Sunday, Jul 21st
Last update05:20:13 AM GMT
Military Glance
President Donald Trump on Thursday said a U.S. Navy ship shot down an Iranian drone in a defensive action.
Trump said the USS Boxer, an amphibious assault ship, fired on the drone in the Strait of Hormuz on Thursday, destroying the aircraft.
The incident came four weeks after Iran shot down a U.S. surveillance drone flying over international airspace the same area, in what American officials at the time called an “unprovoked attack.”
Adm. Bill Moran had been selected to be Chief of Naval Operations, and his nomination was confirmed by the Senate in May. He had been slated to take over August 1.
The Secretary of the Navy has accepted Moran's request to retire.
USA TODAY has been seeking emails between Moran and a former Navy spokesman who had worked for Moran. Retired Navy Cdr. Chris Servello had also worked for Adm. John Richardson, the outgoing Chief of Naval Operations.
Servello and Richardson were rebuked by Navy officials after Servello had acted boorishly at an office Christmas party and Richardson was slow to discipline him.
President Donald Trump boasted Tuesday that the nation’s military leaders are “thrilled” that he’s trotting out a dazzling display of troops, tanks, helicopters and fighter jets for his personal Independence Day celebration.
But multiple former military leaders are publicly expressing dismay, calling it the latest example of Trump politicizing the armed services.
The annual public festivities and fireworks display on the National Mall scheduled for Thursday are being overtaken by Trump's "Salute to America" event, which is shaping up to feature a prominent role for the military.
A Navy SEAL was found not guilty on Tuesday of premeditated murder after being charged with killing a teenage Islamic State prisoner in Iraq.
Navy SEAL Edward Gallagher was accused of stabbing a teenage prisoner in the neck and body. He went on to pose with the prisoner's body and included it as a prop in his re-enlistment ceremony, and bragged that he "got this one with my knife." In addition, he was also accused of shooting two civilians.
Gallagher was found guilty on one of seven charges: posing for a photo with a human casualty. According to CNN, Gallagher faces a maximum sentence of four months. However, he has already served 201 days.
Health care professionals from the Department of Veterans Affairs testified at a congressional hearing Tuesday that they are being punished for reporting problems with VA care, to the detriment of veterans and despite proclamations by the Trump administration that whistleblowers are celebrated and not scorned.
A physician from the Phoenix area, a psychologist from Baltimore and a CT technologist from Iowa City, Iowa, said that they believe managers have retaliated against them and tried to stop them from disclosing more issues at VA medical centers.
Brig. Gen. Laura Yeager is set to make history this month when she becomes the first woman ever to command a U.S. Army Infantry Division.
Yeager, a former Black Hawk helicopter pilot, will command the California National Guard’s 40th Infantry Division, the Orange County Register reported Friday. She will take over on June 29 for Maj. Gen. Mark Malanka, who is retiring.
Yeager became a second lieutenant in the Army in 1986 and completed military helicopter training three years later. She then began her service as a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter aeromedical evacuation pilot.
More than 50,000 disabled veterans could be owed as much as $190 million in refunds from the Department of Veterans Affairs for home loan fees they were wrongly charged or no longer owe, an investigation has found.
Senior leaders knew about the problem for years but didn’t ensure veterans received what they are due, the investigation by the VA inspector general found.
Veterans pay the fees when they buy homes with the help of VA's Home Loan Guaranty Program, but they are supposed to be exempt if they are disabled. Fees can total up to 3.3% of a home's value.
In cases where veterans improperly paid the fees or the VA later determined they were disabled, the agency is supposed to issue refunds.
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