Air Force

Report: Air Force Dumped Ashes Of At Least 274 Troops In VA Landfill

Jillian Rayfield | December 8, 2011, 11:54AM

The Air Force reportedly dumped the ashes of at least 274 U.S. troops in a landfill in Virginia before it ended the practice three years ago, according to records obtained by the Washington Post.

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Contractors

Soldiers May Be Leaving Iraq, But Contractors Will Remain

Ryan J. Reilly | October 21, 2011, 3:33PM

American troops may be leaving Iraq before the end of the year, but U.S. contractors aren't going anywhere soon.

ABC News reports that the State Department "is expected to have about 5,000 security contractors in Iraq as of January 2012 (they already have about 3,000 in country)." There will also be 4,500 "general life support" contractors to provide food and medical services.

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Don't Ask Don't Tell

McCain Flips Again: 'I'll Do Everything I Can' To Make DADT Repeal Work

Rachel Slajda | January 6, 2011, 11:01AM

Sen. John McCain (R-AZ)

Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), who over the past year made himself into the Senate's most rabid opponent of repealing Don't Ask, Don't Tell, has softened his tone and now says he'll do anything he can to help repeal go smoothly.

"I think I have to do everything I can to make sure that the [impact on the] morale, retention, recruitment and battle effectiveness of the military is minimized as much as possible," McCain said on Fox Business, according to The Hill.

"It is a law and I have to do whatever I can to help the men and women who are serving, particularly in combat, cope with this new situation," he said. "I will do everything I can to make it work."

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Air Force

Air Force's New Gorgon Stare Drones Will 'See Everything'

Eric Lach | January 4, 2011, 8:27AM

In a matter of months, the Air Force hopes to start using a new airborne surveillance system called Gorgon Stare, which officials say will give soldiers the ability to monitor activity in real time across an entire city.

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Mexico

Unmanned Mexican Drone Crashes Near El Paso, Texas

Eric Lach | December 16, 2010, 5:08PM

A remote-control drone operated by the Mexican government crashed in the United States near El Paso, Texas, this week, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency confirms to TPM.

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Wikileaks

Reports: Air Force Blocks NYT, Other News Sites Over Wikileaks

Rachel Slajda | December 14, 2010, 6:07PM

The Air Force is now blocking the web sites of the New York Times, the Guardian, and other news outlets that have posted diplomatic cables leaked by Wikileaks.

According to the Wall Street Journal and Reuters, the Air Force ordered the sites blocked from personnel computers last month. An Air Force spokeswoman told Reuters that the Air Force "routinely blocks Air Force network access to websites hosting inappropriate materials or malware (malicious software) and this includes any website that hosts classified materials and those that are released by WikiLeaks."

She said 25 sites have been blocked.

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Paul Funk

Interpreter Whistleblower Hits Back At Former Employer Over Accusations

Ryan J. Reilly | September 14, 2010, 8:53AM

Former Mission Essential Personnel employee Paul Funk

The former employee of a government contractor that supplies interpreters to the U.S. Army who said that more than one quarter of the translators working in Afghanistan had failed language proficiency exams told TPM in an interview that allegations his employer made against him after his story came out last week are untrue.

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Terrence Lakin

Report: Birther Army Doctor Tells Prosecutor 'Don't Tase Me, Bro'

Jillian Rayfield | August 13, 2010, 12:42PM

The American Patriot Foundation, which set up a legal defense fund for birther Army doctor Lt. Col. Terrence Lakin, is claiming that lead prosecutor LTC Steven Brodsky "threatened" Lakin, suggesting it would be easier to "just taser [Lakin] and throw him in the van" to avoid having him speak to the press.

In response, Lakin apparently had this message for Brodsky: "Don't tase me, bro."

That account is according to the American Patriot Foundation, and has not been independently confirmed. Calls to the APF, Brodsky and Walter Reed Army Medical Center were not returned.

Lakin faces a General Court Martial for refusing orders to deploy to Afghanistan, citing his uncertainties about President Obama's place of birth and eligibility to be Commander-in-Chief.

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Don't Ask Don't Tell

Air Force May Boot Aviator Who Revealed He Is Gay To Defend False Rape Claim

Megan Carpentier | August 12, 2010, 5:17PM

Lt. Col. Victor Fehrenbach

Lt. Col. Victor Fehrenbach has been fighting for the right to stay in the Air Force for more than two years following a false criminal report that led to his outing. Yesterday, following reports that the Secretary of the Air Force was about to order his discharge, his lawyers filed for a temporary restraining order to keep him in the military until the courts have their say, or the Obama Administration gets around to repealing Don't Ask Don't Tell.

So, how did a decorated combat aviator with 19 years in the Air Force end up riding a desk and hoping just to make it to his pension (for which he'd be eligible next year) instead of flying missions in one of his country's wars -- despite much-heralded changes to the military's enforcement policies?

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Terrence Lakin

Birther Army Doc Defers Plea Until Oct. 13 Court Martial

Jillian Rayfield | August 6, 2010, 12:20PM

Birther Army Doctor Lt. Col. Terrence Lakin, who faces a Court Martial for refusing to deploy to Afghanistan, declined to enter a plea at his arraignment today in Fort Belvoir, Virginia.

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Stanley McChrystal

Army Investigating Rolling Stone Story That Led To McChrystal Ouster

Rachel Slajda | August 4, 2010, 3:32PM

General Stanley McChrystal

The Army is investigating what happened in the lead-up to Michael Hastings' article in Rolling Stone that lead to the ouster of Gen. Stanley McChrystal as the commander in Afghanistan.

"A four-star commander was relieved ultimately due to this article. We want to understand what happened here," an Army spokesman told CNN.

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J. Christian Adams

Adams: I Never Said Holder Is Disenfranchising Troops On Purpose

Rachel Slajda | August 3, 2010, 3:40PM

J. Christian Adams, former Department of Justice attorney

Former DOJ lawyer J. Christian Adams now says that he never meant to say the Obama administration was intentionally disenfranchising overseas troops.

In an interview today with TPMmuckraker, Adams -- who's also the driving force behind allegations of racial discrimination at the DOJ over the New Black Panthers case -- said he only meant that Justice Department bureaucrats don't feel like enforcing the law.

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Department of Justice

Admin Responds To Military Voters Smear Made By John Cornyn, J. Christian Adams

Rachel Slajda | August 2, 2010, 12:08PM

J. Christian Adams, former Department of Justice attorney

The Department of Justice has responded to claims made by Fox News, J. Christian Adams and Republican Sen. John Cornyn that it's intentionally trying to disenfranchise military voters.

In a letter to Cornyn, (via Greg Sargent) the DOJ says the accusations are "simply untrue."

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Birthers

Birther Army Doc Charges Referred To General Court Martial -- Arraignment Friday

Jillian Rayfield | August 2, 2010, 10:34AM

The American Patriot Foundation, which set up a legal defense fund for Lt. Col. Terrence Lakin, reports that the Birther army doctor's charges have been referred to a General Court Martial, and that an arraignment is scheduled for Friday.

Lakin is charged with refusing orders to deploy to Afghanistan because he believes President Obama may not have been born in the United States, and is therefore ineligible to be Commander-in-Chief.

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J. Christian Adams

Black Panther 'Whistleblower's' Latest Charge: Holder Hates The Troops

Rachel Slajda | July 29, 2010, 2:21PM

J. Christian Adams, former Department of Justice attorney

In its latest tale about how President Obama is out to attack all that is good and right about America, Fox News yesterday alleged that the Justice Department is now purposely disenfranchising America's troops, too.

The charges come originally from Sen. John Cornyn, courtesy of Fox resident ginner-upper J. Christian Adams -- the same Adams who's pushing allegations of racial favoritism against the DOJ.

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Insurance

Life Insurers Profit By Withholding Cash From Military Families: Bloomberg

Rachel Slajda | July 29, 2010, 9:31AM

Arlington National Cemetary

Life insurers -- including Prudential, which provides life insurance for the Department of Veterans Affairs -- keep payouts to families in their own corporate accounts, earning more interest on the money than they give to the beneficiaries.

Bloomberg reports that many life insurance companies send beneficiaries a "checkbook" when they opt to get their money in a lump sum. The companies assure families that the money is safe with them until they need it.

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Wikileaks

Wikileaks Releases Docs Showing Pakistan-Taliban Cooperation Against U.S. In Afghanstan

Rachel Slajda | July 26, 2010, 9:50AM

Soldiers in Afghanistan

The web site Wikileaks has released 92,000 documents related to the Afghanistan War, many of them classified, that paint a bleak picture of the ongoing war.

Wikileaks released the documents, which amount to a daily war diary dating from 2004 to 2009, to the New York Times, Der Spiegel and The Guardian, in addition to publishing them online themselves.

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Don't Ask Don't Tell

In 1940s, Military Surveyed Troops' Feelings About Jews, Segregation

Rachel Slajda | July 22, 2010, 3:38PM

Troops in Afghanistan in 2003

Decades before the Don't Ask, Don't Tell survey, the military asked troops how they felt about two other groups of people: African-Americans and Jews.

The Advocate first reported that before President Truman integrated the military in 1948, the Pentagon conducted some surveys of servicemembers.

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Birthers

Birther Army Doctor Explains Himself Ahead Of Court Martial: 'Americans Deserve Answers' (VIDEO)

Jillian Rayfield | July 19, 2010, 10:22AM

Lieutenant Colonel Terry Lakin

Lt. Col. Terrence Lakin released a new video over the weekend explaining his decision to waive a preliminary hearing, likely paving the way for a General Court Martial. Lakin said in the video that his requests for evidence were refused, which "made it impossible for me to present any defense."

The army doctor had refused to deploy to Afghanistan, citing questions about Barack Obama's eligibility to serve as President.

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Don't Ask Don't Tell

DADT, 2K1 Style: The Army's LGBT Policy Comic Book

Rachel Slajda | July 15, 2010, 9:12AM

Never say the Army isn't creative.

In 2001, the Army found a fun way to describe the Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy to troops: They published a full-color comic book.

The comic book reviews discharge proceedings, harassment, what counts as "credible information" about a soldier's sexuality. Most of the action in the book is conversations between camouflage-clad service members, but the authors jazzed it up with wacky angles and lots of images of open-mouthed soldiers asking questions.

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