Haitha Update: Court-Martial Of Lt Grayson, Days 2 & 3

During the first day of trial, Lt Grayson’s defense counsel, Maj William Santmyer, told the jury

“Lieutenant Grayson is nothing more than a fall guy in a botched investigation under intense media pressure,”

The prosecution maintains that Lt Grayson lied to investigators to help cover up the killing of civilians in [...]

Blackwater Worldwide: Sues City Of San Diego Over West-Coast Traning Facility

Readers of Dreadnaught know that Blackwater Worldwide is does not shy away from controversy. Whether it be providing security in for the Department of State in Iraq, being asked to leave Iraq, or statement by its owner Erik D. Prince. Blackwater has been planning for a west-coast campus for some time, but San [...]

Global Warming On Mars: Caused By SUVs?

Apparently Mars is experiencing global warming. How did this happen? Did the Martians forget to purchase carbon offsets?
yojoe out

Civilian Contractor: First To Be Tried By Court-Martial

Alaa “Alex” Mohammad Ali is a civilian contractor charged with stabbing another civilian contractor. Alex will be the first civilian tried under the 2006 amendment to the UCMJ.
Alex is a citizen of both Iraq and Canada. He was hired as a interpreter by the U.S. Military. Alex will be provided with a [...]

Haditha Update: Court-Martial Of Lt Andrew Grayson, Day 1

The court-martial of Marine intelligence officer 1stLt Andrew Grayson began on 28MAY08. Lt Grayson is
accused of ordering a subordinate to delete photographs of the scene at Haditha, and making false official statements relating to the killing of 24 civilians in Haditha, Iraq. Lt Grayson is also charged with attempting to fraudulently leave the [...]

Guantanamo Bay Military Prison: Not So Easy To Close

The call to close the military prison at Guantanamo Bay has emanated from may groups, including Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates and Chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen. The only problem with this call to action, is what to do with the detainees that are currently housed there. As [...]

Blackwater Worldwide: Not So Welcome In San Diego

Blackwater Worldwide was planning to open a training facility outside San Diego. Not so fast, says the mayor of San Diego.
On Monday, Sanders told his development services director, Kelly Broughton, that Blackwater’s permits, which had been issued by city staff, will require more scrutiny than the staff-level review.
Broughton then sent a letter to Blackwater [...]

Haditha Update: Trial Set For Lt Andrew Grayson

The court martial of Lt Andrew Grayson is set to begin on 28MAY08. Lt Grayson charges for dereliction of duty, false official statement, and obstructing justice. All of the charges relate to his failure to investigate the events surrounding the killing of 24 civilians in Haditha, Iraq.
yojoe out
For more on Haditha:

Haditha
Haditha Update: History [...]

Video: Test Of F-35 Joint Strike Fighter

This video is of the Marine Corps’s version of the Joint Strike Fighter, the F-35B.

yojoe out

Haditha Update: Chessani Judge Finds Unlawful Command Influence

In a hearing aboard Camp Pendleton, a military judge, Col Folsom found that “top Marine Corps officers were unlawfully influenced by a general’s legal adviser when they decided to file criminal charges against a colonel whose troops killed two dozen civilians in the Iraqi city of Haditha in 2005″
This ruling came in the court-martial of [...]

Air Force Wants New Drone

From the best technology-military blog Danger Room, comes the story of the Air Force’s desire to replace the Reaper with a new “hunter-killer” drone. MQ-9 Reaper first deployed to Iraq in the fall of 2007. It looks like the Air Force wants some of the $500 million budgeted for drone aircraft.

yojoe (in drone [...]

The Ninth Circuit Rules On “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”

The Ninth Circuit released an opinion challenging the U.S. Military’s Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy. The case involves an Air Force nurse suspended from her duties for having a relationship with a civilian woman.
The court adopts a new standard of scrutiny,

Under this review, we must determine not whether DADT has some hypothetical, posthoc rationalization [...]

Obama Attacks Michael Moore And His Ilk

The corpulent Michael Moore may want reconsider his endorsement of Senator Barack Obama. Apparently Senator Obama is no fan of the obese. In a recent campaign speech in Oregon, the senator,

called on the United States to “lead by example” on global warming, and develop new technologies at home which could be exported to [...]

Notre Dame Football Coach Charlie Weis Disparages U.S. Military

Hoodlum – noun – a young street ruffian, esp. one belonging to a gang.
Thug – noun – a cruel or vicious ruffian, robber, or murderer.

Notre Dame Football Coach Charlie Weis was quoted as saying “I could get hoodlums and thugs and win tomorrow. I won’t do it that way.”
Evidently Coach Weis is referring [...]

Who Will Build The Drone That Flies Forever

From Danger Room, the competition is on between Lockheed, Boeing, and Aurora to build the future drone, which may stay aloft for up to five years.
yojoe out

Corn-Based Ethanol: Destroying Rainforests And Producing Twice The Carbon Of Gasoline

It is becoming more and more clear that ethanol is not the savior of the Earth. It appears that biofules, at least ethanol when derived from corn, may be a disaster for the environment. The increased production of corn for ethanol may be to blame for:

Destroying the Amazon jungle,
Starting tortilla riots in Mexico [...]

Waterboarding Used On Utah Telemarketer

Chad Hudgens is a telemarketer for Prosper, Inc. His supervisor had an idea for building morale and improving sales: subject one of the telemarketers to waterboarding. Yes, the supervisor decided it was a good idea to use the technique that has been the center of controversy in the War on Terrorism and the Military [...]