Mystery Surrounds $1.2 Billion Army Contract to Build Huge Detention Tent Camp in Texas Desert
WASHINGTON — When President Donald Trump’s administration last month awarded a contract worth up to $1.2 billion to build and operate what it says will become the nation’s largest immigration detention complex, it didn’t turn to a large government contractor or even a firm that specializes in private prisons. Instead, it handed the project on […]
Army Corps Redirects Radioactive Waste from Michigan to Texas
WAYNE COUNTY, Mich. — The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is sending lightly irradiated waste from upstate New York to Texas instead of Michigan after backlash from surrounding communities sparked a lawsuit against the landfill operator. The Army Corps said it began shipping 6,000 cubic yards of material from a Manhattan Project leftover waste site […]
Texas Reduces Number of Troops at Southern Border Amid Response to Planned Protests
The Texas National Guard is deploying thousands of its troops in response to planned protests of the Trump administration’s mass deportation campaign and is even scaling down some of its forces at the U.S. southern border at the same time. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott announced Thursday that he had deployed more than 5,000 of the […]
No Personnel Relocation Decisions Yet for Fort Eustis Move to Texas
The Army’s chief of staff testified to a House subcommittee earlier this month that the Army Training and Doctrine Command headquarters at Fort Eustis is set to relocate to Austin, Texas. What that means for the thousands of men and women stationed at Fort Eustis has yet to be determined, Army officials said this week. […]
Jail Staff Laughed at Dying Veteran Left Strapped to Chair in Texas, Suit Says
The family of Glenn Earl Smallwood Jr., a 33-year-old U.S. Army veteran who needed immediate medical attention but was instead taken to jail and strapped to a restraint chair until he was no longer responsive, is suing over his death, according to their legal counsel. Civil rights attorney Erik Heipt, who represents the family, said […]
Fort Bliss Soldier Drank ‘a Lot’ Before Crash that Killed Engaged Couple, Texas Cops Say
A U.S. Army soldier is facing charges after a late-night car crash left a Texas couple dead, officials told news outlets. The crash happened before midnight Nov. 2, at an intersection in El Paso, McClatchy News reported. Rick Ballard, 29, was pronounced dead at the scene, while his 28-year-old fiance, Dalia Olivas, died from her […]
Texas Family of WWII Prisoner of War Receives Long-Awaited Medals: ‘This Means Everything’
FORT WORTH — Growing up, Mike Shaffer knew little of his great uncle, his grandfather’s brother. His family rarely spoke of the horrors of war or even of Elbert Knox, who earned the nickname “Toughegg” for his propensity for fighting and his rough-and-tumble reputation. As a teenager, Shaffer first learned his great uncle had been […]
2 Men Arrested for Shooting at Air Force Security Personnel and Gate at Texas Base
Two men were arrested last week in connection to shootings at Air Force security personnel and the gate at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland last month, law enforcement officials in Texas have announced. Joseph Jimenez, 19, and Ricardo Samaniego, 18, were identified as the alleged suspects connected to the shootings near the base, known as JBSA, […]
Mothers of Former Texas Soldier's Sexual Assault Victims Say Army Was Too Slow to Act
A lawsuit filed by two mothers of minor children sexually assaulted by a now dishonorably discharged soldier who served at Fort Cavazos, Texas, claims that the Army did not act quickly enough to stop him or prevent him from harming more young victims. Rashad Parkinson, 29, a former Bradley Fighting Vehicle maintenance technician, pleaded guilty […]
Maintaining a Defiant Tone, Texas Congressman Takes Off Revoked Combat Infantryman Badge
Rep. Troy Nehls, R-Texas, removed the Combat Infantryman Badge from his lapel Wednesday more than a month after it was revealed the Army revoked the award last year because he was never eligible for it in the first place. But Nehls would not directly answer when reporters pressed him on whether he would never wear […]