The UK’s Daily Mail reports that two soldiers were killed and six were injured when a military vehicle slammed into a formation of soldiers at Fort Jackson, South Carolina;
Officials at the base said two of the soldiers who were hit are in critical condition.
Names of the soldiers will be released based on the wishes of their family members.
‘We will thoroughly investigate the cause of the accident,’ said U.S. Army Training Center and Fort Jackson Commander Maj. Gen., Pete Johnson.
On October 4, 2014, Sergeant First Class Alicia Hofmann was driving to her Army Reserve meeting when she came across a burning automobile. After calling 9-1-1 for help, the registered nurse and Afghanistan veteran tried to extract the 300 pound driver from the vehicle. Luckily, another reservist, Specialist Bryant Williams, happened on the scene and together, the two pulled the driver from danger. According to DVIDSHUB;
Hofmann was awarded the Soldier’s Medal at a ceremony here on Sept. 29, 2017. Command Sgt. Maj. Andrew Lombardo, the senior enlisted leader for the 100th TD, spoke at the award ceremony.
“Her quick thinking and composure were instrumental in saving that man’s life,” Lombardo said. “That guy was lucky that Sgt. 1st Class Hofmann was there that day. The medical, fire and law enforcement authorities said that if it had not been for her heroic actions, putting her own life in danger, that man would have died. I couldn’t be more proud of her.”
Looking back at the incident, Hofmann credits the Army “train like you fight” mantra instilled in her. She believes that if it had not been for her Army medic training, she would not have reacted the way she did.
“It was so intimidating and scary,” Hofmann said. “The fire was so close to me, less than five feet from where we were pulling him out. I was amazed at how natural and smooth everything went. I credit it to my Army training.”
Thanks to Chief Tango for the links.
Stars & Stripes reports that Lieutenant Colonel Robert Howard, the battalion commander of 2nd Battalion, 58th Infantry Regiment, 198th Infantry Brigade, one of the One Station Unit Training battalions for infantrymen at Fort Benning, Georgia was relieved. S&S speculates that the firing was related to a female trainees’ charges that they were sexually assaulted by a drill sergeant.
Howard’s removal comes about one month after the Army announced it had suspended several Fort Benning drill sergeants amid an investigation into allegations of sexual assault raised by female trainees.
According to the Associated Press, that a helicopter crash in Tennessee in December 2015 was caused by an improperly installed repair part – which failed and caused the death of two crewmembers from the 101st Airborne Division;
The pilots — Kevin Weiss, 32, of McHenry, Illinois, and Alex Caraballo-Leon, 35, of Patillas, Puerto Rico — had a little more than 20 seconds notice that the helicopter was in serious trouble as it flew 700 feet (215 meters) above the ground, but the report found that the crash was unavoidable once the small part either malfunctioned or didn’t work at all.
The report says investigators found fault with work performed by three soldiers who replaced bearings on the helicopter in November 2015. The report redacted the soldiers’ names and specific explanations of what was done wrong, but recommended more inspections when repairs are made.
Stars & Stripes warns that several members of the military and their families received fake noncombatant evacuation orders on their computers and their phones.
[US Forces Korea] said it received “multiple reports of a fake text-to-cell and social media message regarding a ‘real world noncombatant evacuation operation (NEO) order issued’” on Thursday, USFK said in a message posted on its Facebook page.
The fake messages instructed Defense Department family members and non-emergency civilians on the divided peninsula that an evacuation order had been issued, it added.
“USFK did NOT issue this message,” it said, adding that all those who may be affected should confirm any evacuation-related communications with servicemembers or NEO representatives.
Military Times reports that thousands of US troops are deployed to hurricane-ravaged areas in the wake of Irma;
The Army has positioned more than 16,700 soldiers as well as civilians from the Army Corps of Engineers in the U.S. Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico and continental United States to assist with recovery efforts in the wake of Hurricane Irma.
More than 150 boats, 3,400 trucks and 680 generators are in use or have been made available to governors of states and territories where the hurricane made landfall, Army spokesman Col. Patrick Seiber said in an email Sunday.
“Governors are best postured to determine the needs of their residents and establish response priorities, and are currently using Army National Guard soldiers to help meet those needs,” Seiber said.
Thousands of Marines and their amphibious vehicles are spread out in Florida.
The active duty Army is deployed to assist National Guard assets;
The 101st Airborne Division, of Fort Campbell, Kentucky, is positioning its helicopters to be used in search and rescue operations and resupply of food, water, medical supplies and other necessities the state may need.
The 3rd Expeditionary Sustainment Command of Fort Bragg, North Carolina, is overseeing the Army’s wheeled-vehicle effort, officials said. A convoy of about 100 high-water vehicles and nearly 400 soldiers are on their way from Fort Bragg to help locate and rescue people trapped by the flooding.
Eggs sends us a link to the news that his former Air Force unit is also assisting in South Florida;
Fresh off of a Hurricane Harvey deployment, Air Force reservists with the Brevard County-based 920th Rescue Wing are now flying HH-60G Pave Hawk helicopters across South Florida, searching for stranded victims of Hurricane Irma.
The combat-search-and-rescue wing moved three Pave Hawks from Patrick Air Force Base to the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando on Thursday, before Irma’s gusts began blasting the Sunshine State.
On Monday, after winds died down, citizen airmen flew Col. David Garfield, commander of the 482nd Fighter Wing, back to Homestead Air Reserve Base. Afterward, they flew a search-and-rescue mission in South Florida, said Maj. Cathleen Snow, 920th Rescue Wing spokeswoman.
Meanwhile, some of the troops are gearing up for deployments to the war against terror. You can quash their funding, but you can’t stop them from doing what they do.
Stars & Stripes reports that the 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment has taken delivery of new upgunned version of the Stryker fighting vehicles with a 30 millimeter main gun, and the Javelin anti-armor missile and it will be better-equipped to face-off with the Soviet BMP-30;
The 2nd Cavalry Regiment will begin fielding the first of a new fleet of upgraded Stryker armored combat vehicles next summer, the result of a two-year push to give the unit greater range and firepower in response to concerns about a more assertive Russia.
Half of the regiment’s new Strykers will come equipped with a 30 mm Bushmaster cannon, which boasts a range of more than 9,000 feet — far greater than the current M2 .50-caliber machine gun or Mk-19 grenade launcher.
A year ago, Popular Mechanics wrote about the new version;
The 30-millimeter gun will actually be a larger version of the Bushmaster cannon mounted on the M2 Bradley infantry fighting vehicle. As such, it will have slightly better range and penetration against armored targets, at the cost of storing fewer rounds. The 30-millimeter gun would be useful against Russian BMP and BTR infantry fighting vehicles, and the new generation of Boomerang combat vehicles. It should also be effective against helicopters.
The plan is that half of the Strykers will be able to kill pretty much anything, while the other half will be able to kill lighter armored vehicles in the same class as themselves. While it would be nice to upgrade all Strykers with a turret that mounts both missiles and guns, like the Bradley has, in this age of budget austerity one must settle for a reasonable compromise.
From Army.mil;
The 30 mm cannon was integrated on the Stryker ICV platform to meet emerging operational requirements and to improve lethality. The upgraded Stryker vehicle will be known as the, Dragoon, the name of the 2nd Cavalry Regiment. With the further integration of Engineering Change Proposal 1 providing greater horsepower and electrical output, along with a more robust suspension and in-vehicle network, the Stryker will be an even more capable platform.
KWTX reports that 13 Fort Hood soldiers were swept up by Bell County, Texas sheriff’s department in what they called part of the National Johns Suppression Initiative, an attempt to stop prostitution by targeting the clientele (johns) of prostitutes. Apparently, the police placed ads on the internet to attract criminals. The Fort Hood PAO responded;
“Allegations such as these are taken seriously as they run counter to Army values,” said Tom Rheinlander, director of Fort Hood Public Affairs.
“As always, we are supportive of local authorities and will cooperate fully. Fort Hood will refrain from commenting further given that this is an ongoing investigation,” he said.
Two of the accused were under the age of 18, the ranks spanned from Privates to a Major.
List of Fort Hood soldiers arrested in the sting
1) SPC Joiner, Jimmie W. 15T 3/227 AVN (1st Cav)
2) SSG Davis, Kendrick 23N Co B 57th Sig (11th Sig Theater Tactical BDE)
3) MSG Ervin, Stanley L. 92A HHC 13th ESC
4) PV2 Horne, Xavier 92F Co E 2/227th Avn (1st Cav)
5) PFC Upshaw, Adrian J. 25B Co C 3 BN BDE (3rd Cav Rgt)
6) SGT Castillo, Carlos 91B 411 MP Co
7) SSG Seymour, Natalion 74D HHC 2nd CM BN
8) SGT Culpepper, Michael 11B 1st Cav
9) CW2(P) Grant, Ernest 882A Co A WTU
10) WO1 Hughes, Gregory D. 923A HHC 1st CSSB
11) MAJ White, Donta 42H HHC 89th MP BDE
None were infantry platoon sergeants because we’re too good looking to pay for strange.