Military

USA Today reports: The Trump administration has moved to defend the male-only military draft, appealing a federal court ruling that Selective Service registration is unconstitutional because it discriminates based on sex. The appeal on Monday comes as the plaintiffs in the case step up their legal efforts to force the government to either force women to register for the draft …

NBC News reports: Three years after the Obama administration told transgender individuals they could serve openly and have access to gender-affirming medical and psychological care, the Trump administration has reversed course. The Pentagon on Friday began to implement a controversial new policy that critics say is essentially a “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy for trans service members. “The policy is …

The Washington Blade reports: The U.S. House voted Tuesday morning to rebuke President Trump’s transgender military ban by approving a non-binding resolution with bipartisan support. The resolution, which was introduced by Rep. Joseph Kennedy III (D-Mass.), was approved by a vote of 238-185 after an hour of debate on the House floor in which lawmakers denounced the Trump administration’s policy …

The Associated Press reports: The Pentagon plans to begin flight tests this year of two types of missiles that have been banned for more than 30 years by a treaty from which both the United States and Russia are expected to withdraw in August, defense officials said Wednesday. By moving forward with these missile projects, the Pentagon is not excluding …

The Air Force Times reports: Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson will resign and take a job in academia. The University of Texas System Board of Regents on Friday announced that it had voted unanimously to make Wilson the sole finalist to be president of the University of Texas at El Paso. Wilson, an Air Force Academy graduate, has been Air …

The Associated Press reports: The Pentagon is planning to tap $1 billion in leftover funds from military pay and pension accounts to help President Donald Trump pay for his long-sought border wall, a top Senate Democrat said Thursday. Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., told The Associated Press, “It’s coming out of military pay and pensions. $1 billion. That’s the plan.” Durbin …

Law & Crime reports: President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Wednesday which overhauls policy on the reporting of civilian casualties caused by U.S. operations. National security lawyer Mark Zaid told Law & Crime that the move appears to reinforce the idea that the U.S. is above criticism for its actions abroad. “It would appear that this move by …

Politico reports: The former secretaries of the Air Force, Army and Navy, along with instructors at the Air Force and Coast Guard academies, are accusing the Pentagon of deceiving Congress when Defense officials testified last week that medical treatment for transgender troops keeps them off duty longer than other personnel — and of ignoring the military’s own data to the …

Task & Purpose reports: Listen up conspiracy theorists, schizophrenics, and other beloved readers: Some of you out there might have been wondering if Space Force will fight aliens. During a roundtable on Friday, this reporter asked if Space Force is concerned about threats posed by extraterrestrial intelligence. The official answer: No. A December 2018 Defense Intelligence Agency report warns that, …

Time Magazine reports: An all-male draft has been ruled unconstitutional by a federal judge in Texas, declaring that the “time has passed” for debating the role of women in the army. “While historical restrictions on women in the military may have justified past discrimination, men and women are now ‘similarly situated for purposes of a draft or registration for a …

The Hill reports: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) sent a letter to President Trump Tuesday requesting that the United States Space Command be headquartered in Florida. DeSantis touted the Sunshine State’s ties to both the military and space travel, suggesting its existing relations would make Florida an ideal location to headquarter the command. “As the most military friendly state in …

Via press release from Lambda Legal: Today, a federal judge ordered the U.S. Department of Defense and Acting Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan to halt discharge proceedings against HIV-positive members of the U.S. Air Force. The order came in the case of Roe and Voe v. Shanahan, filed by Lambda Legal and OutServe-SLDN, with partner law firm Winston & Strawn, …

Politico reports: Rep. Adam Kinzinger was deployed to the U.S.-Mexico border earlier this week with his Air National Guard unit, his office announced on Wednesday evening. “The Congressman is humbled to serve his IL-16 community here in the People’s House and equally proud to serve as a reconnaissance pilot in the Air National Guard,” Kinzinger’s communications director, Maura Gillespie, said …

The Hill reports: Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), who is vying to be the Democratic nominee for president in 2020, introduced Thursday a bill to allow transgender people to serve in the military. The bill, which was also introduced by Senate Armed Services Committee ranking member Sen. Jack Reed (D-R.I.) and Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), comes weeks after the Supreme Court …

Newsweek reports: Two Russian naval vessels have been fitted with a defensive weapon, which, during testing, caused some subjects to hallucinate and vomit because of its disorientating effect. The weapon’s name “Filin” translates to “Eagle Owl” in English. The technology, which was developed to dazzle and incapacitate attackers, has been deployed on the Russian naval frigates Admiral Gorshkov and Admiral …

Reuters reports: U.S. President Donald Trump said that sending the military to Venezuela was “an option” and that he had turned down President Nicolás Maduro’s request for a meeting. “Certainly it’s something that’s on the – it’s an option,” Trump said in an interview broadcast on Sunday on the CBS “Face the Nation” program. “Well he has requested a meeting …

Via press release from Lambda Legal: “The Supreme Court’s decisions today are perplexing to say the least: on the one hand denying the Trump administration’s premature request for review of lower court rulings before appellate courts have ruled and rebuffing the administration’s attempt to skirt established rules; and yet on the other allowing the administration to begin to discriminate, at …

Think Progress reports: The Supreme Court handed down a pair of orders on Tuesday that effectively reinstate the Trump administration’s ban on trans military service. The cases are Trump v. Karnoski and Trump v. Stockman. In both cases, a lower court halted the ban. Tuesday’s orders temporarily stay those lower court decisions while the cases make their way through the …

The Hill reports: A Pentagon report reveals that more than two-thirds of operationally critical military installations are threatened by the effects of climate change over the next 20 years, including repeated flooding and wildfires. The 22-page report released this week, titled the “Effects of a Changing Climate to the Department of Defense,” took a look at 79 “mission assurance priority …

The New York Times reports: President Trump announced Thursday the results of a missile defense review that he said would update a decades-old system and protect the United States from emerging threats — adopting a Cold War stance while also promoting futuristic ambitions with his much-touted Space Force. At the Pentagon, Mr. Trump said the strategy would help deter hostile …