News

Naval Academy charges 3 football players with sexual assault

The U.S. Naval Academy on Wednesday charged three football players with sexually assaulting a female midshipman at an off-campus house in Annapolis more than a year ago, a case that has brought renewed focus to how the nation's military academies handle reports of sexual assaults.

Judge sides with US in Manning document dispute

A federal judge in Baltimore said Wednesday she's satisfied for now with measures the military has taken to release documents related to Army Pfc. Bradley Manning's court-martial in the Wikileaks case.
21:14 June 19, 2013
Women assisting commandos say job is what counts

The staff sergeant sat behind the M240B machine gun, trained the sight on the target and opened fire, spraying bullets at the insurgents. To them, it didn't matter that the soldier firing the weapon was a woman.
15:10 June 19, 2013
Ranger standards should be same for women, veterans say

Army Rangers who served in Vietnam and as instructors at Fort Benning are concerned that standards may drop if women are allowed to train for the elite fighting force.
16:49 June 19, 2013

Kerry calls Karzai to ease anger on Taliban office

Secretary of State John Kerry on Wednesday made his second call to the Afghan president in 24 hours to ease Hamid Karzai's anger over the rollout of the Taliban's new political office in Qatar - a rift that temporarily delayed U.S. talks with the militant group set to begin later this week.
Afghans quit talks with Taliban before they begin

Less than a day after the Taliban opened a new political office in Qatar, the prospects for peace talks that it represented for war-weary Afghanistan faltered.

23 minutes ago
Pentagon team studies Syrian chemical arms

Months before the Obama administration said it had concluded that the Syrian government has used chemical weapons against rebels, the Pentagon began drawing on the expertise of obscure military experts to develop plans to reduce the risks from Syria's massive stockpile of the banned munitions.
June 19, 2013

Russia reacts coolly to Obama’s nuclear proposals

Russian officials responded coolly Wednesday to President Barack Obama’s call for further reductions to the U.S. and Russian nuclear arsenals.
June 19, 2013
Obama's Berlin speech: History raises the stakes

Five years and 50 years. As President Barack Obama revisits Berlin, he can't escape those anniversaries and the inevitable comparisons to history and personal achievement.
June 19, 2013
UK soldiers' families can sue over Iraq deaths

The families of several British soldiers killed or injured in Iraq can sue the government for failing to protect them, the country's highest court ruled Wednesday.

DOD studying moving 2,700 Marines from Okinawa to Hawaii

Three studies are underway on Oahu to find sites to house 2,700 Marines from Okinawa, Japan, but it may take until 2026 to implement what is estimated to be a $2.5 billion move.
June 19, 2013
USFK launches suicide-prevention call line

U.S. Forces Korea has launched a confidential 24-hour Suicide Crisis Intervention Life Line that connects callers to New York-based mental health professionals.
June 19, 2013
Philippine forces asked not to leave Golan Heights

The United Nations and Washington have separately asked the Philippines not to withdraw its more than 300 Filipino peacekeepers from the Golan Heights, warning of "maximum volatility" in the region after a number of countries decided to pull out their peacekeeping forces amid escalating violence, the Philippines' top diplomat said Wednesday.

Read the latest reports from the U.S. Government Accountability Office on:

National defense
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FEATURE STORY

China's naval aspirations: A 'blue-water' force

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U.S. naval commanders, ordered to move the bulk of their fleet to the Pacific theater, say it’s clear that China is building a “blue-water navy,” capable of sustained operations across oceans and able to project power far from the home country.
China's aggressive tactics turning off Asian neighbors

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Not long ago, China was the darling of its less powerful Asian neighbors with its growing economic importance and a policy of non-interference in external affairs that contrasted with bellicose U.S. foreign policy after 9/11. But a recent series of incidents has raised individual and collective concerns from India on one side to Japan and the Philippines on the other.
GALLERY

21: Changing of the Guard

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Changing of the Guard takes place every hour or half hour - depending on the season - at Arlington National Cemetery in a precise ritual that draws many tourists.

Pacific Storm Tracker

Tropical Storm 04W (Leepi), # 7

Okinawa feeling Leepi's outer winds; Yokosuka reverts to TCCOR All Clear.
Good Game

Microsoft reverses maligned Xbox One policies

We imagined a new set of benefits such as easier roaming, family sharing, and new ways to try and buy games. We believe in the benefits of a connected, digital future.
Good Game

From the E3 showfloor, PC titles make their case

Console games tried to steal the spotlight, but there are several computer games on the horizon not to be ignored.
Pacific Storm Tracker

Tropical Storm 04W (Leepi), # 6

Projected path even further away from Okinawa, 160 miles west at 11 a.m. Thursday; 35-46-mph winds forecast.
Pacific Storm Tracker

Tropical Storm 04W (Leepi), # 5 UPDATED

Leepi now forecast to drift 130 miles west of Okinawa at mid-morning Thursday.
Pacific Storm Tracker

Tropical Storm 04W (Leepi), # 4

Leepi forecast to graze Okinawa with 63-mph gusts early Thursday; Kanto remains next destination.