Tom Bowman

From Battleground To Boston: Marine Comforts Bombing Survivors

Tom Bowman — Fri, 03 May 2013 20:49:00 +0000

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hy_LNYR-MiI

U.S. Faces Fight At Intersection Of Crime And Extremism

Tom Bowman — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 07:20:00 +0000

A suspected drug kingpin from the tiny West African nation of Guinea-Bissau was captured on the high seas by agents from the U.S.

Pressure Builds On White House To Intervene In Syria

Tom Bowman — Fri, 26 Apr 2013 20:47:00 +0000

Transcript

ROBERT SIEGEL, HOST:

From NPR News, this is ALL THINGS CONSIDERED. I'm Robert Siegel.

AUDIE CORNISH, HOST:

And I'm Audie Cornish. The White House tried to clarify its message on Syria today, saying it is still studying evidence that the government there has used chemical weapons. Here's press secretary Jay Carney.

JAY CARNEY: We are continuing to work to build on the assessments made by the intelligence community.

With Eye On Budget, Hagel Seeks Pentagon Changes

Tom Bowman — Wed, 03 Apr 2013 21:02:00 +0000

Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, in his first major policy speech, laid out Wednesday how to deal with threats in an era of tight defense budgets.

Hagel has ordered the Pentagon to take a hard look at how many soldiers and sailors it needs and what types of weapons it buys.

As Qualified Men Dwindle, Military Looks For A Few Good Women

Tom Bowman — Mon, 25 Mar 2013 15:02:00 +0000

When the Pentagon said earlier this year that it would open ground combat jobs to women, it was cast in terms of giving women equal opportunities in the workplace — the military workplace.

But the move has practical considerations, too. The military needs qualified people to fill its ranks, and it's increasingly harder to find them among men.

"It's fairly common knowledge that our population of military-age young men, who qualify for the military, is declining," Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen.

U.S. Troops Train For Possible Mission To Secure Syrian Chemical Agents

Tom Bowman — Wed, 13 Mar 2013 22:16:00 +0000

Several weeks ago, Gen. Martin Dempsey, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs, said the U.S. is planning what to do about Syria's vast chemical weapons program once Bashar Assad's regime falls. The Syrians are believed to have hundreds of tons of chemical agents, including sarin, one of the deadliest chemical agents.

Review Of Deadly Attack On Base In Afghanistan Finds Troops Let Guard Down

Tom Bowman — Fri, 08 Feb 2013 23:17:00 +0000

A Marine Corps review of the deadly Taliban attack on an allied base in Afghanistan last September found that some guard towers were unattended, and the insurgents "got lucky" by cutting through the fence at a remote area of the base in Helmand Province, Capitol Hill sources tell NPR.

A House staffer briefed on the review said allied troops "let their guard down" at Camp Bastion and have now "vastly" beefed up security with sensors and more British and American guards, bu

Pentagon Will Brief Congress On Deadly Sept. 14 Camp Bastion Attack

Tom Bowman — Mon, 04 Feb 2013 21:09:00 +0000

More than four months after a deadly attack at a sprawling allied base in Afghanistan that killed two U.S. Marines, there are lingering questions about how it happened.

Capitol Hill sources say they've been pressing for answers since the Sept. 14^th attack in Helmand Province, and say the military has not been forthcoming.

Pentagon Remains Big Target In Likely Budget Cuts

Tom Bowman — Fri, 01 Feb 2013 23:02:00 +0000

The economy shrunk in the fourth quarter — for the first time in three years — and one of the critical reasons was a drop in defense spending. Apparently, contractors took precautionary steps and held onto money in case the federal government failed to avert the fiscal and tax crisis known as the fiscal cliff.

But there's now a new deadline — automatic budget cuts, known as sequestration, which may hit at the beginning of March.

The Effect On Contractors

Kevin Graybeal sells components for electronic systems.

U.S. Military Seeks Its Role In Troubled North Africa

Tom Bowman — Wed, 23 Jan 2013 21:28:00 +0000

The recent crises in northern Africa, from Libya to Mali to Algeria, have raised a host of questions about the role of the American military command responsible for the entire continent.

Founded in 2007, the United States Africa Command, or AFRICOM, was created to train African militaries so U.S. troops would not be called upon in times of crisis.

But the command was controversial from day one. When President George W. Bush visited Ghana in 2008, the command was barely up and running. During that visit, Ghanaian President John Kufuor told Bush bluntly that he would not allow the U.S.