military

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These Troops Go Behind Enemy Lines to Check the Weather

Air Force's combat weathermen can make or break a critical mission

(Newser) - Before US special operations forces raided the Pakistani compound where Osama bin Laden was hiding out in 2011, there was likely at least one other type of specialist with boots on the ground: a weatherman. The Air Force's SOWTs—special operations weather technicians—are some of the military's...

Russian Tanks Enter Ukraine, Sparking Fear of More Fighting

5 truckloads of dead Russian fighters were reportedly driven back to Russia

(Newser) - For months Russia has denied any level of military involvement in eastern Ukraine, but the steady stream of military tanks and vehicles clogging the borders, regular artillery battles in Donetsk, and now sightings of soldiers in green uniforms without insignia all suggest that the ceasefire agreement reached in September has...

Military Lets Its Hair (Policy) Down, OKs Dreadlocks

Military branches to update grooming rules; old ones dubbed racist

(Newser) - The Pentagon is rolling back its grip on how military personnel wear their hair, and will now allow twisted braids, dreadlocks, and cornrows after complaints that banning them was racist, the Virginian-Pilot reports. "Each service reviewed its hairstyle policies to ensure standards are fair and respectful while also meeting...

Blood Test Might Reveal Suicide Risk

Gene key to our stress response: researchers

(Newser) - Scientists say they have a new way of determining suicide risk, and it's based on genetics—requiring only a blood test. Researchers running postmortem genome scans of brain samples found that the brains of those who'd committed suicide had less of a gene called SKA2, as well as...

'Transformer' Plane Splits Into 3 When Under Attack

It's still in the concept stages for now

(Newser) - If Tom Cruise made a movie that somehow merged his roles in Top Gun, Mission Impossible, and Minority Report, this would be the aircraft he’d be flying. Defense and aerospace company BAE Systems has posted a YouTube video of the “Transformer,” a sophisticated concept plane that’s...

Rowling's Alter Ego Boasted Fake Military Service

'Robert Galbraith' bio claimed novel was shaped by experience with British Army

(Newser) - JK Rowling embarked on quite the flight of fancy when inventing her pseudonym Robert Galbraith —and that might prove controversial. Galbraith's bio claims that he spent "several years with the Royal Military Police" and that the protagonist of his novel—one-legged Afghanistan veteran Cormoran Strike—"grew...

Most Victims of Military Sex Assault: Men

Key fact is still overlooked by many

(Newser) - The sexual assault epidemic plaguing the military is getting quite a bit of attention —but what's not getting much attention is the fact that 53% of all sexual assault cases last year involved male victims, the New York Times reports. "It’s easy for some people to...

China to Military: Stop Driving Flashy Cars

Beijing bans Porsches, Beemers with military plates

(Newser) - China is yanking the keys from military brass who like to zip around in posh Mercedes and Porsches. Under new President Xi Jinping's crackdown on corruption , the country has banned the use of military plates on luxury cars, according to state news. The new government is concerned with its...

Navy SEAL Dies in Apparent Suicide in Afghanistan

Job Price, 42, found dead on Saturday

(Newser) - Some somber news on this holiday weekend: A US military official says the commander of a Navy SEAL unit in Afghanistan died Saturday in an apparent suicide. Job Price, 42, of Pottstown, Pennsylvania, died of a non-combat-related injury while working to shore up stability operations in Uruzgan Province. The official...

Morsi Opponents' New Tactic: Boycott Vote

Military gets power of arrest amid continuing protests

(Newser) - The opposition's debate on how to handle Mohamed Morsi's scheduled constitutional referendum has been decided: Boycott it. In opting not to push voters to actually show up and vote no on Saturday, the move suggests Morsi's opponents determined they didn't have the votes to squash the...

Military Plane Slams Into Jakarta Homes

2 kids, nanny among 10 dead

(Newser) - An Indonesian air force plane slammed into a military housing complex and ignited a huge fireball today while trying to land in Jakarta, killing all seven people aboard as well as two toddlers and their nanny in a home. The pilot, co-pilot, and five trainees aboard the Fokker F-27 were...

Now Russian, Chinese Militaries Get Cozier

In visit to Beijing, Putin announces future exercises

(Newser) - Just days after the US announced plans for a boosted Asia-Pacific fleet , Vladimir Putin says his country will beef up its military relationship with China. Putin pointed to six days of drills near China's east coast in April: "They were the first of such exercises," the Russian...

Female Soldiers Sue Over Combat Ban

With 130 women killed in Afghanistan, Iraq, combat roles evolving

(Newser) - Two female army reservists filed suit against the US military yesterday, claiming the policy preventing women from serving in combat is unconstitutional, reports Reuters . Being banned from combat "solely on the basis of sex" violates their Fifth Amendment rights and "restricts their current and future earnings, their potential...

Board: Ax Marine Who Put Obama on Jackass Poster

General will make final decision on Sgt. Gary Stein

(Newser) - A military board has determined that a Marine sergeant committed misconduct and should be dismissed because he posted derogatory comments and Facebook photos of President Obama. Marine Sgt. Gary Stein launched a Facebook page called the Armed Forces Tea Party , in which he slammed Obama, violating Pentagon rules banning criticism...

Leaked Memo: India's Military Decimated, Obsolete

General reveals that air defenses are 97% obsolete

(Newser) - India's military is desperately low on supplies, the world learned today, in a major embarrassment for the country. In a leaked memo, the country's military chief tells its prime minister that India's tank fleet lacks ammunition, its elite forces are "woefully short" on essential weapons, and...

Pentagon Opens More Jobs to Women

Females will still not be able to serve as infantry, however: sources

(Newser) - Defense Department rules are entering the 21st century. The Pentagon will recommend to Congress today that women in the military should be allowed to serve in a greater number of positions close to front lines. The AP notes that the rule shift would formalize a practice that has already been...

'Sensitive' Military Gear Missing From Base

Soldiers on lockdown as Army investigates

(Newser) - An infantry unit at Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington has been locked down since last week after "sensitive" equipment was found to be missing, reports AP . Equipment, including laser-targeting gun sights, night-vision goggles, and weapons scopes in "the six-figure range" were missing and "definitely stolen," said...

Gay Kiss Is Milestone, but Military Must Do More
Gay Kiss Is Milestone,
but Military Must Do More
OPINION
Dec 23, 2011 12:37 PM CST

Gay Kiss Is Milestone, but Military Must Do More

Racism, sexism, homophobia still exist: LA Times

(Newser) - When Marissa Gaeta stepped off the USS Oak Hill after a three-month deployment and gave her girlfriend the "first kiss" , it was just one example of the "exemplary progress" the US military has made in "modernizing its culture," declares the Los Angeles Times in an editorial....

Major World Wars Becoming Obsolete: Goldstein and Pinker
 That 'War' Thing? So Passé 
opinion
Dec 18, 2011 4:53 PM CST

That 'War' Thing? So Passé

Battle between world powers no longer profitable

(Newser) - Not to jinx anything, but massive wars between world powers are really going out of style. "These prototypical wars have become increasingly rare, and the world hasn’t seen one since the three-week invasion of Iraq in 2003," argue Joshua S. Goldstein and Steven Pinker in the New ...

Australia Opens Combat Jobs to Women

Becomes fourth developed country to place no restrictions on women in military

(Newser) - Another step for women's equality : Australia's military has become the fourth in the world to allow women to take on front-line combat roles. Announced today, the move opens some of the country's most dangerous combat jobs to women, including Special Forces positions in Afghanistan and some army...

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