Military and Defense

The Navy hospital ships USNS Mercy and USNS Comfort are deploying to New York and Los Angeles to serve as referral centers for non-COVID-19 patients during the global pandemic. As the longest-serving hospital ships in continuous operation in U.S. history, the Mercy and the Comfort have long captured the public’s imagination due to their vast medical capabilities as floating hospitals. ...

Today, Secretary of Defense Mark Esper enacted a 60-day stop movement order for all DoD uniformed and civilian personnel and their sponsored family members overseas as a measure to aid in further prevention of the spread of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) and to protect U.S. personnel. The order impacts exercises, deployments, redeployments and other global force management activities. Approximately 90,000 ...

The Department of Defense successfully tested a hypersonic glide body in a flight experiment conducted from the Pacific Missile Range Facility, Kauai, Hawaii, March 19 at approximately 10:30 p.m. local time (HST). The U.S. Navy and U.S. Army jointly executed the launch of a common hypersonic glide body (C-HGB), which flew at hypersonic speed to a designated impact point. Concurrently, ...

There isn’t much nice to say about SARS-CoV-2, HIV or the common flu virus — but they all do make a fascinating picture. Those images, seen on TV, in newspapers and on the web are produced by researchers like Dr. Gordon Joyce to help other researchers better develop the vaccines that will eventually destroy the viruses. Years ago, if researchers ...

ex•ploit ĕk′sploit″, ĭk-sploit′ transitive verb – To employ to the greatest possible advantage. “Can’t,” “don’t,” “contain” and “restrict” are negative words present everywhere in the news, the media and conversation. The threat of the COVID-19 coronavirus will undoubtedly remain a challenge for everyone for months to come. Significant abrupt restrictions and closures are making many within our communities feel very controlled ...

The Navy is scheduled to commission its newest Expeditionary Sea Base, USS Hershel “Woody” Williams (ESB 4), during a 10 a.m. EST ceremony Saturday, March 7, in Norfolk, Virginia. The future Hershel “Woody” Williams is the first ship to bear the name of Marine Corps Chief Warrant Officer Four Hershel Woodrow Williams, the last surviving Medal of Honor recipient recognized ...

Nearly 600 U.S. prisoners of war returned from Vietnam during Operation Homecoming in early 1973. Many had endured the longest wartime captivity of any group of U.S. POWs in the nation’s history. One of those repatriated was Navy Vice Adm. James B. Stockdale, an iconic Naval aviator who remains the only three-star admiral to have worn both aviator wings and the ...

The Navy will christen its newest Freedom-variant littoral combat ship (LCS), the future USS Cooperstown (LCS 23), during a 10 a.m. CDT ceremony Saturday, Feb. 29, in Marinette, Wisconsin. Mrs. Alba Tull will serve as the ship’s sponsor. In a time-honored Navy tradition, Mrs. Tull will christen the ship by breaking a bottle of sparkling wine across the bow. Ms. ...

Anyone who knows the Civil War history of Little Round Top during the Battle of Gettysburg likely remembers the name of the man who held the hill, Army Maj. Gen. Joshua Chamberlain. His actions July 2, 1863, were pivotal to the Union winning that crucial battle, and, years later, they earned him the Medal of Honor. Chamberlain was born on ...

Most Medal of Honor recipients earned the award during combat, but that’s not the case for everyone. Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Owen Francis Patrick Hammerberg, a boatswain’s mate, is one of the few recipients who earned it for his heroic efforts outside of normal duty. Hammerberg was born May 31, 1920, and grew up on Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. His ...

China’s lack of transparency makes it virtually impossible to determine how much the country is devoting to the research on its massive artificial intelligence apparatus, a new report shows.  The report comes after the Trump administration published a budget proposal Tuesday asking for a nearly 70% increase in funding for non-defense AI. American officials argue the increase in funding is ...

To be a flying “ace,” you have to be credited with shooting down several enemy aircraft during combat. It didn’t happen often in the 20th century, and it rarely happens now. Air Force Maj. George A. Davis Jr., a Medal of Honor recipient, is one of only a handful of U.S. military pilots to hold the distinction of being an ...

Those who clear quarantine will be given government travel assistance to return home. Those who get sick will be taken to hospitals that specialize in treating infectious diseases.

For this week’s Medal of Honor Monday, we’re highlighting Marine Corps Capt. Raymond Murphy, a recipient who honorably served his fellow Marines during war, then spent the rest of his life serving them, as well. Murphy was born Jan. 14, 1930, in Pueblo, Colorado. He had three brothers and a sister and said he loved to play sports growing up. ...

In the past few decades, several service members from the Civil War have received posthumous Medals of Honor for their actions in keeping our nation together more than 150 years ago. One of them was Army 1st Lt. Alonzo Cushing, who helped stop Confederate soldiers from breaking through the Union line during Confederate Maj. Gen. George Pickett’s famous charge at ...