H/T Carrie.
I missed this, maybe you did too?
Banks Offering Emergency Plans for Debt Ceiling Crisis
More banks are announcing plans to help in the event that the federal government debt ceiling crisis results in non-payment of pay for service members and other Department of Defense employees.
…And so it begins (Washington Times link)
J.D. Smith, an active-duty Air Force officer who founded OutServe, said the military should think of gays when recruiting. “J.D. Smith” is an alias he uses because the ban is still in effect.
“Absolutely, we endorse the DoD advertising recruiting for the gay community, just as they would any other community,” he said in an email exchange with The Washington Times. “The DoD regularly attends public events to recruit, and we believe they should be at Pride events next year around the country to let the gay community know the opportunities to serve their nation.
Why would they need an out reach program? I got the impression from the debate over the repeal of DADT, that there are millions of gays just waiting for the ban to be lifted so they can join the military. I thought they’d be lined up around the block at recruiting stations around the country on the day the ban is lifted.
I can imagine the abuse to which recruiters would be subjected at the Fulton Street Fair. If it doesn’t already, San Francisco would be considered a hazardous duty assignment for recruiters.
Jerry920 sent us this link to an article at ABC News about Admiral Eric T. Olson, the commander of SOCOM, who thinks women in the SEALs is a good idea. Why, you may be asking yourself. Let the Admiral explain;
…there are a number of things that a man and a woman can do together that two guys can’t…
Really? Seriously?
You’d think he would expound on that, wouldn’t you? But he doesn’t. I think an explanation is in order here, one that doesn’t necessitate the presentation of pr0n.
Filipino Henson Chua is expected to plead guilty to selling a RQ-11A/B “Raven” drone aircraft to a Homeland Security Department agent who was posing as an American representing a Russian arms dealer on Ebay according to the Washington Post;
As part of a plea agreement, Henson Chua was to plead guilty Wednesday in Florida to the illegal import of defense material for selling the Raven. He faces up to 20 years in prison but will likely get less under federal guidelines.
No word in the court papers on how Chua got the drone in the first place.
Yeah, I think it’s probably most important to figure out how he got the thing in the first place. Not that it’s dangerous, other then the fact that it contains a bunch of technology other countries don’t have. Some information on the Raven;
More than 3,000 RQ-11As were produced before 2006. The RQ-11A Raven UAV weighs about 1.9kg (4.2lb). It has a flight endurance of 80 minutes and an effective operational radius of about 10km (6.2 miles). Raven has a flying speed of 45km/h to 95km/h (28mph to 60mph) at typical operating altitude between 30m and 300m (100ft to 1,000ft). RQ-11A Raven provides flexibility, with remote control or control through ground station. It allows completely autonomous missions using GPS waypoint navigation. CCD colour video and an infrared camera constitute the standard mission payloads.
The Raven B system is an enhanced version of the battle-proven Raven A. It is a lightweight system designed for rapid deployment and high mobility for both military and commercial applications. The Raven B is the most advanced SUAS deployed with the US armed forces.
RQ-11B has a wingspan of 4.5ft and a weight of 4.2lb. Launched by hand, Raven provides aerial observation, day or night, at line-of-sight ranges of 10km or more. It can deliver real-time colour or infrared imagery to ground control and remote viewing stations, as well as IR laser illumination of ground targets.
The Marine Corps Times reports that another of those idiot DoD panels has arrived at some radical changes for the military retirement system;
In a massive change that could affect today’s troops, the plan calls for a corporate-style benefits program that would contribute money to troops’ retirement savings account rather than the promise of a future monthly pension, according to a new proposal from an influential Pentagon advisory board.
All troops would receive the yearly retirement contributions, regardless of whether they stay for 20 years. Those contributions might amount to about 16.5 percent of a member’s annual pay and would be deposited into a mandatory version of the Thrift Savings Plan, the military’s existing 401(k)-style account that now does not include government matching contributions.
OK, sounds pretty good so far, except that the TSP has no investment option for cash investments, which means that 100% of their contributions are subject to market conditions in either bond or stock markets. I like that my pension is a guaranteed amount that I can count on despite the ups and downs of Wall Street. Don’t get me wrong, I’m going to be a very rich man when I retire and finally access my investments, but I’ll have a pension that I can always count on to be there.
But here comes the “sucks” part;
It’s unclear whether troops would have immediate access to all the retirement money or whether it would be partially or completely withheld until a traditional retirement age, such as 65. Under the current TSP, troops cannot withdraw money until age 59½ without incurring a significant penalty, except in certain specified circumstances.
Unlike other proposals to overhaul military retirement that would grandfather current troops, the board suggests that DoD could make an “immediate” transition to the new system, which would affect current troops quite differently depending on their years of service:
So it’s another example of the government forcing the troops to change horses in mid-stream. those troops who’ve been in for years won’t have to advantage of using the market to grow their pensions like a new trooper with twenty years to make up for losses and capitalize on gains.
Who in the military has the education to invest smartly? How much will it cost the military to educate Joe on how to not lose all of his money on a crap shoot? And the lure of a five-figure amount sitting in an investment account that they can access will probably tempt a lot of Joes out of the military. Yeah, it’s possible.
Thanks to StrikrFO and Posdorf for the links.
Carlos Bledsoe pleads guilty today in his trial for the murder of one soldier and wounding another in the parking lot of a recruiting station in Little Rock, Arkansas more than two years ago. Apparently, the prosecutor was prepared to take the death sentence off the table, because Bledsoe was sentenced to life in prison according to CNN;
[Abdulhakim Muhammad, formerly known as Carlos Bledsoe] faced 12 charges in total — capital murder, attempted capital murder and 10 counts of unlawful discharge of a firearm from a vehicle — according to Stephanie Harris, a spokeswoman with the state court system.
In Arkansas, defendants cannot plead guilty in a case in which the death penalty is a possibility.
Prosecutors agreed to drop the death penalty in exchange for Muhammad’s plea, Harris said.
Now we know why there was an abrupt end to testimony last week…the prosecutor needed time to cave.
The dude was guilty and the prosecutor had a lock on the death penalty, but he blinked. Now this leech will be living off of the taxpayers for the next several decades, unless they blink again and let the POS out on parole.
Details are still sketchy, but apparently, a Fort Drum soldier, as yet unnamed, is being credited with saving countless lives in a fiery bus crash in Upstate New York, according to a Watertown, NY TV station;
WSTM TV in Syracuse reports that a soldier from Fort Drum pulled passengers from a burning bus on the state Thruway.
The bus caught fire in a crash near the Waterloo exit. (Point of reference: that’s the exit for the popular Waterloo outlet mall.) A tractor trailer reportedly hit the rear of a bus, injuring at least 20 people.
From CBS News;
State police said a U.S. soldier from New York’s Fort Drum who came upon the scene pulled some people from the burning bus.
From a Syracuse TV Station;
The accident happened around 1:30 Friday morning in the eastbound lanes of Interstate 90 near the Waterloo Premium Outlets and the Junius Ponds service area. Troopers say the bus burst into flames after being hit. A soldier stationed at Fort Drum who was traveling on the Thruway at the time is credited with helping to get a number of people off of the burning bus. The soldier’s name and rank have not been released at this point.
Sounds like a Soldier’s Medal is warranted.
UPDATED: Watertown’s Fox 28 identifies the soldier;
State police have identified a soldier from Fort Drum who pulled people from a burning bus on the state Thruway overnight.
He is 28 year old Sergeant Jacob Perkins of the 1st Squadron, 89th Cavalry Regiment.
“A couple of witnesses who rendered help – one notable witness is a soldier from Fort Drum. His name is Jacob Perkins. He’s a sergeant. He’s an E-5…He was able to get a few of the passengers off that bus safely,” said State Police Major Mark Koss.
From Syracuse WSYR;
Perkins is a member of the 189th Calvary and his entire brigade went on leave Thursday. He was reportedly driving to the airport when he pulled over at the crash scene.
After speaking with rescue teams when they arrived on scene, Perkins continued driving to the airport.
Tman and Jeff Schogol sent us links to the report that the new Secretary of Defense, Leon Panetta, is ready to certify that DoD is ready to end the 17 year old Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy established by the Clinton Administration it’s first year in office (Stars & Stripes link);
The certification comes after months of training for military personnel to prepare them for the presence of openly gay uniformed colleagues for the first time in history, and starts the 60-day waiting period before the law is completely removed.
Under rules outlined by Congress in December, the president, defense secretary and chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff were required to certify that the services are ready for the dramatic personnel change before the law could be repealed.
AdvertisementPentagon officials last week said that the service chiefs had submitted their reports on training and readiness to new Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, who had stated that repeal could take place in late July or early August.
So all of you recruiters get ready for the flood of new recruits – those legions of patriotic gays who have been waiting anxiously for the policy to be repealed so they can slug through the mud and deserts for their country. I’ll bet the line will stretch around the block. All of the military’s recruiting issues will be solved, and you recruiters will be making mission for years thanks to the end of this policy.
This may also mean that men in the Army will be allowed to carry umbrellas while in uniform finally.