Pentagon

The recent study estimating that there may have been 26,000 cases of sexual assault in the military last year stirred a lot of tough talk from the Pentagon and the White House over the past 24 hours. But the question is whether that outrage will translate into much-needed reforms within the armed forces. On that front, we have our doubts. The U.S. military's failure to adequately address sex crimes within its ranks is hardly a new problem, but the rise of such incidents - up from 19,000 in 2010 - is shocking.

The recent study estimating that there may have been 26,000 cases of sexual assault in the military last year stirred a lot of tough talk from the Pentagon and the White House over the past 24 hours. But the question is whether that outrage will translate into much-needed reforms within the armed forces. On that front, we have our doubts. The U.S. military's failure to adequately address sex crimes within its ranks is hardly a new problem, but the rise of such incidents - up from 19,000 in 2010 - is shocking.

I am extremely disappointed in Rep. John Sarbanes' opposition to an amendment that would have insisted that cuts to the Pentagon budget be a significant part of any effort to control deficit spending. The House is attempting to make sweeping cuts in federal government spending for the rest of this fiscal year, including cuts in domestic spending, diplomacy, development and international assistance. Why should the Pentagon budget be exempt from cuts? Military spending has doubled in the past 10 years and the Pentagon has a history of enormous cost overruns.

The Pentagon estimated Tuesday that 26,000 members of the military were sexually assaulted last year, 36 percent more than a year earlier, in a trend so severe that senior officials warned it could threaten recruiting and retention of military personnel. President Barack Obama, reacting to the startling figures, said he has "no tolerance" for sexual assaults in the ranks and pledged to crack down on commanders who ignore the problem. Obama said he had spoken to Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel and ordered that officers "up and down the food chain" get the message.

It was refreshing to read Thomas F. Schaller's commentary about the burden of America's superpower status ("America should give up its role as lone superpower," July 25). Mr. Schaller was a bit too reserved in his criticism, however. While he points out that our military budget dwarfs all others, he falls into that trap of attributing it to "defense spending. " The Defense Department, which used to be called the Department of War, is actually involved in offensive operations. The invasions of Grenada, Panama and Iraq were classic examples of warmongering that had nothing to do with defending the country.

The big story in The Sun this past week was the unforeseen storm. In the editorial, "Feeling powerless" (July 3), the question asked was this a "freak occurrence?" Your answer makes sense: "Climate science suggests that global warming will make unusual and severe weather much more common. " However, I have a suggestion. Instead of global warming, use climate chaos. What I witnessed in Baltimore on the Friday night of the storm was climate chaos. Only a head-in-the-sand politician would deny that human activity is causing climate chaos.

The Pentagon estimated Tuesday that 26,000 members of the military were sexually assaulted last year, 36 percent more than a year earlier, in a trend so severe that senior officials warned it could threaten recruiting and retention of military personnel. President Barack Obama, reacting to the startling figures, said he has "no tolerance" for sexual assaults in the ranks and pledged to crack down on commanders who ignore the problem. Obama said he had spoken to Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel and ordered that officers "up and down the food chain" get the message.

The Pentagon is creating a new intelligence service aimed at gathering information on terrorist networks, weapons of mass destruction and other emerging concerns, a senior defense official said Monday. The new Defense Clandestine Service will draw several hundred officers from the existing Defense Intelligence Agency, according to the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly about the classified program. The officers - some military, some civilian - will work alongside CIA counterparts in places such as Africa, whereal-Qaida has grown more active, and Asia, where Chinese military expansion and North Korean and Iranian weapons ambitions are drawing increasing U.S. concern.

There was no enemy involvement in the air crash that killed an airman from Upper Marlboro in Africa over the weekend, the Pentagon said Tuesday. Senior Airman Julian S. Scholten, 26, was one of four special operations airmen killed Saturday when their single-engine U-28 turboprop crashed six miles from Djibouti-Ambouli International Airport, according to the U.S. Africa Command. "This is obviously a tragic incident," Pentagon Press Secretary George Little said Tuesday, according to the American Forces Press Service.

Why is there not more public outrage about the reported excesses and criminal behavior at — what federal department was it, again? The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services? Or was it the Department of the Interior? During the past decade, the agency in question (the Labor Department, perhaps?) has been unable to account for nearly $9 billion of appropriated dollars, some of it in cash. Top officials have misrepresented the department's performance and attempted to hide scandals ranging from accidental fatalities to the rapes committed by its employees.

The most common complaint from people who email me about my columns is that the federal government is horrible: Too big and growing too fast, too corrupt and wasteful, and providing too many benefits to too many Americans. If we just shrink the government, they claim, the economy will boom. Unfortunately, readers often apply these critiques to governmental spending so insignificant as to barely matter. Grants to ACORN or for the so-called "Obama phone" program are so minuscule they're laughable, no matter how incessantly the conservative media echo chamber reports and re-reports on these so-called "scandals.

Chuck Hagel, the former Republican senator from Nebraska who survived a stormy confirmation hearing to become the new secretary of defense, had a coming-out party of sorts last week before the National Defense University, the government's graduate school for American and foreign military officers. Mr. Hagel, who had been reminded in that hearing that he once described the Pentagon and U.S. military he would be taking over as "bloated," elaborated on the notion in gentler but nevertheless specific terms.

After all the thunder and lightning signifying nothing but more Republican obstructionism, former Sen. Chuck Hagel has taken over at the Pentagon, vowing a realistic approach to America's military role in the world. Not surprisingly, he indicated he will pursue President Barack Obama's course of selective engagement, in contrast to the interventionism of the previous Republican administration, although he didn't specifically mention its war of choice in Iraq and other misadventurism.

Rep. Steny Hoyer called plans to extend some benefits to same-sex partners of military personnel “an important step in the right direction” - but said more change is needed. Outgoing Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said Monday that same-sex partners would be eligible for benefits including military I.D. cards and hospital visitation rights. But he said other benefits - including housing and survivor benefits - remain off-limits under the federal Defense of Marriage Act. That law, which defines marriage as the union of one man and one woman, is now under Supreme Court review.

It is hard for me to celebrate the news that women will now be permitted to serve in combat roles. I am pleased for the women in the military who will not have their paths to promotion blocked by artificial limits. Women are, in fact, in harm's way in Afghanistan and other hot spots, and they deserve whatever rewards come with that. And I agree with retired Air Force Brig. Gen. Wilma Vaught, who told Gail Collins of The New York Times, "I think people have come to the sensible conclusion that you can't say a woman's life is more valuable than a man's life.

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta will end the long-standing prohibition on women serving in direct combat, Pentagon officials said Wednesday, opening hundreds of thousands of military jobs previously closed to female service members. Panetta and Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, will announce the end of the so-called combat exclusion policy Thursday, officials said. The move is expected to take years to implement fully. Army Staff Sgt. Jennifer Hunt welcomed the decision.

Usually at budget time the Pentagon leadership troops up to Capitol Hill with a large spending proposal supported by dire predictions if they don't get it all. They face hostile questioning from legislators trying to free up money for their own pet projects.This year the roles are reversed. President Clinton has submitted a tight budget but key GOP leaders -- pushing deficit worries aside -- want to put more money into the Pentagon, particularly in areas that conflict with administration objectives.

The most common complaint from people who email me about my columns is that the federal government is horrible: Too big and growing too fast, too corrupt and wasteful, and providing too many benefits to too many Americans. If we just shrink the government, they claim, the economy will boom. Unfortunately, readers often apply these critiques to governmental spending so insignificant as to barely matter. Grants to ACORN or for the so-called "Obama phone" program are so minuscule they're laughable, no matter how incessantly the conservative media echo chamber reports and re-reports on these so-called "scandals.

Whether Chuck Hagel and John Brennan are the ideal men to lead the Pentagon and CIA remains to be seen. We need the exercise of a through vetting in Senate confirmation hearings, and certainly an examination of the nominees' past statements and actions is warranted. But the objections raised about Mr. Hagel so far, and to a lesser extent, Mr. Brennan, sound a lot more like an attempt to score political points than an effort to get at the key questions that will face the leaders of two of the nation's most crucial agencies.

Absent from the discussion about whether former Senator Chuck Hagel would make a good secretary of defense is any focus on lessons learned from personal factors like combat in war, as well as loyalty to the president. As I was grousing about this, my eye caught a name on a rubbing I made from the Vietnam Veterans Memorial wall: "Edward S. Krukowski. " Many years ago, Ed and I studied Russian and were in the ROTC together. Capt. Edward Krukowski, USAF, was flying a C-123 on a resupply mission in Vietnam when shot down on Oct. 24, 1964, six days short of his 26th birthday, leaving a wife and three small children.