Military Related Headlines 6/22

• The great poppyseed caper: The US military proudly announced it had "busted" Afghanis in possession of 82.5 tons of bagel topping. [Global Post]
• U.S.: No More Fighting Near Afghan Homes [CBS News]
• Iraq Blasts Kill More Than a Dozen [NY Times]
• Marines Train To Conquer Taliban, Their Own Fears [NPR]
• N. Korea Threatens To Hit U.S. If Provoked [CBS News]
• US 'to limit Afghan air strikes' [BBC]

Military Related Headlines 4/24

• Taliban Fighters Begin Retreat from Northwest Pakistan [Wash Po]
• Pentagon Agrees to Release Detainee Photos [NY Times]
• U.S. soldier dies in noncombat incident in Iraq [USA Today]
• Taliban Threat Near Islamabad Cools [CBS News]
• Joint Chiefs head 'concerned' about Taliban in Pakistan [USA Today]
• Air collision fears slow expansion of US drone use [Newsvine]
• Blasts Kill More Than 155 in Two Days in Iraq [Wash Po]
• Petraeus: Shippers should consider armed guards [Newsvine]

-Dippold

Military Related Headlines 4/7

• Iraq and Obama's War [Wash Po]
• Pentagon Bill To Fix Cyber Attacks: $100M [CBS News]
• Next to go: New presidential helicopters, more F-22s, missile defense spending. [ABC News]
• Gates Looking To Speed Up F-35 Production [NPR]
• Defense Secretary Gates proposes weapons cuts [Newsvine]
• Indictment Says Banned Materials Sold to Iran [NY Times]
• Congressional reaction to defense plan [AZ Central]

-Dippold

Military Related Headlines 3/24 - 3/25

• Jet Fighter Crashes In Calif. [CBS News]
• Pentagon exploring robot killers that can fire on their own [McClatchy]
• US: North Korea loading rocket on launch pad [Newsvine]
• Possible contamination at VA facilities sparks call for inquiry [CNN]
• Vet groups: Definition of combat is outdated [Newsvine]
• Pilot 'screamed in horror' after seeing jet slam into house [CNN]
• Obama seeks military savings [Newsvine]
• Pick For NATO Military Leader Rode Navy Fast Track [NPR]

-Dippold

Military Related Headlines 3/17

• Russia announces rearmament plan [BBC News]
• U.S. OKs record $2.1 billion arms sale to India [Reuters]
• Air Force nurse charged in 3 patients' drug deaths [Newsvine]

-Dippold

Military Related Headlines 10/23

• United States turns over control of 12th Iraqi province [USA Today]
• U.S. Warns Iraq To Accept Security Deal [CBS News]
• 3 U.S. troops killed in Afghanistan [AP via USA Today]
• Army combat unit to deploy within U.S. [CNN]
• Bomb Attack on Iraqi Official Kills 11 [NY Times]
• Widows testify in case of Iraq officer killings [AP via USA Today]
• Missiles Kill 8 in Pakistan Airstrike [NY Times]
• Iran urges Iraqis to shun U.S. security [AP]
• Air Force Makes Push For Drone Operators [CBS News]

-Dippold

Political Online Reputation

Military Related Headlines 10/6

• British commander says war in Afghanistan cannot be won [Reuters]

• Air Force's New 'Killer Zombie' Drone [Wired's Danger Room]

• US Military: Iraqi Killed in Helicopter Collision [ABC News]

• Pentagon: China cancels some military contacts [AP via Newsvine]

• Family of 11 killed during U.S. raid, Iraqi police say [CNN]

-Dippold

Political Online Reputation

Federal Court Reinstates Gay Military Nurse

A federal appeals court ruled Wednesday to reinstate Air Force flight nurse Major Margaret Witt who was dismissed in 2004 for being a homosexual.

However, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals let stand the military's "Don't ask, don't tell" policy.

Yet the court said the government may only "intrude upon the personal and private lives of homosexuals" for such purposes as improving morale and maintaining troop readiness.

Maj. Margaret Witt was discharged after nearly 20 years of service on grounds she had a six-year relationship with a civilian woman. The women kept their relationship private. The court's decision did not reveal how the Air Force found out.

But one of Witt's lawyers said, “Some citizen in Spokane called up and said there are these lesbian women living in a house here and one of them is in the Air Force and you should know that.”

After an investigation and military hearing Major Witt was discharged.

Major Witt filed a lawsuit challenging the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy as a violation of the Constitution’s equal protection and due process clauses. The suit was first dismissed by a Federal District Court in Tacoma, Washington. Then on Wednesday the appeals court disagreed, reinstating much of Witt's suit and returned the case to the Washington court for further proceedings.

-Dippold

Political Online Reputation

Air Force Frequency Jams Hundreds of Garage Door Openers

Normally one doesn't associate garage door opener remotes with national security. But this past week at a secretive facility in Colorado Springs the Air Force tested a radio frequency that it would use to communicate with first responders in case of a homeland security threat. The same frequency also controls an estimated 50 million garage door openers. Hundreds of residents in the area found their remote controlled garage doors ceased to function.

The signals, coming from Cheyenne Mountain Air Station, have since been shut off. The Air Force may be able to adjust the transmission so it does not interfere with the devices, but says it technically has a right to the frequency.

TechnologyExpert calls for an expansion of the RF spectrum:

Security? Garage Door? Garage Door? Security? As I said, another sign of why a larger RF spectrum is wanted by all. Another example you may see in your home: your 2.4 GHz wireless land line phone interfering with your 2.4 GHz 802.11b/g wireless network.

MT Milcom Monitoring Blog really breaks down the technical aspects of the story.

-Dippold

Political Online Reputation