Stars and Stripes Daily Headlines

June 14, 2017     Mattis to Senate: More troops needed downrange Defense Secretary Jim Mattis told Senate lawmakers Wednesday that potentially thousands of additional troops could be deployed to Afghanistan to keep the country from sliding into further violence and to prevent the Islamic State from achieving a stronger foothold there.   'Like I was back in Iraq': Congressman, combat doc tended to shot Scalise Rep. Brad Wenstrup, once a combat surgeon, compared the scene Wednesday morning at a Republican Party baseball practice in Alexandria, Va., to a battlefield.   Navy says it can’t find the cause of the 'toxic oxygen' poisoning its T-45 pilots The Navy can’t uncover what is poisoning its student pilots in the cockpits of their T-45 trainer jets, despite stripping aircraft apart piece by piece, the top admiral for naval aviation told Senate lawmakers Tuesday.   VA backs off budget proposal to cut benefits for disabled, unemployable vets The announcement came after the country’s six largest veterans service organizations condemned the proposal.   Trump gives Pentagon authority to set troop levels in Afghanistan President Donald Trump has given the Pentagon new authorities to decide the troop levels in Afghanistan, a U.S. official saidTuesday. The move could lead to a deployment of thousands more troops as commanders decide the way forward in the now 15-year-old war.   North Korean soldier defects to South by crossing heavily fortified DMZ A North Korean soldier defected to the South on Tuesday after crossing the heavily fortified border that divides the two countries, the defense ministry said.   US troop increase should focus on training, Afghans say Afghan government officials say they are leery about President Donald Trump’s plan to grant new authority to the Pentagon to set troop levels in the war-torn country, expressing concern that such a shift could be a sign that larger numbers of Americans might soon be headed back to the front lines in the 15-year war.   Trump taps Foggo to lead naval forces in Europe, Africa Vice Adm. James Foggo has been director of Navy Staff at the Pentagon since November and was formerly commander of the Naples-based 6th Fleet.   USFK holds evacuation drills amid rising tensions with North Korea As North Korea conducted missile tests and the new U.S. administration threatened preemptive military action, many Americans living among the Camp Humphreys military community wondered what to do if war ever broke out.   Army, in talks to keep Mannheim base, eyes other posts The Army wants to retain a strategic base in Mannheim that was slated for closure, in order to support a growing mission in Europe, where the service also is investigating potential new operational sites should the Pentagon decide to deploy more soldiers overseas in the future.   Joint anti-terrorism task force in Philippines ended too soon, Mattis says The United States should not have ended a special-operations task force in the southern Philippines three years ago in light of the weekslong jihadi siege of a city there, U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said Tuesday.   Historian accused of stealing American war heroes' dog tags to sell on eBay For two years, the historian had been visiting a National Archives facility in Maryland to review files on U.S. pilots who had crashed in German-controlled Europe during World War II.