Rowan Scarborough

Decline for insurgent Afghan attacks was misreported

An officially reported downward trend in insurgent attacks that has underpinned President Obama's decision to pull 34,000 troops from Afghanistan did not actually happen last year. Published February 26, 2013

Few women will qualify for land combat: report

A new report to Congress predicts that relatively few women will be able to perform land combat tasks on the same level as men, and it says the Pentagon's pledge to maintain "gender-neutral" physical standards has a loophole. Published February 24, 2013

From Top Gun to Risky Business: Budget cuts to force Navy to shutter four active aircraft carriers

The U.S. Navy plans to shut down four of its active aircraft carriers in one of the worst-case scenarios presented to Congress by the service since the debate on budget cuts heated up this winter. Published February 20, 2013

Pentagon aims ax to make a point with sequester cuts, uses worst-case scenarios to force deal

The Obama administration is putting attention-getting Pentagon projects on the chopping block in a bid to pressure Congress into making a deal that avoids $46 billion in military budget cuts March 1, analysts and congressional officials say. Published February 17, 2013

Pentagon uproar over Panetta’s hero medals for drone operators, cybersleuths

Some warriors inside the Pentagon are reacting with amusement and anger over outgoing Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta's decision to create a prestigious heroism medal for cyber and drone combatants who sit inside stations outside a war zone. Published February 15, 2013

NASA accused of technology transfers

One of NASA's renowned research centers has been under a four-year FBI investigation for the possible transfer of secret weapon-system technology to foreign countries, including China, two Republican congressmen have disclosed. Published February 12, 2013

Military warns cuts would create ‘hollow force’ akin to 1970s

The U.S. armed services, widely recognized as the world's most ready and mobile military, is painting a picture of itself as a stagnant force trapped at home under automatic spending cuts just three weeks away. Published February 10, 2013

Army warns Congress of decreased readiness amid budget shortfall

The Army is telling Congress that its combat brigades will not be ready to fight overseas outside of Afghanistan and Korea due to "a rapid atrophy of unit combat skills." Published February 8, 2013

Military is advised against lower standards for women

With Republicans lacking the votes to reinstitute the ban on women in combat as federal law, conservatives are focusing on how to make sure the Pentagon does not lower the standards — and with them, combat readiness — to ensure that female service members graduate. Published February 6, 2013

Four House Democrats hit Army’s battlefield intel system

Four House Democrats are asking fellow party members to consider blocking funds for the Army's battlefield intelligence processor, citing the system's huge costs and failed operational tests. Published February 3, 2013

Washington Times gets action! Indiana Gov. spikes deal with Pakistani bomb supplier

Indiana Gov. Mike Pence has suspended a deal to finance an in-state fertilizer plant to be built by a Pakistani conglomerate that the Pentagon has criticized for refusing to take steps to stop the flow of materials to makers of bombs that kill U.S. troops in Afghanistan. Published January 31, 2013

House GOP pursuing bill to keep combat standards high

House Republicans are beginning to discuss legislation that would prevent the Pentagon from lowering physical standards for women to ensure an ample number get accepted in the most arduous combat jobs in the infantry and special operations. Published January 29, 2013

Rep. Hunter: Subsidy for Pakistani fertilizer company ‘crazy’

A congressman who served as Marine officer in Iraq and Afghanistan says "it's crazy" that a Pakistani fertilizer maker is being allowed to build a plant in the U.S. while it rejects Pentagon pleas to control its products that end up in homemade bombs that kill American troops. Published January 28, 2013