• 2 US sailors sentenced to prison for rape of woman in Okinawa, Japan

    By John Newland, Staff Writer, NBC News

    A Japanese court on Friday sentenced two U.S. sailors to up to 10 years in prison for raping a woman in Okinawa last year, the U.S. government's Voice of America news service reported.

    A district court judge in Naha, the capital city of Okinawa, sentenced Seaman Christopher Browning, 24, to 10 years in prison for gang rape and robbery. Petty Officer 3rd Class Skyler Dozierwalker, 23, received a sentence of nine years for gang rape, VOA and several Asian newspapers reported.

    Both men pleaded guilty last week.

    Authorities in Japan said the two sailors followed a 27-year-old woman to her apartment complex, then raped and robbed her in the parking lot about 4 a.m. on Oct. 16. Police said a third sailor witnessed the assault and was taken into custody but eventually released to the Navy.

    The sailors, who were on overnight leave when the attack occurred, were crew members on a U.S. Navy cargo plane that was in Okinawa only for a couple of days to carry out a delivery, military officials said.

    The incident infuriated many in Japan, including Okinawa Gov. Hirokazu Nakaima, and raised anti-American sentiment, particularly toward servicemen. About 40,000 U.S. forces are deployed in Japan, nearly half of them in Okinawa.

    In January, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe acknowledged the the difficulty for Okinawa of hosting U.S. forces.

    "I recognize ... a heavy burden is imposed on the people of Okinawa regarding the issue of the bases of the U.S. Forces in Japan," Abe said.

    After the rape, military officials imposed a curfew on personnel in Okinawa, but that has done little to ease tensions.

    U.S. Ambassador to Japan John Roos called it a "terrible situation" and scrambled to meet with officials to alleviate their concerns.

    In an Oct. 19 news conference in Tokyo, Roos got personal. "I would like to reiterate this message to the Okinawan people and to the people of Japan as a whole: I understand the anger that many people feel with respect to this reported incident.

    "I have a 25-year-old daughter myself, so this is very personal to me," he said. "We will put forward every effort to make sure that incidents like this do not happen."

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    This story was originally published on Fri Mar 1, 2013 7:56 AM EST

  • Huge military exercise highlights 'rebalancing of US policy toward Asia'

    Rosie Brown / Yankee-Brown Productions

    A U.S. Navy landing craft arrives at Thailand's Hat Yao beach during Cobra Gold 2013, a military exercise involving 13,000 military personnel.

    By Ed Kiernan, NBC News contributor

    HAT YAO, Thailand -- An ear-thumping explosion reverberates around the bay as a plume of water shoots hundreds of yards into the air.

    Two Marine F/A-18 Hornet fighter jets scream by overhead, while Huey and Super Cobra helicopters bank hard, simulating bombing runs. Heavily armed, amphibious assault vehicles churn up the sand as they unleash hordes of U.S. Marines onto one of Thailand's idyllic eastern beaches.

    Cobra Gold 2013 -- the largest multinational military exercise in the Asia-Pacific region -- is officially under way.

    Rosie Brown / Yankee-Brown Productions

    A Thai marine waits patiently for instructions in the midday sun during Cobra Gold 2013.

    The annual exercise is in its 32nd iteration and involves 13,000 military personnel countries, including Japan and South Korea, as well as observers from China and, for the first time, Myanmar.

    For 10 days, these forces will conduct a variety of field exercises, from amphibious assaults and jungle warfare to humanitarian and civic assistance projects.

    Leading the exercises are more than 1,000 Marines and sailors from the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit, part of Amphibious Force 7th Fleet.

    Many of these servicemen and women will play a major role in America's new "Asia pivot" defense strategy, which calls for the strengthening of U.S. military power in the region.

    "The pivot to the Pacific that President Obama has talked about is a refocusing of assets and efforts after over 10 years of war in Afghanistan and Iraq," said Capt. Cathal O'Connor, commander of Amphibious Squadron 11. "But the actual relationship of being out here in the Pacific goes back to the time of the Civil War."

    Cobra Gold itself is a holdover from the Cold War when it was one of the key pillars of U.S. regional security.

    'A deterrent'
    During the height of the Cold War, the exercise regularly simulated invasions of Thailand from its northern and eastern borders.

    Now with U.S. once again focused on the Pacific, Cobra Gold has taken on renewed significance, explained Jon Grevatt, an Asia-Pacific analyst for IHS Jane's.

    "It has new purpose to show the strength of military collaboration between the U.S. and its partner nations, creating a deterrent to Chinese and North Korean ambitions," he said.

    Tensions have been rising in the region with the dispute between China and Japan over the Senkaku Islands – known as Diaoyu in Chinese -- and North Korea's latest nuclear test.

    Rosie Brown / Yankee-Brown Productions

    Plumes of smoke rise from simulated bombing runs over Hat Yao beach in Thailand.

    This strengthening has already begun with the Navy sending a newly upgraded, guided-missile cruiser, USS Antietam, to join the 7th Fleet based in Japan. The Antietam gives the Navy a more sophisticated air-defense system, particularly against ballistic missiles.

    More ships will be arriving in the region in the near future as the Pentagon continues its plan to shift around 60 percent of all Navy warships to the Asia-Pacific theater by 2020.

    And it's not just the Navy getting in on the action, the Marines have deployed two battalions -- nearly 2,000 troops -- to Okinawa in the last six weeks with more scheduled to arrive this summer. There are now more than 17,000 U.S. Marines based in Japan -- the most in over a decade.

    Both Obama and Defense Secretary Leon Panetta have visited Southeast Asia in recent months, reinforcing how critical the Asia-Pacific theater has become to U.S. strategy.

    "We all know that the Asia-Pacific is the traffic highway of so many goods and services. A great many things are manufactured in this part of the world," said Rear Adm. Jeffrey A. Harley, commander of Amphibious Force 7th Fleet. "The United States has been a presence in the Pacific for many, many years… and they will continue to be so."

    Sheila A. Smith, an expert on regional security in Asia for the Council on Foreign Relations, said that despite the fact China had accepted an invitation to observe Cobra Gold "military exercises always raise eyebrows."

    “The president is a Pacific president," she said. "I think he realizes that the region has been overlooked. It’s not threat-based or military-driven. The large part is an adjustment of diplomatic focus."

    Rosie Brown / Yankee-Brown Productions

    US Marines assault Hat Yao beach during an exercise as part of Cobra Gold 2013.

    Matt Stumpf, an expert on U.S.-Asian relations at the Asia Society think tank, added: "I think what’s notable about this year’s exercise is in the context of the rebalancing of U.S. policy toward Asia.

    "The president and [former Secretary of State Hillary] Clinton have both spoken in depth on their views that Asia is critical to the United States in the 21st century. And with the drawdown in Afghanistan and the end of the war in Iraq, there was an opportunity in Asia to refocus diplomatic, defense and development tools for U.S. goals in the region."

    NBC News Staff Writer John Newland contributed to this report.

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  • Two killed in Libyan consulate attack identified as ex-Navy SEALs

    Glen Doherty, a former Navy SEAL, was working as a security contractor in Libya when a group of militants stormed the Benghazi consulate. NBC's Katy Tur reports.

    By M. Alex Johnson, NBC News

    Updated at 10:27 p.m. ET: Two former Navy SEALs were identified Thursday as the third and fourth victims of the attack on a U.S. consulate in Libya this week that also killed the U.S. ambassador.

    Jim Miklaszewski and Courtney Kube of NBC News and NBC stations WHDH of Boston and KNSD of San Diego contributed to this report by M. Alex Johnson of NBC News. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook.

    U.S. officials and family members identified the men as Glen Doherty, 42, a native of Winchester, Mass., and Tyrone S. Woods, 41. Details of how they died haven't been made public.

    The men were working as private security specialists for the U.S. government when militants attacked the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi on Tuesday night. In all, four Americans were killed; the others were previously identified as the U.S. ambassador to Libya, Christopher Stevens, and Sean Smith, an information management officer.

    Libyan authorities said Thursday that they had arrested four men in connection with the attack but gave no further details.

    In a statement Thursday evening, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said Woods was known to his family and friends as "Rone" that and they they relied on "his courage and skill, honed over two decades as a Navy SEAL."

    Woods, who was also a registered nurse and certified paramedic, served several tours in Iraq and Afghanistan and had been protecting U.S. diplomatic personnel in dangerous posts from Central America to the Middle East, Clinton said.

    He was married to a dentist named Dorothy and had three sons: Tyrone, Jr., Hunter and Kai, who was several months old.

    Defense Department records listed Wood's residence as Portland, Ore., but NBC station KNSD of San Diego and numerous other reports from the area said he lived in Imperial Beach, Calif., where he settled after leaving the Navy and for a time owned a pub called the Salty Frog.

    His death was confirmed by his ex-wife, Patty So of San Diego, who was notified by the U.S. government.

    Movie-fueled protests spread in Middle East

    "He was the greatest Navy SEAL. Nobody was more skilled than him," said So, the mother of Woods' two teenage sons. "He loved being a SEAL more than life itself."

    Doherty — known to friends and family as "Bub," according to Clinton — was described as a highly trained marksman and security expert who "lived life to the fullest." He was also an experienced paramedic.

    Katie Quigley, the sister of Glen Doherty, one of the Americans killed in Libya, talks about her brother.

    "Glen lived his life to the fullest. He was my brother, but if you asked his friends, he was their brother, as well," his sister, Katie Quigley of Marblehead, Mass., said Thursday.

    Doherty joined the Navy in his late 20s after having attended flight school and worked as a ski instructor. A skilled pilot, master marksman and medical corpsman, Doherty was a member of the elite Sea, Air and Land (SEAL) special operations corps for nine years before he left the Navy in 2005.

    Kokoro Camp Trainer of Encinitas, Calif., where Doherty worked as a fitness trainer, said that as a civilian, Doherty continued to take assignments in security and intelligence for various U.S. government agencies, serving in Iraq, Lebanon, Pakistan and Afghanistan, as well as Libya.

    In Libya, Doherty "was protecting the ambassador and also helping the wounded" when he was killed, Quigley said.


    Doherty co-wrote the book "21st Century Sniper: A Complete Practical Guide" with another former SEAL, Brandon Webb, who called him "one of the finest human beings I've ever known."

    "He died serving with men he respected, protecting the freedoms we enjoy as Americans and doing something he loved," Webb said.

    In 2009, Doherty was featured in an episode of the NBC-TV reality series "The Wanted," in which intelligence and military experts and investigative journalists sought to track down suspected terrorists.

    In the episode, Scott Tyler, a fellow former SEAL, endorses Doherty's marksmanship and describes him as "highly recommended from people I trust in my community."

    Doherty and other operatives hunted a suspected terrorist in Norway for extradition to Iraq. Doherty devised the surveillance plan, using miniature cameras hidden outside the suspect's home in Oslo.

    Security forces faced violent protests in Egypt and Yemen spurred by angry mobs accusing the U.S. of insulting the prophet Muhammad. NBC's Richard Engel reports.

    Doherty was interviewed on screen discussing surveillance techniques and the importance of maintaining focus in a dangerous situation.

    It's "a good thing to just read all of the people in the neighborhood and just try to be hyperaware of what's happening," he said. "It's not like you see on TV ... You focus on the mission. That's it."

    Quigley said the attack on the consulate had to have been extremely violent and well-coordinated, because "Glen was highly trained. He was the best of the best."

    "This was serious, well-planned, well-executed," she told NBC station KNSD-TV of San Diego. "He was very good at what he did."

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  • Pentagon: Skiff came within 150 yards of US Navy ship in Persian Gulf

    The small vessel disregarded warnings as it approached the U.S. ship near Jebel Ali, United Arab Emirates. NBC's Brian Williams reports.

    By Jim Miklaszewski, NBC News chief Pentagon correspondent

    WASHINGTON – U.S. officials told NBC News on Tuesday that a small civilian boat was within 150 yards of a U.S. Navy ship in the Persian Gulf when it was fired upon, killing one and wounding three others on board.

    The small skiff was heading straight for the USNS Rappahannock and ignored repeated warnings before the ship’s crew opened fire with a 50-caliber machine gun, officials said.



    The entire incident took place within a three-minute window about 10 miles offshore from Dubai, United Arab Emirates on Monday.

    US vessel fires on boat in Gulf, killing one and injuring three

    Pentagon officials on Tuesday released detailed timings of the incident, which began at 2:50 p.m. local time (5:50 a.m. ET). All times local.

    2:50pm
    The vessel, a motorized skiff, sighted at 5 miles, approaching Rappahannock from starboard (right) side at 20-25 knots.

    2:51pm
    The skiff now at 1200 yards when it turned inbound, headed directly for the Rappahannock

    2:51pm
    Rappahannock begins first phase of non-lethal warnings, radio, flashing lights. At 900 yards, the crew on the skiff ignores warnings and continues course directly at Rappahannock.

    2:52pm
    Now at 150 yards, skiff continues to ignore non-lethal warnings and continues course at Rappahannock.

    2:52pm
    As the skiff approaches 100 yards, the Rappahannock security team opens fire with a 50-caliber machine gun, killing one and wounding three others on board. The skiff slows for the first time, turns and circles around the stern and moves slowly up the port (left) side.

    2:53pm
    About 90 yards off the Rappahannock, the skiff comes to a stop.  Rappahannock goes to full speed to put distance between the two vessels.  The skiff is then seen departing the area.

    It is unclear whether the dead and injured are from the United Arab Emirates or India, but U.S officials stress there is no indication that Iran or Iranians were in anyway involved.

    The Pentagon also announced Monday that it is sending the aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis to the Persian Gulf region – four months earlier than previously scheduled. The Stennis strike group, which also includes the Aegis guided-missile cruiser USS Mobile Bay and some 5,500 sailors, will also be on an eight month deployment – twice as long as the group was originally scheduled to be deployed.

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  • 'US Navy lit up the sky': Interceptor for Europe anti-missile shield tested off Hawaii

    By msnbc.com staff and news services

    WASHINGTON -- The United States destroyed a target missile near Hawaii in the first successful test of a new Raytheon Co interceptor designed for an anti-missile shield in Europe, the company and a witness said.

    In a statement, Raytheon said the SM-3 Block IB's "kinetic warhead acquired the target with its two-color infrared seeker and tracked it through intercept."

    The firm said the target was launched from a missile range facility on the Hawaiian island of Kauai late on Wednesday. The test also involved the USS Lake Erie.

    Russia threatens preemptive strike over planned US missile shield

    "The U.S. Navy lit up the sky, knocking out the target missile," said Riki Ellison, a prominent missile-defense advocate who observed the test.


    "This next-generation variant of the SM-3 is critical to the ballistic missile defense of the U.S. and our allies, because it can defeat the more sophisticated threats emerging around the world today," Dr. Taylor Lawrence, Raytheon Missile Systems president, said in a statement.

    Richard Lehner, a spokesman for the Pentagon's Missile Defense Agency, told Reuters he could not yet confirm a successful test.

    Reuters and msnbc.com staff contributed to this report.

  • USS Lincoln sails through Strait of Hormuz

    By Jim Miklaszewski, NBC News

    US Navy officials report the aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln and its battle group steamed through the Strait of Hormuz into the Persian Gulf Sunday without incident. It's the first US carrier to pass through the Strait since the Iranians threatened to attack the aircraft carrier Stennis three weeks ago, if it attempted to return to the Persian Gulf. Pentagon and US military officials have made it clear that Iranian threats would not deter the US Navy from operating in international waters in the Strait and the Gulf.

    US military officials say the Lincoln, with its guided-missile cruiser and two guided-missile destroyers, saw no sign of the Iranian navy speed boats which occasionally harass US warships as they pass through the Strait. Those incidents have increased, and in fact become somewhat routine since Iran's radical Revolutionary Guard has taken control of Iran's naval forces in the Strait and Persian Gulf.

    Navy officials say the Lincoln battle group is in the Gulf on routine and regularly-scheduled exercises.

    A second battle group led by the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson is in the Northern Arabian Sea conducting flight missions over Afghanistan.

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