Military

A month after wife's death, Nellis technical sergeant confesses, police say: Friday, May 17, 2013; By John Taylor; After being told he failed a lie-detector test earlier this week, an Air Force technical sergeant at Nellis Air Base confessed he shot his wife last month after an argument in a bar escalated into a fight at their North Las Vegas home, according to an arrest report.

Harry Reid: Military mindset toward sexual assault must change: Tuesday, May 7, 2013; By Karoun Demirjian; The military’s long-simmering problem with sexual assaults boiled over into enough of a scandal with the recent sexual battery arrest of the Air Force’s top sex assault prevention official that Congress is finally taking some action.

Thunderbirds announce new additions to officer corps: Monday, April 22, 2013; By Sun Staff; Five officers have been selected to become members of the Thunderbirds, the U.S. Air Force’s top jet demonstration team. The Air Force announced the appointments, which will be effective for the 2014 demonstration season, last week. The Thunderbirds are based at Nellis Air Base in Las Vegas.

Body recovered from Lake Mead identified as drowned airman: Thursday, April 18, 2013; By William D'Urso; The body recovered Wednesday from Lake Mead has been identified as 28-year-old Air Force Staff Sgt. Antonio Tucker, the National Park Service announced Thursday. A Las Vegas search and recovery group had been looking for Tucker, who officials believed drowned in June 2012.

Henderson airman headed for assignment with Moroccan air force: Thursday, April 11, 2013; Seven questions:; By Brian Nordli; Growing up in downtown Henderson, Airman First Class Daniel Walling never expected to leave the United States. Yet two years after enlisting in the Air Force, the Basic High School graduate has been stationed in Aviano, Italy, and recently was chosen to visit Morocco to train with the Moroccan air force.

Air Force: Series of errors led to Nevada drone crash: Tuesday, April 9, 2013; By Michelle Rindels, Associated Press; A series of errors, including a pilot's failure to properly complete a pre-flight check, led to the crash of an unmanned drone aircraft in December in a remote area north of Las Vegas, Air Force officials said Tuesday.

After Creech arrests, protesters return to complete peace march: Thursday, March 28, 2013; By Brian Nordli; Some 40 protesters arrived Wednesday outside Creech Air Force Base carrying papers symbolically indicting President Barack Obama and banners decrying drone strikes; they blocked traffic into the base and spread their anti-drone message. And eight of them left in the back of a Metro Police patrol car, arrested for disturbing the peace and blocking the road.

Probe of fatal mortar shell blast resurrects memories of weapon's shadowy past: Wednesday, March 27, 2013; In Vietnam War and more recent conflicts, booby-trapped 60mm mortar rounds were salted in enemy ranks and exploded in firing tube; By Karoun Demirjian, Tom Gorman; The probe into what caused a 60mm mortar round to misfire during a training exercise at the Hawthorne Army Depot, killing seven Marines and injuring eight, has entered its second week, with the Marine Corps still banning use of the weaponry with a shadowy past. Military investigators have identified and removed from circulation the lot from which the shell came. The shell detonated prematurely March 18 as the Marines, being prepared for oversees deployment, huddled around for instruction on its use.

Military identifies 7 Marines killed in Nevada training exercise: Wednesday, March 20, 2013; A. Breed and Emery P. Dalesio, Associated Press; The military has released the names of the seven Marines who died in a mortar explosion during a training exercise in Nevada.

Military IDs young Marines killed in training: Wednesday, March 20, 2013; By A. Breed and Emery P. Dalesio, Associated Press; They're called "leathernecks" or "Devil Dogs," but some of the Marines killed in a desert training accident this week were just a year or so out of high school, their boyish faces not yet weathered by life's hardships.

Residents of Army depot town mourn Marines killed in explosion: Wednesday, March 20, 2013; Louis Sahagun, David Zucchino and Tony Perry, Los Angeles Times; It was one of the largest displays of public support ever held in Hawthorne, Nev., a town of just a few thousand residents. On Tuesday evening, several hundred people gathered for a memorial service for the Marines who died after a 60-millimeter mortar round exploded at the Hawthorne Army Depot Monday night.

Town of Hawthorne has long taken military's ammunition repository under its protective wing: Wednesday, March 20, 2013; Military:; By Tom Gorman; Three weeks after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, then-Los Angeles Times national correspondent Tom Gorman visited the small town of Hawthorne to profile the home of what was said to be the largest ammunition and ordnance repository in the world. On Monday, an explosion during a live-fire training exercise there killed eight Marines, bringing the Hawthorne Army Depot back into a spotlight it prefers to deflect.

8th Marine dies after Nevada mortar explosion: Wednesday, March 20, 2013; Associated Press; A Veterans of Foreign Wars official says an eighth Marine has died after a mortar shell explosion during mountain warfare training in Nevada's high desert.

Nevada politicians react to deadly Marine training accident: Tuesday, March 19, 2013; By Sun Staff; The following are statements issued by Nevada politicians in response to Monday’s training accident at the Hawthorne Army Depot in which seven Marines were killed.

Helicopter crash in Afghanistan kills five Americans: Tuesday, March 12, 2013; Associated Press; A helicopter crash in southern Afghanistan has killed five American service members, officials said Tuesday.