DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

The chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee is slamming a fellow Republican in the Senate for waging an unprecedented attempt to change Pentagon abortion policy by holding up hundreds of military nominations and promotions.

President Joe Biden has signed an executive order giving decisions on the prosecution of serious military crimes including sexual assault to independent military attorneys.

The United States has destroyed the last of its declared chemical weapons stockpile, a milestone in the history of warfare dating back to World War I.

The Air Force has announced the permanent location for many more U.S. Space Force units — and none of them are in Huntsville, Alabama.

The top U.S. military officer says the Pentagon “has a long ways to go” to beef up its munitions stockpiles and ensure the country is ready for any large-scale war.

Brooke Army Medical Center is celebrating 25 years of its level-one trauma verification. The medical facility is the only one with that designation for the Department of Defense.

A U-2 pilot flying high above the Chinese spy balloon took a close-up photo of the large white orb just a day before the Air Force shot the balloon down off the coast of South Carolina.

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin is visiting Hawaii this week amid lingering community frustration and distrust after jet fuel from a military storage facility last year spilled into Pearl Harbor’s drinking water.

Law enforcement agencies around the San Antonio area have taken in close to $10 million in excess military equipment, a KSAT Investigates analysis of the controversial federal program found.

Republican Katie Arrington’s suspended security clearance is becoming an issue in her primary campaign against incumbent South Carolina Rep. Nancy Mace.

San Antonio Zoo is honoring military children with free admission on Wednesday, April 20.

Top lawmakers say Democrats and Republicans have finally agreed on a framework for overall defense and domestic spending for this year.

The military investigation into the deadly attack during the Afghanistan evacuation has concluded that a suicide bomber, carrying 20 pounds of explosives packed with ball bearings, acted alone, and that the deaths of more than 170 Afghans and 13 U.S. service members were not preventable.

The Pentagon has declassified and publicly released video footage of a U.S. drone strike in Kabul that killed 10 civilians in the final hours of a chaotic American withdrawal that ended a 20-year war in Afghanistan.

It's sometimes hard for veterans to find jobs where they can use the expertise they acquired in the military. Luckily, the department of defense has a program that helps bridge the gap.

The state has already challenged the federal government’s vaccine orders for big businesses, health care workers and federal contractors.

The Navy says the sailor killed in the suicide bomber attack during the evacuation mission in Afghanistan late last month has been posthumously promoted.

The United States military struck back at the Islamic State in Afghanistan on Saturday, acting on President Joe Biden's vow to hit the extremists in retaliation for a suicide bombing claimed by IS that killed as many as 169 Afghans and 13 American service members at Kabul airport Thursday.

Military service members must immediately begin to get the COVID-19 vaccine, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin says in a memo Wednesday, ordering service leaders to “impose ambitious timelines for implementation.”.

A federal jury convicted 48-year-old Department of Defense information technology contractor Rick A. Benavides on Thursday of attempting to to entice a child to engage in sexual activity, according to the Department of Justice.

A long-awaited U.S. government report on UFOs released Friday makes at least one thing clear: The truth is still out there.

A long-awaited U.S. government report on UFOs released Friday makes at least one thing clear: The truth is still out there.

Whatever or whoever they are, they’re still out there.

SAN ANTONIO – The Pentagon announced on Wednesday that Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland would be used to house unaccompanied migrant children. In a statement, John Kirby, the Pentagon’s press secretary, confirmed that the Department of Defense approved the request for JBSA-Lackland to be used. On Tuesday, Kirby hinted at the possibility of JBSA-Lackland and Fort Bliss being used in that capacity. “DoD will provide HHS officials access to these locations immediately to begin initial actions to prepare for receiving unaccompanied migrant children as soon as preparations are complete,” Kirby said. Also on KSAT:JBSA-Lackland asked to house unaccompanied migrant minors, Pentagon saysAdFreeman Coliseum may house migrant children if agreement is reached with federal government, Bexar County judge saysBiden taps VP Harris to lead response to border challenges

The Department of Defense added nine companies to its list of Chinese companies with military links, including Xiaomi and state-owned plane manufacturer Commercial Aircraft Corp. of China (Comac). U.S. investors will have to divest their stakes in Chinese companies on the military list by November this year, according to an executive order signed by Trump last November. Xiaomi said in a statement that its products are for “civilian and commercial use" and said it is not owned, controlled or affiliated with the Chinese military. Xiaomi Corp. overtook Apple Inc. as the world’s No. “CNOOC acts as a bully for the People’s Liberation Army to intimidate China’s neighbors, and the Chinese military continues to benefit from government civil-military fusion policies for malign purposes,” Ross said.

Click here to read the latest on the COVID-19 vaccine.) Senior officials with the Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Defense will hold a briefing on Operation Warp Speed and the distribution of the COVID-19 vaccine on Wednesday. While that is believed to an undercount because of a lag in reporting, it is well behind where health officials wanted to be. The Texas Department of State Health Services has reported 13,300 patients in hospitals due to the virus, which is a new record. Meanwhile, the COVID-19 vaccines are prioritized for health care workers and nursing home residents for the most part in the U.S.

A droplet falls from a syringe after a health care worker was injected with the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine at Women & Infants Hospital in Providence, R.I., Tuesday, Dec. 15, 2020. Click here for the latest on the COVID-19 vaccine.) Federal officials will hold a briefing on Operation Warp Speed Monday morning, a day after a second COVID-19 vaccine, this one from Moderna Inc., began shipping. The vaccination program that began last week has already inoculated 556,000 Americans, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The COVID-19 vaccine developed by Pfizer Inc. and Germany’s BioNTech already is being distributed.

(Photo by Samuel Corum-Pool/Getty Images)The United States Space Force is celebrating its first birthday as a part of the Department of Defense, officials announced on Sunday. Today marks the U.S. Space Force's 1st Birthday! @SpaceForceDoD organizes, trains, and equips space forces in order to protect U.S. and allied interests in space, and to provide space capabilities to the joint force.#HBDSpaceForcehttps://t.co/EOP9gIYJLM pic.twitter.com/v78B0k4BrD — U.S. Air Force (@usairforce) December 20, 2020Secretary of the Air Force, Barbara Barrett; Chief of Space Operations for the Space Force, John Raymond; and the Space Force’s Senior Enlisted Advisor, Towberman, all penned a letter to Space Force Guardians, saluting them on a year full of milestones. “Guardians,Today we mark the first anniversary of the establishment of the United States Space Force. Knowing that America and its Space Force will never fight alone, you built powerful partnerships with the joint force and other space-faring nations.

FILE - This March 27, 2008 file photo shows the Pentagon in Washington. – President-elect Joe Biden's transition team expressed frustration Friday with the level of cooperation they're getting from political appointees at the Department of Defense, saying there has been “an abrupt halt in the already limited cooperation there." Yohannes Abraham, executive director of the transition, told reporters that Biden agency review teams at DOD learned Thursday of meetings “being pulled down" and immediately reported it. Abraham made it clear that Biden's transition team was not satisfied with that decision. “There have been many agencies and departments that have facilitated the exchange of info and meetings over the past few weeks,” Abraham said.

FILE - This March 27, 2008 file photo shows the Pentagon in Washington. – President-elect Joe Biden's transition team expressed frustration Friday with the level of cooperation they're getting from political appointees at the Department of Defense, saying there has been “an abrupt halt in the already limited cooperation there." Yohannes Abraham, executive director of the transition, told reporters that Biden agency review teams at DOD learned Thursday of meetings “being pulled down" and immediately reported it. Abraham made it clear that Biden's transition team was not satisfied with that decision. “There have been many agencies and departments that have facilitated the exchange of info and meetings over the past few weeks,” Abraham said.

WASHINGTON – The Department of Defense is giving a briefing on the COVID-19 vaccination effort Friday morning. The press conference will take place at 9 a.m. from the Pentagon. The briefing will be placed in this article, but delays are possible. The Pentagon will receive just less than 44,000 doses of the Pfizer vaccine initially. The vaccinations will be voluntary, The Associated Press said.

Nurse Melissa Valentin shows a dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine to be applied to medical personnel at the Ashford Presbyterian Community Hospital in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Tuesday, Dec. 15, 2020. Click here for more stories about the COVID-19 vaccine.) The Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Defense are expected to hold a briefing on Operation Warp Speed and the distribution of the COVID-19 vaccine. Packed in dry ice, shipments of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine began arriving Tuesday at more than 400 additional hospitals and other distribution sites. The first 3 million shots are being strictly rationed to front-line health workers and nursing home patients, with hundreds of millions more shots needed over the coming months to protect most Americans.

DEFENDER Europe 20 was designed as a deployment exercise to build strategic readiness in support of the U.S. National Defense Strategy and NATO deterrence objectives. In response to COVID-19, DEFENDER-Europe 20 was modified in size and scope. In phase II of the modified DEFENDER-Europe 20, a U.S.-based combined arms battalion will conduct an emergency Deployment Readiness Exercise to Europe July 14-Aug. 22. Photographs from the Department of Defense are giving us a glimpse of these operations, some of which are on the front lines to combat the pandemic. Read also:2020 in photos: AP images capture chaos, sorrow amid pandemic, protests, catastrophes

SAN ANTONIO – The COVID-19 pandemic has canceled another Joint Base-San Antonio Thanksgiving tradition. Due to COVID-19 safety guidelines, Department of Defense civilians, retirees and family members will not be able to dine or attend the Thanksgiving meal served across JBSA dining facilities, a news release said. This is the latest holiday tradition to affect JBSA. “Mission Thanksgiving,” a popular holiday program where San Antonio community members provide a home-cooked meal to soldiers in medical training at Fort Sam Houston, was canceled to prevent the spread of COVID-19. In addition, “Operation Home Cooking” and “Operation Family Feast,” two similar Thanksgiving meal programs for Airmen in basic military training and technical training was called off due to COVID-19.

SAN ANTONIO The Department of Defense has selected Brooke Army Medical Center and Wilford Hall Ambulatory Surgical Center as two of the five locations for phase three trial evaluations for a COVID-19 vaccine. The goal is to have the vaccine ready by January 2021. Researchers are also looking for more volunteers to test the potential vaccine. If youre interested in becoming a volunteer for the COVID-19 vaccine phase three trial, click here, and then click on Volunteer Now and complete the survey. RELATED: What we know about COVID-19 vaccine clinical trials in San Antonio

SAN ANTONIO A soldier from San Antonio who was killed in a rollover vehicle crash in Afghanistan was laid to rest on Wednesday. Vincent Sebastian Ibarria, 21, on Wednesday morning. The Department of Defense says Ibarria was killed when his vehicle rolled over in a crash on July 3, in Farah, Afghanistan. Ibarrias remains were transported through Joint Base San Antonio-Randolph on July 17. Related: He will be severely missed,: Division mourns loss of soldier from San Antonio killed in rollover crash

Proposed federal legislation that would radically transform the nation's criminal justice system through such changes as eliminating agencies like the Drug Enforcement Administration and the use of federal surveillance technology is set to be unveiled Tuesday, July 7, by the Movement for Black Lives. Dubbed the BREATHE Act, the legislation is the culmination of a project led by the policy table of the Movement for Black Lives, a coalition of more than 150 organizations. The proposed changes are sweeping and likely to receive robust pushback from lawmakers who perceive the legislation as too radical. The polling found that the majority of Americans say the criminal justice system needs major changes, including many saying it needs a complete overhaul. We are a generation that wants to make sure that the needs of all Black people are met, Cullors said.

All rights reserved)Government watchdogs say President Trumps Fourth of July gala in the nations capital last year cost taxpayers more than $13 million, twice as much as previous celebrations. Trumps desire to have Department of Defense military vehicles participate helped drive up the cost, according to the Government Accountability Office. Some other costs, such as for military flyovers of the National Mall, were not included in the estimate, the report said. Trumps military-focused Independence Day event went beyond the traditional concert and fireworks of years past. The GAO estimated that holiday celebrations from 2016 to 2018 cost from $6 million to $7 million annually.

File - In this August 2009, file photo, provided by the Department of Defense, a Cook Inlet beluga whale calf, left, and an adult breach near Anchorage, Alaska. Two environmental groups gave formal notice Friday, Jan. 31, 2020, that they will sue to protect endangered Alaska beluga whales from oil and gas operations. The Center for Biological Diversity and Cook Inletkeeper gave notice they will sue the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration for violating the Endangered Species Act by not protecting Cook Inlet belugas. (Christopher Garner/Department of Defense via AP, File)ANCHORAGE, Alaska – Two environmental groups gave formal notice Friday that they will sue to protect endangered Alaska beluga whales from problems caused by oil and gas operations. The agency should not allow any take of Cook Inlet belugas until it can ensure their recovery, the groups said.

HONOLULU (AP) – The military says a U.S. sailor shot and killed two civilian Department of Defense employees at the Pearl Harbor shipyard before taking his own life. The military didn't release a motive or any identifying information about the sailor who opened fire Wednesday at Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard. Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam has reopened following a lockdown. The shipyard repairs, maintains and modernizes the ships and submarines of the U.S. Pacific Fleet, which is headquartered at Pearl Harbor. The shipyard is across the harbor from the Pearl Harbor National Memorial, which on Saturday will mark the 78th anniversary of the Japanese attack that propelled the U.S. into World War II.