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☆ Opinion: Why the fall of Afghanistan in 2021 broke me in a way my husband’s death didn’t
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-30 | by ( Hilary Krieger | Opinion Jane Horton | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +12 min

Chris Horton, a sniper with 1st Battalion, 297th Infantry Regiment, 45th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, Oklahoma Army National Guard, stands with his weapon in Paktia, Afghanistan, in 2011. In this March 2016 photo, US Central Command Commander Gen. Lloyd Austin and Gold Star Wife Jane Horton talk at Headquarters Resolute Support Mission in Kabul, Afghanistan. Jane Horton, senior adviser to the acting secretary of defense, gives a speech in Kabul in December 2020. It was a place that might have even been darker than the day Chris died. Chris Horton and Jane Horton pose for a photo on their wedding day in 2009 in Cleveland, Ohio.

Persons: Jane Horton, CNN —, It’s, Chris, I’ve, Marcus Yam, who’d, Kirk Owen, ”, Chris Horton, ., Whitney Hughes, “ Jane, Marshal Rommel ‘ Don’t, ’, —, Lloyd Austin, Myles Cullen, ” Maryam, Ashraf Ghani, Taylor Crul Organizations: Department of Defense, Afghan Women’s Council, CNN, Oklahoma National Guard, Los Angeles Times, Facebook, Spc, 1st Battalion, 297th Infantry Regiment, 45th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, Oklahoma Army National Guard, National Guard Bureau, Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gold Star, Embassy, Central Command, US Air Force, 816th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron, III, Hamid, Airport, Twitter, State Department Locations: Georgetown University’s, Afghanistan, Kabul, Paktia, United States, Washington, Resolute, American, Paktya, –, America, Cleveland , Ohio, anytown USA

☆ Ukraine sends the powerhouse 82nd Air Assault Brigade into battle, as generals decide 'to put all their chips on the table,' says defense analyst
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-19 | by ( Rebecca Rommen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Ukraine's 82nd Air Assault Brigade has officially joined the counteroffensive against the Russian invasion forces, the Kyiv Post reports. Leaked documents from earlier this year revealed the 82nd Brigade was a formidable unit with about 150 NATO-supplied armored infantry carriers. Forbes called the 82nd Brigade "almost comically powerful" as it represents half of its best NATO-delivered infantry armored vehicles. The 82nd Brigade, and its sister air-assault unit, the 46th Brigade, had previously been held in reserve. The 82nd Brigade is reportedly active in the village of Robotyne, in the southern Zaporizhzhia Region of Ukraine.

Persons: Michael Clarke, Forbes, They're, Shane Charles Ukraine's, Clarke, they've, it's, Jimmy Rushton, Victor Ayala Clarke, Rushton Organizations: Air Assault Brigade, Service, 82nd Brigade, NATO, Stryker, British Challenger, Politico, Challenger, Forbes, Brigade, British, Royal United Services Institute, 46th Brigade, US Army Stryker, US Army, Spc, Ukraine, The Locations: Wall, Silicon, Russian, Ukraine, London, Kyiv, Fort Polk, Louisiana, Robotyne, Zaporizhzhia Region, Urozhaine, Zaporizhzhia Oblast

☆ Ukraine sends its US-supplied Stryker combat vehicles into battle for the first time in the counteroffensive against Russia, say reports
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-19 | by ( Rebecca Rommen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The Stryker combat vehicle is officially in action near the Zaporizhzhia frontline. The US-supplied vehicles can be outfitted with various weapons and move quickly while carrying soldiers. Its impressive arsenal includes 90 US-supplied Stryker vehicles, 40 German-produced Marders, 24 US M113 infantry carriers, as well as 14 British Challenger tanks, Politico reported. A US Army Stryker armored vehicle fires a Tube-launched, Optically-tracked, Wire-guided missile at Fort Polk in Louisiana in June 2009. There are 18 variants of the combat vehicle, and more than 4,900 have been built in the last 20 years by General Dynamics.

Persons: –, Jimmy Rushton, Michael Clarke, Victor Ayala Organizations: Stryker, Service, Air Assault Brigade, Kyiv Post, 82nd Brigade, NATO, US, British Challenger, Politico, Challenger, US Army Stryker, US Army, Spc, Pentagon, Kyiv, General Dynamics, New York Times, Ministry of Defence, Russian Federation Locations: Russia, Wall, Silicon, Ukraine, Russian, Zaporizhzhia Region, Kyiv, Fort Polk, Louisiana, Zaporizhzhia

☆ Vanessa Guillen killing: Cecily Aguilar receives 30-year sentence for role in death of Army soldier
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-14 | by ( Haley Britzky | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —Cecily Aguilar, the woman charged in connection with the 2020 killing of Army Spc. Vanessa Guillen, has been sentenced to 30 years in federal prison. Aguilar pleaded guilty last year to one count of accessory after the fact, and three counts of making a false statement. Robinson died by suicide as authorities closed in on him in 2020, making Aguilar the only person charged in connection to Guillen’s death. Guillen, who was a 20-year-old private first class at the time of her death, went missing in April 2020.

Persons: Cecily Aguilar, Vanessa Guillen, Aguilar, Aaron Robinson, dismembering Guillen, Fort Hood, Robinson, Guillen, Jaime Esparza, “ Ms, Mayra Guillen, Vanessa’s, Cecily, ”, “, Robinson “, Vanessa Guillen —, bludgeoning, Leon, Joe Biden, Vanessa Guillen ”, Natalie Khawam, ” Khawam Organizations: CNN, Army Spc, Spc, Western, Western District of, Google, Army, Military Locations: Fort Cavazos , Texas, Fort, Western District, Western District of Texas, Texas, Cavazos, Guillen’s

☆ Armed with depleted-uranium ammo, Ukraine's tank gunners could punch through tough Russian armor and set tanks on fire
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-17 | by ( Ryan Pickrell | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Reports say the US is expected to send Ukraine depleted-uranium tank rounds along with M1 Abrams tanks. The rounds do what other tank rounds don't, like sharpening on impact and starting fires. Two, depleted-uranium tank rounds are pyrophoric, which means they burst into flame under intense heat and pressure. Explosive reactive tank armor "kind of increases the chance that the penetrator will not hit at the correct angle," Spoehr said. Tank rounds, of course, aren't the only way to defeat an enemy tank.

Persons: —, Thomas Spoehr, Gertrud Zach, there's, Spoehr, Abrams, that's, Austin Berner, Jack Watling, hasn't, Watling, Nick Reynolds, M1A2 Abrams, Joshua Taeckens Organizations: M1 Abrams, US Army, Service, 1st Armored Division, M1A2, 7th Army Joint Multinational Training Command, Army, Center for National Defense, Heritage Foundation, M829, Abrams, Staff, M1A2 Abrams, Minnesota National Guard US Army, Royal United Services Institute, Army Armor, Fort, Spc Locations: Ukraine, Grafenwoehr, Germany, Russia, Russian, Fort Benning, Georgia

☆ A secretive SEAL-like unit is leading Ukraine's shadowy battle against Russia in a vital corner of the country
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-28 | by ( Stavros Atlamazoglou | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

The 73rd Naval Center of Special Operations appears to be leading the effort for Ukraine. For Ukraine, the 73rd Naval Center of Special Operations, a secretive SEAL-like unit, is leading the shadowy battle against Russia. Therese PratsThe 73rd Naval Center of Special Operations was based on the Soviet-era 17th Naval Special Purpose Brigade. The 73rd Naval Center of Special Operations could play a significant role in future large-scale fighting. Roxana DavidovitsLike the 73rd Naval Center of Special Operations, most of the Ukrainian military emerged from the Soviet military.

☆ In first-of-its-kind drill, US Army special operators train to defend Taiwan against Chinese attack
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-03 | by ( Drew F. Lawrence | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

At US Army Special Operations Command's annual capabilities exercise, soldiers trained to defend Taiwan. The training was part of the USASOC's annual capabilities exercise, or CAPEX, and the mission they were gaming out was an insertion into Taiwan to defend against a Chinese invasion. So instead of hovering 8,000 miles away in the South China Sea where the island actually is perched, the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment's Chinooks landed on Range 68 at Fort Bragg. US Army Rangers conduct an air-assault raid during Capabilities Exercise at Fort Bragg on April 20, 2023. Soldiers take part in US Army Special Operations Command's annual Capabilities Exercise in June 2019.

☆ Front-line NATO allies worry they could be next after Russia's invasion of Ukraine and are getting ready for a fight
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-23 | by ( Sinéad Baker | Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +13 min

These countries along the military alliance's front line are now scrambling to make sure they're protected should the Russian military ever come knocking. "There is an imminent need of a stronger NATO presence in our region," Estonia's Foreign Minister Urmas Reinsalu said. For nearly 14 months, the Russian military has been bogged down by its grinding war in Ukraine. More boots on the groundSome leaders in the Baltic countries have said that they ultimately want to host more NATO troops, including permanent brigades, in the years to come. So as the threat landscape continues to shift, the Baltic defense has adapted along with it, Townsend said.

☆ The US and its allies are stuck in a violent cycle with Iran-backed militias who want blood but don't want to 'poke the bear'
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-16 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +11 min

But even still, miscalculation is possible, and these deadly exchanges nearly sent the US and Iran to war just a few years ago. In response, two US Air Force F-15E fighter jets carried out airstrikes later that evening against IRGC Quds Force facilities in Syria, killing eight Iran-backed militants. Angel Ruszkiewicz"We do not seek conflict with Iran, we don't seek escalation with Iran," Pentagon Press Secretary Brig. "As soon as the Iranian special forces and their proxies showed up in Syria, the Israelis started hitting them. The next day, Iran-backed militias attacked US forces near Hasakah, killing the American contractor.

☆ In a Civilian Hospital, Military Medicine Is Kept Alive
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-09 | by ( Ben Kesling | Photographs Hannah Yoon For The Wall Street Journal | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

CAMDEN, N.J.—Army Spc. Hannah Broman cut into the patient’s chest and put her finger in to feel his ribs and lung to check the pathway for a chest tube needed in hospital surgeries like this—or after a soldier is shot in combat. Dr. Chris Derivaux, a thoracic surgeon at Cooper University Hospital and an Army reservist, watched closely to make sure Spc. Broman made the incision properly for a procedure she might someday have to do on a battlefield.

☆ How the US Army's Best Ranger competition uses days of grueling challenges to find the military's best 2-man team
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-31 | by ( Stavros Atlamazoglou | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

US troops will gather in Georgia in April for the US Army's Best Ranger Competition. The Best Ranger competition is organized and run by the US Army in conjunction with the National Ranger Association. 101st Airborne Division soldiers compete in the Best Ranger Competition at Fort Benning in April 2022. David DumasThe Best Ranger competition typically starts strong with a 10-mile run followed by a swim event and an obstacle course. 10th Mountain Division soldiers complete a casualty evacuation lane during the Best Ranger Competition in April 2022.

☆ Matt Gaetz's legislative aide is a convicted war criminal who murdered an Afghan civilian and dumped his body in a latrine
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-30 | by ( Sonam Sheth | John Haltiwanger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

A legislative aide who works for GOP Rep. Matt Gaetz is a convicted war criminal, The Intercept reported. The aide, Derrick Miller, spent eight years in prison after murdering an Afghan civilian, the report said. Gaetz's office defended its decision to hire Miller, saying he was "wrongfully convicted." According to The Intercept, Miller shot Mohammed in September 2010. The Florida congressman also repeatedly criticized the war in Afghanistan before President Joe Biden withdrew US troops in 2021.

☆ Ukrainian troops are putting a Vietnam-era US anti-tank weapon into use against Russian armor
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-28 | by ( Maya Carlin | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Ukrianian troops are using US-made TOW missiles against Russian armored vehicles in Ukraine. TOW missiles were first used by US troops in the Vietnam War and have been in service since then. Ukrainian troops are using an array of foreign-made anti-tank missiles against Russian forces. A US Army mockup of the Heavy Antitank Weapon, a project that led to the TOW missile, in 1964. The TOW missile in UkraineOn Monday, Ukraine Weapons Tracker tweeted footage depicting an M41A7 TOW HMMWV-mounted ITAS being fired by a Ukrainian soldier.

☆ 18 countries sent sharpshooters to a US military base in Germany to see who has the best sniper team in Europe
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-22 | by ( Stavros Atlamazoglou | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

The 2022 version of the European Best Sniper Team Competition was one of the largest ever. The European Best Sniper Team CompetitionEstonian troops in a replica of a downed UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter during the European Best Sniper Team Competition on August 6. An Italian sniper team in a replica of a downed helicopter during the European Best Sniper Team Competition on August 6. The winnersCompetitors in the "1917" event during the European Best Sniper Team Competition on August 6. Snipers and modern warfareA Finnish Army sniper team at the European Best Sniper Team Competition on August 7.

☆ The biggest problem with Russia's tanks in Ukraine is the way Moscow tried to use them
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-07 | by ( Alex Hollings | Sandboxx News | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +21 min

By September, the tally of lost and captured Russian tanks reached 1,000 — more than all the tanks in the British, French, German, and Finnish militaries combined. The first time these British tanks found a fight, only 25 of the 49 of them actually moved when ordered to commence the attack. Nonetheless, before the conflict was over, Churchill himself would decide tanks had, once again, run their course, declaring, "we have too much armor — tanks are finished." And that is the real lesson we can glean from the performance of Russian tanks in Ukraine over the past year. Maxim Shemetov/ReutersThis point becomes evident when you look at Russian tank losses recorded by the Oryx Blog between February and April 2022, when Russian tank losses were at their absolute worst.

☆ US soldiers receive Muay Thai lessons from Thai champion
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/5] Thailand's champion Sombat Banchamek, or Buakaw, gives Muay Thai lessons to U.S. Marines as part of the "Cobra Gold 2023" (CG23) joint military exercise at the Lopburi Province, Thailand, March 5, 2023. REUTERS/Napat WesshasartaTHAILAND, Lopburi March 5 (Reuters) - American soldiers received Muay Thai lessons from a champion fighter in Thailand during the annual multilateral "Cobra Gold" military drills hosted by the Asian nation. Soldiers took instruction and punched and kicked alongside Thai champion Sombat Banchamek, or Buakaw (White Lotus) as he is widely known in the country. "For every U.S. soldier who came to train in Cobra Gold, they also want to exchange and study our culture regarding Muay Thai, which is our national art,” Buakaw said. The 42nd annual Cobra Gold exercises, a war games event, was attended by 7,394 personnel from 30 countries this year.

☆ A top general said the US could use balloons in the Middle East, where the US military has seen suspected Chinese spy balloons
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-13 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

A top US general said the US military could use balloons for surveillance in the Middle East. His comments come after the US downed a Chinese spy balloon off the coast of South Carolina. A Thunderhead High-Altitude Balloon System, launched by US Army Pacific Soldiers takes flight during Balikatan 22 on Fort Magsaysay, Nueva Ecija, Philippines, April 1, 2022. The general's comments come a little over a week after the US shot down a high-altitude Chinese surveillance balloon that had crossed over the continental US, fueling tensions between Washington and Beijing. The Pentagon later revealed that the Chinese balloon is part of a broader global network that Beijing operates.

☆ Ukrainian MP blames looming Russian offensive on Western countries taking months to send tanks: ‘People will die because of this’
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-08 | by ( Sinéad Baker | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Russia's upcoming offensive will take advantage of delays in sending Ukraine tanks, an MP told Insider. Germany and the US hesitated for months in sending tanks to Ukraine, prompting outcry from officials. A German Leopard 2A6 tank during training at the 7th Army Training Command Grafenwoehr Training Area, Germany, May 2017. Both countries finally agreed to send tanks at the end of January, paving the way for other nations to announce their commitments. Sovsun told Insider that it was hard to watch countries debate sending the needed weaponry, and that she couldn't understand how the decision to send tanks was not made sooner.

☆ The Western-made tanks heading to Ukraine are unique — but that creates unique problems for Ukraine's military
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-02 | by ( Michael Peck | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

While most modern tanks run on diesel, the Abrams uses a Honeywell 1,500-horsepower gas-turbine engine that functions best when burning JP-8 jet fuel. Challenger tanks were credited with destroying 300 Iraqi tanks. When Turkish Leopard 2s battled ISIS fighters in Syria in 2016, the results were less than impressive. Leopard manufacturer Rheinmetall has 22 Leopard 2s and 88 older Leopard 1s in its inventory, but those can't be made battle-ready until at least 2024. What matters is how many Ukraine will receive — 31 Abrams and 14 Challenger 2s are not a lot — and how Ukraine's military uses them.

☆ The US's powerful Abrams tanks are heading to Ukraine, but generals disagree over how hard it'll be to use them on the battlefield
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-01 | by ( Sebastien Roblin | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +19 min

The US has pledged to send Abrams tanks to Ukraine, joining a bevy of Western-made tanks. Here comes the M1 Abrams for UkraineA M1A2 Abrams tank fires at a target during an exercise. The same day, word spread that US President Joe Biden would announce he was sending 31 M1 Abrams tanks to Ukraine. But Hertling disagreed that withholding the M1 Abrams was a "political decision" and didn't find the examples of non-US Abrams operators persuasive. M1 Abrams: training and sustainmentAn M1A2 Abrams drives into the woods during an exercise in Hohenfels, Germany.

☆ UK funeral service provider Dignity agrees to $349 mln takeover
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SummarySummary Companies Shares of FTSE Small Cap firm hit over 9-month highCo agrees to sweetened 550 pence/share offerJan 23 (Reuters) - Funeral services provider Dignity Plc (DTY.L) has agreed to a sweetened 281 million pound ($349 million) takeover by a consortium backed by investment firms SPWOne V Ltd, Castelnau Group (CGL.L) and Phoenix Asset Management Partners. Dignity's shares climbed more than 8% to a more than nine-month high of 547 pence by 0918 GMT on Monday. The stock, which fell about 30% in 2022, has rebounded after disclosing the buyout talks. Dignity, which owns 725 funeral locations and 46 crematoria in Britain, has faced pricing pressures and regulatory requirements from Britain's competition watchdog. ($1 = 0.8052 pounds)Reporting by Aby Jose Koilparambil in Bengaluru; Editing by Rashmi Aich and Jane MerrimanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

A Texas woman who helped mutilate and conceal the body of Fort Hood soldier Vanessa Guillén pleaded guilty to federal charges Tuesday, prosecutors said. Cecily Aguilar, 24, helped the man who killed Guillén dispose of her body and lied to investigators, the U.S. attorney’s office for Western Texas said in a statement. Aguilar pleaded guilty Tuesday to a count of accessory to murder after the fact and three counts of false statement or representation, the U.S. attorney’s office said. If she is convicted, Aguilar faces up to 30 years in prison, but a judge will consider federal sentencing guidelines, the U.S. attorney's office said. Guillén's family said they were taken aback by Aguilar's decision to plead guilty.

☆ After 40 years of safe skies, US special operators have to worry about threats from above, SOCOM commander says
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-10 | by ( Stavros Atlamazoglou | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

AP Photo/Efrem LukatskyUkraine's military claims to have shot down over 1,000 Russian drones, but unmanned aerial systems continue to proliferate. Ukraine is also using its fair share of unmanned aerial systems. Special operators vs. dronesA member of the Iraqi federal police with a destroyed drone used by ISIS in Mosul in March 2017. "But now with everything from quad-copters that very small up to very large unmanned aerial vehicles, we won't always have that luxury." DELIL SOULEIMAN/AFP via Getty ImagesGenerally, US special operators can take out unmanned aerial systems in two ways.

☆ The Ukraine war has often been a grinding artillery battle. These are the big guns being sent in to pound Russian forces.
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-02 | by ( Michael Peck | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Its array of 122 mm, 152 mm and 203 mm cannon mirrored those used by Russia's military. Denice LopezGermany and the Netherlands have already delivered 10 of the German-designed Panzerhaubitze 2000 armored self-propelled 155 mm howitzers to Ukraine. 1st Class Mikki SprenkleFrance's Caesar is a 155 mm howitzer mounted on a six-wheeled truck. Jacob BradfordThe Zusana-2 is a Slovakian wheeled 155 mm self-propelled howitzer. RCH-155The turret of the RCH 155, armed with a 155 mm gun, is unmanned and controlled from the drive module.

☆ Analysis: Lula, Bolsonaro and market look to cure Brazil consumer debt hangover
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-17 | by ( Tatiana Bautzer | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

With nearly 70 million Brazilians blacklisted by credit agency Serasa, owing 290 billion reais ($54.4 billion), debt relief is smart politics in a closely fought presidential campaign, ahead of an Oct. 30 runoff vote. Advisers say he would focus first on 95 billion reais of unpaid bills accumulated by families earning up to 3,600 reais ($676) per month. Later steps would focus on incentives to restructure bank debt, for this population. Looking to steal his thunder, right-wing incumbent Jair Bolsonaro announced a program offering a sharp discount on bank debts. But the scope is far more modest, applying to some 4 million borrowers from state bank Caixa Economica Federal, which estimated about 1 billion reais of restructuring.

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