Virginia National Guard Pilot Wrongly Identified as Involved in DC Midair Collision Sues for Defamation
Army National Guard UH-60 Black Hawk pilot Jo Ellis listened attentively to the breaking news the evening of Jan. 29 that a helicopter had struck an American Airlines jet over the Potomac River near Washington, D.C., killing all aboard both aircraft. The next day, Ellis, who is transgender, was alarmed to hear Defense Secretary Pete […]
Army to Soldiers: Reenlist by Monday if You Want to Claim Incentives
The Army is offering soldiers just days to decide whether to reenlist if they hope to secure bonuses, preferred assignments or other extras typically associated with continued service, according to internal documentation reviewed by Military.com. Under the policy, troops whose contracts are set to expire before the end of September must commit to reenlistment by […]
93-Year-Old Veteran Honors Granddaughter at Army National Guard Officer Graduation
BATTLE CREEK, Mich. — It’s been at least six years since the last woman graduated from the Michigan Army National Guard’s Officer Candidate School. That was one motivating factor for 2nd Lt. Samantha Swiatek. The other, she said, was that her grandfather, Harold Yarrington, would be there to salute her after graduation. Swiatek graduated Officer […]
The Army Is Getting Rid of Athletic Trainers
The Army is set to phase out its unit-level athletic trainers — civilian specialists tasked with providing immediate care and rehabilitation for soldiers with minor musculoskeletal injuries — by the end of the current fiscal year, according to an internal email obtained by Military.com. The decision, announced to his staff by Gen. James Mingus, the […]
US Army Engineers Decide to Fast-Track Great Lakes Tunnel Permits Under Trump Energy Emergency Order
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has decided to fast-track permits for building a protective tunnel around an aging Enbridge oil pipeline that runs beneath a channel connecting two Great Lakes, stoking environmentalists’ fears that the project will escape scrutiny, damage the sensitive region and perpetuate fossil fuel use. The move comes after President Donald […]
The Oklahoma City Bombing Was 30 Years Ago. Some Survivors Worry America Didn’t Learn the Lesson
OKLAHOMA CITY — Thirty years after a truck bomb detonated outside a federal building in America’s heartland, killing 168 people in the deadliest homegrown attack on U.S. soil, deep scars remain. From a mother who lost her first-born baby, a son who never got to know his father, and a young man so badly injured […]
Fort Benning, Then Moore, Now Benning Again: The People Behind the Names
Just weeks before World War I ended, the U.S. military established Fort Benning near Columbus. The first soldiers arrived there on Oct. 6, 1918. Later that month, officials held a ceremony for naming it after Confederate Brig. Gen. Henry Benning. More than a century later, the base was renamed Fort Moore in honor of the […]
Shaving Waivers Revoked by Massachusetts Guard in Change Disproportionately Impacting Black Troops
The Massachusetts Army National Guard has abruptly rescinded long-standing medical waivers that allowed certain soldiers to maintain facial hair — a policy primarily affecting Black service members. According to an email to the state’s troops, parts of which were posted to social media and confirmed as authentic to Military.com by Guard officials, the Massachusetts Guard […]
Fort Wainwright Soldier Arrested on Murder Charges in Fairbanks Man's Death
A 24-year-old U.S. Army soldier was arrested Friday on murder charges after Fairbanks officers found a man with an execution-style gunshot wound in an apartment, police said. Adayus Robertson is facing charges of first-degree murder and evidence tampering as well as violating probation for two prior open criminal cases. He had his first court appearance […]
Oldest Known Pearl Harbor Survivor Dies at 106
Vaughn Drake Jr., an esteemed Central Kentuckian believed to be the oldest survivor of the 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor, died last week. Drake died April 7 at the age of 106, according to a news release from the nonprofit Affinity Media and Public Relations announcing his death. His visitation is Thursday at the Milward […]