US military

Stories 341 - 360 | << Prev   Next >>

Pol: Army Tricked Taxpayers With 'Dead' $725M Program

Controversial program is actually still up and running and may even get more funding

(Newser) - Its name was the Human Terrain System, what USA Today labels a "controversial battlefield anthropology program" supposedly shut down by the US Army in 2014 after allegations of racism, sexual harassment, and funny business with time sheets, among other issues. Or so its demise was believed: The initiative—which...

Coming Soon: Official Death Toll of US Drone Strikes

But it won't cover those in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Syria

(Newser) - The White House has for the first time promised to release the death toll of civilian and non-civilian casualties from US drone strikes going back to 2009, reports the Guardian . Or at least some drone strikes: The disclosure won't cover those in areas of "active hostilities" such as...

Military Will Start Freezing Soldiers' Eggs and Sperm

It wants them to start families later and not worry about genital injuries

(Newser) - In an effort to keep young military enlistees from leaving to start a family, the Pentagon is going to start offering to freeze their eggs and sperm, the New York Times reports. According to the Military Times , nearly 72% of enlistees are 30 or younger—prime years for starting a...

Top Generals Want Women to Register for Draft

'Every American who's physically qualified should register'

(Newser) - The US military's opening of all combat roles to women has also apparently opened the door for unisex conscription. At a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on Tuesday, the chiefs of the Army and Marine Corps testified that they believe it's time for women to register for the...

US Soldier Killed in Taliban Attack

2 others wounded in Helmand province on Tuesday: officials

(Newser) - An American Special Ops soldier was killed and at least two Americans were wounded in Afghanistan on Tuesday, reports Fox News . Officials say forces were taking part in a counter-terrorism mission near Marjah in Helmand province when they were targeted by Taliban fighters, per NBC News , which was first to...

Hundreds of Military Kids Sexually Abused Each Year

The AP reveals Defense Department data

(Newser) - Cpl. Aaron Masa became fast friends with a fellow Marine during field training in North Carolina. But behind his buddy's back, Masa was sexually abusing his friend's 3-year-old stepdaughter. He also took sexually explicit photos of the girl and the Marine's infant daughter. The case, in which...

Army Makes Sole Exception to Beard Rule

Sikh combat soldier could set a precedent

(Newser) - A decorated US Army captain has become the first active-duty combat soldier in decades allowed to wear a beard for religious reasons. Simratpal Singh—who had to cut off the long hair and beard his religion requires when he signed up almost a decade ago—was granted a temporary exemption...

2 Afghan Trainees AWOL From US Base

'Zero indication' that men are a threat, authorities say

(Newser) - Two Afghan airmen who didn't show up for training at a US Air Force base in Georgia on Monday are missing, and authorities suspect it's because they don't want to go home. An Air Force spokesman tells USA Today that law enforcement officials are searching for Mirwais...

Missile Launch to Light Up Sky Across Southwest

Test may be seen for hundreds of miles

(Newser) - An early morning missile test in New Mexico could light up the sky for hundreds of miles Thursday morning, and authorities are ready for the flood of phone calls and emails that are likely to follow. The unarmed Juno target missile will be launched between 6:30am and 7:30am...

US Military Opens All Combat Roles to Women

'It’s a thrilling day for women serving in the military'

(Newser) - Repealing a 21-year-old rule, defense secretary Ash Carter announced Thursday that all military combat positions will now be open to women, the New York Times reports. According to CNN , that includes about 220,000 jobs in reconnaissance, infantry, and more that had previously been open only to men. "Women...

Iraqis' Conspiracy Theory: the US Is Helping ISIS

Officials say idea is spread by Iran to erode US influence

(Newser) - A Shiite commander in northern Iraq says the Islamic State is "almost finished" and could be defeated in days "if only America would stop supporting them." Wait, what? The Washington Post reports many Iraqi fighters and civilians in fact believe that the US is helping ISIS, even...

US Defies China, Sails Close to Disputed Territory

Things are getting tense in the South China Sea

(Newser) - The US sent China a hard-to-miss message Tuesday—in the form of a naval destroyer—that it thinks Beijing is over-reaching in its claim of disputed waters in the South China Sea. The USS Lassen sailed close to manmade islands constructed by Beijing, and China says it monitored and warned...

Jarring Stat Shows Why US Is Dumping Syrian Training

Major overhaul in $500M strategy in the works

(Newser) - The White House is pulling the plug on a strategy to train Syrian rebels that by all accounts has been an expensive flop. The $500 million Pentagon program that began in December had been designed to put more than 5,000 fighters on the ground this year alone to fight...

Doctors Without Borders Seeks First-of-Its-Kind Inquiry

'Even war has rules," says group of airstrike on hospital

(Newser) - Doctors Without Borders isn't letting the deadly airstrike on a hospital in Afghanistan slip quietly away. The group Wednesday called the US bombing that killed 12 of its staffers and 10 patients "an attack on the Geneva Conventions" and called for an unprecedented independent investigation, reports Voice of...

Suspected US Strike on Hospital Kills 16, Including Children

Doctors Without Borders says US knew where Afghan clinic was

(Newser) - The international charity Doctors Without Borders says at least nine local staffers and seven patients—including three children—were killed when its clinic came under "sustained bombing" Saturday in the northern Afghan city of Kunduz, where Afghan officials say helicopter gunships had returned fire from Taliban sheltering in the...

6 US Service Members Die in Afghanistan Crash

5 passengers on C-130 also killed; Taliban claims responsibility

(Newser) - A C-130 transport plane crashed overnight at an air base in eastern Afghanistan, killing six US airmen and five passengers, the US military said Friday. A NATO official says the crash happened around midnight Thursday at Jalalabad Airport, 80 miles from the capital Kabul. The six US service members who...

US Troops: We Were Told to Ignore Pedophile Allies

Abuse of boys widespread on Afghanistan bases

(Newser) - American troops in Afghanistan say they were sickened to discover that many of the Afghan allies they worked with sexually abused young boys—and that they were expected to ignore it. Soldiers and Marines tell the New York Times that they were ordered not to intervene even when Afghan commanders...

Poll: 29% of Americans Could Back US Military Coup

That rises to 43% among Republicans

(Newser) - Americans in general trust their military—and 29% of them trust so much that they can imagine supporting a military takeover of the government, according to a YouGov poll. That rose to 43% among Republicans, while just 20% of Democrats said they could envision supporting a military coup in the...

Pentagon May Be Fudging Numbers in ISIS Fight

Its inspector general is looking into allegations

(Newser) - Next time a US policy maker is talking about the progress being made against ISIS, it might be wise to be extra skeptical. The New York Times reports that the Pentagon's inspector general is looking into allegations that intelligence analyses are being goosed to present a picture rosier than...

Explosion Shakes US Base in Japan

It lit up the sky in Tokyo suburb

(Newser) - Multiple explosions and a large fire at a US Army depot lit up the night sky in a Tokyo suburb early today. The blast happened after midnight at the Sagami General Depot in Sagamihara, a city about 25 miles southwest of Tokyo, a Pentagon press officer says. The building that...

Stories 341 - 360 | << Prev   Next >>