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Bowe Bergdahl — the once-missing U.S. soldier in Afghanistan who was accused of desertion — was spotted hanging out at a Mendocino County marijuana farm during a raid. According to the The Anderson Valley Advertiser, Bergdahl was an "unexpected visitor" in Mendocino County, where he was visiting old friends when the "local dope team arrived on a marijuana raid." Bergdahl arrived Friday at the farm, which is located in a remote part of Redwood Valley. Bergdahl, who is awaiting military court martial, had an Army pass allowing him to be in Mendocino County, the Advertiser reported, adding he was "not...

As private citizens stand guard at military recruiting centers across the nation, the Army has released a warning to its personnel and recruits, stating that armed citizens should be treated as a “security threat”. Travis Tritten of Stars & Stripes reports: The Army has warned its recruiters to treat the gun-toting civilians gathering at centers across the country in the wake of the Chattanooga, Tenn., shooting as a security threat. Soldiers should avoid anyone standing outside the recruiting centers attempting to offer protection and report them to local law enforcement and the command if they feel threatened, according to a...

The Army has warned its recruiters to treat the gun-toting civilians gathering at centers across the country in the wake of the Chattanooga, Tenn., shooting as a security threat. Soldiers should avoid anyone standing outside the recruiting centers attempting to offer protection and report them to local law enforcement and the command if they feel threatened, according to a U.S. Army Recruiting Command policy letter issued Monday. Armed citizens — some associated with activist groups and militias — were standing vigil outside recruiting centers in Wisconsin, Georgia, Tennessee, Idaho and elsewhere this week, saying they want to provide protection to...

Gen. Mark A. Milley testifies that troop drawdown and global threats make for bad combinationresident Barack Obama’s next choice for Army chief of staff said during a nomination hearing on Tuesday morning that the proposed military cutbacks introduced at the beginning of the month would increase national security risks. General Mark. A Milley testified Tuesday before the Senate Armed Services Committee ahead of a confirmation vote on his nomination as the new Army chief of staff. During the questioning, Milley said the recent decision to reduce the armed forces could have a damaging impact on national security given the uncertainty...

resident Barack Obama and Pentagon officials confirmed on Tuesday their plans to cut 40,000 troops from the United States Army over the course of the next two years, which is expected to affect domestic and foreign Army bases and installation. However, there has been no mention of cuts to the Military Accessions Vital to the National Interest (MAVNI) program initiated to enlist immigrants including those enjoying the benefits of Obama's executive order creating DACA. The force reductions will mean that the active-duty Army will experience cuts from its current size of about 490,000 soldiers to about 450,000. It will become...

Seriously, they are only allowing a choice between skim milk and soy milk? These people clearly don’t know much about nutrition

With an estimated 15,000 transgender soldiers now serving throughout the US military, Secretary of Defense Ash Carter on Monday called the military's ban 'outdated' and 'confusing.'When Kristin Beck was a Navy SEAL for 20 years, and known as a fighter named Christopher, her transgender identity was “maybe third or fourth or fifth down the list of things that were concerning me.” A decorated veteran of seven combat missions and a member of the famed special counterterrorism unit SEAL Team Six, Ms. Beck was part of the one of the most elite fighting forces in the world, the “toughest of the...

Col. Glenda Lock, commander of McDonald Army Health Center, was fired in late March. We now know the reason why. Apparently, Lock intimidated subordinates into letting her pass the tape test after she was found overweight. Initial reports in April indicated Lock was fired for “undue influence” and “command climate problems,” after receiving a suspension in February. Results from the investigation indicate that undue influence took the form of manipulating tape test results, Army Times reports. The tape test is used by all services to measure body fat in the neck and waist.

Overall, what do you think about the Army down- sizing in Hawaii: 1,400 fewer troops and loss of the Stryker Brigade?

The U.S. Army will reduce the number of soldiers stationed at Hawaii bases by 1,443 over the next two years, a reduction of 8 percent, rather than cutting most of the troops currently stationed on Oahu, Defense Department officials said Thursday. The cuts are part of a nation-wide cost-cutting move that will reduce the number of soldier positions by 40,000 by 2017.

Calling Iraq and Syria a "single battle space," Sen. Lindsey Graham said he'd place around 10,000 troops in Syria today if he were president, in order to eradicate the heart of the Islamic State group's attempted caliphate. That call amounted to one of the most aggressive proposals by a 2016 presidential candidate regarding dealing with Syria, which has been engulfed in years of fighting between the government, rebels and Islamic militants. In remarks before The Atlantic Council on Wednesday, Graham, R-S.C., said half-measures like arming the Kurds to fight the Islamic State group were insufficient, and name-checked two of his...

The Navy and Marine Corps have joined the Army and Air Force in making it harder to discharge transgender military members. Navy Secretary Ray Mabus signed a memorandum last Wednesday stating, "Effective immediately, separations initiated under the provisions of the reference for service members with a diagnosis or history of gender dysphoria, who identify themselves as transgender, or who have taken steps to externalize the condition, must be forwarded to the assistant secretary of the Navy (manpower and reserve affairs) for decision." The memo was directed to the chief of naval operations and commandant of the Marine Corps. Previously, discharge...

The U.S. Army is planning to cut more than 40,000 troops over the next two years, a senior U.S. defense official confirmed to Fox News Tuesday. General Martin Dempsey announced at a Senate Armed Services Committee Hearing Tuesday that dwindling resources was a major factor in the decision to cut the number of active troops from 490,000 to 450,000. In addition to the troop cuts, 17,000 Army civilian employees will be laid off in a plan that is to be formally announced on Thursday.

The U.S. Army plans to cut 40,000 troops over the next two years, affecting all its domestic and foreign posts, USA Today reported on Tuesday, citing a plan it said was

In fact, captured terrorists went out of style a long time ago, so that’s not the actual change. Until recently — like, say, two weeks ago — the Department of Defense used the term unlawful combatant as the label for terrorists captured by American military and intelligence forces as a way to distinguish them from uniformed soldiers of a recognized state authority in a straight-up fight. Their new manual dispenses with that term, the Federation of American Scientists noticed today (via Steven Aftergood and Olivier Knox): When it comes to Department of Defense doctrine on military treatment of detained persons,...

The Weekly Standard reported: A top commander in southwest Asia reminded U.S military personnel stationed in Muslim countries in the Middle East of the restrictions placed on them during Ramadan. According to a report by the U.S. Air Forces Central Command Public Affairs, Brig. Gen. John Quintas, 380th Air Expeditionary Wing commander in Southwest Asia, said that the U.S. is “committed to the concepts of tolerance, freedom and diversity.” But he added that soldiers should “become more informed and appreciative of the traditions and history of the people in this region of the world… [R]emember we are guests here and...

A West Point cadet was found guilty Tuesday of possessing a trove of violent child pornography in his dorm room at the storied military academy. Patrick Hester, 25, was taken into custody following the verdict in U.S. District Court in White Plains because the videos “depicted children being tortured,” Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said. “In collecting and sharing these appalling videos, he contributed to the victimization of the most vulnerable members of our society, our children.” More than 1,200 images and videos were seized from Hester’s dorm room in December 2013. Hester told fellow pervs in emails he preferred...

A federal court ruled yesterday that a Sikh college student must be allowed to enroll in Army ROTC without shaving his beard, cutting his hair, or removing his turban. U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson acted in the case of Hofstra University student Iknoor Singh, who had been barred by the U.S. Army from enrolling in the Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) program because of his religious practices. The Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) is a college-based program for training commissioned officers of the United States Armed Forces.

For nearly two decades, the U.S. Army has provided an honor guard for an Independence Day celebration at a Baptist church that predates the founding of the nation. But this year – that tradition has come to an end. Officials at Fort Gordon say they will not be able to send an honor guard to a July 5th service at Abilene Baptist Church because it violates a military policy banning any involvement in a religious service.  -snip So what changed? Fort Gordon’s Public Affairs Office pointed me to Army Regulation 360-1 – dated May 2011.  The lengthy regulation states Army participation must...

A married Army general on Tuesday introduced his spouse at a Pentagon event that featured lots of top brass, including Defense Secretary Ashton Carter as the keynote speaker. What made this seemingly routine introduction noteworthy is that Brig. Gen. Randy S. Taylor introduced his husband, Lucas. “My husband Lucas is sitting up front here,” Gen. Taylor said of the man in the same row as Mr. Carter, Army Secretary John McHugh and other senior officials. He said Lucas has subjugated his own career to support the general’s frequent moves over an 18-year relationship.