Pentagon

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Pentagon: Army Didn't Properly Test Body Armor

Army rushed through plates, can't prove they meet standards

(Newser) - The Army didn’t properly test much of the body armor deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan and can’t prove that it meets military standards, the Pentagon’s inspector general declared in a scathing new report. Because of the demands of the conflict, the army rushed some bullet-blocking plates into...

Panetta: Debt Deal Trigger Puts America in Danger

$1T in Pentagon cuts 'completely unacceptable'

(Newser) - The Pentagon can't tighten its belt any further without putting America in danger, Leon Panetta warns. The defense secretary says major cuts beyond the $350 billion outlined in the debt ceiling deal are "completely unacceptable" and could do "real damage " to national security, the New York ...

Pentagon Suspends Don't Ask, Don't Tell

Military now accepting gay recruits

(Newser) - When Don't Ask, Don't Tell gets formally repealed later this year, it won't have much of a practical effect: The Pentagon today suspended enforcement of it, reports the Army Times . The military will now accept applications from recruits who identify themselves as gay and won't discharge...

What We&#39;ve Learned From Robert Gates
 What We've 
 Learned From 
 Robert Gates 
analysis
Jun 28, 2011 7:20 AM CDT

What We've Learned From Robert Gates

A look back at the retiring defense secretary's career

(Newser) - With Robert Gates, who has served eight presidents over four decades, about to retire, the Washington Post looks back at how Gates operated in the Pentagon. He’s been “careful, conservative, and consensus-oriented,” writes Greg Jaffe, and he’s “earned a reputation as the most ruthlessly efficient...

Yonathan Melaku Charged in Washington Area Shootings
 Reservist Charged  
 in DC-Area Shootings 
UPDATED
Jun 23, 2011 3:09 PM CDT

Reservist Charged in DC-Area Shootings

Yonathan Melaku videotaped himself firing shots, making threats

(Newser) - A Marine Corps reservist arrested in a security scare near the Pentagon last week was charged today in a series of pre-dawn shootings at military buildings in the Washington area last year. Federal prosecutors found bomb-making materials in a backpack carried by 22-year-old Yonathan Melaku and a list of suspicious...

Man Arrested at Arlington Tied to Pentagon Shootings

Marine reservist nabbed last week may have shot up Museum of the Marine Corps

(Newser) - And the plot thickens: Ballistic evidence indicates that the man arrested at Arlington National Cemetery last week may also be the man who fired shots at the Pentagon , the National Museum of the Marine Corps and a Marine recruiting office in October, authorities said today. The suspect, Yonathan Melaku, is...

Pentagon Renovation Complete After 17 Years

Massive project considered a design coup

(Newser) - Renovation of the Pentagon has been completed, and it took only 17 years. That may sound like forever, but rebuilding the 29-acre site while it was operational is considered a major success, even an inspiration for other federal projects, the Washington Post reports. When renovations began—under the Clinton administration—...

Feds Building Scale Model of the Internet

Move comes as military sees Internet as serious security threat

(Newser) - The United States is spending hundreds of millions of dollars to create a "scale model" of the Internet, where military researchers can hone their cyber warfare skills, reports the BBC . The Defense Advance Research Projects Agency is overseeing the National Cyber Range project, which will allow researchers to simulate...

Man With Suspicious Bag Detained in Pentagon Scare

Suspect in Arlington National Cemetery reportedly had al-Qaeda literature

(Newser) - Roads around the Pentagon were closed today after police detained a man in Arlington National Cemetery and found his car in bushes near the Pentagon. Park police stopped the man overnight because the cemetery was closed, and found that he was carrying what was believed at the time to be...

Air Force Boots Gay Pilot Over DADT

Policy still in play, as evidenced by the April 29 discharge

(Newser) - President Obama signed the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell Repeal Act in December, but it’s not entirely safe for servicemen and women to come out of the closet just yet. The Air Force discharged an Airman under the policy as recently as April 29, the Metro Weekly reports....

Pentagon: Cyber Attacks Can Qualify as Acts of War

Death and damage from online assault can result in military response

(Newser) - A cyber attack on the United States or its allies can be considered an act of war and result in a military response, says the Pentagon in its first formal document outlining its cyber strategy. The 30-page classified report—unclassified portions of which will be released next month—looks at...

CIA Osama Hunter Helped Bilk Pentagon of $200M

Marty Martin linked to oil company's big government payday

(Newser) - A CIA operative in charge of hunting down Osama bin Laden is a war profiteer who helped bilk the Pentagon out of some $200 million , reports Gawker . Marty Martin was put in charge of tracking down the terror mastermind from 2002-2004, and boasted to the AP that those early efforts...

Obama OKs Armed Predator Drones in Libya

Unmanned craft will take out Gadhafi targets

(Newser) - President Obama has approved the use of armed Predator drone aircraft in Libya to improve the precision of low-level attacks on ground targets, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said today. The first Predator mission was flown today, but the unmanned aircraft—armed with Hellfire missiles—turned back early because of poor...

UN Torture Watchdog: I Want to See Manning

Pentagon is blocking unmonitored visit, official complains

(Newser) - The United Nations' torture watchdog is accusing the US of stonewalling him in his attempts to visit suspected WikiLeaker Bradley Manning. "I am deeply disappointed and frustrated by the prevarication of the US government with regard to my attempts to visit Mr. Manning," said UN official Juan Mendez....

US Price Tag for Week 1 of Libya Mission: $600M

But money has all come from Pentagon's existing budget

(Newser) - Week one of the United States' intervention in Libya has cost us at least $600 million, according to new data from the Pentagon. That figure includes $268.8 million worth of Tomahawk cruise missiles, tens of thousands of dollars worth of precision guided bombs, and more than $60 million to...

US Costs in Libya Hit 'Hundreds of Millions' Quickly

Those Tomahawks are at least $1 million apiece

(Newser) - So how much does the Libya intervention cost? The AP tries to nail down some specifics:
  • The US fired about 160 Tomahawk missiles, and those cost somewhere between $1 million and $1.5 million apiece.
  • B-2 bombers flying round-trip from Missouri have logged 25 hours of flying time, with the
...

Why It's Called 'Odyssey Dawn'

The answer is ... kind of dull

(Newser) - What does the name “Odyssey Dawn” have to do with the military operations in Libya? Actually, not a thing, reports the Washington Post . “The goal is to create a name that has absolutely nothing to do with the activity of the region, so you could walk down the...

US Drones Quietly Spy on Mexico Drug Lords

Flights kept hush-hush because they're probably illegal

(Newser) - The Obama administration has begun sending high-altitude spy drones deep into Mexican territory to keep an eye on the movements of drug traffickers, the New York Times reports. The information is intended to be shared with Mexican law enforcement, and Felipe Calderón formally agreed to the flights in his...

Gates: After 2014, US Should Stay Involved in Afghanistan

Officials agree on engagement beyond deadline, says defense secretary

(Newser) - Both the US and Afghanistan agree that the US military should maintain its involvement with Afghanistan past 2014 by continuing to train and advise Afghan troops, said Defense Secretary Robert Gates. “Obviously it would be a small fraction of the presence that we have today, but I think we're...

Pentagon Investigates Psy-Ops Allegations

Two senators say it didn't work on them

(Newser) - The Pentagon has begun investigating claims that one of its generals used psychological trickery to try to convince US lawmakers to support the Afghan war effort. (Read the earlier summary of the Rolling Stone expose here .) "The facts will take them where they lead," said a Pentagon...

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