Department of Defense – News Stories About Department of Defense - Page 7

Obama Will Tap
John Brennan
for CIA Director

Jan 7, 2013 7:51 AM CST

Obama Will Tap John Brennan for CIA Director

Will nominate Brennan, Chuck Hagel today

(Newser) - President Obama will make two potentially controversial nominations this afternoon: Chuck Hagel as defense secretary and John Brennan as CIA director, the AP reports. Brennan, Obama's top counterterrorism adviser, has a close relationship with the president and was very involved in planning the Osama bin Laden raid. He was...

GOP: Hagel an
'In-Your-Face Pick'

TALK SHOW ROUNDUP

Jan 6, 2013 11:27 AM CST

GOP: Hagel an 'In-Your-Face Pick'

GOP is not thrilled with Obama's reported pick for Defense secretary

(Newser) - No sooner had rumors of Chuck Hagel's pending nomination to head up the Pentagon leaked than lips were flapping about what a bad idea it was. Hagel "is an in-your-face nomination by the president," charged Lindsey Graham , who "would be the most antagonistic secretary of defense...

Obama Picks Chuck Hagel
for Pentagon: Report

Jan 6, 2013 8:05 AM CST

Obama Picks Chuck Hagel for Pentagon: Report

Announcement expected tomorrow

(Newser) - President Obama has settled on a nominee to succeed Leon Panetta at the Pentagon, and it is indeed Chuck Hagel, reports Mike Allen at Politico . “Chuck Hagel is a decorated war hero who would be the first enlisted soldier and Vietnam veteran to go on to serve as Secretary...

Is This Our
First Female
Defense
Chief?

Jan 4, 2013 12:58 PM CST

Is This Our First Female Defense Chief?

Michele Flournoy is on Obama's shortlist

(Newser) - It's possible the nation might have its first female defense secretary soon. With leading candidate Chuck Hagel running into stiff resistance , the name of Michele Flournoy is standing out on President Obama's shortlist, reports the Los Angeles Times . Its profile describes the 52-year-old Democrat as a policy wonk...

Source of Leak to Makers of
Zero Dark Thirty
Investigated

Dec 18, 2012 9:14 AM CST

Source of Leak to Makers of Zero Dark Thirty Investigated

Vickers rumored to succeed Petraeus

(Newser) - Michael Vickers, a senior Defense official rumored to be a possible replacement for David Petraeus at the CIA, has been referred to the Justice Department after Pentagon investigators concluded that he leaked restricted information about the Osama bin Laden raid to Zero Dark Thirty filmmakers, two senior US officials tell...

In Face of Gas Woes,
Great News at the Pump

Nov 5, 2012 1:39 PM CST

In Face of Gas Woes, Great News at the Pump

Gas prices falling everywhere else, but crisis persists in worst-hit areas

(Newser) - More steps in the effort to ease the post-Hurricane Sandy fuel crisis: UPI reports that the EPA lifted clean diesel regulations in the New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and NYC area, allowing vehicles to use heating oil for emergency response purposes, while the Energy Department said it was working with the Pentagon...

Panetta Warns of
'Cyber Pearl Harbor'

Oct 12, 2012 7:41 AM CDT

Panetta Warns of 'Cyber Pearl Harbor'

He urges Congress to pass cybersecurity bill

(Newser) - America needs to beef up its defense or face a "cyber Pearl Harbor" attack from foreign hackers capable of dismantling the nation's infrastructure, Leon Panetta warns. Nations like Iran and China or militant groups could "gain control of critical switches," the defense secretary said in a...

Pentagon OKs
Drone Sales
to 66 Nations

Sep 6, 2012 8:56 AM CDT

Pentagon OKs Drone Sales to 66 Nations

But State Department, Congress still need to sign off

(Newser) - Soon, the US might not be the only country filling the sky with drones. The Pentagon has listed 66 countries to which it would be comfortable selling drones, military officials tell Reuters . But the sales haven't begun yet, because Congress and the State Department still have to sign off....

Pentagon
Should Hire
Google, Apple

OPINION

Jul 24, 2012 12:22 PM CDT

Pentagon Should Hire Google, Apple

Arthur Herman says we need to look to WWII to modernize our military

(Newser) - The US spends billions on weapons, yet its fighters, helicopters, and ships date back to the '80s and '90s. Luckily, there's a precedent for the US overhauling its forces while cutting costs at the same time, writes Arthur Herman of the Wall Street Journal : World War II....

Military Makes
Straight-Laced
Reddit Knockoff

Jun 27, 2012 12:43 PM CDT

Military Makes Straight-Laced Reddit Knockoff

Only posts that improve training or solve problems get promoted

(Newser) - The Pentagon thinks it's found a tool that will solve many of its most intractable problems: Reddit. OK, not actually Reddit, but a wannabe Defense Department-approved, servicepeople-only Reddit wannabe called "Eureka," Defense News reports. The site, which will launch next month, will encourage soldiers to post and...

Steve Jobs Told
Pentagon About
LSD, Pot Use

Jun 14, 2012 12:24 AM CDT

Steve Jobs Told Pentagon About LSD, Pot Use

Acid, pot nurtured his creativity, says Apple founder

(Newser) - Steve Jobs discovered one definite way to " think different ." The mega-mind behind Apple took LSD some 15 times, and it was a "life-changing experience," Jobs revealed on a 1988 security clearance application he filled out for the Department of Defense. "It was a positive life...

Hollywood Got Inside Scoop on bin Laden Raid

DOCUMENT LEAK

May 23, 2012 11:24 AM CDT

Hollywood Got Inside Scoop on bin Laden Raid

Despite leak warnings, CIA, Pentagon and White House rolled out the red carpet

(Newser) - The White House, CIA, and Pentagon all gave special access to Hurt Locker director Kathryn Bigelow to help with her movie about Osama bin Laden's death, according to documents obtained by the conservative Judicial Watch . In one interview , Undersecretary of Defense Mike Vickers tells Bigelow that top admirals can'...

Pentagon Gets Its Own
Global Spy Agency

Apr 24, 2012 7:51 AM CDT

Pentagon Gets Its Own Global Spy Agency

Defense Clandestine Service will snoop beyond battlefields

(Newser) - The Pentagon has created a new spy agency that will expand its intelligence gathering operations outside of current war zones. The new Defense Clandestine Service will work closely with the CIA, investigating targets unrelated to its current battles in Iraq and Afghanistan, officials tell the Washington Post ; the paper speculates...

Panetta Feels Bad About $800K in Flights He's Taken

Apr 17, 2012 11:40 AM CDT

Panetta Feels Bad About $800K in Flights He's Taken

Defense secretary is open to 'alternatives'

(Newser) - Leon Panetta has taken at least 27 trips home to California since becoming secretary of defense in July, which have cost taxpayers more than $800,000 in all—but he does feel bad about it. The Pentagon chief expressed his regrets at a Pentagon briefing yesterday and said he is...

Remains of 9/11 Victims
Dumped in Landfill

Feb 28, 2012 1:48 PM CST

Remains of 9/11 Victims Dumped in Landfill

Dover Air Force Base under fire for treatment of cremated remains

(Newser) - Small, incinerated portions of the remains of 9/11 victims ended up in a landfill, the Pentagon has acknowledged for the first time. The remains of victims of the attacks in Pennsylvania and at the Pentagon, too small to identify, were brought to the Dover Air Force Base mortuary, where they...

Pentagon Opens
More Jobs to
Women

Feb 9, 2012 8:11 AM CST

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...

Obama Cutting
Thousands of
Ground Troops

Jan 5, 2012 7:27 AM CST

Obama Cutting Thousands of Ground Troops

Military no longer expected to be able to fight two wars at once

(Newser) - The US military is going to end up with a lot fewer boots on the ground as a results of cuts included in the debt ceiling deal. As part of the Obama administration's military overhaul , to be unveiled today, air and sea forces will be boosted, but Army and...

Pentagon Readies
Blueprint of
Slim New Self

Jan 3, 2012 9:32 AM CST

Pentagon Readies Blueprint of Slim New Self

And with it, the Obama administration's defense priorities

(Newser) - The White House is poised to unveil its proposal to slim down the military to bring it in line with cuts agreed to in the recent debt ceiling deal, and in so doing give America a sense of Leon Panetta’s vision for the military’s future, the New York ...

Brain-Injury Test
for Troops May Be
$42M Boondoggle

investigation

Nov 29, 2011 12:50 PM CST

Brain-Injury Test for Troops May Be $42M Boondoggle

They go untreated in program plagued with problems: ProPublica, NPR

(Newser) - A military brain-injury testing program has cost $42 million thus far—but hardly any soldiers have benefited from the plan, according to a joint investigation by NPR and ProPublica . Their reports suggest the program has a been a huge waste of money that has fallen way short of its primary...

Pentagon: We're Not
Planning for Spending Cuts

Nov 23, 2011 9:35 AM CST

Pentagon: We're Not Planning for Spending Cuts

Says it'll instead pressure Congress to change course

(Newser) - The Pentagon has no plans in place to deal with the $500 billion in spending cuts theoretically heading its way thanks to the supercommittee’s failure —and it refuses to make any now. “We are not planning for the” cuts, a Pentagon spokesman tells the New York Times...