By J.P. LAWRENCE | STARS AND STRIPES Published: March 13, 2021 America’s deadliest infantry battle of the Afghan War began in the early hours of July 13, 2008. Taliban fighters unleashed a torrent of machine gun fire and rocket-propelled grenades at a newly built American base in the town of Want in northeastern Afghanistan. The base, located in area that had turned against the Americans, was nearly overrun. Just under 50 U.S. troops fought waves of enemies, mere feet away from them. The battle ended with nine Americans dead and 27 wounded. The U.S. withdrew from Want, sometimes written as Wanat, shortly after.
Wesley Morgan is a former military affairs reporter at Politico and the author of the new book, "The Hardest Place: The American Military Adrift in Afghanistan's Pech Valley." Bryce Klehm sat down with Wesley to talk about the evolution of the war in Afghanistan, from the United States's early hunt for Osama bin Laden, to the increased use of drone strikes during the Obama and
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Smith slams F-35 ‘rat hole,’ questions Pacific buildup
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The House Armed Services Committee chair pledges to rein in the F-35 jet and tells POLITICO he isn’t sold on bolstering forces in the Pacific.
The stimulus bill passed by the Senate extends the program to cover salaries at defense plants shuttered by the pandemic.
Transit memorial, pen pals, White House doctor: News from around our 50 states From USA TODAY Network and wire reports, USA TODAY
Alabama
Birmingham: The Birmingham VA Health Care System is expanding its ability to vaccinate veterans against COVID-19, provided it can get enough doses. A partnership with the United Way of Central Alabama will allow the agency to provide as many as 1,000 shots a day beginning this week to veterans who are at least 65 years old, the VA said. That’s up from the current daily total of 300 people. The change comes because the VA’s vaccine clinic is moving into a United Way building in downtown Birmingham. Chief executive Stacy Vasquez said the system will schedule as many veterans as it can for shots, but obtaining additional vaccine is key. “Right now, I have enough vaccine to take care of 5,000 people next week. But then after that, unless I get another shipment, I don’t know,” Vasquez told WBRC-TV last week. The VA’s vacc