Military

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 …

Politico reports: The military’s top officer today defended efforts to maintain discipline in the ranks amid stiff questioning from lawmakers on whether President Donald Trump’s intervention in the cases of three service members accused or convicted of war crimes will create chaos on the battlefield. “We do maintain, and we will maintain, good order and discipline,” Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. …

The Washington Post reports: A confidential trove of government documents obtained by The Washington Post reveals that senior U.S. officials failed to tell the truth about the war in Afghanistan throughout the 18-year campaign, making rosy pronouncements they knew to be false and hiding unmistakable evidence the war had become unwinnable. The documents were generated by a federal project examining …

The Voice Of America reports: Russian efforts to weaken the West through a relentless campaign of information warfare may be starting to pay off, cracking a key bastion of the U.S. line of defense: the military. While most Americans still see Moscow as a key U.S. adversary, new polling suggests that view is changing, most notably among the households of …

ABC News reports: The Army is threatening to pull its logo from replica dog tags made by a third-party company unless it removes biblical references from the tags. It stems from a trademark issue with the Army. The tags are made by a private faith-based company, Shields of Strength, sold on military installations across the country. In recent months the …

The Hill reports: President Trump on Friday said he spoke with King Salman of Saudi Arabia after U.S. officials said that a Saudi national was suspected of opening fire at a naval air station in Pensacola, Fla., killing three people and injuring several others. “The King said that the Saudi people are greatly angered by the barbaric actions of the …

Reuters reports: The suspected shooter involved in a deadly incident on Friday at a major U.S. Navy base in Florida was believed to be a Saudi national in the United States for training, two U.S. defense officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity. Four people including the shooter were killed in the episode at Naval Air Station Pensacola, the Navy …

The Associated Press reports: The Trump administration has quietly released more than $100 million in military assistance to Lebanon after months of unexplained delay that led some lawmakers to compare it to the aid for Ukraine at the center of the impeachment inquiry. The $105 million in Foreign Military Financing funds for the Lebanese Armed Forces was released just before …

The military site Task & Purpose reports: A plan to boost the number of elite Navy SEAL platoons that could deploy across the globe remains in limbo months after the effort was halted by a string of high-profile scandals. The plan was viewed as a positive step toward meeting the demands placed on the highly trained community. More platoons could …

The New York Times reports: President Trump paid an unannounced Thanksgiving visit to American troops in Afghanistan on Thursday, and said that he had restarted peace negotiations with the Taliban less than three months after he scuttled talks with the group. “The Taliban wants to make a deal, and we’re meeting with them,” Mr. Trump said here during a meeting …

CNN reports: The Trump administration has moved to substantially cut its contribution to NATO’s collective budget according to several US and NATO officials, a symbolic move that comes as many continue to question President Donald Trump’s commitment to the transatlantic alliance as he prepares to attend a summit to mark its 70th anniversary in London next week. Previously the US …

Newsweek reports: “I think what we’re seeing now is the tip of the iceberg, and United American Patriots is supporting those warriors who have been improperly accused of war crimes and unjustly convicted,” said retired Marine Lieutenant Colonel David “Bull” Gurfein, the chairman and CEO of United American Patriots, in a phone call with Newsweek. The non-profit charity which funds …

“Here’s a guy who dedicated his entire life to defending his country, who represented one of the most elite units we have. Let’s say he made a mistake. “The question the president is saying is, is that a big enough mistake to take away his symbol — the trident — of being a SEAL, and in effect have him retire …

The New York Times reports: United States troops have resumed large-scale counter terrorism missions against the Islamic State in northern Syria, military officials say, nearly two months after President Trump’s abrupt order to withdraw American troops opened the way for a bloody Turkish cross-border offensive. The new operations show that despite Mr. Trump’s earlier demand for a complete withdrawal of …

CBS News reports: Richard Spencer, the former secretary of the Navy, said he was fired before he could resign over the president’s decision to intervene in an internal review of a Navy SEAL convicted of posing with the corpse, and downplayed a supposed backchannel offer to the White House that served as the justification for his ouster. “I never threatened …

The Associated Press reports: Defense Secretary Mark Esper said Monday that President Donald Trump gave him a direct order to allow a Navy SEAL accused of war crimes to retire without losing his SEAL status. Esper told reporters at the Pentagon that Trump’s verbal order was the reason Esper announced Sunday that Chief Petty Officer Edward Gallagher would be allowed …