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(AP) WASHINGTON - The Obama administration is weighing options for sharp new cuts to the U.S. nuclear force, including a reduction of up to 80 percent in the number of deployed weapons, The Associated Press has learned. Even the most modest option now under consideration would be an historic and politically bold disarmament step in a presidential election year, although the plan is in line with President Barack Obama's 2009 pledge to pursue the elimination of nuclear weapons. No final decision has been made, but the administration is considering at least three options for lower total numbers of deployed strategic...

PRINCIPAL OBJECTIVES In January 2012 the Department published a paper -- “Defense Budget Priorities and Choices” – identifying the major budgetary changes made in response to the new defense strategy. Changes in the Fiscal Year 2013 Budget support U.S. defense strategy and are organized around four major themes: 1. Making more disciplined use of defense dollars. 2. Applying strategic guidance to force structure and investment. 3. Ensuring the quality of the all-volunteer force. 4. Fully supporting deployed warfighters. Disciplined Use of Defense Dollars The FY 2013 budget continues the reform agenda advanced in the Department’s previous three budgets. The FY...

The archbishop who oversees American Catholic military chaplains worldwide claims the U.S. Army violated his rights by stifling a pastoral letter condemning the Obama administration’s contraception mandate. Archbishop Timothy P. Broglio stands “firm in the belief, based on legal precedent,” that the Army defied his rights to free speech and free exercise of religion, according to a Feb. 3 statement from the military archdiocese. U.S. Catholic military chaplains around the country were initially told to disobey their archbishop’s instruction to read a pastoral letter from the pulpit at all Sunday Masses on Jan. 28-29. Although an agreement was eventually reached...

TOPEKA, KS (KCTV) - A Kansas board that denied a licensed doctor of osteopathic medicine a license was primarily concerned about the man's political views. The Kansas State Board of Healing Arts is a 15-member panel appointed by the governor and decides the fate of doctors in Kansas. Terrence Lee Lakin rose to the ranks of lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army. He served on the front lines in Afghanistan and the war zone in Bosnia as well as a medical mission to Honduras. He saved lives around the world and received a Bronze Star for his service. "I like...

This Iraqi Security Force (ISF) update provides a summary of changes to the ISF during January 2012. The Iraqi Security Force Order of Battle is updated as of 31 January 2012. The article “Iraqi Army Development Status January 2012” was written separately and will not be addressed here. Highlights in this update include: 8th RGB located; Iraqi Government not implementing agreements on Peshmerga. Little new at Army Day Parade; No contracts from Russia shopping trip. Still looking at L159s but, no contract. 2 OSVs to deliver in third-quarter 2012. New ISOF website.

In Catholic churches across the country, parishioners were read letters from the pulpit this weekend from bishops in their diocese about the mandate from the Department of Health and Human Services giving Catholics a year before they’ll be required to start violating their consciences on insurance coverage for contraception, sterilization, and abortifacient drugs. But not in the Army. A statement released this afternoon — which happens to be the 67th anniversary of the sinking of the USS Dorchester, on which four chaplains lost their lives – from the Archdiocese for Military Services explains:

A three-star Army general and war hero cannot speak at West Point because he’s an outspoken Christian. So the Obama administration’s hostility toward religion—and especially Christians—continues even to the detriment of our men and women in uniform. Lieutenant General William G. (“Jerry”) Boykin is like an action-movie hero. When the super-elite Delta Force was formed in late 1970s—our top counter-insurgent military unit that the Pentagon still does not officially discuss—this ranger in the 101st Airborne unit was tapped to be part of it. In 1983 he was in Grenada, where Boykin survived being hit by a round from a .50-caliber...

In terms of sheer numbers, the Type 98 of the People's Republic of China, Pakistan's Al-Khalid, and the Russian Federation's T-90 (including India's licensed T‑90S) will continue to dominate the market, accounting for 54.73 percent of all new tanks rolling out worldwide, worth 43.79 percent of the market, through 2021.

Army planning to cut number of combat brigades, officials say Published January 25, 2012 | Associated Press The U.S. Army plans to slash the number of combat brigades from 45 to as low as 32, and broadly restructure its fighting force to save money and cut the size of the service by about 80,000 soldiers, according to U.S. officials familiar with the plans. Officials said the sweeping changes will likely increase the size of each combat brigade -- generally by adding another battalion -- in an effort to ensure that those remaining brigades have the fighting capabilities they need when...

LOS ANGELES (CNS) - Joint military training exercises will be held evenings in downtown Los Angeles through Thursday, according to the Los Angeles Police Department. The LAPD will be providing support for the exercises, which will also be held in other portions of the greater Los Angeles area, police said.... The exercises are designed to ensure the military's ability to operate in urban environments, prepare forces for upcoming overseas deployments, and meet mandatory training certification requirements, police said.

The Iraqi Army is the most developed service in the Iraqi Security Forces but, it has major components missing. The absence of sufficient support, anti-tank, logistics, artillery, and especially the total absence of air defense, makes the IA incapable of effectively fighting any of the countries bordering Iraq. Without those components, the IA is just an internal security force – unable to successfully fight a conventional war.

To summarize the case, on April 21, 2008, terrorists attacked Behenna’s platoon, wounding two of his men and killing two others, along with two Iraqi civilians. On May 5th, officials arrested Ali-Mansur for his involvement in this particular attack. After questioning Mansur, Army Intelligence released him without explanation, then turned him over to Behenna to escort Mansur back to his home. Behenna attempted to interrogate Mansur. Would you briefly summarize the case in the death of Ali-Mansur? A: My understanding is that the prosecution believed Behenna shot Ali Mansur when he was sitting down. The first shot was to the...

When Jermaine Green and his fiancee Violet Roberts got on a Metro bus in Bellflower Monday night, they took notice of another passenger. "The lady got on the bus with a stroller full of pillows, she was very polite, said hello to everyone and sat down," Green said. At the next stop, two LA County sheriff's deputies, one male and one female, boarded the bus and called the passenger by name. "They said get off the bus. She then started cursing at (the female deputy). You could tell she had special needs. After that they grab her, she curses him...

GREENBELT, Md. – A former U.S. Army soldier has been charged with attempting to provide material support to terror group al Shabaab, the Department of Justice announced Monday. Craig Benedict Baxam was arrested Friday upon return to his home state of Maryland after he was captured in Africa during an alleged attempt to reach Somalia, where the terror group is based. Baxam, 24, joined the Army in 2007 and served in Baghdad and Korea. During his enlistment, he completed eight months of advanced intelligence and cryptology training, the Justice Department said in a press release. According to court papers, Baxam...

KABUL, Afghanistan — An Afghan soldier turned his gun on American military personnel while they were playing volleyball at a camp in southern Afghanistan, killing one and wounding three others before being fatally shot, the Afghan police said on Monday. It was the third time in just over two weeks that a man wearing an Afghan Army uniform attacked NATO personnel. In the earlier cases, the Taliban claimed responsibility, although there was no immediate claim in this case that the Afghan soldier had Taliban sympathies. The attack took place on Sunday afternoon in Qalat, the capital of Zabul Province. The...

KABUL, Afghanistan – A man in an Afghan army uniform opened fire on a group of Americans at a base in the south of the country, killing a U.S. soldier and wounding another, an Afghan military spokesman said Monday. Spokesman Gen. Mohammad Zahir Azimi said the gunman was also killed in the shootout on Sunday. "Right now, an investigation is going on to determine whether he really was a soldier or someone using an army uniform. And if he was a soldier, what caused the shooting," Azimi said. Similar attacks have raised fears of increased Taliban infiltration of the Afghan...

...Army regulations require that medevac helicopters follow the Geneva Convention, which specifies that they must be unarmed and display prominent Red Cross markings. Furthermore, Army regulation forbids medevac choppers from entering a combat zone without armed helicopter escort. If armed escort is not immediately available, medevac helicopters remain grounded, regardless the emergency. Once they do go in, they become a conspicuous target for enemy forces, most of whom have never read the Geneva Convention, and would laugh it out of existence if they had.

Defense: The administration announces a leaner version of our military involving the cutting of tens of thousands of ground troops as a leading defense contractor closes a major plant due to budget cuts. In an unusual appearance at the Pentagon on Thursday, President Obama laid out his plans for a "leaner" military based on the need "to renew our economic strength here at home, which is the foundation of our strength in the world." In other words, failed domestic policies require us to cut our military in a dangerous world. Obama insisted that even after the currently budgeted $460 billion...

This Iraqi Security Force (ISF) update provides a summary of changes to the ISF during December 2011. The article “ISF Total Force Mobilization Update December 2011” was published separately and will not be addressed here. The Iraqi Security Force Order of Battle is updated as of 31 December 2011. Highlights in this update include: * Kurdish forces still working with ISF; KRG getting a utility squadron of helicopters. * Iraqis shopping in Moscow; Mortars and unidentified armor received from Serbia; Kalsu to be IA Logistics Base. * Iraqis say they need 6 squadrons of F16s; First squadron of F16s ordered;...

The Command Sergeant Major of the U.S. Army’s Drill Sergeant School (DSS) has been suspended from duty and the Army is working overtime to smother the story. An investigative report by militarycorruption.com (MCC) has uncovered the story Army brass would love to keep secret. According to MCC which specializing in exposing stories about our military the mainstream media and official channels won’t talk about, the Command Sergeant Major of the Army’s Drill Sergeant’s School (DSS) Teresa King has been charged with a variety of violations of Army regulations. Sergeant Major Teresa King is an African American who will by 50...

Mitt Romney's top ten is made up of Goldman Sachs, followed by Credit Suisse (Switzerland), Morgan Stanley, Barclays (UK), Bank of America and JP Morgan. In contrast Romney's co-frontrunner in Iowa, Ron Paul, has a top three donor list made up of the US Army, US Navy and US Airforce.

This is an update to last year’s article. The major changes are the elimination of the previously planned new IA divisions, the start of mechanizing of 2 IA divisions, the addition of another corps-level Joint Operational Command, further indications of additional planned mechanized/armor upgrades, and indications of planned wartime redeployments. Forward defense is Iraq’s only real option. Too many key areas are close to the Iranian border. However, Iraq does not have the force to successfully defend Iraq against a conventional invasion. The ISF is trained and equipped for internal security – not external. Iraq is fair game to any...

As part of the recent celebration of its 24th anniversary, Hamas held a mass rally in Gaza in which the terror group expressed an intransigent commitment to the jihad against Israel. In his speech at the rally, Hamas’ Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh called for the establishment of “the al-Quds Army for the liberation of Palestine.” “We are sending today a clear and unequivocal message that the armed resistance and the armed struggle are our strategic choice and way in order to liberate the Palestinian land from the sea (Mediterranean) to the river (Jordan) and to expel the intruders and plunderers...

(Judicial Watch) — In this new era of political correctness, the U.S. Army has published a special handbook for soldiers that appears to justify Islamic jihad by describing it as the “communal military defense of Islam and Muslims when they are threatened or under attack.” Because radical Muslim groups consider Islam to be perpetually under moral, spiritual, economic, political and military attack by the “secular west” they consider military jihad a “constant necessity” and use it as a “rallying cry to resist and attack all this is un-Islamic,” according to the new Army manual. The handbook was created to help...

Even as we watch the close of the Iraq war – or at least our direct, military involvement in it – one of the lingering stories which came out of the conflict continues to unfold. Accused traitor Bradley Manning has finally begun his trial, with a pre-trial hearing taking place at Fort Meade army base in Maryland on charges that he leaked hundreds of thousands of classified documents. The expected five day proceeding will determine whether or not Manning will go on to a full court martial. His defense is apparently trying a different tactic, claiming that Manning never should...

Special Report: Tea Party grassroots army readies for battleBy Nick Carey | Reuters – Thu, Dec 15, 2011 MYRTLE BEACH, South Carolina (Reuters) - For insight into the conservative Tea Party movement's battle plan in 2012, check out Joe Dugan's Google spreadsheets. Dugan, 66, a retired manufacturing executive and chairman of the Myrtle Beach Tea Party, is particularly proud of the scoring system he's devised for South Carolina legislators. Every vote by a member of the state's House or Senate is recorded, with points awarded for those that reflect the conservative position. "Let's say you get above a five, we'll...

WASHINGTON, Dec 13 (Reuters) - U.S. defense cuts that begin in the 2012 budget will ultimately cost up to 800,000 jobs, and additional spending reductions could push that figure to 1.5 million over the next decade, a top Republican lawmaker testified on Tuesday. Representative Buck McKeon, chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, said his panel estimated the initial $489 billion in defense cuts approved by Congress would cost 100,000 military jobs, mostly Army and Marines, as well as 200,000 civilian defense jobs and 500,000 defense industry positions.

Spc. Ronald H. Wildrick Jr. and Sgt. Christopher L. Muniz of Schofield Barracks Oahu Hawaii died in Afghanistan on Dec. 11, 2012 from improvided exposive devise (IED). Their names were released by the Pentagon on December 13, 2012, the same day four soldiers flying in two OH-58D Kiowa Warrior helicopters, died at Fort Lewis in Tacoma Washington. John Roco eulogizes their Christmas time ultimate sacrifice, remembering their families and all who have given for the sake of us all in making it safe for all of us of these United States of America

NATO to stop training Iraq army when U.S. troops leaveBy David Brunnstrom Monday, December 12, 2011 BRUSSELS (Reuters) - NATO will end its seven-year troop training mission in Iraq at the end of December, the alliance said on Monday, a move that will coincide with the withdrawal of U.S. troops from the country. The decision follows U.S. President Barack Obama's announcement in October that U.S. troops would go home at year-end after talks to keep thousands there as trainers fell apart over Washington's condition that U.S. forces should have immunity from prosecution in local courts. A statement from NATO Secretary-General...

President Obama played coin-flipper, color commentator and spectator as he attended his first Army-Navy game as commander-in-chief Saturday. The 112th meeting of the two service academies was played for the first time in the Washington area, drawing not only the president but also Vice President Joe Biden and Defense Secretary Leon Panetta. Obama flipped a special Ronald Reagan centennial coin to determine home field advantage before the game. It came up tails, as called for by the Army captains. The president later spent a few moments in the CBS Sports broadcast booth, noting the great tradition of the rivalry game.

Did anyone see the look on Obama's Face as he was introduced to flip the coin at the Army - Navy Game. The ref introduced the coin as a Regan Commerative Silver Dollar. The crowd liked it.

...3 companies of infantry were polled by questionnaire about the drill and it’s purpose. One of the questions was, will you as a member of the Nat. Guard use lethal force against the American public if ordered to do so? One of the men stepped forward and refused to take the poll and explained that it was a moral judgement on his part and that he could not do so. He then placed his weapon on the ground and fell in behind the formation. Devon said it was like a waterfall, Every member layed their weapons on the deck and...

PEARL HARBOR, Hawaii (AP) — A snafu marred the critical moment of silence Wednesday at the Pearl Harbor ceremony observing the 70th anniversary of the Japanese attack.... ...But on Wednesday, emcee Leslie Wilcox was still speaking at 7:55 a.m., even as the Hawaii Air National Guard's F-22's roared overhead on schedule 42 seconds later.

Sergeant Winkowski says they didn’t have an ammo carrier to lug the extra bullets and there was a lull when they had to reload. He says they’d seen ammo carriers in movies and decided to gather up some spare parts to build their own. They took an old rucksack frame and stripped it down, welded together a couple of ammo cans and added a speed loading shoot. “We took it out to the range and gave it some testing and it worked out pretty good for us,” Winkowski says, “And so we took it into combat, and we got into...

It’s an Obama world. While we were preoccupied with other disastrous Obama policies, military bureaucrats under Barack Obama passed a new rule that barred loved ones from bringing Bibles to wounded soldiers. The US Military says they are rescinding the order but only after a Republican lawmaker denounced the policy on the House floor. Todd Starnes reported: Walter Reed National Military Medical Center said they are rescinding a policy that prohibits family members of wounded military troops from bringing Bibles or any religious reading materials to their loved ones. The decision to rescind the ban on Bibles came exactly one...

This Iraqi Security Force (ISF) update provides a summary of changes to the ISF during November 2011. The Iraqi Security Force Order of Battle is updated as of 30 November 2011. Highlights in this update include: * IA emphasizing Field Artillery; 15,600 additional IA being recruited. * First An-32B delivered; First F16s deliver in 2014-2015; Second order of F16s planned; C130Js to deliver starting 2012. * Sixth PB delivered. * Golden Lions to be MoI Battalion?

After 60 years of waiting, worrying and wondering, the family of a young Army medic who died in the Korean War is preparing to give him a hometown military burial. The remains of Pfc. Jimmie Jimenez Gaitan arrived Wednesday at San Antonio International Airport. Relatives who've long sought to bring him home were on the Tarmac. SNIP Adams said his uncle was one of more than 4,000 U.S. and United Nations troops whose skeletal remains were returned in 1954 in exchange for repatriation of some 13,000 North Korean and Chinese troops in an initiative known as “Operation Glory.” Gaitan's remains...

EXCLUSIVE: Captain Katherine Jenerette Gives A Woman’s View From AfghanistanAbout Katherine: Katherine Jenerette is Captain in the US Army Reserve and a paratrooper from North Myrtle Beach, SC. She is serving with the 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division ‘Task Force Arctic Wolves’ in the Horn of Panjwa’i in one of the most volatile districts in Kandahar Province (and Afghanistan). She is a former U.S. Congressional Field Representative for South Carolina’s First District and a North Myrtle Beach Planning Commissioner and was a Candidate for US Congress in 2010. Katherine was recently name as one of THE 45...

Had an interesting question from my father: I have a nephew stationed over in Afghanistan. My dad wants to send him a small artificial Christmas tree, lights included. Is that allowed or even possible? Any FReepers out there have any knowledge on this?

HONOLULU (AP) — The Army on Thursday conducted its first flight test of a new weapon capable of traveling five times the speed of sound. The Army launched the Advanced Hypersonic Weapon from the military's Pacific Missile Range Facility on Kauai at about 1:30 a.m. The weapon's "glide vehicle" reached Kwajalein Atoll — some 2,300 miles away — in less than half an hour, said Lt. Col. Melinda Morgan, a Pentagon spokeswoman. Earlier this year, the Congressional Research Service said in a report the Advanced Hypersonic Weapon is part of the military's program to develop "prompt global strike" weapons that...

The US Army aids and abets the Islamic war on free speech and bans Atlas without explanation. Meanwhile I am sure that real hate sites, like that of Hamas-linked CAIR, are easily accessible. An Atlas reader sent me these two emails: Just FYI... I work for the US Government and noticed that your web site http://atlasshrugs2000.typepad.com/atlas_shrugs/ has been blocked. Not CNN, FOX, or any other site, just yours. I checked with our FireWall team and they said a Tasker was put out to block it. I find this interesting considering we are getting closer to elections and your site, the...

When this day rolls around annually, it's difficult to pick a single unit, battle or warrior to honor. And despite all attempts, the story is only fractionally told. Truly all Veterans, from all wars, are to be honored, respected and given heartfelt thanks for their contributions to our freedoms. But this year I decided to zero in on Patton's Tiger's Division, serving in his Third Army, and single out only one of their remarkable accomplishments…Combat Command B's Herculean efforts in WWII's Siege of Bastogne in the war's largest, and bloodiest, battle - the Ardennes-Alsace campaign. Or as it is...

Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington (CNN) -- A military court-martial Thursday found Army Staff Sgt. Calvin Gibbs guilty of murdering three Afghan civilians, illegally cutting off pieces of their corpses to keep as "souvenirs" and planting weapons to make the men appear as if they were Taliban fighters killed in legitimate firefights. He faces a maximum sentence of life in military prison without parole. The sentencing phase of the trial began immediately after the guilty verdict from the five-member panel was read. Gibbs is the highest ranking of five soldiers charged with being part of a rogue "kill squad" that targeted...

A prominent national Muslim civil rights and advocacy [subversive] organization today welcomed a U.S. Army decision to review a policy of the Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps (JROTC) that effectively bars participation by Muslim students who wear an Islamic head scarf, or hijab. Last month, the Washington-based Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) wrote to Defense Secretary Leon Panetta after a 14-year-old Muslim student at Ravenwood High School in Brentwood, Tenn., was forced to transfer out of a JROTC class when her commanding officers told her she could not wear hijab while marching in the September homecoming parade. After being contacted...

To the thousands of supporters of 1Lt Michael Behenna, It has been awhile since we sent out an update. Michael's lawyers have filed the petition to the Court of Appeals of the Armed Forces (CAAF). The CAAF is the highest court for the military justice system and is similar to the Supreme Court as they do not have to take your appeal. There were four issues on Michael's case presented to the CAAF and we would expect to hear within 30-60 days whether the CAAF will hear his case. If the CAAF does not choose to hear any of the...

KABUL, Afghanistan — A senior American general stationed in Afghanistan has been fired for criticizing President Hamid Karzai in a published interview. The NATO and American commander in Afghanistan, Gen. John R. Allen, announced in a press release on Saturday that he was dismissing Maj. Gen. Peter Fuller, the deputy commander for programs at the NATO training mission in Afghanistan, effective immediately. “The decision follows recent inappropriate public comments made by Maj. Gen. Fuller,” General Allen said. The statement was issued early Saturday morning in Kabul, which was still Friday in the United States, where General Fuller had been on...

This Iraqi Security Force (ISF) update provides a summary of changes to the ISF during October 2011. The Iraqi Security Force Order of Battle is updated as of 31 October 2011. Highlights in this update include: * IMoD not ready until 2020-2024; Possible Greek M60s for IA; 2-34/9 is first Tank Regiment identified training on own M1A1s; Possible 155mm ammunition sale; More Trucks? * ISOF expanding? * Reorganization of OOB.

... Raymond Chandler, the sergeant major of the Army, tells Army Times correspondent Lance Bacon that in preparing updated Army regulations on grooming and appearance, he's taken to Facebook to debate the finer points of French manicures, earrings, pony tails, and tattoos for U.S. troops...

Open Letter to Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta and President Barack Obama Gentlemen, For the last seven years I have written about the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. I have covered the US Army, Marines, Air Force and Navy. I’ve also covered the British, Lithuanian, Afghan and Iraqi forces, among others, in places ranging from Iraq to the Philippines and beyond. My most recent embed in Afghanistan was at personal invitation from then-General David Petraeus. It is said that I have spent more time with American combat forces than any writer in US history. I do not know if this...

Those who serve in our Armed Forces deal with challenges and difficulties on a daily basis. Sometimes the challenge is not in dealing with what lies ahead, but what they left behind. We first became aware of Zoe, an adorable 4 year old Pekingese, while scrolling through the pages of an area animal rescue site. Our two dogs came to us from the same organization, and we check from time to time to see information on animals they are helping. Zoe's human mom and dad were having to give her up. Mom had served in the Army Military Police, and...