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30 May 2011 14:45

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U.S.: Gen. Martin Dempsey tapped as Joint Chiefs Chairman

  • Martin’s memorable Memorial Day: President Obama announced today that Army General Martin E. Dempsey is his nominee to serve as the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Dempsey’s nomination will go before the Senate, where Obama’s folks have been known to languish against a partisan opposition. Seeing as military issues and figures have generally become matters of bipartisan veneration, though, we reckon this very high profile job will be an exception to that political rule. Interesting tidbit: Dempsey was sworn in as the Army’s Joint Chief on April 11th, 2011, making this an impressively quick promotion. source

12 Apr 2011 14:29

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World: Syrian security forces reportedly killing Syrian soldiers

  • issue As we mentioned yesterday, there have been reports that members of the Syrian army have been shot and killed by the government’s own security forces, because the soldiers had refused to open fire on protesting civilians.
  • example Witnesses have told Al Jazeera and the BBC that Mourad Hejjo was one such soldier; his family and a human rights monitors say he refused to fire as the army moved into Banias, and was thus killed by security force snipers.  source

11 Apr 2011 14:45

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World: Hundreds protest Syrian crackdown at Damascus University

  • The scene in Syria: Hundreds of students have begun protesting, rallying around Damascus University in support of those shot and killed by Bashar al-Assad’s government in its violent response to pro-democracy protests. In past days, there have been many hectic reports of government forces firing on and killing both civilians, as well as military personnel. Al Jazeera reports that many present have said the government’s security forces fired upon the Syrian Army because the army wouldn’t open fire on civilians. source

03 Dec 2010 10:52

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Politics: Marines by far most resistant to repealing “don’t ask, don’t tell”

  • If the law is changed, successfully implementing repeal and assimilating openly homosexual Marines into the tightly woven fabric of our combat units has strong potential for disruption at the small unit level, as it will no doubt divert leadership attention away from an almost singular focus of preparing units for combat.
  • Marine Corps Commandant Gen. James Amos • Offering perhaps the strongest argument against repealing “don’t ask, don’t tell.” His comments, made in front of a Senate panel, should be obvious in the wake of the Pentagon’s recent study, which showed Marines to be the branch most resistant to the idea of openly gay soldiers. From there, the responses grew progressively more positive, with the Army pushing for eventual repeal, the Air Force pushing for repeal in 2012, and the Navy pushing for repeal right freaking now. source

28 Jun 2010 21:42

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U.S.: After Rolling Stone, what’s Stanley McChrystal’s next move?

  • NONE bro’s retiring from the Army, of course source

30 May 2010 11:54

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Politics: Now both parties have a Senate candidate with spotty army stories

  • Dems Connecticut Senate candidate Richard Blumenthal, who’s running against a woman who’s been attacked by a folding chair before, made it seem like he served in Vietnam when he didn’t.
  • GOP Now, Illinois Senate candidate Mark Kirk was caught claiming in his official bio that he won the U.S. Navy’s Intelligence Officer of the Year when he didn’t. Ah well, it’s not as bad as Roland Burris serving. source

01 Apr 2010 20:58

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U.S.: Army Secretary John McHugh flip-flops on “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”

  • If you’re gay and you speak out, you could still get discharged. A day after telling reporters that there it would be “counterproductive” to “take disciplinary action against someone who spoke with me openly and honestly” on the military’s controversial “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy, Army Secretary John McHugh admitted that he misspoke about what he really meant. Which, of course, means that those who talked to McHugh could get in trouble, if he could remember who they were. Protip to gays who spoke to John McHugh: Grow mustaches. source
 

17 Nov 2009 20:50

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U.S.: U.S. soldiers are committing suicide at a higher rate in 2009

  • 140 the number of suicides in the U.S. Army in 2008; that was an all-time record
  • 140 the number of soldier suicides so far in 2009; we’re on track for a new record source

13 Nov 2009 09:44

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U.S.: Did shortages help Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan earn his military rank?

  • 1,191 number of majors, out of the 1,402 necessary, the Army has
  • 123 number of psychiatrists, out of the 142 required, the Army has source

05 Nov 2009 21:15

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U.S.: Obama on the Fort Hood shooting: “Horrifying” it was on an army base

  • It is difficult enough when we lose these brave men and women abroad, but it is horrifying that they should come under fire at an army base on US soil.
  • Barack Obama • Speaking about the Fort Hood shooting at a press conference today. Regarding the shooting, which killed 13 and wounded 30, he added, “We will make sure that we get answers to every single question about this horrible incident.” The Texas-based Fort Hood, by the way, is the largest military base in the world. • source