Military

The Insider reports: An active duty US Airman on Sunday died after he lit himself on fire in front of the Israeli embassy in Washington, DC, in an act of protest against the war in Gaza. Aaron Bushnell said in a live-streamed video on Twitch that his decision was to “protest against the genocide of the Palestinian people,” according to …

Axios reports: Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin was hospitalized again on Sunday — this time “to be seen for symptoms suggesting an emergent bladder issue,” the Pentagon announced. The Defense Department said Monday Austin will not travel to Brussels later this week for meetings on NATO and Ukraine’s defense against Russia’s invasion. Officials with Walter Reed National Military Medical Center said …

“Today, at approximately 2:20 pm, Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin Ill was transported by his security detail to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center to be seen for symptoms suggesting an emergent bladder issue. The Deputy Secretary of Defense and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff have been notified. Additionally, White House and Congressional notifications have occurred. …

CNN reports: The five Marines aboard a helicopter that went down in remote, snow-covered woods Tuesday night are dead, a US military spokesperson said Thursday. The CH-53E helicopter was found near Pine Valley, California, in the Cleveland National Forest. The cause of the crash is under investigation. The Marines were on a training flight aboard a CH-53E Super Stallion on …

The New York Times reports: The United States on Friday carried out a series of military strikes against Iran-backed militants in half a dozen sites in Iraq and Syria, according to a U.S. Defense Department official, marking a sharp escalation of the war in the Middle East that the Biden administration has for four months sought to avoid. President Biden …

The Hill reports: Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin apologized Thursday for his secretive hospitalization in early January, admitting he “did not handle this right,” amid questions about his failure to notify administration officials of the hospital stay. Austin appeared in the Pentagon press briefing room for the first time since his hospitalization and answered questions from reporters about the scandal. “I …

The New York Times reports: Air defenses failed to stop a deadly attack on a U.S. military outpost in Jordan on Sunday because the hostile drone homed in on its target at the same time an American drone was returning to the base, two U.S. officials said Monday. The return of the American surveillance drone to the remote resupply base …

The Stars & Stripes reports: Three U.S. service members were killed and 25 injured Sunday in a one-way drone attack at a small U.S. base in northeast Jordan, near the Syria border, U.S. Central Command announced. The attack is another escalation of the hostilities between the U.S. and enemies in the Middle East following the Hamas attack on Israel on …

Via press release from US Central Command: We regret to announce that after a 10-day exhaustive search, our two missing U.S. Navy SEALs have not been located and their status has been changed to deceased. The search and rescue operation for the two Navy SEALs reported missing during the boarding of an illicit dhow carrying Iranian advanced conventional weapons Jan. …

Reuters reports: White House National Security spokesman John Kirby on Sunday said U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin’s doctors think he may need additional care. “We’ll see, you know, when he can be released, but obviously they still feel like he may need some additional care. Part of that is just physical therapy,” Kirby said. Kirby said “there is routine regular …

CNN reports: President Joe Biden on Friday said Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin had a lapse in judgement by not notifying him of his hospitalization, but White House officials made a point in emphasizing Austin remains heavily involved in military decision making. Touring an Allentown, Pennsylvania-area coffee shop, Biden was asked by reporters whether Austin’s delay in informing him about his …

The Associated Press reports: Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has prostate cancer and his recent secretive hospitalization was for surgery and later to treat an urinary tract infection related to that operation, doctors said Tuesday. The 70-year-old Austin was admitted to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center on Dec. 22 and underwent surgery to treat the cancer. Austin developed the infection …

The Washington Post reports: Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin was hospitalized earlier this week for unspecified reasons but is recuperating, the Pentagon said late Friday, after withholding the information for days. Maj. Gen. Patrick Ryder, the Pentagon press secretary, said that Austin, who is 70, was admitted to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center outside Washington on Monday “for complications following …

The Associated Press reports: The U.S. military said Sunday that its forces opened fire on Houthi rebels after they attacked a cargo ship in the Red Sea, killing several of them in an escalation of the maritime conflict linked to the war in Gaza. In a series of statements, the U.S. Central Command said the crew of the USS Gravely …

The Washington Post reports: American forces launched airstrikes against three facilities used by Kataib Hezbollah and affiliated groups linked to Iran, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said in a statement, in response to an attack on U.S. personnel stationed at Irbil air base that left one service member critically injured. The militant attack was launched by a one-way explosive drone, a …

The Associated Press reports: President Joe Biden ordered the U.S. military to carry out retaliatory airstrikes against Iranian-backed militia groups after three U.S. service members were injured in a drone attack in northern Iraq. National Security Council spokeswoman Adrienne Watson said one of the U.S. troops suffered critical injuries in the attack that occurred earlier Monday. The Iranian-backed militia Kataib …

The Associated Press reports: The U.S. and a host of other nations are creating a new force to protect ships transiting the Red Sea that have come under attack by drones and ballistic missiles fired from Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin announced early Tuesday in Bahrain. The seriousness of the attacks, several of which have damaged the …

The Washington Post reports: The U.S. Army intends to remove a Confederate memorial from Arlington National Cemetery next week as part of its ongoing work to rid Defense Department property of divisive rebel imagery, defying dozens of congressional Republicans who have vociferously protested the move. A woman representing the American South, standing atop a 32-foot pedestal, lords above most other …

The Washington Post reports: The House, in a decisive vote Thursday, passed the annual defense policy bill and delivered a bipartisan rebuke to its most conservative members who had sought to infuse the legislation with a wishlist of provisions targeting Pentagon policies on abortion access, diversity and LGBTQ+ rights. The $886 billion National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) was approved by …

The New York Times reports: The Senate on Wednesday overwhelmingly passed an $886 billion defense bill that would set Pentagon policy and provide a 5.2 percent pay raise for military personnel, defying the demands of Republicans who failed to attach a raft of deeply partisan restrictions on abortion, transgender care and diversity initiatives. The vote was 87 to 13 to …