News

Taliban to ‘reset’ commitments under agreement with Washington to bring down violence: US special envoy-
The U.S. special envoy to Afghanistan said on Oct. 15 he had struck an agreement with the insurgent Taliban to “re-set” their commitments under a troop withdrawal deal and reduce the number of casualties in the country, which has seen heavy fighting in southern Helmand province.
 
U.S. drone strike kills 2 senior al Qaeda operatives in Syria-
The U.S. military carried out a drone strike Oct. 15, killing two senior al-Qaeda operatives in northwest Syria.
 
 

Business

Army signs $87 million deal for latest tank killer-
The Army signed an $87 million deal with Saab to arm its soldiers with the latest version of the Swedish manufacturing company’s powerful 84mm bunker-busting, Carl-Gustaf anti-tank weapon.
 
Huntington Ingalls delivers Montana sub to dry dock-
Huntington Ingalls announced Oct. 15 that it has transferred the Montana submarine to the floating dry dock at Newport News in advance of the vessel’s planned November launch.
 
Lockheed, Bell begin forging prototypes to compete for Army’s future armed recon aircraft-
Lockheed Martin’s Sikorsky and Bell have each begun to forge the aircraft that will compete to become the U.S. Army’s Future Armed Reconnaissance Aircraft expected to be fielded by 2030.
 
U.S. Army wants industry to keep COVID safety rules in place, even after the pandemic ends-
In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, the defense industry began adjusting its facilities to avoid major outbreaks that could shut down production lines for days or weeks at a time. And now that those changes are in place, the U.S. Army’s top acquisition official thinks they should remain so for good.
 
 

Defense

New AWOL policy comes after macabre summer called attention to missing soldiers-
“They [will now] only become AWOL after a thorough investigation,” the Army chief of staff said.
 
Multi-Domain Operations doctrine still a few years out, says US Army chief-
The Army is working to refine its war-fighting concept, but calling it doctrine won’t happen for several years, the Army chief said.
 
House lawmaker urges Senate to halt Trump’s plan to pull troops out of Germany-
Rep. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., warned Thursday that if President Donald Trump continues with his plan to withdraw troops and their families from Germany, it could open the door for Russian aggression in Europe.
 
Navy’s troubled stealth destroyers may have radars replaced before ever sailing on a mission-
A cost-cutting effort years ago left the DDG-1000 destroyers with degraded capabilities and a one-off combat system, but that could be changing.
 
 

Veterans

VA has lost GIBill.com rights, and some worry it could prompt scammers to target student vets-
The Department of Veterans Affairs has lost the domain rights to GIBill.com, which some advocates fear could open the potential for scammers to target veterans.