Tag Archives: military

Mediaite reports: In a press release, Biden stated that “[i]f the revelations in today’s Atlantic article are true, then they are yet another marker of how deeply President Trump and I disagree about the role of the President of the United States.” Biden continued, saying that America has “one truly sacred obligation — to prepare and equip those we send …

The Daily Beast reports: President Trump says he’s ready to “swear on whatever” that he never called slain American service members “losers” or dissed Sen. John McCain. In late-night tweets on Thursday, the president claimed a story by The Atlantic about him mocking U.S. service members killed in combat was nothing more than a plot by “jealous failures” to sabotage …

The Atlantic reports: When President Donald Trump canceled a visit to the Aisne-Marne American Cemetery near Paris in 2018, he blamed rain for the last-minute decision, saying that “the helicopter couldn’t fly” and that the Secret Service wouldn’t drive him there. Neither claim was true. In a conversation with senior staff members on the morning of the scheduled visit, Trump …

The Military Times reports: The latest Military Times poll shows a continued decline in active-duty service members’ views of President Donald Trump and a slight but significant preference for former Vice President Joe Biden in the upcoming November election among troops surveyed. The results, collected before the political conventions earlier this month, appear to undercut claims from the president that …

ABC News reports: Pentagon officials working on Defense Secretary Mark Esper’s cost-cutting review of the department have proposed slashing military health care by $2.2 billion, a reduction that some defense officials say could effectively gut the Pentagon’s health care system during a nationwide pandemic. The proposed cut to the military health system over the next five years is part of …

Politico reports: A new mandatory Pentagon training course aimed at preventing leaks refers to protesters and journalists as “adversaries” in a fictional scenario designed to teach Defense Department personnel how to better protect sensitive information. The new course was recently launched as part of Defense Secretary Mark Esper’s effort to improve “operational security,” or OPSEC, and clamp down on leaks. …

USA Today reports: The Senate overwhelmingly passed a massive defense bill Thursday afternoon that includes the removal of Confederate names from army bases and creates a possible showdown between Congress and President Donald Trump, who opposes renaming the bases. The bill passed by a lopsided count of 86 to 14, well over the number required to override a presidential veto. …

The Associated Press reports: The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff has confirmed a report by The Associated Press that some of the service members who were mobilized to Washington, D.C., last month in response to civil unrest over the killing of George Floyd were issued bayonets. Defense documents obtained by the AP show some were not trained in …

From the military site Task & Purpose: The Naval Criminal Investigative Service has a message for America’s sailors: Please, for the love of Poseidon and the Seven Seas, stop buying hallucinogens in the dark corners of the Internet. NCIS last week issued a warning to sailors to the risks of acquiring LSD on the so-called “dark web,” the network of …

The Washington Post reports: President Trump reaffirmed late Tuesday that he would veto this year’s proposed $740 billion annual defense bill if an amendment is included that would require the Pentagon to change the names of bases named for Confederate military leaders, his strongest rebuke against the measure amid a national reckoning over systemic racism. “I dare President Trump to …

The Sydney Morning Herald reports: Iran has issued an arrest warrant and asked Interpol to help detain US President Donald Trump and others it believes carried out a drone strike that killed a top Iranian general in Baghdad, a local prosecutor reportedly says. While Trump faces no danger of arrest, the charges underscore the heightened tensions between Iran and the …

Politico reports: Unlike last year, the July Fourth celebration will not include static displays on the mall of military ground equipment such as Bradley fighting vehicles, the two defense officials said. It was not immediately clear why the administration decided to eliminate the static displays this year, but their exclusion will likely reduce cost and crowds on the national mall. …

NBC News reports: A U.S. Army soldier has been charged with giving classified information to a white supremacist group based in Europe, according to law enforcement and military officials. The soldier is accused of providing information about troops stationed overseas to the Order of Nine Angles, a satanic neo-Nazi group, the officials told NBC News. The charges are expected to …

The New York Times reports: A Navy investigation has concluded that the two top officers aboard the aircraft carrier Theodore Roosevelt made poor decisions in response to the outbreak of the coronavirus on board the warship, according to a congressional aide. As a result, Capt. Brett E. Crozier, will not be restored to command of the virus-stricken ship, and his …

The Hill reports: President Trump on Thursday said that he didn’t believe it was significant that the top U.S. general apologized for his role in the president’s photo opportunity outside St John’s Church last week. Trump, who defended the controversial appearance as a “beautiful picture” during an interview with Fox News’ Harris Faulkner, did not criticize Joint Chiefs of Staff …

NBC News reports: The Pentagon’s top general discussed resigning amid criticism over his participation in President Donald Trump’s controversial photo opportunity at a Washington church, three defense officials familiar with the matter told NBC News. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley spent hours looking at social media and reading news articles and saw dozens of people criticizing …

The Military Times reports: Hours after the president announced he would block all efforts to remove the names of Confederate leaders from prominent U.S. military bases, lawmakers in the House and Senate both pushed to force defense leaders to make the changes anyway, calling it an issue of respect and inclusivity. On Thursday morning, Reps. Anthony Brown, D-Md., and Don …

The Washington Post reports: Army Gen. Mark Milley, the nation’s top military officer, said Thursday he was wrong to have accompanied President Donald Trump on a walk to a church through Lafayette Square, where he was photographed in his combat uniform with the presidential entourage. The statement by the Joint Chiefs chairman risked the wrath of a president sensitive to anything …

The military blog Task & Purpose reports: The Navy is following the Marine Corps in banning the display of Confederate symbols on its installations, including aboard warships and aircraft, the service announced on Tuesday. Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Mike Gilday [photo] has directed his staff to “begin crafting an order that would prohibit the Confederate battle flag from all …

No slight shall ever be ignored: President Trump hit back at retired Gen. Colin Powell after the former secretary of State said he would be voting for presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden. “Colin Powell, a real stiff who was very responsible for getting us into the disastrous Middle East Wars, just announced he will be voting for another stiff, …