United States of America
Army Spc. Ronnie Zane McCulley has been through hell for his country. On Saturday in Tulsa, he was shown how much his service is appreciated. McCulley, who was badly burned in Afghanistan in October, was the guest of honor at a "Welcome Home" salute held at American Legion Post 308, 11328 E. Admiral Place. "It's very humbling," McCulley said. "It's overwhelming. It really is like a band of brothers." Post Commander Bill Bennett said the veterans and others who gathered Saturday have the "utmost respect" for those who are serving now. "We love every one of them," he said.
Petraeus on the meaning of true importance...
The U.S. Defense Department is expected to issue an order today for General Electric Co. and Rolls-Royce Group Plc to halt work on a second engine for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter .
An Owasso soldier who was badly burned in Afghanistan last year returned home Tuesday to the welcoming arms of family members, after months of hospitalization. Walking with the aid of a cane and accompanied by his wife, Kristyn, Army Spc. 4 Ronald Zane McCulley was all smiles as he greeted his family, who eagerly awaited his arrival at Tulsa International Airport. As soon as the 21-year-old McCulley stepped through the arrival gate, his family - parents, siblings and grandparents - rushed him with open arms, followed by hugs. The joyous homecoming was a 180-degree turn from just months ago, when the family was engulfed by tears and anguish at McCulley's bedside at Brooke Army Medical Center at San Antonio. There were times when he held onto life by just a thread.
The father of a Lawton soldier killed in Afghanistan told his Facebook friends to "remember the good times." Staff Sgt. Travis M. Tompkins, 31, died Wednesday after insurgents attacked his unit with a rocket-propelled grenade. Tompkins was serving as a military policeman with the 10th Mountain Division. "I am numb, as hours ago we got word our wonderful son, Travis, was killed in action on his first mission upon returning from leave here with his wife and family," Leland Tompkins wrote. "I am glad to hear that no others of his platoon died with him. Thank you for all thoughts, and those that knew Trav, remember the good times."
More U.S. military crews were exposed to radiation Tuesday as the Pentagon ramped up relief flights over a Japan reeling from an earthquake, tsunami and nuclear crisis. The Defense Department said the Navy started giving anti-radiation pills to some of those exposed, and Americans on two military bases south of Tokyo were advised to stay indoors as much as possible. With more aid for victims on the way, the U.S. Navy said it was redirecting three ships to work in the Sea of Japan on the country's west coast rather than risk the hazards of radiation and the debris field in the waters off the east coast.
Army Secretary John McHugh has initiated "adverse administrative action" against the officers, according to an Army statement released Thursday on the results of an accountability review to determine if Hasan's superior officers were negligent. "Although no single event directly led to the tragedy at Fort Hood, certain officers clearly failed to meet the high standards expected of their profession," the Army statement said.
The West is now home to the four fastest-growing states - Nevada, Arizona, Utah and Idaho - and has surpassed the Midwest in population, according to 2010 figures. California and Texas added to the southwestern population tilt, making up more than one-fourth of the nation's total gains since 2000.
While mothers and fathers are away, serving in the military, some children are finding comfort in pillowlike dolls decorated with their photos. Operation Hug-A-Hero has provided thousands of the dolls to families of soldiers.
While mothers and fathers are away, serving in the military, some children are finding comfort in pillowlike dolls decorated with their photos. Operation Hug-A-Hero has provided thousands of the dolls to families of soldiers.
Mr. Witzel was born at Wann, Oklahoma on May 18, 1924 the son of Laverne and Lena Witzel. He grew up and received his education in Bartlesville until entering the United States Navy at the age of 16 in 1941. He was a Pearl Harbor survivor who was a Gunner's Mate, shooting down two Japanese planes during the Pearl Harbor attack. He served continuously in the Navy until his Honorable Discharge on July 31, 1961. Mr. Witzel was married to Anna Lee Brunsteter on September 9, 1944 in Bartlesville. They made their home at various locations during Mr. Witzel's military career. Following his military discharge as a Chief Petty Officer, they came to Bartlesville to make their home in 1961 where he was Vice President of Home and Peoples Savings & Loan Association from 1961 until 1979.
WASHINGTON — The U.S. military is too white and too male at the top and needs to change recruiting and promotion policies and lift its ban on women in combat, an independent report for Congress said Monday. [This... I... urk...]
Two sailors were killed and a third was injured during a training exercise at Camp Pendleton on Monday morning... the three sailors were in a 7-ton water truck that rolled over on a road on the base...
Federal agents are barely able to slow the river of U.S. guns flowing into Mexico. In two years, a new effort to increase inspections of travelers crossing the border has netted just 386 guns - an almost infinitesimal amount given that an estimated 2,000 slip across each day.
In the flurry of state legislation proposed to discourage illegal immigration, one appears to have momentum for becoming law, which has drawn concerns from advocates for immigrants. Rep. George Faught, R-Muskogee, proposed House Bill 1446 with language pulled from previously filed bills and from legislation passed in Arizona.
Gov. Mary Fallin visited nearby Camp Gruber on Thursday and expressed confidence in the training of Oklahoma Army National Guard troops as they prepared for an upcoming mission to Afghanistan.
The U.S. military's super-secret X-37B space plane is all set to launch on its second mission Friday, though what it will be doing on orbit remains a mystery. The X-37B will launch from Cape Canaveral on an Atlas 5 rocket.
Two people were shot and killed Wednesday in an incident involving a U.S. military bus at Frankfurt Airport in Germany.... troops killed and injured are U.S. Air Force airmen from Lakenheath base in the United Kingdom, the U.S. official said, emphasizing that the information was only preliminary.... It's believed the German police have a young Kosovo national in custody
A nationwide crackdown targeting gangs affiliated with Mexican drug traffickers has resulted in the arrests of 678 gang members and associates, including 14 in the Chicago area.... The gang members have affiliations with 133 different gangs....
An Oklahoma House committee has approved anti-illegal immigrant legislation that would give Oklahoma law enforcement officials new authority to assess the immigration status of motorists.
A House committee approved a bill Monday that would give law enforcement officials more authority to check the immigration status of motorists. The measure's author said it mirrors some parts of Arizona's anti-illegal immigrant law passed last year.
Here's a beautiful story, linked from Drudge, and is now wide-spread, but in case you didn't see it, a family adopts the canine companion of the fallen Marine son.
Staff Sgt. Sean Samaroo was inspired to join the military nine years ago by the Army's "be all you can be" TV commercial. It was a prophetic slogan for Samaroo, who last year found himself in the midst of one of the deadliest battles of the war in Afghanistan, tenaciously fighting back an overwhelming enemy onslaught. Earlier this month, Samaroo was awarded the Silver Star, the military's third-highest medal.
The Pentagon will create a Cyber Command to oversee the U.S. military's efforts to protect its computer networks and operate in cyberspace.... will be responsible for defending U.S. military systems but not other U.S. government or private networks...
"Could you say 'senator' instead of 'ma'am?' It's just a thing. I worked so hard to get that title. I'd appreciate it." --Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA) to Brigadier General Michael Walsh during Senate hearing Tuesday
The two Okies, who that fall were driving their fellow scouts crazy with talk about the University of Oklahoma Sooners football team, themselves ran the ultimate 100-yard dash, not once, but twice. Both were awarded Bronze Stars for their actions. One of the Afghan soldiers died from his wounds, but one lived — a second chance at life for a central Asian country boy, courtesy of two Oklahoma country boys.
Douglas Hampton was paid about $101,000 in 2008 and $144,000 in 2007 as Ensign's administrative assistant. But a financial disclosure form he filed in 2007 and 2008 — required for senior congressional staffers - showed only checking and savings account worth a maximum $30,000 combined. A review of public records shows that the Hamptons in 2006 took out a $1.2 million mortgage on their Las Vegas home, at an interest rate of 8 percent. Political insiders in Nevada and in the Senate said that Ensign decided to acknowledge the affair publicly after the husband of the woman he had been seeing asked him for a substantial sum of money....
President Barack Obama announced the appointment Monday of Kimberly Teehee, a member of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma, as his senior policy adviser on American Indian issues.
His main quest in life was to discover what had happened to his son, Zachary. Captured in Lebanon in 1982, there was information the past few years Zachary still was alive and was being held in Syria.
Suburban Chicago veterans have honored a garbage truck driver who's credited with saving 250 American flags from being improperly thrown out within the last 18 months... a 34-year-old native Canadian... married to a former Army medic who did two tours of duty in Kuwait.
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