President Joe Biden on Jan. 25 reversed the ban on transgender individuals serving in the military, opening the door to thousands barred from service and correcting the service record of anyone affected by the ban. The executive order, announced before Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. ...
In the midst of nationwide protests and the tearing down of Confederate statues last year, President Donald J. Trump promised to build a “National Garden of American Heroes.” On Jan. 18, he revised his July executive order and listed out the luminaries he hopes to ...
The entire District of Columbia National Guard, along with Guard personnel from Virginia, were activated Jan. 6 after a mob stormed the U.S. Capitol building, with more violence expected across Washington, D.C. throughout the night. Pentagon leaders spoke with Vice President Michael R. Pence, Speaker ...
The Senate passed the fiscal 2021 defense policy bill 84-13 on Dec. 11 after a bumpy few weeks for the key annual legislation. “We must protect freedom, democracy and peace, and support our troops. This is the heart of the National Defense Authorization Act, and ...
The U.S. military is on pace to meet the Jan. 15 deadline to withdraw forces from Afghanistan and Iraq, and though the head of U.S. Central Command said American forces can still meet their main goals, the “margins will be less” because of the smaller ...
Lawmakers want to quash the prospect of buying new armed overwatch planes for special operations troops or the Air Force in the next few years, as part of the final draft of the 2021 defense policy bill released this month. They seek to block SOCOM ...
Historic Air Force installations on Florida’s Space Coast marked a modern milestone on Dec. 9 as they were redesignated Patrick Space Force Base and Cape Canaveral Space Force Station—the first facilities named as part of the new service. “Today, we start a new era at ...
Lawmakers weighed in on three of the Air Force’s top-priority technology development efforts in the final draft of the fiscal 2021 defense policy bill, offering more money and more oversight as the programs mature. The Low-Cost Attritable Aircraft Technology initiative, hypersonic weapons, and the Next-Generation ...
The U.S. military will withdraw the “majority” of its personnel and assets from Somalia by early 2021, the Pentagon announced without providing specifics. President Donald J. Trump ordered the move, though the Defense Department in a Dec. 4 statement said the “U.S. is not withdrawing ...
As the final days of 2020 count down, House and Senate negotiators have agreed on sweeping defense policy legislation that offers nearly $732 billion to the armed forces in fiscal 2021. “The FY21 NDAA focuses on maintaining the strength of our defense enterprise as our ...
President Donald J. Trump nominated Adm. John C. Aquilino to lead U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, the Pentagon announced on Dec. 3. If confirmed by the Senate, Aquilino—who has led U.S. Pacific Fleet since May 2018—will replace Admiral Philip S. Davidson. Aquilino would take command of the ...
Arlington National Cemetery’s decision to forbid the nonprofit Wreaths Across America from placing holiday wreaths on the graves of the fallen veterans laid to rest on its hallowed grounds—as well as at the United States Soldiers' and Airmen's Home National Cemetery in Washington—this year due ...