Free Republic

WASHINGTON, Sept 28 (Reuters) - U.S. Army Private Travis King faces an uncertain future following his arrival at a U.S. military base in Texas on Thursday after being expelled from North Korea.A U.S. military flight carrying King, who in July made a surprise dash across the heavily militarized Korean border, landed at Joint Base San Antonio-Fort Sam Houston at about 0530 GMT, a U.S. defense official told Reuters. Television footage showed a group of people leaving a plane at the base at that time.A Pentagon spokesperson, Bryce Dubee, said King was at the base's Brooke Army Medical Center. "The Army’s...

When Ibram X. Kendi’s preposterous thesis that “the only remedy to past discrimination is present discrimination” becomes mainstream practice, you know things are upside down. Kendi is the author of the poorly reasoned 2019 leftist propaganda book, “How to Be an Antiracist,” which became not only a bestseller, but a clarion call for progressives. In a speech at the Aspen Ideas Festival, Kendi put his anti-reasoning skills on display, according to the New York Post. “When I see racial disparities, I see racism,” Kendi said. If that isn’t a blanket generalization, the logical fallacy of that name has no meaning....

How in the world does this happen?! How do you let a rifle get so completely damaged like this? Did it get run over by a car or a tank? whatever happened, we're gonna have to fix it ourselves. Nobody say a thing, or we're all gonna get in trouble. Basic training will have nothing on the smoke session we get if Sergeant Major finds out.

Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) has asked the Biden administration to choose between promotions for senior officers and abortion in the military. Three of Biden’s appointees, Army Secretary Christine Wormuth, Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro and Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall collaborated on a Washington Post op-ed describing Sen Tuberville’s hold on military promotion as “putting our national security at risk”. They claim that continuing to do so will “have a corrosive effect on the force” and they insist that they will go on putting abortion ahead of national security. The Biden appointees claim that abortion on demand in the military...

A nearly 200-year-old West Point time capsule that appeared to yield little more than dust when it was opened during a disappointing livestream contained hidden treasure after all, the U.S. Military Academy said Wednesday. It was just more hidden than expected. The lead box believed to have been placed by cadets in the base of a monument actually contained six silver American coins dating from 1795 to 1828 and a commemorative medal, West Point said in a news release. All were discovered in the sediment of the box, which at Monday’s ceremonial opening at the New York academy appeared to...

An Army installation in Texas has been struggling to put food on the table for its soldiers for months as the base faces a shortage of cooks to staff its dining facilities. Fort Cavazos, Texas, previously known as Fort Hood, has struggled to provide its junior enlisted troops with meals for months, with the base only opening two of its 10 major dining facilities for much of the summer and with limited times, according to a report Tuesday from Military.com.According to the report, the base has faced a shortage of cooks to man the dining facilities around base, with many...

An Army installation in Texas has been struggling to put food on the table for its soldiers for months as the base faces a shortage of cooks to staff its dining facilities. Fort Cavazos, Texas, previously known as Fort Hood, has struggled to provide its junior enlisted troops with meals for months, with the base only opening two of its 10 major dining facilities for much of the summer and with limited times, according to a report Tuesday from Military.com. According to the report, the base has faced a shortage of cooks to man the dining facilities around base, with...

Physical fitness is a cornerstone of military readiness. Historically, this quality has helped American servicemembers fight and win over numerically superior enemies. Nevertheless, Congress has rarely taken much interest in a service’s military physical fitness testing — until now. On Thursday night, the Senate approved its version of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). Section 557 of that bill would scrap the current Army Combat Fitness Test and replace it with the old Army Physical Fitness Test. Meanwhile, the House version of the NDAA proposes requiring a gender-neutral fitness test for combat arms positions. In both cases, the issue is...

Ukraine has selected transgender journalist Sarah Ashton-Cirillo to run its military’s English-language propaganda operations, local outlet Strana reported on Tuesday. Ashton-Cirillo, who was born a man and came out as transgender in 2019, hosts the state-sponsored news program ‘Russia Hates the Truth’ – an official project of the Ukrainian Defense Forces – the purpose of which is said to be “countering Russian propaganda, disinformation and lies.” The news outlet posted a clip from the latest episode of the program, in which the trans voice of Kiev describes the recent drone attacks in Moscow as the culmination of a “prophecy” by...

Lions Led by DonkeysThe 248-year-old institution that this country depends upon to fight and win our wars has lost its focus, which is, “to win our nation’s wars.” Preparing to do that is one of the most complex tasks on earth. There is no profession more complex, more dangerous, or more crucial to the country’s survival than the United States Army. But its focus on “woke” social solutions has diluted the necessary focus on that duty. The Army has thousands of magnificent and highly skilled officers and enlisted men and women who perform continuously at the highest levels. Yet, as...

Russian lawmakers have passed legislation changing the age categories for those called up for the military potentially meaning that older troops could be sent to fight in Ukraine. With President Vladimir Putin's forces reportedly facing heavy losses in his invasion of Ukraine, Russia's parliament, the Duma, has this week passed a raft of measures to help with mobilization, including tougher fines for those who avoid the draft as well as extending upper age limits for reserves. The State Duma said Tuesday it had adopted a law raising the maximum age by half a decade for those who had already completed...

A U.S. soldier, 23, who vanished only to return a day after his transgender wife was found dead in their military home has been cleared as a person of interest. Spc. Craig Chamberlain, 23, is a Fort Cavazos (formerly Fort Hood) soldier who, unbeknownst to his wife, stopped showing up for duty in March. On May 15, after lying about reporting to the military base in Texas for two months, he left their home in Killeen and failed to return. Craig's wife, Cameron, reported him missing to police and to the base. She was found dead inside their home on...

A former Afghan interpreter for U.S. Army Special Forces, who managed to escape the Taliban, was gunned down inside his car while working as a Lyft driver in Washington, D.C., on Monday. D.C. Police found 31-year-old Nasrat Ahmad Yar unconscious inside his car early Monday with a single gunshot wound...

Major Jones may very well be exempt from all physical fitness and height-weight standards. ... Physical Fitness Testing Physical fitness is a fundamental requirement of your service. You are required to meet the physical fitness testing standards based upon your gender marker in your Service’s personnel data system and in accordance with Service regulations. If temporarily unable to meet the standards, it may be necessary to request an ETP or medical waiver. While the 6-month exemption from physical fitness standards is not unusual for servicemembers undergoing rehab after an injury, applying it to someone for failing to make height-weight standards...

Diversity is our strength. Except, apparently, the more diversity the military seeks, the less strength it requires.That seems to be the lesson of the Army’s physical fitness standards, which do not apply to people who are getting “gender-affirming” care.The Army obesity crisis is worse among the “diversity” hires — women, blacks, Hispanics, and transvestites.Shocker!https://t.co/ZdRNGjckZ4— Revolver News (@RevolverNewsUSA) July 5, 2023One of the shibboleths of the Left is the claim that increasing the acceptance of “gender-diverse” individuals into the military merely extends the same opportunities to transgender folks as those afforded to people who identify with their natal sex (man, finding...

As part of a ‘Pride’ celebration, The U.S. Army shared to social media the story of a transgender Major who now identifies as a woman after previously being suicidally depressed.The DoD tweeted the following post linking to the story of Maj. Rachel Jones, claiming ‘she’ has ’embraced authenticity’ and should ‘inspire us all’ after becoming head of the U.S. Army Sustainment Command’s Cyber Division:.@USArmy Maj. Rachel Jones found solace after coming out as a transgender female. Her journey from battling depression & suicidal thoughts to embracing authenticity inspires us all. #WhyWeServe https://t.co/9llx7skuC3 — Department of Defense 🇺🇸 (@DeptofDefense) July 2,...

Law guarantees Veterans receive a compensation adjustment next year On June 14, 2023, President Joe Biden signed into law the Veterans Compensation Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA) Act of 2023, which directs the Department of Veterans Affairs to provide a cost-of-living adjustment for Veterans benefits in 2024 equal to the COLA applied to Social Security benefits, as determined by the Social Security Administration (SSA). The legislation, passed with bi-partisan support in the House and Senate, is an annual procedure for Congress but an important one, as it must be accomplished to ensure Veterans receive a COLA, and that it keeps pace with...

Sky Nisperos’s grandfather came to the U.S. from Mexico, and became an American citizen by serving in the U.S. Navy. Her father, Ernest Nisperos, is an active-duty officer in the Air Force with two decades of service. For years, Sky planned to follow a similar path. “I wanted to be a fighter pilot,” the 22-year-old said. “It was stuck in my head.” Now, one of the most influential people in her life—her father—is telling her that a military career may not be the right thing. The children of military families make up the majority of new recruits in the U.S....

There wasn’t any reason to think Cole James Bridges was anything more than an average young American. After he graduated from high school, he worked at a Papa John’s pizza shop in Stow, Ohio, for a while, and then, in Sept. 2019, joined the U.S. Army. He got sent to Fort Stewart in Georgia, where he became a cavalry scout. Thousands of young Americans have followed paths similar to the one Bridges embarked upon, but then he took a sharp turn no one expected: on Wednesday, Cole James Bridges pleaded guilty to trying to aid ISIS’ efforts to kill American...

Women are at least twice as likely as men to be injured in Army basic training, according to data collected over six years by the service. Most of those injuries were musculoskeletal -- meaning they affect the bones, muscles, joints and tendons of female recruits. Military.com obtained the injury data as the Army is looking for ways to boost recovery for men and women moving through boot camp. During 2022, nearly 30% of female recruits were injured on average each month during Army basic training. The average was 23% per month between 2017 and 2022, the data shows. During those...