Military and Defense

To guarantee a free and open Indo-Pacific region, the United States will continue to exercise its right to navigate above, below and on the sea in international waters, including in the East and South China seas, the commander of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command said at the Aspen Security Forum in Aspen, Colorado. More than half the world’s population and wealth is ...

The Trump administration is beefing up its resources at the U.S.-Mexico border as it continues to deal with a massive influx of illegal immigrants. Acting Defense Secretary Richard Spencer approved Tuesday night the deployment of 1,200 active-duty troops and another 1,000 Texas National Guard personnel to the U.S. southern border, Department of Defense spokesperson Maj. Chris Mitchell said in a ...

The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today the remains of at least 22 servicemen, killed during the battle of Tarawa in World War II, are being returned to the United States in an Honorable Carry Ceremony at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii, July 17, 2019. The Battle for Tarawa was part of a larger U.S. invasion (Operation GALVANIC) to ...

Army Secretary Dr. Mark T. Esper told senators that he would continue to prioritize training, modernization, building alliances and partnerships and reforming the Pentagon if he’s confirmed to serve as secretary of defense. Esper, President Donald J. Trump’s nominee to assume the Pentagon’s top post, testified at his Senate Armed Services Committee confirmation hearing today. The committee will make a ...

Navy Secretary Richard V. Spencer has become acting defense secretary, as the Senate has received the packet nominating Dr. Mark T. Esper to be the confirmed secretary of defense. Eric Chewning, the chief of staff to the defense secretary, said the transition from Esper to Spencer went smoothly. “There is only one secretary of defense, and that person is fully ...

Army Col. (Dr.) Andrew Morgan wasn’t even born yet when Neil Armstrong walked on the moon. However, Morgan, an astronaut, will be a part of the 50th anniversary celebration of the world’s first manned lunar landing. July 20 at 12:25 p.m. EDT is the planned launch day for Morgan and two others, Aleksandr Skvortsov and Luca Parmitano, to blast off ...

I imagine it’s hard to keep your composure while your ship is being attacked, but that’s exactly what Navy Coxswain John G. Morrison did during the Civil War, and it earned him the Medal of Honor. Morrison was born in Ireland sometime between 1836-1842 — online records reflect a few possible dates, so it’s not clear — but in 1855, ...

Leaders of the House Armed Services Committee are not happy that the Trump administration has not let them see a secret 2018 cyber weapons directive and related documents, and a committee spokeswoman said a letter they sent in February was ignored, according to The Wall Street Journal Wednesday. It is unknown if any members of Congress have seen National Security ...

The Department of Defense will remove Turkey from the F-35 joint strike fighter program if the nation accepts delivery of the Russian S-400 air defense system, a senior Defense Department official said. Meeting with think tank representatives at the Pentagon, Katie Wheelbarger, the acting assistant secretary of defense for international security affairs, said the NATO alliance and nations partnering in ...

Marine Corps Pfc. Grant Timmerman had already served plenty of time abroad when he was discharged from the military in late 1941. But Pearl Harbor happened five weeks after he got out, so he decided to join right back up. Timmerman shipped out again for his country a short time later, and he never returned. But the actions he took ...

President Donald J. Trump gave Americans a tutorial on the U.S. military as part of the Salute to America Independence Day celebration on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington today. ”Today we come together as one nation with this very special salute to America,” Trump said. ”We celebrate our history, our people, and the heroes who proudly defend our ...

In the context of U.S. defense policy, “deterrence” is typically understood to mean “nuclear.” And America’s nuclear triad — ground-based missiles, air-delivered bombs, and submarine-launched missiles — serves as America’s biggest form of deterrence, which underwrites everything its men and women in uniform do. But according to Chief of Naval Operations Adm. John M. Richardson, nuclear weapons are just one ...

Edward Gallagher, the decorated Navy SEAL accused of murder and attempted murder, has been found not guilty by a jury consisting of five Marines and two sailors Tuesday. The Special Warfare Chief was accused of stabbing an injured ISIS fighter to death and of shooting at civilians while he was in Iraq in 2017. Two of those civilians were an ...

This week, American flags will be displayed across the nation in celebration of the Independence Day holiday. Following a few guidelines can ensure we are displaying Old Glory properly. In 1923, the U.S. National Flag Code was created and distributed nationwide. The code became Public Law in 1942 and became the U.S. Flag Code we know today. The U.S. Flag ...

The hearts of 330 million Americans beat with gratitude for the selfless service of U.S. forces serving in South Korea, President Donald J. Trump said during a visit to Osan Air Base, South Korea. Trump spoke to service members assembled in an Osan hangar yesterday as part of his visit to the region to attend the G-20 financial summit. A ...