Free Republic

"... The department provided no reason for McHugh’s departure but said he might stay on as the Army’s top civilian until November to give the Obama administration a smooth transition as it searches for his successor. His departure comes as Army Chief of Staff Gen. Ray Odierno also plans to retire, closing a page on the era of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars and ushering in new leadership as the service faces growing unrest around the world and defense budget caps in Washington. “There will be much time in the coming months to appropriately celebrate his many accomplishments, but for...

Defense officials confirm the official public Army website has been hacked by unknown intruders demanding the U.S. stop training rebel fighters inside Syria. Unlike the massive hack into Office of Personnel Management records, the officials stress the website contains no official classified information or private personal data of any Amy personnel, military or civilian. The messages reportedly proclaimed "YOU'VE BEEN HACKED" and added "YOUR COMMANDERS ADMIT THEY ARE TRAINING THE PEOPLE THEY HAVE SENT YOU TO DIE FIGHTING." It's not clear yet whether the Army or the hackers shut down the website. The officials say the website is for general...

On tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan, Army Staff Sgt. Jose Garcia missed his oldest daughter’s high school graduation. Stationed in Germany, an ocean away from his family in west Miami-Dade County, he watched his son accept his diploma through a live stream on the Internet. This time, Garcia wanted it to be different. With his youngest set to graduate from Miami Killian Senior High on Monday, it was his last chance to watch one of his children graduate from high school. He was determined to give his daughter, Samantha, “something to remember.” “She’s the baby of the house,”...

According to a new report from Fox News' Catherine Herridge, teammates of Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl were asked to sign non-disclosure agreements years ago after discussing his desertion with the Joint Chiefs Chairman in Afghanistan. According to Herridge's reporting and General Bob Scales, asking soldiers to sign non-disclosure agreements is unprecedented. "I can't remember, ever, have an enlisted soldier sign a non-disclosure agreement for anything. This is completely unprecedented," Scales said. "These non-disclosure agreements have got nothing to do with military justice." Further, new information shows Bergdahl not only deserted, but started planning for his departure by sleeping on the...

It’s difficult to describe anything as a “feel good story” on a day when we are commemorating the Honored Dead, but I suppose this story comes as close as any. CBS News is providing the details of a tale which took place long ago in a small village a bit to the north of where I live, in Gowanda, New York. They have a war memorial in their town just like so many other places around the country. But for the lifetime of most of the current residents, one name has been missing. Carroll Heath was a young boy born...

Jovano Graves' parents begged him not to join the Army right out of high school in 2003, when U.S. troops were fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan.. But their son refused his parents' pleas to try college. He followed them both into the Army instead. Last June, 11 years later, Staff Sgt. Jovano Graves returned home from Afghanistan, joining his mother, Chief Warrant Officer 4 Sonia Graves-Rivers, for duty here at Ft. Bragg. "My family, going way, way back, has always felt so proud to be Americans," said Graves-Rivers, who comes from a family in which military service spans six generations,...

U.S. Representative Mike Rogers (R-Alabama) made headlines recently when he introduced an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act of 2015 (H.R. 1735). The amendment allows for the transfer of surplus 1911A1 handguns to the Civilian Marksmanship Program (CMP) for sale to the general public. Last week, in response, the U.S. army released a white paper voicing “concern” over this amendment and claimed that there would be “potential negative impacts on public safety from the large amount of semi-automatic and concealable pistols that will be released for public purchase.” These concerns included the traceability of the firearms after sale, and...

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — An Army officer stripped of a medal for heroism under fire and his right to call himself a Green Beret is fighting for his military career after accusations he tracked down and killed a suspected bomb-maker in Afghanistan. Though a criminal investigation failed to find remains of his alleged victim and didn't result in charges against Maj. Mathew Golsteyn, he's been targeted for possible dismissal from the Army and the consequent loss of veteran's benefits with a less-than-honorable discharge. A Fort Bragg hearing before three, higher-ranked Special Forces officers could meet later this month to weigh...

None from first-ever group of female soldiers training to be Army Rangers advance through first round: officials BY Rachelle Blidner NEW YORK DAILY NEWS Saturday, May 9, 2015, 5:24 PM The first-ever female soldiers allowed to train to be Army Rangers did not make it through the first round of the course, officials said Friday. Eight women and 101 men who made it through the first tests of the 20-day Crawl Phase will have to try again to pass the last few at one of the toughest soldier training schools, officials said.

A new book about a young, female Army officer who routinely accompanied Ranger units on raids in Afghanistan is shining a light on a select group of American women who have made history in modern warfare. "Ashley's War: The Untold Story of a Team of Women Soldiers on the Special Ops Battlefield" focuses on 1st Lt. Ashley White, an incredibly physically fit soldier who joined the Special Operations Command Cultural Support Team effort in 2010. The pilot program was designed to train women and have them serve with Army Ranger and other special operations direct-action units so they could gather...

An EU army is Germany’s ‘long term goal’ according to one of its ministers. Ursula von der Leyen called for defence cooperation to be strengthened so that the continent can respond quickly to international crises.

A group of women soldiers made history this week after earning a place in the first gender-integrated Ranger Course Assessment at Fort Benning in Georgia. The U.S. Army Ranger School at Fort Benning opened Monday to a class of 19 women and 380 men, according to Stars and Stripes. Over the last four months, 20 women had secured a spot in the course assessment after passing one of four sessions of gender-integrated Ranger Training Assessment Courses (RTAC). One female soldier chose to withdraw. Only eight women and 184 men successfully completed the first four days of Ranger School, after a...

As part of the Army’s mandatory Sexual Harassment and Assault Prevention (SHARP) training, some units are requiring Soldiers to participate in a Walk a Mile In Her Shoes event, in order to bring awareness to rape and sexual assault, and “stop men’s sexualized violence against women.” Sounds positive, right? Well there’s just one little detail that is causing quite the controversy, as these male Soldiers will all be forced to cross-dress, wearing red high heeled shoes during the 1.26 mile walk. One cadet from Arizona ROTC said that any personnel who refused to participate in the event, would receive a...

snip And so it was when I drove onto the Army Reserve Center at Grand Prairie for a visit yesterday, I was met by a lone unarmed female contract security person who did not even take my ID and match it to my face. She came out of the shack and waved me right onto this military installation. Yes, the Army Reserve Center at Grand Prairie is a military installation. Not only is the Army based there but also a U.S. Marine Reserve artillery unit — and the majority of their equipment is located on this installation. But, as I...

A paratrooper who was preparing to leave the US army decided that he would make his last parachute jump more memorable by taking along a fish. The day before his final jump on April 11, Spc. Matthew Tattersall went out and purchased a Siamese fighter, which he called 'Willy Makeit'. He placed the fish in a water bottle and poked a few holes into it to allow air to get in. Then he hid the bottle in his pocket as he knew he wouldn't be allowed to jump from the plane with the fish. "That's my pet fish named Willy...

More than half of some 770,000 soldiers are pessimistic about their future in the military and nearly as many are unhappy in their jobs, despite a six-year, $287 million campaign to make troops more optimistic and resilient, findings obtained by USA TODAY show. Twelve months of data through early 2015 show that 403,564 soldiers, or 52 percent, scored badly in the area of optimism, agreeing with statements such as "I rarely count on good things happening to me." Forty-eight percent have little satisfaction in or commitment to their jobs. The results stem from resiliency assessments that soldiers are required to...

n addition to desertion, Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl faces an unusual charge: misbehavior before the enemy. Of the two, it is the far more serious charge, carrying with it a maximum punishment of life behind bars, a dishonorable discharge, a reduction in rank, and the loss of the tens of thousands of dollars of pay and benefits Bergdahl earned after joining the military over six years ago. The misbehavior charge is so rare that there aren’t many examples of how the military justice system has handled it in the past. The Army said that it had such a case in...

Remember that ending scene out of Indiana Jones where the Ark of the Covenant is boxed up and wheeled through an endless government warehouse? Did you know that that place actually exists? It is called the Center of Military History. It is located 30 minutes outside Washington, D.C., at Fort Belvoir in Virginia. The building itself is very nondescript… The room consists of dozens of collapsable “hallways” filled with the richest American firearm collection on the planet...

A Swedish firm has successfully tested using an American SDB smart bomb fired from a MLRS (multiple launch rocket system). Called this hybrid weapon GLSDB (Ground Launched Small Diameter Bomb) the rocket propelled bomb has a range of 150 kilometers. MLRS was designed to fire a 309 kg (680 pound) 227mm rocket. The latest version is (GMLRS) is GPS guided with a max range of 85 kilometers (and the ability to land within ten meters/31 feet of its intended target). The GLSDB guidance system was able to function despite the rapid acceleration of a rocket launch. The GLSDB provides more...

Over the past decade, Sgt. Shane Ortega has served three combat tours: Two in Iraq, one in Afghanistan. Two as a Marine and one in the Army. Two as a woman and one as a man. Ortega is a helicopter crew chief in the Army’s 25th Infantry Division in Hawaii. He was born female and would like to serve the rest of his career as a man. That would require a significant change in Pentagon rules, which require that transgender troops be discharged from military service, usually on medical grounds. Last summer, medical tests showed Ortega had elevated testosterone levels...