Pending West Wing cell phone ban ruffles staffer and media feathers

White House staffers and guests are bracing for a change in policy that will ban personal cell phone use in the West Wing. The ban imposed by Chief of Staff John Kelly, a former Marine General, likely stems from his own experience with security practices that are widely enforced at U.S. military bases around the […]

Pentagon pays for reassignment surgery for active duty soldier

An active-duty member of the U.S. military received a sex-reassignment surgery which was covered by the Department of Defense this week. Pentagon spokesperson Dana White said in a statement released to the media that the member had “already begun a sex-reassignment course of treatment,” and that “the treating doctor deemed this surgery medically necessary.” First […]

Mattis, Tillerson warn against removing current war authorization

Secretary of Defense James Mattis and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson testified before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Monday to give the Trump Administration’s stance on calls for a renewed Authorization for the Use of Military Force, or AUMF. Both Mattis and Tillerson advocated leaving the AUMF in its current form, and warned against […]

Government report shows average American paid $7,500 towards War on Terror

Previously unreported data from the Department of Defense released this summer shows that the average American taxpayer has spent $7,500 on the wars in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Syria, since the beginning of the Global War on Terror in 2001. That means this fiscal year, your average taxpaying American citizen will spend about $289 on wars […]

White House ready to release details on transgender military ban

Details of President Trump’s ban on transgender Americans serving in the United States military are reportedly contained in a memo prepared by the White House, which will be presented to Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis sometime this week. The rules as outlined in the memo will deny future enlistments to all transgender Americans, and give […]

Mattis Suggests Transgenders May Continue to Serve

With the Trump White House has still not provided the Defense Department the necessary policy guidance on transgender persons serving in the armed forces, Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis told the press, that DOD was continuing to study the issue. That statement hints that transgender military members may be allowed to continue to serve despite […]

Iraqi Air Force to Bring Beechcraft T-6A Texan II Trainer Back to Active Flight Status

The Iraqi Air Force received 15 T-6A Texan II turboprop trainer aircraft in 2009 that apparently are now in storage. The US Department of Defense is hiring Textron Aviation to bring them back to flight status. The US Department of Defense (DoD) has awarded Textron Aviation Defense USD 8.8 million to return the IqAF’s 15 turboprop trainer […]

Pentagon offers tentative congratulation on Iraqi victory in Mosul

Although celebrations within Iraq have been ongoing for more than a week, the Pentagon waited until this Monday, when Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi declared victory, to offer the Iraqi government a tentative congratulation on their victory over the Islamic State in Mosul. “I announce from here the end and the failure and the collapse […]