MILITARY
Northam requests federal aid to fully mobilize Virginia National Guard
Virginia’s congressional delegation sent a letter to President Donald Trump on Thursday urging him to “quickly approve” a request for federal funding for the Virginia National Guard. Gov. Ralph Northam requested funding on Tuesday under Title 32, a section of the U.S. code that enables the federal government to fully pay for a state’s National […]
Military risk from COVID-19: ‘Anxieties are really high’
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Defense is on course to get a major funding boost as the U.S. military is drawn into the nation’s war against an “invisible enemy.” The issue is of special concern in Virginia — home to the Pentagon, more than two dozen military bases and one of the highest military […]
The government isn’t ensuring safe housing for military families, watchdog report says
WASHINGTON — The Pentagon is failing to ensure that all military families have access to safe, quality housing, according to a new government watchdog report. The U.S. Department of Defense oversees private-sector developers who build, renovate, manage and maintain military housing. But it doesn’t collect data about military housing conditions reliably or consistently and includes […]
Most U.S. aircraft carriers sit idle in Virginia ports
WASHINGTON — More than half of the nation’s aircraft carriers are not currently ready for deployment, as the massive ships sit off the Virginia coastline in various states of repair or testing. The U.S. Navy has 11 aircraft carriers, more than any other nation. Six of them are currently docked along the Virginia coast and […]
Report: Department of Defense ‘precariously unprepared’ for climate change risks
If the stalwart presence of the U.S. military in Virginia makes you feel safer in an uncertain world plagued by sea level rise and climate change, a recent report by the U.S. Army War College would like to disabuse you of that sense of security. According to “Implications of Climate Change for the U.S. Army,” […]
Border wall money diversion will take $77 million from Virginia military projects, Kaine and Warner say
The Trump administration’s relentless push to build its wall along the Mexican border will siphon more than $77 million from four military projects in Virginia, Sens. Tim Kaine and Mark Warner said in a statement today. The Democratic senators said they were informed by the Department of Defense that the overall diversion of $3.6 billion […]
Va. military families are living with mold and pests. Will Congress fix it?
WASHINGTON — Virginia lawmakers are pushing legislation to protect military families from threats in their own homes, like toxic mold, pests and disrepair. Democrats who represent the state in the U.S. Congress want to put new requirements on the companies that manage privatized military housing. The scramble for new safeguards comes after reports of widespread […]
Of military suicides, 65 percent involved a firearm, new report shows
Sixty-five percent of deaths by suicide among members of the military in 2017 involved a firearm, according to a new Department of Defense report. Drugs and alcohol, though, were the most frequently reported methods of attempted suicide. The report might reignite discussions within the military around limiting access to firearms to reduce the suicide rate […]
Northam says Va. National Guard had no choice but to adopt Trump administration’s transgender ban
The Virginia National Guard says it has adopted a Trump administration policy that went into effect last month banning transgender people from serving openly in the military. In a statement outlining the guard’s policy, Major General Timothy P. Williams, the adjutant general, also adopted the Department of Defense’s widely-discredited assertion that the policy doesn’t actually […]