Military Glance
Instead of keeping watch itself, the Department of Defense today relies on contractors to monitor the work of other contractors, a risk strategy that became cemented during the Iraq War thanks to a politically-connected-and powerful-company with ties to the Bush White House.
In late 2004, the U.S. Army command overseeing logistical support for troops in Iraq had a serious problem on its hands. Army officials had hired KBR, then a subsidiary of Halliburton, which Vice President Dick Cheney had helped lead, to supply soldiers with food and other supplies. But at least $1 billion in billing by KBR was questioned by the Pentagon's Defense Contract Audit Agency, resulting in the Army deciding to withhold 15% of its payments to KBR.
Pentagon hires contractors to regulate contractors
US soldier pleads guilty to murders of 3 Afghans
A 22-year-old U.S. soldier pleaded guilty Wednesday to the murders of three Afghan civilians, telling a military judge "the plan was to kill people" in his coordinated conspiracy with four fellow soldiers.
Spc. Jeremy Morlock of Wasilla, Alaska, was court-martialed at Joint Base Lewis-McChord south of Seattle, where he pleaded guilty to three counts of murder, and one count each of conspiracy, obstructing justice and illegal drug use in exchange for a maximum sentence of 24 years in prison.
Army slow to act as crime-lab worker falsified, botched tests
For nearly three years, the military held the key to Roger House's exoneration and didn't tell him: A forensics examiner had botched a crucial lab test used in the Navy lieutenant's court-martial. In fact, the military had begun second-guessing a decade's worth of tests conducted by its one-time star lab analyst, Phillip Mills.
Investigators discovered that Mills had cut corners and even falsified reports in one case. He found DNA where it didn't exist, and failed to find it where it did. His mistakes may have let the guilty go free while the innocent, such as House, were convicted.
Female soldiers' suicide rate triples when at war
The suicide rate for female soldiers triples when they go to war, according to the first round of preliminary data from an Army study. The findings, released to USA TODAY this week, show that the suicide rate rises from five per 100,000 to 15 per 100,000 among female soldiers at war.
Scientists are not sure why but say they will look into whether women feel isolated in a male-dominated war zone or suffer greater anxieties about leaving behind children and other loved ones. Even so, the suicide risk for female soldiers in Iraq or Afghanistan is still lower than for men serving next to them, the $50 million study says.
Revealed: US spy operation that manipulates social media
The US military is developing software that will let it secretly manipulate social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter by using fake online personas to influence internet conversations and spread pro-American propaganda.
A Californian corporation has been awarded a contract with United States Central Command (Centcom), which oversees US armed operations in the Middle East and Central Asia, to develop what is described as an "online persona management service" that will allow one US serviceman or woman to control up to 10 separate identities based all over the world.
US unarmed drones track drug gangs in Mexico - report
The US has been sending unarmed drones over Mexico since February to gather intelligence on major drug cartels, the New York Times reports. Useful information has already been turned over to Mexican authorities, US officials told the paper.
The missions had been kept secret because of Mexican legal restraints and sensitivities over sovereignty. Mexico's northern border areas have seen much of the violence that has left more than 34,000 dead since late 2006.
Army reprimands 9 officers in Fort Hood shooting
The Army is reprimanding nine officers for leadership failures in connection with the shooting rampage at Fort Hood, Texas, and their failure to detect problems with the accused shooter, Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan (ahb-DEL'-hah-leem HAH'-san).
The Army says in a statement that although no single event directly led to the tragedy, certain officers failed to meet expected standards. A Pentagon review last year found that Hasan's supervisors expressed serious concerns about his questionable behavior and poor judgment but failed to heed the warnings.
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