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Ignore those pictures of the Afghan army, that our military senior leader geniuses spent 20 years and zillions of dollars on, disintegrating in the face of a pack of glorified mountain banditos from the Seventh Century – the real story is that, finally, America’s fighting men and women are fully aware of the urgency of accepting and validating the trans experience. And it's even better if said trans people are BIPOC. Plus differently abled.

WASHINGTON, May 16, 2008 – The Defense Department needs to worry more about what warfighters need right now than what they may need down the road, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said last night. In a speech to the Business Executives for National Security group, Gates said he will work for the remainder of his time in office to ensure the department fulfills its “sacred obligation” to support U.S. servicemembers now fighting on the front lines. This means doing all that is needed to “see that they are successful on the battlefield and properly cared for at home,” Gates...

ORLANDO, FL -- A small Florida company has turned one of the world's most popular high tech gadgets into a tool for American troops that can help save lives. "They speak with their hands -- a lot," US Army Sergeant Darren Williams said, remembering the times he worked to communicate with the local people during his year as a soldier in Iraq. "If you grab something, or if you say, 'Hold it.' Or, 'Pick it up. Pick it up.' You use that a lot, too," the Jacksonville-based Army recruiter said, waving his hands through a series of gestures. For Williams,...

U.S. Military, Commercial Space Assets Vulnerable To Attack: Experts Defense Daily 06/22/2006 Author: Dave Ahearn U.S. military and commercial satellites, long seen as above the fray and out of harm's way, are vulnerable to multiple types of attack, an assault that a determined enemy someday will attempt. So said military, government, industry and think tank experts testifying yesterday before the House Armed Services Committee strategic forces subcommittee. Defending against such an attack in the long-peaceful realm of space can be accomplished, but at a price: military, government and commercial satellite owners would have to provide more money to companies making...

MARINE CORPS AIR GROUND COMBAT CENTER TWENTYNINE PALMS, Calif. (June 2, 2006) -- Marines fighting the ongoing war on terrorism face enemies that are adaptive, decentralized and elusive. According to Headquarters Marine Corps, the enemy will continue to develop new tactics designed to exploit perceived seams in Marine Corps capabilities, having recognized the overwhelming conventional superiority of U.S. forces. In order to maintain dominance on the battlefield, it is essential to the Corps that the methods of war-fighting change continuously, and Marines continue to adapt to new methods while remaining a flexible, combined-arms force. The Marine Corps Warfighting Laboratory in...

WASHINGTON, May 19, 2006 – Supporting nontraditional missions and humanitarian crises doesn't detract from the defense mission, but rather, builds important relationships around the world, strengthens capabilities and fills vital needs, top defense leaders said here today. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Marine Gen. Peter Pace both said that DoD can and should support nontraditional, humanitarian missions, such as 2005's Hurricane Katrina and Pakistan earthquake. Both offered their views at a Pentagon town hall meeting May 19. Photo by Petty Officer 1st Class Chad McNeeley, USN  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. "When our nation sends its armed forces...

FORT HUACHUCA, Ariz. (Army News Service, May 8, 2006) – The newly activated Unmanned Aircraft Systems Training Battalion (provisional) assumed responsibility for training operators and maintainers of the Army’s unmanned aerial systems last month at Fort Huachuca, Ariz. The ceremony marked the transfer of the training mission from the U.S. Army Intelligence Center to the U.S. Army Aviation Warfighting Center at Fort Rucker, Ala., the home of Army aviation. Unmanned aerial vehicles, or UAVs, are powered aerial vehicles sustained in flight by aerodynamic lift over most of their flight path and guided without an on-board crew. They may be expendable...

"Basically, the goal is to establish a warrior ethos in the airmen," Sargent said. "We send a message that, regardless of the reason they joined, whether it's educational opportunities or technical training, they're warriors first and foremost." In the past, recruits spent their first week in classrooms, learning about noncombat topics. Now they're being prepared for a combat environment and warned about the psychological stresses of war early on in training. They're taught weapons training, security, first aid and other war skills and go through a mock predeployment briefing early in the course. Col. Gina Grosso, commander of Lackland's 737th...

More than just a branch of America’s armed forces, the modern U.S. Marine Corps serves as a model that other military forces worldwide have attempted to emulate, with varying degrees of success. Marines are aware of this, and justifiably proud. But that pride has not always been conducive to working and playing well with others.

WASHINGTON, Sept. 20, 2005 – The U.S. military is fully capable to fulfill all its responsibilities, including homeland defense and relief efforts, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Air Force Gen. Richard B. Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said in a Pentagon news briefing today. After deploying more than 50,000 National Guard troops to help with Hurricane Katrina recovery, Army Lt. Gen. H Steven Blum, chief of the National Guard Bureau, reported that there were still hundreds of thousands of troops available for deployment, Rumsfeld said. The active-duty force also has capabilities to support relief efforts and sustain...

In the lead up to the war in Iraq each of the main component commanders PACOM, ACOM and CENTCOM (Pacific Command, Atlantic Command and Central Command)(note: each component just listed is made up of the Army, Navy, Airforce Geographic Commanders and they work for the Joint Chiefs of Staff in the Pentagon) were told to come up with numbers of troops to augment the main forces that were already deploying to Kuwait (the main fighting forces). The main contingent was in place to march on Baghdad and the augmentees were in the back field in standby reserve status. Because we...

US Marine Corps Experiments With Available Technologies To Transform Air-Ground Combat Consider the following situation. Enemy forces use decoys, deception, and their resemblance to non-combatants to avoid targeting by joint overhead surveillance and reconnaissance assets. The Joint Task Force commander elects to send in ground forces in small teams to provide discriminate targeting for engagement with precision munitions. The small teams, operating in widely dispersed units, add clarity to the operational picture and, in conjunction with tactical unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), provide the ability to route a skillful enemy fighting on his own turf. It may sound like the war...