Latest Story
U.S. cautious on removing nukes from Europe
WASHINGTON — The U.S. is taking a go-slow approach on one of the touchiest and least discussed national security issues: whether to remove the last remaining Cold War-era U.S. nuclear weapons in Europe. Some officials in Germany and other U.S. allies in Europe...
Read more »
Military voting law could affect Hawaii primary
HONOLULU — Uncertainty is rising within Hawaii political circles over whether the state’s primary election in September will be moved to an earlier date and, if so, the impact that will have on candidates. Some candidates for statewide offices are devising two sets...
Read more »
Idaho farmers donate extra potatoes to Hill
IDAHO FALLS, Idaho — Some eastern Idaho farmers have decided to donate 42,000 pounds of potatoes to Hill Air Force Base, Utah, rather than watch the surplus spuds go to waste. Farmer Tom Holm says that rather than sell his potatoes for a cheap price, he thought it’d be better to send them...
Read more »
$326M to GE for 80 F414 Engines, Equipment and Spares
F414-GE-400 engine (click to see in sections) General Electric Aircraft Engines business group in Lynn, MA received a $326 million modification to a previously awarded firm-fixed-price contract (N00019-06-C-0088), exercising an option for 80 F-414-GE-400 engines and modules and 2 spare engines for the US Navy. They will be installed in the F/A-18E/F Super...
Read more »
Aging Aircraft: Cracks in USA’s F/A-18 fleet
F/A-18C to Afghanistan (click to view full) Earlier in October 2008, a fleet-wide inspection program and limited grounding became necessary after aileron hinge cracks are discovered in some of the US Navy’s 630 or so F/A-18 A-D Hornet fighters. In March 2010, discovery of new cracks led to a much wider grounding. The...
Read more »
Taliban: Kandahar bombings a warning to NATO
KANDAHAR, Afghanistan — Deadly bomb attacks in the southern Afghan city of Kandahar were a warning to NATO’s top general that the Taliban are ready for a coming offensive in their heartland, the insurgents said Sunday. Taliban spokesman Qari Yousef Ahmadi said the bombings show the insurgents are still able to operate despite...
Read more »
Kandahar leader wants more troops after attacks
KANDAHAR, Afghanistan — The governor of Kandahar province demanded more security around Afghanistan’s largest southern city Sunday after a series of explosions killed dozens of people in the Taliban heartland — the target of the war’s next major offensive by Afghan and international forces. The blasts, which occurred one after another for 25...
Read more »
Next-gen Burkes may push limit of DDG frame
The Navy’s next batch of workhorse destroyers will likely be larger, sport a different-looking superstructure and could carry a new set of weapons, according to a Navy official and congressional reports. Service officials committed the Navy to a new variety of the Arleigh Burke-class destroyer in appearances around Washington over February and March,...
Read more »
Army will allow soldiers to recolor M4s
The Army is finally going to give soldiers the green light to paint their black weapons so they blend in with the terrain on the battlefield. Soldiers have been using commercially available, spray-on camouflage paint since the beginning of the war — despite an unenforced Army policy prohibiting the practice. Army weapons officials...
Read more »
Ermey speaks his mind on Corps issues
R. Lee Ermey made his reputation using words and expletives as blunt-force instruments as a drill instructor in the iconic movie “Full Metal Jacket.” And 23 years after the movie’s release, the retired gunnery sergeant is still not mincing words in mounting a fight to change the name of the 212-year-old Navy Department...
Read more »
Ala. officials want AMC employees to make move
HUNTSVILLE, Ala. — Convincing federal employees to leave their homes in the Washington area for the unknown in Huntsville hasn’t been easy, but it was a little simpler in the most recent BRAC recruiting trip. Thirty representatives from across the Tennessee Valley spent two days recently at Fort Belvoir, Va., answering questions and...
Read more »
Obama encouraged on arms accord talks
WASHINGTON — President Obama on Saturday had what the White House described as an “encouraging” phone conversation with Russian President Dmitrty Medvedev as the countries sought to work out the remaining issues on a treaty to significantly reduce nuclear arsenals. National Security Council spokesman Mike Hammer said the presidents reviewed progress toward an...
Read more »
Multiple claimants for stolen Civil War cannon
ATLANTA — When a 5-foot-long Civil War cannon turned up during a search for stolen goods at a Spalding County house, that was just the beginning of a mystery. Now investigators have to sort through multiple claims and determine who owns it. There is no shortage of would-be takers. Georgia officials say the...
Read more »
LPI Gets $84.1M US Navy Contract for Yellow Gear, HM&E Support
Yellow gear on aircraft carrier Small business qualifier LPI Technical Services in Chesapeake, VA received an $84.1 million cost-plus-fixed-fee, indefinite-delivery/ indefinite-quantity contract to furnish repair, maintenance, modernization, logistical, and technical support services for material handling equipment (yellow gear) and hull, mechanical, and electric (HM&E) machinery and systems for ship operation and performance. HM&E...
Read more »
GIs With Malaria May Face Punishment
Servicemembers who contracted malaria in Haiti could be punished for failing to follow the prevention protocol, according to the Joint Task Force overseeing earthquake relief operations here. The 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit confirmed that two Marines deployed to Haiti had contracted malaria.
Read more »
Comfort Returns to U.S. After Haiti Mission
The Navy hospital ship USNS Comfort stopped at Naval Station Norfolk, Va., after its seven-week deployment in Haiti, where the crew provided care to nearly 800 Haitians who were injured in the devastating earthquake that struck Jan. 12.
Read more »
Vail ski program gives boost to injured vets
VAIL, Colo. — Sgt. 1st Class Joe Kapacziewski’s 2005 injury in Iraq might have gotten the best of his right leg, but it certainly didn’t get the best of him. Kapacziewski, 27, is in town this week with the Vail Veterans Program, the local nonprofit that teaches injured war veterans how to ski...
Read more »
At least 30 dead in 4 Afghan suicide attacks
KANDAHAR, Afghanistan — A team of suicide bombers struck Kandahar and detonated their caches of explosives Saturday night at a prison, police headquarters and near the home of Afghan President Hamid Karzai’s half-brother. At least 30 people died. Ahmed Wali Karzai, a member of the Kandahar provincial council, told The Associated Press in...
Read more »
Ex-staff sgt. says police told AF she was gay
Jene Newsome said she played by the rules as an Air Force staff sergeant: She never told anyone in the military she was a lesbian. The 28-year-old’s honorable discharge under the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy came only after police officers in Rapid City, S.D., saw an Iowa marriage certificate in her home...
Read more »