army

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Putin's New Order Will Make His Army 2nd-Largest on Earth

With 180K new service members, for a total of 1.5M, Russia's army will be 2nd to China's in size

(Newser) - China boasts the largest army on Earth, with the United States and India claiming the next-biggest forces. Vladimir Putin now wants in on that elite pecking order, ordering Russia's army on Monday to boosts its ranks by 180,000 active service members, bringing the total number to 1.5...

77 Years After US Soldiers Stole Her Cake, a New One

US Army tries to make up for its shameless 1945 swipe from Italy's Meri Mion, now 90

(Newser) - What should have been an exciting entry into teenhood for Meri Mion was marred by the fact that someone stole the birthday cake her mom had baked for her. Now, 77 years later, an act of contrition from the perp—none other than the US Army, reports the BBC . The...

Army Booted Her for Being Transgender. Now She's Dead

South Korea's Byun Hui-su had been fighting to get reinstated

(Newser) - She was declared unfit to serve in her country's army after having sex reassignment surgery, the first active-duty soldier to have such a procedure. Now, Byun Hui-su is dead, her body found Wednesday at her residence in Cheongju, South Korea, per the Yonhap News Agency . Emergency responders found the...

3 US Soldiers Killed at Fort Stewart in Georgia

3 others also injured when armored vehicle gets in an accident

(Newser) - US Army officials say three soldiers were killed and three others were injured when the armored vehicle they were riding in was involved in an accident during training at Fort Stewart in Georgia, the AP reports. Officials with the Fort Stewart-Hunter Army Airfield's 3rd Infantry Division said in a...

Macron Calls for 'European Army' to Counter US, Russia

'Peace in Europe is precarious,' French president says, warning against rising nationalism

(Newser) - Emmanuel Macron is calling for the formation of a "real European army," and while two of that potential force's foes, per the French president, are usual suspects, it's the third that's raising eyebrows. During a tour of WWI memorials in Verdun on Tuesday, Macron encouraged...

Haiti Has Gone 20 Years Without an Army. No Longer

Critics are wary about soldiers, meant to respond to natural disasters, being politicized

(Newser) - After more than 20 years without an army, Haiti is recruiting for a new one. Disbanded in 1995 following a violent period of military rule, the army was afterward replaced by United Nations security forces. Those forces, however, are now preparing to leave Haiti in October. To fill the gap,...

Army Deserter Shacked Up in Russian Forest for 11 Years

30-year-old's own family thought he was dead, buried another man by mistake

(Newser) - For more than a decade, a Russian army deserter was believed dead and buried—until he turned up recently hiding out in the woods in a remote eastern part of the country, the Guardian reports. A police spokeswoman said Monday that cops on the Kamchatka peninsula hauled in a 30-year-old...

Polish Army Swoops In on Nazi 'Gold Train' Site

Explosives, radiation experts assessing site to rule out possible dangers

(Newser) - The world has been hearing about the Nazi gold train for weeks, and we may finally be getting closer to a confirmation or denial. The Polish army has converged upon the southwestern Poland site where the train could be located, with explosives, chemical, and radiation experts making sure there's...

Major World Wars Becoming Obsolete: Goldstein and Pinker
 That 'War' Thing? So Passé 
opinion
Dec 18, 2011 4:53 PM CST

That 'War' Thing? So Passé

Battle between world powers no longer profitable

(Newser) - Not to jinx anything, but massive wars between world powers are really going out of style. "These prototypical wars have become increasingly rare, and the world hasn’t seen one since the three-week invasion of Iraq in 2003," argue Joshua S. Goldstein and Steven Pinker in the New ...

Pentagon: Army Didn't Properly Test Body Armor

Army rushed through plates, can't prove they meet standards

(Newser) - The Army didn’t properly test much of the body armor deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan and can’t prove that it meets military standards, the Pentagon’s inspector general declared in a scathing new report. Because of the demands of the conflict, the army rushed some bullet-blocking plates into...

Troops' A/C Costs $20.2B— More Than NASA

Military spends $20B to cool tents in the Mideast

(Newser) - Which would you rather have: a space program or cool army tents in the Mideast? The US military spends $20.2 billion annually on air conditioning for tents in Iraq and Afghanistan—an amount that NPR notes tops NASA's entire budget, all damages BP has paid for the Gulf...

Poll: Air Force Losing Ground With Public

Army, Marines now ranked as more important

(Newser) - The public now considers the Army and Marines significantly more important than the Air Force, according to a new Gallup poll. That might not sound that earth-shattering, but it represents a major shift in public thinking, Politico observes. In May 2001, the Air Force was overwhelmingly the public’s favorite,...

Mom: My Son Dieted to Death ...Thanks to the Army

Glenni Wilsey lost 85 pounds in less than 4 months

(Newser) - Glenni Wilsey, about six feet tall, weighed roughly 270 pounds in high school. When he died this month at age 20, he weighed just 197 pounds. He had shed 85 pounds in only 3 and a half months—because, his mother says, Army recruiters encourgaged him to do so. Wilsey...

Army Fires Rockets at Yemen Protest: Rebels

2 killed, 7 wounded in attack, say demonstrators

(Newser) - Yemen’s military fired rockets at rebel protesters in the northern city of Harf Sufyan today, killing two, and wounding 13, the demonstrators said in a statement. The AP reports that witnesses say soldiers in an army post opened fire with heavy machine guns, believing the protesters were trying to...

Gates to Army: No More Wars Like Iraq

US must dial down 'controversial large-scale military intervention'

(Newser) - Will the US ever undertake another war like the ones in Iraq and Afghanistan? Not if Defense Secretary Robert Gates has his way. “In my opinion, any future defense secretary who advises the president to again send a big American land army into Asia or into the Middle East...

After 50 Years, a New Army Rifle

M16, M4 may be replaced

(Newser) - For nearly 50 years, US Army troops have relied on M4 and M16 rifles, but that could soon change. While Army leaders have long been loyal to the "combat proven" rifles, questions and complaints have arisen about their design and reliability. So the Army this week advertised its interest...

Egyptian Police Stand Down, Army Joins Protest

Chaos reigns in streets of Cairo

(Newser) - Protesters in Cairo once again defied curfew today, but this time the police largely stood by and let them do it, the LA Times reports. The military meanwhile seems to have switched sides; as protesters swarmed over Cairo’s central square, the officers stationed there threw off their helmets...

Congo Commander Accused in Mass Rapes

Assaults on 51 women linked to death of soldier

(Newser) - An army commander of the Democratic Republic of Congo has been accused by a victim and local officials of leading a mass rape of some 50 women. It's the largest single rape attack linked to the Congo army, reports the BBC . "Those who raped me were members of the...

Vowing to Punish Enemy, S. Korea Launches Vast Drills

Will 'punish the enemy if it provokes us again'

(Newser) - South Korea is continuing to thumb its nose at the North, today launching three days military drills close to the DMZ, as hundreds of troops, tanks, jets, and helicopters gather, the AP reports. It’s the 48th such training this year—only 47 had been planned—and the largest joint...

Remains of 8 Soldiers Found in Same Grave at Arlington

Screw up sparks criminal probe

(Newser) - The Army has launched yet another criminal probe into Arlington National Cemetery, after eight urns marked “unknown” were found in a single grave. Bodies are misplaced or mixed up disturbingly often at Arlington, but this is the first time that it’s sparked a criminal probe. “When there’...

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