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Many Troops Not Claiming Back Pay
www.washingtonpost.com-September 05, 2010
Uncle Sam wants to give free, no-strings-attached money to about 145,000 troops who were involuntarily kept on duty after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, but is having trouble persuading them that it's not a gimmick.
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The Troops Need Us
www.usatoday.com-September 03, 2010
This has been a summer of homecomings. In marking the end of the American combat mission in Iraq, we have now welcomed home nearly 100,000 of our troops from that war. Across the country, family and friends have honored these returning heroes. Spouses have been reunited, and military moms and dads have held their children once again.
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Defense Cut Proposals Deserve Thought
www.politico.com-September 03, 2010
It is somewhat oxymoronic to talk of defense budget cuts as the United States also continues to be part of two wars while simultaneously trying to stimulate the economy. But these are oxymoronic times and so it is sensible, even necessary, to do so.
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Outside View: Pentagon's greatest threat
www.upi.com-September 02, 2010
Let us be blunt. The U.S. Department of Defense and the entire federal government face a fiscal crisis far worse than any threat posed by al-Qaida, Iran or North Korea.
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Report Sees Cost Risks In U.S. Navy Ship Program
www.reuters.com-August 31, 2010
The U.S. Navy's $25 billion coastal warship program may face further cost overruns given ongoing design changes and delays in the equipment needed to reconfigure each ship for various missions, a new congressional report said.
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Army Revises Training To Deal With Unfit Recruits
www.nytimes.com-August 31, 2010
As much as anything, the program was created to help address one of the most pressing issues facing the military today: overweight and unfit recruits.
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For Wounded Troops, U.S. Hospital In Germany Is A Key Stop For Care
www.latimes.com-August 31, 2010
After emergency surgery, a Marine is airlifted to the Landstuhl medical center on a special cargo plane. Since 2004, nearly 13,000 wounded U.S. service personnel have been evacuated there.
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Amendment Sought To Protect USN Hornet Buy
www.defensenews.com-August 30, 2010
U.S. lawmakers are scrambling to pass a stand-alone amendment to the 2010 Defense Authorization Act to keep the Navy's planned 124-plane Super Hornet deal alive after a pair of technicalities threatened to scuttle the buy.
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Future of 2nd Fleet is yet to be decided
www.navytimes.com -August 30, 2010
The lobbyist’s memo focused primarily on the Pentagon’s openly stated desire to shut down U.S. Joint Forces Command but included a cryptic final line: The Pentagon also is considering a move to “mothball” the venerable, Norfolk-based 2nd Fleet.
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Iraq Drawdown May Raise Pressure On Defense Budget
www.reuters.com-August 30, 2010
The end of the U.S. combat mission in Iraq may increase pressure on the Pentagon to trim spending, giving ammunition to lawmakers who have long wanted to take aim at the massive defense budget.
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Top Admiral: San Diego Has What's Important In Tight Times
www.sandiegotribune.com-August 27, 2010
In the Pentagon’s new favorite analogy — that America’s military needs more “tooth” than “tail” in lean economic times — the Navy’s top officer says San Diego has a mouth full of teeth.
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Warner: Save Some Of JFCOM, If Not All Of It
www.newportnewsdailypress.com-August 27, 2010
Saving the entire Joint Forces Command is a goal for Hampton Roads, but it wouldn't hurt to develop a fallback position, Sen. Mark R. Warner said Thursday.
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Generals Wary Of Move To Cut Their Ranks
www.nytimes.com-August 27, 2010
Maj. Gen. Paul D. Eaton, a retired Army officer, is familiar with the perks and pitfalls of power, having commanded tens of thousands of troops at Fort Benning, Ga., managed budgets exceeding $2 billion in Iraq, and overseen layers upon layers of staff members who helped manage both his professional duties and his personal life.
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Marines Question Craft Needed To Hit The Beach
htttp://online.wsj.com-August 27, 2010
Amid a cost-cutting drive within the Pentagon, the U.S. Marines are taking a hard look at whether they can afford a new fleet of vehicles used to storm beaches.
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Marines Suicide Rate Highest In The Military, Report Says
www.sanantonioexpressnews.com-August 26, 2010
They have been in harm's way for years in two countries, in a branch of the military where toughness and self-reliance have been especially prized for generations.
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DoD Comptroller: No Major Budget Cuts Until February
www.defensenews.com-August 26, 2010
Pentagon officials will announce no further military facility closures or other major budget-cutting proposals until they unveil the 2012 defense budget in early February, says DoD comptroller Robert Hale.
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Is ROTC Poised for a Comeback at Elite Colleges?
www.time.com-August 26, 2010
Shawna Sinnott spent the last four years performing a balancing act: she took courses for her self-designed major at Harvard, practiced her jazz number for the Miss Massachusetts Pageant, and woke up at 4:30 a.m. three days a week for Navy ROTC training across town at MIT.
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We Agree: This Place Needs A Diet
www.usatoday.com-August 26, 2010
Defense Secretary Robert Gates may have opened a can of missiles when he recently proposed cuts in military spending. Usually the way these debates go is that if you're liberal and propose cutting defense, you're a commie-pinko who wants to weaken America and hand us over to our enemies; and if you're a conservative you want to increase, not reduce, defense spending to preserve our "vital bodily fluids," as Gen. Jack D. Ripper famously said in the film Dr. Strangelove. Can we get beyond that divide?
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Gen. Conway seems willing to trade headcount for equipment
http://smallwarsjournal.com-August 26, 2010
Marine Corps Commandant General James Conway made some headlines at his August 24th press conference with his remarks on the July 2011 Afghanistan withdrawal plan and his views on the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy. Missed in most stories were his views on the Marine Corps’ future missions and required force structure.
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At West Point, Hidden Gay Cadets Put In Spotlight
www.nytimes.com-August 25, 2010
Code words, secret societies, covert meetings, fake identities: these are tools that a certain set of cadets learn here at the United States Military Academy at West Point.
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Military Efforts On Suicide Fall Short
www.newsobserver.com-August 25, 2010
A Defense Department task force devoted to preventing suicide in the military presented a grim picture of the trend Tuesday, with suicides rising at a near steady pace even as commanders apply various balms to soothe a stressed, exhausted fighting force.
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Senate Panel To Hold Hearing On Gates's Decision To Close Joint Forces Command
www.thehill.com-August 24, 2010
The Senate Armed Services Committee will hold a hearing on Defense Secretary Robert Gates’s proposal to close the Joint Forces Command (JFCOM) based in Virginia.
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Pentagon Surveys Military Spouses On 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell'
www.washingtonpost.com-August 24, 2010
A new survey sent to about 150,000 military spouses asks whether they would encourage their husband or wife to leave the military if it repeals the "don't ask, don't tell" policy banning gays and lesbians from openly serving in uniform.
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Vast number of military bands may not be music to Gates's ears
www.washingtonpost.com-August 24, 2010
Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates frequently makes the point that Congress funds Defense Department personnel far more easily than it does State Department employees.
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U.S. Second Fleet in jeopardy as DOD continues to trim budget
www.wvec.com-August 24, 2010
The U.S. Second Fleet, which trains and certifies all strike groups before deployment and employs 348 active and reserve military personnel, civilian employees and contractors, is in jeopardy as the Department of Defense continues to trim its budget.
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"Don't Stop Now, Mr. Secretary. You're on a Roll!"
www.csis.org-August 24, 2010
Secretary of Defense Robert Gates’ most recent decision to shutter Joint Forces Command (JFCOM) and to cut the Department of Defense (DoD) contract workforce are new examples of his penchant for bold decisionmaking. The centrifugal pressures of ongoing wars, long-term readiness, and looming federal deficits are forcing his hand.
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Thousands Strain Post's Mental Health System
www.usatoday.com-August 23, 2010
Nine months after an Army psychiatrist was charged with fatally shooting 13 soldiers and wounding 30, the nation's largest Army post can measure the toll of war in the more than 10,000 mental health evaluations, referrals or therapy sessions held every month.
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In Afghanistan, Duty Is Therapy For Unit That Lost 4 In Fort Hood Shooting
www.sanantonioexpressnews.com-August 21, 2010
After nearly 100 missions along a stretch of western Afghanistan where his 510th Clearance Company has found 70 undetonated roadside bombs, Pfc. Alan Carroll sometimes struggles to fall asleep while weighing a simple question. What if?
A survivor of the mass shooting last fall at Fort Hood that left 13 dead, Carroll, 21, of Bridgewater, N.J., wonders what he might have done differently after hearing a voice that he believes belonged to Army Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan cry out “Allahu akbar!” in a crowded post deployment center.
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Memo: Approval To Close JFCOM Could Come By Sept. 1
www.newportnewsdailypress.com-August 21, 2010
President Obama could approve the decision to close Joint Forces Command in Norfolk before Sept. 1, according to a memo being circulated to local and state officials.
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Pentagon Cost-Saving Drive Comes Under Fire
htttp://online.wsj.com-August 19, 2010
Lawmakers worried about potential job losses in their districts have rallied against the closure of a military command in Virginia, presenting Secretary of Defense Robert Gates with a big test of his sweeping effort to hold down military spending.
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Federal Budget Could Save Unit In Norfolk, Says Congressman
www.richmondtimesdispatch.com-August 19, 2010
The federal budget may be the best weapon Virginia congressmen have to fight Defense Secretary Robert Gates' recommendation to close the Norfolk-based U.S. Joint Forces Command.
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Forbes: Battle Against JFCOM Closing Could Include A Lawsuit
www.newportnewsdailypress.com-August 19, 2010
The fight to save Joint Forces Command could end up in court, Rep. Randy Forbes said Wednesday.
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State's Guard troops headed to border duty will have focused mission
www.latimes.com-August 19, 2010
The 224 California National Guard members are to act as "a visible deterrent … and additional eyes and ears" in the San Diego area, says a spokeswoman. They are part of Obama's effort to bolster security on the border with Mexico.
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Gates To DoD Staff: Cooperate With Efficiency Effort
www.defensenews.com-August 19, 2010
U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates this week codified the 20 elements of his effort to cut "excess and duplication" with the publication of a memo detailing his plans, distributed throughout the Pentagon Aug. 16.
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JFCOM Tempting Target For Gates
www.washingtonpost.com-August 18, 2010
A military command that Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates has said he plans to close is spending more than $500 million of its $704 million operating budget this year on contractor services, according to a spokesman for the command.
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Governor, Mayors Try To Save JFCOM
www.virginia-pilot.com-August 18, 2010
Gov. Bob McDonnell and the mayors of Suffolk, Norfolk and Virginia Beach have written to President Barack Obama and Defense Secretary Robert Gates urging a halt to Gates' plans to close Joint Forces Command.
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Hampton Roads Leaders Seek JFCOM Strategy
www.newportnewsdailypress.com-August 18, 2010
The Hampton Roads congressional delegation will huddle with state and local leaders Wednesday to discuss a strategy to fight the planned closing of Joint Forces Command.
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Former Hill Staffer Takes On Pentagon Budget
www.associatedpress.com-August 18, 2010
Defense Secretary Robert Gates has put a former Capitol Hill staffer and fellow Republican in charge of his ambitious effort to find billions of dollars in budget waste.
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BUILDING SECURITY FORCES AND MINISTERIAL CAPACITY: IRAQ AS A PRIMER
www.understandingwar.org-August 18, 2010
This report discusses how U.S. commanders in Iraq vastly accelerated the growth of the Iraq Security Forces as part of a broader counterinsurgency strategy to supplement the Surge of U.S. forces into the region.
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Force-Structure Review To Begin In September
www.marinecorpstimes.com-August 17, 2010
Following the directive issued last week by Defense Secretary Robert Gates, Marine Corps officials announced Tuesday that next month the service will begin a formal review of its size and capabilities, with results due to the commandant this winter.
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Retired Admiral: Focus On Military, Not Jobs In JFCOM Debate
www.newportnewsdailypress.com-August 17, 2010
Virginia leaders should focus on the potential harm to the military, not the local economy, to fight the closing of Joint Forces Command, a retired rear admiral said Monday.
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Past JFCOM Leaders Could Fight Closure, Nye Told
www.virginia-pilot.com-August 17, 2010
A military affairs group set up by U.S. Rep. Glenn Nye advised him Monday to seek out the testimony of past Joint Forces Command officers to help build a defense against closing the command.
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Contractors Will Bear The Brunt Of JFCOM Closure
www.newportnewsdailypress.com-August 16, 2010
Vivek Malhotra says the pending closure of Norfolk-based Joint Forces Command could wipe out 75 jobs at his company, VMD Systems Integrators Inc., or more than half of his total employees.
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Gates's lonely battle to rationalize the Pentagon
www.washingtonpost.com-August 16, 2010
Robert Gates's latest efforts at reforming the Pentagon are modest. He is not trying to cut the defense budget; he merely wants to increase efficiency while reducing bureaucracy, waste and duplication. The savings he is trying to achieve are perfectly reasonable: $100 billion over five years, during which period the Pentagon would spend approximately $3.5 trillion. And yet he has aroused intense opposition from the usual suspects -- defense contractors, lobbyists, the military bureaucracy and hawkish commentators. He faces spirited opposition from his own party, but it is the other Republicans, not Gates, who are abandoning their party's best traditions in defense strategy.
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Can Gates get it done? His role key to success of cuts, experts say
www.federaltimes.com-August 16, 2010
Defense Secretary Robert Gates last week outlined steps to pare down contract spending. Now comes the hard part: getting it done.
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Political Opposites Tom Coburn, Andrew Stern Apply 'Sharp Knives' To Defense Budget
www.politicsdaily.com-August 15, 2010
Conservative Sen. Tom Coburn of Oklahoma and liberal labor leader Andrew Stern don't come to mind as natural partners. But they are on a joint mission to trim the nation's $625 billion defense budget.
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Gates: Reinvest Defense Savings In Weapons Systems
www.latimes.com-August 14, 2010
A Pentagon plan to reduce spending on civilian contractors could free up more than $10 billion in the next four years, according to Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates, who wants the savings to be spent on new ships, fighters and other weapons systems rather than on reducing the federal budget deficit.
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Marine Corps Could Shrink, Gates Predicts
www.sandiegotribune.com-August 14, 2010
Defense Secretary Robert Gates predicted Friday during a visit to San Diego that the region’s sizable military and defense community could expect a smaller Marine Corps and other deep changes as the Pentagon embarks on a major reorganization.
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Gates Likes Military's Plans To Reinvest Savings
www.associatedpress.com-August 13, 2010
Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Friday he is pleased with the military services' initial recommendations for cutting their budgets and spending the savings on weapons modernization.
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Gates Urges Congress To Avoid 'Mistake' Of Harmful Cuts In Military Budget
www.bloomberg.com-August 13, 2010
Defense Secretary Robert Gates urged Congress to avoid repeating what he called “the same mistake” made by earlier officials who slashed military spending too deeply in the face of mounting federal debt.
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'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' To Face Test In Court
www.washingtonpost.com-August 13, 2010
One of the highest-ranking military officers investigated under the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy is trying to block the Air Force from discharging him by testing a legal argument that requires the federal government to prove a service member's homosexual conduct has been damaging to others.
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House Starts Push-Back on Defense Spending Cuts
htttp://washingtonindependent.com-August 13, 2010
Earlier this week, Defense Secretary Robert Gates announced a series of Pentagon spending cuts, designed to trim the military’s budget by $100 billion over five years by slowing the rate of spending growth. Initial criticism, if any, came from deficit hawks who view the cuts as too small, and indeed most in Washington applauded the cost-saving measure. The exception: members of Congress representing districts with a high concentration of military contractors.
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Virginia Lawmakers Schedule Roundtable On Joint Forces Command
www.newportnewsdailypress.com-August 13, 2010
The Hampton Roads congressional delegation is coming home next week for a roundtable discussion designed to push back against Defense Secretary Robert Gates' decision to shut down the Norfolk-based Joint Forces Command.
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Pentagon Stumbles Again On Military Mentor Program
www.usatoday.com-August 13, 2010
Here's a deal anyone would jump at.
Imagine retiring with a six-figure pension and a part-time job with your old employer, at $200 to $440 an hour, to mentor company leaders. It's OK to have other gigs on the side. If they present potential conflicts of interest, not to worry. You're subject to no ethics rules, and the details are confidential.
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Opposing view on defense spending: Good program made better
www.usatoday.com-August 13, 2010
Thousands of U.S. troops are in harm's way in Iraq and Afghanistan. They confront perilous choices each day. Their safety, as well as mission success, hinge upon the judgment of their leaders. And judgment is one of the hardest skills to teach. For this reason, the Department of Defense established a senior mentoring program to provide hands-on training to military officers. Senior mentors train combat leaders before they deploy as well as once they are in theater.
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Pentagon push to phase out top brass causing much consternation
www.washingtonpost.com-August 13, 2010
Of all the spending cuts and budget battles the Pentagon is confronting, none is causing more angst than Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates's vow to start getting rid of generals and admirals.
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Oil spill shows difficulty the Coast Guard faces as it balances traditional tasks with post-9/11 missions
www.washingtonpost.com-August 13, 2010
The U.S. Coast Guard in recent years has fought international terrorism, defended Iraqi pipelines and patrolled for pirates in the Arabian Sea.
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Gates Orders A Review Of Marines' Role
www.latimes.com-August 13, 2010
Acknowledging concerns among current and former Marines that the Corps has evolved into another ground combat force, the Defense secretary aims to define the service's future path.
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US Marine Corps Must Redefine Mission: Gates
htttp://online.wsj.com-August 12, 2010
The US Marine Corps has become too accustomed to fighting land battles and must redefine its mission in the context of traditional maritime role, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said.
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Sailors Press Gates On How Defense Budget Hits Them
www.reuters.com-August 12, 2010
For sailors aboard the USS Higgins docked in San Diego, a popular question for visiting Defense Secretary Robert Gates on Thursday was how the austerity drive he announced this week would affect them.
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Va. Lawmakers Say Joint Forces Closure May Be Illegal
www.newportnewsdailypress.com-August 12, 2010
Virginia congressional leaders are questioning whether Defense Secretary Robert Gates can legally shut down Joint Forces Command in a rapidly evolving effort to block a drawdown that could harm Hampton Roads' economy.
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What Is The Work Carried Out At Joint Forces Command?
www.virginia-pilot.com-August 12, 2010
The Joint Forces Command opened a small window Wednesday on the work it does, even as it prepares for its own demise.
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Defense Intelligence Community To Tighten Belt
www.associatedpress.com-August 12, 2010
The defense intelligence community is combing its budgets to figure out where to cut 10 percent of its contractors as part of Defense Secretary Robert Gates' drive to reduce costs in the Pentagon.
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Officer Sues To Block His Discharge Under Gay Ban
www.nytimes.com-August 12, 2010
In early 2008, just eight days before he was to deploy in support of the war in Afghanistan, Lt. Col. Victor Fehrenbach, a decorated Air Force flight officer, was told he was under investigation on charges of sexually assaulting a civilian and of violating the military’s ban on homosexuality.
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Gates's Budget Warning Shot
www.washingtonpost.com-August 12, 2010
Meet Robert Gates, also known as The Leading Indicator.
The defense secretary, who is noted among his colleagues for his special closeness with President Obama, stepped out in front of other department heads this week by announcing his plans to trim Pentagon spending in a major way next year.
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Mr. Gates's Rough Cut
www.washingtonpost.com-August 12, 2010
DEFENSE SECRETARY Robert M. Gates says his "greatest fear is that in economic tough times . . . people will see the defense budget as the place to solve the nation's deficit problems." He has good reason to worry. Congress has already begun hacking at next year's Pentagon budget, and not in a wise way. Instead of targeting the most wasteful areas, such as health-care costs, it is slashing vital operations, such as funding for Iraqi security forces.
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Gates Cuts Pentagon Fat, But Plenty Of Flab Remains
www.usatoday.com-August 11, 2010
Defense Secretary Robert Gates' ongoing campaign to swing a scythe through Pentagon bloat and excess is overdue and entirely welcome. The Pentagon budget has more than doubled in just the past decade, and core defense spending is now bigger in real terms than it was at the height of President Reagan's enormous defense buildup in the 1980s.
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Cuts are shortsighted
www.usatoday.com-August 11, 2010
The announcement by Defense Secretary Robert Gates to make cuts at the Defense Department, specifically the decision to eliminate the Joint Forces Command, is shortsighted, devoid of strategic decision-making and could harm national security.
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Defense Contractors Feel Pinch
www.washingtonpost.com-August 11, 2010
The stock prices of several major government contractors fell Tuesday, a day after Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said he planned to cut spending at the Pentagon.
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Local Defense Contractors Prepare For Lean Times
www.washingtonexaminer.com-August 11, 2010
Washington-area contractors are worrying that lean times have begun after Defense Secretary Robert Gates announced he would trim the Pentagon's budget by $100 billion.
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Taxpayer Won't Save With Tweaked Pentagon Budget
www.npr.org-August 11, 2010
The Pentagon is looking to avoid bigger spending cuts down the road by making some cuts now. Defense Secretary Robert Gates announced several efforts to run the military more efficiently this week. But savings from the cuts would not reduce the defense budget overall because the money would instead be reinvested in the military.
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What's Really Behind The Gates Cuts
www.foreignpolicy.com-August 10, 2010
Defense Secretary Robert Gates's bombshell announcement that he will close Joint Forces Command as part of sweeping reforms of the defense bureaucracy is being seen around the defense community as a preemptive move against congressional efforts to cut the defense budget.
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Pentagon to cut thousands of jobs, defense secretary says
www.washingtonpost.com-August 10, 2010
Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said Monday that the Pentagon will cut thousands of jobs, including a substantial chunk of its private contractors and a major military command based in Norfolk, as part of an ongoing effort to streamline its operations and to stave off political pressure to slash defense spending in the years ahead.
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Virginia stands to feel the most pain from defense cuts
www.washingtonpost.com-August 10, 2010
Virginia officials reacted with bipartisan dismay on Monday to Defense Department budget shifts that will cost the state thousands of jobs in coming years and will dramatically impact the economies of the Norfolk area and Northern Virginia.
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Pentagon Plans Steps To Reduce Budget And Jobs
www.nytimes.com-August 10, 2010
Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said Monday that he would close a military command, restrict the use of outside contractors and reduce the number of generals and admirals across the armed forces as part of a broad effort to rein in Pentagon spending.
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Gates To Cut Joint Forces Command
htttp://online.wsj.com-August 10, 2010
Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Monday he planned to eliminate a major military command organization and reduce the use of outside contractors, in the first phase of a plan to cut $100 billion over five years from some areas of the Pentagon budget.
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Gates: Retrench Defense Jobs
www.usatoday.com-August 10, 2010
Defense Secretary Robert Gates announced plans Monday to slash the Pentagon's reliance on contractors and eliminate a major command in order to save money to fight the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and to modernize the military.
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Gates Calls For Cuts At Pentagon
www.latimes.com-August 10, 2010
Facing growing pressure to cut military spending, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates on Monday ordered the closing of a major Pentagon headquarters, restrictions on the use of contractors and reductions in the number of generals and admirals.
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Gates Announces Major Cuts In Military Spending
www.bostonglobe.com-August 10, 2010
Defense Secretary Robert Gates said yesterday that tough economic times require that he shut a major command that employs some 5,000 people around Norfolk, Va., and begin to eliminate other jobs throughout the military.
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Gates Says Defense Bureaucracy Swollen, Declares Cuts
www.bloomberg.com-August 10, 2010
Defense Secretary Robert Gates said the Pentagon needs to save money by further reducing a “cumbersome” U.S. military hierarchy, setting up potential battles with members of Congress who support targeted programs.
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Virginia Lawmakers Blast Gates Plan to Cut Major Military Command
www.foxnews.com-August 10, 2010
Defense Secretary Robert Gates on Monday announced a plan to shed a major military command in Virginia as part of his effort to strip billions from the Pentagon budget, drawing heated objections from state lawmakers who call the center essential.
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Gates is Wielding the Budget Axe
www.aei.org-August 10, 2010
Listening to Defense Secretary Robert Gates announce his plan to improve Pentagon business practices, it makes you wonder whether he’s part of the Obama Administration. Over the past year or so, Gates has “curtailed or cancelled” about 20 programs, “programs that if pursued to completion would have cost more than $300 billion.” This latest round of reform proposals includes the closing of U.S Joint Forces Command, one of the 10 combatant commands that are the crown jewels of America’s globe-girdling military power.
Is any other federal agency doing anything remotely similar?
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Gates Puts Meat on Bones of Department Efficiencies Initiative
http://www.defense.gov/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=60348-August 09, 2010
Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates is putting meat on the bones of his initiative to reform the way the Pentagon does business and to eliminate duplicative, unnecessary overhead costs.
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Black Budget in the Red
www.cato.org-August 09, 2010
It sounds like a recipe for a conservative crusade: a sector of the government that's seen 150 percent growth in less than a decade yet is "so massive that its effectiveness is impossible to determine"; one where projects run hundreds of millions of dollars over budget and years behind schedule, where audits and required reporting frequently are neglected, and where officials at the highest levels admit they can't keep track of what their agencies are doing, or even how many contractors they've got on the public payroll.
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Texas Gov. Asks For More Troops
www.politico.com-August 09, 2010
Democratic gubernatorial candidate Bill White may be avoiding President Obama during his Monday visit to the Lone Star State, but Republican Gov. Rick Perry was there to personally ask him to deploy additional National Guard troops to the Texas border.
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A Good Start
www.slate.com-August 09, 2010
Secretary of Defense Robert Gates' plan to cut Pentagon waste, abuse, and redundancies by $100 billion over the next five years is both more and less radical than it may seem.
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Gates Proposal Would Cut Thousands Of Defense Jobs
www.mcclatchynews.com-August 09, 2010
In an effort to deter potential budget cuts by Congress and streamline a burgeoning Defense Department, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates Monday proposed to cut spending on contracting, to close a command stationed in Norfolk, Va., and to reduce the number of flag officers and civilian leaders.
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Military Mentor Rules Revised
www.usatoday.com-August 09, 2010
Retired generals and admirals hired by the Pentagon as "senior mentors" can earn $50,000 in annual extra pay and might be able to keep their names hidden from the public, according to documents and interviews.
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Pentagon belt-tightening will cut thousands of jobs
www.msnbc.com-August 09, 2010
Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Monday that tough economic times require that he shutter a major command that employs some 5,000 people around Norfolk, Va., and begin to eliminate other jobs throughout the military.
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Gates Strives to Change Pentagon’s Culture
www.defense.gov-August 09, 2010
he initiative to reduce Defense Department overhead and to eliminate duplicative capabilities is part of a larger thrust to change the culture of the Pentagon, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said here today.
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Pentagon to Eliminate U.S. Joint Forces Command
www.defensenews.com-August 09, 2010
U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates killed U.S. Joint Forces Command on Aug. 9 with the announcement that the Suffolk, Va.-based command will be shuttered "in about a year" as part of the latest round of cost-cutting measures.
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Army Reserve Units Have High Turnover Prior to Deployment
www.rand.org-August 09, 2010
Army Reserve Component units experience widespread personnel turnover as they approach mobilization and deployment, prompting many units to schedule intensive training just before mobilization in order to get all soldiers prepared for deployment, according to a new study from the RAND Corporation.
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Alarms Sound Over Trash Fires In War Zones
www.washingtonpost.com-August 06, 2010
Hundreds of military service members and contractor employees have fallen ill with cancer or severe breathing problems after serving in Iraq and Afghanistan, and they say they were poisoned by thick, black smoke produced by the burning of tons of trash generated on U.S. bases.
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Forced Military Extension To End
www.usatoday.com-August 06, 2010
The number of Army soldiers forced to serve beyond their commitment has been cut in half in the past year and is on track to be eliminated by March 2011, Pentagon records and interviews show.
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End The Defense Monopolies
www.washingtonpost.com-August 06, 2010
Although it pains me to say it, sometimes Congress knows better than the Pentagon -- and the fight over the Joint Strike Fighter engine is a case in point. The House voted on May 27 to preserve funding for an alternate engine for the Joint Strike Fighter, despite Defense Department and White House efforts to kill the engine. The Pentagon has sought to grant one company a $100 billion sole-source contract lasting 30 years; in other words, a monopoly on producing the engine. The House said not so fast -- and moved to ensure that there would be competition for the contract. I'm quite unused to defending Congress, but on this one the lawmakers were right.
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Pentagon to cut out big-war funds
www.washingtontimes.com-August 04, 2010
The Pentagon has begun a new hunt for cost savings that likely will lead to scaling back big-war weapons systems in favor of funding smaller conflicts typified by Iraq and Afghanistan.
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Border Deployment Will Take Weeks
www.nytimes.com-August 02, 2010
No boots were seen tromping in the desert sand on Sunday. No commanders were heard barking out orders to their troops. The National Guard, which officials had announced would turn out en masse along the United States-Mexico border over the weekend for sentry duty, was nowhere to be found.
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Lawmakers: Brain Injury Funds Diverted
www.pittsburgtribunereview.com-August 02, 2010
Two members of Congress are asking Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki to investigate why $6.3 million intended for research and treatment of traumatic brain injuries was spent without treating any veterans.
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Morrell: SecDef's Budget Concerns Aimed At Congress, Not White House
www.defensenews.com-August 02, 2010
U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates is worried about Congress cutting the Defense Department's budget, not the White House, says Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell.
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Arlington Cemetery's ex-chief grilled on graves scandal
www.usatoday.com-July 30, 2010
The disgraced former chief of Arlington National Cemetery apologized Thursday to a Senate committee examining practices that led to the mislabeling of hundreds of grave sites, but John Metzler also blamed a lack of money and staff for many of the problems.
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Pentagon Report Places Blame For Suicides
www.nytimes.com-July 30, 2010
At a time of record-high military suicides, commanders are ignoring the mental health problems of American soldiers and not winnowing out enough of those with records of substance abuse and crime, a United States Army report has concluded.
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Soldiers' Suicide Rate Tied To Access To Problems At Home
htttp://online.wsj.com-July 30, 2010
A sharp increase in U.S. Army suicides is likely due to an increase in a range of stresses on soldiers both at home and in war zones, a top Army officer said Thursday.
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Impact of past defense cuts should warn of risks
www.washingtonpost.com-July 30, 2010
The prospect of an exit from Iraq and Afghanistan has sparked rumblings on Capitol Hill that it's time to cut the defense budget. Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii), chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, says, "I'm pretty certain cuts are coming -- in defense and the whole budget." Defense Secretary Bob Gates is already pushing to cancel some big-ticket programs and to wring savings out of the existing budget.
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Veterans Affairs To Investigate Fallen Soldiers' Death Benefits
www.bloomberg.com-July 29, 2010
The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs is investigating life insurance companies’ practice of putting veterans’ death benefits in corporate accounts and keeping most of the investment profits instead of paying the survivors.
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VA Stepping Up Its Services For Female Veterans
www.washingtonpost.com-July 29, 2010
About 1.8 million women have served in the U.S. military, and with 245,000 female soldiers, sailors, Marines and airmen deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan, it's estimated that within a decade, women will make up 16 percent of all veterans.
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Gates Says Pentagon to Help Death-Benefits Inquiry
www.bloomberg.com-July 29, 2010
Defense Secretary Robert Gates pledged to help the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs probe how insurers reap profits from death benefits retained for the families of deceased military personnel.
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Cemetery Failed To Fix Problems Found In 2005
www.washingtonpost.com-July 28, 2010
Arlington National Cemetery officials knew more than five years ago that many burials did not match Arlington's maps and paper records, according to documents released Tuesday by a Senate subcommittee investigating millions of dollars in botched contracts overseen by the Army.
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EXCLUSIVE: DOJ Accused of Stalling on MOVE Act for Voters in Military
www.foxnews.com-July 28, 2010
The Department of Justice is ignoring a new law aimed at protecting the right of American soldiers to vote, according to two former DOJ attorneys who say states are being encouraged to use waivers to bypass the new federal Military and Overseas Voter Empowerment (MOVE) Act.
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House Panel Risks Veto By Supporting Funds For Second F-35 Fighter Engine
www.thehill.com-July 27, 2010
The House defense appropriations panel on Tuesday funded a secondary engine for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, risking a veto of the 2011 spending bill.
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Next-Generation Military
www.politico.com-July 23, 2010
The next generation of military leaders.
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Military Limits School Grants
www.philly.com-July 23, 2010
The Defense Department will revive an education grant program for military spouses that was suspended after an overwhelming surge of applicants, but new restrictions that exclude families of higher-ranking officers are being attacked as unfair.
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Mental Illness Costing Military Soldiers
www.usatoday.com-July 23, 2010
The number of soldiers forced to leave the Army solely because of a mental disorder has increased by 64% from 2005 to 2009 and accounts for one in nine medical discharges, according to Army statistics.
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'It's Almost Like The Sky's The Limit'
www.washingtonpost.com-July 23, 2010
The submarine school in Groton, Conn., will include 19 women this year, the first group since the Navy lifted its ban on women serving on submarines.
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Senate Returns $60B Stripped Out War Bill To House
www.washingtonpost.com-July 23, 2010
In a take-it-or-leave-it gesture, the Senate voted Thursday night to reject more than $20 billion in domestic spending the House had tacked on to its $60 billion bill to fund President Barack Obama's troop surge in Afghanistan.
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Lawyers Seek Injunction To Halt Military Gay Rule
www.associatedpress.com-July 23, 2010
Lawyers for a Republican gay rights organization will ask a judge for an injunction to halt the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy during their closing arguments in a federal trial challenging the law.
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The War Away From The Battlefields
www.nytimes.com-July 23, 2010
Suicide stalks the United States military as much as enemies do on the battlefields of Afghanistan and Iraq, according to the latest grim data. Last year, 347 military personnel were killed in the two wars, while at least 381 warriors took their own lives. The double-edged tragedy was brought home in recent Congressional hearings that laid bare how much must be done to reach and comfort battle-weary soldiers near the edge of their resources.
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Pentagon Faces Growing Pressures to Trim Budget
www.nytimes.com-July 23, 2010
After nearly a decade of rapid increases in military spending, the Pentagon is facing intensifying political and economic pressures to restrain its budget, setting up the first serious debate since the terrorist attacks of 2001 about the size and cost of the armed services.
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Defense Board To Recommend That Gates Eliminate Joint Forces Command
www.thehill.com-July 22, 2010
A Pentagon advisory board is expected to recommend that Defense Secretary Robert Gates eliminate the Joint Forces Command as part of a drive to cut Pentagon bloat.
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Iraq Deployments Could Drop To 9 Months
www.armytimes.com-July 22, 2010
U.S. planners in Iraq are considering cutting troop unit deployments from 12 months to as low as nine months some time after the force falls to the 50,000 mark, the top U.S. commander there said Wednesday.
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Ending The Stigma Of War-Related Stress
htttp://online.wsj.com-July 22, 2010
Recently the federal government moved to make disability benefits more accessible to veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). It's a welcome step, but it does not go far enough. The government should actively encourage private hospitals and other nonprofits to partner with the Veterans Administration (VA) in efforts to destigmatize this disorder, and to make adequate care more widely available in every community across the country.
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Kagan And The Military: What Really Happened
htttp://online.wsj.com-July 21, 2010
Her intellectually dishonest opposition to our armed forces during a time of war shows bad judgment. She doesn't belong on the Supreme Court.
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China Objects To U.S.-South Korea Naval Drills
www.businessweek.com-July 21, 2010
China signaled its opposition to next week’s naval drills by the U.S. and South Korea and urged all parties to refrain from actions that might increase tension on the Korean peninsula.
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Troops To Go To Mexican Border Aug. 1
www.nytimes.com-July 20, 2010
Hundreds of National Guard troops will begin deployment to the United States-Mexico border on Aug. 1, part of the Obama administration’s effort to increase security and stem the flow of weapons, cash and people into the United States, the administration announced Monday.
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Arizona Leaders: Deployment Of Troops Is Good Step But Not Enough
www.arizonarepublic.com-July 20, 2010
Too little, too late.
That was the consensus response of Arizona's political leaders Monday to an announcement by the Department of Homeland Security that National Guard troops will begin arriving on the Arizona border Aug. 1, along with more federal agents and technology.
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Evaluating Options for a Sustainable Defense
www.csba.com-July 20, 2010
Testimony by Todd Harrison presented before the U.S. House of Representatives, Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, Submcommittee on National Security and Foreign Affairs on July 20, 2010.
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Time To Discipline Defense Spending
www.politico.com-July 19, 2010
An absence of restraint and a failure to set priorities, as revealed in the Quadrennial Defense Review, has put the Pentagon on a collision course with fiscal realities and a changing political environment.
Now is the time for Congress and the Pentagon to take a closer look at the military’s missions, make a realistic risk calculation and reshape a smaller and better tailored force.
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A hidden world, growing beyond control
www.washingtonpost.com-July 19, 2010
The top-secret world the government created in response to the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, has become so large, so unwieldy and so secretive that no one knows how much money it costs, how many people it employs, how many programs exist within it or exactly how many agencies do the same work.
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Pentagon Reworks Rule For 'Mentors'
www.usatoday.com-July 19, 2010
The Pentagon has weakened financial disclosure rules for highly paid retired generals and admirals who advise the military, documents show.
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Military reckons with the mental wounds of war
www.washingtonpost.com-July 18, 2010
The 300-pound bomb blasted Marine Staff Sgt. James Ownbey's mine-resistant truck so high that it snapped power lines before it slammed to the dusty ground in western Iraq.
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Honoring the service of soldiers who commit suicide
www.washingtonpost.com-July 18, 2010
There was only the subtlest hint that this memorial service was different.
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Army Suicides Hit A Monthly High In June
www.washingtonpost.com-July 17, 2010
The U.S. Army suffered 32 suicides in June, the highest number for a single month since January 2009, when the suicide rate in the Army began to spike.
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Senate Democrats Propose Cutting $14B From Obama Budget
www.bostonglobe.com-July 16, 2010
President Obama’s allies in the Senate stepped forward with a plan yesterday to cut $14 billion from his budget for the coming fiscal year. That’s double the $7 billion cut sought by House Democrats.
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Chiarelli: Army Wants To Cut Arms, Not Soldiers
www.armytimes.com-July 15, 2010
The Army is looking to ax redundant weapons, not cut troops, to fulfill Defense Secretary Robert Gates’ order to reduce spending by $2 billion in 2012, according to the service’s vice chief of staff.
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Basic Training Gets An Overhaul
www.politico.com-July 15, 2010
Starting this month, basic training is no longer what it used to be.
No more screaming drill sergeants. Fewer boring PowerPoint presentations and no more mock fighting with bayonets.
The first recruits are going through a drastically revamped training program — designed in response to the changes in the “millennial” generation.
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Strategy Emerges To Prevent More U.S. C-17 Funding
www.defensenews.com-July 14, 2010
As the 2011 U.S. defense budget creeps languidly through Congress, two senators have launched an effort to keep their colleagues from adding money to buy more C-17 cargo planes.
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Groups Find Trauma Rule For Veterans Lacking
www.nytimes.com-July 13, 2010
A new federal regulation that is intended to make it easier for veterans to receive disability benefits for post-traumatic stress disorder is coming under fire from some of the advocates who had pushed for it.
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Senator Wants To Cut Overseas Base Construction
www.airforcetimes.com-July 13, 2010
On the eve of the first efforts in Congress to write a 2011 military construction funding bill, a key Republican claims that the Obama administration seems to be shifting priorities to spend scarce construction money on improving facilities overseas instead of in the U.S.
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Next Step Approved For Stryker Double-V Hull
www.armytimes.com-July 13, 2010
The Pentagon has approved the next step in the Army’s effort to quickly build and field Stryker infantry combat vehicles with a hull designed to better protect against roadside bombs in Afghanistan.
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VA Loosens Process For PTSD Claims
www.armytimes.com-July 12, 2010
New rules could take effect as early as Monday to streamline the process for veterans of all eras with post-traumatic stress disorder to become eligible for disability benefits and treatment.
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Navy Weighs Ship's Design, Along With Its Own Future
htttp://online.wsj.com-July 12, 2010
This summer, the Navy expects to choose between two competing designs for the Littoral Combat Ship, a fast, shore-hugging warship that will take on 21st century missions like chasing pirates and intercepting drug smugglers.
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'Don't Ask' Policy Faces Legal Test
www.latimes.com-July 12, 2010
The U.S. government's "don't ask, don't tell" policy banning openly gay military service members will be at the center of a legal battle played out in a federal courtroom in Riverside on Tuesday, with the policy facing its first major constitutional challenge since a 2003 U.S. Supreme Court decision in a Texas case struck down anti-sodomy laws.
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Obama pledges help for veterans to address post-traumatic stress
www.washingtonpost.com-July 11, 2010
President Obama said Saturday that the government is taking "a long overdue step" to aid veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder, making it easier for them receive federal benefits.
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U.S. military says questions about gays would help if 'don't ask' were ended
www.washingtonpost.com-July 10, 2010
A Defense Department survey sent this week to 400,000 service members asks such provocative questions as whether its troops have shared shower facilities with a gay person or if they would be comfortable using a base commissary if their neighbors were gay.
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Pentagon's Next Mission: Cutting Back On Spending
htttp://online.wsj.com-July 09, 2010
When people from opposite ends of the political spectrum come together to agree on something in Washington, you can be pretty sure a trend is taking shape.
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Gates Asks Gays To Fill In 'Don't Ask' Survey
www.washingtonpost.com-July 09, 2010
Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates on Thursday urged gay members of the military to complete a questionnaire distributed this week to active-duty and reserve troops regarding a potential repeal of the "don't ask, don't tell" policy, as a leading gay rights group warned that troops could be outed by the survey.
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European Plane Maker Submits Bid For U.S. Tankers
www.nytimes.com-July 09, 2010
The European Aeronautic Defense and Space Company submitted an 8,800-page bid on Thursday for a $35 billion Air Force tanker contract amid tensions over whether European subsidies would give it a cost advantage over Boeing.
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Airbus's Parent Company Submits Bids On U.S. Air Force Tankers
www.washingtonpost.com-July 09, 2010
European Aeronautic, Defense & Space, the parent company of Airbus, said it submitted a bid Thursday for a $35 billion contract to build aerial tankers for the U.S. Air Force, ahead of the government's Friday deadline.
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U.S. Presses Pentagon Contractors
htttp://online.wsj.com-July 09, 2010
Fuel Suppliers to Afghanistan Are Accused of Stonewalling Investigation by Masking Ownership.
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Mentor Program Shift Delayed
www.usatoday.com-July 09, 2010
The Pentagon has not yet determined how many retired generals and admirals it has converted from contractors to government employees under a new policy ordered by Defense Secretary Robert Gates, according to interviews with military officials
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Pentagon Wants To Move $3.9 Billion Around
www.defensenews.com-July 08, 2010
The Pentagon wants to shift nearly $4 billion in previously allocated funding, much of it within the Army's budget to buy arms and gear needed in Afghanistan, according to a July 2 omnibus reprogramming request.
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Charges For Soldier Accused Of Leak
www.nytimes.com-July 07, 2010
An American soldier in Iraq who was arrested on charges of leaking a video of a deadly American helicopter attack here in 2007 has also been charged with downloading more than 150,000 highly classified diplomatic cables that could, if made public, reveal the inner workings of American embassies around the world, the military here announced Tuesday.
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Army Intelligence Analyst Is Charged In Wikileaks Case
www.washingtonpost.com-July 07, 2010
The military said Tuesday that it has charged an Army intelligence analyst in connection with the leak of a controversial video and the downloading and transfer of classified State Department cables, in a case that is likely to further deter would-be whistleblowers.
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Weapons Budget Defies Obama Aim To Hold Costs, Pentagon Comptroller Say
www.bloomberg.com-July 06, 2010
U.S. spending on weapons through 2016 likely will grow faster than the overall defense budget, which will have annual increases of only about 1 percent above inflation, according to Pentagon Comptroller Robert Hale.
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At Arlington Cemetery, Army Ready For Drastic Measures
www.washingtonpost.com-July 01, 2010
The secretary of the Army said Wednesday that officials were prepared to dig up graves, open caskets and take DNA samples from the deceased if it is necessary to sort out the record-keeping chaos at Arlington National Cemetery.
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Toward a Responsible Defense Budget
www.cato.org-June 30, 2010
In a recent article in The Daily Caller, Chet Nagle claims that the Obama administration "plans to eliminate over a trillion defense dollars in the next ten years." Unfortunately, he has no basis for saying so.
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USNA Leaders Accused Of 'Sham'
www.washingtonpost.com-June 30, 2010
Leaders of the U.S. Naval Academy operated a "sham" bank account as a slush fund to cover invitation-only tailgate parties at football games, happy hours and holiday gatherings, according to a report released Tuesday by the naval inspector general.
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Kagan makes bipartisan appeal in Supreme Court confirmation hearings
www.washingtonpost.com-June 30, 2010
Elena Kagan told the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday that her political outlook is "generally progressive," but the glimpses she offered into her legal views defied Republican efforts to pigeonhole the type of Supreme Court justice she would be.
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DoD Adviser: Foes' Advances Might Lead To F-35 Fleet Shrinkage
www.defensenews.com-June 29, 2010
The Obama administration may have to rethink whether the U.S. military will need 2,500 F-35 fighter jets, and needs to craft a clear, prioritized national security strategy, a top Pentagon adviser told reporters June 29.
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Defense Firms Publicly Back Budget Effort
www.thehill.com-June 29, 2010
Major defense companies that have enjoyed banner revenue and profit for nearly a decade are publicly backing a new Pentagon effort to make contracts more affordable and eliminate unnecessary spending on weapons and services.
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Pentagon Aims To Cut $100 Billion
www.washingtonpost.com-June 29, 2010
Pentagon officials said Monday that they plan to try to cut as much as $100 billion over the next five years out of the billions of dollars spent annually in buying weapons systems and other services from outside contractors.
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Defense Official Meets With Defense Contractors On Cutting Costs
www.fortworthtelegraph.com-June 29, 2010
Senior Pentagon officials, facing flat budgets and rising costs, want to squeeze billions of dollars out of existing weapons programs as well as supply and services contracts.
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Key Moderate Dems Voice Support For Defense Spending Scrutiny
www.aviationweek.com-June 29, 2010
Defense Secretary Robert Gates on June 28 introduced a sweeping overhaul of the way the Pentagon does business, with the aim of saving $100 billion over five years starting in Fiscal 2012.
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Levin: Troop Reductions From Iraq, Afghanistan Would Net Defense Savings
www.thehill.com-June 29, 2010
As Pentagon leaders seek to free up about $100 billion in the defense budget, the leading Senate Democrat on military matters said on Monday that any savings will depend on U.S. withdrawal from Iraq and Afghanistan.
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Levin: Senate Likely To Repeal Don't Ask
www.marinecorpstimes.com-June 28, 2010
Any effort to kill a Senate Armed Services Committee-passed measure that would repeal the ban on open military service by gays probably won’t succeed, the committee’s chairman said Monday.
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Gates Taps Carter To Lead Procurement, Services Efficiency Effort
www.defensenews.com-June 28, 2010
Defense Secretary Robert Gates has tapped Pentagon acquisition executive Ashton Carter with leading a new initiative intended to free up billions annually within the U.S. military budget by more efficiently purchasing weapons and services.
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Bombers Away? The B-1 Could Be Near Its Demise
www.time.com-June 28, 2010
Nixon launched it, Carter killed it and Reagan resurrected it. In its infancy, the Air Force's B-1 bomber was a quick and dirty military metaphor — Republicans wanted to buy weapons to defend the nation from the Soviet Union, and Democrats didn't. Now it could become a different kind of symbol: the Air Force is thinking of retiring its total 66-plane B-1 fleet to hit budget targets set by Defense Secretary Robert Gates. Top Air Force officials met behind closed doors late last week to determine if permanently grounding the B-1 fleet makes sense.
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Cuts To US Defense Budget Look Inevitable
www.csmonitor.com-June 28, 2010
Defense expenditures amount to nearly 5 percent of US GDP -- well above the less than 2 percent of GDP spent by such allies as Canada, Germany and Britain. Analysts predict the US will have to cut military spending significantly in the next few years.
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Military Costs Under Review In Bid To Trim Waste
www.nytimes.com-June 28, 2010
The Pentagon’s effort to cut more than $100 billion in administrative costs over the next several years is expected to take a new direction on Monday with proposals that could lower profits for military companies.
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Rapid turnover at top worries U.S. military
www.msnbc.com-June 27, 2010
Since 2001, a dozen commanders have cycled through the top jobs in Iraq, Afghanistan and the U.S. Central Command, which oversees both wars. Three of those commanders — including the recently dismissed Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal — have been fired or resigned under pressure.
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Obama To Push 'Don't Ask' Repeal
www.politico.com-June 22, 2010
President Obama on Tuesday said he’d continue to push Congress and the military to overturn the "don't ask, don't tell" policy that bars gays from openly serving in the armed forces.
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E-Mails Lay Bare Firms' Pay-To-Play Links To Lawmaker
www.washingtontimes.com-June 21, 2010
Defense contractors who openly discussed a suspected pay-to-play scheme in e-mails released by congressional ethics investigators had ties to a powerful lobbying firm and won millions of dollars in federal earmarks after contributing to the campaign of an Indiana congressman.
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Tough Choices Confront Budget Cutters
www.govexec.com-June 21, 2010
After a decade of unprecedented growth, efforts to cut waste in the defense budget are coming from every corner -- from the high levels of the Pentagon to fiscal conservatives and liberals alike on Capitol Hill.
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Within the U.S. military's rank and file, doubts about winning in Afghanistan
www.washingtontimes.com-June 20, 2010
Within the U.S. military's rank and file, there are growing doubts about winning in Afghanistan, a mood that contradicts upbeat war reports delivered to Congress last week by the top commander and officials.
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Gates, Mullen Dig In On Budget Decisions
www.aviationweek.com-June 17, 2010
U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Navy Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, stood their ground June 16 in testimony to Senate defense appropriators who peppered them on the Joint Strike Fighter’s alternate engine, C-17 airlifters and other spending priorities.
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The Military Money Pit
www.bostonglobe.com-June 17, 2010
BROODING OVER the deficit is Washington’s civil religion, and as the budget gap exploded over the last two years, we’ve witnessed a revival. From the Tea Party to the White House, the deficit is a driving concern. Fear of adding to it has thwarted Democratic efforts at another stimulus. Anger over it could determine who controls Congress. No force in politics is more powerful.
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Gates Gears Up For Cuts Fight
www.politico.com-June 17, 2010
Defense Secretary Robert Gates may hold enormous sway on matters of national security, but when it comes to budget issues, he’ll have to arm-wrestle with two institutional powerhouses: the Office of Management and Budget and Congress.
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Obama: Military Will Aid In Oil Spill Cleanup
www.pnj.com-June 16, 2010
More than 3,000 military training students cheered frequently as President Barack Obama on Tuesday pledged to use military might to help save the Gulf Coast from the oil spill, then talked about the military investment in Iraq and Afghanistan.
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Humvee Proves A Tough Act To Follow
htttp://online.wsj.com-June 16, 2010
The U.S. military is moving to replace the venerable Humvee, the fuel-guzzling four-wheeler that set the standard for macho off-road SUVs in the civilian world.
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Gates says GE-Rolls Royce F-35 engine falls short
www.reuters.com-June 16, 2010
U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said an alternate engine for the multinational F-35 fighter jet appears to fall short on performance and would cost at least another $2.9 billion to develop.
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Army Recalls More Than 13,000 Armor Plates
www.military.com-June 15, 2010
The Army has issued a recall of more than 13,000 bullet-stopping armor plates, saying the ballistic plates "were not made according to specification" and ordering Soldiers to inspect their armor and exchange any plates that are part of the recall.
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Obama, Hill Poised For Clash On Cuts
www.washingtontimes.com-June 15, 2010
Neither the Bush nor Obama administration has wanted to build a second engine for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, and it's one of the biggest spending cuts on the list President Obama submitted to Congress this year -- a list Republicans have been begging Democrats to allow votes.
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Rumsfeld Was Right; Leaner Military Needed
www.baltimoresun.com-June 15, 2010
A new task force led by Massachusetts Congressman Barney Frank may recommend $1 trillion in defense cuts over the next decade. Is that a good idea?
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Burial Load, Poor Records Stress Arlington Site
www.usatoday.com-June 14, 2010
After the Army announced that Arlington National Cemetery mishandled the remains of more than 200 troops, Margaret Timmons decided to trek out to her husband's headstone on Sunday to make sure he was still where she laid him to rest 34 years ago.
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Spotlight on Private Firms at Pentagon
htttp://online.wsj.com-June 12, 2010
The Air Force's decision to suspend a support contractor for allegedly using a government computer network to collect business data for its own purposes has revived the spotlight on the Pentagon's reliance on private firms.
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Defense Industry Braces for Cuts
htttp://online.wsj.com-June 12, 2010
A week after the Pentagon announced cost-saving measures, the defense industry is bracing for possible cuts to the Pentagon's weapons-buying programs.
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Cost and Time Overruns for Major Defense Acquisition Programs
www.csis.org-June 11, 2010
Cost and time overruns in Major Defense Acquisition Programs (MDAPs) have become a high-profile problem attracting the interest of Congress, government and watchdog groups. According to the GAO, the 96 MDAPs from FY2008 collectively ran $296 billion over budget and were an average of 22 months behind schedule. President Obama’s memo on government contracting of 4 March 2009 also highlighted this issue.
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Chaos at Arlington Cemetery: Mismarked graves, dumping of urns
www.washingtonpost.com-June 11, 2010
Army investigators at Arlington National Cemetery have found more than 100 unmarked graves, scores of grave sites with headstones that are not recorded on cemetery maps, and at least four burial urns that had been unearthed and dumped in an area where excess grave dirt is kept.
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Chaos at Arlington Cemetery: Mismarked graves, dumping of urns
www.nytimes.com-June 11, 2010
The remains in more than 200 graves at Arlington National Cemetery may be incorrectly identified, the secretary of the Army said Thursday, as he announced a shake-up in the cemetery’s management. In some cases, remains were found in graves listed as empty, and occupied grave sites were unmarked.
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Plan Would Allow Abortions At Military Hospitals
www.nytimes.com-June 11, 2010
The fight to allow gay and bisexual people to serve openly in the military is already drawing political blood in Washington, but tucked into the same 852-page Pentagon policy bill as the repeal of “don’t ask, don’t tell” is a little-noticed amendment that takes on another emotionally charged issue: making abortion easier for military women in war zones.
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Defense Bill Boosts Missile Scrutiny
www.politico.com-June 10, 2010
As Congress, prodded by Defense Secretary Robert Gates, casts a more watchful eye on Pentagon spending and contracting procedures, even missile defense programs may no longer get a free pass. In fact, come next year, Congress may boost scrutiny of the Pentagon’s missile defense initiatives in a way both political parties can support.
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Report Faults Pentagon's Buying Of Spare Parts
www.reuters.com-June 10, 2010
A Pentagon agency buys over $7 billion worth of spare parts every year the Defense Department ends up not needing, a practice one senator decried as an "unbelievable" waste of taxpayer money.
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The Little Engine That Might
www.washingtonpost.com-June 09, 2010
The Pentagon doesn't want it. Defense Secretary Robert Gates says it's unnecessary. Former President George W. Bush was against it, as is Barack Obama, who has threatened to veto a defense authorization bill that includes it.
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Gates 'Disappointed' At Bid To Thwart US Partners Of EADS
http://news.yahoo.com-June 09, 2010
US Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Wednesday he was "disappointed" at attempts to discourage US firms from joining the European aviation giant EADS in a contest for a new US aerial refueling tanker.
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Skelton Takes Gates 'Seriously' On Defense Spending Reforms
www.thehill.com-June 08, 2010
Rep. Ike Skelton (D-Mo.) on Tuesday indicated that he backs Defense Secretary Robert Gates’s efforts to free up about $100 billion from the Pentagon’s budget over the next five years.
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Marine Landing Craft Said In Pentagon Cross-Hairs
www.reuters.com-June 08, 2010
The head of the U.S. House of Representatives Armed Services Committee said he expects the Pentagon to try to kill a projected $13.2 billion General Dynamics Corp (GD.N) landing-craft program for the U.S. Marine Corps in a fresh round of budget belt-tightening.
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Cameron Gives Backing To US Strategy In Afghanistan
htttp://news-scotsman.com-June 07, 2010
PRIME Minister David Cameron restated his support for the American strategy in Afghanistan when he met US defense secretary Robert Gates for talks in Downing Street yesterday.
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Gates May Get Lift From Tea Parties
www.politico.com-June 07, 2010
As Defense Secretary Robert Gates takes on General Electric, Boeing, Lockheed Martin and other “powerful people” in seeking cuts to major weapons programs, he may get help from an unexpected ally — the tea party movement.
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Pentagon Budget Planning 'Out Of Sync' With Operational Needs
www.govexec.com-June 07, 2010
The Defense Department's planning, programming, budget and execution system is too slow and inflexible to adequately support operations and makes it unnecessarily difficult for the military services "to adjust resources in a volatile world of unpredictable new threats," according to a new survey of managers.
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Contracting In Conflicts: The Path to Reform
www.cnas.org-June 07, 2010
In both Iraq and Afghanistan today there are more private contractors than U.S. troops on the ground. This exploding reliance on contractors costs U.S. taxpayers tens of billions of dollars and has grown with inadequate government oversight.
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Pentagon Told To Save Billions For Use In War
www.nytimes.com-June 04, 2010
Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates has ordered the military and the Pentagon’s civilian bureaucracy to find tens of billions of dollars in annual savings to pay for war-fighting operations, senior officials said Thursday.
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Participation Encouraged In 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' Poll
wwwpostandcourier.com-June 04, 2010
Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Mike Mullen told Charleston Air Force Base personnel their opinions will count in how to approach the likely repeal of "don't ask, don't tell."
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Mullen Discusses Changes, Challenges During Fort Bragg Visit
www.fayobserver.com-June 03, 2010
The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff told Fort Bragg soldiers on Wednesday that the Army is entering a phase where units will remain home twice as long before having to deploy again.
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Gays Figure In Talk To Soldiers
www.newsobserver.com-June 03, 2010
Openly gay recruits will likely be admitted into the military, and the services will adjust to their presence, Adm. Michael Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told a group of soldiers at Fort Bragg on Wednesday.
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Lockheed Will Retool For New Pentagon Rules
www.washingtonpost.com-June 03, 2010
Bethesda-based Lockheed Martin announced Wednesday it is reshaping the company -- including divesting most of two units -- in part to head off conflict-of-interest concerns.
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Mullen: Harassment, Assault Against Or By Gays Won't Be Tolerated
www.stripes.com-June 02, 2010
The nation’s top military officer gave a stern warning to the ranks that regardless of whether “don’t ask, don’t tell” is repealed, small unit commanders will be expected to maintain a zero-tolerance policy toward sexual assaults and harassment.
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Pentagon Procurement Process At Stake In Tanker Deal
www.reuters.com-June 02, 2010
The integrity of the Pentagon's procurement process is at stake in the protracted fight between Boeing Co (BA.N) and Europe's EADS (EAD.PA) over up to $50 billion in aerial refueling aircraft orders, the Defense Department's top weapons buyer said on Wednesday.
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Pentagon Official Searches For The Source Of Contracting Waste
www.govexec.com-June 02, 2010
Frank Kendall arguably has the most difficult job in all of federal acquisition -- rooting out the source of entrenched waste in the Defense Department's $375 billion-per-year contracting system.
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Start Slicing Budget With Defense
www.atlantajournalconstitution.com-June 02, 2010
Kentucky Republican Rand Paul is an eccentric candidate, but he has a couple of good ideas. One of them is this: Defense spending is not sacrosanct, and the military’s budget should be cut.
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Military Chiefs Split With Mullen On Gays
www.washingtontimes.com-June 02, 2010
The debate over gays in the military has driven an extraordinary public wedge between the nation's highest-ranking military officer and the four service chiefs who collectively make up the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
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Pentagon Defends Six Costly Weapons Programs
www.reuters.com-June 01, 2010
The Pentagon told Congress on Tuesday the Lockheed Martin Corp F-35 fighter program and five other big weapons programs were vital to national security and should continue despite big cost overruns that triggered live-or-die reviews.
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Glitch Shows How Much US Military Relies On GPS
www.associatedpress.com-June 01, 2010
A problem that rendered as many as 10,000 U.S. military GPS receivers useless for days is a warning to safeguard a system that enemies would love to disrupt, a defense expert says.
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Lockheed F-35’s Projected Cost Rises to $382 Billion
www.businessweek.com-June 01, 2010
The projected cost of Lockheed Martin Corp.’s F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, the most expensive U.S. weapons program, is now $382.4 billion, 65 percent higher than the $232 billion estimated when the program started in 2002, according to Defense Department figures.
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Historic Votes Don't Assure End To 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell'
www.usatoday.com-June 01, 2010
Change comes slowly to the military. It took an executive order in 1948 by President Harry Truman to force reluctant military commanders to integrate their units. Even after Truman's order, it took the Korean War, with its heavy losses and need for more troops, to make integration a reality. But it finally happened.
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Opposing view on gays in the military: Untimely rush to repeal
www.usatoday.com-June 01, 2010
America's military is locked in combat against a dangerous enemy in Afghanistan, facing the constant threat of ambush and roadside bombs. The last thing our soldiers and Marines need is any unnecessary or harmful distractions.
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Mexican pirates attack Texas fishermen on Falcon Lake, which straddles border
www.washingtonpost.com-May 30, 2010
Falcon Lake is famous for its monster bass and for the maniacal obsession of the fishermen who come from all over Texas -- and the world -- to stalk them. Now this remote reservoir that straddles the international boundary is known for something else: pirates.
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Gates Addresses Troops On 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell'
www.washingtonpost.com-May 29, 2010
Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates sought Friday to ease concerns among U.S. troops about a legislative repeal of the military's ban on openly gay men and lesbians, saying that a long, careful review process lay ahead.
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As 'Don't Ask' Fades, Military Faces Thorny Practical Issues
www.nytimes.com-May 29, 2010
For opponents of the ban against homosexuals serving openly in the military, the steps by Congress this week to repeal the policy, known as “don’t ask, don’t tell,” were a major victory. But now they are girding for what may be an equally difficult task: the transition to a force where straight and openly gay servicemen and women live, work and fight alongside one other.
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A Fitting Memorial Day Tribute
www.latimes.com-May 29, 2010
The Senate Armed Services Committee and the House guaranteed that this will be a particularly poignant Memorial Day when they voted Thursday to repeal the law that bars openly gay and lesbian Americans from serving in our volunteer military.
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Closer To Repeal
www.washingtonpost.com-May 29, 2010
RECENT POLLS have shown that the American people overwhelmingly support allowing gay men and lesbians to serve openly in the military. Congress reflected that view late Thursday when a Senate committee and the full House of Representatives voted to repeal the 17-year-old "don't ask, don't tell" policy. The vote was a victory for anyone who abhors discrimination. But it's not a done deal yet.
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House votes to end 'don't ask, don't tell' policy
www.washingtonpost.com-May 28, 2010
The House voted Thursday night to repeal "don't ask, don't tell," the controversial policy barring openly gay men and lesbians from serving in the military.
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House Votes to Allow Repeal of ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ Law
www.nytimes.com-May 28, 2010
The House voted Thursday to let the Defense Department repeal the ban on gay and bisexual people from serving openly in the military, a major step toward dismantling the 1993 law widely known as “don’t ask, don’t tell.”
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House Approves F- 35 Engine Pentagon Doesn't Want
www.washingtonpost.com-May 28, 2010
Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates's campaign to rein in defense spending was rebuked Thursday by the House, which approved an aircraft engine the Pentagon does not want despite the threat of a presidential veto.
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House Votes Pro-Boeing In Tanker Contest
www.reuters.com-May 27, 2010
The U.S. House of Representatives approved a Boeing Co (BA.N)-backed bill that would force consideration of illegal subsidies in the multibillion-dollar race between Boeing and Europe's EADS (EAD.PA) to sell refueling aircraft to the U.S. Air Force.
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Obama Opposes 1.9 Percent Pay Raise For Military Members
www.govexec.com-May 27, 2010
President Obama on Thursday formally came out against the 1.9 percent military pay raise included in the fiscal 2011 Defense authorization bill.
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Top Officer Talks Change As Gay Ban Vote Nears
www.associatedpress.com-May 27, 2010
On the eve of a vote to end the military ban on openly gay service members, the nation's top uniformed military officer repeated his support Wednesday for repealing the "don't ask, don't tell" policy.
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Service Chiefs Seek To Delay Vote On Gays
www.nytimes.com-May 27, 2010
The chiefs of the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines objected on Wednesday to a compromise plan to repeal the military’s ban on allowing gay men and lesbians to serve openly, a position that put them at odds with President Obama and Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates.
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Murphy Becomes Point Man On 'Don't Ask' Repeal
www.philly.com-May 27, 2010
For more than a year, Rep. Patrick J. Murphy (D., Pa.) has sidled up to House colleagues for quiet conversations, allaying concerns - and collecting votes - one person at a time.
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Democrats Claim Votes Are There To Nix 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' Policy
www.thehill.com-May 27, 2010
Lawmakers and gay-rights activists predicted Wednesday that both the Senate and House will have enough votes to repeal the “Don’t ask, don’t tell” law.
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'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' Affects Women, Minorities More
www.usatoday.com-May 27, 2010
For the nine years Julianne Sohn was in the military, she lived a double life.
She was a Marine and a lesbian. After a 2005 tour of duty in Iraq, she decided to speak out against the ban on gays and lesbians serving openly in the military.
Three years later, after an investigation, she was discharged under the Pentagon's "Don't ask, don't tell" policy.
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President Obama to send more National Guard troops to U.S.-Mexico border
www.washingtonpost.com-May 26, 2010
President Obama will deploy 1,200 National Guard troops and request an extra $500 million to secure the Mexican border, his administration said Tuesday, a move dismissed by Republicans as insufficient to win their cooperation on an overhaul of the nation's immigration system.
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Gates Gives Tepid Support To New Plan
www.washingtonpost.com-May 26, 2010
Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates gave lukewarm support Tuesday to a new White House-backed plan for a vote in Congress to repeal the law that bans gays from serving openly in the military.
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Delay Urged On Military Gay Ban
www.washingtontimes.com-May 26, 2010
Conservative activists and retired military officers called on Democratic leaders to pull back from efforts to make it easier for gays to serve openly in the military, and a tepid response from some Democratic lawmakers cast doubt on its prospects for passage in a volatile midterm election year.
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Brown Says No To Repeal Of 'Don't Ask'
www.bostonglobe.com-May 26, 2010
Republican Senator Scott Brown said yesterday that he will vote against repealing the law that bars gays from serving openly in the military, dealing a setback to efforts by gay rights advocates and Democrats to overturn the “don’t ask, don’t tell’’ law this year.
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Bill Nelson Says He'll Vote For Repealing Military Ban On Gays
www.Tampatribune.com-May 26, 2010
Florida Sen. Bill Nelson will vote for repealing a 17-year-old law banning gays and lesbians from serving openly in the military, the senator's spokesman said Tuesday.
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Mr. Gates's Last Battle
www.washingtonpost.com-May 26, 2010
DEFENSE SECRETARY Robert M. Gates spent his first two years focused on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, in each case backing a "surge" to turn around U.S. fortunes. Now, with his time in office probably dwindling, he's taken on a final mission: reforming Pentagon spending so that the United States will be able to maintain its military forces in an era of fiscal austerity. Though the outcome of a war isn't at stake, it's crucial that Mr. Gates succeed.
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Armed Services Chairman Opposes DADT Repeal Plan
www.thehill.com-May 25, 2010
The chairman of the House Armed Services Committee on Tuesday said he opposes a deal struck between the White House and Congress to allow gays to serve openly in the military.
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Obama backs 'don't ask, don't tell' compromise that could pave way for repeal
www.washingtonpost.com-May 25, 2010
President Obama has endorsed a "don't ask, don't tell" compromise between lawmakers and the Defense Department, the White House announced Monday, an agreement that may sidestep a key obstacle to repealing the military's policy banning gay men and lesbians from serving openly in the armed forces
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Deal could end 'don't ask, don't tell'
www.latimes.com-May 25, 2010
President Obama reached a deal with key Democrats on Monday that could repeal the "don't ask, don't tell" policy governing gays and lesbians in the military — assuming Congress signs on.
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Pork With Wings
www.houstonchronicle.com-May 25, 2010
Pork with wings: A second engine for Texas-made fighters is costly dead weight
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Obama to send up to 1,200 troops to border
www.msnbc.com-May 25, 2010
President Barack Obama will send 1,200 National Guard troops to boost security along the U.S.-Mexico border, officials said Tuesday, pre-empting Republican plans to try to force votes on such a deployment.
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Obama to send more National Guard troops to U.S.-Mexico border
www.washingtonpost.com-May 25, 2010
President Obama will deploy an additional 1,200 National Guard troops to the southern border and request $500 million in extra money for border security, according to an administration official. The decision comes as the White House is seeking Republican support for broad immigration reform this year.
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Obama to Send 1,200 Guard Troops to Mexico Border
www.nytimes.com-May 25, 2010
President Obama will send up to 1,200 National Guard troops to the Southwest border and increase spending on law enforcement, yielding to demands from both Republican and Democratic lawmakers there that border security be tightened, administration officials said.
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In Canada Once More, U.S. Troops Fleeing A War
www.usatoday.com-May 24, 2010
Patrick Hart came here in 2005, when he couldn't face a second deployment to Iraq. A U.S. Army sergeant with almost 10 years of active duty, he would rather stay in Canada forever than return to a war he thinks is wrong.
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'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' Votes Likely To Be Close
www.washingtonpost.com-May 24, 2010
Key votes pending in Congress this week on whether to repeal the "don't ask, don't tell" law that prohibits openly gay men and lesbians from serving in the military remain too close to call, advocates on both sides say.
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'Don't Ask, Don't Tell': Repeal Now
www.washingtonpost.com-May 22, 2010
Defense Secretary Robert Gates wrote a letter last month urging Congress to delay legislation that would end the "don't ask, don't tell" ban on gay men and lesbians serving openly in the military until after Dec. 1, when the results of a 10-month Pentagon working-group review are due. While the request is reasonable, it is the military that will pay the highest price if Congress does not act now.
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US rifles not suited to warfare in Afghan hills
www.associatedpress.com-May 22, 2010
The U.S. military's workhorse rifle — used in battle for the last 40 years — is proving less effective in Afghanistan against the Taliban's more primitive but longer range weapons.
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One Jet Engine Maker Or Two? Gates' Defense Spending War
www.time.com-May 21, 2010
Defense Secretary Robert Gates is responsible for overseeing the U.S. wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, but on Thursday, May 20, he took on a new war — on Capitol Hill, after a congressional panel added nearly half a billion dollars to next year's defense budget for a jet engine the military insists it doesn't need.
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It's Time To Put A Hold On The Pentagon's Blank Check
www.usatoday.com-May 21, 2010
If Washington is ever going to get the federal deficit under control, Congress is going to have to change its attitude about a lot of budgetary sacred cows. That includes national defense, which for the most part has enjoyed a blank check since the 9/11 attacks.
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Opposing view on defense spending: We're concerned about cuts
www.usatoday.com-May 21, 2010
Members of Congress have a solemn duty to be responsible stewards of U.S. taxpayer dollars. House Republicans agree with the secretary of Defense that we must scrutinize defense programs to ensure we are generating the most bang for the buck. However, with the nation at war, we are very concerned about the secretary's suggested path.
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Defense Secretary: Pentagon Must Trim The Fat In War On Waste
www.csmonitor.com-May 21, 2010
Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Thursday that the Pentagon needs to streamline its management structure and be fluid enough to shift resources to high priority areas when necessary.
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Gates Concedes Fight Against 1.9% Pay Raise
www.navytimes.com-May 21, 2010
Defense Secretary Robert Gates waved the white flag Thursday over the House Armed Services Committee’s decision to boost the Pentagon’s basic pay raise request for fiscal 2011 by half a percentage point, saying he would not recommend a presidential veto if the proposal is included in the final defense spending bill.
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Gates Concedes Fight Against 1.9% Pay Raise
www.navytimes.com-May 21, 2010
Defense Secretary Robert Gates waved the white flag Thursday over the House Armed Services Committee’s decision to boost the Pentagon’s basic pay raise request for fiscal 2011 by half a percentage point, saying he would not recommend a presidential veto if the proposal is included in the final defense spending bill.
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Pelosi Push On 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' Puts Panel Chairman In A Tough Spot
www.thehill.com-May 20, 2010
Rep. Ike Skelton (D-Mo.) is in a politically awkward position on the Pentagon’s “Don’t ask, don’t tell” policy.
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Gates: Focus On Overhead, But Weapon Cuts Still Possible
www.defensenews.com-May 20, 2010
Defense Secretary Robert Gates said May 20 cuts to major weapon programs are possible as the Pentagon continues building its fiscal 2012 budget plan.
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Troops To Weigh In On 'Don't Ask' Policy
www.bostonglobe.com-May 20, 2010
Pentagon officials studying ways to permit gays and lesbians to serve openly in the military are in a quandary: They want to gather the unique insights and attitudes of homosexuals in uniform, but to identify and interview gay troops would, under the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’’ policy, mean that disciplinary action would have to be brought against them.
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House Committee Passes Defense Bill
www.politico.com-May 20, 2010
The House Armed Services Committee on Wednesday night unanimously passed its version of the defense authorization bill, setting up a showdown with the Pentagon over jet engines and potentially exacerbating tensions in the hotly contested aerial refueling tanker competition.
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Pelosi Vows To End 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' By The End Of The Year
www.thehill.com-May 20, 2010
The Pentagon’s “Don’t ask, don’t tell” policy will be nothing but a memory by year’s end, Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) declared Wednesday.
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House Panel Defies Pentagon On Fighter Engine
www.reuters.com-May 20, 2010
A U.S. congressional committee, slighting the Pentagon for a fourth straight year, cleared continued work on an alternate engine by General Electric Co and Rolls-Royce Group Plc for the multinational F-35 fighter jet program.
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Senators Press For National Guard Troops On Border
http://news.yahoo.com-May 20, 2010
Homeland Security and Pentagon officials are at loggerheads over a plan to send National Guard troops to the U.S.-Mexico border, even as President Barack Obama is pledging to bolster security there.
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Pentagon Reports Progress On Anniversary Of Procurement Reform Law
www.govexec.com-May 19, 2010
In the year since President Obama signed the Weapons System Acquisition Reform Act into law, the Defense Department has made significant strides in gaining control over the cost and development of its procurement programs, Pentagon officials testified on Wednesday.
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Cruising For A Bruising?
www.washingtontimes.com-May 18, 2010
Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates, speaking at the annual Navy League Exposition on May 3, gave well-deserved recognition to the dedicated men and women of the sea services who are brilliantly meeting their global responsibilities, whether at sea or land in Iraq and Afghanistan. The secretary then proceeded to lay the groundwork for major changes for the Navy's - and the country's - future.
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Gates Finds Congress A Reluctant Partner
www.washingtonpost.com-May 17, 2010
Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates has vowed to impose fiscal austerity at the Pentagon, but his biggest challenge may be persuading Congress to go along.
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Gates Aims At An Elusive Target: US Defense Budget
http://news.yahoo.com-May 17, 2010
US Defense Secretary Robert Gates is vowing to rein in the Pentagon's mushrooming budget and bloated bureaucracy, hoping to succeed where his predecessors mostly failed.
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U.S. Troops Suffer More Stress Than Britons, Study Says
www.nytimes.com-May 17, 2010
British troops who have fought in Iraq or Afghanistan suffer far lower rates of post-traumatic stress than Americans do, according to the most rigorous psychiatric study of Britain’s military so far.
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Great Power No More?
www.nypost.com-May 17, 2010
It seems Barack Obama has a new presidential role model, at least as far as national defense is concerned: Dwight Eisenhower. But the Ike that Obama likes isn't the easy-going golfing geezer -- and certainly not the grim Cold Warrior who promised massive nuclear retaliation on the enemy if they started any serious trouble.
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Mr. Gates And The Pentagon Budget
www.nytimes.com-May 17, 2010
There has been a feeding frenzy at the Pentagon budget trough since the 9/11 attacks. Pretty much anything the military chiefs and industry lobbyists pitched, Congress approved — no matter the cost and no matter if the weapons or programs were over budget, underperforming or no longer needed in a post-cold-war world.
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Mental Care Stays Are Up In Military
www.usatoday.com-May 14, 2010
Mental health disorders caused more hospitalizations among U.S. troops in 2009 than any other reason according to medical data released recently by the Pentagon. This historic high reflects the growing toll of nearly nine years of war.
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TRICARE Fee Structure Needs Overhaul, Says Defense Official
www.govexec.com-May 14, 2010
The Pentagon's top policy official on Thursday called for changes in the military's health benefits system for retirees, saying the current structure has become unsustainable in today's economic environment.
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Gates Gets Pushback On Budget Plan
www.politico.com-May 14, 2010
Defense hawks, defense industry lobbyists and veterans groups are predictably mobilizing against a shift in how the Pentagon spends its billions, being pushed by Defense Secretary Robert Gates, leaving observers to wonder whether his effort will get any further than the countless efforts before his.
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House Panel Supports Bigger Raise For Military
www.washingtonpost.com-May 14, 2010
Lawmakers disregarded Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates's calls for fiscal restraint Wednesday, approving a military pay raise higher than President Obama and the Pentagon requested.
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Mattis: Military Should Rely Less On Technology
www.airforcetimes.com-May 13, 2010
The military relies too much on technology, and soldiers need to practice more “with the radios turned off,” a key general said.
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Retirees May Be Gates' Toughest Military Foe
www.aolnews.com-May 12, 2010
In three and a half years as secretary of defense, Robert Gates has successfully challenged the bureaucracies of the Army, Air Force and Navy, along with their powerful friends in industry and on Capitol Hill. But now he may be taking on the toughest branch of the defense establishment: retirees and their health insurance.
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Levin: Gates 'Gutsy' For Trying To Curb Pentagon Spending, Bureaucracy
www.thehill.com-May 12, 2010
The Senate’s leading Democrat on military affairs called Secretary of Defense Robert Gates “gutsy” for taking aim at the Pentagon’s spending practices and bureaucratic bloat.
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Risky Moves In The Military
www.washingtontimes.com-May 12, 2010
I am a retired soldier. My service began in 1942 and ended in 1983. I am one of the several hundred generals and admirals who signed a letter to the president asking that he not change the law concerning the military service of homosexual persons or the policy that spawned the "don't ask, don't tell" expression associated with the law.
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House Subcommittee Votes For 1.9 Percent Raise
www.marinecorpstimes.com-May 12, 2010
A House subcommittee showed Wednesday that lawmakers are not yet ready to embrace Defense Secretary Robert Gates’ call to hold down military personnel costs.
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Gates Talks Of Tough Choices Ahead
htttp://online.wsj.com-May 10, 2010
U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said the country's worsening economic problems meant the Pentagon had to cut its bureaucracy and purchase less-expensive weapons systems.
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End May Be Near For Big Raises
www.newportnewsdailypress.com-May 10, 2010
Every witness before a recent Senate subcommittee hearing on military compensation – all experts on service pay and benefits – called directly or indirectly for Congress to end its 12-year run annual military pay raises that exceed private-sector wage growth.
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Gates Vows To Shrink Pentagon Bureaucracy
www.washingtonpost.com-May 09, 2010
Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates vowed Saturday to lead an effort to cut as much as $15 billion in overhead costs from the Pentagon's $550 billion budget and warned that without the savings, the military will not be able to afford its current force.
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Gates Takes Aim At Pentagon Spending
www.nytimes.com-May 09, 2010
Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates challenged some sacrosanct Pentagon spending practices in a speech on Saturday, directing both military and civilian officials to find cuts in their overhead and operating costs and then transfer the savings to the fighting force.
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Gates: Spending 'Gusher' Now Off
www.politico.com-May 08, 2010
Warning that the kind of massive budget increases seen since 2001 cannot continue, Defense Secretary Robert Gates is ordering the Pentagon to tighten its belt in ways that could squeeze its massive bureaucracy and create serious heartburn on Capitol Hill and in the defense industry.
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Pentagon asking Congress to hold back on generous increases in troop pay
www.washingtonpost.com-May 08, 2010
The Pentagon, not usually known for its frugality, is pleading with Congress to stop spending so much money on the troops.
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Gates: Speed FCS Replacement, Define Future USMC Role
www.defensenews.com-May 08, 2010
U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates wants the Army to accelerate its top modernization program, and is challenging the Marine Corps to define its future role.
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