Lawmakers as well as the top military and Defense officials applauded the end of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell Tuesday, describing the expiration of the controversial policy barring openly gay men and women from serving in the military as a deeply significant development. “This is a historic day,” Defense Secretary Leon…

By Kenneth R. Bazinet Gays and lesbians can finally serve openly in the U.S. military, now that the Pentagon’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy that required them to stay in the closet was wiped off the books at midnight. One couple, Navy Lt. Gary Ross, 33, and his civilian partner, Dan Sweezy,…

President Obama released the following statement on Tuesday to mark the end of the military’s ‘Don’t Ask Don’t Tell’ policy, which banned homosexuals from serving openly. “Today, the discriminatory law known as ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ is finally and formally repealed.  As of today, patriotic Americans in uniform will no…

The U.S. now has boots on the ground in Libya, albeit not many. Four members of the U.S. military are accompanying State Department personnel as part of an effort to determine when the American embassy in the country should be re-opened, according to the Defense Department. The four arrived over…

As the nation prepares for a solemn weekend, two of the Obama administration’s top national security officials appeared at the Kennedy Center Friday to pay special tribute to the men and women who served over seas in the decade following the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and newly…

Former Defense Secretary Robert Gates will be returning to his alma mater. Gates was named Tuesday as the new Chancellor for the College of William and Mary in historic Williamsburg, Va., the university he attended as an undergrad. “In addition to an outstanding education, William & Mary instills in its…

By Kenneth R. Bazinet America loves its mercenaries. Competitive-bid Pentagon contracts are a low point since the Sept. 11 attacks, giving way to the military’s addiction to hard-to-trace, fast-track no-bid contracts that have encouraged waste and fraud, according to a new report. Private military contractors, the politically correct name for…

The military operation in Libya has cost the Defense Department approximately $896 million. “This … includes amounts for daily military operations, munitions used in the operation, President-directed drawdown of DoD supplies, and humanitarian assistance,” a statement from a Pentagon official reads. The estimate, which was provided by the Defense Department,…

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta warned Tuesday of “devastating effects” if the Congressional supercommittee fails to reach a compromise and the military is required to make large, across-the-board budget cuts. “It would result in hollowing out the force,” Panetta said during a discussion with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton at the…

General John Allen, the head of U.S. forces Afghanistan, told reporters Wednesday that American forces killed Taliban fighters involved in Saturday’s deadly helicopter crash. The fighters were killed late Monday in an air strike with F-16 fighter jets in Eastern Afghanistan. According to a statement from ISAF Joint Command, the…