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The Syrian army has begun deploying advanced surface-to-surface missiles and has aimed them at Tel Aviv, the British Sunday Times reports. According to the report, Syria is preparing to strike Israel in case the Jewish State launches another attack on its territory. The army has received orders to strike central Israel in case additional attacks against Syria are carried out, according to the Sunday Times. The information was reportedly obtained by reconnaissance satellites that were tracking the Syrian forces. According to the report, Syria was deploying advanced Tishreen missiles, which are capable of carrying a warhead of a half a...

Anthony McDaniel of Pascagoula took home two gold and two silver medals in the 2013 Warrior Games in Colorado Springs, Colo., this week. McDaniel won first place in both the 100- and 200-meter wheelchair races. --- snip A 2006 Gautier High School graduate, McDaniel had his legs and left hand amputated while serving in Helmand province, Afghanistan. On Aug. 31, 2010, McDaniel stepped on an improvised explosive device "that was instant amputation," he said. McDaniel, who has three children, lives in San Diego. The sergeant was medically retired on the second anniversary of his injury. Mr. McDaniel is #2

Two years ago on Memorial Day, Nashville songwriter Connie Harrington was driving in her car, listening to a story on the public radio program Here & Now. And she heard a father remembering his son — a soldier who was killed in Afghanistan. "He mentioned that he drove his son's truck," Harrington says. "And he went on to describe the truck." Sgt. 1st Class Jared Monti was 30 when he was killed in action in 2006. In the radio broadcast, his father, Paul, said his reasons for driving the truck Jared left behind were simple: "What can I tell you?...

FORT BLISS, Texas - Five Fort Bliss soldiers from the 1st Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division, were killed over the weekend in a bomb blast in southern Afghanistan. "The toll of this has hit this community hard," Fort Bliss spokesman Maj. Joe Buccino said Monday. "This brings it home." The soldiers killed were: 1st Lt. Brandon James Landrum, 26, Lawton, Okla.; Staff Sgt. Francis Gene Phillips IV, 28, Meridian, N.Y.; Spc. Kevin Cardoza, 19, Mercedes, Texas; Spc. Brandon Joseph Prescott, 24, Bend, Ore.; and Spc. Thomas Paige Murach, 22, Meridian, Idaho. The soldiers were more than halfway through a...

Main Battle Tanks Moving East With the world’s largest armies (except China and India) have ceased procurement of Main Battle Tanks (MBT), third world countries are becoming more dominant customers for this weapon category. In recent years, following major reorganization programs, where western armies have been retiring their armored regiments, severely eroding the production base of heavy armored vehicles, countries of the former Soviet Union and China are finding markets for tanks in developing countries. New production orders for T-90 from Russia, T-84 Oplot from the Ukraine and Chinese MBT-2000) tanks are keeping these lines open. Thailand has placed orders...

MOUNT HOLLY, NJ (CBS) – A United States Army major and his wife are facing charges for the alleged abuse of their three adopted children, including one who died in May 2008. A 17-count indictment released Tuesday charges Army Maj. John Jackson, and his wife, Carolyn, with neglect, abuse, cruelty, and torture. The couple, who live in Mount Holly, are behind bars. From about August 2005 until April 23, 2010, Carolyn Jackson, 35, and John E. Jackson, 37, formerly of the Picatinny Arsenal Installation in Morris County, NJ reportedly abused the three juveniles by breaking their bones, denying them medical...

As I squeeze into my dress blues for the first time since 2009, I think of my grandmother. She’d told my brother and me that Americans were once embarrassed to be seen in public with young men not wearing a military uniform. Then she’d shake her head, say that had been a long time ago, and ask if we wanted another bowl of Raisin Bran. My grandmother was a practical woman and a career Navy wife, so nostalgia didn’t soak her words when she said this. Just consideration. She passed away 10 years ago. The World War II–era America she...

More than 500 Defense Department employees in Europe and the Pacific were notified this week that they were erroneously given housing benefits and must now apply for a special waiver to avoid being indebted to the government for all past allowances received, according to military officials. Effective immediately, those workers will no longer be eligible for Living Quarters Allowances—a benefit that subsidizes rental and utility costs and can add up to $50,000 per-year in some cases. Defense officials on Thursday were unable to provide a complete tally of how many overseas employees were affected by a DOD-wide audit that was...

One of the things that’s frustrating for non-liberals and non-Progressives is Leftists’ refusal to look Islam in the face (so to speak). Yes, there are crazy people who are Christians and there are entire Christian sects that are crazy (such as the Westboro Baptists or Warren Jeffs’ polygamist Mormon cult). The fact remains, however, that Christians as a whole, whether they belong to big churches or small ones, do not embrace or practice terrorism to achieve their political or religious goals.Muslims, by contrast, routinely practice terrorism to achieve goals that are simultaneously religious and political, owing to Islam’s fusion of...

New Delhi - As the face-off between the armies of China and India entered the third week on Monday, Chinese troops have further ramped up their presence by erecting one more tent. The Chinese also brought in three truckloads of supplies to replenish 50-odd troops at the stand-off site in Depsang Valley, Ladakh. A Chinese Army patrol of 50 soldiers intruded 19 kms into the Indian territory on April 15 and set up at least four tents then. The latest reports that the Chinese have put up another tent despite Indian protests, will come as a major source of worry...

At graduation ceremonies for my son’s infantry training unit this morning, the speaker was a retired general who sounded dire warnings about the threats facing the United States. The old man’s speech was sufficiently remarkable as to constitute actual news, so I pulled a scrap of paper out of my pocket and took notes: “It is absolutely unacceptable for leaders in Washington not to be prepared for the unexpected,” retired Army Lt. Gen. R.L. “Sam” Wetzel said in an address during graduation ceremonies for infantry troops at Fort Benning. Wetzel, who first saw combat as a company commander in the...

The Lebanese army has increased its presence along the Lebanon-Israel border, the official Lebanese National News Agency reported on Friday. According to the report, the IDF increased its presence along the border as well, and IAF aircraft were seen flying over Lebanese territory. The news comes a day after an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) penetrated Israeli air space from Lebanon. The UAV was shot down by Israel about eight kilometers off the coast of Haifa. Hizbullah was fingered as being behind the incident, but the terror group denied “sending any unmanned drone towards occupied Palestine.” Deputy Defense Minister Danny Danon...

The Pentagon blocked access to the Southern Baptist Convention’s website recently because it contained “hostile content” that was later determined to be malware, a military spokesman said Thursday. “We determined that our web filters recently detected malware at the SBC website, which resulted in the block for some service members,” Lt. Col. Damien Pickart said in a prepared statement. “The department has verified that the Southern Baptist Convention website no longer contains malware that may pose a threat to our networks and will be unblocked today.” Pickart denied the block had anything to do with the religious content of the...

The hearing itself was unusual, as questions about the department's ammunition purchases until recently had bubbled largely under the radar -- on blogs and in the occasional news article. But as the Department of Homeland Security found itself publicly defending the purchases, lawmakers gradually showed more interest in the issue. Democratic Rep. John Tierney, D-Mass., at the opening of the hearing, ridiculed the concerns as "conspiracy theories" which have "no place" in the committee room. But Republicans said the purchases raise "serious" questions about waste and accountability. Chaffetz, who chairs one of the House oversight subcommittees holding the hearing Thursday,...

The United States Army has blocked the website of the Southern Baptist Convention from government computers, saying the Christian site contains "hostile content." An Army officer assigned to a U.S. base said he tried to access SBC.net from his government computer, but instead, he got a message that said the site was being blocked by "Team CONUS": Team CONUS protects the computer network of the Department of Defense. "So the Southern Baptist Convention is now considered hostile to the U.S. Army...it just corroborates the recent string of events highlighted by AFA," the officer wrote in an email to American Family...

Army could lose 100,000 soldiers due to sequestration. Of all the military services facing budget pressure this year, the Army is in the direst of straits. The budget Congress finally passed a month ago will help matters, but the service says it's still more than $15 billion short of funds in fiscal 2013. Army senior leaders told the Senate Armed Services Committee Tuesday that the elimination of a continuing resolution and the passage of a formal budget only fixed about a third of the funding problem they face this year. The sequestration cuts that Congress left in place will force...

The U.S. Army is directing troops to remove a Bible inscription that a vendor etched into the serial numbers of weapon scopes, Fox News has learned. Soldiers at Fort Wainwright in Alaska told Fox News they received a directive to turn in their scopes so the Bible references could be removed. The scopes were made by Trijicom and referenced New Testament passages in John 8:12 and Second Corinthians 4:6. The verses appeared at the end of the scope serial numbers – “JN8:12” and “2COR4:6.” “The biblical verse (JN8:12) must be removed utilizing a Dremel type tool and then painted black,”...

Grandson Gerry's best friend (on the left) just completed Marine Corps basic and showed up here looking for my daughters famous hot wings. My grandson is in the middle of FNG annual training but got leave so he could be here today.This is the hope of America!They're the best!They are out back this minute exercising my K-31.

With the repeal of the Clinton era “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy allowing gays to quietly serve in America’s armed forces, the politically correct goons in the Department of defense are working to silence any opposition to the Gay Agenda. Military Chaplains are being silenced. Soldiers are being taught to equate Christians with extremists and racists who preach violence against non-believers. The Chaplain Alliance for Religious Liberty sent a letter to the House Armed Services Committee warning that Military Chaplains are being threatened by higher brass to keep quiet about their opposition to Homosexual Marriages. The organization has pointed out...

The American Family Association, a conservative nonprofit, has responded to the U.S. Army labeling evangelical Christianity and Catholicism as "extremist," by saying that the issue all comes down to views on homosexuality. "This categorization is incorrect and unfounded. We do not hate any person or group of people; we love homosexuals enough to tell them the truth about the consequences of homosexual behavior," Tim Wildmon, president of AFA, said in a statement. The family group blames the civil rights organization Southern Poverty Law Center for spreading misinformation to the U.S. army, which resulted in evangelicals and Catholics being listed among...

Last week we reported on the Army EEO briefing that described evangelical Christians and Catholics as “extremists” alongside the likes of the KKK and al Qaeda. That incident occurred in Pennsylvania. Today, Todd Starnes reports that an Army officer at Ft. Campbell, KY sent an email to subordinates using similar descriptions and epithets. “Just want to ensure everyone is somewhat educated on some of the groups out there that do not share our Army Values,” read an email from LTC Jack Rich to three dozen subordinates at Fort Campbell in Kentucky. “When we see behaviors that are inconsistent with Army...

U.S. Army chaplain Fr. Carl Subler celebrates Mass for soldiers in Badula Qulp in Helmand province, Afghanistan, Feb. 21, 2010. Credit: USAF/Tech. Sgt. Efren Lopez. Washington D.C., Apr 9, 2013 / 04:10 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- The Catholic Archdiocese for the Military Services has said it is “astounded� at a U.S. Army Reserve training brief that listed Catholics alongside “violent and extremist� groups. “The archdiocese calls upon the Department of Defense to review these materials and to ensure that taxpayer funds are never again used to present blatantly anti-religious material to the men and women in uniform,� the archdiocese said...

A U.S. Army officer sent an email to dozens of subordinates listing the American Family Association and Family Research Council as “domestic hate groups” because they oppose homosexuality — and warned officers to monitor soldiers who might be supporters of the groups. “Just want to ensure everyone is somewhat educated on some of the groups out there that do not share our Army Values,” read an email from Lt. Col. Jack Rich to three dozen subordinates at Fort Campbell in Kentucky. “When we see behaviors that are inconsistent with Army Values – don’t just walk by – do the right...

Defense: As the Army removes crosses from an Army chapel in Afghanistan that offends Muslims, a training instructor lists evangelical Christianity and Catholicism as examples of religious extremism. It has been said that there are no atheists in foxholes, but like so many things askew in our politically correct modern-day universe, there are apparently some. An atheist U.S. soldier made a formal complaint about the steeple and crosses on a chapel located at Forward Operation Base Orgun-E. "We can confirm that those items were removed from the chapel," said a spokesman for the ISAF Joint Command. "These items were removed...

Army Training Session Lists Evangelicals, Catholics, Mormons as ‘Extremists’ Posted on April 6, 2013 by Tad Cronn Filed under 1st Amendment, Atheism, Christianity, Government, Military, Religion, Socialism, Terrorism An Army Reserve unit undergoing training on religious extremism recently in Pennsylvania was told by an Army instructor that Evangelical Christians, Catholics, Mormons and Orthodox Jews are on the same level with Hamas, al-Qaida and the Ku Klux Klan. The training was part of the Army Reserve Equal Opportunity program. The slide that listed examples of “religious extremism” put Evangelical Christianity as the first entry and included the Jewish Defense League, Catholicism...

A U.S. Army Reserve Equal Opportunity training brief describes "Evangelical Christianity" and "Catholicism" as examples of "religious extremism," according to the Archdiocese for the Military Services and the Chaplain Alliance for Religious Liberty, who shared a copy of the documents with The Christian Post."The number of hate groups, extremists and anti�govt organizations in the U.S. has continued to grow over the past three years, according to reports by the Southern Poverty Law Center. They increased to 1,018 in 2011, up from 1,002 in 2010 and 602 in 2000," reads the first page of the slide presentation labeled "Extremism & Extremist...

A U.S. Army training instructor listed Evangelical Christianity and Catholicism as examples of religious extremism along with Al Qaeda and Hamas during a briefing with an Army Reserve unit based in Pennsylvania, Fox News has learned.

A U.S. Army training instructor listed Evangelical Christianity and Catholicism as examples of religious extremism along with Al Qaeda and Hamas during a briefing with an Army Reserve unit based in Pennsylvania, Fox News has learned. “We find this offensive to have Evangelical Christians and the Catholic Church to be listed among known terrorist groups,” said Ron Crews, executive director of the Chaplain Alliance for Religious Liberty. “It is dishonorable for any U.S. military entity to allow this type of wrongheaded characterization.” The incident occurred during an Army Reserve Equal Opportunity training brief on extremism. Topping the list is Evangelical...

BIRMINGHAM—A federal grand jury Wednesday indicted a Cullman used car dealer for violating federal protections for active duty military service members by refusing to reduce the loan interest rate and repossessing the vehicle he sold to a man who was later deployed overseas with the Alabama National Guard, announced U.S. Attorney Joyce White Vance and FBI Special Agent in Charge Richard D. Schwein, Jr. A two-count indictment filed in U.S. District Court charges Carl Ralph Nuss, 75, with violating the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act. The act restricts or limits civil actions in the areas of financial management, including rental agreements,...

The death certificate read “single,” even though the fallen soldier was married. When it came time to inform the next of kin, casualty officers did not go to the widow’s door in North Carolina, nor did she receive the flag that draped the casket of her beloved, a 29-year-old National Guard member killed by a suicide bomber in Afghanistan. Because federal law defines marriage as the union of a man and a woman, the military did not recognize the relationship of Army Sgt. Donna R. Johnson and Tracy Dice Johnson at all, rendering Johnson ineligible for the most basic survivor...

If there was one thing I learned during my brief time in the United States Army, it is that you never - under any circumstances - attempt to eat food outside of chow. As not only is it considered an act of disobedience towards your superiors, but also an act of theft, and arguably worse, a violation of the Army Values. Such an action would have landed your entire company (God help the unfortunate bastards) in contempt by the drill sergeants, and as a result - your branding as a Gomer Pyle, Blue Falcon or perhaps even the rightly received...

Kabul, Afghanistan (CNN) -- Five U.S. service members were killed when a helicopter crashed in southern Afghanistan, a U.S. official said early Tuesday. The chopper went down Monday in the Daman district of southern Kandahar during a rain storm, said Jawid Faisal, a government spokesman for the province. There was no enemy activity in the area at the time of the incident, according to a statement by the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF). The U.S. official, who did not want to be identified, did not offer additional information about the victims.

SIERRA VISTA— The U.S. Army suspended its tuition assistance program on Friday, which will impact many local soldiers who use those funds to take courses at Cochise College, though those already enrolled are not affected. In response to the suspension, the Cochise College Foundation has re-opened its scholarship application system, extending the deadline to March 20, according to a release from the college. Generally, students need to be enrolled in at least six credits to be eligible for one of the 100-plus scholarships available starting in the fall semester. Cochise College could see an impact from this suspension before the...

The U.S. Army chose a quiet community in central Utah as the training ground for Special Forces soldiers needing to develop Jason Bourne-like skills and to learn how to build a resistance movement by infiltrating the town leadership. With the deeply religious culture present in Manti, Utah and the desert landscape of the area, residents were deemed ideal candidates by the Defense Department to role play with soldiers in the 10th Special Forces as part of a two week training exercise in July on unconventional warfare tactics. Now that sequestration is in full effect, the Utah mission was called on...

“It’s not meant for contractors… It wasn’t intended for contractors,” said Abney of the email, which details how folks should deal with the press because of sequestration (mandatory spending cuts). But, Abney conceded, he “can’t swear” that contractors—that is, civilians—did not receive the message either. In fact, at least some of the 6,000 contractors that work with JMC received the message. The message was “intended to remind our employees that they are not spokespersons for the government,” said Abney on the phone today. Abney says he was just reminding employees that the commander in chief—President Barack Obama—is their boss. Here's...

Today, retired Army General H. Norman Schwarzkopf was laid to rest at West Point. The commander of coalition forces in the first Gulf War was 78-years-old when he passed away on Dec. 27 in Tampa, Fla. due to complications from pneumonia. On Thursday, the U.S. Military Academy announced that a memorial service was held in honor of the four-star general who evicted the Iraqi army out of Kuwait in 1990.

Army requirements officials are not backing away from the service’s plan to field a tracked Ground Combat Vehicle that could weigh more than an Abrams M1 tank. While a final weight hasn’t been decided upon, Army officials maintain that the GCV will likely have to be considerably heavier than the Bradley Fighting Vehicle it’s replacing to protect the nine-man squad and crew from the powerful blast effects of enemy improvised explosive devices. “It’s fairly easy for us to make a thicker underbelly plate or add a V-shaped hull to make the vehicle survivable, but what that does not address is...

The term “moronic” is defined as “notably stupid or lacking in good judgment.” It is frequently used as an insult. The Obama administration is moronic. This is not an insult. President Obama’s latest “notably stupid” stoke of America’s calculated slow burn is the decision to lift the ban on women in direct combat. Along with the move a few years back to turn the Officers’ Club into the Blue Oyster Bar, this most recent social experiment with national security represents one small step for the “progressive” agenda and one giant prance toward the pansification of the greatest military in world...

Once seen as the future of surveillance, the Long-Endurance Multi-Intelligence Vehicle has been terminated, InsideDefense.com reports. Is the military airship revival drawing to a close? UPDATE, 6:30pm Thursday: The Army confirmed that the LEMV airship project has been canceled. Here's the statement an Army spokesman emailed us: "The Long Endurance Multi-Intelligence Vehicle (LEMV), a hybrid air vehicle, is a technology demonstration project administered by the U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command. This project was initially designed to support operational needs in Afghanistan in Spring 2012; it will not provide a capability in the timeframe required. Due to technical and...

How exactly does one earn so many medals they won't even fit  on the coat with an army that hasn't seen combat for 60 years? Hazing recruits?  Parades...?

WASHINGTON: Rarely have such pretty slides told such an ugly story. While Army Chief of Staff Ray Odierno tries to talk up "The Force of Tomorrow," Army briefing documents obtained today by AOL Defense lay out the near-term impact of sequestration, the Continuing Resolution, and unresolved overseas contingency operations needs: an enormous $18 billion shortfall for the service that will be borne almost entirely by federal workers and military readiness. You can see the slides by clicking "download this document" (up and to the left) and read the detailed talking points here, but the highlights are harrowing enough: Training:...

(CBS News) What does war look like from a soldier's point of view? Tens of millions of YouTube viewers now know, thanks to a video taken in Afghanistan that's gone viral. CBS News spoke with the man who shot the helmet cam video -- and got shot himself in the process. The video has become one of the most viewed three minutes of war video ever, with 23 million hits on YouTube. It's video of a battle with Taliban forces in Afghanistan, as seen through the helmet camera of Pfc. Ted Daniels. It started when he purposely moved into the...

HOUSTON (KTRK) -- The sight of Army helicopters and the sound of gunfire created a lot of concern Monday afternoon in one Houston neighborhood. We received a lot of phones calls, Tweets and Facebook posts from worried neighbors, wondering what was going on. SkyEye 13 HD was over the south side where at first look, it appeared there was a massive SWAT scene happening. With military helicopters flying above her southeast Houston neighborhood, Frances Jerrals didn't know what to think. "When you see this, you think the worst. When you hear this, you think the worst," Jerrals said. And so,...

A gang of elite British Army soldiers who smuggled drugs and guns into the UK have been jailed for a combined total of almost 50 years today. Trooper Lemar Loveless, 26, masterminded the operation to bring a cache of guns, ammunition and £70,000 worth of cocaine through the Channel Tunnel loaded into the back of BMWs. He had discharged himself from the Queen's Royal Hussars, the most senior light cavalry regiment of the British Army, just days before his arrest.

The U.S. military reportedly ordered soldiers to remove a cross and a steeple from atop a chapel and to board up cross-shaped windows at a remote American forward operating base in Afghanistan. The removal of Christian symbols from the chapel at Forward Operating Base Orgun-E came after a solider complained — leading American Atheists president David Silverman to send a letter to the Pentagon. (snip) “The local command in Afghanistan is aware of this chapel and has taken appropriate action to ensure that it is changed into a neutral facility,” said a statement from an Army spokesman at the Pentagon...

Yes, women in combat. Women, who can’t figure out how to go to the Target pharmacy and $9/month birth control, will be gunning down terrorists. Women, who think that telling them to buy their own birth control, cupcake, is a “war on women,” will be seeing actual combat. Women who complain about a “rape culture” want girls out into the front lines as rape-bait if captured by the enemy (and those front lines will be six thousand miles away from the nearest Planned Parenthood clinic). The same people who think that it’s a right wing nutjob idea for women teachers...

Defense: As sequestration looms and an advocate of military budget cuts prepares to be confirmed as Secretary of Defense, the Army reports that it will have to cut base operations by almost a third, jeopardizing its missions. 'The readiness of our Armed Forces is at a tipping point," Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Martin Dempsey wrote to Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., the chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, in a Jan. 14 letter also signed by the chiefs of the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps. The letter was written as the Pentagon braces for a looming...

How bad will the cuts to defense spending affect the military readiness of the US? The Pentagon has begun to game out the impact of another round of steep cuts, and even fly-overs at public events will feel the slice of the axe. More importantly, Army base operations will get reduced by 30%, and military leaders are warning of a "hollow force" with a mandate that cannot possibly be met: Bracing for the possibility of steep congressionally mandated budget cuts, senior military officials have issued directives for fiscal retrenchment that include a 30 percent cut for Army base operations this...