May 23 VA chief compares wait times for veteran care to Disney park lines By Matthew Daly, Associated Press Veterans Affairs Secretary Robert McDonald said Monday that the VA should not use wait times as a measure of success, comparing waits for VA health care to the hours people wait for rides at Disney theme parks. Continue reading
May 17 GOP blocks provision to require women to register for draft By Richard Lardner, Associated Press WASHINGTON — Buckling under conservative pressure, the Republican-led House Rules Committee pulled a legislative sleight of hand and stripped a provision from the annual defense policy bill that would have required women between the ages of 18 and 25 to… Continue reading
May 11 Watch 7:37 Transgender soldiers gain ground as U.S. military transitions By PBS News Hour Last July, Defense Secretary Ash Carter ended the policy of discharging soldiers who change their gender identity, and began drafting a plan for transgender soldiers to serve openly. With a greater proportion of transgender people in the armed forces as… Continue watching
May 05 Pentagon says fewer sex-assault victims faced retaliation By Lolita C. Baldor, Associated Press WASHINGTON — The Pentagon is lowering its estimate of the number of people it believes have faced retaliation for making claims of sexual assault, arguing that what might sometimes feel like revenge may actually be an attempt to help. Continue reading
May 03 American soldier killed in combat in Iraq By Sinan Salaheddin and Robert Burns, Associated Press U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter said on Tuesday that an American serviceman has been killed in Iraq, describing it as a "combat death."… Continue reading
Apr 29 Watch 8:43 Pentagon: Hospital bombing due to U.S. offensive strike to assist Afghan forces By PBS News Hour The Pentagon revealed that the bombing of an Afghan hospital occurred when U.S. forces preemptively fired to clear the way for an Afghan offensive. U.S. and Afghan forces were not under fire when U.S. aircraft destroyed the hospital. Hari Sreenivasan… Continue watching
Apr 29 16 blamed for mistakes in deadly U.S. attack on Afghan clinic By Robert Burns, Associated Press WASHINGTON — A U.S. aerial gunship attack on a hospital in Afghanistan that killed 42 people occurred because of human errors, process mistakes and equipment failures, and none of the aircrew or U.S. ground troops knew the target was a… Continue reading
Apr 28 Watch 3:27 News Wrap: U.S. soldiers disciplined for accidental Afghan hospital bombing By PBS News Hour In our news wrap Thursday, 16 U.S. military personnel, including a general, reportedly received administrative punishments for the mistaken bombing of a hospital in Afghanistan last year that killed 42. Also, Vice President Joe Biden made an unannounced visit to… Continue watching
Apr 28 House committee votes to require women to register for draft By Richard Lardner, Associated Press WASHINGTON — Women would be required to register for the military draft under a House committee's bill that comes just months after the Defense Department lifted all gender-based restrictions on front-line combat units. Continue reading
Apr 25 Watch 8:13 How can U.S. use its forces most effectively against ISIS? By PBS News Hour President Obama approved the deployment of up to 250 additional military personnel to Syria to aid the fight against the Islamic State group, while the resumption of heavy fighting in the Syrian civil war has all but derailed UN efforts… Continue watching