Military

Reuters reports: Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Sunday the Russian Navy would be armed with hypersonic nuclear strike weapons and underwater nuclear drones, which the defence ministry said were in their final phase of testing. Putin, who says he does not want an arms race, has often spoken of a new generation of Russian nuclear weapons that he says …

USA Today reports: The Senate overwhelmingly passed a massive defense bill Thursday afternoon that includes the removal of Confederate names from army bases and creates a possible showdown between Congress and President Donald Trump, who opposes renaming the bases. The bill passed by a lopsided count of 86 to 14, well over the number required to override a presidential veto. …

The Associated Press reports: After weeks of wrangling, the Pentagon on Friday will ban displays of the Confederate flag on military installations, in a carefully worded policy that doesn’t mention the word ban or that specific flag. The policy, laid out in a memo obtained by The Associated Press, was described by officials as a creative way to bar the …

The San Antonio Express-News reports: The United States military is sending nurses and respiratory specialists to San Antonio as COVID-19 hospitalizations surge in the city. On Monday, the U.S. Northern Command said approximately 50 medical and support personnel from from Colorado would be deployed. The personnel will “provide medical assistance by embedding in medical care facilities in the San Antonio, …

From the military site Task & Purpose: The Naval Criminal Investigative Service has a message for America’s sailors: Please, for the love of Poseidon and the Seven Seas, stop buying hallucinogens in the dark corners of the Internet. NCIS last week issued a warning to sailors to the risks of acquiring LSD on the so-called “dark web,” the network of …

The Washington Post reports: President Trump reaffirmed late Tuesday that he would veto this year’s proposed $740 billion annual defense bill if an amendment is included that would require the Pentagon to change the names of bases named for Confederate military leaders, his strongest rebuke against the measure amid a national reckoning over systemic racism. “I dare President Trump to …

Politico reports: Unlike last year, the July Fourth celebration will not include static displays on the mall of military ground equipment such as Bradley fighting vehicles, the two defense officials said. It was not immediately clear why the administration decided to eliminate the static displays this year, but their exclusion will likely reduce cost and crowds on the national mall. …

Via press release from the Pentagon: Secretary Esper has approved a Department of the Interior request for DOD support to the 2020 Salute to America. DOD will provide aerial, musical and ceremonial support to this year’s celebration in Washington, D.C. This year’s support will also include a flyover of the Mount Rushmore National Memorial, as well an aerial salute to …

NBC News reports: A U.S. Army soldier has been charged with giving classified information to a white supremacist group based in Europe, according to law enforcement and military officials. The soldier is accused of providing information about troops stationed overseas to the Order of Nine Angles, a satanic neo-Nazi group, the officials told NBC News. The charges are expected to …

The New York Times reports: A Navy investigation has concluded that the two top officers aboard the aircraft carrier Theodore Roosevelt made poor decisions in response to the outbreak of the coronavirus on board the warship, according to a congressional aide. As a result, Capt. Brett E. Crozier, will not be restored to command of the virus-stricken ship, and his …

The Hill reports: President Trump on Thursday said that he didn’t believe it was significant that the top U.S. general apologized for his role in the president’s photo opportunity outside St John’s Church last week. Trump, who defended the controversial appearance as a “beautiful picture” during an interview with Fox News’ Harris Faulkner, did not criticize Joint Chiefs of Staff …

NBC News reports: The Pentagon’s top general discussed resigning amid criticism over his participation in President Donald Trump’s controversial photo opportunity at a Washington church, three defense officials familiar with the matter told NBC News. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley spent hours looking at social media and reading news articles and saw dozens of people criticizing …

The Military Times reports: Hours after the president announced he would block all efforts to remove the names of Confederate leaders from prominent U.S. military bases, lawmakers in the House and Senate both pushed to force defense leaders to make the changes anyway, calling it an issue of respect and inclusivity. On Thursday morning, Reps. Anthony Brown, D-Md., and Don …

The Washington Post reports: Army Gen. Mark Milley, the nation’s top military officer, said Thursday he was wrong to have accompanied President Donald Trump on a walk to a church through Lafayette Square, where he was photographed in his combat uniform with the presidential entourage. The statement by the Joint Chiefs chairman risked the wrath of a president sensitive to anything …

NPR reports: The first of these camps in the South were Camp Lee in Virginia, named after the Confederate commander Robert E. Lee, and Camp Beauregard in Louisiana, after another confederate general, Pierre Gustave Toutant Beauregard. Then came a steady stream of bases bearing the last names of rebel generals, eventually 10 in all, created over the course of World …

The military blog Task & Purpose reports: The Navy is following the Marine Corps in banning the display of Confederate symbols on its installations, including aboard warships and aircraft, the service announced on Tuesday. Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Mike Gilday [photo] has directed his staff to “begin crafting an order that would prohibit the Confederate battle flag from all …

Reuters reports: President Donald Trump’s decision to cut U.S. troop levels in Germany blindsided a number of senior national security officials, according to five sources familiar with the matter, and the Pentagon had yet to receive a formal order to carry it out, Reuters has learned. Sources familiar with the matter said a number of U.S. officials at the White …

From the military blog Task & Purpose: Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy is now “open” to renaming the service’s 10 bases and facilities that are named after Confederate leaders. “The Secretary of the Army is open to a bipartisan discussion on the topic,” Army spokesperson Col. Sunset Belinsky said Monday. The recent uproar over the killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis …

Last week Merkel rebuffed Trump’s G7 invite. So now this: President Trump has signed off on a plan to permanently withdraw up to one-third of about 34,500 U.S. troops currently based in Germany, bringing the total down to no more than 25,000, according to U.S. officials. Implementation of the plan is being turned over to the Defense Department, a senior …

The Washington Post reports: The Pentagon has told the District of Columbia National Guard and guardsmen from other states who have arrived in the nation’s capital as backup not to use firearms or ammunition, a sign of de-escalation in the federal response to protests in the city after the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, according to officials familiar with …