Military

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.

Picture-perfect days may be nearing an end for Nellis' popular Red Flag exercises: Saturday, March 9, 2013; By Brian Nordli; For the military, Red Flag is a chance to give inexperienced airmen and command leaders from across the globe realistic mission training in a simulated war. It is the only place they can train with other countries and different branches of military for a war. For others, the war exercises above the Nevada desert offer a place to shoot perfect photos of approaching aircraft.

High-tech — and high-priced — fighter roars to Nellis for testing: Saturday, March 9, 2013; Military:; By Brian Nordli; A fighter jet with a controversial past and an uncertain future has arrived in Nevada for testing to determine whether it performs as advertised in combat situations.

Veterans from WWII to Afghanistan swap war stories, share bonds in Henderson courtroom: Friday, March 8, 2013; By Jackie Valley; Ninety-year-old Richard Zimpfer considers himself the lucky one. The World War II veteran — part of a small team charged with maintaining anti-aircraft systems during the war — once drove a Jeep to retrieve an explosive that didn’t detonate. He returned unharmed. Now he chuckles at the memory, but don’t call him a hero. He says he’s just one of many who served.

Fictionalized account of son's shooting by Metro Police cathartic for author: Friday, February 8, 2013; community:; By Joe Schoenmann; A new book by the father of Erik Scott, the 38-year-old shot to death by three Metro Police officers in July 2010, describes a corrupt power structure in Las Vegas — much of it within the police department — few care to imagine.

U.S. fighter jet missing on training mission: Monday, January 28, 2013; Associated Press; The Air Force is searching the Adriatic Sea after losing contact with a U.S. fighter jet during a training mission off the coast of Italy. The headquarters of the 31st Fighter Wing, at Aviano Air Base in Italy, issued a brief statement saying the F-16 fighter had one pilot aboard when contact was lost Monday evening.

Sources: Pentagon opens combat roles to women: Wednesday, January 23, 2013; Military:; By Lolita C. Baldor, Associated Press; The Pentagon is lifting its ban on women serving in combat, opening hundreds of thousands of front-line positions and potentially elite commando jobs after generations of limits on their service, defense officials said Wednesday.