Every day I get this video in my email, so I’m telling you that I think it was staged, because Snuffy isn’t wearing his helmet. I know things have changed since I was in the Army, but I don’t think this has changed. Maybe I’m wrong, but I don’t think so.
I’m pretty sure that no NCO would let a private this stupid on a live fire range without something to protect his soft skull.
The Killeen Daily Herald reports that a soldier was carjacked while he was still on Fort Hood;
A soldier picked up an unknown man at the III Corps Express on Monday about 1 p.m. and drove to the vicinity of Wainwright Village, officials with Directorate of Emergency Services said.
The suspect, described as a black man, attacked the driver with a knife and injured his left pinky finger.
The driver was treated at Carl R. Darnall Army Medical Center, but was not admitted to the hospital, officials said.
Carjackings happen everyday outside the gates of military bases, but hardly ever inside those gates. Even traffic tickets are rare inside those gates. The soldier got off lucky with a bloody pinkie finger, but what does this particular crime say about the security of soldiers inside of Fort Hood – the scene of one of the bloodiest terrorist attacks in the last few years?
Thanks to Chief Tango for the link.
Fox News reports that the Army has decided to award Purple Hearts to the victims of the terrorism at Fort Hood over five years ago.
Three sources confirmed the decision, to be announced by next week. Victims of the 2009 shooting and their families have been pressing the military to award the Purple Heart, and the benefits that come with it, for years.
They got a boost when Congress passed recent funding legislation requiring the Defense Department to reconsider whether the victims qualify for the honor. At the time, a lawyer for victims of the shooting and their families told Fox News that some victims are still so damaged physically and mentally they are unable to work five years after the massacre — and the benefits that come with the Purple Heart would be a lifeline.
About damn time.
According to the Associated Press, Major Erik J. Burris, who is formerly an Army prosecutor specializing in sexual assaults, was found guilty of rape among other charges and sentenced to twenty years;
Maj. Erik J. Burris was found guilty on two charges of rape, a charge of forcible sodomy, four charges of assault and a charge of disobeying an order, the Army said in a five-sentence statement. Burris was sentenced to 20 years in prison, dismissed from the service, and ordered to forfeit all pay, the statement said.
Burris, 39, had pleaded not guilty to the charges. He could not be reached for comment, and the name of the lawyer representing him was not provided.
The statement emailed to news media outlets Monday was the first issued by the Army about the case. It provided no details about the crimes for which Burris was convicted or whether they included other military personnel.
So what is it with these guys? We had an Air Force prosecutor arrested last year. Another Army officer has been removed from his position because of groping allegations. It’s as if they don’t understand the policy or their jobs.
We’ve been trying to confirm this all night, but we haven’t been able to nail down the Army. But many news sources, including the Washington Times, are reporting that Bowe Bergdahl, the fellow who went on a walkabout into the arms of the Haqqani Network and took off five years from his military career to hang out with the goat ropers, will be charged with desertion;
Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl…is being charged with desertion, retired Lt. Col. Tony Schaffer told Bill O’Reilly on “The O’Reilly Factor” Monday.
Mr. Shaffer, who now works for the London Center for Policy Research, said two separate military sources have confirmed to him that Sgt. Bergdahl’s attorney has been given a “charge sheet,” listing out the articles of the uniform military code that have been violated.
Well, if they are, that’s good. I’m sure somehow the Left is going to make him a victim of the Army, but we’ve known he was guilty back in the early days of his disappearance because of our sources. We kept our traps shut until he was returned to US custody. The Times continues;
“This is shaping up to be a titanic struggle behind the scenes,” [Mr. Shaffer] said. “Believe me, the Army here wants to do the right thing … And the White House, because of the political narrative, President Obama cozying up to the parents and because he, President Obama, releasing the five Taliban … The narrative is what the White House does not want to have come out.”
I’m guessing that they’re going give him “time served” with the Haqqani as his punishment. I doubt he can get back pay, but he’ll probably burden the VA healthcare system – in the hope that they give him some free pot someday.
I know that some will say that he didn’t expect to be treated as he was when he bolted, but that is irrelevant. His intent was to violate policy and leave the wire in some stank-ass belief that he was letting his soul free or some other sort of mistaken sense of freeing himself from the rigors of military life. The fact is that he broke the law and needs to be punished as an example to the other people who mistakenly joined the Army because they thought they could change the system.
ADDED: As I said initially, we haven’t been able to verify this story and Military Times says that the Army has told them that there have been no charging documents issued;
No charge sheets were available Tuesday, and Boyce said he is unaware of any charge sheets being issued against Bergdahl, adding that the Fox News story “seems to be speculative in nature.” Bergdahl’s attorney Eugene Fidell declined to comment. NBC News, citing an anonymous senior defense official, is also reporting a desertion charge is coming, possibly within the week.
Gen. Mark Milley, commanding general of Forces Command, “is reviewing now the Army’s facts and findings to determine, impartially, any appropriate next steps and possible actions,” Boyce said.
Milley is “actively reviewing the case,” he said. “No decision’s been made.”
Andy11M sends us a link to the news that the rather tall fellow in the picture above, Marshall Plumlee, the seven-foot basketball player at Duke, has contracted with the Army for service next year when his college career ends;
The Duke Chronicle reported Thursday that the inspiration for Plumlee’s interest in joining the military was the Oct. 2012 trip to Fort Bragg that Mike Krzyzewski organized for the Blue Devils. The former West Point cadet, player and coach had his team go through a day of physical training before holding an open practice in front of a few hundred soldiers.
Duke players spent a night in the barracks before waking up at dawn, marching to physical training and tackling an obstacle course that left each of them caked in dirt and mud. Plumlee, ironically, could not participate since he was on crutches and wore a walking boot on his left foot, but the experience apparently rubbed off on him anyway.
I guess he needed a waiver because he exceeds Army standards by four inches. I’m guessing that he won’t be a tanker. My Bradley platoon leader during Desert Story was about 6’6″ tall and when he was in the turret and buttoned up, there was nothing but legs everywhere. But best of luck, Cadet Plumlee.
Andy11M and Chief Tango send us a link to the Washington Post which reports that an unnamed veteran and his wife used a “sleazy scheme” to rake in millions of dollars from the Army, but apparently, it was legal and there’s nothing the Army can do about it;
The veteran, described as a retired sergeant, and his wife set up a fake website — officialarmy.com — to gather the names of potential recruits, and then turned those names over to the service for financial rewards totaling $3.845 million, she said.
“I am absolutely disgusted,” said McCaskill in a news release. “This is a staggering exploitation of public trust, of the brave men and women who volunteer to serve in the Army, and of taxpayer dollars. It’s past time for the Department of Defense to take a hard look at the people who perpetrated and approved this scheme, and for the Recruiting Command to put in place policies to better safeguard against future recruiting schemes.”
I guess that makes all of those others who are going to jail for manipulating the recruiting bonus system look pretty stupid, doesn’t it?
McCaskill and Army officials disclosed a widespread scandal centered on its recruiting practices last year, saying at the time that they were investigating the actions of more than 1,200 people suspected of collecting more than $29 million fraudulently. In that case, the National Guard Recruiting Assistance Program was involved. In this case, the Army’s Referral Bonus Program to recruit active-duty soldiers was used, McCaskill alleged. It offered $2,000 for each recruit who eventually enlisted.
Basically, all they did was create a cold call leads list for Army recruiters and they got paid for it. Yeah, it should be illegal, but apparently it wasn’t. Whose fault was that?
Andy11M sends us a link from the UK’s Telegraph which reports that the Army is considering the exemption from traditional combat training for the folks they hire with internet skills to fight against cyber terrorism;
Lt Gen Robert Brown said the US Army had to recruit people who were not typical candidates for a military career if it was to attract the right skills to wage cyber war.
The American military is trying to build up expertise in cyber warfare amid increasing concern about attacks or espionage by states including Russia, Iran, China or North Korea.
[…]
Lt Gen Brown told a briefing of the New America Foundation: “For cyber, this must include individuals who anticipate and adapt to the rapid pace of innovation in the cyber world and thrive in its inherent ambiguity. Many who have these skills are not natural candidates for a military career.
“They grew up on Google and wear ponytails. We need to look at ways to bring them into the Army without necessarily going through the same training procedures as our combat troops.”
Yeah, that makes no sense. It’s called “basic” training for a reason. If they want a bunch of people with pony tails and metallica T-shirts, they should just hire contractors. The British Army says that they’re considering hiring folks who have been arrested for hacking “as long as they pass security vetting.” They’re criminals – and they’re bad at being criminals – they were caught and arrested. They shouldn’t pass security vetting, FFS.
Nothing like clearing the way for a bunch of Edward Snowdens. Snowden couldn’t pass basic training either.
Basic training is what makes us a band of brothers – if someone doesn’t have the personal commitment to finish basic training, they won’t have the commitment to the ideals and values of national service.