Army

The Pentagon's highly-secretive cadre of elite soldiers that took out al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden just got a new second-in-command. 

The U.S. Army Reserve said Friday that it had officially reprimanded Jesse Thorsen, the soldier who endorsed Ron Paul in uniform during the Texas congressman's Election Night rally in Iowa. Members of the armed forces are banned from participating in political events while in uniform.

"The investigating officer found that Spc. Thorsen was in violation of DoD Directives and Instructions when, while in military uniform but not on any duty status, he participated in a partisan political rally and made a speech advocating for a partisan political candidate while in uniform, and received a reprimand that has been placed in Spc. Thorsen’s Official Military Personnel File," the Army Reserve said in a statement.

Paul has made support from the troops a selling point of his campaign, frequently noting that he has received donations from more members of the armed services than any other presidential candidate.

The Navy's new five-year shipbuilding plan has the fleet topping out at 300 warships, but that number could drop if anticipated funding levels set by Congress fall off track. 

Dueling GOP resolutions demanding U.S. support for anti-government forces in Syria could be merged into a single piece of legislation within the coming weeks. 

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta is pushing for congressional funding to ship more Iron Dome missile defense systems to Israel. 

So-called “green-on-blue” violence on American soldiers is simply “a characteristic of counterinsurgency [operations],” Gen. Allen said.

Many PTSD diagnoses were reversed at the base where the accused killer of 16 Afghan civilians was stationed.

An Israeli-led airstrike against suspected nuclear weapons sites in Iran would likely pin U.S forces into a protracted regional conflict, resulting in a raft of American casualties and the loss of millions in military hardware. 

“The victims and their families are all in my prayers, as is my husband who I love very much,” Karilyn Bales said.

Rep. John Kline's bill would undo a policy reducing the amount of paid leave for National Guard members already deployed.