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FORT LEE, Va., July 16, 2009 – Army Sgt. 1st Class Brad Turner, also known as “The Grill Sergeant,” often treats others using his culinary expertise. But recently, Turner got a treat of his own. Army Sgt. 1st Class Brad Turner, known as “The Grill Sergeant,” takes a look at what Chef Bobby Flay cooked up for an episode of "Throwdown with Bobby Flay," filmed at Fort Lee, Va., July 2, 2009. The episode will air on the Food Network later this year. U.S. Army photo by Kimberly Fritz   (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Turner recently returned here,...

Gulf Region Division commander, Maj. Gen. Michael Eyre (left), passes the flag to Gulf Region South District commander, Air Force Col. Jeffry Knippel, during the historic July 9 change-of-command ceremony while outgoing commander, Col. John Drolet looks on. Knippel is the first Air Force officer to command a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ district. (GRD photo) TALLIL — The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ (USACE) Gulf Region Division (GRD) in Iraq made history July 9, when Col. Jack Drolet relinquished command of the USACE's Gulf Region South (GRS) district to Col. Jeffry D. Knippel, the first U.S. Air Force officer...

Psst: The super-secretive National Security Agency is about to build a huge, $1.9 billion data center at Camp Williams, Utah, to help spy on communications worldwide. The planned work there is so sensitive and classified that Utah's congressional delegation is declining to talk about it, saying it doesn't want to accidentally step over any lines about what can and cannot be disclosed. They referred inquiries to the NSA, which provided only a brief statement confirming the center is coming to Utah.

With the July 4th holiday quickly approaching, and particularly with the current occupier of th White House and his wholly un-American views and policies, let's take time to remember and support our brave U.S. military, all branches. They, along with our faith and own involvement here at home, make our liberty possible. That liberty is the hallmark to our peace and prosperity, and to our ability to turn back external...or internal...threats to it, as we must now. Our fine military personnel efforts overseas, and our own here. We have started several groups, one for each branch of service, on facebook...

FORT SILL, Okla. — Pfc. Shane Dixon is known as Old Dix. Specialist Jason Ness goes by Gramps. Pfc. Christopher Batson’s nom de boot camp is Pops. None of them are over 40, but to the 18-year-old soldiers in basic training here, they are as ancient as a first generation Xbox. Yet in the three years since the Army raised its age limit for enlisting to 42, from 35, a steady stream of older recruits has joined the ranks, pushing creaky muscles through road training, learning to appreciate — or at least endure — Army chow and in some cases...

Sikhs Challenge U.S. Army's Ban on Turbans, Beards Sunday, June 14, 2009 NEW YORK — Military service is in Capt. Kamaljit Singh Kalsi's blood. His father and grandfather were part of India's Air Force. His great-grandfather served in the army in India under the British. So when U.S. Army recruiters talked to him during his first year of medical school, he readily signed up. But his plans to go on active duty in July are now on hold. An Army policy from the 1980s that regulates the wearing of religious items would mean he would need to shave his beard...

With all the bad news floating around I thought I would take time to wish the US Army a Happy Birthday today. 234 years of keeping our country safe and free from invasion. The Army carries the load in all our wars, from the American Revolution to todays War on Terrorists. So thank an Army veteran today for their service and wish the US Army a Happy Birthday. HOOAH!!! (RLTW)

HAPPY 234TH BIRTHDAY!!It was interesting that the Legionnaires in Olney today were ALL Army. I guess the other branches were letting the Army have their day in the sun. And sunny it was - a great day for the Army. It is also FLAG DAY, 232 years old. BELOW LEFT: Legionnaires Cindy_True_Supporter (Vietnam Era), Dave (WWII), and [Mrs] T (Vietnam Era) BELOW RIGHT: Legionnaire Carl (WWII). He came a little late for the group pic. BELOW LEFT: Dave and friend Janet. BELOW RIGHT: Lurker Bill BELOW: Lastly myself. That is the 7 of us on the corner this week....

Army's 234th Birthday celebration at the Pentagon Chief of Staff of the Army Gen. George W. Casey Jr., Col. Arthur Wittich (the oldest Soldier serving in the military district of Washington), Deputy Secretary of Defense William Lynn, Secretary of the Army Pete Geren, Pvt. Rex Vaughn (the youngest Soldier serving in the military district of Washington), and Sgt. Maj. of the Army Kenneth Preston cut the Army's 234th birthday cake during a celebration at the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., on June 12, 2009. "Our Army's history is a proud one. At its heart, it is a story of people ....

Soldiers of the 276th Engineer Battalion from Richmond, Virginia are harmonizing the chords of “Happy Birthday to You” in celebration of the Army’s 234th birthday. Or maybe they are just showing off their newly acquired “deployment mustaches” at FOB Orgun E, somewhere in the mountains of Afghanistan. Photo Courtesy of Cpt. Dave Baber. Happy birthday to the US Army and a salute to all the soldiers, enlisted and commissioned, deployed abroad and serving at home. The Army is the nation's oldest uniformed service. It was officially created on June 14th, 1775 during the Revolutionary War more than a year before...

The day before he died, U.S. Army Pvt. William Andrew "Andy" Long floated the Buffalo River with his sister, Vanessa Rice.Rice tearfully told guests: "My brother meant the world to me. Andy couldn't wait to get to Korea to serve his country."Long was killed outside a recruiting office.The church was filled with family and friends, armed service members, and officials, including Gov. Mike Beebe and Rep. Vic Snyder.Long is a fourth-generation armed services member. Long's father, Daris Long, is retired from the Marine Corps."No one is more military, no one is more patriotic than this family right here," "I asked...

Blinded by a dust storm kicked up by helicopter rotor wash and grenade explosions, all Sgt. 1st Class Michael Lindsay could see was shadowy figures scurrying about in the dim light, grabbing weapons. // In the ensuing firefight inside a remote rural compound in Samarra, Iraq, Lindsay was seriously wounded. But he and his fellow Army Green Berets kept firing. When it was over, 11 insurgents were dead - including the target of the predawn raid, a man described by the Army as a high-value terrorist who had been financing weapons and roadside bombs with profits from a kidnapping and...

WASHINGTON (Army News Service, June 2, 2009) -- The Army wants Soldier-dads to know there is a new paternity leave policy available to them and spread the word to military bloggers at the Pentagon today. The policy, which was signed into law by President George W. Bush Oct. 14, 2008, allows new dads up to 10 consecutive days of administrative leave after the birth of a child. Leading the roundtable was Col. Larry Locke, chief of compensation and entitlements for the Army G-1. He said the policy is one way of showing appreciation for Soldier-dads, because leave time can take...

President Obama will name Republican Rep. John McHugh as Army secretary, FOX News has learned. McHugh, of New York, is the top Republican on the House Armed Services Committee. First elected in 1980, he represents a large rural area of upstate New York that borders Canada. The district includes Ft. Drum. The selection of McHugh is significant as the president has again picked a leading Republican with impeccable national security credentials for a key military post. McHugh would be tapped to succeed Pete Geren, who has held the post since July 2007.

President Barack Obama has chosen a Republican congressman to be the new secretary of the Army, adding to the ranks of opposition party figures in his administration. Obama said that Rep. John McHugh, who has represented upstate New York, is committed to keeping America's Army "the best trained, the best equipped, the best land force the world has ever seen." The president said that in his new job, McHugh will make sure the country's troops can handle the new kinds of combat in the 21st century, including nonconventional warfare. McHugh has been a key member of the House Armed Services...

Striking again at the already beleaguered Republican Party, President Barack Obama today will announce the appointment of Rep. John McHugh (R-N.Y.) as secretary of the Army. In tapping McHugh, the top Republican on the House Armed Services Committee, Obama sidelines yet another senior GOP lawmaker. The veteran congressman from upstate New York joins his former colleague from Illinois, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, and Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman, the ambassador-designate to China, among the ranks of Republicans in the Obama administration, a list that nearly included New Hampshire Sen. Judd Gregg as Commerce Secretary. And McHugh’s appointment comes just over a month...

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — A 23-year-old man upset about the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan opened fire from his truck at two soldiers standing outside a military recruiting station here on Monday morning, killing one private and wounding another, the police said. The gunman, identified by the police as Abdulhakim Mujahid Muhammad of Little Rock, fled the scene and was arrested minutes later a short distance from the recruiting station, in a bustling suburban shopping center. The police confiscated a Russian-made SKS semiautomatic rifle, a .22-caliber rifle and a handgun from his black pickup truck. The two privates, who were...

DEVELOPING: An Army recruiter was shot and killed Monday at a recruiting center in Little Rock, Ark., and a second recruiter was wounded

<p>Latest Video:Little Rock - One person is in custody, and two others have been transported to a local hospital in serious condition following a double-shooting in west Little Rock Monday morning.</p> <p>Authorities say the incident occurred around 10:00 a.m. at the U.S. Army Navy Career Center inside the Ashley Square Shopping Center at 9112 North Rodney Parham Road. According to Lt. Terry Hastings with the Little Rock Police Department, two recruiting officers standing outside the office were hit when the unidentified suspect drove up in a black SUV and began shooting.</p>

WASHIGTON – It would take the Army time to "shift gears" if it needed to fight against North Korea, Army Chief of Staff Gen. George Casey said Thursday. Right now, the Army is focused on the counterinsurgency efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan, but North Korea’s recent saber rattling has raised the prospect that the Army might be called upon to fight a conventional war. "I have said publicly for some time that if we had to shift gears, it would probably take us about 90 days or so to shift our gears and to train the folks up that were...

FORT CAMPBELL, Kentucky (CNN) -- The 101st Airborne's senior commander in effect ordered his soldiers Wednesday not to commit suicide, a plea that came after 11 suicides since January 1, two of them in the past week. "If you don't remember anything else I say in the next five or 10 minutes, remember this -- suicidal behavior in the 101st on Fort Campbell is bad," Brig. Gen. Stephen J. Townsend told his forces. "It's bad for soldiers, it's bad for families, bad for your units, bad for this division and our army and our country and it's got to stop...

The Pentagon is prepared to leave fighting forces in Iraq for as long as a decade despite an agreement between the United States and Iraq that would bring all American troops home by 2012, the top U.S. Army officer said Tuesday. Gen. George Casey, the Army chief of staff, said the world remains dangerous and unpredictable, and the Pentagon must plan for extended U.S. combat and stability operations in two wars. "Global trends are pushing in the wrong direction," Casey said. "They fundamentally will change how the Army works." He spoke at an invitation-only briefing to a dozen journalists and...

    ~The FReeper Canteen Presents~ Road Trip: Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Washington D. C.  The Walter Reed Army Medical Center (WRAMC) is the United States Army's flagship medical center on the east coast of the United States. Located on 113 acres in Washington, D.C., it serves more than 150,000 active and retired personnel from all branches of the military. The center is named after Major Walter Reed (1851-1902), an army physician who led the team which confirmed that yellow fever is transmitted by mosquitoes rather than direct contact. Since its origins, what is now the WRAMC medical...

BAQOUBA, Iraq | The U.S. commander of the Multi-National Force -- Iraq on Tuesday ordered a top-to-bottom review of mental health services for U.S. troops in the country after the worst act of U.S. soldier-on-soldier violence in the Iraq war. Army Lt. Col. Brian Tribus, media relations chief for Multi-National Force - Iraq, told The Washington Times that Lt. Gen. Charles Jacoby ordered procedures "to look into [mental health] services available and delivery of those services." Gen. Jacoby also requested that the Army inspector general review all mental health services available to troops in Iraq, Col. Tribus said. Five U.S....

First Lt. Ehren Watada will not face a second court-martial for his decision to refuse deployment to Iraq, after a federal appeals court judge allowed the U.S. Army to drop its appeal in the case Wednesday. "We are cautiously optimistic that perhaps we've had enough litigation," said Watada's attorney, James Lobsenz. Watada was court-martialed in 2007 on five criminal counts after his high-profile refusal of deployment. The case ended in a mistrial, when the military judge declared that Watada did not fully understand a stipulation he had signed before the trial. The case then went to the civilian U.S. District...

Is the U.S. soldier starring in this popular Youtube video a tough, Patton-esque, tell-'em-like-it-is inspirational leader … or is he an unprofessional jerk? That’s the question FOXNews.com set out to answer when we asked the U.S. Army to help identify and locate the soldier for an interview. But the Army was less than forthcoming, so we’re looking for help finding him.

The U.S. Army has halted use of a powder designed to control bleeding only months after approving it because of concerns about its health effects. WoundStat was dropped because a study by the U.S. Army Institute of Surgical Research showed it could injure the lining and walls of blood vessels, Army officials say. WoundStat is a clay-based agent that is poured onto a moderate-to-severe wound and held in place until it sticks to the wound, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, which approved the product. The Army announced in October 2008 that it would start using it downrange,...

U.S. Army Tests Flying Robot Sniper The Autonomous Rotorcraft Sniper System (ARSS) during testing. The gun turret is on the right side of the craft. (Pic in URL) It could be the best Xbox 360 game ever, and a real kick in the ARSS. The U.S. Army is testing the Autonomous Rotorcraft Sniper System (ARSS) — a remote-controlled unmanned Vigilante robot helicopter equipped with a high-velocity sniper rifle. Its RND Edge semi-automatic gun is mounted on a self-stabilizing turret with built-in zoom camera, and fires 7 to 10 precisely aimed .338-caliber rounds per second. Back on the ground, a human...

War Resistor Sgt Chiroux successfully challenged his misconduct hearing, facing down the U.S. Army and offering a potential "green light" for other soldiers challenging the legality of U.S. action in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The Pentagon’s senior military leaders are worried that the security situation in Afghanistan is stalemated or deteriorating, and now are preparing a far-reaching plan that would prepare the U.S. military for a war that could last three to five more years, officials said. The effort, which is being coordinated by the Joint Staff and is still in its early stages, is designed to create an experienced cadre of officers and senior enlisted soldiers, who would rotate between assignments in Afghanistan and at their home stations until the end of hostilities. By doing so, the Pentagon hopes to end a problem...

The gobbler lit into Captain Howard Murray like a rocket, knocked him to the ground, and then commenced to work a show on him with its powerful wings, talons and spurs. The mad turkey continued pounding the big man from Baton Rouge, La., unmercifully about the head, neck and shoulders until somehow "The Trail Boss," as he is known by his associates, managed to roll onto his stomach to protect his face while he rose to his feet. When Murray regained his footing, the belligerent turkey inexplicably backed off a moment as if to ask, "You had enough?" But Murray,...

NEW ORLEANS -- More than three years after Katrina stirred up the waters and washed out levees along a 75-mile, man-made shipping channel dubbed "hurricane highway," a judge could soon decide whether the Army Corps of Engineers owes residents and businesses damages because of the massive flooding. Arguments are set to begin Monday in the trial, which will be heard and decided by a judge, not a jury. And much is at stake: If the five residents and one business in this initial lawsuit are victorious, more than 120,000 other individuals, businesses and government entities could have a better shot...

The Army last month stopped accepting felons and recent drug abusers into its ranks as the nation's economic downturn helped its recruiting, allowing it to reverse a decline in recruiting standards that had alarmed some officers. While shunning those with criminal backgrounds, the Army is also attracting better-educated recruits. It is on track this year to meet, for the first time since 2004, the Pentagon's goal of ensuring that 90 percent of recruits have high school diplomas. The developments mark a welcome turnaround for the Army, which has the military's biggest annual recruiting quota and had in recent years issued...

Soldiers with PTSD present the Army with two problems, both involving scary numbers. First, soldiers suffering serious combat stress should not be returned to combat, and if they cannot fight they represent a significant manpower loss for an already stretched military. A recent Rand Corp. study estimates that nearly 20 percent of those Army troops who have served in Iraq and Afghanistan might suffer from PTSD or major depression. If they were all barred from the battlefield, the Army could lose as many as one out of every five combat troops while trying to fight two wars. Second, if soldiers...

The US Environmental Protection Agency has challenged a valley fill permit issued by the US Army Corps of Engineers for a surface coal mine in Wise County, Virginia. This action follows EPA saying it would scrutinize 150-200 permit applications with the Corps for similar projects tied to Central Appalachian coal mining operations. EPA said in March that it would examine the pending fill permits over concerns about whether Clean Water Act regulations are being properly followed, and other environmental concerns. The agency later said it was concentrating scrutiny on just two such applications, one for a West Virginia mine and...

President Barack Obama today nominated a key U.S. Senate staffer to serve as assistant secretary of the Army for public works, a position that oversees the Army Corps of Engineers. Jo-Ellen Darcy is senior environmental policy adviser to the Senate Finance Committee, where she has worked on energy, environmental and conservation initiatives using the tax code. Earlier, she served as senior policy adviser, deputy staff director and staffer with the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee.

Veterans In Politics Talk Show Introduces Steve Wolfson and Stan Bowen LIVE on www.AllTalkRadio.net March 28: Stan Bowen Author, Vietnam Veteran, and Former Army Green Beret: Steve Wolfson Las Vegas City Councilman Ward 2: "Veterans In Politics" is a weekly radio show produced by the Veterans In Politics International and hosted by Steve Sanson and Co-Hosted by J. "Sage" Bocook. The "Veterans In Politics" show is live every Saturday 2:05 PM Pacific Time you can call in and speak to the guest or/and hosts at (702) 309-6690. Listen to the Veterans In Politics Municipal Candidate 2009 Endorsement Interview--- (VIP 1-11)...

WASHINGTON, March 20, 2009 – As a group of leading diplomats, military officials and scholars made its way into the Russian Embassy here March 17, none of them quite knew what to expect. They had been invited to see a joint performance by brass quintets from the U.S. Army Band and the Russian National Orchestra. The U.S. Army Band's brass quintet performs for a group of leading diplomats, military officials and scholars at the Russian Embassy in Washington, D.C., March 17, 2009. They were joined by the brass quintet from the Russian National Orchestra. U.S. Army photo  (Click photo for...

When President Obama dispatched another 17,000 troops to Afghanistan, he didn't know that one of the biggest risks they face comes from the U.S. military's own lawyers. An out-of-control, politically correct legal code means U.S. soldiers could be brought up on charges just for discharging their duty. Take the case of Capt. Roger Hill. Capt. Hill commanded D Company in the U.S. Army's 101st Air Assault Division,1st Battalion, 506th Infantry Regiment, in a lonely outpost in Wardak Province, Afghanistan, an area the size of Connecticut with many Taliban lurking amid its half a million people. The men in Capt. Hill's...

The general in charge of the Army's more than 9,000 wounded soldiers said Wednesday he is ordering a review of how the ones at Fort Bragg are being punished for minor violations. Brig. Gen. Gary Cheek said he is asking the Army Surgeon General to look at all discipline that has been taken against soldiers in the base's Warrior Transition unit to make sure each case was fair.

This Week in American Military History: Mar. 8, 1965: The lead elements of 3rd Battalion, 9th Marines begin coming ashore at Da Nang, South Vietnam. Within hours, 1st Battalion, 3rd Marines will arrive aboard transport aircraft at the nearby airbase. The Marines of 3/9 and 1/3 -- both part of the 9th Marine Expeditionary Brigade -- are the first of America’s ground-combat forces destined for offensive operations against the enemy in Southeast Asia, once again putting teeth in the Marine Corps’ claim that it is “first to fight.” Mar. 9, 1847: Thousands of American soldiers and a company-sized force of...

When Iraqi terrorists launched a surprise attack against US forces at Mosul Airfield in Iraq, the 3rd Infantry Division and National Guard troops did what they do best - unleash a torrent of lead on the terrorists and send them to Allah.

Insurgent Jihadist vs. Hellfire Missile. 'Nuff said.... Enjoy

WASHINGTON, Feb. 26, 2009 – The U.S. Army Warrant Officer School soon will welcome a new accession of warrant officers this spring, and one will bring with him a new perspective to the Army officer corps. Staff Sgt. Jonathan Holsey is the first amputee accepted into the U.S. Army Warrant Officer School. Holsey, who lost his leg following a roadside bomb explosion in Iraq, is to report to the school at Fort Rucker, Ala., in April 2009. Courtesy photo  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Staff Sgt. Johnathan Holsey became the first amputee accepted by the Warrant Officer School...

BAGHDAD, Feb. 25 (UPI) -- The foundation of successful counterinsurgency operations in Afghanistan and Iraq includes the ability to get inside the enemy's decision cycle, that is, to act decisively before he does or respond to new enemy tactics with unique and timely countermeasures. Prior to its deployment to Iraq, the 25th Infantry Division, supported by the Center for Army Lessons Learned located at Fort Leavenworth, Kan., launched the Rapid Adaptation Initiative, which is designed to capture critical information and reduce the time needed to disseminate it. It is bottom-up situational awareness shared horizontally across unit boundaries. Individual and team...

FRANKFURT (AP) — The U.S. Army said Tuesday it has dropped a conspiracy to commit premeditated murder charge against an American soldier accused of taking part in the killing of four blindfolded Iraqi detainees in Baghdad. The Army said in a short statement that Sgt. Charles Quigley, 28, of Providence, Rhode Island, will no longer be prosecuted on that charge.

WASHINGTON (AFP) – Over 70 American military advisers and technical specialists are secretly working in Pakistan to help its military units conduct operations against Al-Qaeda and the Taliban in western tribal areas, The New York Times reported. Citing unnamed officials, the newspaper said the advisers mostly include US Army Special Forces soldiers. Overseen by the US Central Command and Special Operations Command, the advisers provide the Pakistani army with training and intelligence, the report said. But they do not get involved in combat operations. The advisers form part of a secret task force that was started last summer with the...

The United States army is to accept immigrants with temporary US visas, for the first time since the Vietnam war, according to the New York Times. Until now immigrants have had to have permanent residency - a "green card" - in order to qualify for the services. But those with temporary visas will be offered accelerated citizenship if they enrol, the Times says. The Pentagon hopes the scheme will cover shortages in areas like medical care and language interpretation. Many temporary immigrants will have been granted visas on the basis of their education or skills, so the defence department expects...

BAGRAM AIRFIELD, Afghanistan, Feb. 13, 2009 – Members of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers recently mentored Afghan contractors to ensure the construction of a new school in northeastern Afghanistan’s Laghman province will last through the harsh climate for years to come. Bill Stratton, from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, puts mortar on a brick as he demonstrates the proper technique to construct a wall in northeastern Afghanistan’s Laghman province, Feb. 3, 2009. Stratton is teaching construction techniques to Afghans as they work on The Center of Excellence, a school for boys. U.S. Army photo  (Click photo for screen-resolution...

Photo:Graphic shows active duty Army suicides from 1990 to 2008; 1 c x 3 7/8 in; 46.5AP WASHINGTON – Stressed by war and long overseas tours, U.S. soldiers killed themselves last year at the highest rate on record, the toll rising for a fourth straight year and even surpassing the suicide rate among comparable civilians. Army leaders said they were doing everything they could think of to curb the deaths and appealed for more mental health professionals to join and help out. ">snip<"