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Facing low recruitment levels, the U.S. Army quietly lifted its ban on allowing people with a history of mental illness, self-mutilation and drug abuse to serve in the military – despite warnings from the industry about the risks involved.

A veteran laments the deletion and disorganization of records from Iraq and Afghanistan. I often wonder what people will say about the wars of Iraq and Afghanistan decades from now. What I will tell my children when they are able to understand the answers to questions about what happened “over there.” I am afraid I will forget. As every day passes, I struggle more and more to remember all the names of the soldiers in my platoon, the hard-to-pronounce places we fought, the day-to-day things we did during my two year-long combat tours in Iraq. But what worries me most...

Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl could be entitled to more than $300,000 in back pay from the five-plus years he spent in Taliban captivity in Afghanistan. From the moment Bergdahl was captured in 2009, he became eligible for extra compensation available to captured troops, the Army Times

North Korea could use biological and chemical weapons in the event of a conflict and the only way to locate and secure all of its nuclear weapons sites “with complete certainty” is through an invasion of ground forces, the Pentagon has warned.In a letter to lawmakers, the Pentagon said that a full discussion of US capabilities to “counter North Korea’s ability to respond with a nuclear weapon and to eliminate” its nuclear weapons located in underground sites is best suited for a classified briefing, the Washington Post reported.The letter, reportedly written by vice-director of the Pentagon’s Joint Staff Rear Adm....

The U.S. Army's top enlisted man is close to unveiling the final version of the World War II-era Pinks and Greens uniform that could be approved for all soldiers next year. Sergeant Major of the Army Daniel Dailey and Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Milley began considering the possibility of bringing back the iconic two-tone uniform of the "greatest generation" for soldiers to wear as an everyday office uniform earlier this year.

Bowe Bergdahl, the solider who deserted his post in Afghanistan in 2009 and was subsequently captured by a Taliban affiliate, will not have to serve jail time for the crime. In a stunning announcement on Friday, the judge deciding the case ordered Bergdahl to pay $1,000 from his salary for the next 10 months. He will be demoted to the rank of E-1 during that time and after paying his fine he will be dishonorably discharged. Prosecutors asked the judge to sentence Bergdahl, who pleaded guilty to the charges, to 14 years in prison.

Bowe Bergdahl's Sentence: No Prison Time November 3, 201711:44 AM ET Merrit Kennedy A military judge sentenced Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, who has pleaded guilty to charges of desertion and misbehavior before the enemy, to no prison time at a sentencing hearing Friday in Fort Bragg, N.C.

Bowe Bergdahl, the U.S. Army sergeant who pleaded guilty Monday to deserting his post in Afghanistan in 2009, says his Taliban captors were more “honest” with him than the Army has been since his release three years ago. “At least the Taliban were honest enough to say, ‘I’m the guy who’s gonna cut your throat,’ ” Bergdahl tells British TV journalist Sean Langan in an interview with the Sunday Times Magazine of London headlined "The Homecoming from Hell." Langan, too, is a former Taliban hostage. Bergdahl, 31, from Hailey, Idaho, says he never quite knew where he stood with the...

FORT BRAGG, N.C. (AP) — Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl told a military judge on Monday that he's pleading guilty to desertion and misbehavior before the enemy. "I understand that leaving was against the law," said Bergdahl, whose decision to walk off his remote post in Afghanistan in 2009 prompted intense search and recovery missions, during which some of his comrades were seriously wounded. "At the time, I had no intention of causing search and recovery operations," Bergdahl said, but he added that now he does understand that his decision prompted efforts to find him. Bergdahl, 31, is accused of endangering...

On March 1, 2011 an Israeli Merkava IV tank on patrol along the Gaza periphery was fired upon by Hamas terrorists from concealed positions within Gaza. Using a deadly RPG-29, a more advanced version of the RPG-7, the terrorists waited for impact. But their moment of glory never transpired. As the anti-tank projectile neared its target, a revolutionary platform – the Trophy Armor Protection System (APS) – deployed on the Merkava IV detected the threat and instantly fired a number of pellets at the deadly menace, destroying and rendering it inert yards from the tank. Barely three weeks later, Hamas...

Second Lieutenant Spenser Rapone is a sign of the times. Spenser Rapone is a tenfold beacon in the night, a thousand blaring klaxons showing the nation and the world just how far our glorious army has fallen. Spenser Rapone is a disgrace to the army, to the famous 10th Mountain Division where is currently assigned and to the United States of America. His continued presence in the US military is a slap in the face to every grunt, tanker, zoomie, swabbie and gyrene that gave their lives for this country. Rapone literally came out of the gulag last week, when...

FORT HUACHUCA — As part of approved changes to the Department of the Army's overall music support structure and due to ongoing reduction in personnel and music support capability, the band will no longer accept new requests for music support for off-post and community events effective Oct. 15, 2017. The U.S. Army Military Intelligence Corps Band (62nd Army Band) will inactivate no later than Oct. 15, 2018. The MI Corps Band will continue to provide music support to events currently on the commitment calendar through December 2017. Music support for military events on post and memorial or funeral support will...

A West Point cadet whose pro-communism messages on social media were reported to his superiors in 2015 still managed to graduate from the military academy and currently serves in the field with an Army combat team, a new report says. The social media activity of 2nd Lt. Spenser Rapone was concerning, retired Army Lt. Col. Robert Heffington, who taught history that year at the Academy, stated under oath, The Daily Caller reports . “I cannot reconcile the image of a first class cadet at West Point with the things he has posted online for the world to see,” Heffington said...

FORT HUACHUCA — Fort Huachuca supports the Marine Aviation Weapons and Tactics Squadron One's training exercise here 6:30-8:30 p.m., Oct. 6. The exercise is conducted annually in April and October as the final training event for CH-53 Sea Stallion helicopters based in Yuma. During the exercise, CH-53s fly into Libby Army Airfield and Hubbard Landing Zone. Marines exit the helicopters, secure selected areas and return to their aircraft. On LAAF, the group conducts a Forward Air Refueling Point event, refueling a couple of the helicopters from a KC-130. This is done while the aircraft's engines are on. Additionally, several C-130s...

An active duty Army officer who recently graduated from West Point showed his disdain for capitalism by revealing a hidden message written under his hat (often referred to as a “cover” in the military) that said “communism will win” in a picture spreading across social media. Over the weekend Spenser Rapone, an officer with the United States Army, posted a picture from his Twitter account (@punkproletarian) featuring a picture of himself in his military dress attire showing a hand written message saying “COMMUNISM WILL WIN”, while also holding up his clenched fist in a well known communist salute. The tweet...

A photo of U.S. Army infantry officer and West Point graduate Spenser Rapone was making its rounds online Monday due to the fact that – while in his uniform – Rapone had the words “Communism will win” scrawled inside of his cap. In the wake of the recent NFL protests, a West Point graduate and infantry officer tweeted out the following image with the caption: “#VeteransForKaepernick” – a disgusting display from an officer. LawNewz verified the legitimacy of the photograph with Rapone himself. He is currently in the field until Friday and unable to answer detailed questions. One Twitter user...

Facing backlash from high-ranking current and former CIA officials, the Dean of the Kennedy School of Government withdrew an invitation for Chelsea Manning to serve as a visiting fellow at the Institute of Politics in late-night reversal Friday. “I now think that designating Chelsea Manning as a Visiting Fellow was a mistake, for which I accept responsibility,” Kennedy School Dean Douglas W. Elmendorf wrote in a statement posted to the school’s website shortly after midnight. The school withdrew the invitation to Manning—a transgender activist and former U.S. Army soldier who was imprisoned after disclosing over 700,000 classified government documents— after...

Syrian troops are now at the gates of the Islamic State-besieged city of Deir ez-Zor, the governor of the province said, as the government forces continue to press forward, obliterating terrorist positions in the vicinity and on the outskirts of the city. “The heroes of the army will arrive at Deir ez-Zor in 24-48 hours at the most,” the governor of Syria’s Deir ez-Zor province, Mohammed Ibrahim Samra, told Reuters, adding that the Syrian Army was only 18-20 kilometers (11-12 miles) away from the city. Earlier, an elite unit of the Syrian Army, called the Tiger Forces, came within 18...

FORT HUACHUCA — In order to be trained and ready for an unexpected emergency event, Fort Huachuca conducts its annual Antiterrorism and Force Protection Full-Scale Exercise Sept. 7. All personnel and visitors should be aware of possible increased security measures and delays at access control points, to include Fort Huachuca gates, during the exercise. There may be traffic delays. Everyone is asked to plan accordingly and give full cooperation. While we make every effort to limit the amount of disruption to organizational missions and services to our customers, knowledge gained through this exercise is critical to the installation remaining prepared...

A rising number of young Chinese people are failing fitness tests required to join the army because they are too fat and masturbate too much, state media has proclaimed. The high rejection rate has triggered concerns that there are not enough youths in good physical condition to fill the ranks of the Chinese army. A poor diet and frequent masturbation, leading to abnormally large testicular veins, are believed to be behind falling fitness levels, according to a report published in state-run military newspaper the People’s Liberation Army Daily.