The second day of July, 1776, will be the most memorable epoch in the history of America. I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated by succeeding generations as the great anniversary festival. It ought to be commemorated as the day of deliverance, by solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires, and illuminations, from one end of this continent to the other, from this time forward forever more.

I hope most of you already know the history of our country and especially our independence, but for those who don't, please go read up! For the rest of us, Happy 4th of July and Happy Independence Day!

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An airship that the U.S. Army says is the largest lighter-than-air vehicle ever used in U.S. military operations will make its debut flight in August as part of an effort to field a system to detect, track and shoot down cruise missiles.

Unlike ballistic missiles that typically fly a stable and predictable flight pattern, cruise missiles pose a particularly tough challenge because of their ability to fly low and slow and change directions.

The U.S. Army is reaching back to the past to pull some steam punk technology out of the closet to try and defend against missiles. What a cool idea and hopefully, it'll work.

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As Iraq celebrated Tuesday’s deadline for U.S. troops to depart from the nation’s cities, a car bomb killed at least 33 people in the city of Kirkuk, spotlighting the fragile security as Iraqi forces take control.

Just hours before the formal changeover, four U.S. soldiers were killed, the U.S. military said Tuesday. It was the deadliest attack against U.S. troops in Iraq since April 10, when five soldiers died after a suicide bomber detonated a truck loaded with explosives in Mosul.

I think everyone was expecting trouble. What remains to be seen is what happens once we've withdrawn enough of our forces for the terrorists and insurgents to move more freely again. Were they simply at war with us or will violence escalate once we are gone? Even if it doesn't, my worry would be that they would then be able to plan and plot their next attacks. At least while we are actively engaging them they had to keep their focus directly on our military instead of planning strikes against civilians.

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On paper, Dan Choi is everything the US military could hope for: a graduate of West Point academy, he has served in Iraq and is fluent in Arabic and Korean.

Despite his talents and experience, the army is seeking to get rid of Lieutenant Choi because of a personal quality it considers incompatible with military life: he is openly gay.

In one of the last instances of government-sanctioned discrimination, the military allows gay men and lesbians to serve in the military only if they keep quiet about their sexuality. For more than a year after meeting his boyfriend and falling in love, Lieutenant Choi was forced to lie or risk joining a list of almost 13,000 gay and lesbian personnel discharged in the past 16 years under the "don't ask, don't tell" policy.

Regardless of what you think of the policy, it's at least clearly stated. So what's this guy trying to prove? So far no Judge has been willing to go against the Military on this and I don't think they will now either. I don't see any way he could win this case. Should he win, does he have a case? Sounds off in the comments below!

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Iraqis are staging a national celebration to mark the impending June 30th withdrawal of U.S. troops from most cities, towns and villages. Celebrations in the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, include music, dance and poetry.

People celebrate in Basra, Iraq's second-largest city, 550 kilometers (340 miles) southeast of Baghdad, Iraq, 29 Jun 2009
People celebrate in Basra, Iraq's 2nd largest city, 550 kilometers (340 miles) southeast of Baghdad, 29 Jun 2009
Iraqi government TV has been playing patriotic music to celebrate the U.S. military withdrawal from cities, towns and villages across the country, officially set to be completed by Tuesday June 30th.

There is no doubt the Iraqi people deserve to run their own country. What surprises me here is the lack of reporting from U.S. sources. I'm sure many Iraqis will be glad when we are gone there are still plenty wondering what happens when we leave. I'm hoping for the best but fear the worst. What do you think will happen?

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InGenesis Arora received a $110 million single-vendor contract to provide an estimated 270 dentists and other dental personnel to 10 U.S. Army dental treatment facilities in Georgia (Fort Stewart, Fort Benning, Hunter Army Base, Fort McPhearson, Fort Gordon); Alabama (Fort Rucker, Redstone); Mississippi (Camp Shelby); Kentucky (Fort Campbell); and South Carolina (Fort Jackson). The US Army Medical Command (MEDCOM) Center for Health Care Contracting manages the contract (W81K0408R0013), which takes effect October 1/09, for a period of 5 years.

As we mentioned earlier, the Army is having a major shortage of soldiers in for medical careers. It seems the Army has found a way to help cover that shortage contracting out to InGenesis, awarding them a lucrative $110 million contract.

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Department of Veterans Affairs officials expressed confidence that the Aug. 1 launch of the Post-9/11 GI Bill will go smoothly, with the first benefits checks to be cut by the Treasury Department on Aug. 3.

Testifying Thursday before a House Veterans’ Affairs Committee panel, the VA’s education service director said about 84,000 applications have been received, with 47,000 already processed and awaiting final certification of enrollment and calculation of tuition and fee payments.

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SEOUL, South Korea – North Korea threatened Wednesday to wipe the United States off the map as Washington and its allies watched for signs the regime will launch a series of missiles in the coming days.

Off China's coast, a U.S. destroyer was tailing a North Korean ship suspected of transporting illicit weapons to Myanmar in what could be the first test of U.N. sanctions passed to punish the nation for an underground nuclear test last month.

What exactly are we waiting on here? They've already took a shot and now they are making direct threats. I'm all for solving things diplomatically but North Korea has repeatedly shown no interest in going that route. They seem hell bent on forcing a confrontation. Nobody wins if this becomes a war, especially not the people of North Korea who will very likely be more hurt by violence than anyone else.

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Service members can register to transfer their Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits to family members beginning June 29, the Pentagon announced Tuesday.

The program represents both the most significant expansion of education benefits since they were first offered after World War II and, for service members with families, the most significant retention bonus offered since the start of the all-volunteer force. Most users will earn benefits payments spread over 36 months that will total between $75,000 and $90,000, the Pentagon estimates.

Great news for those of you waiting on the Post 9/11 GI Bill update. According to this article you can transfer benefits to your family starting June 29. Learn more about your GI Bill Benefits.

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The U.S. Army Medical Department announced today that it is increasing the stipend associated with its Health Professions Scholarship Program (HPSP) to $1,992 per month, effective July 1, 2009. Through this economic downturn, many medical and dental students are faced with anxiety about taking out student loans to finance their education, especially knowing that the average medical school student loan debt is $150,000 after graduation(i).

Good news for potential recruits wanting to join the U.S. Army for Medical and Dental School, the U.S. Army has upped the benefits for following this career path. If you wanted to join the Army in the Medical Corps or Dental Corps you could be eligible for a one time $20,000 sign on bonus in addition to your other benefits, including a monthly stipend of $1,992 per month throughout the school year. These are major benefits and should tell you just how badly they need soldiers in these MOS areas. If you'd like to talk to a recruiter about your options just fill out this contact form and a recruiter will be in touch.

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The U.S. Army today launched America's Army 3, the only action game that delivers an authentic and entertaining Army experience by reflecting the training, technology, actions, and career advancement of a Soldier within an exciting, free game experience. Players can download the teen-rated game from Steam, as well as from partners listed at the America's Army website. As with previous versions of America’s Army, AA3 will be constantly updated to include new features and missions and to highlight new technologies being incorporated in today's Army.

Have some fun this weekend with the latest America's Army game, version 3. It's available for download now and it's still free! The game has a huge following and there will be no shortage of people to play with and against. Go take out some bad guys.

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Medical device maker Medtronic Inc (MDT.N) confirmed that it paid about $800,000 in consulting fees since 2001 to a former U.S. Army surgeon who was later accused of fabricating a key study involving an important Medtronic spine product.

Payments were made to Dr. Timothy Kuklo, who is accused by the Army of making up a report that showed positive results for Medtronic's bone morphogenic protein called Infuse, which induces the formation of bone.

Medtronic spokeswoman Marybeth Thorsgaard said the company put Kuklo on "inactive status" in May after the Army said the study was based on false information, and that Kuklo had forged signatures of purported co-authors of the study.

The real question is whether Dr. Kuklo acted alone or not. The article suggests that he forged the signature of the co-authors of his report which sounds awfully like a conspiracy. Even so it looks like someone, possibly several people are in some serious trouble over this.

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A water-cooled vest can take the heat off in Iraq -- making Soldiers more comfortable, and extending mission times.

As part of an Army birthday-related event June 12, in the Pentagon courtyard, representatives of Program Executive Office Soldier displayed to visitors some of the technologies they are fielding or plan to field -- including a water-cooled vest, a lighter machine gun, and a common control panel for unmanned vehicles.

I'm always fascinated when I see new tech coming from the Military. They've created some amazing tech that goes well beyond military applications and sometimes ventures in the realm of science fiction, like guns that see through walls or shoot around corners.

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Both men maintained their Sikh identity throughout graduate school, during specialized Army training, at Army ceremonies, and in Army medical facilities. Four years later, the Army is now telling the two Sikhs that the recruiters’ assurances were false and that they will have to forsake their religious practices. The Secretary of Defense has stated that the United States Army is open to reviewing whether the Sikh articles of faith truly hinder one from ably serving in the Army.
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Sikhs have a long history with the U.S. military, having serviced in World Wars I and II, the Korean and Vietnam wars, and in the Persian Gulf with turbans and beards. Because the faith was grandfathered, both Colonel Arjinderpal Singh Sekhon, a physician, and Colonel G B Singh, a dentist, served in the army with turbans and beards for over 25 years

It's no surprise to me that recruiters misled the Sikh recruits, with ever increasing recruiting goals some recruiters have taken to making promises that the U.S. Army won't keep. Still, I think there is a chance an exception will be made for these soldiers. It's a rare case where there is precedence and a religion that was grand fathered in. The problem will be concerns that this will open up the entire topic to debate which is distracting to the purpose of the Army and thus the issue in the first place.

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Sikorsky BLACK HAWK helicopters flown by the U.S. Army in the Iraq and Afghanistan theaters of war have accumulated more than 900,000 flight hours without a single material failure with the aircraft and are expected to break the 1 million fleet flight hour mark this fall, Sikorsky Aircraft Corp. reported today from the Paris Air Show. Sikorsky is a subsidiary of United Technologies Corp. (NYSE: UTX) .

Wow, nearly 1 Million flight hours? That's an amazing record for both the soldiers and the BLACK HAWK Helicopters.

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