USS George Washington gets new captain ahead of crew swap, overhaul

The captain slated to guide the aircraft carrier USS George Washington through a crew swap with the USS Ronald Reagan later this summer took command of his ship Friday.

USS George Washington departs Yokosuka; carrier’s future uncertain

As Keen Sword grows, so do Japan’s security ambitions

New House Armed Services chair opposes personnel, equipment cuts

Wife of Jordanian pilot Lt. Muath al-Kaseasbeh

No word on Islamic State hostages' fate; Goto's wife issues statement

After sundown in the Middle East, with no news on the fate of either Jordanian pilot Lt. Muath al-Kaseasbeh or Japanese journalist Kenji Goto, hostages of the Islamic State, the families' agonizing wait dragged on.

A look at the Islamic State hostage crisis

Islamic State standoff involves prisoner, pilot, journalist

Panel urges shift away from Tricare, pension plans for military

A panel created by Congress recommended on Thursday sweeping changes to pensions, health care and other troop benefits following its two-year review of the military’s compensation and retirement systems.

Report: Panel to recommend killing 20-year retirement

Military Update: Panel says choices could push compensation costs down

FEATURE REPORT

A knock at the door, then shock: When parents die at war

Much of the country grew weary of the longest war in U.S. history years ago. But for the hundreds of children who lost parents in Afghanistan, the conflict that began 26 days after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks will never really end. Here are 14 portraits of the children of war, one for each year of a war that has claimed 2,351 U.S. servicemembers' lives since 2001.

3 US contractors killed, another hurt in shooting at Kabul airport

Three U.S. contractors were killed and a fourth wounded Thursday in a shooting in Kabul, a U.S. defense official said. Two media outlets reported that the shooter was an Afghan in an Army uniform.

Poll shows Afghans want greater US role than planned

US major general killed in Afghan insider attack

US military classifies reports on Afghan oversight

As the United States declares an end to its war in Afghanistan, the American-led coalition has taken steps to classify most of the indicators of how Afghan forces are faring after more than a decade of assistance.

Stars and Stripes examines the efforts by cities across the country to bring homelessness among veterans to an end.

The difference a home makes

Living with fellow veterans in permanent supportive housing offers a healing camaraderie, an oasis of shared experience and empathy. “For some of them, being here is the first time they’ve felt connected to anyone since they got out of the military.”

Ending veteran homelessness: How cities around the US are doing
Can homelessness among veterans ever be conquered?

Despite dedicated efforts across the country, there has been no standard or official definition of what “eliminating veteran homelessness” really means.
Ohio-based nonprofit helps veterans reclaim their lives by covering rent deposits

Veteran jobs

See more at the Stars and Stripes Veteran Job Center.

Find your 2014 Basic Allowance for Housing rate

Ombudsman

Ernie Gates, Stars and Stripes' ombudsman

Official 2014 military pay tables

Victim's family testifies as jury weighs sentence in AFN murder case

The penalty phase of Air Force Staff Sgt. Sean Oliver’s court-martial began Thursday with tearful testimony from family and friends of both the airman and the man he was convicted of killing.

Oliver found guilty in AFN murder

Airman testifies in own defense in AFN murder trial
Senator: Detainees swapped for Bergdahl have contacted militants

The Pentagon says it is working with Qatar and is confident that any threat posed by the former detainees can be mitigated. The country promised it would keep the five under watch for a year, though they would then be free to leave.
Obama to seek $74 billion more than mandated spending limit

The White House said President Barack Obama's budget proposals will "fully reverse" the so-called sequestration cuts by increasing spending on both the domestic and military sides by similar amounts.
Navy investigating F/A-18E's Berkeley flyover that sent Twitter abuzz
Blog: Packers QB Aaron Rodgers surprises children of fallen servicemembers
Forcibly shaven, Fort Hood gunman wants to keep top lawyer
Asia embargo over avian flu could affect Pacific commissaries
Families plead for lives of Islamic State hostages as swap hopes fade
Sin vs. safety: Judge weighs arguments on Gitmo female guards
New chief of CIA Clandestine Service is spying veteran

Japanese at higher risk of kidnap, analyst says

As the latest Islamic State deadline ticked closer on Thursday, one analyst said the Abe administration’s response to the hostage crisis may leave other Japanese at risk of being kidnapped as political extremists and profiteers now see them as easy prey.
China's man-made islands heighten concerns over territorial control

China is rapidly building five man-made islands from tiny reefs and shoals in the South China Sea, U.S. officials say, sparking concern that Beijing is growing more assertive in the disputed waters even as the United States boosts its own forces in the western Pacific.
Army supporters exceed critics at Hawaii town hall event
Asia embargo over avian flu could affect Pacific commissaries

Edward Saylor, 1 of last 4 WWII Doolittle Raiders, dies at 94

Lt. Col. Edward Saylor, one of four surviving Doolittle Raiders who attacked Japan during a daring 1942 mission credited with lifting American morale during World War II, has died. He was 94.
GALLERY, VIDEO

McCain to protesters: 'Get out of here, you low-life scum'

Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John McCain kicked protesters out of a committee hearing Thursday, calling them "low-life scum" as they hollered for the arrest of one of the witnesses, former secretary of state Henry Kissinger.
Navy investigating F/A-18E's Berkeley flyover that sent Twitter abuzz
Sergeant in Lackland scandal found guilty in 1995 rape
New chief of CIA Clandestine Service is spying veteran
Sin vs. safety: Judge weighs arguments on Gitmo female guards
Former soldier charged with stealing $250,000 in benefits
Venezuelan general appears in NY after 11 months on the run

A knock at the door, then shock: When parents die at war

U.S. military to host essay contest to honor King Abdullah

The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff has established a research and essay competition in honor of King Abdullah, to be hosted by the National Defense University.
Pakistanis fleeing offensive find new dangers in Afghanistan

Tens of thousands of Pakistanis have sought shelter at a sprawling refugee camp in a volatile region of Afghanistan after crossing the mountainous border to escape a military onslaught against insurgents.
Few of Afghan president’s Cabinet nominees confirmed
Poll shows Afghans want greater US role than planned

EU to extend existing Russia sanctions over Ukraine

The European Union extended by six months an existing set of sanctions against Russian and pro-Russia separatist officials because of the continued fighting in eastern Ukraine and was planning further action, officials said Thursday.
Ukraine troops at Donetsk airport outgunned, exhausted, then defeated

For 242 days, they had held out against pro-Russia separatists who bombarded them from beyond the runways and prowled above and below them in the wreckage of the terminal. Finally, last week, the surviving Ukrainian soldiers fled. The battle had been lost.
Ukraine: Russia-backed rebels overrun another town in east
Bulgaria extradites man suspected of link to French attacks

USS George Washington gets new captain ahead of crew swap, overhaul

FEATURE REPORT

The difference a home makes

Victim's family, friends testify as jury weighs sentence in AFN murder case

FEATURE REPORT

The difference a home makes

3 US contractors killed in shooting at Kabul airport

Former soldier Chris Melendez follows his dream all the way to the ring

3 ways to level the economic playing field

It’s easy to oppose “special interest” politics. It’s much harder to get down to specifics and recommend that particular programs go.

Tom Petty: No hard feelings toward Sam Smith

Once-beaten Samurai take on unbeaten Panthers

Latest Blogs

Archive Photo of the Day

Peter Sellers, 1965
Spouse Calls

'Johnnie' comes marching

When Kathleen Rodgers wrote “Johnnie Come Lately,” pieces of her military background found their way into the story. In fact, a lot of her life found its way into the story of Johnnie Kitchen and her family in the book, which hits bookstore shelves Sunday. The action takes place in Texas, for instance; Kathleen and her husband, now retired from the Air Force, also live in Texas. However, the b
Stripes Central

Packers QB Aaron Rodgers surprises children of fallen servicemembers

Aaron Rodgers, starting quarterback for the Green Bay Packers, is lending his considerable star power to a nonprofit that reaches out to children of fallen servicemembers.
Archive Photo of the Day

Patrol Base Diamond II, 1969
Archive Photo of the Day

Bob Hope and friends at Wiesbaden, 1948
Archive Photo of the Day

Aaron Tippin, 2008
Pacific Sportsblog

USFJ dependents to play in charity game for Yankees great Jeter

Charity baseball game set for March 21 at Tokyo Dome, proceeds going to in-need children affected by the March 11, 2011, earthquake.
Europe Traveler

Alps craft fair, Jan. 30-31

Aosta, an Italian city nestled in the Alps close to the French and Swiss borders, hosts its traditional crafts market on the same date each year: Jan. 30 and 31.
Pacific Sportsblog

Kanto teams dominate prep rankings

It’s all-Kanto, all the time atop the latest edition of Sports Blog’s high school basketball Top 10s and wrestling Fine Five.
Archive Photo of the Day

Patrol in Bosnia, 1997
Archive Photo of the Day

Valencia, Spain, 1956
Archive Photo of the Day

Shower time in Lebanon, 1958