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Maj. Daniel J. Keating Jr., U.S.M.C. Commander, First Force Recon Company K.I.A. Thua Thien Province Republic of Vietnam May 22, 1968

A Navy SEAL who led a rescue operation to retrieve a fallen teammate on a treacherous mountain peak in Afghanistan will receive the Medal of Honor, the White House announced Monday. Retired Master Chief Special Warfare Operator Britt K. Slabinski will receive the nation’s highest military award on May 24, the White House said. Slabinski is credited with rallying a team of SEALs for a counter-assault on al-Qaeda fighters, who had pinned down another SEAL, Petty Officer 1st Class Neil Roberts, during a firefight in the early morning hours of March 4, 2002. Roberts had been ejected from a Chinook...

It was March 4, 2002. American special operations forces were fighting to establish observation posts high above Afghanistan’s Shah-i-Kot Valley, as conventional troops continued their push through the valley floor below. One of those men, Air Force Technical Sgt. John Chapman, was alone in the pitch-black, wounded and slowly regaining his consciousness in the thigh-deep snow of a 10,469-foot peak known as Takur Ghar, as scores of Al Qaeda fighters closed in. The operators were due to lift-off from their Gardez base around midnight and quietly land near the base of the peak before climbing to the top. But maintenance...

When they brought William “Ryan” Owens home, the Navy SEAL was carried from a C-17 military plane in a flag-draped casket, onto the tarmac at Dover Air Force Base, as President Donald Trump, his daughter, Ivanka, and Owens’ family paid their respects. ....“I’m sorry, I don’t want to see him,’’ Owens recalled telling the chaplain who informed him that Trump was on his way from Washington. “I told them I don’t want to meet the President.” It had been little more than 24 hours since six officers in dress uniform knocked on the door to Owens’ home in Lauderdale-by-the-Sea.... ...Owens...

Under Obama, America has been at war for longer than under any other U.S. president

A U.S. service member was killed in Afghanistan on Saturday afternoon as a result of wounds sustained during operations in the country's eastern Logar Province, according to the U.S. military.“On behalf of U.S. Forces – Afghanistan, we offer our deepest condolences to the family of our fallen brother,” said General John Nicholson, the commander of U.S. Forces Afghanistan, in a press release. “Despite this tragic event, we remain steadfast in our commitment to the Afghan people and to support them in our mutual fight against terrorism.” The identity of the service member has not yet been released, and the military...

White House Chief of Staff John Kelly on Thursday gave a powerful defense of President Trump’s handling of a call to a Gold Star widow of a soldier who was killed in Niger — and ripped a Florida lawmaker for politicizing the issue. “There’s no perfect way to make that phone call,” he said in his first public comments on the controversy over the call, which slain Sgt. La David Johnson’s mother Cowanda Jones-Johnson and a Florida lawmaker who knew him called disrespectful. “If you’ve never worn the uniform, if you’ve never been in combat, you can’t even imagine how...

Welcome to day three of the Donald Trump condolence-call story. It started badly, with the president questioning the way his predecessors dealt with the families of war dead. It's only got worse, as the story has morphed into one of an allegedly callous presidential call to a grieving widow of a US soldier killed in Niger. Here are five reasons why this snowballing story is so damaging to the president. It cuts against a strengthMr Trump campaigned on being a defender of the US military and, in particular, US veterans. Time and again he said those in the armed services...

The mother of a US soldier who was killed in action has backed a congresswoman's claim that President Donald Trump showed insensitivity during a phone call to her son's widow. Representative Frederica Wilson said he had told Myeshia Johnson: "He knew what he was signing up for, but I guess it hurts anyway." Mr Trump said Ms Wilson's account was "totally fabricated". Sgt La David Johnson was killed in Niger by Islamist militants this month. He was one four US special service soldiers who died in an ambush. Mr Trump had already been criticised for not contacting the families of...

WASHINGTON — President Trump falsely asserted on Monday that his predecessor, Barack Obama, and other presidents did not contact the families of American troops killed in duty, drawing a swift, angry rebuke from several of Mr. Obama’s former aides. Mr. Trump was responding to a question about why he had not spoken publicly about the killing of four Green Berets in an ambush in Niger two weeks ago when he made the assertion. Rather than answering the question, Mr. Trump said he had written personal letters to their families and planned to call them in the coming week. Then he...

FORT JACKSON, SC An accident involving a military vehicle and a troop formation at Fort Jackson on Friday afternoon, resulted in the deaths of two Soldiers and injured six others, two critically. The injured were immediately evacuated to an off-post hospital, according to the U.S Army. The names of the dead won’t be released until their families are notified. “Our hearts and prayers go out to the families of the soldiers we lost today and to the families of the injured, they represent the best of our nation and we will endeavor to support all those affected through this difficult...

Three U.S. Army Special Forces soldiers were killed and two others were wounded Wednesday in an ambush in the west African country of Niger. U.S. Africa Command confirmed that a joint patrol of Green Berets and Nigerien soldiers was attacked in the southwestern part of Niger, near the border with Mali. Officials told Fox News that between eight and 10 troops were part of the patrol. Officials told the Associated Press that the commandos were likely attacked by Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb. The officials added that the two wounded U.S. soldiers were taken to Niamey, the capital, and...

Naimey, Niger —Breaking news from several sources confirms that a joint U.S. and Nigerien patrol came under hostile fire near the Niger-Malian border. USAFRICOM Media Relations Officer, Samantha Reho sent this press release; “We can confirm reports that a joint U.S. and Nigerien patrol came under hostile fire in southwest Niger. We are working to confirm details on the incident and will have more information as soon as we can confirm facts on the ground.

Three U.S. Army Special Forces soldiers were killed and two others were wounded Wednesday in an ambush in the west African country of Niger. U.S. Africa Command confirmed that a joint patrol of Green Berets and Nigerien soliders was attacked in the southwestern part of Niger, near the border with Mali. Officials told Fox News that between eight and 10 troops were part of the patrol.

The search continues today for the crew of the 25th Combat Aviation Bridge who were reported missing off of Kaena Point at about 9:30 p.m. Tuesday night during a night-training flight.

Trooper Pilot Berke Bates and Lieutenant H. Jay Cullen were killed when their Bell 407 helicopter crashed into a wooded area in a residential neighborhood on Old Farm Road in Albemarle County, Virginia. They were in the area to monitor civil unrest that was occurring in Charlottesville, Virginia, during a large protest. The helicopter had just taken off to monitor the Virginia governor's motorcade after he arrived in the area to monitor the situation. The helicopter experienced some sort of issue before crashing into the trees and becoming engulfed in flames. Trooper Bates and Lieutenant Cullen were killed in the...

Two best-friend aviators from Washington State, one who survived World War II, and one who did not, are now buried side by side — a sad reunion made possible after the one vet’s bones were discovered in Germany, embedded in the roots of a tree.

At least five people are dead after a military transport plane crashed in Mississippi, according to reports. The plane came down early Monday evening, sending plumes of black smoke billowing into the air above a field near Moorhead, northwest of Jackson. Sheriff Ricky Banks told the Clarion-Ledger that at least five people had died on the aircraft, believed to be carrying nine.

A 19-year-old soldier from Wasilla, Alaska has died while serving overseas in Afghanistan, according to Reuters. The Pentagon said Wednesday that he died from injuries sustained during an attack. Check it out (via Reuters): "Private First Class Hansen Kirkpatrick of Wasilla, Alaska, died on Monday when he was struck by “indirect fire,” a military term that usually encompasses rockets, mortars, or artillery, the U.S. military command in Kabul said in a statement. Kirkpatrick was assigned to the U.S. Army’s 1st Armored Division, which is based in Fort Bliss, Texas."

The bodies of some of the seven US sailors missing after a pre-dawn collision off the coast of Japan on Saturday have been found, the Navy said early Sunday. They were found in compartments below the waterline that flooded when the collision tore holes in their destroyer, the USS Fitzgerald. They died either from the impact or drowned when seawater flooded the compartments. Most of the approximately 300 sailors on the ship were asleep at the time.