The White House opposes a provision that Republicans added to a defense bill which would require honorable discharges for troops who refuse to get the Covid-19 vaccination. (See story here.) A dishonorable discharge elevates vaccine refusal to the status of a crime. It does more than disqualify a pe[...]
Posts Tagged ‘Military’
Biden purges Trumpers from military academy boards
The military academies have advisory boards that include presidential appointees and members of Congress. They have an oversight function and provide “advice and recommendations” to the president (view description on West Point’s website here). Before leaving office, Trump stashed [...]
Navy still puzzled by mystery drones
They’re being called UFOs, but probably were sophisticated drones, and the Navy says it still doesn’t know where they came from or who they belonged to. Half a dozen of the drones “pursued” several Navy ships conducting exercises off the California coast in July 2019 (see map[...]
Conversation with a grunt
Military writer Bing West (photo, left; bio here) discusses Afghanistan, China, defense spending, why Jim Mattis won’t talk about Trump, and more. Worth reading if you’re interested in military affairs, and even if you’re not. Edited transcript of a radio show, fairly short, and ve[...]
Biden admin. rescues troops from predatory lenders
Many things changed for the better on January 20, 2021. Here’s one of them: “The new leadership at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, or CFPB, has pledged to … resume targeting payday loan scams that trap troops in endless cycles of debt,” Military.com reports. ̶[...]
The wisdom of Smedley D. Butler
by Mark Adams “It has been estimated by statisticians and economists and researchers that the war cost your Uncle Sam $52,000,000,000. Of this sum, $39,000,000,000 was expended in the actual war period. This expenditure yielded $16,000,000,000 in profits. That is how the 21,000 billionaires and mi[...]
September 5th, 2020 - 1:55 am § in Donald Trump, Politics
Trump belittles Gen. Kelly (video)
Watch a draft dodger disparage a 4-star general (read details of his career here) in video below. Return to The-Ave.US Home Page[...]
Russki-Yank fender bender in Syria
“Four U.S. service members were injured in a collision between their vehicle and a Russian military police patrol … earlier this week,” NBC News reported, that prompted a call between Russian and American generals which both sides “agreed to keep … private.” Howev[...]
August 25th, 2020 - 1:03 am § in Law and Courts
Navy SEAL team was pulled from Iraq because of sexual misconduct
A Navy SEAL platoon in Iraq to fight ISIS was sent home early, which is extremely rare, because of an alleged rape incident following drinking at a July 4, 2019 barbeque, newly obtained documents revealed according to the Associated Press. The SEAL team member accused of the rape was court-martialed[...]
The Limits of Military Commitment to Democracy in The Era of Trump
The lack of military willingness to speak out about the unconstitutional abuse of our forces is frightening. About sixty years ago at Harvard, I attended a career night where a General came .. obviously, at Harvard we would get a General. This impressive, learned man was telling us why we ought to c[...]