u s department of defense

A former high-ranking official at the Maryland Department of Veterans Affairs has been accused of running a kickback scheme from his state office — allegedly fabricating military achievements and disability claims in exchange for a cut of the resulting government payouts.

T'Jae Gibson, of Abingdon, won first place in the Community Relations-Special Events category at the major command level in a U.S. Army public affairs competition

Sara Cullen, a captain in the U.S. Army, died along with four other Army members in southern Afghanistan in a helicopter crash on Monday

An Army officer from Eldersburg was among five soldiers killed in a helicopter crash earlier this week in Afghanistan, the Defense Department said Saturday.

The first Marylander to fatally contract rabies since 1976 developed the virus through an organ transplant that took place more than a year before the victim recently died, Maryland health officials said.

Somewhere along the line Hal Cummings, a U.S. Naval Academy graduate and retired U.S. Navy line officer who lives in Arnold, came up with the slogan, "Have Pipes, Will Travel."

After he was raped by a fellow Navy sailor, Brian Lewis wanted justice. What he got, the Baltimore man told a Senate panel Wednesday, was an order to keep quiet.

Laurel City Council President Frederick Smalls is hoping for a best-case scenario with the sequestration. "I don't think we'll see any immediate or long-term impact from this or that Congress will let it (sequestration) have a real negative impact," Smalls said. However, not everyone in Laurel is as optimistic as Smalls. Laurel Board of Trade Chairman Matthew Coates said many local businesses could be hurt, including local cleaning companies, office suppliers, printers and others that do work

While we all marvel at the spectacle of Sen. Rand Paul's filibuster, let's not forget the substance of his 13-hour speech on the Senate floor.

The U.S. Army Aberdeen Test Center, U.S. Army Test and Evaluation Command located here plans to conduct several large detonations beginning on or about Mar. 11 and ending on or about Mar. 22.

Howard County business officials still are learning how the federal sequestration will affect the county's economy, but once Congress missed its March 1 deadline for an agreement avoiding the cuts, one local business already was feeling the effects.

President Barack Obama will return to Annapolis to give the commencement address at the U.S. Naval Academy his year, the first time he has spoken to a graduating class of midshipmen since 2009, the White House said Monday.

Days after the Obama administration threatened widespread furloughs one of Maryland's largest federal agencies, the Social Security Administration said it might shoulder the deep, across-the-board spending cuts of the sequester without sending any of its full-time employees home.

Jules Witcover writes that Chuck Hagel seems like the right person to lead Defense during a time of scaling back.

Unfortunately, it may well take a bit of national financial pain before that reality is brought into sharp focus.

Federal education officials warned Wednesday of deep cuts to school systems such as Baltimore's if lawmakers fail to avert across-the-board spending reductions — reductions that would leave local schools with uncertainty as they decide how many teachers and programs they can retain next year.

Harford County, home to a major federal installation in Aberdeen Proving Ground and the massive federal military and civilian workforce that comes with it, is bracing for federal spending cuts – known as sequestration – which could have a ripple effect far beyond Aberdeen.

Two persons died at a pond at Aberdeen Proving Ground on Tuesday, less than a month after the death of a diver at the same location.

Midshipmen at the Naval Academy could spend less time training at sea. Some gates into Fort Meade could be shut down. And routine maintenance at military installations across the state could be delayed, under federal budget cuts set to begin Friday.

Checks will arrive on time, but nearly every other task the Social Security Administration performs will be delayed if Washington fails to stop deep federal budget cuts this week — from answering phones to determining eligibility for disability claims.

Jonah Goldberg writes that both sides are pretending that looming budget cuts will be a disaster for the country.

WASHINGTON -- Maryland would lose $14.4 million in federal education funding, roughly 46,000 Department of Defense employees would be furloughed and 2,050 fewer children would receive vaccines if looming across-the-board spending cuts are allowed to take effect this week, according to a report released Sunday by the Obama administration.

The vast majority of civilian defense employees face a 20 percent pay cut from April through September if looming budget reductions aren't averted, a move that will hit Maryland harder than almost every other state, the Pentagon warned Wednesday.

The Baltimore office of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, the nation's worst performer in processing disability claims, will receive more employee training, an influx of senior staff and a new digital processing system ahead of schedule.

Gov. Martin O'Malley's plan to make it easier for veterans and their spouses to work in Maryland received warm reviews from lawmakers and the Defense Department Tuesday, but nurses suggested it could leave patients in the hands of unqualified workers.

Marine Corps Gen. John Allen, the former commander of the U.S.-led coalition in Afghanistan whose nomination to lead NATO was delayed last year while investigators probed his e-mails to a Florida socialite, has retired from the military.

Defense officials and their allies in Congress have done their best to create a sense of crisis about steep impending budget cuts, but their warnings have failed to produce any visible result.

The Baltimore office of the Veterans of Foreign Wars helped more than 1,500 Maryland servicemen and servicewomen last year collect $26.4 million in disability benefits from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. That is nearly triple the number of individuals in 2011.

President Obama's inaugural and State of the Union addresses suggest a muscular second term agenda.

Non-profit founded by Brian McDonald develops opportunities for artists who put their careers on hold while serving their country

Rep. Steny Hoyer called plans to extend some benefits to same-sex partners of military personnel ¿an important step in the right direction¿ ¿ but said more change is needed.

The popular Burger King restaurant on Fort Meade, shut down this week when workers discovered an infestation of maggots, has reopened after an all-clear from the installation's public health team.