Mullen Says Pay, Benefit Cuts ‘On the Table’

The Pentagon’s top officer said Thursday that servicemembers will likely see cuts in pay and benefits as the military plumbs its budget for nearly half a trillion dollars in savings over the next 12 years.

House GOP Crafts Bill on US Role in Libya

WASHINGTON — House Republican leaders crafted legislation on Thursday allowing the U.S. military to continue participating in the NATO-led operation against Libya as the Pentagon warned that any statement of congressional opposition would send “an unhelpful message of disunity and uncertainty” to U.S. troops, allies and Moammar Gadhafi’s regime.

U.S. projects in war zones are unsustainable, study finds

Billions of dollars worth of U.S.-funded reconstruction projects in Afghanistan and Iraq could fall into disrepair over the next few years because inadequate provisions have been made to pay for their ongoing operations and maintenance, according to a report to be released Friday by a bipartisan legislative commission.

House Passes $42.3B Homeland Security Funding Bill

WASHINGTON — The GOP-controlled House on Thursday passed a $42.3 billion budget for the government’s homeland security efforts after a debate that demonstrated resistance for some of the spending cuts required under austere budget times.

For police trainers in Afghanistan, making recruits competent is an uphill struggle

ADRASKAN NATIONAL TRAINING CENTER, Afghanistan — The 408 members of the 16th Afghan National Civil Order Police class started training in October to assume their responsibilities to help secure Afghanistan’s future.

Mullen: Washington still waiting on Afghan drawdown plan from Petraeus

WASHINGTON — Though July is less than one month away, the U.S. still has no plan to begin reducing the number of troops in Afghanistan, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Adm. Mike Mullen said Thursday.

Returned Combat Veteran: ‘Anxiety Trumps Logic’

Like many U.S. veterans, commentator Benjamin Tupper has read Tim O’Brien’s famous book about the Vietnam War, The Things They Carried. Tupper’s war was in Afghanistan, but he says O’Brien’s observations hold true, decades later.

Is Libyan Op Illegal Now?

Just weeks after President Obama released his long-form birth certificate — effectively silencing the so-called “birthers” who doubted his legitimacy as president — he may have opened up a new front for critics who might question his authority as commander-in-chief.

Gates: Obama Aimed for Unity on National Security

SINGAPORE — The first major reshaping of President Obama’s national security team, including new chiefs at the Pentagon, CIA and Joint Chiefs of Staff, took a full year of planning, with a focus on finding people who could work well together during wartime, U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Thursday.

‘If there’s a health risk, we will clean that up,’ 8th Army says

CAMP CARROLL, South Korea — The U.S. and South Korea began ground and water testing at Camp Carroll on Thursday, an early step in determining whether Agent Orange was buried at the Daegu-area base in the late 1970s as claimed by a handful of veterans once stationed there.

U.S. Lags on ‘Key Milestones’ in Transition Plan for Iraq, Report Says

The U.S. is failing to meet “key milestones” in advance of the planned Oct. 1 handover of responsibilities in Iraq from the U.S. military to the State Department, according to a report being issued today by the State Department’s Inspector General.