Latest United States armed forces Stories

...Victory Arrives On Guard's 375th Birthday WASHINGTON, Dec. 13, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- In a far-reaching and historic advance for the National Guard's role in the nation's defense and security structure, bipartisan conferees on the annual Defense Authorization Bill have agreed to give the National Guard its first seat on the nation's highest military council, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, according to the Senate's sponsors of the Guard reforms, Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.)...

WASHINGTON, Nov. 16, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- Top Obama Administration military adviser Admiral Mike Mullen will address federal managers next month in Washington, D.C., discussing the Iraq and Afghanistan wars; developments in China, Pakistan and Iran; news on the controversial "don't ask, don't tell" policy; and the plan to streamline defense budgets. The December 8 event, announced today by Government Executive Media Group, is free and currently open to government employees for online...

ARLINGTON, Va., Oct. 27 /PRNewswire/ -- Yerecic Label, of New Kensington, Pa., was honored by the Department of Defense with the 2010 Secretary of Defense Employer Support Freedom Award on September 23, 2010 at the Ronald Reagan Building in Washington, DC. The highest recognition given by the U.S. Government to employers for their outstanding support of employees who serve in the Guard and Reserve, Yerecic Label was one of 15 employers nationwide to receive this year's Freedom Award at a...

By Liz Hayes And Tamara Simpson Girardi, The Valley News-Dispatch, Tarentum, Pa. Jun. 15--Despite living in a country at war, high school graduates choosing a military career path have the luxury of it being just that -- a choice. "Every war we've had in the past, there was a draft," said Don Goldstein, an expert on World War II and a professor at the University of Pittsburgh's Graduate School of Public and International Affairs. But the lack of a draft arguably has tied the hands of the...

By Will Dunham WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Army, which fell short in recruiting last year, made its 14th straight monthly goal in July and is expected to hit its 2006 target despite the Iraq war making recruiting harder, officials said on Thursday. Jeff Spara, in charge of Army recruiting policy, denied the Army has been making its recruiting goals by taking lower-quality volunteers who previously might have been rejected, as some experts contend. "It looks very good right now,"...

By Kristin Roberts and Vicki Allen WASHINGTON (Reuters) - As lawmakers decried the strain on the U.S. military from the Iraq war, the Senate on Tuesday unanimously approved $13.1 billion for emergency repairs and replacement of Army and Marine Corp equipment. The Senate approved the measure on a voice vote with no debate after Democrats accused the White House of letting the war weaken the military's ability to take on missions. Democrats had planned to push to add $10.2 billion in...

By Will Dunham WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Army, aiming to avoid missing a second straight annual recruiting goal amid the Iraq war, achieved its June target, the Pentagon said on Monday, while denying the military is taking lower-quality volunteers. The active-duty Army sent 8,756 new recruits into boot camp in June, beating its goal of 8,600 and reaching its monthly target for the 13th straight time. The Army, seeking 80,000 new soldiers by the end of fiscal 2006 on September 30,...

By Will Dunham WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Army, aiming to make its recruiting goals amid the Iraq war, raised its maximum enlistment age by another two years on Wednesday, while the Army Reserve predicted it will miss its recruiting target for a second straight year. People can now volunteer to serve in the active-duty Army or the part-time Army Reserve and National Guard up to their 42nd birthday after the move aimed at increasing the number of people eligible to sign up,...

By Will Dunham WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Army Reserve, strained by the Iraq war, has blocked hundreds of officers who have finished their voluntary service commitment from leaving the military, officials said on Thursday. The Army Reserve has been applying a policy preventing officers from resigning their military commissions if it has a personnel shortage in their particular specialty or if they have not yet been deployed for duty in Iraq, Afghanistan or in a homeland defense...

By Will Dunham WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Army, fresh off missing its latest annual recruiting goal, has launched an unprecedented effort to coax former troops to sign up again for active-duty military service, officials said on Tuesday. The Army this month began contacting 78,000 people who previously served in the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps to pitch them on the idea of leaving behind their civilian lives and returning for another stint in uniform, said Lt. Col....