Author: Lolita C. Baldor
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Trump to nominate retired Gen. James Mattis to lead Pentagon
WASHINGTON — President-elect Donald Trump said Thursday he will nominate retired Gen. James Mattis to be his defense secretary, making the announcement during a post-election victory rally in Cincinnati. Mattis, 66, is a Marine Corps general who retired in 2013 after serving as the commander of the U.S. Central Command. His selection raises questions about…
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US service member killed by roadside bomb in northern Iraq
WASHINGTON — A U.S. military member assisting Iraqi forces in their push to retake Mosul was killed by a roadside bomb Thursday, marking the first American combat casualty in the campaign to oust the Islamic State group from its last major stronghold in northern Iraq. U.S. officials said the American was fatally wounded near the…
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Marines turn to girls high school sports teams for recruits
MARINE CORPS BASE QUANTICO, Va. — The U.S. Marine Corps is looking for a few more good women. And this time the campaign is a bit different. Marine recruiters are turning to girls high school sports teams to find candidates who may be able to meet the Corps’ rigorous physical standards, including for the front-line…
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Air Force struggles with fighter pilot shortage amid air war
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Air Force is struggling to fill a shortage of 700 fighter pilots by the end of the year, even as the U.S. battles in three air wars against the Islamic State group in Iraq, Syria and Libya. Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James also told Pentagon reporters Wednesday that she is…
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Pentagon ends ban on transgender troops in military
WASHINGTON — Transgender people will be allowed to serve openly in the U.S. military, the Pentagon announced Thursday, ending one of the last bans on service in the armed forces. Saying it’s the right thing to do, Defense Secretary Ash Carter laid out a yearlong implementation plan declaring that “Americans who want to serve and…
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The few, the proud, the fit: Women strive for combat jobs
Facebook Twitter WhatsApp SMS Email Print Copy article link Save Facebook Twitter WhatsApp SMS Email Print Copy article link Save WASHINGTON — Six months after the Pentagon ordered all combat jobs open to women, seven female Marines are either serving in those posts or waiting to serve, and 167 are performing noncombat duties in front-line…
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Navy officer fired over Iran’s detention of 10 sailors
WASHINGTON — The Navy has fired the commander of the 10 American sailors who wandered into Iranian territorial waters in the Persian Gulf and were captured and held by Iran for about 15 hours. In a statement Thursday, the Navy said it had lost confidence in Cmdr. Eric Rasch, who was the executive officer of…
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US to beef up military presence in Eastern Europe
WASHINGTON — U.S. officials say the Pentagon will be deploying an armored brigade combat team to Eastern Europe next February as part of the ongoing effort to rotate troops in and out of the region to reassure allies worried about threats from an increasingly aggressive Russia. The officials said the Army will announce Wednesday that…
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US orders diplomatic, military families out of south Turkey
WASHINGTON — The State Department and Pentagon ordered the families of U.S. diplomats and military personnel Tuesday to leave posts in southern Turkey due to “increased threats from terrorist groups” in the country. The two agencies said dependents of American staffers at the U.S. consulate in Adana, the Incirlik air base and two other locations…
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Pentagon seeks a few good computer hackers to test security
WASHINGTON — The Pentagon is looking for a few good computer hackers. Screened high-tech specialists will be brought in to try to breach the Defense Department’s public Internet pages in a pilot program aimed at finding and fixing cybersecurity vulnerabilities. Defense officials laid out the broad outlines of the plan Wednesday, but had few details…