Two columns of tanks and military vehicles rolled into southeastern Ukraine from Russia on Thursday after Grad missiles were fired at a border post and Ukraine's overmatched border guards fled, a top Ukrainian official said. Echoing the comments by Ukraine's Col. Andriy Lysenko, a top NATO official said at least 1,000 Russian troops have poured into Ukraine with sophisticated equipment, leaving no doubt that the Russian military had invaded southeastern Ukraine.
The Ukrainian army destroyed two military bases of pro-Russian insurgents in overnight operations, the country's acting president said Thursday, as the government returned to the offensive a day after the start of European-brokered talks which have yet to draw in the warring sides.
Two veterans advocacy groups filed a lawsuit last week alleging that the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs is discriminating against survivors of military sexual assault when it decides whether to grant disability claims.
The Pentagon spends about $100 million annually to recover and identify missing service members from the Vietnam War, Korean War and World War II, but identified just 60 last year — far short of the 200 per year mandated by Congress starting next year. This latest restructuring is the broadest one yet, taking on the science used to make identifications and creating public-private partnerships, but it's unclear whether it will be a reorganization just on paper like it was in the past.
The United States' campaign to encourage China to be more open about its military growth and intentions got a symbolic boost Monday, but efforts to get the Asian giant to be more transparent about other defense operations, including cybersecurity, have so far lagged behind. U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel got a rare tour of China's first aircraft carrier, becoming the first foreign visitor to go aboard the ship, according to Chinese leaders.
Though a majority was for it, the Senate could not garner the 60 votes needed to move a bill – sponsored by Kirsten Gillibrand and other Senate Democratic women – that would have placed military rape and other sexual assault trials outside the chain of command forward.
Two Iranian warships set sail Tuesday for the Atlantic Ocean on their navy's first-ever mission there, state TV reported. The voyage comes amid an ongoing push by Iran to demonstrate the ability to project power across the Middle East and beyond. The report said that the destroyer Sabalan and the logistic helicopter carrier Khark will be dispatched on a three-month voyage.
The Texas National Guard will immediately begin letting same-sex couples register for benefits after the Defense Department approved a new procedure for enrolling National Guard members and their dependents for benefits.
According to the MarineCorp Times, soldiers stations throughout Afghanistan are using a Craigslist site, "presumably left over from the U.S. war in Iraq," to find sexual partners on multiple major bases, including Kandahar Airfield, Bagram, Camp Leatherneck/Bastion, and Forward Operating Bases Ghazni and Salerno. Though Some ads specifically state taht the poster is looking for a female partner, the majority of users seem to be seeking sex with other men.
A goal of both gay and transgender conversion therapy is to embrace societal gender role norms, so in my case embracing masculine norms was the goal. It should come as no surprise then that when I enlisted in the Navy in 1980, it was in part an attempt to be the man I wasn’t.
