U.S. Armed Forces Activities

Conduct Unbecoming: One Officer's Struggle with the Texas Air National Guard

The Texas Air National Guard decides to step in the middle of an officer's private business, tossing him after he dates an about-to-be-divorced woman.

Classy Action: KBR Disagreed With an $85 Million Judgment Against Them, So They Accused Jurors of Misconduct

After KBR was ordered in November to pay $85 million to a dozen Oregon National Guard soldiers who were exposed to a toxic chemical while providing security for contractors in Iraq in 2003, we figured there'd be some foot-stomping and an immediate appeal. We didn't think KBR would have the chutzpah ... More >>

Space City Con

Blood Money

More than 200 soldiers are suing KBR for knowingly exposing them to toxic chemicals in Iraq, whose effects started with nose bleeds and could end with cancer. KBR says that didn't happen. But even if it did, the company isn't responsible. Taxpayers are.

Declassified KBR Contract Shows How It Gets a Free Pass for Willful Misconduct

These dudes know how to write a sweet contract.​A KBR government contract protected the company from liability for injuries or deaths caused by willful misconduct, according to recently declassified Army documents. Although the existence of the clause was revealed as a part of a lawsuit file ... More >>

The 6 Worst Air-Show Disasters: A Video Collection, Just In Time For Wings Over Houston

Things can go wrong​Next time you go to an air show, take a look at the fine print on the ticket. Besides the usual stuff about acts of God and "Promoter not responsible if the frontman doesn't show due to injecting Drano into his balls," there's something else. It says they're really, really ... More >>

Rick Perry Gets PWNED By Arizona's Governor

You got served....by Arizona​The squeaky wheel gets the grease, Rick Perry.Perry was famously, and surprisingly, critical of Arizona's controversial law regarding immigrants and demands to see their papers.Arizona governor Jan Brewer became a darling of the right, trumpeting about protecting ... More >>

Chris Stokes, U.S. Marine, Gets His Stolen Medals Back In Memorial Day Miracle (Of Sorts)

One bad Memorial Day followed by one good one​A year ago, U.S. Marine Staff Sgt. Chris Stokes was tubing in New Braunfels. His vehicle, parked at the Landa Park Rec Center, was broken into while he and his wife were on the river.Among the items stolen -- Stokes' Marine honor medals. Bummer o ... More >>

Exile In Pearland: A Young Rocks Off Gets "Happy"

The first time Rocks Off the Younger truly heard "Happy," we were loading a case of Dannon yogurt into the display case at the Kroger in Pearland we worked at from 1999 until he first left home. It would have been September 2002, and we had just signed the papers that would mark our entry into the ... More >>

KHOU Scores Top Award For Its Texas National Guard Investigation

David Raziq, one of the winners from KHOU​KHOU's look into discrimination and corruption in the Texas National Guard has racked up a slew of awards, and today it won a biggie: an IRE medal.The medal is the highest honor awarded by the Investigative Reporters and Editors association; also winning o ... More >>

El Franco Lee II: "Visual Harassment"

Houston's resident urban mannerist takes a hard look at life in black America

Set to Explode

As unconventional as the warfare it depicts, The Hurt Locker is a ticking time bomb of a movie.

Chron Leaves Out Key Detail From Story On Sailor's Death

A Houston sailor was killed at Camp Pendleton in San Diego Tuesday.Here, verbatim, is the version of the AP report the Houston Chronicle is running on it: Houston sailor killed at Camp PendletonCAMP PENDLETON, Calif. -- Navy officials say the death of a 29-year-old Camp Pendleton sailor is being inv ... More >>

Right-Wing Nut Says Obama Ordered Bush Tribute At Ellington Erased

The Right-Wing Nutjob Forces are on the march again!! Today's Target: Houston!!Not all conservatives are "nutjobs," obviously, but Debbie Schlussel is. The Ann Coulter-wannabe spouts nonsense pretty much full-time, and she has a new cause: President Obama has ordered officials at Ellington Field to ... More >>

A Gulf Coast Juneteenth

Gate of Heaven is a Gift for All

For Any Season

John McCain's Neglected Veterans

The candidate's fame is based on his POW status, but he has abandoned his fellow veterans time and time again

Very Minor: Miracle at St. Anna

No matter the run time and budget, Spike Lee's WWII drama is an epic bore

The USS Houston -- A Sub That Lives Up To Our Name

Texas Air National Guard Boots Sick Soldier

Jason Franco now struggling in civilian life

Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare

Call of Duty 4 hits maybe a little too close to home

Random Checks at the Bolivar Ferry, Up Close Communications, Ted Poe, Gene Green and Mac Haik

Galveston escapes with a close call

“Face the Music: An Evening of Jazz Dedicated to Fighting AIDS in Africa”

Music for a good cause

Nostalgia Trip

Steven Soderbergh tries, and largely fails, to make 'em like they used to

Don't Show, Don't Tell

Ride the Legend

The World's Fastest Indian is powered by Anthony Hopkins

Virtual Quagmire

The Army's realistic first-person shooter bogs down under fire

Killing Time

In the profound Jarhead, a soldier can be his own worst enemy

Who Cares?

Celester Hall went to Afghanistan to help the troops and make his fortune. He came back deaf, in diapers and looking for benefits.

One Dead Guinea Pig

A bad reaction to a drug trial sparks an investigation into Houston's Fabre Clinic and its founder

This Week's Day-by-Day Picks

Teenage Wasteland

Two artists ask how boys become men in a videocracy

Man with the Mike

Ernie Manouse chitchats with visiting stars

The Gulf Between

When these soldiers became writers, the pen becomes very mighty indeed

War Is Not Hell

The Chron's embedded reporter is far from the action

Kill Shot

Neil Burger fabricates Kennedy's Assassin, and he's mostly on target

Young Guns

Some are ready to die. Others aren't -- they just want a chance at a better life. But even the most careful of local teens who enlist in 2003 may find their plans for a desk job interrupted by war.

The Devil You Say

Was Jeffery Prible the cold-blooded murderer of an entire family? Or the gullible target of an opportunistic jailhouse informant?

Wooing the White Guy

Nicolas Cage plays the real protagonist in World War II epic about Navajo codetalkers

Hell and Back

Scott's Black Hawk Down pays grim, gritty homage to real-life warriors

An Open Mike

He wants to castrate pedophiles and purge the courts of politics. He has assailed fellow jurists, lawyers and lawmakers. He's maverick Mike McSpadden, a tennis ace with a tomahawk tongue.

The Way Back

Funding cuts kill work programs as well as treatment services

Billie Bob's (Mis) Fortune

Less than two years after Billie Bob Harrell Jr. took the $31 million lottery jackpot, he took his own life

News of the Weird

Walking Dead Arrives D.O.A.