Hagel: Most civilian DOD workers can return next week
By Barbara Starr, CNN Pentagon Correspondent
Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel announced Saturday that "most [Department of Defense] civilians placed on emergency furlough during the government shutdown will be asked to return to work beginning next week."
The ongoing government shutdown has left more than 800,000 workers furloughed for the past five days - roughly half of those are civilians working for the Pentagon.
U.S. seeks access to site of terror attack in Kenya
By Barbara Starr
U.S. security and law enforcement personnel are pressing for access to a Kenyan shopping mall where a terror attack and subsequent armed standoff killed at least 67 people.
A U.S. official with direct knowledge of the situation and the latest security assessment said authorities want to know whether any Americans were among the attackers in Nairobi as claimed by the Somali-based al-Shabaab terror group said to be behind the Westgate Mall attack.
“That is the million dollar question,” the official said. “We do not have much fidelity on this. We haven’t had access to the scene.”
Kenyan authorities have said the attackers were from a number of countries, but have not confirmed that any Americans were involved.
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First on CNN: US may call off military exercise with Egypt
By Barbara Starr
The United States may cancel a major military training exercise with Egypt due in part to worsening violence there, an Obama administration official told CNN.
Bright Star, planned for next month, would involve thousands of American air and ground forces.
Held every two years, it has long been considered vital for demonstrating U.S. military ability to deploy to the Middle East in the event of war.
Recent violence, especially the killing of protestors in Cairo on Wednesday, is factoring into new thinking on whether to participate, the official said.
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Could be two years until women can train for elite combat
By Barbara Starr
It may be another two years before women can start training for jobs in Army Ranger and Navy SEAL units under plans to be announced by the Pentagon on Tuesday, a Defense Department official familiar with the matter said.
The official declined to be named because the plans are not yet announced.
It is part of the next step in a longstanding effort to open as many combat jobs as possible to women.
The plan now is for jobs in special operations to be available to women possibly in mid-2015.
U.S. Navy warship moving closer to North Korea
By Barbara Starr
The U.S. Navy is moving a warship and a sea-based radar platform closer to the North Korean coast in order to monitor that country's military moves, including possible new missile launches, a Defense Department official said Monday.
The decisions to move at least one ship and the oil rig-like SBX-1 are the first of what may be other naval deployments, CNN has learned.
They follow weeks of belligerent rhetoric from North Korea, including threats to use nuclear weapons.
The United States and South Korea have gone ahead with joint military exercises despite the threats, and South Korea warned Monday that any provocative moves from North Korea would trigger a strong response "without any political considerations."
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