Military

CNN reports: US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said that the airstrike ordered to kill top Iranian commander Qasem Soleimani “saved American lives,” after Pompeo said on Twitter Friday morning that the decision to eliminate Soleimani was in response to “imminent threats to American lives.” “I can’t talk too much about the nature of the threats. But the American people …

The Washington Post reports: Iran on Friday vowed “severe revenge” in response to a U.S. airstrike that killed Tehran’s most powerful military commander, Maj. Gen. Qasem Soleimani, and dramatically sharpened tensions across the Middle East. Soleimani was a towering figure in Iran’s power projection across the region, with close links to a network of paramilitary groups that stretches from Syria …

Agence France-Press reports: The Pentagon warned Thursday that the Iran-backed Kataeb Hezbollah group that stormed the US embassy in Baghdad would would carry out more attacks on US facilities – and would regret it. “The provocative behavior has been out there for months… So do I think they may do something? Yes. And they will likely regret it,” Esper told …

The New York Times reports: A year ago, Navy SEAL Chief Petty Officer Edward Gallagher was wearing drab prison scrubs at a brig near San Diego, facing murder charges that could have sent him to prison for the rest of his life. Now he is modeling his own lifestyle clothing brand, endorsing nutrition supplements and positioning himself as a conservative …

The New York Times today published a gripping account of how a group of Navy SEALs decided to break their code of silence and report the war crimes of fellow SEAL Eddie Gallagher, who has since become a folk hero in Trump World. Here’s the opening paragraphs: The Navy SEALs showed up one by one, wearing hoodies and T-shirts instead …

Agence France-Presse reports:  China, Iran and Russia will hold joint naval drills starting on Friday in the Indian Ocean and Gulf of Oman, China’s defense ministry said on Thursday amid heightened tension in the region between Iran and the US. China will send the Xining, a guided missile destroyer, to the drills, ministry spokesman Wu Qian told a monthly news …

Yahoo News reports: The Pentagon is advising members of the military not to use consumer DNA kits, saying the information collected by private companies could pose a security risk, according to a memo co-signed by the Defense Department’s top intelligence official. The memo provides little details on how genetic profiles could endanger security, other than noting that potential “inaccuracies” in …

Law & Crime reports: Former Navy SEAL Eddie Gallagher met with President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump at their Mar-a-Lago resort over the weekend. Gallagher and his wife Andrea posted pictures of the meeting on Instagram, saying they gave the first couple a present and thanked POTUS for defending Gallagher throughout his war crimes trial. Gallagher was acquitted …

The Associated Press reports: Rising space power China on Monday attacked the newly created U.S. Space Force as a “direct threat to outer space peace and security.” Foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang told reporters that China is “deeply concerned about it and resolutely opposed to it.” “The relevant U.S. actions are a serious violation of the international consensus on the …

ABC News reports: The U.S. Space Force has become the nation’s newest branch of the military as President Donald Trump signed the National Defense Authorization Act, which authorized the creation of the new military service. Space Force went into operation almost immediately after the legislation was signed into law, but many questions still need to be decided as to how …

ESPN reports: Hand gestures flashed by West Point cadets and Naval Academy midshipmen during the televised Army-Navy football game were not racist signals, military investigations have concluded. A Navy probe of the event found that the students were “participating in a sophomoric game” on Saturday and had no racist intent. Clips of the hand gestures by the students went viral …

The Huffington Post reports: A measure in the National Defense Authorization Act meant to keep white nationalists out of the U.S. military no longer mentions “white nationalists” after Congress quietly altered the text after it initially passed the House. After the Republican-controlled Senate passed its own version of the massive military spending bill and the two chambers’ bills were reconciled, …

The Military Times reports: President Donald Trump received a loud ovation when he participated in the coin toss ahead of Saturday’s Army-Navy football rivalry game in Philadelphia. But troops’ actual feelings about the commander in chief appear much more ambivalent in the latest Military Times survey. Half of active-duty military personnel contacted in the poll held an unfavorable view of …

Reuters reports: Congress has passed an annual defense authorization bill following a vote in the Senate on Tuesday that includes a provision that creates a new space force branch of the armed services and provides all federal workers with 12 weeks of paid parental leave for the first time in American history. The bill passed by a vote of 86-8 …

CNN reports: A Russian spy-ship has returned to international waters off the southeastern coast of the United States and is operating in what two US officials told CNN is an “unsafe manner.” The Viktor Leonov, a Russian surveillance ship, has been sailing off the coast of South Carolina and Florida in the last few days, one official told CNN. The …

The Huffington Post reports: Military officials have launched an investigation after the “OK” hand symbol that has become known as a symbol for white power was flashed amid a crowd of cadets before the Army-Navy game in Philadelphia Saturday. The gestures were captured on national TV during a pregame broadcast in a crowd that included black cadets. They appeared to …

NBC News reports: The Trump administration intends to announce the drawdown of about 4,000 troops from Afghanistan as early next week, according to three current and former U.S. officials. The withdrawal will leave between 8,000 and 9,000 U.S. troops in Afghanistan, the officials said. The announcement would come just days after Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation Zalmay Khalilzad rejoined diplomatic …

Politico reports: Rank and file troops sharing candidates’ positions on social media. MAGA ball caps on display at military bases. Former soldiers, pardoned of war crimes charges, appearing on stage with the commander-in-chief at a political fundraiser. These and other examples of partisanship seeping into the armed forces are prompting generals and admirals to confront what they see as a …

Here’s one more thing to worry about: “On Thursday, Dec. 12, 2019, at 8:30 a.m. Pacific Time, the U.S. Air Force, in partnership with the Strategic Capabilities Office, conducted a flight test of a prototype conventionally-configured ground-launched ballistic missile from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California,” Pentagon spokesman Lt. Col. Robert Carver said in a statement. Such a missile was prohibited …

The New York Times reports: The House on Wednesday passed a $738 billion military policy bill that would authorize the creation of the Space Force and secure paid parental leave for more than two million federal workers. The 377-to-48 vote reflected broad bipartisan support for the compromise package, one of the nation’s most expensive military policy bills to date. It …