By Kevin Baron
Published: November 30, 2010
ARLINGTON, Va. – The latest military-safe version of YouTube, called MilTube, rolled out last week just two years after the Pentagon launched another military-safe option called TroopTube. But while TroopTube has been prone to its own security problems, MilTube content will remain relatively secure behind an AKO password log in.
TroopTube is still available to the public, but it does not appear to be drawing much of a crowd. TroopTube (which still advertises itself as “new”) has about 2,700 videos posted to it. It carries a mix of official military announcements and community service messages with some clips posted by users showing off their military kids and other random moments.
By Kevin Baron
Published: November 29, 2010
ARLINGTON, Va. – The Army wants you to stop posting your potentially sensitive videos on the very public and less-than-secure YouTube website and instead aim for its new in-house version: MilTube.
In the latest military attempt to grab the Web 2.0 technology tiger by the tail, the Army is offering MilTube as a safer, Defense Department-approved alternative for the exclusive – and properly logged-in – military community.
By Jeff Schogol
Published: November 29, 2010
WASHINGTON – The White House is stressing that servicemembers would not fall under President Barack Obama’s proposed two-year pay freeze for federal employees, but an administration official was evasive Monday when asked whether a pay freeze for troops might be next.
Earlier this month, the co-chairs of the president’s panel on reducing the deficit recommended freezing basic military pay and housing allowances for three years. The panel’s final report is expected later this week.
By Jeff Schogol
Published: November 24, 2010
In an effort to fight unemployment among veterans, Microsoft has awarded grants to six organizations that provide job training for vets and their family members. The two-year program, announced this month, involves $2 million in cash and $6 million in Microsoft products, said Andrea Taylor, Community Affairs Director at Microsoft.
The average age of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans is about 22. Since most probably went into the military straight out of high school, they often don’t have the skills to make the transition to civilian employment, Taylor said in a phone interview.
By Leo Shane III
Published: November 24, 2010
WASHINGTON — Lawmakers won’t get their first look at the Pentagon’s comprehensive report on the “don’t ask, don’t tell” law until next Tuesday, but the Senate Armed Services Committee has already planned thorough hearings on the results for later next week.
This morning, Chairman Carl Levin, D-Mich., announced that he’ll hold hearings on Dec. 2 and 3 to address the report, both scheduled for 9 a.m. The first day will feature Defense Secretary Robert Gates, Joint Chiefs Chairman Adm. Mike Mullen and the working group’s co-chairs, Defense Department General Counsel Jeh Johnson and U.S. Army Europe Commander Gen. Carter Ham.
By Leo Shane III
Published: November 24, 2010
WASHINGTON – Midshipman Caroline Barlow has a near perfect GPA. She led 4,400 fellow midshipmen this fall as semester brigade commander. Her senior project is detailing wind-power energy potential in South America. As a hobby, she runs triathlons.
And now she can add Rhodes Scholar to that resume. This week officials at Oxford University named Barlow one of 32 distinguished scholars to be honored this year, the 46th Rhodes Scholar in Naval Academy history.
Barlow was chosen from more than 1,500 students at 309 schools across America, and was the only service academy member chosen this cycle. The 21-year-old will spend the next two years studying in England (free of charge) and hopes to focus on environmental change and policy during her residency.
By John Vandiver
Published: November 24, 2010
STUTTGART, Germany -- A European crew flew a C-17 combat mission into Afghanistan without a single American aboard last week, marking the first time the new multinational Heavy Airlift Wing out of Papa Air Base in Hungary has conducted a mission without a U.S. airman’s guidance.
The 12-nation Strategic Airlift Capability formed in 2008 as part of an effort to bolster the capacity of NATO and other European nations, which have insufficient capacity for heavy airlift. Since July 2009, the HAW has been conducting missions mostly to Afghanistan. The wing also provided support for the humanitarian relief effort in Haiti earlier this year.
By John Vandiver
Published: November 23, 2010
STUTTGART, Germany - With Marines exposed to poisoned water decades ago at Camp Lejeune, N.C., still having a difficult time getting their claims processed by the Department of Veterans Affairs, some lawmakers are growing frustrated with the slow pace and the failure of the VA to share information about the process.
Sen. Richard Burr, R-NC, blasted the VA on Thursday for failing to communicate about how it's handling medical claims from Marines who were once stationed at Camp Lejeune. Burr said lawmakers have not been kept apprised of a change by the VA, which consolidates medical cases from across the country to a VA benefits office in Louisville, Ky.
By Kevin Baron
Published: November 22, 2010
ARLINGTON, Va. – One of the incentives for Pentagon reporters to travel overseas with Defense Secretary Robert Gates is that it offers rare face time with the Obama administration’s senior national security official. Gates has not appeared in the Pentagon briefing room since September.
No surprise, then, that during a four-day trip through Chile and Bolivia, reporters are using the opportunity to ask the defense secretary few questions about Chile and Bolivia, according to Pentagon-released transcripts. Instead, they asked the top defense leader about the top defense news stories: the weekend’s major NATO summit and the 2014 date for leaving Afghanistan, North Korean nuclear weapons developments, Mexico’s raging border war, and in Washington, two major policy items on deck in the lame duck Congress: a nuclear weapons treaty with Russia, and the repeal “don’t ask, don’t tell.”
By Leo Shane III
Published: November 22, 2010
WASHINGTON -- This morning, Staff Sgt. Salvatore Giunta rang the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange as part of his post-White House media tour. The event came less than 24 hours after he acknowledged a standing ovation before the New York Jets game on Sunday, and just a few hours before his scheduled appearance on the David Letterman show later tonight.
Those types of public appearances are just one of the new job responsibilities for Giunta, a self-described line solider who, after receiving the Medal of Honor last week, now finds himself as one of the most famous living members of the military.
By Jeff Schogol
Published: November 19, 2010
Raytheon has provided a $2.5 million grant over five years to the Wounded Warrior Project, a non-profit group that provides job training to wounded troops. The money will be used to expand the Transition Training Academy and another program that helps wounded warriors get jobs, said Bob Connors, manager of Raytheon’s Wounded Warrior Project partnership.
“I want all of them to be employed,” he said. “I want anybody who goes through the program to be able to come out of that program, compete for and get jobs in the [information technology] field, whether it’s entry-level help desk type people or cyber security professionals, I want these folks to have the opportunities that they deserve to get out there, get employed and make a living for their families.”
By Leo Shane III
Published: November 18, 2010
WASHINGTON – It’s unlikely that lawmakers will pass another slate of GI Bill upgrades before the end of the year, despite bipartisan support for such a measure. But a key staffer on the House Veterans Affairs Committee told a crowd of college administrators this week that he expects those reforms to be approved easily in 2011.
Michael Brinck, the Republican staff director for the panel’s economic opportunity subcommittee, said reforms to the new post-9/11 GI Bill benefits will be a top priority for the committee next year when his party takes over. The process could take until next September, he warned, but he expects to see results in the end.
By Kevin Baron
Published: November 17, 2010
ARLINGTON, Va. – Nothing spoils a special moment like a prankster. When that moment is the first Medal of Honor presentation to a living, active-duty servicemember in 40 years, people can get a bit touchy.
On Tuesday, as Staff Sgt. Salvatore Giunta was fêted in an emotional ceremony at the White House, his inner thoughts appeared in real time on his Twitter account to the delight of Twitter users. But it was all a fake.
By Leo Shane III
Published: November 17, 2010
WASHINGTON -- Tuesday’s White House ceremony honoring Staff Sgt. Salvatore Giunta was the eighth Medal of Honor presentation I’ve covered for Stars and Stripes. But it was the first one I’ve been at where the whistles and hoots from the crowd made the honoree blush.
Giunta’s Army buddies snapped pictures of themselves and the president, clapping and cheering at every opportunity. His parents sat in the front row, beaming with pride. President Barack Obama cracked several jokes during his speech, including comparing a teenage Giunta’s penchant for sneaking out his bedroom window to early paratrooper training. That drew booming laughter from the crowd.
By John Vandiver
Published: November 17, 2010
STUTTGART, Germany — Christmas is coming a little early, at least for U.S. troops who count themselves as fans of the rock/rap/country hybrid known as Kid Rock. The troop-supporting star is giving away his new album, “Born Free,” to military personnel as part of a special offer that lasts until Dec. 16.
The 13-song collection includes collaborations with Sheryl Crow, Bob Seger, Zac Brown, Martina McBride and rapper T.I. The title track to the record, released on Tuesday, is a special tribute to American troops.
By Leo Shane III
Published: November 16, 2010
WASHINGTON – The presumed incoming chairman of the House Armed Services Committee said Monday that he doesn’t see the defense budget as a target for significant spending cuts, especially when it comes to personnel costs.
“I sure don’t see cuts in the end strength,” Rep. Howard “Buck” McKeon, R-Calif., told reporters at a Foreign Policy Initiative event. “We’re just getting to the point now where we’re able to give soldiers two years at home between deployments. That’s a real good thing. If you cut the numbers, you might go back to 1 ½ years. So I’m not supportive of that.”
By Derek Turner
Published: November 16, 2010
Today's the big day as Staff Sgt. Salvatore Giunta receives the Medal of Honor from President Barack Obama during a 2 p.m.ceremony at the White House. Giunta will become the first living servicemember to receive the medal for actions during the current wars.
Check back to Stripes.com this afternoon for full coverage of the ceremony, including comments by Obama and Giunta. In the meantime, catch up on Giunta's story through previous Stripes coverage, as well as his recent "60 Minutes" interview.
By Leo Shane III
Published: November 15, 2010
WASHINGTON – Nearly one in four veterans who enrolled in college classes last year did so because of the new GI Bill benefits made available to them, according to a report released last week by the RAND Corporation and the American Council on Education.
That’s exactly the result lawmakers hoped for when they passed the new GI Bill benefits two years ago. Before the benefits overhaul, veterans groups had complained that the amount of college tuition and students’ living costs that the traditional GI Bill covered was not enough for many veterans to get a degree.
By Leo Shane III
Published: November 12, 2010
WASHINGTON -- Military attorneys will head back to court on Monday to determine whether Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, the accused shooter in last November’s Fort Hood massacre, should stand trial for the attack. But at least one set of military legal experts say that the death penalty is already a foregone conclusion.
“It seems like there’s overwhelming legal evidence to convict this guy and sentence him to death,” said Yancey Ellis, a former Marine Corps judge advocate general who now works for the Virginia law firm Tully Rinckey. “The trial could take weeks or even a month. But the outcome seems pretty clear.”
By Jeff Schogol
Published: November 11, 2010
Fans of the show “Army Wives” know actress Catherine Bell as Denise Sherwood, the wife of an Army lieutenant colonel whose love life has been a bit rocky. In an interview with Stars and Stripes on Thursday, Bell said the show tries to give an accurate portrayal of military spouses.
"Of course we take some creative license, and I think our lives are maybe more dramatic or have more drama than the average person’s life, but we get a lot of great feedback from the spouses and people in the military who really appreciate how we represent them,” Bell said during a publicity interview for her movie “The Good Witch’s Gift,” which airs Saturday in the United States on Hallmark Channel.
By Jeff Schogol
Published: November 10, 2010
A presidential commission on reducing the deficit has recommended freezing basic military pay and housing allowances for three years starting in 2011, according to a draft report of the commission’s recommendations posted online Wednesday.
“A three-year freeze at 2011 levels for these compensation categories would save the federal government $7.6 billion in compensation and tax expenditures, as well as another $1.6 billion in less retirement accrual, or $9.2 billion total discretionary savings in 2015,” it said.
By Leo Shane III
Published: November 10, 2010
WASHINGTON -- After researching the Iraq war in depth for the last few years, former House Armed Services Chairman Duncan Hunter has a simple message for the American public: We won.
Hunter, an Army veteran and a California Republican who served in the House of Representatives for 28 years, is releasing his book, “Victory in Iraq: How America Won,” later this month. The goal, he said, is to highlight the heroics of troops who served in the combat zone (the book includes interviews with more than 100 Silver Star recipients) but also to “set the record straight” on the legacy of the fight.
By Kevin Baron
Published: November 10, 2010
ARLINGTON, Va. – So, was it a plane? That’s quickly becoming the consensus, according to a number of overnight reports. And now the Pentagon says so, too. Mostly.
“There is no evidence to suggest it was anything other than an aircraft,” said Col. David Lapan, a Pentagon spokesman, told reporters Wednesday. But Lapan would not declare that the military is 100 percent sure it was an aircraft.
By Leo Shane III
Published: November 10, 2010
WASHINGTON -- Lt. Gen. William Caldwell, commander of the NATO Training Mission-Afghanistan, said only about 15 percent of new recruits entering the Afghan security forces training programs can read at a third-grade level. But that doesn't mean they're not smart.
"These young men are very, very intelligent," Caldwell told reporters Tuesday." They have some very incredible street-savvy skills, their intellect, but they just haven't been educated. And so what the education gives them now is that ability to read and write, and allow them to really start their professionalization."
By Kevin Baron
Published: November 9, 2010
This entry has been updated, scroll to bottom for latest updates from the Pentagon. ARLINGTON, Va. – The Pentagon does not yet know what made that vapor trail off the coast of heavily populated Southern California on Monday night, but says it likely wasn’t one of their missiles.
“I have nothing,” said Col. David Lapan, Pentagon spokesman, on Tuesday morning. “Right now, all indications are that it was not DOD involvement in the launch,” he later added. A CBS News helicopter shot footage of what appears to be a missile contrail coming out of the water roughly 35 miles north of Catalina Island, which is south of Los Angeles.
By John Vandiver
Published: November 9, 2010
E-mail sent Tuesday morning to Army employees at Kleber Kaserne in Kaiserslautern, a German city that is home to more than 50,000 Americans:
From: Benyo, Nicholas S SFC MIL USA [mailto:***.***@eur.army.mil]
Sent: Tuesday, November 09, 2010 11:31 AM
Subject: *****EXERCISE*****EXERCISE******EXERCISE******** (UNCLASSIFIED)
By Kevin Baron
Published: November 8, 2010
ARLINGTON, Va. – The Pentagon says there are no plans for the crucial working group on the “don’t ask, don’t tell” law to rush its findings to Defense Secretary Robert Gates before Dec. 1, a deadline set months ago, despite pleas by President Barack Obama and Defense Secretary Robert Gates for Congress to repeal “don’t ask, don’t tell” in its lame-duck session.
“I’m not aware that there’s been any effort to speed it up,” Pentagon spokesman Col. David Lapan said Monday.
By Leo Shane III
Published: November 8, 2010
WASHINGTON -- It may be a small gesture, but every year companies across America offer a host of freebies to veterans and active-duty military personnel on Veterans Day as a way to thank them for their service.
Many local chains and franchises offer their own deals, but here's a quick look at some of the nationwide freebies that will be available this week. All of the deals require vets to show their military IDs or some proof of service, and may vary depending on the location.
By Leo Shane III
Published: November 5, 2010
WASHINGTON -- Congress has seen the number of veterans elected to office steadily decrease since the end of the draft in 1973, and next year's new legislative session won't be any different.
Officials at the Veterans Campaign, which coaches retired military members on how to run for public office, said the 112th Congress will have at least seven fewer veterans in the House, and could see that number drop even further. Two undecided House races feature veterans.
By Leo Shane III
Published: November 4, 2010
WASHINGTON -- Defense issues didn't dominate this election cycle, but any party losing 60-plus seats in an election is bound to face some deep cuts to its military and national security specialists.
So far (with a handful of races still undecided) Democrats in the House project to lose 14 members of the House Armed Services Committee, 12 members of the Veterans Affairs Committee, including both of its elected Iraq veterans, and a handful of members from the Foreign Affairs Committee and Homeland Security Committee.
By Kevin Baron
Published: November 3, 2010
ARLINGTON, Va. – More than a month later than anticipated, the military’s new U.S. Cyber Command has reached full operating status, the Pentagon said in a release Wednesday.
The notice means the military command has completed several tasks it determined were necessary to meet its mission, including creating a Joint Operations Center and moving hundreds of personnel and authorities from organizations previously charged with cybersecurity.
By Jeff Schogol
Published: November 3, 2010
WASHINGTON -- AFN Spectrum is moving its Sunday late-night programming to Friday night after complaints that “Sunday nights weren’t practical for people working on Monday,” an AFN news release said.
Starting on Nov. 12, Spectrum viewers worldwide will see this lineup on Fridays:
By Megan McCloskey
Published: November 3, 2010
WASHINGTON - HBO's new documentary about the psychological toll of combat will be aired on AFN this Veterans Day, the same day it premieres in the States.
"Wartorn: 1812-2010" looks at post-traumatic stress disorder through all its incarnations throughout our history: hysteria, melancholia, shell shock, combat fatigue, and now, PTSD. The film shows vignettes about servicemembers from the Civil War through the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.
By Jeff Schogol
Published: November 3, 2010
WASHINGTON –A shooting Tuesday at a Coast Guard recruiting station in northern Virginia has been linked to four other shootings near Washington, the FBI confirmed on Wednesday.
The same weapon was used in all five shootings, said FBI spokesman Andrew Ames. The FBI is not releasing the type of weapon or the caliber of bullets used.
By Leo Shane III
Published: November 2, 2010
While the economy and unemployment have been the main focus of the this year's election, the results tonight will have far-reaching consequences for defense issues, too. Nineteen Iraq and Afghanistan vets are running for the House this cycle, and 12 of the 36 Democrats on the House Armed Services Committee are in danger of losing their seats (including chairman Ike Skelton of Missouri).
That means in about two months, we could see a dramatic shift in the debate over military roles and needs, as well as the future mission in Afghanistan. We'll be tracking those topics on this live blog all night, and giving you results to some of the most important races to the military.
By Jeff Schogol
Published: November 1, 2010
The problems veterans are having right now adjusting to civilian life constitute just a sample of things to come, Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, warned Monday.
Speaking at an awards ceremony held by the Business Executives for National Security in New York, Mullen ticked off a list of challenges facing veterans, including homelessness, post-traumatic stress disorder and suicide.
By Leo Shane III
Published: November 1, 2010
WASHINGTON -- Arlington police have charged Gene McKinney, the Army's former top enlisted officer, with intentionally driving his car into a fellow carpooler after that man complained about McKinney's driving.
The incident, first reported on ARLnow.com this morning, occurred Oct. 27 at after McKinney picked up a pair of commuters in Virginia heading into Washington, D.C. Arlington Police said after some time in the car the two carpoolers demanded to be let out, accusing McKinney of driving too fast and too erratically.
By Jeff Schogol
Published: November 1, 2010
Former Marine Sgt. Jeremy Soles made history on Sunday when he set a Guinness World Record for running the entire 26.2-mile Marine Corps marathon while wearing a gas mask in an unofficial time of 4 hours, 29 minutes and 2 seconds.
Soles, founder of the nonprofit group Team X-T.R.E.M.E., dedicated his achievement to Marine Cpl. John Michael Peck, who suffered traumatic brain injury in Iraq in 2007 but insisted on returning to combat, only to lose both arms and legs in a roadside bomb attack in Afghanistan in May.
By Leo Shane III
Published: November 1, 2010
WASHINGTON -- Late last week Labor Department officials unveiled their latest attempt to help curb high unemployment among young veterans: a new online toolkit, aimed at businesses, to encourage them to look at veterans as coveted employees.
The site offers a six-step process every employer should go through to make their workplace and hiring process more veteran friendly. Several of the steps are self-evident -- learn about USERRA laws and how to accommodate disabled employees, actively recruit veterans for open positions -- but the toolkit also challenges businesses to better educate themselves on military culture and what problems returning veterans face.
