US military

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Navy Ready to Deploy 'Star Wars' Weapons

Railguns, drone-killing lasers coming to US ships

(Newser) - Some of the Navy's futuristic weapons sound like something out of Star Wars, with lasers designed to shoot down drones and electric guns that fire projectiles at hypersonic speeds. That future is now. The Navy plans to deploy its first laser on a ship later this year—a prototype...

Boehner Calls No-Strings Vote on Debt Ceiling

Boehner drops plan for military pension rider

(Newser) - With the clock ticking, House Republicans ditched their last attempt to tie a policy rider to the debt ceiling today. John Boehner told fellow Republicans that he would instead bring a "clean" bill to the floor, raising the debt ceiling without conditions, the Wall Street Journal reports. Yesterday, Boehner...

Now Navy Faces Nuke Cheating Scandal

Sailors accused of cheating on nuclear reactor tests

(Newser) - Dozens of sailors have been accused of cheating on exams on a subject in which one would really hope they'd be expert: How to operate nuclear reactors. In the latest cheating scandal to hit the military, the chief of the Navy's nuclear propulsion program says at least 30...

There's a Secret Provision in Congress' Spending Bill

It would kill Obama's plans to take the drone program out of CIA hands

(Newser) - Congress' $1.1 trillion spending bill contains a secret provision torpedoing President Obama's plans to pass the drone program from the CIA to the Pentagon. In a classified annex, the bill specifically prohibits any funds being used to facilitate such a transfer, the Washington Post reports. Obama wants to...

34 Air Force Nuke Officers Cheated on Exam

Cheating scandal is not to be confused with the drug scandal

(Newser) - Drug use , cheating on a big exam via phone texts—the allegations sound like run-of-the-mill stuff for your typical high school. Except that in this case, the accused are Air Force officers charged with watching the nation's nuclear arsenal. In the latest round of bad news for the...

15 of US' Benghazi Sources Have Been Killed

Senate report also concludes that consulate attack was 'preventable'

(Newser) - The US government didn't do enough to prevent the attack on the Benghazi consulate, a long-awaited Senate Intelligence Committee report concludes. The bipartisan report chastises the CIA for operating out of a different building than the State Department—a facility the military didn't even know about, the Washington ...

'Why the Hell Did All My Buddies Die There?'

US vets bitter about rise of al-Qaeda in Fallujah: Washington Post

(Newser) - A decade ago, the city of Fallujah became a not-so-pleasant reference point for Americans following the Iraq war as US forces dug in against insurgents. Today the American troops are gone, an al-Qaeda group has claimed the city as an Islamic state, and fighting between militants and Iraqi forces have...

US Military in Somalia for First Time Since 'Black Hawk Down'

About 2 dozen trainers, advisers in Mogadishu: Washington Post

(Newser) - It may not qualify as "boots on the ground," but the Washington Post sees it as a milestone nonetheless. It reports that the US military has sent about two dozen "trainers and advisers" to Somalia to help the fight against the al-Shabab militia , marking the first return...

Helicopter Crash Kills 4 Air Force Members

Pave Hawk goes down in Britain during training

(Newser) - A US Air Force Pave Hawk helicopter has crashed in the coastal marshes of eastern England during a training mission, killing all four crew members aboard, officials said. The helicopter crashed about 6pm local time near Salthouse on the Norfolk coast. The aircraft was based at the nearby Royal Air...

Reported Sex Assaults Surge 50% in US Military

Pentagon says it's because more people feel confident enough to come forward

(Newser) - The number of reported sexual assaults in the military rose by more than 50% this year, but defense officials say that figure is actually a sign of progress. Heightened attention to the problem is causing more people to come forward as they gain confidence in the system, they say. More...

3 US Troops Wounded in South Sudan
 4 US Troops 
 Wounded in 
 South Sudan 
UPDATED
Dec 21, 2013 7:45 AM CST

4 US Troops Wounded in South Sudan

American aircraft hit by gunfire during evacuation mission

(Newser) - At least four US service members were wounded today when rebel gunfire hit two US military aircraft responding to the outbreak in violence in South Sudan . The aircraft were heading to Bor, the capital of the state of Jonglei and scene of some of the nation's worst violence over...

Gitmo Troops Want Nativity Scenes Removed

Group of 18 says they unfairly promote Christianity

(Newser) - One of those annual nativity scene controversies has sprung up, but this time in an unusual place: Gitmo. Several troops at Guantanamo Bay lodged a protest with the Military Religious Freedom Foundation about nativity scenes put up inside two dining facilities, reports the Navy Times . They say the scenes promote...

US Relying on Dangerous Tunnel to Exit Afghanistan

Has put $19.5M into improving Salang Tunnel

(Newser) - How will the US military exit Afghanistan? It may rely, at least in part, on a tunnel that's been called the "world's most treacherous," NBC News reports. A few people die each year from the carbon monoxide that persists in the 1.6-mile-long Salang Tunnel in...

China: We Watched US Cross Our Airspace

Muted response suggests it's not trying to provoke incident in East China Sea

(Newser) - China acknowledged today that it let two American B-52 bombers fly unhindered through its newly declared air defense zone in the East China Sea despite its earlier threat to take defensive measures against unidentified foreign aircraft. The US flights, which tested the Chinese zone for the first time since it...

2 US Bombers Defy China's New Defense Zone

Flights over disputed islands go unchallenged

(Newser) - China's newly declared air-defense zone over disputed islands in the East China Sea is apparently a defense zone in name only. Just days after Beijing announced the controversial move , two B-52 bombers from the US put it to the test by flying over the islands unannounced in defiance of...

US' New Plan: Burn Syria's Weapons at Sea

Or rather, it might have someone else do it

(Newser) - Countries all over the world want Syria's chemical weapons destroyed—just not on their soil. Albania turned down a request to destroy the weapons there last week, after thousands of people took to the streets in protest, and Norway begged off an earlier request. So the US is pitching...

First Women Pass Marines' Grueling Infantry Training

But only non-combat roles await

(Newser) - For the first time, women have passed a military ordeal that would crush most men—the Marine Corps infantry training course. Three women out of 15 to enlist in the program will graduate from the course tomorrow after 59 grueling days of training, including a 12.5-mile hike carrying almost...

Fudged Pentagon Accounts Hide Wasted Billions
 Pentagon's Cooked 
 Books Hide Lost Billions 
INVESTIGATION
Nov 19, 2013 3:51 AM CST

Pentagon's Cooked Books Hide Lost Billions

Reuters finds $8.5T in spending has never been audited

(Newser) - A Reuters investigation looks deep inside one of the biggest and most complex works of military fiction of all time: the Pentagon's books. Defense Department sources say it is routine to use phony numbers—"plugs"—to make the numbers of defense agencies match those from the Treasury...

Military's Budget Plan: Cut Pay, Benefits

Defense Dept. looking at options as budget set to shrink

(Newser) - It's long seemed unthinkable, but US military personnel could soon see cuts to their pay and benefits. Top commanders are considering such cuts as they deal with a decreasing budget, the Joint Chiefs of Staff chair said this weekend. While acknowledging that "we can't pay [soldiers] enough,...

Malfunctioning Drone Hits US Navy Ship

2 sailors burned in unexplained accident

(Newser) - A Navy guided missile cruiser hit by a malfunctioning drone during a training exercise on Saturday afternoon has returned to San Diego, where investigators will assess the damage and determine what went wrong. Two sailors were treated for minor burns after the USS Chancellorsville was struck by the unmanned aircraft...

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