U.S. Military

Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel announced his resignation Monday

President Obama announced the resignation of Chuck Hagel Monday, commending the secretary of defense for his “steady hand” through a period of transition for America’s military. Obama suggested that it was Hagel’s decision to resign after less than two years in office, saying, “If there’s one thing I know about Chuck, it’s that he does not make this or any other decision lightly.” The 68-year-old Hagel said he will say on the job “every day, every moment” until his successor is nominated and confirmed by the Senate.

U.S. Defense Secretary Directed ‘Nuclear-Free’ Activist Group

Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel has ordered what is being described in media reports as top-to-bottom changes in how the nation’s nuclear arsenal is managed. Largely unreported in the coverage of the possible nuclear forces shakeup is that until his appointment as defense secretary, Hagel served on the board of a George Soros-funded group that advocates a nuclear-free world. Ploughshares opposes America’s development of a missile-defense system and contributes funds to scores of anti-war groups highly critical of U.

Joe Biden’s son discharged from the Navy after testing positive for cocaine

The son of Vice President Joe Biden says he is “embarrassed” after being discharged from the Navy Reserve earlier this year — reportedly after testing positive for cocaine. The Wall Street Journal, citing people familiar with the matter, reported Thursday that Hunter Biden’s short-lived military career ended because he failed a drug test after reporting to his unit in 2013. According to the Wall Street Journal, the Navy discharged him in February of this year.

America’s Allies Almost Bombed in Syrian Airstrikes

Last week, an airstrike from the American-led coalition nearly hit a command-and-control facility affiliated with the Free Syrian Army, the moderate rebels the Obama administration says are America’s “boots on the ground,” according to two opposition leaders. They are asking the Obama administration to please coordinate with them in the future before America bombs its only allies in Syria. Since U.

VA Training Guide Compares Veterans To Oscar The Grouch

The already disgraced Department of Veterans Affairs has found a way to make itself even more unpopular with Americans, and particularly with Veterans after depicting them in leaked training materials as Sesame Street’s cantankerous homeless bum Oscar The Grouch. While the President continues to vow to reform and improve the veterans’ health care system, the VA office in Philadelphia has been forced to issue an embarrassing apology after the internal training guide, titled “What to Say to Oscar the Grouch – Dealing with Veterans During Town Hall Claims Clinics,” was obtained by the Philadelphia Inquirer. The guide contained an 18-page slide show which compares disgruntled or disaffected Veterans to the grumpy garbage can dwelling green creature.

‘We lost our jobs for reporting being raped’: Haunting photo essay depicts the suffering of women who were victims of sexual assaults in the U.S. military

Pulitzer Prize-winning photo journalist Mary Calvert is revered for putting a spotlight on humanitarian issues that are ignored or that people are not aware of. While her work – centered on women and children in crisis – has taken her all over the world, from the Democratic Republic of Congo to India, her latest assignment is much closer to home. The former Washington Times photographer has compiled a photo essay that attempts to expose the widespread sexual harrassment of women in the American military that is going unreported.

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