The Afghan Air Force was once considered the Kabul government’s lethal advantage over the Taliban. Now, aircraft and personnel that have not left the country may fall into Taliban hands, but sources say maintenance problems and insufficient aircrews likely will diminish their value. However, in ...
Airlift operations are increasing at the Kabul airport in Afghanistan, with about 20 C-17s flying out per day in what U.S. military leaders say is likely to be the country’s second-largest non-combatant evacuation operation in its history. “Right now, our mission is to secure that ...
As the delta variant of COVID-19 rapidly spreads across the country, Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III has announced he will ask President Joe Biden for a waiver to require all service members to inoculate—but he will wait at least a month, the Pentagon confirmed ...
Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall has been on the job for a week, but on Aug. 4, he made his ceremonial entrance to the office, getting sworn in by Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III at the Pentagon. In a letter addressed to ...
Commander of U.S. Space Command Gen. James H. Dickinson drew parallels to the vital role of tiny Pacific islands in a vast ocean in describing his role protecting space lines of communication from increasing pressure by adversaries. Barring internationally accepted norms, Dickinson called for the ...
A Pentagon Force Protection Agency officer reportedly died of stab wounds, and the attacker was shot and killed by responding officers, on Aug. 3 at a bus stop outside the Pentagon. At 10:37 a.m., the Pentagon police officer was attacked at the metro bus platform ...
The Senate on July 22 confirmed Gina Ortiz Jones to be the next under secretary of the Air Force, giving the service a No. 2 civilian leader while the nominee to lead the service remains in limbo. Ortiz Jones, along with five other Defense Department ...
The Taliban controls approximately half of all district centers in Afghanistan, but the Afghan military is consolidating its forces to protect population centers and the “endgame” is not yet written, the U.S. military’s top general said July 21. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff ...
Senior Pentagon leaders would “like to see more” nominations and confirmations for top Defense Department civilian positions as several key spots remain vacant, but Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III played down concerns regarding the impact of the slow pace of picks. “This is something ...
New York Democratic Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand said her bill to remove prosecution of serious crimes from the chain of command is still needed, despite Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III's commitment to do just that. “This is an extremely light touch. It just changes where ...
Michael Brown, the Pentagon’s nominee to lead Defense Department acquisition, has withdrawn his nomination, citing ongoing scrutiny for allegedly circumventing hiring regulations while leading the Defense Innovation Unit. Pentagon spokesman John F. Kirby said July 14 that Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III received a ...
The Defense Department’s push to operationalize artificial intelligence, which leaders say will change the way the military conducts war but not the laws of war, is gaining momentum. More than 600 AI efforts are in progress across the department, “significantly more than just a year ...