http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/dod/ en-us Fri, 1 Jan 2010 10:02:32 GMT Focus Forum 15 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2418868/posts Ongoing problems with the Minotaur 4 rocket will delay by 14 months the launch of the U.S. Air Force’s Space Based Space Surveillance (SBSS) satellite, government documents show. The Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center planned to launch SBSS in October 2009 with what would have been the first launch of the new Minotaur 4 rocket, built by Orbital Sciences Corp. of Dulles, Va. The service announced that month the launch would be indefinitely delayed with technical problems, though no further explanation was given. The Minotaur 4 relies on retired U.S. Peacekeeper missile motors for its first three stages... Space News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2418868/posts#comment Fri, 1 Jan 2010 10:02:32 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2413397/posts Note: The following text is a quote: Home • Briefing Room • Statements & Releases The White House Office of the Press Secretary For Immediate Release December 21, 2009 Statement by the Press Secretary on H.R. 3326 On December 19, 2009, the President signed into law: H.R. 3326, the “Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 2010,” which provides FY 2010 appropriations for Department of Defense (DOD) military programs including funding for Overseas Contingency Operations, and extends various expiring authorities and other non-defense FY 2010 appropriations. WHITEHOUSE.gov http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2413397/posts#comment Wed, 23 Dec 2009 00:24:48 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2411977/posts One reason so many roadside bombs in Afghanistan use pressure plates or wire controlled devices to detonate these weapons, is because American jamming technology has made wireless detonation of the bombs so difficult. The U.S. Department of Defense is working on a third generation of jammers, to make sure the terrorists have to rely on less effective means of detonating their bombs for the foreseeable future. The most recent innovation in the areas was the JCREW (Joint Counter Radio-Controlled Improvised Explosive Device Electronic Warfare) 3.1 dismounted (wearable) jammer. These cost about $99,000 each. The wearable JCREW jammers are more useful... The Strategy Page http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2411977/posts#comment Mon, 21 Dec 2009 02:23:50 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2411602/posts WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A "bunker buster" bomb with more than 10 times the explosive power of its predecessor is to be put into service by the United States next December, six months later than previously scheduled, the Defense Department told Reuters on Friday. The deployment's timing may help shape new calculations in long standoffs with Iran and North Korea over their nuclear programs, much of which are believed to be underground to avoid detection and enhance their chances of surviving an attack. "Funding delays and enhancements to the planned test schedule have pushed the capability availability date to December 2010,"... Reuters http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2411602/posts#comment Sun, 20 Dec 2009 12:36:49 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2410064/posts The internal threat from Muslim extremists in the military extends to high-level Defense Department aides who have undermined military policy. In fact, one top Muslim adviser pushed out an intelligence analyst who warned of the sudden jihad syndrome that led to the Fort Hood terrorist attack. An honored guest of the Ramadan dinner at the Pentagon this September was Hesham Islam, who infiltrated the highest echelons of the Ring despite proven ties to U.S. terror front groups and a shady past in his native Egypt. As senior adviser for international affairs to former deputy Defense Secretary Gordon England, Islam ran... Investors.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2410064/posts#comment Fri, 18 Dec 2009 01:46:17 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2407136/posts Apparently the Department of Defense believes that PS3s are a better value when it comes to supercomputers than IBM products specifically designed for the purpose. Granted recent price drops probably didn't hurt in justifying a 2,200 console order either. This isn't the first time that the DoD is using PS3 consoles for supercomputing. In fact, these 2,200 units are going to be added to an existing Linux cluster of 336 PS3s used by the United States Air Force. Gizmodo http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2407136/posts#comment Mon, 14 Dec 2009 14:35:27 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2406968/posts It's a rare kind of inspirational speech that centers around a leader highlighting the woes of his command. But Gen. Norton Schwartz, USAF Chief of Staff, managed to sound hopeful and regretful when it came to his keynote speech at the Air Force Association's Air and Space Conference and Technology Exposition last week. "We were asked to put out some wildfires that had grown out of control," Schwartz told nearly a thousand attendees, many in uniform. "But the smoke has cleared and the future is no longer obscured." Here's how he says the U.S. Air Force plans to face three... Popular Mechanics http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2406968/posts#comment Mon, 14 Dec 2009 05:11:57 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2405087/posts Law: American heroes are arraigned for allegedly punching a terrorist in wartime. What happens to Tiger Woods isn't vital to our country's future. What happens to Matthew McCabe, Julio Huertas and Jonathan Keefe is. People are more likely to recognize the names of Tiger's alleged bimbo eruptions than the names of these three Navy SEALs we sent into battle. They are not household names in a nation consumed with Climate Gate, the public option and the antics of billionaire athletes. An administration consumed with apologies has said the architect of 9/11's massacre, Khalid Sheik Mohammed, must be given all the... Investors Business daily http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2405087/posts#comment Fri, 11 Dec 2009 02:15:13 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2404944/posts A federal judge on Thursday ruled the Defense Department in contempt of court for failing to videotape the testimony of a Guantanamo Bay detainee so that the public and the news media could see it. U.S. District Judge Gladys Kessler is demanding a detailed explanation of why the Pentagon failed to conduct the taping, as she had directed, of testimony by Mohammed Al-Adahi of Yemen. He testified June 23 in a challenge to his indefinite detention at the prison in Cuba. In August, Kessler ordered the government to "take all necessary and appropriate diplomatic steps" to facilitate Al-Adahi's release. The... MSNBC http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2404944/posts#comment Thu, 10 Dec 2009 22:56:16 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2395650/posts War On Terror: As Khalid Sheikh Mohammed receives the benefits of U.S. justice, three Navy SEALs face court-martial for allegedly punching a captured terrorist who hanged Americans from a bridge in Fallujah. Apparently our efforts to impress the world about the marvels of our criminal justice system require us to give foreign terrorists such as Khalid Sheik Mohammed, the man who invented the manned cruise missiles that flew into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon and plowed into a Pennsylvania field on its way to the Capitol Building, the full rights and protections of the American citizens he conspired... Investor's Business Daily http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2395650/posts#comment Sat, 28 Nov 2009 01:09:19 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2401209/posts A third-phase U.S. Navy student in Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL training fires his rifle down range during a night live-fire exercise on San Clemente Island, Calif., Dec. 3, 2009. The third phase of the training focuses on land warfare and includes training in pistol, rifle, demolitions and tactical movement. U.S. Navy photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Blake R. Midnight. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ***** "What kind of a message are we sending to our troops in the field when they do their duty, risk their lives, capture a terrorist... one of the top ten terrorists - and we're going to court martial... Mudville Gazette http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2401209/posts#comment Sat, 5 Dec 2009 23:05:02 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2400308/posts Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan - Capt. Matt Foley hasn't presided over any weddings or christenings since he arrived here in April - not much call for those services in a war zone. But the Army chaplain and Catholic priest who spent much of his childhood in Wauwatosa stays very busy ministering to nine companies in the 82nd Airborne Divisional Special Troops Battalion, delivering care packages, checking on soldiers' welfare, presiding over Catholic Masses as well as handling any calls for a priest. And like all military chaplains, he cares for all service members regardless of their religion. His job is very... Milwaukee Journal Sentinel http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2400308/posts#comment Fri, 4 Dec 2009 17:13:46 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2397429/posts Israel is sticking to its guns on a demand the United States allow it to integrate its own electronic warfare suite in Lockheed Martin's F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, even though the Americans have given the green light to install other Israeli systems in the jet. Israel wants to buy an initial batch of 25 F-35s, enough for one squadron, in fiscal 2012 and would like to acquire another 50. The U.S. Department of Defense and Maryland-based Lockheed Martin, the prime contractor in the program, want to finalize a contract with Israel as soon as possible. The main holdup has been... Space War http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2397429/posts#comment Tue, 1 Dec 2009 06:17:13 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2396201/posts The Pentagon, after years and years of deliberation and heavy pressure from Britain, has finally decided it will not share the all-important computer source code for the Joint Strike Fighter. Sharing source code would, in the words of one close observer of the program, “turn the British JSF into a Trojan Horse.” The message this source would send the British: “Yes we love you… but who are those third party nationals from the EU working for you? And how do we know we can trust them?” British officials had threatened to pull out of the program if the US did... Dod Buzz http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2396201/posts#comment Sun, 29 Nov 2009 07:32:20 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2389532/posts A soldier's letter to the editor follows: "The tragic results of victim disarmament were made real with the shooting at Fort Hood, Texas. If this were a moral and proper world, as soon as the suspect, Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, drew his weapon, every person in the building would have had their sights leveled on him. U.S. military installations’ immoral and unjust anti-self-defense policy disarmed only the victims of this crime. How many more events like this is it going to take before Defense Department officials realize that victim disarmament costs lives and Congress amends the Uniform Code of Military... Stars and Stripes http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2389532/posts#comment Thu, 19 Nov 2009 01:53:47 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2389488/posts WASHINGTON (AP) - Defense Secretary Robert Gates has tapped a former senior defense official to lead a broad Pentagon review of the circumstances surrounding the Fort Hood shootings, The Associated Press has learned. Defense Secretary Robert Gates will announce Thursday that the unified review will involve a number of components, and will call for a quick, short-term report, followed by a longer, more extensive study, according to an administration official. Components of the wide-ranging probe could include self-examinations by the Army and the military's medical community, and likely look at personnel policies and the availability of mental health services for... Associated Press http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2389488/posts#comment Thu, 19 Nov 2009 00:54:26 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2387807/posts The Senate Armed Services Committee postponed its Monday briefing on the deadly Fort Hood massacre at the request of the White House -- despite calls from some lawmakers to press forward with a congressional investigation into the shooting rampage that killed 13 and wounded 29. The Senate Armed Services Committee postponed its Monday briefing on the deadly Fort Hood massacre at the behest of the White House, despite calls from some lawmakers to press forward with a congressional investigation into the shooting rampage that killed 13 and wounded 29. An aide to committee chairman Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., told Fox... Foxnews.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2387807/posts#comment Tue, 17 Nov 2009 00:07:01 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2383416/posts I think this is new information, but honestly, the sheer volume of missed red flags has led me to lose track. We already knew that the FBI shrugged off Hasan’s e-mails to jihadbot preacher Aulaqi, but did we know that a Pentagon investigator operating as part of the joint terrorism task force did the same thing? If we didn’t, we do now. Two officials speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the case on the record said the Washington-based joint terrorism task force overseen by the FBI was notified of communications between Hasan and a... Hot Air http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2383416/posts#comment Tue, 10 Nov 2009 23:48:21 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2375324/posts Pence to Pentagon: Rethink decision to offer H1N1 vaccine to Gitmo detainees By Tony Romm - 10/31/09 10:20 AM ET The Pentagon's announcement Friday that it would provide H1N1 vaccinations to Guantanamo Bay detainees who ask for it is a "terrible decision," one House Republican stressed Friday. The White House should immediately cancel the program to ensure Americans are able to receive those vaccinations first, added Rep. Mike Pence (R-Ind.). "I don't know if detainees at Gitmo should never be given the H1N1 vaccine," Pence told CNN during an interview. "But, certainly, at a time of such acute shortages, again,... The Hill http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2375324/posts#comment Sat, 31 Oct 2009 15:27:00 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2368662/posts After seven years of forced silence, a government whistleblower is opening up on what she learned while working as a Turkish translator for the FBI in the wake of 9/11. In sworn testimony to attorneys on Aug. 8, Sibel Edmonds described a Pentagon where key personnel helped pass defense secrets to foreign agents or provided them names of knowledgeable officials who were vulnerable to blackmail or co-option. And firmly rooted in this espionage program in the 1990s, according to Edmonds’ deposition, were two men who, with the election of George W. Bush as president in 2000, found themselves in the... Military.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2368662/posts#comment Thu, 22 Oct 2009 19:47:32 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2367935/posts WASHINGTON, Oct. 21, 2009 – The Defense Department will implement a new program this week to compensate former and current servicemembers for each month they involuntarily served from Sept. 11, 2001 to Sept. 30, 2009, a defense official said. Congress approved an appropriation bill last summer, giving the department $534 million over the next year for an estimated 185,000 servicemembers affected by the “Stop Loss” authority since 9/11, said Sam Retherford, director for the department’s officer and enlisted personnel management office. In an interview with the Pentagon Channel and American Forces Press Service, Retherford explained that qualified servicemembers will receive... American Forces Press Service http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2367935/posts#comment Wed, 21 Oct 2009 23:26:43 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2367660/posts After seven years of forced silence, a government whistleblower is opening up on what she learned while working as a Turkish translator for the FBI in the wake of 9/11. In sworn testimony to attorneys on Aug. 8, Sibel Edmonds described a Pentagon where key personnel helped pass defense secrets to foreign agents or provided them names of knowledgeable officials who were vulnerable to blackmail or co-option. And firmly rooted in this espionage program in the 1990s, according to Edmonds’ deposition, were two men who, with the election of George W. Bush as president in 2000, found themselves in the... Military.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2367660/posts#comment Wed, 21 Oct 2009 17:33:46 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2366181/posts WASHINGTON — A scientist who worked for the Defense Department, a White House space council and other agencies was arrested Monday on charges of attempting to pass along classified information to an FBI agent posing as an Israeli intelligence officer. Stewart David Nozette, 52, of Chevy Chase, Md., was charged in a criminal complaint with attempting to communicate, deliver and transmit classified information, the Justice Department said. The complaint does not allege that the government of Israel or anyone acting on its behalf violated U.S. law. Nozette was arrested by FBI agents. He is expected to make his initial appearance... Fox News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2366181/posts#comment Tue, 20 Oct 2009 00:19:17 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2364484/posts The Pentagon has missed the deadline set by the 2001 Nuclear Posture Review for the retirement of the W62 nuclear warhead. Retirement of the warhead, which arms a portion of the 450 U.S. Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missiles, was scheduled for completion in Fiscal Year 2009, which ended on September 30th. But the Department of Defense has been unable to confirm the warhead has been retired, saying instead earlier today: “The retirement of the W62 is progressing toward completion.” The 2001 Nuclear Posture Review decided that, “the W62 will be retired by the end of Fiscal Year 2009.” The schedule... Security Blog http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2364484/posts#comment Sat, 17 Oct 2009 07:54:48 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2364335/posts Note: The following text is a quote: THE BRIEFING ROOM • THE BLOG FRIDAY, OCTOBER 16TH, 2009 AT 6:09 PM Catching Up With DoD Posted by Molly Fedick Roxie Merritt, Director of Community Relations and Public Liaison at the Department of Defense, reports back from the Alliance of Youth Movements. She is down there with four members of her team, where she's been meeting with leaders from all over the world, all of whom have found success employing social networking tools in their businesses and organizations. Taking a break from the Mexico sunshine (the conference is in Mexico City), she... WHITEHOUSE.gov http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2364335/posts#comment Sat, 17 Oct 2009 01:06:03 GMT