Outside the Beltway

White House Chief Of Staff John Kelly publicly defended the President’s call to a military widow yesterday, but he got several facts wrong in the process.

President Trump once again revealed his true self at a press conference yesterday.

My apologies to Bob Dreyfuss and Rolling Stone.

Could Donald Trump’s comments about Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl on the campaign trail lead to the case against Bergdahl being dismissed? A military judge will have to decide.

Godspeed, John Glenn.

A senior congressional staffer is taking a new job that happens to coincide with her boss’ committee assignment.

My latest for War on the Rocks.

Marines, especially female Marines, will be allowed to be heavier in the new year.

The Marine Corps has removed the word “man” from nineteen of its military occupation specialty titles, leaving only a handful of iconic instances intact.

The Senate has passed an amendment to a military spending bill that would require women to register for the draft.

Bowe Bergdahl’s Court Martial has been delayed until 2017, which raises the possibility that comments by Donald Trump could result in Bergdahl getting off scot-free.

With Donald Trump now destined to become the GOP nominee, some Republican insiders are trying to put together another ‘too little, too late’ strategy to stop him.

My latest for War on The Rocks, “Professional Military Education and the Rigor Problem, has posted.

The great author Pat Conroy has died, aged 70, after a long battle with pancreatic cancer.

The end of Webbmentum is here, my friends.

It’s been suggested that subjecting women to a possible draft would make leaders less likely to go to war. Unfortunately, there’s no reason to believe this is true.

The Army Chief of Staff and Commandant of the Marine Corps told Congress that women should be required to register for the draft just like men are.

My latest for War on The Rocks, “The Inter-Service Wars Are Looking Like Calvinball,” has posted.

Tragedy in Tennessee.

The nine-year-old ‘Army Strong’ ad campaign is ended.

Marine special operations forces have called themselves “Raiders” for years. Now it’s official.

A woman discharged from the Marine Corps for violating multiple direct orders is fighting to the highest military court.

Ray Mabus is trying to make serving in the Navy and Marine Corps more attractive to women.

Vaccination has eliminated a disease that used to be a serious threat from the Americas.

A headline I did not expect to see, courtesy the Army Times: “Dakota Meyer engaged to Bristol Palin.”

Heather Havrilesky asks, “Why Are Americans So Fascinated With Extreme Fitness?

Amazon warehouse workers want to be paid for time going through security checks to leave work.

Politics, the law, culture, and a very old language collide.

It would appear that someone needs to introduce the Air Force to Article VI of the Constitution.

My latest for War on the Rocks: “Don’t Believe Everything You Read in the Papers.”

Retired Marine lawyer Butch Bracknell and I tackle the subject for The Hill.

There’s essentially no analogue in the civilian justice system. Here’s why.

The President’s well-intentioned campaign against military sex crimes has backfired.

Barring shocking developments, General Joe Dunford will be the 36th Commandant of the Marine Corps.

The DOD says Walmart was violating its trademarks.

The Pentagon wants to continue receiving special war funding well into peacetime.

Rolling up your sleeves is hard if you’re a Marine.

Snow days are no longer automatic vacation days for federal workers.

The IDF has finally put a woman in command of a battalion. They’re decades behind American forces.

The Marine Corps’ plan to make women take the same fitness test as men has hit a wee snag.

Michelle Howard has become the highest ranking woman in the history of the US Navy–and the US military, period.