Congress

Washington, D.C. – House leaders introduced the final conference report for the 2017 National Defense Authorization Act Nov. 30 containing a provision to reorganize Special Operations Command and provide its assistant secretary with increased powers to oversee its activities. Under its report for the fiscal year 2017 NDAA, the Senate Armed Services Committee empowers the […]

Washington, D.C. – House and Senate negotiators will need to determine whether to include money to repair a damaged MH-60M Black Hawk within this year’s National Defense Authorization Act. Seven members of the U.S. Army’s 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (SOAR) were injured in 2015 when a MH-60M crash-landed on the U.S. Naval Ship Red […]

Navy SEALs, the most glorified warriors in the war on Islamic terrorists, are not a political force in America, but unprecedented victories in this year’s elections have put former frogmen on a political beachhead. Fifteen years after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the first wave of former SEAL politicians has arrived. Four secured significant elected offices […]

When Congress returns to Washington later this month to tackle a budget impasse and a massive defense policy bill, there will be one more contentious item on its agenda: extending sanctions on Iran. At the end of the year, the Iran Sanctions Act (ISA) expires — and with it, the regime of existing U.S. sanctions lawmakers […]

The PTSD bill SOFREP covered has made progress on the Hill. The Bill, H.R. 5600, the No Hero Left Untreated Act with a bipartisan showing of 33 co-sponsors is moving forward. On September 21, 201, H.R. 5600, the No Hero Left Untreated Act, was reported favorably to the House by the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee, as […]

None of the four service chiefs testifying on Capitol Hill Thursday would answer the question, but they all paused uncomfortably before senators in the hearing laughed it off: “Are Congress and the president the biggest threats to the military today?” The idea, posed by Air Force Reserve veteran Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., stemmed from the […]

An Ohio congressman wants to force all Capitol Hill lawmakers and their staff to receive health care from the Department of Veterans Affairs to ensure they have incentive to improve the system. But the top Democrat on the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee is blasting the idea as little more than a publicity stunt. On Tuesday, […]

Montana Superintendent of Public Instruction, Denise Juneau (D) is challenging Rep. Ryan Zinke for his congressional seat. Juneau’s main platform is of course education. If elected she would be the first openly gay and native American women ever elected into Congress. In her latest attempt to discredit his ability to represent the state of Montana, […]

But wait, there’s more, as the Army also wants new uniforms, again.

CENTCOM established an intelligence “fusion center,” a specially equipped JIC facility staffed around-the-clock, to serve as a “focal point” for Daesh-related intelligence. Interviewees recalled only informal communications noting the center’s establishment, and some were also uncertain about the center’s organizational structure, responsibilities, and how it was determined which JIC analysts would participate.

According to Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James, the USAF is seeking to boost the UAS (drone) pilots retention bonus by $10,000 and the manned pilot retention bonus by $23,000. However, the likelihood of that occurring in an election year is low. The USAF is quickly losing its pilots to the airlines (and other key industries) […]

Congress has required that the Air Force secretary certify the F-35 will be in top shape within two years before future contracts are signed. Lockheed Martin has also spent $1 billion of its own money for production while awaiting the contract negotiations. Congress withheld $1 billion of about $5.3 billion the USAF requested for F-35s this year until the certification is […]