All personnel aboard a U.S. helicopter in western Iraq died in a Thursday evening crash, U.S. Central Command announced Friday. The HH-60 Pave Hawk helicopter, which the U.S. Air Force uses for combat search and rescue, crashed at about 6:45 p.m. A U.S. Army statement said a quick reaction force that included Iraqi and coalition service members responded at the scene. “This tragedy reminds us of the risks our men and women face every day in service of our nations,” Army Brig. Gen.

Jim Downing, a founding member of The Navigators ministry and one of the oldest survivors of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, died on Tuesday. He was 104. Born in 1913 in Oak Grove, Mo., Downing joined the Navy at age 19, a decision he likened to Jonah: “I felt that by going to sea I would get away from [God] for another four years.” But like in the life of Jonah, God persisted.

WASHINGTON—President Donald Trump instructed the Pentagon to begin planning a large-scale military parade, the White House confirmed Tuesday. The Washington Post first reported Trump requested the event at a Jan. 18 meeting with military leaders. The president drew inspiration from last year’s Bastille Day celebration in Paris, where he witnessed French troops marching in uniform.

The Pentagon has started restricting the release of unclassified information about U.S. progress in the 16-year-long war in Afghanistan, a change an independent federal auditor called “troubling.” The Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) in its latest quarterly report released late Monday said it received orders not to release data on the amount of territory controlled or influenced by the Taliban or the Afghan government. Pentagon officials also classified information about the size of the Afghan military and police forces.

Five officers involved in two U.S. Navy ship collisions last year have been charged with negligent homicide, the Navy reported on Tuesday. The deadly accidents killed seven sailors aboard the USS Fitzgerald in June and 10 sailors aboard the USS John S. McCain in August. Navy spokesman Capt.

An American soldier died and four others sustained injuries during fighting in eastern Afghanistan, U.S. officials confirmed. In a Tuesday statement, the NATO-led Resolute Support Mission reported that combat took place in the Achin district of Nangarhar province on Jan. 1. Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., said the U.S. Army identified the deceased soldier as Sgt. 1st Class Mihail Golin from Fort Lee, N.J. Two wounded service members are receiving treatment at a nearby medical facility while two others returned to duty, the statement said.

U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis visited troops Thursday at the American Navy base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. It was the first trip there by a secretary of defense in almost 16 years. Mattis met with troops but did not tour the detention center, which still houses 41 inmates despite former President Barack Obama’s attempts to empty and close it. During his tenure, President Donald Trump hasn’t released any Guantanamo prisoners nor added any to the list of men who have been officially cleared to go home or to a third country for resettlement.