U.S. Department of Defense news and stories by mail.com

U.S. Department of Defense

US eyes drone base in Africa with al-Qaida in mind
Plans to base unarmed American surveillance drones in the African nation of Niger highlight the Obama administration's growing concern about extremist ...
US military deaths in Afghanistan at 2,045
As of Tuesday, Jan. 29, 2013, at least 2,045 members of the U.S. military had died in Afghanistan as a result of the U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan ...
Reid: Replace automatic cuts in short increments
The top Democrat in the Senate said Tuesday that lawmakers should redouble their efforts to replace looming across-the-board cuts to the Pentagon and ...
Official: US may set up drone base in Niger
The Pentagon is moving toward setting up a military base in northwest Africa from which to operate surveillance drones to collect intelligence on ...
Defense nominee Hagel plans to shed some holdings
Secretary of Defense nominee Chuck Hagel has told Pentagon officials he plans to divest some of his financial holdings and resign from several ...
Graham threatens to block Hagel pick over Libya
A Republican senator is threatening to block the nomination of Chuck Hagel to lead the Pentagon unless Defense Secretary Leon Panetta testifies about ...
FACT CHECK: The stretched case against Chuck Hagel
Republican-leaning groups opposing President Barack Obama's choice of Chuck Hagel to head the Defense Department have let loose a barrage of claims ...
French, Mali forces head toward Timbuktu
French and Malian forces pushed toward the fabled desert town of Timbuktu on Sunday, as the two-week-long French mission gathered momentum against the ...
US to support French in Mali with aerial refueling
The United States has decided to provide additional support to the French military in its war against Islamic militants in Mali by conducting aerial ...
Health answers sought about burned-off war garbage
J.D. Williams didn't think much about the smoke cloud that often shrouded his air base in Iraq. Not when it covered everything he owned with black ...
Wife of female Army officer can join spouses club
A woman who is married to a female Army officer at Fort Bragg and who was recently denied membership in its officers' spouses club said late Friday ...
Pentagon: Budget crisis could hurt war effort
The Afghan war effort eventually would be harmed by across-the-board budget cuts, even as the Obama administration intends to shield the military's ...
American women have served and died from the first
American women have served and died on the nation's battlefields from the first. They were nurses and cooks, spies and couriers in the Revolutionary ...
Practically human: Can smart machines do your job?
Art Liscano knows he's an endangered species in the job market: He's a meter reader in Fresno, Calif. For 26 years, he's driven from house to house, ...
AP PHOTOS: A look at women's military service
Through the years, women's roles in wartime have evolved — not that women ever have been inclined to just stand by. During the American Revolution, ...
1st woman to lead in combat 'thrilled' with change
Former U.S. Army Capt. Linda L. Bray says her male superiors were incredulous upon hearing she had ably led a platoon of military police officers ...
Women in combat face doubts over emotions, ability
During her time in Iraq, Alma Felix would see her fellow female soldiers leave the Army installations where she worked at a desk job and head into ...
Women in combat: Good to go if they meet standards
Women in the military must have the same opportunities as men to take on grueling and dangerous combat jobs, whether loading 50-pound artillery shells ...
US: NKorea nuke test plan 'provocative'
North Korea's plan to conduct a third nuclear test is "needlessly provocative" and will only increase its isolation, the White House said Thursday, ...
Panetta: No outward sign Korean nuke test imminent
Defense Secretary Leon Panetta says he's seen no outward sign that North Korea will follow through soon on its plan to conduct a third nuclear test.
White House: Allen's NATO nomination to go ahead
The White House said Wednesday it will go ahead with Gen. John Allen's nomination to become commander of NATO forces in Europe, following his ...
Witness describes killings by Malian army
Malian soldiers killed people accused of ties to radical Islamists at a bus stop around the time the French-led military intervention began, a witness ...
US Afghan commander cleared in Petraeus email case
A Pentagon investigation has cleared Gen. John Allen, the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, of professional misconduct in exchanging emails with a ...