Stars and Stripes Daily Headlines

 

Navy wants to increase pay for sea duty Chief of Naval Personnel Vice Adm. Bill Moran told sailors aboard the USS Bataan on Tuesday that since inflation has eaten away into the value of their sea pay over the past decade, Navy leaders want to restore the value of sea pay by adjusting for inflation.   US warships available for security backup for Sochi Olympics, Navy says U.S. Navy ships will be stationed near the Black Sea resort town of Sochi and will be available for contingency operations if Russian authorities call upon them for support during next month’s Olympic Games.   Air Force uniform changes include morale T-shirts on Fridays When it comes to Air Force physical fitness training, reflective belts are out and black socks are in. Hot-pink cell phones are now OK too, while in uniform, as are morale T-shirts and patches — but only on Fridays.   Whistle-blower suit: Military moving firm accused of bilking government The lawsuit alleges "a corporate policy designed to fraudulently increase corporate profits at the expense of" the U.S. Company lawyers said the claims were "frankly outrageous."   Pilot error caused Okinawa helicopter crash that killed airman, Air Force says Pilot error caused a HH-60 Pave Hawk crash Aug. 5 on Camp Hansen, Air Force investigators said Tuesday. The crash killed Tech Sgt. Mark Smith, the flight engineer on board.   For a different African piracy problem, Navy seeks solutions on shore Adm. Jonathan W. Greenert said piracy solutions must be shore-based — in other words, with local governments in the lead rather than international navies. His comments parallel what data and experts say about the Gulf of Guinea, a troubled body of water on the Atlantic side of Africa, where attacks resemble those in the Horn of Africa.   Investigation: No one at fault in SEAL jump death A dozen men leap from an airplane 12,000 feet above sprawling Arizona desert and move into close formation. Six of them attempt to link arms in a circle; the other six form an outer ring by grabbing the inner jumpers’ legs – a tightly choreographed maneuver in the sky.   $1B in Air Force cargo planes sent to boneyard get new missions The Defense Department paid $567 million for the production of the Air Force C-27J Spartans, but when research and development costs were factored in, the price tag rose to $1 billion.   PTSD group looks to find its therapeutic footing It can sound, at first, like metaphysical nonsense. But in this upstart group, leaders are presenting a therapy that strays — successfully, they say — from the techniques traditionally applied to treat war-related post-traumatic stress disorder.   War crimes lawyers: Photos show evidence of Syria government killing of detainees Some 55,000 photographs smuggled by a defected Syrian soldier provide "clear evidence" of "systematic torture and killing" of 11,000 detainees by the government, a team of senior war crimes lawyers said.