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On Sept. 30, the U.S. Army unceremoniously stood up a new headquarters—the 1st Special Forces Command—at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. The division-level unit brings together more than 15,000 Green Berets and other special troops in a single new organization. Previously, the Army’s Special Operations Command had directly controlled all of these troops plus others on a wide range of missions. The idea behind the new HQ is to assemble a force specifically tailored for dealing with what the Pentagon calls “hybrid warfare.” Simply put, hybrid warfare is a blend of straight-up traditional combat—with infantry, tanks and artillery—and secretive insurgency. Probably...

Complete Headline: Saudi National Reportedly Crashes Car Containing Explosives Into US Army Post Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio, Texas A driver who rammed his car into the gates of U.S. Army post Fort Sam Houston in Texas is in custody after the ordeal on Sunday. Police have not provided much information about the situation or the suspect, but the military base, which had been placed under lockdown, has returned to normal operations. The suspect has been identified as a male Saudi national, according to KCEN TV. Authorities have not identified the man, but he is in custody. His car...

(VIDEO-AT-LINK)The Army is moving to discharge a decorated combat pilot who intervened to stop two lesbian officers from showing what he considered inappropriate affection on the dance floor during a full-dress formal ball at Fort Drum, New York, in 2012. Lt. Col. Christopher Downey, who was once assigned to the White House and completed tours in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, ended up being convicted administratively of assaulting a soldier trying to videotape the kissing and grabbing. Col. Downey’s attorney, Richard Thompson, says his client merely pushed down the camera to prevent photos and video that could end up on...

The U.S. military is considering sending a limited number of American ground forces to fight alongside Iraqi troops as they launch complex missions to regain territory lost to Islamic State militants, the country’s top military officer said Thursday. Thus far, American military personnel have been limited to serving as rear guard advisers to the Iraqi security forces and the Kurdish peshmerga. But Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs, said that could change as the campaign against the Islamic State becomes more difficult. “As it evolves there are certain operations that could be more complex than the ones in...

The Army deployed 65 infantry divisions for the Second World War. Each was a small town with its own equivalents for community services plus eight categories of combat arms. Units such as artillery, engineering, and heavy weapons engaged the enemy directly. Yet of all categories, the foot soldier faced the greatest hazard with the least chance of reward. Except for the Purple Heart and the coveted Combat Infantryman’s Badge, recognition often eluded them because so few came through to testify to the valor of the many. The infantryman confronted the most dismal fate of all whose duty was uninterrupted by...

The Army deployed 65 infantry divisions for the Second World War. Each was a small town with its own equivalents for community services plus eight categories of combat arms. Units such as artillery, engineering, and heavy weapons engaged the enemy directly. Yet of all categories, the foot soldier faced the greatest hazard with the least chance of reward. Except for the Purple Heart and the coveted Combat Infantryman’s Badge, recognition often eluded them because so few came through to testify to the valor of the many. The infantryman confronted the most dismal fate of all whose duty was uninterrupted by...

The apology follows the dated term found in updated Army regulations policy as an acceptable classification for 'a person having origins in any of the black racial groups of Africa.' The newly revised policy now limits the acceptable terms to 'Black or African American.' The U.S. Army has backtracked with an apology after approving the term "Negro" as an acceptable reference for black service members. The decision comes two days after the dated term was found listed as an acceptable classification for "a person having origins in any of the black racial groups of Africa" in section 6-2 of the...

Chinese President Xi Jinping said the army is under the absolute leadership of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the principle should always be firmly upheld. “The Party commands the gun,” said Xi, also general secretary of the CPC Central Committee and the Central Military Commission (CMC) chairman, at a military political work conference held in a former revolutionary base in the township of Gutian, Fujian Province on Thursday and Friday. The ideological and political development is the lifeline for military building and has safeguarded the CPC’s absolute command of the troops, Xi noted. …

‘Negro’ is an acceptable term for black soldiers, U.S. Army says • Color it a confusing command update. One military official says using the word to describe ‘a person having origins in any of the black racial groups of Africa’ might be for people who prefer to refer to themselves this way. But another calls it ‘the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard. What year is it again? Army regulations still allow for black soldiers to be labeled Negro — a term that faded in the late 1960s. The archaic policy was spelled out as recently as Oct. 22, when the...

<p>WASHINGTON (AP) — Shocked and offended by explicit questions, some U.S. servicemen and women are complaining about a new sexual-assault survey that hundreds of thousands have been asked to complete.</p> <p>The survey is conducted every two years. But this year's version, developed by the Rand Corp., is unusually detailed, including graphically personal questions on sexual acts.</p>

The Obama administration has said the U.S. Army “discriminated” against a transgender male employee by not allowing him to use the female restroom, calling him “he,” and asking him to stop having uncomfortable and “unwanted” discussions with his co-workers about his upcoming surgical castration. The U.S. Office of Special Counsel (OSC) found that the Department of the Army committed gender identity discrimination against “Tamara” Lusardi, a civilian quality assurance specialist who announced he wanted to become a woman. Lusardi, who has been a civilian employee since November 2004, announced his transition in April 2010 and began presenting himself as...

Megha Rajagopalan, Reuters October 31, 2014 China will dispatch an elite unit from the People's Liberation Army to help Ebola-hit Liberia, the Foreign Ministry said on Friday, responding to U.N. calls for a greater global effort to fight the deadly virus in West Africa. Washington has led the international drive to stop the spread of the disease that has killed nearly 5,000 people, sending thousands of troops and committing about $1 billion, but Beijing has faced criticism for not doing enough. The PLA squad, which has experience from a 2002 outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), will build a...

They are the first troops to be placed into what’s effectively a 21-day quarantine under a new Army policy that calls for isolating and monitoring the health of all soldiers who have deployed to the Ebola zone. Maj. Gen. Darryl Williams, the head of U.S. Army Africa, and 11 of his staff members were put under “enhanced monitoring” when they returned to their headquarters after traveling to Liberia to help kick off President Barack Obama’s military response to the Ebola outbreak.

Elite Army Green Berets are knocking the performance of the Afghan National Army, telling war tales of its soldiers hiding and quitting the fight.The Green Beret criticisms, contained in a U.S. Central Command “friendly fire” investigative file, provide a window into the flaws of a national army more than a decade in the making.The Special Forces soldiers gave poor marks to the institution that is supposed to keep Afghanistan’s democratically elected governments in power. The security force must rebuff an expected Taliban offensive, on its own, once all American troops leave after 2016.The soldiers gave statements to investigators after going...

Army has disciplined 20 cadets for promoting underage drinking and has self-reported a football recruiting violation to the NCAA stemming from an incident that took place earlier this year, according to a report by The Gazette of Colorado Springs. According to documents obtained by The Gazette, Army treated recruits to a party, dinner with female cadets, cash from boosters and VIP treatment on a party bus that included cheerleaders and a police escort in January.

The commander of a Fort Carson helicopter battalion objected when subordinates talked about a toxic command climate, according to documents obtained by The Gazette. "You want toxic? I'll show you toxic," Lt. Col. Tammy Baugh allegedly told soldiers in the 1st Battalion of the 25th Aviation Regiment, documents said. A 263-page Army investigation report released under the Freedom of Information Act portrays Baugh as a foul-mouthed boss who belittled soldiers, threw things during a meeting and sometimes stormed out of battalion gatherings. Baugh and the battalion's command sergeant major were temporarily relieved in July, but later placed back in command...

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — Judith White, who runs a research lab at the University of Virginia School of Medicine, submitted a proposal to the National Institutes of Health to test potential countermeasures against Ebola in March — just as Liberia was confirming its first two cases of the deadly virus. The project, a collaboration of the university, the Army and a drug company, showed promising early results: Mice injected with two compounds — one used in a drug to treat female infertility, the other found in a breast cancer drug — showed immunity to Ebola. But a few months later, not...

"The message of the Sikh faith, although peaceful, has a strong theme of justice and upholding human rights running through it." My dear friend's cousin, Major Kamaljit Khalsi, will be going in front of congress to fight for Sikhs Service in the US Military. We need 100,000 signatures but are only at 5700. Please sign the petition and please share with your friends and family to help everyone. This isn't only for Sikhs but anyone from different faiths that look to join and serve their country." To: We, the undersigned individuals, respectfully call on your Administration to give devout Sikh...

(CNSNews.com) - Ebola is "a very concerning matter," Secretary of the Army John McHugh told reporters on Wednesday. "I certainly would not suggest to any family, don't be worried, don't be concerned. Every time a solider goes forward on any mission, there's concern. And -- and this is a very concerning matter." Hundreds of U.S. military personnel are now in Liberia to help that country deal with its raging Ebola epidemic. Thousands more are expected to arrive in the coming weeks and months. McHugh said the U.S. military has been working "very, very closely" with its own medical experts as...

A battalion of 800 Sierra Leonean soldiers awaiting deployment as peacekeepers in Somalia has been placed in quarantine after one of the members tested positive for the deadly Ebola virus. Military officials said in Freetown on Tuesday that the soldiers were due to relieve the country’s contingent already deployed with Somalia’s African Union peacekeeping mission, known as AMISOM. Col. Michael Samoura, Spokesman for the Republic of Sierra Leone Armed Forces, confirmed that a member of the battalion had tested positive for the disease. He said the soldier was infected after leaving the military camp where the force was based without...