Military

Vox reports: In a 55-45 vote, lawmakers passed a resolution that would require President Donald Trump to obtain congressional approval if he wanted to take additional military action against Iran. Unlike the House resolution, however, Kaine’s measure has the power to become law if it were enacted. That difference means it would need to be voted on by the lower …

The Hill reports: The Pentagon is moving $3.8 billion from various weapons programs such as the F-35 fighter jet to pay for President Trump’s southern border wall, according to a notice sent to Congress on Thursday. The notice sent to Congress said the money is going toward the “support of higher priority items” and is “required to provide support for …

The Insider reports: President Donald Trump has doubled down on his assertion that the injuries suffered by US troops during an Iranian missile attack on US forces are “not very serious.” Speaking to Fox Business, the president said that he “stopped something that would have been very devastating for” the Iranians, an apparent reference to US de-escalation in the aftermath …

The military blog Task & Purpose reports: Membership in a white supremacist or neo-Nazi group won’t necessarily get a U.S. service member tossed out of the military, defense officials told a House subcommittee Tuesday. The officials, including representatives of Naval Criminal Investigative Service and the Army’s Criminal Investigation Division, appeared to make a distinction between membership in an extremist organization …

Reuters reports: The U.S. military is preparing to report a more than 50% jump in cases of traumatic brain injury stemming from Iran’s missile attack on a base in Iraq last month, U.S. officials told Reuters on Monday. The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity ahead of an announcement, said there were over 100 cases of TBI, up from …

Newsweek reports: A decorated U.S. Air Force colonel slated to take command of the base that hosts Air Force One has been sentenced to five years in prison for receiving child pornography. Mark Visconi, 48, of Fairfax, Virginia, was jailed on Friday after he plead guilty to receipt of child pornography in October. He was also sentenced to 15 years …

Yahoo News reports: Special Warfare Rear Adm. Collin Green, the US Navy admiral responsible for the service’s special-operations forces, will step down from his position in September. His retirement follows the controversial court-martial of Special Warfare Operator Chief Eddie Gallagher. Green moved to withdraw Gallagher’s Trident pin, which signifies his membership in the Navy SEAL community. However, President Donald Trump …

CNN reports: The Trump administration is expected to loosen restrictions on the US military’s ability to use landmines in the coming days, weapons that have been banned by more than 160 countries due to their history of killing and wounding civilians, multiple Defense Department officials tell CNN. The move represents a major reversal from the approach of the Obama administration …

The San Diego Union-Tribune reports: The retired Navy SEAL whose war crimes trial made international news has launched a video attack on former SEAL teammates who accused him of murder, shooting civilians and who testified against him at his San Diego court-martial in June. In a three-minute video posted to his Facebook page and Instagram account Monday, retired Chief Special …

From the Veterans Of Foreign Wars: In light of the announcement from the Defense Department that 34 U.S. service members suffered traumatic brain injuries [TBI] as a result of Iran’s retaliatory strike and President Trump’s remarks which minimized these troops’ injuries, the Veterans of Foreign Wars cannot stand idle on this matter. TBI is a serious injury and one that …

Reuters reports: The Pentagon said on Friday that 34 service members had been diagnosed with traumatic brain injury following strikes by Iran on a base in Iraq earlier this month. Pentagon spokesman Jonathan Hoffman told reporters that eight service members who had been previously transported to Germany had been moved to the United States. From the military site Task & …

CBS News reports: Documents apparently generated by Cambridge Analytica suggest that the political consulting firm had a contractual relationship with Kenneth Braithwaite in the year before he was nominated to be U.S. Ambassador to Norway in 2017. Braithwaite, who President Trump has said will be his nominee for Secretary of the Navy, made no mention of an agreement in his …

The Hill reports: The U.S. Space Force (USSF) late Friday unveiled camouflage uniforms bearing the branch’s first nametapes for its members. “The first #SpaceForce utility uniform nametapes have touched down in the Pentagon,” the service branch tweeted from its official account, attaching a photo of the uniforms. The uniforms were welcomed with praise by some, including the official Twitter account …

CNN reports: Several US service members were injured during last week’s Iranian missile attack on Al-Asad airbase in Iraq Pentagon. “While no U.S. service members were killed in the Jan. 8 Iranian attack on Al Asad Air base, several were treated for concussion symptoms from the blast and are still being assessed,” the US-led military coalition fighting ISIS in Iraq …

Roll Call reports: Defense Department brass are expected Wednesday afternoon to brief President Donald Trump on their plans for standing up a new military branch called the Space Force, and a Pentagon official said they may even present several logo options for the new armed service. The White House meeting is expected to include Defense Secretary Mark T. Esper, Air …

Politico reports: Rep. Justin Amash (I-Mich.), a vocal critic of President Trump, on Saturday accused the president of selling U.S. military support to Saudi Arabia. Trump said in an interview with Fox News’s Laura Ingraham the day before that he had pressured Riyadh to compensate the U.S. for a recent deployment to the Middle East. “We have a very good …

The Navy Times reports: The warship Farragut was “aggressively approached” by a Russian naval ship Thursday in the North Arabian Sea, U.S. 5th Fleet officials said. The American guided-missile destroyer was conducting routine operations at the time of the approach, according to a statement from the Bahrain-based command. “Farragut sounded five short blasts, the international maritime signal for danger of …

Via press release from Lambda Legal: Today, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit upheld a lower court ruling in Roe & Voe v. Esper that halted efforts by the Trump administration to discharge members of the Air Force because they are living with HIV. The decision will allow two active-duty Airmen living with HIV, identified pseudonymously as …

The Associated Press reports: Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul-Mahdi has told the U.S. secretary of state to send a delegation to Iraq tasked with formulating the mechanism for the withdrawal of U.S troops from Iraq, according to a statement released Friday. The statement, from the office of the Iraqi caretaker prime minister, said the request came in a telephone call …

And he very nearly made it. Fox News reports: A 37-year-old Naples, Fla. man was arrested Sunday after allegedly lying about being an active Marine Corps member to gain access to Palm Beach International Airport prior to President Donald Trump departure, a report said. Brandon Mark Magnan, who was dishonorably discharged from the U.S. Marine Corps and required to register …