US military

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US Troops May Stay in Afghanistan Until 2024

Telegraph : Deal would keep 'thousands'

(Newser) - The US already has spent a decade fighting in Afghanistan, and the Telegraph suggests it might spend a decade or so more. The British paper reports that US and Afghan officials are close to a deal that would keep "thousands" of US troops in the country until 2024—not...

Pentagon Eyes Huge Military Retirement Overhaul

Switching to 401(K)-style plan could save $250B

(Newser) - The Pentagon is considering a major overhaul of the military pension system that would save $250 billion over 20 years. Under the proposal, the system in which service members can retire after 20 years with half their salary would be replaced by a 401(K)-style plan, CBS reports. Service members would...

Cheating Rampant in Navy's Submarine Crews: Report

Commander, tenth of USS Memphis crew fired

(Newser) - The Navy discovered cheating so widespread among one of its nuclear submarine crews that it fired the commander of the USS Memphis and 10% of its crew, according to a report obtained by the AP . Sailors were emailed the answers before qualification exams and openly asked their officers for answer...

Obama Visits Dover to Salute Fallen SEALs

He will meet privately with troops' families today

(Newser) - President Obama made an unannounced visit to Dover Air Force Base today to be on hand as the coffins of 30 US troops were carried off a plane, reports USA Today . The ceremony was closed to the press. The troops, many of them members of an elite Navy SEALS unit,...

NATO: Taliban Rocket Likely Downed Helicopter

Officials working to recover every single piece

(Newser) - The helicopter that crashed over the weekend in Afghanistan, killing 30 US troops and eight others, was likely shot down by a Taliban rocket, NATO forces said today. Though the Taliban was quick to claim responsibility, Western officials had been tight-lipped until today's announcement, Reuters notes. The Navy SEALs...

AP: Crash Victims Include SEALs Who Killed bin Laden
SEALs From Elite Unit Killed in Afghan Crash
updated
Aug 6, 2011 11:40 AM CDT

SEALs From Elite Unit Killed in Afghan Crash

They weren't the same men who got bin Laden, however

(Newser) - US officials tell the Associated Press that they believe none of the Navy SEALs who died in today's helicopter crash in Afghanistan had participated in the raid that killed Osama bin Laden, although they were from the same unit that carried out the bin Laden mission. In all, 30...

Watchdog: Iraq Less Safe Than a Year Ago

US inspector issues bleak report 5 months before withdrawal

(Newser) - A report on Iraq five months before the US withdrawal doesn't exactly inspire confidence: "It is less safe, in my judgment, than 12 months ago," declares Stuart Bowen, the official appointed by Congress to keep an eye on the transition. He cites an increase in bombings and...

Ex-Joint Chiefs Chairman Shalikashvili Dead

He was first foreign-born person to hold the post

(Newser) - Retired Army Gen. John Shalikashvili, the first foreign-born chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who counseled President Bill Clinton on the use of troops in Bosnia and other trouble spots, has died at age 75. The native of Poland held the top military job at the Pentagon in the...

Don't Ask, Don't Tell Repeal to Be Certified by Leon Panetta
 Panetta to Certify DADT Repeal 
Jul 22, 2011 7:50 AM CDT

Panetta to Certify DADT Repeal

New defense chief to start 60-day repeal countdown

(Newser) - Defense Secretary Leon Panetta will sign the death warrant for "Don't Ask Don't Tell" soon after he is officially sworn in today, according to Pentagon sources. Panetta and other defense chiefs will certify that the military is ready to ax the policy barring gays from serving openly,...

Army Ranger Leroy Petry Awarded Medal of Honor

Sergeant lost hand throwing live grenade away from comrades

(Newser) - An Army Ranger from New Mexico who lost his right hand saving the lives of two fellow soldiers in Afghanistan has become only the second living recipient of the Medal of Honor since the Vietnam War. Sgt. First Class Leroy Petry had already been shot in both legs during a...

Anonymous: We Swiped 90K Military Passwords

Steals them from Booz Allen Hamilton, then taunts contractor with tweet

(Newser) - "You have a security policy? We never noticed." So tweeted Anonymous to US military contractor Booz Allen Hamilton after members of the online activist group stole tens of thousands of encrypted military passwords from it and posted them to the Web. Although the passwords had all been encrypted...

Court Scuttles 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell'

Ruling kills policy ahead of military repeal certification

(Newser) - A federal appeals court has hammered what could be the final nail into the coffin of the Pentagon's ban on gays serving openly in the military. The court reinstated an earlier injunction blocking the military from enforcing the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy, reports the San ...

White House Will Write to Families of Military Suicides

Administration reverses policy to help 'destigmatize' problem

(Newser) - With suicides in the US military on the rise , the White House has changed its policy and will send letters of condolences to the soldiers' families, notes Jezebel . "The president feels strongly that we need to destigmatize the mental health costs of war to prevent these tragic deaths, and...

iPhone App Tracks Taliban Fighters

Army captain designed Tactical Nav for combat use

(Newser) - An iPhone app designed to track down Taliban positions and call in covering fire if necessary is being offered for sale on iTunes. US Army Captain Jonathan Springer says he came up with the idea for the app—which is being marketed to hikers as well as soldiers—after two...

Cops: Imposter Posed as Soldier for Seat Upgrade

Long Island man arrested after flight to Dominican Republic

(Newser) - A Long Island man was arrested after he allegedly posed as a soldier and scored a bump-up to a first-class plane seat from New York to the Dominican Republic. Rock Diaz, 22, had the basic look—he was wearing a standard Army uniform—but he flubbed the details, the New ...

Obama: 'Time to Focus on Nation-Building' at Home

33K 'surge' troops will be home by next summer

(Newser) - President Obama outlined his Afghanistan strategy in a prime-time address tonight, with no late surprises on the numbers: As expected , the US will bring home 10,000 troops by the end of 2011 and rest of the "surge" force (about 23,000 troops) by the end of next summer,...

Obama to Bring Home 30K Troops by End of 2012
Obama to Bring Home 30K Troops by Fall of 2012
speech preview
Jun 22, 2011 3:42 PM CDT

Obama to Bring Home 30K Troops by Fall of 2012

That's faster than the military would like in Afghanistan

(Newser) - A few hours ahead of President Obama's prime-time address on Afghanistan, administration officials are leaking some main points to the AP , Washington Post , and the New York Times :
  • Obama will bring home 10,000 troops this year and another 20,000 or so by the end of next summer.
...

Obama to Pull 10K Troops From Afghanistan

Officials say that's the number he's settled on for 2011

(Newser) - President Obama will outline his plans for starting to get American troops out of Afghanistan in a speech to the nation tomorrow night, and officials tell the Los Angeles Times that the magic number for 2011 will be 10,000. That's more than what many were hoping to hear:...

Military at Work on Bug-Sized Drones

'Spy flies' expected by 2030 as drones take ever-bigger war role

(Newser) - Predators are just the beginning: The US military is building drones of all shapes, imitating bugs and birds not only in flight techniques but also in tiny size. An Ohio Air Force base has a flight lab known as the “microaviary,” where experts study “how you hide...

Pig Bladder Hormone Allows Vet to Re-Grow Leg Muscles

Right thigh muscles regenerated after experimental treatment

(Newser) - Marine Isaias Hernandez lost 70% of the muscles in his right thigh in a mortar explosion in Afghanistan. Such extreme damage usually requires that the leg be amputated. Not in Hernandez's case. Instead, he was injected with a growth hormone that comes from pig bladders—and his leg muscle...

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