TheRepublic.com - Military and defense News

Key House chairman slams Senate immigration bill

Wed, 22 May 2013 16:51:25 -0400

WASHINGTON - A key House committee chairman on Wednesday sharply criticized a wide-ranging immigration bill just passed by a Senate committee, underscoring the difficulties ahead as the politically volatile measure moves forward in a divided Congress.

AG: 4 Americans killed since 2009 in drone strikes

Wed, 22 May 2013 16:46:25 -0400

WASHINGTON - Attorney General Eric Holder says four American citizens have been killed in drone strikes since 2009.

Vatican releases 1st report of financial watchdog

Wed, 22 May 2013 16:38:23 -0400

VATICAN CITY - The Vatican took another step Wednesday to show greater financial transparency by publishing the first annual report from its financial watchdog agency and announcing new regulations to fight money laundering and terror financing.

Fort Hood suspect seeks to fire Army attorneys

Wed, 22 May 2013 16:23:41 -0400

FORT HOOD, Texas - The Army psychiatrist charged in the deadly 2009 Fort Hood shooting rampage says he wants to represent himself at his upcoming trial.

House panel moves to curb military sexual assaults

Wed, 22 May 2013 16:11:57 -0400

WASHINGTON - Lawmakers have approved legislation to stem the growing epidemic of sexual assaults in the military.

Colombia: 9 soldiers killed by in rebel attack

Wed, 22 May 2013 15:46:35 -0400

BOGOTA, Colombia - At least nine Colombian soldiers were killed in an attack with homemade explosives by the country's second-largest leftist rebel band, the military said Wednesday.

US Army declares missing Fort Bragg soldier dead

Wed, 22 May 2013 15:44:14 -0400

FORT BRAGG, North Carolina - The U.S. Army has officially declared a Fort Bragg soldier dead, more than a year after she was last seen leaving a bar near the base.

Fairchild AFB still candidate for new planes

Wed, 22 May 2013 15:37:25 -0400

SPOKANE, Washington - Officials from Washington expressed disappointment Wednesday that Fairchild Air Force Base was not chosen as the first home of the Air Force's new aerial refueling tankers.

McConnell selected for new Air Force tanker base

Wed, 22 May 2013 15:12:15 -0400

WICHITA, Kansas - McConnell Air Force Base was selected Wednesday as the main operating site for the Air Force's new KC-46A air refueling tanker, making Wichita home to the U.S. military's largest tanker base in the world.

Change of command at Maine shipyard Friday

Wed, 22 May 2013 14:56:25 -0400

KITTERY, Maine - The next commander of the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard is about to take charge.

Israeli air force chief warns of Syrian attacks

Wed, 22 May 2013 14:17:12 -0400

JERUSALEM - Israel's air force chief warned Wednesday that tensions with Syria could escalate into a "surprise war" and that Israel needs to be ready.

Pentagon to seek new vets record system

Wed, 22 May 2013 14:08:26 -0400

WASHINGTON - The Pentagon has decided to buy a new computerized health records system to be able to better share and merge its data with the Department of Veterans Affairs, but officials cautioned that it was part of a "long-term modernization" effort and would not help ease the current backlog in VA disability claims.

Intercontinental missile test-launched in Calif.

Wed, 22 May 2013 13:07:20 -0400

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, California - The U.S. Air Force launched an unarmed intercontinental ballistic missile from a California base on Wednesday, a month after the test flight was postponed because of tensions with North Korea.

101st brigades among last in eastern Afghanistan

Wed, 22 May 2013 12:22:51 -0400

FORWARD OPERATING BASE SALERNO, Afghanistan - When the 4th Brigade Combat Team from the 101st Airborne Division took control over three key provinces in southeastern Afghanistan on Wednesday, they were likely the last American combat brigade in the area now that the U.S. is handing over responsibility for security to the Afghans.

NH's Pease to get new line of refueling tankers

Wed, 22 May 2013 11:23:22 -0400

CONCORD, New Hampshire - New Hampshire's Pease Air National Guard base has won its bid to be first in the nation to receive a new generation of air refueling tankers.

Iraqi premier orders army shake-up after attacks

Wed, 22 May 2013 10:14:20 -0400

BAGHDAD - Iraq's prime minister has ordered a shake-up of his military command after a weeklong spike of militant attacks that has killed nearly 300 people, by far the highest toll since the U.S. withdrew its forces in late 2011, an official said Wednesday.

Bradley Manning sympathetic star of WikiLeaks doc

Wed, 22 May 2013 09:18:22 -0400

LOS ANGELES - Julian Assange's reign as the star of the WikiLeaks story could be coming to an end.

Statehouse ceremony honors Ohio military dead

Wed, 22 May 2013 08:11:51 -0400

COLUMBUS, Ohio - Sixteen fallen military members from Ohio have been honored in a ceremony on the grounds of the Statehouse.

7 Egyptian security men kidnapped in Sinai freed

Wed, 22 May 2013 08:05:38 -0400

CAIRO - Six Egyptian policemen and a border guard kidnapped by suspected militants in the volatile Sinai Peninsula last week were freed by their captors Wednesday after successful mediation, the country's military spokesman said.

Judge allows foreign travel for NC theft suspect

Wed, 22 May 2013 07:11:13 -0400

ELIZABETH CITY, North Carolina - A federal judge is allowing a former manager at a Navy bombing range in North Carolina to take a Bahamas cruise, overruling prosecutors who warned he may never return to face charges of stealing more than $6 million worth of scrap metal.

Horne: Border security should be decided by panel

Wed, 22 May 2013 06:15:07 -0400

PHOENIX - Arizona Attorney General Tom Horne says a federal immigration reform bill should not allow the Department of Homeland Security to pronounce the U.S.-Mexico border secure.

Expanded VA outpatient clinic in Beaufort to open

Wed, 22 May 2013 04:05:04 -0400

BEAUFORT, South Carolina - An expanded veterans' outpatient clinic at the Naval Hospital in Beaufort is ready to accept patients.

Officials say Benghazi suspects under surveillance

Wed, 22 May 2013 03:20:28 -0400

WASHINGTON - Five men are under round-the-clock U.S. surveillance in Libya, wanted for questioning in the attack last year on the diplomatic mission in Benghazi, Libya. The White House believes there is enough proof for a military force to seize them as terrorist suspects, officials say, but prefers to wait until investigators have enough evidence to try them in a U.S. civilian courtroom.

Young objector challenges Israeli army

Wed, 22 May 2013 02:51:58 -0400

JERUSALEM - The Israeli military has jailed a young man for six months for refusing to serve because of his opposition to Israel's occupation of the West Bank, focusing attention on the longstanding conflict between the country's universal military service and divided political beliefs.

APNewsBreak: Coast Guard deserter to be confined

Tue, 21 May 2013 22:07:22 -0400

HONOLULU - A Coast Guard rescue swimmer whose disappearance led to a massive search in Hawaii pleaded guilty to desertion Tuesday, saying he left work one day, decided never to return and spent the next three months camping in the mountains. A military judge sentenced him to more than six months confinement and a bad conduct discharge.