GI Killed by German Police

Staff Sgt. Ahmed Kousay al-Taie was kidnapped at gunpoint

(NEWSER) - The US military has identified the remains of America's last service member missing in Iraq—an Army interpreter who was kidnapped at gunpoint in 2006, the AP reports. Staff Sgt. Ahmed Kousay al-Taie, a native of Iraq who lived in Michigan, had sneaked off base by motorcycle to visit his Iraqi wife. Today the Army said his remains had been positively identified at the military mortuary in Dover, Delaware. But officials released no other information about his death or the finding of his remains. More»

US military firearms with coded messages raise issue of 'crusade'

(NEWSER) - A rifle scope commonly used by the US military is inscribed with references to the Bible. The scopes, made by Trijicon of Michigan, bear codes that refer to verses glorifying God and Jesus—even though the military, leery of being accused of waging a Crusade, bans proselytizing in Iraq and Afghanistan. The scopes are "probably the best example of violation of the separation of church and state in this country," said an activist who promotes separation of church and state. More»

Unmarried loved ones have no standing, get nothing from Army

(NEWSER) - To the US Army bureaucracy, love means little without a marriage certificate—so the fiancée of a man killed in Iraq was left with nothing other than what his family was willing to part with. Now, the Washington Post reports, Kyle Harper, 27, is trying to forge a path very different from what she and Sgt. Michael Hullender had planned. More»

Officials to hire more therapists, boost drug and health screening

(NEWSER) - The army has begun a new effort to stem the rising toll of soldier suicides, hiring more mental health workers and instituting new rules for drug testing and health screening, reports AP. The number of suicides in the first three months of 2009 reached 56—after a record 140 last year. The armed forces have partly blamed the rising number of suicides on strains from multiple deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan. More»

(NEWSER) - As many as 24 US Army soldiers took their own lives in January, an enormous rise over previous years, the Army Times reports. The deaths of seven soldiers have been confirmed as suicides, while 17 pending cases will likely get the same designation, the AP reports. If that happens, the death toll from suicide will surpass that of combat in Iraq and Afghanistan for January. More»