Here are the latest reports from The Washington Posts ‘Checkpoint’.
The Air Force fighter pilot shortage is already a crisis — and it could soon get worse
An acute shortage of Air Force fighter pilots could grow even worse, with nearly a third of all jobs becoming vacant in the coming years, senior service officials said Wednesday. Air Force Secretary Deborah James said that the service could be short about 1,000 fighter pilots “in just a couple years,” prompting the service to […]
U.S. Special Operations troops aiding Libyan forces in major battle against Islamic State
U.S. Special Operations forces are providing direct, on-the-ground support for the first time to fighters battling the Islamic State in Libya, U.S. and Libyan officials said, coordinating American airstrikes and providing intelligence information in an effort to oust the group from a militant stronghold. The positioning of a small number of elite U.S. personnel, operating alongside British troops, in […]
This Marine was killed during World War II. Now, 72 years later, ‘our boy is coming home.’
Dale Geddes was killed in World War II during the Battle of Tarawa. It was November of 1943. He was 21 years old. For more than 70 years, Geddes’ remains were buried on the island of Betio, where he was killed. As time passed, it looked like they might not ever be found, and returned to his family, […]
In the Nevada desert, the U.S. military prepares for a new kind of warfare
NELLIS AIR FORCE BASE, Nev. — U.S. military officers had just finished a mission in the Air Force’s premier exercise to train pilots for air-to-air combat, and something had gone wrong: Rank-and-file troops expected to carry out cyberattacks on enemy air defenses deviated from their plan without warning commanders and pilots. The situation, described later by […]
U.S. military equipment captured by the Islamic State might have come from Special Operations forces
Almost two weeks after several U.S. Special Operations troops were wounded fighting Islamic State militants in eastern Afghanistan, the militant group’s media arm has posted photos of American equipment, including weapons and a radio that, they say, were captured from U.S. soldiers fighting in the same region. The assortment of weapons, equipment and documents raise more questions than […]
New Wounded Warrior Project CEO expects layoffs during restructuring
The new chief executive of the Wounded Warrior Project, one of the nation’s largest veterans charities, said he anticipates laying off an undisclosed number of employees and cutting the amount of financing it provides smaller veterans groups amid a restructuring that follows scrutiny of the nonprofit organization’s spending. Retired Army Lt. Gen. Michael S. Linnington, […]
Teen claims he was fired from Jack in the Box for giving away tacos to veteran
A teenager claims he was fired from a Jack in the Box restaurant in California for “mishandling funds” after he gave away tacos to a military veteran. The former employee, 19-year-old Alex Mesta, told ABC affiliate KERO that the veteran was a regular customer and, from time to time, he would give him freebies, such as coffee. He said he recently gave the […]
How John McCain found himself more involved in the Bowe Bergdahl case than he probably wants
Sen. John McCain’s declaration last year that he would hold a hearing about the controversial case of Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl if the Army doesn’t punish him has prompted the soldier’s lawyers to call for the dismissal of his entire case, citing newly released emails by the government. The motion, filed this week in an Army court at […]
It’s legal for Donald Trump to accept a Purple Heart. How he handled it is up for debate.
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump receiving a Purple Heart medal Tuesday from a wounded veteran is both acceptable and legal, according to military medal experts. But whether he handled it well is another matter. Trump, speaking Tuesday at Briar Woods High School in Ashburn, Va., told a crowd that “something very nice just happened” to him […]
Mike Pence said in 1999 that women shouldn’t be in the military. So much has changed.
After decades of gradual progress, 2016 may be remembered as the year when everything changed for women in the military. Everywhere you look, women who serve are breaking new ground, overcoming gender barriers and taking on roles that are integral to our nation’s defense. Yet a recent story from the current presidential contest serves as […]
Generals have waded into presidential elections for decades. Their colleagues still hate it.
During the 1992 presidential race, retired Navy Adm. William J. Crowe Jr. surprised many fellow officers by announcing that he was endorsing Bill Clinton as the best-qualified candidate to take over the White House. The decision was especially remarkable because Crowe, the Pentagon’s top officer from fall 1985 to fall 1989, had recently served directly […]
How the U.S. military scrambled in Turkey to keep working during the coup attempt
INCIRLIK AIR BASE, Turkey — During the first night of the coup, the lights went out here around 2 a.m., as local authorities shut off this sprawling airfield’s power, beginning what would be a kind of siege of the joint Turkish-U.S. base. U.S. Air Force Col. David Trucksa, the commander of the 447th Air Expeditionary […]
Slain Army captain at center of political storm was ‘a soldier’s officer’
Capt. Humayun Khan didn’t need to be out there that day. Not all officers at Forward Operating Base Warhorse would choose to spend that kind of time outside the gates of the fortified military compound, checking on lower-ranking soldiers pulling security detail, said Marie Legros, a staff sergeant posted at Warhorse in 2004. But Khan, a Army reserve officer […]
Pentagon’s top general seeks to cool anti-American sentiment in Turkey
ANKARA, Turkey — The Chairman of the Joint Chief’s of Staff visit with top Turkish officials here Monday was, for the most part, conciliatory, despite growing anti-American sentiment following last month’s coup attempt and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s recent public scolding of U.S. Army Gen. Joseph Votel. The highest-ranking U.S. official to visit Turkey […]
‘We’ve never been challenged this way’: Military support groups demand respect for Khan family
A coalition of military support and advocacy groups took what they called an unprecedented step Monday, collectively defending the family of a Muslim American Army officer killed in Iraq from criticism by Republican presidential candidate Donald J. Trump. The groups issued a joint letter calling for all political candidates to “demonstrate the character demanded of […]
U.S. strikes Islamic State stronghold in Libya, expanding campaign against militant group
The United States has conducted airstrikes on the Islamic State stronghold in Sirte, Libya, the Pentagon said on Monday, the first direct U.S. military involvement in Libyan forces’ battle against the militant group there. In a statement, Pentagon press secretary Peter Cook said that Libya’s Western-backed unity government had requested air support as forces under its command […]
Pentagon scrambles to patch up ties with Turkey at pivotal moment in Islamic State fight
The Pentagon scrambled on Friday to smooth over ties with Turkey, after comments by a senior general about that country’s recent coup attempt triggered a backlash from Turkish leaders. Speaking to reporters, Pentagon spokesman Peter Cook sought to soften the impact of remarks made earlier in the week by Gen. Joseph Votel, the head of […]
‘There is just no trust there.’ Air Force secretary has doubts about Russian collaboration
NELLIS AIR FORCE BASE, Nev. – The Air Force’s top civilian leader said she “flat-out” believes there is no trust by the United States in Russia’s operations in Syria, becoming the latest senior U.S. defense official to raise concerns about a proposal under which U.S. and Russian forces would collaborate to carry out some airstrikes […]
Marine F/A-18 crash kills one; jet broke apart in a dive, witness says
A Marine F/A-18C Hornet crashed during a training exercise in the Mojave desert Thursday night, killing the pilot, the Marine Corps announced Friday. The crash occurred around 10:30 p.m. near Twentynine Palms, Calif., according to a Marine Corps release. The cause of the crash is under investigation and the pilot’s name will not be released until the […]
The Air Force is close to declaring the controversial F-35 ready for combat
The Air Force is close to certifying that the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter is ready for combat, a declaration that would become one of the most significant milestones in the long and tortured history of the Pentagon’s most expensive weapons program ever. After years of delays, cost overruns and controversy, top Pentagon officials could make […]
Five U.S. troops wounded in Afghanistan fighting Islamic State, top general says
Five U.S. Special Operations troops, fighting alongside their Afghan counterparts, were wounded recently while battling Islamic State militants in Afghanistan’s Nangahar province, the top U.S. general there said Thursday. Speaking to reporters from Kabul, U.S. Army Gen. John W. Nicholson Jr. said that the troops had been wounded from small-arms fire and shrapnel in the past week. […]
Former Guantanamo detainee reappears in Venezuela, hopes to travel to Turkey
A former Guantanamo Bay detainee who was resettled in Uruguay and went missing in June has reappeared in Venezuela, seeking help from Uruguayan officials in traveling to Turkey, Uruguayan officials said. Authorities say that Syrian national Jihad Ahmed Mustafa Dhiab, who spent 12 years at the military prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, is free to travel, […]
Republicans said Kaine’s pin was the Honduran Flag. It was actually a symbol of his son’s military service.
In a since-deleted tweet, the North Carolina Republican Party called out Democratic vice-presidential nominee Tim Kaine for wearing the flag of Honduras on his lapel during his acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention Wednesday. Except it wasn’t the flag of the small Latin American country where Kaine had spent a year doing missionary work, but […]
Despite denial, ‘growing evidence’ Russia is using cluster bombs in Syria, report says
After a breakdown of the recent cease-fire in Syria, Russian and Syrian air forces have resumed a bombing campaign that has extensively used cluster munitions, killing and maiming dozens of civilians, a leading human rights group said in a report released Thursday. The report by the New York-based Human Rights Watch documented 47 different cluster munition attacks across three […]
ISIS is rewriting textbooks to push its violent ideology. The U.S. once did something similar in Afghanistan.
As the battle for the key Syrian city of Manbij grinds into its third month, U.S.-backed forces there have discovered troves of information left behind by the Islamic State. According to Pentagon officials, the documents illustrate how important the city has been to the self-declared caliphate’s operations, specifically as a hub for transiting foreign fighters. Yet, […]
Increasingly eclectic Pentagon innovation board adds Neil deGrasse Tyson, Jeff Bezos
The Pentagon’s increasingly eclectic Defense Innovation Advisory Board has reached full strength, with celebrity astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson and Amazon.com founder Jeffrey P. Bezos among the latest named to a group that includes some of the private sector’s most successful leaders. Defense Secretary Ashton B. Carter established the board in March with Alphabet chairman Eric […]
Navy’s top admiral: U.S. is not at an impasse with Beijing after South China Sea ruling
The Navy’s top admiral said Tuesday that the United States and China are not at an impasse despite ongoing tensions and a recent contentious ruling about the South China Sea, describing the military relationship between the two nations as complicated but growing. Adm. John Richardson, the chief of naval operations, met with reporters at the […]
The U.S. is apparently using anti-drone rifles against the Islamic State
A tweet posted last week by Peter Singer, a co-author of the book Ghost Fleet and a strategist at the New America Foundation, shows his book couched up against what appears to be a Battelle DroneDefender anti-drone rifle in a tent at Fire Base Bell outside Makhmour, Iraq. The advent and proliferation of small, cheap drones […]
Pentagon says proposed Russian deal in Syria is “not based on trust”
Pentagon leaders on Monday said a proposed agreement with Moscow to expand military cooperation in Syria would hinge on the Kremlin’s support for U.S. goals there, suggesting that senior military officials remain deeply skeptical of Russia’s trustworthiness. Speaking in a briefing with reporters, Defense Secretary Ashton B. Carter and Gen. Joseph F. Dunford, chairman of the Joint Chiefs […]
Women will attempt Army Special Forces training soon — but they’re not the first
Two female Army officers have been selected to enter the training pipeline to join all-male Special Forces units, becoming the first soldiers to do so since Defense Secretary Ashton B. Carter rescinded a ban that banned women from ground combat assignments. The women are among 340 soldiers who were selected for Special Forces Assessment Selection, […]
Nothing will ‘quickly or easily’ stop Islamic State bombings in Baghdad, U.S. military warns
The director of the Pentagon agency devoted to stopping improvised bombings is in Baghdad this week meeting with Iraqi officials, but U.S. military officials caution that they will not be able to deliver quick solutions to suppress a string of suicide attacks there. Army Lt. Gen. Michael Shields, the director of the Joint Improvised-Threat Defeat […]
Pentagon alters Law of War manual to remove suggestion that journalists are combatants
The Pentagon has revised warfare guidelines to remove a clause suggesting that journalists could be seen as combatants, following outcry from news organizations that argued the rules would endanger media workers. “The department’s mission is to defend the very freedoms that journalists exercise,” Pentagon General Counsel Jennifer O’Connor said in a statement, referring to revised guidelines released Friday. “We have learned […]
I’ve treated veterans with PTSD. It’s time to make them eligible for the Purple Heart.
Over the last decade, a controversial question has surrounded the Purple Heart: do veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder deserve it? The Pentagon currently does not award Purple Hearts to veterans suffering from PTSD. Supporters of this policy argue physical wounds have always determined eligibility for the Purple Heart. Some believe the science regarding PTSD is […]
Power turned back on at Incirlik Air Base, nearly a week after attempted Turkish coup
The power was restored Friday at a key Turkish base used by U.S. strike aircraft, defense officials said, nearly a week after an attempted overthrow of the Turkish government by a faction of its military spun the country into chaos. U.S. European Command announced in a statement that commercial power returned at the base, in […]
Levi Shirley wanted to be a Marine. Instead, he died an American vigilante fighting ISIS in Syria.
When Levi J. Shirley was growing up, he wanted to follow in his father’s footsteps and join the U.S. military, his mother said. His father, Russell, had served three tours with the Army in Vietnam, and Levi became “obsessed” with joining the Marine Corps. The younger Shirley, 25, had bad eyesight, however. He trained with […]
Elderly veteran held hostage for years in motel room as captor stole benefits, police say
The elderly Marine Corps veteran was held hostage in a cramped motel room about 50 miles north of New York City, according to authorities. Video of the room, shot by the Hudson Valley News Network, depicts the squalid conditions in which the 81-year-old was kept. On Tuesday, police arrested a man who they said held the veteran […]
U.S. Embassy in Saudi Arabia warning of ‘potential, imminent threat’ against Americans in Jeddah
The U.S. Embassy in Saudi Arabia warned on Thursday of a “potential, imminent threat” against U.S. citizens in the coastal city of Jeddah, particularly in areas where Westerners congregate. The embassy notice went out as a “security message” on its website and on social media, the second highest alert that is just short of an […]
Donald Trump cast doubt on the Baltics’ involvement in NATO. Here’s what they actually do.
Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump said Wednesday that under his administration the United States would not automatically defend the Baltic states from Russia if they were invaded, setting off a new round of questions about his commitment to the North American Treaty Organization. But his comments also have prompted a basic question: What do the […]
‘This might be our community’s “Rocky Horror Picture Show”‘: How a zombie movie became a hit with troops
It will not be on the marquee at your local multiplex, but ‘Range 15,’ a zombie apocalypse comedy made by veterans with no previous Hollywood experience, is this summer’s underground hit with military audiences. Since its mid-June debut in the U.S., the comedy has brought in close to $700,000 at the box office in fan-sponsored […]
The ‘biggest strategic concern’ about Mosul? Putting it back together after ISIS loses.
ANDREWS AIR FORCE BASE, Md.—As leaders from across the U.S.-led coalition against the Islamic State group meet in Washington this week, they are increasingly facing a crucial question: How will the coalition help the Iraqi government put the city of Mosul back together after it is taken back from the militants? The city of some […]
How much does the Pentagon’s secretive bomber really cost? (And should you be allowed to know?)
There’s been controversy swirling around the Pentagon’s newest bomber program ever since last year, when the Air Force awarded the contract for what’s considered to be the most important national security procurement project over the next decade. First, the losers, a team made up of defense giants Boeing and Lockheed Martin, filed a legal challenge, […]
This chart shows just how big the air war against the Islamic State was in June
The Air Force’s two-year-old bombing campaign against the Islamic State had its second-largest month ever in June, dropping 3,167 weapons, Air Force officials disclosed Tuesday. It marks just the third time the Air Force has dropped more than 3,000 weapons in a single month in the campaign. The others occurred in November and December 2015 as […]
The U.S. stores nuclear weapons in Turkey. Is that such a good idea?
As Turkey spiraled into chaos late Friday during a military coup attempt, one of the concerns that emerged was particularly alarming: What was the status of nuclear weapons the United States keeps at Incirlik Air Base, the Turkish airfield from which the United States regularly launches airstrikes against the Islamic State? U.S. officials are loath […]
Veteran receives Medal of Honor for acts in battle that looked ‘like a bad Rambo movie’
It was a dire situation. Eight U.S. soldiers with the 101st Airborne Division had been left on a Vietnam battlefield after not reaching helicopters in time for an emergency extraction from a gun-swept river valley. Enemy fighters were closing in, and the soldiers would almost certainly be taken prisoner or killed in the next few […]
U.S. military’s counter-ISIS operations from Turkey left uncertain with coup attempt
The U.S. military’s future use of Turkish bases in the campaign against the Islamic State was left uncertain Friday evening amid an attempted coup against the government of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Defense officials at the Pentagon, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss the attempted coup as it unfolded, said Friday that they […]
How the Nice truck attack managed to kill so many so quickly
Unlike the November assault in Paris and the twin airport bombings in Belgium and Turkey, Thursday’s attack in Nice, France, traded explosives and small arms for the lethality of a speeding box truck aimed at late-night revelers. With at least 84 reported killed and 52 critically injured, one man in a truck managed to kill more people than […]
‘Quiet crisis’: A stark look in graphics at how many fighter pilots leave the Air Force
The Air Force’s growing shortage of fighter pilots is a “quiet crisis that will almost certainly get worse before it gets better,” the service’s new chief and its top civilian leader said in an opinion piece published Thursday. But how bad is it? According to data obtained by The Washington Post, the number of fighter pilots in […]
How a modest contract for ‘applied research’ morphed into the CIA’s brutal interrogation program
The architect of the CIA’s brutal interrogation program was hired for the job through a secret contract in late 2001 that outlined the assignment with Orwellian euphemism. The agency “has the need for someone familiar with conducting applied research in high-risk operational settings,” the document said. The consultant would be in a unique position to […]
Pentagon: Terrorist responsible for attack that left 132 children dead killed in drone strike
The accused mastermind of the December 2014 attack on a Pakistani school that left more than 130 children dead was killed in a U.S. drone strike in Afghanistan last week, the Pentagon said Wednesday. Khalifa Omar Mansour along with four other “enemy combatants” were killed Saturday in Nangarhar Province, Pentagon press secretary Peter Cook said in a statement. Mansour […]
U.S. troops deployed to bolster security at American embassy in South Sudan
The United States has sent an additional 40 troops to help protect the American embassy in South Sudan, just days after a spat of fighting killed hundreds in the country’s capital. The troops, likely a contingent from the U.S. Marine Corps’ crisis-response force based out of Morón, Spain, deployed Tuesday to bolster security and help […]
Arlington National Cemetery wants people to stop catching Pikachu on its hallowed ground
They’re easy to pick out at Arlington National Cemetery, usually kids looking down at their phones while the rest of the tour groups amble by — headed for the Tomb of the Unknowns or the grave of President John F. Kennedy. The nation’s war dead stretch for rows on rows, but they’re looking down at their phones, […]
U.S. shifts emphasis of new operations against Taliban to eastern Afghanistan
BAGRAM AIRFIELD, Afghanistan — The top U.S. military commander in Afghanistan said Tuesday that U.S. troops are shifting the primary emphasis of recently approved operations against the Taliban to the eastern part of the country, where a variety of insurgents remain entrenched. Army Gen. John. W. Nicholson Jr. told reporters that he is applying new authorities […]
Pentagon will provide new assistance to Iraq after Baghdad bombings
BAGHDAD — Defense Secretary Ashton B. Carter promised Iraqi officials new assistance Monday to stave off bombings by the Islamic State after the group’s most deadly attack on central Baghdad earlier this month. The Pentagon chief said the United States would offer high-tech explosives detectors and a visit by the U.S. general running a Defense Department office […]
Why the police in Baton Rouge look like they’re dressed for war
Police departments have received waves of criticism over the past two years for using military-grade equipment in relatively benign situations, and recent protests in Baton Rouge have reignited the debate over the role of such hardware in American policing. Photographs and video shot over the weekend show Baton Rouge police, sheriff’s deputies and other law enforcement officers clad […]
Seizure of key air base near Mosul raises prospect of U.S. escalation against ISIS
BAGHDAD — The seizure of a key militant-held air base near the Iraqi city of Mosul moves Iraqi security forces closer to attempting to take it back from the Islamic State, and raises the prospect of the Pentagon escalating its military presence in northern Iraq in coming days. Defense Secretary Ashton B. Carter arrived Monday […]
‘There was nothing random about that attack’: Photographer recounts the day war journalist Marie Colvin was killed
The first time British photographer Paul Conroy met Sunday Times journalist Marie Colvin was in Syria before the 2003 invasion of Iraq, when she walked into a restaurant demanding to speak with the “boat man.” The moniker was bestowed upon Conroy after he had tried to sneak into Iraq across the Tigris River using a […]
Was the Dallas police killer really a sniper? Argument churns about what to call him.
In the immediate aftermath of the attack that killed five police officers late Thursday in Dallas, a term came up numerous times to describe shooter Micah Xavier Johnson: sniper. The description was used by the Dallas Police Department shortly after the shooting, and it has been repeated by media outlets including Fox News and The Washington Post. Dallas Police […]
After investigation, Navy lowers ‘American Sniper’ Chris Kyle’s medal count
After an investigation into famed SEAL Chris Kyle’s personnel record, the Navy has corrected his medal count, indicating that he earned one Silver Star instead of his previously claimed two, a Navy spokeswoman said Saturday. Kyle, who was murdered along with a friend in 2013, penned the book “American Sniper” which was subsequently turned into a movie by director Clint Eastwood. […]
NATO will expand security patrols in Mediterranean in response to ISIS threat
WARSAW — NATO’s supreme allied commander said Saturday that he anticipates the military alliance will expand maritime patrols into the Mediterranean Sea, a response to the threat posed by the Islamic State group and the ongoing crisis in which migrants have fled from Iraq, Syria, Libya and other countries stricken with conflict. The patrols could […]
Pentagon mulls specifics of deploying Army battalion to Poland to counter Russia
WARSAW — President Obama announced Friday that he will send a battalion of about 1,000 Army soldiers to Poland as part of a new NATO mission, an effort to deter any aggression by Moscow at Russia’s borders with Poland and the Baltic countries. Obama, speaking alongside Polish President Andrzej Duda at a bi-annual NATO summit, […]
Pentagon chief on pulling air support for U.S.-backed rebels: ‘We missed an opportunity’
WARSAW — Secretary of Defense Ashton B. Carter said Thursday that the United States had “missed an opportunity” when it chose to shift air support from covering a group of U.S.-backed rebels attempting to seize a key border town in Syria to striking a large Islamic State convoy in Iraq. Carter’s comments, made to reporters […]
This is the general set to oversee the biggest battle yet against the Islamic State
The Pentagon has tapped a veteran of its counter-insurgency wars in Iraq and Afghanistan to replace Lt. Gen. Sean MacFarland as commander of U.S. and allied military operations against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, military officials said. Lt. Gen. Stephen J. Townsend, who now serves as commander of the XVIII Airborne Corps based in […]
Pentagon to deploy anti-missile system in South Korea
The United States will install a sophisticated anti-missile system in South Korea, showing that Seoul’s fears about North Korea’s military provocations have overtaken its worries about opposition to the buildup from regional heavyweight China. In a statement, the Defense Department said the two countries had conducted months of consultations about deploying a THAAD (Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense) battery to South Korea, which […]
Pentagon chief: Details of Obama’s new plan for U.S. troops in Afghanistan still unclear
WARSAW — Defense Secretary Ashton B. Carter said Thursday that a number of details about the Pentagon’s newly adjusted mission in Afghanistan through the end of the Obama administration remain unclear, including how many U.S. counterterrorism troops will be deployed and how operations will be funded. Carter, speaking on a military flight from Washington to attend […]
Marine’s defense for disseminating classified information will cite Hillary Clinton’s case
A Marine Corps officer who has been locked in a legal battle with his service after self-reporting that he improperly disseminated classified information will use Hillary Clinton’s email case to fight his involuntary separation from the service, his lawyer said. Maj. Jason Brezler’s case has been tied up in federal court since he sued the service […]
U.S. jets abandoned Syrian rebels in the desert. Then they lost a battle to ISIS.
American warplanes were diverted from an offensive launched against the Islamic State last week by U.S.-backed rebels in Syria in order to bomb a more enticing target in Iraq, withdrawing air support at a critical moment and contributing to the failure of the rebel operation, according to U.S. officials familiar with the incident. Aircraft assigned to provide cover for […]
Chelsea Manning, convicted in WikiLeaks case, hospitalized aft