News
Biden said the U.S. would protect Taiwan. But it’s not that clear-cut
After the president’s remarks at a CNN event, the White House quickly declared that the American policy of “strategic ambiguity” over the island’s defense had not changed.
U.S. nearing a formal agreement to use Pakistan’s airspace to carry out military operations in Afghanistan
The Biden administration has told lawmakers that the U.S. is nearing a formalized agreement with Pakistan for use of its airspace to conduct military and intelligence operations in Afghanistan, according to three sources familiar with the details of a classified briefing with members of Congress that took place on Oct. 22.
There could be still hundreds of Americans’ in Afghanistan, former U.S. envoy says
Zalmay Khalilzad, the former lead negotiator of America’s withdrawal from Afghanistan, spoke publicly for the first time since his resignation.
U.S. urges North Korea to stop missile tests and return to talks
A senior U.S. diplomat on Oct. 24 urged North Korea to refrain from additional missile tests and resume nuclear diplomacy, days after the North fired off its first underwater-launched ballistic missile in two years.
Business
L3 Harris wins $120 million contract to upgrade Space Force electronic jammers
The U.S. Space Force awarded L3Harris Technologies a $120.7 million contract to upgrade a ground-based communications jammer used to block adversariesí satellite transmissions.
KAI unveils electric basic trainer
Korea Aerospace Industries, or KAI, showcased this week a concept model of an electrically powered basic trainer aircraft during the Seoul International Aerospace and Defense Exhibition 2021 at an airbase in Seongnam, just south of Seoul.
Defense
Cancers strike U.S. fighter pilots, crews at higher rates, Air Force finds
Nearly 30 percent higher likelihood of testicular cancer and roughly 25 percent for skin and prostate cancer, according to the militaryís most comprehensive study yet.
Lawmakers alarmed by hunger in U.S. military families
The Senate Appropriations Committee, in a report this week accompanying its new Defense spending bill, expressed concern over reports of thousands of military families suffering from hunger.
Congress faces decision on military justice overhaul
Lawmakers are poised to finally overhaul the military justice system in an attempt to ease an epidemic of sexual assaults following years of failed Pentagon efforts, though it remains to be seen how far they will go.
Army expects guard soldiers to get the vaccine by December if they’re going to deploy
Army National Guard troops must get the COVID-19 vaccine by a December deadline, not the previously announced June 2022 date, if they will be mobilized on federal orders, according to a policy memo obtained by Military.com.
Stripping military bases of Confederate names stirs passions
Civil War history casts a long shadow in Virginia, the birthplace of Confederate generals, scene of their surrender, and now a crossroad of controversy over renaming military bases that honor rebel leaders.
Veterans
California’s veterans forced to leave homes to seek aid in dying
They served the nation on distant and often hostile shores, putting their bodies and minds in harm’s way for their country. Now, in the twilight of their lives, the residents of Napa County’s Yountville Veterans Home are asking for the option to end their lives if they are terminally ill, in peace, at home, in their own bed.