Stars and Stripes Daily Headlines

March 6, 2017     Pentagon: US troops move closer to Manbij, Syria, to remind other forces that the fight is with Islamic State The United States has deployed small teams of troops into a crowded northern Syrian battlespace to help focus several armed forces in the region on the battle against the Islamic State group, a Pentagon spokesman said Monday.   Trump signs new travel ban aimed at withstanding challenges  Without fanfare, President Donald Trump signed a scaled-back version of his controversial ban on many foreign travelers Monday, hoping to avoid a new round of lawsuits and outrage while fulfilling a central campaign promise. His order still bars new visas for people from six Muslim-majority countries and temporarily shuts down America's refugee program.   Federal hiring freeze could cause more disruptions to military services Officials are warning that military families could see more disruptions in services as a result of President Donald Trump’s temporary federal hiring freeze.   Senate Marine veteran pushes new war authorization A Marine veteran newly elected to the Senate is hoping to reignite calls for Congress to pass its first new war authorization of U.S. military operations in Iraq, Syria and elsewhere since 2002.   Report: VA inaccurately tracking veteran wait times in N.C., Va. Thousands of veterans in the Mid-Atlantic region waited longer than 30 days for medical care at Department of Veterans Affairs facilities last year but were excluded from private-sector treatment due to errors in VA wait-time data, government inspectors have found.   Former NATO leaders say alliance needs new North Atlantic strategy The leaders, in a report released Monday by the London-based Royal United Services Institute, also said NATO needs a new command structure to build up the alliance’s 300-strong maritime command and establish a more sustained naval presence in North Atlantic waters.   Air Force’s ‘meanest, toughest, most tactical machine’ arrives at Yokota  The Air Force began the deployment of its “meanest, toughest, most tactical machine” — the C-130J Super Hercules — to western Tokyo on Monday.   Pentagon blocks Littoral Combat Ship overrun from GAO report The Pentagon office that reviews information to determine whether it's classified has blocked publication of potentially embarrassing data on cost overruns for the first two vessels bought under the Navy's primary Littoral Combat Ship contracts, according to a new congressional audit.   For 100 years, Blue Star flags have conveyed the spirit of sacrifice The Blue Star Flag was created 100 years ago by an Ohio father whose two sons were serving on the front lines in Europe before world wars required numbers.   Iranian fast boats move close to US ship in Strait of Hormuz A Navy official says a U.S. ship was forced to change course and move out of the way of Iranian fast boats while moving through the Strait of Hormuz during the weekend, in what has become a frequent occurrence there.