Military

The New York Times reports: The U.S. military carried out a drone strike on an Islamic State target in Afghanistan on Friday, the first retaliatory action following an attack at Kabul airport that killed 13 American service members and at least 170 other people. The terrorist group, known as Islamic State-Khorasan or ISIS-K, claimed responsibility for the Thursday airport bombing, …

The Associated Press reports: The Pentagon says it will require service members to receive the COVID-19 vaccine now that the Pfizer vaccine has received full approval. Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said Monday that Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin is making good on his vow earlier this month to require the shots once the Food and Drug Administration approved the vaccine. Kirby …

The Washington Post reports: Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has ordered the activation of a program that will use 18 commercial airplanes to aid the U.S. military evacuation of American nationals and refugees in Afghanistan. The activation of the Civil Reserve Air Fleet will provide the Defense Department with “access to commercial air mobility resources” in the evacuation efforts, Pentagon press …

The Hill reports: “If there’s American citizens left, we’re going to stay until we get them all out,” Biden told ABC News anchor George Stephanopoulos in an interview. Biden’s commitment comes as government officials have estimated there are more than 10,000 Americans still in Afghanistan as the U.S. drawdown nears its completion. The president vowed that the government will do …

“I have previously said from this podium, and in sworn testimony before Congress, that the intelligence clearly indicated multiple scenarios were possible. One of those was an outright Taliban takeover following a rapid collapse of the Afghan Security Forces and the government. “Another was a civil war, and a third was a negotiated settlement. However, the time frame of a …

The Hill reports: The Pentagon has reportedly authorized the deployment of 1,000 additional troops to Afghanistan, bringing the total number of troops on the ground to 6,000 as the Taliban continues its advances in the capital city of Kabul. Reuters reported on Sunday that the additional troops will be drawn from the 82nd Airborne Division, which was already on standby. …

The Washington Post reports: The Taliban’s blitz across Afghanistan pushed closer to Kabul on Saturday, as U.S. diplomats appealed to the militants to stop the advance and President Biden warned that any moves to threaten American personnel or interests would be met with “a swift and strong” military response from the thousands of U.S. troops flooding into the capital. A …

ABC News reports: The Pentagon will require members of the U.S. military to get the COVID-19 vaccine by Sept. 15, according to a memo obtained by The Associated Press. That deadline could be pushed up if the vaccine receives final FDA approval or infection rates continue to rise. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin says in his memo that he will seek …

The New York Post reports: The Pentagon announced Monday the US Army had awarded Pfizer a $3.5 billion contract to manufacture 500 million doses of its COVID-19 vaccine by the end of next year for distribution around the world. The order matches the number of Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine doses purchased by the US government under an agreement announced last year by …

Via press release from the Department of Defense: The Department of Defense is moving quickly to meet President Biden’s commitment to defeat COVID-19, and that includes being able to ensure every member of our civilian and military workforce is protected. In accordance with the guidance the President issued today, all military and civilian DoD personnel will be asked to attest …

Axios reports: The commanding general of Fort Rucker has announced that the Alabama military base will require service members not wearing face masks “to show proof of vaccination” while on duty to combat rising COVID-19 cases. Why it matters: The order, issued Wednesday, makes Fort Rucker the “first military base in the continental” U.S. to permit leaders to “check the …

The Wall Street Journal reports: A federal judge ruled that the U.S. Air Force bears most of the responsibility for the 2017 mass shooting at a church in Sutherland Springs, Texas, because it failed to enter the shooter’s criminal history into a federal background check database used for gun purchases. The decision Wednesday from U.S. District Judge Xavier Rodriguez of …

Axios reports: The Department of Defense announced Tuesday it was canceling the massive cloud contract awarded to Microsoft in 2019, saying it “no longer meets its needs.” The JEDI contract was the largest-ever of its kind, with an estimated value of roughly $10 billion over a 10-year stretch. The deal, initially intended to modernize the Pentagon’s IT operations, was the …

The Marine Corps Times reports: A military jury found a Marine Raider on trial in the 2017 death of a Green Beret staff sergeant in Mali guilty of hazing, false official statements, conspiracy charges and involuntary manslaughter. Gunnery Sgt. Mario Madera-Rodriguez was found not guilty of felony murder, the most serious charge along with burglary, though the jury did find …

The New York Times reports: The government still has no explanation for nearly all of the scores of unidentified aerial phenomena reported over almost two decades and investigated by a Pentagon task force, according to a report released on Friday, a result that is likely to fuel theories of otherworldly visitations. A total of 143 reports gathered since 2004 remain …

The Huffington Post reports: Fox News host Tucker Carlson slung mud at Gen. Mark Milley, the nation’s highest-ranking military officer, on Thursday evening, calling him “a pig” and “stupid” after the Army general defended the teaching of critical race theory in the military a day earlier. “Mark Milley is the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff,” the conservative personality …

CNN reports: The top US general repeatedly pushed back on then-President Donald Trump’s argument that the military should intervene violently in order to quell the civil unrest that erupted around the country last year. Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Mark Milley often found he was the lone voice of opposition to those demands during heated Oval Office discussions, according to excerpts …

“Somehow I don’t think General Milley would ever speak in this dismissive tone that he took today to his Chinese counterparts. Not the way he spoke to Congressman Waltz. “I have a question for the General: Why would anyone risk his or her life for a country that’s systemically racist? One that brutalizes minorities. Why would any country respect us …

The Daily Beast reports: Finding himself in the news for non-sex-scandal-related matters on Wednesday, Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) was left flustered and shaking his head when Army Gen. Mark A. Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, delivered a blistering retort to the MAGA congressman’s criticism that the military is too “woke.” With the GOP currently engaged in …

The Associated Press reports: Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and other top department officials took part in the Pentagon’s 10th annual LGBT Pride Month celebration on Wednesday morning. In his comments, Austin commemorated the progress the military had come in standing up for LGBTQ+ rights but recognized that there was still work to come. Austin also commemorated the work of …