Army

Army planners have begun to canvas U.S. defense industry firms for ideas that could lead to a new missile defense weapon, patterned closely after Israel's successful Iron Dome weapon. 

The deaths bring the toll of American soldiers killed by their local counterparts to 11 in the past two weeks.

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta will decide by the end of the month the fate of a four-star general under investigation for lavish travel and other perks, The Associated Press reported.

Army Gen. William “Kip” Ward, a former chief of U.S. Africa Command, has been under investigation for nearly a year and a half, after he left the Africa command post last year.

The AP reports that Ward faces allegations he spent more than six figures allowing unauthorized people — including family members — to fly on government planes, citing several unnamed Pentagon officials. He also is accused of spending excessive amounts on hotel rooms, transportation and more.

The National Reconnaissance Office's No. 2 official attempted to subvert a criminal investigation into contracting fraud within the agency by reportedly threatening to fire high-level officials who brought the incidents to light. 

Disparate groups of al Qaeda militants operating in Syria are now coordinating themselves into functional terror cells, using the current unrest in the country to establish a new faction within its borders. 

Obama's counterterrorism adviser said there had been "devastating leaks" and pushed back this week against claims they were politically-motivated.

Reports say the suspect had reached out to the U.S. neo-Nazi movement. 

Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla) demanded that the Army hold a competition now to replace the M-4 riffles used by soldiers rather than waiting until 2014.

Coburn said lives are being lost because the government has refused to provide more adequate weapons to those fighting overseas.

Texas Republican Sen. John Cornyn is pushing the FBI to publicly disclose the findings from an internal bureau review of its response to the 2009 shootings at Fort Hood, Texas. 

When potential whistleblowers come to Daniel Meyer, it’s easy for him to relate to what they’re going through.