Stripes Central

House moves to block another BRAC round

Defense budget language introduced by House lawmakers forbids DOD from planning or initiating another round of Base Realignment and Closure.

Hagel: No furloughs for sexual assault prevention staff

In the midst of an intensifying scandal over a rising number of military sexual assaults, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel is moving to keep hundreds of Defense Department civilians who work in programs to combat the problem on the job this summer while most other DOD civilians face furloughs.

Fort Hood suspect has been paid $278,000 since 2009 shooting

The Army psychiatrist accused of killing 13 people and wounding dozens more in a November 2009 massacre at Fort Hood, Texas, has continued pulling down his salary since the attack.

Pentagon requests $79.4 billion for combat operations

The Pentagon on Friday sent two budget items to Congress – one to provide funding for combat operations next year, and another to limit the sting of sequestration this year.

Obama nominates Scaparrotti to command USFK

Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel announced Friday that President Barack Obama will nominate Lt. Gen. Curtis “Mike” Scaparrotti to command U.S. forces in South Korea.

Pentagon approves use of advanced devices from Apple and others - but don't expect quick change

Six years after Apple introduced the iPhone and three years after the debut of the iPad — devices that helped spark a revolution in mobile telecommunications and computing — the Defense Department is edging closer, ever closer, to finally integrating them into military networks.

Senate hears debate on revising 2001 war authorization

The United States is still at war with al-Qaida and its affiliates, and a law passed in the days after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, continues to provide the authority the military needs to strike groups worldwide that threaten the United States, Pentagon officials told Congress on Thursday.

US special operations chief credits Afghan forces with war’s ‘shift’

The head of coalition special operations forces in Afghanistan said there’s been a major change in tone since the command he heads was set up last summer, much of it due to the rapid development of elite Afghan forces.

DOD furlough plan to affect 9 in 10 civilians

Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel announced a sweeping furlough plan Tuesday that will hit well over 90 percent of the Defense Department’s 750,000 U.S. civilian employees squarely in the pocketbook this summer.

AFN passes on sexual assault documentary; will be used in training

The Pentagon says the American Forces Network won’t be showing an Oscar-nominated documentary about sexual assault in the military because the film fails to tell the whole story about efforts to fight a problem that is rapidly becoming a crisis for Defense Department.