Free Republic

A new report reveals that more than 10,000 noncommissioned officers (NCOs) in the United States Army who were promoted under a COVID-19 era policy still have not completed the schooling requirements for that promotion. According to Military.com, 52,000 NCOs were promoted under the supposedly temporary policy which waived the requirement to attend leadership academies before promotion eligibility. 20 percent had still not attended the required training. The Select, Train, Educate, and Promote Policy (STEP) was adopted in 2016 and required all NCOs to attend schools before being eligible for promotion. Before that the Army allowed "conditional promotions." The new policy...

Army's Select, Train, Educate and Promote policy was temporarily suspended

A new report shows that roughly 52,000 noncommissioned U.S. Army officers have been promoted over the past few years under the Army’s temporary policy implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic, which allows soldiers to be promoted without attending applicable leadership training academies. According to Army data obtained by Military.com, 10,588 of the roughly 52,000 noncommissioned Army officers have not yet attended leadership training academies. While Army policy states that noncommissioned officers are supposed to lose their promotions if they do not attend relevant leadership training academies within a year of being promoted, the Army has been hesitant to demote mass amounts...

A group of Senate Republicans attempted to overcome Sen. Tommy Tuberville’s (R-Ala.) blockade of more than 370 military nominations, marking the first time GOP members have attempted a maneuver of this kind. Led by Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska), Senate Republicans sought to move numerous promotions for military officers but were blocked by Tuberville as part of his holds that have lasted nearly eight months over the Pentagon’s year-old policy that covers travel expenses for military personnel who travel for abortion care. “America needs to have our best players, most combat-capable leaders, on the field. And right now, that’s not happening....

WASHINGTON (AP) — Top defense officials are accusing Alabama Sen. Tommy Tuberville of jeopardizing America's national security with his hold on roughly 300 military promotions, raising the stakes in a clash over abortion policy that shows no signs of easing. Tuberville brushed off the criticism, vowing he will not give in. “We're going to be in a holding pattern for a long time,” he said, if the Pentagon refuses to end its policy of paying for travel when a service member goes out of state to get an abortion or other reproductive care. It's a classic Washington standoff with rippling...

A Marine sniper serving during the Afghanistan evacuation recently gave testimony to the House Foreign Affairs Committee on the Afghanistan evacuation. His pain was palpable. A revelation worth examining was his identification of the possible suicide bomber prior to the incident. After the sniper, Sgt Vargas-Andrews, confirmed the target with multiple agencies, he asked his Battalion Commander, LtCol Whited, for permission to shoot. The answer from Whited, one in which Vargas-Andrews said he’ll never forget, was, “I don’t know.” Not found in the media or Congressional testimony is that Whited, a former peer of mine, corroborated this version of events...

The 64-year-old leader of the Supreme Court posed a question on Wednesday that some in his generation have been asking for months: Does saying “OK, boomer” count as age discrimination? If the query hadn’t been an earnest attempt to test the bounds of a lawyer’s legal argument, Chief Justice John Roberts might have followed it up with another viral expression: “Asking for a friend.” But Roberts wasn’t typing a tweet. This was a meeting of the highest court in the land, and its nine justices - older federal employees ranging from 52 to 86 years old - were hearing a...

Many members of the media act like leaks of government information are coming from whistleblowers who are compelled by their consciences to do the right thing. But over the last week, that image has taken a real beating. It has recently surfaced that New York Times reporter Ali Watkins may have had an affair with James Wolfe, the former security director for the Senate Intelligence Committee. Wolfe is 32 years her senior. The New York Times is still investigating, but there appears to be a real concern that the “meteoric” and “stunning” rise of Watkins as a star reporter may...

'N.Korean Officer' Says North Sank the Cheonan A North Korean Army officer has testified that the North Korean military attacked the South Korean Navy corvette Cheonan before it sank in the West Sea on March 26, the head of a South Korean activist group claimed Monday. Choi Sung-yong of the Family Assembly Abducted to North Korea said, "It seems that the Cheonan was sunk in a premeditated North Korean operation." Choi published a transcript of a telephone conversation with what he says is a senior North Korean Army officer. According to the transcript, the officer says, "Thirteen commandos who left...

New Top Cop's Fiancee Under Investigation For Alleged Police Exam Cheating By Mark Konkol and Heather Cherone Updated April 5, 2016 THE LOOP — Mayor Rahm Emanuel's newly appointed top cop Eddie Johnson's fiancee is a Chicago Police lieutenant named in an ongoing investigation into alleged cheating on the department's lieutenant's exam, DNAinfo Chicago has learned. It's the same cheating probe that sources said helped derail Deputy Chief Eugene Williams' chances of being promoted to police superintendent. Now the allegations are part of a separate probe, this one by Chicago Inspector General Joe Ferguson, sources said. Williams, one of the...

Then I started getting urgent calls from ConEd and the Bronx Criminal Court.Last week, I became one of 1,000 people to receive a Taco Bell Breakfast Phone, a disposable cellphone that promised multiple opportunities to win Tex-Mex swag and free trips. The phones were part of the company's aggressive campaign to emotionally prepare the world for the national unveiling of Taco Bell’s breakfast menu, which launched Thursday to much fanfare. As the great reveal drew nigh, my burner phone rang off the hook. And not just with calls from Taco Bell. It all started when I tweeted in praise of...

JCPenney lost nearly a third of its customers in 2012. Now, in an unprecedented move, the company is admitting it totally screwed up. … Failed CEO Ron Johnson’s plan included ditching the company’s popular promotions program. Ideally, the strategy was meant to revamp JCPenney’s image and appeal to young people. In reality, it alienated long-time customers, while failing to draw in new ones. …

I received my first minor-league baseball promotional e-mail of the season on Monday morning, and it was a good one. Some highlights from the Potomac Nationals season preview: * On April 15, the P-Nats will celebrate the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic by allowing women and children into the ballpark 15 minutes before men. So, so amazing. * The team will also have a Presidential-campaign themed bobblehead night at some point, likely featuring the heads of Barack Obama and the Republican nominee.

NEW HAVEN — Attorneys for a group of black city firefighters Monday filed a motion asking a federal court to halt the promotion of 10 other firefighters (including four minorities) who scored well enough on 2003 exams to be promoted. The 10 firefighters’ advancements were approved Friday by the Board of Fire Commissioners, just three days after the board ratified the promotions of 14 other firefighters (all but one of them white) mandated by the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Ricci v. DeStefano. The 10 in question scored high enough on the test to be promoted, but weren’t plaintiffs with...

Skip the Krabby Patty, SpongeBob SquarePants is going veggie. Pictures of the happy-go-lucky sponge will appear on packages of carrots, spinach and citrus starting next month, under licensing deals with produce companies. Dora the Explorer and other Nickelodeon characters also will debut on fruit and vegetable packages, according to the network. SpongeBob already helps pitch a cart full of foods ranging from cereal to ice cream, but Nickelodeon executives say the foray into the wholesome fruit and vegetable market complements network programming attempts to coax kids to eat healthier. "If we can use our popular characters and help kids eat...

One winner of a recent American Airlines contest says he would have been better off losing. The contest, launched as part of the airline's We Know Why You Fly marketing campaign, awarded free tickets to travelers submitting the best videos, essays or photographs about their flying experiences. The grand prize winners were offered 12 round-trip restricted coach tickets for two from the U.S. to anywhere in the world American flies. In exchange, American has the right to use the winning materials for promotional purposes. The contest's fine print explains that winners must pay federal and state income taxes, where applicable,...

With a shortage of active-duty sergeants, the Army is allowing 19,000 qualified corporals and specialists to automatically be placed on the promotion list for sergeant, instead of having to wait for a commander to recommend them for advancement to that rank. The Army currently needs about 1,500 more sergeants from 31 specialties. Until now, soldiers who hoped to move to the E-5 level required a commander's recommendation to go before a promotions board of senior NCOs. From now on, soldiers will automatically be placed on the E-5 promotion list as long as they meet the minimum requirements. That means 19,000...

BERKELEY, Calif. - At the birthplace of the free speech movement, campus radicals have a new target: the faculty that came of age in the 60's. They say their professors have been preaching multiculturalism and diversity while creating a political monoculture on campus. Conservatism is becoming more visible at the University of California here, where students put out a feisty magazine called The California Patriot and have made the Berkeley Republicans one of the largest groups on campus. But here, as at schools nationwide, the professors seem to be moving in the other direction, as evidenced by their campaign contributions...

Long John Silver's President announces the company will give America free Giant Shrimp on May 10 to celebrate NASA's discovery of salt water on Mars Long John Silver's President Calls Discovery "One Small Step for Man, One Giant Leap for Giant Shrimp" NASA's March 23 announcement of evidence of the past presence of "a body of gently flowing saltwater" on Mars is big news for America, and giant news for seafood fans. In January, Long John Silver's offered to give America free Giant Shrimp if NASA found conclusive evidence of an ocean on Mars. To celebrate the success of NASA's...

<p>Shelbyville -- She's all smiles -- and drug free, too.</p> <p>With that, Ashley Allen didn't have to think long to find the theme of her drawing for Shelby County Prosecutor R. Kent Apsley's antidrug poster contest.</p> <p>"I was thinking about what I was going to do while Mr. (Eric) Sutton was explaining the instructions. I thought of it right away: I kind of, like, drew me. I wanted to draw a person like me.</p>