soldier

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Israel to Trade Convicts for 2 Soldiers

Hezbollah hails swap as evidence of its growing power

(Newser) - Israeli officials today approved a prisoner swap with Hezbollah to release the bodies of two soldiers whose capture triggered a 2006 war, Reuters reports. In return, Hezbollah secured the freedom of five gunmen, including one of Israel’s “most notorious convicts,” the New York Times says. Israeli PM...

Pregnant Soldier Found Dead in North Carolina Motel

Fort Bragg soldier was seven months pregnant

(Newser) - Authorities are investigating the suspicious death of a pregnant soldier found in a North Carolina motel. Dental specialist Megan Lynn Touma, 23, of Kentucky arrived at nearby Fort Bragg only two weeks ago. She was seven months pregnant. Earlier this year, pregnant Marine Lance Cpl. Maria Lauterbach was found dead...

Actor Who Called Soldiers 'Wimps' Apologizes

Everett backtracks after outburst about 'all this whining'

(Newser) - Rupert Everett apologized "without reserve" for calling soldiers “wimps” who join the army to torture prisoners, the Telegraph reports. In a recent interview, the actor said, "The whole point of being in the Army is going to war and getting yourself blown up.” He now says...

Soldier Suicides Set Record
 Soldier Suicides Set Record 
May 30, 2008 3:51 AM CDT

Soldier Suicides Set Record

115 Army suicides last year

(Newser) - The Army recorded it highest ever number of suicides last year, with 115 soldiers killing themselves, Reuters reports. The rate is staying high this year, with 38 soldier suicides so far. The military said the statistics showed no direct link between the increase in suicides and repeated deployments to combat...

'Miracle Marine' Dead After 3-Year Struggle

Struck by roadside bomb, he endured 100+ surgeries

(Newser) - A Marine who endured burns on 97% of his body with good humor and hope has died during routine surgery, USA Today reports. Hit by a roadside bomb in Iraq, Sgt. Merlin German walked, talked, and even danced during his 3-year recovery. Undergoing more than 100 surgeries, he became a...

Soldier to Serve His Country ... as a Linebacker

Army grad, drafted by Detroit, skips active duty if he makes team

(Newser) - If linebacker Caleb Campbell hadn't been picked up by the Detroit Lions in the seventh round of the NFL draft Sunday, he'd  be suiting up for the battlefield, not the gridiron. Assuming he makes the team, Campbell, who graduates from the U.S. Military Academy  May 31, will be allowed...

Army Allowing Spouses to Live Together in Iraq

Long-standing policy gives way in name of boosting morale, re-enlistment

(Newser) - Desperate to combat sagging morale from repeated deployments to Iraq, the US Army has quietly eased rules against married soldiers living together at war, the AP reports. Wedded soldiers in certain camps can now cohabitate in private trailers. "It makes a lot of things easier," said soldier and...

Next Prez's To-Do: Fix Military
 Next Prez's To-Do: Fix Military 
OPINION
Mar 31, 2008 3:39 PM CDT

Next Prez's To-Do: Fix Military

Budget woes aren't the only defense issue facing White House's next denizen

(Newser) - Has President Bush done irreparable damage to our armed forces? Not necessarily, Phillip Carter and Fred Kaplan write in Slate, offering a to-do list for the next president to tackle as he or she begins the process of fixing a military "in strange shambles."
  1. Overhaul the budget: "
...

Nonprofit Builds Free Houses for Wounded Vets

Mass. group provides 'great ending to bad beginning'

(Newser) - A nonprofit group is putting up customized homes for badly injured vets returning from Iraq and Afghanistan, the Christian Science Monitor reports. Massachusetts-based Homes for Our Troops is building in 20 states, fueled by donated supplies, land, and labor. “When a vet is in need, people come out of...

Deserters Fleeing War Go North—Again

In Canada, AWOL troops join forces with Vietnam draft-dodgers

(Newser) - Iraq war deserters aren't crossing the Canadian border in VW buses, but they are trickling across—and connecting with Vietnam draft dodgers who made the same trek 4 decades ago. About 200 Iraq resisters have migrated north, the Washington Post reports. Some grew disillusioned in Baghdad; others went AWOL from...

GI Killed by German Police
GI Killed by German Police
Mar 15, 2008 8:02 AM CDT

GI Killed by German Police

Soldier held former girlfriend hostage, threatened cops with assault rifle

(Newser) - A US Army soldier stationed in Germany was shot and killed by local police after holding his ex-girlfriend hostage, the New York Times reports. The unnamed soldier was located after the woman escaped; when he threatened a SWAT unit with an assault rifle, he was shot, and later died at...

Wounded Warriors Saluted at Pentagon

Quiet indoor ceremony honors injured

(Newser) - A poignant and little-known ceremony featuring wounded vets is held privately indoors at the Pentagon every six weeks, reports the Wall Street Journal. It's called the "Wounded Warrior March." Hundreds of Defense Department employees line the corridors of the Pentagon to applaud, cheer, shake hands, or hug servicemen...

Army Cadet Found After 66 Years
Army Cadet Found After
66 Years
Mar 11, 2008 12:55 PM CDT

Army Cadet Found After 66 Years

Crew perished during WWII training flight; military funeral planned

(Newser) - Sixty-six years after his disappearance, a full military funeral is planned for a cadet lost in a flight accident during World War II, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. The Army has identified a recently discovered body as Aviation Cadet Ernest Munn of Ohio, who crashed with three other crewmen in...

German Soldiers Too Fat: Study
German Soldiers Too Fat: Study
Mar 6, 2008 12:19 PM CST

German Soldiers Too Fat: Study

'Compared to the British, we're viewed as pathetic,' soldier complains

(Newser) - The German army is fat. It’s also unfit, smokes too much, and eats badly, according to a recent parliamentary update, the Guardian reports. About 40% of German soldiers are overweight—8.5% seriously so—and 70% smoke. “This has much to do with poor equipment and lack of...

Secret No More: Prince Harry's in Afghanistan

UK press promised silence, but foreign media leaked story

(Newser) - Prince Harry is indeed in Afghanistan fighting the Taliban, the BBC reports. The news was leaked by foreign media and confirmed by the UK government despite a press agreement to stay mum on Harry’s military service. The prince, nicknamed “bullet magnet,” said he appreciates frontline duty: “...

UK Military Wives Freezing Husbands' Sperm

More women planning for kids should husbands die in combat

(Newser) - More UK military wives are freezing their husbands' sperm before the men serve in the Middle East. One London fertility clinic expected interest from soldiers but was surprised by the "wives and girlfriends who want to have children should anything happen," a spokesman said. But servicemen must give...

Thousands Glued to WWI Blog
Thousands Glued to WWI Blog
Jan 6, 2008 5:38 PM CST

Thousands Glued to WWI Blog

Private Harry Lamin's letters appear in real time online

(Newser) - Does he live, or lose his life to "liquid fire and bombs"? That question is keeping tens of thousands glued to a site that is posting the letters of a World War I soldier in real time, 90 years after they were written. The soldier's grandson, who collected...

US Troops Rebuild With Old Enemies in Iraq

'Hard pill to swallow,' Marine says

(Newser) - Capt. Sean Miller keeps up an easy calm as he helps manage rebuilding efforts in Anbar province these days. But when an Iraqi contractor claimed he was promised money to bury Saddam's solders, the 32-year-old Marine captain lost it. "Those guys were trying to kill me,” Miller said....

Ethiopia Forces Untrained Civilians Into War

Clerks, teachers, administrators sent into action against Ogaden rebels

(Newser) - Ethiopa's overstretched army is forcing untrained civilians into the bush to fight guerrillas, the New York Times reports. Office clerks, teachers, and other white-collar workers face imprisonment or torture if they refuse to comply, but many have been killed in battle, say aid workers. “We don’t know how...

Hpy Thxgvng: Text Your Troops
Hpy Thxgvng: Text Your Troops
Nov 22, 2007 7:06 AM CST

Hpy Thxgvng: Text Your Troops

Project allows free messages of support for the holiday

(Newser) - A college freshman has helped the Department of Defense launch a project to send text messages of support to US troops, reports ABC. Cell companies are backing the "Giving Thanks" initiative, allowing participants to send free messages to the number 8-9-2-7-9 until midnight Thanksgiving Day.

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