Stories by Megan Scully:
May 9, 2013
Lawmakers from both parties on Thursday expressed optimism that they could work with the White House on a number of legislative proposals aimed at getting the military’s growing epidemic of sexual assault under control.
April 9, 2013
Senate Armed Services Chairman Carl Levin, D-Mich., on Tuesday questioned the Pentagon’s decision to postpone an upcoming intercontinental ballistic missile test amid growing tensions on the Korean Peninsula, where Pyongyang warned that war is likely and urged foreigners in South Korea to evacuate.
March 19, 2013
The top U.S. military commander in Europe said Tuesday that NATO forces are preparing contingency plans for operations in Syria if called upon to do so by the United Nations.
March 13, 2013
A military commander’s authority to overturn the decision of a court martial dates back to the Continental Army. But the Pentagon’s top lawyer on Wednesday acknowledged that there is “something that seems odd” about such arbitrary power in the wake of an Air Force general’s decision to overturn a jury’s guilty verdict against a pilot accused of sexual assault.
March 5, 2013
Flexibility. That’s what the military says it needs to better manage the budgetary havoc it’s facing amid steep and sudden reductions to its accounts, but that’s precisely what it doesn’t have.
March 5, 2013
The Air Force’s long-stalled effort to replace its fleet of Eisenhower-era aerial refueling tankers has become a poster child for the disruption caused by funding the Defense Department through a yearlong continuing resolution while the Pentagon sheds $46 billion in across-the-board sequester cuts at the same time.
Feb. 25, 2013
The Senate is expected this week to confirm Chuck Hagel to be the next Pentagon chief, but the weekslong partisan battle over the former Republican senator from Nebraska has provided a taste of some of the biggest national security fights that lie ahead.
Feb. 22, 2013
Defense Department officials notified Congress Friday that ground and flight operations for the entire F-35 fighter jet fleet, comprising all three variants of the plane, are being halted indefinitely.
Feb. 14, 2013
Amid accusations of a GOP filibuster, Senate Republicans on Thursday blocked a vote on the nomination of Chuck Hagel to be Defense secretary Thursday, but senators appeared poised to clear the nomination after the Presidents Day recess, barring any unexpected revelations.
Feb. 14, 2013
Sen. Lindsey Graham signaled Thursday that he plans to use John O. Brennan’s nomination for CIA chief as leverage to demand more answers from the White House on last year’s lethal attack at a U.S. facility in Benghazi, Libya.
Feb. 14, 2013
The top Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee on Thursday said he expects the panel to return to its bipartisan roots once Chuck Hagel’s nomination moves through the Senate.
Feb. 13, 2013
Sen. Susan Collins of Maine on Wednesday announced that she would oppose Chuck Hagel’s confirmation to be the next Defense secretary but would not support a filibuster of the nominee.
Feb. 6, 2013
The top Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee on Wednesday said his opposition to Chuck Hagel’s nomination to be the next Pentagon chief has only grown in recent days, and he vowed to work hard to defeat his confirmation.
Feb. 6, 2013
Hawkish Republicans in the House and Senate on Wednesday responded to President Barack Obama’s call this week for a short-term plan to delay the sequester with their own proposal to avert, at least temporarily, the across-the-board cuts to defense and non-defense discretionary spending.
Feb. 5, 2013
While Chuck Hagel may not have won over a majority of Republicans in the days following his lackluster appearance before the Senate Armed Services Committee, there appears to be enough GOP opposition to an unprecedented filibuster of a Cabinet nominee to, if necessary, generate the 60 votes required for cloture.
Feb. 1, 2013
Chuck Hagel’s halting and unconvincing appearance Jan. 31 before the Senate Armed Services Committee hardened Republican opposition to his confirmation, but his critics would likely have to mount an unprecedented, and very divisive, challenge to block him from becoming Defense secretary.
Jan. 31, 2013
Chuck Hagel fielded heated questioning Thursday from Republicans regarding his record on Iran sanctions, Israel and nuclear weapons, but President Barack Obama’s pick to be the next Pentagon chief did not appear to suffer any fatal blows.
Jan. 30, 2013
Chuck Hagel has one big hurdle left to clear before winning Senate confirmation to be the next Defense secretary — a barrage of questions on Iran, nuclear weapons and gay rights during his appearance Thursday before the Senate Armed Services Committee.
Jan. 29, 2013
While Republican Chuck Hagel appears likely to win confirmation to lead the Pentagon, many senators in both parties are still holding back their formal endorsements or opposition.
Jan. 8, 2013
As Chuck Hagel prepares for his confirmation hearing to be the next Defense secretary, the former senator can expect a barrage of questions on his support for openly gay servicemembers and his plans for extending certain benefits to gay and lesbian servicemembers and their families.
Dec. 19, 2012
Congress may be gridlocked on most issues, but one major bill is on a glide path for the president’s desk.
Dec. 18, 2012
Senior Senate Republicans remain noncommittal on the president’s anticipated nomination of Republican Chuck Hagel as his next secretary of defense, amid growing opposition from pro-Israel groups and commentators.
Nov. 25, 2012
One of the few Bush administration holdovers remaining in the Pentagon as President Barack Obama nears his second term, Sean J. Stackley, is the Navy’s top ship buyer.
Nov. 21, 2012
For the Navy, the size of the fleet is important. But so are its capabilities — a fact that often gets lost in the politically charged debate over how many and what kind of ships the Navy needs to meet its global operational demands.
Nov. 15, 2012
Kentucky Republican Sen. Rand Paul is holding up consideration of the fiscal 2013 defense authorization bill over an amendment he plans to offer that would require a jury trial for Americans detained in terrorism investigations.
