PORTLAND, Ore. — An Iraq war contractor is asking a federal judge to dismiss a lawsuit by Oregon National Guard soldiers over potential health risks from a cancer-causing chemical called hexavalent chromium.Lawyers for Kellogg, Brown & Root on Monday argued the federal court in Oregon lacks jurisdiction in the case.The Houston-based company now called...
Read more »
Latest Story
KBR wants Ore. guardsmen’s suit dismissed
Changes at Knox starting to be felt in region
FORT KNOX, Ky. — Mike Zong was warming to the prospect of calling Kentucky home as he hit the midpoint of a recent five-day, six-county tour of the Fort Knox area.“It’s not ‘small town’ at all,” said Zong, a database manager who works in...
Read more »
Army wants high-speed vessel at Pearl Harbor
HONOLULU — The Army said Monday it is considering basing at Pearl Harbor one or more high-speed vessels similar to the one used by the troubled and now-defunct Hawaii Superferry interisland ferry service.It is seeking public input for an environmental impact statement on the...
Read more »
Body of AF major found in Haiti hotel rubble
A search team on Sunday found the body of the Air Force major killed in Haiti after his hotel collapsed during the 7.0 magnitude earthquake, his family said.Maj. Ken Bourland had not been heard from since the Jan. 12 earthquake after he sent an e-mail to his wife from his hotel room minutes before...
Read more »
Vets group offers idea to speed VA claims
Veterans could receive disability benefits faster, with fewer errors, if new Veterans Affairs Department employees worked exclusively on simple claims and experienced employees handled everything else, says a Disabled American Veterans official.John Wilson, DAV’s assistant national legislative director, said new employees take too long to process claims and are prone to mistakes. If VA...
Read more »
Murder charges for Canadian AF commander
TORONTO — The commander of Canada’s largest air force base, who once flew dignitaries around the country, has been charged with first-degree murder in the deaths of two women.Ontario Provincial Police Detective Inspector Chris Nicholas said Monday that Col. Russell Williams, 46, was arrested Sunday in Ottawa. He was also charged in the sexual...
Read more »
Snow cripples Mid-Atlantic bases
The Air Force wasn’t spared from the nor’easter that pounded the mid-Atlantic over the weekend, dumped more than 2 feet of snow in areas and paralyzed the region.Operations officers at Dover Air Force Base, Del., scrambled to find missions for its C-5s and C-17s to protect them from the blizzard conditions. The last plane...
Read more »
Kirtland AFB unit loses nuclear mission
A squadron that oversees more than 2,000 nuclear warheads in New Mexico has been stripped of its nuclear responsibilities, according to the major command that oversees the unit.No specific incident led to what Air Force Materiel Command describes as the decertification of the 898th Munitions Squadron at Kirtland Air Force Base, N.M., and all...
Read more »
Murtha, powerful troop advocate, dead at 77
Rep. John Murtha, D-Pa., the powerful and controversial chairman of the House subcommittee responsible for defense funding, died Monday, leaving a huge hole in the Democratic Party’s national security team.Murtha died at 1:18 p.m. at Virginia Hospital Center in Arlington, Va., where he had been hospitalized for an infection following gallbladder surgery.A friend of...
Read more »
Rep. John Murtha Dies at 77
Congressman John Murtha, one of the most powerful and influential Democratic lawmakers on defense issues in the House for more than three decades, died today in Arlington, Va., at the age of 77. Murtha had recently undergone gall bladder surgery and was hospitalized Feb. 2 after complications with his recovery.
Read more »
24th MEU, Nassau ARG complete Haiti work
Thousands of Marines and sailors aboard three Navy ships have completed their relief work in earthquake-ravaged Haiti and will likely steam toward the Middle East in coming days.The Nassau Amphibious Ready Group, including the North Carolina-based 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit, was released from relief duty in Haiti on Sunday, U.S. Southern Command said in...
Read more »
As US Begins Surge, Canada Plans Exit
By the crack of dawn, the Royal Canadian Dragoons' armor was in position, fanned out across a dusty vineyard for Operation Tazi to secure a key land route into Kandahar from the Taliban.
Read more »
Japan Balks at Bill to Host US Troops
But facing economic woes and seeking a more equal relationship with the U.S., Japan's new reformist government is questioning whether it should spend so much on U.S. troops.
Read more »
Palin: ‘War Card’ Could Help Obama Win
Sarah Palin says that if President Barack Obama "played the war card," he could improve his chances of being re-elected.
Read more »
Obama Hasn’t Ruled out NY Trial for KSM
President Barack Obama said he has not ruled out a New York federal court trial for Sept. 11 planner Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, but he was taking into account the objections of the city's mayor and police commissioner.
Read more »
Iran Moves Closer to Nuke Warhead Capacity
Iran moved closer to being able to produce nuclear warheads Monday with formal notification that it will enrich uranium to higher levels, even while insisting that the move was meant only to provide fuel for its research reactor.
Read more »
NATO: Afghans to play big role in offensive
CAMP SHORABAK, Afghanistan — Thousands of Afghan soldiers and police will join U.S. and NATO troops in an upcoming offensive in southern Afghanistan, playing their biggest role in any joint operation of the Afghan war.The pending attack on the Taliban-held town of Marjah in Helmand province will be a crucial test for the NATO...
Read more »
BAE Settles Charges With UK Fraud Office, US DoJ
BAE’s Hawk: over the top (click to view full) The UK’s Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has spent the last 6 years chasing BAE systems over allegations that bribes were paid to secure foreign deals in a number of countries. Bribes are the least of the allegations involved in some international defense deals, and...
Read more »