military

Stories 121 - 140 | << Prev   Next >>

Colin Powell Backs Repeal of 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell'

Architect of military's gay ban says times have changed

(Newser) - Colin Powell says he supports efforts to repeal Don't Ask, Don't Tell. Powell, who proposed the policy as a compromise in 1993 while serving as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, says he "fully" backs the plan outlined by defense chief Robert Gates and Adm. Mike Mullen, who...

Military to Ease Off on 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell'

Gays outed by third parties won't be prosecuted

(Newser) - The military will no longer aggressively pursue disciplinary action against gay service members who are outed by a third party, the Pentagon will announce today. Under the new policy, gay personnel would face discharge only if they go public themselves on their sexual orientation. Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Adm....

Prosecutors Hope Plea Deals Will Close Gitmo Cases

Federal, Military prosecutors fight for rare testimony

(Newser) - Federal and military prosecutors looking to convict Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and other high-profile Guantanamo Bay detainees are competing with each other to offer plea bargains to lower-profile inmates in exchange for testimony. Some detainees have remained at Gitmo because they are considered too difficult to prosecute, and the evidence against...

Marine Beats Terrorist... Er, Orthodox Priest

Reservist may be guilty of hate crime in Tampa, police say

(Newser) - A Marine reservist in Tampa chased down a terrorist and beat him with a tire iron—only the terrorist was actually a lost tourist and Greek Orthodox priest who spoke little English. Jasen D. Bruce went after Alexios Marakis after Marakis approached him asking for directions. Bruce chased him for...

Iraq, Afghan War Reporter Said to Be a Spy

... or so Gawker thinks

(Newser) - A war correspondent whose rescues in the Mideast have cost several lives is a spy for Washington, Gawker claims, declining to name names or reveal, for "blazingly obvious reasons," the sources for this report, except to say that they are current and former special forces troops. "We...

Air Force Pulls Video After Marines Complain

Recruiting vid says airman 'in better shape'

(Newser) - The Air Force hastily pulled down its latest recruiting video yesterday in response to a complaint from a high-ranking Marine Corps official. In the video, an Air Force instructor boasts that his charges leave basic training “in better shape than most Marines.” Marines spotted it on the Air...

Navy Will Allow Women to Serve on Submarines

Female officers will be the first to join sub crews

(Newser) - The Navy is going to start allowing women to serve on submarines, with the first female officers reporting for duty in 2011. The close confinement of subs has kept co-ed crews at bay, but that's going to change, reports the Honolulu Advertiser. “I believe women should have every opportunity...

Obama Lashed McChrystal in Tense Faceoff

Prez reads commander riot act over his 'Chaos-istan' dig

(Newser) - President Obama's talk last week aboard Air Force One with Afghanistan commander Gen. Stanley McChrystal wasn't merely a meeting, as was widely reported in the press, but a dressing down over the general's "shocking" recent comments calling for more troops, says the Telegraph. McChrystal was called on the carpet...

Bush Redux? Runaway Exec Power Traps Obama, Too
Bush Redux? Runaway Exec Power Traps Obama, Too
OPINION
Sep 28, 2009 7:34 AM CDT

Bush Redux? Runaway Exec Power Traps Obama, Too

Every modern president succumbs to the National Security State, writes Wills

(Newser) - George W. Bush expanded executive power to an extreme degree, but he wasn't an exception, writes historian Garry Wills. Since World War II, the presidency has accrued massive, unintended authority—controlling nuclear weapons, intelligence agencies, and a worldwide military network under "the cult of the commander in chief."...

Aussies May Let Female Soldiers Fight

Proposal sparks fierce debate over women's fitness for combat role

(Newser) - The Australian military may change its guidelines to allow women soldiers to serve in front-line combat roles, the AP reports. The country's defense minister says he believes all service roles should be open to women if they can meet the physical demands, and the move may help persuade more females...

Troops Fume Over Proposed Smoking Ban

'If I were forced to quit, I'd probably be unbearable,' says one

(Newser) - Since the days of Gen. Douglas MacArthur’s signature corncob pipe, through the rationing of cigarettes during World War II, smoking has been ingrained part of military culture. But a new proposal to introduce a smoking ban in the armed forces is sparking fierce opposition, with some saying it could...

Army Probes Charges That Worker Spied on Protesters

Members say employee used alias to get names, email addresses

(Newser) - Officials are investigating charges by two anti-war groups that a civilian employee for the Army spent more than 2 years infiltrating their organizations under an assumed name, reports the New York Times. The groups, active near one of the nation’s largest military bases close to Tacoma, Wash., say criminal...

New GI Bill Gives Veterans Better Shot at College

Vastly expanded aid begins tomorrow

(Newser) - The new GI Bill, called the biggest veterans’ educational benefit program since 1944, takes effect tomorrow—and it’s poised to make a big difference, the Houston Chronicle reports. Some 90% of vets will receive two to three times more help paying for college, says one advocate. “This type...

Nigerian Troops Attack Militants' Mosque, Kill 100

Group blamed for wave of violence; leader escapes

(Newser) - Nigerian security forces killed more than 100 militants yesterday as they shelled then stormed the mosque and compound of an Islamist sect blamed for days of violence across northern Nigeria. The bodies of barefoot young men littered the streets of Maiduguri this morning as the army conducted a house-to-house manhunt...

Wedding Military Means Divorcing Manhattan
Wedding Military Means Divorcing Manhattan
OPINION
Jul 22, 2009 2:12 PM CDT

Wedding Military Means Divorcing Manhattan

High society is into service, Army wife says, but not armed forces

(Newser) - When her Manhattan colleagues found out Chloe Kamarck was marrying an Army officer, she got a lot of questions: “But why? So he supports the war? Is he a Republican?” This generation is into service—the recession has driven many to the Peace Corps, Teach for America, and the...

Rather Wins File Access in CBS Firing Suit

(Newser) - A judge has reinstated Dan Rather's $70 million lawsuit against CBS and granted the former anchor access to thousands of pages of documents pertaining to his ouster following a network story he ran critical of former President George's Bush performance in the Texas Air National Guard. Rather's attorneys believe the...

Database Takes Scholars to Medieval Battlefields

Free searchable database includes facts on salary, health, knighthood

(Newser) - British researchers have posted records of some 250,000 medieval soldiers in a searchable online database, the BBC reports. Now, interested parties can easily learn about the lives of fighters in the Hundred Years’ War, including salary, health, and knighthood information—for free. The “remarkable” records, says one researcher,...

Service Members Join 'Neo-Nazi Facebook'

Activist group urges Congress to take a stand

(Newser) - White supremacists have their own social networking site—and dozens of military personnel are members, reports Stars and Stripes. “I love and will do anything to keep our master race marching,” says the newsaxon.org profile of one user who says he’s served in Iraq and Kuwait....

Pentagon Mulls Smoking Ban for Troops

Military smoking, especially common in combat, costly for VA

(Newser) - Pentagon health experts are pushing for the military to ban tobacco, a move that would upend a traditionally smoky culture, the USA Today reports. Tobacco use is rising among troops, many of whom turn to cigarettes to relieve combat zone stress, and that winds up costing the Pentagon and Veteran's...

Honduran Prez Recounts 'Brutal Kidnapping' in Coup

'Coup' triggered by Zelaya's insistence on unwanted constitutional referendum

(Newser) - Manuel Zelaya called upon the international community to “defend democracy” after the army forced him to leave Honduras in what the president called a “brutal kidnapping,” the Los Angeles Times reports. Zelaya said he awoke today facing the gun barrels of masked army officers who took him—...

Stories 121 - 140 | << Prev   Next >>
Most Read on Newser