Douglas Ernst

Pentagon to give OEF medals to troops deployed on no-name mission to Iraq

The United States is sending 1,700 military personnel on a new mission in Iraq, but the Pentagon said Thursday that medals and awards will be given out that were designated for deployments under Operation Enduring Freedom.

October 2, 2014

Sikorsky unveils light-attack helicopter: ‘We haven’t seen something this new in 30 years’

Sikorsky Aircraft Corp. unveiled the S-97 Raider light-attack helicopter on Thursday, which it hopes the U.S. Army will see as a viable replacement for its OH-58 Kiowa Warrior.

October 2, 2014

Wisconsin man joins Syrian Kurds in fight against Islamic State: report

A Kurdish official in Syria says that an American man from Wisconsin is now in the country fighting the Islamic State group as a member of the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG).

October 2, 2014

Laser bomb-detecting technology can blanket cities, find urban terrorists

A leading research institute in Germany an its partners have invented laser technology with the potential to make the illicit production of explosive devices almost impossible to conceal.

October 2, 2014

Pentagon plans $1.75B Patriot Missile sale to Saudi Arabia

The Pentagon aims to sell Patriot missile batteries to Saudi Arabia in a deal worth $1.75 billion.

October 1, 2014

Airstrikes against Islamic State cost U.S. $1 billion in 3 months

Defense analysts in the nation's capital estimate the three-month tab for U.S.-led airstrikes at close to $1 billion.

October 1, 2014

Poland’s new prime minister calls for more U.S. troops in country

Polish Prime Minister Ewa Kopacz wants a greater U.S. military in country to help deal with its security needs.

October 1, 2014

Army drops charges against paratrooper over 2007 killing of Iraqi boys

The U.S. Army has dropped charges against a paratrooper accused of killing two Iraqi boys during a botched 2007 mission in Diyala Province.

October 1, 2014

No-name U.S. battle against Islamic State leaves troops without campaign medal

The U.S. fight against the Islamic State group does not have its own military campaign designation, leaving troops deployed to the region as ineligible to receive certain medals for their service.

October 1, 2014

U.K. drops terror case against ex-Guantanamo inmate who traveled to Syria

The United Kingdom has dropped its terrorism case against a former Guantanamo Bay detainee who traveled to Syria in 2012-2013.

October 1, 2014

Army sending 101st Airborne Division to Africa in support of Ebola mission

The U.S. Army is sending the 101st Airborne Division, along with combat engineers from other units, to Africa in support of the international community's attempt to halt the spread of the Ebola virus.

September 30, 2014

Marines establish three new staging areas in West Africa for quicker response to global crises

The Marine Corps will have three new staging areas at its disposal to speed up its reaction time to global crises: Senegal, Ghana and Gabon.

September 30, 2014

Iraqi pilots dropped food, water and ammunition on Islamic State by mistake

Members of Islamic State recently received an unexpected surprise from the Iraqi military's inexperienced pilots: an airdrop of food, water and ammunition.

September 30, 2014

4 charged with hacking Apache simulator software, $100M of Microsoft data

The U.S. Justice Department has accused four men of stealing $100 million worth of information from Microsoft Corporation and simulator software used to train Apache attack helicopter pilots.

September 30, 2014

Syrian Kurdish leader warns of Kobani massacre without U.S. weapons soon

A Syrian Kurdish leader told reporters in Paris on Tuesday that the border town of Kobani is outgunned by the Islamic State group, but that diplomatic efforts to secure U.S. and European weapons have been declined.

September 30, 2014

Boston bomb suspect’s sister Alina Tsarnaeva arraigned in Manhattan court

The sister of Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was arraigned in a Manhattan court Tuesday for bomb threats she allegedly made to a Harlem woman in August.

September 30, 2014

Rocket fired at U.S. Embassy in Yemen; Al Qaeda-linked group claims credit

The U.S. embassy in Sanaa, Yemen was targeted by a rocket attack by an unknown assailant on Saturday.

September 27, 2014

Okla. beheading suspect linked to radical imam with ties to al Qaeda leader al Awlaki

An imam with known ties to former Al Qaeda mastermind Anwar al-Awlaki appears to have influenced the life of Alton Nolen, the former Vaughan Foods employee accused of beheading one woman in Moore, Oklahoma on Thursday.

September 27, 2014

F-22 Raptor carried American flag into historic Syrian combat mission

One of the F-22 Raptors used in Tuesday's historic airstrikes brought an extra passenger along: the American flag.

September 26, 2014

School police forces took $13M of military gear from Pentagon: report

Over 100 school law enforcement agencies have taken advantage of a Pentagon program for free military equipment to the tune of $13 million, a CBS investigation has revealed.

September 26, 2014