Exercise Cobra Gold 2014 - the largest multinational and multiservice exercise in Southeast Asia, which takes places annually throughout the Kingdom of Thailand - concluded Friday. This year's iteration included forces from the U.S., Kingdom of Thailand, Republic of Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, Japan, Indonesia, and several other observer countries.

According to Rech Sgt. Sean Tobin from the 62nd Airlift Wing, aircrews from Joint Base Lewis-McChord participated in the exercise.

The 18-hour flight across the Pacific not only provided an opportunity for C-17 crews to gain experience conducting combined airdrop operations, but also gave them experience executing large-formation air refueling operations.

Read Tobin's full report here.

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The U.S. Defense Department on March 4 will propose a five-year plan that boosts Pentagon spending by a total of $115 billion over sequestration spending caps.

The U.S. Defense Department's latest military strategy review will stress the Pentagon's commitment to the Middle East.

Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel plans to shrink the U.S. Army to its smallest force since before World War II.

Obama will announce a new Pentagon and private-sector partnership aimed at beefing up advanced manufacturing technology in the U.S.

Navy develops "world's smallest guided missile."

Army Future: Gen. Robert Cone, commanding general of U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command says leaner but still mean - if not meaner - is the future of the Army in 2025, and the time to prepare for that future force is now.

Army Future II: Heidi Shyu, assistant secretary of the Army for acquisition, logistics and technology, says to prepare the Army for tomorrow, the seeds must be planted today.

Air Force Future: Gen. Frank Gorenc, commander of U.S. Air Forces Europe, as well as U.S. Air Forces Africa, says growing airmen, dealing with organizational change and modernizing the force are key points to preserve airpower advantage.

Army Chief of Staff Gen. Ray Odierno visited the Camp Humphreys Military Community today, where he got a firsthand look at many of the transformation initiatives and construction projects currently underway there.

The initiative to ban or bury the independent newspaper Marine Corps Times originated in May 'on a rather tight timeline' at the behest of Gen. Jim Amos, the service's commandant.

Defense Department wants servicemembers to "set a goal, make a plan and save automatically" in the Military Saves Week campaign that starts today.

Medal of Honor winner Staff Sgt. Ty Carter has two words for soldiers suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder: "Get help."

Let's watch an NFL stadium be destroyed.

Why Apple's recent security flaw is so scary

Sub Pop Records is opening a store at SeaTac International Airport.

Amtrak is offering "residencies" to writers.

Let's watch an NFL stadium be destroyed.

Alec Baldwin wrote a long essay in New York magazine explaining why he's had enough of public life.

Kiss won't play at their Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony.

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A U.S. Army soldier was killed and seven were injured during a training exercise involving a large gun at Fort Bragg in North Carolina.

Ukraine parliament removes President Viktor Yanukovich, who flees Kiev in “coup.

Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel has signaled that he will seek to protect cyber warfare funding and Special Operations in the Pentagon's 2015 budget.  At the same time his aides are pushing cutbacks in pay and benefits.

U.S. Air Force revealed today the existence of a new set of classified electro-optical satellites - the Geosynchronous Space Situational Awareness Program - designed to spot other satellites and space debris.

The requests, known in military parlance as unfunded priority lists, were standard practice until former Defense Secretary Robert Gates began intercepting them from the top brass.

President Barack Obama will award 24 Army veterans the Medal of Honor for conspicuous gallantry during a White House ceremony March 18.

The Department of Defense recently expanded its zero tolerance policy for the use of illicit drugs to include synthetic marijuana, commonly known as "spice."

Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel announced Friday afternoon that he will not reopen the Medal of Honor nomination for U.S. Marine Corps Sgt. Rafael Peralta. 

There are increasing fears that the F/A-18 Super Hornet's assembly line may be shut down because of dwindling orders, as the Navy prepares for a new generation of warplane - the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter.

Personnel from the U.S. military and Japan Self Defense Forces engaged in the week-long Integrated Air and Missile Defense Wargame V.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced his government and U.S. helicopter manufacturer Sikorsky Aircraft had signed a long-dormant contract to co-produce an initial batch of 109 utility helicopters.

The Obama administration is poised to scale back funding for the U.S. military's most elite forces, which spearheaded the fight against al-Qaida and embodied the Pentagon's rapid post-9/11 budget growth.

Will Cambodia's Phnom Penh be the greeting point for interplanetary visitors to Earth?

How your car is tracking you.

10 musicians you need to know right now.

Justin Timberlake and Jimmy Fallon roll out History of Rap Vol. 5.

Trippy ice crystals.

Here's a fun trick for pyros (which is pretty much every human ever).

Are you ready?

Congratulations to the following airmen who graduated Julius A. Kolb Airman Leadership School last week at McChord Field.

Staff Sgt. Ryan Abel, 627th Civil Engineer Squadron

Staff Sgt. Ramsey Tesch, 62nd Aerial Port Squadron

Senior Airman Manuel Bowden, 62nd Operations Support Squadron

Senior Airman Cleat Cooley, 62nd Aerial Port Squadron

Read more...

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You wake up, tired and groggy, and you can think of only one thing: coffee. But in reality, first thing in the morning isn't the best time to hit the caffeine - and it's science that says so.

The Ukraine peace deal calls for the creation of a national unity government and an early presidential election.

A top spy agency is launching a challenge contest "to advance understanding of human interactions that involve trust and trustworthiness."

Proposals to front-load military compensation with more cash now rather than back-loading it with deferred, in-kind benefits later on are gaining traction with the commission tasked with recommending reforms to the current system.

Wage hike's impact on Department of Defense is far from clear.

Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel has ordered the undersecretary of defense for policy to develop a plan to reorganize the department's POW/MIA accounting effort.

The DoD announced the release of its Electromagnetic Spectrum Strategy to increase available spectrum in order to meet growing demand from the commercial wireless industry while maintaining critical military capabilities.

Study: Current plans for Afghan security forces risk failure.

The Air Force needs its new long-range strike bomber, even if it can't give details.

Despite being canceled in 2009 by then-Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, bits and pieces of the U.S. Army's $20 billion Future Combat Systems program keep hanging around.

Germany's defense ministry is planning to reduce its order for Eurofighter jets from 180 to 143.

The new head of the British Army is to be Lt. Gen. Sir Nick Carter.

The "Strategic Broadening Seminars" and the "Army Special Operations Forces Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies Fellowship," begin this summer.

If the U.S. Congress could be symbolized and encapsulated as a single human face, it would be the bland, smudgy, vaguely terrifying visage here.

Check out Eminem, Ice Cube, Korn and Anonymous aligning forces to BLOW YOUR MIND and set off the #WaveOfAction scheduled for 4/4/14.

Dave Holmes rounds up the modern rock hits of 1994.

See Neil Patrick Harris sing in silk pajamas in this new ad/music video.

A breakdown of all the TV pilots that have been ordered for next season.

It was a wise move to sell Girl Scout cookies outside a medical marijuana clinic.

The multi-billion-dollar deals transforming tech, visualized.

This just in from the folks at NORAD:

North American Aerospace Defense Command will conduct exercise flights today as they practice intercept and identification procedures. The exercise will occur over northwestern Washington. Although they are scheduled for the morning, the flights could be delayed due to weather concerns.

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Military can close bases without Congress's OK.

The Department of Homeland Security is warning airlines to be on the lookout for terrorists potentially targeting U.S. flights with shoe bombs.

The United States might have killed a dozen civilians in a wedding procession during a drone strike in Yemen last December, a human rights group claimed. 

Two American security officers have been found dead on a ship made famous when it was hijacked by Somali pirates.

After deadly clashes between protesters and police in Ukraine, the Pentagon urged the Ukrainian Armed Forces to "stay on the sidelines." 

Veterans with a 100 percent disability rating will get their Social Security claims processed faster, thanks to a change announced by the agency.

U.S. Army Europe and Installation Management Command-Europe announced force structure changes Thursday that will reduce the service's local national workforce by 579 positions. The changes also will result in a net increase of 44 U.S. civilian positions, while 89 military positions will be shed.

The U.S. Army is planning to buy new transport ships to replace dozens of its decades-old fleet of watercraft.

The Army ground force that rolled over Iraqi forces in 1991 and 2003 was actually designed and built in the similarly cash-strapped 1970s and 1980s.

General Dynamics has lined up the U.S. arm of Canadian simulation giant CAE to provide training solutions for its offering for the U.S. Air Force's next-generation trainer.

Let's read about soldiers training for the coveted Army Air Assault badge.

Air Force leaders announced a change to the officer reduction in force board, or RIF, originally scheduled to convene June 16 at the Air Force Personnel Center. 

Maj. Gen. Terry Ferrell, 7th Infantry Division commanding general, spoke to more than 150 Soldiers during a division newcomer's brief at The French Theater on Joint Base Lewis-McChord.

Beekeepers in Mexico are fearful that GMO crops are killing the honeybee.

Are we moving towards a post clown society, or have the clowns morphed into trolls?

A map that shows which states have the longest and shortest sex.

Fox looks to have assembled the team for its Fantastic Four reboot.

Preview some numbers from the Heathers musical.

Good news: Killer Karaoke returns to TV tonight.

TODAY IN MILITARY SPENDING >>>

Contract awards coming from the Pentagon dropped to $8.44 billion in January, the lowest point in nearly two years.

Within the next six months, up to $8 billion of frozen Iranian assets will be released.

With defense spending capped for 2015, it is unclear how Congress would substantially inflate the Pentagon budget to include most or all of the reportedly $26 billion in items slated for the unfunded lists.

The Washington National Guard has identified approximately $800 million in identified cyber threat risk.

The Davis-Monthan Air Force Base 16.4 megawatt solar array is the largest of its kind on any U.S. Department of Defense installation. It will provide approximately 35 percent of the base's electricity requirements, at an economically beneficial rate for 25 years, reducing base utility costs by an average of $500,000 annually.

Switching from a retail pharmacy to Home Delivery can save TRICARE beneficiaries up to $152 every year for each prescription.

And then there's this exchange of money ...

The votes are in and 2013 was another banner year for the airmen of Joint Base Lewis-McChord Field according to the recent Air Mobility Command Safety Awards.

The 62d Airlift Wing won the AMC Distinguished Ground Safety Award for large wings and Thomas E. Thompson won AMC's Nuclear Surety Individual of the Year.

"This is definitely an honor, no question about that," said 62d AW Commander of Safety Lt. Col. Brian Lewis. "I've had the honor of working with this office and these folks for a while now. Mr. Thompson is a legend and he deserves the recognition. Mr. Heath and his shop help the Air Force to be better every day."

Thompson, who has served as the Wing Nuclear Surety manager at McChord Field for close to 14 years, entered into the Air Force in 1986 and began his current career as a civilian in 2006. He has spent the nearly his entire time associated with the Air Force working with the nuclear enterprise and has been through 24 Nuclear Surety Inspections, both as a unit member or inspector.

"It is really humbling to be nominated and then to win," Thompson said.

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Typically, when an airman has a question about a personnel issue - a problem with pay, for instance, or a question about PCS orders or retirement - he or she stops by the personnel office to work it out. But this isn't always possible - especially when the service member is deployed.

In 2012, the Air Force launched myPers, a retooled version of the Air Force's personnel website. It brought together a plethora of information that Airmen could access from around the world at the touch of a few buttons.  

"We're always looking for better ways to serve those who serve," said Col. Pat Blassie, commander, Headquarters Air Reserve Personnel Center (AFPC) in a press release shortly after the myPers site was launched in 2012. "Each technological advancement we can offer our customers from the Total Force Service Center is part of a longer-term strategy to deliver human resource services as quickly, as seamlessly, and as efficiently as possible anytime and anywhere an airman might be; myPers is another outstanding refinement to that end."

Last year, myPers added a feature that allows airmen to chat about personnel issues from anywhere in the world in real time - with real people.

Read more...