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If you’ve visited our news channel, you know what’s going on in your neighborhood and around the military. But do you know what your peers think about what’s going on? Here, you’ll find our views on the news of the day, along with views from your friends, co-workers and neighbors.

Air Force Times: Opinions & Columns


  • Letters
    With 30,000 troops en route to support Operation Enduring Freedom and thousands of troops leaving Iraq, it is clear that airmen will be hard at work in 2010. That’s especially true because...
  • From our forums
    OK, we had the lowest fatalities … and? reminds me of a squadron I was in and they threw up a slide during commander’s call saying we had hit 365 without a DUI. ... There was a two-second...
  • Restricting privacy rights won’t make us safer
    In the wake of the Fort Hood shootings in November, an independent review requested by the Pentagon has called for sweeping personnel policy changes aimed at giving commanders more tools to identify...
  • Leave small aircraft to the Army
    The policymakers who chart the future of the Air Force appear to be fixated on two principles: 1) Smaller is better and 2) The Air Force should be indistinguishable from the Army.
  • Fighters crucial to homeland defense
    The Air Force must continue its primary role in homeland defense.
  • Burn-pit stonewalling
    Military regulations state that open-air burn pits should be used only as a short-term waste disposal solution in forward areas until cleaner-burning, but costlier, incinerators can be brought online.
  • Deployments and suicide
    The military suicide epidemic is largely perceived as being suffered only by those who have served on the ground.
  • Letters
    I am a 1N0X1 stationed at Creech Air Force Base, Nev., as a mission intelligence coordinator, or MIC, working with remotely piloted aircraft.
  • From our forums
    If the Army, Navy and Marine Corps want CSAR to be joint, I’m all for it. Why? Because why wouldn’t they want to rescue their own?
  • Grieving families forgotten
    The families of nearly all service members who die in Iraq or Afghanistan, whether they are killed in action or die of non-combat injuries or illnesses, receive a letter of condolence from Defense...
  • Prayers should be private
    Before the Air Force can move past its reputation for religious intolerance, it must do one more thing: Eliminate prayers from official events.
  • Letters
    Captains are the most heavily tasked officers in the Air Force — they must deploy, get a medal, be company-grade officer of something or win a safety award.
  • From the forums
    Let me see if I have this right: We’re spending almost $140 million for three projects in Afghanistan when our president says we’ll be out of there in two years, probably before the...
  • Helo replacement overdue
    No airmen are more in need of new equipment than those who fly and maintain the Bell UH-1N Twin Huey helicopter.
  • Pregnancy vs. readiness
    Army Maj. Gen. Anthony Cucolo, commander of Multi-National Division-North in Iraq, learned a thing or two about messaging after threatening courts-martial for soldiers, male or female, involved in...
  • Review mentor program
    The Air Force needs to rethink its decades-old “mentor” program, under which it hires retired three- and four-star generals to advise senior officers.
  • CSAR is an Air Force mission
    When morale begins to erode in a family of airmen, the process may start slowly but turn into a downhill slide.
  • Letters
    Robert F. Dorr is wrong to say there is “no dignity in handling a flag-draped casket while wearing the Army Combat Uniform or the airman battle uniform” [“It’s time to restore...
  • Stop C-17 production for Air Force
    If I wanted Pentagon dollars to pour into my neighborhood, I would want a senator like Sen. Daniel Inouye, D-Hawaii.
  • Get help for rape victims
    In recent years, senior Defense Department leaders often have spoken of their commitment to preventing and responding to sexual assault in the ranks.
  • Bidding on tanker deal
    A long-held rule of thumb in economics: If you have two competitors in a market, you’re likely to end up with a monopoly.
  • From the forums
    Everyone should be paying attention ... from the driver to the pedestrian. This is what the AF should be “preaching and teaching,” not to run through mindlessly and put our faith and...
  • Good benefit gone bad
    The Post-9/11 GI Bill, one of the most generous military benefits programs ever created, launched Aug. 1 with the promise of making a college education an affordable reality for a new generation of...
  • From the forums
    In my career field, master sergeants are being run ragged between short tours, 365s and Band E. So without passing judgment on the quality or need for the training, it will be hard for them to get...
  • Letters
    I find it ironic that you published a news blurb about the military paying for detainee video teleconferencing right next to an announcement that the Defense Department won’t pay for U.S....
  • Airdrops are achievement for airmen
    With little notice or recognition, America’s airmen are using an old method to wage a new war in Afghanistan.
  • Your fitness is your job
    Fail the PT test, get a heart-rate monitor.
  • Arlington questions
    The Army has a project underway to computerize burial records at Arlington National Cemetery and upgrade other aspects of its information technology infrastructure.
  • From the forums
    These are not dismissals for cause; the cause is a convenient way of ousting folks who were a little too much like ... dare I say ... [former Chief of Staff Gen. Merrill] McPeak. These folks...
  • Letters
    Why are we even thinking about giving airmen full Basic Allowance for Subsistence [“Chow hall beefs,” Nov. 16]? Quality of life and saving money for the Air Force should not be the...
  • Reflecting on safety
    Airmen are ticked off about a safety rule that requires them to wear reflective belts on base at night. Not just when jogging, as is common — but even when they walk to the dining hall, the gym...
  • No APO mail guarantee for retirees
    Military retirees overseas may lose their access to U.S. postal mail when American diplomatic posts divorce themselves from military APO/FPO facilities, probably on Dec. 31.
  • It’s time to restore service dress for those who aren’t working or fighting
    Within a month, President Barack Obama visited Dover Air Force Base, Del.; Fort Hood, Texas; and Elmendorf Air Force Base, Alaska.
  • Don’t skimp on hospital
    It would be easy to dismiss concerns about whether the new Walter Reed National Medical Center is going to be a “world-class facility” as an issue of status rather than patient care....
  • Don’t delay fitness
    Airmen are getting six more months to prepare get ready for the new physical training test.
  • Letters
    I had to read the editorial regarding the re-enlistment bonus for Tech. Sgt. Israel Del Toro [“No $90,000 bonus,” Nov. 9] twice to make sure I had read it correctly.
  • Andrews is an Air Force base
    To me, it will always be Andrews Air Force Base.
  • VA needs bold change
    When it comes to the vast and stubborn backlog of veterans benefits claims, Congress seems all too content to take a flyswatter to an elephant.
  • From our forums
    If/when this gets implemented, I cannot wait to see the retention rates plummet harder than the economy last year. Or watch divorce rates rocket faster than the unemployment mark. There is no way you...
  • Letters
    The editorial [“Deployment policy unfair,” Oct. 12] states that outdated air expeditionary force rotations have caused inequities, but the problem goes deeper than just the outdated...
  • Reward UAV pilots
    UAV pilots won’t be changing jobs for the next two years.
  • Turf war hurts families
    The 2010 defense authorization bill, on a fast track to final passage at press time, included two important improvements in legal and financial protections for troops and their families.
  • Perception is reality
    For the first time in its history, the Air Force has disciplined a former chief of staff.
  • Let airmen tell Air Force’s story
    A contract to publicize the Thunderbirds flight demonstration team was intended to boost the Air Force’s image.
  • From our forums
    Glad I’m retired. [Gays] have no place in the armed forces.
  • Letters
    We are using the war-zone airman battle uniforms in Baghdad and I love them.
  • Make PT mandatory
    Top leaders are putting the burden back on airmen to get in shape for the new, tougher physical training test that goes into effect Jan. 1. And that same day, the service is doing away with mandatory...
  • Sensor operators finally rewarded
    Once in awhile the Air Force does something right.
  • Letters
    An article about the Combat Action Medal quoted retired Gen. T. Michael Moseley as saying that, until recently, 99.9 percent of the combat conducted by the Air Force was conducted by pilots and...
  • From our forums
    Until the perception of 4 and 3 as a bad rating that needs to be overcome is changed, inflation won’t change.
  • Limit Feres’ reach
    With little fanfare, the House Judiciary Committee has approved landmark legislation that would override a 59-year-old Supreme Court ruling barring active-duty members from suing the government for...
  • From our forums
    Most Europeans really don’t like Americans at all. A large percentage of them despise Americans and everything America stands for.
  • Nuclear mission requires clout
    Global Strike Command is all of two months old, but it will eventually become responsible for the 8th Air Force, all of the nation’s land-based intercontinental missiles and all bombers that...
  • Letters
    In the article “Divorce and your job” [Sept. 21], I noticed that all the career fields listed are among the smallest ones in the Air Force. The smallest career fields would have fewer...
  • Raters need guidance
    For 20 years, the Air Force has struggled with inflated enlisted performance reviews.
  • A familiar VA pattern
    Veterans Affairs Department officials told Congress in late June that preparations for the Aug. 1 launch of the Post-9/11 GI Bill were going swimmingly.
  • ‘The Bone’ proves its worth
    The Air Force has decided belatedly that it likes the B-1B Lancer bomber, alias “the Bone.”
  • Good intention, bad plan
    The House version of the 2010 defense authorization bill would place problematic new mandates on support programs serving military family members with autism.
  • Tanker contract redux
    After botching the KC-X tanker competition and suffering the humiliation of being stripped of management of the program, the Air Force is getting another shot.
  • Letters
    I understand the purpose of renaming unmanned aerial vehicles as remotely piloted vehicles, as suggested by Col. Pete Gersten [“The name game,” Aug. 24]. The idea is to more accurately...
  • From our forums
    The problem at my base is that so many of the med folks are deployed, there is a shortage of on-base providers. Thus the need to send people downtown. Plus, we don’t have many (if any?)...
  • A tall acquisition order
    Defense Secretary Robert Gates has made it clear that he intends to change how the world’s richest military buys its equipment.
  • Letters
    I read with amusement the discussion concerning the blousing of trousers and boots [“Tuck talk: pro & con,” Aug. 10].
  • Joint-STARS needed for today’s wars
    The budget cutters are at it again.
  • Send loved ones to Dover
    Family members who lost loved ones overseas have always been allowed to attend the “dignified transfer” ceremonies at Dover Air Force Base, Del.
  • It’s the charitable thing
    Some small charities that support troops and their families are having a bit of heartburn over new vetting rules handed down by Defense Department officials.
  • Petraeus’ joke and apology
    “The Marines’ sense of toughness permeates the Corps’ lore as well as its reality.
  • It’s all in good fun
    Some airmen didn’t think it was so funny when Army Gen. David Petraeus, the commander of U.S. Central Command, told a joke to a Marine Corps booster group that compared the sweaty work of...
  • Review air power priorities
    Russia is making the largest overhaul of its military aviation in post-Soviet history.
  • Letters
    I was shocked to see the amount of detail provided in the article about the 455th Expeditionary Security Forces Squadron performing base defense at Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan [“Airmen handle...
  • Letters
    I disagree with the Air Force Times editorial [“Senate did right thing,” Aug. 3] and a letter to the editor [“Say goodbye to F-22”].
  • UAVs aren’t ‘unmanned’
    What’s in a name? Sometimes, quite a lot.
  • From the forums
    I don’t think it got any harder. I think it actually got a little easier, in the performance department, at least. You may have to shave a couple of inches off the waist to get those points...
  • More accountability at VA
    The Veterans Affairs Department has proposed rules to make it easier for veterans to link their diagnosed post-traumatic stress disorder to their military service and become eligible for disability...
  • T-6A worthy of more respect
    The T-6A Texan II is a success story that hasn’t been told much.
  • Letters
    I read with dismay Robert F. Dorr’s column concerning use of the HH-60 for medical evacuations in Afghanistan [“Don’t use CSAR assets for medical evacuation,” Aug. 10].
  • From our forums
    I like knowing the rank of the person I am talking to on the phone. If I call the MPF for to find a lost EPR (I did this yesterday) and they answer the phone SSgt XXXX that is fine, or Sergeant XXXX...
  • Fully fund the military without using tricks
    The White House has made clear that it intends to halt the use of supplemental funding bills, those “emergency” measures that critics have long contended obscure the true scope of the...
  • Bridge DoD-VA record gap
    For years, the Pentagon and Veterans Affairs Department have struggled to build a system that can quickly and easily share medical records of troops moving from the military’s health care...
  • Get real on social nets
    The Pentagon has a growing problem — the phenomenon called social networking.
  • Obama can help vets
    President Barack Obama and Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki met last week with Military Times and other military journalists in a bid to restore confidence in the administration’s...
  • From the forums
    He is not respected and quite frankly disdained by many in the officer corps. He plans to gut the fighter force and hedge the entire bet on the F-35. He literally expects the F-35 to be 100%...
  • Letters
    I liked the article about enlisted performance reports [“Inflated reports are hurting airman promotions, some ideas for fixing the process,” July 20], but it didn’t go far enough.
  • Do more with less
    If any doubt remains that the military must overhaul the way it buys weapons systems, look no further than the Navy’s 15-year effort to build a 65-foot minisub for its SEAL commando teams.
  • Schwartz’s to-do list
    Gen. Norton Schwartz marks his first year as Air Force chief of staff this month.
  • Allow spouses to choose
    Service members can claim state residence in any state in which they are assigned during a military career, for as long as they stay in uniform and no matter how many subsequent...
  • Letters
    I find the posturing, whining and nonsensical blubbering over physical fitness tests, decals and the F-22 a bit tiring.
  • From the forums
    This is the biggest mistake I have seen the Air Force make with my own eyes. It sounds great on paper and looks great at first, but what the planners didn’t take into consideration is that the...
  • Letters
    I cannot believe Air Force Times did a story about what airmen think are some of the stupidest rules in the Air Force, [“Air Force’s...
  • From our forums
    Come on, people, give us something that makes us proud to wear, not something that looks like we just stepped out of a clown car. Why not stick with the tan boots? They are required in the AOR, so...
  • End burdensome offsets
    One reason Congress gets such routinely low approval ratings from the American people is that lawmakers often are seen as quick to break their promises.
  • PT test gets ‘incomplete’
    In development more than a year, the Air Force’s new fitness program is finally ready.
  • What airmen are saying online about the new PT test
    Fitness should be a way of life especially in the military — all branches. Fitness testing should be more random like random urinalysis. We should always be prepared and in shape to pass....
  • From our forums
    I was reading this article about basic military training’s new “BEAST” program and noticed the photo of the trainees with their fake rifles. Anyone have any thoughts about this? ......
  • Letters
    After reading several articles and letters on unmanned aerial vehicle pilots, I wanted to put in my 2 cents based on 12 years of experience in both the Air Force and Army.
  • Stand by this colonel
    Air Force Col. Joseph Romano is being tried in an Italian court for doing his job — and the Air Force and U.S. Justice Department are mum.
  • Letters
    I rarely agree with Robert F. Dorr’s opinion pieces but two of his assertions in “Leaders fail to fight for weapons money” [Opening Shots, May 25] are so absurd they need to be...
  • Don’t be different just to be different
    The Air Force is on a sensible course to augment its fixed-wing gunship force.
  • From our forums
    Utterly pointless. The uniform should not require this degree of micro-management. We’ve got classic black, tan suede and green suede, and not enough of any of the three to shoe the entire...
  • Shed light on pay data
    Having led the fight to close the gap between average military and private-sector pay — once as high as 13.5 percent and now under 3 percent — advocacy groups are setting their sights on...
  • Ditch the green boot
    The Air Force search for the elusive sage-green boot continues.
  • From our forums
    Did he know he had a chance at this position? He seems like he didn’t know it was coming and didn’t prepare. And while it seems petty, how do you not know your PT score?
  • Letters
    I don’t like weekly Air Force physical training sessions. They’re too easy. I want what Capt. Thomas Worden [“Capt: PT test should measure combat fitness,” April 20] and the...
  • A career undone, unfairly
    Air Force Lt. Col. Victor Fehrenbach hoped to retire in a few years. He won’t get to.
  • From our forums
    Well, as a captain who is getting ready for his third deployment (about 14 months after returning from my last 15-month deployment with the Army), I say, bravo. We don’t need 60 more F-22s,...
  • Letters
    I do not understand the basis for Capt. Thomas Worden’s opinions on having our physical training test mirror that of the Marine Corps [“Capt.: PT test should measure combat...
  • Concurrent receipt — now
    Five years ago, Congress finally decided to kill a century-old law that forced disabled military retirees to forfeit a dollar of retired pay for every dollar they received in disability compensation.
  • From our forums
    I find it aggravating that helos have been around in the USAF as long as they have but we can’t get a 2-piece flight suit approved, yet the JSF isn’t even fielded yet and we already have...
  • Leaders fail to fight for weapons money
    The Air Force won’t get more F-22 Raptors or C-17 Globemaster IIIs, a new combat search-and-rescue helicopter or a next-generation bomber if Congress signs off on the Obama...
  • Budget needs to balance personnel, weapons
    The unveiling of President Barack Obama’s first defense budget was anticlimactic, coming weeks after Defense Secretary Robert Gates announced major program cuts and after Congress had approved...
  • From our forums
    It’s been a cute experiment, but without the million-men service branches of the Cold War, there’s no reason to have an independent air force. That’s the only reason we were...
  • Letters
    In his April 21 op-ed in The New York Times, Paul Kane posited that the elimination of the Air Force should be an integral step in the defense secretary’s plans for creating the “right...
  • Toughen biker training
    Twice as many airmen died in motorcycle accidents in the past two years as in combat. That’s senseless.
  • Raise fees responsibly
    “Hit us over the head with a two-by-four three times, and we’re beginning to get the message.”
  • Donley, Schwartz should step up
    Why aren’t Secretary Michael Donley and Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz standing up for the Air Force?
  • Letters
    In January 2004, then-Chief of Staff Gen. John Jumper introduced a new fitness program, Fit to Fight, that promised to embed fitness in the service’s culture.
  • From the forums
    Seems like an awful waste of money just for a photo; then again this administration has spent more in less than 100 days in office than Bush did on Iraq and Afghanistan combined over the seven to...
  • What you’re saying about being dissed
    The dead and wounded Air Force members, while they should be revered, were performing a redundant mission that was essentially meeting military needs that regular ground forces could not provide due...
  • Rescue for CSAR
    Defense Secretary Robert Gates is considering a joint combat search-and-rescue mission — and the pilots and maintainers of the Air Force’s aging 100 HH-60G Pave Hawk rescue helicopters...
  • Pattern of misconduct
    The Pentagon and the services have come far in fixing the many flaws in the disability review process for combat-injured troops. But Congress often has had to push them to do the right thing.
  • Split plan delays tanker purchase
    On Capitol Hill, key lawmakers are suggesting the Air Force should make a split purchase of air refueling planes, buying one type from Boeing and another from Northrop Grumman.
  • Nonlethal options needed
    Despite millennia of investment in developing better weapons, the options remain staggeringly binary — kill or not kill.
  • Toward a fitter force
    The last time the Air Force overhauled its annual physical fitness test, in 2004, the goal was to make airmen fit to fight.
  • Letters
    What is going on with the defense budget? There are cutbacks in the wrong places. I understand that money should be saved and used on the most important matters, but we should definitely spend money...
  • From the forums
    I don’ have ’nuff ol’-timer’s disease (yet) to forget that the “heritage uniform coat without the belt” is a whole lot like the former USAF Class A uniform jacket...
  • What airmen are saying, in e-mails and online
    In regards to Capt. [Thomas] Worden’s study, he needs to go back to the drawing board. A half-mile run may be able to tell how fast it takes an airman to sprint for cover, but does nothing for...
  • Of honor and tears
    As my uncle rolled my grandfather’s wheelchair past the “Pacific Theater” half of the National World War II Memorial, Grandpa pointed out each place he’d been:
  • Letters
    With the recent articles about the lack of decorations being awarded in Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom [“Who merits medals?” Feb. 16; “Death before this...
  • Don’t stand by, stand up
    Service members pride themselves on being stand-up people, with more integrity than the average civilian. The self-image runs deep: “The few, the proud.” “Aim high.”...
  • Air Force doesn’t need C-27J
    When Defense Secretary Robert Gates laid out his 2010 budget recommendations, his 3,442-word statement made no mention of the C-27J Joint Cargo Aircraft.
  • Letters
    I am writing in regards to the update on Minot Air Force Base, N.D. [“Out of the cold,” April 6]. As a very proud security forces mem¬ber, it offends me that every time the nuclear...
  • From the Forums
    I share in the disgust of this no-punishment court-martial, but before we get up in arms about it, let’s not forget that the guy now has a federal conviction and since he was subject to more...
  • Not aperfect world
    The director of the Air National Guard chose his words carefully. “I’m hesitant to separate Air National Guard capabilities from those of the active-duty Air Force,” Lt. Gen. Henry...
  • Current wars distract from future ISR programs
    “ISR is the top focus of the Air Force today,” Lt. Gen. David Deptula, the service’s top intelligence officer, told me March 28. “We see it as an integral part of...
  • Letters
    I had to smile after reading the short article in the March 23 issue on the Missouri Army National Guard retiring its last UH-1 Huey [“Goodbye, Huey,” Around the Air Force]. As the...
  • New VA reality: women
    The wars in Afghanistan and Iraq are forging a new place in history for military women, who make up more than 10 percent of the deployed force.
  • Pilots deserve latest news
    Different warfare demands and more grounded planes mean the Air Force needs fewer fighter pilots.
  • Letters
    In the recent article about the medals disparity between the officer corps and the enlisted corps, many interesting facts and figures were presented along with supporting documentation [“Who...
  • From our forums
    If an organization were to present legitimate job opportunities (ones where you actually get paid) and career training opportunities (where you get paid while learning), then they should be allowed...
  • 2 sides to Dover debate
    On Feb. 26, Defense Secretary Robert Gates announced the repeal of a policy dating to the 1991 Persian Gulf War that prohibited media coverage of flag-draped coffins of U.S. war casualties coming...
  • South Korea is family-friendly, but airmen needed elsewhere
    Lt. Gen. Jeffrey A. Remington is out to change airmen’s perception of South Korea, where he’s the top U.S. air commander.
  • A level playing field
    The Air Force is removing deployment histories from some promotion documents, adding an important new measure of fairness to the process.
  • Keep closing pay gap
    President Barack Obama’s first defense budget calls for a military pay raise of 2.9 percent next year, which sounds generous when many Americans are losing jobs.
  • The case for the Raptor
    During the coming weeks, Congress will debate a stimulus package designed to revive our nation’s faltering economy. However, even during this period of uncertainty, a critical opportunity has...
  • Editorial: Base services on need
    Waste, to put a twist on an old gag, is a terrible thing to mind. But the Air Force’s push to standardize base contracts for trash removal, janitorial work, landscaping and similar services...
  • Editorial: Report burn-pit truth
    Military officials say no known long-term health effects can be linked to heavy, lengthy exposure to the smoke from open-air burn pits in Iraq and Afghanistan.
  • Tanker travesty
    The Air Force, which has failed to give airmen the tanker they need, is now considering using a civilian contractor for some aerial refueling duties.
  • American military strength keeps global economy intact
    Here’s an economics lesson for the American service member.
  • From the forums
    It’s not about what is fair to the service member, it’s about what is best for the kids. And it seems to me, being in a home where your one parent deploys for 12-15 months is not in the...
  • Letters
    After reading the article in the Dec. 22 issue [“Wasteful training costs the Air Force $7 million”], I take issue with one of the Air Force Audit Agency’s conclusions.
  • Letters
    I am glad that our Air Force leaders are thinking about revising the physical training test [“PT shape-up,” Nov. 24]. I know that our senior leaders are hearing concerns by the lower...
  • From our Forums
    While this story was intended to identify and celebrate something joyous, it points out how seriously deplorable the Air Force is at providing timely recognition for those who deserve it.
  • Holidays offer chance to reflect on religion-military balance
    What is the proper role of religion in the military workplace and in the war zone?
  • Military groups most deserving of government ‘bailout’
    If the United States can afford to spend almost $1 trillion in bailouts for companies whose financial troubles were caused by their own mismanagement, what about those in the military community who...
  • Shinseki as VA secretary
    Nominating retired Army Gen. Eric Shinseki as secretary of veterans affairs is the latest bold move by President-elect Barack Obama to reassure troops and veterans that he intends to look out for...
  • Good airman defense
    It has been said that military justice is to justice as military music is to music.
  • Editorial: Job plan too generous
    President Bush has signed an executive order that gives a huge advantage to military spouses seeking federal government jobs.
  • Editorial: Rebuild the EPR system
    When Air Force officials selected more than 12,000 senior airmen for promotion to staff sergeant, the airmen’s test scores were the deciding factor. Performance report scores hardly counted.
  • Don’t wait any longer to make decisions on new planes
    It’s unfair to airmen and the taxpayers to put on hold decisions about new aircraft that need to be made now.
  • Don’t call this a battle uniform
    The first time I heard about the airman battle uniform program, there was a glimmer of hope that the new uniform would be the answer to extensive after-market modifications of the current uniform.
  • Editorial: Privacy safeguards needed
    A new Pentagon directive states the government can “inspect and seize data” on any government computer in the interest of information systems security.
  • Current engagements, future options
    A false perception has arisen in the press that the Air Force is being crafted for some long-distant future war against an unknown peer competitor. During my custodianship of the service, this is...
  • Editorial: Get rid of officers who cross ethical boundaries
    Three cases of inappropriate Air Force contracting decisions cast new doubts about the service’s ethics and the way senior officers do business. Worse, they threaten to undermine the Air...
  • Forums
    I spent 20 years as an F-15 and A-10 crew chief, and the production supervisor and his expeditor obviously needed a refresher course in Leadership 101. One of the most important virtues of good...
  • Editorial
    For the third consecutive year, the Pentagon’s budget request for fiscal 2009 calls for big hikes in enrollment fees, deductibles and pharmacy co-pays in its Tricare health insurance program.
  • Larger F-22 Raptor force is right idea, but hard to sell
    The Air Force’s top officer is serious about a new fighter.
  • United front
    Adm. Michael Mullen, the relatively new chairman of the Joint Chiefs, wants the chiefs to take a united stand on any major changes lawmakers demand in President Bush’s military budget for...
  • Today’s aerial gunners join mission dating to WWII
    When he climbs into his HH-60G Pave Hawk helicopter at Balad Air Base, Iraq, Staff Sgt. Daniel Sipel is following in a tradition as old as the Air Force.
  • Letters
    I’m writing in response to an opinion expressed by Tech. Sgt. Matt Greene in the “Fitness for fighters” letter [Sept. 17]. I truly appreciate his opinion, but I ask that as a...
  • A virtual shame
    The Air Force announced this week that enlisted airmen no longer will learn about a promotion from their commander. They’ll have to go to a Web site.
  • Rule book resentment
    During the past several months, there has been a sequence of letters in Air Force Times regarding dress and appearance standards. It started with a chief master sergeant’s reasonable...
  • Stopping IED threats
    The two-year-old Joint Improvised Explosive Device Defeat Organization has the critical — and so far, elusive — mission of living up to its own name. The insurgent networks that build and...
  • Editorial
    We’ll probably never know exactly what happened Sept. 16 when private security contractors protecting a State Department convoy in Baghdad opened fire.
  • Editorial
    It was a startling, if not unexpected, admission.
  • Vietnam redux
    Listening to Gen. David Petraeus explain to Congress how he intends to pacify Iraq brought back with painful clarity the warning Clark Clifford said he issued to President Johnson when the Vietnam...
  • Familiar, fuel-efficient F-16 deserves respect
    The F-16 Fighting Falcon will continue fighting for years to come.
  • Letters
    There was an article on the wear of rank for officers, i.e., no shiny rank [“ABU rules restrict unit patches, rank insignia,” Sept. 17]. But how about the poor noncommissioned officer out...
  • 60 reasons Airmen say why their service is the best
    On the 60th anniversary of the Air Force, we asked readers to reflect a bit on life in the military and what makes the Air Force better than its sister services. We got lots of responses, some...
  • Spin, doctored
    This summer, the Army, National Guard and Defense Department issued requests to industry to hire contractors to analyze and monitor media reporting and make recommendations to the highest ranks of...
  • ‘Warrior culture’ obscures concept of citizen at war
    The brass in our military service branches keep telling troops that they live in a warrior culture.
  • Editorial: Establish valor database to honor national heroes
    After watching the film “Saving Private Ryan,” which showed scenes of the U.S. cemetery in Normandy, France, Monty McDaniel became curious about the grave of his uncle, who is buried...
  • Letters
    Warrior ethos ... who are we kidding? I could not disagree more with the change to include fitness test performance on performance ratings. Eight years ago, I chose the Air Force over sister services...
  • History: U.S. air power saw supersonic progress in first 40 years
    When Wilbur and Orville Wright began work in 1907 on their Wright Flyer for the Army Signal Corps, the aviation pioneers were building a primitive biplane of wood, fabric and glue, held together by...
  • Editorial: Congress can fix Feres
    After 21-year-old Nathan Hafterson died during a routine medical procedure in March 2006, his family might well have expected they could sue the doctors and hospital whose negligence they say killed...
  • Editorial: More research needed
    A new study of Air Force women and sexual assault reaches the startling conclusion that more than one in four Air Force women have been raped.
  • Letters to Air Force Times
    Regarding Robert F. Dorr’s “Keep the faith (to oneself)” [Back Talk, Aug. 2]:
  • Petraeus’ report should be first step out of Iraq
    A USA Today/Gallup poll conducted in early August shows that 32 percent of Americans have never heard of the U.S. commander in Iraq, Army Gen. David H. Petraeus, or hold no opinion of him.
  • Letters: Uniform policy unfair to Reserve technicians
    How immature it is for Air Force Reserve Command to force nonbargaining unit Air Reserve technicians to wear their military uniform while on civilian status [“Reserve techs object to wearing...
  • Pay comparisons miss the point: We have no counterparts
    The Congressional Budget Office has commented over and over again that military pay is good enough [“A fresh look at pay,” July 16]. Give me a break. I get really tired of hearing that we...
  • History: Heroism across the ages
    Thirty years ago, it was impossible to visit a base without seeing a sign that read: “The mission of the United States Air Force is to fly and fight, and don’t you ever forget it.”...
  • South Korea tour may be a good deal for airmen
    More than half a century after a battlefield armistice that ended the Korean War, American troops are still a vital part of the U.N. force that guards South Korea.
  • Function comes first
    Following the Vietnam War, there was a debate in Congress about attack helicopters and whether the Army’s procurement of them represented a duplication of the Air Force’s requirement to...
  • Letters
    I want to respond to the letter in the Aug. 13 Air Force Times “Airmen combat-ready.” The writer said we are trained at the same levels as soldiers before the Air Force sends anyone...
  • CSAR mission finally gets the national exercise it deserves
    It’s hard to believe, but Air Force officials say they never conducted a national-level combat search-and-rescue exercise until this year.
  • Keep the faith (to oneself)
    That Sunday morning, the word spread quickly around the basic training squadron.
  • Letters
    It’s an exciting time at Elmendorf Air Force Base, Alaska, as we welcome the newest, most revolutionary, most talked about air dominance fighter in the history of aviation. The F-22 Raptor will...
  • Editorial: A lesson’s dear price
    On Aug. 7, at Lackland Air Force Base, Texas, 19-year-old Airman Paige Renee Villers died of adenovirus, an illness so common in military basic training that it has received a special nickname...
  • Editorial: A simple solution
    The Servicemembers’ Civil Relief Act provides troops with legal protections for breaking apartment and auto leases upon receiving deployment orders.
  • Inappropriate message
    A charitable group that enjoys at least tacit official support from the Pentagon is embroiled in a controversy that is proving too hot for defense officials.
  • Letters
    I read both “Get fit (they’re not kidding)” [Aug. 13] and “Your new review” [July 23], about our fitness scores being included in our enlisted and officer performance...
  • Letters
    With all respect to retired Col. David Welling, I disagree with his proposed Military Medic’s Creed [“Medics deserve own creed,” Letters, July 16]. While I recognize the unique...
  • Editorial: Be upfront on airlift needs
    Everyone agrees the military could use more airlift.
  • Editorial: Truth is long overdue
    The Army, Pentagon and now the White House have turned the death of Cpl. Pat Tillman into a national disgrace without end.
  • The voice of the force
    I understand Tech. Sgt. Jerry Sutton’s frustration that earning an advanced degree from a civilian institution does not satisfy the requirements of the Air Force enlisted evaluation system for...
  • Vision of a smoke-free Air Force might be just a pipe dream
    An airman who hates cigarettes told me he wants a smoke-free Air Force.
  • Not a priority
    At a time when the Air Force is reducing people and cutting corners to pay for wartime urgencies, I’m not convinced it needs the Joint Cargo Aircraft.
  • Editorial: Right plan for reservists
    Sen. Chuck Hagel, R-Neb., is the latest lawmaker with a plan to lower the age at which reserve and National Guard members can begin drawing retirement pay.
  • Riflemen should be trained by, serve in Army, Corps
    Every Marine, first and foremost, is a rifleman. Any Marine will tell you that, and I respect it.
  • Letters
    A letter in the June 25 issue of Air Force Times regarding the Airman’s Creed [“Service more than pilots”] struck a nerve with me. Former Airman 1st Class Don E. Averett Sr.’s...
  • Editorial: Evaluating airmen
    The long-awaited revisions to the enlisted and officer performance reports — the first overhaul in 15 years — make important changes that will contribute to fairness and accuracy.
  • Letters
    As an ROTC graduate, I enjoy the rivalry among the Air Force Academy, ROTC, Officer Training School and Academy of Military Science commissionees. It is a fun part of being an officer, and I hope the...
  • Plain talk
    When Navy Adm. Michael Mullen becomes chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff — he is expected to receive Senate consent — will he give serious advice to President Bush and to Defense...
  • Editorial: Right training, right time
    It would be hard to find anyone who thinks annual, Air Force-wide training in protecting the president is a good use of airmen’s time.
  • Rural America answered the military’s call, deserves better care
    The government goes to great lengths to recruit young men and women to enlist in the military. Recruiters often travel the extra mile to convince young people from rural America that the military is...
  • Editorial: The price of war
    In early July, perhaps before, perhaps soon after you read this, the U.S. military will reach a somber wartime milestone: 4,000 troops...
  • Editorial: Upsetting the apple cart
    When large corporations lay off workers, one can be sure that soon after will come calls to work smarter and be more efficient.
  • Editorial: Budget for construction
    If the House and Senate appropriations committees have it right — and there’s no reason to doubt them — the Pentagon is headed for rough water on military construction that could...
  • Necessary limits
    Some media question a recent change to embed ground rules in Iraq. The requirement states that images of wounded service members “will not be released without the service member’s prior...
  • Letters
    I applaud Air Force leadership for attempting to revive the service’s military image with a proposed “new” service dress uniform. The new uniform harkens back not only to those worn...
  • New service dress uniform could still be a hit
    The Air Force is testing a new service dress uniform that Chief of Staff Gen. T. Michael Moseley said “will make us look more military.”
  • Blog: Tales from the Sandbox
    Military Times staff writer Kelly Kennedy shares her...
  • Letter: Keep Guard, reserve distinct
    I have read retired Army Col. James T. Currie’s proposal for merging the National Guard and reserves [“Merge reserves into Guard to save money, resources,” Back Talk, June 4] and...
  • Editorial: Teach fighting wisely
    Half a century ago, airmen were among the most skilled martial-arts practitioners in the military.
  • Editorial: Give troops their leave
    On April 18, Pentagon personnel chief David S.C. Chu announced details of a new plan to compensate combat troops who are deployed longer or more often than Pentagon policy permits.
  • Letters
    I was disappointed in the May 21 article about the Air Force wanting to change to a .45-caliber handgun [“In pursuit of stopping power”]. Many of the debated issues have already been...
  • A degree of frustration
    Academic achievement is a personal accomplishment that has essentially become a professional requirement for advancement in today’s Air Force.
  • Not all C-5 Galaxies are worth modernizing
    One of the biggest challenges facing Air Force leaders is strategic airlift, the long-range, cargo-hauling job performed by the C-5 Galaxy and C-17 Globemaster III.
  • Editorial: Photo rules hide the truth
    Some of war’s most memorable images include the wounded and the dead. It is impossible to chronicle a war without including that defining characteristic. But if the most current ground rules...
  • Letters
    Has the Air Force gone off the deep end by considering Barksdale Air Force Base, La., to be the new Cyberspace Command headquarters? What kind of high-tech workforce is going to relocate to the Deep...
  • Wing’s move from Richmond is emblematic of eroding state powers
    There’s a barren look to Col. Jay Pearsall’s office. Pearsall commands the Virginia Air National Guard’s 192nd Fighter Wing. The headquarters is in a corner of Richmond...
  • Journalists’ hands are tied
    Every day, thousands of American men and women perform untold acts of bravery and drudgery on behalf of what our leaders have defined as vital American interests in Iraq and Afghanistan.
  • Editorial: Make moving less painful
    Whoever coined the name “Families First” for the military’s effort to overhaul its household goods shipping process was either the sunniest of optimists or the most cynical of...
  • Crew chiefs belong in same squadron as pilots
    The Air Force should assign crew chiefs to the same units as pilots.
  • Follow Brits’ WWII example: Keep cyber command’s profile low
    The addition of a third medium — cyberspace — to the Air Force mission, along with the fanfare accompanying start-up of a new cyber command, is sharp contrast to the secrecy shrouding a...
  • Letters: No uniform answer, but lots of opinions
    The overwhelming negative reaction to the new uniform proposed by Air Force leaders is troubling [“Uniform dislike,” May 28]. The leaders are out of touch with their followers. When I was...
  • Editorial: ABU could be even better
    The new airman battle uniform is winning praise from the right people as it makes its debut in the war zone. Airmen wearing the ABU say they like it, and — perhaps as important — so do...
  • LETTERS
    Retired Lt. Col. Bob Kellas’ letter, “Advisory service a waste” [June 4], highlights his concern with dedicating funds to Air Force Smart Operations for the 21st Century advisory...
  • LETTERS
    I agree with Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla. [“Senator pushes for gun makers to compete to replace the M4,” May 21]. The M4, while a fine weapon and better in most situations than the M16...
  • Combat rescue helo mess is a disservice to troops
    If you’re in a combat search-and-rescue outfit wondering when you’ll get a new helicopter, you’ve been betrayed. The Pentagon, with its bloated acquisitions bureaucracy, has let you...
  • Down with decals
    While completing a one-year individual augmentee tour working with Air Force and Army personnel at Fort Bragg, N.C., and Hurlburt Field, Fla., I was surprised by the security policy now in place at...
  • Letter: Recruit medics from high school
    I’m writing in response to the article “More medical airmen easier said than done” [May 21] because I wonder if the Air Force thinks about recruiting personnel for hard-to-fill...
  • Editorial: Combat skills required
    The Air Force and Navy plan to commit even more airmen and sailors to the war in Iraq in the year ahead.
  • Editorial: Fixing the death gratuity
    In 2005, Congress raised the so-called “death gratuity” paid to survivors of service members who die on active duty from $12,000 to $100,000 — a generous gesture of wartime support.
  • Letters: EODs risk their lives, too
    Concerning the article in the May 7 Air Force Times [“One tough task”], Iraq showed how tough Air Force security forces have it in Iraq. I do not want to take anything away from what the...
  • Vintage solution
    The Air Force has a great tool for recruiting, retention and public relations that costs almost nothing.
  • Editorial: Painful but necessary cuts
    Air Force pilots have been immune to large-scale cuts in recent years, but that is changing.
  • Editorial: Prorate danger benefits
    It’s no secret that you can qualify for a full month’s danger pay — $225 — and a month’s federal tax-exclusion benefits — worth far more — for spending even...
  • Merge reserves into Guard to save money, resources
    I testified May 16 before the congressionally chartered Commission on the National Guard and Reserves. My testimony centered on two themes: first, that the current reserve deployment schedule will...
  • LETTERS
    I enjoy the Air Force Times articles and stories affecting our Air Force quality of life and its people. We value our people, and we make every effort to train and educate them on mishap prevention...
  • From the forums
    Once photos of the Air Force’s proposed new service dress coat were posted on AirForceTimes.com, readers filled our message board with an assortment of comments. Here’s a sample of what...
  • Tending to their memory
    On Veterans Day we honor the men and women who have served this country in the armed forces. We have parades with active-duty troops marching in their uniforms. Veterans wear distinctive clothing,...
  • Editorial: Let junior troops testify
    One battlefield lesson seemingly never learned is how fundamentally wrong it is to be less than fully open and truthful about what is taking place in the war zone.
  • Editorial: Uniform dissent
    The service dress uniform has been ridiculed as a military business suit or an outfit worthy of airline pilots ever since it was introduced by then-Chief of Staff Gen. Merrill McPeak in the early...
  • Letters
    I truly enjoyed the column highlighting the career sacrifices of military spouses [“Military spouses’ career sacrifices deserve notice,” May 14, Back Talk]; however, I was...
  • Letters: Alternatives to the M9
    Being a retired Security Forces noncommissioned officer who once carried the excellent but woefully underpowered M15 .38 revolver, I’m delighted to read that the Air Force is moving ahead with...
  • U.S. needs unified, diplomatic approach to Iran
    If you’re in the armed forces, you may wonder whether our nation’s leaders are preparing to send you into a war with Iran.
  • Technology is no guarantee of victory
    The proposed 2008 Pentagon budget requests $75 billion for research and development of new weapons. The desire for new high-tech systems is so great that despite the heavy strains even the small wars...
  • Letters
    We recently experienced our first visit to the Air Force Memorial in Arlington, Va. It is a majestic, beautiful tribute to all the men and women who have served their country as airmen. Although we...
  • I was wrong: Ban on gays in uniform should be lifted
    The time has come to remove restrictions on gay Americans serving in the armed forces.
  • Editorial: Don’t delay on sidearm
    The Air Force believes it needs to replace its Beretta M9 handgun with a larger caliber sidearm.
  • Set PT rules and move on
    In response to Chief Master Sgt. Bob Henson’s opinion column on physical training uniform standards [“Tighten up,” Back Talk, May 7], I have to say I’m in agreement with the...
  • Editorial: Money, not task forces
    A committee drawn from the Institute of Medicine and the National Research Council has produced a report that discusses how the Department of Veterans Affairs could better serve the rising number of...
  • Military spouses’ career sacrifices deserve notice
    Recently, I enjoyed a margarita and a good laugh with a longtime college friend, and fellow military spouse, as we recalled a military-life moment. For each of us, there had been a tough move to a...
  • Kabul fallout
    Airmen in today’s combat zones feel they’re “walking on eggshells,” as one described it, following a general’s official rebuke of two lieutenant colonels over a roadside...
  • Moseley inconsistent on discipline
    In the AirForceTimes.com article “Moseley: Air Force pinched by ground war needs,” this statement was attributed to Chief of Staff Gen. T. Michael Moseley: “Not only do we not have...
  • Editorial: Trust UAVs to Air Force
    On May 9, the House Armed Services Committee is expected to weigh in on a dispute between the Air Force and the other services — especially the Army — over unmanned aerial vehicles that...
  • Letters
    As I read the article about the new top Defense Department doctor [“A prescription for cutting costs,” April 16], I found it interesting that he sounded much more like an accountant than...
  • Editorial: Pay proposal is fair
    For more than a century, disabled military retirees were required by law to forfeit a dollar in retirement pay for every dollar received in disability compensation.
  • Editorial: A half-staff salute in May
    In the aftermath of the Virginia Tech shootings, where 32 students and teachers died at the hands of a highly disturbed gunman last month, the media published lengthy profiles of every victim and...
  • Tighten up
    Visit any Air Force base and hordes of people are running everywhere. Go to the base gyms and they are packed. It seems airmen everywhere have figured out physical training is a good thing.
  • Editorial: Limit in-lieu-of taskings
    Air Force Gen. T. Michael Moseley said last week he is increasingly reluctant to send airmen to do Army and Marine Corps jobs that are outside the airmen’s core competencies.
  • Air Force should govern unmanned aerial vehicles
    Unmanned aerial vehicles are the business of the Air Force.
  • Letters
    Why on earth would the Thunderbirds be getting F-16 Block 52s, while under the Base Closure and Realignment Commission’s plans we are retiring older, less capable Block 42s?
  • Media ignore true heroes
    I was thinking of the war in Iraq in comparison to the Virginia Tech tragedy. First, what happened is a tragedy and the families of those students are in my prayers. It shouldn’t have happened,...
  • Letters
    Who is editing Air Force Times these days and about which Air Force do they suppose to report? My question comes from the front page of the April 16 issue. On it, Maj. Troy Gilbert, an F-16 pilot who...
  • Editorial: Let airmen see EPRs
    Chief Master Sgt. Rodney McKinley, chief master sergeant of the Air Force, got airmen’s attention on a recent trip to Hurlburt Field, Fla., and Lajes Field in the Azores.
  • Given investigation’s findings, lt. cols. didn’t deserve discipline
    Did an Air Force general act in haste when he rebuked two lieutenant colonels over a roadside altercation last year in Afghanistan?
  • War stories
    From my foxhole-view as a tactical battalion commander in western Baghdad in 2006, the American press, although not perfect, has reported the reality of the Iraq war.
  • War debaters lack answers
    The debate over what we should do about the Iraq war is necessary and appropriate in our democracy. Unfortunately, too much of the so-called debate, as represented by “Appeal for...
  • Editorial: VA owes veterans more
    Lawmakers are watching with alarm the exploding backlog of veterans’ benefits claims, now estimated at 600,000 cases and growing as troops return from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
  • Letters
    How many No. 1 priorities can we have as an Air Force? I have a hard time understanding what our priorities are when we are told the F-22, F-35, Joint Cargo Aircraft , CV-22, CSAR-X, KC-X ,...
  • Stop fighting global war on terrorism,’ start fighting al-Qaida
    Democrats haven't accomplished much since taking over Congress, but they've taken one worthwhile step in deciding to ditch the term “global war on terrorism,” which suggests...
  • Problematic privatization
    It is refreshing to read that the surgeons general of the three services are fighting to keep more active-duty medics instead of allowing them to be replaced with civilians.
  • Editorial: North owes explanation
    On March 29, Lt. Gen. Gary L. North, commander of U.S. Central Command Air Forces and 9th Air Force, disciplined two lieutenant colonels who pulled guns on a Blackwater USA contractor in Afghanistan.
  • Editorial: Update ex-spouses' law
    The Uniformed Services Former Spouses' Protection Act — which allows for the court-ordered division of military retired pay between service members and former spouses when they divorce...
  • British troops fed Iran’s propaganda
    “Duty is the great business of a sea officer; all private considerations must give way to it, however painful it may be.”
  • Editorial: British troops fed Iran's propaganda
    “Duty is the great business of a sea officer; all private considerations must give way to it, however painful it may be.”
  • Letters
    I want to question the legality of having a personal sidearm while in a war zone [“Guns & banter,” March 12, Frontlines]. How many rules and regulations are being broken by Gen. T....
  • Protestors should focus on policymakers, not recruiters
    Several recent confrontations have put some of our airmen in harm's way. These conflicts didn't occur on the streets of Baghdad or in the skies over Afghanistan but right in America's...
  • A Tweet goodbye
    Capt. Jeremiah Dixon climbed out of a T- 37B Tweet cockpit at Randolph Air Force Base, Texas, on March 27, after completing a flight that had been delayed a couple of days because of bad weather. I...
  • Letters to the editor
    Question of ‘immorality’
  • For some airmen, there’s no need for tests
    Let me be clear: The new uniform stinks [“Hail Hap!” March 26]. The belt not only enhances the gut, it brings back horrible memories of 1970s leisure wear. Think “Three’s...
  • Give the new service dress uniform a chance
    With a new service dress uniform, members of the Air Force will look more military.
  • Editorial: Time to open up
    For the second time in three years, the National Security Archive — an independent research institute and library at The George Washington University in Washington, D.C. — has given the...
  • Editorial: Level with troops
    President Bush’s Iraq surge plan announced in January called for extending some current deployments and accelerating some others, enabling the military to increase the number of troops in Iraq...
  • Time wasted
    It was supposed to be simple.
  • 2 plans for Iraq
    It takes commitment to build democracy
  • Letters
    Leadership with character
  • Editorial: IED team: little to show
    In the often surreal world of federal Washington, a billion dollars is a drop in the ocean.
  • Editorial: Who railroaded officers?
    On Sept. 16, two Air Force lieutenant colonels and a Blackwater USA employee had a showdown in Afghanistan that ended with one of the officers drawing down on the security contractor with his M4. In...
  • Where credit is due
    Air Force leaders deserve praise for their work on a new service dress uniform that will make airmen look more military.
  • Adding troops would intensify biggest problem in Iraq
    Although the president is asking for more ground troops in Iraq, he provides little logic as to why the 150,000 there in the recent past were not enough.
  • Letters
    MORE PLANE BUILDERS
  • Letters: Pace’s remarks revive debate over ‘don’t ask’
    Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said homosexual behavior is immoral. I salute him for saying that. The media and some members of Congress have condemned him.
  • Editorial: Service members and the freedom of speech
    Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech . . .
  • Editorial: Fixing fractured reserves
    Almost all of the 13 members of the Commission on the National Guard and Reserve have military experience. Several served in uniform for decades.
  • Editorial: Risk worth taking?
    With its plan to cut training flights by 10 percent, the Air Force is taking a calculated gamble that for the next few years — until its modernized fleet is rolling off production lines in...
  • Battlelabs can help fight new threats
    I was disappointed to see that the Air Force is shutting down the force protection battlelabs [“Losing the labs,” Frontlines, March 5] in favor of funding the much-publicized F-22 and the...
  • Letters
    SO MUCH FOR SAVINGS
  • In it together: Budget decisions should be immune to interservice rivalries
    I recently had the privilege of visiting members of the Air Force in Iraq and Afghanistan. They are doing amazing work. Serving alongside their joint teammates, their warfighting contributions are...
  • Deterrence can work in the Middle East
    If the American intervention in Iraq succeeds, the reason will not be the desperate pacification campaign now underway in Baghdad.
  • Editorial: No harm, no hearing
    In a split second on a road in Afghanistan, Air Force Lt. Cols. Gary W. Brown and Christopher R. Hall decided to try to protect themselves. Now that decision is on trial and their careers are in...
  • Editorial: Blame at Walter Reed
    In the wake of intense media coverage about problems with housing and medical evaluations plaguing injured combat troops who are outpatients at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, the Army...
  • Treatment of wounded is ‘shameful
    I have been following Air Force Times’ reports on the disgraceful conditions at Walter Reed Army Medical Center’s Building 18 in Washington, which houses our troops who are recuperating...
  • Air Force Times Letters
    Band makes a difference
  • 60 years forward, one nude pictorial back
    It has been 60 years since the Air Force was founded as a separate service. Airmen whose careers spanned those years drove the transformation from an air force to an air and space force. These...
  • Bitter medicine:What the Air Force must give up now to pay for tomorrow
    “We’re in this death spiral here,” a general said. It’s “the great train wreck.”
  • Air Force Times Editorial: VA investigation needed
    According to his family, when former Pvt. Jonathan Schulze told a Department of Veterans Affairs psychologist that he was feeling suicidal, he was told that the earliest appointment he could get was...
  • Diplomatic skill, experience make Fallon a perfect fit
    The recent selection of Adm. William “Fox” Fallon, current commander, Pacific Command, to replace Army Gen. John Abizaid as commander, Central Command, has raised some eyebrows within the...
  • Nonstop nonsense: Other matters outweigh Pelosi’s transportation dilemma
    While they ought to be debating bigger issues, a few lawmakers on Capitol Hill are haggling over what kind of Air Force plane should transport the speaker of the House of Representatives.
  • Air Force Times Letters
    Fitness questions remain
  • Air Force Times Editorial: Fix disability system
    Recent reports by the Military Times newspapers, The Washington Post and others have highlighted the plight of hundreds of injured and wounded troops at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington.
  • Air Force Editorial: New budget reality
    For close to 15 years, Air Force leaders have pushed for two hugely expensive new fighter aircraft, the F-22A Raptor and the Joint Strike Fighter — now known as the F-35 — ignoring...
  • U.S. must re-establish historic multilateral links
    Debate over the next phase of political and military strategy for Iraq is in full cry, just as new leaders in Congress and the Defense Department confront major strains on military personnel,...
  • Air Force Times Letters
    Academy not a prison
  • No politics required: Airmen are public face of the service, not its ‘ambassadors’
    Air Force Secretary Michael Wynne should have chosen a different word when he said this winter that every airman is an ambassador.
  • Air Force Times Editorial: Vaccine policy at issue
    Just as the Pentagon is set to resume mandatory anthrax shots for the troops, the vaccine’s sole manufacturer, Emergent BioSolutions, says it is testing its product as a potential treatment...
  • Air Force Times Letter: Decals good for bikers
    I love the idea of stickers no longer being required on car windows to gain entry to our air bases [“Stickers coming off,” Feb. 5, Frontlines]. Hill Air Force Base, Utah, quit issuing...
  • Air Force Times Letter: Decals good for bikers
    I love the idea of stickers no longer being required on car windows to gain entry to our air bases [“Stickers coming off,” Feb. 5, Frontlines]. Hill Air Force Base, Utah, quit issuing...
  • Air Force Times Editorial: A drawdown or not?
    During the Air Force Association meeting last week in Orlando, Fla., Chief of Staff Gen. T. Michael Moseley and Secretary Michael Wynne told reporters they may reconsider this summer the plan to draw...
  • Revive and restore our medical facilities, system
    Our military health care system is stressed and, in some respects, unsustainable.
  • Air Force Times Editorial: Empty posturing on Iraq
    Having been AWOL on its Iraq war oversight duties for the first four years of the conflict, the Senate finally seemed poised in early February to stage a debate on the conflict.
  • Air Force Times Editorial: Empty posturing on Iraq
    Having been AWOL on its Iraq war oversight duties for the first four years of the conflict, the Senate finally seemed poised in early February to stage a debate on the conflict.
  • Air Force Times Letters
    Don’t mock financiers
  • Super, Hercules
    The C-130J has stymied its critics since the first one was ordered in 1995.
  • Air Force Times Letters
    Private care superior
  • Air Force Times Editorial: One is too many
    Like thousands of America’s youngest generation of veterans, former Marine Jonathan Schulze came home from Iraq, hung up his uniform and tried to move on.
  • Air Force Times Editorial: Making fitness count
    The Air Force is poised to add physical fitness test results to the performance reviews of its enlisted airmen and officers.
  • Keep historic A-12 on display at Minnesota Air Guard Museum
    The National Museum of the U.S. Air Force is penalizing volunteers in Minnesota for taking good care of one of its airplanes.
  • Get the fight off the ground
    If you haven’t read the Army and Marine Corps’ new counterinsurgency doctrine set out in Field Manual (FM) 3-24, you should.
  • Air Force Times editorial: Send ABUs to desert
    It is unsettling to think that the Air Force’s new utility uniform, heretofore showcased only in its crisp, factory-fresh splendor, will soon be stained by whatever carnage awaits airmen during...
  • ‘Citizen soldier’ became hero with Hell Hawks in Europe
    When retired Col. James G. Wells died Jan. 11 at age 86, the Air Force lost a hero and a combat leader.
  • Air Force Times editorial: Improve Reserve GI Bill
    In what has become something of an annual rite, lawmakers once again are talking of improving GI Bill education benefits — and the place to start is with fixes to the Reserve GI Bill.
  • Air Force Times letters
    Enlisted want course, too
  • Airman in charge
    If you’re a staff sergeant or a captain doing one of the hard jobs that today’s hard times demand, maybe you lack the luxury of thinking much about the four-star officer atop your...
  • Needed: a force for today’s fight — and tomorrow’s
    In the Jan. 10 Washington Times, retired Army Maj. Gen. Robert Scales, former commandant of the Army War College, lamented the portion of the defense budget directed at the Army and the Marine Corps...
  • Military not ready to change ‘don’t ask’
    What does sexuality have to do with one’s ability to do one’s job? I suppose nothing if that person and those around him are professionals. I believe that is what retired Gen....
  • Air Force Times editorial: Planes and people
    The chairman of the House armed services military personnel subcommittee says his top legislative priority this year is to make sure the military is the right size and has the right people to...
  • Will a living airman ever again rate highest valor award?
    In December, Rep. John McHugh, R-N.Y., suggested that the nation is being too tightfisted with its highest award for valor, the Medal of Honor.
  • Sergeant sets poor example
    Staff Sgt. Michelle Manhart is a disgrace to every woman who has ever worn the uniform [“‘When I’m not in uniform,’” Frontlines, Jan. 22]. She put herself out there in...
  • Listen up
    Who should be responsible for making strategic and military policy?
  • Air Force Times Letters
    By adding a reduction in force of more than 1,000 captains and majors with six to 12 years’ experience to the inventory of other force-reduction efforts — Selective Early Retirement...
  • Air Force Times editorial: A short-term surge?
    President Bush’s new objective in Iraq appears to be to stabilize the country so Americans can leave with our heads held high.
  • Air Force Times letters
    The information accompanying a photo of C-17s in formation on Dec. 21 is a distortion of history [“History on the fly,” Transitions, Jan. 8]. It was not the largest formation of aircraft...
  • Best defense is U.S.-based
    Wars are won, experts argue, only on the ground, where troops lock eyeballs with their foe. Success depends on soldiers’ and Marines’ ability to take terrain and hold it, they say.
  • Air Force Times editorial: 6 issues for new Congress
    The new Democratic Congress has an ambitious agenda for its first 100 hours in power, to include the national minimum wage, embryonic stem cell research and alternative energy options.
  • Air Force Times letters
    I was not aware the Air Force Academy had retired enlisted personnel on the staff. But after reading the article “Bringing up junior” in the Dec. 25 issue, I can readily see why it has...
  • Air Force Times editorial: Looking for a new course
    The military professionals who make up the core of today’s career force no longer believe President Bush is on the right track in Iraq. According to this year’s Military Times Poll, only...
  • Air Force Times editorial: BAH standards outdated
    The 3.5 percent average increase in the Basic Allowance for Housing in 2007 is lower than in recent years, when the average hikes ran to 6 percent, 7 percent or more.
  • Air Force Times editorial: It’s about time
    The Air Force says its experiments with jet-engine fuel made from natural gas are going well — welcome news in a world that has likely bid adieu to the peak of oil production.
  • Air Force Times editorial: All services essential
    When President Bush told reporters that he wants to grow the size of the Army and Marine Corps, it was welcome news.
  • Gary Blied: Solemn flight delivers airman to final repose
    On Dec. 3, I was the co-pilot for American Airlines Flight 1904, traveling from Chicago to Miami.
  • New year, new hope: Reasons for optimism as the Air Force enters 2007
    As we enter a new year, it’s an ideal moment for a few observations about how the Air Force is doing.
  • Troops hoping to be ‘home for Christmas’ has a historical ring
    “I will be home from the war by Christmas.”
  • Air Force Times letters
    Air Force Times’ editorial “Trust but verify” [Dec. 18] is sloppy journalism. Although the newspaper broke the story about then-Brig. Gen. Richard S. Hassan’s misconduct and...
  • Robert F. Dorr: A fair shake
    Imagine an Air Force crew arriving in Mobile, Ala., to pick up a new KC-30 tanker at thefactory.There it is, on the parking apron at the assembly plant. Painted in the “cloud gray” used...
  • Air Force Times letters
    At 10½ years of service, I went through Officer Training School and received my commission early in 2005. At that time, I had not heard of the force-shaping initiative. I learned about it near the...
  • Air Force Times editorial: A mess to clean up
    Just in time for the holidays, Republican leaders of the outgoing 109th Congress and Democratic leaders of the incoming 110th Congress have teamed up to drop a large lump of coal on our troops and...
  • David R. Welling: ‘Transformation’ has weakened a strong military
    Poet Wallace McRae, author of a collection titled “Cowboy Curmudgeon,” penned a fine poem called “Reincarnation” that describes a conversation between two cowboy friends about...
  • UH-1N replacement is one need that can’t be postponed
    The Air Force is busily replacing many of its older aircraft. The aging UH-1N Twin Huey helicopter isn’t one of them.
  • Air Force Times editorial: Lawmakers honor valor
    Nothing fires the blood of a war veteran more than a poser who wears or boasts about combat medals and decorations he didn’t earn.
  • Air Force Times letters
    In response to Robert F. Dorr’s column “Something to prove” regarding the Air Force’s selection of the HH-47 as the CSAR-X winner [Back Talk, Dec. 4], the Air Force made the...
  • Charlie Dunlap: Airmen must understand meaning, purpose of airpower to succeed
    What do you understand about airpower? Surprisingly, for a lot of people who call themselves “Airmen,” the true answer is “not as much as I should.”
  • Air Force Times letters
    The Military Officers Association of America sponsored a symposium to discuss the all- voluntary manning of our military. Based on what I read, the generals and bureaucrats seem to be doing a lot of...
  • Air Force Times editorial: Choosing the right helo
    The controversy surrounding the Air Force’s selection of the Boeing HH-47 as its new combat search-and-rescue helicopter stems from widespread surprise at the service’s answer to a...
  • Editorial: Don’t reinvent the wheel
    The Army may have been slow in 2004 to fit its vehicles with armor plate, but it’s moving at record speed in 2007 when it comes to buying combat robots.
  • Tough choice
    There is a long and unfortunate history of ill-conceived decisions made in Washington, D.C., that have negatively affected the military. But a new one, having to do with the contentious Air Force...
  • Letters
    Thanks for publishing the excerpt from Lt. Col. David Bolgiano’s opinion piece in the Wall Street Journal [“Deadly double standards,” Frontlines, July 16]. It’s important to...
  • Spat between Clinton, DoD official good for no one, troops included
    Is it wrong for a Pentagon official to be disrespectful toward a member of Congress?
  • Editorial: Get your own EODs
    Few service members are more in demand these days than the airmen, soldiers and sailors who work in explosive ordnance disposal. Away from home much of the time, they protect their fellow service...
  • Editorial: Time for action
    These are the facts:
  • Editorial: Fitness non-negotiable
    The Air Force is getting tougher about physical fitness, and we applaud those efforts. Performance reports will soon note whether airmen, enlisted and officers, have passed their physical fitness...
  • Editorial: Upgrade the GI Bill
    Virginia Democratic Sen. Jim Webb wants a renewed national commitment to the GI Bill to reward wartime service and sacrifice of soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines.
  • Taking techno-warfare too far
    When machine replaced man during the Industrial Revolution of the early 1800s and threatened the centuries-old caste of the English artisans, they rose up in protest.
  • Letters
    I want to respond to the letter in the July 23 issue of Air Force Times by retired Maj. Van Harl [“Respecting fallen airman”]. He stated that the Air Force forced untrained and...
  • Its inaccuracies make ‘Rescue Dawn’ a military movie to miss
    The film “Rescue Dawn,” which opened in theaters July 27, is the story of Dieter Dengler, a German-born U.S. naval aviator who was shot down in Laos on Feb. 1, 1966, and imprisoned for...
  • Letters
    I disagree with Gens. Charles Horner, Michael Ryan and Michael Short on their Back Talk column of Jan. 28 [“The tanker debate: Why bigger is better”].

  • The Air Force is cutting members to save money, but also asking for more money to hire more members. This reminds me of companies who fire expensive experience in exchange for hiring cheaper...
  • Letters
    The Commission on the National Guard and Reserve proposes “scrapping the entire military retirement system and making active-duty troops wait until at least age 57 or later to begin drawing...
  • Government must stop treating Guard like active-duty force
    The Air National Guard is changing, but the changes aren’t good for troops, taxpayers or the nation.
  • Editorial: Smart thinking, not money, is the answer
    The final budget of any U.S. administration draws intense scrutiny, and the proposed 2009 spending plan is no exception.
  • George Marshalls wanted
    On these pages some weeks ago, several prominent retired Air Force generals offered views on what should guide the Air Force’s choice of a replacement for the KC-135 tanker aircraft. Similar...
  • Editorial: When ‘no’ means ‘no’
    The brief but intense flap between Defense Secretary Robert Gates and the Air Force over the future of the F-22 was inevitable, given service leaders’ continuous efforts to drum up support for...
  • Editorial: An outdated standard
    Basic Allowance for Housing rates are vastly improved after five years of hefty increases earlier this decade. But the housing standards underpinning the rates are another story.
  • Academy denies cadet ban on downtown
    The “fine young cadets” are not “college students.” They are U.S. Air Force Academy cadets (i.e. officers in training) who voluntarily chose to go to USAFA and submit to the...
  • KC-10 provides an important lesson
    The Air Force’s KC-10 Extender, purchased long ago because it is both a tanker and a transport, has been pulling mostly tanker duty. Therein lies a lesson from an aging but stalwart aircraft,...
  • Letters
    I read the opinion titled “Airman can do anything” in the Feb. 11 issue [Letters].
  • Editorial: Continue the effort to ensure pay parity
    Congress and the Pentagon are gearing up for a reprise of what has become an annual rite of spring — wrangling over the size of the military pay raise.
  • Airmen need no reminders of Guam’s location, significance
    When the Air Force lost a B-2A Spirit bomber in Guam on Feb. 23, news outlets saw a need to remind readers where Guam is.
  • Letters
    It appears the Air Force is going to become a faceless, nameless military when it comes to personnel services and training. I am an Active Guard/Reserve airman and am becoming more and more appalled...
  • An indefensible defense budget
    As President Bush backs out the White House door, he is asking Congress to appropriate enough money for the coming fiscal year to enable the Pentagon and its government sidekicks to spend $1.2...
  • ‘Above All’ is new Air Force ad campaign
    My co-worker and I just watched the [promo] and were in awe of how unbelievably badly it was put together. Fundamentally, every¬thing about it is flawed; from the lame music, to the...
  • Editorial: Clarify need for airmen
    Airmen recognize the need to modernize the fleet, and have accepted the argument that downsizing the force was the price they had to pay to replace aging airplanes.
  • Editorial: Follow up for families
    Defense Department officials have spoken often and at length in recent years about their commitment to military families. But Congress wants to see less talk and more action.
  • The infamous flight suit
    What benefit to the Air Force is it to have members walking around in flight suits at headquarters? About the only thing I can come up with is easy identification of flying personnel, but isn’t...
  • Letters
    Aside from the fact that we have been spending money on unnecessary frivolities or legacy projects (new uniforms, etc.), the new slogan is, at best, mundane [“Above all,” March 3]. I do...
  • Tanker decision bad for Boeing, good for troops, taxpayers
    If you were reading newspapers shortly after the decision was announced, you’d have needed more than a glance at the headlines to learn who’ll build the Air Force’s next air...
  • Editorial: Above all, be forthright
    Over the past several years, the Air Force has spent an average of $53 million on its recruiting ads. It hasn’t missed a monthly recruiting goal since 1999. So good is its record, that even...
  • Editorial: Reward early promotions
    A sweeping new report on military compensation seeks to reward the military’s fastest risers with a permanent pay advantage.
  • Letters
    The Air Force has been struggling for a long time to find the answers to some of the uniform issues bothering enlisted members — without much success. While I was an enlisted crew chief, the...
  • Northrop awarded $35 billion to $40 billion contract
    How does choosing EADS over Boeing maximize U.S. interests? It doesn’t. The U.S. has appeared to shoot itself in the foot. Problem is the U.S. doesn’t feel any pain. Numb to the whole...
  • Stop taxing the troops
    Suppose that every time you pulled a dollar bill out of your right pocket and then put it in your left pocket, you were charged a few cents for the transaction. Odds are the dollar would stay put.
  • Five questions irrelevant to tanker decision
    When the Air Force announced that its new air refueling tanker would be the Airbus A330-200, many believed the service had chosen the better plane. But some objected for reasons unrelated to aircraft...
  • Editorial: Wrong decision, again
    Almost 12 years ago, 19 airmen were killed when terrorists blew up a fuel truck outside the Khobar Towers housing complex in Saudi Arabia.
  • Editorial: Rank injustice
    Rank has always had its privileges in the military — and nowhere is that more clear than in the final honors rendered to service members buried in Arlington National Cemetery.
  • 18 states vie for Cyber Command headquarters
    Stable weather for satellite communications would be a high pri¬ority; physical security would be second. Other than those two, I can’t really think of a geographic reason to pick one...
  • A virtual environment for a cyber command
    Many in the business world view the establishment of Cyber Command as a plum to be picked. Funding for the command is expected to reach $10 billion in the 2010 Program Objective Memorandum. However,...
  • Identity theft
    A lot of people believe the Strategic Air Command won the Cold War. Now, veterans of SAC, which went out of existence in 1992, are complaining that their most important symbol is being stolen. The...
  • Letters
    Recently, I had the opportunity to move up in family housing, but before I could move, I had to have my house inspected and the housing office had to verify I could pay for it.
  • Editorial: Raise single BAH rates
    A sweeping study of military pay calls for bringing fairness to the Basic Allowance for Housing. It’s about time.
  • Editorial: UAV career long needed
    Defense Secretary Robert Gates is pressuring the Air Force to get more Predators into the skies above Iraq, and the service is struggling to do just that.
  • 2nd star back in limbo for Khobar Towers CO
    Of course the decision has to be reversed. If the person who the USAF held to be responsible wasn’t actually responsible that would mean that the USAF held the wrong person accountable and will...
  • Letters
    I was very disappointed to see Air Force Cyber Command is proposing to use the Strategic Air Command patch as its own [“Patch plagiarism?” March 24, Frontlines].
  • Security-state mentality gets in the way of Air Force’s story
    When I was about 14 years old, a lieutenant colonel who was a test pilot knocked on the front door.
  • Decisive action
    We ask a lot of our combat aircrews. We ask them to go deep behind enemy lines, braving air defenses that include enemy fighters, anti-aircraft artillery and surface-to-air missiles.
  • Editorial: Restoring faith
    For the past year and a half, officers and enlisted airmen have been waiting to see how the Air Force would handle the case of Col. Michael D. Murphy, former commander of the Air Force Legal...
  • Editorial: Don’t phish own waters
    In the pervasive online scam known as “phishing,” con artists create official-looking e-mails that appear to come from credit card companies, banks, charities, government agencies and...
  • B-52 crews to focus on nuke mission 6 months at a time
    If they are forced to focus exclusively on nukes for six months (or more) at a time, they’ll lose currency on the conventional side. This will come back to bite them a couple of years from now,...
  • Letters
    I am a former Air Guardsman, now a reservist, and the Guard’s mission and real-world problems go over the head of some active-duty people who never had to work a day outside of active duty in...
  • Commanders should encourage airmen to express opinions
    A disturbing theme has emerged in responses I’ve received to previous “Back Talk” columns: Some active-duty readers are reluctant to speak out for fear of damaging their careers. In...
  • Editorial: A program of success
    The story of the F-117A Nighthawk, the world’s first stealthy aircraft, is a reminder of all that is good about the Air Force.
  • Editorial: VA overhaul overdue
    Congress held a hearing last week on ways to modernize the benefits claims system at the Department of Veterans Affairs, which has a backlog of 600,000 claims and counting.
  • Letters
    I’d like Robert F. Dorr to consider this alternate scenario in his charming story of how an F-86 test pilot showed up at his door in 1953 to answer questions about the Air Force’s most...
  • ABU problems
    Did anyone think this through? They fielded a uniform with no provisions for cold weather. They fielded a uniform with absolutely no coordination with the field. AAFES and the MCSS are a joke. Does...
  • ‘Above All’ ads misfire
    The Air Force is cool. That’s the message of the service’s new “Above All” advertising campaign. Like so much the military does today, the creation of a print, radio,...
  • Retirement-pay delay would discourage service
    The proposal to award 25 percent of basic pay to a retiree with 10 years of service, but not until the retiree reaches 62, ignores reality, history and human nature.
  • Editorial: Secure the vote
    A couple of decades into the Internet age, billions of dollars in commerce is transacted by credit cards via secure online servers.
  • Editorial: Make fitness count
    Airmen are steadily getting fatter, and Air Force fitness standards, which were toughened up in 2004, have failed to stop that trend.
  • College-campus model may replace chow halls
    Allowing airmen to spend their food allowances as the major universities do would make them manage their funds a little more wisely and give them more options for their meals.
  • Air power advocate with IW vision needed
    The Air Force claims to present “fighting forces with a highly asymmetric advantage over [irregular warfare] adversaries,” but it needs a vocal and visible air power leader to guide its...
  • Funding the future
    The U.S. news media reported fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan on March 3, but said nothing about the Horn of Africa, where AC-130 gunships of Air Force Special Operations Command have been quietly...
  • Letters
    I recently read the article regarding Gen. Terry Schwalier’s problems, once again, getting his second star [“Khobar Towers CO to petition president for second star,” April 21].
  • Process over purpose
    Three companies are vying for the $15 billion, 140-aircraft program: Boeing, which is offering the HH-47; Lockheed Martin, which is promoting the US101; and Sikorsky, which is offering the...
  • GWOT or not? The term isn’t important, but the facts are
    When we refer to what the military is doing today, should we use the term Global War on Terror?
  • A simple first step
    It is a well-understood shame that it can take a disabled veteran years to gnaw through red tape to collect what is owed. And should the veteran die before his claim is settled, which happens with...
  • Letters
    As a career airlifter with 18 years of heavy airlift experience (first with the C-141 and now with the C-5), I was dismayed to see the C-5 portrayed as a doomed airlift platform due to cost overruns...
  • Balance flight training
    Back in March, the Air Force announced that it planned to cut fiscal 2008 training flight hours by 10 percent, an attempt to save money for modernization and recapitalization of the fleet.
  • Good for recruiters
    The Air Force has a new career path — career recruiter.
  • Letters
    I am writing in response to “Too perfect” [Oct. 8].
  • Letters
    I am writing in response to “Too perfect” [Oct. 8].
  • Airlift answers
    American workers are busy manufacturing the most versatile airlifter ever built. But no new C-17 Globemasters were ordered in the 2008 budget. That means the C-17 plant and hundreds of its parts...
  • Welcoming chaplains
    The Catholic Church has difficulty finding enough people to be priests. And the military services struggle to find enough priests to become military chaplains.
  • Hidden danger
    Is housing privatization the unqualified savior some seem to think? It is tempting to say so because it has produced new or refurbished housing at certain bases.
  • Increase GI Bill benefits
    Without the political muscle to beef up the GI Bill so it fully covers the cost of a college education, lawmakers are seeking other ways to help troops pay for school.
  • Letters
    I would like to add my comments on the airman battle uniform.
  • Editorial: Questions for VA nominee
    The White House’s nomination of retired Lt. Gen. James Peake as the next secretary of Veterans Affairs is an interesting choice.
  • Editorial: Test of a good leader
    How can an individual’s leadership potential be determined?
  • Letters
    It was a great article in the Oct. 29 Air Force Times.
  • Cancel this show
    Air Force Secretary Michael Wynne and Chief of Staff Gen. T. Michael Moseley seem imprisoned in a two-man, two-act stage play with two incompatible story lines.
  • Standing by policy, beliefs, Pace set example for all to follow
    Just before his Oct. 1 retirement, Gen. Peter Pace, the former chairman of the Joint Chiefs, faced one last question on his views about the Defense Department policy on gays in the military.
  • Airmen met the Challenge
    In Air Force Times’ online article posted Oct. 10 about the Marine team that won the Wilderness Challenge, little was said about the “best” Air Force team, which placed seventh...
  • Crack or chasm?
    Following an intense six-week investigation into the “Bent Spear” incident involving airmen at Minot and Barksdale Air Force bases, Maj. Gen. Richard “Dick” Newton, deputy...
  • Tough decisions needed to be ready for future conflicts
    America’s Air Force is smaller than when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor.
  • Editorial: Don’t cheat test, buddies
    The latest disturbing news from Iraq: troops have cheated on problem-solving tests used to spot traumatic brain injuries in order to avoid being pulled out of their units for treatment.
  • Editorial: Beyond nuke checklists
    Col. Joel Westa, the new commander of the 5th Bomb Wing at Minot Air Force Base, N.D., is in charge of fixing the problems that led to one of the most embarrassing episodes in Air Force history.
  • Letters
    Robert Farley’s arguments for eliminating the Air Force [“All or nothing,” Nov. 5] are not grounded in fact. He said “bombing ... failed to be a decisive factor in World War...
  • Editorial: Time off: They earn it
    The Air Force policy regarding time off after deployments dates back more than 10 years — long before the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
  • Editorial: Treat problems early
    A new study puts hard data behind the many anecdotal reports that mental health problems among combat troops often take months to appear.
  • Work on Raptor’s fuselage, data link is way overdue
    The Air Force needs to fix the F-22 Raptor as quickly as possible.
  • Letters
    I work in the Alexandria Neurosurgical Clinic in Alexandria, La.
  • Strength in diversity
    Since the integration of our military 58 years ago, and particularly following the establishment of the all-volunteer force, the U.S. military remains the greatest equalizing institution in our...
  • How I remember Pearl Harbor
    On Dec. 7, 1941, I was the commander of a radar station on top of Mount Solidad, near La Jolla, Calif. My detachment consisted of one officer — me — and about 42 enlisted radar...
  • Editorial: Give Young plan a chance
    Any initiative launched in the last year of a presidential administration faces an uphill battle for survival, and the prognosis is even worse when it comes from a team suffering record-low approval...
  • Does the Bush administration care about veterans?
    I believe most of our nation’s leaders, regardless of political affiliation, mean well toward those who’ve served in the armed forces. And I believe they have good intentions toward our...
  • Going with privatized housing is faster, cheaper, better
    Taking care of our people has always been an Air Force priority. Airmen are our most valuable asset, and they are most productive and focused on the fight when their families are taken care of...
  • Flight-line maintenance
    As a 23-year fighter crew chief, I wholeheartedly support the idea of putting not only crew chiefs, but all flight-line maintenance, back under the command of pilots.
  • Letters
    On Dec. 7, 1941, I was the commander of a radar station on top of Mount Solidad, near La Jolla, Calif. My detachment consisted of one officer — me — and about 42 enlisted radar...
  • Letters
    I just read the article in the Nov. 26 issue of Air Force Times titled “Home, but not free,” and I am interested in the topic of restricted post-deployment leave because it is a question...
  • Combat-injured vets deserve full bonuses
    For several months, the Defense Department has been aware of a problem and has done little to address it.
  • Editorial: Long road looms for VA
    The huge backlog of veterans’ benefits claims, now 400,000 and growing, is hardly a secret.
  • Air Mobility Command chief addresses critical issues
    “I’m glad to be back here, wearing this patch,” Gen. Arthur J. Lichte said. “The connection is in my heart.”
  • Self-service support
    The Army and Air Force recently selected the C-27J aircraft for assault airlift — direct, fixed-wing airlift support in the forward battle area on short, rough airstrips.
  • Editorial: Are we ready for next war?
    After six years of war in Iraq and Afghanistan, readiness levels across the military have reached alarmingly low levels.
  • Think before we redeploy
    We can’t simply wish our armed forces home from Iraq — and we can’t leave them there indefinitely.
  • Editorial: Pilot cuts make sense
    The Air Force is known as a pilot’s service.
  • Editorial: Might alone won’t win
    After six years of conflict in what the administration bills as a generational struggle against Islamist extremism, Defense Secretary Robert Gates has it right: Military power, even purchased at a...
  • In high-stakes region, PacAF builds its fleet
    Now that he is in command of Pacific Air Forces, Gen. Carrol “Howie” Chandler is responsible for 55,000 airmen and a vast region that stretches from India to Alaska.
  • Letters
    I love the Air Force physical training test, but it needs some work. I came into the Air Force at 18. I was 6-foot-4, 173 pounds, and had a 34-inch waist. Fast forward 14 years: Parachuting has taken...
  • Editorial: Justify two-war budget
    In a tacit admission that the Air Force has failed to articulate a clear strategy for the future, Air Force Secretary Michael Wynne said Dec. 3 the service is developing a budget for what leaders are...
  • Editorial: Inappropriate housing
    Not long ago, troops living off base were paying about 20 percent of their housing costs out of pocket. Five years of above-average BAH hikes earlier this decade cut that figure to zero. Yet some...
  • Put ‘sortie generation’ troops with pilots? It makes sense
    The Air Force has announced changes for crew chiefs and other enlisted airmen who make it possible for pilots to fly.
  • Letters
    As an American, I am greatly ashamed at the rationale suggested to bring back the draft [“Conscript young citizens,” Letters, Dec. 3].
  • Saving the military
    The stage is set for our armed services to relive the worst days of the 1970s, when discipline broke down, crime ran rampant, race relations soured, many of the best and brightest in the junior...
  • U.S. must unite to aid vets
    It has become abundantly clear this year that our military medical system is not equipped to provide all the physical and psychological care that returning veterans need.
  • Forums
    I favor a 15-15-20 point system for push-ups, sit-ups and body comp respectively. That way you can tank the body comp and still pass if you max everything else out. The safety net for this would be...
  • Editorial: Close loan loopholes
  • Editorial: Patients shouldn’t pay
  • A legacy set in stone
  • Post-Iraq ‘reset’ must include investment in new aircraft
  • Letters
    I’m concerned about where the Air Force is going.
  • Editorial: Committed to the mission
    This year’s Military Times Poll reflects in cold hard numbers what we’ve known from our personal contact with the members of our professional military: It’s made up of tough,...
  • Editorial: Improve GI Bill benefits
    In a groundbreaking move several years ago, Congress linked GI Bill payment rates to inflation, ensuring that the payments rise each Oct. 1.
  • Letters
    Why do we feel like we have been kicked in the teeth yet again?
  • Waist measurement
    When this started, the Air Force said [that] it used informa¬tion from the Cooper Institute to come up with these waist mea¬surements. If 40” and 35” respectively are healthy...
  • F-15 among problems carried into new year
    The flagship of the Air Force’s fighter fleet is grounded.
  • Editorial: Flight pay on hold
    More than three months into fiscal 2008, the Air Force has yet to finalize its primary retention incentive program for pilots.
  • Editorial: Bill, veto unfair to troops
    President Bush gave service members a rude holiday jolt Dec. 28 with a last-minute veto of the 2008 defense authorization bill.
  • Letters
    I am interested in knowing how the system for determining Basic Allowance for Housing raises was established.
  • Flight engineer retraining
    I’ve never found any rhyme or reason to the whole retraining pro¬gram in the Air Force. I don’t think the process is set up to meet the needs of the airmen and the Air Force. It is...
  • Troops left out of process for choosing presidential nominees
    The way the two major parties choose their nominees for president is wrong for all Americans, but especially wrong for service members.
  • Medical emergency
    The next time you happen upon an Air Force doc, ask this question: Do you think Air Force medicine is growing stronger and more capable as time goes by?
  • Editorial: Fix child custody rules
    A New York appeals court has upheld a 2006 ruling that should send chills through the ranks.
  • Editorial: TSAT money crucial
    Warfare has always been a jigsaw puzzle — all the pieces have to be in the right places for the whole to make any sense.
  • Minority rate of new academy class is step in right direction
    Last summer, I visited the Air Force Academy on what happened to be Cadet Acceptance Day, looking for information on minority students accepted for admission and becoming officers after four very...
  • ABU Parka MIA?
    I’m starting to see more individuals wearing the airman battle uniform and frankly it’s cold out. Clothing Sales isn’t restocking battle dress uniforms as much anymore, so I had...
  • Avenge not
    If you’re in the Air Force, the answer must be yes.
  • Letters
    I was reading the article “Lethal sisterhood” [Dec. 31] on female airmen in combat and noticed that the vehicle operations career field (2T1X1) wasn’t mentioned.
  • Editorial: Airmen need combatives
    Airmen now at Officer Training School are being introduced to the Air Force’s new hand-to-hand combat training program.
  • Editorial: The wrong message
    There was something funny about that voice.
  • EVANGELISM IN THE AIR FORCE
    I’ve never been denied promotion because of religion; however, I have been made uncomfortable plenty of times. As far as airmen and the freedom to express beliefs, they should do it on...
  • The tanker debate: Why bigger is better
    In the near future, the Air Force will select a replacement for the KC-135 aerial refueling aircraft. Some have suggested a smaller aircraft would be better, but we doubt the wisdom of that advice.
  • A crisis, but not end of world
    Beyond doubt, the Air Force of 2008 faces challenges. But are we on the verge of disaster?
  • Letters
    I appreciate the service Air Force Times provides to its readers, and would like to respond to the editorial “Flight pay on hold” [Jan. 14].
  • The tanker debate: It’s all about pilot control
    Selecting America’s next tanker aircraft is one of the most critical decisions the Air Force will make in 2008.
  • A force divided
    The “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy on homosexuals in the military has been controversial since it became law in 1993. Gays and lesbians have served their nation admirably...
  • Editorial: Pentagon must demand integrity from charity
    It’s becoming clear that America Supports You, a Defense Department charitable program that supports troops and their families, needs tighter oversight.
  • No promotion tests on deployment
    I have mixed feelings on this one. For many, it makes sense. They are working 12-hour-plus shifts. Can’t necessarily get a quiet place conducive to studying. Have more important things to worry...
  • Letters
    I read with absolute horror the Jan. 21 article regarding a soldier who lost custody of her child because she deployed [“Soldier loses custody while deployed to Iraq”].
  • Where are the Air Force’s female four-stars?
    The Air Force invited me to make an orientation flight aboard a tanker. It was May 24, 1984, at Mildenhall, England. I was writing a book.
  • New nuke-handling procedure issued
    153 pages — this isn’t a procedure; this is a recipe for administra¬tive fault-finding.
  • Letters
    I was reading the article in the Jan. 7 issue of Air Force Times in regard to Gen. Roger Brady’s outlook on the length of Air Expeditionary Force rotations and the Air Force taking on different...
  • Editorial: Retire this bad idea
    The Commission on the National Guard and Reserve, chartered by Congress to study and propose changes to every aspect of the reserve components, released its final report Jan. 31.
  • Editorial: Eye on the ball
    The Air Force has announced revisions in its nuclear weapons maintenance procedures.
  • Delaying new bomber would be a mistake
    The Air Force must move forward on a new bomber.
  • Tweak GI Bill for reservists
    Having seen Congress overhaul active-duty GI Bill benefits, military advocates are now gearing up to get Congress to fix the reserve GI Bill, too.
  • Take nuclear missiles off ‘knee-jerk’ alert
    The new Global Strike Command is a positive step, but a small one. The nation needs more than a reorganization of the Air Force’s atomic arsenal. The U.S. must reduce the alert status of its...
  • At last, vindication
    The National Vietnam and Gulf War Veterans Coalition applauds the Veterans’ Affairs Research Advisory Committee on Gulf War illness for its thorough scientific review of research into Gulf War...
  • From our forums
    Not only did the elimination of warrant officers end a popular career path for senior NCOs, it also meant a loss of technical talent. After E-5 or E-6, senior NCOs become more administrative and...

  • As national commander of The American Legion, I was quite surprised by Robert Dorr’s column, “VFW, Legion must modernize in order to thrive” (Dec. 1, ). While I wholeheartedly agree...
  • From our forums
    This is a public relations nightmare for the Air Force and they are better off giving one of our airmen health care coverage and taking care of him versus the public outcry. This is the time for the...
  • Letters
    The way to get the Air Force thinner is to motivate people to do more than just pass the fitness test [“PT shape-up,” Nov. 24]. This can be done without changing the fitness program....
  • Crunch time
    Few alive can recall when our nation faced such unsettling times. Service members watch the financial turmoil battering our nation with grave interest.
  • F-22 Raptor debate is a disservice to taxpayers and troops
    Far from combat zones where Americans are in harm’s way, a battle is raging in Washington. It’s a war of words, but it’s nasty.
  • Grant medical retirement
    Joseph Weston joined the Air Force just like any other recruit: signed up, passed his physical, swore the oath and, in late May, shipped to basic.
  • Smart to stay with Gates
    In an interview with Military Times last July, President-elect Barack Obama praised Defense Secretary Robert Gates for bringing a “level of realism and professionalism and planning” to...
  • Letters
    The problem with the sage suede boot isn’t limited to airmen in security forces and maintainer career fields [“Return of the black boot,” July 7]. The sage green fades in the hot...
  • At new year, Air Force has problems, promise
    The start of a new year is a time to reflect on the state of the Air Force.
  • Letters
    It is good to see that Air Force leadership is taking a fresh look at the forward air control business [“Study: Create TACP officer career field,” Dec. 1].
  • From our forums
    What in the hell was the Air Force thinking? “Hmm, let’s see, over the past few years we’ve flown nukes in the states and didn’t know about it, failed nuclear inspections, had...
  • Cuts could hurt economy
    The coming new year will not be rung in with all the traditional hope and optimism — 2009 has all the makings of a historically tough one. The worst economic crisis in decades is straining...
  • Fix this insurance mess
    Anyone who has worked in government long enough has come across rules and policies noteworthy only for being devoid of common sense.
  • Letters
    I just finished reading the article about Airman Basic Joseph Weston [“A fight for survival,” Dec. 15]. What a horrible situation for him. My heart goes out to him.
  • From the forums
    [First Term Airman Center training] is a waste of time. One day of briefings for the new guys, but not this 10-day thing they got going on complete with “graduation ceremony.”
  • The big picture
    In a Dec. 17 Letter to troops, Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz touted, “our role as joint partners,” “our combat-focused mindset and our joint posture,” and...
  • Obama must prove himself
    Our latest Military Times poll indicates a good measure of doubt in the ranks about President-elect Barack Obama in his pending role as commander in chief. Six out of 10 respondents said they were...
  • Editorial: It should have come faster
    The Air Force has finally unveiled an airman battle uniform that’s really designed for combat.
  • Digital dominance
    There is a fundamental responsibility to protect operations across all domains, to defend and — when necessary — effectively attack.
  • VA is finally taking steps to care for veterans with Lou Gehrig’s
    When former Airman 1st Class William T. Randol, 68, died last spring near Portland, Ore., the nation had forgotten that he once wore its uniform.
  • Letters
  • Drawing strength
    The halls of military hospitals in the U.S. and Germany were invaded recently by members of the National Cartoonists Society on a mission to bring smiles to the faces of the brave men and women who...
  • From the forums
    I know many ceremonies lead back to tradition, but isn’t it time we start making new traditions in this small Air Force? Ceremonies seem to be the biggest time waster and no one to my knowledge...
  • Editorial: Spend wisely, carefully
    President Dwight Eisenhower wisely said the economy is the source of America’s national security. It powers the world’s largest defense budget and gives the country worldwide clout.
  • Straight-talking Gates is best SecDef in a long time
    Defense Secretary Robert Gates is doing an excellent job as the top civilian leader in the Pentagon and as the No. 2 in the military chain of command.
  • Letters
    “Pressing uniform issues first” in the Sept. 8 issue states “The PT shorts will also be a little longer, resolving a long-standing complaint of fashion-conscious airmen.”
  • Job plan would help military spouses face unique challenges
    I have to disagree with the October 13th editorial, “Job Plan Too Generous.”
  • Letters
    Here we go again with uniform changes! [“The war-zone uniform,” Oct. 13] We couldn’t even get the airman battle uniform fielded for a year before we have to change it again.
  • Ill-advised choice
    Imagine an airlift squadron at the top of its game. Its planes are almost new. Its airmen are seasoned. They’ve flown their mission at home. They’ve flown their mission in Iraq. The...
  • No more golf jokes
    Airmen take a lot of ribbing for being what some view as the softer service.

  • First off, wasn’t the ABU intended as a uniform that was supposed to be used at home station and in the [war zone]? Why did we spend millions on this concept if months later leadership decides...
  • Little faith in VA’s Plan B
    Last month, senior Department of Veterans Affairs officials told Congress that VA needed to hire a private contractor to be ready to handle claims and payments when the new Post-9/11 GI Bill takes...
  • Letters
    An Air Force Times article said that the Air Force will not allow airmen to wear their ranks on their airman battle uniforms when they go outside the wire [“The war-zone uniform,” Oct....
  • Pentagon must recognize burn-pit health hazards
    More than five years into the war in Iraq and seven years into the war in Afghanistan, the U.S. military continues daily disposal of hundreds of tons of war-zone waste in the most crude and hazardous...
  • From our forums
    So the military is getting a 3.9 percent raise, but Social Security is getting 5.8 percent. Federal retirees covered by the Civil Service Retirement System will see their benefits increase by 5.8...
  • New top Guard officer deserves support
    “We’ve had more than 100,000 Guard deployments to [Iraq and Afghanistan] and we’ve just made our recruiting goals for the first time in four years,” boasted Lt. Gen. Craig...
  • Significant security challenges
    The United States Air Force is embarking on significant organizational changes in the months ahead. Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz and I recently announced the stand-up of the Global...
  • Editorial: Don’t be a victim
    The military has long been an irresistible target for unsavory businessmen because all service members draw steady paychecks, the government helps creditors collect what’s owed them and many...
  • Editorial: Retaining pilots
    If Air Force leaders need further evidence there is discontent in the ranks, here’s a stunner: Fighter pilots are punching out in increasing numbers, choosing a shaky civilian job market over...
  • From the forums
    When I left Balad, the medical folks had no issue with putting a letter in my records about the burn pit stating that I may have been exposed to stuff. I have suffered no ill effects so far. Is it...
  • New administration must save procurement process
    Once again, the Air Force has shown that it can’t handle a simple contract.
  • How Obama can win trust
    If the combined forces of the U.S. military were a state, its 2.2 million residents would have voted strongly in favor of Sen. John McCain in last week’s election — giving him five votes,...
  • From our forums
    I’ve always thought one of the first things we need to do is change when senior airmen can test for staff sergeant. I’ve seen too many people hit below the zone, get to test and make it...
  • Burn Pit letters
    In the Nov. 3 issue, Air Force Times reported on the massive open-air waste burn pits on U.S. installations in the Iraq and Afghanistan war zones that some service members worry may pose health risks.
  • Changes to nuclear program lack substance
    Air Force Secretary Michael Donley and Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz came into office with a powerful mandate to change the way the Air Force handles nuclear weapons.
  • U.S. troops, U.S. law
    When an Iraqi court recently convicted and sentenced to hang an insurgent who murdered three U.S. soldiers in 2006, it was one of the most significant milestones of the war since Saddam Hussein was...
  • Shape up, Air Force
    The Air Force plans to overhaul the way airmen get fit and stay fit.
  • Letters
    I am writing to express my heartfelt appreciation to the members of the Robins Air Force Base (Ga.) Honor Guard at the interment of my husband’s remains at Andersonville National Cemetery on...
  • From our forums
    The Air Force stopped treating guys as mechanics and instituted a policy of 100 percent tech order compliance. Being a 7-level used to mean that you had enough technical ability and systems knowledge...
  • Medical staffs attack unique problems that can change wars
    Together with our surgeons general, I am learning how we can better train our medical personnel to prevent and treat the physical and mental injuries of combat, and to help war-torn people care for...
  • Crisis looms for aging fleet
    No military service has an affordable modernization program, and no service has shown effective leadership in modernization and procurement at the level of the secretary and the chief of staff....
  • Obama must change policy on prisoners of war
    President Barack Obama won’t be able to mess things up as rapidly as his critics fear. And he won’t be able to repair the nation’s ills as fast as his supporters hope.
  • VFW, Legion must modernize in order to thrive
    As a people, we recognize that the world is constantly changing. We like to believe we can cope with, and benefit from, change.
  • Surrounded by heroes
    From mid-October to mid-November, my family faced the most difficult month of our lives. Not only did my mother, Pamela Losey, pass away Oct. 13 from pancreatic cancer, but 11 days later, my uncle,...
  • Letters
    One of the issues you hear the most about in the military is retention. Retention of our best and brightest is paramount to keep the military moving forward.
  • From our forums
    I just wish we could get the story behind the events, instead of the sanitized garbage we have been getting. Although it appears on the surface that a lot of the traditions and things that made life...
  • Air liaison officers deserve career field
    Did you know there is a community within the Air Force that does not have its own dedicated officer leaders?
  • Give ALOs a career path
    Tactical air control party airmen are arguably doing the toughest job in the Air Force, serving on the ground — in Iraq and Afghanistan to call in close-air support for the soldiers in...
  • Be wary of bonus
    With the economy tanking and family budgets being squeezed, an offer of $30,000 in cold cash might seem easy to snap up.
  • Letters
    Robert F. Dorr laments our treatment of illegal combatants [“Obama must change policy on prisoners of war,” Back Talk, Nov. 24]. His proposal is to apply the Geneva Conventions to all...
  • Letters
    I agree with some of “PT shape-up” [Nov. 24] both as a military professional and a certified personal trainer. The Air Force physical training program is not perfect, but it is much...
  • Time to get creative
    Only time will tell whether President-elect Barack Obama views various big-ticket defense programs as too costly for a nation in economic recession, or as valuable jobs programs amid rising...
  • Wary, but willing
    When we inaugurate Barack Obama as our 44th president, we needn’t worry about statistics that imply a troubled relationship between military people and their commander in chief.
  • 4-step plan for a more flexible, tech-savvy service
    With a new administration coming to town, Air Force leaders should use the opportunity to push for some changes:
  • Air Force fails PT test
    You might say the proof is in the pudding: The Air Force’s “fit to fight” physical fitness program is a flop. A big, fat belly flop.
  • From our forums
    What I want to know is, “Where is the change!?” What is going to change? Thus far, Barack Obama seems to be continuing with Bush’s foreign policy. We voted for change and it...
  • A more martial manner
    It will seem a novel idea to some.
  • Teach sport bike safety
    Last fiscal year, 124 service members were killed while riding that breed of low-slung, high-speed motorcycle known as sport bikes.
  • Speak strongly to fix VA
    The stubborn backlog of 400,000 benefits claims at the Department of Veterans Affairs has never made sense. It takes an average of 188 days to process a claim, yet VA leaders somehow accept that as...
  • From our forums
    It is too bad that the Air Force does not trust their [noncommissioned officers] enough to realize that they have been talking about this since the program was initiated. Imagine the money they would...
  • Letters
    I just read Robert F. Dorr’s op-ed concerning civilian refueling operations [“Tanker travesty,” Back Talk, Jan. 12]. While I agree with Dorr that the Air Force has done a poor job...
  • ‘Loose lips’ warning even more important in digital age
    The supermarket is buzzing with noise as everyone makes their purchases. You are in the middle of a long line that juts out into the middle of the busy store. Behind you, you overhear a woman on her...
  • Don’t rush to replace Air Force One
    The Air Force recently invited interested contractors to submit basic information on how they would design and build the next Air Force One.
  • Make housing rules fair
    The National Military/Veterans Alliance plans to call for a review of the standards on which housing allowance rates are based. And for good reason.
  • Obama’s way forward
    As President Barack Obama’s team gets down to work, it must not only overcome the errors of the previous administration, but also be sure to recognize its successes.
  • From our forums
    Is it possible that leadership really believes airmen magically grew in circumference within weeks of a PT test? Who in their right mind would believe this crap? I guess it is easier to say we are...
  • Letters
    Robert F. Dorr tries to pass his wishful thinking off as fact in “Tanker travesty” [Back Talk, Jan. 12].
  • Cover rape kit costs now
    For all the Pentagon’s efforts in recent years to confront the problem of sexual assault, some inexplicable blind spots remain.
  • Minding the waist
    Air Force leaders are going through contortions right now to redesign the ineffective and unfair fitness program. Here is one obvious place to start: Ditch the ridiculous waist standards.
  • From our forums
    People can argue till they’re blue in the face about how important physical training is, but the fact remains that it will forever be second to your job. I understand the importance of the...
  • Get PT leader manual into shape and airmen will follow
    When I read that the Air Force Audit Agency found that the Air Force fosters an environment in which people train just enough to pass their physical training test, I was angry, but also thrilled that...
  • Straighten up and fly right
    As base realignment decisions and reviews of Pentagon strategy strip some Air National Guard units of their fighters, the 122nd Fighter Wing in Indiana is one of the lucky ones. While other Guard...
  • Letters
    I have been reading articles complaining about Veterans Affairs medical centers for a long time now and at one time I believed every complaint I read. Then in 2000 my retired Marine Corps brother...
  • The new readiness
    Anyone who thinks Robert Gates won’t make big changes during his second stint as defense secretary hasn’t been paying attention.
  • From our forums
    Not every airman sits in front of a computer every day with personal access to take care of important actions. One true example: a shift working with 27 active-duties at home station with one general...
  • Letters
    Not wearing a flight suit is one of Robert F. Dorr’s solutions for improving discipline in the Air Force [“A more martial manner,” Back Talk, Jan. 26]? Based on his supposition that...
  • Core mission
    The acquisitions boss at the Pentagon is not sold on the Air Force’s concept for a rescue helicopter — the service’s now-stalled CSAR-X program.
  • DoD, VA must hire more mental health counselors
    “Pentagon: No Purple Heart for PTSD” [Jan. 19] dramatically illustrates how the military continues to labor under the misapprehension...
  • A realistic VA budget
    A few years ago, the Bush administration was forced to acknowledge that it was about $3 billion short in funding the Department of Veterans Affairs.
  • Medals for the deserving
    Officers get more medals and enlisted get deployed more.
  • From our forums
    What is [President Barack Obama’s] administration doing to assist military members on active duty, Guard/reserve and retirees who are looking for jobs that are no longer there? My suggestion...
  • Defense cuts coming, but rest of U.S. budget also should suffer
    The Air Force can’t help but suffer as we descend into an unprecedented economic crisis.
  • PT problems
    I have been involved in more than one successful fitness program during my career, and in light of the recent Air Force fitness audit,...
  • Letters
    As I sit here reading Air Force Times, I reflect on the over 50 percent physical training failure rate in my squadron PT test this week. PT failures have become such an epidemic in my squadron that...
  • Learning to let go
    Formerly secret intelligence reports give a valuable insight into why Defense Secretary Robert Gates has so vehemently warned Congress not to try to Americanize the war against terrorists in...
  • Letters
    In response to the Robert F. Dorr column “A more martial manner,” [Back Talk, Jan. 26] — I couldn’t agree more and strive every day to emphasize this idea or way of life to...
  • From our forums
    This one is from about 37 years ago. First duty assignment, got a speeding ticket off base and I was in front of my squadron commander to face the consequences. I was a young, dumb and cocky A1C, so...
  • Redefine PTSD standard
    Legislation pending in Congress would make a change for the better for veterans diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder after they separate from service.
  • New aircraft required for ‘peer’ war
    What kind of war will we be fighting next?
  • Right-size the Air Force
    The Air Force is putting the final touches on its plan to add about 10,000 more airmen in the next two years.
  • ‘Temporary immigrants’ don’t belong in U.S. military
    The armed forces are recruiting citizens of foreign countries who are in the U.S. temporarily.
  • Remarketing the F-22
    For 10 years, the Air Force has argued that the F-22’s incredible dogfighting capabilities will ensure the U.S. remains dominant for decades. And for 10 years, critics who say the fighter is an...
  • Letters
    Robert F. Dorr speculates in the Feb. 23 issue [“Defense cuts coming, but rest of U.S. budget also should suffer,” Back Talk] that the nation’s economic problems might lead the...
  • From our forums
    Bottom line, you are at the position of attention when the “Air Force Song” is sung/played. So, unless you have an extra pair of hands, or are freakishly limber, show some respect and put...
  • No more blank checks
    Only in Washington can a budget increase be characterized as a cut.
  • From the forums
    Some day our descendants will look upon this article and laugh. They will laugh because our biggest worry about the militarization of robots was the increased presence of micromanagement, and not...
  • Troops’ lives inspire chaplain bringing news of their deaths
    As we pulled a family photo from the pocket of one of the three soldiers killed in action, an airman said, “I can’t imagine what it will be like for the people who will notify their...
  • Sensible acquisition
  • From the forums
    Secretary Gates is commended for doing the right thing! The F-22 is over priced and it is the wrong weapons system for the wars of today and tomorrow. Billions have been wasted on certain program...
  • Drop uniform changes
    The Air Force has spent years developing and testing new sage-green suede boots and a new “heritage” coat. But even now, there’s little to show for the efforts. In fact, it will be...
  • ‘Geneva Convention 101’
    “Trauma call, trauma call,” announced the hospital speakers at the Air Force Theater Hospital. The call sent a flurry of staff toward the emergency room, where we see patients of all...
  • Letters
    I have been following the saga of the critical need for pilots that the Air Force is facing. I see stories about how pilots don’t get sent to staff tours, how more than 900 who took the...
  • More F-22s are best way to preserve air power
    When the Obama administration releases the details of its fiscal 2010 budget, it likely will include funds for more F-22 Raptors.
  • From our forums
    I’m no weapons expert, but couldn’t cruise missiles fired from ships/B-52s/B-2s achieve the objective for much less money and risk to life?
  • Black boots are best
    The green suede boots designed for the airman battlefield uniform represent a triumph of fashion over function, yet for some reason, the Air Force refuses to let them go.
  • Deserving of MoH
    Only five Medals of Honor have been awarded to service members for heroic action in Iraq and Afghanistan — all posthumously.
  • History points to bright future for women in air and space
    As we close out Women’s History Month, it’s time to reflect on a rare good-news story: the tremendous strides American women have made in aviation and in the armed forces.
  • Letters
    I am on active duty and serve as an officer and attorney in the Air Force. The new GI Bill unfairly excludes benefits from those who have served in the reserves and then later have chosen to continue...
  • From our forums
    When I was at Nellis, some old guy in civvies strolled unannounced into our first sergeant council meeting one morning and asked if we minded if he joined us. Fortunately, we all recognized him and...
  • Burn-pit study needed
    Tens of thousands of troops have been exposed to burn-pit toxins in Iraq and Afghanistan, and concerns are mounting that many may be at risk for serious health consequences.
  • On course, mostly
    President Barack Obama last week outlined the most sweeping overhaul in decades of how the Pentagon buys everything from weapons to services.
  • Increasing troop strength in Afghanistan is the wrong solution
    President Barack Obama, under the guidance of U.S. Cen¬tral Command boss Gen. David Petraeus, plans to send 17,000 additional U.S. troops to Afghanistan.

  • Ridiculous ... $10 to play an office pool isn’t real gambling. His “example that gambling doesn’t pay” is comical. Goes to show they weren’t in it to make money, just...
  • Letters
    As I read the article “Help wanted: Spouses please apply” [Feb. 23], I learned how many jobs are available within the Air Force, as well as how many more will become available when...
  • Seek help early
    National Social Work Month just passed, a time of recognizing and promoting the work of hundreds of thousands in the U.S. who help so many more deal with life’s challenges — the loss of a...
  • Sizing up missile defense
    President Barack Obama has repeatedly said the fate of the $9 billion-a-year missile defense program depends on whether it works now. Analysts say that could lead to program cuts of $2 billion a year...
  • Slow progress on nukes
    A fracture takes a long time to knit, but it eventually does.
  • Editorial: A tribute to you
  • The first decade
    During the Air Force’s first decade, from 1947 to 1957, I was a child and teenager growing up in Washington, D.C.
  • Letters
    Regarding “Help us celebrate,” Air Force Times, Sept. 3 [Frontlines]:
  • Editorial: Moseley’s tenure
  • Editorial: Gates missed chance
    After ousting the service’s top two leaders June 5, Defense Secretary Robert Gates wasted no time in setting the agenda for what comes next.
  • Beer me?
    What difference will selling beer in the commissary make? Why would there be any more drawbacks than they already have (if any) with having Class 6 stores on base? The benefit would be one-stop...
  • Letters
    The day before Chief of Staff Gen. T. Michael Moseley and Secretary Michael Wynne were sacked. I told a co-worker how surprised I was they still had their jobs. All the officers and civilians I have...
  • Security program well-intended but misguided
    While Americans are in battle far from home, how closely should we guard the home front?
  • Editorial: Provide paternal leave
    The Senate Armed Services Committee has proposed giving new dads in uniform a benefit already widely available in the private sector: a little time off to bond with baby and care for mom.
  • Editorial: Review everything
    The Government Accountability Office decision on the tanker contract award is stunning, not because it upheld Boeing’s protest — a lot of people thought that might happen — but...
  • Letters
    I liked the article regarding the poor design of the Air Force physical training test and why it is imperative that changes be made [“Fit to fight?” June 9].
  • Bring back buck sergeant
    The biggest disservice the USAF did to its enlisted corps was to get rid of the rank of sergeant. The transition between airman and NCO is an important one, and should not be taken as lightly as it...
  • Air Force isn’t making progress with UAVs? It’s a bum rap
    One issue that added to recent tensions between Pentagon and Air Force leadership was the service’s handling of unmanned aerial vehicles.
  • Editorial: Say yes to black, general
    When Gen. Norton Schwartz takes over as Air Force chief of staff, a proposed uniform change will be sitting on his new desk: allowing airmen who work on the flight line or perform other dirty jobs to...
  • Editorial: Expand disability benefit
    A provision of the 2008 Defense Authorization Act erased a long-standing policy requiring troops who received disability severance payments from the military to repay that money before they can...
  • Airman gets leave extended for White Castle
    It tickled me to see this. I grew up eating White Castle cheeseburgers (Slyders). If the guy had the leave to burn and his shop didn’t need him, more power to him if this is what he wanted to...
  • Letters
    The Air Force Times editorial of June 23 on a “missed chance” by Secretary Robert Gates is a misguided criticism of an effective and proven forum for feedback to the secretary of defense.
  • Alienated by PTSD
    Many service members are getting the message: Post-traumatic stress disorder is not an automatic career-killer. It is not a sign of weakness, and it is not mental illness.
  • Airmen continue to perform brilliantly, no matter who is leading
    In Washington, word is circulating that the Air Force is broken.
  • Innovative thinking
    Defense Secretary Robert Gates’ comments about thinking of innovative ways to support the troops on the battlefield, particularly in the area of intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance,...
  • Editorial: Better late than never
    In 2005, when Congress made it more difficult for people to declare bankruptcy, it included an exemption specifically for disabled veterans.
  • Editorial: Fair review of disability claims is needed now
    Once the process of evaluating troops for disability claims had become so Byzantine, backlogged and unfair that it could no longer be ignored, Congress sprang into action and mandated reforms.
  • As clergy, are we supposed to be perfect?
    [Not perfect], just more forgiving and loving. As a chaplain you instantly face different “standards.” Being a chaplain, you are expected to uphold the “faith” standards....
  • Letters
    “Unity through uniforms” [Letters, July 7] addresses some very real issues in the Air Force but I disagree with the notion of putting everyone in the same uniform to alleviate them.
  • The Bone: Air Force has no option but to modernize it
    The Air Force needs to make a hard decision about the B-1B Lancer.
  • Easy fix
    For the third time in my 19-year Air Force career, we are preparing to change the fundamental way we organize flight-line maintenance. If it goes forward as planned, we will return to an era when...
  • Editorial: Keep your chin up
    The punches just keep on coming.
  • Editorial: Better late than never
    In 2005, when Congress made it more difficult for people to declare bankruptcy, it included an exemption specifically for disabled veterans.
  • Back talk: Airmen perform brilliantly, no matter who is leading
    Mr. Dorr brought up some interesting points. ... I disagree with his assessment of the firings. Too many times senior leadership has been allowed to come in, muck things up, then quietly slip out the...
  • Pacific Air Forces steers through changes, challenges
    America’s air arm in the Asian and Pacific region is becoming more important every day.
  • New world, new strategy
    Ever since Sept. 11, fear has become the driving force in American daily life, with defense lobbyists and government officials ready to provide us security with increasingly excessive budget demands.
  • From the forums
    Anyone have any leads on where to get BDU function badges? I’ve been trying to order online but everything is ABU, and I was going to try to reach 2011 with BDUs. The problem I’m facing...
  • Letters
    What I think most folks fail to realize is that Basic Allowance for Housing is designed for the rental market and not the mortgage market.
  • Editorial: Change starts at the top
    Defense Secretary Robert Gates recently echoed the mantra of his predecessor, Donald Rumsfeld, by saying the military is not moving fast enough to address wartime needs.
  • Editorial: More than words
    “Our troops are our most valuable asset,” military leaders like to say. But as we begin National Military Appreciation Month, it is worth examining how actions and words sometimes...
  • Bill to ban pornography on military bases
    Has anyone informed Rep. Paul Broun that we pay his salary? Maybe we should get a say in what he is allowed to buy with his paycheck.
  • Letters
    The article on the Air Force Mobility Command weight loss directive [“Cutting the fat,” April 28] was very interesting, but I have to admit I was perturbed. As a diet therapy technician...
  • All for one
    Nowadays, it’s not so easy to define the pointy end of the spear.
  • Editorial: Making good on mistake
    The Air Force made a mistake two years ago when it discontinued the Good Conduct Medal. It appears that mistake is about to be rectified.
  • Editorial: Raise Tricare fees, slowly
    The Pentagon’s health care costs have more than doubled since 2001 to $43 billion this year, almost 10 percent of the defense budget. At this pace, health care will cost $65 billion by 2015.
  • ABU problems
    My [Air National Guard] base is trying to figure out the funding right now for clothing supply. We currently can’t turn in BDUs or black boots for new ones because they’re out of stock,...
  • Time to change course
    Along with many other service members, I have had mandatory training in sexual assault prevention.
  • Letters
    “True character is on display when adversity strikes.” This has become my favorite quote over the past three weeks, ever since the Defense Department Inspector General’s Office...
  • To solve Air Force’s ‘fighter gap,’ buy Navy Super Hornets
    Air Force leaders say the service faces a “fighter gap” soon.
  • Editorial: Remember the fallen
    The United States is almost 232 years old, the world’s greatest and oldest experiment in freedom and democracy.
  • The right path to unity
    When the blood of any war soaks your clothes, covers your hands and soldiers die in your arms, every breath forever more becomes an appeal for a greater peace, unity and reconciliation.
  • Editorial: Deployment cycle reality
    For the past two years, the standard Air Expeditionary Force deployment cycle — four months deployed and 16 months at home — has been more wishful thinking than reality.
  • Letters
    It’s good to see leadership is recognizing multiple tours to Iraq and Afghanistan [“Star treatment,” May 5]. However “stars for phases” unfairly disqualifies a lot of...
  • ABUs
    The design of the Marines’ utilities would be the best cut to adopt. They have a durable trouser with elastic on the top edge of the cargo pockets to keep items in, a lightweight blouse with...
  • Time for a change in war crimes trials
    Our reputation has been soiled by the U.S. prison at Guantanamo Bay, the U.S. Navy base in Cuba, where we’ve held hundreds of suspected war criminals for many years. None is being treated in...
  • Editorial: A workable GI Bill plan
    In the congressional debate over how to improve the GI Bill, the question of whether to let service members share their education benefits with their spouses or children has reached a flash point.
  • Fly more Joint STARS
    The way America fights its wars continues to evolve.
  • Good Conduct Medal
    I actually agree with getting rid of it. I can see the side of the house that was saying, “Why should we celebrate something that should be expected?” Not only that, but it’s hard...
  • Letters
    I feel compelled to add to the debate regarding semi-pornographic materials being sold in base exchanges [“Bill would boot Penthouse, Playboy out of exchanges,” May 5].
  • Name-the-tanker contest missed chance to connect with public
    The Air Force wants to connect with civilians so badly that it’s running a $25 million multimedia advertising campaign — the “Above All” ads you’ve undoubtedly seen...
  • Editorial: Combat stress kills
    At least 172 service members have killed themselves while serving in Iraq or Afghanistan in the past six years.
  • Editorial: Work harder on fitness
    When the Air Force overhauled its physical fitness test four years ago, the goal was to ensure more airmen were “fit to fight.”
  • Class action sought in anti-war shirt case
    Both “Support the Troops” and the “Lied — Died” T-shirts are opposite sides of the same coin, and should be covered under First Amendment protection. The “Support...
  • Ignoring past lessons
    The decision to align aircraft maintenance units into fighter, bomber and combat search-and-rescue flying squadrons by November ignores lessons of history and experience.
  • Restoring Good Conduct Medal is right step for airmen
    Air Force officials are poised to restore the Good Conduct Medal, reversing a uniform board decision from October 2005 that discontinued it.
  • Letters
    This is in regard to the article “New, better ABU” [May 12]. While I am glad that some issues with this new uniform are being addressed, I think there is still a lot of room for...
  • Who should be the next Air Force chief of staff?
    Although the mishandling of nuclear weapons led Defense Secretary Robert Gates to oust Air Force Secretary Michael Wynne and Chief of Staff Gen. T. Michael Moseley on June 5, differences had been...
  • The right direction
    Defense Secretary Robert Gates’ decision to fire Chief of Staff Gen. T. Michael Moseley and Air Force Secretary Michael Wynne was likely as painful for Gates as it was unprecedented. But it...
  • Letters
    At a little more than 300,000 and still shrinking, it is the Air Force, not the Marines, that should be called “the few, the proud.” And because of that, we should continue to sharpen our...
  • Bush: Chest bumps with an Air Force grad
    I’m trying to picture any other world leader doing this and failing miserably. Can you imagine the Queen of England or Valdimir Putin doing this? It’s really not suitable to the office.
  • Security program may be well-intended, but is misguided
    While Americans are in battle far from home, how closely should we guard the home front?
  • Innovative thinking
    Defense Secretary Robert Gates’ recent comments about thinking of innovative ways to support the troops on the battlefield, particularly in the area of intelligence, surveillance and...
  • Editorial: Look deeper at problems in Air Force and Navy
    A fundamental military tenet is that leaders take responsibility for their organization’s missteps.
  • The generals’ salute
    If Defense Secretary Robert Gates intended to send a wake-up call to the Air Force, he succeeded with a vengeance. I know because I was at a conference of the service’s top generals when it was...
  • Innovative thinking
    Defense Secretary Robert Gates’ recent comments about thinking of innovative ways to support the troops on the battlefield, particularly in the area of intelligence, surveillance and...
  • Editorial: It’s your decision
    “If Obama wins,” our July 14 cover story, drew hundreds of messages from our readers. Some wondered if Sen. Barack Obama had advance knowledge of our questions — he did not.
  • Editorial: VA adds fuel to fire
    The Department of Veterans Affairs has another controversy to add to the list.
  • DoD keeps Raptors out of Persian Gulf
    The DoD has taken the tanker procurement decision authority away from the Air Force, and now is trumping Air Force decisions on fighter deployment. Wonder when the USAF will get to run the USAF...
  • Letters
    Robert F. Dorr’s July 7 column, “Airmen continue to perform brilliantly, no matter who is leading,” started out as an informed piece, but lurched badly when Mr. Dorr claimed that...
  • Technology should fuel strategy for Iraq transition
    Now that the U.S. is in the fifth year of conflict within Iraq, it’s time to shift to a new approach and end what appears to be a permanent occupation, something increasingly unsupported by the...
  • Thanks, Buzz
    When Gen. T. Michael “Buzz” Moseley steps down as chief of staff, troops will lose a leader who gave everything he had to the Air Force. Moseley is a fighter pilot and combat commander...
  • Editorial: A simple thanks
  • Editorial: ‘VA Retro’ needs redoing
    A new congressional report details a fiasco involving the Defense Finance and Accounting Service, contractor Lockheed Mar¬tin and tens of thousands of dis¬abled military retirees.
  • The Airman’s Creed — a closer look
    Let’s not water down who the true warriors are. They are the Marines, soldiers and the few AFSCs who do outside-of-the-wire ops. ... At the same time, however, let’s not get roped in by...
  • Moving forward
    My thought that we military spouses are being unfairly penalized started with an ironic remark from a sister-in-law. She told me she knew that every time we moved for the military we got a lot of...
  • It’s time to scrap military war crimes trials
    Some of the military’s very best lawyers are uncomfortable with the way our nation is handling war crimes trials at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
  • Letters
    Master Sgt. Chris Young hit the nail on the head in “Don’t call this a battle uniform” [Back Talk, July 21].
  • Editorial: Erase inequity in GI Bill
    As the details of the recently approved Post-9/11 GI Bill come into sharper focus, a glaring omission has popped up.
  • Editorial: Solving UAV pilot crunch
    The demand for unmanned aerial vehicles in the skies over Iraq and Afghanistan continues to skyrocket.
  • Letters
    It is always important to recognize and mourn with the families of those lost in any episode such as this [“Air Force remembers crew lost in crash,” Aug. 4]. I grieve with them for the...
  • Elmendorf wing commander dies of gunshot wound
    Just heard from a buddy who knew this man well, and he is absolutely crushed. Says he was the best leader and commander imaginable, and that he and those who most recently worked for the general are...
  • It’s time for gays to serve without restrictions
    The issue of gay Americans in uniform shouldn’t be an issue any longer.
  • Simply the best
    If there is one lesson we have learned over 50 years of vertical lift operations, it is that flexibility and performance are the keystones of victory.
  • Editorial: Expand tenants’ rights
    Service members and their families are particularly vulnerable as the nation’s housing market melts down.
  • Editorial: Weigh fee hike benefits
    The latest salvo in the Defense Department’s quest to raise Tricare fees for retirees under age 65 is a proposal from a Pentagon-sponsored pay study to tie those fees to the annual premiums...
  • Changes in the VA?
    As a former VA employee and veteran, my suggestions are: 1) Only serve service-connected disabilities (especially now during war time). 2) Hold accountable those veterans abusing their privileges and...
  • Letters
    We’ve got a United Airlines pilot advising us to reduce flying hours and do more in simulators to offset the high price of aviation fuel [“Rising fuel prices change Air Force ops,”...
  • Careers unfairly grounded
    The MQ-1 Predator unmanned aerial vehicle is a lethal weapon in America’s conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. You’d think the enlisted airmen who operate the sensors on this deadly UAV...
  • Create single leader to guide electronic warfare
    As a veteran of the Air Force who served three tours of duty in Vietnam as a navigator and electronic warfare officer onboard B-52s, I learned the necessity of brandishing a dominant electronic...
  • Air Force leaders must spend wisely
    Air Force Secretary-designate Michael Donley and Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz will need all the tools they can muster to keep the service running and to rejuvenate our aging aircraft fleet.
  • Editorial: Schwartz takes control
    Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz faces significant challenges in correcting the course after a series of setbacks to the service’s operational focus and institutional pride. He has a lot of...
  • Editorial: Keep SSNs private
    The Defense Department is in the midst of a multiyear effort to eliminate full Social Security numbers from ID cards.
  • Letters to the editor
    The Aug. 11 issue had two articles on the shortage of volunteers for unmanned aerial vehicle pilot duty [“Putting the ‘you’ in UAV” and “Solving UAV pilot crunch,”...
  • Pro sports and recruiting
    Three decades ago, as a West Point plebe, I marveled at Gen. Douglas MacArthur’s inscription on the Cadet Gymnasium: “Upon the fields of friendly strife are sown the seeds that, upon...
  • AFN commercial(s) you LOVE, or ‘love to HATE’
    One commercial I reflexively roll my eyes upon viewing is a “Thanks for your service” type. It is set in a restaurant, and an apparently civilian couple wants to pick up the check for the...
  • Editorial: Move forward on database
    The push to create a public database of the nation’s highest awards for valor — and the mili¬tary personnel who won those awards — reaches a critical crossroads in the coming...

  • Finally a glimmer of hope from the top on grade inflation! I sincerely hope this is followed up by a frank message to the command chiefs to take this “perspective” to heart and start...
  • Letters
    After Sept. 11, I was assigned to an Air Force Medical Surgical Hospital in Southwest Asia. While there, I learned lessons, both in¬side and outside the medical tent, that I will never forget....
  • ‘Back to basics’: belt tightening, focus on genuine missions
    The Air Force needs to get back to basics. That’s what airmen — active, former and retired — are saying. It’s also a theme of the service’s new leaders.
  • We’re not props
    In recent swings through Minnesota, both presidential campaigns launched competing initiatives to capture the hearts and minds of those who have served and those currently serving in uniform.
  • ‘Enlisted Perspective’ from the CMSAF — Evaluating Airmen
    This is a great opportunity for leadership by example. As we are all rated against peers, how many chiefs will be taking a four to get the ball rolling?
  • Editorial: Define hard labor
    A soldier who tested positive for illegal drugs was made to dig holes for up to 15 hours a day in midsummer wearing his helmet, flak jacket and full ruck.
  • Editorial: Photos of courage
    They say a picture is worth a thousand words, so Rep. Walter Jones decided to let the images do the talking.
  • Letters
  • Cyber security
    The invasion of Georgian territory by the Russian military was preceded by a coordinated cyberattack that set in motion the rest of the action. The defenders scrambled and called for assistance.
  • Equal flight pay for equal danger, regardless of rank or service
    Everybody who flies should be paid the same for day-to-day flying duties.
  • In their honor
    This week, the Pentagon Memorial opens to honor the lives of the 184 service members and civilians lost when American Airlines Flight 77 crashed into the building on Sept. 11, 2001. Let us pause to...

  • It really is all about being cost-effective. If you can contract someone to perform a function and not have to worry about the cost of infrastructure required to support uniformed personnel, why...
  • Airmen should wear service dress uniform to offices every day
    Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Norton A. Schwartz has ordered airmen to begin wearing dress blues to the office on Mondays.
  • Letters
    After reading countless articles and letters about using nonrated officers or enlisted airmen to pilot the Predator, Reaper and other UAVs, I believe most of you are thinking this is just some...
  • The least we can offer
    Ask any politician if those who serve in America’s military are owed a debt of gratitude for their sacrifices and, undoubtedly, they will say yes. But are we doing our best to show this...
  • Editorial: Get with the program
    In January, Congress ordered the Pentagon to drop its disability ratings rules and strictly follow the VA’s criteria in assigning ratings to injured and wounded service members.
  • Article 15s for nuke handlers who fell asleep
    Yes, they screwed up, but the punishment far outweighed the crime. This has happened in the past and was rectified with in-house punishment that allowed the officers to continue their careers.
  • DoD marrow donor program gives the gift of life
    Since its inception in 1986, more than 6 million Americans, including more than 400,000 service members, have registered as bone marrow donors.
  • Letters
    As a retired Air Force physician, I view chaplains as “physicians of the soul.” They’re not psychologists or psychiatrists who deal with the psyche, nor surgeons or obstetricians...
  • More JSFs, lower pricetag
    The F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter holds great promise — but the program is not going well.
  • Editorial: Immediate attention urgent
    At a recent congressional hearing, Department of Veterans Affairs officials talked about how pleased they are with VA’s year-old suicide prevention hot line, which they credit with saving the...
  • Editorial: Strong leadership
    Gen. Norton Schwartz’s keynote address at the 2008 Air & Space Conference — and indeed the entire three-day event — was remarkable for its absence of rhetoric on the need for more...
  • Alcohol: is 0-0-1-3 realistic?
    Zero (0) alcohol-related misconduct (or alcohol-related incidents depending on who you listen to). Zero (0) Driving Under the Influence (DUIs). One (1) drink per hour. Three (3) drinks per evening....
  • Next president must quickly choose efficient staff, advisers
    During the presidential primary season, many candidates — especially Sens. John McCain and Hillary Rodham Clinton — made an issue of their readiness to be president from “Day...
  • Letters
    I must admit that when Gen. Norton Schwartz released his policy regarding blues every Monday [“Back in blue,” Sept. 15], I gave a little moan.
  • Working quietly
    The work of Air Force helicopter experts is no secret, but I recently talked to someone involved in the Air Force effort to train up Iraqi pilots, and I was impressed.
  • Editorial: Let families decide
    The Army’s new rules allowing better media access to burials at Arlington National Cemetery, Va., are inadequate to the task.
  • Editorial: Paying for airmen
    Amid all the problems Air Force leadership is trying to deal with — fixing the nuclear mission, acquisition embarrassments and delays, aircraft modernization — add one more: manpower.
  • Blue Mondays: Air Force directs wear of blues on Mondays
    It’s about time the Air Force returned to blues — even if it’s only one day a week. ... Being at an [Air Education and Training Command] base, blues should be expanded to four days...
  • Letters
    We are writing in response to the op-ed column in the Sept. 15 issue of Air Force Times calling for the Air Force to mandate daily wear of the service dress uniform [“Airmen should wear service...
  • A big responsibility
    Voting isn’t merely the right of every American, it is our responsibility. And if the pen is mightier than the sword, as the saying goes, your vote is the most powerful weapon in your arsenal.
  • Misrepresenting enemy is wrong; using airmen effectively is right
    Chief Master Sgt. of the Air Force Rodney J. McKinley gave a speech Aug. 26 that gave me pause.
  • Don’t rush ‘don’t ask’
    As a candidate, President Barack Obama suggested he would work to overturn the law governing gays in the military as well as the policy that spun out of the law, known as “don’t ask,...
  • Keep sensor operators in same career field
    If the future belongs to unmanned aerial vehicles as the Air Force contends, why doesn’t it treat UAV sensor operators fairly?
  • Letters
    I find the TACP monument at Hurlburt Field, Fla., to be an honor indeed [“Honoring TACP,” July 20].
  • Air Force is trying too hard to be Army
    The argument that we should abolish the Air Force has come up often since Robert Farley proposed the idea in a November 2007 American Prospect column.
  • Rules can be changed
    “Stupid is, as stupid does,” said the title character in the popular movie “Forrest Gump.”
  • Reflecting on 5,000
    The U.S. military reached a somber milestone in mid-June when the 5,000th American service member died in support of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
  • Letters
    Is the editorial staff really surprised that military members often experience the sting of law and go wanting for justice?
  • From our forums
    I understand it will keep the production going and make jobs at home. I’d rather see them shelve the Raptor plans and only do limited production to replace total- loss aircraft on a...
  • From our forums
    If the Air Force was entering a contest to see which branch could make their boots look like a baby just threw up his Gerber all over them, then the Air Force definitely won. How ’bout we quit...
  • Letters
    I think there is a misconception among airmen that we are being asked to be like the Army.
  • Stamp out burn pits
    A growing number of military medical professionals believe burn pits are causing a wave of respiratory and other illnesses among troops returning from Iraq and Afghanistan.
  • Make clubs valuable
    The party’s far from over, but Air Force clubs aren’t what they used to be.
  • Make use of commissary
    The best-loved benefit of many a military family is the commissary. Those who know it and use it may complain about the unusual queuing process, the long lines, the lack of house brands and even the...
  • Top enlisted to-do
    James Roy took over last week as chief master sergeant of the Air Force, the enlisted adviser to Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz. His job: to look out for the best interests of 262,000 enlisted...
  • Letters
    I noticed on the graph with the B-1B article [“AF devises plan to raise B-1B use,” June 15] that the timeline showing a decline in the number of B-1Bs available coincides with the removal...
  • Don’t slight spouses
    The Military Postal Service Agency is looking to tighten up on some mail rules that officials say are too often flouted.
  • Fix EPRs — now
    Senior noncommissioned officers are fed up with inflated ratings on enlisted performance reports. So many airmen get 5s, the top mark, that awards and decorations play a bigger role in promotions...
  • Letters
    I am sure that the Air Force Learning Committee has considered the active-duty cost of adding two hours of rape and computer security training a year [“Rape prevention, security added to...
  • From our forums
    I don’t see what the fuss is. I am an AF Chapter 61 medical retiree. I live in central Texas and guess what base sticker, or should I correctly say what post sticker I use: Fort Hood, Texas,...
  • Smoking is troops’ right
    No one disputes that using tobacco, in whatever form, carries dire health consequences for users while driving up the costs of health care for everyone.
  • Letters
    Hardly an edition of Air Force Times goes to print without columnist Robert F. Dorr expounding upon the virtue of strategic air power and singing the praises of the F-22.
  • Give first sgts. their due
    The Air Force’s top leaders consider the first sergeant to be vital to the unit.
  • From our forums
    I estimate that I do 90 percent of my shopping at the Marysville, Wash., commissary. I have only found one item that constantly sells well above the civilian stores and that is fresh pineapple. About...
  • Senate did right thing
    It’s not often that Congress votes to shut down production of a big-ticket weapons system — along with the jobs that the system supports in home states and districts.
  • Senate did right thing
    It’s not often that Congress votes to shut down production of a big-ticket weapons system — along with the jobs that the system supports in home states and districts.
  • Compromises strip JSF of usefulness
    Robert S. McNamara was certainly no stranger to criticism when he was alive. And when the former defense secretary died July 6, his critics weighed in again.
  • Tanker issues are simple, basic
    Again, the Air Force is launching a competition to choose a refueling tanker.
  • Fix housing oversight
    The Pentagon finally has issued rules for the expanded Homeowners Assistance Program, designed to help certain military homeowners facing a loss in the housing-market downturn of recent years.
  • Deployment policy unfair
    The Air Force’s new deployment policy is supposed to be built on fairness.
  • New policy doesn’t work for ‘Joe’
    I am deployed as a Joint Expeditionary Tasked (JET) airman assigned to Kabul, Afghanistan. Working closely with my Army counterparts has been a valuable professional and life experience, expanding...
  • Letters
    If one were to look at the Air Force’s core functions such as air, space, cyber superiority, nuclear deterrence operations, global precision attack and rapid global mobility, there is no...
  • From our forums
    I don’t understand how officers are getting so many [medals]. There are more enlisted airmen working as security police driving convoys, explosive ordnance disposal technicians, tactical air...
  • From our forums
    And I thought I looked “professional” with my pathetic untucked PT shirt. Silly me. I don’t know how we survived in our rag-tag PT gear!
  • Airmen sound off on meal cards vs. BAS
    Air Force Times received more than 50 letters from readers on the topic of Air Force dining facilities, running the gamut from scathing criticism to faint praise to impassioned defenses. Here are a...
  • Letters
    While I acknowledge the value of unmanned aerial reconnaissance and interdiction and encourage its use on the modern battlefield, I am flabbergasted that Air Force leaders think it is appropriate and...
  • Some vets still more equal than others
    The writer, an Air Force veteran, is co-author of “Hell Hawks,” a history of an American fighter group in World War II. Write him at robert.f.dorr@cox.net.
  • Make dining better
    Thousands of enlisted airmen are using their meal cards like cash to eat at snack bars and clubs on base.
  • Coburn’s callous ‘hold’
    A bill is pending in the Senate that would grant new benefits to help the families of severely wounded troops keep their loved ones at home, rather than in hospitals and other institutions. But the...
  • High-tech fighter field needs diversity
    The way things are going, the F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter could be the only manned warplane being assembled in the U.S. by 2013.
  • From our forums
    I wouldn’t call it an excuse, but I can understand how being told to deploy to a place [about which] you only hear the worst, nightmarish stories from patients could break someone. If your...
  • Letters
    Airmen sweating it out in combat zones are being defrauded by the legalistic process of awarding the Combat Action Medal.
  • Justice at all ranks
    Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz is bringing much-needed accountability back to the Air Force.
  • Kill ‘widow’s tax’ for all
    Some widowed spouses got an early shot of holiday cheer when a federal appeals court recently ruled that they are entitled to full survivor benefits from the Defense and Veterans Affairs departments...
  • From the forums
    I volunteered for a 365 to Afghanistan, and Minot said no way. I’m [security forces]. I’m at a new base now that also will not deploy me. My long-term goal in life is FBI; how crappy...

Army Times: Opinions & Columns


  • From our forums
    Having witnessed firsthand the military’s build-up in the 1980s, suffered through the drawdown in the 1990s and endured the reality of having to play catch-up in this first decade of the 21st...
  • Letters
    Anyone who has heard Army Chief of Staff Gen. George Casey speak, or read his interviews, is aware of his long-held desire to increase dwell time for soldiers. My question has always been, why not...
  • Restricting privacy rights won’t make us safer
    In the wake of the Fort Hood shootings in November, an independent review requested by the Pentagon has called for sweeping personnel policy changes aimed at giving commanders more tools to identify...
  • Burn-pit stonewalling
    Military regulations state that open-air burn pits should be used only as a short-term waste disposal solution in forward areas until cleaner-burning, but costlier, incinerators can be brought online.
  • Deployments and suicide
    The military suicide epidemic is largely perceived as being suffered only by those who have served on the ground.
  • Letters
    There cannot be just one soldier in the ranks who embraces the vegetarian/vegan lifestyle. The Army limits soldiers who decide to embrace such a lifestyle to a meat- and preservative-plagued...
  • From our forums
    Army posts are impossible to navigate. Few of the streets are labeled, it’s almost always impossible to find a detailed, accurate, up-to-date post map.
  • Grieving families forgotten
    The families of nearly all service members who die in Iraq or Afghanistan, whether they are killed in action or die of non-combat injuries or illnesses, receive a letter of condolence from Defense...
  • From the forums
    This is not about judging peoples’ motives; it’s about setting standards. We have rules and regulations that govern our actions. This is about readiness. This is about combat...
  • Letters
    I had heard a lot of hype about the new “Call of Duty” game. I played it and was forced to shut it off after only four missions.
  • Bigger Army necessary
    The Army on three occasions over the past five years has increased active-duty end-strength to meet ongoing operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.
  • Letters
    In response to the letter by Staff Sgt. Jeffrey Lambert [Dec. 21]: Female soldiers do not get pregnant for extra uniforms or tennis shoes, and we do not get “months of convalescent...
  • From the forums
    So, the response to a mass-casualty event that might possibly have been stopped had people been able to exercise their 2nd Amendment rights is to further restrict those rights? And those whose rights...
  • Income tax confusion
    Three military officers recently received income tax bills from the state of California seeking back taxes for time spent there during past assignments.
  • Pregnancy vs. readiness
    Army Maj. Gen. Anthony Cucolo, commander of Multi-National Division-North in Iraq, learned a thing or two about messaging after threatening courts-martial for soldiers, male or female, involved in...
  • Don’t expand new GI Bill
    One of the most generous aspects of the Post-9/11 GI Bill is the ability to transfer unused education benefits to family members — to a spouse after six years of service and to children after...
  • Stop video leaks now
    It should not have been a surprise.
  • From the forums
    I’m a bit nervous with how my class is going to be received when we get to our units. They nixed hand grenades and Basic Rifle Marksmanship at Leadership Development and Assessment Course,...
  • Letters
    I’ve served in the Army for almost six years now. When I asked about a bonus for re-enlisting, I was told that the bonus for my military occupational specialty was in the four-digit numbers....
  • Review mentor program
    The Army needs to rethink its decades-old “mentor” program, under which it hires retired three- and four-star generals to advise senior officers.
  • Stopping sexual assaults
    In recent years, senior Defense Department leaders often have spoken of their commitment to preventing and responding to sexual assault in the ranks.
  • From the forums
    The easy answer is yes, but that doesn’t mean the Army can force a soldier to do well. As a senior NCO, I’ve always resisted any push to force soldiers to a board. Let the good leaders...
  • Letters
    I am writing in regard to the article “Some want review of Army’s policy on private weapons” [Nov. 30]. I see no issue with allowing soldiers to practice the same function on post...
  • Attract, retain chaplains
    This year, some Jewish soldiers will celebrate Hanukkah without a rabbi to preside; some Catholics will go to Christmas services conducted by people who are not priests.
  • From the forums
    The weapon is not perfect, but it’s not getting anyone killed due to it being poorly designed. It’s more than sufficient for the task.
  • Good benefit gone bad
    The Post-9/11 GI Bill, one of the most generous military benefits programs ever created, was launched Aug. 1 with the promise of making a college education an affordable reality for a new generation...
  • Letters
    I applaud Master Sgt. Mark Baker’s Pvt. Murphy’s Law cartoon of the Army wife in the Nov. 23 issue. I cannot even begin to describe the sacrifices and monumental accomplishments my wife...
  • Letters
    Stress? President Obama suggests Maj. Nidal Hasan cracked under stress. That’s a slap in the face to the men and women who have deployed countless times and have yet to pick up a gun and start...
  • It’s time to restore service dress
    Within a month, President Barack Obama visited Dover Air Force Base, Del.; Fort Hood, Texas; and Elmendorf Air Force Base, Alaska.
  • A priceless morale boost
    Just in time for the holidays, the Army’s new HooahMail is a terrific marriage of snail mail and e-mail.
  • Opinions from the field
    “I agree that the soldier failed to handle her situation correctly, but it’s a little off that her chain of command did not see this coming.”
  • Clarify caregiver policy
    The case of Spc. Alexis Hutchinson shines a spotlight on a common Army dilemma: single parents who need someone to take the kids when mom or dad goes off to war.
  • Letters
    The best way to grieve is to give.
  • From the forums
    [Army Chief of Staff Gen. George Casey] did three news shows on Sunday morning. Same message: Concerned about a backlash against Muslim soldiers. “I’ve asked our Army leaders to be on the...
  • Fix this broken system
    The shootings that left five dead at Camp Liberty in Baghdad last May could have been avoided.
  • VA needs bold change
    When it comes to the vast and stubborn backlog of veterans benefits claims, Congress seems all too content to take a flyswatter to an elephant.
  • From our forums
    When I first came in, I thought the Army was so organized to be able to accomplish all it does on a given day. Now that I have been in a while, I am even more amazed that we accomplish what we do on...
  • Letters
    Does Army leadership ever read these letters that soldiers write in, maybe think about them, and take action? Or do they just discount them as mere complaints?
  • McHugh can do good
    “What makes your life miserable because of our actions?”
  • Letters
    In the Oct. 12 issue there was an entry titled “Forget R-E-S-P-E-C-T” and I would like to comment on the views expressed.
  • From our forums
    “Don’t ask, don’t tell” means we already have gays serving alongside single males. I recently went through an open bay barracks-style training environment when I went through...
  • Turf war hurts families
    The 2010 defense authorization bill, on a fast track to final passage at press time, included two important improvements in legal and financial protections for troops and their families.
  • Snipers deserve tabs too
    Snipers are valuable assets to combatant commanders, serving in dual roles as force multipliers and reconnaissance experts. Their mission requirements and training are so rigorous that only highly...
  • Bonus overhaul unfair
    The Army last week started giving out re-enlistment bonuses again, but gave soldiers barely two weeks notice that it is overhauling the way bonuses are calculated.
  • From our forums
    I’ve been in the Army more than 19 years and cheating on correspondence courses was an issue when I first came in. But, why is this topic an issue ... again?
  • Letters
    I have been deployed to Iraq four times now. Each time I go, I get new uniforms issued to me, as well as other new gear.
  • Limit Feres’ reach
    With little fanfare, the House Judiciary Committee has approved landmark legislation that would override a 59-year-old Supreme Court ruling barring active-duty members from suing the government for...
  • A familiar VA pattern
    Veterans Affairs Department officials told Congress in late June that preparations for the Aug. 1 launch of the Post-9/11 GI Bill were going swimmingly.
  • Crack down on cheaters
    Soldiers have been cheating on Army Correspondence Course Program tests for nearly 10 years in order to gain points for their promotion scores. It’s the worst-kept secret in the Army.
  • Letters
    I just want to make a statement about the state of political discourse appearing not only in the country, but also showing up in our military. The military has traditionally been a nonpolitical...
  • From our forums
    I do not agree with, or see the sense in, “forcing” soldiers to attend the promotion board when they do not have the time left in to pin on the next grade. Counsel them on their...
  • No excuse for fielding ineffective camo
  • Send loved ones to Dover
    Family members who lost loved ones overseas have always been allowed to attend the “dignified transfer” ceremonies at Dover Air Force Base, Del.
  • Good intention, bad plan
    The House version of the 2010 defense authorization bill would place problematic new mandates on support programs serving military family members with autism.
  • Letters
    I just read the article in the Sept. 14 issue [“Plan would shrink raises to pay for other programs”]. I do not see how the Congressional Budget Office can even entertain a thought of...

  • Anyone stupid enough to kill themselves or someone else by doing illegal/stupid crap like this deserves to have their benefits yanked, including a military funeral.
  • Letters
    No one camouflage pattern will work for the entire planet. This global Army must be prepared to fight and win in a multi-theatre environment.
  • Acquisition fix a tall order
    Defense Secretary Robert Gates has made it clear that he intends to change how the world’s richest military buys its gear.
  • Field effective camo now
    If you pick up a book on leadership you’ll find a recurring theme: Listen to your employees. After all, they are the ones on the front lines, face to face with the customers.
  • Smart, safe giving
    Some small charities that support troops and their families are having a bit of heartburn over new vetting rules handed down by Defense Department officials.
  • End-strength increase eases new officers’ wait
    For most Americans, Defense Secretary Robert Gates’ decision to increase the Army’s end strength by 22,000 soldiers is designed to relieve some of the pressure of repeated combat...
  • Letters
    Personally, I believe that the Army needs to adopt something similar to the Marine Corps’ camouflage patterns. The Marine Pattern is the way we need to go. Having two uniforms and two-different...
  • More accountability at VA
    The Veterans Affairs Department has proposed rules to make it easier for veterans to link their diagnosed post-traumatic stress disorder to their military service and become eligible for disability...
  • Get plate carriers moving
    Soldiers in Afghanistan were now to have begun receiving the first of 100,000 lightweight armor plate carriers — an alternative to the heavier, bulkier Improved Outer Tactical Vest.
  • From the forums
    Regarding the article “NCOs charged with mistreating subordinates,” [Aug. 31] we are at war. Men and women die on the battlefield and in training. If we start a touchy feel-good attitude...
  • Letters
    On Aug. 20, the people of Afghanistan held their second presidential election since coalition forces liberated this country from the Taliban. Afghanistan’s election day was marred by widespread...
  • Letters
    While I do agree that there should be a program in place to remove problem noncommissioned officers, I think this witch hunt that the Army is embarking on is an outrage [“Ousting...
  • From the forums
    Soldiers go to war, fight, save lives, turn wrenches and collect data at a high tempo that never ends, even when they get home. I am a noncommissioned officer and my aviation unit has not stopped...
  • Fully fund the military without using tricks
    The White House has made clear that it intends to halt the use of supplemental funding bills, those “emergency” measures that critics have long contended obscure the true scope of the...
  • Obama can help vets
    President Barack Obama and Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki met in early August with Military Times and other military journalists in a bid to restore confidence in the administration’s...
  • Get real on social media
    The Pentagon has a growing problem — the phenomenon called social networking.
  • Letters
    The current Army Combat Uniform camo is ineffective not only in Afghanistan, but also here in Iraq.
  • Time for Pentagon to do more with less
    If there remains any doubt that the Defense Department and services need to overhaul the way they develop and buy weapons systems, look no further than the Navy’s 15-year effort to build a...
  • Soldier feedback
    We asked you, our readers, to weigh in on the camouflage debate, and the response was staggering. The following letters are just a sample:
  • From the forums
    Sgt. 1st Class Jared Monti deserves this honor [“Generous in life and death,” Aug. 3]. He earned it. I’m not taking away from the service of this soldier, however, this seems to...
  • Allow spouses to choose
    Service members can claim state residence in any state in which they are permanently assigned during a military career, for as long as they stay in uniform and no matter how many subsequent permanent...
  • Letters
    I wanted to add my thoughts on the recommended smoking ban [“Just quit,” July 13]. Defense Department regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice hold service members to a...
  • From the forums
    I unknowingly became our company’s first volunteer coordinator when I first suggested increasing our visits to a local children’s orphanage from once a year to once a month. This quickly...
  • Review NCOs fairly
    The Army is restarting an effort to flag the records of noncommissioned officers for all types of flaws and misbehavior, and to boot them out of the service.
  • Letters
    There has been a lot of news recently in Army Times about the stop-loss pay, which “provides $500 monthly to soldiers who have been extended beyond their enlistment or voluntary separation or...
  • From our forums
    You honestly believe that Kim Jong-Il really cares if his country’s people get wiped off the face of the earth? The only thing Kim cares about is going out with a bang. Just like terrorists, he...
  • End unfair offsets
    One reason Congress gets such routinely low approval ratings from the American people is that lawmakers often are seen as quick to break their promises.
  • From our forums
    By far the stupidest rule I have seen in my 18.5 years in the Army has to be the “hands in the pocket” rule. Standing in formation in Fort Lewis, Wash., can be very cold October through...
  • Letters
    The ancient Army tradition against carrying umbrellas [“No brainer,” June 1] has a very practical basis. They scare the horses.
  • Letters
    The article discussing lighter and more mobile gear for use in Afghanistan is dead on [“Lighter, more mobile gear,” March 23]. I have walked the streets of Baghdad and spent 15 months in...
  • From our forums
    I hope our president and Congress will see the value in maintaining our forward posture at current levels in Europe. I believe that our strategic presence is essential to stability on the continent,...
  • Time to put NCOs in the spotlight
    We are rapidly approaching the halfway point of the “Year of the NCO.” I would like to offer six points to consider during the second half:
  • Much work awaits new Army secretary
    Cynics might say that President Obama nominated Rep. John McHugh as the next Army secretary in order to move a senior Republican out of the House of Representatives and open a New York district to a...
  • Don’t rush ‘don’t ask’
    As a candidate, President Barack Obama suggested he would work to overturn the law governing homosexuals in the military as well as the Pentagon policy that spun out of the law, known as...
  • Shed light on pay data
    Having led the fight to close the gap between average military and private-sector pay — once as high as 13.5 percent and now under 3 percent — advocacy groups are setting their sights on...
  • From our forums
    The installation commander at Ramstein Air Base, Germany, is absolutely right [to ban 11 school-age dependents from all U.S. military installations in Europe due to a rash of drug use and...
  • Letters
    What a poorly titled cover [“Deployment fairness. New rules mean no more hiding at: schools, recruiting, drill duty,” May 4].
  • Listen and learn
    “Stupid is, as stupid does,” said the title character in the popular movie, “Forrest Gump.”
  • From our forums
    Military leadership is overly concerned with perception and expends a great amount of resources to combat problems not unique to the military. The fact is that the vast majority of service members do...
  • Letters
    I sincerely hope the Army does not submit to the two Sikh doctors [appealing Army policy] as described in the article “Religion vs. regulations” [April 27].
  • Time for fairness, action
    Five years ago, Congress finally decided to kill a century-old law that forced disabled military retirees to forfeit a dollar of retired pay for every dollar they received in disability compensation.
  • Budget needs to balance personnel, weapons
    The unveiling of President Barack Obama’s first defense budget was anticlimactic, coming weeks after Defense Secretary Robert Gates announced major program cuts and after Congress had approved...
  • Letters
    I joined the Army in October 1991 and I’ve been looking forward to the transferability of GI Bill benefits for almost 15 years now. I decided to stay in the Army after my first enlistment for...
  • From our forums
    While I believe that state community property laws are dysfunctional and need to be changed, I don’t believe that the battle should be limited only to state community property laws. There are...
  • Letters
    As the Army restructures its modernization programs, careful consideration should be given to improving our simulations of unmanned ground vehicles.
  • From the forums
    The black beret should be canned now. The regular hat should be the hat of the Army. I always liked a hat that would shade my eyes and absorb sweat — the black embarrassment did neither. I work...
  • Signs of stress
    When the invasion of Iraq took place in 2003, the serious effects of PTSD were not widely discussed, despite the fact that the disease has existed in many forms over the past century. Once I learned...
  • Don’t stand by, stand up
    Service members pride themselves on being stand-up people, with more integrity than the average civilian. The self-image runs deep: “The few, the proud.” “Aim high.”...
  • Make fee raise manageable
    “Hit us over the head with a two-by-four three times, and we’re beginning to get the message.”
  • Army committed to JLTV
    Marine Commandant Gen. James Conway may appear to be throwing a wrench into the Army’s plans for the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle — but then again, maybe he’s doing the Army a favor.
  • Pattern of misconduct
    The Pentagon and the services have come far in fixing the many flaws in the disability review process for combat-injured troops. But Congress often has had to push them — sometimes hard —...
  • Letters
    With regard to the issue of religious proscriptions interfering with the proper wear of the uniform [“Religion vs. regulations,” April 27], the problem is not one of religious intolerance...
  • From the forums
    The beret, Combat Action Badge and rules/regulations regarding wear of the fleece jacket are among the Army’s most embarrassing decisions.
  • Time to spread burden
    This summer, the numbers of soldiers deployed will spike, with about 10,000 more in war zones than there are now.
  • Nonlethal options needed
    Despite millennia of investment in developing better weapons, the options remain staggeringly binary — kill or not kill.
  • Letters
    Throughout my career, I have never met the requirements stated in AR-600-9, The Army Weight Control Program. I am an African-American trying to meet these requirements; however, my body structure...
  • Raising the bar back up
    For the past five years or so, Army leaders have insisted they were not lowering the bar by signing up recruits who were felons, drug offenders and high-school dropouts.
  • Letters
    I just watched the new music video from the rap artist Eminem, “We Made You,” and I was very disappointed at what I saw. During the segment of the video that spoofed “Star...
  • Don’t stand by, stand up
    Service members pride themselves on being stand-up people, with more integrity than the average civilian. The self-image runs deep: “The few, the proud.” “Aim high.”...
  • The time is right
    “Black Hawk Down” was a hit on the bookshelves and in the movie theaters because of its riveting portrayal of the deadly 1993 battle between elite U.S. Army forces and Somali bandits....
  • Readiness groups critical
    I just finished reading the letter from Sgt. 1st Class Robert “Lucky” Arnold [“Think before calling,” April 13] and have concerns on a number of levels.
  • From the forums
    As a military member with a stable income, I view [the current economy] entirely different. I am loving it.
  • Letters
    There are many soldiers who have served their active duty, National Guard and Army Reserve contracts, left the military and were subsequently called back to active duty from Individual Ready Reserve...
  • From the forums
    Machine guns going across the border from the U.S. to Mexico are being legally sold by U.S. manufacturers/exporters to Mexican government officials.
  • Toby Keith cares
    I’ve been a huge fan of Toby Keith’s for a long time now, but I think he really won my heart when my husband deployed to Korea.
  • New VA reality: women
    The wars in Afghanistan and Iraq are forging a new place in history for military women, who now make up more than 10 percent of the deployed force.
  • Lighten the bureaucracy
    The office of the assistant secretary of the Army for acquisitions has clumsily thrown a wrench into a promising effort to lighten soldiers’ combat loads.
  • Letters
    Where will the Army and Defense Department be four years from now? Hopefully, we will be wrapping up in Afghanistan.
  • Among the locals
    In Afghanistan, we are in the process of adding 17,000 soldiers to the 38,000 already there. Before we get carried away with the idea that simply adding more and more troops in Afghanistan is going...
  • No love for ACU
    I am writing in response to the letter [“ACU = can’t see you,” March 23] about the effectiveness of the Army Combat Uniform as camouflage.
  • From the forums
    You do not want to merge the two, for once you do you no longer have agencies that can check and bal¬ance each other should corruption evolve or a for¬eign intelligence agency were to...
  • Letters
    The gains by our brave troops in Iraq over the past six years were recognized by President Barack Obama in his speech at Camp Lejeune, N.C.
  • From our forums
    Who approved the use of a commercial off-the-shelf package for a military pay and personnel system? The rules and regulations that guide military pay are very complex things. Any civilian package...
  • Stryker success story
    Just a few years ago, there were many questions being raised regarding the viability and utility of the Stryker — both the individual vehicles and the idea of a highly mobile, medium-weight...
  • 2 sides to Dover debate
    On Feb. 26, Defense Secretary Robert Gates announced the repeal of a policy dating to the 1991 Persian Gulf War that prohibited media coverage of flag-draped coffins of U.S. war casualties coming...
  • End stop-loss pay delay
    Congress and President George W. Bush in September signed off on a special monthly pay of up to $500 for stop-lossed soldiers.
  • Continue closing pay gap
    President Barack Obama’s first defense budget calls for a military pay raise of 2.9 percent next year, which sounds generous when many Americans are losing jobs.
  • Editorial: Troops deserve truth
    Military officials say no known long-term health effects can be linked to heavy, lengthy exposure to the smoke from open-air burn pits in Iraq and Afghanistan.
  • Expect respect
    Our Army is still dealing with a problem that most soldiers “wear” every day: respect. It should be common knowledge that respect is one of our seven Army values. But what may not be...
  • Letter: Non-selects need more
    I think it is time, considering today’s technology, for the Department of the Army to provide details to soldiers recommended non-select for promotion.
  • Letter: Repeal ‘don’t ask’
    The statements of the officials opposing the repeal of “don’t ask, don’t tell” in your recent article [“Troops oppose repeal of ‘don’t ask,’”...
  • From the forums
    Our true fight is, and always was, Afghanistan, and I’m glad we are finally getting over there to do what should have been done so long ago. We’ll probably never catch Osama bin Laden...
  • Letters
    I commend Spc. Christopher G. Burlee on his letter [“Wear beret proudly,” Dec. 15]. I have been in the Army for 15 years, and I am very proud to wear the beret.
  • Letters
    My issue with the $30,000 Career Status Bonus is the taxing of it. My bonus was paid a few months short of my deployment. I could not control when I deployed, nor when the bonus was paid. I...
  • From our forums
    My personally owned weapon is an H&K; 416 carbine. Piston powered, which is far more reliable, lower maintenance and higher quality than the 40-year-old gas-powered technology in the Colt we carry...
  • Appreciation, every day
    Retired Sgt. Maj. Robert Winstead seems to have forgotten some key things in his letter about Veterans Day and the lack of military recognition [“Monthly remembrance,” Dec. 1].
  • Misconduct isn’t tolerated
    Your editorial related to the Dec. 15 article about our Army’s drill sergeants, entitled “Sex, Lies and Basic Training,” was disappointing.
  • Military groups most deserving of government ‘bailout’
    If the United States can afford to spend almost $1 trillion in bailouts for companies whose financial troubles were caused by their own mismanagement, what about those in the military community who...
  • Shinseki as VA secretary
    Nominating retired Army Gen. Eric Shinseki as secretary of veterans affairs is the latest bold move by President-elect Barack Obama to reassure troops and veterans that he intends to look out for...
  • Editorial: Job plan too generous
    President Bush has signed an executive order that gives a huge advantage to military spouses seeking federal government jobs.
  • Letters
    Chief Warrant Officer 4 Douglas Womack’s letter hits right on target [“Recognize past service,” Aug. 11]. One of our Army values is the obligation to do what’s right, legally...
  • Editorial: Fair review of disability claims is needed now
    Once the process of evaluating troops for disability claims had become so Byzantine, backlogged and unfair that it could no longer be ignored, Congress sprang into action and mandated reforms.
  • Editorial: Allow paternal leave
    The Senate Armed Services Committee has proposed giving new dads in uniform a benefit already widely available in the private sector: a little time off to bond with baby and care for mom.
  • An inspiration for all
    In the June 9 issue, a reader in the Opinion section stated that the memorial photo for Sgt. Merlin German was “tasteless” and that it “hurt morale” [“Tasteless...
  • Editorial: Expedite Warrior Pay
    The political fortunes of the Army’s campaign to implement Warrior Pay of up to $1,500 a month to reward soldiers for cumulative time served in a war zone have come up against a hard deadline...
  • Editorial: Exchange bill off base
    The issue of adult magazine sales in military exchanges has again reared its ugly head.
  • Choose better weapon
    If the H&K; 416 is a better weapon, as opposed to the M4 carbine, the Army should reverse its decision and give the H&K; 416 back to the Asymmetric Warfare Group.
  • Editorial: Test marks the spot
    The question is not whether the new marksmanship qualification test now under review at Fort Benning, Ga., should go Army-wide, but how fast can leadership make it happen?
  • Letters
    An article about Military Financial in the Dec. 31 issue of Army Times, “A 584 percent loophole in loan regulations,” has given certain readers the impression that the financial services...
  • A million boots on the ground
    As we continue to learn from Iraq, Afghanistan, the Balkans, the southern borders of the U.S., peacekeeping operations and the expanding commitment of U.S. land forces to capacity-building tasks...
  • Editorial
    For the third consecutive year, the Pentagon’s budget request for fiscal 2009 calls for big hikes in enrollment fees, deductibles and pharmacy co-pays in its Tricare health insurance program.
  • What a Democratic president could mean for the military
    With voters unhappy about the economy and Iraq, and Republicans seemingly unable to unite behind one candidate, there is a high likelihood the Democratic Party will win the White House in November....
  • Brain-injured troops cheating on tests to stay in combat
    Troops in Iraq and elsewhere have tried to avoid being pulled out of combat units by cheating on problem-solving tests that are used to spot traumatic brain-injuries, military doctors say.
  • Letters
    A subject I may have missed in past issues of Army Times is that of the general order prohibiting the use of hand-held cellular telephones while driving on military installations.
  • Backtalk
    A group of battle-hardened enlisted infantrymen from the 82nd Airborne Division wrote an opinion piece for The New York Times recently that provided an assessment of the effectiveness of American...
  • Sense of urgency needed
    The two-year-old Joint Improvised Explosive Device Defeat Organization has the critical — and so far, elusive — mission of living up to its own name. The insurgent networks that build and...
  • Pass wounded warrior bill
    On the list of military issues on which Congress has shown a breathtaking mismatch between rhetoric and action, few examples loom larger than taking care of troops wounded in the wars in Iraq and...
  • Editorial
    We’ll probably never know exactly what happened Sept. 16, when private security contractors protecting a State Department convoy in Baghdad opened fire.
  • Editorial
    On Sept. 17, the Web site for the Library of Congress’ Veterans History Project — which has spent the past seven years collecting the oral histories of tens of thousands of combat...
  • Letters
    In reference to the June 25 article “New dress blues not finished yet,” in my opinion, this is the worst uniform-related decision the Army has come up with since the black beret fiasco.
  • An indelible legacy
    Consolidation and modernization of Defense Department medical capabilities in Washington, D.C., will go forward using Bethesda Naval Hospital as the geographical location of both Walter Reed and...
  • Editorial: Establish valor database to honor national heroes
    After watching the film “Saving Private Ryan,” which showed scenes of the U.S. cemetery in Normandy, France, Monty McDaniel became curious about the grave of his uncle, who is buried...
  • Letters
    As a veteran who received a Purple Heart for combat wounds, I felt compelled to respond to the letter by retired Col. Richard Mosco in the Sept. 3 issue of Army Times.
  • Letter: The blues over ACUs
    The Army Combat Uniform is a flop. The negative climate around this uniform is so high it almost outweighs the outrage encountered when we went to the beret.
  • Message accomplished
    You can’t turn on the news these days without having coverage of the latest celebrity miscreant interrupted by the endless debate over pulling out of Iraq. OK, it’s not really debate,...
  • Public affairs jobs too important to contract out
    This summer, the Army, National Guard and Defense Department issued requests to industry to hire contractors to analyze and monitor media reporting and make recommendations to the highest ranks of...
  • Army Times Letters
    In response to “Building soldiers” in the Aug. 20 Letters section, I must take issue with the letter writer’s suggestion for NCOs to do something about witnessing a lack of...
  • Letters: New names for FCS
    Army leaders have announced that the Future Combat System will be renamed and that a new name has been selected, but they’re not going to announce the name until further notice. In the Aug. 13...
  • Editorial: Cut back moral waivers
    One of the hallmarks of the Army as a society within a society is that soldiers agree to live by the stricter rules of conduct, appearance and personal choice that come with being a member of a...
  • Editorial: Congress can fix Feres
    After 21-year-old Nathan Hafterson died during a routine medical procedure in March 2006, his family might well have expected they could sue the doctors and hospital whose negligence they say killed...
  • Editorial: Acquisition in limbo
    No-bid contracts, bribery, fraud — that’s just the start of the alleged improprieties under investigation by the Army, which has launched two investigations into contracting problems...
  • Command and control
    I’m going to go out on a limb and recommend a radical move in order to win in Iraq and, subsequently, defeat Islamic terrorists: Turn Iraq into an American protectorate. Iraq as a U.S.,...
  • Letters
    I’m a Reserve/Guard soldier about to leave. Five months from now, I quit.
  • Letters
    Ask what soldiers want
  • ‘Serve, support and simplify’
    For many people in our country, Iraq is a headline, a subject of a TV news segment, a topic of debate in Congress. For many others, Iraq has become a focal point in their lives, a place of heroism...
  • Editorial: More dwell time needed
    Soldiers are being deployed too often, for too long.
  • ‘Chest full of lies’
    I knew Richard McClanahan when we were stationed together at Fort Sam Houston, Texas [“Chest full of lies,” July 30].
  • Health care must focus on patients and support the family
    April 16, 2005, will live in my memory forever. One minute I was mowing the lawn with my precocious 3-year-old son, Riley, by my side; the next, I was given the devastating news that my husband,...
  • Editorial: A simple solution
    The Servicemembers’ Civil Relief Act provides troops with legal protections for breaking apartment and auto leases upon receiving deployment orders.
  • Inappropriate message
    A charitable group that enjoys at least tacit official support from the Pentagon is embroiled in a controversy that is proving too hot for defense officials.
  • Letters
    As one of 10 noncommissioned officers selected to compete in last year’s Armywide Best Warrior Competition, the NCO of the year for one of the Army’s major commands and a decorated...
  • Taking techno-warfare too far
    When machine replaced man in the Industrial Revolution of the early 1800s and threatened the centuries-old caste of the English artisans, they rose up in protest.
  • Editorial: Start with the truth
    The Army, Pentagon and now the White House have turned the tragic death of Cpl. Pat Tillman into a national disgrace without end.
  • Letters
    In a letter published June 18, Sgt. Maj. Lewis W. Worrell suggested that the Army should “get rid of items on the uniform that do not match the color of the rest of the uniform” in an...
  • Unmatched dedication
    When you step back and disregard the political motivations and public opinion surrounding the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, you will find some of the best men and women America has to offer.
  • Editorial: An empty gesture
    Last week’s vote in the House to pull out most U.S. troops from Iraq by April 1 may have been a well-intentioned effort by Democrats to support the troops by bringing them home. Or it may have...
  • Editorial: Right plan for reservists
    Sen. Chuck Hagel, R-Neb., is the latest lawmaker with a plan to lower the age at which reserve and National Guard members can begin drawing retirement pay.
  • Letters
    I disagree with Sgt. 1st Class James Mixon’s belief that a soldier who is a junior or senior noncommissioned officer must have to first deploy prior before being able to training anyone...
  • Editorial: Tell stories of valor
    Four Army aviators made the news July 2 for amazing combat bravery and a daring rescue. Chief Warrant Officers 2 Mark Burrows and Steven Cianfrini, their OH-58 Kiowa helicopter shot from the sky...
  • To young disabled veterans: Don’t let VA bully you
    Twenty years ago, I was nearly killed in a parachute training accident during Joint Training Exercise Gallant Eagle 82.
  • Rural America answered the military’s call, deserves better care
    The government goes to great lengths to recruit young men and women to enlist in the military. Recruiters often travel the extra mile to convince young people from rural America that the military is...
  • Editorial: The price of war
    In early July, perhaps before, perhaps soon after you read this, the U.S. military will reach a somber wartime milestone: 4,000 troops...
  • Army’s adaption to counterinsurgency gives hope for work that remains
    Lost amid the clamor and din of our national debate on Iraq is the story of how our amazing, overworked Army is taking on the mission of counterinsurgency, or COIN.
  • Editorial: Budget for construction
    If the House and Senate appropriations committees have it right — and there’s no reason to doubt them — the Pentagon is headed for rough water on military construction that could...
  • Editorial: Balance home, away time
    Many soldiers have deployed three, four and more times to Iraq, Afghanistan or both. But you won’t hear much in the way of complaints, because a shared sense of honor and duty overrides most...
  • Letters
    I read the piece “Armor feud” in the June 11 Army Times that compares the current Interceptor body armor to the Dragon Skin variety. The first thing I looked at was the weight — 28...
  • Blog: Tales from the Sandbox
    Military Times staff writer Kelly Kennedy shares her...
  • Editorial: More growth needed
    Acting Army Secretary Pete Geren appears to have a lock on confirmation for the job. The generally gentle nature of questioning he got from members of the Senate Armed Services Committee on June 19...
  • U.S. needs a unified, diplomatic approach to Iran
    If you’re in the armed forces, you may wonder whether our nation’s leaders are preparing to send you into a war with Iran.
  • Letters
    According to Army Regulation 670-1 (Wear and Appearance of Army Uniforms and Insignia), Body piercing: “When on any Army installation or other places under Army control, soldiers may not...
  • Editorial: Give troops their leave
    On April 18, Pentagon personnel chief David S.C. Chu announced details of a new plan to compensate combat troops who are deployed longer or more often than Pentagon policy permits.
  • Necessary limits
    Some media question a recent change to embed ground rules in Iraq. The requirement states that images of wounded service members “will not be released without the service member’s prior...
  • Editorial: Photo rules hide the truth
    Some of war’s most memorable images include the wounded and the dead. It is impossible to chronicle a war without including that defining characteristic. But if the most current ground rules...
  • Letters
    Bonuses for captains is a great first step [“O-3s could soon get $20,000 retention bonus,” April 30].
  • ‘Army wives’ far from reality
    As an Army wife, I waited with bated breath to view the first episode of the new Lifetime series “Army Wives.” My mind was abuzz with all the trials and tribulations that surely must be...
  • Reporter’s notebook: Patrolling Adhamiyah
    The day started out calmly enough. But it wouldn’t stay that way long.
  • LETTERS
    Insurgent snipers are getting more effective, but little has been put out that is useful in helping prevent or reduce the effectiveness of sniper attacks.
  • Editorial: Keep individual honors
    For most Americans, the recent Memorial Day holiday was a three-day weekend of fun and leisure. A relative few took time to reflect on America’s war dead.
  • Journalists’ hands are tied
    Every day, thousands of American men and women perform untold acts of bravery and drudgery on behalf of what our leaders have defined as vital American interests in Iraq and Afghanistan.
  • Editorial: Award pay, not leave
    After more than five years at war, reservists continue to answer the call to arms, deploying at an unprecedented pace.
  • The road to returning to service
    Many Army retirees feel they could contribute a lot to the war effort in Iraq and Afghanistan by returning to service, but say they’ve had mixed experiences in trying to get back into uniform.
  • Editorial: Fixing the death gratuity
    In 2005, Congress raised the so-called “death gratuity” paid to survivors of service members who die on active duty from $12,000 to $100,000 — a generous gesture of wartime support.
  • Letters
    Having seen several photos of soldiers in the new service blues, I am not too thrilled with it as our service uniform.
  • Dragon skin vs. Interceptor
    Has Army-issued body armor served you well? Tell us about your experiences, your views on its effectiveness, comfort and weight. Have you or a buddy worn Dragon Skin? Tell us about that, too. Write...
  • Editorial: Prorate danger benefits
    It’s no secret that you can qualify for a full month’s danger pay — $225 — and a month’s federal tax-exclusion benefits — worth far more — for spending even...
  • LETTERS
    “Stretched thin: Deployments to leave only 4 stateside BCTs combat ready” [May 21] quoted Col. Edge Gibbons saying, “All of the brigades slated to deploy this fall will have had 12...
  • A closer look
    Despite widespread warnings that the Army is the sickest of our armed services and in danger of dying from overwork in Iraq, the Pentagon’s latest budget projections show the Army getting less...
  • Editorial: Openly test the vests
    Are soldiers going into combat with the world’s best body armor?
  • On the road to ruin
    News that the White House is now, more than four years into the Iraq war, seeking a “czar” to oversee policy implementation is a long-overdue admission that the administration has failed...
  • Letters
    The troops have spoken concerning the Army Combat Uniform.
  • Editorial: In the end, war’s truth cannot be contained
    One battlefield lesson seemingly never learned is how fundamentally wrong it is to be anything less than fully open and truthful about what is taking place in the war zone.
  • Letters: Withdrawal deadlines
    Congress confronted the White House over Iraq war policy by including a timetable for withdrawing troops in the most recent war funding bill [“Republicans seek quick veto of bill pushing troops...
  • Editorial: Money, not task forces
    A committee drawn from the Institute of Medicine and the National Research Council has produced a report that discusses how the Department of Veterans Affairs could better serve the rising number of...
  • Letters
    “Split solution: Breaking Iraq into three nations could be best chance at success” [Back Talk, April 30] contributes to the debate about solutions to the Iraq problem, but is optimistic...
  • An eternal bond
    The moist air envelopes me as I head for the Tombs of the Unknowns at Arlington National Cemetery. I walk quickly to escape the hustle and bustle of the visitor center. Gradually I slow, taking in...
  • Editorial: An overwhelming need
    Strip away the political fighting about how long or whether the U.S. should continue fighting the war in Iraq, and one is left with this disturbing fact: After the upcoming rotation of brigade combat...
  • Letters
    More money should be allocated to the Joint IED Defeat Organization [“Divert funds to vehicles,” Letters, April 23, and “IED team: Little to show,” Editorial, April 2].
  • Editorial: Pay proposal is fair
    For more than a century, disabled military retirees were required by law to forfeit a dollar in retirement pay for every dollar received in disability compensation.
  • New perspective on recruiting needed
    For too long, armed forces recruiting has seemed to follow this order of criteria when courting potential candidates for enlistment:
  • Serving in silence
    Many mornings, I am at the post walking when the flag is being raised. I wouldn’t be here at this moment if it were not for my spouse’s chosen profession, the military.
  • Editorial: Half-staff salute in May
    In the aftermath of the Virginia Tech shootings, where 32 students and teachers died at the hands of a highly disturbed gunman last month, the media published lengthy profiles of every victim and...
  • Letters
    I am a former Apache helicopter mechanic.
  • Editorial: Discipline the deceivers
    Nine officers, including four generals, face possible discipline for their roles in twisting the truth about the death of Cpl. Pat Tillman into the “utter fiction” that his brother told...
  • FROM the FORUMS
    “I’m a civilian ... It is true that troop deaths are statistics that get a one-minute mention, but please know that there are many, many Americans who feel deeply for the families of the...
  • Honoring the fallen
    BAGRAM AIRFIELD, Afghanistan — Following the deaths of 32 Virginia Tech students, the President of the United States ordered that all American flags be flown at half-staff for one week.
  • Split solution
    President Bush has asked that the critics of the war in Iraq produce their own plan rather than just criticize the current plan. Having served in Iraq, I can offer one possible alternative to the...
  • Editorial: More for Army families
    the new order to deploy active-duty soldiers on longer combat tours is sure to cause hell and heartache on the home front. Just as weary soldiers will have to suck it up and stick out a 25 percent...
  • Editorial: VA owes veterans more
    Lawmakers are watching with alarm the exploding backlog of veterans’ benefits claims, now estimated at 600,000 cases and growing as troops return from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
  • Letters
    There is confusion among the ranks about what does and does not qualify a soldier for the Purple Heart, as well as which soldiers are authorized the Combat Action Badge and the Combat Medical Badge....
  • Editorial: Amend ex-spouses' law
    The Uniformed Services Former Spouses' Protection Act -- which allows for the court-ordered division of military retired pay between service members and former spouses when they divorce -- has...
  • Editorial: Sensible plan needed
    On Jan. 11, Defense Secretary Robert Gates announced that he wanted to come up with a way to compensate combat troops whose deployments are involuntarily extended or who are redeployed without...
  • Letters
    The chart accompanying “Pentagon gives go-ahead for 2,200 support troops” [March 19], which identified several Army brigades deployed for second, third and fourth tours in Iraq or...
  • Gen. Casey provides a ‘clear, steady and unwavering leadership’
    Gen. George Casey can hold his head high and keep his optimistic attitude as he takes over the leadership of our great United States Army.
  • War stories
    From my foxhole-view as a tactical battalion commander in western Baghdad in 2006, the American press, although not perfect, has reported the reality of the Iraq war.
  • British troops fed Iran’s propaganda
    “Duty is the great business of a sea officer; all private considerations must give way to it, however painful it may be.”
  • Editorial: Casey must go to bat for good of his soldiers
    Gen. George Casey will assume command April 10 as the Army’s new chief of staff, the 36th general to do so in the history of the Army. He does so with war on two fronts and a force that’s...
  • Field the best weapon possible
    War fighters fight and die the same way, whether they are special operations or conventional forces. They should all have the best weapon available [“The Army's best carbine: Better than...
  • Letters
    Did you ever stop and think why 92R (parachute rigger) is a shortage military occupational specialty? [“Jump to a money job,” March 19]
  • On the o f f e n s i v e
    The editorial in Army Times' April 9 issue, “Bomb team isn't producing,” did not give an accurate summary of what the Joint Improvised Explosive Device Defeat Organization has...
  • 2 plans for Iraq
    How do I serve the military and my nation with integrity as both an active-duty airman and an American citizen? Are they mutually exclusive endeavors? I don’t think so.
  • Letters
    ‘This feels like America’
  • Letters
    Show respect for Rangers
  • Editorial: Honor Tillman with truth
    Pat Tillman was a hero. But not for his work on the battlefield.
  • Editorial: Level with troops
    President Bush’s Iraq surge plan announced in January called for extending some current deployments and accelerating some others, enabling the military to increase the number of troops in Iraq...
  • Letters
    Help for tough decisions
  • Editorial: IED team: little to show
    In the often surreal world of federal Washington, a billion dollars is a drop in the ocean.
  • Editorial: Fixing fractured reserves
    Almost all of the 13 members of the Commission on the National Guard and Reserve have military experience. Several served in uniform for decades.
  • Editorial: Service members and the freedom of speech
    Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech Â…
  • A dose of perspective
    I have followed with great interest the events involving Walter Reed Army Medical Center that have dominated the news recently. As a wounded warrior from Operation Iraqi Freedom III, I spent roughly...
  • Letters
    DON’T BLAME RECRUITERS
  • Editorial: System cheats troops
    The moldy walls and leaking pipes at Walter Reed Army Medical Center will surely be fixed — the whole world is watching.
  • Editorial: Kiley must step down
    Lt. Gen. Kevin Kiley’s performance in back-to-back congressional hearings about the treatment of wounded troops at Walter Reed Army Medical Center did nothing to support the contention that he...
  • The firestorm surrounding Walter Reed
    The conditions for soldiers in medical holding units at Walter Reed Army Medical Center and alleged deficiencies of the disability rating system have caused turmoil in the Army and on Capitol Hill....
  • Straight shot: Next rifle should be tested, selected by soldiers who’ll use it
    I read the Feb. 26 article in Army Times about the H&K; 416 and the problems we face with our current issue Colt M4/M16. I just left United States Army Special Operations Command after serving as the...
  • Letters
    UNIFORMITY IN UNIFORMS
  • The real heroes: An NFL star sees a new measure of toughness and courage while in Iraq
    Maybe you remember us. My name is Kevin Greene, aka “Salt.” Lamar Lathon, aka “Pepper,” and I played for the Carolina Panthers in 1996 when we helped the Panthers reach the...
  • Editorial: Blame at Walter Reed
    Defense Secretary Robert Gates got his first big test last week and showed exactly what kind of secretary he is.
  • Army Times Letters
    M4 vs. H&K; 416: Readers fire back
  • Army Times Letters
    Need more maternity leave
  • Army Times Editorial: VA investigation needed
    According to his family, when former Pvt. Jonathan Schulze told a Department of Veterans Affairs psychologist that he was feeling suicidal, he was told that the earliest appointment he could get was...
  • Army Times Editorial: Fix disability system
    Recent news reports by this newspaper, The Washington Post and others have highlighted the plight of hundreds of injured and wounded troops at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington.
  • Turning the tide: Maybe Wal-Mart can lead the way to nation-building in war-torn Iraq
    Let’s consider a “what if” scenario: The president orders 20,000 more troops to Iraq. However, these troops don’t come from the Army, Navy, Air Force or Marine Corps.
  • Editorial: Who’s to blame at Walter Reed
    Defense Secretary Robert Gates got his first big test last week and showed exactly what kind of secretary he is.
  • Army Times Editorial: Question vaccine policy
    Just as the Pentagon is set to resume mandatory anthrax shots for troops, the vaccine’s sole manufacturer, Emergent BioSolutions, says it is testing its product as a treatment after anthrax...
  • Army Times Letters
    Protect helicopters
  • Guiding principles
    Recent discussion of basic trainees’ poor discipline and lack of respect is directly proportionate to the rate we are promoting our enlisted soldiers to noncommissioned officers.
  • Army Times Editorial: Field the best weapon
    The harsh terrain of Iraq and Afghanistan have served as proving grounds for the U.S. Army, putting to the test virtually all that soldiers wear, carry and operate.
  • Marine Corps boot camp trains — and transforms — recruits
    As a product of the Marine Corps’ Parris Island boot camp at age 17 who returned there years later as a general officer, I have some observations in response to the article “Basic...
  • Army Times Editorial: Don’t skimp on standards
    A Marine officer scorched Army basic training, labeling it soft and, of course, inferior to that of the Corps.
  • Army Times Editorial: Empty posturing on Iraq
    Having been AWOL on its Iraq war oversight duties for the first four years of the conflict, the Senate seemed poised in early February to stage a debate on the conflict.
  • Army Times Editorial: Empty posturing on Iraq
    Having been AWOL on its Iraq war oversight duties for the first four years of the conflict, the Senate seemed poised in early February to stage a debate on the conflict.
  • Army Times Letters
    Medical disorganization
  • Beef up our brigades
    Among the reports that U.S. forces are short on manpower was an article by a redeployed soldier who said his infantry company had the strength to hold their particular area, but not completely...
  • Army Times Letters
    ACUs: I’m lovin’ ’em
  • Army Times Editorial: First things first
    At the initial meeting of the Task Force on the Future of Military Healthcare, it quickly became evident that Pentagon officials want the panel to get behind a proposal to boost fees for some Tricare...
  • Army Times Editorial: One is too many
    Like thousands of America’s youngest generation of veterans, former Marine Jonathan Schulze came home from Iraq, hung up his uniform and tried to move on.
  • Readiness & recovery
    Individual soldiers are best thought of as a weapon system. As Army leaders, we train soldiers to become optimized weapon systems in their military occupational skills, weapons proficiency and...
  • Army Times editorial: Give Casey fair hearing
    After 30 months of leading the combat mission in Iraq, Gen. George Casey is headed for Washington, where he will be grilled as the figurehead for all that has gone wrong in that country.
  • Army Times letters
    The greater hardship
  • Army Times editorial: Say thanks with benefits
    Lawmakers again are talking of improving GI Bill education benefits — and the place to start is with fixes to the Reserve GI Bill.
  • As mobilizations increase, more employers become wary
    All National Guard and Reserve members voluntarily signed up to protect their country, but the rules recently changed: The Defense Department now can recall them to active service more frequently and...
  • Is being a reservist still worth it?
    In recent months, the Department of Defense has re-examined policies regarding the size and use of our nation’s military, both active and reserve, in light of the demands of operations in Iraq,...
  • Letters
    I enjoyed “Nationwide nurse shortage is a challenge for recruiters” [Jan. 15]. Thanks for bringing attention to such an important issue that is often not given too much thought until you...
  • Army Times editorial: Reservists’ jobs on line
    Times are getting increasingly tough for reservists, just as they are for active-duty troops. The line between the two has blurred since Sept. 11, 2001, and reservists now are used as an operational...
  • Education in empathy
    John C. Schultz read a list of soldiers killed in combat and found inspiration where others find despair.
  • From combat to communication
    What follows will stand in the face of everything that comes naturally to the U.S. military and, with few exceptions, its courageous men and women.
  • Army Times editorial: A short-term surge?
    President Bush’s new objective in Iraq appears to be to stabilize the country so Americans can leave with our heads held high.
  • Army Times letters
    More than 200 soldiers have signed a petition to leave Iraq [“Active troops going public to oppose war,” Nov. 6]. Yet the news doesn’t say how many would sign to stay.
  • Letter: ‘A mother and a soldier’
    Back in September, Army Reserve Sgt. Rebecca Hagler wrote Army Times about what it meant to deploy to Iraq despite having to leave her daughter at home. Now that the girl’s stepfather, a...
  • The life of an Army wife: It’s a challenge but is nothing compared to soldiering
    Army wife — toughest job in the Army.
  • Army Times letters
    I am the soldier in the center of the photo cited in “Setting a poor example?” [Letters, Dec. 18]. The letter writer is criticizing the example that I set due to my gear and lack thereof....
  • The life of an Army wife: Want to know the meaning of ‘sacrifice’? Ask my husband
    My cell phone rang one day this summer while I was sitting in line at the bank drive-through.
  • Army Times editorial: Ball’s in Democrats’ court
    The new Democratic Congress has an ambitious agenda for its first 100 hours in power, to include the national minimum wage, embryonic stem cell research and alternative energy options.
  • Army Times editorial: Looking for new course
    The military professionals who make up the core of today’s career force no longer believe President Bush is on the right track in Iraq. According to this year’s Military Times Poll, only...
  • Army Times letters
    “Badge recognizes medics’ bravery during combat” [“Duty, Honor, Country” column, Dec. 11] was a fine overview of the history of and changes in the award criteria for the...
  • Army Times editorial: Essential alternatives
    Oil prices in recent days have taken a dip, but the dizzying heights that fuel costs reached over the past year have raised concerns that the petroleum-based U.S. economy is much too dependent on the...
  • Philip Hoza: Soldiers patrolling Iraq’s highways deserve same honor aviators get
    I have been concerned about the lack of medals for our current soldiers ever since our daughter served in Iraq.
  • Civilians can’t grasp military experience
    I recently ended my time as a military man.
  • Gary Blied: Solemn flight delivers airman to final resting place
    On Dec. 3, I was the co-pilot for American Airlines Flight 1904, traveling from Chicago to Miami.
  • Army Times letters
    In the past seven or eight years, I have noticed a disturbing trend in our Army.
  • Army Times editorial: All services essential
    When President Bush told reporters that he wants to grow the size of the Army and Marine Corps, it was welcome news.
  • James Zumwalt: Laws of war need to change to defeat ‘uncivilized’ enemy
    It might be time to revisit the laws of war if we want to provide coalition forces with the appropriate tools to maximize their fighting capabilities.
  • Army Times editorial: A mess to clean up
    Just in time for the holidays, Republican leaders of the outgoing 109th Congress and Democratic leaders of the incoming 110th Congress have teamed up to drop a large lump of coal on our troops and...
  • Army Times editorial: Medal not just for dead
    Spc. Ross McGinnis dived onto a grenade thrown into his Humvee in Baghdad, saving the lives of four other soldiers while costing him his own.
  • Army letters
    I keep hearing the debates about pulling the troops out of Iraq.
  • Maj. Morgan Smiley: To protect & serve
    Several publications have highlighted the difference between war fighting and fighting a counterinsurgency. Some say a smaller, lighter paramilitary or police force is better suited to...
  • Army Times Letters
    I’m stupefied over the opinion of the Army Diversity Office chief that including women in combat arms will boost the number of female and black officers [“Women in combat arms? Paper by...
  • Army Times editorial: Saluting Stolen Valor Act
    Nothing fires the blood of a war veteran more than a poseur who wears or boasts about combat medals and decorations he didn’t earn.
  • Army Times editorial: Time for ‘warrior pay’
    If the Army gets its way, soldiers will start earning “warrior pay,” a monthly bonus that increases based on how much time soldiers are deployed, sometime in the fiscal year that begins...
  • Robert F. Dorr: It’s time to pass Stolen Valor Act — and honor the real heroes
    It looks like the outgoing Congress will adjourn without passing the Stolen Valor Act, a bill to stiffen penalties for imposters who pretend to be military heroes.
  • Capt. Josh Gibbs: In recruit-coddling Army, lower standards are starting to show
    I recently took a trip to Columbia, S.C., to visit a friend who was graduating from basic training at Fort Jackson, the Army’s largest initial entry training center.
  • Army Times editorial: Improve training teams
    Straight talk is one thing we all could use a lot more of these days in the crucial deliberations about what course to take in Iraq.
  • Letters
    After reading about Pfc. Cindra Smith and her fabricated story of joining to protect other soldiers injured by improvised explosive devices as her daughter was [“Soldier made up story,”...
  • Glenn A. LeCarl: With ‘don’t ask’ under scrutiny, alumni group should take lead
    Members of the Navy and Marine Corps community who have watched from a distance the Naval Academy Alumni Association rebuff lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered alumni may want to start paying...
  • Letters: ‘Army Wives’
    As an Army Wife, I waited with baited breath to view the first episode of the new Lifetime series “Army Wives.” My mind was abuzz with all the trials and tribulations that surely must be...
  • Make mental health a priority
    As members of Congress with very different views on the war in Iraq, we know how difficult it is to find consensus on this war. But there is one thing that should unite us all — our commitment...
  • Letters
    I would like to respond to the letter in the July 2 edition from Sgt. 1st Class James Mixon [“Don’t deploy? Don’t teach”]. While I wholeheartedly respect Mixon’s combat...
  • Riflemen should be trained by — and serve in — Army, Marines
    Every Marine, first and foremost, is a rifleman. Any Marine will tell you that, and I respect it.
  • Editorial: Cheaters sometimes win
    The Army’s response to public revelations of widespread cheating on NCO promotions has been underwhelming.
  • Editorial: Time for action
    These are the facts:
  • Editorial: Take TBI seriously
    A hidden menace follows our troops home from the combat zone. about 2,100 veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have been diagnosed with traumatic brain injury, but medical experts estimate...
  • Editorial: Upgrade the GI Bill
    Virginia Democratic Sen. Jim Webb wants a renewed national commitment to the GI Bill to reward wartime service and sacrifice of soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines.
  • Letters
    It is great that someone finally realized that soldiers need more rest and recuperation time than they are receiving [“Deployed soldiers get 18 days of leave,” Letters, July 30].
  • Smart growth
    In the coming weeks, Congress will have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to fundamentally reshape our ground forces. Thus far, the debates surrounding the National Defense Authorization Act have...
  • The British are (leaving)
    Just before Gen. David Petraeus reported to Congress on the status in Iraq, Great Britain sent the United States and the Iraqi government an unmistakable message: “The Iraq strategy remains a...
  • Blues are OK, but I like Ike better
    During my days as a member of the Army (1950-1976), I shared in the change of uniforms a few times. The old Ike Jacket was one of the best uniforms the Army ever had and I was sad to see it go away.
  • Editorial: Unanswered questions
    President Bush’s announcement that he has accepted Gen. David Petraeus’s plan to begin drawing down about 21,500 U.S. troops sent to Iraq earlier this year as part of the...
  • Letters
    During my days as a member of the Army (1950-1976), I shared in the change of uniforms a few times. The old Ike Jacket was one of the best uniforms the Army ever had and I was sad to see it go away.
  • Their commitment, our commitment
    As our legislative bodies debate and determine the fate of service members in Iraq and Afghanistan, it is easy to depersonalize the discussion. “They” need more body armor,...
  • Name the Murphys’ baby
    A baby is coming! Will it be a boy or a girl? Our favorite cartoon character, Pvt. Murphy, and his wife, Anna, are expecting their child to arrive in coming weeks, and they want your help in choosing...
  • A simple first step
    It is a well-understood shame that it can take a disabled veteran years to gnaw through red tape to collect what is owed. And should the veteran die before his claim is settled, which happens with...
  • Tough choices ahead
    The No. 1 question facing the military today is how to win in Iraq, but a close second is how best to structure its forces, particularly the Army, for future fights. How large should it be, and how...
  • M4 needs combat-reliability test
    Now that testing has been pushed back to December for the M4 (“M4 test delayed, Oct. 1) , I would like to see one additional test included.
  • Letters
    Now that testing has been pushed back to December for the M4 (“M4 test delayed, Oct. 1) , I would like to see one additional test included.
  • Letters
    Opening your Oct. 15 issue with the article regarding GI Joe’s “reassignment” in the upcoming 2009 movie had me and several in my unit rolling their eyes. We felt the need to...
  • Fund Land Warrior
    Throughout history, soldiers have tended to be a conservative lot, preferring the tried-and-true to what some view as the fad of the day. No one wants to enter combat with unproven equipment.
  • GWOT or not? The term isn’t important, but the facts are
    When we refer to what the military is doing today, should we use the term Global War on Terror?
  • Join the fight club
    A man enters the octagon of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, determination etched on his rugged face. He’s a warrior, a finely tuned athlete who has trained relentlessly for this moment.
  • Think before we redeploy
    We can’t simply wish our armed forces home from Iraq — and we can’t leave them there indefinitely.
  • Increase GI Bill benefits
    Without the political muscle to beef up the GI Bill so it fully covers the cost of a college education, lawmakers are seeking other ways to help troops pay for school.
  • Letters
    Watching movies such as “Platoon” and “Apocalypse Now” should provide enough warning that those of us who have been or are in Iraq and Afghanistan will become the new...
  • Closely track reforms
    In the wake of the Walter Reed scandal, the Pentagon belatedly has begun a test program to begin overhauling the complex and, some say, unfair disability rating and payment system.
  • Editorial: Questions for VA nominee
    The White House’s nomination of retired Lt. Gen. James Peake as the next secretary of Veterans Affairs is an interesting choice.
  • Editorial: The push for priests
    The Catholic Church has difficulty finding enough priests. And the military services struggle to find enough priests who want to become military chaplains.
  • Unloading soldiers’ burdens:
    I served as the chaplain for Task Force 2-70, a combined arms unit out of Fort Riley, Kan., during Operation Iraqi Freedom I and III. We served in places like Abu Ghraib, Amariyah, Yusafiyah,...
  • Letters
    I am disgusted by the way the media like to cast labels. Blackwater is being categorized as a bunch of trigger-happy mercenaries. This is far from the truth.
  • Poor placement
    The article in the Oct. 29 issue of Army Times about the Army’s combatives tournament (“The warrior ethos,” Lifelines) was great, but as I turned my attention to the second page, it...
  • Editorial: Time to speak softly
    After years of rhetoric from Washington that military action against Iran is imminent, Arabian Gulf nations are bracing for an American attack on the Islamic republic.
  • Strength in diversity
    Since the integration of our military 58 years ago, and particularly following the establishment of the all-volunteer force, the U.S. military remains the greatest equalizing institution in our...
  • Letters
    I am writing in response to Sgt. 1st Class Jason Thornbury’s letter, “Get a Combat Patch” (Letters, Oct. 22). I am one of the soldiers that he is talking about; I have been on...
  • Faker photo is an affront
    I am appalled by the fact that Richard McClanahan is pictured in his dress blues, wearing a Special Forces tab, airborne tab and all his medals [“MoH faker gets 34 months,” Newslines,...
  • Letters
    I am appalled by the fact that Richard McClanahan is pictured in his dress blues, wearing a Special Forces tab, airborne tab and all his medals [“MoH faker gets 34 months,” Newslines,...
  • Editorial: Treat problems early
    A new study puts hard data behind the many anecdotal reports that mental health problems among combat troops often take months to appear.
  • Editorial: Don’t cheat your buddies
    The latest disturbing news from Iraq: Troops have cheated on problem-solving tests used to spot traumatic brain injuries in order to avoid being pulled out of their units for treatment.
  • Hold contractors accountable
    Recent news stories have reported that employees of private security companies under contract to the U.S. government routinely injure or even kill innocent Iraqis.
  • Precision for infantry
    The Nov. 12 cover article on Precision Guided Mortar Munitions addressed an extremely important and oft-ignored issue: effective fire support for the infantry [“Deadly Accurate,”...
  • Letters
    The Nov. 12 cover article on Precision Guided Mortar Munitions addressed an extremely important and oft-ignored issue: effective fire support for the infantry [“Deadly Accurate,”...
  • Editorial: Give Young plan a chance
    Any initiative launched in a U.S. administration’s last year faces an uphill battle for survival, and the prognosis is even worse when it comes from a team suffering record-low approval...
  • Self-service support
    The Army and Air Force recently selected the C-27J aircraft for assault airlift — direct, fixed-wing airlift support in the forward battle area on short, rough airstrips.
  • Heroes deserve more coverage than fakers
    I agree that someone like “Major Faker” needs to be shamed for his disgraceful actions [Nov. 26]. But to make it a two-page cover story that is in front of a story on true heroes is a...
  • A call to arms, part 2
    Recently, I spoke at the South Florida Chapter of the 82nd Airborne Association Veterans Day reunion. As I entered the small conference room, tucked in the corner of a suburban restaurant, I noticed...
  • Editorial: Match vision to needs
    For years, Army leaders insisted on a multiphase approach to modernization: fight the current war, then reset a war-worn force, then upgrade for future threats.
  • Letters
    In response to “Light-duty gear” [Frontlines, Nov. 19], I am at a loss to find a good reason why the Army is fielding a new PT jacket now. Is there really anything wrong with the jacket...
  • ‘They deserve better’
    I find it astonishing and sickening that the death of a millionaire National Football League player engenders more respect, press, tears and sympathy than the death of a single military member. Sean...
  • Unite for veterans
    It has become abundantly clear this year that our military medical system is not equipped to provide all the physical and psychological care that returning veterans need.
  • Editorial: A different kind of power
    After six years of conflict in what the administration bills as a generational struggle against Islamist extremism, Defense Secretary Robert Gates has it right: Military power, even purchased at a...
  • Letters
    Our son called from Schweinfurt, Germany, to tell us about Kelly...
  • Editorial: Long road looms for VA
    The huge backlog of veterans’ benefits claims, now 400,000 and growing, is hardly a secret.
  • Back-page reality
    With presidential elections approaching, American voters should embrace their constitutional privilege to participate in the political process. This includes understanding the presidential and...
  • To Hollywood: Make films that honor heroes
    Having read the article “Iraq war films shoot blanks at box office” [Lifelines, Dec. 17], I would like to offer a reason I think these films fail that seems to escape Hollywood producers....
  • Letters
    Having read the article “Iraq war films shoot blanks at box office” [Lifelines, Dec. 17], I would like to offer a reason I think these films fail that seems to escape Hollywood producers....
  • Editorial: Help from within
    Sometime in the next few months, Gen. George Casey, the Army’s chief of staff, will make an announcement on deployment lengths. He’s pushing to cut combat tours from today’s 15...
  • Editorial: Inappropriate housing
    Not long ago, troops living off base were paying about 20 percent of their housing costs out of pocket. Five years of above-average basic allowance for housing increases earlier this decade cut that...
  • Vets’ groups are vital for returning troops
    Lt. Col. Bryan Hernandez’s recent editorial focused on motivating soldiers to join veterans’ groups so that “America does not forget those who have bled for its freedom”...
  • Editorial: Patients shouldn’t pay
    Asking military beneficiaries to pay higher fees for health care requires a better argument than the one made in a new report by a Pentagon task force.
  • Letters
    The results of the sand and dust test are no surprise to those of us who have ears to hear and eyes to see [“Dead last: Newer carbines outperform soldiers’ current rifle in dust...
  • Iraq’s many faces
    As an enlisted soldier who served 11 months in Iraq, I’ve had difficulty answering one particular question that comes up frequently: “So, how’s it going over there?”
  • Editorial: Close loan loopholes
  • Editorial: Committed to the mission
    This year’s Military Times Poll reflects in cold hard numbers what we’ve known from our personal contact with the members of our professional military: It’s made up of tough,...
  • Editorial: Improve GI Bill benefits
    Several years ago, Congress linked GI Bill payment rates to inflation, ensuring that the payments rise each Oct. 1.
  • Letters
    The four-part “Blood Brothers” series (Dec. 3, 10, 17 and 24) brought a number of reader comments. Here is a sampling:
  • Vets can help with PTSD
    I served with the 21st Combat Support Hospital in Operation Iraqi Freedom I. I wish that there had been more support services for us when we returned home. The Army brought us back, the chaplain...
  • Replacing the loss
    In the summer of 2006 while I was in command of an armored reconnaissance squadron in west Baghdad, I had a short conversation with my operations officer, who had just returned from leave at Fort...
  • Editorial: Bill, veto unfair to troops
    President Bush gave service members a rude holiday jolt Dec. 28 with a last-minute veto of the 2008 defense authorization bill.
  • Editorial: Improved rifle a must
    Everybody knows the M4 carbine isn’t the most reliable weapon available. The Army’s own tests prove it.
  • Better reserve retirement plan long overdue
    It’s about time Congress approved a more generous retirement plan for the reserve component. I don’t understand the Pentagon’s objection that it would result in soldiers getting out...
  • A surge in support
    Camp Ramadi, Iraq — ’Twas the holiday season, when larger-than-usual numbers of Americans rallied to remember those deployed overseas. They are of all ages and differing backgrounds, from...
  • Letters
    In my view, awards are still being awarded frivolously. The bronze star has now become a rank-specific campaign medal. I was personally told in Afghanistan that sergeants first class and above get...
  • A complement to FCS
    In its Dec. 10 editorial, “Match vision to needs,” Army Times thoughtfully raises several legitimate questions about the Army’s modernization strategy — questions that...
  • Editorial: Fund efforts to grow communications capacity
    Warfare has always been a jigsaw puzzle — all the pieces have to be in the right places for the whole to make any sense.
  • An honorable man
    Best wishes to retired Lt. Col. Allen West in his efforts to win the seat for Florida’s 22nd Congressional District [“From controversy to candidacy,” Jan. 7].
  • Letters
    Best wishes to retired Lt. Col. Allen West in his efforts to win the seat for Florida’s 22nd Congressional District [“From controversy to candidacy,” Jan. 7].
  • Editorial: Fix custody rules
    A New York appeals court has upheld a 2006 ruling that should send chills through the ranks.
  • ‘Don’t ask, don’t tell’ policy has failed
    On Nov. 30, I spoke on the Mall [in Washington, D.C.] at an event to honor the service of 12,000 patriots who had been discharged from our military under the “don’t ask, don’t...
  • Editorial: Credibility at risk
    There was something about the voice: “I’m coming to you. You will explode in a few minutes.”
  • Letters
    On Nov. 30, I spoke on the Mall [in Washington, D.C.] at an event to honor the service of 12,000 patriots who had been discharged from our military under the “don’t ask, don’t...
  • Night watch
    I drove to Fort Campbell, Ky., to stand the night watch with a friend and warrior. After the 10-hour drive from Fort Bragg, N.C., I was tired but eager to spend time with a soldier who was facing his...
  • Editorial: Pentagon must demand integrity from charity
    It’s becoming clear that America Supports You, a Defense Department charitable program that supports troops and their families, needs tighter oversight.
  • Most honorable discharge
    Although our military needs Sgt. Darren Manzella’s talents (and those of the 65,000 other gay service members currently serving), the Army must deal with the outdated, ill-fated compromise that...
  • Letters
    Although our military needs Sgt. Darren Manzella’s talents (and those of the 65,000 other gay service members currently serving), the Army must deal with the outdated, ill-fated compromise that...
  • The need for advisers
    Over the last three years, a great deal of effort has been dedicated to create, advise, mentor and train military and security forces in both Iraq and Afghanistan.
  • Nurses must get back to being caregivers
    I was a member of the Army Nurse Corps from 1968 to 1970. I served one year as an operating room nurse in Vietnam, and served again from 1986 until I retired in January 2003.
  • Editorial: Give Petraeus time, room
    The Army remains on track to bring home on schedule the five brigade combat teams that made up the “surge.” Their return will reduce to 15 the number of BCTs operating in Iraq.
  • Letters
    I was a member of the Army Nurse Corps from 1968 to 1970. I served one year as an operating room nurse in Vietnam, and served again from 1986 until I retired in January 2003.
  • A suffering system
    Around the winter holidays, when Congress is at best partially awake, is the time the Pentagon Grinches deliver new surprises from the dark corridors of their five-sided wind tunnel. Sadly, some...

  • I was pleased to see the hous¬ing crisis and its negative im¬pact on soldiers and families fi¬nally covered in Army Times [“Housing crisis,” Jan. 28]. What I think needs...
  • Editorial: Smart thinking, not money, is real answer
    The final budget of any U.S. administration draws intense scrutiny, and the proposed 2009 spending plan is no exception.
  • Letters
    I was pleased to see the housing crisis and its negative impact on soldiers and families finally covered in Army Times [“Housing crisis,” Jan. 28]. What I think needs more discussion is,...
  • An indefensible defense budget
    As President Bush backs out the White House door, he is asking Congress to appropriate enough money for the coming fiscal year to enable the Pentagon and its government sidekicks to spend $1.2...
  • Editorial: An outdated standard
    Basic Allowance for Housing rates are vastly improved after five years of hefty increases earlier this decade. But the housing standards underpinning the rates are another story.
  • Letters
    As a current MiTT [military transition team] adviser, I have to disagree with the argument Maj. Morgan Smiley made in “The need for advisers” [Back Talk, Feb. 4]. Smiley made the argument...
  • Editorial: What were they thinking?
    The Army fielded a new mobile gun system in Iraq without an air conditioning system for the crew. It got so dangerously hot in the vehicles last summer — 147 degrees in some cases — that...
  • What lies beneath
    Reports from Iraq are showing that the war-torn country might finally be on the road to some mix of local and national reconciliation. The recent reduction in violence suggests this might be the case...
  • Editorial: It’s time to ensure parity of civilian, military wages
    Congress and the Pentagon are gearing up for a reprise of what has become an annual rite of spring — wrangling over the size of the military pay raise.
  • Letters
    In an interview in the Feb. 18 issue, Michael G. Vickers, assistant secretary of defense for special operations/low intensity conflict, says an increase in the size of the U.S. military presence in...
  • The tide is turning
    When I arrived in Belfast, Northern Ireland, in 1975, as a young and eager lance corporal in the British army, the war against the Provisional Irish Republican Army was not going well.
  • Editorial: New anti-cheating rules good; still more needed
    The Army’s new crackdown on promotion cheating through online correspondence courses is long overdue. Yet there’s one big piece pending: Standardized procedures for reporting cheaters.
  • ‘Enemies of the state’
    I’m currently stationed in Korea and I’ll be retiring from the Army soon. This letter is in response to the editorial “Retire this bad idea” [Feb. 11]. If the Commission on...
  • Editorial: Follow up for families
    Defense Department officials have spoken often and at length in recent years about their commitment to military families. But Congress wants to see less talk and more action.
  • Letters
    I’m currently stationed in Korea and I’ll be retiring from the Army soon. This letter is in response to the editorial “Retire this bad idea” [Feb. 11]. If the Commission on...
  • Editorial: Close-minded on carbine
    The Army’s Asymmetric Warfare Group, formed three years ago to help develop new tactics and technologies to combat emerging threats, chose to carry Heckler & Koch’s 416 because it was...
  • At AIT, instructors, not comrades
    I am a veteran service member undergoing my second military occupation skill qualification training at Fort Meade, Md. For those like me, this training represents a stepping stone in a long career of...
  • Editorial: Rethink promotion
    A sweeping new report on military compensation seeks to reward the military’s fastest risers with a permanent pay advantage.
  • Letters
    I am a veteran service member undergoing my second military occupation skill qualification training at Fort Meade, Md. For those like me, this training represents a stepping stone in a long career of...
  • Haste makes waste
    To those who feel the correct response to staff sergeant shortages is to promote E-5s who have not appeared before a board — as detailed in the Feb. 18 Army Times article “Easier...
  • Editorial: A final rank injustice
    At Arlington National Cemetery, the nation’s most hallowed resting place, honors are accorded solely by rank; the circumstances of a death are irrelevant.
  • Editorial: The real torture scandal
    Former Pfc. Lynndie England’s recent apology for her role in abusing detainees at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq was tempered by her scorn for the media, whom she blamed for sensationalizing...

  • The M4 debate is symptomatic of a leadership issue that degrades the abilities of our Army to serve and protect our nation. I’d like to share my personal experiences serving as an adviser...
  • Letters
    The M4 debate is symptomatic of a leadership issue that degrades the abilities of our Army to serve and protect our nation. I’d like to share my personal experiences serving as an adviser...
  • Editorial: Promotion policy practical
    Thanks to a policy effective April 1, thousands of soldiers are going to sew on staff sergeant stripes in the years to come without having to go before a promotion board.
  • Letters
    Is the Army Combat Uniform a combat/duty uniform or an all-purpose uniform?
  • A military for everyone
    “I, _____, do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and...
  • Editorial: Don’t phish own waters
    In the pervasive online scam known as “phishing,” con artists create official-looking e-mails that appear to come from credit card companies, banks, charities, government agencies and...
  • Editorial: A promise kept
    “I will never leave a fallen comrade.”
  • ‘Band-Aid’ burial honors
    For almost a decade, the United States Volunteers-Joint Services Command (USV-JSC) has been trying to rectify an issue for veteran burials at national cemeteries [“Fair honors?” March 31].
  • As long as it takes
    “December 7, 1941 — a date which will live in infamy — the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan.”
  • Letters
    For almost a decade, the United States Volunteers-Joint Services Command (USV-JSC) has been trying to rectify an issue for veteran burials at national cemeteries [“Fair honors?” March 31].
  • New world, new strategy
    Ever since Sept. 11, fear has become the driving force in American daily life, with defense lobbyists and government officials constantly ready to provide us security with increasingly excessive...
  • Editorial: Raise single BAH rates
    A sweeping study of military pay calls for bringing fairness to the Basic Allowance for Housing. It’s about time.
  • Editorial: VA overhaul overdue
    Congress held a hearing last week on ways to modernize the benefits claims system at the Department of Veterans Affairs, which has a backlog of 600,000 claims and counting.
  • Revised uniform policy
    I read with great interest the letter from Chief Warrant Officer 4 Paul M. Steele [“Wear policy,” April 7] regarding the Army Combat Uniform wear policy.
  • Letters
    I read with great interest the letter from Chief Warrant Officer 4 Paul M. Steele [“Wear policy,” April 7] regarding the Army Combat Uniform wear policy.
  • Letters
    Sgt. 1st Class Michael Spellman is on target [“Haste makes waste, Back Talk, March 24] and I hope senior noncommissioned officers check out what he had to say. Every promotion I have ever had...
  • Editorial: Troops deserve even more
    The Defense Department has authorized campaign stars for service in Iraq and Afghanistan, and none too soon.
  • It’s up to commanders
    In response to opinions from Sgt. 1st Class Michael Spellman and Command Sgt. Maj. Ralph E. Veppert on the Army’s new Automatic List Integration policy for staff sergeant promotions, their...
  • Editorial: Troops deserve better
    “Our troops are our most valuable asset,” military leaders like to say. But as we begin National Military Appreciation Month, it is worth examining how actions and words sometimes...
  • History repeating
    In 1876, when Custer led the 7th Calvary in the Big Horn Valley, his men were armed with the Trapdoor Springfield Rifle. The Trapdoor Springfield was a single-shot breech loader and the...
  • Editorial: Change starts at the top
    Defense Secretary Robert Gates recently echoed the mantra of his predecessor, Donald Rumsfeld, by saying the military is not moving fast enough to address wartime needs.
  • Revamp BAH for all
    Having read quite a bit lately in regard to the supposed unfairness of Basic Allowance for Housing, it seems that many single soldiers are complaining that they do not get paid enough to maintain a...
  • Letters
    Having read quite a bit lately in regard to the supposed unfairness of Basic Allowance for Housing, it seems that many single soldiers are complaining that they do not get paid enough to maintain a...
  • Proactive, not reactive
    The mad scramble to fix rotten, moldy barracks after a soldier’s father posted a video on YouTube underscores a troubling pattern in Army leadership.
  • Getting a pass
    The Army has a process in place that allows some athletes to be excused from duty [“Drafted from war,” Frontlines, May 12]. Caleb Campbell won’t go to war, even though he is a West...
  • Editorial: How to save Tricare
    The Pentagon’s health care costs have more than doubled since 2001 to $43 billion this year, almost 10 percent of the defense budget. At this pace, health care will cost $65 billion by 2015.
  • Building better recruits
    I read a lot of letters that discourage the recent change at some Training and Doctrine Command posts involving the switch from drill sergeants to platoon sergeants.
  • Letters
    The Army has a process in place that allows some athletes to be excused from duty [“Drafted from war,” Frontlines, May 12]. Caleb Campbell won’t go to war, even though he is a West...
  • It’s time to extend adoption expense reimbursement to reservists
    Members of the National Guard and reserves have proudly and successfully undertaken missions and roles well beyond their traditional historic role as a strategic reserve. Even the term “weekend...
  • Editorial: Reserve deserves funding
    The Chief of the Army Reserve gets to mark two important anniversaries this month: A full century of the reserve component and his first two years on the job.
  • Editorial: Remember the fallen
    The United States is almost 232 years old, the world’s greatest and oldest experiment in freedom and democracy.
  • BAH Equality
    I could not possibly disagree with Sgt. 1st Class Harold K. Lewis more [“Raising single soldiers’ BAH may leave married ones behind,” Back Talk, May 5].
  • The right path to unity
    When the blood of any war soaks your clothes, covers your hands and soldiers die in your arms, every breath forever more becomes an appeal for a greater peace, unity and reconciliation.
  • Letters
    The current Army Physical Fitness Test does not translate into physical fitness for today’s battlefield. Soldiers must have upper body strength and endurance, core body strength and endurance,...
  • Tweak PT test
    The current Army Physical Fitness Test does not translate into physical fitness for today’s battlefield. Soldiers must have upper body strength and endurance, core body strength and endurance,...
  • Army upgrades
    If you owned a 1978 Chevy Impala, you’ll remember that it was big, powered by a 12-mile-per-gallon V8 engine. Its advanced safety features were lap seatbelts and drum brakes. It had a...
  • Editorial: A workable GI Bill plan
    In the congressional debate over how to improve the GI Bill, the question of whether to let service members share their education benefits with their spouses or children has reached a flash point.
  • The debate over porn
    Isn’t anyone else offended by Rep. Paul Broun’s implication that soldiers will become rapists upon seeing an exposed breast [Bill would boot Penthouse, Playboy out of exchanges,”...
  • Letters
    Isn’t anyone else offended by Rep. Paul Broun’s implication that soldiers will become rapists upon seeing an exposed breast [Bill would boot Penthouse, Playboy out of exchanges,”...
  • Editorial: Deployment time for all
    Army personnel specialists are scouring the ranks to find soldiers with nonexistent or light deployment histories so they can take their turns in the combat zones.
  • Editorial: Help for combat stress
    At least 172 service members have killed themselves while serving in Iraq or Afghanistan in the past six years.
  • Andrei Cherny
    Just after World War II, a U.S. airlift delivered food to West Germans in Berlin starving amid a Soviet blockade.| As in Germany then, democracy in Iraq today might come about more readily...
  • Prayer calendar
    When I saw the “Faces of the Fallen” pullout in the May 26 issue with the names and photos of the 786 men and women who died in the past year in Iraq and Afghanistan, the fact that it was...
  • Letters
    When I saw the “Faces of the Fallen” pullout in the May 26 issue with the names and photos of the 786 men and women who died in the past year in Iraq and Afghanistan, the fact that it was...
  • Don’t tamper with tradition
    I recently flew from my posting outside the continental U.S. to attend the battalion change of command ceremony of a former second lieutenant and platoon leader who served with me when I was a...
  • Letters
    Call me callous, call me insensitive, call me a fool, but our Army cannot become so politically correct as to award a Purple Heart for post-traumatic stress disorder [“Purple Heart for...
  • Editorial: Small fix, bigger problem
    The Army has employed stop-loss over the past seven years to keep some 60,000 soldiers in the war zone for months past their planned retirement and separation dates.
  • Safety is on the rider
    In regards to the June 2 letter, “Dangerous Message” from Command Sgt. Maj. Jeffrey J. Mellinger, and all respect to him, I’ve never heard of any soldier going to a dealership to...
  • Article was disservice
    I was very disappointed in the May 19 article concerning several 2008 sport bikes [“Hot wheels,” Lifelines]. The teaser on the front page screamed “Throttle Rockets ... 4...
  • Precision ground-pounding
    The meanings of war and a state of war have taken on new dimensions in the 21st century. Unlike the bipolar Cold War between the U.S. and the Soviet Union, we are in a period of persistent conflict...
  • Raising single soldiers’ BAH may leave married ones behind
    I have read the articles in Army Times concerning the complaints by single soldiers about the perceived inequality between single Basic Allowance for Housing and married BAH. I read that single...
  • Time to change course
    Along with many other service members, I have had mandatory training in sexual assault prevention.
  • Letters
    If the H&K; 416 is a better weapon, as opposed to the M4 carbine, the Army should reverse its decision and give the H&K; 416 back to the Asymmetric Warfare Group.
  • Letters
    In the June 9 issue, a reader in the Opinion section stated that the memorial photo for Sgt. Merlin German was “tasteless” and that it “hurt morale” [“Tasteless...
  • Hope and reform
    Hundreds of miles from Baghdad, tucked in the southeast corner of Iraq near the deep-water port of Umm Qasr and only half a mile from the border of Kuwait, is Forward Operating Base Bucca. Within...
  • Editorial: Expand disability benefit
    A provision of the 2008 Defense Authorization Act erased a long-standing policy requiring troops who received disability severance payments from the military to repay them before they can qualify for...
  • Editorial: Minimize stop-loss time
    During recent “town-hall” meetings, soldiers peppered the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff with questions about how long stop-loss policies will continue.
  • Provide paternal leave
    The Senate Armed Services Committee has proposed giving new dads in uniform a benefit already widely available in the private sector: a little time off to bond with baby and care for mom.
  • Uphold the tradition
    It’s about time. Thanks to Col. Gregory V. Barrack for his excellent “Don’t tamper with tradition” piece in the June 9 Back Talk section of the Army Times.
  • STOPPING POWER
    No, this 5.56 round is not adequate. I have personally seen an Iraqi take 4 rounds, 2 to the head, and get up and keep running. There is something to be said when 2 rounds to the head cannot stop...
  • Letters
    As for the soldiers in basic training scoring higher on the Army Physical Fitness Test, do not be fooled by the numbers [“Sweat equity: New PT plan redefines ‘Army strong’,”...
  • Common-sense cell phone rule must be followed
    A general order prohibits the use of hand-held cell phones while driving on military installations.
  • Taking work home
    At a recent mentorship session among senior military officers, I overheard a bit of advice on the treatment of others that caused me to think.
  • Editorial: Keep CAB in the present
    The wars our troops are fighting today, particularly in Iraq, are in many ways dramatically different from those fought in previous generations. They now face enemies who don’t wear uniforms...
  • Letters
    I can’t believe the Institute of Heraldry is involved in making all of the service medals a uniform size or removing the word “medal” from the actual award. Why is this being caught...
  • Editorial: Better late than never
    In 2005, when Congress made it more difficult for people to declare bankruptcy, it included an exemption specifically for disabled veterans.
  • Time for PT change
    I have been deployed to Iraq and I think the physical fitness test should be changed because the two-mile run is way over-emphasized. It is frowned upon by most soldiers because it is not needed and...
  • $100M Tricare Fraud
    I want to know exactly how much money they get back. Isn’t it amazing that normal people have to fight Tricare tooth and nail to pay valid claims and this company was able to submit nearly $100...
  • Star struck
    Aside from the fact that I celebrate my birthday on Independence Day, this time of year always brings appreciation for the many good things about our country.
  • Green can be costly
    In reference to the article on the military replacing standard light bulbs with Compact Fluorescent Light bulbs (CFLs) [“New light bulbs are a bright idea,” Fast Track, June 30], I...
  • Soldier refuses active duty
    I am active duty and feel it is my duty to serve as those above me dictate, but to call people from Individual Ready Reserve is unjustified. Calling Army reservists is justified, but do not use our...
  • Letters
    In reference to the article on the military replacing standard light bulbs with Compact Fluorescent Light bulbs (CFLs) [“New light bulbs are a bright idea,” Fast Track, June 30], I...
  • Editorial: VA adds fuel to fire
    The Department of Veterans Affairs, buffeted by a string of controversies in recent years, has another to add to the list.
  • New GI Bill generation
    Ask any politician if those who serve in America’s military are owed a debt of gratitude for their sacrifices and undoubtedly, they will say yes. But how can we best show this appreciation?
  • Ultimate protection
    Major kudos to Staff Sgt. Scott Cole for his letter regarding service members becoming “unlocked cars” in terms of identity theft [“Switch to service numbers,” June 30].
  • Letters
    The World War II truck driver strafed by a German airplane received no recognition of his exposure to combat. Yet the Operation Iraqi Freedom truck driver hitting an improvised explosive device is...
  • Combat Action Badge
    The wars we are fighting today are no different than some of those fought by previous generations. The Viet Cong didn't wear uniforms in the Vietnam War. There are other examples. But why does...
  • Editorial: An avoidable danger
    Staff Sgt. Ryan Maseth was killed in Baghdad on Jan. 2 — not on the battlefield, but in his barracks. He was the 13th American electrocuted at U.S. facilities in the war zone since 2003.
  • Editorial: It’s your decision
    “If Obama wins,” our July 14 cover story, drew hundreds of messages from our readers. Some wondered if Sen. Barack Obama had advance knowledge of our questions — he did not.
  • Out of troops?
    Just to be clear, the president will never run out of troops for anything. If he wants to take soldiers who have just returned from a 15-month tour in Iraq and only been home for two weeks to send to...
  • Guarantee vets a job
    In response to “Baseball pitches in: Hat sales to fund jobs for vets” [Frontlines, July 7], I think this idea is great. I also say the government should give every disabled veteran from...
  • Letters
    In response to “Baseball pitches in: Hat sales to fund jobs for vets” [Frontlines, July 7], I think this idea is great. I also say the government should give every disabled veteran from...
  • Editorial: ‘VA Retro’ needs redoing
    A new congressional report details a fiasco involving the Defense Finance and Accounting Service, contractor Lockheed Martin and tens of thousands of disabled military retirees.
  • Editorial: A simple thanks
    This week, we honor five Military Times Service Members of the Year for going beyond the call of duty. We honor them not because they are the bravest, strongest or smartest, but rather because they...
  • Campaign props
    With their recent swings through Minnesota, both presidential campaigns launched their own respective “competing” initiatives to capture the hearts and minds of those who have served and...
  • Soldier sues for citizenship
    The federal government has got to get over this mass bureaucracy that servicemen and veterans are running into. Whether it be the VA, [Citizenship and Immigration Services], the DoD (and sub-agencies...
  • Letters
    I was shocked and disappointed in the article “Army fiancée backs Democrat” [July 14]. I encourage spouses and soldiers to have political views, since this is a free country....
  • Letters
    The picture of Chief Warrant Officer Nathan Galloway saying goodbye to his son in the July 14 Army Times is so touching. One can almost hear him telling his son that the son will be the man of the...
  • Editorial: Erase inequity in GI Bill
    As the details of the recently approved Post-9/11 GI Bill come into sharper focus, a glaring omission has popped up.
  • Editorial: Combatives = recruiting
    Army brass would have little to lose and much to gain if they allowed Staff Sgt. Tim Kennedy to fight in professional combatives matches while still serving as a Special Forces soldier.
  • Army fumbles
    In case those of you who attacked Army graduate Caleb Campbell for wanting to play in the National Football League missed it, here's another target for you: Oliver Drake. Until last week he was...
  • Photo deserves award
    The picture of Chief Warrant Officer Nathan Galloway saying goodbye to his son in the July 14 Army Times is so touching. One can almost hear him telling his son that the son will be the man of the...
  • ‘DON’T ASK’
    In the military today, heterosexual men and women work side by side every day. Their sexual orientation does not seem to cause too many issues. Why does everyone seem to think that a homosexual...
  • Editorial: Weigh fee hike benefits
    The latest salvo in the Defense Department’s quest to raise Tricare fees for retirees under age 65 is a proposal from a Pentagon-sponsored pay study to tie those fees to the annual premiums...
  • Editorial: Expand tenants’ rights
    Service members and their families are particularly vulnerable as the nation’s housing market melts down.
  • Honor hearing loss
    If post-traumatic stress disorder entitles a soldier to the award of a Purple Heart, then combat-related hearing loss surely does.
  • Sound Off: Army Combat Uniform
    Can the Velcro. Ditto for all the patches. The Velcro is noisy as hell. Also, ban the beret except for specialized units that earned the right to wear them: Special Forces and Rangers and such.
  • Pro sports policy for academy grads opens broader question
    Three decades ago, as a West Point plebe, I marveled at Gen. Douglas MacArthur’s inscription on the Cadet Gymnasium: “Upon the fields of friendly strife are sown the seeds that, upon...
  • A smaller footprint
    With the U.S. in the fifth year of conflict in Iraq, it is time to shift to a new approach and end what appears to be a permanent occupation, something increasingly unsupported by the Iraqi or...
  • Letters
    If post-traumatic stress disorder entitles a soldier to the award of a Purple Heart, then combat-related hearing loss surely does.
  • Letters
    I noticed two articles in the July 28 edition related to the 13 electrocution deaths of Americans in Iraq and at least 283 electrical fires at American military facilities in Iraq from August 2006...
  • A suitable compromise
    I agree with soldiers who feel that awarding a Purple Heart for post-traumatic stress disorder may degrade the medal. I also agree that meeting the criteria for a new mental injury award, should one...
  • AFN Commercials: Love or Hate?
    If you have ever been stationed overseas (in uniform or not), you would almost certainly have been exposed to AFN (Armed Forces Network). One commercial I reflexively roll my eyes [at] upon viewing...
  • In awarding badges, Army should remember ‘expert’ soldiers
    I read with interest the article “New combat badge rules” in the Aug. 4 issue and I was disappointed that the panel only addressed one aspect of the combat badges.
  • Editorial: Keep SSNs private
    The Defense Department is in the midst of a multiyear effort to eliminate full Social Security numbers from ID cards.
  • Editorial: Missed opportunity
    The world expects soldiers to be good shooters, and now a U.S. Army soldier is the best shooter in the world.
  • Editorial: Road clear for database
    The push to create a public database of the nation’s highest awards for valor — and the military personnel who earned those awards — reaches a critical crossroads in the coming...
  • Editorial: Keep SSNs secure
    The 30,812 candidates for sergeant first class got a dose of bad news earlier this year, whether or not they made the cut for promotion: Their names and Social Security numbers were compromised when...
  • Dedicate award to hero
    Chief Warrant Officer 4 Douglas Womack’s letter hits right on target [“Recognize past service,” Aug. 11]. One of our Army values is the obligation to do what’s right, legally...

  • I am quite concerned over our lack of support for Georgia. They had 2,000 troops in Iraq help¬ing us, the third largest supporter for Iraq opera¬tions. The Georgia president has criticized...
  • ‘The essence of honor’
    Oct. 3 will mark the 15th anniversary of the Battle of Mogadishu, Somalia.
  • Letters
  • Editorial: Define hard labor
    A soldier who tested positive for illegal drugs was made to dig holes for up to 15 hours a day in midsummer wearing his helmet, flak jacket and full ruck.
  • Editorial: Photos of courage
    They say a picture is worth a thousand words, so Rep. Walter Jones decided to let the images do the talking.
  • Mold at Fort Sill
    Another glaring example of how gullible some people are — basing facts and making determinations of guilt/innocence based off of one reporter’s story. Ever consider that news...
  • Living up to Army’s values
    Each week, it seems, I read a new article on detainee abuse that has occurred in Afghanistan, Iraq or Guantanamo Bay, and I become more unsettled. I am not unsettled with what I am reading, but...
  • Singing the blues: ASU letters
    Third World dictator. Mall security guard. Nutcracker doll.

  • I guess the Air Force “Blue to Green” program will now be the “Blue to Dark Blue” program.
  • Grunt gear
    In the Sept. 1 copy of Army Times I read the feature about what troops put in their rucks to make life easier [“What’s in your pack?”]. I noticed very few re¬sponses came from...
  • Letters
    There is a big problem I see with the idea of a national award database: There are sure to be er¬rors [“Validating valor,” Sept. 1].

  • What has any of that got to do with anything that concerns us? If his unit deploys, he will go with it regardless of what he is or does. Just like any other soldier. Has no effect on anybody except...
  • In their honor
    This week, the Pentagon Memorial opens to honor the lives of the 184 service members and civilians lost when American Airlines Flight 77 crashed into the building on Sept. 11, 2001. Let us pause to...
  • A sacred trust
    American soldiers are members of a band of brothers and sisters, bound by common values, and duty and loyalty to each other that sets them apart from society.
  • Next president must quickly choose efficient staff, advisers
    During the presidential primary season, many candidates — especially Sens. John McCain and Hillary Rodham Clinton — made an issue of their readiness to be president from “Day...
  • Editorial: Get with the program
    In January, Congress ordered the Pentagon to drop its disability ratings rules and strictly follow the VA’s criteria in assigning ratings to injured and wounded service members.
  • From our forums
    While I do agree that hard labor has its time and place, some of the things in that article went too far. I see no [reason for] getting limited sleep … over such a long period of time. I...
  • Better weapons
    Everything I hear about new rifles infuriates me when I know that there are better and more reliable weapons available for soldiers on the front lines. I have to ask the Army officials, why...
  • Hard labor
    It doesn’t seem too long ago, we did these types of tasks as “details.” Now they want to call it too tough for hard labor? I guess “don’t do the crime if you can’t...
  • Letters
    I just finished reading the article “At war, ACU is attire of choice” [Sept. 1], and it doesn’t seem to make much sense outside the halls of the Pentagon. To me it seems that we, as...
  • Editorial: Selfless Marine earned the MOH
    There are few things more selfless than covering a live hand grenade to save your buddies.
  • Make effort to make your vote heard
    Voting isn’t merely the right of every American, it is our responsibility. And if the pen is mightier than the sword, as the saying goes, your vote is the most powerful weapon in your arsenal.
  • Army service uniform
    The new ASU looks like a tragic collision between a junior ROTC cadet, a Disney security guard and Kim Jong Il. This design is god-awful. I dare anyone to stand the ASU next to anything the Army used...
  • Letters
    I like the idea of a new dress uniform. The greens had to go away.
  • A warrant’s wish list
    Before I retired from the Army, a young soldier in Advanced Individual Training asked me if I could change anything in the Army, what would it be. Here is my answer:
  • Letters
    I must say that when it comes to uniforms, the Army seems incapable of hitting the target.
  • Pride in our uniform
    I must say that when it comes to uniforms, the Army seems incapable of hitting the target.
  • Editorial: A better hot line option
    At a recent congressional hearing, Department of Veterans Affairs officials talked about how pleased they are with VA’s year-old suicide prevention hotline, which they credit with saving the...
  • Add to the arsenal
    The Army recently selected the M110 Semi-Automatic-Sniper System as its newest sniper rifle after looking at a number of commercial off-the-shelf systems.
  • Editorial: Let families decide
    The Army’s new rules allowing better media access to burials at Arlington National Cemetery, Va., are inadequate to the task.
  • Award valor, not rank
    Fourth Brigade, 10th Mountain Division has started to tag awards to rank. Soldiers are no longer receiving awards based on their actions or valor, but instead they are receiving awards for holding a...
  • Our patriotic duty
    The thing Americans forget is that our democracy isn’t about waving flags, having a bumper sticker on your car or even watching the fireworks on the Fourth of July. Our democracy is a...
  • Leading amidst the chaos
    When Staff Sgt. Erich Phillips racked out on the night of Aug. 21, 2007, he didn’t expect a pre-dawn wake-up call from a huge Taliban force penetrating his combat outpost.
  • Letters
    I applaud James Bussey and his comments [“A warrant’s wish list,” Sept. 29]. His comments about maintenance hit the nail on the head.
  • Editorial: Preserve dwell time
    Seven years on a war footing, with no end in sight, the Army faces increasing demands for troops in Afghanistan even before the long-hoped-for Iraq drawdown has begun.
  • Letters
    I wholeheartedly agree with the editorial in the Sept. 29 edition, “Selfless Marine earned the Medal of Honor.”
  • Editorial: Spend wisely, carefully
    President Eisenhower wisely said the economy is the source of America’s national security. It powers the world’s largest defense budget and gives the country worldwide clout.
  • Drawing strength
    The halls of military hospitals in the U.S. and Germany were invaded recently by members of the National Cartoonists Society on a mission to bring smiles to the faces of the brave men and women who...
  • From the forums
    How many of you who are getting in an uproar about this wear your favorite sports team’s jackets and jerseys? Are you a part of that team? No. So what’s the big deal?
  • Letter: Parts system works
    I am writing in response to the Oct. 13 letter, “Broken system.” I have worked as an aviation intermediate maintenance production control noncommissioned officer both stateside and in...
  • Letters
    The special-edition article extolling the performance of the Land Warrior command-and-control system [“Land Warrior: Now or later?” Oct. 13], might better have been titled, “Land...
  • Use improved Land Warrior
    the so-called Land Warrior system was a flop in initial training exercises. Soldiers wearing the digital command-and-control system in 2006 found it to be too slow and said it didn’t add enough...
  • From our forums
    As long as they are ensuring that minors can’t see it or buy it, so what? There is no reason that military members should not be able to purchase anything that is legal on base.
  • Little faith in VA’s Plan B
    Last month, senior Department of Veterans Affairs officials told Congress that VA needed to hire a private contractor to handle claims and payments when the new Post-9/11 GI Bill takes effect Aug. 1.
  • Similar complaint
    It is telling that Sgt. Faizullrahman of the Afghanistan Army came to the same conclusion that hundreds of Army Times readers have concerning the reliability of the M16 [“Afghan upgrade,”...
  • Letters
    The M24 was designed from its beginning to be upgraded to the 300 Winchester Magnum [“Army solicits industry for M4 replacement,” Oct. 13]. That is why the rifle has a long action, which...
  • From our forums
    There are a number of problems that contribute to the break down of discipline in the military. Lower recruiting standards, higher ops tempo, do more with less, to name a few of the problems. I have...
  • Pentagon must recognize burn-pit health hazards
    More than five years into the war in Iraq and seven years into the war in Afghanistan, the U.S. military continues daily disposal of hundreds of tons of war-zone waste in the most crude and hazardous...
  • Straight-talking Gates is best SecDef in a long time
    Defense Secretary Robert Gates is doing an excellent job as the top civilian leader in the Pentagon and as the No. 2 in the military chain of command.
  • Editorial: Don’t be a victim
    The military has long been a target for unsavory businessmen because all troops draw steady paychecks, the government helps creditors collect what’s owed them and, in the case of junior troops,...
  • A blessing, not a burden
    Until I married a military man, I never really understood patriotism. By the time I met my husband, he had already served in the Army for four years. On our first date, I asked him his favorite song.

  • I am writing in regard to the letter from Capt. Eric Grider, “Hollow Honor,” in the Oct. 27 issue.
  • From the forums
    Nobody is above the law, civil or criminal, and if the vote is not correctly written I don’t care if the voter is a soldier or a street sweeper, it doesn’t count. Enough of Republican...
  • Letter: Custer set bad image
    I am writing in response to the Oct. 27 letter “Greens got to go.” The staff sergeant who wrote the letter states, “When I think of the ASU, I think of Gen. George Custer.” I...
  • ‘Burn pit’ letters
    In the Nov. 3 issue, Army Times reported on the massive open-air waste burn pits on U.S. installations in the Iraq and Afghanistan war zones that some service members worry may pose health risks.
  • How Obama can win trust
    If the combined forces of the U.S. military were a state, its 2.2 million residents would have voted strongly in favor of Sen. John McCain in last week’s election — giving him five votes,...
  • Let the competition begin
    The Army has for the most part stayed on the sidelines during an ongoing debate over whether to search for a replacement for the M4, the carbine soldiers carry into battle. Now, however, the hunt has...
  • Surrounded by chaos
    Editor’s note: Spc. Edgar Hernandez was wounded in the ambush at Nasiriyah, Iraq, on March 23, 2003, and held prisoner for 21 days. In the new book “Edgar Hernandez: POW — An...
  • Letters
    I congratulate President-elect Barack Obama even though I voted for his opponent.
  • Insulting headline
    The cover of the Nov. 3 Army Times, which states “Smarter NCOS/ Making sergeants more like officers,” is, quite frankly, inflammatory and insulting.
  • Monthly remembrance
    Isn’t it ironic that the world’s largest multicultural organization is only remembered one day a year? This organization has fought and continues to fight America’s wars since the...
  • Be wary of bonus
    With the economy tanking and family budgets being squeezed, an offer of $30,000 in cold cash might seem easy to snap up.
  • Surrounded by heroes
    From mid-October to mid-November, my family faced the most difficult month of our lives. Not only did my mother, Pamela Losey, pass away Oct. 13 from pancreatic cancer, but 11 days later, my uncle,...
  • VFW, Legion must modernize in order to thrive
    As a people, we recognize that the world is constantly changing. We like to believe we can cope with, and benefit from, change.
  • Letters
    Army Times regularly publishes a list of the awards given out by all branches of service for both Iraq and Afghanistan. Nobody can honestly tell me that as this war goes into its eighth year, there...
  • From our forums
    I’m getting out of active duty and going into the reserves. I’m just tired of wasting so much time in the Army when I could be going to college or vo-tech. And I am tired of being...
  • Show troops the money
    hundreds of extra dollars a month might come in pretty handy right now. And if you’re among the active-duty soldiers who qualify for up to $500 a month because you are stop-lossed, you might be...
  • Supporting the chief
    In response to the editorial “How Obama can win trust” in the Nov. 17 issue, I would like to make a comment about the opening statement that the military would have strongly voted in...
  • From our forums
    One of the basic tenets of Public Affairs and Army Visual Information MOSs is that imagery will not be altered. To have any PAO office issue a photo of Gen. Ann Dunwoody that has been altered is...
  • At last, vindication
    The National Vietnam and Gulf War Veterans Coalition applauds the Veterans’ Affairs Research Advisory Committee on Gulf War illness for the release of its thorough review of research into...
  • Letters
    Though the M4 is a decent rifle, it is still based on the longest-serving rifle in the Army’s history. I would love to see the Army adopt a rifle that improves on the reliability of the M4 and,...
  • Smart to stay with Gates
    In an interview with Military Times last July, President-elect Barack Obama praised Defense Secretary Robert Gates for bringing a “level of realism and professionalism and planning” to...
  • Failure at the top
    A dozen drill sergeants and AIT instructors at Fort Leonard Wood, Mo., have been busted for sexual misconduct with trainees. Adultery, sex off post, sex in a car, sex in the barracks — the...
  • Taking the first step
    In my position as sergeant major of the Army Wounded Warrior Program, I see every day extraordinary men and women who have sacrificed so much and continue to proudly represent their country.
  • Rethink award system
    I agree with Maj. Nick Aquilar’s Nov. 24 letter, “Forget the ribbons.” I’ve witnessed firsthand how pathetically the Army awards program is administered.
  • Letters
    No way am I taking that bonus. It’s a sucker’s bet unless you’re betting that you’ll die right after retiring. I guess if my family was drowning in debt, we might consider it...
  • Letters
    It has become apparent to me, during my relatively short time in the Army, that there is a serious lack of pride in our headgear. The beret was worn proudly in the past by Airborne and Armor units,...
  • Rethink Medal of Honor
    I am concerned about what seems to be an additional, unofficial criterion for the awarding of the Medal of Honor — posthumous only. That has at least been the case in our current wars, despite...
  • No more bulk for MRAPs
    Defense officials have once again whipped out the checkbook and bought into the idea of an indestructible transport vehicle that meets every need.
  • Fix this insurance mess
    Anyone who has worked in government long enough has come across rules and policies noteworthy only for being devoid of common sense.
  • Up or out rules
    I would like to congratulate the Army leadership for finally raising the retention control points for senior noncommissioned officers [“Up or out rules eased,” Dec. 1]. I feel this...
  • Letters
    Dear ACUs,
  • From our forums
    Basic and Advanced Individual Training have gotten easier. The problem is not with the drill sergeant or the instructor. It is with the Training and Doctrine Command. All noncommissioned officers...
  • No accounting for failure
    The Army had to fess up to failure when the Pentagon terminated the ARH-70A Arapaho armed reconnaissance helicopter in the fall. Following an earlier helicopter program failure, the mercy killing of...
  • Obama must prove himself
    Our latest Military Times poll indicates a good measure of doubt in the ranks about President-elect Barack Obama in his pending role as commander in chief. Six out of 10 respondents said they were...
  • How to beat frostbite
    I was a forward observer with the 14th Infantry, 25th Infantry Division in Korea during the winter of 1951-52. We had a simple system to combat frostbite.
  • From our forums
    In the military world, we just keep it to layman’s terms. Terrorism is a form of attack that involves the civilian community regardless of how it’s motivated. Its purpose is to incite...
  • Letters
    Your editorial related to the Dec. 15 article about our Army’s drill sergeants, titled “Sex, Lies and Basic Training,” was disappointing.
  • Humans and hardware
    An amazing revolution is taking place in the history of war, and even perhaps of humanity.
  • From our forums
    You are told when you enlist, whether you enlist for four or six years, your total enlistment into the armed forces is eight years and after you are “discharged” if you do not re-enlist,...
  • Care of the highest order
    “Trauma call, trauma call,” announced the hospital speakers at the Air Force theater hospital.
  • ACU = can’t see you
    In response to the “Stop the uniform madness” letter (Feb. 16) by Staff Sgt. James Emmons, I have a different view of the matter in one respect. After many years of service as an OH-58D...
  • Letters
    I am on active duty and serve as an officer and attorney in the Air Force. The GI Bill that was just passed unfairly excludes benefits from those who have served in the reserves and later in the...
  • Time for clarity
    Commanders in Afghanistan say they don’t have enough people — and not just trigger pullers.
  • On course, mostly
    President Barack Obama last week outlined the most sweeping overhaul in decades of how the Pentagon buys everything from weapons to services.
  • Honor those worthy
    Only five Medals of Honor have been awarded to service members for heroic action in Iraq and Afghanistan — all posthumously.
  • After stop-loss: Get it right
    Oddly, no one seems more surprised than Army leaders by the Pentagon’s decision to gradually end stop-loss and to pay soldiers on involuntary hold an extra $500 a month for their troubles.
  • Letters
    This is a response to a “From the Forums” entry [“The future in Afghanistan,” Feb. 2].
  • Stop VA ‘nonsense’
    Revelation upon revelation of toxic exposures; denied, delayed and ineffective medical care; missing, altered or destroyed medical and personnel records; stagnant disability actions;...
  • Better leaders, better recruiters
    The headline “Stressed to Death” in the Feb.2 edition of Army Times concerning the investigation into suicides among the Houston Recruiting Battalion speaks volumes about a continued poor...
  • ‘Heart-wrenching’ debate
    After reading this article [“2 sides to Dover debate,” March 16], which presented both sides of this extremely heart-wrenching, ongoing and endless debate [concerning media coverage of...
  • From our forums
    I was watching “American Idol” and caught finalist Scott MacIntyre ... [possibly] violating the Stolen Valor Act. The wearing of hard-earned military medals as if they were fashion...

  • The Individual Ready Reserve system is flawed. I’m hoping that after the current hostilities sub¬stantially subside that the Army will take a real close look at the program.
  • Praise for the NCOs
    Are noncommissioned officers the backbone of the Army? You can bet on that. Behind every successful officer, irrespective of rank, are one or more NCOs dedicated to making his job easier and his...
  • Letters
    I am an active-duty soldier and there are a few things that I have noticed in the last year that I would like to see addressed. The Army is now providing funding (through Tricare or other means) for...
  • No tolerance for assaults
    Reports of sexual assaults in¬volving military victims and/or perpetrators in 2008 were up more than 8 percent over 2007.
  • Sizing up missile defense
    President Barack Obama has repeatedly said that the fate of the $9 billion-a-year missile defense program depends on whether it works now. Analysts say that could lead to program cuts of $2 billion a...
  • Signs of stress
    At least 138 soldiers and 41 Marines committed suicide last year. Many of these unfortunate casualties undoubtedly suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder and could no longer cope with the...
  • Give the right award
    I’ve been in the service for more than 10 years, and I don’t understand why soldiers in combat zones are not getting the awards they deserve.
  • Time to get creative
    Time will tell whether President-elect Barack Obama views various big-ticket defense programs as too costly for a nation in economic recession, or as valuable jobs programs amid rising unemployment.
  • Ammunition alternatives
    The Army spent four years and $33 million developing and testing the XM8 carbine. It beat every competitor in an Army-conducted test. Now the Army wants to start over, so we will need another four...
  • From our forums
    Why increase the numbers? Yes, we are fighting two wars right now, but in three years we will only be fighting one. What will be done with all these soldiers?
  • Letters
    In a letter, Chief Warrant Officer 5 Mark G. Smith (ret.) made reference to the fact that the new blue Army Service Uniform is not held in the tradition of the service [“Uniformly wrong,”...
  • Suggested reading
    President-elect Barack Obama is already getting outstanding guidance on what he should do, so I will give him a break. Rather than tell him what he should do, I will suggest some books that he should...
  • U.S. military strength keeps global economy intact
    Here’s an economics lesson for the American service member.
  • Bikers’ responsibility
    Last fiscal year, 124 service members were killed while riding that breed of low-slung, high-speed motorcycles known as sport bikes.
  • Speak strongly to fix VA
    The stubborn backlog of 400,000 benefits claims at the Department of Veterans Affairs has never made sense. It takes an average of 188 days to process a claim, yet VA leaders somehow accept that as...
  • Letters
    Most states charge income tax on service members and their families even though the majority of us are stationed outside of the state for years.
  • Enlistments not coerced
    I read the article [“ACLU files suit to allow counter-recruiting,” posted online Jan. 7] and I agree with the school superintendent in Wilkes County, N.C.
  • Letters
    In an effort to appear egalitarian and politically correct, the Army is hampering the distinction between officers and noncommissioned officers. There is no question that NCOs are the backbone and...
  • From our forums
    Why can’t the Army have one set of rules for scheduling daycare? Many posts have different scheduling requirements, making arrangements for care complicated and tiresome.
  • Wary, but willing
    When we inaugurate Barack Obama as our 44th president, we needn’t worry about statistics that imply a troubled relationship between military people and their commander in chief.
  • Make housing rules fair
    The National Military/Veterans Alliance plans to call for a review of the standards on which housing allowance rates are based. And for good reason.
  • Letters
    The generation of Americans that helped build, protect and serve this country so valiantly during the 1940s and into the 1950s has been referred to as “The Greatest Generation.” The...
  • Strategy change needed in Afghanistan
    To win in Afghanistan, we don’t need a surge. We need an “anti-surge.” If we can’t provide enough troops to secure the country, we need a change in strategy, one that will...
  • Letters
    Thanks to Robert F. Dorr and Fred L. Borch for a great story on Lt. Gen. Harry W.O. Kinnard [“More than a one-word legacy,” Jan. 26].
  • From our forums
    Nice to see someone’s willing to think out of the box [and lease electric cars for Army use]. Most of the security patrol units engaged in crowd control at base open houses and air shows have...
  • Letters
    I want to add my name to the list of individuals who have experienced breathing problems post-deployment. I was stationed at Forward Operating Base Warhorse, Iraq, for a year and there was a large...
  • Obama’s way forward
    As President Barack Obama’s team gets down to work, it must not only overcome the errors of the previous administration, but also be sure to recognize its successes.
  • Cover rape kit costs now
    For all the Pentagon’s efforts in recent years to confront the problem of sexual assault, some inexplicable blind spots remain.
  • The military needs change
    We seem to be living in an age where so much that we thought certain and permanent crumbles into dust before our eyes. Our once robust economy founders while our once cherished personal liberties...
  • From our forums
    [Restricting combat age is] a good rule that makes sense, but what about soldiers over 60? Yes, there are quite a few in the Guard and Reserve. We’re sending grandma and grandpa to war.
  • Support group for moms
    Your newspaper had the little bit of history about the blue-star service flag [“Families continue service banner tradition today,” Jan. 5]. I would like your readers to know that not only...
  • Letters
    In response to the letter from Col. David W. Towle [“Uniform brainstorm,” Jan. 12], I would like to state that I, as another Army Medical Department officer, feel no need whatsoever to...
  • From our forums
    Do not underestimate the prime influence a wife or husband has on their military service spouse remaining in uniform … Basic Allowance for Housing for dependents and family separation allowance...
  • The new readiness
    Anyone who thinks Robert Gates won’t make big changes during his second stint as defense secretary hasn’t been paying attention.
  • Bikers must use brains
    I continue to wonder what is going on in peoples’ heads when we are addressing the issues of motorcycle safety [
  • Letters
    This is in response to an editorial [“Soldiers deserve better,” Feb. 2]. While I do thank whoever wrote that response, I suppose I need to set the record straight.
  • From soldier to son
    When 1st Sgt. Charles M. King had spare moments during his deployment to Iraq, he picked up a pen and wrote in his journal to his son, Jordan.
  • Letters
    I am growing more concerned with the psychological well-being of our soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. Even in the rural areas we are seeing suicides and attempted suicides increase.
  • Reverse Dover policy
    The cost of war can be counted in dollars and cents, entered into spreadsheets and processed across budgetary lines.
  • A realistic VA budget
    A few years ago, the Bush administration was forced to acknowledge that it was about $3 billion short in funding the Department of Veterans Affairs.
  • From our forums
    What a sad time it must be if we are discussing this issue. We give our life for our country in public, and we deserve to be with our family in private if such a thing should happen to us.
  • What makes a leader
  • Letters
    I disagree with 1st Lt. Christopher M. Sherwood’s argument [“A 2nd ‘Greatest Generation,’” Feb. 2] that today’s young men and women can be called a new...
  • Learning to let go
    Formerly secret intelligence reports give a valuable insight into why Defense Secretary Robert Gates has so vehemently warned Congress not to try to Americanize the war against terrorists in...
  • NCOs are ‘backbone’
    I can understand how 1st Lt. Curt Winzenreid, in Tal Afar, Iraq, raised questions about the reasons for changing the way the Army trains our senior noncommissioned officers [“Officer/NCO line...
  • From our forums
    I strongly believe that the photos [of flag-draped caskets] should be shown. It will remind people that we are still at war. The general public has forgotten our military.
  • Letters
    Recently on conservative talk radio, Fox News and a comment made in Army Times [“A costly inauguration,” Feb. 2], I have heard a lot of quibbling about how expensive the inauguration of...
  • Redefine PTSD standard
    Legislation pending in Congress would make a change for the better for veterans diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder after they separate from service.
  • Silent epidemic
    The Army’s suicide toll for January could reach 24 soldiers when all the investigations are completed — the highest monthly total in 30 years.
  • Letters
    I’d like to take a moment to encourage all service members out there, especially those in Germany, to take great care when packing their household goods.
  • From our forums
    As long as the photos are in good taste and taken during the military honors, I would not care where they were seen. I would want people to know there is a hero who has fallen to protect their...
  • Enlisted tear up ACUs
    This is in response to the letter from Chief Warrant Officer 2 Gerald Kuruc [“Branch on ACU: 2 views,” Feb. 9]. Whichever branch he is in, there will be very few days that he damages his...
  • No more blank checks
    Only in Washington can a budget increase be characterized as a cut. For weeks, the Pentagon had privately suggested the Obama administration would cut its 2010 defense budget by about $50 billion.
  • For the good of the soldier
    A change in culture is needed to make sure soldiers get what they need to stay fit to fight, says a top defense leader whose concern is the well-being of troops.
  • What is valor?
    The story “Death before this honor” from the March 30 issue elicited many passionate responses from Army Times readers. Here is a selection:
  • From the forums
    I left Korea in 2003, and I knew we were nothing but a speed bump then. But sooner or later, someone is going to have to make the tough decision. Doing something now, rather than later, will save...
  • Letters
    I am an 11B staff sergeant and am disgusted that Army Times would print a complaint like you did in the edition about the Army’s stupid rules [“No brainer: These stupid Army rules gotta...
  • From Our Forums
    You can’t have any pornographic material whatsoever … because it offends other countries, but once you get into places like Qatar, you can buy all the Maxim you want at the BX.
  • Designed for disaster
    When the Army introduced the Army Combat Uniform, its clever pockets and drawstring features made it a vast improvement over the Battle Dress and Desert Combat Uniform it replaced.
  • From Our Forums
    It is about time someone evaluated/overhauled the broken-down medal process. I really hope that lawmakers look at all of the awards that have been given for valor and gallantry to see if these...
  • Letters
    I have been privileged to be both a soldier and a physician serving in the Army for more than three decades. I now serve as an Army Reserve physician and a full-time civilian medical educator.
  • Stamp out burn pits
    A growing number of military medical professionals believe burn pits are causing a wave of respiratory and other illnesses among troops returning from Iraq and Afghanistan.
  • Weigh force increase
    The House and Senate are on the verge of approving a temporary increase in Army troop strength — but the help might come too late and evaporate too fast to make much difference.
  • Letters
    While I applaud any U.S. citizens who volunteer to serve their country during a time of war, I must admit something still boggles my mind.
  • A promotion point
    I am a 63B (light-wheel vehicle mechanic) promotable specialist chasing promotion points every month. I add points from college classes every month, and the points keep increasing. Now they are maxed...
  • From our forums
    On the new Physical Health Assessment, they ask questions about how often and how much you drink. Almost every person I know that drinks would be considered to have an alcohol problem.
  • Make use of commissary
    The best-loved benefit of many a military family is the commissary.
  • Expand family leave rules
    No military spouse or parent — whether active-duty or reserve — should be forced to choose between keeping a job and taking time off vital deployment preparations.
  • Don’t slight spouses
    The Military Postal Service Agency is looking to tighten up on some mail rules that officials say are too often flouted.
  • Time to take a break
    Despite an Army scramble to reverse a spike in soldier suicides, the number of soldiers who have killed themselves this year — 88 reported among active troops, so far — is on pace to top...
  • Congress acting to aid troops, vets, families
    One of the most important pledges the military makes in combat is to never leave a service member behind on the battlefield.
  • Open dialogue essential to quell tension with Iran
    Since taking office two years ago, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff has warned of the dangers of an Iran armed with nuclear weapons.
  • Letters
    I read the cover story on the Army Combat Uniform Universal Camouflage Pattern that appeared in the June 29 issue of Army Times [“Get new camo, Congress says”], and was disappointed by...
  • Smoking is troops’ right
    No one disputes that using tobacco, in whatever form, carries dire health consequences for users while driving up the costs of health care for everyone.
  • Letters
    I was watching the news coverage of our fallen comrades being returned at Dover Air Force Base, Del., and was amazed to see that the body bearers were all in either the Army Combat Uniform or Navy...
  • From our forums
    Although the rules [restricting force when operating in and around Afghan homes] may cause an increased risk to U.S. forces in situations, the actions will result in an increased support of the...
  • Senate did right thing
    It’s not often that Congress votes to shut down production of a big-ticket weapons system — along with the jobs that the system supports in home states and districts.
  • Be careful with worn gear
    After six long and bloody years, U.S. military forces have pulled out of Iraqi cities in the first step to dramatically cut the American presence there by the end of 2011.
  • From the forums
    When I see an officer and we are both in uniform and I grant the salute, why is it most officers give you [a poor] salute from the middle of their right eye, with their hand in a vertical position in...
  • Fix housing oversight
    The Pentagon finally has issued rules for the expanded Homeowners Assistance Program, designed to help certain military homeowners facing a loss in the housing-market downturn of recent years.
  • From our forums
    We, as an Army and as a nation, somewhere along the line decided that words like “consideration” and “respect” were catch-phrases that superceded authority.
  • Letters
    The Army “tested” the physical training uniform, Army Service Uniform and the Army Combat Uniform, and guess what? They were all fielded, or will be.
  • Army’s treatment of homosexuals an attack on values
    The intent of this piece is not to take a side on the don’t ask, don’t tell policy. Both sides have submitted their arguments — from scripture to polls to opinions of former general...
  • Letters
    I would like a moment to address the recent change implemented regarding Officer Candidate School [“OCS entry now requires college degree,” Oct. 26]. There are many of us out here —...
  • Coburn’s callous ‘hold’
    A bill is pending in the Senate that would grant new benefits to help the families of severely wounded troops keep their loved ones at home, rather than in hospitals and other institutions. But the...
  • A misery from within: The Army must endure
    The Fort Hood slayings shocked a nation in a way that war-zone casualties, after eight years of combat, no longer do.
  • From our forums
    The noncommissioned officer corps that I am so proud of has fallen victim to soldiers being promoted to sergeant without being properly trained and/or prepared prior to promotion. The learning curve...
  • Assist the reservists
    I applaud Congress on the program to provide financial assistance to active-duty homeowners who need to sell their homes because of permanent change-of-station orders and have lost value in their...
  • Letters
    First of all, my heart goes out to all of the victims of the horrific shooting at Fort Hood, Texas [“Horror at Hood,” Nov. 16]. I also want to thank police officers Sgt. Kimberly Munley...
  • Kill ‘widow’s tax’ for all
    Some widowed spouses got an early shot of holiday cheer when a federal appeals court recently ruled that they are entitled to full survivor benefits from the Defense and Veterans Affairs departments...
  • Fix the M4 carbine now, and speed competition
    The Army wants to take the M4 of every soldier and make six fixes — everything from a heavier barrel to an improved trigger pull.

Marine Corps Times: Opinions & Columns


  • Restricting privacy rights won’t make us safer
    In the wake of the Fort Hood shootings in November, an independent review requested by the Pentagon has called for sweeping personnel policy changes aimed at giving commanders more tools to identify...
  • Letters
    In reference to the Jan. 18 article, “Battle-tested DIs”:
  • From Our Forums
    I can tell you from experience that there is nothing more heartbreaking and rewarding than deploying for humanitarian aid. You see people during the worst days of their lives, and the fact that you...
  • Deployments and suicide
    The military suicide epidemic is largely perceived as being suffered only by those who have served on the ground.
  • Burn-pit stonewalling
    Military regulations state that open-air burn pits should be used only as a short-term waste disposal solution in forward areas until cleaner-burning, but costlier, incinerators can be brought online.
  • Letters
    I think most Marines have no problem with the title Department of the Navy [“Lawmaker reintroduces resolution to rename Navy,” Jan. 11]. We have always been a component of the Navy, and I...
  • From our forums
    I do not wish war on anyone, man or woman. However, we live in a vastly imperfect world where war is a reality at the present time. Until that reality changes, and we know no more war, I’d...
  • Marines voice tattoo policy concerns
    Marine Corps Times asked readers to share their views on and experiences with the Corps’ tattoo policy. Excerpts:
  • Grieving families forgotten
    The families of nearly all service members who die in Iraq or Afghanistan, whether they are killed in action or die of non-combat injuries or illnesses, receive a letter of condolence from Defense...
  • Punish assault violators
    “You could look at a room of 100 female Marines, and you would see that most of them have been sexually assaulted in one way, shape or form.”
  • Letters
    I totally agree with the Jan. 4 forum entry “Women in combat”. I have been in the Marine Corps for nine years. After deploying to Iraq and going outside the wire with an infantry...
  • From the forums
    I’ve carried the M4 carbine for years and used it in more than a few firefights at ranges between 100-500 yards. It’s a good weapon. The M16A4 has outlived its usefulness and needs to go...
  • Income tax confusion
    Three military officers recently received income tax bills from the state of California seeking back taxes for time spent there during past assignments.
  • Pregnancy vs. readiness
    Maj. Gen. Anthony Cucolo, commander of Multi-National Division-North in Iraq, learned a thing or two about messaging after threatening courts-martial for soldiers, male or female, involved in...
  • Letters
    I am writing in response to the letter “War is for fighting” [Dec. 7].
  • Letters
    In response to Maj. Roger Mahars’ letter [“Highlight the good,” Dec. 14]: To caveat what the major was saying [about too many news articles highlighting negative actions of...
  • Stop video leaks now
    It should not have been a surprise.
  • Don’t expand new GI Bill
    One of the most generous aspects of the Post-9/11 GI Bill is the ability to transfer unused education benefits to family members — to a spouse after six years of service and to children after...
  • From the Forums
    The thing I want to hear, that I haven’t, is what we expect Afghanistan to look like when we’re done. Will there be a strong, central, democratically elected government? What will be the...
  • Pack solution needed sooner rather than later
    Clunky, uncomfortable and a lousy fit with body armor, the Corps’ standard ruck is “completely unacceptable” to combat-experienced Marines who answered a Systems Command gear survey.
  • From the forums
    How is the Infantry Automatic Rifle supposed to carry as much ammo as the Squad Automatic Weapon [“Frontrunner chosen in IAR contest,” Dec. 14]? It looks like it is only good for a...
  • Letters
    After reading the letter to the editor “War is for fighting” in the Dec. 7 edition of Marine Corps Times, my friends and I sympathized with the author whose son is on a difficult tour in...
  • Quash fakers
    Eric Piotrowski is no war hero, but that didn’t stop the former corporal from pretending to be a Silver Star recipient who valiantly risked his life in Kuwait when Marines first went to war...
  • From the forums
    It is entirely too easy to ingratiate oneself into organizations for retired military personnel. With small budgets and few means to do much in the way of basic background checks, Veterans of Foreign...
  • Good benefit gone bad
    The Post-9/11 GI Bill, one of the most generous military benefits programs ever created, launched Aug. 1 with the promise of making a college education an affordable reality for a new generation of...
  • Letters
    What happened at Fort Hood was a horrible tragedy [“13 killed in shooting spree at Army post,” Nov. 16]. To assume it will never happen again is ludicrous. There will always be people...
  • From our forums
    It could be the end of the M249 Squad Automatic Weapon [“Suppressive fire,” Nov. 23]? Why? It’s a good, lightweight machine gun. It’s great for gaining fire superiority and...
  • Investigate PTSD treatment
    A civilian psychiatrist formerly employed at Camp Lejeune, N.C., has leveled grave allegations about the quality of mental health care provided by the Navy to distraught Marines returning from war,...
  • Letters
    Since the creation of the Combat Fitness Test, I have seen what many Marines are calling CrossFit infiltrate our Corps. I have a question and a few comments regarding this. Is there a contract...
  • Arlington questions
    The Army has a project underway to computerize burial records at Arlington National Cemetery and upgrade other aspects of its information technology infrastructure.
  • Upgrade those AAVs
    Just two years after completing a decade-long rejuvenation designed to extend the service life of the Corps’ aging amphibious assault vehicles, the service is signaling interest in another...
  • Don’t skimp on hospital
    It would be easy to dismiss concerns about whether the new Walter Reed National Medical Center is going to be a “world-class facility” as an issue of status rather than patient care.
  • From the forums
    The Corps should rotate units on Japan deployments. For infantry units, the rotation should go from combat tour, to Okinawa, to Marine expeditionary unit deployment and then repeat. It would allow...
  • Simulation saves lives
    In recent years, the Corps has put a premium on pre-deployment training that looks and feels like combat.
  • VA needs bold change
    When it comes to the vast and stubborn backlog of veterans benefits claims, Congress seems all too content to take a flyswatter to an elephant.
  • Letters
    The story “Ambush kills Marine trainers, raises questions” [Sept. 21] upset me greatly. To deny our fighting men and women proper support when needed is inexcusable.
  • From our forums
    It is flattering that airmen would compare themselves physically to Marines. Think about it. When you are on top, everyone wants to be you.
  • Learn to shoot, first
    There’s a debate taking place among the Corps’ weapons experts over plans to equip Marine snipers with a new rifle that would nearly double the reach of their M40, which the...
  • Turf war hurts families
    The 2010 defense authorization bill, on a fast track to final passage at press time, included two important improvements in legal and financial protections for troops and their families.
  • From our forums
    The only true way to mold someone’s leadership is through experience. Just because someone goes to a course that supposedly teaches them to be a good corporal, they won’t necessarily...
  • Letters
    Unlike President Barack Obama’s plan [“Obama enacts new missile defense plan,” Sept. 28], we need a long-range missile defense system. Long-range missile systems can be used on...
  • Limit Feres’ reach
    With little fanfare, the House Judiciary Committee has approved landmark legislation that would override a 59-year-old Supreme Court ruling barring active-duty members from suing the government for...
  • On the right track
    Fourteen Marines died in motorcycle accidents during the past year.
  • Letters
    We owe it to our young noncommissioned officers to provide them with the best tools and knowledge available to get the job done [(Sgts. major priorities, Oct. 5]. Some corporals who only plan to stay...
  • From our forums
    What a dumb gimmick. The Marine Corps opens an official USMC Facebook page. Then, they make Facebook off limits to all Marines.
  • Letters
    Recently, reports of Marines pointing guns at other Marines and pulling the triggers to validate their trust for one another have surfaced [“Trust on trial,” Sept. 21, and “The...
  • A familiar VA pattern
    Veterans Affairs Department officials told Congress in late June that preparations for the Aug. 1 launch of the Post-9/11 GI Bill were going swimmingly.
  • From our forums
    The commandant wants more Marines in Afghanistan. What about sending the Marines who are just sitting around? Third Battalion, 9th Marines, is on a shortened deployment to Iraq. Why can’t they...
  • Contingency for EFV
    The Marine Corps’ future capabilities are at stake in the Quadrennial Defense Review now being worked. One central question is whether the Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle — more than $1...
  • Give heroes their due
    On the day President Barack Obama awarded just the sixth Medal of Honor since the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq began, all of them posthumous honors, Defense Secretary Robert Gates suggested that soon...
  • From our forums
    This is what this war has come to: Commanders — sitting in forward operating bases, covering their backsides and protecting their promotions — call the shots while warriors outside the...
  • Good intention, bad plan
    The House version of the 2010 defense authorization bill would place problematic new mandates on support programs serving military family members with autism.
  • Letters
    Your Sept. 14 editorial “UAVs aren’t ‘unmanned,’” describing Air Force Gen. William Fraser’s proposal to change the name of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles to Remotely...
  • Letters
    I thought the article [“Recognized for valor,” Aug. 31] on Cpl. Richard S. Weinmaster receiving the Navy Cross was great.
  • Families belong at Dover
  • Acquisition fix a tall order
    Defense Secretary Robert Gates has made it clear that he intends to change how the world’s richest military buys its gear.
  • From the forums
    This game has been around for a very long time. The problem is that many have played it, seen it played, not reported it or turned a blind eye but would never admit to it. Where have the warnings...
  • Letters
    I’m writing about a July 27 letter to the editor by Sgt. Harold Nance, which he wrote in response to the story “Tough new swim quals” [July 20]. Nance’s letter suggests that...
  • Protecting you, charities
    Some small charities that support troops and their families are having a bit of heartburn over new vetting rules handed down by Defense Department officials.
  • UAVs aren’t ‘unmanned’
    What’s in a name? Sometimes, quite a lot.
  • More accountability at VA
    The Veterans Affairs Department has proposed rules to make it easier for veterans to link their diagnosed post-traumatic stress disorder to their military service and become eligible for disability...
  • ‘Trust’ no one
    The tragic, inadvertent death of Lance Cpl. Patrick Malone this past March should be a wake-up call for every Marine who calls himself a leader.
  • From the forums
    I grow facial hair fast so at 5:30 a.m., I have a shadow. Some sergeant said I should shave, but it doesn’t make any sense. If I shave before physical training, my face burns like high hell.
  • Letters
    Honoring our fallen troops through funeral honor details is the most sacred and solemn ceremonial service the military provides. Whether a dignified transfer, a memorial service or cemetery honors,...
  • Letters
    A replacement for the Amphibious Assault Vehicle is desperately needed, but I don’t believe the Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle is the solution.
  • From the forums
    I worry that giving noncommissioned officers power over leave and liberty will result in the babying of Marines. As it is, my unit makes us do a five-paragraph order to go on leave, show a round-trip...
  • Fully fund the military without using tricks
    The White House has made clear that it intends to halt the use of supplemental funding bills, those “emergency” measures that critics have long contended obscure the true scope of the...
  • Letters
    Regarding your Aug. 10 article “NCO Power,” it is about time that policymakers started returning decision-making authority to where it belongs — in the hands of noncommissioned...
  • Bridge DoD-VA record gap
    For years, the Pentagon and Veterans Affairs Department have struggled to build a system that can quickly and easily share medical records of troops moving from the military’s health care...
  • Get real on social media
    The Pentagon has a growing problem — the phenomenon called social networking.
  • Do more with less
    If any doubt remains that the military must overhaul the way it buys weapons systems, look no further than the Navy’s 15-year effort to build a 65-foot minisub for its SEAL commando teams.
  • Obama can help vets
    President Barack Obama and Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki met last week with Military Times and other military journalists in a bid to restore confidence in the administration’s...
  • From the forums
    They should charge the recruiter instead of Pvt. Joshua Fry. Fry was taken away from a controlled environment geared toward his condition and thrown into an environment where he didn’t have a...
  • Letters
    In response to the Aug. 3 story “Marine charged with puppy’s death,” I have to say, as a devoted dog lover, I hope Lance Cpl. Jordan Darbyshire will spend time in prison if he...
  • Allow spouses to choose
    Service members can claim permanent state residence in any state in which they are “permanently” assigned during a military career, for as long as they stay in uniform and no matter how...
  • Right call on pregnant mid
    When a senior midshipman turned up pregnant just weeks before graduation, Navy leaders faced a quandary: bar her from graduation because of a clear violation of academy rules, or let her graduate and...
  • Letters
    One of the articles in the July 13 issue mentioned that an 18-year veteran of the Air Force, who was outed as a homosexual by a civilian, will be discharged and lose his retirement pay and medical...
  • From the forums
    Ever wonder why more than 74,000 Marines stop at swim level 4? For corporals and below, it doesn’t count toward a composite score. If it worked on a point system, you’d see an increase in...
  • New threats in the ’Stan
    Sending well-trained, well-equipped foreign fighters to prop up a rebel force is not a new tactic.
  • End burdensome offsets
    One reason Congress gets such routinely low approval ratings from the American people is that lawmakers often are seen as quick to break their promises.
  • From our forums
    Thank God Marines don’t have to shave on leave and liberty anymore. That must be the case because wherever I go off base — or even on base — I see unshaved Marines, especially on...
  • Letters
    As I read Marine Corps Times and constantly see the bickering between grunts and persons other than grunts, it tears me up inside. Some of you might be saying I feel this way ’cause I’m a...
  • Make ’em show ID
    From the time most Marines turned 16 — in some states, 15 — they’ve carried picture identification.
  • Letters
    A young corporal signaled me before I entered an air-conditioned dining facility here in Iraq. As an embedded subject matter expert, I teach a number of courses when not in the field, and I...
  • From our forums
    I’m angered that a Web site would just allow people to purchase awards certificates. Do they have no checking system?
  • Learn your land nav
    There are some skills that you expect Marines to have.
  • Shed light on pay data
    Having led the fight to close the gap between average military and private-sector pay — once as high as 13.5 percent and now under 3 percent — advocacy groups are setting their sights on...
  • From our forums
    So the Corps has bumped its numbers up to over 200,000 in record time, and yet it does not have enough Marines to train them. Another indicator of how flawed its promotions boards are. Why not boost...
  • Letters
    I have some thoughts about Sgt. Aaron Denning’s recent letter, “No, We’re not all riflemen” [May 11]. First, while it is true that we are not all riflemen in the strictest...
  • Tips for Secretary Mabus
    Incoming Navy Secretary Ray Mabus has a lot to wrap his brain around since being sworn in on May 19.
  • We owe wounded a lifetime of support
    On Memorial Day, like every day of the year, we are inspired by the courage, competence and sacrifice of the men and women in our armed forces as well as their families.
  • Concurrent receipt — now
    Five years ago, Congress finally decided to kill a century-old law that forced disabled military retirees to forfeit a dollar of retired pay for every dollar they received in disability compensation.
  • Letters
    I want to clear up a misunderstanding about the range officer military occupational specialty (marksmanship trainer 0930) merging with the 0306 gunner MOS [“Gunners, range officers merge into...
  • Letters
    I have a simple way to eliminate the supposed discrimination associated with awards submissions [“More prestigious combat medals go to officers,” May 4]: Do away with questions such as...
  • From our forums
    I’ve never come across it anywhere other than in a classroom in grade school. Other than perhaps Little Johnny’s first civic/patriotic exercise, it is a vestige of a bygone era.
  • Budget needs to balance personnel, weapons
    The unveiling of President Barack Obama’s first defense budget was anticlimactic, coming weeks after Defense Secretary Robert Gates announced major program cuts and after Congress had approved...
  • Letters
    In the past few months, we have heard that suicides, attempted suicides, drunk driving and off-duty incidents are on the rise in the Marine Corps. That alarms me and should alarm each one of you.
  • From our forums
    This may be the closest we can come, ethically, to personalizing and driving home the possible consequences [“Images show ‘that was somebody’s fellow Marine,’” April...
  • Waiting is right move
    Marine Commandant Gen. James Conway is laying down a challenge to industry: Either the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle comes in light enough to be carried by a helicopter, or the Corps might bow out of...
  • Raise fees responsibly
    “Hit us over the head with a two-by-four three times, and we’re beginning to get the message.”
  • From the forums
    It’s a great idea to tell the story of such brave men. You don’t hear anybody saying: “Hey, don’t play that game about World War II. That’s disrespectful.” So...
  • Pattern of misconduct
    The Pentagon and the services have come far in fixing the many flaws in the disability review process for combat-injured troops. But Congress often has had to push them — sometimes hard —...
  • Letters
    As the head of the Marine Corps’ Military Awards Branch, I would like to clarify the information on our military awards system presented in the May 4 article “More prestigious combat...
  • Murder trial a lost cause
    Determination is a defining characteristic of the Corps, shaping everything from firefights to budget debates to political scuffles.
  • From the forums
    “Red Zone: Cuba” — Bad acting, bad editing, bad direction, bad lighting, bad sound, bad story, bad everything. Plot summary: Three losers join a paramilitary unit for the Bay of...
  • Letters
    With regard to “Beat the ticket” [April 20 Lifelines], I offer the following response: It is abhorrent that Marine Corps Times would advocate a service member do anything other than...
  • ‘V’ is for valor
    They make up about 90 percent of the force, but enlisted Marines earn only about half the Corps’ most prestigious combat medals.
  • Deployment is no dash to finish — it’s an experience
    As Marines, we experience many blocks of time that can be summed up in a “Start Date — End Date” format.
  • Letters
    I am a civilian Marine spouse who has worked in the family-readiness arena for more than five years. The job has given me an opportunity to interact with Marines of all ranks, spouses and extended...
  • From the forums
    Somali pirates vs. Navy SEAL snipers. Problem solved.
  • The time is right
    “Black Hawk Down” was a hit on the bookshelves and in the movie theaters because of its riveting portrayal of the deadly 1993 battle between elite U.S. Army forces and Somali bandits....
  • Valor overlooked ?
    Marine Corps Times’ March 30 cover story, “Honor denied,”noted that no campaign in modern history has produced so few Medals of Honor — just five, and all of them posthumously...
  • Letters
    In response to the April 6 letter “Reward responsibility” by Sgt. Michael M. Elder, I disagree wholeheartedly. If the Corps started giving certain military occupational specialties extra...
  • From the Forums
    At the same paygrade, some ranks are more respected in one service than in others. I’m an E-6 in the Navy, and I’m fully aware Marine E-6s are the most respected. Navy Chiefs are the most...
  • Sensible acquisition
    In making a bold new call for sweeping cuts in some of the military’s most high-profile weapons programs, Defense Secretary Robert Gates is striving to bring to America’s military posture...
  • Photos of flag-draped coffins are unnecessary
    I don’t need to see the coffins of returning casualties to know the human cost of our wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
  • A lost cause
    President Barack Obama, under the guidance of U.S. Central Command boss Gen. David Petraeus, plans to send thousands additional U.S. troops to Afghanistan.
  • From the forums
    According to the article [“Alarm sounds on 24/7 fitness,” March 23], only 15 active-duty officers have been assigned to the Corps’ Body Composition Program. I notice about 10 per...
  • New VA reality: women
    The wars in Afghanistan and Iraq are forging a new place in history for military women, who make up more than 10 percent of the deployed force.
  • Grade the evaluators
    Promotion boards are administrative battlefields where Marines are pitted against each other.
  • Letters
    Our Corps’ position remains unequivocal: The Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle is essential to what we do and is our top acquisition priority [“Dump the EFV now,” Editorials, March 2]....
  • From our forums
    I’ve worked more than 20 years as a military cop, both stateside and overseas. Based on my experiences, I’d go with setting the legal age to buy/consume alcohol at 25. It would remove all...
  • 2 sides to Dover debate
    On Feb. 26, Defense Secretary Robert Gates announced the repeal of a policy dating to the 1991 Gulf War that prohibited media coverage of flag-draped coffins of U.S. war casualties coming home to...
  • Continue closing pay gap
    President Barack Obama’s first defense budget calls for a military pay raise of 2.9 percent next year, which sounds generous when many Americans are losing jobs.
  • Fewer stressors may help
    When it comes to suicides among large groups of people — whether it’s college kids or, in this case, Marines — rarely do investigators find a single, unifying reason.
  • Letters
    I have been reading articles complaining about Veterans Affairs medical centers for a long time now and at one time I believed every complaint I read. Then in 2000 my brother, a retired Marine,...
  • Ammunition alternatives
    The military spent four years and $33 million developing and testing the XM8 carbine. It beat every competitor in an Army-conducted test. Now, we’re starting over, so we will need another four...
  • The new readiness
    Anyone who thinks Robert Gates won’t make big changes during his second stint as defense secretary hasn’t been paying attention.
  • From our forums
    I always thought the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps and Coast Guard could attend one basic training. It seems the Defense Department could save a ton of money and bring all components together...
  • Enlisted deserve better
    The new marching order at Arlington National Cemetery is that enlisted soldiers killed in action qualify for burial with full honors.
  • ‘Loose lips’ warning even more important in digital age
    The supermarket is buzzing with noise as everyone makes their purchases. You are in the middle of a long line that juts out into the middle of the busy store. Behind you, you overhear a woman on her...
  • Editorial: Maintain strong defense
    The new year has not been rung in with the traditional hope and optimism — 2009 has all the makings of a historically tough one, with the worst economic crisis in decades straining budgets...
  • Editorial: Report burn-pit truth
    Military officials say no known long-term health effects can be linked to heavy, lengthy exposure to the smoke from open-air burn pits in Iraq and Afghanistan.
  • Close the fighter gap
    “When word of crisis breaks out in Washington, it’s no accident the first question that comes to everyone’s lips is, ‘Where is the nearest carrier?’”
  • From the forums
    Anytime I’ve been deployed over the holidays, the harder people tried to make it seem festive, the more it made me realize I was away from home. I would rather just treat it like any other day,...
  • Letters
    I enjoyed reading Ken...
  • Military groups most deserving of government ‘bailout’
    If the United States can afford to spend almost $1 trillion in bailouts for companies whose financial troubles were caused by their own mismanagement, what about those in the military community who...
  • Shinseki as VA secretary
    Nominating retired Army Gen. Eric Shinseki as secretary of veterans affairs is the latest bold move by President-elect Barack Obama to reassure troops and veterans that he intends to look out for...
  • Editorial: Job plan too generous
    President Bush has signed an executive order that gives a huge advantage to military spouses seeking federal government jobs.
  • Letters
  • Forums
    How about the one where the guy in the Hawaiian shirt walks up to two teenage girls and gives them a lecture on OPSEC?
  • Editorial: The MRAP solution
    The tradeoff for the superior blast protection provided by Mine Resistant Ambush Protected Vehicles is that they are top-heavy and prone to rollover, too tall and too heavy for much of the roadways...
  • Marching along
    If you are ever in the Washington, D.C., area from late spring through summer, there are two significant events you should try to attend: the Evening Parade at Marine Barracks Washington, D.C., or...
  • Editorial: Give Marines Warrior Pay
    The Army’s campaign to implement “Warrior Pay” of up to $1,500 a month to reward soldiers for cumulative time served in a war zone is running up against a hard deadline that could...
  • Editorial: Environmental warriors
    Uncommon valor was a common virtue.
  • Forums
    The choice of words to describe brand-new NCOs may have been on the harsh side, but calling them by any other name makes them no less inexperienced. A person who is under 21, spent only eight months...
  • Editorial
    For the third consecutive year, the Pentagon’s budget request calls for big hikes in enrollment fees, deductibles and pharmacy co-pays in its Tricare health insurance program.
  • Editorial: Build before you buy
    Any initiative launched in an administration’s last year faces an uphill battle for survival, and the prognosis is even worse when it comes from a team suffering record-low approval ratings. So...
  • Leaders as mentors
    I still have the chevrons I was given for my promotion to lance corporal by Lance Cpl. Bobby Alley. Those chevrons are special, not because they were the first, but because they were Bobby’s.
  • Letters
    I think the idea of starting riding clubs at Marine installations and requiring Marines with motorcycles to join them is a bad one [“2-wheel tragedies: Corps moves to slow rate of motorcycle...
  • Sense of urgency needed
    The two-year-old Joint Improvised Explosive Device Defeat Organization has the critical — and so far, elusive — mission of living up to its own name. The insurgent networks that build and...
  • Pass wounded warrior bill
    On the list of military issues on which Congress has shown a breathtaking mismatch between rhetoric and action, few examples loom larger than taking care of troops wounded in the wars in Iraq and...
  • Editorial
    We’ll probably never know exactly what happened Sept. 16 when private security contractors protecting a State Department convoy in Baghdad opened fire.
  • Editorial
    On Sept. 17, the Web site for the Library of Congress’ Veterans History Project — which has spent the past seven years collecting the oral histories of tens of thousands of combat...
  • Letters
    This is in response to the letter “Everyone should deploy” [Sept. 24]. As a Marine who has been in for about three years and gone on one non-combat Marine expeditionary unit deployment,...
  • Vietnam redux
    Listening to Army Gen. David Petraeus explain to Congress how he intends to pacify Iraq brought back with painful clarity the warning Clark Clifford said he issued to President Lyndon Johnson when...
  • From our Message Boards
    As a retired Marine and father of two Marines who both entered the corps at 18, if you can die for this country at 17 or 18, then you can have a drink if you want.
  • Editorial: Establish valor database to honor national heroes
    After watching the film “Saving Private Ryan,” which showed scenes of the U.S. cemetery in Normandy, France, Monty McDaniel became curious about the grave of his uncle, who is buried...
  • Letters
    Presidential candidate Mitt Romney’s lame reason for why none of his sons has served in the military really reflects the views of many presidential candidates, members of Congress and the...
  • Truth, trust at risk
    This summer, the Army, National Guard and Defense Department issued requests to industry to hire contractors to analyze and monitor media reporting and make recommendations to the highest ranks of...
  • Just say no to running suits
    In case you haven’t heard, the higher-ups are developing a Marine Corps running suit. They even had a PT uniform survey for Marines to vote on which of two prototypes is more aesthetically...
  • Editorial: Congress can fix Feres
    After 21-year-old Nathan Hafterson died during a routine medical procedure in March 2006, his family might well have expected they could sue the doctors and hospital whose negligence they say killed...
  • Editorial: Inappropriate message
    A charitable group that enjoys at least tacit official support from the Pentagon is embroiled in a controversy that is proving too hot for defense officials.
  • Letters to Marine Corps Times
    Thank you for printing so many articles about traumatic brain injuries [“War’s ‘signature’ wound,” Lifelines, Aug. 13]. As this is the product of the Iraqi...
  • Letters
    I have been in for almost 25 years and have seen a lot of things during my career. Now, I see that our senior enlisted leadership has recommended that we look at personal appearance as a way of...
  • Editorial: Don’t reinvent the wheel
    The Army may have been slow in 2004 to fit its vehicles with armor plate, but it’s moving at record speed in 2007 when it comes to buying combat robots.
  • Sunny tropic scenes?
    Although I haven’t spoken to all Marines personally (I’ve spoken to four, which is close), I feel confident that I represent the feelings of the entire Marine Corps when I propose that we...
  • Editorial: Looks aren’t everything
    For the past five years, the Marine Corps has decided whether you were truly fit based on a physical fitness test.
  • Editorial: A simple solution
    The Servicemembers’ Civil Relief Act provides troops with legal protections for breaking apartment and auto leases upon receiving deployment orders.
  • Editorial: Streamline armored vehicle purchases
    Army and Marine Corps efforts to field a new blast-proof vehicle to beleaguered troops in Iraq are an exercise that can be best characterized as the good, the bad and the ugly.
  • Letters
    More minority officers
  • Editorial: Start with the truth
    The Army, Pentagon and now the White House have turned the tragic death of Cpl. Pat Tillman into a national disgrace without end.
  • Letters
    “Good morning, sir/ma’am” — a proper greeting of the day — is so simple yet so seldom heard these days. Young Marines, to include noncommissioned officers, are beginning...
  • Serving after separation
    I’m back. I separated from the Marine Corps three years ago, but recently re-enlisted.
  • Adm. Mullen must bring straight talk back to chairman’s post
    When Adm. Mike Mullen becomes chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff — he is expected to receive Senate consent — will he give serious advice to President Bush and to Defense Secretary...
  • FROM THE FORUMS
    In the end, he is still a Marine. Once a Marine always a Marine! If he allowed the Food Network to “believe what they wanted to believe,” then that is his business. He had the courage to...
  • FROM THE FORUMS
    The one grooming standard I would change is male Marines not being allowed to wear an earring while in liberty attire. This regulation is outdated and does not make any sense. Liberty attire should...
  • The price of free speech
    I have always heard that if we are to change the world, we must speak our minds.
  • Letters
    I read with great interest the article about officers below colonel and staff noncommissioned officers switching to the M4 [“Pack in your pistols: Many staff NCOs and officers will now carry...
  • Editorial: Tour lengths make sense
    During a recent tour of West Coast bases and stations, the commandant told Marines and their families that he’s sticking to seven-month deployments for most Marines.
  • To young disabled veterans: Don’t let VA bully you
    Twenty years ago, I was nearly killed in a parachute training accident during Joint Training Exercise Gallant Eagle 82.
  • Letters
    The recent article [“Helmet headache,” June 25] highlights the ongoing debate about the effectiveness of the Lightweight Marine Helmet and the adopted pad system manufactured by Team...
  • Lost professionalism
    The decision by Defense Secretary Robert Gates not to renominate Marine Gen. Peter Pace to a second two-year term as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff because of the possibility of a difficult...
  • Editorial: Month home shifts burden
    Marines are deploying three, four or more times to Iraq. But you won’t hear much in the way of complaints, because a shared sense of honor and duty overrides most self-interest.
  • Rural America answered the military’s call, deserves better care
    The government goes to great lengths to recruit young men and women to enlist in the military. Recruiters often travel the extra mile to convince young people from rural America that the military is...
  • Editorial: The price of war
    In early July, perhaps before, perhaps soon after you read this, the U.S. military will reach a somber wartime milestone: 4,000 troops...
  • From the forums
    As a combat veteran, I don’t care what rank you are, being on the ground equipped only with the M9 is like going to the gunfight at the O.K. Corral with a butter knife. As I am a senior...
  • From the forums
    As a former Marine and a chef, [I think] the Food Network should remove him from the network. I served in the Persian Gulf War. Once I returned, I graduated from the California Culinary Academy and...
  • U.S. needs a unified, diplomatic approach to Iran
    If you’re in the armed forces, you may wonder whether our nation’s leaders are preparing to send you into a war with Iran.
  • Keeping our promise
    The government goes to great lengths to recruit young men and women to enlist in the military. Recruiters often travel the extra mile to convince young people from rural America that the military is...
  • Editorial: Budget for construction
    If the House and Senate Appropriations committees have it right — and there’s no reason to doubt them — the Pentagon is headed for rough water on military construction that could...
  • Letters
    I read with interest Individual Ready Reserve Sgt. Liam Madden’s recent submission to Marine Corps Times [“Right to speak out,” Letters, June 25], coming hard on the heels of the...
  • Blog: Tales from the Sandbox
    Military Times staff writer Kelly Kennedy shares her...
  • Editorial: Field test helmet pads
    Last October, when the Marine Corps decided to ditch the uncomfortable leather slings in its helmets in favor of pads, it ensured that leathernecks would be better protected from the effects of...
  • Editorial: Give troops their leave
    On April 18, Pentagon personnel chief David S.C. Chu announced details of a new plan to compensate combat troops who are deployed longer or more often than Pentagon policy permits.
  • Necessary limits
    Some media question a recent change to embed ground rules in Iraq. The requirement states that images of wounded service members “will not be released without the service member’s prior...
  • Surprise homecoming puts dad back in family duty station
    Yellow bows, $27. Materials for making welcome home signs, $15. Getting my hair done, $81. Seeing my husband come home early for the first time in 15 years as part of his unit’s advance party,...
  • Letters
    I enjoyed retired Col. Dirk Ahle’s June 25 letter about being told by the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Defense Finance and Accounting Service that he was dead [“Hey, I’m...
  • From the forums
    How sad it is for someone to be so insecure about their own service to embellish it or to ride on the coattails of those who actually served.
  • Lifetime gets ‘Desperate’
    As an Army wife, I waited with bated breath to view the first episode of the new Lifetime series “Army Wives.”
  • Editorial: Photo rules hide the truth
    Some of war’s most memorable images include the wounded and the dead. It is impossible to chronicle a war without including that defining characteristic. But if the most current ground rules...
  • Letters
    Marines, service members and fellow veterans, there is an elephant in the room. The room is the political dialogue surrounding the war in Iraq. The elephant is war crimes.
  • Journalists’ hands are tied
    By David Carr
  • Editorial: Move beyond talk
    Whoever coined the name “Families First” for the military’s effort to overhaul its household goods shipping process was either the sunniest of optimists or the most cynical of...
  • FROM THE FORUMS
    There is something seriously wrong here. [Cpl. Adam] Kokesh, a man who actually served in Iraq, is being persecuted for exercising the rights he fought to defend.
  • Editorial: Give vests a fair test
    Are Marines and soldiers going into combat with the world’s best body armor?
  • LETTERS
    Because the perfect is the enemy of the good, Marine Corps procurement officers need to take a more realistic approach to the Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle, the replacement for the Assault Amphibian...
  • From The Forums
    I have Marines under me who have lots of tattoos and some who don’t have any. One Marine has a sleeve that is almost finished, but he is deployed. He will not be able to finish it. But he is...
  • Editorial: Fixing the death gratuity
    In 2005, Congress raised the so-called “death gratuity” paid to survivors of service members who die on active duty from $12,000 to $100,000 — a generous gesture of wartime support.
  • A call for help
    Over the past few months, there has been a debate on these pages whether it is worth serving in the reserve. The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have seen a heavy burden placed on reservists, who must...

  • Today, while I hung back in my office for a few minutes before securing for the Memorial Day holiday, I thumbed through the May 28 edition of Marine Corps Times. I came across the special supplement,...
  • Editorial: It’s about pay, not leave
    After more than five years at war, reservists continue to answer the call to arms, deploying at an unprecedented pace.
  • From the Forums
    I agree with the White House that we don’t really need a raise larger than the inflation rate this year. We are spending ourselves into the ground, and need to start putting our greed aside and...
  • Editorial: Clarify tattoo rules
    Before the new tattoo regulations took effect April 1, the Corps suffered from a vague policy that wasn’t applied evenly across the service.
  • Editorial: Prorate danger benefits
    It’s no secret that you can qualify for a full month’s danger pay — $225 — and a month’s federal tax-exclusion benefits — worth far more — for spending even...
  • Enough is enough
    “And when you ask them, how much should we give?
  • LETTERS
    Here we are again, talking about tattoos and whether they affect Marines’ proficiency at turning a wrench, walking a patrol or whatever [“Blurry lines,” May 28]. I say that is only...
  • Joint chiefs must return to prominence within command chain
    If Fleet Adm. Ernest King and George Marshall, general of the Army, were members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in March 2003, we might not be bogged down in a dreadful and misguided war in Iraq.
  • An eternal bond
  • Editorial: Let junior troops testify
    A lesson seemingly never learned is how fundamentally wrong it is to be anything less than fully open and truthful about what is taking place in the war zone.
  • Letters
    My sentiments are 100 percent with Army Sgt. Jim Wilt, who favors flying U.S. flags at half-staff for fallen military members in Iraq and Afghanistan [“Honoring the Fallen,” Back Talk,...
  • Editorial: In the end, war’s truth cannot be contained
    One battlefield lesson seemingly never learned is how fundamentally wrong it is to be anything less than fully open and truthful about what is taking place in the war zone.
  • FROM THE FORUMS
    It is bad enough that our elected politicians take it upon themselves to publicly convict our servicemen before any and all investigations are complete, now we have our own brethren doing it. From...
  • Editorial: Recruits come out ahead
    For Marines who like to boast that the Corps is tougher than the Army, they’ve been given a whole new arsenal.
  • Letters
    On reading your editorial in the May 7 issue [“Estrada’s tenure marked by caring and tenacity”], I was somewhat dismayed at the comments by the outgoing sergeant major of the Marine...
  • On the road to ruin
    News that the White House is now, more than four years into the Iraq war, seeking a “czar” to oversee policy implementation is a long-overdue admission that the administration has failed...
  • Editorial: VA fixes require money
    A committee drawn from the Institute of Medicine and the National Research Council has produced a report that discusses how the VA could better serve the rising number of Afghanistan and Iraq combat...

  • The evidence against our Marines is based on the word of the “eye witnesses” in this Taliban-controlled area. The company commander kept his men together, they maintained combat...
  • Letters
    I have a question concerning a comment made in your “Going Hunting” story in the April 16 edition. Col. Clarke Lethin, I Marine Expeditionary Force’s chief of staff, was paraphrased...

  • We should never use a draft unless our country is being invaded by massive foreign armies, and then it would not even be necessary. Everyone would be volunteering to do something. A draft for wars...
  • Editorial: Pay proposal is fair
    For more than a century, disabled military retirees were required by law to forfeit a dollar in retirement pay for every dollar received in disability compensation.
  • Serving in silence
    Many mornings, I am at the post walking when the flag is being raised. I wouldn’t be here at this moment if it were not for my spouse’s chosen profession, the military.
  • Editorial: Half-staff salute in May
    In the aftermath of the Virginia Tech shootings, where 32 students and teachers died at the hands of a highly disturbed gunman last month, the media published lengthy profiles of every victim and...
  • Honoring the fallen
    BAGRAM AIRFIELD, Afghanistan — Following the deaths of 32 Virginia Tech students, the President of the United States ordered that all American flags be flown at half-staff for one week.

  • Reinstituting the draft would be the biggest mistake we could make short of abandoning the mission.
  • Letters
    I am writing this letter for several reasons. First and most important, our beloved Marine Corps is gaining an outstanding senior noncommissioned officer to lead young Marines into the battlefields...
  • Editorial: Estrada’s tenure marked by caring and tenacity
    When Sgt. Maj. Carlton Kent took over as sergeant major of the Marine Corps on April 25, he had big, sandy boots to fill.
  • Culture shift
    Last month, Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, compared homosexuality to adultery in an interview with the Chicago Tribune. “We prosecute that kind of immoral...
  • Protesters should focus on policymakers, not recruiters
    Several recent confrontations have put some of our troops in harm’s way. These conflicts didn’t occur on the streets of Baghdad or in the skies over Afghanistan but right in...
  • Letters
    I was disturbed by the April 16 editorial “British troops fed Iranian propaganda.”
  • Editorial: VA owes veterans more
    Lawmakers are watching with alarm the exploding backlog of veterans’ benefits claims, now estimated at 600,000 cases and growing as troops return from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
  • Editorial: Decide on detainees
    In the summer of 2004, a Marine Corps Times reporter embedded with 2nd Battalion, 4th Marines, in Ramadi, Iraq, found himself on the business end of one of the biggest complaints among Marines in...
  • From the forums        
    When the powers that be sent MSOC to take on the Taliban, they should have realized Marines always attack to the “sound of the gun.” If they wanted to check IDs of those doing the...
  • War stories
    From my foxhole-view as a tactical battalion commander in western Baghdad in 2006, the American press, although not perfect, has reported the reality of the Iraq war.
  • From the forums
  • Letters
  • It's time to allow gays to serve openly in the military
    Last month, Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, compared homosexuality to adultery in an interview with the Chicago Tribune. “We prosecute that kind of immoral...
  • Editorial: Resolve deployment pay
    On Jan. 11, Defense Secretary Robert Gates announced that he wanted to come up with a way to compensate combat troops whose deployments are involuntarily extended or who are redeployed without...
  • Editorial: Amend ex-spouses' law
    The Uniformed Services Former Spouses' Protection Act -- which allows for the court-ordered division of military retired pay between service members and former spouses when they divorce -- has...
  • British troops fed Iran’s propaganda
    “Duty is the great business of a sea officer; all private considerations must give way to it, however painful it may be.”
  • From the forums        
    I do not oppose people protesting the war in Iraq. However, I vehemently oppose those that would burn the American flag to attract attention to themselves. The flag stands for freedom ... a lifestyle...
  • On the offensive
    The editorial in Marine Corps Times' April 9 issue, “Bomb team isn't producing,” did not give an accurate summary of what the Joint Improvised Explosive Device Defeat...
  • Editorial: British troops fed Iran's propaganda
    “Duty is the great business of a sea officer; all private considerations must give way to it, however painful it may be.”
  • Letters
    We've all come so far it's entirely surreal. I can't stop thinking back to when we all started this whole thing Â… and it was so long ago. Camp Margarita, Horno, Talega, San Diego,...
  • Editorial: Level with troops on surge
    President Bush’s Iraq surge plan announced in January called for extending some current deployments and accelerating some others, enabling the military to increase the number of troops in Iraq...
  • Editorial: Time to open up
    For the second time in three years, the National Security Archive — an independent research institute and library at The George Washington University in Washington, D.C. — has given the...
  • 2 plans for Iraq
    How do I serve the military and my nation with integrity as both an active-duty airman and an American citizen? Are they mutually exclusive endeavors? I don’t think so.
  • Letters
    Pace’s comments
  • From the forums        
  • Letters
    Excellent care received
  • Editorial: Bomb team isn’t producing
    In the often surreal world of federal Washington, a billion dollars is a drop in the ocean.
  • Editorial: Make re-up bonuses fair
    Almost every Marine who wants to re-enlist these days can — and get paid a pile of money to do it, too.
  • Pitfalls of separation
    Long separations due to deployments or unaccompanied tours are hard on both sides of a marriage and may lead to adultery. Partners grow apart or seek comfort from another person. Some just...
  • I didn’t join the military; I joined the Corps
    In conversation with people, it inevitably comes up that I am in the Marine Corps Reserve. The person I’m speaking to may tell me he served in uniform also. If he says, “I was also in the...
  • Editorial: Service members and the freedom of speech
    Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech Â…
  • Letters
    Please pass on my congratulations to Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Peter Pace for his stance of not apologizing for stating his belief about homosexuality being immoral. It is refreshing to see an...
  • Talk it out
    Sometimes, when I am at my normal job in the real world, memories of my deployment to Iraq haunt me, and I can hardly believe that it happened.
  • Editorial: Fixing fractured reserves
    Almost all of the 13 members of the Commission on the National Guard and Reserve have military experience. Several served in uniform for decades.
  • Editorial: System cheats troops
    The moldy walls and leaking pipes at Walter Reed Army Medical Center will surely be fixed — the whole world is watching.
  • Letters
    GENERAL: KEEP OWENS
  • Facing a new form of war
    In a very real sense, all war is driven by politics. The first two “generations” of war were waged between armies: men and materiel introduced to a battlefield or onto a front, with the...
  • Marine Corps Times Letters
    More on Army standards
  • Editorial: Blame at Walter Reed
    Defense Secretary Robert Gates got his first big test last week and showed exactly what kind of secretary he is.
  • Editorial: FROG is the perfect fit
    Last spring, when the top Marine commander in Iraq banned sweat-wicking T-shirts from outside-the-wire use, it was an unwelcome bit of news at the beginning of a hot summer.
  • Hero on the home front
    Marines are fearless and strong, there’s no question about that. I respect those who serve in the Corps almost more than anyone in this world. But I recently had an epiphany: Moms are wonderful.
  • Diplomatic skill, experience make Fallon a perfect fit
    The recent selection of Adm. William “Fox” Fallon, current commander, Pacific Command, to replace Army Gen. John Abizaid as commander, Central Command, has raised some eyebrows within the...
  • Marine Corps Times Editorial: Deployment plan is right
    Not long after he became commandant in November, Gen. James Conway took his show on the road, visiting bases and stations in the Carolinas to take the pulse of his Marines.
  • The power of faith: Chaplains’ blessings, counsel help troops cope with realities of combat
    I have been angry over articles in the Military Times, The Washington Times and The Washington Post highlighting Navy chaplains suing the Navy. One could easily assume that military chaplains are...
  • Marine Corps Times Letters
    More on Army standards
  • Marine Corps Times Editorial: Fix disability system
    Recent news reports by the Military Times newspapers, The Washington Post and others have highlighted the plight of hundreds of injured and wounded troops at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in...
  • Marine Corps Times Editorial: Vaccine policy at issue
    Just as the Pentagon is set to resume mandatory anthrax shots for the troops, the vaccine’s sole manufacturer, Emergent BioSolutions, says it is testing its product as a potential treatment...
  • Turning the tide
    Let’s consider a “what if” scenario: The president orders 20,000 more troops to Iraq. However, these troops don’t come from the Army, Navy, Air Force or Marine Corps.
  • Marine Corps Times Letters
    Tattoos unacceptable
  • Inner strength
    Here we go again: It’s deployment time for our family. So much has changed since that horrible day, Aug. 29, 1995, when my husband left on his first deployment as a married man.
  • Marine Corps Times Editorial: VA needs outside scrutiny
    According to his family, when former Pvt. Jonathan Schulze told a Department of Veterans Affairs psychologist that he was feeling suicidal, he was told that the earliest appointment he could get was...
  • Marine Corps Times Letters
    Rewarding wrong people
  • Marine Corps Times Editorial: Empty posturing on Iraq
    Having been AWOL on its Iraq war oversight duties for the first four years of the conflict, the Senate finally seemed poised in early February to stage a debate on the conflict.
  • Marine Corps Times Editorial: Get the EFV to the fleet
    When it’s on land, the Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle works like a dream.
  • Inner strength
    Here we go again: It’s deployment time for our family. So much has changed since that horrible day, Aug. 29, 1995, when my husband left on his first deployment as a married man.
  • Marine Corps Times Letters
    Going UA is not the way
  • Marine Corps Times Editorial: One death is too many
    Like thousands of America’s youngest generation of veterans, former Marine Jonathan Schulze came home from Iraq, hung up his uniform and tried to move on.
  • Marine Corps Times Editorial: Show gratitude with benefits
    In what has become something of an annual rite, lawmakers once again are talking of improving GI Bill education benefits — and the place to start is with fixes to the Reserve GI Bill.
  • Marine Corps Times letters
    I MEF deserved PUC
  • Marine Corps Times editorial: Range change is needed
    Pick just about any facet of the Marine Corps, and chances are it’s changed somehow because of the Iraq war.
  • Is being a reservist still worth it?
    In recent months, the Department of Defense has re-examined policies regarding the size and use of our nation’s military, both active and reserve, in light of the demands of operations in Iraq,...
  • As mobilizations increase, more employers become wary
    All National Guard and Reserve members voluntarily signed up to protect their country, but the rules recently changed: The Defense Department now can recall them to active service more frequently and...
  • Marine Corps Times editorial: Look at fixes before fees
    At the initial meeting of the Task Force on the Future of Military Healthcare, it quickly became evident that Pentagon officials want the panel to get behind a proposal to boost fees for some Tricare...
  • Letters
    I was stunned to read “IEDs not just a problem in Iraq” [FastTrack, Dec. 25]. You irresponsibly repeat as fact without any substantiation William Lind’s ludicrous assertion that...
  • From combat to communication
    What follows will stand in the face of everything that comes naturally to the U.S. military and, with few exceptions, its courageous men and women.
  • Navy Times editorial: Reservists’ jobs on line
    Times are getting increasingly tough for reservists, just as they are for active-duty troops. The line between the two has blurred since Sept. 11, 2001, and reservists now are used as an operational...
  • The Lore of the Corps
    The Prisoner of War Medal, established by Congress in 1985, was created to recognize the honorable conduct of Marines and other military members held as prisoners of war since 1917.
  • Marine Corps Times letters
    I just wanted to comment on Cpl. Matt Sanchez’s column [“Missing the big picture,” Back Talk, Jan. 1].
  • Marine Corps Times editorial: A short-term surge?
    President Bush’s new objective in Iraq appears to be to stabilize the country so Americans can leave with our heads held high.
  • Marine Corps Times letters
    Draft alternatives
  • Marine Corps Times editorial:
    The new Democratic Congress has an ambitious agenda for its first 100 hours in power, to include the national minimum wage, embryonic stem cell research and alternative energy options.
  • Marine Corps Times editorial: BAH standards outdated
    The 3.5 percent average increase in the Basic Allowance for Housing in 2007 is quite a bit lower than in recent years, when the average hikes ran to 6 percent, 7 percent or even more.
  • Marine Corps Times editorial: Looking for new course
    The military professionals who make up the core of today’s career force no longer believe President Bush is on the right track in Iraq. According to this year’s Military Times Poll, only...
  • Marine Corps Times letters
    In response to the Center of Defense Information report, “V-22 Osprey: Wonder Weapon or Widow Maker” [“Report blasts Osprey testing, readiness,” Dec. 11], I would like to...
  • Marine Corps Times editorial: It’s time to manage fuel
    Recent military experiments with jet-engine fuel made from natural gas are going well — welcome news in a world that has likely bid adieu to the peak of oil production.
  • Missing the big picture: Ivy League protesters feel superior to service members
    The Columbia University Activities Day was the first week of school in 2005, with eager students lingering by a group of tables, deciding which activities to sign up for.
  • Marine Corps Times letters
    When I walked into the recruiting office five years ago, I wanted nothing more than to be an active-duty Marine. My dreams were shot down when my recruiter told me I could not become one, due to the...
  • Marine Corps Times editorial: All services essential
    When President Bush told reporters that he wants to grow the size of the Army and Marine Corps, it was welcome news.
  • Military honors: Solemn flight delivers airman to final repose
    On Dec. 3, I was the co-pilot for American Airlines Flight 1904, traveling from Chicago to Miami.
  • Marine Corps Times editorial: Living heroes worthy, too
    Spc. Ross McGinnis dived onto a grenade thrown in Baghdad, saving the lives of four other soldiers while costing him his own.
  • Marine Corps Times letters
    I’m all for nasal mist influenza vaccinations (I call them “flu snots”) over the annual autumn stabbing [“A ‘shot’ up the nose,” Frontlines, Dec. 11]....
  • Changing their tune
    Being a Marine is a tough job. But it is especially tough on the young leathernecks who leave home for the first time and have to live on a military base full of strangers.
  • Marine Corps Times editorial: Salute to Stolen Valor Act
    Nothing fires the blood of a war veteran more than a poseur who wears or boasts about combat medals and decorations he didn’t earn.
  • Kay Pollard: One kid to another - PCS moves have a bright side
    Your first and most basic reaction when you’re told your family is moving is likely to be anger. It’s natural to be irritated or even infuriated with your parents when they tell you your...
  • Robert F. Dorr: Punishment for impostors
    It looks like the outgoing Congress will adjourn without passing the Stolen Valor Act, a bill to stiffen penalties for impostors who pretend to be military heroes.
  • Marine Corps Times editorial: Congress should support any call for more Marines
    The Corps’ new commandant has gotten off to quite a start.
  • Marine Corps Times letters
    I served four years as a captain in the Corps, from 1986 to 1990, and was later recalled during Operation Desert Storm. With the recent buzz about the Army’s new slogan and commercial...
  • When service members go untreated, the entire military suffers
    As members of Congress with different views on the war in Iraq, we know how difficult it is to find consensus on this war. But there is one thing that should unite us all — our commitment to...
  • Editorial
    In a late-July interview with the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Commandant Gen. James Conway said there is probably no way that America’s growing dissatisfaction with the Iraq war could turn around.
  • Letters
    So, the Congressional Budget Office thinks our men and women in uniform are making too much money and wants to cut back benefits? [“A fresh look at pay: A new report says you make twice what...
  • Editorial
    These are the facts:

  • The requirement is a good one. Marines have had more than enough time to achieve their tan belts. There are some important skills and techniques shown in the training that could help save your life...
  • Editorial: Take TBI seriously
    A hidden menace follows our troops home from the combat zone. about 2,100 veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have been diagnosed with traumatic brain injury, but medical experts estimate up...
  • Editorial: Upgrade the GI Bill
    Virginia Democratic Sen. Jim Webb wants a renewed national commitment to the GI Bill to reward wartime service and the sacrifice of soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines.
  • Letters: Another take on MCMAP
    I commend the commandant for increasing visibility of the Marine Corps Martial Arts Program, but directing that only combat-arms Marines be required to attain certain belts is a mistake...
  • Spat between Sen. Clinton, DoD official good for no one
    Is it wrong for a Pentagon official to be disrespectful toward a member of Congress?
  • Playing their roles
    Every Marine, first and foremost, is a rifleman. Any Marine will tell you that, and I respect it. The fundamental purpose of the Army and Marine Corps demands that all their personnel should be...
  • From the forums
    The best from our online discussion boards:

  • I am in the Army, yet I look at the Marine Corps and wish the Army would look at how you train and operate. Somewhere in the last 15 to 20 years, the Army got weak. I would like to see us have a...
  • Weighing the Afghan plan
    “The Marines have landed, and we now own a piece of Afghan¬istan.”
  • Letters
    Staff Sgt. Daniel Marquez’s in-depth “history” lesson on the beginnings of our first-ever musket range was absolutely wonderful [“Ready, aim, wait: ‘The most dangerous...
  • Running suit rules
    I like my green-on-green sweats. At $20 a set, I can trash them, muddy them and replace them pretty easily. If I rip them, I can sew them. With a jogging suit, how much more will I pay to replace it?...
  • Editorial: Realistic training a must
    Train like you fight has taken on new meaning in recent years.
  • Letters
    The recent article highlighting another round of collaboration between the Marine Corps and marketing firm JWT [“Silent Drill Platoon takes on recruiting ad mission,” Oct. 22] brought me...
  • From our message boards
    The CH-46A was a much-maligned aircraft when it flew into combat in Vietnam. … In spite of its shortcomings, Marines made it work! Regardless of its alleged or real short¬comings, the...
  • Camaraderie & cold ones
    Most members of the 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit had one thing on their minds during a port call in Jebel Ali, Dubai, on Sept. 30: drinking beer. Following combat operations in Anbar province, the...
  • Letters
  • Think before we redeploy
    We can’t simply wish our armed forces home from Iraq — and we can’t leave them there indefinitely.
  • Better GI Bill needed
    Without the political muscle to beef up the GI Bill so it fully cov¬ers the cost of a college education, lawmakers are seeking other ways to help troops pay for school.
  • Closely track reforms
    In the wake of the Walter Reed scandal, the Pentagon belatedly has begun a test program to begin overhauling the complex and, some say, unfair disability rating and payment system.
  • From our message boards
    The Marine Corps isn’t becoming another Army, they are just adapting to what the war is. If the war turned into a tank-on-tank gen three war, our Marines would jump back into the roles of CAT...
  • U.S. Military (Ret.)
    The recent column in which I tossed out some questions about whether the military retirement system needs changing prompted quite a few reader responses.
  • Editorial: Tough questions
    The White House’s nomination of retired Lt. Gen. James Peake as the next secretary of veterans affairs is an interesting choice.
  • Reimagining GI Joe
    What Paramount and Hasbro are doing to GI Joe, an AMERICAN icon, is absolutely awful. This is the epitome of corporate greed and destroys the foundation in the belief in the American way. This is an...
  • Letters
    I was disturbed after reading the Oct. 29 story “Too real? Former Marine sues training contractor for wounds, PTSD.”
  • Air Force leaders handle nuclear missile incident openly, fairly
    Straight talk is what we got from Air Force leaders when they announced actions in response to the Aug. 29-30 mishandling of nuclear weapons.
  • Editorial: Don’t cheat your buddies
    The latest disturbing news from Iraq: Troops have cheated on problem-solving tests used to spot traumatic brain injuries in order to avoid being pulled out of their units for treatment.
  • Editorial: No need to bend truth
    In the military, keeping secrets is still a matter of life and death.
  • Strength in diversity
    Since the integration of our military 58 years ago, and particularly following the establishment of the all-volunteer force, the U.S. military remains the greatest equalizing institution in our...
  • Standing by policy, beliefs, Pace set example for all to follow
    Just before his Oct. 1 retirement, Gen. Peter Pace, former chairman of the Joint Chiefs, faced a last question on his views about the Defense Department policy on gays in the military.
  • Letters
    I just finished reading the Oct. 29 edition and was impressed with the article on Gen. Peter Pace putting a thank you card, along with his silver four-star rank insignia, on the Vietnam Veterans...
  • Corps to seek new individual service rifle
    One of the biggest complaints I’ve heard against the M4 is that “you can’t drill with it.” The last time I checked, you don’t drill with a rifle, you shoot with it. If...
  • EOD knights
    EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. — The biggest issue polarizing Congress is the Iraq war.
  • Editorial: Treat problems early
    A new study puts hard data behind the many anecdotal reports that mental health problems among combat troops often take months to appear.
  • Editorial: Down with blind loyalty
    Always faithful.
  • Letters
    The commandant, Defense Department and Congress should all watch the Military Channel’s “Future Weapons” episode about Dragon Skin armor and then tell us why our Marines and all...
  • Ready for war
    Unlike most V-22 critics, I have actually flown the Osprey. I flew hundreds of hours in this remarkable aircraft when I commanded the Marine Corps’ test and evaluation squadron from 2003 to...
  • Letters
    Understanding Iran is essential for our operations in Iraq, Middle East stability and our overall national security [“Understanding Iran,” Nov. 12].
  • Sub-par send-off
    Twenty years ago, my then-boyfriend and I waited anxiously at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport with his recruiter and parents. I was filled with emotion as he boarded a flight to San...
  • Letters
    During the first survey on the proposed change to the staff noncommissioned officer evening dress uniform, I found a photo of Sgt. Maj. John Estrada, then-sergeant major of the Marine Corps, wearing...
  • New PT uniform
    It’s on its way, and it’s not a bad-looking PT uniform. The green on green is still authorized to wear, and I still disagree about wearing it on liberty. I just hope the message says...
  • Editorial: NMCI needs oversight
    The Navy-Marine Corps Intranet is one of the government’s biggest gambles yet on privatization. Worth more than $900 million per year to contractor EDS, the Texas computer services firm founded...
  • Editorial: Corps put spin control ahead of victims’ health
    Lt. Cmdr. John Thomas Matthew Lee, a Catholic chaplain who led a second, secret life as an HIV-positive homosexual predator, acknowledged to a military court that he lied when a lieutenant colonel...
  • New SNCO Evening Dress Uniform
    When the Marine Corps did away with the White Mess Dress SNCO jacket, I asked the SMCC why. He responded [that] we had too many uniforms and needed to stop changing what we already had every few...
  • Letters
    I am writing in regards to the photo on the front page of the Dec. 10 Marine Corps Times.
  • Saving the military
    The stage is set for our armed services to relive the worst days of the 1970s, when discipline broke down, crime ran rampant, race relations soured, many of the best and brightest in the junior...
  • Editorial: Long road looms for VA
    The huge backlog of veterans’ benefits claims, now 400,000 and growing, is hardly a secret.
  • Letters
    This feedback is in regard to your article [“‘Predator:’ HIV-positive chaplain guilty in sex crimes displayed ‘sickening abuse of power,’” Dec. 10].
  • Corps to slash number of MRAPs it will buy
    Marines are the first in, a swift force in action. We need to stay light and mobile — that’s how we win wars. The world is a rough place, and Marines are rough individuals. We do what we...
  • Editorial: Inappropriate housing
    Not long ago, troops living off base were paying about 20 percent of their housing costs out of pocket. Five years of above-average BAH hikes earlier this decade cut that figure to zero. Yet some...
  • Editorial: Close loan loopholes
    The Military Loan Act was supposed to put the clamp on payday lenders, who prey on unsuspecting and naïve service members by offering short-term loans at exorbitant interest rates.
  • Back-page reality
    With presidential elections approaching, American voters should embrace their constitutional privilege to participate in the political process. This includes understanding the presidential and...
  • Editorial: Patients shouldn’t pay
    Asking military beneficiaries to pay higher fees for health care requires a better argument than the one made in a new report by a Pentagon task force.
  • Letters
    This letter is in response to the “Baby NCOs” article in the Nov. 26 issue [“Growing pains: Is maturity taking a back seat in swelling NCO ranks?”].
  • From the forums
    Hold the owners accountable. Dogs need to be trained, not just penned up in a yard. All dogs are supposed to be regis¬tered when the owners live in base housing. Part of the hous¬ing...
  • Letters
    After reading the article “Dressed Down: Lejeune commander goes off over uniform violations, leadership responsibilities” [Dec. 24], it is obvious that there are Marines who just do not...
  • Lejeune commander reams Marine over uniform
    The colonel was doing her duty — a duty that any other Ma¬rine in the store should have done. The Marine was disre¬spectful in anything other than [saying] “Yes,...
  • Editorial: Improve GI Bill benefits
    In a groundbreaking move several years ago, Congress linked GI Bill payment rates to inflation, ensuring that the payments rise each Oct. 1.
  • Editorial: Focused on the mission
    This year’s Military Times Poll reflects in cold hard numbers what we’ve known from our personal contact with members of our professional military: It’s made up of tough, determined...
  • Back-page reality
    With presidential elections approaching, American voters should embrace their constitutional privilege to participate in the political process. This includes understanding the presidential and...
  • Corps introduces New Combat Fitness Test
    All this is going to do is get Marines hurt from doing stupid things. Running in the boots we have now is not good for your feet, back, neck, leg, etc. Running in boots is not good period. Running in...
  • Letters
    When, if ever, will the so-called experts stop blaming the Osprey for deaths that occurred during development of the aircraft and in training flights? The crash in Marana, Ariz., which claimed at...
  • Editorial: Bill, veto unfair to troops
    President Bush gave service members a rude holiday jolt Dec. 28 with a last-minute veto of the 2008 defense authorization bill.
  • Editorial: Don’t wait on M4 fixes
    Everybody knows the M4 carbine isn’t the most reliable weapon available. The Army’s own tests prove it.
  • How to grade yourself
    Upon finding “Fitness Report Time” sitting in my inbox, a winning billet accomplishment flashed to mind: Unwavering 89 percent Freecell average. Diligent effort!
  • Letters
    The purpose of the Combat Fitness Test [“7 possibilities for Combat Fitness Test,” Dec. 17] is to measure the physical fitness of Marines in a manner that accounts for operational...
  • Editorial: Fix child custody rules
    A New York appeals court has upheld a 2006 ruling that should send chills through the ranks.
  • Problems with the USMC Tanker Jacket
    I recently broke a button on my tanker jacket when I PCSed and now I find that no one sells replacement buttons. I talked to Quantico, Lejeune and even the online uniform store. The Marine Corps has...
  • Editorial: Strength in restraint
    When five Iranian gunboats tore through the horizon toward three U.S. warships as they transited the Strait of Hormuz, they endangered lives and could potentially have brought both nations to the...
  • New Combat Fitness Test
    The likelihood of someone other than a grunt or provisional infantry actually needing to do that type of a zig-zag, run and shoot, fireman’s carry, ammo pick-up etc. is not even slim....
  • Editorial: Suspect’s flight predictable
    It took pulling the scorched remains of a pregnant Marine from a shallow grave before the Marine Corps and the Naval Criminal Investigative Service finally concluded what the rest of the world...
  • Letters
    The solution to the incident involving the Marine at the Camp Lejeune, N.C., base store is simple [“Dressed down: Lejeune commander goes off over uniform violations, leadership...
  • Corps premieres its latest recruiting ad
    I have always admired the Army recruiting commercials, be¬cause they show what soldiers actually do. Now I’ve seen the new Marine Corps recruiting commercial, and as a veteran Marine, I am...
  • Editorial: Demand charity’s integrity
    It’s becoming clear that America Supports You, a Defense Department charitable program that supports troops and their families, needs tighter oversight.
  • Letters
    Regarding the Sgt. Jerrod Glass case, being a drill instructor is not easy [“DI guilty of recruit abuse,” Nov. 26]. It requires long hours, especially if you are new. People mess up all...
  • Corpsman gets 2 years for unearned medals
    His sentencing should have been way harsher. All my Marines who gave their lives wore the same decorations; they earned them. What makes him think he can wear them? His chain of command should...
  • Editorial: Speed medal awards
    Two years to the day of the battle that ended Sgt. 1st Class Paul Ray Smith’s life, President Bush presented his family with the Medal of Honor.
  • Editorial: Retire this bad idea
    The Commission on the National Guard and Reserve, chartered by Congress to study and propose changes to every aspect of the reserve components, released its final report Jan. 31.
  • Letters
    Is the Navy so lax with awards now that we can’t tell which awards are real? Why would Hospital Corpsman 2nd Class Dontae Lee Tazewell’s command buy that he earned a Bronze Star and...
  • Letters
    I was discussing with my fellow corpsmen their feelings on the faker who almost got away, and I wish to give all my brothers and sisters some words of encouragement [“Hero to zero: Faker...

  • If the privilege of wearing cammies is determined by “earning it” by graduating from basic training, what about corpsmen? Cammies are a combat uniform designed for utility. Having...
  • Editorial: Smart thinking, not money, is the answer
    The final budget of any U.S. administration draws intense scrutiny, and the proposed 2009 spending plan is no exception.
  • Letters
    In reference to the “Not this uniform: Contractors can’t wear Marine-issue cammies” story [Frontlines, Feb. 11]: I served as a Marine on active duty for 20 years, and have served an...
  • Bloated budget
    As President Bush backs out the White House door, he is asking Congress to appropriate enough money for the coming fiscal year to enable the Pentagon and its government sidekicks to spend $1.2...
  • Editorial: Protect grunts’ hearing
    Ask anyone with significant hearing loss how they feel and they’ll probably ask you to repeat the question.
  • Editorial: An outdated standard
    Basic Allowance for Housing rates are vastly improved after five years of hefty increases earlier this decade. But the housing standards underpinning the rates are another story.
  • The story behind ‘Task Force Violence’
    Fox Company didn’t fail; the chain of command above them failed. Fox Company is simply paying the price for others’ in¬competence. Despite the lack of support, they made do with...
  • Letters
    What an absolute hatchet job! The more I read, the more it sickened me to see such a one-way slant against the Fox Company Marines [“‘Like a bunch of cowboys’: Spec op sources...
  • Marines yield to civilian drivers in Anbar
    I am glad to see things are secure enough to start allowing some simple things to begin occurring in Anbar province. However, if I said it didn’t scare me half to death that it may now be that...
  • Editorial: It’s time to ensure parity of civilian, military wages
    Congress and the Pentagon are gearing up for a reprise of what has become an annual rite of spring — wrangling over the size of the military pay raise.
  • Undue burden
    In a report to Congress on Dec. 20, a health care task force co-chaired by Air Force Gen. John D.W. Corley and economist Gail R. Wilensky unleashed demands for drastic Tricare fee increases for...
  • Letters
    This letter is in regards to the column by Sgt. Maj. Carlton Kent, sergeant major of the Marine Corps, in the Feb. 4 issue [“ ‘Baby’? No way: To place that word before NCO is...
  • Editorial: Follow through for families
    Defense Department officials have spoken often and at length in recent years about their commitment to military families. But Congress wants to see less talk and more action.
  • Editorial: Troops, strays don’t mix
    There are aspects of the Corps you will never see in a slick recruiting video.
  • Letters
    I am a Marine stationed at Camp Schwab on Okinawa, Japan. I know there has been coverage of our situation [“Curfew imposed on Okinawa troops: 3 criminal incidents occurred after arrest of...
  • Puppy video
    Given the more likely outcome that the dog was already dead when thrown (which in any other context would reduce it to a typical collegiate frat-boy prank), the massive hysterical response and death...
  • Editorial: Adding amphibs a must
    The Marine Corps says it needs at least 33 amphibious ships to take two Marine expeditionary brigades to war.
  • Angelina Jolie to talk Iraq on Capitol Hill?
    Like it or not, she has more influence on the American people than the average soldier. I’m sure Petraeus has the judgment to put her input in its proper context. She has a right to get...
  • Letters
    This letter is in regard to retired Sgt. Maj. John Estrada’s comments in the March 10 issue [“Estrada campaigns for Obama”].
  • Editorial: Rethink promotion
    A sweeping new report on military compensation seeks to reward the military’s fastest risers with a permanent pay advantage.
  • Editorial: New appearance rules may hurt more than help
    Marine Commandant James Conway is concerned about the way his Marines look.
  • Letters
    I agree that retired Sgt. Maj. John Estrada has the right to campaign for whomever he wants, but it should be as John Estrada, not as the retired sergeant major of the Marine Corps.
  • Conway: Time to roll up your sleeves. Really
    I don’t get the whole green/desert cammies thing anyway. Since when are we wearing deserts in garrison? That’s stupid. Just another uniform we have to buy. During the first Gulf War, if...
  • Editorial: Raise single BAH rates
    A sweeping study of military pay calls for bringing fairness to the Basic Allowance for Housing. It’s about time.
  • Editorial: Rank injustice
    Rank has always had its privileges in the military — and nowhere is that clearer than in the final honors rendered to service members buried in Arlington National Cemetery.
  • Enlisted vs. officer burial honors at Arlington
    The bottom line is this, a second lieutenant can die in a car accident two days after graduating [Officer Candidates School] and get a full-honor funeral, while a master sergeant in the Army or...
  • Letters
    I care not a whit what the world or our enemies may think about the Marine Corps, but I do care about what the American people think about our Corps.
  • More than a mascot
    ‘Sit! Stay! Roll over! Salute!” These are all commands that I never thought would be given to any Marine when I arrived at my first duty station, Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego, but...
  • Editorial: Combat instructor snub
    Every Marine a rifleman.
  • Editorial: Don’t phish off DoD pier
    In the pervasive online scam known as “phishing,” con artists create official-looking e-mails that appear to come from credit card companies, banks, charities, government agencies and...
  • New body fat rules prompt concern
    The sad thing is that the [Defense Department] has known since 1998 that measuring over the hips isn’t a valid way to measure body fat in a woman who has had a baby. The military refuses to...
  • Letters
    I am writing in reference to the cover story in your March 31 issue [“Appearance crackdown”].
  • Editorial: VA overhaul overdue
    Congress held a hearing last week on ways to modernize the benefits claims system at the Department of Veterans Affairs, which has a backlog of 600,000 claims and counting.
  • Editorial: End outdated PFT
    SuperMarines, where are you?
  • Raise single BAH rates
    A sweeping study of military pay calls for bringing fairness to the Basic Allowance for Housing. It’s about time.
  • BAH Paradox
    We should look at closing barracks in garrison and paying everyone BAH. Barracks are notorious trouble spots. [They] are a force protection concern with several hundred personnel in one building...
  • Letters
    I will retire next year with 25 years of honest and faithful service in the Marine Corps. I am honestly confused and saddened that the 2007 E-8/E-9 Promotion Board considered me uncompetitive for...
  • Editorial: R.I.P., Devil Dog
    Devil Dog, the iconic moniker attached to Marines since World War I, died this year from wounds sustained in the Battle to Be Politically Correct. It was 90 years old.
  • Editorial: Secure the vote
    A couple of decades into the Internet age, billions of dollars in commerce is transacted by credit cards via secure online servers.
  • Combat Fitness Test
    The CFT is a duplication of effort. I have never seen a man that could run a 300 PFT not be fit for combat. Why make him prove it twice? The answer is not to add yet another new annual test, but...
  • Letters
    I agree with many of the new rules on body fat standards, particularly those addressing Marines who are under the maximum weight allowed, yet over on body fat (the “skinny-fat guys” as...
  • Editorial: Issue is rights, not morals
    The issue of adult magazine sales in military exchanges has again reared its ugly head.
  • Letters
    In response to the recent article, “Don’t Dog me: The once-proud ‘Devil Dog’ moniker is taking a beating” [April 28], I am rather disturbed to see that our prestigious...
  • From the forums
    No Devil Dog ... no tattoos ... pretty soon we will be polished enough to pass for the Air Force. Let’s hear it for politically correct leadership! I do not agree with Marines using an...
  • Bill to ban pornography on military bases
    As a former paramedic, was I able to view the human body injured, misshapen, diseased and traumatized for the good of the country, but unable to exercise individual responsibility by going to a strip...
  • Editorial: Troops deserve better
    “Our troops are our most valuable asset,” military leaders like to say. But as we begin National Military Appreciation Month, it is worth examining how actions and words sometimes...
  • Editorial: Change starts at the top
    Defense Secretary Robert Gates recently echoed the mantra of his predecessor, Donald Rumsfeld, by saying the military is not moving fast enough to address wartime needs.
  • Letters
    The commandant of the Marine Corps has indeed foreseen the future requirements of Marines in combat, and a need to expand upon the development of all Marines. The new Combat Fitness Test coupled with...
  • Editorial: Enforce rules equally
    It takes a special kind of person to throw caution to the wind and kick in a door, knowing that men with guns are waiting on the other side.
  • Editorial: Raise Tricare fees, slowly
    The Pentagon’s health care costs have more than doubled since 2001 to $43 billion this year, almost 10 percent of the defense budget. At this pace, health care will cost $65 billion by 2015.
  • Arabic made focus for Iraq-bound battalion
    This battalion commander definitely “gets it.” Too many service members who consider themselves professional warriors know little about the histories, cultures and languages of Iraq...
  • Letters
    Leave it to the Army to downplay the obvious.
  • It’s your future
    Education is a topic that is important to all Marines, a continuation from recruit training or officer candidate school. It continues throughout our careers, as consummate professionals who love to...
  • Letters
    Allowing more waivers can be a good thing for the Corps, as well as other branches of our military forces [“Ramped-up recruiting: Waivers allow more felons to become Marines,” May 5].
  • Remember the fallen
    The United States is almost 232 years old, the world’s greatest and oldest experiment in freedom and democracy.
  • Motorcycle safety
    I can speak from experience, having just bought a motorcycle and learning to ride in the last year. I took the on-base riding course, which really taught me everything I needed to know. It’s...
  • Editorial: Ban dangerous dogs
    Treat every weapon as if it was loaded.
  • The right path to unity
    When the blood of any war soaks your clothes, covers your hands and soldiers die in your arms, every breath forever more becomes an appeal for a greater peace, unity and reconciliation.
  • Editorial: A workable GI Bill plan
    In the congressional debate over how to improve the GI Bill, the question of whether to let service members share their education benefits with their families has reached a flash point.
  • Letters
    The recent editorial in Marine Corps Times [“Ban dangerous dogs,” Opinion, May 26] got my blood pumping a little bit.
  • Drug operations and Marines
    I fail to understand how the U.S. government has anti-drug ops going on in South America, while at the same time we have Marines from the 24th MEU standing in the middle of poppy fields in...
  • Leadership issue
    After hearing about the Military Appearance Program, some Marines seem to have missed the point. MAP was not created because Commandant Gen. James Conway expected us all to have abs of steel. Nor...
  • Editorial: No justice in secrecy
    We may never know exactly what happened on March 4, 2007, when Marines from a special operations company in Afghanistan responded to a suicide attack on their convoy with overwhelming firepower.
  • Editorial: Combat stress kills
    At least 172 service members have killed themselves while serving in Iraq or Afghanistan in the past six years.
  • Letters
    In the “Human Toll” section of your May 12 issue, you ran a picture of a badly burnt Marine, Sgt. Merlin German. I appreciate that this section is in your publication to remember the...
  • Cutting scores
    The scores are not the problem. It’s people who don’t understand the promotions process who are the problem — seniors and juniors, officers and enlisted alike. Just because someone...
  • A little stressed
    As the wife of a Marine, I know how I feel about deployments. I worry about my husband, and how he is doing. I miss the smell of his dirty Physical Training clothes and his diesel fuel-scented...
  • Editorial: Privacy safeguards needed
    A new Pentagon directive states the government can “inspect and seize data” on any government computer in the interest of information systems security.
  • Editorial: Training still critical
    They say luck is just preparation meeting opportunity.
  • Marine booted from duty over Christian coins
    This Marine should not have done what he did. It was inappropriate, and a proper punishment should be forthcoming… At the same time, Islam needs to stop stressing about “perceived...
  • Letters
    Tucked away in the last four lines of a full-page interview with Commandant Gen. James Conway, [“More Marines, lighter stuff,” June 2, 2008] was a statement by the commandant regarding...
  • Letters
    I am writing due to what I feel was a poor choice of words in the June 9 issue.
  • Editorial: Expand disability benefit
    A provision of the 2008 Defense Authorization Act erased a long-standing policy requiring troops who received disability severance payments from the military to repay that money before they can...
  • Editorial: Mandate inspections
    Complacency kills.
  • CrossFit
    Our whole company does it and it definitely is not a joke. Sometimes we even make our own “crossfit” session out of different workouts. For a 20-minute workout it does wonders. This is...
  • Letters
    The Marine Corps’ tradition of encouraging junior officers and noncommissioned officers to participate in written debate distinguishes Marines and allows for challenges to policies and...
  • Rifles vs. diamonds
    If you are a sensitive first sergeant, sergeant major or even master sergeant, you might not want to read any further — especially if you don’t have a sense of humor.
  • Editorial: End pre-meal prayer
    The Naval Academy has a religious problem on its hands. It centers on a tradition during the noon meal formation, when the 4,000-strong Brigade of Midshipmen gathers in the cafeteria, stands and...
  • End disciplinary PT
    Incentive physical training is supposed to stop when a Marine graduates from boot camp.
  • Editorial: Better late than never
    In 2005, when Congress made it more difficult for people to declare bankruptcy, it included an exemption specifically for disabled veterans.
  • CrossFit
    I have been doing CrossFit now for just under a year and I’m here to tell you that it’s all you could ask for in a fitness regimen. In less than six months, I went from doing 13 pull-ups...
  • Service members should bring civility home
    At a recent mentorship session among senior military officers, I overheard a bit of advice on the treatment of others that caused me to think.
  • Letters
    I’m writing about the article “Ad Sparks Controversy,” [June 23]. The article mentions an unnamed black corporal participating in a drill exercise in the Corps’ new television...
  • Editorial: Fair review of disability claims is needed now
    Once the process of evaluating troops for disability claims had become so Byzantine, backlogged and unfair that it could no longer be ignored, Congress sprang into action and mandated reforms.
  • Active Reserve bonus
    The new, large, unexpected bonus for the AR was something that got everyone excited when it came out, but upon reading the whole message, I found out that I missed it by a month and a half because I...
  • Letters
    I am writing in response to Master Sgt. Rob Kruger’s column regarding first sergeants and master sergeants [Back Talk, July 7].
  • Running on fumes
    One good thing about being at war is that I don’t have to fork over a large pile of money to fill up my gas tank. That’s all going to change before too long. After I leave Iraq,...
  • Letters
    I can’t believe what I am reading in Marine Corps Times.
  • Editorial: VA adds fuel to fire
    The Department of Veterans Affairs, buffeted by a string of controversies in recent years, has another to add to the list.
  • Looking out for No. 1
    Marine Corps leaders are selfish.
  • Editorial: Put BEQ rules to practice
    Earlier this year, just a few months after the Corps released its updated campaign plan for bachelor enlisted quarters, then-Sgt. Maj. John Estrada started asking Marines how many of them had read it.
  • Editorial: Unanswered questions
    President Bush’s announcement that he has accepted Army Gen. David Petraeus’ plan to begin drawing down about 21,500 U.S. troops sent to Iraq earlier this year as part of the...
  • Letters
    This is in response to the commentary “Yuppies on the Run? Embrace old school; just say no to running suits” [Back Talk, Sept. 10] by a community-relations corporal in Hawaii who...
  • Your voice
    The rule “change” was needed to pull the reins back in. Years ago, this used to be the rule, and it was slowly expanded to allow for gas station stops, then essentials at a pharmacy, etc....

  • [This means] the complete loss of the “garrison Marine.” When I can no longer check my Marine’s room for cleanliness because he has requested mast stating field-day inspections are...
  • ‘Don’t ask, don’t tell’ policy
    The “don’t ask don’t tell” policy is wrong. True, it has given gay men and women the opportunity to join and serve their country, but if a gay man is willing to die for the...
  • Editorial: Provide paternal leave
    The Senate Armed Services Committee has proposed giving new dads in uniform a benefit already widely available in the private sector: a little time off to bond with baby and care for mom.
  • From our Forum
    When I was in boot camp in 1993 they brought us to the PX to buy gifts. It did not detract from our training schedule all that much except for maybe four hours.
  • Time to get creative
    Only time will tell whether President-elect Barack Obama views various big-ticket defense programs as too costly for a nation in economic recession, or as valuable jobs programs amid rising...
  • Rescind Mexico rule
    every enlisted Marine or sailor up to the rank of E-6 now must get permission from his commanding officer before making a visit to Mexico, thanks to a rule put into effect Christmas Eve. It’s...
  • From our forums
    I think spouses should not count as dependants for the purpose of calculating Basic Allowance for Housing. A married couple can live in the same one bedroom apartment as a single person, so why...
  • Letters
    The recent death of retired Lt. Gen. Victor “Brute” Krulak is no occasion to mourn the passing of a Marine icon. It is reason to celebrate a wonderful life with the knowledge that the...
  • Defending the Defense dollar
    Here’s an economics lesson for the American service member.
  • Answers are few, but treatment is available for PTSD
    I don’t really talk about why I have post-traumatic stress disorder. I relive those moments in my head enough that I have never felt comfortable saying them out loud.
  • Speak strongly to fix VA
    The stubborn backlog of 400,000 benefits claims at the Department of Veterans Affairs has never made sense. It takes an average of 188 days to process a claim, yet VA leaders somehow accept that as...
  • Bike safety limits
    Last fiscal year, 124 service members were killed while riding that breed of low-slung, high-speed motorcycle known as sport bikes.
  • From our forums
    Good for them. I drank Gatorade my whole time in Iraq and busted others who sneaked liquor.
  • Suggested reading
    Barack Obama is already getting outstanding guidance on what he should do, so I will give him a break. Rather than tell him what he should do as the next president, I will suggest some books that he...
  • Letters
    Your article “GI Bill transfers tied to 4-year commitment” [Jan. 12] is concerning. This stipulation doesn’t make good sense for retiring members or for the good of the Corps.
  • Make housing rules fair
    The National Military/Veterans Alliance plans to call for a review of the standards on which housing allowance rates are based. And for good reason.
  • Obama’s way forward
    As President Barack Obama’s team gets down to work, it must not only overcome the errors of the previous administration, but also be sure to recognize its successes.

  • The Jan. 12 Back Talk piece by Rep. Todd Akin, R-Mo., “Close the fighter gap” [Jan. 12], was misplaced. It might better have been printed on another page as an advertisement.
  • From our forums
    If their current marketing plan is making them money, why would they listen to him? Marines will buy whatever they please, and that’s the way it should be.
  • The right mission
    When the U.S. invaded Iraq in March 2003, Afghanistan quickly became the forgotten war. It took a back seat to even the most negligible news from the most remote parts of Iraq.
  • Father pens poems for families on the home front
    Just about the last thing a newspaper writer wants to hear on the other end of the phone line is a guy saying, “I’d like to read you a poem I wrote.” That is, unless the caller is...
  • Cover rape kit costs now
    For all the Pentagon’s efforts in recent years to confront the problem of sexual assault, some inexplicable blind spots remain.
  • Letters
    Regarding the article “Freedom of speech?” [Nov. 24], which reported that a worker at Camp Lejeune, N.C., is suing base officials because they banned him from driving on base in his car...
  • Fix this insurance mess
    Anyone who has worked in government long enough has come across rules and policies noteworthy only for being devoid of common sense.
  • No more bulk for MRAPs
    Defense officials have once again whipped out the checkbook and bought into the idea of an indestructible transport vehicle that meets every need.
  • From our forums
    What is your method for getting Marines to do the right thing? I want to motivate without alienating. I would like to avoid games, loud noises and treating them like recruits.
  • Haunted by memories, troops don’t always fully return
    The following item appeared in a roundup of news briefs published in a recent issue of The Arizona Republic: “SCOTTSDALE: Police identified Michael Murray, 22, of Scottsdale, as the...
  • Hate messages should be banned on base
    I recently read an article about retired Gunnery Sgt. Jesse Nieto, now a civilian employee working aboard Camp Lejeune, N.C., whose personal vehicle is adorned with bumper stickers displaying slogans...
  • Letters
    Deployment is a time for mixed emotions: excitement, apprehension, fear, sadness and loneliness. Time away from family, friends and home, coupled with a new working environment, often forces us to...
  • Obama must prove himself
    Our latest Military Times poll indicates a good measure of doubt in the ranks about President-elect Barack Obama in his pending role as commander in chief. Six out of 10 respondents said they were...
  • From our forums
    As long as you are fighting a concept and not a defined enemy, you can’t win. We can say “We have defeated Iraq,” and be correct. Some day, we may be able to say, “We have...
  • The right tools for the job
    Have you ever wondered why it takes so long for the Corps to issue gear that works exactly as it’s advertised? I think of all the times I either deployed or went to the field and ended up...
  • Letters
    I am a professor of medicine and I hold an endowed chair in tobacco harm reduction research at the University of Louisville. I read with interest your article about tobacco use among Marines,...
  • From our forums
    The living Medal of Honor recipients represent the greatest example of why our country is great. Not attending this ball and showing them the respect they earned shows the ignorance of this...
  • About the Burn Pit
    In the Nov. 3 issue, Marine Corps Times reported on the massive open-air waste burn pits on U.S. installations in the Iraq and Afghanistan war zones that some service members worry may pose health...
  • Letters
    The generation of Americans that helped build, protect and serve this country so valiantly during the 1940s and into the 1950s has been referred to as “The Greatest Generation.” The...
  • Military health care must become a greater priority
    A cultural change is needed to ensure Marines and other service members get what they need to stay fit to fight, says the Pentagon’s recently departed principal deputy undersecretary of defense...
  • Risk assessment
    An amazing revolution is taking place in the history of war, and even perhaps of humanity. The military went into Iraq with a handful of drones in the air and zero unmanned systems on the ground,...
  • From our forums
    1. They could make a weapon out of virtually ANYTHING: paper-towel rolls, popsicles, Legos — even pb and j sandwiches bitten into the shape of a handgun.
  • No half measures
    Commanders in Afghanistan say they don’t have enough people — and not just trigger pullers. They don’t have enough engineers, MPs, intelligence experts or even airlift to get the...
  • Letters
    The column “Learning to let go” [Back Talk, March 2] had a photograph of an Afghan interpreter, with a caption listing his name. Unbeknown to many, there are often higher prizes set by...
  • Setting a bad example
    In July, Lance Cpl. Charles Snowdon was sentenced to eight months in the brig.
  • Deserving the Medal of Honor
    Only five Medals of Honor have been awarded to service members for heroic action in Iraq and Afghanistan — all posthumously.
  • Signs of stress
    Forty-one Marines committed suicide last year. Many of these unfortunate casualties undoubtedly suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder and could no longer cope with the terrible pressures and...
  • Burn-pit study needed
    Tens of thousands of troops have been exposed to burn-pit toxins in Iraq and Afghanistan, and concerns are mounting that many may be at risk for serious health consequences.
  • Letters
    I would like to offer a solution for what the U.S. should do with detainees who have been kept at Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, Cuba [“Closing Guantanamo likely to prove more easily ordered than...
  • From our forums
    This whole “they knew and didn’t care” argument is a bit disingenuous. The HMMWV was NEVER designed to survive roadside IEDs.
  • Out of control
    Talk of Draconian program cuts abounds within the Pentagon. Why? Because making cuts is easier than making weapon programs conform to cost, schedule and performance objectives.
  • Letters
    Marines, such as myself, who are in billets where their responsi¬bilities are greater than other Marines in the same military oc¬cupational specialty should re¬ceive extra pay. Junior...

  • This effort begs the question ... exactly how many sex of¬fenders are there in base housing? There are a lot of children living there, some with lax supervision due to the relative...
  • No tolerance for assaults
    Reports of sexual assaults in¬volving military victims and/or perpetrators in 2008 were up more than 8 percent over 2007.
  • Sizing up missile defense
    President Barack Obama has repeatedly said that the fate of the $9 billion-a-year missile de¬fense program depends on whether it works now. Analysts say that could lead to program cuts of $2...
  • Are Marines soldiers?
    Despite the title of Marine, we all are soldiers. Marine is an honorific specific to them. Consider them the Lamborghini of the military (everyone wants one, but not everyone can even get close to...
  • New GI Bill generation
    Ask any politician if those who serve in America’s military are owed a debt of gratitude for their sacrifices and undoubtedly, they will say yes. But how can we best show this appreciation?
  • Editorial: It’s your decision
    “If Obama wins,” our July 14 cover story, drew hundreds of messages from our readers. Some wondered if Sen. Barack Obama had advance knowledge of our questions — he did not.
  • Editorial: Miniseries hits mark
    From “Full Metal Jacket” to “Jarhead,” the portrayal of the Corps on camera has often caused controversy.
  • Commandant approves uniform changes
    Marines will continue to adjust to regulation changes, and they will also continue to focus on things that really matter and not get wrapped-around-the-axel regarding minor changes in regulations...
  • Moving forward
    My thought that we military spouses are being unfairly penalized started with an ironic remark from a sister-in-law. She told me she knew that every time we moved for the military we got a lot of...
  • Letters
    I just read the article regarding the Congressional Black Caucus getting involved in the personnel matters of the military [“Black Caucus seeks senior officer diversity,” July 14]. The...
  • Editorial: A simple thanks
    This week we honor five Military Times Service Members of the Year for going beyond the call of duty. We honor them not because they are the bravest, strongest or smartest, but rather because they...
  • Editorial: ‘VA Retro’ needs redoing
    A new congressional report details a fiasco involving the Defense Finance and Accounting Service, contractor Lockheed Martin and tens of thousands of disabled military retirees.
  • Army or Marine
    Any service you join is honorable; don’t get caught up in the stereotypical things like which service has better leadership or discipline. All of the branches have good leaders and have...
  • It’s a leadership issue
    When reading about a pit bull killing a 3-year-old boy May 14 at Camp Lejeune, N.C., my heart went out to the father — a corporal — and his family.
  • Letters
    After nearly 45 months of service in the Corps, I recently read the late Maj. Gen. Smedley Butler’s book, “War is a Racket,” and wondered why I didn’t find it on Commandant...
  • Editorial: Erase inequity in GI Bill
    As the details of the recently approved Post-9/11 GI Bill come into sharper focus, a glaring omission has popped up.
  • Editorial: Reverse recruiting trend
    If retention figures are any measure, black enlisted Marines are pretty happy with the decision to join the Corps.
  • Campaign props
    With their recent swings through Minnesota, both presidential campaigns launched their own respective “competing” initiatives to capture the hearts and minds of those who have served and...
  • Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell
    In the military today, heterosexual men and women work side by side everyday. Their sexual orientation does not seem to cause too many issues. Why does everyone seem to think that a homosexual person...
  • Letters
    The new GI Bill signed into law by President Bush on June 30 contains long-awaited improvements to the educational assistance programs available to service members [“New GI Bill answers,”...
  • Editorial: Weigh fee hike benefits
    The latest salvo in the Defense Department’s quest to raise Tricare fees for retirees under age 65 is a proposal from a Pentagon-sponsored pay study to tie those fees to the annual premiums...
  • Editorial: Expand tenants’ rights
    Service members and their families are particularly vulnerable as the nation’s housing market melts down.
  • Putting it all together
    A powerfully written trip report by retired Army Gen. Barry McCaffrey is circulating Washington. Taken as a whole, his report describes Afghanistan as being at a strategic and operational inflection...
  • Should openly gay Marines be allowed?
    I do not believe it would hurt morale. At first, there will be a period of adjustment just like when minorities were integrated. I’m not naive enough to believe it would be easy. If you are an...
  • Letters
    As a military spouse and avid reader of Marine Corps Times, I was disappointed when I read the column, “Military spouses do have rank” [Lifelines, Aug. 4].
  • Editorial: End disciplinary PT
    Incentive physical training is supposed to stop when a Marine graduates from boot camp.
  • Editorial: Keep SSNs private
    The Defense Department is in the midst of a multiyear effort to eliminate full Social Security numbers from ID cards.
  • Editorial: Database at turning point
    The push to create a public database of the nation’s highest awards for valor — and the mili¬tary personnel who won those awards — reaches a critical cross¬roads in the...
  • Editorial: FitRep fairness
    The Corps’ senior enlisted leaders have taken a firm stance on an issue long irksome to rank-and-file Marines: late fitness reports.

  • CrossFit is not the problem (although some would like to think it is). The problem is people who aren’t in shape looking for any excuse … for their personal fitness problems.
  • Back to basics
    This summer, while training with U.S. al¬lies in Central and South America, I served aboard ship and participated in an amphibious assault exercise — some¬thing I hadn’t done in...
  • Letters
    I am troubled by a recent post¬ing I read on your online message boards regarding the military’s hunt for Osama bin Laden [Mili¬taryTimes.com, July 17]. The writer stated: “The...
  • Motorcycle registration
    It’s sad that anyone dies, but I only see the motorcycle riders being blamed for this. Changes to motorcycle policies and registration aren’t going to work. Some Marine is going to have...
  • Editorial: Drop murder charges
    When former Sgt. Jose L. Nazario Jr., an infantry squad leader during the November 2004 Battle for Fallujah, left the Corps to become a police officer in Riverside, Calif., he thought his days in...
  • Editorial: Photos of courage
    They say a picture is worth a thousand words, so Rep. Walter Jones decided to let the images do the talking.
  • Letters
  • The least we can offer
    Ask any politician if those who serve in America’s military are owed a debt of gratitude for their sacrifices and, undoubtedly, they will say yes. But are we doing our best to show this...
  • In their honor
    This week, the Pentagon Memorial opens to honor the lives of the 184 service members and civilians lost when American Airlines Flight 77 crashed into the building on Sept. 11, 2001. Let us pause to...

  • The only way to effectively deal with this kind of stuff is to ignore it. The more outraged we get, the more we sling his name/Web site around in disgust, the more we play into exactly what...
  • Letters
    Ah the good old days. In 1959, Headquarters Marine Corps came out with the Physical Readiness Test (PRT). We had the same requirements as this new Combat Fitness Test [“CFT is ‘hell on...
  • Editorial: Get with the program
    In January, Congress ordered the Pentagon to drop its disability ratings rules and strictly follow the VA’s criteria in assigning ratings to injured and wounded service members.
  • What drives PTSD?
    Humans have a “fight or flight” instinct when faced with a hazardous situation. The military trains troops to stay and fight, which our troops do very well. Once a person experiences...
  • Where it all begins
    We were sound asleep when our bus rumbled across a bridge and pulled into a parking space in the dead of night after a long, tiring trip. Seconds later, loud screams and the sound of somebody...
  • Letters
    In 1967 and ’68, not too long after graduation from Parris Island and infantry training at Camp Geiger, N.C., I joined Echo Company, 2nd Battalion, 3rd Marines, in “I Corps,” which,...
  • Editorial: Selfless Marine earned the MOH
    There are few things more selfless than covering a live hand grenade to save your buddies.
  • Midrange boots
    Yet another piece of gear I’m going to have to lug from one duty station to another. I already have doubles of everything. I already have steel-toes, inspection boots, field boots and regular...
  • Next president must quickly choose efficient staff, advisers
    During the presidential primary season, many candidates — especially Sens. John McCain and Hillary Rodham Clinton — made an issue of their readiness to be president from “Day...
  • Letters
    Great article in the Sept. 15 issue of Marine Corps Times about the two Marines from Beaufort, S.C., who developed a smokeless tobacco product, “Revved Up” [“2 cpls. revved up about...
  • A little work, a big responsibility
    Voting isn’t merely the right of every American, it is our responsibility. And if the pen is mightier than the sword, as the saying goes, your vote is the most powerful weapon in your arsenal.
  • Editorial: Immediate attention needed
    At a recent congressional hearing, Department of Veterans Affairs officials talked about how pleased they are with VA’s year-old suicide prevention hotline, which they credit with saving the...
  • Editorial: Let families decide
    The Army’s new rules allowing better media access to burials at Arlington National Cemetery are inadequate to the task.
  • Sgt. Peralta’s sacrifice
    I fought with Sgt. Rafael Peralta. It is an insult to his family, the Corps and the eyewitnesses in that firefight that he has been denied the Medal of Honor. Does who shot whom have any bearing on...
  • Letters
    I was elated to read “Kiss your SAW Goodbye” on the front page of Marine Corps Times’ Sept. 15 issue. As an infantry weapons officer, I became very familiar with the strengths and...
  • Editorial: Make all rifle quals same
    The Corps’ new rifle-qualification rules fall way short of their intended target.
  • Letters
    I just read that the secretary of defense decided to downgrade the Medal of Honor recommendation for Sgt. Rafael Peralta [“Honor or insult?” Sept. 29]. I’m sure he made this...
  • From the forums
    Who’s to say tattoos aren’t professional? We are trained killers. What professional traits should we have? This is far too PC for the MC. Take this reg to another branch.
  • Letters
    I always get nervous when I read that commanders need a new physical fitness tool [“Leathernecks now have longer to prepare for CFT,” Oct. 6]. There seems to be more focus now on...
  • Drawing strength
    The halls of military hospitals in the U.S. and Germany were invaded recently by members of the National Cartoonists Society on a mission to bring smiles to the faces of the brave men and women who...
  • Editorial: Spend wisely, carefully
    President Eisenhower wisely said the economy is the source of America’s national security. It powers the world’s largest defense budget and gives the country worldwide clout.
  • Sound finance
    With the world’s financial markets in turmoil, many Marines and sailors are wondering if their money is safe. The answer is yes, provided you are smart about spending, saving and — most...
  • Letters
    I’m a scout sniper by trade, and I was an instructor at the Scout Sniper Basic Course in Hawaii. The use of optics for rifle qualification is an epic battle that has been going on for years for...
  • From our forums
    I don’t think women should be in the Corps, period. But since they are, physical training and physical fitness training don’t mean anything when it comes to leading Marines and being a...
  • Investing in the future
    A new NATO agreement promises to step up attacks on narcotics trafficking in Afghanistan, hoping to divert some of the estimated $100 million that flows into Taliban pockets from the poppy trade each...
  • Little faith in VA’s Plan B
    Last month, senior Department of Veterans Affairs officials told Congress that VA needed to hire a private contractor to be ready to handle claims and payments when the new Post-9/11 GI Bill takes...
  • Letters
    Staff Sgt. Keith Shampaner’s letter, “More Rank, More Medals,” [Oct. 13] is more on target than many may think. I have been amazed over the past several years with the amount of...
  • From our forums
    The military has gotten weaker during the five years I’ve been in. It’s because the sergeants don’t have full control. If you try to punish someone, you might end up getting in...
  • Lack of support
    The Corps is cracking down on Marines who let their weight slide out of control, but it’s not doing enough to provide us with the proper nutrition that will help keep the pounds from piling up.
  • Letters
    I am concerned for our service members and their families in this troubling financial time. We are not immune to this crisis, and in many cases we may be in a more serious position.
  • Editorial: Don’t be a victim
    The military has long been an irresistible target for unsavory businessmen and businesswomen because all service members draw steady paychecks, the government helps creditors collect what’s...
  • From the forums
    I have started to eat less healthy since coming to Okinawa. There are numerous reasons, but the huge thing is money. I receive community rations, but it doesn’t amount to crap when I am trying...
  • Editorial: CFT is fine, for now
    Once again, the Corps is out in front of the other services with its approach to combat training.
  • Mission: Family
    With its new Family Readiness Program, the Corps finally is making good on its promise to take care of Marines and their families.
  • How Obama can win trust
    If the combined forces of the U.S. military were a state, its 2.2 million residents would have voted strongly in favor of Sen. John McCain in last week’s election — giving him five votes,...
  • ‘Burn pit’ letters
    In the Nov. 3 issue, Marine Corps Times reported on the massive open-air waste burn pits on U.S. installations in the Iraq and Afghanistan war zones that some service members worry may pose health...
  • From our forums
    Why it is so difficult to get the right equipment for the Combat Fitness Test? It took over a month for us to secure ammo cans, and dummy grenades are controlled items that must be signed out. I have...
  • From our forums
    As a military police officer, my responsibility is to enforce all rules and regulations aboard the base.
  • Free speech has limits
    Retired Gunnery Sgt. Jesse Nieto understands the price of freedom.
  • U.S. troops, U.S. law
    When an Iraqi court recently convicted and sentenced to hang an insurgent who murdered three U.S. soldiers in 2006, it was one of the most significant milestones of the war since Saddam Hussein was...
  • From our forums
    Ultimately, what an Obama presidency means to me is that he will restore my faith and pride in my commander in chief. No longer will I have to be ashamed that I’m being led by a C student whose...
  • Crisis looms for aging fleet
    No military service has an affordable modernization program, and no service has shown effective leadership in modernization and procurement at the level of the secretary and the chief of staff....
  • Military medical practitioners attack unique challenges
    Together with our surgeons general, I am learning how we can better train our medical personnel to prevent and treat the physical and mental injuries of combat, and to help war-torn people care for...
  • Be wary of Redux bonus
    With the economy tanking and family budgets being squeezed, an offer of $30,000 in cold cash might seem easy to snap up.
  • Doing the right thing
    Every war leaves its unique scars, and today’s conflicts are no different.
  • From our forums
    Does our freedom of expression stop at the base? If not, then say what you wish in a civil manner. Nothing treasonous or anarchistic though.
  • Surrounded by heroes
    From mid-October to mid-November, my family faced the most difficult month of our lives. Not only did my mother, Pamela Losey, pass away Oct. 13 from pancreatic cancer, but 11 days later, my uncle,...
  • Letters
    Regarding the letter “Love the ones you’re with” [Nov. 10]: I find it hard to believe that the author, retired Army Master Sgt. Ben Peters, has never been involved in talking...
  • Expand ‘Recruit Wrap’
    There are few things quite as dispiriting as missing the holidays with the family.
  • Tweak GI Bill for reservists
    Having seen Congress overhaul active-duty GI Bill benefits, military advocates are now gearing up to get Congress to fix the reserve GI Bill, too.
  • From our forums
    I would die to keep the freedom we have, but in my opinion, I feel that the death penalty is cruel and unusual. The death penalty does not deter crime.
  • Letters
    I am responding to the article “Officials focus on targeting diverse recruits” [Nov. 3] and the notion of targeting minorities for recruitment due to studies about the decline of certain...
  • Smart to stay with Gates
    In an interview with Military Times last July, President-elect Barack Obama praised Defense Secretary Robert Gates for bringing a “level of realism and professionalism and planning” to...
  • M4 partnership needed
    The Corps has so far steered clear of the ongoing debate over replacing the M4 carbine.
  • From our forums
    Isn’t it strange that our country has grown to be so politically correct that we chastise a former Marine for expressing an opinion against a group that killed his son, yet we tolerate those...
  • At last, vindication
    The National Vietnam and Gulf War Veterans Coalition applauds the Veterans’ Affairs Research Advisory Committee on Gulf War illness for the release of its thorough review of research into...
  • Letters
    I applaud your recent articles on the pitfalls of taking the Career Status Bonus, “Choose wisely” [Dec. 1] but one article, “Specific plan can make Redux a better option,”...
  • Don’t stand by, stand up
    Service members pride themselves on being stand-up people, with more integrity than the average civilian. The self-image runs deep: “The few, the proud.” “Aim high.”...
  • Reverse Dover policy
    The cost of war can be counted in dollars and cents, entered into spreadsheets and processed across budgetary lines.
  • From our forums
    As a mother, I would not want my daughter’s casket to be photographed. It is a personal thing, for family only.
  • Letters
    The Marines’ plan to evaluate four Infantry Automatic Rifle candidates to replace the M249 Squad Automatic Weapon is woefully flawed [“The SAW’s replacement,” Feb. 2].
  • Recognize our heroes
    More than seven years have passed since we began the war on terrorism. Nearly 5,000 U.S. troops are dead. Thousands more have risked their lives, and sacrificed their blood and sweat in Afghanistan...
  • Learning to let go
    Formerly secret intelligence reports give a valuable insight into why Defense Secretary Robert Gates has so vehemently warned Congress not to try to Americanize the war against terrorists in...
  • From our forums
    The whole attitude of someone-hazed-me-this-way-so-I-get-to-haze-you-this-way is unbelievably juvenile. What a great way to pass on one bad idea after another. If a black eye in the bankbook is the...
  • Letters
    I sympathize with former Lance Cpl. Scott DiDonato [“$30M abuse case began at boot camp,” Feb. 9]. I know from my experience that many officers and even senior enlisted seem to care only...
  • Dump the EFV now
    After spending $1.2 billion in development, and six years after its original delivery date, the Marine Corps wants another $1 billion to re-engineer its Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle.
  • Redefine PTSD standard
    Legislation pending in Congress would make a change for the better for veterans diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder after they separate from service.
  • From our forums
    I would like to know why is it so hard for myself and all my fellow grunts to pick up SGT. It pisses me off that a year or two ago, the Marine Corps had a great idea to give grunts a $60,000 to...
  • Letters
    I want to comment on the column by Maj. Scott A. Huesing [“Recognize our heroes,” Back Talk, Feb. 23]. I served at Camp Corregidor in Ramadi, Iraq. I completed about 40 true combat...
  • No more blank checks
    Only in Washington can a budget increase be characterized as a cut. For weeks, the Pentagon had privately suggested the Obama administration would cut its 2010 defense budget by about $50 billion.
  • Iraq’s way out
    America’s military, faced with a future of small wars and lengthy postconflict nation-building efforts, desperately seeks to understand the logical boundaries between where its work should end...
  • Reflecting on 5,000
    The U.S. military reached a somber milestone in mid-June when the 5,000th American service member died in support of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
  • Don’t gut gator fleet
    The question keeps coming up: How many amphibious ships do the Navy and Marine Corps need?
  • Letters
    I applaud the author of “Make ’em show ID” [Editorial, June 15]. I agree wholeheartedly with that stance. Telling officers and staff noncommissioned officers they don’t need...
  • From our forums
    You can’t have any pornographic material whatsoever in the Middle East, including a picture of your own wife if she’s not completely covered, because it offends people in other countries....
  • Stamp out burn pits
    A growing number of military medical professionals believe burn pits are causing a wave of respiratory and other illnesses among troops returning from Iraq and Afghanistan.
  • Letters
    Why is it that there has been no Presidential Unit Citation awarded for all of the Corps’ outstanding achievements and heroics in Afghanistan? We have been over there for nearly eight years....
  • From Our Forums
    It is about time someone evaluated/overhauled the broken medal process. I really hope they look at all of the awards that have been given for valor and gallantry to see if these service members can...
  • A black eye for MCA
    The Marine Corps Association ought to be a pretty exclusive club. Turns out, it has a problem with fakers.
  • From our forums
    So now we’ve pretty much told the Taliban that:
  • Letter
    When the Corps went “digital” and we decided the Eagle, Globe and Anchor emblem would be embroidered on all of our cammies, there was a lot of discussion and to-do about the fact that...
  • Osprey can still fly
    Since its very inception, the MV-22 Osprey has been mired in controversy.
  • Don’t slight spouses
    The Military Postal Service Agency is looking to tighten some mail rules that officials say are too often flouted.
  • Letters
    From the perspective of a current reconnaissance Marine, the article titled, “Rebuilding recon” [June 22] was interesting and informative. In the past, the Corps has not done a good job...
  • From our forums
    Imagine what the rest of the students were thinking. Talk about pucker factor.
  • Materiel problems
    After six long and often bloody years, U.S. military forces have begun pulling out of Iraqi cities — the first step to dramatically cutting the American presence there by the end of 2011.
  • Open dialogue essential to quell tension with Iran
    Since taking office two years ago, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff has warned of the dangers of an Iran armed with nuclear weapons.
  • From our forums
    Chase them all into a village. Announce that anyone who wants to leave can — through one exit. After all friendlies leave village, level village. Rebuild village. Insert friendlies.
  • Letters
    One of the most important pledges the military makes in combat is to never leave a service member behind on the battlefield.
  • Smoking is troops’ right
    No one disputes that using tobacco, in whatever form, carries dire health consequences for users while driving up the costs of health care for everyone.
  • From our forums
    I served with Staff Sgt. Foster at his last command. I take offense that he claimed in one article that we ostracized him because he was going to be a single parent. Though I didn’t know him...
  • Letters
    I just moved to Al Asad air base in Iraq, and I cannot believe the rules and regulations that have been made up on this base. My Marines cannot wear green skivvy shirts with civilian-style physical...
  • Blaming the victim
    Everyone who knew Josh Fry knew he wasn’t Marine material.
  • Senate right to ax F-22
    It’s not often that Congress votes to shut down production of a big-ticket weapons system — along with the jobs that the system supports in home states and districts.
  • Don’t rush ‘don’t ask’
    As a candidate, President Barack Obama suggested he would work to overturn the law governing gays in the military as well as the policy that spun out of the law, known as “don’t ask,...
  • Man suing Corps denied record upgrade
    A former Marine who is suing the Corps for $30 million and asking for an upgrade to his military record suffered the first setback of his quest when the Naval Discharge Review Board recently...
  • Acquisition fix a tall order
  • Letters
    The other day, I took leave and was asked by the duty to turn in my meal card. I felt a flash of anger when I thought of all the countless meals I’ve paid for, but not eaten. Now I leave for a...
  • From our forums
    These dogs that are training to help wounded warriors are a great asset. Congress should provide money for the project.
  • Amphib forces essential
    Among the issues the Quadrennial Defense Review will determine is whether to retain the Marine Corps’ amphibious assault mission.

  • I am stationed in Hawaii. I have been assigned to other duty stations and also traveled through most of the U.S. On many of my travels, I have been lucky enough to meet veterans who have fought in...
  • Coburn’s callous ‘hold’
    A bill is pending in the Senate that would grant new benefits to help the families of severely wounded troops keep their loved ones at home, rather than in hospitals and other institutions. But the...
  • Letters
    I almost fell out of my chair watching the video of the naive Air Force training instructor falsely claiming that Air Force recruit training is more strenuous than the Marine Corps’....
  • From our forums
    Props for the president coming out to witness a dignified transfer at Dover Air Force Base, Del. What those Marines, airmen, sailors and soldiers do at Dover is nothing short of remarkable.
  • Fast fixes are needed
    The blast-resistant vehicles that have proven highly successful in protecting troops against improvised explosive devices have developed a devastating new vulnerability, now that insurgents are...
  • From our forums
    I think it is President Barack Obama’s duty to think long and hard before he acts. When our leaders have failed to properly plan their course of action and rushed into battle, we ended up with...
  • Letters
    The intent of this letter is to clarify and amplify remarks made in the Oct. 26 article “Straight shooters.”
  • Ramp up cultural training
    In the coming weeks, Marine Corps Forces Special Operations Command will deploy its first female engagement team to Afghanistan. There, alongside highly trained operators, they will venture into...
  • From the forums
    In 2010, fix the Physical Fitness Test. In my opinion it is easier for women to get higher scores because their standards are lighter. That means they have an unfair advantage when it comes to staff...

Navy Times: Opinions & Columns


  • Letters
    I do not understand why the Marine Corps is crying foul about the digital desert cammies that the Navy recently unveiled [“2 new cammies coming soon,” Jan. 18]. These new uniforms were...
  • From our forums
    Did any of you other fitness center regulars notice a big increase of people exercising this week? People waiting for stationary aerobic equipment, weight machines, etc. I had trouble finding an open...
  • Restricting privacy rights won’t make us safer
    In the wake of the Fort Hood shootings in November, an independent review requested by the Pentagon has called for sweeping personnel policy changes aimed at giving commanders more tools to identify...
  • Burn-pit stonewalling
    Military regulations state that open-air burn pits should be used only as a short-term waste disposal solution in forward areas until cleaner-burning, but costlier, incinerators can be brought online.
  • Stop this killer
    The military suicide epidemic is largely perceived as being suffered only by those who have served on the ground.
  • From our forums
    This NavAdmin just came out yesterday and I’m baffled. Why is the digital desert camouflage pattern going to be restricted to only Naval Special Warfare forces and their support units? Why...
  • Letters
    More and more I’m convinced that the Navy is scraping the bottom of the barrel when choosing people to make decisions about uniforms. The new physical training uniform was the first indication...
  • From the forums
    I’m retiring in about two years, and one of the many reasons I’m doing so is that I have no faith that senior leadership has my back. If it would be politically expedient, I would be...
  • Grieving families forgotten
    The families of nearly all service members who die in Iraq or Afghanistan, whether they are killed in action or die of non-combat injuries or illnesses, receive a letter of condolence from Defense...
  • New cammies for all
    The Navy has approved two new camouflage uniforms — but in a baffling reversal of previous statements, rank-and-file ground sailors won’t be allowed to wear the desert version in the war...
  • Letters
    In regards to providing full honors for those who commit suicide, let us not kid ourselves. There is no honor in suicide. It is a tragic loss that curses those who survive and inflicts untold pain on...
  • Pregnancy vs. readiness
    Army Maj. Gen. Anthony Cucolo, commander of Multi-National Division-North in Iraq, learned a thing or two about messaging after threatening courts-martial for soldiers, male or female, involved in...
  • Income tax confusion
    Three military officers recently received income tax bills from the state of California seeking back taxes for time spent there during past assignments.
  • Letters
    I was surprised to learn that the Navy was employing acupuncture to treat patients and “training doctors across the fleet in the 2,000-year-old Chinese medical techniques” [“Needle...
  • From the forums
    The taking of a human life is no small thing. War is a dirty, nasty, disgusting business which requires compartmentalized emotions and the ability to temporarily suppress feelings of charity and...
  • Stop video leaks now
    It should not have been a surprise.
  • Don’t expand new GI Bill
    One of the most generous aspects of the Post-9/11 GI Bill is the ability to transfer unused education benefits to family members — to a spouse after six years of service and to children after...
  • Letters
    Regarding the situation with the three SEALs who are charged [in connection] with the alleged abuse of Ahmed Hashim Abed [“Courts-martial set for three Navy SEALs,” Dec. 7;...
  • From the Forums
    The commanding officer, the command master chief and five other chiefs. There are no secrets on a destroyer, for very long anyways. I can assure you that everyone knew what was going on — the...
  • Stop C-17 production for Air Force
    If I wanted Pentagon dollars to pour into my neighborhood, I would want a senator like Sen. Daniel Inouye, D-Hawaii.
  • From the forums
    I’m wondering why, as of recently, we’re getting all these fakers. They didn’t seem to be anywhere near as common 10 years ago.
  • Stopping sexual assaults
    In recent years, senior Defense Department leaders often have spoken of their commitment to preventing and responding to sexual assault in the ranks.
  • Sending a clear message
    On the same day that the Navy relieved the commanding officer and command master chief of the destroyer James E. Williams, the four-star head of Fleet Forces Command did something unusual.
  • Letters
    To back our esteemed colleague, Master Chief Yeoman (SS) Lawrence Linton II [“Chiefs are leaders, experts,” Letters, Dec. 14], here is more information for Cmdr. John Perry [who wrote the...
  • Good benefit gone bad
    The Post-9/11 GI Bill, one of the most generous military benefits programs ever created, launched Aug. 1 with the promise of making a college education an affordable reality for a new generation of...
  • Time to invest in JSF
    Keeping big programs on track is always tough, and that’s especially the case with the biggest defense project ever: the F-35 Lightning II fighter, known as the Joint Strike Fighter.
  • From the forums
    [Capt. John Schoeneck] oversaw a lot at [Naval Support Activity] Bahrain while he was there, including the return of dependents and the preparation of the [Department of Defense Dependent School]...
  • Letters
    Cmdr. John Perry reports that he has noticed a disturbing trend in the chief petty officer community: “Unlike the staff noncommissioned officers of other services, the chiefs’ mess...
  • Letters
    I am writing a rebuttal to a letter in the Nov. 23 issue [“Women to join sub crews”]. As both a sailor and a person who understands the responsibility that is undertaken to correctly use...
  • From our forums
    Clearly an example of poor leadership. A navigator listening to his iPod while supervising is an example of a leader trying to fit in with [his] sailors. Sailors need mentoring and a leader who can...
  • Arlington questions
    The Army has a project underway to computerize burial records at Arlington National Cemetery and upgrade other aspects of its information technology infrastructure.
  • Kill ‘widow’s tax’ for all
    Some widowed spouses got an early shot of holiday cheer when a federal appeals court recently ruled that they are entitled to full survivor benefits from the Defense and Veterans Affairs departments...
  • From the forums
    Currently Norway, Australia, Spain, and Canada allow females on boats. It would seem that all four of those fleets are still afloat.
  • Supply sailors adequately
    Shortened timeframes, a slow-moving supply system and shrinking budgets are forcing fleet sailors to pay for their own parts and supplies to keep their ships running, sailors are telling Navy Times....
  • Letters
    The article regarding Master Chief Hospital Corpsman (FMF) Robin Foster was disturbing for a few reasons [“Report: E-9 neglected duties,” Nov. 16]. First, for a command to be so late in...
  • Hold E-8 accountable
    The Navy’s top officer has decided that the senior chief at the center of a hazing and abuse scandal in Bahrain should retire early.
  • Letters
    I noticed the new Navy Working Uniform Gore-Tex parka and fleece liner for sale in my uniform shop with a price tag of $228 [“Steep drop in sailors’ clothing allowances,” Oct. 26]....
  • From our forums
    Women can serve just as effectively as men. Can women be introduced to subs and work effectively? Yes. Will it still be voluntary service? Yes. Many women get pregnant to get off the ship, out of sea...
  • The price of going green
    Navy Secretary Ray Mabus has laid out an ambitious goal of deploying a “green” carrier strike group, converting a dozen destroyers to hybrid power plants and running 50 percent of the...
  • Turf war hurts families
    The 2010 defense authorization bill, on a fast track to final passage at press time, used to include two important improvements in legal and financial protections for troops and their families.
  • Letters
    I am a submariner, and I believe that women should not be allowed [“Women in subs,” Oct. 12]. The surface fleet has many problems with mixed-gender crews; why would you want that in a...
  • From our forums
    The Navy has operated like this for years. Squadrons work ships up for months prior to inspections so that they will pass. Shouldn’t the Navy want to inspect their ships [based] on how they do...
  • A new manning plan
    In the summer of 2001, then-Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Vern Clark tasked his leaders with finding ways to cut the size of the crews needed to operate and maintain ships.
  • From our forums
    Never should you have to “get ready” for an inspection. The ship should operate within guidelines of inspection criteria all the time. One way to fix this “get ready for an...
  • Letters
    Navy Times always reports the bad results on the front page of the paper about ships that can’t do their jobs, commanding officers getting fired and pretty much bad news. If you look at the...
  • Limit Feres’ reach
    With little fanfare, the House Judiciary Committee has approved landmark legislation that would override a 59-year-old Supreme Court ruling barring active-duty members from suing the government for...
  • From our forums
    Any guardsman or reservist [who] has been called to active duty for more than 30 days or longer and has 20 years of service should be able to retire and collect retirement immediately. What makes the...
  • Letters
    I would like to respond to the comments made by retired Cmdr. Michael Capasso about keeping unmanned aerial vehicles out of the hands of enlisted [“Keep UAVs for pilots only,” Letters,...
  • Give heroes their due
    On the day President Barack Obama awarded just the sixth Medal of Honor since the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq began, all of them posthumous honors, Defense Secretary Robert Gates suggested that soon...
  • A familiar VA pattern
    Veterans Affairs Department officials told Congress in late June that preparations for the Aug. 1 launch of the Post-9/11 GI Bill were going swimmingly.
  • Good intention, bad plan
    The House version of the 2010 defense authorization bill would place problematic new mandates on support programs serving military family members with autism.
  • Families belong at Dover
  • Letters
    Your editorial on commanding officer firings [“CO firings have roots in flawed screening process,” Sept. 14] is off the mark in a number of ways.
  • From our forums
    I hate how an enlisted person messes up and commanding officers love to have “Open Masts” to teach us lowly peons a lesson, but then some CO or admiral gets busted [having sex] and all of...
  • Letters
    If you’re a petty officer and you’re allowing your peers and the ranks below you to look shabby, you are more to blame than they are [“Stopping sloppy sailors,” Aug. 31]....
  • Protecting you, charities
    Some small charities that support troops and their families are having a bit of heartburn over new vetting rules handed down by Defense Department officials.
  • Reshaping acquisitions
    Defense Secretary Robert Gates has made it clear that he intends to change how the world’s richest military buys its gear.
  • CO firings have roots in flawed screening process
    Some 133 commanding officers have been fired since 1999 — a skipper or more a month, every month for a decade.
  • From the forums
    I just don’t get it. In recent decades, the Navy and Air Force have closed East Coast airfields due to [base realignment and closure] after those communities fought to keep them open. Now the...
  • Letters
    I read with disappointment Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy (SS/SW) Rick West’s answer to Electrician’s Mate 1st Class (SW) Tony Chambers’ letter concerning the...
  • From the forums
    First, vets will have to help themselves and not rely on the government. I encourage all veterans to join the American Legion, they are a strong advocate for veterans’ rights. Second, we need...
  • More accountability at VA
    The Veterans Affairs Department has proposed rules to make it easier for veterans to link their diagnosed post-traumatic stress disorder to their military service and become eligible for disability...
  • Letters
    The issue of sloppy sailors — or sloppy service members, for that matter — has been around for as long as I can remember [“Stopping sloppy sailors,” Aug. 31]. The problem is...
  • Letters
    The Aug. 17 cover [“5 new ways to kick out sailors”] makes it seem as if there is a witch hunt with the intention of getting rid of sailors just for the sake of reducing numbers. How...
  • From the forums
    This retirement board is a sham and shows a total disrespect toward the chiefs’ community. I retired in 2008 and am glad I don’t have to deal with this stuff anymore, but it peeves me to...
  • Fully fund the military without using tricks
    The White House has made clear that it intends to halt the use of supplemental funding bills, those “emergency” measures that critics have long contended obscure the true scope of the...
  • Bridge DoD-VA record gap
    For years, the Pentagon and Veterans Affairs Department have struggled to build a system that can quickly and easily share medical records of troops moving from the military’s health care...
  • Letters
    I’m upset with yet another cover of your publication [“Chiefs walk the plank,” Aug. 10]. I’m all for getting rid of substandard performers and feel this should have been...
  • Get real on social nets
    The Pentagon has a growing problem — the phenomenon called social networking.
  • DoD: Do more with less
    If any doubt remains that the military must overhaul the way it buys weapons systems, look no further than the Navy’s 15-year effort to build a 65-foot minisub for its SEAL commando teams.
  • From the forums
    First off, I am relieved for the family of Michael Speicher that his remains have been identified and will be coming home. I can certainly understand that if someone is being held as a prisoner of...
  • Letters
    In reference to the “protection from the cold” response [about why sailors can’t put their hands in their pea coats], I thought the chief of naval personnel’s answer could...
  • Obama can help vets
    President Barack Obama and Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki met last week with Military Times and other military journalists in a bid to restore confidence in the administration’s...
  • Right call on pregnant mid
    When a senior midshipman turned up pregnant just weeks before graduation, Navy leaders faced a quandary: bar her from graduation because of a clear violation of academy rules, or let her graduate and...
  • Allow spouses to choose
    Service members can claim permanent residence in any state in which they are permanently assigned for as long as they stay in uniform. They can keep that residency status no matter how many...
  • Letters
    I would just like to rebut Electrician’s Mate 1st Class (SW) Tony Chambers’ comment regarding the [Navy Working Uniform rules in the] Washington, D.C., metro area...
  • From the forums
    The real reason this is an issue is because there had to be multiple systemic failures for this crack to go unnoticed during multiple inspection processes and unpredicted by those who designed the...
  • Letters
    I am disappointed in the new prototypes for the service dress khaki uniforms [“New dress khaki prototypes unveiled,” June 29]. Originally, the uniforms were meant to be an iconic return...
  • From our forums
    We shop around for whatever we need. Some items like paper products and meat are cheaper at the commissary, while produce and other stuff are comparable at the market.
  • Don’t gut gator fleet
    The question keeps coming up: How many amphibious ships do the Navy and Marine Corps need?
  • End burdensome offsets
    One reason Congress gets such routinely low approval ratings from the American people is that lawmakers often are seen as quick to break their promises.
  • From our forums
    We already have those crap PT uniforms. Why do we need windbreakers? We already have a sweatshirt and sweatpants. If the secretary of defense wants to cut down on wasteful spending, then this is it.
  • Letters
    In response to retired Damage Controlman 1st Class Donald Britt’s letter about the exchange glamorizing alcohol, does he think that the exchange is the only place sailors shop [“Serious...
  • Letters
    I have been in the Navy for 16 years. I served my first eight years in the fleet and the last eight in the Seabees. I have been all over the world. I have felt all extremes of cold, hot, humid, and...
  • From our forums
    The tests were in February and it takes them until five days after they announce the promotions that there was an error? Great deck-plate leadership.
  • Don’t rush ‘don’t ask’
    As a candidate, President Barack Obama suggested he would work to overturn the law governing gays in the military as well as the policy that spun out of the law, known as “don’t ask,...
  • Training that works
    Fleet leaders have complained for years that new sailors are showing up at ships and squadrons without the skills and knowledge to do their jobs.
  • Shed light on pay data
    Having led the fight to close the gap between average military and private-sector pay — once as high as 13.5 percent and now under 3 percent — advocacy groups are setting their sights on...
  • Concurrent receipt — now
    Five years ago, Congress finally decided to kill a century-old law that forced disabled military retirees to forfeit a dollar of retired pay for every dollar they received in disability compensation.
  • From our forums
    This brings to mind a saying: Sailors belong on ships, and ships belong at sea. Maybe some [joint task force exercise] qualifications can be accomplished through synthetic training: administrative...
  • Letters
    After reading Chief Religious Programs Specialist (SW/SCW) Patrick Mondragon’s comments, I was left to wonder: Was this superstar never frocked as a petty officer [“Why wait on...
  • 4 tips for new SecNav
    New Navy Secretary Ray Mabus was sworn in May 19, the 75th man to hold the post.
  • We owe wounded a lifetime of support
    On Memorial Day, like every day of the year, we are inspired by the courage, competence and sacrifice of the men and women in our armed forces as well as their families.
  • Letters
    I have had the opportunity to serve with female warriors in Iraq and onboard surface combatants. It is time to look at allowing female sailors to serve on submarines.
  • Letters
    I have been in the Navy for almost 12 years and just picked up chief last year. When I found out that I made chief, I was ecstatic. But my joy is a little tainted by something that’s been...
  • Budget needs to balance personnel, weapons
    The unveiling of President Barack Obama’s first defense budget was anticlimactic, coming weeks after Defense Secretary Robert Gates announced major program cuts and after Congress had approved...
  • From our forums
    The Navy is the only force with minority recruiting requirements. When the CNO implies that COs may be mentoring their [junior officers and department heads] based not on need and ability, but on...
  • Letters
    With the war on terrorism in full swing and no end in sight, the Navy continues to employ sailors in individual augmentee assignments [“Facing a sailor surplus,” May 11]. I thoroughly...
  • From our forums
    If we take the stance that we should be fighting pirates half-way around the world, we should also take the stance that we should have been there to help prevent the conditions that caused the...
  • Drinking part of culture
    Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Gary Roughead wants to see a 25 percent decline in alcohol-related incidents in 2009.
  • Make fee raise manageable
    “Hit us over the head with a two-by-four three times, and we’re beginning to get the message.”
  • From the forums
    I’m fine with the recruiters receiving students’ names and addresses, but my support stops at [providing] phone numbers. The path a high school graduate decides to take is best worked out...
  • Letters
    I spent 10 years in the Marine Corps Reserve, and I was damn proud to wear that uniform. It embodied tradition, good taste and esprit de corps.
  • Strong start for Mabus
    “The acquisition process has to be gotten under control or we’re going to unilaterally disarm ourselves.”
  • Pattern of misconduct
    The Pentagon and the services have come far in fixing the many flaws in the disability review process for combat-injured troops. But Congress often has had to push them to do the right thing.
  • From the forums
    In the spirit of Robert A. Heinlein, I’m wondering if we hadn’t ought to formalize this and offer all of the illegals in this country (that we catch) the chance to serve in the military...
  • Letters
    Navy officials say that sailors will get more training in simulators before they deploy, and they will be ready [“Budget woes force cuts in home-based ops,” March 30]? That’s a...
  • Keep InSurvs public
    It was shocking to learn early last year that two of the Navy’s front-line and most advanced warships — the cruiser Chosin and destroyer Stout — had both flunked inspections within...
  • Nonlethal options needed
    Despite millennia of investment in developing better weapons, the options remain staggeringly binary — kill or not kill.
  • From the forums
    The idea that you have to participate in this negative behavior or risk being ostracized or “blackballed” by the other members of your wardroom or command is a cop-out. The solution to...
  • Don’t stand by, stand up
    Service members pride themselves on being stand-up people, with more integrity than the average civilian. The self-image runs deep: “The few, the proud.” “Aim high.”...
  • Letters
    After the April 6 article “Ball caps on the brink,” I feel like ball caps will be reduced to souvenir items for purchase when one visits museum ships.
  • From the forums
    Why would we shoot it down? The international community has all eyes on this, and consequences will prevail. The U.S. cannot be the front-runner for every campaign. We have our forces spread so thin...
  • Letters
    Commodore Esek Hopkins used the First Navy Jack as a signal to engage the British in the American Revolution. The revived Jack in today’s fleet represents a historic reminder of the...
  • Sensible acquisition
    In making a bold new call for sweeping cuts in some of the military’s most high-profile weapons programs, Defense Secretary Robert Gates is striving to bring to America’s military posture...
  • New VA reality: women
    The wars in Afghanistan and Iraq are forging a new place in history for military women, who make up more than 10 percent of the deployed force.
  • From the forums
    I don’t understand what the deal is. Making first class is not hard. I made it in nine years, in a cycle where advancement was only 2 percent (I’m a personnel specialist). I can’t...
  • Letters
    I recently read the Back Talk piece by Donnie Horner in the March 23 edition of Navy Times [“A failure of leadership”]. In fact, I read the column four or five times. I understand that...
  • Sizing up missile defense
    President Barack Obama has repeatedly said that the fate of the $9 billion-a-year missile de¬fense program depends on whether it works now. Analysts say that could lead to program cuts of $2...
  • Letters
    My problem with the khaki [enlisted service uniform] has nothing to do with whether they are earned [“For, against khaki,” Feb. 16].
  • From our forums
    No sympathy for those sailors, they knew what they were doing was wrong. However, it did one good thing — it exposed a practice that compromised the validity of the exam. If it happened once,...
  • 2 sides to Dover debate
    On Feb. 26, Defense Secretary Robert Gates announced the repeal of a policy dating to the 1991 Gulf War that prohibited media coverage of flag-draped coffins of U.S. war casualties coming home to...
  • Continue closing pay gap
    President Barack Obama’s first defense budget calls for a military pay raise of 2.9 percent next year, which would mark the first time since 2000 that the annual military raise would not...
  • Keep InSurvs public
    On March 3, the Navy fired the commanding officer of the mine countermeasures ship Devastator because of the ship’s poor material condition. Less than a month earlier, inspectors from the...
  • Editorial: Report burn-pit truth
    Military officials say no known long-term health effects can be linked to heavy, lengthy exposure to the smoke from open-air burn pits in Iraq and Afghanistan.
  • Close the fighter gap
    “When word of crisis breaks out in Washington, it’s no accident the first question that comes to everyone’s lips is, ‘Where is the nearest carrier?’”
  • From the forums
    Our true fight is, and always was, Afghanistan, and I’m glad we are finally getting over there to do what should have done so long ago. We’ll probably never catch [Osama] Bin Laden now,...
  • Letters
    I’ve been listening to the Navy trying to figure out where to make cutbacks: what Navy jobs can be contracted out to save money and which jobs are unnecessary. Now I’m stationed overseas,...
  • Military groups most deserving of government ‘bailout’
    If the United States can afford to spend almost $1 trillion in bailouts for companies whose financial troubles were caused by their own mismanagement, what about those in the military community who...
  • Shinseki at VA
    Nominating retired Army Gen. Eric Shinseki as secretary of veterans affairs is the latest bold move by President-elect Barack Obama to reassure troops and veterans that he intends to look out for...
  • From our Forums
    I absolutely do not get this. I understand that the Coast Guard is trying to develop its SpecOps capability, but since 95 percent of the skill sets in Naval Special Warfare don’t transfer to...
  • Letters
    Navy Times’ assessment that a carefully planned opportunity by the Royal Australian Navy to give some of our people a well-earned leave break “makes the service down under look something...
  • Editorial: Job plan too generous
    President Bush has signed an executive order that gives a huge advantage to military spouses seeking federal government jobs.
  • Editorial: Security before shipyards
    Tracking all the changes to the DDG 1000 destroyer program can give you whiplash these days.
  • United front
    Adm. Michael Mullen, the relatively new chairman of the Joint Chiefs, has three big objectives as he starts this year’s wrestling match with Congress. His first objective is for the chiefs to...
  • Letters
    I was discussing with my fellow corpsman their feelings on the faker that almost got away, and I wish to give all my brothers and sisters some words of encouragement [“Hero to zero,” Feb....
  • Editorial
    For the third consecutive year, the Pentagon’s budget request calls for big hikes in enrollment fees, deductibles and pharmacy co-pays in its Tricare health insurance program.
  • Editorial: The case to keep LCS
    The hot topics for armchair admirals are whether the Navy should adopt the Coast Guard’s National Security Cutter instead of its planned Littoral Combat Ship and whether it should trade the DDG...
  • A century later, ideals behind Great White Fleet’s journey remain
  • Editorial: Build before you buy
    Any initiative launched in an administration’s last year faces an uphill battle for survival, and the prognosis is even worse when it comes from a team suffering record-low approval ratings. So...
  • Services aim to curb cheating on brain-injury test
    Troops in Iraq and elsewhere have tried to avoid being pulled out of combat units by cheating on problem-solving tests that are used to spot traumatic brain injuries, military doctors say.
  • Editorial: With Iran on the brink, it’s time to speak softly
    After years of rhetoric from Washington that military action against Iran is imminent, Persian Gulf nations are bracing for an American attack on the Islamic republic.
  • Where are the ships?
    The first joint Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard maritime strategy is laudable on many fronts, but it fails to deliver a plan to equip the sea services with the tools needed to achieve it.
  • New missions, new machines
    The Navy’s decision to pare down its type/model/series of helicopters to one or two multipurpose models makes perfect sense for a business-based enterprise. From the operational perspective,...
  • Pass wounded warrior bill
    On the list of military issues on which Congress has shown a breathtaking mismatch between rhetoric and action, few examples loom larger than taking care of troops wounded in the wars in Iraq and...
  • Letters
    I do not want to comment specifically on the case of the USS Constitution’s skipper, Cmdr. Thomas Graves, because I do not know anything about the case [“Ship adrift,” Sept. 24]....
  • Dump photos for good
    For years, the Navy required every officer to maintain a current photo in his service record jacket. It was no big deal.
  • Love from the heartland
    Reports of our progress in Iraq and Afghanistan are a constant drumbeat of negative news. America is becoming disillusioned about our ability to win, and support for our effort is eroding....
  • Editorial
    We’ll probably never know exactly what happened Sept. 16, when private security contractors protecting a State Department convoy in Baghdad opened fire.
  • Editorial
    On Sept. 17, the Web site for the Library of Congress’ Veterans History Project — which has spent the past seven years collecting the oral histories of tens of thousands of combat...
  • Letters
    After reading the force cuts article, I can only shake my head and wonder exactly who signed us up for this manning atrocity [“Force cuts hit fleet,” Sept. 17]. Did anyone take into...
  • Healers become combat-ready
    For a Navy medical team, the road to Afghanistan begins in Fort Riley, Kan., where physicians, nurses and corpsmen completed a course in combat skills in preparation for a yearlong deployment. Many...
  • Return of the Russians
    Since the fall of the Berlin Wall and the dissolution of the Soviet empire, the image of the Russian navy has been one framed by submarine disasters, ships sold off to foreign powers and hulls...
  • Letters
    Lt. Cmdr. Chris Van Avery was right when he wrote that the discussion of pulling troops out of Iraq is “not really debate, it’s arguing” [“Message accomplished,” Back...
  • Editorial: Establish valor database to honor national heroes
    After watching the film “Saving Private Ryan,” which showed scenes of the U.S. cemetery in Normandy, France, Monty McDaniel became curious about the grave of his uncle, who is buried...
  • Editorial: Congress can fix Feres
    After 21-year-old Nathan Hafterson died during a routine medical procedure in March 2006, his family might well have expected they could sue the doctors and hospital whose negligence they say killed...
  • Editorial: Leaders’ failure remains
    As we said in this space exactly one year ago, the term “military leadership” connotes many things: boldness, tactical and strategic decision-making, and moral courage, to name just a few.
  • ‘Serve, support and simplify’
    A rocket-propelled grenade fired by insurgents in Iraq during an ambush on Jan. 8, 2004, turned me from combat soldier into wounded warrior in a matter of seconds.
  • Letters
    Isn’t it about time the post office granted to our service members’ families the same benefit as Congress receives? Our service members, specifically those overseas, are entitled to as...
  • Marines agree: What the next war needs is an inviting beach
    Although I haven’t spoken to all Marines personally (I’ve spoken to four, which is close), I feel confident that I represent the feelings of the entire Marine Corps when I propose that we...
  • Letters
    Although I applaud any move to make the Navy’s chief petty officers a more professional force, and I have experienced some ugly hazing incidents in my years as a chief, I feel that some of...
  • Message accomplished
    You can’t turn on the news these days without having coverage of the latest celebrity miscreant interrupted by the endless debate over pulling out of Iraq. OK, it’s not really debate,...
  • Editorial: Don’t reinvent the wheel
    The Army may have been slow in 2004 to fit its vehicles with armor plate, but it’s moving at record speed in 2007 when it comes to buying combat robots.
  • Letters
    ‘Luxury’ parenting
  • Make mental health a priority
    As members of Congress with very different views on the war in Iraq, we know how difficult it is to find consensus on this war. But there is one thing that should unite us all — our commitment...
  • Editorial: Inappropriate message
    A charitable group that enjoys at least tacit official support from the Pentagon is embroiled in a controversy that is proving too hot for defense officials.
  • Withdrawal, with a catch
    Read the fine print. When a public figure talks about “withdrawing” from Iraq, there’s probably more to the word than you think.
  • Letters
    According to a recently published Navy uniform announcement, sailors are now authorized to “walk and talk” on their cell phones while in uniform. Why does the Navy continue to tailor its...
  • Don’t reinvent the wheelbook
    An old cartoon by “Broadside” creator Jeff Bacon — showing some poor skipper having to relinquish his beloved wheelbook — recently inspired a bunch of bloggers to rant about...
  • Adm. Mullen must bring straight talk back to chairman’s post
    When Adm. Mike Mullen becomes chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff — he is expected to receive Senate consent — will he give serious advice to President Bush and to Defense Secretary...
  • Editorial: Improving advancement
    Demonstrated personal performance — and not just how long you’ve been in the Navy — will now count more for your score in the Navy’s enlisted advancement process.
  • Editorial: Right plan for reservists
    Sen. Chuck Hagel, R-Neb., is the latest lawmaker with a plan to lower the age at which reserve and National Guard members can begin drawing retirement pay.
  • Letters
    Tammy Gordon’s perspective on uniform policy changes is very familiar to me, and equally irritating [“Proposed uniform change removes a rite of passage for chiefs,” Back Talk, July...
  • Letters
    For 25 years, the blue-and-gold fighter planes of our Blue Angels have flown over the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco. This year, the political fringe wants to shut the flyover down, because...
  • How to engage Iran
    During the Cold War, Ronald Reagan criticized the policy of “containment” toward the Soviet Union on the grounds that it was defensive and reactive and not designed to win the superpower...
  • Editorial: The right message
    This past Independence Day, over the objections of some local parents, the city of Littleton, Colo., dedicated a statue to a local Navy SEAL killed in combat in Afghanistan. The critics had argued...
  • Editorial: The price of war
    In early July, perhaps before, perhaps soon after you read this, the U.S. military will reach a somber wartime milestone: 4,000 troops...
  • Editorial: Draw down with care
    The Navy’s done the planning.
  • Proposed uniform change removes a rite of passage for chiefs
    For many years, men and women fought through their careers to reach one goal: to become a chief.
  • Editorial: Budget for construction
    If the House and Senate appropriations committees have it right — and there’s no reason to doubt them — the Pentagon is headed for rough water on military construction that could...
  • Letters
    This grand new idea of sending recruits to college before boot camp is neither a new idea nor a good one [“Books before boot camp,” June 25]. Does anyone remember the CASH — College...
  • Necessary limits
    Some media question a recent change to embed ground rules in Iraq. The requirement states that images of wounded service members “will not be released without the service member’s prior...
  • Blog: Tales from the Sandbox
    Military Times staff writer Kelly Kennedy shares her...
  • Letters
    Both the headline and the story on the Battle of Midway perpetuated the myth that the U.S. forces were heavily outnumbered and should have lost [“One for the underdog,” June 11]. But...
  • Editorial: Give troops their leave
    On April 18, Pentagon personnel chief David S.C. Chu announced details of a new plan to compensate combat troops who are deployed longer or more often than Pentagon policy permits.
  • Where’s the plan?
    Recently, I was asked what current Navy issue should concern folks. My answer goes directly to the core of the service and resonates with a singular frustration I had with our senior leadership while...
  • Editorial: No more strategy secrets
    One year ago, at the Current Strategy Forum in Newport, R.I., Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Mike Mullen heralded the launch of a new effort to forge a National Maritime Strategy. The goal was to...
  • Editorial: Photo rules hide the truth
    Some of war’s most memorable images include the wounded and the dead. It is impossible to chronicle a war without including that defining characteristic. But if the most current ground rules...
  • Letters
    There’s been a lot of talk about putting the right sailor in the right place at the right time, so let’s apply that methodology to the standardized servicewide PT uniform issue....
  • Facing the news: A Navy wife battles mixed emotions when IA duty hits home
    It’s late afternoon and the newspaper is spread out all over the coffee table. I’m looking for a specific article when my husband walks through the door. Just home from work, he seems a...
  • MDA’s track record justifies continued investment
    The Missile Defense Agency’s $8.9 billion budget request for 2008 is $500 million less than 2007, the first decline since the initial Bush administration budget in 2002. Within a defense budget...
  • Journalists’ hands are tied
    Every day, thousands of American men and women perform untold acts of bravery and drudgery on behalf of what our leaders have defined as vital American interests in Iraq and Afghanistan.
  • Editorial: Extra pay, not leave
    After more than five years at war, reservists continue to answer the call to arms, deploying at an unprecedented pace.
  • LETTERS
    Although Lt. Ted Kopinski made some good points about base security [“Down with decals,” Back Talk, June 4], I don’t agree with his risk-benefit analysis. As a former collateral...
  • Editorial: VA overhaul not cheap
    A committee drawn from the Institute of Medicine and the National Research Council has produced a report that discusses how the Department of Veterans Affairs could better serve the rising number of...
  • LETTERS
    Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy (SW/FMF) Joe Campa’s recommendation that the degree requirement be lifted for chiefs is not a shot at education — quite the contrary...
  • Editorial: Fixing the death gratuity
    In 2005, Congress raised the so-called “death gratuity” paid to survivors of service members who die on active duty from $12,000 to $100,000 — a generous gesture of wartime support.
  • U.S. needs a unified, diplomatic approach to Iran
    If you’re in the armed forces, you may wonder whether our nation’s leaders are preparing to send you into a war with Iran.
  • Enough is enough
    “And when you ask them, how much should we give?
  • Letters
    I like the idea of a PT uniform for command activities such as the Physical Readiness Test, unit PT, community service, etc. I wouldn’t like to see the uniform be mandatory for individual PT....
  • Down with decals
    While completing a one-year individual augmentee tour working with Air Force and Army personnel at Fort Bragg, N.C., and Hurlburt Field, Fla., I was surprised by the security policy now in place at...
  • Editorial: Reveal reasons for firings
    The Navy won’t tolerate CO shenanigans, that much is clear.
  • Editorial: Prorate danger benefits
    It’s no secret that you can qualify for a full month’s danger pay — $225 — and a month’s federal tax-exclusion benefits — worth far more — for spending even...
  • Joint chiefs must return to prominence within command chain
    If Fleet Adm. Ernest King and George Marshall, general of the Army, were members of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff in March of 2003, we might not be bogged down in a dreadful and misguided war in...
  • Letters
    You correctly put a spotlight on an important issue — Department of Defense oversight of acquisition programs and overreliance on lead system integrators [“More oversight needed,”...
  • Editorial: Don’t stifle troops’ voices
    One battlefield lesson seemingly never learned is how fundamentally wrong it is to be anything less than fully open and truthful about what is taking place in the war zone.
  • An eternal bond
  • Familiar territory
    The battalion commander that hot afternoon sat in his hooch inside a barbed wire donut on South Vietnam’s Delta and boiled over about how unfair the war was to his troops. The year was 1968. I...
  • Pentagon’s push for technology over troops hurt support for war
    The proposed 2008 Pentagon budget requests $75 billion for research and development of new weapons.
  • Letters
    I’m sorry that Lt. Cmdr. Mike Thornton didn’t understand what is going on with the proposed PT uniform [“White shirt is wrong,” Letters, May 14].
  • Editorial: More oversight needed
    Like everything else, defense trends are subject to fashion, and it appears that the lead systems integrator concept may be slipping out of style.
  • Serving in silence
    Many mornings, I am at the post walking when the flag is being raised. I wouldn’t be here at this moment if it were not for my spouse’s chosen profession, the military.
  • Editorial: Don’t cut STOVL JSF
    Over the past decade, the Navy has launched many unsuccessful assaults on the Joint Strike Fighter program, only to be beaten back by Pentagon leaders.
  • Letters
    As an officer, I would expect Army Warrant Officer 1 William Jones to have a little more wisdom than what he demonstrated in his letter [“Double standard,” Letters, April 30]. While I see...
  • Editorial: Pay proposal is fair
    For more than a century, disabled military retirees were required by law to forfeit a dollar in retirement pay for every dollar received in disability compensation.
  • Honoring the fallen
    BAGRAM AIRFIELD, Afghanistan — Following the deaths of 32 Virginia Tech students, the President of the United States ordered that all American flags be flown at half-staff for one week.
  • FROM the FORUMS
  • Editorial: Praise for PT uniform
    After years of seeing sailors show up for physical training events looking like a mismatched high school gym class, Navy officials have finally decided to field a universal PT uniform.
  • Letters
    Yes, the statue of Navy SEAL Danny Dietz does, in part, signify violence [“A proper tribute,” Frontlines, April 23]. Unfortunately, our history does include violence. Some violence, like...
  • Editorial: A half-staff salute in May
    In the aftermath of the Virginia Tech shootings, where 32 students and teachers died at the hands of a highly disturbed gunman last month, the media published lengthy profiles of every victim and...
  • Editorial: Let the children play
    Thanks to an ill-conceived Navy Region Mid-Atlantic policy forbidding kids under 10 to use Morale, Welfare and Recreation facilities, Lt. Cmdr. Dan Moloney can no longer shoot hoops with his sons on...
  • Letters
    I hold no issue with the writer questioning the British troop behavior [“British troops fed Iran’s propaganda,” Editorial, April 16]. What I do have issue with is the somewhat...
  • Editorial: VA owes veterans more
    Lawmakers are watching with alarm the exploding backlog of veterans’ benefits claims, now estimated at 600,000 cases and growing as troops return from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
  • U.S. media reporting fairly on success, failure in Iraq
    From my foxhole view as a tactical battalion commander in western Baghdad in 2006, the American press, although not perfect, has reported the reality of the Iraq war.
  • Privatization problems
    It is refreshing to read that the surgeons general are fighting to keep more active-duty medics instead of allowing them to be replaced with civilians.
  • Can DDG 1000 do the job? One of 2 views
    The DDG 1000 Zumwalt, the futuristic-looking surface combatant under development for more than a decade at substantial investment and with the commensurate oversight, has used a rigorous and...
  • Can DDG 1000 do the job? One of 2 views
    Regarding the April 9 article by Christopher P. Cavas about the...
  • Editorial: Resolve deployment pay
    On Jan. 11, Defense Secretary Robert Gates announced that he wanted to come up with a way to compensate combat troops whose deployments are involuntarily extended or who are redeployed without...
  • Letters
    Name a destroyer after novelist Robert Heinlein? Are you kidding? Naval tradition holds that destroyers are named for heroes [“Sci-fi destroyer,” Frontlines, April 9].
  • Editorial: Update ex-spouses' law
    The Uniformed Services Former Spouses' Protection Act — which allows for the court-ordered division of military retired pay between service members and former spouses when they divorce...
  • British troops fed Iran’s propaganda
    “Duty is the great business of a sea officer; all private considerations must give way to it, however painful it may be.”
  • Editorial: British troops fed Iran's propaganda
    “Duty is the great business of a sea officer; all private considerations must give way to it, however painful it may be.”
  • Letters
    Marine Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs, got himself in some hot water recently with his opinion on homosexuality. The ensuing barrage of criticism coming in from both ends of the...
  • On the front lines in the battle against IEDs
    The editorial in Navy Times’ April 2 issue, “IED team: little to show” did not give an accurate summary of what the Joint Improvised Explosive Device Defeat Organization has...
  • Passing judgment
    “Any commissioned officer, cadet, or midshipman who is convicted of conduct unbecoming an officer and a gentleman shall be punished as a court-martial may direct.”
  • Marital problems can lead to warfare at home
    Long separations because of deployments or unaccompanied tours are hard on both sides of a marriage and may lead to adultery. Partners grow apart or seek comfort from another person. Some just...
  • Letters
    THE REST OF THE STORIS
  • Editorial: Level with troops
    President Bush’s Iraq surge plan announced in January called for extending some current deployments and accelerating some others, enabling the military to increase the number of troops in Iraq...
  • Editorial: AF can learn from Navy
    For the second time in three years, the National Security Archive — an independent research institute and library at The George Washington University in Washington, D.C. — has given the...
  • Spending to save
    As a Navy Reserve officer, I stand second to no one in my commitment to Navy recapitalization. The U.S. has historically been, and will remain, a maritime power. Sea-basing in particular will become...
  • 2 plans for Iraq
    It takes commitment to build democracy
  • Letters
    FIX PRIOR-ENLISTED PAY
  • Editorial: IED team: little to show
    In the often surreal world of federal Washington, a billion dollars is a drop in the ocean.
  • Editorial: Awards reflect new risk
    For a sailor serving ashore in Iraq and Afghanistan, being in the “rear with the gear” no longer means a safe assignment.
  • Editorial: Service members and the freedom of speech
    Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech . . .
  • Letters
    PACE’S OPINION ON GAYS
  • Deterrence can work in the Middle East
    If the American intervention in Iraq succeeds, the reason will not be the desperate pacification campaign now underway in Baghdad.
  • In it together
    I recently had the privilege of visiting members of the Air Force in Iraq and Afghanistan. They are doing amazing work. Serving alongside their joint teammates, their warfighting contributions are...
  • Editorial: Protecting ‘dwell time’
    The Navy now intends to give deployment credit where credit is due. And credits earned will be credits kept.
  • Time to scrap obsolete, oppressive ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ policy
    Since 1992, the armed forces have lived with the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy, and since 1992, we have been asking gays to live a lie to serve in our Navy.
  • Letters
    NAVY NEEDS MORE DDG 51S
  • ‘Works in progress’: As Fallon prepares to head CentCom, he outlines paths to success in the Pacific
    When Adm. William Fallon leaves Hawaii this month, turning over Pacific Command, he will leave behind what he says are “a lot of things that are works in progress.”
  • Editorial: Fixing fractured reserves
    Almost all of the 13 members of the Commission on the National Guard and Reserve have military experience. Several served in uniform for decades.
  • Editorial: Blame at Walter Reed
    Defense Secretary Robert Gates got his first big test last week and showed exactly what kind of secretary he is.
  • Editorial: Owens deserves degree
    Naval Academy Superintendent Vice Adm. Rodney P. Rempt has recommended that embattled Academy quarterback Lamar Owens be expelled from the school with neither a commission nor a degree.
  • Navy Times Letters
    HAPPY BIRTHDAY, SEABEES
  • Turning the tide: Maybe Wal-Mart can lead the way to nation-building in war-torn Iraq
    Let’s consider a “what if” scenario: The president orders 20,000 more troops to Iraq. However, these troops don’t come from the Army, Navy, Air Force or Marine Corps.
  • The power of faith: Chaplains’ blessings, counsel help troops cope with realities of combat
    I have been angry over articles in Navy Times, The Washington Times and The Washington Post highlighting Navy chaplains suing the Navy. One could easily assume that military chaplains are only...
  • Navy Times Letters
    SAILORS ON THE RAILS
  • Navy Times Editorial: Fix disability system
    Recent reports by the Military Times newspapers, The Washington Post and others have highlighted the plight of hundreds of injured and wounded troops at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington.
  • Navy Times Editorial: Sloppy supplementals
    We can applaud at least one thing in the White House’s defense spending request for 2008: It’s arriving in one piece.
  • Degraded military medical system in need of complete overhaul
    Our military health care system is stressed and, in some respects, unsustainable.
  • vestigation neededNavy Times Editorial: VA nvestigation needed nvestigation neededNavy Times Editorial: VA investigation nvestigation neededNavy Times Editorial: VA investigation needed investigation neededNavy Times Editorial: VA investigation needed
    According to his family, when former Pvt. Jonathan Schulze told a Department of Veterans Affairs psychologist that he was feeling suicidal, he was told that the earliest appointment he could get was...
  • Perfect fit for ‘Fox’
    The recent selection of Adm. William “Fox” Fallon, current commander, Pacific Command, to replace Army Gen. John Abizaid as commander, Central Command, has raised some eyebrows within the...
  • Navy Times Editorial: Scrutinize vaccine policy
    Just as the Pentagon is set to resume mandatory anthrax shots for the troops, the vaccine’s sole manufacturer, Emergent BioSolutions, says it is testing its product as a potential treatment...
  • Beyond leadership
    Last fall, I wrote that chiefs, like it or not, are part of Navy management.
  • Navy Times Editorial: Empty posturing on Iraq
    Having been AWOL on its Iraq war oversight duties for the first four years of the conflict, the Senate finally seemed poised in early February to debate the matter.
  • Navy Times Editorial: Clarity on force cuts
    After four years of handwringing, debate, denials and due diligence, the Navy’s long-awaited drawdown plan is finally official. The bottom line: a 322,000-sailor Navy by 2013, 27,000 fewer than...
  • Navy Times Letters
    Not all IAs up for JDC
  • call to armsNavy Times Editorial: A call to arms
    The adage “every sailor a damage controlman” reflects the very real need for every sailor to be physically able to fight shipboard fires and prevent a ship from foundering.
  • Navy Times Editorial: One is too many
    Like thousands of America’s youngest generation of veterans, former Marine Jonathan Schulze came home from Iraq, hung up his uniform and tried to move on.
  • Students open hearts, find heroes in letters to troops’ families
    John C. Schultz read a list of soldiers killed in combat and found inspiration where others find despair.
  • Navy Times Letters
    A badge for IAs
  • As mobilizations increase, more employers become wary
    All National Guard and Reserve members voluntarily signed up to protect their country, but the rules recently changed: The Defense Department now can recall them to active service more frequently and...
  • Is being a reservist still worth it?
    In recent months, the Department of Defense has re-examined policies regarding the size and use of our nation’s military, both active and reserve, in light of the demands of operations in Iraq,...
  • Reservists’ jobs on line
    Times are getting increasingly tough for reservists, just as they are for active-duty troops. The line between the two has blurred since Sept. 11, 2001, and reservists now are used as an operational...
  • Letters
    I am writing in response to Culinary Specialist 1st Class (SW/AW) Robert Dabbs’ letter [“FTS needs sea experience,” Jan. 1]. I did not like his statement that sailors stationed on...
  • In the path of progress
    Ask anyone in the Pine Tree State about the regional airport at Sanford, Maine, and they’ll probably tell you it’s where two presidents named Bush have landed and taken off when traveling...
  • MacDonough stopped British in decisive War of 1812 battle
    Thomas MacDonough earned lasting fame when he defeated a superior British naval force on Lake Champlain during the War of 1812.
  • Campa can do more
    Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy Joe Campa is old-school, confident, without pretense and blunt.
  • Navy Times editorial: First things first for Tricare
    At the initial meeting of the Task Force on the Future of Military Health Care, it quickly became evident that Pentagon officials want the panel to get behind a proposal to boost fees for some...
  • Navy Times letters
    Response to petitioners
  • Navy Times editorial: A short-term surge?
    President Bush’s new objective in Iraq appears to be to stabilize the country so Americans can leave with our heads held high.
  • Navy Times letters
    Irresponsible assertion
  • Equal ranks, equal pay
    As a junior electronics technician second class on my first boat, I got my first taste of the differences between the married and single pay scales. My realization that not all sailors were created...
  • Solemn flight delivers airman to final repose
    On Dec. 3, I was the co-pilot for American Airlines Flight 1904, traveling from Chicago to Miami.
  • Navy Times editorial: 6 issues for new Congress
    The new Democratic Congress has an ambitious agenda for its first 100 hours in power, to include the national minimum wage, embryonic stem cell research and alternative energy options.
  • Navy Times letters
    Making better chiefs
  • Navy Times editorial: BAH standards outdated
    The 3.5 percent average increase in the Basic Allowance for Housing in 2007 is lower than in recent years, when the average hikes ran to 6 percent, 7 percent or more.
  • Navy Times letters
    I am a chief petty officer serving in Iraq. As I get Navy Times late over here, I have just read about all the debate on awards or the lack thereof and wanted to sound off [“Fairness essential...
  • Navy Times editorial: Looking for a new course
    The military professionals who make up the core of today’s career force no longer believe President Bush is on the right track in Iraq. According to this year’s Military Times Poll, only...
  • Navy Times editorial: All services essential
    When President Bush told reporters that he wants to grow the size of the Army and Marine Corps, it was welcome news.
  • Navy Times editorial: Essential alternatives
    Oil prices in recent days have taken a dip, but the dizzying heights that fuel costs reached over the past year have raised concerns that the petroleum-based U.S. economy is much too dependent on the...
  • Navy Times letters
    During this holiday season, with our nation at war, the vast majority of the American people will prayerfully think about their men and women in uniform deployed around the world away from their...
  • Navy Times letters
    I strongly disagree with CTI3 (SW) Richard Mullen’s call for a stoppage of the new uniform distribution in 2008 [“Stop the new uniforms now,” Letters, Dec. 11]. His excessively...
  • Navy Times editorial: Honor the living
    Spc. Ross McGinnis dived onto a grenade thrown in Baghdad, saving the lives of four other soldiers while costing him his own.
  • Navy Times editorial: Widen ‘warrior pay’ plan
    If the Army gets its way, soldiers will start earning “warrior pay” next Oct. 1.
  • Letters
    I was just reading some of the [letters] in the Dec. 11 issue and have my own remarks on the physical readiness test [“PRT smarter, not harder”].
  • Navy Times editorial: Salute to Stolen Valor Act
    Nothing fires the blood of a war veteran more than a poseur who wears or boasts about combat medals and decorations he didn’t earn.
  • Navy Times editorial: Widen ‘warrior pay’ plan
    If the Army gets its way, soldiers will start earning “warrior pay” in fiscal 2008.
  • Navy Times letters
    Your article “Fuel for the fire” [Dec. 4] was exceptionally striking. The American Family Association is exactly correct to note that consumers have choices. It is time for Navy Exchange...
  • Navy Times editorial: A dangerous drawdown
    Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Mike Mullen intimated that officials could cull as many as 4,000 more sailors from the ranks than previously reported.
  • Letters
    The Congressional Budget Office is concerned that military members are being paid too much [“A fresh look at pay,” July 16]. We have an unfair advantage when compared to our civilian...
  • Editorial: Time to act on VA claims
    These are the facts:
  • Editorial: Strengthening standards
    It appears as if Navy leaders are finally getting serious about physical fitness.
  • Editorial: Take TBI seriously
    A hidden menace follows our troops home from the combat zone. about 2,100 veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have been diagnosed with traumatic brain injury, but medical experts estimate up...
  • Editorial: Upgrade the GI Bill
    Virginia Democratic Sen. Jim Webb wants a renewed national commitment to the GI Bill to reward wartime service and sacrifice of soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines.
  • The underwater war
    The estimated cost of the Iranian SADAF-02 naval mine that did $96 million worth of damage to the frigate Samuel B. Roberts in 1988 was $1,500.
  • Letters
    I am writing in response to the National Naval Officers Association’s [position] regarding a need for the Navy to hire more minority officers [“Navy must add minority officers, group...
  • ‘Benefits’ don’t stack up
  • Editorial: Unanswered questions
    President Bush’s announcement that he has accepted Army Gen. David Petraeus’ plan to begin drawing down about 21,500 U.S. troops sent to Iraq earlier this year as part of the...
  • Outsourcing media analysis severs key link with public
    This summer, the Army, National Guard and Defense Department issued requests to industry to hire contractors to analyze and monitor media reporting and make recommendations to the highest ranks of...
  • Editorial: A line COs can’t cross
    Few things are as demanding as commanding a Navy warship. The ship, the crew, the life-or-death missions are all burdens the lone skipper must shoulder. The pressure and stress are enormous, as are...
  • Letters
    I would suggest it’s obvious that retired Photographer’s Mate 1st Class Frederick Miller never had the honor of becoming a member of the chiefs’ community, and as an onlooker to the...
  • A simple first step
    It is a well-understood shame that it can take a disabled veteran years to gnaw through red tape to collect what is owed.
  • Helo plan falls short
    The R and S models of the MH-60 Seahawk helicopter bring an impressive list of capabilities, from finding and destroying submarines, surface targets and mines to carrying out combat...
  • Letters
    The World War II-style old-school khaki uniform is very sharp and professional in appearance. I wholeheartedly approve [“Uniform throwbacks,” Oct. 1].
  • Editorial: Closely track reforms
    In the wake of the Walter Reed scandal, the Pentagon belatedly has begun a test program to begin overhauling the complex and, some say, unfair disability rating and payment system.
  • Editorial: Reclaim Congress’ trust
    The Navy has an image problem on Capitol Hill at a very dangerous time.
  • Think before we redeploy
    We can’t simply wish our armed forces home from Iraq — and we can’t leave them there indefinitely.
  • Letters
    Who thinks up these ridiculous spins on recruit stress that have been tried time and time again? Give me a break already! [“Getting picked up by BOOTSTRAP,” Oct. 8].
  • A matter of time?
    As a former Navy submarine nuke, I’m at once shocked and not shocked by the recent news from the attack submarine Hampton.
  • Editorial: Scrutinize VA nominee
    The White House’s nomination of retired Army Lt. Gen. James Peake as the next veterans affairs secretary is an interesting choice.
  • Think before we redeploy
    We can’t simply wish our armed forces home from Iraq — and we can’t leave them there indefinitely.
  • Letters
    It has been more than 10 years since I retired from the nuclear community, in which I served both as a reactor operator and a nuclear limited-duty officer. I thought I had seen just about everything...
  • EOD knights
    EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. — The biggest issue polarizing Congress is the Iraq war.
  • Letters
    I am writing this from my desk in Afghanistan regarding Cmdr. David R. Owen’s column about the promotion of beer sales at the Navy exchange [“Move the booze,” Back Talk, Nov. 19]....
  • Editorial: NMCI needs oversight
    The Navy-Marine Corps Intranet is the government’s biggest gamble yet on privatization. Worth more than $900 million per year to contractor Electronic Data Systems, the Texas computer services...
  • Letters
    Did Army Lt. Col. Dave Offer never finish Economics 101? [“Draft economics,” Letters, Nov. 12] Many people who serve, as I do, believe we are a military at war and a country detached. I...
  • Editorial: Corps put spin control ahead of victims’ health
    Lt. Cmdr. John Thomas Matthew Lee, a Catholic chaplain who led a second, secret life as an HIV-positive homosexual predator, acknowledged to a military court that he lied when a lieutenant colonel...
  • Letters
    I reflected on research that I conducted for a drugs and society course I recently taught when I read the arguments for and against the pornography in military exchanges [“Anti-porn groups...
  • Editorial: Inappropriate housing
    Not long ago, troops living off base were paying about 20 percent of their housing costs out of pocket. Five years of above-average BAH increases earlier this decade cut that figure to zero. Yet some...
  • Uniform unhappiness
    After seeing the new uniforms, I am reminded of the “MASH” episode in which Hawkeye and Radar go pick up B.J. Honeycutt [“Clothing cash,” Dec. 3]. On the way back, they stop...
  • Editorial: Long road looms for VA
    The huge backlog of veterans’ benefits claims, now 400,000 and growing, is hardly a secret.
  • Saving the military
    The stage is set for our armed services to relive the worst days of the 1970s, when discipline broke down, crime ran rampant, race relations soured, many of the best and brightest in the junior...
  • Letters
    After seeing the new uniforms, I am reminded of the “MASH” episode in which Hawkeye and Radar go pick up B.J. Honeycutt [“Clothing cash,” Dec. 3]. On the way back, they stop...
  • Editorial: Close loan loopholes
  • Letters
    We were taken aback by your article and editorial on customer satisfaction with the Navy-Marine Corps Intranet [“Survey gives much-maligned NMCI high satisfaction rate,” “NMCI needs...
  • Editorial: Patients shouldn’t pay
    Asking military beneficiaries to pay higher fees for health care requires a better argument than the one made in a new report by a Pentagon task force.
  • Editorial: Committed to the mission
    This year’s Military Times Poll reflects in cold hard numbers what we’ve known from our personal contact with the members of our professional military: It’s made up of tough,...
  • Editorial: Improve GI Bill benefits
    Several years ago, Congress linked GI Bill payment rates to inflation, ensuring that the payments rise each Oct. 1.
  • Letters
    I can’t agree more with Hospital Corpsman 1st Class Jerry Boyd on the subject of the sergeant major of the Marine Corps having condom posters removed [“Lives on the line,” Letters,...
  • Editorial: Might alone won’t win
    After six years of conflict in what the administration bills as a generational struggle against Is¬lamist extremism, Defense Secre¬tary Robert Gates has it right: Military power, even...
  • Editorial: Bill, veto unfair to troops
    President Bush gave service members a rude holiday jolt Dec. 28 with a last-minute veto of the 2008 defense authoriza¬tion bill.
  • Letters
    There were some seriously negative connotations about liberty plans in your story about the crew of the carrier Kitty Hawk [“Kitty Hawk sailors chafe at new liberty restriction,” Dec....
  • Editorial: Fix custody rules
    A New York appeals court has upheld a 2006 ruling that should send chills through the ranks.
  • Letters
    Iran’s Jan. 6 provocative incident, in which five attack boats swarmed the cruiser Port Royal, the destroyer Hopper and the frigate Ingraham, is a true testament to the volatile atmosphere in...
  • Editorial: Restraint shows strength
    When five Iranian gunboats tore through the horizon toward three U.S. warships as they transited the Strait of Hormuz, they endangered lives and could potentially have brought both nations to the...
  • Letters
    I have several issues with the article on the Navy’s expanded motorcycle safety efforts but will focus on one I think is the most significant — one of the most commonly misunderstood...
  • Editorial: Mystery voice on video muddles Navy’s message
    There was something funny about that voice.
  • Editorial: Pentagon must demand integrity from charity
    It’s becoming clear that America Supports You, a Defense Department charitable program that supports troops and their families, needs tighter oversight.
  • Letters
    I just finished reading the article on individual augmentee incentives, and as an IA sailor serving in Afghanistan, I can say our system is broken [“Making IA pay,” Jan. 21].
  • Letters
    OK, so Hospital Corpsman 2nd Class (FMF) Dontae Lee Tazewell was busted for B.S.-ing his command into believing he earned his medals, so much so that his command publicly awarded them to him...

  • I am quite concerned over our lack of support for Georgia. They had 2,000 troops in Iraq helping us, making them the third-largest supporter for Iraq operations. The Georgian president has criticized...
  • Letters
    Now that both the CO and XO have been relieved for the fire that damaged the carrier George Washington [“Sacked,” Newslines, Aug. 11], my question is, where were the department chiefs?...
  • Editorial: Photos of courage
    They say a picture is worth a thousand words, so Rep. Walter Jones decided to let the images do the talking.
  • Editorial: No more amphib excuses
    Through all the design delays, construction problems and cost overruns that have plagued the amphibious transport dock San Antonio, Navy and industry leaders repeatedly have given the same excuse:...
  • Judge protects T-shirt with dead troops’ names
    It’s sickening to think that someone is making a profit using the names of the fallen and causing their families more pain by cruelly reminding them that their loved one is no longer alive....
  • Letters
  • Letters
    In the Sept. 1 issue, the Coast Guard article describes the commandant’s “servicewide shakeup” aimed at “a more efficient and better prepared Coast Guard” [“Allen:...
  • In their honor
    This week, the Pentagon Memorial opens to honor the lives of the 184 service members and civilians lost when American Airlines Flight 77 crashed into the building Sept. 11, 2001. Let us pause to...
  • CPO initiation
    I remember mine, lots of pointless stuff (the year was 1987). In the end, during the pinning ceremony, I was bawling like a friggin’ baby and the chief [who] was roughest on me hugged me and...
  • Our patriotic duty
    Actor Russell Crowe has a great scene as Capt. Jack Aubrey in the movie “Master and Commander.” One evening at the officers’ mess, he tricks the ship’s surgeon into choosing...
  • Editorial: Get with the program
    In January, Congress ordered the Pentagon to drop its disability ratings rules and strictly follow Department of Veterans Affairs criteria in assigning ratings to injured and wounded service members.
  • Back talk: Camp Bucca
    I have been to Camp Bucca and was a part of the Joint Interrogation and Debriefing Center up north at Camp Cropper. I have seen firsthand what we are doing there, and we are doing great things. We...
  • Next president must quickly choose efficient staff, advisers
    During the presidential primary season, many candidates — especially Sens. John McCain and Hillary Rodham Clinton — made an issue of their readiness to be president from “Day...
  • Letters
    I was extremely disheartened to read about these senior petty officers breaking the law so blatantly. What was Chief [Cryptologic Technician (Technical) Terry] Moore thinking [“Cops: Sport...
  • Editorial: A better hot line option
    At a recent congressional hearing, Department of Veterans Affairs officials talked about how pleased they are with VA’s year-old suicide prevention hot line, which they credit with saving the...
  • Editorial: Define hard labor
    A sailor who declared himself a conscientious objector and refused to deploy to Iraq was made to pull weeds in a vacant lot until his hands bled.
  • Hard labor
    I find it simply astounding that [a military newspaper] would even publish such an article. Frankly, some of the responses that people posted before me are a tad hilarious as well. I don’t know...
  • Letters
    Before I retired in 2004 as an E-6, I witnessed many of my fellow shipmates being screwed out of their advancement pay because the division chief, division officer, department head or commanding...
  • Editorial: Selfless Marine earned the Medal of Honor
    There are few things more selfless than covering a live hand grenade to save your buddies.
  • Diversity atop the ranks
    Diversity is a great idea, and I’ve seen its positive impact during my service; making a Crayola box for the sake of being PC in upper echelons of the world’s most powerful Navy might...
  • Letters
    Moving the schools from shore to the fleet is going to be a bad idea [“Immediate frocking ends,” Sept. 15]. I have been to the school on the shore side, and it was great.
  • Letters
  • Editorial: Let families decide
    The Army’s new rules allowing better media access to burials at Arlington National Cemetery are inadequate to the task.
  • Editorial: Smart thinking, not money, is the answer
    The final budget of any U.S. administration draws intense scrutiny, and the proposed 2009 spending plan is no exception.
  • Letters
    Hats off to Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy Joe Campa for recognizing the role of first class petty officers [“First-class leaders,” Feb. 18]. In my 29-year stint in the Navy, I...
  • Editorial: Presence with a purpose
    The amphibious ships of the Nassau Expeditionary Strike Group left Norfolk, Va., in mid-February for a six-month cruise, comparatively empty.
  • Editorial: Retire this bad idea
    The Commission on the National Guard and Reserve, chartered by Congress to study and propose changes to every aspect of the reserve components, released its final report Jan. 31.
  • An indefensible defense budget
    As President Bush backs out the White House door, he is asking Congress to appropriate enough money for the coming fiscal year to enable the Pentagon and its government sidekicks to spend $1.2...
  • Letters
    Lt. Cmdr. M.J. Brienza and retired Cmdr. Gil Gibson wrote that they’re glad the Navy is taking longer to get the digital camouflage uniforms into the fleet [“A welcome delay,”...
  • Editorial: Continue the effort to ensure pay parity
    Congress and the Pentagon are gearing up for a reprise of what has become an annual rite of spring — wrangling over the size of the military pay raise.
  • Letters
    Staff writer Zachary M. Peterson stepped outside the boundaries of responsible reporting in his article “Navy sink list includes Forrestal, destroyers” [NavyTimes.com, Feb. 28].
  • Letters
    Over the last five to 10 years, I have seen many E-6s become obsessed with making E-7 — so obsessed that they begin to treat their junior personnel poorly [“First-class leaders,”...
  • Editorial: Follow up for families
    Defense Department officials have spoken often and at length in recent years about their commitment to military families. But Congress wants to see less talk and more action.
  • Editorial: An outdated standard
    Basic Allowance for Housing rates are vastly improved after five years of hefty increases earlier this decade. But the housing standards underpinning the rates are another story.
  • Editorial: Rethink promotion
    A sweeping new report on mili¬tary compensation seeks to re¬ward the military’s fastest risers with a permanent pay advantage.
  • Editorial: Adding amphibs a must
    The Marine Corps says it needs at least 33 amphibious ships to take two Marine expeditionary brigades to war.
  • Letters
    I am very surprised that Senior Chief Operations Specialist (SW) Steven Douglas feels that my allowances should be based on what my spouse does — or does not — do for a living [“End...
  • Letters
    At first I was incredulous and then incensed when Patricia Lewis of the Commission on the National Guard and Reserves stated that “It was never our intention of cutting anyone’s pay in...
  • Editorial: Shipbuilding plans need a reality check
    For a decade, the Navy placed its next-generation destroyer at the center of its surface ship plans.
  • Editorial: Raise single BAH rates
    A sweeping study of military pay calls for bringing fairness to the Basic Allowance for Housing. It’s about time.
  • Editorial: Rank injustice
    Rank has always had its privileges in the military — and nowhere is that clearer than in the final honors rendered to service members buried in Arlington National Cemetery.
  • Letters
    While I find a former sailor exaggerating his military record [repulsive], I also find it repulsive to read the statement, “[Seaman Recruit Brian] Mazurowski sent Navy Times a boot camp...
  • Editorial: Don’t phish own waters
    In the pervasive online scam known as “phishing,” con artists create official-looking e-mails that appear to come from credit card companies, banks, charities, government agencies and...
  • Editorial: Allow all applications
    The Navy is barring 10 officer communities from applying to become astronauts in this year’s upcoming board, including explosive ordnance disposal technicians, SEALs, judge advocates general...
  • Letters
    I was very disappointed to read the “Ask the Lawyer” column [“Drug tests: when you have a choice, when you don’t,” March 24].
  • Call girl set women back
    Some 91 women have died in combat since Sept. 11, 2001, more than the number killed in any previous American war, including World War II. Thousands more have risked their lives in the war zone. But...
  • Editorial: Prep course helps SEALs
    The SEALs have a problem. To meet the growing demands for commandos in the post-Sept. 11 world, the community was ordered to add 500 operators to bring the force to 2,300.
  • Letters
    The story on the submarine Hampton is disturbing on multiple levels [“‘Failure of the worst kind,’” March 24]. It seems that the high standards of integrity, the critical...
  • New PT uniform unveiled
    As to the preference of pants over shorts, that’s fine, so long as the command allows you that choice. However, if the CO says everyone during the summer uniform period will wear shorts for...
  • Editorial: VA overhaul overdue
    Congress held a hearing April 10 on ways to modernize the benefits claims system at the Department of Veterans Affairs, which has a backlog of 600,000 claims and counting.
  • Letters
    In response to retired Chief Warrant Officer 3 Raymond Salmons’ letter, “Chiefs, do your job” [April 14], I suggest Salmons remember what had been asked of the goat locker more and...
  • Navy officer testifies in ‘D.C. Madam’ case
    Being an officer comes with a responsibility to America, the Navy and the oath she took. She was in dire financial straits, she made a risk-based decision and thought the rewards were greater than...
  • Editorial: Corrosion of confidence
    Over the span of two weeks in March, inspectors found two frontline warships in such eye-popping disrepair that they were deemed “unfit for sustained combat operations.”
  • Editorial: Secure the vote
    A couple of decades into the Internet Age, billions of dollars in commerce is transacted by credit cards via secure online servers.
  • Editorial: Exchange bill off base
    The issue of adult magazine sales in military exchanges has again reared its ugly head.
  • Time to change course
    Along with many other service members, I have had mandatory training in sexual assault prevention.
  • From the forums
    Post your answers at http://www.navytimes.com/forums
  • Letters
    Every sailor, enlisted and officer, will spend nearly $50 to buy two physical training uniforms [“Gearing up,” April 14].
  • Saluting the sacrifice
    Nearly 70,000 enlisted sailors and officers are currently deployed around the globe.         They sail into harm’s way in defense of freedom, while the loved...
  • Editorial: More than words
    “Our troops are our most valuable asset,” military leaders like to say. But as we begin National Military Appreciation Month, it is worth examining how actions and words sometimes...
  • Editorial: Change starts at the top
    Defense Secretary Robert Gates recently echoed the mantra of his predecessor, Donald Rumsfeld, by saying the military is not moving fast enough to address wartime needs.
  • 2 ships deemed ‘unfit’ for combat
    Does it really take a rocket scientist to figure out what went wrong? Not enough crew to service the ship, 18-hour days, long watches, not enough technical training. Yard periods so short that major...
  • Letters
    While the accountability for the inspection failures [of the destroyer Stout and cruiser Chosin] ultimately rests with the commanding officers, there is a root cause as to why two ships of different...
  • Editorial: Deeds, not words
    At a time when at least two frontline warships are deemed unfit for combat, a growing credibility gap exists in Congress over whether the Navy can accurately manage its soaring shipbuilding costs and...
  • Editorial: Raise Tricare fees slowly
    The Pentagon’s health care costs have more than doubled since 2001 to $43 billion this year, almost 10 percent of the defense budget.
  • InSurv failure fallout
    I’m writing in response to the April 28 article “Double trouble,” specifically to address the intent of Navy planners to transfer more responsibility to land-based facilities. This...
  • Service dress khaki wear tests underway
    And so the bad ideas continue to re-circulate. The Navy actually asked the chiefs back in the ‘90s if we would like that uniform again. We said, “No.” Now it is being tested again....
  • Editorial: Remember the fallen
    The United States is almost 232 years old, the world’s greatest and oldest experiment in freedom and democracy.
  • The right path to unity
    When the blood of any war soaks your clothes, covers your hands and soldiers die in your arms, every breath forever more becomes an appeal for a greater peace, unity and reconciliation.
  • A room ashore for nearly every shipboard sailor
    What happened to the phrase “Sailors belong on ships, and ships belong at sea?” If you wanted to live on shore and have a room with a view, you should have joined the Air Force. Sailors...
  • Letters
    Single people defending an increase in their basic allowance for housing [“Fair play,” April 7] ask, “Don’t I deserve to be paid the same as married people?”
  • Editorial: A workable GI Bill plan
    In the congressional debate over how to improve the GI Bill, the question of whether to let service members share their education benefits with their families has reached a flash point.
  • Letters
    I completely agree with your editorial “Deeds, not words” [May 19].
  • Editorial: Combat stress kills
    At least 172 service members have killed themselves while serving in Iraq or Afghanistan in the past six years.
  • Letters
    I must join the ranks of those who disagree with bachelor enlisted quarters for single sailors.
  • Changing attitudes about gays in the military?
    Objections to homosexuals serving openly in the military usually boil down to the argument that they’ve got to keep their orientation hidden to avoid offending someone else’s view of...
  • Editorial: No reason for rejection
    It’s been two months since the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit deployed to Afghanistan without its amphibs, yet Navy and Marine Corps leaders still haven’t adequately explained why...
  • Editorial: Privacy safeguards needed
    A new Pentagon directive states the government can “inspect and seize data” on any government computer in the interest of information systems security.
  • Adultery trial for supply officer
    There is a huge double standard going on here. Maybe NCIS should get involved. The commanding officer should be investigated, along with parts of the chain of command. Let’s square this outfit...
  • Editorial: Crew-swap with caution
    Congress is pushing the Navy to create a single entity to oversee ships and submarines manned by multiple rotating crews.
  • Letters
    Several weeks ago, Navy Times’ cover had the headline “Unfit for combat” for an article related to two ships [failing inspections, “Double Trouble,” April 28].
  • Don’t ask, don’t tell
    The policy is wrong. True, it has given gay men and women the opportunity to join and serve their country, but if a gay man is willing to die for America, then I say welcome aboard. They...
  • Letters
    I like the retro service dress khaki uniform, and Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Gary Roughhead looks good in it [“Sailors sound off,” June 9]. It looks distinguished and proud.
  • Editorial: Look deeper at problems in Air Force and Navy
    A fundamental military tenet is that leaders take responsibility for their organization’s missteps.
  • DoD backs automatic TSP enrollments
    Great. Any other aspect of my life they want to completely control?
  • Editorial: Provide paternal leave
    The Senate Armed Services Committee has proposed giving new dads in uniform a benefit already widely available in the private sector: a little time off to bond with baby and care for mom.
  • Editorial: Expand disability benefit
    A provision of the 2008 Defense Authorization Act erased a long-standing policy requiring troops who received disability severance payments from the military to repay that money before they can...
  • Letters
    Recently, I’ve been hearing a lot of complaints coming from the chiefs’ mess, both at my command and in the letters section, about how the junior enlisted are getting a khaki uniform...
  • Editorial: Better late than never
    In 2005, when Congress made it more difficult for people to declare bankruptcy, it included an exemption specifically for disabled veterans.
  • Editorial: End pre-meal prayer
    The Naval Academy has a religious problem on its hands. It centers on a tradition during the noon meal formation, when the 4,000-strong Brigade of Midshipmen gathers in the cafeteria, stands and...
  • Blue Digitals
    I think the digital blues (we call them aquaflage) look silly. I don’t think anyone ... not training in the woods needs to wear cammies. I work at a joint command, in a building where we do...
  • Letters
    I am very happy for the folks who are now going to receive benefits [under] the new GI Bill [“Your new GI Bill,” June 30].
  • Editorial: Fair review of disability claims is needed now
    Once the process of evaluating troops for disability claims had become so Byzantine, backlogged and unfair that it could no longer be ignored, Congress sprang into action and mandated reforms.
  • Letters
    I’m 48. This means the low end of my push-up and curl-up scores run dangerously close to the single digits, and I get cab fare for the run.
  • As clergy, are we supposed to be perfect?
    We’re all human, and we’re all going to make mistakes. Now with that being said, since you are a chaplain, people will hold you to a higher standard. People come to you for problems and...
  • Running on fumes
    One good thing about being at war is that I don’t have to fork over a large pile of money to fill up my gas tank. That’s all going to change before too long. After I leave Iraq,...
  • Editorial: Iran act wearing thin
    In trying to compel Iran to give up its nuclear program and the weapons that would come with it, the international community has a tough challenge: How do you raise the heat and keep it there without...
  • Editorial: VA adds fuel to fire
    The Veterans Affairs Department, buffeted by a string of controversies in recent years, has another to add to the list.
  • Letters
    After reading the negative review of the new Navy PT uniform [“Uniform unfit for duty,” Back Talk, July 7], I wasn’t sure I wanted to wear my new PTU for my next 17-mile run.
  • GI Bill
    I’ve loved my GI Bill benefit, without which I could not afford to attend school. It’s been a real lifesaver. It covers my tuition [and] my books, and the remainder goes in my pocket. The...
  • New class, old school
    I recently was afforded the opportunity to achieve escape velocity from the steamy vapors of the inner Beltway and make my way back to where the air had a distinct hint of salt to it. The occasion...
  • Letters
    The new physical training uniform finally hit Japan last week. I bought mine and tried it out.
  • Moving forward
    My thought that we military spouses are being unfairly penalized started with an ironic remark from a sister-in-law. She told me she knew that every time we moved for the military we got a lot of...
  • Bikers: Take training — or else
    If they are offering free safety classes, take ’em. However, the article neglected to mention how many of the people involved in the accidents did not already have training. The way the article...
  • Editorial: It’s your decision
    “If Obama wins,” our July 14 cover story, drew hundreds of messages from our readers. Some wondered if Sen. Barack Obama had advance knowledge of our questions — he did not.
  • Clear up LCS command
  • Editorial: Focus on sailors’ role
    At a July 11 media presentation, Navy and industry officials invited reporters to Dahlgren, Va., to unveil the surface warfare module for the littoral combat ship.
  • Editorial: A simple thanks
    This week, we honor five Military Times Service Members of the Year for going beyond the call of duty. We honor them not because they are the bravest, strongest or smartest, but rather because they...
  • 13,000 Japanese rally against nuclear carrier
    Japan has nuclear power plants, so for them to complain about us having the same — as the GW is nuclear-powered — is a bit two-faced. If the Japanese want the security of a U.S. aircraft...
  • Editorial: Save our ‘shipmate’
    They say that one “oh crap” erases a thousand “attaboys.”
  • Letters
    The new Navy physical training uniforms are out of date and out of style. The yellow T-shirt will get dirty and won’t last very long, and the sailor will have to buy more uniforms because of...
  • Editorial: Explain destroyer flip-flop
    The Navy’s credibility sunk to a new low July 31 when service officials reversed course on the next-generation destroyer after spending more than a decade — and $10 billion in research...
  • Editorial: Erase inequity in GI Bill
    As the details of the recently approved Post-9/11 GI Bill come into sharper focus, a glaring omission has popped up.

  • Motorcycle safety courses keep us refreshed even though I have been riding for 37 years. But the vast majority of motorcycle accidents are due to drivers of motor vehicles failing to extend...
  • Letters
    Even though the new physical training uniform was developed over several years and took the dedicated time of dozens of uniformed and civilian personnel, and hundreds of thousands of dollars, the...
  • Editorial: Weigh fee hike benefits
    The latest salvo in the Defense Department’s quest to raise Tricare fees for retirees under age 65 is a proposal from a Pentagon-sponsored pay study to tie those fees to the annual premiums...
  • Editorial: Expand tenants’ rights
    Service members and their families are particularly vulnerable as the nation’s housing market melts down.
  • Bank would not cash bereavement check
    I can understand the banks wanting to be cautious in immediately cashing these checks, though they should have at least offered to advance partial payment as was done by the Credit Union referenced...
  • Letters
    Thank you for your editorial support for the term “Shipmate” [“Save our ‘shipmate,’” Opinion, Aug. 4].
  • Letters
    It is a product of our times that [the American Civil Liberties Union] finally has found some midshipmen to complain about the prayer at the midday meal [“9 mids, officers ask academy to end...
  • Editorial: Keep SSNs private
    The Defense Department is in the midst of a multiyear effort to eliminate full Social Security numbers from ID cards.
  • Editorial: PT gear comes up short
    It’s hard to believe an organization as sophisticated as the Navy can’t get T-shirts and shorts right.
  • Blue digitals
    I didn’t like my working khakis much, and while the coveralls are a comfy and practical uniform, they got stained and fell apart too quickly. With no rip-stop, I kept getting them caught on the...
  • Editorial: Move forward on database
    The push to create a public database of the nation’s highest awards for valor — and the mili¬tary personnel who won those awards — reaches a critical cross¬roads in the...
  • Letters
    I read with interest the letter from retired Storekeeper 2nd Class Benny R. Foster, who proposed that jets be fitted with “silencers” — what he called a “simple technological...
  • Officer corps must catch up to enlisted ranks for true integration
    However, in the officers’ clubs, a different picture emerges. The diversity reflected within the enlisted ranks is lacking in the officer corps — particularly the senior officer corps.
  • Editorial: Don’t cheat test, buddies
    The latest disturbing news from Iraq: Troops have cheated on problem-solving tests used to spot traumatic brain injuries in order to avoid being pulled out of their units for treatment.
  • Editorial: Treat problems early
    A new study puts hard data behind the many anecdotal reports that mental health problems among combat troops often take months to appear.
  • Letters
    Why wouldn’t it make sense to have the religious program specialists conduct all services held under combat conditions [“Saving grace,” Nov. 12]? They would have to be trained to...
  • Fix this insurance mess
    Anyone who has worked in government long enough has come across rules and policies noteworthy only for being devoid of common sense.
  • Best of Broadside
    Jeff Bacon, who retired as a |captain in 2005, has been |poking fun at Navy life with his weekly “Broadside” cartoon since 1986.
  • From our forums
    Navy leadership continues to be out of touch. I’m a 33-year-old lieutenant, never married, and have no kids. The idea that my guys can't pick up their kids at off-base day care, get gas,...
  • Letters
    Deployment is a time for mixed emotions. Time away from family, friends and home coupled with a new working environment often forces us to set new schedules and adopt new routines. Others tell us...
  • Obama must prove himself
    Our latest Military Times poll indicates a good measure of doubt in the ranks about President-elect Barack Obama in his pending role as commander in chief. Six out of 10 respondents said they were...
  • Letters
    So long [to] Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy Joe Campa. It’s been a true honor to have him run our mess. He brought our mess back to taking care of sailors. He made changes that will...
  • From our forums
    Didn’t the Marine Corps, along with the Navy, 200 years ago take on the Barbary pirates? They had pretty low-tech stuff back then, not to mention the Navy was a little bit smaller than today...
  • Views, and views, on NWU
    Navy Times received more than 150 e-mails in response to the wear rules for the Navy Working Uniform. Tell us what you think of the rules online at militarytimes.com/forums or by e-mailing...
  • Lighten up on uniform rules
    In 2005, then-Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy (SS/AW) Terry Scott told Navy Times the service’s plans for the newly approved Navy Working Uniform:
  • From our forums
    Married military couples should be allowed to be together in theater. People think that dual military couples have it easier than anyone else, but that isn’t really the case. Not only do you...
  • Letters
    The newly established Combined Task Force 151 may have made its first pirate bust on Feb. 11 [“Task Force makes 1st pirate bust,” Feb. 23], but it certainly was not the first pirate bust...
  • SRB window too narrow
    The Navy’s new Selective Re-enlistment Bonus program is an effective hedge against a changing economy.
  • Deserving of MoH
    Only five Medals of Honor have been awarded to service members for heroic action in Iraq and Afghanistan — all posthumously.
  • Letters
    After I read Lt. Cmdr. Mike Brienza’s letter [“Uniform funds misused”] in the March 16 issue, I decided to put in my two cents.
  • From our forums
    Double up your hearing protection and move on. I’ve been working around the Rhino for years and my annual hearing checks are still right on par with what they were when I joined the Navy 16...
  • Burn-pit study needed
    Tens of thousands of troops have been exposed to burn-pit toxins in Iraq and Afghanistan, and concerns are mounting that many may be at risk for serious health consequences.
  • On course, mostly
    President Barack Obama in February outlined the most sweeping overhaul in decades of how the Pentagon buys everything from weapons to services.
  • Letters
    The recent decision to classify Board of Inspection and Survey reports brings back memories of about 30 years ago when, based on the same rationale as today, higher authority decided to classify...

  • As a newly appointed division officer in the surface fleet I can say that your words ring true. I am a prior enlisted officer with 11 years in service, and I have been completely surprised by the SWO...
  • Let the ball caps stay
    It seems there’s no rule too ab¬surd to attach to the Navy Work¬ing Uniform.
  • No tolerance for assaults
    Reports of sexual assaults involving military victims and/or perpetrators in 2008 were up more than 8 percent over 2007.
  • Navy’s turn to shine
    In the midst of two protracted land wars, it’s only natural for a maritime service to feel left out.
  • Editorial: Spend wisely, carefully
    President Eisenhower wisely said the economy is the source of America’s national security. It powers the world’s largest defense budget and gives the country worldwide clout.
  • From the forums
    Are you kidding me? This poll was so biased it should be sent back to the scuttlebutt area on the ship. It is a basic reported FACT, by the national press and the NAVY that McCain is backed by those...
  • Drawing strength
    The halls of military hospitals in the U.S. and Germany were invaded recently by members of the National Cartoonists Society on a mission to bring smiles to the faces of the brave men and women who...
  • Letters
    I just read your article “Latest fitness program targets sailors over 40” [Sept. 29], and I had to respond.
  • Letters
    I read the comments [Navy] Times attributed to me in the article “Backing McCain” [Oct. 13]. I am disappointed in what [Navy] Times chose to print and what it did not.
  • Job plan would help military spouses face unique challenges
    I have to disagree with the Oct. 13 editorial, “Job plan too generous.”
  • From our forums
    I’ll believe this when I see it. I got out in November 2007 (started terminal [leave] in August), and I’m still waiting on a decision. Have gotten two really nice “don’t call...
  • Little faith in VA’s Plan B
    Last month, senior Department of Veterans Affairs officials told Congress that VA needed to hire a private contractor to be ready to handle claims and payments when the new Post-9/11 GI Bill takes...
  • Investing in the future
    A new NATO agreement promises to step up attacks on narcotics trafficking in Afghanistan, hoping to divert some of the estimated $100 million that flows into Taliban pockets from the poppy trade each...
  • Pentagon must recognize burn-pit health hazards
    More than five years into the war in Iraq and seven years into the war in Afghanistan, the U.S. military continues daily disposal of hundreds of tons of war-zone waste in the most crude and hazardous...
  • Letters
    Having just read the article on the new physical fitness standards [“Fitness rules with muscle,” Oct. 13] and the possible effects on the fleet, I am assuming that it has been quite a...
  • From our forums
    The [cost-of-living adjustment] increase is 5.8 percent, the biggest since 1982. It still doesn’t make sense. Retirees (who must outnumber those on active duty) get 5.8 percent, but active duty...
  • Editorial: Don’t be a victim
    The military has long been an irresistible target for unsavory businessmen and businesswomen because all service members draw steady paychecks, the government helps creditors collect what’s...
  • Editorial: Separate old, new shorts
    The Navy Exchange Service Command blew a chance to fix a key problem with the new physical training uniform after the Navy fielded gear earlier this year that was both uncomfortable and impractical.
  • Letters
    Your Sept. 22 cover about the drunken “1-Star Groper” really enticed me, but I thought after I read the article that this isn’t such novel news.
  • From the forums
    If the ballot requires an address of the witness, then that is a requirement. The law is the law, and the ballot should be rejected. Hopefully, there was some follow-up with the voter to give him/her...
  • How Obama can win trust
    If the combined forces of the U.S. military were a state, its 2.2 million residents would have voted strongly in favor of Sen. John McCain in last week’s election — giving him five votes,...
  • ‘Burn pit’ letters
    In the Nov. 3 issue, Navy Times reported on the massive open-air waste burn pits on U.S. installations in the Iraq and Afghanistan war zones that some service members worry may pose health risks.
  • Letters
    The Defense Department misapplied benefit laws. So, what else is new?
  • U.S. troops, U.S. law
    When an Iraqi court recently convicted and sentenced to hang an insurgent who murdered three U.S. soldiers in 2006, it was one of the most significant milestones of the war since Saddam Hussein was...
  • Letters
    On Dec. 16, 1907, 16 American battleships steamed out of Hampton Roads, Va. In 14 months and six days, these coal-burning men-of-war traversed 11 oceans and seas, crisscrossed the equator six times,...
  • From our forums
    I cannot wait to put these uniforms on. We will finally look like we are part of a military organization and not a mechanic or prisoner.
  • Confronting piracy
    Piracy has never been entirely out of fashion, but a new generation of Somali bandits are setting troubling standards of audacity. The international community must respond with similar unprecedented...
  • From our forums
    The Navy has some serious problems right now, including a budget that may not be able to be fixed, and a grave leadership crisis that may be splitting the Navy apart. Something is wrong, though....
  • Letters
    After reading the rollout plan for the Navy Working Uniform, it looks like Navy [officials] put as much thought into the rollout as they did the design of the physical training uniform [“Blue...
  • Tweak GI Bill for reservists
    Having seen Congress overhaul active-duty GI Bill benefits, military advocates are now gearing up to get Congress to fix the reserve GI Bill, too.
  • Free speech has limits
    Retired Marine Gunnery Sgt. Jesse Nieto understands the price of freedom.
  • Personnel chief: Diversity doesn’t mean quotas
    After reading the letter from retired Capt. James A. O’Reilly Jr. [“Merit key to promotions,” Nov. 24], in which he commented on the Navy Times article “Diversity push for...
  • From our forums
    Does our freedom of expression stop at the base? If so, then no-go. If not, then say what you wish in a civil manner. Nothing treasonous or anarchistic, though. Some people get too easily offended....
  • Surrounded by heroes
    From mid-October to mid-November, my family faced the most difficult month of our lives. Not only did my mother, Pamela Losey, pass away Oct. 13 from pancreatic cancer, but 11 days later, my uncle,...
  • Smart to stay with Gates
    In a July interview with Military Times, President-elect Barack Obama praised Defense Secretary Robert Gates for bringing a “level of realism and professionalism and planning” to his job,...
  • Ease NWU restriction
    The Navy sure is proud of its new blue-and-gray camouflage working uniform. So proud, in fact, that you can’t be seen wearing it off base.
  • From our Forums
    It isn’t what should be on your car on base. It’s what kind of person local civilians see when a military member steps out of that vehicle. We are supposed to set an example, not whine...
  • Letters
    In regard to the article “Freedom of speech?” [Dec. 1] reporting that a worker on Camp Lejeune, N.C., is suing because he has been banned from driving his car with offensive decals on...
  • Report vindicates Gulf War veterans
    The National Vietnam and Gulf War Veterans Coalition applauds the Veterans’ Affairs Research Advisory Committee on Gulf War illness for the release of its thorough scientific review of research...
  • Time to get creative
    Only time will tell whether President-elect Barack Obama views various big-ticket defense programs as too costly for a nation in economic recession, or as valuable jobs programs amid rising...
  • Limit ‘liberty chit’ use
    every enlisted sailor or Marine up to the rank of E-6 now must get permission from his commanding officer before making a visit to Mexico, thanks to a rule put into effect Christmas Eve. It’s...
  • Dispersal is a priority
    Strategic dispersal has been key to the tactical positioning of our naval assets for over 150 years. We are pleased that the Navy is proceeding with the overdue decision to disperse our Atlantic...
  • From our forums
    The term shipmate is not evil. The way it is spoken can be. With these new two-man apartments for sailors in port, “shipmate” will be obsolete; we’ll argue about...
  • Letters
    I am disappointed by the results of the Military Times poll regarding a prospective repeal of “don’t ask, don’t tell” on several levels [“Troops oppose repeal of...
  • Speak strongly to fix VA
    The stubborn backlog of 400,000 benefits claims at the Department of Veterans Affairs has never made sense. It takes an average of 188 days to process a claim, yet VA leaders somehow accept that as...
  • From our forums
    I’m not sure if more skippers are being relieved now, or if the Navy is just being more public about it. I wonder, would the Navy benefit more or get hurt if details about why COs were fired...
  • Letters
    As a Navy commander operating “behind enemy lines” as an instructor at the Air Force Academy, my current assignment allows me to insert deck-plate leadership, the chiefs’ mess and...
  • Retool housing standards
    The National Military/Veterans Alliance plans to call for a review of the standards on which housing allowance rates are based. And for good reason.
  • From our forums
    As a former Navy deep draft ship’s captain, I maneuvered out of both Norfolk, Va., and Mayport, Fla., many times. Given a choice, I would always choose Mayport. The short Mayport run is a walk...
  • Letters
    I know it may be a bit old-fashioned, but I was quite concerned about the picture [with] the “Suggested reading” piece [Back Talk, Jan. 26].
  • Enlisted deserve better
    The new marching order at Arlington National Cemetery is that enlisted soldiers killed in action qualify for burial with full honors.
  • From our forums
    Most of the security is an illusion, an impressive front to make the public feel safe. A moderately intelligent and determined person can penetrate a majority of the security you see in office...
  • Letters
    When the Navy made its long-awaited announcement to base a nuclear carrier at Naval Station Mayport, Fla., it ensured that our service personnel and aircraft carriers will be much safer [“Navy...
  • From our forums
    BAH should be based on the basic cost of living for the area you are in, not rank. Base pay is based on rank.
  • The new readiness
    Anyone who thinks Robert Gates won’t make big changes during his second stint as defense secretary hasn’t been paying attention.
  • The military needs change
    We seem to be living in an age where so much that we thought certain and permanent crumbles into dust before our eyes. Our once robust economy founders while our once cherished personal liberties...
  • Letters
    Regarding this passage from the article about the continuation board and those exempted [“Continuation board to focus on performance levels,” Feb. 9]:
  • A realistic VA budget
    A few years ago, the Bush administration was forced to acknowledge that it was about $3 billion short in funding the Department of Veterans Affairs.
  • Reverse Dover policy
    The cost of war can be counted in dollars and cents, entered into spreadsheets and processed across budgetary lines.
  • From our forums
    This is simply a continuation of the process of eliminating “deadwood” that was started when the Navy initiated high-year tenure roughly 20 years ago. At least here, there is the chance...
  • Letters
    The entire purpose of having an E-1 through O-10 working uniform is to develop uniformity among all ranks [“Working uni won’t work,” Letters, Jan. 26].
  • Learning to let go
    Formerly secret intelligence reports give a valuable insight into why Defense Secretary Robert Gates has so vehemently warned Congress not to try to Americanize the war against terrorists in...
  • Letters
    I remember when, as a data processing technician first class on the [anti-submarine warfare aircraft carrier] Shangri-La anchored in the Bay of Naples, I found out that I had passed the...
  • From our forums
    We who have served have become public figures by virtue of both our service and acceptance of the taxpayers’ coin. Our death entails not only loss to our family but also to the country and its...
  • Redefine PTSD standard
    Legislation pending in Congress would make a change for the better for veterans diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder after they separate from service.
  • Fixing the surface fleet
    February started badly for the surface fleet: A sailor died Feb. 1 when a small-boat crew flipped over as it was being lowered into the water from the amphibious transport dock San Antonio.
  • From our Forums
    I don’t know if anyone else has ever noticed, or perhaps it’s just my command, but it seems like the amount of work you do really isn’t rewarded unless you constantly draw attention...
  • Letters
    How dare you break a chief petty officer’s anchor for the [Feb. 23] cover of your rag! Yes, it is true there have been more than a few individuals throughout our great Navy’s history who...
  • Keeping China open
    HONG KONG — The symbolism was clear even if a bit muted. The commander of U.S. Pacific Command, Adm. Timothy Keating, came to this doorway to China in February to persuade leaders of the...
  • No more blank checks
    Only in Washington can a budget increase be characterized as a cut. For weeks, the Pentagon had privately suggested the Obama administration would cut its 2010 defense budget by about $50 billion.
  • Don’t slight spouses
    The Military Postal Service Agency is looking to tighten up on some mail rules that officials say are too often flouted.
  • Letters
    • The third class crow doesn’t mean [squat] unless you’re a boatswain’s mate.
  • Letters
    I work as a technical representative and have direct contact with shipboard technicians; I see where our “A” and “C” schools are lacking [“Computer-based...
  • Raise sim time carefully
    Over the next few years, the Navy wants its student aviators to be spending 50 percent of their flight training time in a simulator — more than double current practice.
  • Reflecting on 5,000
    The U.S. military reached a somber milestone in mid-June when the 5,000th American service member died in support of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
  • From our forums
    On my last cruise, I started out at 235 and came home at 170. I’m a picky eater, so if I didn’t like what was for chow, I either ate a salad or went to the ship’s store for beef...
  • Letters
    I was surprised to read your article concerning computerized training [“Computer-based failure,” June 15]. I’m disheartened to see that it took an inspector general’s report...
  • Relaxed rules not enough
    The Navy has decided to relax its excessively restrictive — and highly unpopular — rules regarding off-base wear of the new Navy Working Uniform.
  • Stamp out burn pits
    A growing number of military medical professionals believe burn pits are causing a wave of respiratory and other illnesses among troops returning from Iraq and Afghanistan.
  • From our forums
    It seems that everywhere I turn in the Tidewater area, I see somebody wearing a naval flight suit in various conditions. From enlisted to officers, sailors think that this is yet another appropriate...
  • Letters
    People have been complaining about the PT shirt not wicking enough and becoming see through when wet. Fine, redesign the PT shirt [“PT uniform upgrade,” June 29].
  • Expand family leave rules
    No military spouse or parent — whether active-duty or reserve — should be forced to choose between keeping a job and taking time off vital deployment preparations.
  • Make use of commissary
    The best-loved benefit of many a military family is the commissary. Those who know it and use it may complain about the unusual queuing process, the long lines, the lack of house brands and even the...
  • Keep quals meaningful
    Enlisted warfare qualifications, a very visible badge of achievement for sailors, soon will become mandatory for all.
  • Letters
    The air and surface warfare qualifications used to mean something. Once the pin was made a requirement for advancement to E-6 and allowed for anyone, the program was slashed of content and made so...
  • Rules can be changed
    “Stupid is as stupid does,” said the title character in the popular movie “Forrest Gump.”
  • Congress acting to aid troops, vets, families
    One of the most important pledges the military makes in combat is to never leave a service member behind on the battlefield.
  • Letters
    Regarding banning tobacco sales and use on base, only good can come of it [“Rx for military: Ban tobacco use,” July 20].
  • From our forums
    Big Navy gets it wrong again. When you make something mandatory, it takes something away from those who put forth the extra effort to earn it on their own. Shouldn’t junior personnel learn...
  • Smoking is troops’ right
    No one disputes that using tobacco, in whatever form, carries dire health consequences for users while driving up the costs of health care for everyone.
  • Letters
    Your July 27 feature story [“No brainer”] was tacky and tactless.
  • Stay strong on F-22 cuts
    It’s not often that Congress votes to shut down production of a big-ticket weapons system — along with the jobs that the system supports in home states and districts.
  • Fix housing oversight
    The Pentagon finally has issued rules for the expanded Homeowners Assistance Program, designed to help certain military homeowners facing a loss in the housing-market downturn of recent years.
  • Amphib forces essential
    Among the issues the Quadrennial Defense Review will determine is whether to retain the Marine Corps’ amphibious assault mission.
  • From Our Forums
    The exams correlate directly to activities done at sea. Repetitive actions done on a daily basis create proficiency. You can’t get that from a book. Shore-duty sailors are slacking off when it...
  • Letters
    In response to the editorial “CO firings have roots in flawed screening process,” [Sept. 14], the author was spot on with his recommendations.
  • VA needs bold change
    When it comes to the vast and stubborn backlog of veterans benefits claims, Congress seems all too content to take a flyswatter to an elephant.
  • From our forums
    If an individual is having problems readjusting to life after combat/military, there are likely mental health/physical health issues that need addressed. Stating that a service member is OK because...
  • Letters
    I find your Nov. 2 cover illustration offensive and not in line with responsible journalism [“Give me back my liberty!”]. Your cartoon of a junior sailor yelling at a chief petty officer...
  • Track your paperwork
    Members of a group of 16 chiefs and senior chiefs under 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing are claiming that, because their command master chief didn’t sign out their evaluations in time for their annual...
  • Coburn’s callous ‘hold’
    A bill is pending in the Senate that would grant new benefits to help the families of severely wounded troops keep their loved ones at home, rather than in hospitals and other institutions. But the...
  • Letters
    Although I agree that women should not be placed on subs, I find it interesting that the male point of view is that women get pregnant just to get out of going on ships [“Opinions diverse, but...
  • Air-sea battle concept critical to future plans
    With U.S. acquisition and operations spending facing cuts in the years to come, the imperative among the military services is more cooperation.
  • From our forums
    I’m tired of seeing junior enlisted getting hammered where senior enlisted and officers get off for doing the same exact thing. Senior enlisted and officers are supposed to set the example and...

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