Pompey the Great’s soldiers were bone tired. For most of 65 BCE, Roman legions marched around the southern edge of the Black Sea as they battled the local ruler, Mithridates VI of Pontus. Then, something magical happened: The exhausted troops discovered a stockpile of honeycombs strewn across their path, and they fell upon the sticky treats like hungry bears. But […]
Read more
2,500 – Number of U.S. military dogs on duty worldwide $2,000,000 – Amount the U.S. spent on developing a robotic mule
Read more
Juba, South Sudan Army rapes, murders: South Sudanese soldiers have been gang raping young girls and then burning them alive, according to a new United Nations report. The army is trying to terrify the entire civilian population into fleeing rebel-held areas so that the rebels will have no support base. One survivor described how he hid in a river when […]
Read more
16.0% Percentage of total military forces who are female 71.9% Percentage of military forces who are Caucasian 2.2% Percentage of military forces who identify as lesbian, gay or bisexual
Read more
The Department of Defense has 562,000 military bases and facilities located around the world, which collectively cover 24.7 million acres—nearly the size of Virginia. Much of that space is now unused, but Congress has barred the Pentagon from conducting a detailed assessment out of fear that bases in home districts would be closed.
Read more
President Barack Obama signed the National Defense Authorization Act of 2013 including a separate section that could allow the military to indefinitely detain American citizens on suspicions of supporting terrorism. His signature means indefinite detention without charge or trial will be extended.”
Read more