Military

Just in from Gallup: As President Donald Trump’s ban on most transgender military servicemembers continues to face legal challenges, 71% of Americans support allowing openly transgender men and women to serve in the military. These data are from a May 15-30 Gallup poll, which was conducted prior to a recent U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals decision that allows the ban …

The New York Times reports: President Trump approved military strikes against Iran in retaliation for downing an American surveillance drone, but pulled back from launching them on Thursday night after a day of escalating tensions. As late as 7 p.m., military and diplomatic officials were expecting a strike, after intense discussions and debate at the White House among the president’s …

Here’s what this is likely all about: Acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan released a written statement Monday night, addressing a violent domestic dispute from nine years ago with his then-wife. The 2010 incident is part of an FBI background investigation ahead of his possible confirmation hearing to be President Trump’s permanent defense chief. “After having been confirmed for deputy secretary …

The Washington Post reports: Reince Priebus, President Trump’s former chief of staff, has officially joined the Navy. At a commissioning ceremony Monday morning, Vice President Pence swore in Priebus as an ensign, an entry-level officer. Priebus and his family also met with Trump at the White House after the ceremony. Priebus’s commissioning follows a lengthy process in which former defense …

The BBC reports: A Russian warship and a US warship have come close to collision in the western Pacific Ocean, with each side blaming the other for the incident. Russia’s Pacific Fleet said the cruiser USS Chancellorsville crossed just 50 metres (160ft) in front of the destroyer Admiral Vinogradov at 06:35 Moscow time (03:35 GMT). It was forced to perform …

The Washington Post reports: Four elite U.S. Special Operations troops charged in the death of a Green Beret soldier in Mali plotted to record him being sexually assaulted as part of a plan to embarrass him through hazing, according to one of the accused service members. Marine Staff Sgt. Kevin Maxwell said in a written stipulation of facts submitted for …

Mediaite reports: President Donald Trump offered a litany of excuses for having avoided service during the Vietnam War, yet still claimed he “would not have minded serving” in the war that he has frequently compared with his own “brave” battle to avoid a sexually transmitted disease (STD). Those excuses included not being a “fan” of the war, the claim that …

CNN reports: California Republican Rep. Duncan Hunter said that as an artillery officer, his unit “killed probably hundreds of civilians” during his 2004 tour in Fallujah, Iraq. During a Barstool Sports interview for a podcast that was released on Monday, Hunter defended his support of Eddie Gallagher, a Navy SEAL facing a premeditated murder charge in the stabbing death of …

NBC News reports: The U.S. Navy has acknowledged that a request was made to hide the USS John S. McCain during President Donald Trump’s recent state visit to Japan. “A request was made to the U.S. Navy to minimize the visibility of USS John S. McCain, however, all ships remained in their normal configuration during the President’s visit,” Rear Admiral …

The Associated Press reports: The White House wanted the U.S. Navy to keep a warship named for the late Sen. John McCain out of President Donald Trump’s view during his trip to Japan, three U.S. officials said Wednesday. A U.S. Indo-Pacific Command official wrote an email to Navy and Air Force officials about Trump’s arrival in Japan over Memorial Day …

CBS News reports: Vice President Mike Pence told the most diverse graduating class in the history of the U.S. Military Academy on Saturday that the world is “a dangerous place” and they should expect to see combat. “Some of you will join the fight against radical Islamic terrorists in Afghanistan and Iraq,” he said. “It is a virtual certainty that …

Bloomberg reports: President Donald Trump has ordered the deployment of about 1,500 additional U.S. troops to the Middle East amid rising tensions with Iran, according to two people familiar with the matter. The purpose of the deployment is to enhance the protection of forces already in the region that are dedicated to missile defense, freedom of navigation in Persian Gulf …

The Associated Press reports: The Pentagon is shifting $1.5 billion in funds originally targeted for support of the Afghan security forces and other projects to help pay for construction of 80 miles of wall at the U.S.-Mexican border, officials said Friday. Congress was notified of the move Friday. It follows the Pentagon’s decision in March to transfer $1 billion from …

The New York Times reports: President Trump will nominate Patrick Shanahan as his second defense secretary, trying to cement the acting Pentagon chief against expected challenges from lawmakers and Defense Department officials skeptical of him, White House officials said on Thursday. The announcement, in a tweet from Sarah Huckabee Sanders, the White House press secretary, followed a monthlong Pentagon ethics …

Space News reports: The Congressional Budget Office estimates the new space organizations proposed by the Pentagon would require thousands of additional personnel and cost several billion dollars more than what DoD has projected. In a new report released on Wednesday, CBO lays out personnel requirements and cost estimates for several proposed space organizations. The most controversial, an independent military branch …

The Associated Press reports: President Donald Trump has pardoned a former U.S. soldier convicted in 2009 of killing an Iraqi prisoner, the White House announced Monday. Trump signed an executive grant of clemency, a full pardon, for former Army 1st Lt. Michael Behenna, of Oklahoma, press secretary Sarah Sanders said. Behenna was convicted of unpremeditated murder in a combat zone …

Politico reports: Donald Trump has finally found an international organization he likes — a highly select club whose members preside over a frozen wasteland atop the world. The Trump administration will throw a spotlight this week on America’s presence in the Arctic, a region the president’s team sees as “an arena of global power and competition,” as Secretary of State …

CNN reports: The United States is deploying the USS Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group and a bomber task force to the Middle East in response to a “number of troubling and escalatory indications and warnings” from Iran, US national security adviser John Bolton said Sunday. A US official with direct knowledge of the situation told CNN the threats were against …

Politico reports: Former Defense Secretary James Mattis declined to carry out orders from President Trump or otherwise limited his options in various attempts to prevent tensions with North Korea, Iran and Syria from escalating, The New Yorker reported Monday, the latest report of Trump’s own officials trying to check his worst instincts. In 2017, following a series of North Korean …

ABC News reports: The Defense Department’s internal watchdog has cleared acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan of favoring his former employer, Boeing while serving at the Pentagon. The Pentagon’s inspector general found that reports of ethics violations were not substantiated, clearing the way for Shanahan for a possible nomination to the top Pentagon job. The inspector general opened the investigation last …