Conflicts and National Security
Military strives to understand social media
by Todd Johnson
For military leaders, social media is just starting to be something more important for their overall strategy than an obscure diversion for young troops.
Loss brings military survivors together, closer to healing
by Julia Dilday
While to some Memorial Day means celebrating freedom at a parade down Main Street, or raising a flag on the front porch, or, simply a three-day weekend, the last Monday every May means much more to military families who've lost loved ones.
Obama’s ‘war doctrine’ taking shape
by Liam Martin
Ramp up counterinsurgency warfare. End harsh interrogation techniques. Favor engagement over antagonism in dealing with overseas enemies. Three themes of President Barack Obama’s foreign policy strategy — that 10,000-foot view, often elusive agenda otherwise known as presidential “war doctrine.”
Seeking an edge, some companies turn to veterans
by Fui Tsikata
A downturn in the job market affects all. But do veterans have a leg up on the competition because of their intangible skills acquired in the military? Some U.S. companies seem to think so.
Military members prepare for a tough job market
by Daniel Lambert
For many members of the armed forces, military life is often followed by a quick transition to the civilian workforce. At Walter Reed Army Medical Center, service members are doing everything they can to make that transition as smooth as possible.
Social media benefits trump security fears
by Hollis Templeton
A growing number of military personnel, reporters and elected officials are using Twitter, Facebook and MySpace while deployed to the Middle East. Experts agree that the government’s ability to understand and harness these applications is crucial to protecting national security.
Put veterans first
by Ashley N. Johnson
The Circle of Friends for American Veterans wants Congress to increase government support for homeless veterans It is estimated that one any given night that 154,000 veterans are homeless.
Heavy gear hampers troops in Afghanistan
by Jen Thomas
The Army is seeing an increase in musculoskeletal injuries – sprains, stress fractures and neck and back pain – as a result of heavy equipment and gear. As the U.S. prepares to shift its manpower to Afghanistan, experts expect weight-related injuries to worsen.
Advanced education leads to military career
by Meaghan M. Norman
The economy could be forcing some new recruits into the military and it's not just for job training but job security.
Afghanistan: Is counternarcotics undermining counterinsurgency?
by Inyoung Hwang
U.S. efforts to end the drug trade in Afghanistan have set off a debate on whether cutting off a vital Taliban money source will ultimately derail the American military’s counterinsurgency mission.
Not your grandfather's VFW
by Daniel Lambert
The VFW is a national institution that has reached out to veterans of war for 110 years. As a new generation returns home from war, the old organization is reaching out in new ways.
Wounded Warriors still need to work
by Courtney Beard
Army 2nd Lieutenant Ryan Kules discusses his experience in Iraq which led him to work for the Wounded Warrior Project.
Prosthetic technology speeds wounded warriors on road to recovery
by Benjamin Miraski
At Walter Reed Army Medical Center injured service men and women are treated with prosthetic limb technology allowing them to recover faster and take part in more physical activity than ever before.
Bowling not bullets
by Courtney Beard
Troops overseas may have a striking reason to celebrate the holidays this year. The Bowling to Veterans Link is sending portable bowling lanes overseas.
Deep thoughts from Iraq
by Brian McCabe
Walter Watts was deployed to Iraq in February, 2008. He spent an hour each week crafting emails about Iraq, the war and its history to about 150 people.
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Maj. Watts talks about what he wants to convey
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Maj. Watts benefits from the emails as well
If you can’t be with the war you want…
by Frank N. Carlson
The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have forced the military to adapt its tactics, infrastructure and leadership to win. But how many of those adaptations should be institutionalized, and at what cost?
Wars drive technological changes
by Adam Verwymeren
As the U.S. continues to wage war in Iraq and Afghanistan, the technology driving those wars continues to advance. But it has not been the big ticket technologies that have been the stars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Instead, smaller technologies have been the workhorses in those conflicts, allowing troops to meet the challenges of fighting a counterinsurgency.
As threat of germ warfare looms, commission devises plan
by Sara Sargent
If a terrorist attack using biological or nuclear weapons is likely by 2013, how should the U.S. prepare?
Presidential crisis briefing: Looking beyond Iraq and Afghanistan
by Adam Verwymeren
The world is a messy place. In addition to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, President-elect Barack Obama will have a host of conflicts and crises to deal with. An interactive map explores some of the biggest foreign policy challenges for the next administration.
Warship brokers aid in humanitarian mission
by Marjorie Korn
The USS Kearsarge just completed a four-month humanitarian mission in Latin America and the Caribbean, proving once again that military might is more than bullets and bombs.
Voices from the USS Kearsarge
by Marjorie Korn
Staff Sgt. Christine M. Roy, a veterinary technician, and Cpl. Karine Boulay, a medical technician in the Canadian Army, speak about their experience during Operation Continuing Promise.
Behind the search for those who are gone, but not forgotten
by Lea Radick
The Defense Prisoners of War/Missing Personnel Office and its related agencies identify about 100 missing troops each year, sending out investigation and identification teams to locations in Southeast Asia, Europe and elsewhere. The sons of two soldiers who went missing in the Korean War and the Vietnam War share their stories of the search for their fathers.
Troops keep whistles wet during Cent-Com's booze ban
by Anthony Pura
General Order 1 bans troops from possessing alcohol while serving in the Middle East. However, a former Marine says that rule was seldom honored by his unit or enforced by his commanding officers, and it is very easy to get and drink alcohol during deployment.
Fighting against sexual assault in the military
by Alysia Patterson
Congress is taking aim at sexual assault in the military. At a recent hearing members grilled the rank and file of the Department of Defense, demanding they move to solve the problem of sexual assault in the military. But the Pentagon says it's battle-ready and hopes to release a new sexual assault prevention program by the end of this year.
New push for gays in military
by Haley Westbrook
Change: It's just one of many political buzzwords this election year. Both Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama agree that it's badly needed in Washington. But even though they're still battling it out for the Democratic nomination, both candidates agree on one issue: allowing homosexuals to serve openly in the military.
Group battles for military sons and daughters
by Liz Coffey
Life on the homefront is a battle for many families of the National Guard and Reserves serving in Iraq. Most see a drop in household income and don't live near bases that provide support services.But a group called "Our Military Kids" helps the sons and daughters of the deployed. Thanks to Our Military Kids, the Soloman kids from Staten Island have found a new melody in their father's absence.
When military duty calls, millions abroad must answer
by Priya Sridhar and Farah Khan
Although there hasn't been a draft in the U.S. in nearly 35 years, many other countries require military service.
Military voting riddled with complications, inconsistencies
by Lillian Cunningham
Missing absentee ballots. A complex lattice of state-by-state voting procedures. Poor recordkeeping. Military voting has long been plagued with an intricate web of complications. And, despite efforts to make overseas voting easier and to address impediments that surfaced in previous election cycles, the system is still riddled with obstacles.
Military going ‘green’ abroad and at home
by Dianna Heitz
The military is taking steps toward being more environmentally conscious both on U.S. soil and overseas.
Spy satellite interception tests U.S. national security presence in space
by Patrick Temple-West
Last month’s satellite shootdown revived U.S. national security concerns over the safety of military and commercial satellites. The mission sparked debate among satellite experts about how best to protect U.S. space assets.
U.S.troops finding comfort in planes and tanks – pint-sized plastic ones that is
by Benjamin Helfrich
Some soldiers in Iraq have taken to building plastic models of the war machines they operate to help alleviate the mental stress of life in a combat zone.
Clinton and Obama's plans for Iraq
by Rebecca Sanchez
Presidential candidates Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton say they will begin bringing troops home from Iraq as early as 60 days after taking office. But military experts say the candidates are putting over-simplified spin on a complex conundrum — and making promises they might not be able to keep.
Troops turn to iPods for language translation
by Nicole Kallmeyer
Those iPods you see on troops in Iraq may be pumping out more than music and movies. About 250 soldiers are using an iPod-operated language translation program to help them communicate with Iraqis when human translators aren’t available.
U.S. set to receive record number of Iraqi refugees by Sept. 30
by Sirena Rubinoff
The U. S. government plans to resettle 12,000 Iraqi refugees by September 30, 2008 but many critics question whether that goal will be met. One Iraqi refugee who relocated to the Washington, D.C. area shares her story.
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Iraqi refugee talks about why she was forced to resettle in America
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Jordan and Syria close borders to Iraqi refugees
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Death threat forces an intercontinental move
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American supporter in Iraq killed for helping U.S. troops
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Some Iraqi refugees who fear persecution by insurgent militia groups may now find safe haven in America.
In Iraq and Afghanistan, dogs also serve
by D.J. Siegel
Man’s best friend may just be an American troop’s best weapon. Hundreds of military dogs have been deployed to the Middle East, and dozens more in the U.S. provide assistance and companionship to injured veterans. Here’s how military dogs are helping our troops abroad and at home.
New TSA policy still allows racial profiling of Sikhs
by Greg Trotter
If you wear a turban and want to travel, expect to be searched, some Sikh leaders say. That type of traveling experience was supposed to change last fall when TSA and the Sikh Coalition worked together to make a new policy. But now some members of the Sikh community say that the racial profiling persists.
A soldier ‘like anybody else’
by Emily Wood
Non-US citizens are allowed to serve in the armed forces and now can expedite the naturalization process, even in war zones.
'The most important thing we do'
by Elizabeth Gibson
In search of perspective for the job of writing up Army death notices, Maj. Nathan Banks has observed the path of Army dead from fatal wound to funeral.
