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The U.S. Air Force has successfully tested its new Paveway II Plus laser guided bomb. The existing Paveway II bomb has a range of 14 kilometers and will hit within less than half a meter of where the laser designator is reflecting off the target. Paveway is actually a guidance kit (costing about $20,000) that is fitted to a dumb bomb, turning it into a glide bomb that homes in on the reflected laser light. The Paveway II Plus is more accurate and reliable, but the exact figures are classified. Laser guided bombs have been in use since the 1960s....

Today, recruiting more Muslims is a top priority for many branches of the military. Under the Army's "09 Lima" program, Muslims willing to enlist and serve in Iraq and Afghanistan as military translators and cultural advisers receive hefty signing bonuses and expedited paths to citizenship. The Army recently established its first full unit of Muslim personnel recruited under the program, the 51st Translator Interpreter Company at California's Fort Irwin. The unit has more than 120 soldiers who are native speakers of Arabic, Farsi, Pashto and Dari. In interviews in recent years, more than a half-dozen Muslim soldiers serving in Iraq...

NOVEMBER 7, 2009 Muslim Population in the Military Raises Difficult Issues YOCHI J. DREAZEN The deadly rampage at Fort Hood is forcing Pentagon officials to confront difficult questions about the military's growing Muslim population. The military has worked hard to recruit more Muslims since the start of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the number of Muslim troops, while still small, has been increasing. There were 3,409 Muslims in the active-duty military as of April 2008, according to Pentagon statistics. Military personnel don't have to disclose their religions, and many officials believe the actual number of Muslim soldiers may...

The U.S. military said on Tuesday it is now tracking 800 maneuverable satellites on a daily basis for possible collisions and expects to add 500 more non-maneuvering satellites by year's end. The U.S. Air Force began upgrading its ability to predict possible collisions in space after a dead Russian military communications satellite and a commercial U.S. satellite owned by Iridium collided on Feb. 10. General Kevin Chilton, commander of U.S. Strategic Command, called the collision the "seminal event" in the satellite industry during the past year and said it destroyed any sense that space was so vast that collisions were...

For the second time in less than a year, the U.S. Air Force has relieved the commander of a combat wing. This time it was the 5th Bomb Wing, a B-52 outfit. Previously, the commander of one of the three Minuteman ICBM wings was relieved. The three missile wings control 450 American Minuteman III ICBMs. In this case, two other senior officers were also relieved (one of them the guy in charge of the Wing Maintenance Squadron.) In both cases, the reason was "loss of confidence in his ability to command". That's milspeak for "too many little things have gone...

More than one-third of Americans ages 17-24 are unqualified for military service because of physical and medical issues, U.S. military officials said. Curt Gilroy, the Pentagon's director of accessions, said the United States has "an obesity crisis." "There's no question about it," Gilroy told the Navy Times. "Kids are just not able to do push-ups, and they can't do pull-ups. And they can't run." The Pentagon figures -- 35 percent of the roughly 31.2 million Americans ages 17-24 are ineligible for military service -- are drawn from data from the Centers for Disease Control. In a study scheduled to be...

The ongoing debate over the way forward in Afghanistan has settled into the “light footprint,” counterterrorism approach, versus the “heavy footprint,” population-centric counterinsurgency approach. Reportedly, what is about to emerge from the Obama administration is a hybrid of the two, with the vast majority of troops providing security in Afghanistan’s major population centers and pulling troops out of less populated rural zones. Drone strikes and periodic raids would be employed to check the Taliban in remote areas. The danger in such an approach is that once rural villages are ceded to insurgent control, they may never be recaptured as the...

Note: The following text is a quote: DEA Mourns the Loss of Three DEA Special Agents in Afghanistan OCT 26 - WASHINGTON, DC – The United States Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) today confirmed that three Special Agents were killed during a counternarcotics mission in Afghanistan. “Today, the Drug Enforcement Administration mourns the tragic loss of three DEA Special Agents and seven U.S. service members killed in a helicopter crash in Afghanistan,” said Acting Administrator Michele M. Leonhart. “The incident occurred during the early morning hours of October 26, when these heroic individuals were returning from a completed, joint counternarcotics mission.”...

The image of young women in a hot , dusty combat zone toting automatic weapons is still startling to some. But right now there are 10,000 women serving in Iraq, more than 4,000 in Aghanistan. They have been fighting and dying next to their male comrades since the wars began. "I can't help but think most Americans think women aren't in combat," says Specialist Ashley Pullen who was awarded a Bronze Star for valor in 2005 for her heroic action in Iraq where she served with a military police unit. "We're here and we're right up with the guys." Technically...

A panel of legal scholars has suggested that Congress remove sodomy as a crime punishable under the Uniform Code of Military Justice, a recommendation that could boost efforts to end a ban on gays serving openly in the U.S. military. The Commission on Military Justice recommended that Article 125, which deals with sodomy, be repealed, arguing that “most acts of consensual sodomy committed by consenting military personnel are not prosecuted, creating a perception that prosecution of this sexual behavior is arbitrary.” In its report — dated October 2009 — the commission suggested several changes be made to the UCMJ, including...

The United States and Georgia will begin military exercises on October 26 in preparation for sending troops to Afghanistan, a foreign liaison officer in the US embassy in Tbilisi said on Saturday. The US embassy on Friday said the exercises would begin on October 24. "The program is specifically designed to enhance Georgia's ability to conduct joint counterinsurgency operations in Afghanistan together with US forces," the embassy statement said on Friday. The two-week joint military exercise, code-named Immediate Response, will be held in Georgia and will include training in counterterrorist operations. US military instructors have already arrived at the Krtsanisi...

Navy sea trials of LCS Independence are completeDailyTech previously published an article noting the United States Navy was planning on testing its Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) in trials after an aborted attempt and months of delay. During testing, the General Dynamics-created Independence had an average speed of 44 knots, with a top speed of 45 knots.  The ship, which was tested in the Gulf of Mexico, endured 25-knot winds and eight-foot waves. Previously, engineers expected the ship to top 44 knots -- during testing in July, engine issues stopped maximum speed tests before Independence could reach 44 knots.  Exact engine...

The U.S. military command in eastern Afghanistan has rescinded a ban on the publication of photos depicting slain U.S. military personnel, a Pentagon spokesman said Tuesday. The month-old ban had triggered concerns among lawmakers as well as from several media organizations. "I am relieved that this short-lived attempt to control the media and the public's right to know has come to an end," Louise M. Slaughter, D-N.Y., chairwoman of the House Rules Committee, said in a written response to a query. "Prior restraint on photography is not a good policy for the Pentagon. It's always been my belief that the...

Afghanistan: The president's decision to withhold more troops over the country's less-than-pristine election is nothing but stalling. For our soldiers, desperate for reinforcements, it's a slap in the face. No doubt, a legitimate government, complete with free and fair elections, would be good for Afghanistan. Its Aug. 20 vote was loaded with trouble because the Taliban sliced off purple-inked fingers to discourage voting and because a United Nations electoral watchdog found widespread voter fraud. Yes, correct the problems. But holding U.S. troop reinforcements hostage isn't the way to do it. Elections aren't why we have troops in that country. They're...

Thanks to a special emailer for pointing to this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Ed7p-CpQUs "Please Mr. President make a decision for the troops in Afghanistan" Video Description - quote: Obama please support the troops! Afghanistan decision now! Category: News & Politics Tags: Afghanistan war troop numbers

The anemic job market, an increase in sign-on bonuses and new attitudes towards military service are proving to be a winning combination for recruiting NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- The nation's armed services wrapped up a record year for recruiting as a withering job market and bigger bonuses trumped two unpopular wars. The Department of Defense said it met or exceeded recruitment goals for all branches of the armed services for fiscal year 2009, which ended Sept. 30, for the first time since 1973, when the draft ended and U.S. forces withdrew from Vietnam. "We're pleased to report that for the...

THANKS to a mix of patriotism and high unemployment, every one of our military services exceeded its recruiting goals for fiscal year 2009. That's the good news. The bad news is that, after eight years of indecisive war and ravaged personal lives, the Army's losing the experienced officers and NCOs it needs to train and lead those new recruits. The Army's tough. But after years of voices crying wolf for political purposes, there's real trouble looming on the personnel front. I joined a broken Army after Vietnam. I don't want to see an Army resembling that one again. Yes, we...

KABUL (AP) - The U.S. military says four American service members have been killed in a bombing in southern Afghanistan. A U.S. statement Friday said that two of the service members were killed instantly in the blast and two others suffered fatal injuries in the same explosion. The latest deaths bring to 25 the number of American troops killed in Afghanistan this month. THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Aided by a bleak job market, the U.S. military met all of its recruitment goals in the past year for the first time since it became an all-volunteer force in 1973, the Pentagon said on Tuesday. Military services have been stretched thin by conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq, giving added weight to recruitment efforts as President Barack Obama considers sending another 40,000 U.S. troops to Afghanistan next year.

Boeing has signed Foreign Military Sales (FMS) contracts with the U.S. government to provide Laser Joint Direct Attack Munitions (JDAM) to two international customers. The FMS contracts are part of a $98 million indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity contract for Laser JDAM production and integration that Boeing received in August. The weapons are scheduled for delivery in 2010. "There is strong international interest in Laser JDAM because it engages both stationary and moving targets with tremendous precision," said Dan Jaspering, Boeing director of Direct Attack Programs. "There are more than 20 countries that have JDAM, and we expect many of them...

Note: The following text is a quote: www.mnc-i.com FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE RELEASE No. 20091011-05 October 11, 2009 Iraqi SWAT arrests 2006 sniper suspect Multi-National Corps-Iraq PAO RAMADI, Iraq - Elements of the Ramadi and Habbaniyah Iraq Special Weapons and Tactics teams, with U.S. Special Operations advisors, arrested an individual who is a suspect involved in multiple sniper shootings throughout Anbar Province Oct. 9 near Ramadi. The Magistrate Court of Ar Ramadi issued a warrant for Abd al-Qadir Afan Qafe’s arrest after his alleged involvement in the fatal shooting of an Iraqi Army Soldier in 2006 and the shooting of a...

U.S. President Barack Obama waves as he arrives at the 13th Annual National Dinner of the Human Right Campaign WASHINGTON -- President Barack Obama pledged to end the ban on homosexuals serving openly in the military in a speech Saturday, but acknowledged to a cheering crowd that the policy changes he promised on the campaign trail are not coming as quickly as they expected. "I will end "don't ask-don't tell,'" Mr. Obama said at the annual dinner of the Human Rights Campaign, a gay-civil-rights advocacy group. Mr. Obama reaffirmed his commitment to end the ban, but did not give...

Title only.

The Iraq Army, in an operation guided by the U.S. military, has captured about 150 suspected Al Qaida operatives in the north. Officials said the Al Qaida operatives and loyalists of the late President Saddam Hussein were arrested in a crackdown in October around the northern city of Mosul. They said the mission, titled "Nineveh Wall" and guided by the U.S. military, was meant to disband the core Al Qaida presence in northern Iraq linked to neighboring Syria. Officials said many of the Al Qaida fugitives were in contact with financiers and handlers in Syria. They cited Mohammed Yunis Al...

This is a REALLY LONG POST — this came directly from my husband, SGT Daddy (with some minor edits from me for OPSEC reasons) The morning began with the siren signaling incoming. I ignored it. I hate putting on my gear and besides the big boy voice had dutifully reminded me that I should remain in hard shelter. I didn’t argue by deed or word. In the meantime the 155’s began to blaze away in support of some action that did not affect me. Later I was called out of my room to help in the aid station. Two of...

As the British Foreign Secretary David Miliband urged Obama to show some courage: David Miliband urged President Obama to embrace a renewed “hearts and minds” strategy in Afghanistan as ministers indicated that they would not send more British troops unless the US adopted such an approach. The Foreign Secretary did not mention America by name but called on every government in the coalition to back troops, aid workers and diplomats in support of a clear plan. “We came into this together. We see it through — together,” he told the Labour conference in Brighton. His words reflect a growing concern...

As we are living our lives back home, the war goes on. As we lay our heads down on a soft and comfortable pillow every night, there are soldiers fighting a war. As we run about our busy lives from errand to errand, our soldiers are fighting for our freedom. As we enjoy our delicious home cooked meals, our soldiers are eating less than desirable meals. While we are concerned with the next television show that comes on, our soldiers are concerned with the next I.E.D that is headed their way. While we get so busy that we forget to...

The B-52 aircraft deployed as part of the U.S. Air Force fleet are to be equipped with secure Extremely High Frequency Communication Systems to enable them to remain in contact with other elements of the military in space, in the air and on the ground. The revolutionary EHF has been found to be more reliable and less susceptible to atmospheric conditions than other frequencies. The Boeing Co. said Tuesday it received a $5.4 million initial contract to begin work on developing technologies required to integrate the new EHF satellite communication system on the U.S. Air Force B-52 fleet. No timeline...

The Pentagon has brought forward to December 2009 the target-date for producing the first 15-ton super bunker-buster bomb (GBU-57A/B) Massive Ordinance Penetrator, which can reach a depth of 60.09 meters underground before exploding. DEBKAfile's military sources report that top defense agencies and air force units were also working against the clock to adapt the bay of a B2a Stealth bomber for carrying and delivering the bomb. The Pentagon has ordered the number of bombs rolling off the production line increased from four to ten - a rush job triggered in May by the discovery that Iran was hiding a second...

Idiotic Rules Of Engagement that are killing our soldiers, a General who’s more concerned with civilians than killing the enemy, a President who couldn’t care less, and a partridge in a pair tree… Bring the troops home. We’ve already lost. Let’s stop kidding ourselves, and spending our soldiers.

SEE U.S. MILITARY SNATCH PROTESTER...

Women should be allowed to serve aboard America's fleet of nuclear submarines, the nation's top military officer, Adm. Michael Mullen, quietly has told the Senate Armed Services Committee. If the Navy agrees to it, this would be a huge policy change and potentially a significant expansion of career opportunities for female officers and sailors. Women have been barred by Navy policy from submarines, even as the sea service began 15 years ago to integrate females into other seagoing combat roles including aboard surface warships and in fighter jets. Mullen, former chief of naval operations and a career surface warfare officer,...

Note; The following text is a quote: By Gerry J. Gilmore American Forces Press Service WASHINGTON, Sept. 23, 2009 – The U.S. military needs more people trained in specialties critical to the fight against global extremism, the chief of U.S. Central Command said here today. "The fact is, there are a number of, still, very-high-demand, low density skill areas" that need to be addressed by military personnel planners, Army Gen. David H. Petraeus, chief of U.S. Central Command, told attendees at a one-day, symposium held at the National Press Club. After overseeing the successful 2007 surge-of-forces campaign in Iraq, Petraeus...

According to colleagues back home, our Fox News team here in Afghanistan has missed all the excitement. They note that since we left the USA last month, Washington has been the scene of the largest peaceful protest in history against a sitting government. We didn't get to see a bold congressman rise during a televised joint session of Congress to accuse the president of the United States of prevaricating. We were unable to witness the outing of White House "green jobs czar" Van Jones or the sudden demise of a corrupt, scandal-ridden, "anti-poverty" organization called ACORN. And because we don't...

Justice: As if fighting a war in Afghanistan isn't hard enough, ambitious global prosecutors have rolled into Kabul looking to charge U.S. troops. Intentional or not, such legalism will sap U.S. morale as it did in Vietnam.At about the time NATO's new secretary-general, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, warned NATO's European members against an early pullout, Luis Moreno-Ocampo, the top prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, whose body is charged with looking for international war criminals, announced he was looking for new "clients" from anyone with a grievance in Afghanistan. At a briefing Wednesday in The Hague, Moreno-Ocampo said he had launched...

After a Nato airstrike killed as many as 125 people last week, General Stanley McChrystal was keen to get the situation under control — fast. When he tried to contact his underlings to find out what had happened, however, he found, to his fury, that many of them were either drunk or too hungover to respond. Complaining in his daily Commander’s Update that too many people had been “partying it up”, General McChrystal, head of International Forces in Afghanistan (Isaf), banned alcohol at his headquarters yesterday,

Not long ago at Fort Bragg, N.C., the country's largest military base, seven soldiers sat in a semi-circle, lights dimmed, eyes closed, two fingertips lightly pressed beneath their belly buttons to activate their "core." Electronic music thumped as the soldiers tried to silence their thoughts, the key to Warrior Mind Training, a form of meditation slowly making inroads on military bases across the country. Think military and you think macho, not meditation, but that's about to change now that the Army intends to train its 1.1 million soldiers in the art of mental toughness.

SPRING HILL, FL -- While showing off her JROTC uniform, 16-year-old Heather Lawrence told us joining the Army is her next big goal, to follow in the footsteps of her father and grandfather. "Our flag represents everything that our country is," she said. The teen says an issue over the American flag is why she was written up and handed a five-day suspension from Springstead High School this week for criticizing a Muslim student. Heather says the other girl was sitting down during the Pledge of Allegiance. "You know, I made a not-so-kind remark, and I do sincerely apologize for...

FORWARD OPERATING BASE FALCON, Iraq – Gen. Douglas MacArthur had his signature corncob pipe. Soldiers got cigarettes in their C-rations during World War II. Even today, America's war on tobacco seems to have largely bypassed the military. Now a proposal to make the forces smoke-free is drawing strong reactions from troops who have served in Iraq and Afghanistan, even though the Pentagon itself says any ban is a long way off. The troops' fears — and, in some cases, hopes — were triggered by a study commissioned by the Pentagon and the Veterans Affairs Department that recommends moving toward a...

IN Kabul these days, those wishing to sound knowledgeable fire one phrase at visiting reporters: "This has no military solution!" One hears it from President Hamid Karzai, UN "experts" and diplomats. Yet they appear stuck when asked: What precisely is the "this" that has no military solution? If pressed, they offer various answers: Afghanistan's poverty, gender inequality, corruption, the drug trade, ethnic rivalries and intrigues by rival... --snip-- An old proverb goes: You can't buy an Afghan, but you can always hire him. More than 150,000 armed ex-mujahedeen are waiting on the sidelines. The policy of shunning them, and branding...

US warplane drops JDAM on sniper hideout, 1 confirmed KIA....

The state’s adjutant general of the South Dakota National Guard and Gov. Mike Rounds are among state leaders opposed to a Pentagon proposal involving control of how part-time military troops are used in any state. At the heart of the disagreement is who will command troops when they are sent to a particular state to deal with a hurricane, wildfire or other disaster. The military justifies a change in law as a natural extension of its use of federal forces. The governors see the Pentagon move as a strike at state sovereignty. Rounds agrees with the National Governors Association’s opposition...

EXCLUSIVE: Gen. David H. Petraeus plans to open an in-house intelligence organization at U.S. Central Command this week that will train military officers, covert agents and analysts who agree to focus on Afghanistan and Pakistan for up to a decade. The organization, to be called the Center for Afghanistan Pakistan Excellence, will be led by Derek Harvey, a retired colonel in the Defense Intelligence Agency who became one of the Gen. Petraeus’ most trusted analysts during the 2007-08 counterinsurgency campaign in Iraq. Mr. Harvey distinguished himself in Iraq by predicting that the Iraqi insurgency would spiral out of control, at...

In the midst of ear-splitting explosions, the Iraqi coalition originally forged between 38 countries has dwindled to one, a coalition of one – the U.S.A. With most of the media attention focused on health-care reform and the sky-rocketing U.S. deficit, little attention was paid to Iraq as the last of the 2003 coalition members withdrew, leaving the Americans to go it alone. The U.S., as the leader of Multi-National Force, maintains roughly the same level of troop strength in Iraq as when President Obama took office. Mr. Obama campaigned aggressively on a pledge to bring the American troops home, however...

As part of an expanding programme of battlefield automation, the American air force has said it is now training more drone operators than fighter and bomber pilots. In a controversial shift in military thinking – one encouraged by the confirmed death of Pakistani Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud in a drone-strike on 5 August – the air force is looking to hugely expand its fleet of unmanned aircraft by 2047. Three years ago, the service was able to fly just 12 drones at a time; now it can fly more than 50. At a trade conference outside Washington last week, military...

Note: The following text is a quote: News American Forces Press Service Obama, Gates Lead Defense Acquisition Reforms By Donna Miles American Forces Press Service WASHINGTON, Aug. 21, 2009 – President Barack Obama threw his weight behind the Defense Department’s acquisition reform efforts earlier this week, emphasizing that unnecessary spending hurts not only taxpayers, but also warfighters on the front lines. “Every dollar wasted in our defense budget is a dollar we can’t spend to care for our troops or protect America or prepare for the future,” the president told participants at the Veterans of Foreign Wars’ 110th convention, in...

August is a seminal month in the history of the airborne, and especially of the 82nd Airborne Division. Aug. 15, 1942, is the birth date of the 82nd and 101st airborne divisions. "Airborne" was already well under way before the magic date 67 years ago when the War Department formally ordered the formation of two divisions of jumpers and glidermen. Battalions of jumpers had been training at Fort Benning, Ga., since 1940, and the high command of the Army was eager to grow the airborne force. By March, a new infantry division, the 82nd, was activated for training at Camp...

Before 2001, America’s military women had rarely seen ground combat. Their jobs kept them mostly away from enemy lines, as military policy dictates. But the Afghanistan and Iraq wars, often fought in marketplaces and alleyways, have changed that. In both countries, women have repeatedly proved their mettle in combat. The number of high-ranking women and women who command all-male units has climbed considerably along with their status in the military. “Iraq has advanced the cause of full integration for women in the Army by leaps and bounds,” said Peter R. Mansoor, a retired Army colonel who served as executive officer...

SNIPPET: "As a result of our Global War on Terror, nearly 35,000 United States service personnel have been seriously wounded in combat. Shockingly, out of the 755,000 veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, the Department of Veterans Affairs says more than 181,000 are collecting disability benefits of some type -- many requiring grueling physical therapy and continuing care in an attempt to get about with their daily lives. And not surprisingly, many young men and women are returning with emotional scars that may take years to uncover and resolve. Only half of the wounded are able to return to...

A devastating US military strike against Iran's nuclear and military facilities "is a technically feasible and credible option," a retired general asserted in an article published on Friday. Retired air force general Charles Wald, a former deputy commander of US forces in Europe, said US policy makers must prepare for a "Plan B," including the military's role, should diplomacy fail. "A peaceful resolution of the threat posed by Iran's nuclear ambitions would certainly be the best possible outcome," Wald wrote in an opinion piece in the Wall Street Journal. "But should diplomacy and economic pressure fail, a US military strike...