Author: Braxton Taylor

High school students whose campuses do not have a Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps program would be able to join units at another school under a bill being introduced in Congress.The expansion of the JROTC program is part of a broader bill being introduced by Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, intended to build on recent momentum in recruiting by expanding the military’s access to high schools.”For me, choosing to serve our country opened the door for the American dream, allowed me to afford college, and paved the way for a life committed to service,” Ernst, who served in the Iowa National…

The chairman of the House Veterans Affairs Committee has asked the Justice Department to investigate former Veterans Affairs Secretary Denis McDonough and other VA leaders for their handling of the fiscal 2024 budget, questioning whether they intentionally misled Congress when asking for an extra $15 billion to cover a projected funding shortfall.Rep. Mike Bost, R-Ill., wrote Attorney General Pam Bondi on Tuesday calling for a review of the VA leaders involved, including McDonough, Under Secretary for Benefits Joshua Jacobs, Under Secretary for Health Dr. Shereef Elnahal and “any other officials.””The suggestion that senior VA officials submitted materially inaccurate funding requests,…

Oops! You blew it. You thought your joke was clever and funny and when no one on your new team laughed (but a few people gasped), you realized you just landed a negative first impression on your first day on the job.Do you run and hide? Quit? Pretend you actually speak another language (and the joke didn’t translate well)?No. When something like this happens, it’s important to recognize that you tried to show your humorous and fun side to your new colleagues and it didn’t land right. There is a way forward — but the work is yours to do.Read…

Migrants are now being apprehended and charged with trespassing on a new narrow stretch of Department of Defense-controlled land in New Mexico, defense officials and attorneys told Military.com, marking new legal battles for the U.S. government.As of Monday, at least 28 migrants were charged with violating security regulations as well as entering the U.S. illegally, The Washington Post and Reuters reported. Carlos Ibarra, a court-appointed defense attorney in New Mexico, told Military.com on Wednesday he was aware of the new migrant cases and said he was representing 10 clients.Entering the country illegally is a common misdemeanor charge with up to…

DOHA–Several trends are giving violent extremist groups a brighter, more profitable future, security officials and experts from around the world said this week at the Soufan Center Security Forum here.Cryptocurrencies and sophisticated use of shell companies are helping them accumulate funds. AI is making recruitment and disinformation a snap. The reduction of social-media monitoring is enabling such campaigns to flourish. The U.S. retreat from multilateral diplomatic efforts is reducing the pressure that kept such groups in check.All this is making such groups more powerful, independent, and useful as proxy tools for autocratic regimes. State-backed militias are no longer operating on the…

The Marine Corps touted its ongoing barracks improvements on Tuesday but acknowledged the effort has hit some early snags — and uncertain funding from Congress threatens to extend the already far-off expected completion in the late 2030s by nearly a decade.The improvement effort, known as Barracks 2030, is a top priority for the commandant, Gen. Eric Smith, and has added furniture, renovations and big-ticket items such as air conditioning to the on-base housing, which is home to more than 80,000 Marines. But at least one pilot program is at risk of fizzling out for legal reasons, and the Pentagon’s ongoing…

The U.S. military’s fleet of V-22 Ospreys won’t be able to fly without restrictions until 2026—about a year later than originally planned—as officials work to upgrade flawed gearboxes that have caused several mishaps.The military put limitations on Osprey flights after a crash killed eight airmen off the coast of Japan in December 2023. An investigation into the crash found that the aircraft’s prop-rotor gearbox, which allows the aircraft to shift between helicopter and airplane mode, failed due to metal weakness.The V-22 program office plans to start upgrading gearbox components with a stronger, triple-melted steel, a process that “bakes out impurities,”…

Hunters play a vital role in the success of wild game animals. As a byproduct, other species and habitats benefit from the North American model of conservation. Years of hard data and research point to this (see the wild turkey as a prominent example). Hunting and conservation efforts provide an (relative) abundance of wild game animals, so in that regard, hunting just makes sense.However, when it comes to hunting, there are plenty of inconsistencies that hunters are happy to live with or downright ignore. As a man of spiritual convictions, I’ve learned to accept contradictions and realities that lie beyond…

SAN FRANCISCO — Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said Tuesday that her cuts to the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, plus other yet-to-be-announced reforms, will eventually strengthen the nation’s lead cyber defense organization.“I know the press has covered the role of Homeland Security and what we have done in CISA — as far as some of the reforms and efficiencies and some of the initiatives and task forces and advisory councils that were changing — as a bad thing,” she said in a speech at the RSAC Conference here, adding she would “encourage” the cyber community to “just wait” to “see what we’re…

When Texas health officials announced the third measles death in early April, the message also raised a sobering reality––the outbreak has now claimed the same number of U.S. lives in just over 10 weeks as in the previous 24 years combined. It has shown no signs of slowing down since beginning in late January, and has now spread to 25 states with nearly 900 confirmed cases as of April 25.Public health experts have already begun sounding the alarm on extensive and troubling failures in the United States’ response to the measles threat. Some warn that this sluggish response could allow…