US military

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Pentagon Ready to Lift Ban on Transgender Troops

It could happen within days, source says

(Newser) - The end of the Pentagon's ban on transgender troops serving openly could be just days away. It has been almost a year since Defense Secretary Ash Carter ordered a review to determine whether lifting the ban would affect military readiness, and sources tell USA Today that the Pentagon will...

Irate With US, Okinawa Stages Massive Protest

Some 65K protest American military presence after rape, killing of local woman

(Newser) - Tens of thousands on Okinawa protested Sunday against the presence of US military bases, reports the AP , many wearing black to mourn the rape and killing of a local woman in which an American contractor is a suspect. The rally called for a review of the US-Japanese security agreement, which...

Navy Bans Booze for All Personnel in Japan

Okinawa crash was the last straw

(Newser) - The US Navy banned drinking and restricted off-base activity Monday for all 18,600 of its personnel in Japan after a sailor was arrested on suspicion of drunk driving on the island of Okinawa, the AP reports. In the latest incident to spark public anger in Japan, Petty Officer 2nd...

New Miss USA Is Army Officer

DC's Deshauna Barber will take a break from the Reserve

(Newser) - The newly crowned Miss USA is a 26-year-old Army officer from the District of Columbia who gave perhaps the strongest answer of the night when asked about women in combat. "As a woman in the United States Army, I think ... we are just as tough as men. As a...

American Contractor Arrested in Japanese Woman's Death

The arrest has increased tensions between the US military and Japan

(Newser) - An American contractor working on a US military base in Japan was arrested Thursday in connection with the death of a 20-year-old Japanese woman, the Washington Post reports. According to the AP , 32-year-old Kenneth Gadson told Japanese police where they could find the woman's body. Rina Shimbukuro had been...

Female Ranger Grad Makes History Again

Kristen Griest becomes first female infantry officer

(Newser) - She made history once. Now she's done it again. Kristen Griest, one of the first female soldiers to earn a Ranger tab , has become the US Army's first female infantry officer after the military overturned a ban on women in combat positions, reports the Army Times . "Like...

Cause of Air Force Crash: Forgotten Plastic Case

Case used for holding night vision goggles was left where it shouldn't have been

(Newser) - The Taliban was quick to claim responsibility for downing an Air Force transport plane in Afghanistan in October, killing 11 aboard the C-130J and three Afghans manning a guard tower, per the Washington Post . But the Air Force has finally announced the real reason for the crash: a hard plastic...

US Troops' Gun Sights Can Be Off by a Foot

Thermal drift has been known about for months

(Newser) - EOTech, a firm that has supplied gun sights to the US military, admits that its Holographic Weapon Sight suffers from a defect known as thermal drift. And in November, the company's parent L-3 Communications Corp. agreed to pay $25.6 million to settle a lawsuit brought by the federal...

Navy to Let Sailors Have Neck and Full Sleeve Tattoos

'This policy change is about being honest with ourselves'

(Newser) - The brave men and women protecting our waters are now free to get all tatted up. The Navy announced Thursday it's easing tattoo restrictions for sailors, the Virginian-Pilot reports. Under the new guidelines, which go into effect April 30, sailors will be allowed one small tattoo on the neck...

This Could Be Our First-Ever Female Combatant Commander

President Obama to name Lori Robinson as head of Northern Command

(Newser) - President Obama will name Air Force General Lori Robinson to lead the military's Northern Command, Defense Secretary Ash Carter said Friday. It's one of the top US military positions and Robinson would be the most senior general overseeing North American activities. She "would also be the first...

US Disciplines at Least 12 for Airstrike on Hospital

Strike on Doctors Without Borders hospital a 'tragic but avoidable accident'

(Newser) - More than a dozen US military personnel have been disciplined, but face no criminal charges, for errors that led to the aerial attack on a civilian hospital that killed 42 people in northern Afghanistan last year, say US defense officials speaking anonymously. Per the AP , the officials say the disciplinary...

Poll of US Troops Reveals Surprising Frontrunners

'The outsider candidates’ messages are resonating with individuals in uniform'

(Newser) - An unscientific survey on the presidential preferences of 931 active-duty troops, reservists, and National Guard members found a surprising frontrunner among America's military: Donald Trump. Trump secured 27% support in the survey conducted by the Military Times . Equally surprising: Bernie Sanders took second place with 22%. The Times points...

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...

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