week: North Korean Fireworks?
As Kim Jong-un’s minions ready a rocket for takeoff – likely within this week – his neighbors are marshalling their missile-defense shields in the East Asia Sea and around cities that might be hit by an errant booster or …
BattlelandClose-up
Battleland Diary, March 31-April 6
TIME’s photo editors bring you the best pictures from the front lines and home.
BattlelandSnafus
Collateral Damage: F-18 Crash Could Hurt Base’s Future
The crash of a Navy F-18D Hornet into an apartment complex in Virginia Beach, Virginia, could seal the fate of the Oceana Naval Air Station there. The Navy has been trying for more than a decade to build a practice jet airfield in North Carolina or Virginia to practice simulated carrier landings with Oceana-based aircraft. But local …