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By Rachel VanLandignham Origially Published by MSNOW Here In what we might wish was satire from the likes of The Onion, CNN reported Sunday that U.S. Central Command (the command running the war with Iran) sent an email last week to military analystsunabashedly proclaiming that top military leaders “are looking for new creative and unconventional ways to pressure and punish Iran.” CNN cited a source familiar with the message when describing the email’s content and a second so

By Rachel VanLandingham Originally Published July 21, 2026 by MSNOW Here In its recent strikes in Iran, the United States widened its targeting aperture to bomb sites directly serving the Iranian population, such as electrical power plants, bridges, railway stations and roads. By doing so, the U.S. deliberately chose to inflict greater suffering on Iranian civilians. Over 500 Iranians have reportedly been injured this month, and more than 50 people, including children, have b

The military’s “Requirement for Exemplary Conduct” statute enables fair prosecutorial discretion By Dan Maurer Originally Published by Just Security Here Not long after beginning his second term in office, President Donald Trump addressed leaders in the Department of Justice: “So now as the chief law enforcement officer in our country, I will insist upon and demand full and complete accountability for the wrongs and abuses that have occurred.” He was, of course, referring to

By Rachel VanLandingham Originally published by MSNOW on June 10, 2026 Here There’s an old saying: There are no atheists in foxholes. Faith plays a large role in the lives of many service members (including, yes, uniformed atheists). The U.S. military has long provided religious support to service members who are naturally often far from home and their faith communities. Given that the First Amendment prohibits the government both from establishing a religion and from prevent

By Rachel VanLandingham Originally Published by MSNOW on May 25, 2026 Here On this Memorial Day, we should take stock that the U.S. military remains one of the most respected public institutions in America. And for good reason. Our military has strived mightily since its Vietnam War nadir to foster professionalism grounded on honor and implemented programs to help ensure that the American way of fighting comports with the law of war and American values to the greatest extent

By Franklin Rosenblatt and Eugene Fidell Published May 19, 2026 in Just Security Here As U.S. secretary of defense, Pete Hegseth is trying to overhaul how legal advice is provided in the Pentagon and how the broader military justice system operates. Although he’s referred to the Judge Advocate General Corps as “vital,” he has also called military lawyers “JAGoffs.” That contempt appears to be shaping many of his decisions. Soon after taking office, he fired the top lawyers fo

By Rachel VanLandingham Originally Published May 17, 2026 by MSNOW Here It is ironic as well as troubling that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth recently went on X to accuse Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., a decorated naval aviator who flew combat missions and served as a NASA astronaut, of improperly sharing privileged military information on CBS’ “Face the Nation” on Sunday. It’s ironic because Hegseth himself revealed classified information and compromised operational security last

Retired Major General Steven Lepper, a former U.S. Air Force Deputy Judge Advocate General, discussed the right to free speech among current and former military and the Uniform Code of Military Justice. Originally streamed by CSPAN follow link to view video here

Originally aired on CNN found here

Published by MSNOW article here By Lt. Col. Rachel E. VanLandingham (ret.) While a ceasefire agreement averted threatened devastation in Iran on Tuesday, President Donald’s Trump’s prior threat that “ A whole civilization will die tonight , never to be brought back again,” cannot and should not be forgotten. His words promising to inflict such massive violence should not be forgotten because they were, quite literally, criminal in their utterance , in addition to threatenin

Originally published by CNN found here

Published on TRT World Now can be watched here

Originally published by The Berkshireedge can be found here Written by Eugene R. Fidell April 6, 2026 In normal times, there would be every reason to expect that President Trump will continue to occupy the nation’s highest office until noon on January 20, 2029. That is a few months shy of three years from now. Given his age, debilitation, and increasingly aberrant behavior on a host of issues, however, there is reason to doubt whether he will be fit to hold office until then.

Originally published by Just Security and can be found here By Margaret Donovan and Rachel VanLandingham, Lt Col, USAF (Ret.) “Tuesday will be Power Plant Day, and Bridge Day, all wrapped up in one, in Iran. There will be nothing like it!!!” posted President Donald Trump on Easter Sunday. In case one thought that was an impulsive utterance, it’s notable that the president in apparently prepared remarks a few days earlier said , “If there is no deal, we are going to hit each

Published by MSNOW article can be found here By Lt. Col. Rachel E. VanLandingham (ret.) On Saturday, two Apache helicopters from the Army’s 101st Airborne Division, based in Fort Campbell, Kentucky, buzzed musician Kid Rock’s mansion while on a training mission in Tennessee. That training mission, in case it needs to be stated, did not include those helicopters hovering near the well-known MAGA acolyte’s pool. Kid Rock took advantage of the moment, gleefully posting videos

By Steven J. Lepper , William D. Baumgartner , Eugene R. Fidell , Daniel Maurer and Rachel VanLandingham, Lt Col, USAF (Ret.) Orignally posted on Just Security you can find it here In February 2025, when President Donald Trump and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth fired the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and a number of other senior military officers including the Judge Advocates General of the Army and Air Force, we joined with a number of our former judge advocate (

His remarks could hurt recruitment, retention, and national security. By Eugene R. Fidell, Margaret M. Donovan, and Priya Rashid Originally Posted on Boston Globe and can be found here Updated March 24, 2026, 2:02 p.m. Eugene R. Fidell, Margaret M. Donovan, and Priya Rashid served as judge advocates in the US Coast Guard, US Army, and US Army, respectively. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has a problem with the law: He doesn’t believe he has a duty to follow it, notwithsta

Congress must clarify 'unlawful orders' to safeguard military integrity amidst rising tensions and unclear directives.

Hegseth's attempt to demote Kelly undermines military retirement protections and threatens free speech for veterans.

A former military lawyer labels U.S. boat strikes as murder, igniting debates on military ethics and accountability.