Free Republic

The head of a powerful House panel is threatening to withhold defense funding over the department's alleged stonewalling in a probe of the controversial swap of five Taliban leaders for Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl. Former Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel had initially pledged to respond to questions, when lawmakers first demanded to know why the Pentagon had not given Congress the requisite 30-day notice before proceeding with the May 31 prisoner trade. But nearly a year later, the Pentagon has released only a trickle of highly redacted emails from before the swap. Republican lawmakers now plan to attempt the unusual step of...

The chairman of the House Armed Services Committee is suggesting NATO take over the USS John F. Kennedy aircraft carrier, which the U.S. Navy and the Bush administration want to retire early for budget reasons.

The Army chief of staff "adamantly opposes" an end- strength increase to the size of his service. Gen. Peter Schoomaker told the House Armed Services Committee today that an unfunded end-strength increase "puts readiness at risk, it puts training at risk, it puts modernization at risk, it puts transformation at risk – and that's why I'm resisting it." Many in Congress believe the Army is stressed with worldwide operations. One proposal calls for adding two more combat divisions. Another calls for a 40,000-man increase in the Army, while other, more general proposals just call for end-strength increases. Schoomaker agrees the...

Military officials detailed to the House Armed Services Committee just how the troop rotation plan for Iraq will work. At the heart of the matter is how the military takes troops that are in contact with the enemy and replaces them with fresh forces. The troops leaving must give information to those replacing them so there is continuity of mission. Air Force Lt. Gen. Norton Schwartz, the director of operations with the Joint Staff, briefed the congressmen today. The current set-up in Iraq consists of four Army divisions and supporting forces -- the 82nd Airborne Division, the 1st Armored Division,...