Marines set hearing on charges related to Muslim recruit’s death

The family of a Muslim Marine recruit from Michigan who died in a fall at boot camp said Friday they don’t believe the charges announced so far in their son’s death are severe enough for the hazing and abuse he endured. “The charges appear to be insufficient and do not address the magnitude of the torture, assault, abuse, hazing, neglect and maltreatment” to which Raheel Siddiqui, a 20-year-old former high school valedictorian from Taylor, was subjected, his family said through their lawyer, Shiraz Khan, Friday evening.

US military faces burgeoning nude picture-sharing scandal

The Pentagon faced a burgeoning scandal Friday as more pictures of naked female service members apparently shared without their consent by male colleagues have turned up on secret social media sites. General Robert Neller, the commandant of the Marine Corps, appeared embarrassed and uncertain how to deal with the problem, which first surfaced among members of his elite force.

Top generals testify against proposed State Dept. cuts

The two top U.S. generals in charge of military operations in Africa and the Middle East told the Senate Armed Service Committee on Thursday proposed budget cuts at the State Department could hamper the joint departmental effort to fight extremism. “We work very closely with various agencies,” said Marine Corps Gen.

Trump’s Plan For ISIS Poised To Put Marines 20 Miles From ISIS Capital

Marines assigned to Weapons Company, 1st Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, fire a M252A2 81mm mortar system at Range 106 during Integrated Training Exercise 2-17, at Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center, Twentynine Palms, Calif., Jan. 13, 2017. ITX is a combined-arms exercise which provides all elements of the Marine Air Ground Task Force an opportunity to utilize capabilities during large scale missions to become a more ready fighting force.

Trump’s Plan For ISIS Poised To Put Marines 20 Miles From ISIS Capital

Marines assigned to Weapons Company, 1st Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, fire a M252A2 81mm mortar system at Range 106 during Integrated Training Exercise 2-17, at Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center, Twentynine Palms, Calif., Jan. 13, 2017. ITX is a combined-arms exercise which provides all elements of the Marine Air Ground Task Force an opportunity to utilize capabilities during large scale missions to become a more ready fighting force.

NCIS investigating posting of nude photos of female Marines

The Defense Department is investigating reports that some Marines shared naked photographs of female Marines, veterans and other women on a secret Facebook page, some of which were taken without their knowledge. The photographs were shared on the Facebook page “Marines United,” which had a membership of active-duty and retired male Marines, Navy corpsmen and British Royal Marines.

‘Appalling’: Vet on Marines Posting Nude Photos of Women

Hundreds of Marines are under investigation for allegedly posting nude pictures of nearly two dozen women on a private group Facebook Page called Marines United. According to The War Horse, a nonprofit organization run by a Marine Veteran, the women were identified in the photographs that drew 2,500 mostly graphic comments.

Australians doubt Trump’s commitment to its traditional ally

Some Australians foresee trouble in their country’s traditionally strong alliance with the United States because of what they see as “unpresidential” behavior from President Donald Trump, while others think outspoken businessman-turned-Australian-leader Malcolm Turnbull is a good match for him. Australians have long had an affinity with the United States and absorb American popular culture like blotting paper.

Photo credit: Jenna Johnson

H.R. McMaster is a great choice for NSC advisor&#8212but what of the risk to the military’s independence? By naming Army Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster as his new national security adviser, President Donald Trump has taken a critical first step toward restoring confidence in the White House’s ability to meet the challenges of a trying time.

Trump’s national security candidates promised autonomy

FILE PHOTO: Acting U.S. National Security Advisor Retired General Keith Kellogg arrives for a news conference at the White House in Washington, U.S., February 15, 2017. FILE PHOTO: Former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton arrives for a meeting with U.S. President-elect Donald Trump at Trump Tower in New York, U.S., December 2, 2016.

Down Range Recon

Marines fire M45A1 pistols during marksmanship training and qualification at Camp Hansen, Okinawa, Japan, Feb.16, 2017. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl.

Will Trump’s cabinet challenge Trump?

Because we don’t think we’ve done so before, let us use the words “quiet” and “successful” in a sentence that references the Trump White House: Two of President Donald Trump’s cabinet picks got off to — here it is — quiet, successful starts in their positions, reinforcing the notion that business-as-has-been-customary just might be a viable expectation for elements of this peripatetic administration. Stay with us here: Do you recall all the Obama Cabinet members who pushed back at the president when he overstepped his role? Neither do we.

US Marine captain writes stinging op-ed: ‘We lost the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan’

An active-duty US Marine captain wrote a stinging op-ed for the Marine Corps Gazette, going through all the problems he sees with the Department of Defense and the Marine Corps in addition to recent failures in Iraq and Afghanistan. “Let us first begin with the fundamental underpinnings of this delusion: our measures of performance and effectiveness in recent wars,” he wrote.

Partners

It was just a couple of declarations made during a welcome, but we are heartened by statements Gov. Greg Abbott made last week that our U.S. trade relationship with Mexico is just as important as border security. Abbott made the statements while greeting Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly on his first visit to Texas and the Rio Grande Valley since he took over the agency last month.

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A U.S. Marine, right, speaks with an officer from the Iraqi Army and an interpreter aboard Al Asad Air Base, Iraq, on Dec. 31, 2014. The Pentagon is compiling a list of Iraqi citizens who have assisted the U.S. military since the U.S. invasion in 2003, an effort to get them special consideration for entry to the United States following President Trump’s executive order that restricts travel from seven Muslim-majority countries in the Middle East and Africa.

Defense Secretary Mattis’ first message to the troops tells you…

Defense Secretary James Mattis put out his first all-hands message to everyone in the Department of Defense on Friday, and it tells you everything you need to know about how he intends to lead. Mattis, a retired Marine general revered by his troops, probably made a good first impression among the roughly three million men and women who make up the active duty, reserve, and civilian force.

Female Marines to sleep next to male Marines in field

Female infantry Marines will be sleeping in makeshift shelters next to their male counterparts when out in the field and no special accommodation will be offered to them, a Marine Corps official said Thursday. Marines in the field stay in everything from a large, single room shelter filled with dozens of cots to sleeping under tarps or nothing at all, said Maj.

The Latest: Trump vows to ‘send in the Feds’ to help Chicago

Trump tweeted Tuesday night, “If Chicago doesn’t fix the horrible ‘carnage’ going on, 228 shootings in 2017 with 42 killings , I will send in the Feds!” Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel criticized Trump on Monday for worrying about the size of the crowd at his inauguration. Emanuel, a longtime political ally of former President Barack Obama, also acknowledged his own frustration with Chicago’s crime rate.

Trump begins to set up his administration

President Donald Trump quickly assumed the mantle of the White House and began setting up his new administration on Friday, signing a bill that allows retired Gen. James Mattis to serve as his defense secretary, as well as the nomination papers for his other Cabinet choices.

Group Urges Trump to Counter Iran Deal

A bipartisan group of former top U.S. officials is calling on Donald Trump to establish a dialogue with Iranian exiles to counter the deal Obama made with Iran. In a three-page letter to the president-elect, the officials called on him to begin dealing with the Paris-based National Council of Resistance of Iran and its main component the Mujahedeen-e Khalq , which have been the premier voices of opposition to the Tehran regime since 1979.

Billions to be paid to affected Marines

After years of wait, veterans who had been exposed to contaminated drinking water while assigned to Camp Lejeune in North Carolina may now be able to receive a portion of government disability benefits totaling more than $2 billion.

Top Cabinet nominees Tillerson, Mattis contradict Trump’s foreign policy

Toughness with Russia and China, support of the Iran nuclear deal, the quest for a solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict: Donald Trump’s diplomacy and military picks have outlined the incoming administration’s foreign policy in Senate confirmation hearings this week. And on many strategic issues, in particular the president-elect’s desire for improved ties with Russia, Rex Tillerson, the former head of ExxonMobil chosen for secretary of state, and James Mattis, the retired U.S. Marine Corps general chosen as defense secretary, contradicted Trump in the hearings Wednesday and Thursday.

Ron Paul: Will Barack Obama’s ‘Good War’ in Afghanistan Continue?

Last week, as the mainstream media continued to obsess over the CIA’s evidence-free claim that the Russians hacked the presidential election, President Barack Obama quietly sent 300 U.S. Marines back into Afghanistan’s Helmand Province. This is the first time in three years that the U.S. military has been sent into that conflict zone, and it represents a final failure of Obama’s Afghanistan policy.

Homeland Security pick faces questions on wall, immigration

In this Nov. 20, 2016 file photo, President-elect Donald Trump talks to media as he stands with retired Marine Gen. John Kelly at the Trump National Golf Club Bedminster clubhouse in Bedminster, N.J. Kelly is likely to be pressed about plans to build a border wall and other steps to boost immigration security at a Senate confirmation hearing on Jan. 10, for President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for Homeland Security secretary.