Military

Sec. James Mattis “Absolutely” Supports A Space Force: We Need To Address Space As A War Fighting Domain

The Hill reports: Defense Secretary James Mattis said Tuesday that he “absolutely” supports the creation of a new space branch for the military, but declined to say whether it would be the separate Space Force President Trump has pressed for. Mattis said he supports establishing a new combatant command for space and that the Pentagon is “in complete alignment with …

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Pentagon Takes First Steps To Launch Space Force

Defense One reports: The U.S. Defense Department this week will take the first steps to create the Space Force, a new branch of the military ordered up by President Trump but not yet fully backed by Congress. In coming months, Defense Department leaders plan to stand up three of the four components of the new Space Force: a new combatant …

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Trump’s Military Parade Estimated To Cost $12 Million

CNN reports: President Donald Trump’s military parade in DC is likely to cost nearly as much as the now canceled military exercise with South Korea that Trump called “tremendously expensive” and said cost “a fortune,” three US defense officials tell CNN. The parade, which is now scheduled to take place on November 10, is currently estimated to cost approximately $12 …

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Pentagon Mulls Withdrawing US Troops From Germany

The Washington Post reports: The Pentagon is analyzing the cost and impact of a large-scale withdrawal or transfer of American troops stationed in Germany, amid growing tensions between President Trump and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, according to people familiar with the work. The effort follows Trump’s expression of interest in removing the troops, made during a meeting earlier this year …

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US Navy Celebrates LGBT Pride Month At Sea

Photo caption from the Navy Office of Community Outreach: Culinary Specialist 2nd Class Kyle Toby, from Anchorage, Alaska, cuts a cake on the mess decks of the Ticonderoga class guided-missile cruiser USS Chancellorsville (CG 62) during an LGBT Pride Month celebration. Chancellorsville is forward-deployed to the U.S. 7th Fleet area of operations in support of security and stability in the …

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Trump Orders Pentagon To Establish “Space Force”

CNBC reports: President Donald Trump declared Monday he would move to make a new branch of the military focused solely on space. “I am hereby directing the Department of Defense and Pentagon to immediately begin the process necessary to establish a Space Force as the sixth branch of the armed forces,” Trump said during a meeting of the National Space …

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Federal Court Again Blocks Trump’s Transgender Ban

Via press release from Lambda Legal: Today, a federal court in Seattle denied yet another attempt by the Trump Administration to implement its discriminatory plan to ban transgender people from serving openly in the U.S. Armed Services. Today’s ruling in the lawsuit brought by Lambda Legal and OutServe-SLDN and joined by the State of Washington denied the administration’s motion to …

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Pentagon Ignores Pride Month For First Time Since Obama Signed “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” Repeal In 2010

The Washington Post reports: Senior leaders at the Pentagon are distancing themselves from the Defense Department’s annual LGBT Pride Month celebrations, declining to formally acknowledge the observances for the first time since the practice became routine after President Barack Obama repealed the military’s ban on homosexuals serving openly. The absence this year of an official Pentagon memo marking LGBT Pride …

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Google Ends AI Deal With Pentagon Over Backlash

Gizmodo reports: Google will not seek another contract for its controversial work providing artificial intelligence to the U.S. Department of Defense for analyzing drone footage after its current contract expires. Google Cloud CEO Diane Greene announced the decision at a meeting with employees Friday morning, three sources told Gizmodo. The current contract expires in 2019 and there will not be …

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Pentagon Busts LSD Ring At Nuclear Missile Base

The Associated Press reports: One airman said he felt paranoia. Another marveled at the vibrant colors. A third admitted, “I absolutely just loved altering my mind.” Meet service members entrusted with guarding nuclear missiles that are among the most powerful in America’s arsenal. Air Force records obtained by The Associated Press show they bought, distributed and used the hallucinogen LSD …

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LIVE VIDEO: Naval Academy Cadets Climb Obelisk

The Washington Post reports: Several hundred young warriors stormed a 21-foot-high obelisk at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis on Monday, slipping and sliding as they formed a human pyramid around a monument covered in 50 pounds of vegetable shortening. The annual tradition marks the end of their hellacious “plebe” year at the academy, the country’s premier training ground for …

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Ten SEALs Face Discharge Over Meth And Coke Use

Business Insider reports: Ten US Navy SEALs and one sailor in Navy special warfare have tested positive for cocaine and methamphetamines, a Navy spokesperson told Business Insider. “During a number of command drug tests from March to April 2018, 11 service members from East Coast-based Naval Special Warfare units tested positive for controlled substances,” Cmdr. Tamara Lawrence said in a …

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GEORGIA: At Least Two Dead In Military Plane Crash

NBC News reports: A military C-130 aircraft crashed near the Savannah, Georgia, airport on Wednesday, officials with the Air Force and Georgia National Guard told NBC News. The plane, part of the Air National Guard, had five people on board, the officials said. There was no immediate word on survivors. A spokesperson for the Georgia National Guard said it was …

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Court Upholds Block On Trump’s Trans Military Ban

Axios reports: A federal judge in Washington ordered Friday that a halt to President Trump’s transgender troop ban remain in place, saying that the government must prove its order “was sincerely motivated by compelling interests, rather than by prejudice or stereotype.” In addition to keeping its injunction in place, the judge overseeing the case said that transgender people represent a …

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Court Advances Challenge To Male-Only Military Draft

Courthouse News reports: The National Coalition for Men can proceed with its class action lawsuit challenging the government’s men-only mandate for registering for the military draft, a federal judge ruled on Friday. Although the U.S. military is now an all-volunteer force, to stay prepared for a major war the Military Select Service Act requires men age 18 to 25 to …

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AMA To Defense Secretary Mattis: There’s No “Medically Valid Reason” To Ban Trans Citizens From Military

Politico reports: There is “no medically valid reason” to exclude transgender people from serving in the military, the nation’s largest medical organization told Defense Secretary Jim Mattis on Wednesday in a letter. The American Medical Association said the Pentagon’s recent evaluation of the requirements to accommodate transgender personnel “mischaracterized and rejected the wide body of peer-reviewed research on the effectiveness …

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US Navy Fires Chaplain Over Public Sex Video

USA Today reports: A Navy chaplain was fired last month from his post at a Marine Corps command after he was caught on video having sex with a woman at a pub in New Orleans, USA TODAY has learned. The Marines fired Navy Capt. Loften Thornton on March 20 for “loss of trust and confidence,” said Marine Lt. Col. Ted …

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Mexico Government Formally Demands Clarity On Trump’s Plan To Secure Border With Military [VIDEO]

The Hill reports: Mexico’s ambassador to the U.S. said Tuesday night that his country has formally asked the Trump administration to clarify the president’s announcement that he is planning to deploy troops along the U.S. southern border. “The Mexican government has formally asked for clarification of the president’s statements, both through the State Department and the Homeland Security Department,” Gerónimo …

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Hate Groups Pressure Air Force Into Ending Discipline For Colonel Who Defied Protocol On Same-Sex Marriage

Stars & Stripes reports: The Air Force has affirmed the religious rights of a colonel who claimed he was wrongly disciplined for refusing to sign a certificate of appreciation for the same-sex spouse of one of his airmen last year. The Air Force said that Col. Leland Bohannon “had the right to exercise his sincerely held religious beliefs and did …

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BREAKING: Trump Moves To Ban Most Trans Troops

Politico reports: President Donald Trump on Friday issued orders to ban transgender troops from serving in the military except in select cases — following through on a controversial pledge last year that has been under review by the Pentagon and fought out in the courts. The memorandum, filed in U.S. District Court in Seattle, states that while the Secretary of …

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