Esper calls the actions "a necessary first step" but says he has "no illusions" that these initial changes will fully address the concerns he has heard from many service members.
A U.S. military contractor abruptly laid off most of the U.S.-led coalition's Iraqi interpreters. Some have gone into hiding. "We ... will be easily hunted down," a group wrote to the U.S. military.
NPR international correspondent Jane Arraf and freelance photographer Alexander Tahaov were among journalists invited to tour the Ain al-Assad air base, which houses some 1,500 U.S. troops.
Many U.S. special operators have been ordered out of Kurdish-controlled areas of Syria, but other troops have arrived to guard oil installations. The Pentagon says the mission is still to fight ISIS.
Aventura Technologies Inc. and seven of its employees are facing charges of fraud, money laundering and illegal importation of Chinese equipment, which officials say endangered military personnel.
President Trump is leaving some U.S. troops in Syria, with the goal of controlling Syria's oil fields. But legal experts say exploiting the oil could amount to pillaging — a war crime.
The Pentagon has signaled a possible shift in the military balance in the region, calling for the U.S. to deploy land-based, intermediate-range missiles in Asia.
Parliamentary groups are pushing for a vote on the U.S. military presence in Iraq after President Trump said its Ain al-Asad base would serve as an Iran watch post.
The Military Family Advisory Network gathered responses from families in 46 states. It concluded that residents' complaints were ignored and fear of retaliation on service members' careers persisted.
ISIS may not be defeated, but the U.S. is right to withdraw from Syria, argue Aaron David Miller of the Woodrow Wilson Center and Richard Sokolsky of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
The U.S. has spent nearly $6 trillion on wars since 2001, with no end in sight, according to one report. Another says the U.S. needs to ramp up military efforts to counter Russia and China.
Doctors are closer to a test in live brains that could help diagnose chronic traumatic encephalopathy, a disease that's been linked to concussions and other repeated brain assaults.
President Trump has said U.S. forces are not on the table for potential negotiations with North Korea, but he has also complained about the cost of keeping them there.
The investigation finds the troops weren't fully prepared, the mission changed and higher-level commanders weren't properly informed. The soldiers died in an ambush by militants linked to ISIS.
The U.S. military has some 20 missions across the continent. Most are for training African armies not combat. But there are risks as U.S. troops venture into the field.
The military has completed an investigation into the ambush that killed four U.S. soldiers last October. The report has not been released, but the military is briefing families of those killed.
The U.S. relies on a threat-focused approach, when the international community should also support economic and governance development in the region, argues the ex-special forces commander for Africa.
Sgt. Nick Cunningham, a bobsledder, is one of seven U.S. service members competing in Pyeongchang. "They told me, 'Go win medals for this country,'" he says. "And that's my job at this moment."
The U.S. military had around 18,000 troops in Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan at the end of last year. The official numbers have gone up in all three countries and now total about 26,000.
President Trump's condolence calls to the families of the fallen has put new attention on Gold Star Families. But this isn't the first time Trump has offended families who lost loved ones in combat.
