"US Marines get first female infantry officer"

Via Reddit: The lieutenant, who wants to keep her identity private, graduated in Quantico, Virginia, on Monday.

She will soon be assigned to lead a 40-strong platoon.

Marine Corps commandant Gen. Robert Neller tweeted a picture of the woman, saying he was "proud of this officer & her fellow leaders".

There are almost 1.4 million active duty troops in the US armed forces, and about 15% are female.

In March 2016, then-President Barack Obama opened all military positions to women, including combat units.

(Link to more)

"Military's annual physicals now require mental health assessments"

Via Reddit:  Air Force Col. Brendan Noone, an Eglin Air Force Base physician, said the mental health assessments are also part of routine physicals given to all airmen.

Noone said the assessment is completed online, with airmen answering a questionnaire.

"It is a fairly straightforward questionnaire, it should take less than 30 minutes," Noone said.

Noone said the questions focus on issues like quality of sleep and interactions with other people.

After completing the questionnaire, the airmen must do a phone interview with a mental health representative.

Any "red flag" issues are then referred to the airman's primary care physician, Noone said.

Noone said the goal is to ensure airmen are ready to deploy and are capable of dealing with the stress that comes with deployment.

"There is really nothing to be worried about. We have tried to make a change in the Air Force to let people know that seeking mental health help isn't going to affect your career," Noone said.

He said the goal is to make sure airmen get help when they need it.

(Link to story)

"Trump sent his plane to transport 200 stranded marines"

American Military News:  After hearing about 200 Marines left stranded after returning home from Operation Desert Storm back in 1991, Donald J.Trump came to the aid of those Marines by sending one of his planes to Camp Lejuene, North Carolina to transport them back home to their families in Miami, Florida.

Corporal Ryan Stickney was amongst the group that was stuck in North Carolina and could not make their way back to their homes. Stickey told Hannity.com that he had spent nearly six months serving in Operation Desert Storm between 1990 and 1991 and was eagerly awaiting his return home. 

Here is a picture from that day:

"The Time Bobby Kennedy Watched the Smallest Nuclear Explosion Ever."

There was nothing funny about the XM-388, though. The device had an explosive yield the equivalent of 10 to 20 tons of TNT. This was far, far less than the bomb that was dropped on Hiroshima, which had a yield of about 16,000 tons, but Davy Crockett had a different purpose. It was designed to be used against enemy armored forces at bottlenecks such as valleys or mountain passes, where wrecked enemy armor and lingering, lethal radiation would create impassable areas. 

The XM-388 projectile was launched from the XM-28 recoilless rifle. A small, man-portable recoilless rifle, the XM-28 had a range of just 1.24 miles. An improved launcher, the XM-29, had a range of 2.5 miles. Both were operated by a three-man crew and an a M151 jeep could carry the entire system.

ISIS hackers release hit list of 3,600

"Police have been making attempts to contact the individuals to inform them of the threat by Caliphate Cyber Army, which includes names, home and email addresses."

The list reportedly targets government employees within the state department and security, but the details of regular people have also been leaked.

Intelligence experts believe the 3,600 names may have been chosen at random because they are several years old, according to ABC7 News.

Elsewhere, the Russians continue to harass our military planes... "Defense official: Russians buzzed a U.S. plane in Baltic Sea"

The aircraft flew along the U.S. aircraft and then did a 'barrel roll' over the top of the aircraft, closing within 100 feet of the RC-135 plane, the official said, who was not authorized to speak publicly on the incident.

The United States has expressed concerns of these dangerous maneuvers because they can lead to mishaps or lead to heightened escalations between the two forces.

"Making the case for president Trump"

Ex-CIA chief: Armed forces would have to disobey Trump.

Instapundit: See, if a black (or female) Democratic president gave an unlawful order, they’d follow it anyway so as not to be called racist or sexist. So if you’re worried about executive misbehavior, you’ve got to vote for the white male Republican.

Here’s the exchange:

Maher brought up Trump’s pledge to kill family members of Islamic State terrorists. “That never even occurred to you, right?” Maher deadpanned.

“God, no!” Hayden exclaimed. “Let me give you a punchline: If he were to order that once in government, the American armed forces would refuse to act.”

Maher responded incredulously, “What? Well, that’s quite a statement, sir.”

“You cannot—you are not committed, you are not required, in fact you’re required to not follow an unlawful order,” Hayden replied. “That would be in violation of all the international laws of armed conflict.”

“You’ve given us a great reason not to support Trump. There would be a coup in this country,” Maher cracked.

Hayden said he was not sure about “a coup.”

“I think it’s a coup that you said it,” Maher said.

It’s certainly something.

Soldiers coming home

Click Link for more detail

"Pentagon orders commanders to prioritize climate change in all military actions"

Washington Times: The Pentagon is ordering the top brass to incorporate climate change into virtually everything they do, from testing weapons to training troops to war planning to joint exercises with allies.

A new directive’s theme: The U.S. Armed Forces must show “resilience” and beat back the threat based on “actionable science.”

It says the military will not be able to maintain effectiveness unless the directive is followed. It orders the establishment of a new layer of bureaucracy — a wide array of “climate change boards, councils and working groups” to infuse climate change into “programs, plans and policies.”

The Pentagon defines resilience to climate change as: “Ability to anticipate, prepare for, and adapt to changing conditions and withstand, respond to, and recover rapidly from disruptions.”

To four-star generals and admirals, among them the regional combatant commanders who plan and fight the nation’s wars, the directive tells them: “Incorporate climate change impacts into plans and operations and integrate DoD guidance and analysis in Combatant Command planning to address climate change-related risks and opportunities across the full range of military operations, including steady-state campaign planning and operations and contingency planning.”

The directive, “Climate Change Adaptation and Resilience,” is in line with President Obama’s view that global warming is the country’s foremost national security threat...

Nothing to see here: "2 U.S. Navy boats held by Iran but will be returned"

USA Today: Pentagon spokesman Peter Cook told The Associated Press that the boats were moving between Kuwait and Bahrain when the U.S. lost contact with them.

“We have been in contact with Iran and have received assurances that the crew and the vessels will be returned promptly,” Cook said.

on CNN, Earnest is now saying these new Iranian hostilities is exactly why the Obama WH pursued the nuclear deal w Iran.

— Josh Kraushaar (@HotlineJosh) January 12, 2016

Earnest refers to Josh Earnest, the White House Spokesman.

Carter orders military to open all combat jobs to women

"Defense Secretary Ash Carter will order the military to open all combat jobs to women, The Associated Press has learned, rebuffing attempts by the Marine Corps to exclude women from certain front-line combat jobs..."

The Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman, Gen. Joseph Dunford, former Marine Corps commandant, had argued that the Marines should be allowed to keep women out of certain front-line combat jobs, citing studies showing that mixed-gender units aren't as capable as all-male units. Carter's decision was a rejection of that argument.

Carter's order will let women serve in the military's most grueling and difficult jobs, including as special operations forces, such as the Army Delta units and Navy SEALs, according to the defense official...

Carter has hinted at this decision for months, telling U.S. troops in Sicily in October that limiting his search for qualified military candidates to just half the population would be "crazy."

"Iraqis think the U.S. is in cahoots with the Islamic State, and it is hurting the war"

"On the front lines of the battle against the Islamic State, suspicion of the United States runs deep. Iraqi fighters say they have all seen the videos purportedly showing U.S. helicopters airdropping weapons to the militants, and many claim they have friends and relatives who have witnessed similar instances of collusion."

Ordinary people also have seen the videos, heard the stories and reached the same conclusion — one that might seem absurd to Americans but is widely believed among Iraqis — that the United States is supporting the Islamic State...

“It is not in doubt,” said Mustafa Saadi, who says his friend saw U.S. helicopters delivering bottled water to Islamic State positions. He is a commander in one of the Shiite militias that last month helped push the militants out of the oil refinery near Baiji in northern Iraq alongside the Iraqi army...

U.S. military officials say the charges are too far-fetched to merit a response. “It’s beyond ridiculous,” said Col. Steve Warren, the military’s Baghdad-based spokesman. “There’s clearly no one in the West who buys it, but unfortunately, this is something that a segment of the Iraqi population believes.” (read more)

"Pentagon promotes 'Lean In' groups to boost women in leadership"

"U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter, keen to expand the number of women and minorities in military leadership, on Monday will endorse "Lean In" discussion groups sparked by Facebook Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg's bestselling book, a senior defense official said."

"If you look at the numbers, it's clear that we are not where we should be in terms of the leadership reflecting the overall force," said the official. "It's important that our force reflect the nation that it protects."

Women make up about 15 percent of the U.S. military, and thousands of women have served alongside men in Iraq and Afghanistan. But women also leave military service during the mid-career phase at twice the rate of men, and top military officials are seeking ways to retain them.

The caption to the picture below reads... "I'm a single woman in the early thirties, who doesn't want children. Yesterday, I accepted my future."  Could she have made a fantastic general?

"Should US military bases named after Confederates be renamed?"

Via Stars and Stripes

What do these US military bases have in common?

Fort Bragg, Fort Rucker, Fort Hood, Fort Lee, Fort Benning, Fort Gordon, Fort A.P. Hill, Fort Polk, Fort Pickett, Camp Beauregard (Operated by the Louisiana National Guard)

They are all named for Confederate generals. There’s been talk for years about whether this is appropriate, and now in wake of Charleston and the South Carolina Confederate flag, it’s coming up again.

Do you think these posts should be renamed to honor people who fought in the U.S. Army exclusively? Vote, and share your thoughts in the comments section below. 

"US nuclear missile commander says Vladimir Putin's actions echo those of Nazi Germany in the 1930s"

Russia 'aggression'

Lieutenant General Stephen Wilson, commander of US Global Air Strike Command, said: “I don’t think we’ve ever seen so much power put in one person in Russia, and some of the things happening there are troubling and concerning for everybody.”...

“Some of the actions by Russia recently we haven’t seen since the 1930s, when whole countries were annexed and borders were changed by decree.”...

Lt Gen Wilson, also used the briefing to accuse Russia of risking lives when its military jets fly unannounced close to Western countries’ airspace, or near to corridors used by international commercial airliners.

“When we fly, we fly to a flight plan – we announce it, we ‘squawk’, our transponders are on, we are talking to air traffic control, we are following all international laws,” he said of USAF and other Nato missions. “That isn’t happening with Russia. You’ve got contested airspace with people flying all the time, you’re unannounced, you’re not on a flight plan, you’re not squawking. We would not do that. It puts people at risk.”

Happy Armed Forces Day

Happy #ArmedForcesDay to those who answered the call to serve. We thank you today & everyday. http://t.co/KuIue9CpWG pic.twitter.com/dU06JKygMC

— U.S. Dept of Defense (@DeptofDefense) May 16, 2015

Survey: America trusts the military above all other institutions

my monologue on the military: http://t.co/ZvgaXYeT8d
— GregGutfeld (@greggutfeld) March 13, 2015

"U.S. plans large-scale offensive..."

To take Mosul, Iraq, from Islamic State militants. Save the date?

The U.S. is planning to join a large-scale air and ground coalition offensive to free Mosul,

Iraq, from the clutches of Islamic State militants in coming weeks, but analysts fear the effort will lack the resources to succeed — most notably U.S. boots on the ground.

Pentagon officials say the effort to reclaim Mosul is likely to launch the spring, soon after Mr. Carter has been brought up to speed on the coalition’s strategy and operational needs.

This sounds more like the military is asking ISIS to leave Mosul, than anything else.

The Conversation: Paid Leave

"New York Mets second baseman Daniel Murphy on Thursday calmly deflected talk-radio criticism of his decision to miss the first two games of the season for the birth of his first child."

 

"I got a couple of text messages about it, so I'm not going to sit here and lie and say I didn't hear about it," Murphy said about the on-air criticism from WFAN Radio of his decision. "But that's the awesome part about being blessed, about being a parent, is you get that choice. My wife and I discussed it, and we felt the best thing for our family was for me to try to stay for an extra day -- that being Wednesday -- due to the fact that she can't travel for two weeks."

***

"When Army Spec. Ivan Lopez went on the shooting rampage Wednesday at Ft. Hood, Texas, killing three soldiers and injuring 16 others, he had just learned that superiors in Washington had rejected his request to take a temporary leave to deal with family matters related to his mother’s death, a federal law enforcement official said."

"Officials had turned down an earlier leave request and Lopez was attempting to renew it, said the official, speaking anonymously because the investigation is ongoing."

"The rejection, delivered Wednesday, set him off, the official said." (read more)


ADDED: Some foreign visitors have been confused by all the men with babies to be found in public in Sweden. But actually, it's an effect of Sweden's generous paternity leave.

What's A Standing Army For?

"We determined not only that there is no compelling medical reason for the ban, but also that the ban itself is an expensive, damaging and unfair barrier to health care access for the approximately 15,450 transgender personnel who serve currently in the active, Guard and reserve components,” said the commission led by Dr. Joycelyn Elders, who served as surgeon general during Bill Clinton’s first term as president, and Rear Adm. Alan Steinman, a former chief health and safety director for the Coast Guard.

If I'm hearing Elders correctly, the military is longer about missions or mission preparedness, but rather about last resort access to healthcare? At least she's forthright and upfront about it.

President Obama Proposes Deep Cuts to America’s Biggest Jobs Program

"The Pentagon plans to scale back the US Army by more than an eighth to its lowest level since before World War II, signaling a shift after more than a decade of ground wars."

Saying it was time to "reset" for a new era, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel recommended shrinking American forces from 520,000 active duty troops to between 440,000 and 450,000.

If approved by Congress, the Pentagon move would reduce the army to its lowest manning levels since 1940, before the American military dramatically expanded after entering World War II.

The proposed 13 percent reduction in the army would be carried out by 2017, a senior defense official, who spoke on condition of anonymity...

For video of the announcement click read more