Army

Obama informed Congress that the U.S. provided "limited" support for an unsuccessful French mission in Somalia to free a hostage.

He predicted the Senate would eventually confirm Hagel, but said the nominee needed to clarify views on Iran, Israel.

President Obama will award Army Staff Sgt. Clinton Romesha the Medal of Honor during a ceremony next month, just the fourth living recipient to be awarded the honor for service in Iraq or Afghanistan.

Romesha will be awarded the medal for his actions during the Battle of Kamdesh, one of the bloodiest days for American soldiers during the Afghanistan conflict. During the battle, hundreds of Taliban insurgents swarmed an American combat outpost in Eastern Afghanistan, overwhelming the coalition forces and leaving eight Americans dead and another 22 wounded. According to The New York Times, attackers overran the base, set fire to the barracks and captured the post's ammunition depot.

Romesha and his family will join the president at the White House on Feb. 11.

Retired Gen. Stanley McChrystal said Monday that he didn't want to resign in 2010 over comments critical of the Obama administration's handling of the Afghanistan war, but did so for the good of the country. 

In new memoir, the retired general accepts responsibility for comments critical of Obama administration's handling of the war in Afghanistan. 

It appeared to be the first time that a female member of Afghanistan's security forces carried out such an attack.

The Army will seek the death penalty against Staff Sgt. Robert Bales for the massacre of 16 Afghan civilians in March, the Associated Press is reporting.

Military officials announced their decision Wednesday in the case against Bales, who is awaiting a court martial at Joint Base Lewis-McChord in near Seattle.

Bales is accused of murdering 16 civilians in two villages in March, including nine children.

Twenty blocks from the Capitol sits a 60-by-40-foot model of Washington, D.C., that military officials and others are using to prepare for Inauguration Day festivities.

The D.C. model — complete with a two-foot-tall Washington Monument and toy-like recreations of the Capitol and White House — was being used for a military exercise to simulate the parade route on the real Pennsylvania Avenue NW.

In addition to the model monuments, there were pink placards that showed where the different divisions will be located along the parade route, including designations for everything from bathrooms to areas for floats.

Inouye is the president pro tempore of the Senate, making him third in line for the presidency. 

The commander of U.S. forces says the mission was ordered when intelligence showed the hostage was in imminent danger.