US Army

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Army Plans Group Services for Troops Killed in Iraq

Families, vets blast Wash. base's new policy

(Newser) - Overwhelmed by numbers, military bases are beginning to hold collective memorial services for service members killed in Iraq instead of individual services after each death. The Times visits Fort Lewis, which has floated the idea and met with resistance from families and veterans. The country's third-largest army base, outside Tacoma,...

Injured Veterans Sue US
Injured Veterans Sue US
Jul 24, 2007 4:53 AM CDT

Injured Veterans Sue US

Class action suit targets VA for 'shameful failures' in treatment

(Newser) - Two veterans groups representing troops who have fought in Iraq and Afghanistan are suing the US government for "shameful failures" in medical treatment, Reuters reports. The Department of Veterans Affairs is swamped with a backlog of 600,000 health claims and is "abandoning" soldiers returning home, the class-action...

Pentagon Destroys Surplus Goods
Pentagon Destroys
Surplus Goods
Jul 23, 2007 2:21 PM CDT

Pentagon Destroys Surplus Goods

Surplus dealers angry at scope of gear purge

(Newser) - The Pentagon is scrapping millions of dollars of gear it has traditionally resold to surplus dealers, Time reports. The army claims that sorting passels of helmets, boots, and sleeping bags is too onerous, while suppliers are concerned the move is the vestige of an effort to keep old jet parts...

Fear Rules Iraq, Briefers Tell Congress

Benchmarks not likely to be met, say Crocker, Petraeus

(Newser) - Iraq is gripped by widespread fear and is unlikely to fulfill political and security goals by the pivotal September assessment, US officials told lawmakers yesterday in a briefing from Baghdad. "One word I would use to sum up the atmosphere in Iraq is 'fear,' " said ambassador Ryan...

Contractor Armies Thrive in Iraq
Contractor Armies Thrive in Iraq
Jul 18, 2007 5:49 AM CDT

Contractor Armies Thrive in Iraq

180,000 civilians working in legal limbo

(Newser) - A private army of occupation in Iraq—mechanics, construction workers, translators, bodyguards, and other civilian contractors—is increasing in numbers keeping pace with the troop surge, the Christian Science Monitor reports. As many as 180,000 private contractors in Iraq, most of them not US nationals, currently work in legal...

Soldier Sues Over Fifth Deployment
Soldier Sues Over Fifth Deployment
Jul 9, 2007 8:22 AM CDT

Soldier Sues Over Fifth Deployment

Reservist takes Army to court over tour he says could cost him home, job

(Newser) - A 26-year-old sergeant is suing the army to prevent his fifth deployment to Iraq, claiming that the Army follows inconsistent policies in mobilizing reserves. The military wants reservist Erik Botta return to Iraq next week, the Miami Herald reports, but Botta is suing to stop the order he says will...

14 Troops Killed in 2 Days
14 Troops Killed in 2 Days
Jun 21, 2007 12:49 PM CDT

14 Troops Killed in 2 Days

5 soldiers dead after roadside bomb explosion; death toll hits 3,545

(Newser) - Fourteen American troops have been killed in Iraq over the past 2 days, bringing the US death toll to 3,545, with 68 fatalities in June. In the deadliest recent attack, five troops died today after a roadside bomb detonated under their vehicle in northeastern Iraq. Commanders attribute the worsening...

Rummy Fired General for Truthful Report on Abu Ghraib Prison

(Newser) - Shortly after the mistreatment of prisoners at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq became public Major General Antonio M. Taguba was tasked by the Army with investigating and reporting on the situation. He found "Numerous incidents of sadistic, blatant, and wanton criminal abuses were inflicted on several detainees . . . systemic and...

Militant Website Says It Has Video of Troop Abduction

Two GIs remain missing after ambush in Iraq

(Newser) - A militant Islamic website says it will release a video showing the capture last month of three American soldiers. The video shows the kidnapping as well as the ID cards of the two soldiers who are still missing, says an organization that monitors militant websites. The third soldier was later...

Army Fights to Keep Up Quality
Army Fights to Keep Up Quality
Jun 1, 2007 12:13 PM CDT

Army Fights to Keep Up Quality

Report shows dip in quality of new soldiers

(Newser) - The Army is attracting the lowest rate of high-quality recruits in a decade, the Boston Globe reports. Almost 40% of volunteers scored below-average on verbal and math scores in 2006, according to an analysis of Defense Department personnel statistics. Four years ago, that figure was 29%. The number of recruits...

US Posts Reward for Missing Troops
US Posts Reward for Missing Troops
May 16, 2007 4:40 PM CDT

US Posts Reward for Missing Troops

Search for kidnapped soldiers generates $200K offer, thousands of leaflets

(Newser) - The US military is offering a $200,000 reward for information regarding the whereabouts of three soldiers who were kidnapped following an ambush Saturday. Helicopters dropped thousands of leaflets over the southern region of Iraq where the attacks took place, beseeching Iraqis to call a hotline with information. Search operations...

Troops Bomb Ethics Test
Troops Bomb Ethics Test
May 5, 2007 8:00 PM CDT

Troops Bomb Ethics Test

Pentagon: troops are out of line with "soldier's rules"

(Newser) - U.S. troops in Iraq flunked a survey on battlefield ethics, according to a Pentagon report published yesterday. Of the 1,767 soldiers interviewed, more than one-third endorse torture, two-thirds would not turn in a team member for abusing civilians, and 10% admit to harassing civilians and vandalizing property—all...

Walter Reed Bars Baez
Walter Reed Bars Baez
May 2, 2007 3:45 PM CDT

Walter Reed Bars Baez

Army blames short notice for activist's exclusion from hospital

(Newser) - Patients at Walter Reed Army Medical Center were treated to tunes by John Mellencamp last week, but not Joan Baez—hospital officials refused to let the legendary folk singer and antiwar activist join him. A spokesman told Rolling Stone the request to include Baez came too late. Said Mellencamp: "...

You Go to War With the Army You Need

Not the Army you have, says an active-duty Army officer

(Newser) - "America's generals have failed to prepare our armed forces for war and advise civilian authorities on the application of force to achieve the aims of policy," says Lt. Col. Paul Yingling. In an extraordinary article in Armed Forces Journal Yingling blames the military for not properly advising the...

Brother Decries 'Calculated Lies' On Pat's Death

Kevin Tillman, Jessica Lynch testify on military myth-making

(Newser) - The military created an "utter fiction" around Pat Tillman's friendly-fire death, the brother of the former NFL star told a congressional panel today. The Army used his death as an opportunity to bolster support for the war, Kevin Tillman said, calling early reports that Pat had been killed in...

Eight Dead In Bombing of Iraqi Parliament

Suspected suicide bomber was bodyguard of Sunni MP

(Newser) - Eight people, including three lawmakers, were killed and at least 30 wounded when a suicide bomber eluded the normally heavy security around the Green Zone and  denonated an explosion in the cafeteria of the Iraqi parliament. Officials believe the culprit was the bodyguard of a Sunni legislator not among the...

Troops to Serve Longer in Iraq
Troops to Serve Longer in Iraq
Apr 12, 2007 6:46 AM CDT

Troops to Serve Longer in Iraq

Many will spend more time in combat zones than the boys of World War II

(Newser) - Army units in Iraq and Afghanistan will have their tours of duty extended to 15 months, from the standard one year, the military said yesterday. The policy—enacted to alleviate troop shortages—allows soldiers to remain at home for at least one year between assignments.  “Our forces are...

Gitmo Prisoners Go On Hunger Strike
Gitmo Prisoners Go
On Hunger Strike
Apr 9, 2007 11:41 AM CDT

Gitmo Prisoners Go On Hunger Strike

13 protest supermax conditions

(Newser) - Thirteen detainees at the Guantanamo Bay detention center are on hunger strike, protesting conditions at a maximum-security block known as Camp Six, where 160 inmates are locked in their 8-by-10-foot cells for at least 22 hours a day. It's the first major strike since early 2006, when Gitmo commanders started...

Iraq Is Breaking the Army
Iraq Is Breaking the Army
Apr 6, 2007 8:47 AM CDT

Iraq Is Breaking the Army

Inadequate training, gear, hobbles troops

(Newser) - The U.S. Army is stretched so thin in Iraq and Afghanistan that it's sending ill-prepared and ill-equipped young people into harm’s way, Time reports. And the surge in troops is only deepening the crisis: Two of the five new brigades bound for the Middle East will skip vital...

Officer Walls Sects Apart in Baghdad

Peace barriers defy official policy and stir controversy—but they're working

(Newser) - Lt. Col. Jeff Peterson is trying to pacify Baghdad one wall at a time, erecting concrete barriers around Sunni and Shiites neighborhoods in the sector of the city he controls. Each mini-community has its own market, mosque, and generator. It's a controversial strategy most often used during civil wars, the...

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