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

January 06, 2019

Former Defense Secretary Harold Brown dies at 91

Harold Brown, who as defense secretary in the Carter administration championed cutting-edge fighting technology during a ...

January 04, 2019

Pentagon asked for more help, concertina wire, on border

The Department of Homeland Security has asked the military to provide more help securing the U.S.-Mexico border, two defense ...

January 04, 2019

Appeals court sides with Trump in transgender military case

A federal appeals court sided with the Trump administration Friday in a case about the Pentagon's effort to restrict military ...

January 02, 2019

The Latest: Trump says he fired Mattis, who left over Syria

The Latest on the change atop the Defense Department (all times local): 2:15 p.m. President Donald Trump says he fired Jim ...

January 02, 2019

New Pentagon leader Shanahan makes clear his focus is China

On his first working day as acting defense secretary, Pat Shanahan made clear that his focus is on China. The former Boeing ...

January 01, 2019

Leaving Pentagon, Mattis urges workers to 'keep faith' in US

Jim Mattis ended one of history's more turbulent tenures as defense secretary on Monday by re-emphasizing a key difference ...

December 31, 2018

Timetable of Trump's pullout from Syria being questioned

Amid questions about the pace of his exit from Syria, President Donald Trump complained Monday that he's getting "bad press" ...

December 31, 2018

Former Afghanistan commander warns of plans to cut troops

The former top U.S. commander in Afghanistan said Sunday that withdrawing up to half the 14,000 American troops serving there ...

December 31, 2018

Women changing makeup of military, and perhaps its politics

It had been months since retired Lt. Cmdr. Michele Fitzpatrick paid attention to news coverage. She was turned off by ...

December 31, 2018

Kids who assault on US bases can still escape accountability

Despite new rules addressing sexual assault among the children of U.S. service members, the federal government failed to fix ...

December 29, 2018

Military women, female veterans are shifting away from GOP

It had been months since retired Lt. Cmdr. Michele Fitzpatrick paid attention to news coverage. She was turned off by ...

December 27, 2018

Trump finally hews to ritual of meeting troops in harm's way

President Donald Trump once opined that it wasn't "overly necessary" for him to visit troops in danger zones abroad. But with ...

December 27, 2018

The Latest: Trump greets US troops in Germany

The Latest on President Donald Trump's trip to Iraq (all times local): 5 a.m. President Donald Trump and his wife, Melania ...

December 27, 2018

Trump makes first visit to US troops in harm's way

In an unannounced trip to Iraq on Wednesday, President Donald Trump staunchly defended his decision to withdraw U.S.

Donald Trump, Patrick Shanahan, John Sullivan

December 25, 2018

Mattis' permanent replacement likely to face close scrutiny

The departure of Defense Secretary Jim Mattis in a week will thrust President Donald Trump's largely unknown choice for ...

December 23, 2018

After criticism, Trump pushes out Mattis sooner than planned

Irritated with the criticism and fallout from Defense Secretary Jim Mattis' resignation, President Donald Trump on Sunday ...

December 23, 2018

Santa tracker will still run despite government shutdown

The government may be partially shut down, but that won't stop hundreds of volunteers dressed in Christmas hats and military ...

December 22, 2018

Mattis outlines strategic hazards facing next Pentagon chief

The extraordinary resignation letter that Defense Secretary Jim Mattis handed to a surprised President Donald Trump was not ...

December 21, 2018

Trump call with Turkish leader led to US pullout from Syria

President Donald Trump's decision to withdraw American troops from Syria was made hastily, without consulting his national ...