Combat Soldiers' Blogs Make Brass Queasy

Pentagon mulls Iraq commander's next assignment

(NEWSER) - Iraq’s top commander could be at the helm of NATO by the start of next year, the New York Times reports. While no final decisions have been made, the Pentagon is considering nominating Gen. Petraeus in September, installing him before the election dust settles in a new, highly prestigious, but less politically treacherous position. But some fear taking his hand off Iraq’s tiller. More»

New study increases concern over respiratory issues

(NEWSER) - Why do so many young, previously healthy soldiers come back from the Middle East with respiratory problems, some so bad they can no longer pass a physical required for active duty? The question was made more urgent with the results of a new study showing that Iraq and Afghanistan veterans do indeed have a higher rate of respiratory illness than soldiers deployed in other areas. The study, thought to be the largest of its kind, shows that 14.5% of Iraq or Afghanistan veterans had respiratory illness, compared to just 1.8% of veterans deployed elsewhere, the Wall Street Journal reports. More»

Bradley Manning only worked on Iraq war

(NEWSER) - Who could've given nearly 1 million classified Afghanistan war documents to WikiLeaks? The military is taking a close look at Bradley Manning, an intelligence analyst already charged with leaking documents to the site. Manning would be a perfect suspect, except for one fact: He was stationed in Iraq and had no access to Afghanistan documents. Nonetheless, investigators are examining his computers to see if he could have hacked other military computers to gain the files, the Wall Street Journal reports. More»

Reservists to fill up to 300 positions intended for nonmilitary experts

(NEWSER) - The Obama administration is being forced to fill hundreds of new positions designed for civilian experts in Afghanistan with military personnel, mostly reservists, reports the New York Times. The shortfall results from insufficient funds to hire and train nonmilitary people for work in combat zones, and the fact that agencies outside the military cannot compel employees to take posts in less desirable areas. More»

(NEWSER) - A House member is incensed that a Pentagon official, reporting a 25% increase in combat-zone sexual assault against women, said servicemen should “wait until she's sober,” the New York Daily News reports. “This woman is not in the right line of work,” Rep. Louise Slaughter, D-NY, says of Dr. Kaye Whitley. Whitley said the remark was inspired by a recruiting poster entitled “My Strength is for Defending.” More»