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Robert Gibbs, a senior communications adviser to the Obama campaign, briefed reporters on the planne today. I just received this transcript as I am in London, having leap-frogged ahead due to requirements for live shots here. This is the full transcript about the Obama camp’s perspective on the back-and-forth with the Pentagon about the canceled visit to Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany. {Read Transcript at the Link)

Chief Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell confirmed to Politico that Department of Defense officials cautioned Barack Obama's campaign that his planned visit to wounded American troops in Germany could not be political in nature and that he would be barred from bringing along campaign staff and reporters. He also said that Cindy McCain recently requested to visit sailors aboard the U.S.N.S. Comfort and was denied. "Sen. Obama is welcome to visit Landstuhl or any military hospital in his official capacity as a United States senator," Morrell said in a brief interview. "But there is a DoD policy which governs campaigning and...

This morning on Fox & Friends, the Doocy, Carlson, Kilmeade troika pulled a quote from an exchange between Sen. Barack Obama and correspondent Major Garrett in which Obama questioned whether Pres. Bush had something to do with the fact that FNC seemed to be on most Armed Forces Click "continued" to see the clip...

"And then we sat down with [Barack Obama] to talk about what has become an open disagreement between military commanders here and Obama, over his plan to withdraw all U.S. combat troops from Iraq on a 16-month timetable." -- Terry Moran Barack Obama ABC Interview July 21, 2008 ABC's Terry Moran: "And then we sat down with [Barack Obama] to talk about what has become an open disagreement between military commanders here and Obama, over his plan to withdraw all U.S. combat troops from Iraq on a 16-month timetable. Did General Petraeus talk about military concerns about your timetable?" Barack...

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Rep. Roy Blunt, the House Republican whip, on July 8 introduced a resolution demanding that the Defense Department better enable U.S. military personnel overseas to vote in the November elections. That act was followed by silence. Democrats normally leap on an opportunity to find fault with the Bush Pentagon. But not a single Democrat joined Blunt as a co-sponsor, and an all-Republican proposal cannot pass in the Democratic-controlled House. Analysis by the federal Election Assistance Commission, rejecting inflated Defense Department voting claims, estimated overseas and absentee military voting for the 2006 midterm elections at a disgracefully low...

WASHINGTON, July 23, 2008 – The surge in Iraq has been a success by any measure, Pentagon Press Secretary Geoff Morrell said during a news conference today. Pentagon Press Secretary Geoff Morrell holds a press briefing on July 23, 2008, to update reporters on the latest news and events within the Department of Defense. Defense Dept. photo by R. D. Ward  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. The surge has allowed Iraq to make improvements from security, political and economic standpoints, Morrell said. The last of the five surge brigade combat teams recently left Iraq. The policy, announced by...

The "surge" in Iraq sure appears to have worked.  There are some who say President Bush should have listened to voices such as Senator John McCain and then Army Chief of Staff General Eric Shinseki in the first place, rather than taking the foolish advice of former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and other "neo-con" hardliners. But before we give all the credit to the "more boots on the ground" stompers and all the blame to Rumsfeld and the neo-cons, let's take a second look at the surge. To set the stage, let's look at the results to date.  (In the...

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - The U.S. troop "surge" in Iraq that President George W. Bush ordered last year has ended after the last of five additional combat brigades left the country, a U.S. military spokesman said on Tuesday. The remaining troops from that brigade departed over the weekend, leaving just under 147,000 American soldiers in Iraq, the spokesman said. "The final elements of the surge brigade have now left, getting out a few days ahead of schedule," he said. The U.S. military had 20 combat brigades in Iraq at its peak in 2007, with troop levels around 160,000-170,000.

What do you get when you combine U.S. militarism, fantasies of domination and an administration that views the internet as a hot-bed of “evil-doers” and “subversives”? Cyber Command, of course! Only this scheme has the potential of inflicting massive suffering on civilian populations across the planet. Currently situated at the secretive Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana, Air Force Cyber Command, the newest Pentagon command since the 1990s, is dedicated to the notion that the “next war” will be fought in the electromagnetic spectrum, one that envisions computers as “network-centric” weapons. With a unified organizational structure and a $2 billion...

I kept thinking back to all those antimilitary movies I’d seen and to left-wing journals like the New York Times, which consistently highlight military abuses and failures while obscuring and downplaying military heroism and advances. The servicemen I was training with were clearly smart, expert, and committed to excellence in the defense of their country. They also seemed a lot more mentally stable than most of the screenwriters, journalists, and academics I know, though that’s not saying much. Yet Hollywood and our left-wing media, as well as our antimilitary professoriate, can be quite convincing when, say, they portray an isolated...

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Two top Pentagon officials said Wednesday that they expect to be able to recommend troops cuts in Iraq this fall and will try to increase troops in Afghanistan. Adm. Mike Mullen, right, and Defense Secretary Robert Gates speak at the Pentagon on Wednesday. The remarks came after U.S. soldiers were killed Sunday in the deadliest firefight in Afghanistan in recent years. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates said he had ruled out extending the deployment of U.S. forces in Afghanistan or making tours longer than 15 months, leaving few options other than shifting troops who were destined for...

"A Defense Department DNA identification lab has helped bring to a close a near-century-old mystery, laying to rest a search for the remains of two children executed alongside the rest of the family of Russia’s last czar." "Now, the lab has again helped the Russian government by identifying the remains of those two children, found last year in a shallow grave about 70 feet from the larger gravesite."

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The Department of Defense confirmed Friday that the remains of two U.S. soldiers captured in an ambush south of Baghdad more than a year ago were found this week. A tip from an informant led the military Wednesday to the bodies of Sgt. Alex R. Jimenez, 25, of Lawrence, Massachusetts, and Pvt. Byron W. Fouty, 19, of Waterford, Michigan, according to Jimenez' father, quoting officers who informed him of the discoveries. Sgt. Alex R. Jimenez, 25, of Lawrence, Massachusetts, and Pvt. Byron W. Fouty, 19, of Waterford, Michigan "The Armed Forces Medical Examiner positively identified human remains...

WASHINGTON, July 10, 2008 – The Senate has confirmed Army Gen. David H. Petraeus as commander of U.S. Central Command and Army Lt. Gen. Raymond T. Odierno to receive his fourth star and succeed Petraeus as commander of Multinational Force Iraq. The full Senate confirmed Petraeus by a vote of 95-2 and Odierno by a 96-1 margin. Odierno is the Army’s 3rd Corps commander and served as commander of Multinational Corps Iraq for 14 months. The changes put Petraeus -- who implemented the U.S. surge into Iraq -- in charge of U.S. military forces in a dangerous part of the...

Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said yesterday that the Pentagon will hold a new, fast-tracked competition to replace the Air Force's aging fleet of aerial refueling tankers, a move that overturns the previous award of the contract to Northrop Grumman. The decision follows criticism of the selection process by the Government Accountability Office and underscores the sharp divisions over the contract. The deal to replace the Air Force's entire fleet could be worth up to $100 billion over the next two decades. Gates said he expects the Pentagon to choose a new winner by the end of the year. On...

Secretary of Defense Robert Gates announced Wednesday that Northrop Grumman and Boeing will have to submit revised proposals for the Air Force’s highly contested aerial refueling tanker program. The Pentagon chief's decision comes after the Government Accountability Office (GAO) upheld Boeing's protest of the Air Force's decision to award the contract to Northrop Grumman and EADS North America, the parent company of Boeing rival Airbus. “I have concluded that the contract cannot be awarded,” Gates said at a Pentagon news conference. Northrop Grumman won the heated competition on Feb. 29, but is currently under a stop-work order. The decision means...

The Department of Defense announced today the death of four Marines who were supporting Operation Enduring Freedom. Sgt. Michael Toussiant-Hyle Washington, 20, of Tacoma, Wash. Lance Cpl. Layton Bradly Crass, 22, of Richmond, In. Pfc. Dawid Pietrek, 24, of Bensenville, Ill. Pfc. Michael Robert Patton, 19, of Fenton, Mo. All four Marines died June 14 while supporting combat operations in Farah Province, Afghanistan. They were assigned to 2nd Battalion, 7th Marines, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Twentynine Palms, Calif. Requesting prayer for the family, friends, and loved ones of Sgt. Michael Toussiant-Hyle Washington, 20, of Tacoma, Wash. Requesting...

U.S. military planners are working on how to deal with another round of major cutbacks, in terms of budgets and manpower. This is because one of the major candidates for Commander-in-Chief (president of the United States), Barak Obama, has a video in circulation, of a short speech he gave earlier this year, about how he planned on handling the Department of Defense. His major points were; "I'm the only major candidate who opposed this war from the beginning; and as president, I will end it. "Second, I will cut tens of billions of dollars in wasteful spending. I will cut...

WASHINGTON, July 2, 2008 – Defense Department officials are very concerned about the situation in Afghanistan, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said here today. “Violence is up significantly from a year ago,” Navy Adm. Mike Mullen said during a Pentagon news conference. For the second month in a row, more coalition servicemembers died in Afghanistan than died in Iraq. Given the country’s harsh winters and unforgiving terrain, summer historically is the fighting season in Afghanistan, but the Taliban have become more organized and efficient, Mullen said. But part of the increase in violence is because there are...

AMERICANS WHO HAVE GIVEN THEIR LIVES IN SERVICE TO OUR COUNTRY The Department of Defense announced the death of these Americans who were supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.Requesting prayer for the family, friends, and loved ones of Pfc. Howard A. Jones, Jr., 35, of ChicagoPfc. Howard A. Jones, Jr., 35, of Chicago, died May 18 in Chicago from injuries sustained when he was struck by a hit-and-run driver while on leave from the Iraq theater of operations. He was assigned to the 1st Squadron, 4th Cavalry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, Fort Riley, Kan. Requesting prayer for the...

Today it was announced that in keeping with honoring the wounded and ill of our Armed Forces, the Silver Star Families of America will begin issuing certificates of appreciation to military medical personnel.

The US Navy-Marine Corps Court of Appeals has ruled that the CBS television news magazine 60 Minutes must turn over outtakes from its interview with Marine Corps Staff Sergeant Frank Wuterich in which he revealed what happened at the so-called “Haditha Massacre” in Iraq more than three years ago. The three-judge appellate panel Friday directed Marine Corps military judge Lt. Col. Jeffrey G. Meeks to “conduct additional fact-finding” including an “in camera review” of the outtakes to determine whether Wuterich revealed any information the government needs to bolster its prosecution against the Marine infantryman. The ruling of the military judge...

WASHINGTON: The American military is set to promote a woman to the rank of four-star general for the first time. Lieutenant General Ann Dunwoody, a logistics specialist with 33 years of military service, has been nominated to receive a fourth star and take charge of the US Army's Materiel Command. “I am very honoured, but also very humbled, today with this announcement,” General Dunwoody said. “I grew up in a family that didn't know what glass ceilings were. This nomination only reaffirms what I have known to be true about the military throughout my career ... that the doors continue...

U.S. military personnel and Defense Department employees won’t have to pay new fees for checked baggage as long as they’re traveling on official government orders in most instances, according to military officials. The fee exemption applies to permanent-change-of-station and temporary-duty travel, according to Staff Sgt. Erica Hix, Transportation Management Office passenger travel specialist at Yokota Air Base, Japan. "As long as you have a set of orders and present it at the counter, they’ll waive the baggage charges," she said. Several U.S. carriers charge or will soon charge a fee for checked bags. This month, American and United airlines began...

Reports that suggest the Taliban have gained a footing in Afghanistan’s Kandahar province are “way overblown,” a Pentagon spokesman said today. Press Secretary Geoff Morrell told reporters at a news conference that although an increased Taliban presence has been detected in the province, patrols conducted by Afghan National Police and coalition forces “found no evidence that militants control the area.” Press reports from the region said the Taliban had taken seven villages in the area and were poised for an attack on the city of Kandahar. “While in the area, coalition forces moved freely and met no resistance,” Morrell said....

The Pentagon Gets Ready For President Obama June 9, 2008: U.S. military planners are working on how to deal with another round of major cutbacks, in terms of budgets and manpower. This is because one of the major candidates for Commander-in-Chief (president of the United States), Barak Obama, has a video in circulation, of a short speech he gave earlier this year, about how he planned on handling the Department of Defense. His major points were; "I'm the only major candidate who opposed this war from the beginning; and as president, I will end it. "Second, I will cut tens...

FORT HUACHUCA — For more than two centuries, the U.S. Army has fought and won the nation’s wars. But during the 233 years, America’s senior service also has saved lives, delivered clean food and water to refugees, and upheld “democracy in Iraq and ensuring peace in Afghanistan,” the fort’s senior officer said on Friday. “Whatever the mission, America turns to her Army for help during times of crises, and the Army always delivers success,” said Maj. Gen. John Custer, looking across Chaffee Parade Field with a large representation of soldiers from a number of units in front of him. Those...

In other words, applying Combat Gauze to bullet, stab or shrapnel wounds works better because you are applying both pressure and a clotting agent to the bleeding vessel, kind of like filling a hole with putty instead of sprinkling filler over a hole, a Defense health official said. However, WoundStat may be the better option to get into the nooks and crannies of irregularly shaped wounds, such as those from roadside bomb blasts, said Devinder Bawa, chief executive officer of the company that makes the product. It can also stop bleeding in places where tourniquets won’t work, such as the...

The classic World War II-era poster reminded talkative dock workers that "loose lips sink ships." Well, loose nukes present an even more imposing problem, one with continent-cracking possibilities. Last week, when Defense Secretary Robert Gates requested and received the resignations of Air Force Secretary Michael Wynne and U.S. Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Michael Moseley, Gates' office cited as a reason a Pentagon investigation of lax standards in Air Force oversight of nuclear weapons. One incident involved a USAF bomber with cruise missiles over-flying a wide swath of the United States -- and the crew didn't know the weapons...

DARPA, the Pentagon's source for R&D (and lovers of acronyms big and small) have released a video illustrating the Damage Tolerance and Autonomous Landing Solution they developed alongside Athena Technologies. Basically, DTALS is designed to take over for a pilot in the event that the aircraft sustains heavy damage. The system automatically detects the damage and adjusts the flight control system to land the aircraft safely.In the demo video, a scale model F-18 manages to return safely to the earth despite the loss of over 60% of its wing. At this point, the DTALS system is being confined to UAVs...

Behind Gates' Decision to Fire Up the Air Force by Austin Bay The classic World War II-era poster reminded talkative dock workers that "loose lips sink ships." Well, loose nukes present an even more imposing problem, one with continent-cracking possibilities. Last week, when Defense Secretary Robert Gates requested and received the resignations of Air Force Secretary Michael Wynne and U.S. Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Michael Moseley, Gates' office cited as a reason a Pentagon investigation of lax standards in Air Force oversight of nuclear weapons. One incident involved a USAF bomber with cruise missiles over-flying a wide swath...

Air Force's Cultural Shake-Up by Robert Maginnis Last week, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates made history when he simultaneously fired the Air Force’s top military and civilian leaders. Most press accounts attribute the head chopping to a series of institutional failures but the truth is that Gates’ real objective is to radically change the service’s culture. Gates forced Air Force secretary Michael Wynne and the service’s chief of staff, Gen. T. Michael Moseley, to resign following the release of a nuclear investigation which reported a “…pattern of poor performance.” That report proved a tipping point for Gates, whose grievances with...

U.S. military planners are working on how to deal with another round of major cutbacks, in terms of budgets and manpower. This is because one of the major candidates for Commander-in-Chief (president of the United States), Barak Obama, has a video in circulation, of a short speech he gave earlier this year, about how he planned on handling the Department of Defense. His major points were; "I'm the only major candidate who opposed this war from the beginning; and as president, I will end it. "Second, I will cut tens of billions of dollars in wasteful spending. I will cut...

THE Pentagon has approved $US6.7 million ($7m) to develop binoculars that would tap a user's brainwaves to home in on threats. Northrop Grumman Corporation said today it was leading an academic and industry consortium for the project, known as the Cognitive Technology Threat Warning System program, or CT2WS. The plan featured a custom helmet equipped with electrodes placed on the scalp to record neural responses to the presence or absence of potential threats, Northrop said. The brain's input would "train the system's algorithms, which will continue to be refined over time so that the warfighter is always presented with items...

When Defense Secretary Robert Gates summarily fired the top civilian and military Air Force officials last week, the reason he gave was a grave failure of leadership with respect to that service’s nuclear missions. The low priority assigned by the Pentagon to its nuclear stewardship responsibilities is systemic and acute. Consequently, this act of accountability is both warranted and a needed wake-up call to all the armed forces. As it happens, there is another ground on which the dismissal of Air Force Secretary Michael Wynne could be justified. He was specifically brought in to clean up Air Force procurement, but...

Beyond the Unconventional. The Pentagon has decided on a name for the kind of war we have to be prepared to fight in decades to come. Unconventional? No. A couple of generations ago, the clash of national armies following the rules of the Hague and Geneva Conventions was called conventional war, as against a more terrifying unconventional war, which meant “nuclear” for a time; then that meaning changed to denote “special operations.” Any terminology now rooted in convention would be confusing. Asymmetrical? The meaning of that adjective is “unbalanced,” which carries the wrong connotation; besides, the term has been taken...

Nuclear arms mistakes were reason for dismissals, but deeper divide over service's mission was at play, officers and analysts say. By Bob DeansWASHINGTON BUREAU Saturday, June 07, 2008 WASHINGTON — In April, Defense Secretary Robert Gates traveled to Maxwell Air Force Base near Montgomery, Ala., to address an elite group of majors and colonels attending the Air War College in preparation for promotions to command positions. For months, Gates had been at odds with Secretary of the Air Force Michael Wynne and Gen. Michael Moseley, the Air Force chief of staff, over how to increase the use of unmanned aerial...

A word on today's purging of USAF leadership. Official line is that Air Force brass let the nuclear mission slip in the years since the Berlin wall fell. That's true, for a variety of reasons. Standing down Strategic Air Command, the post-Vietnam leadership handoff from nuclear bomber pilots to fighter pilots, the odd square peg that is the kinetic-effects-based Air Force in the round hole of the low-intensity war on terrorism, and the end of the Cold War... all contributed to an overall deemphasis on strategic operations. Still, this is a really old school way of doing business. Back during...

WASHINGTON, June 5, 2008 – Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates today announced the resignations of Air Force Secretary Michael W. Wynne and Chief of Staff Gen. T. Michael Moseley following an investigation revealing a decline in the Air Force's nuclear program focus, performance and effective leadership. U.S. Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates announces that he has accepted the resignations of both Secretary of the Air Force Michael W. Wynne and Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. T. Michael Moseley at a Pentagon press conference, June 5, 2008. Defense Dept. photo by R. D. Ward  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image...

WASHINGTON, June 5, 2008 – The United States is not seeking permanent military bases in Iraq as it negotiates legal and military agreements with the Iraqi government, U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Ryan C. Crocker said here today. Speaking at the State Department, Crocker called published reports that the United States is trying to set up permanent bases “flatly untrue.” “There clearly is going to be a need” for a U.S. and coalition military presence in Iraq beyond the end of the year, Crocker said. But the status of forces agreement, when adopted, “is not going to be forever, particularly as...

Breaking. This has been a long time coming, with SECDEF fighting with the USAF to lose the Cold War mentality and come aboard the 21st century's asymetric warfare.

US Defense Department officials in late 2001 and 2002 concealed from the CIA and other intelligence agencies potentially useful information gleaned from Iranian agents, said a Senate report released Thursday. The Iranians told Pentagon employees about a tunnel complex in Iran used to store weapons and move its personnel covertly out of the country, likely into Afghanistan in the post September 11 war period, according to the report by the Senate Intelligence Committee. The Iranians also told of a long-standing relationship with the Palestinian Liberation Organization, and the growth of anti-regime sentiment inside Iran, it said. The new report adds...

The military and civilian chiefs of the Air Force are resigning, U.S. officials said Thursday. Defense officials who spoke on condition of anonymity said that Defense Secretary Robert Gates asked Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Michael Moseley and Air Force Secretary Michael Wynne to step

WASHINGTON — Both the top uniformed officer of the Air Force and its civilian leader have been asked to submit their resignations, FOX News confirms.Air Force Chief of Staff Michael Moseley and Air Force Secretary Michael Wynne will resign by the end of the day, two sets of sources tell FOX News.

First off, this is a column about national security — period. It is not about homosexuality per se. I don't want to know about whatever lawful activity two civilians — in a civilian setting — conduct behind closed doors. It's none of my business. At the same time, the lives of millions of Americans depend on a strong dedicated cohesive well-disciplined military, and that is everyone's business. That is what this column is about — enabling those brave Americans sent into harm's way to do their job — protecting your security and mine. Our lives could very well depend on...

The Department of Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office announced today that the remains of a U.S. serviceman, missing in action from the Korean War, have been identified and will be returned to his family for burial with full military honors. He is Pfc. Milton Dinerboiler Jr., U.S. Army, of Elkhart, Ind. His burial date is being set by his family. Representatives from the Army met with Dinerboiler’s next-of-kin to explain the recovery and identification process, and to coordinate interment with military honors on behalf of the secretary of the Army. In late November 1950, Dinerboiler was assigned to the Heavy Mortar...

(CNSNews.com) - Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) is facing renewed criticism regarding his national security policies as he continues his campaign for his party's presidential nomination. In a YouTube video Obama made for a liberal pacifist organization last year, the senator called for major cuts in defense spending, slowing the development of future combat systems, and cutting investments in America's ballistic missile defense program. Some conservatives have expressed surprise at the degree of Obama's proposals on the video, and this past weekend, Sen. Hillary Clinton's (D-N.Y.) campaign released an ad criticizing Obama's alleged national security inexperience and trumpeting her as the...

WASHINGTON, June 3, 2008 – Medal of Honor recipient Army Spc. Ross A. McGinnis joined a select group of military heroes during a Pentagon ceremony here today. Deputy Defense Secretary Gordon England hosted the event that added McGinnis’ name to the roster of other Army Medal of Honor recipients. Army Secretary Pete Geren and Gen. Richard R. Cody, the Army’s vice chief of staff, also attended the event at the library and conference center. Medal of Honor recipients “are our nation’s most-revered heroes,” England said. “And every time a name is added, that individual’s story enriches the significance of...

Does disdain for the military matter anymore? If Barack Obama's candidacy is any indication, it does not. Sen. Obama gave a graduation speech at Wesleyan University on Sunday, May 25. In it, he praised students for their public service. He also asked them to forego the business world in favor of careers in public service. "I ask you to seek these opportunities when you leave here, because the future of this country -- your future -- depends on it. At a time when our security and moral standing depend on winning hearts and minds in the forgotten corners of this...

(CBS) This story was originally broadcast on March 2, 2008. It was updated on May 30, 2008. What if we told you the Pentagon has a ray gun? And what if we told you it can stop a person in his tracks without killing or even injuring him? Well, it’s true. You can’t see it, you can't hear it, but as CBS News correspondent David Martin experienced first hand, you can feel it. Pentagon officials call it a major breakthrough which could change the rules of war and save huge numbers of lives in Iraq. But it's still not there....