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The Navy brought on an active-duty drag queen to participate in a pilot program aimed at reaching a wider audience through popular social media platforms as the military faces severe recruiting woes.

Residents of several cities in the Rostov region reported a powerful explosion. Citing eyewitnesses, local publication 161.ru noted that the distance between some of the witnesses was nearly 125 miles. The sound of the explosion was heard by 161.ru readers in Rostov-on-Don, Azov, Taganrog, Novoshakhtinsk, Shakhty, Novocherkassk, Aksay, and Yeysk. According to eyewitnesses, "fences trembled in some places" after the explosion and car alarms went off in Rostov-on-Don. Near the village of Peshkovo (about 30 miles from Rostov-on-Don), witnesses noticed three or four sources of black smoke. Baza, citing eyewitness accounts, videos and photos on social media, reported that an...

ARMY/NAVY GAME ON NOW!! 3PM EDT CH2 - TRUMP IS THERE

Under Armour is rolling out custom uniforms for the Navy Midshipmen in time for Saturday’s Army-Navy game, and, as you might expect, the gear is as American as Duke Nukem fist-fighting a crepe iron. Tagged with the words "Don't Tread On Me," the gear features red stripes over navy and white. Under Armour also made significant use of the First Navy Jack rattlesnake, which will be featured in a non-coiled, flying-out-of-the-fake-peanut-jar form. In short, these uniforms are quite to very fresh, depending on your taste for hammer-down patriotism.

From NavSource Online, John C. Driskill - "In 1972, I was stationed on the Lexington (CVT-16) as a PH3. President Richard Nixon asked Don Garlits to do a "Fly Navy Promo" with his car the Swamp Rat 16. We photographers mates were allowed to photograph the scene while assisting the photographers from "Hot Rod" Magazine. We had to swear we would not sell the photographs we took to any other magazines. This is my shot of the Swamp Rat 16 on the flight deck of the Lexington," [ready to race an A-7E Corsair II of VA-81 "Sunliners."] William Carter Fields...

Navy SEALs Who Captured, Killed Osama Bin Laden Return to United States By PIERRE THOMAS (@PierreTABC) , MARTHA RADDATZ (@martharaddatz) , JAKE TAPPER (@jaketapper) and JESSICA HOPPER May 4, 2011 The elite Navy SEAL fighters responsible for capturing and killing Osama bin Laden returned to the United States today. Before their return, a trove of information seized by the SEALS arrived at a FBI laboratory. The SEALs, members of elite Team Six, arrived at Andrews Air Force Base outside Washington, D.C., sources told ABC News. The arrival of the military members comes amid news that President Obama will not release...

MOBILE, Alabama (Reuters) – The U.S. Navy commissioned its newest warship on Saturday, a 379-feet (115.5- meter) aluminum three-hulled vessel built by General Dynamics Corp, one of two designs vying for billions of dollars of follow-on orders. Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Gary Roughead told reporters as he traveled to the ceremony that the new class of fast, flexible shallow-water warships would be useful for a wide range of missions, including responding to humanitarian disasters like the earthquake in Haiti. Roughead said the first Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) built by Lockheed Martin Corp, a more traditional steel monohull ship which...

TOKYO (AP) - Pirates freed a Japanese chemical tanker loaded with highly explosive benzene off the coast of Somalia Wednesday, six weeks after seizing the vessel and its crew, a U.S. Navy spokesman said. All 22 crew members were unhurt, the Navy said, and the pirates were seen heading toward the Somali coast. The Golden Nori was seized off the east coast of Somalia in late October carrying up to 40,000 tons of benzene. The U.S. Navy came to the aid of the vessel that month, with the guided missile destroyer USS Porter opening fire to destroy pirate skiffs tied...

SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) — It took 44 years and three overtimes for Navy to beat Notre Dame again. The Midshipmen snapped an NCAA-record 43-game losing streak to the Fighting Irish on Saturday with a 46-44 victory in triple overtime. Kaipo-Noa Kaheaku-Enhada threw a 25-yard TD pass to Reggie Campbell on the first play of the third overtime, then found him again in the end zone for the 2-point conversion. Notre Dame (1-8) cut the lead to two on a 5-yard TD run by Travis Thomas. But after a pass interference call gave Notre Dame a second-chance at the 2-point...

An essay from an active duty officer with more than 25 years of service, addressed to his fellow USNA alum, Senator James Webb. Senator Jim "Copperhead" Webb, Why did the new Democratic majority select Senator James Webb (D-VA) to give the Democratic response to the president's State of the Union Address? Since when does this privilege fall to a freshman, even a freshman senator? It's seems that despite the bad experience with nominating John Kerry to be their standard bearer in 2004, the Democrats have learned nothing. At least they recognize that they have a serious national security credibility problem...

Clicky-clicky!Be sure to watch the end credits!

Naval Academy Midshipman Roarke Baldwin had gone to an Annapolis mall to catch the latest James Bond flick when he found himself in what could have been a scene from an action movie with rapid gunfire, fleeing bystanders and screaming parents herding their children to safety. Instantly, Baldwin made a decision: He ran toward the gunfire, past the fleeing bystanders and, most significantly, to the aid of a man shopping with his family. As it turned out, the man -- more Jack Bauer than Bond -- was a federal agent, who, like the hero of the TV show "24," took...

Secretary of the Navy Donald C. Winter vetoed plans to commission the Makin Island, the Navy's newest and most powerful warship, in San Francisco in 2008 because of a perception that the city is anti-military. Retired Marine Corps Maj. Gen. J. Michael Myatt, chairman of a high-powered committee that was to support a commissioning ceremony for the Makin Island, said he has been informed that the ship would not be commissioned in San Francisco, as scheduled, but in San Diego. Myatt said he had been told that the Navy was concerned about San Francisco's refusal to provide a homeport for...

The Goat is old & gnarly and he's never been to school, But He can take the bacon from the worn out Army mule; He's got no education, but he's brimmin full O'fight, And Bill will feed on Army mule tonight! Army, Army, call the doctor Army, Army, call the doctor Army, Army, call the doctor You're all in, down and out!

Thousands of onlookers, from toddlers to seniors, gathered along San Francisco's waterfront Saturday under brilliant skies to watch aerial stunts and precision flying as part of Fleet Week. "We've come every year for four years," said Erron Garibay, 32, of Antioch as he sat with his wife, Dawn, and their three children, ages 5 through 12. "It's just togetherness, bringing our kids out here to let them see all the jets and everything our military has," Garibay said. The events continue today with an Italian Heritage Parade from Fisherman's Wharf to North Beach beginning at 12:30 p.m., followed by an...

The reason that we can tuck our little ones in at nightin peace is because of you," Osteen told the troops.Crusing at 37,000 feet is nothing new for Pastor Joel Osteen Jetting off to another night in another town has become common. But this trip is different because there is no airport, just an airfield. He is greeted by a different kind of welcoming committee, a decorated one. This is no church, but it is still holy ground. Custer, Eisenhower and MacArthur were at Fort Leavenworth, KS, training ground for the U.S. Army. Joel Osteen made a special trip for...

Dear Terrorists, I am a Navy Aviator. I was born and raised in a small town in New England. I come from a family of five. I was raised in a middle class home and taught my values by my mother and father. My dad worked a series of jobs in finance and my mom took care of us kids. We were not an overly religious family but attended church most Sundays. It was a nice small Episcopal Church. I have a brother and sister and I am the youngest in my family. I was the first in many generations...

A dozen midshipmen earned the grudging respect of the Air Force Academy by repainting a jet fighter on the Colorado academy's grounds blue and gold, and labeling it with "Navy" and "Blue Angels."

End of an Era, the F-14 tomcat makes its final public appearance. VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (NNS) -- The venerable F-14 Tomcat took a final bow with a boom at its last air show Sept. 16-18 at Naval Air Station Oceana, Va. The classic Northrup Grumman fighter jet that rose to prominence in the 1986 hit film "Top Gun" and has worn U.S. Navy colors since its first test flight in 1970 attracted a legion of fans from around the world at its public goodbye. “It’s basically a bittersweet day for us,” said Lt. Cortney Kinna, an F-14 naval flight officer...