The U.S. State Department is flying unarmed drones over Iraq to protect the 16,000 U.S. diplomats and other Americans working in the U.S.’s largest embassy. Washington and Baghdad debated for years, off and on, whether or not …
BattlelandIraq
BattlelandIraq
BattlelandAfghanistan
More From Afghanistan…
If Battleland‘s earlier post Monday about that Army Human Terrain Team report didn’t give you an up-close look at the challenges facing the U.S. military in Afghanistan, check out this summary of how International Women’s Day was noted in the Afghan town of Meymaneh (also spelled Maymana, or Maimana) last year.
It sums up, in four …
Photo Op: Wind Chill
BattlelandArmy
Thanks, General Chiarelli
Tuesday marks the final day in uniform for General Pete Chiarelli, the Army’s vice chief of staff. As the service’s No.2 officer, he has been the key driver on fighting to reduce the mental toll of the nation’s wars on its …
BattlelandPentagon
A Half-Masted `Stars and Stripes’?
Stars and Stripes covers the U.S. military like a blanket and is funded, in part, by the U.S. military. Yep, that’s a built-in conflict of interest. Over the years, the paper has done numerous stories that have ticked off its funder, such as this, that, and the other thing. But that’s what makes it neat: it’s kind of like the grain …
BattlelandPeople
Missileer Tom Amlie, RIP
Navy and Air Force missile expert Thomas S. Amlie has died at 85. His fingerprints – he was part of the simple-is-better school that waxes and wanes in the U.S. military — date back to the Eisenhower Administration:
Tom Amlie worked on the Sidewinder project as a young Navy lieutenant, and he later became technical director at
…
BattlelandWeapons
F-35: Out of Altitude, Airspeed, and Ideas — But Never Money
No program better illustrates the pathologies of the weapons acquisition process as it is currently practiced by the Military – Industrial – Congressional Complex (MICC) than the entirely predictable, and in this case, predicted, …
BattlelandAfghanistan
Snapshots From Afghanistan…
You can listen to generals testifying before Congress all you want – and chat with troops in, or just back, from Afghanistan – but nothing gives you a sense of how things are going as does listening to the folks the U.S. is …
BattlelandClose-up
Battleland Diary, Jan. 21-27
TIME’s photo editors bring you the best pictures from the front lines and home.
BattlelandMilitary Spending
Disappearing Into Thin Air
Thursday’s budget details contained several sky-high decisions worth noting:
— New unmanned aircraft aren’t necessarily cheaper and/or better than old – and Battleland means very old – manned aircraft. (Interesting how the military seems to be able to go back to the future with reconnaissance aircraft, but not fighters or …
BattlelandMilitary Women
A Heroine…Of a Different Kind
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“We are sad to report that Lt. Cmdr. Regina Mills, Nimitz‘ Handler, died Jan. 23 following a multi-vehicle accident on State Route 16 in Kitsap County, Wash….Regina was a great leader and officer. She was a leader and mentor not only to the Sailors and officers in the Air …
BattlelandTroops
Hunting for Our MIAs
A few weeks ago I wrote about the last American service member killed as the U.S. pulled its final troops out of Iraq. Since then, I’ve been haunted by one fact that is sadly overlooked by the media (and even by the Commander in Chief in his State of the Union address on Tuesday night): U.S. Army Staff Sergeant Ahmed Kousay Altaie, …
BattlelandVeterans
Tick, Tick, Tick: Another Absurd Headline
I wrote recently about the press reporting on veteran-committed crimes as a trend of veteran/psychopaths returned from the war. CNN and the Christian Science Monitor were guilty last week. Now it’s USA Today’s turn. According to the bonehead editor who came up with this sensationalist headline, returned veterans are ticking …