Military and Defense

A new book featuring many previously unseen images from World War II reveals just how important to the war effort were the photographers of the Army Signal Corps, and how significant to history the collection of Signal Corps images stored at the National Archives is. “The Army Signal Corps photographic collection is one of the largest in the National Archives ...

Nearly 460 F-35 Lightning II joint strike fighter aircraft have been delivered to military organizations around the world — including the U.S. Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps, as well as to a handful of partner nations. But a critical component of the F-35 program, the Autonomic Logistics Information System, or ALIS, has proven less stellar than the aircraft itself. ...

Technology is disrupting the business environment and government, and it will soon disrupt U.S. Special Operations Command and the rest of the Defense Department. Lisa Costa, the command’s director of command, control, communications, computers and intelligence and chief information officer, said it won’t be business as usual and change will be coming fast. Speaking at the Red Hat Government Symposium ...

World War II veterans were honored today at the World War II Memorial in Washington. Elizabeth Lewis Among the approximately 20 veterans recognized was Elizabeth Lewis, who joined the Army Nurse Corps as a surgical nurse in 1943 and was assigned to the Army hospital ship Emily H. M. Weder. That year, she said her ship sailed for North Africa, ...

Not every soldier who enlisted in the fight against World War II tyranny was a young man. Army Pfc. Floyd Lindstrom was 30 when he joined. His bravery and passion for the cause was infectious, and that helped earn him the Medal of Honor. Lindstrom was born on June 21, 1912, in Holdredge, Nebraska. His family eventually moved to Colorado ...

The relationship between the U.S. military and China has become more competitive, as the U.S. has tried to enforce the sanctions on North Korea, a Defense Department official said. Randall Shriver, DOD’s assistant secretary of defense for Indo-Pacific security affairs, said in the past, the relationship with China was a mixture of engagement and competition, but that has changed in ...

The Navy will christen its newest Expeditionary Fast Transport, the future USNS Newport (T-EPF 12), during a 10 a.m. CST ceremony Saturday, November 9, at the Austal USA shipyard in Mobile, Alabama. The principal speaker is Rear Admiral Shoshana Chatfield, President of the Naval War College in Newport, Rhode Island. Mrs. Charlotte Marshall, a Newport native, will serve as the ...

A lot of Medal of Honor recipients have engaged in the fight of their lives, just to fight on another day. This was true for Marine Corps Cpl. Lee H. Phillips, who earned the nation’s highest honor during a vicious fight in which he emerged victorious, only to die a few weeks later. Phillips was born on Feb. 3, 1930, ...

The mission to capture or kill ISIS founder and leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was exquisitely planned and executed, the commander of U.S. Central Command said. Marine Corps Gen. Kenneth F. McKenzie briefed Pentagon reporters today on the Oct. 26 raid in northwestern Syria that resulted in Baghdadi’s death. Pentagon officials also released videos of the raid. McKenzie said planning for ...

Then-Sgt. Matthew Williams with Staff Sgt. Ronald Shurer II assigned to 3rd Special Forces Group (Airborne), sit outside a small village in Eastern Afghanistan in May 2008. (Photo Credit: Photo Courtesy of U.S. Army Master Sgt. Matthew Williams)  President Donald J. Trump will award the Medal of Honor to Master Sergeant Matthew O. Williams, United States Army, for conspicuous gallantry while ...

China aims to transition from producing inexpensive items to high-tech products, the director of the Defense Innovation Unit said yesterday. Imagine what the world would look like if China were setting standards in game-changing technologies like hypersonics, quantum sciences, autonomy, artificial intelligence, 5G, genetic engineering and space.” Michael Brown, director of the Defense Innovation Unit During a panel discussion Tuesday ...

The Defense Department finalized an agreement to purchase 478 additional F-35 Lightning II airplanes in a deal totaling $34 billion, officials said. Ellen M. Lord, undersecretary of defense for acquisition and sustainment, announced yesterday’s agreement between DOD and aircraft manufacturer Lockheed-Martin during a briefing today at the Pentagon. The F-35s will form the backbone of the U.S. and allied fifth-generation inventory ...

The Battle of Midway was one of the most pivotal of World War II in the Pacific, and a major film depicting its events is about to hit the big screen. Defense Department historians who helped from start to finish say “Midway” does justice to the integrity, accountability, and toughness of everyone involved in the real June 1942 battle. Written ...

The Defense Department has a long way to go in developing artificial intelligence and applying it to the most pressing military problems. For now, DOD is applying AI toward humanitarian assistance and predictive maintenance, the director of the Joint Artificial Intelligence Center said. ”We start with low-consequence use cases for a reason,” Air Force Lt. Gen. John Shanahan said during a ...

More than a decade ago, Army Master Sgt. Matthew Williams earned the Silver Star Medal for saving several of his Special Forces comrades during an hours-long mountainside firefight in Afghanistan. This week, the Green Beret will see that decoration upgraded to the highest level — the Medal of Honor. Williams was born Oct. 3, 1981, and spent most of his childhood ...