5 US soldiers killed in Baghdad rocket attack

BAGHDAD (AP) — Five American troops serving as advisers to Iraqi security police in eastern Baghdad were killed Monday when rockets slammed into the compound where they lived. The deaths were the largest single-day loss of life for American forces in two years.

Army’s 101st Pays High Price for Afghan Surge Year

JALALABAD, Afghanistan — The Soldiers of the U.S. Army’s famed 101st Airborne Division deployed to Afghanistan confident their counterinsurgency expertise would once again turn a surge strategy into a success but are headed home uncertain of lasting changes on the battlefield.

Gates Says US Support Troops Should Go Home First

FORWARD OPERATING BASE WALTON, Afghanistan — A soon-to-begin U.S. troop withdrawal from Afghanistan should leave combat power intact as long as possible to press an anti-Taliban offensive, U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Sunday. He said support troops should go first.

Radiation fears outpaced the facts after quake, USFJ commander says

YOKOTA AIR BASE, Japan — As the specter of potential nuclear contamination spread throughout Japan in the week following the March 11 earthquake and tsunami, the top U.S. military commander in the country felt as uncertain as many of the Americans under his protection.

Pakistan, Militants In Deadly Border Fight

There is worry that violent militants inside Pakistan could destabilize the country.

American officials want Pakistan to intensify its fight against those militants because they complicate the U.S. war in Afghanistan. Pakistan’s army has repeatedly driven out the Taliban from tribal zones near its border with Afghanistan. But the militants won’t stay beaten.

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.

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.