#defense-secretary-lloyd-austin

#defense-secretary-lloyd-austin

Colleville-sur-Mer, France CNN Thousands gathered by the beaches of Normandy on Tuesday to remember those who died fighting for freedom in World War II, ceremonies that had renewed meaning as speakers, including US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, pointed to parallels with Ukraine's war against Russia.

North Carolina's Fort Bragg will become Fort Liberty, with the US Army on Friday set to redesignate one of the largest military installations in the world.The change follows a branch-wide push to rename bases that bear the name of Confederate leaders.It is currently named after Gen. Braxton Bragg, an unpopular Confederate general who garnered a lot of criticism for his hot temper, combative personality and often subpar performance on the field.

The Pentagon forced an Air Force base in Nevada to cancel a drag show at the start of Pride Month that had already been approved, according to three officials familiar with the situation.The drag show at Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada was scheduled for June 1 and recognizes the importance of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender service members and civilian personnel.

A Chinese fighter jet conducted an unnecessarily aggressive maneuver during an intercept of a US spy plane in international airspace over the South China Sea last week, the US military said in a statement Tuesday.The Chinese J-16 fighter cut directly in front of the nose of the US RC-135 Rivet Joint reconnaissance aircraft on May 26, forcing the US plane to fly through the wake turbulence of the intercepting aircraft.

He says the U.S. squandered opportunities to pursue long-term peace in the '90s and instead made "opposite choices."Belarus says Russia has begun transferring tactical nuclear weapons to the former Soviet state, which shares a nearly 700-mile border with Ukraine, escalating the risk of a nuclear confrontation in Europe.

Even as it claims to oppose wasteful spending, the GOP pushes for more military funding in debt ceiling talks.Sen. Bernie Sanders speaks at a press conference on raising the federal minimum wage outside the U.S. Capitol Building in Washington, D.C., on May 4, 2023.Anna Moneymaker / Getty Images Sen. Bernie Sanders on Thursday led a group of senators in urging the Pentagon to investigate price gouging by military contractors after a CBS Newsprobe that aired on "60 Minutes" earlier this week confirmed that private corporations are drastically overcharging the Defense Department for weaponry and other equipment, resulting in hundreds of millions of dollars in excess taxpayer spending and huge profits for the arms industry.

An overwhelming sound of gunfire and men's screams.That's how World War II veteran Marie Scott described D-Day as ceremonies were to honor those who fought for freedom in the largest naval, air and land operation in history.On Tuesday, the whistling sound of the wind accompanied many reenactors who came at dawn on Omaha Beach to mark the 79th anniversary of the assault that led to the liberation of France and Western Europe from Nazi control.

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Monday discussed upgrading partnership with India, a major arms buyer, as both countries grapple with China's economic rise and increased belligerence, officials said.Austin met with India's Defense Minister Rajnath Singh, with both sides emphasizing technology partnerships including defense, clean energy and space.

The US Army renamed Virginia's Fort Lee military base Thursday in honor of two Black service members, following a branch-wide push to rename bases named after Confederate leaders.The base will be redesignated as Fort Gregg-Adams after Lt. Gen. Arthur Gregg and Lt. Col. Charity Adams, the Army announced on Twitter.

U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin speaks during a press conference at the Pentagon last week.Alex Wong/Getty Images The U.S. is retaliating after a drone strike killed a U.S. contractor, injured five American service members and wounded one other contractor in Syria, Defense Department said on Friday.

The US will dramatically accelerate the time it takes to ship Abrams tanks to Ukraine by sending older M1-A1 models of America's main battle tank instead of the more modern version of the tank, according to two US officials.The switch will allow the tanks to arrive as early as fall of this year, one of the officials said, shaving months off the previous timeline that could have taken a year or longer.

Incidents of sexual assault at US military service academies were at the highest rate on record in the 2021-2022 academic year, according to a new report released on Friday.There was an 18% increase in reported sexual assaults across the three academies in 2021-2022 compared to the the 2017-2018 academic year, according to the Annual Report on Sexual Harassment and Violence at the Military Service Academies.

If you told me a year ago that the Russian army would be performing as incompetently in Ukraine as it is today, I would have responded with a sarcastic chuckle.And yet, 12 months into Europe's bloodiest conflict since World War II, this is precisely what has occurred.The Ukrainians have made mincemeat of the Russians, evident in last year's successful counteroffensives south of Kharkiv and in Kherson.

NATO defense ministers kicked off a two-day gathering in Brussels to discuss Finland and Sweden's membership bids, support for Ukraine as well as the alliance's attempts to stock up on weapons and ammunition and the protection of submarine infrastructure.US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark Milley gave a joint press conference Tuesday on further military aid to Kyiv.

Two Leopard 2 A6 heavy battle tanks and a Puma infantry fighting vehicle of the Bundeswehr's 9th Panzer Training Brigade participate in a demonstration of capabilities during a visit by then-Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht to the Bundeswehr Army training grounds in February 2022 in Munster, Germany.

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin (left) and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Mark Milley, discuss details of a huge U.S. and NATO arms package for Ukraine at the U.S. air base in Ramstein, Germany, on Friday.ANDRE PAIN/AFP via Getty Images The U.S. and other NATO countries say they will ship a huge, wide-ranging package of heavy weapons to Ukraine, sending a clear signal that the war with Russia is expected to escalate in the months ahead.

A Ukrainian T-72 tank maneuvers through the trees in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine on January 18. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy turned up the pressure on Germany to supply battle tanks to Ukraine, appealing directly to Berlin on January 19 to overcome its reluctance to provide the heavy armor that Kyiv says it needs now on the battlefield.

Newly appointed German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius takes office on the same day he meets his American counterpart Lloyd Austin amid a debate raging over whether Germany should send Ukraine modern main battle tanks.Germany's new defense minister, Boris Pistorius, officially took office on Thursday at a time when Germany is under growing pressure from Western allies to allow German-made battle tanks to be used in Ukraine to strengthen its defense against Russia's invasion.

As Russia begins a new offensive in eastern Ukraine, the US and its allies are skeptical Moscow has amassed the manpower and resources to make significant gains, US, UK and Ukrainian officials tell CNN.It's likely more aspirational than realistic, said a senior US military official.Russia has been increasing the number of forces situated on its border and inside Russian-held territory in Ukraine, some of the forces drawn from a partial mobilization ordered in September last year.

BAGHDAD - U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin made an unannounced visit Tuesday to the Iraqi capital where he vowed to continue the fight against the Islamic State group until the extremists are defeated.Are you on Telegram?Subscribe to our channel for the latest updates on Russia's war in Ukraine.ArrowRight Austin, whose visit came just days before the 20th anniversary of the U.S.-led invasion that ousted Saddam Hussein, said in statement later that he held talks with Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani and Defense Minister Thabet Muhammad Al-Abbasi.

Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani meets with U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin in Baghdad, Iraq, March 7, 2023.IRAQI PRIME MINISTER MEDIA OFFIC (via REUTERS) U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin made an unannounced visit Tuesday to the Iraqi capital where he vowed to continue the fight against the Islamic State group until the extremists are defeated.

Lloyd Austin said he was "optimistic" about the future during the unannounced visit.Iraq has endured two decades of chaos and bloodshed since the US toppled Saddam Hussein.US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin made an unannounced visit to Baghdad Tuesday, where he met with Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, saying he hoped to "strengthen and broaden relations" on the eve of the 20th anniversary of the US invasion of the country.

FILE - United States Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin reads a statement following a NATO defense ministers meeting at NATO headquarters in Brussels, Wednesday, Feb. 15, 2023.Austin said Wednesday, March 8, that America's defense partnership with Egypt is an "essential pillar" of Washington's commitment to the Middle East.

If Russia succeeds in overrunning Ukraine, could the Baltics be next?This fear has loomed over the nations of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania since the invasion began nearly a year ago.The former Soviet-bloc states have been the target of Moscow's meddling for years.Now the war in Ukraine has given these small countries an opportunity to punch back.

Ukrainian troops in Ukraine's southern Mykolaiv region on Nov. 9, 2022.(Heidi Levine for The Washington Post) ABOARD A U.S. MILITARY AIRCRAFT OVER EUROPE - The U.S. military has launched an expanded, more sophisticated training program of Ukrainian forces that is focused on large-scale combat and meant to bolster Ukraine's ability to take back territory from Russian forces, the Pentagon's top general said Sunday.

Russia is adding to its nuclear stockpiles, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said Friday, hours after Russian President Vladimir Putin suggested his country's military doctrine could be changed to allow for a preemptive first strike.The head of NATO had earlier said he was worried the conflict in Ukraine could spread "into a major war."

Ukrainians gathered Monday to commemorate a protest movement that began in November 2013 and led to the removal of a pro-Moscow president.The Maidan Revolution was followed by a proxy war with Russia, which was a precusor to the current conflict.President Volodymyr Zelensky used the occasion to elevate the spirits of his people, who have faced nearly nine months of brutal warfare and are now in the onset of winter.

As the Russia-Ukraine war enters its 270th day, we take a look at the main developments.Here is the situation as it stands on Sunday, November 20: Russia has reached agreement with Iran to begin manufacturing hundreds of unmanned weaponised aircraft on Russian soil, The Washington Post reported.Ukrainian electricity supplies are under control despite Russian attacks on power-generating infrastructure and there is no need to panic, the energy ministry said.

Britain announced a roughly $60 million aid package for Ukraine - including 125 antiaircraft guns, dozens of radars and anti-drone technology - during a surprise weekend trip to Kyiv by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, who said in a statement that the aid was "to counter deadly Iranian-supplied drones."

U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III delivers remarks at the Halifax International Security Forum in Halifax on Saturday, Nov.19, 2022.(Andrew Vaughan/The Canadian Press via AP)HALIFAX, Nova Scotia - U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said Saturday the deadly missile explosion in Poland this week is a consequence of Russian President Vladimir Putin's "war of choice" against Ukraine, and said international stability and prosperity are at stake in the conflict.

CIA Director William Burns is in the Turkish capital of Ankara on Monday to meet with the director of Russia's foreign intelligence service, Sergey Naryshkin, according to a White House official.Broadcaster CNN reported, citing National Security Council spokesman John Kirby, that Burns was not discussing a resolution to Russia's war against Ukraine or conducting any negotiations with Moscow while in Ankara.

A Ukranian woman sits in a car with her family in Zaporizhzhia on Saturday, after they fled from the Russian-occupied territory of Kherson.Bulent Kilic/AFP/Getty Images ZAPORIZHZHIA, Ukraine  The brewing fight for the southern port city of Kherson is one that could change the trajectory of the war.It's also one that U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has said the Ukrainians could win.

MOSCOW (AP) - Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday denied having any intentions of using nuclear weapons in Ukraine but described the conflict there as part of alleged efforts by the West to secure its global domination, which he insisted are doomed to fail.Speaking at a conference of international foreign policy experts, Putin said it's pointless for Russia to strike Ukraine with nuclear weapons.