All Security
Nevada depot blast: Was exercise that killed seven really necessary?The training accident at Hawthorne Army Depot came during a live-fire exercise. These exercises carry risk, but military officials say they are needed to prepare troops for battle.
Nevada depot explosion kills seven. What is known so far?The explosion at Hawthorne Army Depot in Nevada appears to have been a training-ground accident. Early reports suggest perhaps a mortar exploded prematurely.
Iraq war 10 years later: Was it worth it?A war that lasted far longer and was more costly than Americans were told to expect by their military and political leaders has led to much public questioning as well as private soul-searching.
Top 3 threats to the United States: the good and bad news The annual Worldwide Threat Assessment of the US Intelligence Community is out this week, a widely-anticipated report compiled by the nation’s intelligence agencies. Here is the good and bad news about the top three threats facing the United States, according to an unclassified version of the report.
Controversy spurs Pentagon's Hagel to review new 'Nintendo' medalDefense Secretary Chuck Hagel will reconsider new Distinguished Warfare Medal, for which drone operators are eligible. Critics complain it ranks higher than the Bronze Star or Purple Heart – awards for acts of valor in physical combat.
North Korea abandons armistice: 4 key questions answered Tensions on the Korean peninsula are ratcheting up. The US has started its annual war games with South Korean forces, and North Korea has used that fact to declare that it is invalidating the armistice agreement that ended the Korean War in 1953. What really has North Korea upset, though, is the tough, new sanctions passed by the United Nations in response to the North's nuclear test last month.Here are the top four questions analysts are wrestling with on the heels of these developments.
In Afghanistan, Hagel faces early test: how many troops to leave behindWith his arduous confirmation finally over, Secretary Hagel arrived in Afghanistan to confront considerable challenges, including the pace of withdrawal and the size of the residual US force.
Civil War sailors buried: Their faces are known, but who are they?The Navy buried two sailors found in the turret of the USS Monitor, the famed Civil War ironclad. Forensic anthropologists reconstructed their likenesses, but their identities are a mystery.
Report: Flimsy cybersecurity for US military is 'magnet to US opponents'A Pentagon study of cybervulnerabilities found that during war-game exercises, some adversaries were able to hack into US military networks with 'relative ease.' The study urges refocused intelligence work and improved cyberdefense.
Bradley Manning pleads guilty to some WikiLeaks chargesArmy Pfc. Bradley Manning has pleaded guilty to charges that he broke military rules in providing classified information to WikiLeaks. But he denies the more serious charges of aiding the enemy during wartime, for which he still faces a court martial.
Pentagon braces for furloughs in sequester: How big a hit to economy?Thousands of Defense Department civilian employees could be furloughed if Congress proceeds with the automatic federal spending cuts poised to take effect in March under the sequester.
FocusHow US military plans to carry out Obama's 'pivot to Asia'A US policy shift toward Asia means a greater role for the Navy. Even pre-'pivot to Asia,' it already stationed half its ships in the region, and it is developing a new 'afloat forward staging base' in the Pacific.
Medal of Honor recipient: Taliban 'simply couldn't have' outpostStaff Sgt. Clinton Romesha was awarded the Medal of Honor for preventing the Taliban from overrunning his outpost in 2009. Tuesday he was inducted into the Pentagon's Hall of Heroes.
- Pentagon offers limited benefits to same-sex partners of US troops
The Pentagon said Monday it will offer benefits, for the first time, to same-sex partners of military personnel. Hospital visitation and on-base child care are part of the package; health care and housing are not.
Chuck Hagel, John Brennan threatened with Senate 'hold.' What's that?GOP Sen. Lindsay Graham may put a 'hold' on Senate votes to confirm Chuck Hagel to head the Pentagon and John Brennan the CIA, citing a need for more information about the Benghazi, Libya, terrorist attacks. How that would work.
Cybersecurity: how preemptive cyberwar is entering the nation's arsenalIn addition to authorizing the use of cyberweapons, the White House is preparing an executive order to beef up cybersecurity for critical infrastructure, such as the electric grid, refineries, and telecommunications.
McCain pounds Chuck Hagel in Senate confirmation hearingAt the confirmation hearing for Chuck Hagel as Defense secretary, Sen. John McCain took a particularly robust line of questioning, asking him about his views on the surge in Iraq.
Pentagon's budget nightmare: How each branch would handle sequester cuts With the threat of a mandatory, across-the-board series of cuts known as sequestration looming over the Pentagon, each of the services has begun its worst-case-scenario planning. Here is where the cuts stand now:
Women could be great Navy SEALs, says head of Special OpsThe head of Special Ops has indicated his support for integrating women into the elite force. The necessity, he adds, is ensuring that all special operators are in peak physical condition.
Women in combat units: Could it reduce sexual assault in the military?Ending the ban on women in combat removes a barrier to gender equality and could create more respect for women within the ranks, some say. Sexual assault is a major problem for the military.
