The Navy's deepest-diving submarine, which conducted both research and covert military operations along the ocean floor during the Cold War is making its return to Connecticut.
According to The Associated Press, the NR-1, a nuclear-powered submarine that was commissioned in 1969, will be on display at the U.S. Navy Submarine Force Library and Museum in Groton, Conn. Having been disassembled in 2008, the museum will only display the sub's restored pieces.
At 140-feet long, the news source stated that the NR-1 was a powerful underwater vessel unmatched in the Navy. While carrying a crew of 10 men, the sub was able to dive to 3,000 feet below sea level, where it could grab items from the ocean floor with a mechanical claw.
While some of the submarine's missions are known to the public, including its task of retrieving particles from the space shuttle Challenger after it exploded over the Atlantic, the news source reported that much of its military operations still remain classified. According to the source, mission records could not be traced by the Navy's History and Heritage Command in Washington, D.C., and even veterans are remaining quiet about their past experiences until the files are declassified.
Also on display at Groton's submarine museum is the historic USS Nautilus, the first operational nuclear-powered submarine in the world, as well as the first vessel to travel to the North Pole, according to the museum's website.
Following the devastation caused by a massive typhoon that hit the Philippines last weekend, Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel has commissioned a Naval aircraft carrier to provide disaster relief to the country and its residents.
The Christian Science Monitor reported that the USS George Washington, which carries a crew of 5,000 sailors, is making its way to the Philippines this week, where the Naval members will join about 90 Marines who already landed there last weekend.
According to a statement released by the Pentagon, the aircraft carrier is currently at a port in Hong Kong and will take up to 72 hours to arrive at the South Pacific nation. In addition to the large number of crew members, the USS George Washington also carriers more than 80 planes, including Carrier Air Wing Five, an aircraft unit specially designed for disaster relief scenarios.
Pentagon Press Secretary George Little told members of the press that several other aircraft carriers are already on their way to the Philippines. Supply ship USNS Charles Drew is currently traveling to the location, as well as the missile destroyer USS Lassen.
Little added that the purpose of these ships' deployment to the weather-battered nation is to provide medical care, supplies and other assistance.
In a partnership with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation, NBCUniversal launched a new career website designed specifically for former servicemembers. Called Next Steps for Vets, the website will provide veterans – especially those who are recently transitioning into civilian life – and military spouses with a variety of employment and educational resources.
According to NBC News, which is also hosting the website, the online portal features a resume builder on its front page, designed to help former servicemembers figure out where and how their past military experience and skills can be applied to the civilian workforce. The website also includes a searchable job-finder index, listing openings culled from the National Resource Directory's Veteran's Job Bank.
"Our returning servicemen and women can be a vital part of the U.S. workforce, putting the skills they've learned in the military to work for companies or their own business enterprise," Beth Colleton, Senior Vice President, Corporate Social Responsibility at NBCUniversal, told the news source.
Next Steps for Vets comes at a crucial time for just-returning servicemembers. According to recent data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the unemployment rate for Gulf War era-II veterans is more than 11 percent – much higher than the overall national unemployment average.
New restrictions to the Marine Corps tuition assistance program will impact current servicemembers and those who are still in training, Stars and Stripes reported. The restrictions, which will ultimately limit the number of eligible Marines, were initially scheduled to take effect Oct. 1, but were suspended for several weeks due to the government shutdown.
In addition to eligibility, the Corps will only allow first-time applicants to enroll in one college course, unless they already hold an associate's degree or have completed 60 units with a 2.5 grade-point average.
According to the news source, the changes to the Corps tuition assistance benefits are a result of several defense budget cuts, as well as an increase of servicemembers enrolling in the program.
"The reality is we have less money for [tuition assistance]," said Craig Lockwood, lead education specialist at Marine Corps Base Hawaii-Kaneohe Bay's education center, in a press statement. "There are more restrictions. If you are eligible, it's not going to be necessarily harder, but there are a lot more Marines now that are not eligible to use TA."
More than 2,200 Marine Corps members joined the education program between 2009 and 2013, during which time the tuition assistance budget was cut by $19 million, the news source reported. According to Military.com, the education benefits typically cover 100 percent of a servicemember's tuition, and is only available for Corps members who are active duty.
During his speech at the Anti-Defamation League centennial dinner, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel expressed his disappointment in the National Guard state affiliates that are blocking the spousal benefits now available for same-sex military couples.
The Associated Press reported that while the defense secretary did not name the states during the Oct. 31 event, he did criticize their decision to withhold the benefits while also highlighting the effects it has had on gay servicemembers.
"Not only does this violate the states' obligation under federal law, their actions have created hardship and inequality by forcing couples to travel long distances to federal military bases to obtain the ID cards they're entitled to," Hagel said during his speech.
Following the landmark Supreme Court decision that overturned a key provision of the Defense of Marriage Act, which blocked same-sex marriage from being recognized by federal agencies, the Department of Defense changed its spousal benefits policy, extending it to gay couples with a valid marriage license. Since same-sex marriage is legal in only 13 states, the DOD has been granting gay servicemembers seven days of leave to travel with their partner to states where a marriage license can be obtained. However, many National Guard sites have been denying same-sex military couples who have a marriage license the various benefits, while reports of discrimination from base officials have also surfaced, the Los Angeles Times reported.
According to the news source, there are currently 114 Army and Air National Guard offices in nine states refusing to provide benefits to same-sex military couples.
Even though the partial-shutdown just ended, lawmakers in Washington, D.C., are looking ahead at the next federal closure, which can happen as soon as mid-January. Fortunately, two congressmen are thinking about ways to prevent any future financial impasse from harming the military, the Navy Times reported.
According to the news source, Reps. Gerry Connolly, D-Va., and Tom Rooney, R-Fla., introduced a bill that would ensure that the death gratuity benefits granted to the families of fallen servicemembers will remain intact during federal shutdowns. Death gratuity benefits are $100,000 cash payments wired to military families within 36 hours of a soldier's death in order to cover transportation, burial costs and other immediate financial needs. When the federal shutdown hit in early October, these benefits were canceled due to the lack of government funding.
The representatives' new bill, HR 3352, would provide permanent funding for the death benefits, the news source stated.
"We cannot allow political posturing in Congress or other efforts that force a government shutdown to prevent the flow of funds and other needed resources to families who have just lost a service member. We must honor our commitment, no matter what," Connolly said in a statement.
A historic Army unit will receive its last hurrah this week when the team's servicemembers return home from their final deployment. The Associated Press reported that the Band of Brothers, a combat team composed of 140 servicemembers, will return Oct. 23 to Fort Campbell Army Base in Kentucky after six months serving in Afghanistan.
According to the news source, the Army is planning to discontinue the storied unit, along with nine other combat teams, due to the increasing number of defense budget cuts. While the government shutdown has sped up the termination of the units, most of them were scheduled to end by 2017 as the Army looks to reduce its active-duty forces.
Fort Campbell spokesman Bob Jenkins told the news outlet that many of the returning soldiers will be assigned to other U.S. military installations upon their return.
Officially known as the 4th Brigade Combat Team, the Band of Brothers has origins dating back to a World War II parachute team nicknamed "Currahee," which means "stand alone." The famed unit has been profiled in several pop culture mediums, such as the eponymously titled HBO miniseries.
A new monument erected in San Antonio will honor U.S. military service dogs that died in combat overseas while aiding servicemembers, The Associated Press reported. A dedication ceremony for the U.S. Working Dog Teams National Monument is slated for the end of October at the nearby Lackland Air Force Base, where a majority of military service dogs are trained and treated when injured.
The news source stated that the memorial, which depicts four dogs and a military dog handler, was designed by John Burnam, a former military dog trainer. A Doberman, Labrador retriever, German shepherd and Belgian Malinois are the breeds featured on the monument because of their prevalence in the military.
According to the Department of Defense, military working dogs first entered the ranks during World War I. The Army used about 1,500 canines during the Korean War, while the Vietnam War saw nearly 4,000 dogs in combat. The most famous military working dogs in recent years are members of the Navy Seals "elite dog team" – a group that can parachute or rappel into combat. Discovery.com reported that these dogs are equipped with ballistic gear and night-vision cameras and work with the Seals on special operations.
Vice Adm. Harry Harris Jr. was promoted to commander of the U.S. Pacific Fleet this week, the Military Times reported. Harris will replace Adm. Cecil Haney, who recently stepped down from the Pacific Fleet to preside over the U.S. Strategic Command in Nebraska.
Since the change in command comes in the midst of the federal shutdown, adjustments have been made to the standard protocol. While a ceremony is still scheduled to take place at Pearl Harbor, which is the Pacific Fleet headquarters, the chief of naval operations is unable to attend and no programs will be handed out at the event, the news source reported. Taking the chief of naval operations' place is U.S. Pacific Command commander Adm. Samuel Locklear.
According to the U.S. Navy's official website, Harris previously served as the assistant to the chairman of the joint chief of staff, as well as chief speechwriter. Born in Japan, Harris has completed graduate studies at attended Harvard's Kennedy School of Government, Georgetown's School of Foreign Service, and Oxford University, and served three tours in various positions on the Navy staff, logging more than 4,400 flight hours – 400 of which were during combat.
Although the federal government might be nearing the end of its shutdown, a considerable amount of damage has already been done to both the Defense Department and the military community at large, causing former defense leaders to express their concern.
According to The New York Times, former Defense Secretary Leon Panetta outlined the seriousness of the federal shutdown at a recent meeting with reporters organized by The Wall Street Journal.
"You take 70 percent of our intelligence people and furlough them, you're seriously damaging our ability to gain the kind of intelligence that we need to gain in order to be able to know what's going on in the world," Panetta said during the meeting. "This is not necessary. This isn't the result of a crisis; it's not the result of a war. … This is all self-inflicted."
Panetta added that the military's readiness has been negatively impacted since the shutdown began, the news source reported. The former director of the Central Intelligence Agency also criticized the current battle over health care.
Since Oct. 1, numerous military programs and veterans benefits have been suspended, such as tuition assistance, reported Inside Higher Education. Other benefits, including death gratuity payments to the families of fallen soldiers, were initially halted until restored through legislation drafted by Congress.