Page 7 - Us Military

Trump threatens US military action in Nigeria over killing of Christians

The US government will also immediately stop all aid and assistance to Nigeria, Trump said in a post on Truth Social

New Pentagon policy undercuts trans troops' ability to ask to stay in army

The Pentagon has rolled out a new policy that will severely undercut the ability for transgender troops who have been banned from the armed forces by the Trump administration to turn to boards of their peers to argue for their right to stay in the military, according to a memo obtained by The Associated Press. If military separation boards decide to allow transgender service members to remain in uniform, commanders can override that decision, according to an Oct 8 memo to all the services from the Pentagon's undersecretary for personnel and readiness, Anthony Tata. That breaks with longstanding policy that boards act independently. It is the Pentagon's latest step to drive transgender troops out of the armed forces following an executive order from President Donald Trump. He and Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth have targeted diversity, equity and inclusion efforts in what they say is an effort to make the military more lethal. The adminstration's policies have faced pushback in the .

US troops to be paid despite shutdown, says Vance, seeks Democrats' backing

Vice President JD Vance said he believes US military members will be paid at the end of the week, though he did not specify how the Trump administration will reconfigure funding as pain from the second-longest shutdown spreads nationwide. The funding fight in Washington gained new urgency this week as millions of Americans face the prospect of losing food assistance, more federal workers miss their first full paycheck and recurring delays at airports snarl travel plans. We do think that we can continue paying the troops, at least for now, Vance told reporters after lunch with Senate Republicans at the Capitol. We've got food stamp benefits that are set to run out in a week. We're trying to keep as much open as possible. We just need the Democrats to actually help us out. The vice president reaffirmed Republicans' strategy of trying to pick off a handful of Senate Democrats to vote for stopgap funding to reopen the government. But nearly a month into the shutdown, it hasn't worked. .

14 killed as US strikes alleged drug-smuggling boats in Pacific Ocean

The Trump administration last week expanded the scope of its campaign to the eastern Pacific, after earlier strikes targeted vessels in the Caribbean Sea

US Navy helicopter and jet crash separately in South China Sea; crew safe

According to a statement released by the US Navy's Pacific Fleet, the incident occurred on Sunday while the helicopter and the fighter jet were conducting separate routine operations

US warship docks in Trinidad and Tobago to increase pressure on Venezuela

A US warship has docked in Trinidad and Tobago's capital as the Trump administration boosts military pressure on neighbouring Venezuela and its President Nicols Maduro. The arrival of the USS Gravely, a guided missile destroyer, in the capital of the Caribbean nation is in addition to the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford, which is moving closer to Venezuela. Maduro criticised the movement of the carrier as an attempt by the US government to fabricate "a new eternal war against his country. US President Donald Trump has accused Maduro, without providing evidence, of being the leader of the organised crime gang Tren de Aragua. Government officials from the twin-island nation and the US said the massive warship will remain in Trinidad until Thursday so both countries can carry out training exercises. A senior military official in Trinidad and Tobago told The Associated Press that the move was only recently scheduled. The official spoke under condition of anonymity due to lack of ..

Pentagon accepts $130 mn donation to help pay US army during govt shutdown

The Pentagon confirmed that it has accepted an anonymous USD 130 million gift to help pay members of the military during the government shutdown, raising ethical questions after President Donald Trump had announced that a friend had offered the gift to defray any shortfalls. While large and unusual, the gift amounts to a small contribution toward the billions needed to cover service member paychecks. The Trump administration told Congress last week that it used USD 6.5 billion to make payroll. The next payday is coming within the week, and it is unclear if the administration will again move money around to ensure the military does not go without compensation. That's what I call a patriot, Trump said during a White House event Thursday when he disclosed the payment from the donor. The president declined to name the person, whom he called a friend of mine, saying the man didn't want the recognition. The Pentagon confirmed it had accepted the donation on Thursday under its general gif

US flies supersonic B-1 bombers near Venezuela coast amid drugs crackdown

The U.S. military flew a pair of supersonic, heavy bombers up to the coast of Venezuela, a little over a week after another group of American bombers made a similar journey as part of a training exercise to simulate an attack. The U.S. military has built up an unusually large force in the Caribbean Sea and the waters off of Venezuela, raising speculation that President Donald Trump could try to topple Venezuelan President Nicols Maduro. Maduro faces charges of narcoterrorism in the U.S. Adding to the speculation, the U.S. military since early September has been carrying out lethal strikes on vessels in the waters off Venezuela that Trump says are trafficking drugs. According to flight tracking data, a pair of B-1 Lancer bombers took off from Dyess Air Force Base in Texas on Thursday and flew through the Caribbean and up to the coast of Venezuela. A U.S. official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive military operations, confirmed that a training flight of B-1s to

2 killed as US strikes eighth alleged drug-carrying boat, now in Pacific

The US military conducted its eighth strike against an alleged drug vessel, killing two people, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Wednesday. The Tuesday night strike occurred in the eastern Pacific Ocean. The seven previous strikes all targeted vessels in the Caribbean. According to Hegseth in a social media post, the strike killed two people, bringing the death toll from all the strikes to at least 34 people. In a brief video released by Hegseth, a small boat, half-filled with brown packages, is seen moving along the water. Several seconds into the video, the boat explodes and is seen floating motionless on the water in flames. In his post, Hegseth took the unusual step of equating the alleged drug traffickers to the group behind the September 11, 2001, attack. Just as Al Qaeda waged war on our homeland, these cartels are waging war on our border and our people, Hegseth said, adding there will be no refuge or forgiveness only justice. President Donald Trump has justified the .

US Army needs $150 bn for upgrades. It wants Wall Street to foot the bill

Facing a $150 billion shortfall to fix ageing bases, the US Army is turning to Wall Street's private equity giants in an unprecedented bid to rebuild its backbone and counter China's growing might

Splendid Liberators: How America replaced Spain as the world's great power

Joe Jackson's Splendid Liberators unpacks the brutal realities and far-reaching impact of the Spanish-American War, challenging the myth of a "splendid little war"

Trump warns US military of imminent 'invasion' threat within country

Trump stated that he suggested that Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth use some of the dangerous US cities for military training

Trump, Hegseth to meet hundreds of military leaders amid rising speculation

President Donald Trump and Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth plan to address hundreds of US military officials in person Tuesday after the Pentagon suddenly asked top commanders from around the world to convene at a base in Virginia without publicly revealing the reason. The gathering at the Marine Corps base in Quantico near Washington has fuelled intense speculation about the purpose and value of summoning such a large number of generals and admirals to one place, with many stationed in more than a dozen countries that include conflict zones in the Middle East and elsewhere. Meetings between top military brass and civilian leaders are nothing new. But experts say the scale of the gathering, the haste with which it was called and the mystery surrounding it are particularly unusual. The notion that the secretary is going to talk to the generals and give them his vision for running the department and maybe also for strategy and organisation that's perfectly reasonable, said Mark ...

US preparing for potential drone strikes on drug targets in Venezuela

Such plans could mark an escalation after US military strikes destroyed at least three small boasts near the Venezuelan coast in recent weeks, likely killing all individuals on board

Why Trump wants Bagram Air Base to be returned to the US by Afghanistan

Donald Trump says the US is 'trying to get back' Bagram Air Base to counter China and terrorism. The Taliban reject the idea as analysts warn of costs, risks and fallout

Trump warns of 'bad things' if Afghanistan does not return Bagram air base

Trump said on Thursday that the United States had sought to regain control of the base used by American forces following the attacks of September 11, 2001

Chicago violence real, but troops not the answer: Families of crime victims

Delphine Cherry knows as well as anyone how intractable violent crime is in Chicago. In 1992, her teenage daughter was gunned down in one of the city's tawniest neighbourhoods a bystander caught up in a gang shootout. Twenty years later in a suburb just south of the city, it claimed her son. You don't think it's going to happen twice in your life, she said. Chicago has been bracing for weeks for President Donald Trump's promised deployment of National Guard troops to the nation's third-largest city. Although Trump said the troops would help fight crime in a city he described as a hellhole, his administration has been tightlipped about the operation's details, including when it would start, how long it would last, how many troops would be used and what role they would play in civilian law enforcement. Trump has also veered back and forth on sending troops to Chicago at times insisting he would act unilaterally to deploy them and at other points suggesting he would rather send them

Trump announces third US military strike on alleged drug-smuggling vessel

President Donald Trump said Friday the US military has carried out its third fatal strike against an alleged drug smuggling vessel this month. Trump in a social media posting said the strike killed three and was carried out against a vessel affiliated with a Designated Terrorist Organization conducting narcotrafficking in the USSOUTHCOM area of responsibility. He did not provide more precise details about the location of the strike, and the White House and Pentagon did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Intelligence confirmed the vessel was trafficking illicit narcotics, and was transiting along a known narcotrafficking passage enroute to poison Americans, Trump said in the post. The US twice this month carried out strikes against alleged drug-smuggling vessels that had originated from Venezuela.

Afghanistan should decide on US return to Bagram Air Base, says China

China on Friday said the decision to re-establish US presence at Bagram Air Base should be left to Afghanistan and its people while responding to President Donald Trump's remarks that Washington is trying to get back the strategic facility for its close proximity to China. China respects Afghanistan's territorial integrity and sovereignty, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian told a media briefing here while responding to a question on Trump's comments. The future of Afghanistan should be in the hands of Afghan people, Lin said. Our stress is that hyping up regional tensions does not win support. We hope relevant sides could play a constructive role for regional stability, he said. Trump on Thursday spoke of US plans to acquire the sprawling air base four years after American troops' chaotic withdrawal following the orders from his predecessor, Joe Biden, as Taliban militants took control of Kabul. Trump said he would like to reacquire the strategic air base because it i

Trump suggests possible US return to Afghan base, citing China proximity

President Donald Trump on Thursday suggested that he is working to reestablish a US presence at Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan, four years after America's chaotic withdrawal from the country left the base in the Taliban's hands. Trump floated the idea during a press conference with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer as he wrapped up a state visit to the UK and tied it to the need for the US to counter its top rival, China. We're trying to get it back, Trump said of the base in an aside to a question about ending Russia's invasion of Ukraine. While Trump described his call for the US military to reestablish a position in Afghanistan as breaking news, the Republican president has previously raised the idea. The White House did not immediately respond to questions about whether it or the Pentagon has done any planning around returning to the sprawling air base, which was central to America's longest war. During his first presidency, Trump set the terms for the US withdrawal by ...