The United States will pull the majority of its troops from Chad and Niger as it works to restore key agreements governing what role there might be there for the American military and its counterterrorism operations, the Pentagon said Thursday. Both African countries have been integral to the U.S. military’s efforts to counter violent extremist organizations across the Sahel region, but Niger’s ruling junta ended an agreement last month that allows U.S. troops to operate in the West African country. In recent days, neighboring Chad also has questioned whether an existing agreement covered the ..read more

JERUSALEM — An under-construction pier for a U.S.-led project to bring aid into the Gaza Strip came under fire Wednesday, forcing U.N. officials to take shelter there, Israeli and U.N. officials said. No militant group immediately claimed responsibility for the assault, which the Israelis described as a mortar shell attack. Authorities said that no one was wounded. The attack marks a shaky start to the construction of the pier, a project that the U.S. is spearheading to surge humanitarian aid into Gaza. A Hamas official told The Associated Press on Wednesday that the militant group will resist ..read more

The military must take swift, decisive action to address obesity in the ranks, according to a new letter sent to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin Wednesday by a group of more than 50 individuals and organizations, including 21 retired senior military leaders. The letter, spearheaded by the American Security Project, urges defense leaders to strike at the core of the problem on five fronts related to prevention, identification and treatment of obesity in the military. “This crisis has far-reaching impacts on readiness and retention,” wrote the group, which also includes health experts and advocac ..read more

The Air Force on Thursday opened applications to join its first active duty warrant officer corps in nearly 45 years as the service seeks to ramp up its technical and operational expertise in cyber and information technology operations. The new program will train a first cohort of up to 60 airmen as subject matter experts who will advise leaders and staff on technical needs while mentoring others. They’ll staff two new career fields: warfighter communications and IT systems operations (17W), which will plan for, deploy and secure communication systems; and cyber effects and warfare operations ..read more

Over a month into the hellish fight for control of Guadalcanal, then-Marine Lt. Col. Lewis B. “Chesty” Puller ordered elements from the 1st Battalion, 7th Marines to conduct an exploratory mission to the peninsula Point Cruz along the Matanikau River. That region of the island was used as a staging area for Japanese forces to regroup and launch further attacks, particularly against the tenuously held Allied airfield dubbed Henderson Field. Through miscommunication and miscues, that reconnaissance mission quickly turned deadly. “On September 27, a message from the group was either misinterprete ..read more

AUGUSTA, Maine — Fellow U.S. Army reservists who witnessed the mental and physical decline of a colleague who would commit Maine’s deadliest mass shooting told a commission investigating the killings Thursday that they tried to intervene before the tragedy. Six weeks before Robert Card killed 18 people at a bar and bowling alley in Lewiston, his best friend and fellow reservist Sean Hodgson texted their supervisors, telling them to change the passcode to the gate at their Army Reserve training facility and arm themselves if Card showed up. The Lewiston killings happened Oct. 25 — exactly six m ..read more

More veterans with other-than-honorable discharges will be able to access federal benefits under new rules announced by the Department of Veterans Affairs on Thursday. Officials said the rules are designed to ensure that troops booted for homosexuality, undiagnosed mental health issues or other questionable reasons can access needed care and are recognized for their service. Over the last decade, about 57,000 individuals in those categories have applied for and received VA benefits despite their discharge status. “Too often, former service members believe that they cannot come to VA due to the ..read more

The Navy is now authorizing combat awards for sailors serving in the Red Sea area, according to a message sent to the fleet Wednesday by Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro. The authorization is a nod to the constant and perilous work of Navy warships and sailors who have battled Iran-backed Houthi rebels off Yemen since the fall. Since Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel, and Israel’s subsequent incursion into the Gaza Strip, Navy destroyers and fighter jets stationed aboard the aircraft carrier Dwight D. Eisenhower have intercepted a steady stream of Houthi attack drones and rockets fired at military ..read more

BOSTON — There has been no final decision on whether or not all U.S. troops will leave Niger and Chad, two African countries that are integral to the military’s efforts to counter violent extremist organizations across the Sahel region, a top U.S. military official told The Associated Press on Wednesday. Niger’s ruling junta ended an agreement last month that allows U.S. troops to operate in the West African country. The government of neighboring Chad in recent days also has questioned its agreement with the U.S., Joint Chiefs Vice Chairman Adm. Christopher Grady, the nation’s second-highest-r ..read more

Attention, commissary shoppers: Here’s what you need to know about the possible costs you may have to front as your local store eliminates plastic and paper bags. Efforts to ditch single-use bags are gradually taking effect at U.S.-run grocery stores at military bases around the world, so be prepared with reusable bags. Guam’s commissaries got rid of plastic and paper bags as of March 15, and Hawaii’s commissaries will follow starting April 30. California and Washington will eliminate the bags on June 30. As for the remaining commissaries around the world, the Defense Commissary Agency plans t ..read more