Military

We admit it. These things make us misty. Army Specialist Matthew Peters of Owensville, Missouri spent a year deployed in Kuwait and Iraq, and hadn’t seen his young son, Blake, in more than six months. When he came home, he decided to pop in on the unsuspecting tyke at school for a hug the kid will probably never forget.

The policy known as “don’t ask, don’t tell,” which has been in place since the Clinton administration, became a thing of the past at 12:01 a.m. on Tuesday when the United States became one of more than 40 countries worldwide allowing gays and lesbians to serve openly in the armed forces. “They will no longer have to lie in order to help protect us,” said Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Ca

Soldiers know the value of surprise, especially when returning home from active duty to their loved ones. When Joey found out he was getting sent home from Kuwait two weeks earlier than anticipated, he spent the three months prior planning to surprise his mom at the UPS sorting facility in Lansing, MI where she works.

In a final act of loyalty, Hawkeye, the dog of slain Navy SEAL U.S. Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Jon T. Tumilson walked up to his fallen master’s casket during the funeral in Rockford, Iowa, and then laid mournfully down beside the body for the rest of the proceedings.

The military has banned Marines serving in Afghanistan from emitting audible farts, as such gastrointestinal expressions offend the Afghan people.

Marine Sgt. Jacob Chadwick, 23, an Iraq war veteran who recently underwent a life-saving kidney transplant, received the organ from an unexpected source — 24-year-old fellow soldier Lt. Patrick Wayland. The two men didn’t know each other, but after Wayland suffered a fatal heart attack while swimming in flight gear during training on August 1, Wayland’s family sought out the people it felt was “mo

On Friday, President Obama joined Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and Adm. Mike Mullen in formally signing a document certifying that military readiness would not be hurt by allowing gays in the military. The notice will now be sent to Congress. The action officially repeals the 17-year-old “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy enacted during the Clinton Administration and begins the 60-day waiting period

In recent weeks, we’ve seen several US servicemembers use YouTube to invite celebrities to accompany them to the upcoming Marine Corps Ball. First Sgt. Scott Moore asked Mila Kunis, then Cpl. Kelsey De Santis asked Kunis’ ‘Friends with Benefits’ co-star Justin Timberlake, and finally Sgt. Ray Lewis asked everyone’s favorite octogenarian, Betty White.

The Marine Corps Ball may be getting even more star power. After both Mila Kunis and Justin Timberlake accepted invitations to accompany Marines to the November 10 event, Sgt. Ray Lewis, a veteran of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, is hoping Betty White makes it a celebrity trifecta. Lewis posted a video on YouTube in which he asks the 89-year-old ‘Hot in Cleveland’ actress to be his date, plead

Reuters is reporting that the U.S. will withhold about $800 million in aid to Pakistan. Finally some common sense in government. Read more after the break.

Disturbed singer David Draiman has recorded a PSA to promote the campaign to support our troops.

Everyone needs a friend like David Hart. The British soldier who was killed by a Taliban bomb last year left more than $160,000 in his will so his friends could go to Las Vegas.