Uncle Sam may still want you. But maybe not.
The Army, which already is planning to cut more than 70,000 soldiers from its rolls, would be forced to remove an additional 80,000 to 100,000 troops from its active-duty and Reserve rosters if automatic budget cuts occur, the service's chief of staff said Wednesday.
Authorities are investigating an envelope containing white powder that was directed to President Obama and listed a controversial Arizona sheriff as the sender.
The general who leads the U.S. says the Pentagon will take two heavy armor brigades out of Europe in 2013 and 2014 and eliminate them.
Top defense officials are grappling to find a unified position on whether to allow women in direct ground combat, as the Pentagon prepares a landmark report to Congress on the military's coed future.
Left-leaning Pentagon critics are panning congressional testimony by Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta and his top officers, who warned of catastrophes if the military is forced to cut $1 trillion if congressional budget talks fail.
The nation's military leaders warned a House panel on Wednesday that cuts in defense spending beyond those already planned would deeply wound the armed services and jeopardize U.S. global influence.
The Army's top officer told Congress on Wednesday that he would have to cancel nearly every new weapons system now planned if automatic, across-the-board spending cuts of $1 trillion-plus hit the Pentagon.
The United States formally ends a decades-old ban on open gays in the ranks on Tuesday, a historic day that the military services hope will pass as routinely as roll calls, marching and lights-out.
