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Throughout the next 60 days, senior Air Force leaders will re-examine the way ahead for the Air Force's nuclear mission.

In a changing security and fiscal environment, the Defense Department will seek to collaborate more closely with European allies, especially to help build the capabilities of other global partners, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said this morning.

Four afghan soldiers killed in ambush.

Syria talks end first round, government not committed to return.

Marine units that specialize in crisis response could be based in Africa in coming years as military leaders work with host nations that have shown interest in the U.S. posturing troops in their countries.

The state of defense is solidly ill-defined and in flux. And the brass knows it.

Two House committees are holding hearings next week to examine al Qaeda's resurgence.

Report: Russia surges in global arms sales.

Joe Biden took a lot of grief for suggesting Iraq should be partitioned. He might just get the last laugh.

The Defense Department will provide security and entertainment for Sunday's Super Bowl at the MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J.

The Army is expanding its resilience training to include teenagers in military and civilian Army families.

Air Force singer headed to Hollywood stage on American Idol.

When two Dakar-based photographers recreated with some familiar on-screen moments,they created a response - and a backlash - they never imagined.

Turner Classic Movies' "31 Days of Oscar" screens Oscar-nominated flicks like Gone with the Wind, The Wizard of Oz and Mr. Smith Goes to Washington uninterrupted on TV - and that's just on the first day.

The heroic Bill Murray flew into the Late Show with David Letterman dressed as Peter Pan.

The 10 albums you need to hear in February.

Think stakes are already high for this year's Super Bowl between the Denver Broncos and Seattle Seahawks? Two craft brewpubs have made the game even more interesting.

What's best to drink with pizza and football?

See a street legal Little Tikes Car that can zoom up to 70mph.

Get ready for frustration!

GRAB A CUP & READ THE MORNING REPORT FOR 1.29.14 >>>

While President Barack Obama's State of the Union speech tonight was dominated by domestic concerns, he also addressed national security concerns.    

President Barack Obama had a message forthe American people during his State of the Union speech: the war in Afghanistan will be over at the end of the year. He also had a message for Afghan President Hamid Karzai: Sign the U.S. troop deal or we're out of there.

Veterans who had hoped President Obama would support restoring cuts to military retiree pensions during the State of the Union were disappointed, but the president sprinkled plenty of other references to troops throughout his speech. 

Read more...

GRAB A CUP & READ THE MORNING REPORT FOR 1.22.14 >>>

Syria's government set a bitter tone today at the opening of talks meant to end the country's long and bloofy civil war, accusing Arab neighbors of sowing terrorism and insurrection while dismissing as interlopers the United States and other Western backers of Syrian rebels.

A Pentagon plan reportedly proposes to withdraw all forces by the end of Obama's second term.

While the Air Force investigates the biggest cheating scandal in the history of the nuclear missile force, top Defense Department officials are considering the possibility of raises for those officers to address morale problems.

Army brass are coming to terms with what a force of 420,000 could and could not do.

A federal grand jury indicted a former Connecticut man who attempted to ship boxes of stolen information on the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter to Iran.

US dominance, major programs at risk in 2015 budget

When it comes to Air Force physical fitness training, reflective belts are out and black socks are in. Hot-pink cell phones are now OK too, while in uniform, as are morale T-shirts and patches - but only on Fridays.

An Osprey tilt rotor plane will join in a disaster relief training program between the U.S. Marine Corps and Japan's Self-Defense Forces in the western Japanese prefecture of Kochi next month, using U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni in Yamaguchi Prefecture.

Lobbying spending remained mostly flat for the top defense contractors in 2013, as they grappled with sequestration taking effect at the Pentagon.

Signs of consciousness found in rats brains after death.

Forty more maps that explain the world.

Robert Capa's colorful photos of the world after World War II.

Finally: Someone ranked the 10 best Grateful Dead songs.

Ten historic bars every book nerd needs to visit.

Listen: Jim James, Lil Bub, Tim Harrington, comedians cover "The Super Bowl Shuffle."

A day in the life of Carrie Brownstein.

Beck has a new song.

Is Friends the reason so many Gen X-ers are unbearable?

GRAB A CUP AND READ THE MORNING REPORT FOR 1.20.14 >>>

An assault by suicide bombers and gunmen against a NATO base in southern Afghanistan today killed one servicemember.

After a night of vicious streets battles, anti-government protesters and police clashed anew today in the Ukrainian capital of Kiev.

A coalition servicemember was killed today when insurgents dressed in military uniforms launched a complex attack on a military base in southern Afghanistan, employing a car bomb and multiple attackers with suicide vests.

The Obama administration announced last week that it had revised its arms sales policy, emphasizing "restraint" to ensure that arms don't fall into the wrong hands or aren't turned on civilians by governments.

The Taiwanese Air Force unveiled an air-to-ground stand-off weapon developed for the F-CK-1 Indigenous Defense Fighter.

A senior Marine officer whose career was stalled for two years amid a high-profile scandal involving scout snipers in his unit has finally been promoted and assigned to a top-level school.

The 3-2 Stryker Brigade Combat Team is at the National Training Center. Let's look at photos.

The Seattle Seahawks are bringing their game-changing defense - and the "12th Man" - to the Big Apple for the Super Bowl.

Good News: Technology is not driving us apart after all.

According to Google, Washington state residents want "a say" in life.

Why strap a boring Rolex to your wrist when you could proudly wear a spacecraft?

Director J.J. Abrams said he has a completed script for the next Star Wars film and will begin shooting in May in England.

Now there's a rumor that the little Seinfeld reunion was for a Super Bowl commercial.

Gary Burghoff (Radar from MASH) is now on Twitter, with plenty of stories to tell.

You'd think that, by this point, people would start being a little more discerning with their passwords. You would be wrong.

LOB

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President Barack Obama Friday announced a series of reforms for a controversial National Security Agency data-collection program that he said would give Americans confidence their privacy is being protected and allow U.S. intelligence and law enforcement agencies to continue safeguarding the nation.

The Pentagon is considering sending U.S. troops back to the Middle East to help train Iraqi forces.

Senate Veterans Affairs Committee Chairman Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., this week introduced a wide-ranging package of veterans legislation, covering changes to the GI Bill, survivors' benefits, advanced appropriations for the Department of Veterans Affairs and fertility treatments for wounded veterans.

Barring investment from European allies, the Pentagon should abandon the goal of a nuclear-capable F-35 Joint Strike Fighter in favor of spending funds elsewhere, according to former US Air Force Chief of Staff Norton Schwartz.

European Union foreign ministers are expected to approve a military mission to protect civilians in the Central African Republic at their meeting in Brussels Monday.

Whoever runs the Marine Corps Special Operations Command's official Twitter handle got in trouble Friday for this tweet: "Don't be lone shooter #MLK weekend! make sure you've got security - stay safe! #MARSOC #Marines #shortbarrelforVBSS." 

The Defense Imagery Management Operations Center recently signed a $5 million agreement to digitize, store and provide access to hundreds of thousands of historical images.

At the Center for the Study of Traumatic Stress, experts in the emotional toll of disasters help the Defense Department, government agencies and first responders worldwide understand how best to help communities struck by terrorist attacks, mass casualties and natural disasters.

Dr. Bill LaPlante testified before the Senate Armed Services Committee on the time it takes to develop and field weapon systems, the importance of science and technology investment and how to speed up cyber acquisition.

The famed Japanese soldierwho spent 29 years hiding out after World War II ended, never realizing his country had surrendered under threat of continued nuclear bombardment, has died at age 91.

Emails from judges in 2008 reveal allegations of misconduct by judge in original case, and could potentially pave way for Roman Polanski's freedom.

Conan O'Brien hilariously grills and tortures his staff of interns.

It's amazing what a little rebranding did for these 10 celebs.

Lupita N'yongo's Critics' Choice Awards acceptance speech is a must see.

Check out this homemade mockumentary on Star Trek: The Next Generation.

Bird steals egg with camera inside and films entire penguin colony.

Here's the weirdest videogame trailer ever.

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About 200 Fort Bragg soldiers are scheduled to leave for Afghanistan Sunday. The soldiers will be the first wave of troops to deploy from the 1st Battalion, 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment. An estimated 450 troops from the battalion will eventually deploy this month.

The chairman of the House Armed Services Committee on Tuesday said President Barack Obama is ignoring servicemembers who are deployed to Afghanistan and not speaking enough about the war.

The United States pledged today to send an additional $380 million in aid this year to help victims of Syria's brutal civil war, but warned that international efforts to ease their suffering will fail if Syrian President Bashar Assad refuses to let humanitarian assistance get to people who need it.

NSA to senator: If we were collecting your phone records, we couldn't tell you.

The U.S. Marine Corps is conducting a formal investigation into an incident in which Marines are allegedly shown defiling the bodies of what appear to be dead Iraqi insurgents.

Amid intense pressure from President Obama and the White House, Senate Democrats appear to be backing away from an immediate vote on a new Iran sanctions bill.

Experts and lawmakers said the Pentagon was the lucky winner after the $1.012 trillion omnibus spending bill was released, citing an increase of $5 billion in wartime funding above what the Defense Department had initially requested.  

Two Marines from the Corps' elite special operations unit will be awarded the Navy Cross this week for heroism during an insider attack in Afghanistan in 2012.

The Army National Guard's top officer was honored Tuesday as he prepares to retire after more than 40 years of service.

FX has ordered a comedy pilot that will be created by and star Zach Galifianakis, with Louis C.K. co-writing. Nice!

Twenty hilarious and ridiculous knock-off toys: Funny Pony, Titanic Legend, Mr. T Mighty Car...

Ladies and gentlemen, the Cheap American Beer Bracket!

Here's a lesson: Never let the Internet name your baby.

Be careful how you dance battle

THIS JUST IN >>>

Governor Inslee is deeply saddened with the death of USMC Sgt. Jacob M. Hess, 22, of Spokane, and directs that Washington state and United States flags at all state agency facilities be lowered to half-staff in his memory Monday, Jan. 13, 2014. Hess died Jan. 1 in Afghanistan of injuries sustained while supporting combat operations.

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The Department of Defense announced yesterday the death of a Marine who was supporting Operation Enduring Freedom. Sgt. Jacob M. Hess, 22, of Spokane, Wash., died Jan. 1, 2014, while supporting combat operations in Helmand Province, Afghanistan. Hess was assigned to Marine Aviation Logistics Squadron 26, Marine Aircraft Group 26, 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.

The commission that could trigger historic changes to military pay and benefits system was granted an extension and will not conclude its work until February 2015, which means the Military Compensation and Retirement Modernization Commission is not likely to influence this year's budget negotiations and decision-making on Capitol Hill and at the Pentagon.

The 14th annual U.S. Army All-American Bowl will be played Saturday in San Antonio, and the festivities include Army soldier mentors battling in a Dream Challenge.

The U.S. is pulling more personnel from the U.S. embassy in Juba, South Sudan, as the security situation there continues to deteriorate. Two KC-130J aircraft assigned to the Marine Corps' crisis-response force have responded.

An Air Force report says a mechanical malfunction that started in a fuel leak caused the crash of an Ellsworth Air Force Base B-1B bomber during a training exercise in August over southeastern Montana.

The military has been unwilling to spend the time training their troops to use pain rays and stun grenades, even for situations where they hypothetically could help.

Futurist David Brin uses pattern recognition to suggest that the 21st century really begins now, in 2014.

Geoffrey Ingersoll of Business Insider shares "31 Phrases that Only People in the Military Will Understand," including the fun "Mandofun" - short for "mandatory fun."

The Wolf of Wall Street appears to have set a record for the most uses of the f-word in a single film.

Truth is stranger than fiction: A Florida man who won a raffle to watch the series finale of Breaking Bad with the cast has been charged with running a drug distribution operation.

Here comes the duck soldiers...