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There’s been a fair amount of Trump-supporter braggadocio regarding the President-elect’s nomination of Gen. James “Mad Dog” Mattis as the new Defense Secretary – an admirable choice, certainly. If Mad Dog can navigate the machinations of the Pentagon as well as he did the battlefield we’re in for a rejuvenation of America’s military that should be a major reversal of its downward fortunes over the past few decades. I hope that Mr. Trump fully appreciates the magnitude of the task he has set before Gen. Mattis. That task that has grown steadily in size and complexity since the end of...

A naval program that has become a target for critics is preparing to commission a new vessel named after a well-known shooting survivor. Constructed by Austal USA in Mobile, Alabama, the USS Gabrielle Giffords has completed testing in the Gulf of Mexico and is scheduled to be commissioned in mid-2017. The company handed over the $475 million ship to the Navy on Friday.

Tyler DurdenDecember 21, 2016 One week ago, New Yorkers were captivated, and unnerved, by a 40-minute long military exercise in which one USAF C-130 and several HH-60 Pave Hawk helicopters could be seen circling at very low altitudes above Manhattan. While the US military kept silent about the overflight, U.S. Air Force Col. Nicholas Broccoli, the vice commander of the Air National Guard’s 106th Rescue Wing, said the aircraft were conducting "standard military training." However, one look at the flight pattern of the plane shows there was seemingly little that was "standard" about a C-130(snip)Today we learn that the overflights...

Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH) paid to a million service members living off base in the United States will climb an average of 2.4 percent Jan. 1, or about $41 a month. Actual increases for individual BAH recipients will vary by Military Housing Area, pay grade, and dependency status. For a third straight year, BAH adjustments will not quite keep pace with the average rise in rent and utility costs, as the Department of Defense sticks to a five-year plan to trim the cost of stateside housing allowances gradually. The dampening of rates will continue until 2019 when recipients will...

Rep. Tammy Duckworth worries her congressional colleagues don’t fully appreciate the importance of a civilian-run military. As a combat-wounded Iraq War veteran and incoming Illinois senator, she finds that troubling. “I believe so strongly that the military is subservient to civilian leaders,” she said Wednesday. “I went to fight in a war I didn’t believe​ was one we should be engaged in, but the president and Congress believed it was the right thing to do. So I’m proud of that. I would go back. “Every part of my being as a former military officer says what (Congress is) doing now...

President-elect Donald Trump's transition team at the Pentagon is looking into loosening the rules of engagement for troops fighting overseas, according to a report. The Trump team has asked for a list of restrictions, limitations and other "rules of engagement" on U.S. troops operating overseas, according to an NPR report. That includes rules on how close U.S. special operators can get to the fight in Iraq and Syria and who they can target on the battlefield and how. Trump often blasted the rules of engagement during the campaign trail, arguing they were too favorable to the Islamic State in Iraq...

On November 18, the Pentagon issued a Defense Department directive that will “allow Department of Defense (D0D) personnel to carry firearms and employ deadly force while performing official duties.”

It'll be "very hard" for President-elect Trump to undo many of the social changes President Obama implemented in the military should he decide to do so, the Army secretary said on Thursday. Eric Fanning acknowledged that the path to social change over the course of history "has never been purely linear." "But I do think it's very hard to roll things back completely," Fanning said at the Defense One Summit in Washington. "Society is changing very quickly." He also said the decisions the military has already made will make it more difficult to kick people out of the service who...

Though he never served in the US Military, he is familiar with military manners, customs and regalia

From:john.podesta@gmail.com To: r_m_gates@att.net Date: 2008-11-16 18:51 Subject: Re: Contact Information Thx. ------Original Message------ From: Bob Gates To: John.Podesta@gmail.com Sent: Nov 16, 2008 3:42 PM Subject: Contact Information John, If you or anyone needs to contact me or talk with me privately during business hours, you can reach me through my personal e-mail at r_m_gates@att.net (there is an underscore -- r_m_ -- after the r and m in place of a period. I offer that because you indicated you had tried unsuccessfully to reach me by e-mail: the underscores in the address may not have come through in my initial e-mail...

Three US troops were killed in a shooting attack outside a Jordanian training facility on Friday, a US official said, following earlier reports that one or two US personnel were dead. “A total of three US service members died today in the incident in Jordan,” the official said. “Initial reports were that one was killed, two injured. The two injured service members were transported to a hospital in Amman, where they died.” “The service members were in vehicles approaching the gate of a Jordanian military training facility, where they came under small arms fire,” the official added. “We are working...

At least three U.S. military trainers in Jordan were fatally shot by security forces Friday when their vehicle failed to stop at the gate of a military base, the Jordanian military and a U.S. official said. The U.S. service members came under “small-arms fire” as they approached a Jordanian training facility, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to brief media. Few other details about the incident were given, and the official said U.S. and Jordanian authorities were investigating the cause. Earlier, a Jordan’s military said there was “an exchange of gunfire” after...

The U.S. Army’s first gender-integrated infantry office course has been completed by 10 of 12 women who took the challenge. A graduation ceremony was held Wednesday in Fort Benning, Georgia, to celebrate 166 officers who attained the infantry’s iconic blue cord. Many of the female officers will now move on to challenges that include Ranger school and Airborne school.

US MILITARY chiefs have hoarded masses of military gear in underground Norwegian caves to ward off Vladimir Putin, it is claimed. The US has already announced the deployment of 300 Marines to the Scandinavian country that shares a 120-mile border with Russia. The US military is understood to be hoarding equipment in Norwegian storage centres in the event war breaks out with Russia. The method is similar to the ones used by Nato powers during the Cold War. It comes amid deteriorating relations between Moscow and the US over the former's role supporting Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad in the country's...

A military watchdog says the Obama administration is conducting its most radical social experiment to date on the U.S. armed forces. U.S. taxpayers are set to surrender more than $8 million annually so transgender soldiers can undergo sex-change operations. A study commissioned by the Pentagon pegged the annual cost at $8.4 million. The policy began Oct. 1 after the Pentagon announced this summer that transgendered personnel can serve openly in the U.S. armed forces. The same study admitted that many who undergo the surgery will be permanently unfit for duty. At the very least, according to the study, many of...

US Army Chief of Staff, General Mark Milley, walked out on stage at the US Army’s annual meeting this Tuesday in Washington D.C, puffing out his chest full of medals and barking like a rabid drill sergeant. Milley warned the enemies of this nation: Russia, China, North Korea, ISIS and Iran; “I want to be clear to those around the world who want to destroy our way of life, and that of our allies and friends, the United States military, despite all our challenges, despite our off-tempo, despite everything we have been doing, will stop you, and we will beat...

As U.S. and Iraqi forces prepare to launch an offensive to retake Mosul, we found out this week that 615 more troops will be deployed to assist in intelligence gathering for the Iraqi government forces that will be spearheading the attack. The number of U.S personnel already in Iraq is estimated between 4,900-6,400 men (via NBC News): The Department of Defense is preparing to dispatch 615 more U.S. troops to Iraq to help government forces oust ISIS from the city of Mosul, the White House announced Wednesday. The soldiers will provide logistics support for the Iraqi forces and not spearhead...

ISIS is suspected of firing a shell with mustard agent that landed at the Qayyara air base in Iraq Tuesday where US and Iraqi troops are operating, according to several US officials. The shell was categorized by officials as either a rocket or artillery shell. After it landed on the base, just south of Mosul, US troops tested it and received an initial reading for a chemical agent they believe is mustard. No US troops were hurt or have displayed symptoms of exposure to mustard agent. One official said the agent had "low purity" and was "poorly weaponized." A second...

Support From Retired Admirals And Generals Grows To 120 After Successful Commander-In-Chief Forum (NEW YORK, NY) September 9, 2016 – Donald J. Trump for President today announced 32 additional endorsements from retired admirals and generals, joining the 88 named earlier in the week. These 120 military leaders are in addition to numerous other distinguished former flag officers backing Mr. Trump including Lt. Gen. Mike Flynn, USA (Ret.) and Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg, USA (Ret.). These names were added following Wednesday’s Commander-In-Chief Forum, showing Mr. Trump has the respect and trust from a number of military leaders across all branches of...

American service members are petitioning for the return of beards to the US military, with their petition now containing well over 10,000 signatures. According to the petition page “Beards for Military“ on change.org, the writers of the petition call for the return of the long-gone tradition of tasteful facial hair on service members, citing a boost in morale. “All I want is to be able to grow a beard,” the petition reads, as penned by Ed Beebe. “I want to grow long locks of love on my face that will make me feel like a manly man. It is...