US military

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Navy's New Stealth Drone Makes Maiden Flight

X-47B can take off and land from aircraft carrier

(Newser) - The US Navy says the next big leap forward in unmanned aerial warfare has successfully made its first flight. The robotic, bat-winger X-47B drone is designed to take off and land from aircraft carriers, a feat described as one of the most difficult in aviation. The military hopes the technology...

20K Troops, Vets Lost Their Homes Last Year

But VA says that number could have been much worse

(Newser) - Last year saw the most military foreclosures since 2003, despite efforts from Veterans Affairs to counsel and assist floundering servicemen. More than 20,000 active-duty troops, reservists, and veterans who’d taken out special government-backed mortgages lost their homes last year, the USA Today reports, and foreclosure filings in the...

Amnesty to UK: Manning Is British —So Help Him

Jailed private inherited British citizenship from mother

(Newser) - The US Army private accused of providing WikiLeaks with a vast trove of classified information is a British citizen and the UK should be doing more to look out for his interests, say rights groups. Bradley Manning, who has been held in a military prison since last July, is an...

US Should Treat Pirates Like Terrorists: Vice Admiral

To stop piracy, follow the money and bust the network

(Newser) - The problem of piracy in the Gulf of Aden might be receiving less attention in the media these days, but it has not gone away. In fact, hostage-taking is up, from 350 people in captivity in September to 750 today. Ransoms are a million-dollar business for pirates, who are also...

Air Force Official Pleads Guilty to Sexual Misconduct

Senior airman says he was 'caught up in a cycle of sin'

(Newser) - A senior official at an Ohio Air Force base who says he was "caught up in a cycle of sin" faces a dishonorable discharge and a long sentence in a military prison. Chief Master Sgt. William Gurney pleaded guilty yesterday to 13 charges of adultery and sexual misconduct stemming...

Troops Suicides Increase
 Military Suicides Jump 
Jan 24, 2011 4:15 PM CST

Military Suicides Jump

As many, if not more lost to suicide than combat

(Newser) - Admiral Mike Mullen's ominous prediction of a continuing rash of military suicides looks to be spot on—though suicides in 2010 didn't surpass combat deaths as they did in 2009, they did significantly jump, from 381 to 434, Congress.org reports. But that combined tally of 434 is also a...

Discharging Gays Cost Pentagon $193M

Each discharged service member cost $53K to replace

(Newser) - Recruiting and training replacements for gay service members discharged under the military's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy cost the Pentagon a whopping $193 million from 2004 to 2009, according to the Government Accountability Office. The analysis found that 1,442 of the 3,664 service members dismissed for being...

Air Force Sentences HIV 'Swinger' to 8 Years

Airman David Gutierrez guilty of exposing partners to virus

(Newser) - A US Air Force sergeant who exposed partners to HIV at swingers' parties has been sentenced to 8 years in a military prison. David Gutierrez was convicted on charges including aggravated assault and failure to obey orders to use a condom and inform partners of his HIV-positive status, the BBC...

Solar Panels Power Marines in Afghanistan

Alternative energy test wins over skeptics

(Newser) - US Marines in Afghanistan say flexible solar panels aren't just helping them cut back on fuel consumption, they're making military personnel safer. A unit testing the Solar Portable Alternative Communications Energy System—SPACES—says it reduced generators' diesel consumption from 20 gallons a day to 2.5 gallons a day,...

Iraqi Soldier Kills Two US Troops
Iraqi Soldier Kills
Two US Troops
Jan 15, 2011 2:06 PM CST

Iraqi Soldier Kills Two US Troops

Attack came as Americans were conducting a training exercise

(Newser) - Two US troops were killed today by an Iraqi soldier who apparently smuggled real bullets into a training exercise and opened fire. A US military official said the shooter was immediately killed by American soldiers who were running the morning drill at a training center on a base in the...

Pentagon Panel: End Combat Ban for Women

Draft report calls restrictions discriminatory

(Newser) - Another military taboo to fall? It looks like the ban on women serving in direct combat roles is in jeopardy. An advisory panel's draft report declares that the practice of restricting women's duties is behind the times and discriminatory, the Huffington Post reports. Among other things, the panel says it...

Loughner Failed Drug Test in Attempt to Join Army

He attempted to enlist in December 2008

(Newser) - More background on Gabrielle Giffords' would-be assassin: Jared Lee Loughner was rejected from the US Army in 2008 because he failed a drug test, says a military official. The official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said he wasn't sure what drug Loughner tested positive for. The Army has...

US Will Beef Up Military to Counter China

China's military buildup requires a US response, says defense secretary

(Newser) - With China quickly growing as a regional power, the US military is stepping up investment in a range of military technologies, including a long-range nuclear-capable bomber aircraft, a new generation of electronic jammers, and a radar-evading fighter jet, reports the New York Times . China has concerned many with its own...

Navy Videos Show Depths of Homophobia in Military
Navy Videos Show Depths
of Homophobia in Military
MEGHAN MCCAIN
Jan 7, 2011 5:40 PM CST

Navy Videos Show Depths of Homophobia in Military

Meghan McCain: Gay service members can come out, but who'd want to?

(Newser) - Former Navy Capt. Owen Honors' homophobic videos raise a big question in the wake of the repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell, writes Meghan McCain in the Daily Beast . Now that gay service members can serve openly, why on earth would they in that kind of environment? "What gay...

Pentagon Plans a Rarity: No More Budget Increases

Gates says they won't be necessary by 2015

(Newser) - For the first time in more than a decade defined by costly wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, the Pentagon announced plans today to freeze its budget, forcing the military to shrink the Army and Marines and increase health care premiums for troops and their families. The Pentagon says it can...

Suicides at Fort Hood Double Last Year

Army thinks 22 soldiers at the base took their own lives

(Newser) - More bleak numbers on military suicides: The Army reports that a record-high 22 soldiers either killed themselves are or suspected of doing so at Fort Hood last year. The number is twice the figure from 2009, and the rate is more than double that of the same age group among...

Pentagon to Slash $100B From Budget

Weapons systems in development to be axed

(Newser) - Defense Secretary Robert Gates is set to unveil details of some $100 billion in Pentagon spending cuts, sources tell Reuters . The savings, which could be announced as early as Thursday, are expected to include cuts to some weapons programs, including the Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle, a 40-ton landing craft being developed...

Derelict Iraqi Water Park a Symbol of US Fund Abuses

Program gave US officers great flexibility, but also led to waste

(Newser) - A derelict water park in Baghdad is testament to the waste and mismanagement of a $5 billion rebuilding program run by the US military in Iraq and Afghanistan over the past six years, reports the Washington Post . The Commander's Emergency Response Program all but did away with bureaucratic hassles, giving...

Iran: We Shot Down Spy Planes
Iran: We Shot Down
Spy Planes
Jan 3, 2011 1:22 AM CST

Iran: We Shot Down Spy Planes

US denies any knowledge of drone downing

(Newser) - Iran officials are boasting that their nation's military shot down two Western spy planes. But no one is claiming the drones. The planes, "capable of taking photographs," were blasted over the Persian Gulf, Iran's air force commander told a local wire service. But a US source says there...

'Rent-a-General' Business Is Booming for Contractors
'Rent-a-General' Business
Is Booming for Contractors
investigation
Dec 26, 2010 2:06 PM CST

'Rent-a-General' Business Is Booming for Contractors

When officers retire, the vast majority pick up lucrative consulting jobs

(Newser) - For America's military generals, retirement is when the real money starts pouring in. It's no secret that former officers often show up on the payrolls of defense contractors, but a Boston Globe investigation into what it terms the "rent-a-general" business puts some eyebrow-raising numbers to the trend: 80% of...

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