TheRepublic.com - U.S. Department of Defense News

House, Senate on diverging paths on agency budgets

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 17:02:45 -0400

WASHINGTON - Republicans controlling the House unveiled slashing cuts Tuesday to a program that helps localities build community development projects, while their rivals in the Democratic-led Senate proposed to restore GOP cuts to international food aid and nutrition help for pregnant women.

Military plans would put women in most combat jobs

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 20:37:11 -0400

WASHINGTON - Women may be able to start training as Army Rangers by mid-2015 and as Navy SEALs a year later under plans set to be announced by the Pentagon that would slowly bring women into thousands of combat jobs, including those in elite special operations forces.

Longtime gov't lawyer to lead Gitmo closure effort

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 03:05:17 -0400

WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama has chosen a high-powered Washington lawyer with extensive experience in all three branches of the government to be the State Department's special envoy for closing down the military-run prison at the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base in Cuba.

Obama chooses lawyer as Guantanamo closure envoy

Sun, 16 Jun 2013 16:03:14 -0400

Couple find calling in bringing smiles to others

Sat, 15 Jun 2013 17:53:49 -0400

WASHINGTON - Judy Kopff needs three hours to become a clown.

AP IMPACT: Snowden's life surrounded by spycraft

Sat, 15 Jun 2013 11:07:07 -0400

FORT MEADE, Maryland - The intelligence contractor whose leak of top-secret documents has exposed sweeping government surveillance grew up in Fort Meade, Maryland, in the shadow of the headquarters of the nation's spy agency, its presence an accepted part of everyday life.

APNewsBreak: Report criticizes West Point leader

Fri, 14 Jun 2013 23:43:34 -0400

ALBANY, New York - The top official at the U.S. Military Academy improperly allowed subordinates to give driving lessons, didn't properly compensate those who worked at a charity dinner and misused his position to obtain cat care, according to a report from Pentagon investigators.

Marines land Osprey aircraft on Japanese ship

Fri, 14 Jun 2013 22:47:24 -0400

SAN DIEGO - A U.S. Marine Corps MV-22 Osprey aircraft made an unprecedented landing Friday on a Japanese naval vessel off the California coast.

House passes sweeping $638 billion defense bill

Fri, 14 Jun 2013 14:52:46 -0400

WASHINGTON - The House overwhelmingly passed a sweeping, $638 billion defense bill on Friday that imposes new punishments on members of the armed services found guilty of rape or sexual assault as outrage over the crisis in the military has galvanized Congress.

NY Air Guard abuse claim gets senators' attention

Fri, 14 Jun 2013 13:55:48 -0400

ALBANY, New York -

Government has history of secrecy, spying, leaks

Fri, 14 Jun 2013 03:48:41 -0400

WASHINGTON - It isn't the first time that the federal government has been caught spying on Americans or that classified government information has been leaked to the news media or otherwise widely distributed. The Vietnam War and civil-rights protest movements of the 1960s and 1970s generated plenty of surveillance and secrecy. And leaks.

Correction: Military Sexual Assault story

Thu, 13 Jun 2013 15:00:35 -0400

WASHINGTON - In a story June 12, The Associated Press reported erroneously that Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas was the only Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee who supported a measure to remove commanders from decision-making on whether to prosecute sexual assault cases in the military. Sen. David Vitter, R-La., also supported the proposal. A corrected version of the story is below:

National Guard group to hold convention in Hawaii

Wed, 12 Jun 2013 22:32:37 -0400

HONOLULU - A private association of National Guard members plans to hold its annual conference in Honolulu this year, even though some officials at the Pentagon have questioned the wisdom of meeting in a vacation destination.

Friday furloughs planned this summer at JBLM

Tue, 11 Jun 2013 18:41:14 -0400

JOINT BASE LEWIS-MCCHORD, Washington - About 10,000 civilian workers at Joint Base Lewis-McChord could work four-day weeks this summer, taking off 11 straight Fridays in a row as furlough days to reduce spending.

Panel rejects request for military base closings

Tue, 11 Jun 2013 18:38:23 -0400

WASHINGTON - Another round of military base closings has hit a dead end.

Esty seeks incentives for Newtown school donations

Tue, 11 Jun 2013 13:32:04 -0400

HARTFORD, Connecticut - U.S. Rep. Elizabeth Esty is introducing an amendment to provide incentives to defense contractors that make donations to help build a new Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, as well as other schools disrupted by a traumatic crisis.

More than 900 W.Va. Guard techs face furloughs

Tue, 11 Jun 2013 12:54:10 -0400

CHARLESTON, West Virginia - More than 900 West Virginia Air and Army National Guard technicians will be furloughed in the coming months because of automatic federal budget cuts.

Ellsberg: No leaks more significant than Snowden's

Tue, 11 Jun 2013 12:01:03 -0400

KENSINGTON, California - Pentagon Papers leaker Daniel Ellsberg calls the revelations by a government contractor on U.S. secret surveillance programs the most "significant disclosure" in the nation's history.

Hagel: Budget forces review of outside contracts

Tue, 11 Jun 2013 10:42:20 -0400

WASHINGTON - Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel says the Pentagon is reviewing all private contractors as the department deals with budget cuts and the lucrative payment to an NSA leaker casts a spotlight on the outside work.

Charges sought for Iraqi held at Guantanamo

Mon, 10 Jun 2013 20:46:56 -0400

GUANTANAMO BAY NAVAL BASE, Cuba - U.S. military prosecutors announced plans Monday to add another case to the docket of the war crimes tribunal at Guantanamo amid efforts by President Barack Obama to move the proceedings to the United States and shutter the detention center.

A list of other famous leakers in recent history

Sun, 09 Jun 2013 21:18:03 -0400

Edward Snowden, a 29-year-old American intelligence contractor, has revealed himself as the source who disclosed the U.S. government's secret phone and Internet surveillance programs. Some other famous leakers in recent history:

Del. detention center chef teaches life lessons

Sun, 09 Jun 2013 10:32:01 -0400

WILMINGTON, Delaware - He has cooked for four-star generals, presidents of the United States, high-ranking officers from around the world and troops of every stripe.

Defense report: Post-bin Laden raid security lapse

Wed, 05 Jun 2013 20:31:36 -0400

WASHINGTON - Several weeks after overseeing the raid that killed Osama bin Laden, then-CIA Director Leon Panetta revealed the name of the raid commander in a speech attended by the writer of the film "Zero Dark Thirty," according to a draft report by Pentagon investigators.

US to deploy Patriots, F-16s to Jordan

Wed, 05 Jun 2013 12:51:03 -0400

AMMAN, Jordan - The U.S. will send anti-missile batteries and fighter jets to Jordan at the kingdom's request to boost defense capabilities in the face of an attack from neighboring Syria, Jordanian officials said Wednesday.

US, Germany, Italy vow key Afghan roles post-2014

Wed, 05 Jun 2013 11:26:52 -0400

BRUSSELS - Germany and Italy will join the United States as "lead nations" in regions of Afghanistan after NATO transitions into a noncombat mission there after 2014, U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said Wednesday.