Topic: The Army National Guard

Top galleries, list articles, quizzes

Dakota Meyer and nine others: what they did to receive the Medal of Honor

For going above and beyond the call of duty, Marine Sgt. Dakota Meyer was awarded Thursday the Medal of Honor, the US government’s highest military decoration. Here is a look at him and nine other men who risked their lives to protect America.
In Pictures: Gabrielle Giffords, political survivor
In Pictures: New Mexico wildfires
In Pictures: North Dakota floods
In Pictures: US military muscle

All Content

US faces surge of new vets seeking disability

America's newest veterans are filing for disability benefits at a historic rate, claiming to be the most medically and mentally troubled generation of former troops in US history. The troubled economy may be a factor.
Cover Story
Veterans' new fight: reviving inner-city America

How some veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are helping turn around a drug-infested neighborhood of Baltimore – and themselves.
Despite ancestry controversy, Elizabeth Warren tied with Sen. Scott Brown

The US Senate race in Massachusetts is among the closest in the battle over Senate control after the November elections. In a new poll, Elizabeth Warren has 47 percent of the vote and Scott Brown 48 percent.
Downsizing Army may lay off veteran soldiers. Is that a breach of trust?

Thomas Lamont, the assistant secretary of the Army, told lawmakers that the Army may have to lay off as many as 30,000 soldiers in its attempt to trim its ranks and meet budget cuts.
Latin America Monitor
In Venezuelan barrios, fences make good neighbors

Wealthy communities across Latin America put up gates and fences to fend off criminals. In Venezuela, rising crime has led poor neighborhoods to do the same, dividing the country further.
Question 21: Does it punish troops who are victims of sexual assault?

Question 21 on applications for troops seeking national-security jobs asks if the applicant has ever needed any mental-health counseling. Troops with post-traumatic stress disorder or martial problems are exempted. Victims of military sexual assault are not.
How video games help war vets

'Serious video games' are now used for everything from educating about Somalian piracy, to explaining childbirth, to helping soldiers cope with the trauma of war.
Latin America Monitor
Exporting Nicaragua's citizen security model

Nicaragua could be a citizen security model for other Central American countries to imitate, but some elements are harder to transfer than others, writes guest blogger Hannah Stone.
Scott Brown pulls ahead of Elizabeth Warren in Mass. Senate race

Sen. Scott Brown, the Republican who famously won the seat held by Edward Kennedy, has built an early lead against Elizabeth Warren in what will be a closely watched race nationally.
The Simple Dollar
Roth IRA: Use ShareBuilder or Vanguard?

Roth IRA is easy to set up immediately in ShareBuilder, but patience and Vanguard mean fewer fees in the long run for your Roth IRA. See question No. 7 in the reader mailbag.
Veterans jobs corps: beating swords into plowshares?

Veterans jobs initiative, proposed by President Obama, would create 20,000 veterans jobs in public conservation work and cost $1 billion over five years.
Army report: Suicide rate sets record; some alcohol abuse up 54 percent

But efforts to confront suicide have produced some encouraging successes, says a high-ranking Army official. And the number of soldiers being referred to treatment programs is increasing.
Widespread snow buries Seattle area

There were 95 accidents in an eight-hour period in Pierce and Thurston counties, which include Tacoma and Olympia, State Trooper Guy Gill said Wednesday morning.
Veteran charged with homeless murders: Hint of larger problem for US military?

A veteran charged with killing four homeless men was troubled after returning from Iraq, reports say. That has highlighted the rising mental-health problems facing the US military.
Alaska's tale of two cities: one desperate for fuel, another for big shovels

Blitzed by heavy snow and early-season ice in the Bering Strait, two Alaska towns – neither accessible by road – have been cut off from critical supplies, including fuel.
Alaska town tries to dig out after three weeks of relentless snow

Officials said at least three buildings have collapsed or partially collapsed and six homes are deemed severely stressed by heavy wet snow.
Latin America Monitor
Veracruz police disbanded: many in Mexico won't notice

The Mexican city's 1,100-member police force has just been fired, with the Navy put in charge of civilian security. Many in Veracruz won't miss the cops, whom they distrust.
Blizzard closes highways from New Mexico to Kansas

Blizzard conditions shut down parts of I-40 and I-70 in New Mexico, Kansas, and Texas. At least six traffic fatalities were blamed on the snowstorm and high winds.
Latin America Monitor
Is Puerto Rico becoming a narco-state?

The island's murder rate, which will likely set a record this year, and a police force that a top official at the US Justice Department called 'one of the worst I've seen' both fit the definition of a narco-state.
Latin America Monitor
Illegal immigration across US-Mexico border hits historic low

As illegal immigration rates go down and the National Guard's deployment costs rack up, the Obama administration prepares to cut the Guard's presence along the US-Mexico border.
Firefighters aided by easing winds in Reno fire

Authorities said that the worst was likely over as growing flurries and falling temperatures stoked hopes that the remaining showers of ember and ash would die down.
Dakota Meyer and nine others: what they did to receive the Medal of Honor

For going above and beyond the call of duty, Marine Sgt. Dakota Meyer was awarded Thursday the Medal of Honor, the US government’s highest military decoration. Here is a look at him and nine other men who risked their lives to protect America.
Libya's interim leaders confront tough task: disarming militias

The ability of transitional leaders to rein in the scores of militias that helped oust Muammar Qaddafi will signal how capable they are of governing the new Libya.
Latin America Monitor
Will US extension of National Guard border presence deter immigration from Mexico?

The decision to keep Guard troops along the US-Mexico border until the end of the year comes amid a 40-year low in Border Patrol arrests and a 60 percent drop in Mexican immigration since 2006.
Response to 'credible threat' shows how much has changed since 9/11

Al Qaeda may have been degraded since 2001. But the threat since 9/11 has become more complicated, decentralized and elusive with franchises, affiliates, and homegrown terrorists.