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26 Sep 2011 21:19

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U.S.: U.S. Army cutting nearly 9 percent of its forces by 2016

  • 50k number of troops the U.S. Army plans to trim from its roster
  • 8.6% the share of the Army being cut over the next five years
  • 22k number of soldiers getting cut in the first round source
  • » Going on a diet: With over half a million soldiers, the U.S. Army isn’t lacking in warm bodies, but those numbers went way up in recent years, in part due to the troop surge in Afghanistan. With the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan winding down, the Army is ready to move on. “We feel that with the demand going down in Iraq and Afghanistan, and given the time to conduct a reasonable drawdown, we can manage (the force reduction) just as we have managed drawdowns in the past,” noted Lt. Gen. Thomas Bostick. Is this nearly enough?
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

27 May 2011 13:22

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U.S.: Army’s abandoned weapons programs pretty darn ¢O$tly

Since 1995, the U.S. Army has spent $32 billion on military programs (like the Comanche helicopter, shown) it later abandoned. Why? With defense, supply is expensive and demand is unknown. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

24 Mar 2011 12:57

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U.S., World: Rapid legal response to Der Spiegel’s Afghan photos

  • 24 year sentence for Jeremy Morlock in Afghan murders source
  • » “The plan was to kill people.” So says the man himself, in pleading guilty to three counts of murder, and one count each of conspiracy to commit assault and battery, illegal drug use, and obstructing justice. He’s expected to testify against fellow soldiers who are allegedly party to the plot, all this legal brew-ha-ha unfolding after German newspaper Der Spiegel published pictures (warning: the images are graphic and terrible … you can go find them yourself) of Morlock and his cohorts posing with the corpses of Afghan civilians.
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

21 Mar 2011 10:05

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World: Protip to U.S. soldiers: Don’t kill civilians and take “kill photos”

  • The photos appear in stark contrast to the discipline, professionalism and respect that have characterized our soldiers’ performance during nearly 10 years of sustained operations (in Afghanistan).
  • A statement from the U.S. Army • Regarding a series of photos released by German magazine Der Spiegel which show U.S. soldiers taking photos with a man illegally killed in Afghanistan. The “kill photos” were reportedly part of a large series of thousands of photos the Army has tried to keep under wraps, fearing the result could be an even bigger black mark than Abu Ghraib. Some of the soldiers are already being prosecuted for their actions, which involved defenseless Afghan civilians whose deaths were reportedly staged to look like combat casualties. But things could get far worse from here. (Also: If you want to see the photos, look elsewhere.) source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

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
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
 
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