Military

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 …

The Military Times reports: Lawmakers moved this week to abolish a Pentagon working group aimed at preventing extremism in the military, a decision some advocates said reveals a lack of concern about the issue from Congress. House and Senate negotiators included a measure in their compromise draft of the annual defense policy bill to stop federal dollars from going toward …

The Washington Post reports: The Air Force disciplined 15 members of the Air National Guard after an internal investigation found that a “lack of supervision” and a “culture of complacency” helped enable a 21-year-old airman to share hundreds of classified documents online in the sprawling leak of U.S. military secrets that rocked the national security establishment this spring. In a …

NBC News reports: The Senate confirmed more than 400 military nominees Tuesday afternoon after Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., announced he would drop the bulk of his holds, ending a monthslong campaign. “I’m releasing everybody. I still got a hold on, I think, 11 four-star generals. Everybody else is completely released from me.” Tuberville told reporters. “But other than that, it’s …

Military.com reports: An annual Pentagon report on extremism within the ranks reveals that 78 service members were suspected of advocating for the overthrow of the U.S. government and another 44 were suspected of engaging or supporting terrorism. The report released Thursday by the Defense Department inspector general revealed that in fiscal 2023 there were 183 allegations of extremism across all …

The Associated Press reports: An American warship and multiple commercial ships came under attack Sunday in the Red Sea, the Pentagon said. Yemen’s Houthi rebels later claimed attacks on two ships they described as being linked to Israel, but did not acknowledge targeting a U.S. Navy vessel. The attack potentially marked a major escalation in a series of maritime attacks …

The New York Times reports: The initials on the bullets stand for the Lake City Army Ammunition Plant. Built during World War II, the federal site, in Independence, Mo., has made nearly all the rifle cartridges used by the U.S. military since it pulled out of Vietnam. In recent years, the factory has also pumped billions of rounds of military-grade …

CBS News reports: Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has issued a memo that pauses Defense Department support for congressional travel to Israel right now and restricts visits by defense and military leaders. The memo, dated October 31, is meant to discourage “combat tourism,” according to defense officials. The military is already doing so much in the area that there’s no reason …

The Messenger reports: In the months prior to the deadly massacre perpetrated by gunman Robert Card, military leaders determined the U.S. Army Reservist Sgt. 1st Class to be “non-deployable” and unfit to carry weapons before he went on a shooting spree. On Tuesday, the Army released a timeline of when it claimed officials first became aware of 40-year-old Card’s mental …

The Military Times reports: Marines strapped a rocket launcher to a so-called robotic goat in the California desert in September, in a test of robots’ abilities to carry and fire weapons in battle. Marines with Tactical Training and Exercise Control Group conducted the proof-of-concept test at Twentynine Palms, California ― a vast installation with many ranges where Marines can do …

CBS News reports: Travis King, the U.S. soldier who crossed into North Korea from South Korea earlier this year, has been charged by the Army with several crimes, including desertion, assaulting other soldiers and officers, and soliciting and possessing child pornography. King faces eight total charges, which also include making false statements and disobeying superior officers. A conviction on a …

The New York Times reports: Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III has ordered about 2,000 more U.S. troops to prepare to deploy to the Middle East in support of Israel, the Pentagon said on Tuesday, as Israeli forces prepare to launch a ground invasion of the Gaza Strip. The troops are currently stationed in the United States and other locations, …

Politico reports: Sen. Tommy Tuberville is not relenting from his monthslong blockade of military nominations over the Biden administration’s abortion policy — even in the face of one of America’s closest allies going to war. After Hamas attacked Israel, Senate Democrats said it was past time for several top-level military nominees to be approved. But a Tuberville spokesperson confirmed Sunday …