Representative Peter King (R-NY), the Chairman of the House Committee on Homeland Security, has requested that the Defense Department Inspector General and the CIA Inspector General investigate to determine if Academy Award-winning director Kathryn Bigelow’s proposed film on the takedown of Osama bin Laden would compromise military and intelligence community secrets.

China's state media are playing down the military threat posed by the country's new aircraft carrier, suggesting it may be 15 to 20 years before China has a combat-ready carrier.

In the lead article on its website Thursday, the official Xinhua news agency quotes a Russian military analyst saying the refitted Ukrainian carrier which is undergoing sea trials this week will never be suitable for combat. Ruslan Pukhov, president of the Moscow Strategy and Technologies Analysis Center, says the vessel, called the Varyag, was obsolete even before it was purchased.

Soldiers do not have to enter a combat zone or even serve during wartime to do something heroic, as retired Sgt. 1st Class Scott Shigley proved 11 years ago.

Shigley received the Army Commendation Medal for helping save the lives of civilians in a car accident on June 17, 2000, in Meade County, Ky., but his actions have been upgraded to the Soldier’s Medal.

The Soldier’s Medal is the highest honor a Soldier can receive for an act of valor in a noncombat situation.

Within minutes after takeoff, the first fighter aircraft are visible off the left wing and Exercise Vigilant Eagle 2011 is well underway.

The Russian Federation Air Force and the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) conducted their second Vigilant Eagle cooperative exercise Aug 5-9, further strengthening the communication channels between Russia and NORAD in the event of a hijacked aircraft transiting across the Bering Sea.

ULAANBAATAR, Mongolia – About 42 Alaska National Guard members are participating in Khaan Quest 2011, a multinational training exercise held at the Five Hills Training Area here, July 25 to Aug. 12.

Khaan Quest 2011 is designed to strengthen the capabilities of U.S., Mongolian, and other international forces in the Pacific region, to enhance peace-support operations, training, and increase interoperability and planning capabilities among the participating nations.

China's first aircraft carrier set sail for the first time Wednesday, steaming out of the northeastern port of Dalian for a long-awaited sea trial. While the voyage of the ship, known here by its Russian name Varyag, is a source of national pride, it is also raising concerns among China's neighbors.

In the late 1990s, China purchased the empty shell of the aircraft carrier from Ukraine. The vessel was built by the Soviet Union in the 1980s but ownership was transferred to Ukraine after the former communist government collapsed.

President Barack Obama traveled to Dover Air Force Base, Del., for the return of 30 U.S. servicemembers killed in a helicopter crash in Afghanistan on Saturday.

Thirty International Security Assistance Force members, one civilian interpreter, and seven Afghan commandos were killed when a coalition CH-47 Chinook crashed in Afghanistan early Aug. 6.

All of the ISAF servicemembers on board were from the United States, officials said. They added that the incident represents the highest number of U.S. forces killed during a single event in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.

When you think of the U.S. Army Expert Field Medical Badge (EFMB) you may imagine battle-hardened medics just off deployment being tested on combat casualty tasks, trudging through dense forest on a land navigation course or gutting out the final steps of a 12-mile, forced road march for the right to wear the EFMB on their uniforms.

If so, you would be only half right.

Drought, famine, IEDs, MEDEVACs, angry mobs, corrupt contractors and wily, demanding village elders: Soldiers from the 418th Civil Affairs Battalion faced them all today in suburban Kansas City.

The product of over four months of intensive planning, the battalion-level Field Training Exercise (FTX) allowed Soldiers to practice Civil Affairs operations in realistic, demanding scenarios. About 40 Soldiers conducted the missions, while 30 more played roles such as local contractors, the mayor, chief of police, their wives "and rioting citizens.