US Military News, Reports, Data, etc.

TerraN_EmpirE said:

I still have trouble With a Ship named after the CSS Virginia. We need a Merrimack and Monitor.

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Final Raptor rolls off Lockheed assembly line

The Associated Press
Posted : Tuesday Dec 13, 2011 13:08:35 EST

MARIETTA, Ga. — The final F-22 Raptor fighter jet rolled off the assembly line at a Lockheed Martin Corp. plant here on Tuesday.

The jet is the last of 187 F-22s produced for the Air Force, completing its operational fleet. The F-22 Raptor is designed to carry a variety of weapons, including smart bombs and air-to-air missiles.

The final Raptor will be delivered to the Air Force next year, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.

About 2,000 workers have assembled the jets at the Marietta plant.

F-22s are now based at Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Va.; Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska; Holloman Air Force Base, N.M.; and Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii.

The F-22’s maiden flight took place Sept. 7, 1997, a Sunday morning, over Marietta with test pilot Paul Metz at the controls.

Lockheed originally expected to eventually build more than 1,400 Raptors, but the Navy pulled out of the project not long after the contract was awarded.

Critics have complained of the plane’s cost, about $140 million per plane, and many have argued there is no clear mission for the Raptor now that the Cold War is over.

The Raptor did not have a role in the fighting in Iraq or Afghanistan. It has been deployed to Japan and Guam to enhance security in the Pacific.

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MQ-9 Reaper crashes on African island

By Jill Laster - Staff writer air force times
Posted : Tuesday Dec 13, 2011 10:45:27 EST

An Air Force UAV crashed Tuesday morning at an African island airport, the service has announced.

The MQ-9 Reaper crashed at about 10:30 a.m. at an international airport in the Seychelles, north of Madagascar. The Reaper was unarmed and no injuries were reported, the Air Force said in a news release.

U.S. Air Forces in Europe spokesman Tech. Sgt. Markus Maier declined comment on what the Reaper was doing in Seychelles, citing national security reasons. He said only that there “are multiple aircraft of various types” stationed with U.S. Forces Africa and that those aircraft support a range of regional security missions.

The cause of the incident is under investigation, and the airport runway has reopened for normal traffic.

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Military wants Iran to return downed drone

By Dave Majumdar - Staff writer Airforce times
Posted : Monday Dec 12, 2011 18:04:11 EST

The government is asking Iran to return the Lockheed Martin-built RQ-170 Sentinel UAV that was recently downed over that country.

“We’ve asked for it back. We’ll see how the Iranians respond,” President Obama said Monday during a news conference at the White House with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.

Obama’s statement is the first official confirmation that the stealthy high-altitude spy plane had been captured by Iran. Earlier, the Pentagon had only officially acknowledged that an unmanned aircraft of an unspecified type was missing over western Afghanistan.

Iranian officials have already stated that they will not return the captured aircraft and have promised to reverse-engineer the jet’s technology.

“I hope he said please,” said analyst Dan Goure of the Lexington Institute in Arlington, Va., referring to Obama’s statement. “I can’t quite see that happening.”

Richard Aboulafia, vice president of analysis at Teal Group, mirrored those comments.

“Good luck with that,” he said. “I think I read this really bad plot line in a cheap novel a few years ago. Life imitating art, or something like that.”

Goure said that there is no chance that Iran will return the Sentinel to the U.S. Nor does Obama have any legal grounds to ask for such a return.

“I’m a little puzzled as to why he even bothered,” he said.

Goure said the U.S. had a right to complain when the technical research ship Pueblo was captured by North Korea in 1968 or when a Chinese fighter collided with a Navy EP-3 Aries spy plane in international airspace in 2001. But the more recent episode is different.

“Nobody has argued that it didn’t go down inside their airspace,” he said.

Retired Air Force Lt. Gen. Jack Rives, a former judge advocate general, said that the U.S. was within its rights to ask for the return of the RQ-170 if the aircraft accidentally strayed into Iranian territory.

“We’re not at war with the Iranians,” Rives said. “When we’re in our current conditions with them, this was an accident, it was a malfunction, the plane went down, it was our plane, there is no question over that. So it’s just a common sense request under international law.”

He said Iran has an obligation to return the aircraft, assuming it was operating in either international airspace or western Afghanistan with the consent of that nation’s leadership.

“They actually don’t have a right to keep it, it’s ours,” he said. “It did land on their land, and if it caused damage we’d reimburse them for the cost of the damage, but in terms of who owns the aircraft, there is no question it’s ours.”

However, the case becomes less clear if the Sentinel was intentionally overflying Iranian airspace, Rives said.

After Iranian state television broadcast footage Dec. 8 of the stricken aircraft, one source had confirmed that the images showed a RQ-170. The aircraft looked like it had suffered damage consistent with a wheels-up landing, he said.

Another source familiar with remotely piloted aircraft operations said that the RQ-170 is programmed to hold an orbit if it loses its command link and try to re-establish contact. However, if it begins to run out of fuel, it will divert to a nearby airfield if it can’t return to base.

This may be what caused the aircraft to land inside Iran, the source said. The Northrop Grumman RQ-4 Global Hawk has a similar feature, which has proven a bone of contention between the Air Force and the Federal Aviation Administration.

However, that explanation can’t account for the Sentinel’s loss, Goure said.

“Even if they had lost control of it, it should have had enough fuel to go home,” he said. “So that still doesn’t explain what went wrong.”

Goure said that it’s still most likely that the aircraft suffered a catastrophic malfunction, enough so that it couldn’t communicate or return home. The only other possibility is that it could have come under attack via cyber or electronic means.

While a cyber attack is some possibility, the system failure could have been caused externally by electronic attacks, Goure said.

“That’s still a possibility,” he said. “It’s possible the Iranians did something.”

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Twice-discharged gay sailor reinstated

By Sam Fellman - Staff writer
Posted : Monday Dec 12, 2011 17:40:32 EST

A sailor discharged twice for being gay was reinstated in the Navy on Monday after suing the service a year ago.

An advocacy group said the move marks the first case of a sailor discharged under the “don’t ask, don’t tell” law returning to active duty.

The Navy discharged Cryptologic Technician (Interpretive) 2nd Class Jase Daniels in 2005 after he revealed his sexual orientation to his commanding officer. He was processed out only to be recalled a year later for a Kuwait deployment, then discharged again in 2007.
Related reading:

Senate bill repeals military’s ban on sodomy (Dec. 8)

Senate lets chaplains opt out of gay weddings (Nov. 30)

Daniels, 29, took the oath of office Monday at a military processing station in San Jose Calif., said David McKean, legal director of the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, which assisted Daniels in his legal efforts.

Daniels rejoins as a third class petty officer and will head to Great Lakes, Ill., for training. By early next year, McKean said, he’ll return to the Defense Language Institute, this time to learn Farsi.

“I am humbled as I am reinstated to the job I love and by the enormous support I have received on this momentous day,” Daniels said in a news release Monday from SLDN. “I look forward to returning to the Defense Language Institute and ultimately, my career in the military.”

McKean said the Navy reinstated Daniels as a third class because at the time of his discharge he had less than 90 days time-in-grade as an E-5. Daniels will be eligible to take the E-5 exam in March.

SLDN believes Daniels is the first sailor discharged under DADT to return to active duty.

“We’re not aware of any other person who’s gone back onto duty,” McKean said, “and we have a pretty extensive network out there.”

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$662 billion defense bill clears house
by donna cassata - the associated press
posted : Thursday dec 15, 2011 9:18:09 est
washington — the house passed a massive $662 billion defense bill wednesday night after last-minute changes placated the white house and ensured president obama's ability to prosecute terrorist suspects in the civilian justice system.

The vote was 283-136 and reflected the strong support for annual legislation that authorizes money for the men and women of the military as well as weapons systems and the millions of jobs they generate in lawmakers' districts.

It was a rare instance of bipartisanship in a bitterly divided congress. The senate is expected to pass the measure on thursday and send it to obama.


the house vote came just hours after the administration abandoned a veto threat over provisions dealing with the handling of terrorism suspects.

Applying pressure on house and senate negotiators working on the bill last week, obama and senior members of his national security team, including defense secretary leon panetta and secretary of state hillary rodham clinton, had sought modifications in the detainee provisions.

Negotiators announced the changes late monday, clearing the way for white house acceptance.

In a statement, press secretary jay carney said the new bill "does not challenge the president's ability to collect intelligence, incapacitate dangerous terrorists and protect the american people."

specifically, the bill would require that the military take custody of a suspect deemed to be a member of al-qaida or its affiliates and who is involved in plotting or committing attacks on the united states. There is an exemption for u.s. Citizens.

House and senate negotiators added language that says nothing in the bill will affect "existing criminal enforcement and national security authorities of the fbi or any other domestic law enforcement agency" with regard to a captured suspect "regardless of whether such ... Person is held in military custody."

the bill also says the president can waive the provision based on national security.

"while we remain concerned about the uncertainty that this law will create for our counterterrorism professionals, the most recent changes give the president additional discretion in determining how the law will be implemented, consistent with our values and the rule of law, which are at the heart of our country's strength," carney said.

Uncertainty was a major concern of fbi director robert mueller, who expressed serious reservations about the detainee provisions.

Testifying before the senate judiciary committee, mueller said a coordinated effort by the military, intelligence agencies and law enforcement has weakened al-qaida and captured or killed many of its leaders, including osama bin laden and anwar al-awlaki, the u.s.-born radical islamic cleric. He suggested that the divisive provision in the bipartisan defense bill would deny that flexibility and prove impractical.

"the statute lacks clarity with regard to what happens at the time of arrest. It lacks clarity with regard to what happens if we had a case in lackawanna, n.y., and an arrest has to be made there and there's no military within several hundred miles," mueller said. "what happens if we have ... A case that we're investigating on three individuals, two of whom are american citizens and would not go to military custody and the third is not an american citizen and could go to military custody?"

unnerving many conservative republicans and liberal democrats, the legislation also would deny suspected terrorists, even u.s. Citizens seized within the nation's borders, the right to trial and subject them to indefinite detention. House republican leaders had to tamp down a small revolt among some rank-and-file who sought to delay a vote on the bill.

Some of the republicans were concerned that the "president would use the military to round up american citizens," said rep. Allen west, r-fla., a member of the armed services panel.

The escalating fight over whether to treat suspects as prisoners of war or criminals has divided democrats and republicans, the pentagon and congress.

The administration insists that the military, law enforcement and intelligence officials need flexibility in the campaign against terrorism. Obama points to his administration's successes in killing bin laden and al-awlaki. Republicans counter that their efforts are necessary to respond to an evolving, post-sept. 11 threat, and that obama has failed to produce a consistent policy on handling terror suspects.

In a reflection of the uncertainty, house members offered differing interpretations of the military custody and indefinite detention provisions and what would happen if the bill became law.

"the provisions do not extend new authority to detain u.s. Citizens," house armed services chairman howard "buck" mckeon, r-calif., said during debate.

But rep. Jerrold nadler, d-n.y., said the bill would turn "the military into a domestic police force."

civil rights groups were outraged by the legislation, and the white house's decision to drop the veto threat.

"as a former constitutional lawyer, the president should know better," said raha wala, advocacy counsel for human rights first. "this legislation not only undermines the constitution, it compromises national security. The president needed to show leadership on this, and he's failed."

highlighting a period of austerity and a winding down of decade-old conflicts, the bill is $27 billion less than obama requested and $43 billion less than congress gave the pentagon. The bill also authorizes money for the wars in iraq and afghanistan and national security programs in the energy department.

Frustrated with delays and cost overruns with the troubled f-35 joint strike fighter aircraft program, lawmakers planned to require the contractor, lockheed martin, to cover the expense of any extra costs on the next batch and future purchases of the aircraft. The pentagon envisions buying 2,443 planes for the air force, marine corps and navy, but the price could make it the most expensive program in military history — $1 trillion.

The legislation freezes $700 million for pakistan until the defense secretary provides congress a report on how islamabad is countering the threat of improvised explosive devices.

It would impose tough new penalties on iran, targeting foreign financial institutions that do business with the country's central bank. The president could waive those penalties if he notifies congress that it's in the interest of national security.

The bill begins a reduction in defense spending, a reality the pentagon hasn't faced in the decade since the sept. 11 attacks. Pentagon spending has nearly doubled in that period, but the deficit-reduction plan that obama and congressional republicans backed this summer sets the defense department on a budget-cutting course.

Arizona sen. John mccain, the top republican on the senate armed services committee, and several other gop defense hawks pledged to return to washington next month with a plan to avoid automatic across-the-board cuts to defense required in 2013. The failure of congress' deficit supercommittee last month means $1.2 trillion in cuts over the next 10 years, with half from defense.

Defense hawks said the 10 percent cut would hollow out the pentagon and devastate u.s. Military readiness.

Mckeon introduced legislation to avert the cuts for one year by reducing the federal workforce by 10 percent. The savings would go to defense and nondefense spending.

———

associated press writers pete yost and andrew taylor contributed to this report.

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Balance issue contributed to Libya F-15 crash
By Jill Laster - Staff writer
Posted : Wednesday Dec 14, 2011 17:57:19 EST


SEE MORE VIDEO FROM MILITARY TIMES
An F-15E crashed in Libya earlier this year in part because of a lack of balance on the aircraft, as well as the pilot conducting a maneuver at untested altitude, U.S. Air Forces in Europe announced Tuesday.

An accident investigation board found that the Strike Eagle departed from controlled flight March 21 because it “exceeded the critical angle of attack,” according to a USAFE news release. Although the pilot was performing an acceptable maneuver, he performed it at an altitude that had never been tested. Lateral asymmetry — essentially, an unbalanced aircraft — was also faulted.

The pilot, Maj. Kenneth Harney, and his weapons system officer, Capt. Tyler Stark, successfully ejected in rebel-held territory east of Benghazi. What remained of the aircraft was destroyed so foreign forces couldn’t salvage it later, according to the release.

A full copy of the report wasn’t available online by Wednesday afternoon, and a command spokesperson couldn’t be reached immediately for further comment.

Harney and Stark — both members of the 492nd Fighter Squadron at RAF Lakenheath, England — faced danger on the ground after they landed east of Benghazi. Marine pilots rescued the pilot during a daring Tactical Recovery of Aircraft Personnel, or TRAP, mission. The weapons system officer received shelter from rebels.

Rep. Duncan D. Hunter, R-Calif., wrote a recent letter to Navy Secretary Ray Mabus questioning why “no awards or recognition have been approved for Marine aviators who flew combat missions over Libya.” Hunter directed his question to Mabus because the Navy secretary is the primary authority for presenting honors such as the Distinguished Flying Cross and Air Medal to Marines.

The Navy’s assistant secretary for manpower and reserve affairs has been considering a request submitted by U.S. Naval Forces Africa to designate the Libya area as authorized for combat awards. Navy spokesman Lt. Matt Allen said a decision is expected in the near future.

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Black widow spiders invade Maine shipyard
The Associated Press
Posted : Wednesday Dec 14, 2011 14:48:08 EST
BATH, Maine — A Navy shipbuilder said it had to fumigate a warehouse and part of a warship because a shipment of parts from the West Coast contained about two-dozen venomous black widow spiders.

Bath Iron Works employees discovered the arachnids in a crate containing vertical launch system components. Spokesman Jim DeMartini said Tuesday the discovery led to the fumigation of several compartments in the under-construction destroyer Michael Murphy. A warehouse in Brunswick also was fumigated.

The spiders were discovered earlier this month, DeMartini says, and he said the shipyard is confident exterminators eliminated any spiders that weren’t stomped.

Black widows aren’t found in Maine but are found in California, where the shipment originated. The females are known for their distinctive hourglass marking and their potentially lethal bite.

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Upgrade will give C-130J new intel role

By Dave Majumdar - Staff writer Airforce times
Posted : Tuesday Dec 20, 2011 9:39:45 EST

The Air Force’s efforts to add a camera to its Senior Scout roll-on/roll-off signals intelligence payload for the C-130J Hercules is the culmination of nearly a decade’s work.

The service has aimed to create an array of multi-intelligence platforms that can cover a broad swath of terrain without a dedicated surveillance aircraft.

“This is an idea [former Air Force Chief of Staff Gen.] John Jumper had, to put these on transport [planes] so you could dual-use them” as airlifters or intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance platforms, said Daniel Gouré, an analyst with the Lexington Institute of Arlington, Va.

A transport plane could carry out an intelligence mission while partially loaded with supplies, and if there is an empty return leg, that sortie could be dedicated to a surveillance mission, Gouré said.

Such a capability could be invaluable in Afghanistan, where aircraft equipped with payloads like Senior Scout could free up other assets.

The aircraft would be tasked with general “environmental” intelligence, which would enable more dedicated aircraft to be tasked to their own particular mission set more often, Gouré said.

The Air Force plans to begin flight-testing this month of a new version of its Senior Scout payload for the C-130J.

Originally developed in 1991 by the Air Force’s Big Safari office, the venerable Senior Scout package is being upgraded to work with the C-130’s J variant, as well as with older planes, said Tom Boyce, Lockheed Martin’s manager for airborne collection and exploitation systems.

That version will become operational in the spring, but that is only the first step.

Lockheed is working to add an electro-optical/infrared camera to Senior Scout, in a package that would arrive next year, company officials said.

“In 2012, it will also have imagery capability,” Boyce said.

The capability will be “an enhanced version” of those sensors aboard the U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency’s Shadow Harvest program or the Marine Corps’ Harvest Hawk, which puts an infrared sensor ball and weapons kit on a KC-130J tanker, Boyce said.

Unlike Harvest Hawk, Senior Scout won’t carry weapons, he said.

Gouré said that adding weapons adds cost and unneeded complexity.

“It restricts what you can do with it,” he said.

Lockheed can develop such intelligence surveillance and reconnaissance packages quickly and at lower cost because it uses the technology in multiple packages, said Charles Gulledge, the company’s head of business development for airborne reconnaissance systems.

Much of the technology is common to the company’s Dragon family of ISR systems, he said. The new Senior Scout variant is slated to become operational in the spring.

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Witness says Manning assaulted him in Iraq

By Joe Gould - Staff writer army times
Posted : Tuesday Dec 20, 2011 11:13:58 EST

Army Pfc. Bradley Manning’s former supervisor testified Tuesday that Manning “punched me in the face, unprovoked” during his Iraq deployment in 2010.

A day later, Manning was barred from the secure facility where he served with former Army Spc. Jihrleah Showman. Showman led the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division, team that analyzed the local Shiite threat.

“He … displayed an uncontrollable behavior that was deemed untrustworthy at the time,” said Showman, who testified via telephone.

The testimony took place on the fifth day of the Article 32 hearing to determine whether Manning, accused of leaking sensitive documents to the anti-secrecy website WikiLeaks, should be court-martialed on more than 20 counts, including aiding the enemy.

Manning, 24, of Crescent, Okla., could face life in prison if convicted at court-martial. He has appeared in court looking slight in his Army combat uniform and dark-rimmed glasses, taking notes and conferring with attorneys.

Capt. Casey Fulton, another former supervisor of Manning’s, said in earlier testimony that the incident led to suspension of Manning’s security clearance and the removal of his weapon.

“I wanted him to not … interact with the soldiers,” Fulton said.

Showman was the latest witness to testify about Manning’s erratic behavior in the days before he was arrested.

Manning’s lawyers have focused on supervisors’ failures to pull Manning’s security clearance in spite of his unstable and sometimes violent behavior, as well as broader security lapses in the facility on Forward Operating Base Hammer, Iraq, where Manning worked.

Fifteen people, including the noncommissioned officer in charge of the facility, were disciplined.

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U.S. urges stable transition in North Korea

By Matthew Lee and Matthew Pennington - The Associated Press
Posted : Tuesday Dec 20, 2011 11:01:32 EST

WASHINGTON — The Obama administration called for a peaceful and stable leadership transition in North Korea on Monday but made few demands on a nuclear-armed nation known for its unpredictability, poverty and hostility to the United States.

Prospects for new nuclear disarmament talks involving North Korea and the United States appeared to dim with the unexpectedly sudden death of North Korean leader Kim Jong Il and uncertainty surrounding the planned succession to his politically untested son. Top Obama administration national security officials are focusing intelligence and other assets on the opaque internal politics of the reclusive communist nation that President George W. Bush once placed on an “axis of evil” enemies list.

President Obama conferred by phone Monday night with Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda to underscore the U.S. commitment to Japan and other close allies, the White House said in a statement. Obama also conveyed the importance he places on stability in the region, according to the White House.

Obama spoke Sunday night with South Korean President Lee Myung-bak, and the administration also contacted officials in China and Russia following the news of Kim’s death, the White House said.

“We are deeply concerned with the well-being of the North Korean people and our thoughts and prayers are with them during these difficult times,” Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said in a statement Monday night. “It is our hope that the new leadership of the DPRK will choose to guide their nation onto the path of peace by honoring North Korea’s commitments, improving relations with its neighbors, and respecting the rights of its people.”

Clinton had met earlier in the day with Japanese Foreign Minister Koichiro Gemba and told reporters at the State Department that Japan and the U.S. hope for better relations with North Korea.

“We both share a common interest in a peaceful and stable transition in North Korea as well as ensuring regional peace and stability,” she said.

Clinton did not say how Kim’s death would affect the U.S. approach to his country. Nor did she make any demands on the new leadership, passing up the opportunity to reiterate longstanding U.S. calls for North Korea to follow through on previous nuclear disarmament pledges. The omission of what has been a standard element of any U.S. officials’ comments on North Korea appeared to underscore Washington’s concern about the situation.

The State Department later said it still was the U.S. view that North Korea make good on those commitments. But the department said Kim’s passing and assumption of power of his son, Kim Jong Un, would delay anticipated developments on resuming nuclear disarmament talks with the North and supplying the nation with food aid.

The United States had been quietly pursuing a new diplomatic opening with North Korea, including hopes for new nuclear talks as soon as next week. That opening now appears on hold, while U.S. officials warily assess whether Kim Jong Un can seize his father’s mantle.

The administration had been expected to decide, possibly as early as Monday, whether to try to re-engage the reclusive country in nuclear negotiations and provide it with food aid. State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said that decision had been postponed as the administration was now focused on consulting with concerned nations on events in Pyongyang.

Officials have said the U.S. was concerned about any changes Kim’s death might spark in the military postures of North and South Korea, but were hopeful that calm would prevail, despite the test of a short-range missile by the North just hours after the announcement of Kim’s death.

The White House said Monday it was too early to make any judgments about whether Kim Jong Il’s death would provide an opening for better U.S. relations with North Korea. And spokesman Jay Carney said the longtime leader’s death had not spurred any new concerns about North Korea’s pursuit of nuclear weapons.

“We will continue to press them to meet their international obligations. But we have no new concerns as a result of this event,” he said.

Carney declined to make any assessment of the younger Kim. “We will judge the North Korean government as we always have: by its actions,” he said.

The administration had been poised to announce a significant donation of food aid to North Korea this week, the first concrete accomplishment after months of behind-the-scenes diplomatic contacts between the two wartime enemies, according to those close to the negotiations. And an agreement by North Korea to suspend its controversial uranium enrichment program was expected to follow within days, the officials said.

Nuland said the U.S. wanted to be respectful of North Korea’s period of mourning, and would need to re-engage “at the right moment.”

Suspension of uranium enrichment by North Korea had been a key outstanding demand from both the U.S. and South Korea. North Korea has tested two atomic devices in the past five years. Recent food talks in Beijing yielded a breakthrough on uranium enrichment, the sources said.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the subject and the sensitivity of dealing with North Korea in general.

The food aid announcement would have not only been welcome news for North Korea, but also pave the way for a crucial U.S.-North Korea meeting in Beijing on Thursday. That meeting in turn could lead to the resumption of nuclear disarmament talks that also would include China, Japan, Russia and South Korea.

The so-called six-party talks were last held three years ago, and resuming them would amount to a foreign policy coup for the Obama administration.

Two senior U.S. diplomats were in North Korea’s lone ally, China, last week to discuss the issues. They met Obama’s top national security aides on Monday to discuss the way forward. But decisions will be delayed as it is not clear whether North Korean officials will be in position to handle any engagement with the outside, the U.S. officials said.

The top U.S. military officer, Gen. Martin Dempsey, told reporters in Germany the United States and its allies had not seen any change “in North Korean behavior of a nature that would alarm us,” according to the American Forces Press Service. The Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman said there had been no changes to the alert readiness for U.S. forces on the peninsula, although South Korea has put its military and police on alert.

Kim’s death was announced by state media in a “special broadcast” from Pyongyang late Sunday. North Korea will hold a national mourning period until Dec. 29. Kim’s funeral will be held on Dec. 28, it said.

———

Associated Press writers Richard Lardner and Julie Pace contributed to this report.

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TerraN_EmpirE said:

Budget!


Balance more then just the budget and life.

BLACK WIDOWS in the Navy?

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Military reports and Congress-appointed task forces acknowledge that sexual assault within the military is widespread.

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A Navy commander Friday was sentenced to 3 1/2 years in prison after pleading guilty to sexually assaulting two female sailors while he was the captain of the guided-missile destroyer Momsen.

Cmdr. Jay Wylie was also sentenced to be dismissed from the Navy, under a plea bargain with military prosecutors. Wylie was relieved of command of the Everett, Wash.-based ship in April when the allegations surfaced.

Wylie, 40, a 19-year veteran of the Navy, pleaded guilty to rape, aggravated sexual assault, abusive sexual content and conduct unbecoming an officer.

One incident occurred while the ship was at its home port, the other during a visit to the Seychelles. During one of the incidents, Wylie was drunk, according to court documents.

The trial was shifted to San Diego after Wylie was reassigned to a command here. He was immediately taken to the brig at Miramar Marine Corps Air Station after Friday's court hearing.

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bd popeye said:

The report by Al Jazeera has been on the internet for some time in a some what similar form. They just massaged it to their liking as to bring more hatred on the US. Just my opinion.



Sexual assault can be anything from verbal abuse , inappropriate touching any sort of physical assault. There must be some sort of problem in the US military.

I looked this subject up and I have my doubts that one third of the females in the Us military have been raped. If so there would be an outcry from the public. Because the women involved that are no longer serving would ban together and be on every talk show and news expose program in the US..so far that has not happened...and a major congressional investigation would ensue.

Those women involved on active duties would have told their parents & loved ones and their parents would have reported the situation to the congress and news media.

As far as the USN is concerned i can't imagine women going to sea knowing there is a one in three chance they will be raped..That being stated..

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