Us Army

US Army to take over border land for base, may detain migrants: Officials

A long sliver of federal land along the US-Mexico border that President Donald Trump is turning over to the Department of Defense would be controlled by the Army as part of a base, which could allow troops to detain any trespassers, including migrants, US officials told The Associated Press. The transfer of that border zone to military control and making it part of an Army installation is an attempt by the Trump administration to get around a federal law that prohibits US troops from being used in domestic law enforcement on American soil. But if the troops are providing security for land that is part of an Army base, they can perform that function. However, at least one presidential powers expert said the move is likely to be challenged in the courts. The officials said the issue is still under review in the Pentagon, but even as any legal review goes on, the administration's intent is to have troops detain migrants at the border. The corridor, known as the Roosevelt Reservation

4th US soldier found dead in Lithuania training mishap, 3 others identified

The final US soldier who went missing in Lithuania has been found dead, bringing to an end a massive weeklong search for the four service members whose armoured vehicle was pulled from a swampy training area, the US military said Tuesday. The bodies of the three other soldiers were recovered Monday after U.S., Polish and Lithuanian armed forces and authorities dug the M88 Hercules vehicle out of a peat bog at the expansive Gen. Silvestras ukauskas training ground in the town of Pabrade. The Army released the identities of the three soldiers recovered Monday, but the fourth soldier's name has not been made public as family notifications continue. They were Sgt. Jose Duenez Jr., 25, of Joliet, Illinois; Sgt. Edvin F. Franco, 25, of Glendale, California; and Pfc. Dante D. Taitano, 21, of Dededo, Guam. The soldiers, part of the 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, were on a tactical training exercise when they and their vehicle were reported missing a week ago, the Ar

Secret Service shoots armed man near White House while Trump is out of town

An armed man believed to be travelling from Indiana was shot by US Secret Service agents near the White House after a confrontation early Sunday, according to authorities. No one else was injured in the shooting that happened around midnight about a block from the White House, according to a Secret Service statement. President Donald Trump was in Florida at the time of the shooting. The Secret Service received information from local police about an alleged suicidal individual who was travelling from Indiana and found the man's car and a person matching his description nearby. As officers approached, the individual brandished a firearm and an armed confrontation ensued, during which shots were fired by our personnel, the Secret Service said in a statement. The man was hospitalised. The Secret Service said his condition was unknown. The Metropolitan Police Department will investigate because the shooting involved law enforcement officers. A message left Sunday for the police departm

Ex-defense chiefs ask congressional hearings on Trump firing top officials

Five former secretaries of defence are calling on Congress to hold immediate hearings on President Donald Trump's recent firings of the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and several other senior military leaders, according to a letter obtained by The Associated Press. The five men - who represented Republican and Democratic administrations over the past three decades - said the dismissals were alarming, raised troubling questions about the administration's desire to politicise the military" and removed legal constraints on the president's power. Late last week, Trump fired Air Force Gen. CQ Brown Jr as chairman of the Joint Chiefs. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth followed that by firing Adm. Lisa Franchetti, chief of naval operations; Gen. Jim Slife, vice chief of the Air Force; and the judge advocates general for the military services. Hegseth has defended the firing of Brown, saying that other presidents made changes in military personnel and that Trump deserves to pick his own

Transgender ban: US Army halts recruitment, ends gender-affirming care

The decision reverses the policies established under the Biden administration, which had allowed transgender individuals to serve in the military and access medical care

No travel reimbursement for US troops seeking abortion, fertility treatment

The Defence Department will no longer reimburse service members for travel out of state to get reproductive health care, including abortions and fertility treatments, according to a new memo. The directive signed this week eliminates a rarely used Biden administration policy enacted in October 2022, after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade and more states began to impose increased abortion restrictions. Signed on Wednesday by Jeffrey Register, the director of the Pentagon's human resources department, the memo simply shows red lines crossing out the previous regulation and offers no other guidance. Asked if service members would still be allowed time off to travel at their own expense, the department had no immediate answer. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, called the policy change shameful. Our service members go wherever they need to in order to bravely serve our country and because President Trump's extremist Supreme Court

American jet crash: Don't believe there's any survivor, says official

28 bodies had been recovered from the river so far, in what was shaping up to be the deadliest US air disaster in more than a decade

Pentagon sending up to 1,500 active-duty troops to secure US-Mexico border

The Pentagon on Wednesday said it has begun deploying 1,500 active duty troops to help secure the southern border in the coming days, putting in motion plans US President Donald Trump laid out in executive orders shortly after he took office to crack down on immigration. Acting Defence Secretary Robert Salesses said the Pentagon will provide military aircraft to support Department of Homeland Security deportation flights for more than 5,000 detained migrants and the troops will assist in the construction of barriers. The number of troops and their mission may soon change, Salesses said in a statement. "This is just the beginning," he said. It remains to be seen if they will end up doing law enforcement, which would put American troops in a dramatically different role for the first time in decades. The active duty forces will join the roughly 2,500 US National Guard and Reserve forces already there. There are currently no active duty troops working along the roughly 3,219-km ...

US, Japan, South Korea hold drills after N Korea's ballistic missile launch

"Amid gradually increasing security cooperation between the three countries, (we) will strengthen coordination to deter and jointly respond to North Korea's threats," it said in the statement cited

India, US to take part in exercise Vajra Prahar 2024 to boost military ties

The 14th edition of the Indo-US Joint Special Forces exercise, Vajra Prahar 2023, was conducted at the Joint Training Node in Umroi on November 21, 2023, as reported by the Ministry of Defence

Scenarios for India's future: How planning can shape growth and inclusion

Scenario planning, having being successfully implemented in businesses, has tremendous potential for shaping India's future

US to spend $1.2 billion to restock arms after Iran, Houthi attacks

The largest chunk of projected Pentagon spending from a year's worth of Middle East operations is $300 million for unplanned depot maintenance

US army soldier pleads guilty to vending sensitive military information

An army soldier has pleaded guilty to charges that accuse him of selling sensitive information related to US military capabilities, including dozens of documents addressing topics ranging from rocket systems to Chinese military tactics. Sgt Korbein Schultz, who was also an intelligence analyst, entered the guilty plea Tuesday in federal court in Nashville. He had previously pleaded not guilty, then last month requested a hearing to change his plea. In total, Shultz received at least 14 payments totaling $42,000, prosecutors have said. Schultz was accused in a six-count indictment of charges including conspiring to obtain and disclose military defense information and bribery of a public official. The 24-year-old was arrested in March at Fort Campbell, which straddles the Tennessee-Kentucky line, shortly after the indictment was released. He pleaded guilty to all charges against him and will be sentenced on Jan 23, 2025. A federal public defender representing Schultz declined to comm

US Senator Marco Rubio introduces US-India Defense Cooperation Act

US Senator Marco Rubio on Thursday introduced a bill in the Congress which proposes to treat India on par with its allies like as Japan, Israel, Korea and NATO allies regarding technology transfers, support India in its response to growing threats to its territorial integrity and bar Pakistan from receiving security assistance if it is found to have sponsored terrorism against India. Communist China continues to aggressively expand its domain in the Indo-Pacific region, all while it seeks to impede the sovereignty and autonomy of our regional partners. It's crucial for the U.S. to continue its support in countering these malicious tactics. India, along with other nations in the region, is not alone, Rubio said after he introduced the U.S.-India Defense Cooperation Act in the Senate. Given the short timeline of a bitterly divided Congress in an election year, the bill is unlikely to make much headway, but might be reintroduced in the next Congress given that there is a bipartisan ...

Next-generation US jet fighter programme may get hit by budget constraints

Sources briefed on the Air Force's internal budget deliberations said the anticipated 2026 fiscal-year NGAD budget of $3.1 billion would be slashed as funding shrinks

US encouraging partnerships in Nato, friendly nations in Indo-Pacific: WH

The United States is encouraging partnerships between the NATO alliance and friendly countries across the world, in particular those in the Indo-Pacific region, the White House said on Monday, on the eve of the crucial NATO summit here. Leaders from 38 different countries have gathered in Washington for a historic summit to mark the 75th anniversary of the first NATO summit. This includes the leaders of all NATO allies as well as NATO partners, including Ukraine, Japan, New Zealand and the Republic of Korea. "The president has also strongly encouraged greater partnerships between the NATO alliance and friendly nations around the world, particularly in the Indo-Pacific, as you will see. The president knows that the global threats and challenges that we all face, including from authoritarian actors and terrorist organisations, are inextricably linked," John Kirby, White House National Security Communications Advisor, told reporters at a news conference here. "He has also encouraged ou

Canada fails in domestic military spending, an outlier in Nato: Report

Canada has become an outlier among the 32-member NATO alliance, a major American media outlet said on Monday, on the eve of the crucial NATO summit in this city being hosted by US President Joe Biden. "Over the past several years, Ottawa has become an outlier among the 32-member alliance. It has failed to hit domestic military spending goals, has fallen short on benchmarks to fund new equipment and has no plans to get there," "Politico" said. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau arrived in Washington, DC to participate in this year's NATO summit that formally begins on Tuesday. According to his office, the summit will be an opportunity for the prime minister to reaffirm Canada's commitment to Euro-Atlantic security and stability, particularly in the face of ongoing Russian aggression and destabilisation. During his meetings here, Trudeau will highlight Canada's contributions to the NATO's collective defence efforts across Europe, including through Operation REASSURANCE, Canada's .

Hamas broadly agrees with cease-fire framework with Israel: US official

The official spoke after a half-hour phone meeting between President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu

Pakistan seeks small, modern arms from US for 'Operation Azm-i-Istehkam'

Pakistan's ambassador to the US has urged the US to provide small arms and modern equipment to his country to ensure the success of Operation Azm-i-Istehkam, Islamabad's newly approved counter-terrorism initiative. The decision to launch the 'Azm-e-Istehkam' operation was taken on June 22 at the apex committee meeting of the National Action Plan, a strategy approved in 2014 to eliminate militancy from the country. The federal government recently approved the reinvigorated national counter-terrorism drive. Pakistan has launched Azm-i-Istehkam () to oppose and dismantle terrorist networks. For that, we need sophisticated small arms and communication equipment, Ambassador Masood Khan was quoted as saying by the Dawn newspaper. He made these remarks while addressing US policymakers, scholars, intelligentsia, and corporate leaders at a Washington think tank, the Wilson Centre, earlier this week. Khan elaborated that 'Azm-i-Istehkam' comprises three components: doctrinal, societal, and

US renews warning to defend the Philippines after latest China clash

The United States renewed a warning Tuesday that it's obligated to defend its close treaty ally a day after Filipino navy personnel were injured and their supply boats damaged in one of the most serious confrontations between the Philippines and China in a disputed shoal in the South China Sea, officials said. China and the Philippines blamed each other for instigating Monday's hostilities in the Second Thomas Shoal, which has been occupied by a small Filipino navy contingent aboard a grounded warship that's been closely watched by Chinese coast guard, navy and suspected militia ships in a yearslong territorial standoff. There is fear the disputes, long regarded as an Asian flashpoint, could escalate and pit the United States and China in a larger conflict. US Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell discussed China's actions with Philippine counterpart, Maria Theresa Lazaro, in a telephone call. Both agreed that China's dangerous actions threatened regional peace and stability, State