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BRITISH Special Forces have used a “mannequin army” of shop dummies to lure dozens of Islamic State (ISIS) fighters into an ambush in eastern Syria, military sources have revealed. The operation targeted an ISIS unit that had been making repeated strikes on Kurdish Peshmerga forces. The top-secret mission took place two weeks ago near the town of Bussayrah, close to the Euphrates River, and involved a joint force of UK and American troops. At least a dozen shop mannequins were dressed in Kurdish combat uniforms before being flown in by members of the SAS. Some were posed holding weapons, as...

The U.S. Army has postponed the planned discharge of an 11-year Green Beret who confronted an alleged child rapist in Afghanistan in order to give him a chance to appeal. An army spokesman said Tuesday that Sgt. 1st Class Charles Martland will be given 60 days to file an appeal with the Army Board for the Correction of Military Records. “While the material in Sgt. Martland's file required that he be considered by the QMP (Qualitative Management Program) board, it is our desire to ensure every soldier receives fairness and due process and we continue to act accordingly,” the spokesman...

During the October 1 attack that left 10 dead at Umpque Community College, Army veteran Christ Mintz blocked the door to a classroom with his body, then lay on the floor saying, “It’s my son’s birthday today.”

ROSEBURG, Ore. (AP) — The 26-year-old gunman who opened fire in a community college English class, killing nine, was an Army boot camp dropout who studied mass shooters before becoming one himself. A day after the rampage in an Oregon timber town, authorities said Christopher Sean Harper-Mercer, who died during a shootout with police, wore a flak jacket and brought at least six guns and five ammunition magazines to the school. Investigators found another seven guns at the apartment he shared with his mother. The weapons had all been purchased legally over the past three years, some by him, others...

A new combat patch worn by U.S. soldiers fighting against ISIS in Iraq is drawing flak from service members because it closely resembles logos of the very same jihadists they’re fighting. [IMAGE OF PATCH] Soldiers serving in Operation Inherent Resolve have worn the patch since April of this year. There is even a medal version that soldiers can wear on their Army Service Uniform, Military.com reports. On its Facebook-page, Army Times explains that the patch is “meant to symbolize the twin goals of the U.S.-led coalition: to defeat the militant group and to restore stability in the region, according to...

A congressman who is a combat veteran and Ranger graduate has asked the Pentagon's top Army leader to produce documents related to the performance of the females who began Ranger School at Fort Benning, Georgia earlier this year, PEOPLE has learned. In a letter obtained exclusively by PEOPLE, Rep. Steve Russell, R-Okla., gave outgoing Army Secretary John McHugh until September 25 to produce documents revealing the women's test scores, evaluations, injuries, pre-training and more. The letter was delivered to McHugh's Pentagon office on September 15. "The training of our combat warriors is paramount to our national defense," Russell wrote to...

MOSCOW, September, 30, by TASS The President of Russia Vladimir Putin submitted to the Federation Council [upper house of the parliament] a proposal to issue a bill to allow him using abroad the Russian Armed Forces on the basis of "universally recognised principles and regulations of the international law" as the Kremlin's press centre has informed. [...] The Upper House's speaker Valentina Matviyenko [Mut-vee-yEn-koh] said the Federation Council was considering the issue in a closed session.

The revelation that our generals expect Americans solders to allow screaming young boys to be sodomized and not stop it is simply the latest manifestation of the utter moral bankruptcy infecting the senior ranks of the U.S. military. The problems with America’s military—which has now failed to win three wars in a row against backward fanatics whom the nineteenth-century Brits would have handily dispatched to hell in time for tea—are not merely budgetary. You can’t buy real leaders, leaders with strategic competence and moral courage. Aging equipment, while a problem, is nothing compared to the incompetence and moral cowardice of...

... Early on in my military career, way back when I was a PFC, my Battalion would occasionally have “Fun Runs”. A Fun Run is just like running for several miles. Except that it’s fun. Because people that outrank you say so. This is pretty much the Army equivalent to declaring “Our office is so much fun! On Friday we get to wear Hawaiian shirts!” It’s awesome if you happen to love Hawaiian shirts, but just kinda sucks if you have taste. One of the features of the Fun Run was that afterward the Battalion would gather together and hold...

Army Veteran Robbed, Shot and Paralyzed as Violent Crime Spirals Out of Control in St. Louis Around 10:30 p.m., Chris Sanna and his girlfriend were walking to their vehicle near Walnut Street and Memorial Drive when a black sedan pulled up to them. Two male suspects were inside the black sedan. The driver of the sedan exited the vehicle and demanded the victims’ property at gunpoint. “After she gave him her purse, he pulled a gun,” Candis said. “That’s when they turned to run, and he shot at them twice.”

Looking at the results you would think the results of the Military Times survey of troop morale couldn’t possibly be accurate. Released last December, the numbers were brutal. In response to the statement, “The senior military leadership has my best interests at heart,” only 17% agreed, down from 53% in a previous survey conducted in 2009. As for, “Overall officers in the military are good or excellent,” only 39% agreed, down from 78% in the 2009 survey.

Rep. Vern Buchanan (R., Fla.) is demanding that the decorated Green Beret who blew the whistle on U.S.-allied Afghan forces raping boys be reinstated by the Army immediately. Buchanan labeled war hero Sgt. 1st Class Charles Martland’s dismissal from the force a “national disgrace.” Martland stood up for an Afghan rape victim in 2011. “Driving Sgt. Martland out of the Army is a national disgrace,” Buchanan said in a statement. “He stood up for American values and should be commended, not punished.” This week, reports surfaced that U.S. soldiers and Marines have been instructed to ignore suspicions of Afghan forces...

The US Army has debuted a new shoulder patch that soldiers in Iraq can wear to represent their role in the ongoing fight against ISIS, USA Today reports. The patch features crossed scimitars, three stars, and a palm wreath. According to USA Today, the three stars denote the US land, air, and sea forces involved in the fight against ISIS. The palm wreath is meant to symbolize honor, while the crossed swords evoke the twin goals of the ongoing operations: the defeat of ISIS and the restoration of stability in the region. Currently, there are over 3,000 US Army personnel...

The Washington Post headline says it all: “Obama Nominates the First Openly Gay Service Secretary.” According to the Post, “Obama, in a historic first for the Pentagon, has chosen to nominate Eric Fanning to lead the Army, a move that would make him the first openly gay civilian secretary of one of the military services. … Fanning’s rise to one of the Pentagon’s toughest and most prominent jobs also reflects the Obama’s commitment to diversity.” “Eric brings many years of proven experience and exceptional leadership to this new role,” said our nation’s worst-ever commander in chief. “I am confident he...

A House Republican is investigating the test scores and supporting documentation for the two women who last month became the first female graduates of the Army's elite Ranger School. Rep. Steve Russell (R-Okla.), a Ranger graduate who served in Iraq, sent a letter to outgoing Army Secretary John McHugh last week asking for documents on the two graduates' test scores, injuries, evaluations and other materials, according to People magazine. "The training of our combat warriors is paramount to our national defense," Russell wrote to McHugh, according to the magazine. "In order to ensure that the Army retains its ability to...

For our U.S. Army and its unrivaled soldiers, this year marks 240 years of selfless service to the nation A crowd of 7,500 patriotic Americans attended the U.S. Army’s 2015 Spirit of America show, a performance highlighting our proud history through the eyes of the American Soldier. Aptly named, the Patriot Center on the campus of George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia, was brimming with excited men, women, and children who came to pay their respects to our elite soldiers who have sworn to uphold our Constitution and to defend our country so that we may enjoy the freedoms that...

Mike Huckabee isn’t happy with President Obama‘s decision to appoint an openly gay man as the next Secretary of the Army. Eric Fanning, the current acting Under Secretary of Army, was selected by Obama this week, which would make him the first openly gay man to lead any branch of the U.S. military. And while The Washington Post notes his sexuality isn’t really a big deal to the Army or to even some Republicans in Congress, leave it to Huckabee to crank up the outrage-ometer with this statement today: It’s clear President Obama is more interested in appeasing America’s homosexuals...

FOXNEWS was the first to publicly report the Army’s decision to kick out 11-year Green Beret Sgt First Class (SFC) Charles Martland. On September 11, Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Calif a member of the House Armed Services Committee, blasted Army leadership for issuing an alleged “gag order” forbidding them talking about the discharge of SFC Martland. The congressman said “more troubling” is that he’s learned “Army leadership has pushed a ‘gag order’ … prohibiting both the Chain of Command and soldiers from speaking to anyone regarding the case.” If true such a gag order would be a gross violation of 10...

President Obama, in a historic first for the Pentagon, has chosen to nominate Eric Fanning to lead the Army, a move that would make him the first openly gay civilian secretary of one of the military services.

Weaponized pillows. That's a new one. I’m not much for “spirit events” - and I’ve never been in the Armed Forces - so don’t take my lack of familiarity as disdain for the idea in general. I suppose a bunch of soldiers-in-training standing around a courtyard whamming each other with pillows could be fun. It’s probably not the sort of thing that makes the Russians cower in fear, but then again maybe they watch it with envy because they only “spirit” in their army is the one of fear over being sent to the gulag if they screw something up....