Marine Corps News

US soldier arrested for allegedly trying to sell Trump phone records
1 day, 8 hours ago
US soldier arrested for allegedly trying to sell Trump phone records

Cameron John Wagenius is also accused of attempting to sell the stolen call logs of Vice President Kamala Harris.

A U.S. Army soldier was arrested for allegedly attempting to sell the stolen call logs of President-elect Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris, according to Krebs on Security, an online publication run by former Washington Post reporter Brian Krebs.

Federal authorities indicted Cameron John Wagenius, 20, last month on two counts of unlawful transfer of confidential phone records information, court documents show.

The brief indictment, originally filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas in Waco, doesn’t offer specifics about the allegations, including victims’ names or alleged activities. It also excludes personal information about Wagenius.

However, Wagenius, which Krebs on Security identified as a U.S. soldier, is believed to be “Kiberphant0m,” a cybercriminal who’s made a name for himself online in dark web forums by selling and leaking stolen personal information from AT&T and Verizon customers, according to the report.

Wagenius was arrested near Fort Cavazos, Texas, on Dec. 20, according to Krebs on Security.

Last July, AT&T announced sensitive data was breached two years prior by hackers who leaked customer calls and text records from May to October 2022 onto the dark web. The telecommunications company said at the time that the information, which was accessed through third-party cloud platform Snowflake, did not contain Social Security numbers.

Krebs, who’s reported extensively on the data breach and those allegedly responsible, interviewed Wagenius’ mother, Alicia Roen, who said Wagenius worked on radio signals and network communications at a U.S. Army base in South Korea.

Quieting Discord: A new frontier in military leaks and extremism

Two other individuals — Connor Riley Moucka and John Erin Binns — have been arrested and indicted in connection to allegedly accessing and stealing AT&T customer data and extorting customers afterward, according to federal court documents.

Moucka and Binns were both indicted with one count of conspiracy, five counts of computer fraud and abuse, two counts of extortion in relation to computer fraud and 10 counts of wire fraud. The indictment alleges the two hacked into protected computer networks, stole sensitive information, extorted victims for ransom by threatening to sell their personal information online and in total racked up 36 bitcoins, the equivalent of $2.5 million.

After Moucka was arrested and indicted, screenshots circulating online appeared to show Kiberphant0m claiming on a dark web forum to be in possession of Trump’s and Harris’ call logs.

“In the event you do not reach out to us @ATNT all presidential government call logs will be leaked,” Kiberphant0m said. “You don’t think we don’t have plans in the event of an arrest? Think again.”

The case has been transferred to the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington in Seattle, according to Krebs on Security.

Riley Ceder - January 3, 2025, 4:47 pm

40% rise in mental health diagnoses among troops, report finds
1 day, 11 hours ago
40% rise in mental health diagnoses among troops, report finds

Diagnoses of PTSD and anxiety disorders nearly doubled between 2019 and 2023, according to a new Defense Health Agency report.

Editor’s note: This report contains discussion of suicide. Troops, veterans and family members experiencing suicidal thoughts can call the 24-hour Suicide and Crisis Lifeline at 988 and dial 1, text 838255 or visit VeteransCrisisLine.net.

Diagnoses of mental health disorders among active-duty service members increased by nearly 40% over the last five years, according to a new Defense Health Agency report.

The report, which was released as part of the agency’s Armed Forces Health Surveillance Division’s December Medical Surveillance Monthly Report, examined mental health diagnoses among active-duty troops between 2019 and 2023, finding that anxiety disorders and post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD, accounted for the largest increase in diagnoses.

Specifically, diagnoses of these disorders nearly doubled during the five-year period, according to the report. The report did not pinpoint a single cause for the rise but cited the COVID-19 pandemic, which coincided with the five-year period, as a potential factor in the uptick.

In 2023, active-duty service members experiencing a mental health disorder populated more hospital beds than any other affliction, accounting for 54.8% of all hospital bed days.

The medical data was retrieved from medical records accessed through the Defense Medical Surveillance System and Theater Medical Data Store.

From 2019 through 2023, 541,672 active-duty service members — from the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, Coast Guard and Space Force — were diagnosed with at least one mental health disorder, according to the report. Approximately 47% of those individuals — about 255,000 — were diagnosed with more than one mental health disorder.

In total, 966,227 individual diagnoses were made.

Military suicides rose in 2023, continuing a troubling trend

Mental health disorder diagnoses were most often found in female service members, individuals from a younger age demographic and the Army.

The Navy, however, led all other services in diagnoses of depressive disorders, bipolar disorders and personality disorders.

Active-duty female service members were also diagnosed with PTSD at twice the rate of male service members, and incidents of diagnoses increased with age. The report noted these findings likely reflected changing demographics of the military, as more women serve, and may relate to “sex-specific differences” in mental health factors that can predispose service members to higher PTSD rates.

“Efforts to assist and treat service members should continue to promote help-seeking behavior to improve their psychological and emotional well-being and reduce the burden of mental health disorders, especially as rates have been increasing since the COVID-19 pandemic,” the report said.

The report utilized ambulance encounters, hospitalization or outpatient visits to a psychiatric facility, among other factors, to define a mental health diagnosis.

Mental health disorders defined by the Defense Department include acute stress disorders, bipolar disorders, depressive disorders, anxiety disorders, PTSD and schizophrenia, among others.

The Defense Department has struggled to address the mental health of service members, including veterans, whose suicide rate remained at 17.6% from 2021 to 2022, according to federal census data.

Veterans are almost twice as likely to die by suicide as civilians, Military Times previously reported. In 2023, the rate of military suicides rose by 6%.

Riley Ceder - January 3, 2025, 1:45 pm

President Joe Biden to award Medal of Honor to 7 service members
1 day, 14 hours ago
President Joe Biden to award Medal of Honor to 7 service members

Biden will bestow the medal posthumously to six men and one living recipient at a White House ceremony.

On Feb. 15, 1951, Army Pvt. Bruno R. Orig was returning from a mission when he found his fellow soldiers under attack in what’s now known as the Battle of Chipyong-ni.

The infantryman provided first aid to his comrades wounded in the Korean War attack and began helping move those men to safety. He then took over a machine gun post and allowed a friendly platoon to pull back without a casualty. When the ground was recaptured later that day, Orig was found dead beside the machine gun, surrounded by enemy combatants he had killed.

Orig is among the Medal of Honor recipients being recognized Friday by President Joe Biden in one of his last opportunities to officially acknowledge acts of selflessness and personal bravery in times of war.

Biden will bestow the medal posthumously to six men and one living recipient at a White House ceremony.

During the Korean War, Pfc. Wataru Nakamura destroyed an enemy machine gun nest and recaptured several bunkers. He exhausted his ammunition but resumed his attack after being rearmed, and he was ultimately killed by an enemy grenade and buried in Los Angeles.

Army Cpl. Fred B. McGee is being recognized for his gallantry and intrepidity near Tang-Wan-Ni, Korea, on June 16, 1952, when he assumed command of his squad, neutralized an enemy machine gun and then sent his squad back while he helped rescue the wounded. The Ohio native died in 2020, according to news reports.

Army Pfc. Charles R. Johnson, from Millbrook, New York, was killed on June 12, 1953, after holding off Chinese forces during the Korean War. His actions saved the lives of as many as 10 soldiers.

After multiple raids on an entrenched enemy in the area of Sagimak during the Korean War, Army 1st Lt. Richard E. Cavazos stayed behind alone to evacuate five battle casualties to safety. Cavazos served more than three decades in the service, eventually attaining the rank of four-star general. The Texan died in 2018 at age 88. Fort Hood was renamed in honor of him on May 9, 2023.

After an armed helicopter crashed during the Vietnam War on June 5, 1966, Army Capt. Hugh R. Nelson Jr. from Rocky Mount, North Carolina, pulled two specialists from the aircraft, shielding one of them from enemy gunfire at the loss of his own life.

While fighting in Vietnam on May 7, 1970, then-Army Pfc. Kenneth J. David drew enemy fire away from injured comrades and onto himself, becoming wounded by a satchel charge. But David kept fighting and pulled fire away from landing Medevac helicopters, getting evacuated himself after the last helicopter landed. The Ohioan is still living.

In a separate Oval Office ceremony closed to the news media, Biden will award the Medal of Valor to eight first responders who put their own lives at risk to save others.

Josh Boak - January 3, 2025, 10:08 am

Harry Chandler, Navy medic who survived Pearl Harbor, dies at 103
2 days, 10 hours ago
Harry Chandler, Navy medic who survived Pearl Harbor, dies at 103

Chandler, who helped pull injured sailors from the oily waters on Dec. 7, 1941, is the third Pearl Harbor survivor to die in the past few weeks.

Harry Chandler, a Navy medic who helped pull injured sailors from the oily waters of Pearl Harbor after the 1941 Japanese attack on the naval base, has died. He was 103.

Chandler died Monday at a senior living center in Tequesta, Florida, according to Ron Mahaffee, the husband of his granddaughter Kelli Fahey. Chandler had congestive heart failure, but Mahaffee said doctors and nurses noted his advanced age when giving a cause of death.

The third Pearl Harbor survivor to die in the past few weeks, Chandler was a hospital corpsman 3rd class on Dec. 7, 1941, when waves of Japanese fighter planes dropped bombs and fired machine guns on battleships in the harbor and plunged the U.S. into World War II.

He told The Associated Press in 2023 that he saw the planes approach as he was raising the flag that morning at a mobile hospital in Aiea Heights, which is in the hills overlooking the base.

“I thought they were planes coming in from the states until I saw the bombs dropping,” Chandler said. His first instinct was to take cover and “get the hell out of here.”

“I was afraid that they’d start strafing,” he said.

His unit rode trucks down to attend the injured. He said in a Pacific Historic Parks oral history interview that he boarded a boat to help pluck wounded sailors from the water.

The harbor was covered in oil from exploding ships, so Chandler washed the sailors off after lifting them out. He said he was too focused on his work to be afraid.

“It got so busy you weren’t scared. Weren’t scared at all. We were busy. It was after you got scared,” Chandler said.

He realized later that he could have been killed, “But you didn’t think about that while you were busy taking care of people.”

The attack killed more than 2,300 U.S. servicemen. Nearly half, or 1,177, were sailors and Marines on board the USS Arizona, which sank nine minutes after it was bombed.

Chandler’s memories came flowing back when he visited Pearl Harbor for a 2023 ceremony commemorating the 82nd anniversary of the bombing.

“I look out there, and I can still see what’s going on. I can still see what was happening,” Chandler told The Associated Press.

Asked what he wanted Americans to know about Pearl Harbor, he said: “Be prepared.”

“We should have known that was going to happen. The intelligence has to be better,” he said.

After the war Chandler worked as a painter and wallpaper hanger and bought an upholstery business with his brother. He also joined the Navy reserves, retiring as a senior chief in 1981.

Chandler was born in Holyoke, Massachusetts, and lived for most of his adult life in nearby South Hadley, Mahaffee said. In recent decades he split his time between Massachusetts and Florida.

An avid golfer, he shot five hole-in-ones during his lifetime, his grandson-in-law added.

Chandler had one biological daughter and adopted two daughters from his second marriage, to Anna Chandler, who died in 2004. He is survived by two daughters, nine grandchildren, 17 great-grandchildren and five great-great-grandchildren.

Military historian J. Michael Wenger has estimated that there were some 87,000 military personnel on the island of Oahu the day of the attack.

Bob Fernandez, who served on the USS Curtiss, died Dec. 11 at age 100, and Warren Upton, 105, who served on the USS Utah, died on Christmas Day.

Audrey McAvoy, The Associated Press - January 2, 2025, 2:00 pm

Green Beret identified as driver in Cybertruck blast at Trump Hotel
2 days, 11 hours ago
Green Beret identified as driver in Cybertruck blast at Trump Hotel

An active-duty soldier was identified as the driver of a Tesla Cybertruck that blew apart in an explosion in Las Vegas on New Year's Day.

A U.S. Army Green Beret was the driver of a Tesla Cybertruck that exploded outside of Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas on Wednesday, officials confirmed to local news outlets.

The man, identified by officials as Master Sgt. Matthew Alan Livelsberger, 37, died at the scene. Seven other people sustained minor injuries in the blast, said Kevin McMahill, sheriff of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department.

Livelsberger allegedly drove the 2024 Cybertruck to the front of the hotel after 8 a.m. on Wednesday, pulling into a space directly in front of the entrance doors. Smoke started emanating from the truck just before the large blast blew it apart, McMahill said. Firework mortars and camp fuel canisters were found inside the vehicle.

“We have now confirmed that the explosion was caused by very large fireworks and/or a bomb carried in the bed of the rented Cybertruck and is unrelated to the vehicle itself,” Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, said Wednesday on X.

Jeremy Schwartz, acting special agent in charge for the FBI’s Las Vegas office, said the agency was working to determine whether the blast was an act of terrorism.

Livelsberger was a special forces operations sergeant assigned to the 10th Special Forces Group in Stuttgart, Germany, an Army spokesperson said. U.S. Special Operations Command confirmed Thursday he was on approved leave at the time of the Las Vegas explosion.

He served a total of 19 years. Livelsberger enlisted in the Army as a special forces candidate in January 2006, an Army spokesperson said. He remained on active duty until March 2011, at which point he joined the Army National Guard. He switched to the Army Reserve in July 2012 and then reentered active duty in December 2012.

Livelsberger deployed twice to Afghanistan and served in Ukraine, Tajikistan, Georgia and Congo, the Army said. He was awarded two Bronze Stars, including one with a valor device for courage under fire, a Combat Infantry Badge and an Army Commendation Medal with valor.

Authorities told local news outlets Thursday that Livelsberger was a resident of Colorado Springs. The FBI’s Denver office said it was conducting activity at a residential address in the city Thursday, along with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, and the Colorado Springs Police Department. The FBI said it would be on-site for several hours and that the activity was related to the explosion in Las Vegas.

President Joe Biden said in an address Wednesday night that authorities were investigating any potential connection between the blast and a deadly rampage in New Orleans — another possible act of terrorism — that occurred the same day. A U.S. Army veteran rammed a truck into a crowd of New Year’s revelers on Bourbon Street early Wednesday morning, killing 15 people.

“Law enforcement and the intelligence community are investigating this as well, including whether there’s a possible connection to the attack in New Orleans,” Biden said. “So far, there’s nothing to report on that score.”

Livelsberger spent time at Fort Liberty, formerly named Fort Bragg, a massive Army base in North Carolina that is home to U.S. Special Operations Command. Shamsud-Din Jabbar, the 42-year-old Army veteran suspected in the New Orleans attack, also spent time at that base. However, one official said so far there is no overlap in their assignments there.

Both Livelsberger and Jabbar rented the vehicles used in the attacks through the app Turo, the company confirmed.

“Our trust and safety team is actively partnering with law enforcement authorities to share any information that could be helpful in their investigations,” Turo wrote in a statement. “We do not believe that either renter had a criminal background that would have identified them as a security threat, and we are not currently aware of any information that indicates the two incidents are related.”

Authorities don’t think the two men knew each other, two law enforcement officials said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Nikki Wentling - January 2, 2025, 12:56 pm

New Orleans attack suspect identified as Army vet ‘inspired by ISIS’
2 days, 13 hours ago
New Orleans attack suspect identified as Army vet ‘inspired by ISIS’

The man who reportedly drove a truck into a crowd of New Year's revelers in New Orleans, killing 15, has been identified as a U.S. Army veteran.

A U.S. Army veteran from Texas, driving a truck adorned with a flag of the Islamic State, rammed into a crowd of New Year’s revelers on Bourbon Street in New Orleans early Wednesday morning, killing 15 people and injuring dozens more.

The suspect in the deadly rampage, Shamsud-Din Jabbar, 42, was shot dead at the scene during an exchange of gunfire with police. Weapons and a potential improvised explosive device, or IED, were found in Jabbar’s truck, the FBI said. Other potential IEDs were found around the city’s French Quarter.

President Joe Biden confirmed Wednesday night that Jabbar had served in the U.S. military. According an Army spokesperson, Jabbar was on active duty from March 2007 until January 2015 as a human resource specialist and information technology specialist. He deployed to Afghanistan from February 2009 to January 2010.

A photo of Shamsud-Din Jabbar provided by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

After leaving active duty, Jabbar joined the Army Reserve, where he worked as an IT specialist until July 2020, the spokesperson said. He held the rank of staff sergeant at the end of his military career. During his time in the military, Jabbar was awarded three Army Commendation Medals and four Army Achievement Medals.

The FBI is investigating the murders as an act of terrorism and working to learn of Jabbar’s affiliations with terrorist organizations, Attorney General Merrick Garland said.

Hours before the attack, Jabbar posted videos on social media expressing a desire to kill, Biden said during a public address about the attack. The videos indicated “he was inspired by ISIS,” Biden said.

“The situation is very fluid, and the investigation is at a preliminary stage,” Biden said. “The law enforcement and intelligence community is continuing to look for any connections, affiliations or co-conspirators.”

The rampage adds to a list of extremist attacks carried out by people with military backgrounds since 1990. The National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism, or START, keeps a database of such attacks. Of the veterans and service members who were driven by extremist ideologies to commit crimes, 15% were connected to foreign Islamist extremist organizations, the data says.

Military service key factor in 3 decades of extremist attacks

Authorities confirmed Jabbar was born in the United States, after President-elect Donald Trump implied in a social media post Wednesday that the perpetrator was an immigrant.

Rich Groen, who says he was Jabbar’s commander in Afghanistan, posted a statement on X on Wednesday, describing Jabbar as a “great soldier” who worked “quietly and professionally” as a mail clerk.

“To think that the same individual who once embodied quiet professionalism could harbor so much hate, leading to such unspeakable atrocities, is incomprehensible and heartbreaking,” Groen wrote. “This transformation is a stark reminder of the dangers of unchecked anger, isolation, and hate.”

Nikki Wentling - January 2, 2025, 11:21 am

Even in the headline-grabbing world of drones, the Predator stands out
4 days, 14 hours ago
Even in the headline-grabbing world of drones, the Predator stands out

The MQ-1 accumulated more than 1 million flight hours in reconnaissance and combat missions.

Military use of remotely piloted aircraft, or drones, dates back to World War I experiments with practice targets, while guided aerial weapons were operational by World War II.

But it took advances in electronics and satellite technology to realize unmanned aerial vehicles, or UAVs, were capable of being controlled from thousands of miles away. The first operational reconnaissance drone, the Predator, went on to assume a more aggressive role.

Its inventor, engineer Abraham Karem, was born in Baghdad — ironic, considering how much his invention would serve in Iraq. Karem’s family moved to Israel in 1951, and he built his first UAV for the Israeli Air Force during the 1973 Yom Kippur War. 

Immigrating to the United States, he soon drew the attention of the CIA. Karem developed a series of prototypes, the Amber and Gnat 750, for General Atomics before test flying his ultimate design on July 3, 1994. A year later it entered service with the CIA and the U.S. Air Force as the RQ-1 (recon drone) Predator.

Coinciding with the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, the U.S. Department of Defense was developing an operational drone capable of toting ordnance. The RQ-1 proved adaptable to carrying an AGM-114 Hellfire air-to-surface antitank missile under each wing.

The MQ-1 was eventually succeeded by the upgraded MQ-9 Reaper. (Senior Airman Haley Stevens/U.S. Air Force)

Accepted in 2002 and promptly deployed to Afghanistan and Iraq, the armed Predator was designated the MQ-1 (multirole drone).

On Dec. 23, 2002, over the no-fly zone in Iraq, an Iraqi Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-25 engaged an MQ-1 armed with AIM-92 Stinger air-to-air missiles and shot it down, winning the first encounter between a conventional warplane and a UAV.

In 2011 the 268th and last MQ-1 left the General Atomics plant. By then it had accumulated more than 1 million flight hours and truly earned its Predator moniker.

On March 9, 2018, the Air Force retired the MQ-1, which had been supplanted by General Atomics’ improved MQ-9 Reaper.

This story originally appeared in the Spring 2024 issue of Military History magazine.

Jon Guttman - December 31, 2024, 10:19 am

Indiana Army National Guardsman dies in non-combat incident in Iraq
5 days, 8 hours ago
Indiana Army National Guardsman dies in non-combat incident in Iraq

Capt. Eric Richard Hart, 34, of Indianapolis, Indiana, died on Dec. 28.

An Indiana Army National Guardsman deployed to Iraq in support of Operation Inherent Resolve died Saturday in a non-combat incident, Defense Department officials announced Monday.

Capt. Eric Richard Hart, 34, of Indianapolis, Indiana, died on Dec. 28, according to a brief release.

The Pentagon did not provide additional details regarding Hart’s death, which is currently under investigation.

Hart was assigned to Headquarters and Headquarters Battalion, 38th Infantry Division, of the Indiana National Guard in Indianapolis.

“The Indiana National Guard extends our heartfelt and sincerest condolences to the family and friends of Capt. Eric Hart who died in a non-combat incident while overseas serving with the 38th Infantry Division in support of Operation Inherent Resolve,” the Indiana National Guard said in a statement. “Our thoughts are with them and the soldiers who worked and served alongside Capt. Hart. He was an integral part of our team and the Cyclone Division team as well. He will be missed.”

Hart was a quartermaster officer for the 38th Infantry Division, according to the Indiana National Guard. He commissioned as a second lieutenant in 2015 from the officer candidate school at Camp Atterbury, Indiana.

His awards include the Meritorious Service Medal, Army Commendation Medal, Army Achievement Medal and Army Reserve Component Achievement Medal, among others.

Editor’s note: This report has been updated with additional information about Hart’s service record and a statement from the Indiana National Guard.

Beth Sullivan - December 30, 2024, 4:46 pm

Navy information warfare officers can now take command at sea
5 days, 8 hours ago
Navy information warfare officers can now take command at sea

Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro amended regulations this month to create more command opportunities for information warfare officers.

Information warfare experts are increasingly in demand across the U.S. Navy, and in a move made this month, they’ll now be eligible for sea command.

Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro amended service regulations to create more command opportunities for information warfare officers. He released a message about the change this month.

Vice Adm. Mike Vernazza, the commander of Naval Information Forces, told DefenseScoop the change represented a “pivotal evolution in how the Navy views and employs IW capabilities across all domains of naval warfare” and meant that personnel steeped in information warfare are eligible for “command for sea.”

US Navy hunting for info warfare experts, Aeschbach tells Old Crows

Information warfare, or IW, is a fusion of offensive and defensive electronic capabilities and cyber operations. It combines data awareness and manipulation to gain an advantage, before, during and after battles.

Years ago, the Navy installed information warfare commanders in carrier strike groups to supplement air warfare and surface warfare commanders. In 2022, the service also established the Fleet Information Warfare Command Pacific, which combats false narratives from malign actors in the information domain.

“While the information age has been net positive, it has also provided malign actors numerous new outlets and mediums to spread disinformation, propaganda and lies,” Vernazza said at a conference earlier this year.

“Our ability to influence is critical across the spectrum of conflict, competition and crisis.”

Vernazza told DefenseScoop the new command opportunities for information warfare officers was a “direct acknowledgement of the centrality of information as a warfighting discipline.”

Nikki Wentling - December 30, 2024, 4:05 pm

89 Air Force jobs now eligible for retention bonuses
5 days, 10 hours ago
89 Air Force jobs now eligible for retention bonuses

The bonuses range from $180,000 to $360,000, according to a leaked Air Force memo.

Eighty-nine Air Force career fields will be eligible for retention bonuses in 2025, according to a service memo leaked online last week.

Though the list was not made readily available by the service, a copy of it providing the names of the eligible career fields circulated on social media, making an appearance on the popular Facebook group, “Air Force amn/nco/snco.”

An Air Force spokesperson confirmed the list’s authenticity, whose existence was first reported by Military.com on Friday.

The document, titled “United States Air Force Fiscal Year 2025 Selective Retention Bonus Listing,” details 89 career fields eligible for bonuses that begin at $180,000 and cap out at $360,000.

In 2024, 73 career fields were eligible for retention bonuses, according to Military.com.

Air Force plans for more flying, flat workforce in 2025

The list includes a myriad of career fields, such as airborne cryptologic language analyst-Chinese, pararescue, special mission aviator-MC-130J, human intelligence specialist, special reconnaissance, refuel/bomber aircraft maintenance craftsman, explosive ordnance disposal and surgical technologist-urology.

In March, the Department of the Air Force requested $217.5 billion for the 2025 fiscal year, with the Air Force making up $188.1 billion of that ask, Military Times previously reported.

The request targeted a $1.1 billion allotment for bonus and retention pay for 118,000 critical positions, including $327 million for aviation jobs and $21 million to retain cyber specialists.

The bonuses also come after the Air Force fell short of meeting recruitment goals by 10% in 2023. The service recently expanded medical waivers to cover asthma, food allergies, and hearing loss, in a bid to bring more recruits into the fold.

The new eligibility list went into effect Dec. 16, according to the document, and can be viewed in its entirety here.

Riley Ceder - December 30, 2024, 2:23 pm

US Army unit in Poland the first to field new rocket system
5 days, 16 hours ago
US Army unit in Poland the first to field new rocket system

The brigade is the first in the Army fully equipped with the upgraded rocket system.

A Germany-based artillery brigade is now the first Army unit fully equipped with the service’s next-generation Multiple Launch Rocket System.

In November, soldiers with the 41st Field Artillery Brigade in Grafenwoehr, Germany, completed the replacement of their legacy M270A1 MLRS platforms with the A2 variant, according to an Army release.

“The major difference we have seen with the M270A2 is that they are a little bit faster and more mobile,” said Capt. Kendal Peter, commander of Charlie Battery, 1st Battalion, 77th Field Artillery Regiment, 41st FA Brigade. “They have an improved cab that protects the soldiers which the M270A1 did not have, as well as a myriad of system upgrades that allow us to shoot faster and process missions more efficiently.”

Army eyes autonomous missile launcher and 1,000-kilometer strikes

The M270, which has been in service since the early 1980s, is a tracked system built on the chassis of the Bradley Fighting Vehicle that can fire up to 12 guided rockets, four precision strike missiles or two ATACMS missiles, which have a 140-mile range.

Other improvements with the new variant include a new engine, improved armored cabs, an upgraded transmission and a new common fire control system, according to manufacturer Lockheed Martin.

The A2 variant was first used in November during Exercise Dynamic Front 25. According to the release, the new equipment improved the soldiers’ live-fire artillery missions during the NATO exercise.

Soldiers with the 41st Field Artillery Brigade occupy an M270A2 Multiple Launch Rocket System after a successful fire during exercise Dynamic Front 25 at Ravajarvi Training Area, Rovaniemi, Finland, Nov. 18, 2024. (Spc. Elijah Magaña/Army)

“I am really looking forward to us being able to get in with our allies and execute long-range munition fires and seeing what we can do with them,” Staff Sgt. Zariah Fernandez, a platoon sergeant with Charlie Battery, said in the release.

The brigade is one of V Corps’ three permanently forward-deployed brigades.

“Being the only field artillery brigade that supports the European theater, we are the number one call when it comes to a conflict,” Peter said.

In April 2023, the Army awarded Lockheed Martin a $194 million contract for the A2 variant, as well as a $4.8 billion deal for the guided rockets.

The company is also working on an extended-range version of the guided rocket, which would more than double the rocket’s roughly 40-mile range to more than 100 miles, Defense News reported.

The M270A2 first arrived at the Army’s Red River Depot in 2022 prior to unit fielding. Italy, Germany and the United Kingdom plan to adopt the new platform, according to the release.

Todd South - December 30, 2024, 8:00 am

Jimmy Carter, 39th US president and Navy veteran, dies at 100
6 days, 7 hours ago
Jimmy Carter, 39th US president and Navy veteran, dies at 100

Former president Jimmy Carter, a Navy veteran, passed away Sunday at his home in Plains, Georgia.

Former President Jimmy Carter, the 39th leader of the United States, a Navy veteran and the only commander-in-chief to graduate from the United States Naval Academy, died on Sunday at his home in Plains, Georgia. He was 100 years old.

Carter, who began hospice care at his home in Georgia in February 2023, is often remembered as the one-term president who led the nation in the wake of the Vietnam War and who oversaw treaties involving the Panama Canal and a diplomatic relationship between Egypt and Israel.

But before Carter’s 1977-81 presidency, Carter served his nation in the sea service.

Born James Earl Carter Jr. in Plains, Georgia, the sailor-turned-president attended Georgia Institute of Technology as a Navy ROTC student before receiving an appointment to the Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. Inspired by his uncle to join the service, he graduated in June 1946 and commissioned as an ensign, according to Naval History and Heritage Command.

Carter received his first assignment with the battleship Wyoming, stationed at Norfolk, Virginia, where he served until the vessel was decommissioned in 1947. He then served on the battleship Mississippi as a training and education officer.

Following a six-month course at the U.S. Navy Submarine School in New London, Connecticut, Carter served aboard the Balao-class submarine Pomfret, based in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, and later as an engineering officer with the K-1 submarine.

Jimmy Carter in the main control room of USS K-1 (SSK-1) between June and October 1952. (Naval History and Heritage Command)

After a promotion to lieutenant in 1952, Carter began working with the Navy’s nuclear submarine development team. Only a few months later, he successfully helped prevent a nuclear disaster.

When a power surge at Chalk River Laboratories in Ontario, Canada, caused fuel rods to melt in a nuclear reactor, damaging its core, Carter and his team assisted in the response, according to the Navy. Each person was allowed up to only 90 seconds at a time for the cleanup work due to the extreme radioactivity.

“We were fairly well instructed then on what nuclear power was, but for about six months after that I had radioactivity in my urine,” Carter previously told CNN.

While preparing to work aboard one of the first subs to operate on atomic power, Carter’s father passed away in July 1953 and the young naval officer opted for an honorable discharge to return to Georgia and assist his family’s peanut-growing business.

“It was a very torturous decision for me to make,” Carter previously told CNBC.

Carter remained in the Naval Reserve until 1961, transferring to the retired reserve at the rank of lieutenant before beginning a career in politics.

Five other presidents also served in the Navy, including Carter’s four presidential predecessors as well as George H. W. Bush, according to the Navy’s heritage command.

The third Seawolf-class nuclear-powered submarine is named after the former president. Last year, a building at the Naval Academy was renamed after Carter following a congressionally-mandated decision to redesignate military assets across all branches with ties to the Confederacy.

Carter’s grandson indicated in May that his grandfather was “coming to the end” during an event with The Carter Center, the nonprofit the former president — and eventual Nobel Peace Prize recipient — founded after he left office to advance human rights internationally.

Carter’s wife Rosalynn died in November 2023.

Jonathan Lehrfeld - December 29, 2024, 4:52 pm

At 103, this P-51 Mustang pilot could soon become WWII’s last ace
1 week, 1 day ago
At 103, this P-51 Mustang pilot could soon become WWII’s last ace

James McCubbin, 103, is under consideration for recognition as a WWII ace for shooting down enemy aircraft in his P-51 Mustang.

In the decades following World War II, numerous fighter pilots have emerged from the record books to belatedly receive an honor long denied them: credit for downing five enemy aircraft and recognition as an ace. Many of them were “discovered” and their records corrected by the American Fighter Aces Association.

Arguably, the last such man is James McCubbin, a North American P-51D Mustang pilot of the Eighth Air Force who is currently under consideration — at 103 years old.

How a WWII ace became the unlikely honoree of a submarine combat award

McCubbin was born in Kansas City, Missouri, on March 5, 1921. Upon graduating from high school in Kansas City, he studied engineering at the University of Missouri.

After two years of college, however, he left school to join the United States Army Air Corps as an aviation cadet, taking most of his training in Texas. Once training was behind him, he was assigned to the 385th Squadron of the 364th Fighter Group, based at Honington, England.

Initially equipped with the Lockheed P-38J Lightning, the squadron began transitioning to the North American P-51D Mustang in August 1944.

On Sept. 23, McCubbin was promoted to first lieutenant. The original certified correct flight records for the 385th — by either the squadron operations officer, Maj. William S. Crombie Jr., or his assistant operations officer, Thomas P. Farrell — state McCubbin flew in September and October 1944 without claiming any victories.

On Nov. 21, however, he was credited with destroying two Junkers Ju 88s.

On Dec. 2, McCuddin attacked a Messerschmitt fighter at approximately 15,000 feet over Mannheim, Germany, reporting hits around the enemy’s cockpit and noting, “As I pulled up, I saw him hit the ground without bailing out.”

Three days later, McCubbin was flying a P-51D Mustang when he had his most memorable aerial encounter with a host of Nazi Focke-Wulf Fw 190 fighter aircraft, as described in his combat report:

“I was flying Yellow No. 3 in 385th Ftr. ‘B’ Sq. As the bombers began their bombing run, we moved away from the close escort we had been furnishing. As we headed north we saw a gaggle of 50-plus enemy aircraft at ten o’clock to us. They were at about 22,500; we were at 23,000 in behind the nearest e/a. I swung to the outside of the turn, picked out a target on the other side of the gaggle. I opened fire at about 700 yards dead astern. The enemy took no evasive action. I closed to 300 yards firing several bursts. The Fw 190 blew up in flames. The gaggle maintained its practice of flying straight and level.

“I picked out another target and at about 400 yards dead astern I opened fire, closing on 250 yards. I fired several bursts, obtaining numerous hits. The enemy pilot bailed out.

“I immediately pulled up behind a third Fw 190, opened fire at 300 yards and closed to 200 yards. I obtained hits all over him. He appeared to be out of control and went into a ... dive heading straight down.

“I got behind a fourth Fw 190 and at 200 yards I opened fire. I closed to 100 yards. I observed many hits. He split essed and I followed him. I was firing short bursts and saw his elevator come off. I was then reaching compressibility so I pulled out. He was still going straight down when I pulled out at 11,000 feet. I went down to the deck looking for more e/a, but found nothing. I then headed for home.

“I claim three (3) Fw 190′s dest and one (1) Fw 190 prob dest in the air.

“Ammo exp. 836 yrds, .50- cal.”

The 385th’s intelligence officer, 1st Lt. William J. Neafsey, gave McCubbin credit for the first two Fw 190s, counting the other two as “probables.” It is possible, however, that the third Focke-Wulf was upgraded to “confirmed” status.

Men of the 385th Fighter Squadron, 364th Fighter Group, 67th Fighter Wing, load ammunition belts in the wing of a North American P-51 Mustang in Honington, England, in1944. (National Archives)

In any case, by the end of December, McCubbin’s personal aircraft, the P-51D, which he dubbed Mary-Al, most likely after a girlfriend, displayed six swastikas below the cockpit, indicating him to be an ace.

On Christmas Eve, however, he was forced to crash-land Mary-Al on an abandoned German airfield near Lille, France. Rejoining his squadron and obtaining a new plane by Jan. 1, 1945, he opened the new year by shooting down another Fw 190.

Besides seeking action in the sky, McCubbin stated that he “loved strafing trains and locomotives.”

On Feb. 19, 1945, however, his luck ran out.

Struck by anti-aircraft fire, McCubbin survived a crash-landing east of Bonn. After a couple of weeks walking in the woods evading capture while nabbing food off the back porches of farmhouses, he eventually was caught and sent to what he described as Frankfurt, but what was more likely the nearby Dulag Luft near Oberursel, northwest of Frankfort-am-Main.

Virtually all Allied airmen captured during WWII spent some time in solitary confinement at this processing center, followed by interrogation, to determine who were prisoners of war and who were spies planted in their midst by their captors.

McCubbin’s experiences included matching wits with Obergefreiter Hanns Joachim Gottlob Scharff, noted for his subtle finesse in gaining, or at least confirming, information from more than 500 prisoners of war.

Once out-processed from Dulag Luft, McCubbin was sent to the POW camp at Moosberg, where he remained until the war ended and he joined the thousands of airmen released into freedom.

The

For his actions, McCubbin was awarded an Air Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster. To this was later added the Distinguished Flying Cross, Purple Heart, Presidential Unit Citation and the rank of captain.

After WWII, he served in the U.S. Air Force Reserve as a pilot instructor and an instrument instructor while using the G.I. Bill to continue his education, receiving his engineering degree two years later.

In the interim, he met and married his wife, Bettye, and they raised four children: Carleen, Jack, Debby and Ken.

After receiving his degree, McCubbin resigned his commission just before the Korean War in 1950. He formed a small but successful plastics company and eventually sold it. He then worked as an engineer for cooling tower manufacturer Marley Company.

After spending 12 years with his family in Mexico City as manager of Marley’s subsidiary there, he returned to the U.S. at 55 years old and retired. He spent most of his time thereafter with his wife at the Renaissance Legacy Senior Living in Rome, Georgia.

After his wife’s death, McCubbin made a special request to be reunited with an old friend for his 101st birthday. In response, the Commemorative Air Force flew its P-51D to Rome on June 4, 2022.

After sitting once more in his old aircraft, he declared, “It felt so good to be in that cockpit, like I did.”

Editor’s note: A special thanks to Gilbert Ferrey, J. Ward Boyce and the McCubbin family for documentation in reconstructing McCubbin’s career.

Jon Guttman - December 27, 2024, 9:48 pm

Oldest living survivor of the attack on Pearl Harbor dies at 105
1 week, 1 day ago
Oldest living survivor of the attack on Pearl Harbor dies at 105

Fair winds and following seas, Mr. Warren Upton. There are now only 15 Pearl Harbor survivors still with us.

Warren Upton, the oldest living survivor of the 1941 Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and the last remaining survivor of the USS Utah, has died. He was 105.

Upton died Wednesday at a hospital in Los Gatos, California, after suffering a bout of pneumonia, said Kathleen Farley, the California state chair of the Sons and Daughters of Pearl Harbor Survivors.

The Utah, a battleship, was moored at Pearl Harbor when Japanese planes began bombing the Hawaii naval base in the early hours of Dec. 7, 1941, in an attack that propelled the U.S. into World War II.

Upton told The Associated Press in 2020 that he had been getting ready to shave when he felt the first torpedo hit the Utah. He recalled that no one on board knew what made the ship shake. Then, the second torpedo hit and the ship began to list and capsize.

The then-22-year-old swam ashore to Ford Island, where he jumped in a trench to avoid Japanese planes strafing the area. He stayed for about 30 minutes until a truck came and took him to safety.

Upton said he didn’t mind talking about what happened during the attack. Instead, what upset him was that he kept losing shipmates over the years. By 2020, there were only three crew members of the Utah still alive, including himself.

There were an estimated 87,000 military personnel on Oahu on the day of the attack, according to military historian J. Michael Wenger. After Upton’s death, there are only 15 still alive.

Audrey McAvoy, The Associated Press - December 27, 2024, 4:19 pm

Sacrifice made soldier first Hispanic American MOH recipient of WWII
1 week, 1 day ago
Sacrifice made soldier first Hispanic American MOH recipient of WWII

Pvt. Joe Martinez's actions came during the only World War II battle American and Japanese troops fought in the ice and snow.

This soldier became the first Hispanic American MOH recipient of WWII.

The Japanese occupations in June 1942 on the Aleutian islands of Attu and Kiska, originally planned as a feint to divide the U.S. Navy at the onset of the Battle of Midway, would fail to prevent the empire’s naval disaster.

It did, however, open up a new front, threatening Allied sea lanes in the northern Pacific and placing enemy boots on American soil for the first time since 1815.

After months of air and sea engagements that gradually isolated the Japanese-occupied territories, 15,000 U.S. Army soldiers of Maj. Gen. Albert E. Brown’s 7th Infantry Division, aided by Royal Canadian Air Force warplanes, launched Operation Landcrab, coming ashore on Attu on May 11, 1943.

With a garrison of no more than 2,900 at his disposal, the Japanese commander, Colonel Yasuyo Yamasaki, abandoned any thoughts of defending the beachheads, instead withdrawing his men into the mountains, where they would inflict the maximum possible casualties before being inevitably overwhelmed.

‘Take her down!’ WWII submarine skipper sacrificed with final order

It was a strategy similar to those used later on Peleliu, Tarawa, Iwo Jima and Okinawa. In contrast to those successors, however, Attu would see the only time during World War II that American and Japanese troops fought in the ice and snow.

It would also see an outstanding battlefield performance from an unlikely protagonist.

Joseph Pantellion Martinez was born in Taos, New Mexico, on July 27, 1920, the youngest son of Jose Manuel Martinez and Maria Eduvigan Romo. In 1927 the family moved to Ault, Colorado.

In August 1942 Martinez, then 22 years old, was drafted and sent to basic training at Camp Roberts, California. He was then assigned to Company K, 32nd Regiment, 7th Infantry Division, most of whose troops had underwent similar training and were utterly unprepared for the Arctic conditions under which they would make their fighting debut.

From the landings at Attu’s Holtz Bay on June 11, the 7th Division troops were caught up in a slow slog from the terrain and weather, as well as fighting that ranged from mortars and artillery to hand-to-hand with bayonets. For his part, Pvt. Martinez raised K Company’s firepower with a Browning automatic rifle, or BAR.

By late May, the Americans had reached a knifelike mountain ridge flanking a snow-covered defile, from which the Japanese defenses, towering 150 feet above them, managed to hold for several days.

As Martinez’ citation described the situation, “Repeated efforts to drive the enemy from a key defensive position high in the snow, covered by precipitous mountains between the east arm of Holtz Bay and Chichigof Harbor had failed.

Chichagof Harbor, Attu, in 1937. (U.S. Fish & Wildlife)

“On 26 May 1943, troop dispositions were readjusted and a trial coordinated attack on this position by a reinforced battalion was launched. Initially successful, the attack hesitated.”

At that point Martinez literally rose to the occasion.

Springing forward, he advanced on his own, taking out one enemy defensive position after another using his BAR and grenades, pausing only to urge every soldier he met to revive the assault.

Success bred success with each enemy position Martinez eliminated. His comrades, inspired by his example, joined in the uphill charge.

Destroying several more enemy sites, Martinez ultimately reached a 15-foot rise called the Fishhook. From the elevated position he began firing into a last enemy trench, when one of its occupants shot him in the head.

Martinez’s fellows were keen to rush him back to a medical facility, but the continuing struggle beyond the ridge rendered that impossible.

The next morning, K Company discovered that the Japanese, judging their position untenable, had all withdrawn, but it was too late for Joe Martinez, who died of his head wound.

“The pass, however, was taken,” his citation noted, “and its capture was an important preliminary to the end of organized resistance on the island.”

With the Americans’ principal obstacle overcome, on May 29 Colonel Yamasaki, judging his forces no longer capable of stalling them, ordered a final act of desperation that also became a common grisly coda to any Pacific island facing imminent defeat: a final suicidal assault en masse — in this case the only such banzai charge on American soil.

Personally leading his men with sword drawn, Yamasaki led a contingent into the American rear at Engineer Hill before being cut down. In the aftermath, the Americans buried 2,351 Japanese and took 29 prisoners — none of whom were officers — while losing 547 men killed, 1,149 wounded and 1,814 suffering from frostbite or related casualties.

As Allied forces massed for a larger landing at Kiska Island, on July 28 a Japanese naval force slipped through the fog, deftly evading the Allied fleet, to evacuate all its personnel.

With that, the Japanese occupation of the Aleutians ended.

Back in Ault, Colorado, on Nov. 11, 1943, Martinez’s family received his posthumous Medal of Honor from Brig. Gen. Frank L. Culin Jr.

Martinez was the first Latino American, as well as the first New Mexican, the first Coloradan and the first private, to receive the Medal of Honor during World War II.

A Boulder Victory-class cargo ship named for him, the USNS Private Joe P. Martinez, served during the Korean War. Among other dedications, a bronze statue of Martinez, carrying his BAR, can be seen in Denver.

Jon Guttman - December 27, 2024, 1:00 pm

This Army unit is the first to field new company and battalion drones
1 week, 2 days ago
This Army unit is the first to field new company and battalion drones

The new drones fit different mission profiles at the tactical level.

Soldiers with the 10th Mountain Division, which is currently deployed in Romania, recently became the first Army unit to field the service’s newest reconnaissance drones.

The 317th Brigade Engineer Battalion, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, out of Fort Drum, New York, employed the Skydio and GhostX systems during training operations at Mihail Kogalniceanu Air Base, Romania, according to an Army release.

The new drones fit different mission profiles at the tactical level.

The Skydio X10D drone is a short-range recon aircraft that can fly up to 5 kilometers and stay aloft for approximately 30 minutes, according to the release. Typically, the Skydio is deployed by infantry and scout platoons on dismounted patrols, providing soldiers with a better snapshot of their immediate area during mission planning.

The GhostX, made by Anduril, goes a bit farther. It can fly up to 15 kilometers and stay in the air for an hour. This platform is geared toward a company commander’s needs in a larger area of operation.

Make counter-drone training as routine as marksmanship: Army general

Soldiers flying the new drones, meanwhile, nabbed new skills during the operation.

“You have to be a qualified aircraft operator before you’re able to put the aircraft in the air, so we run an initial qualification program for multiple units in our brigade,” said Staff Sgt. Kevin Sweeny, counter-drone NCO in charge for Delta Company, 317th BEB.

During the late November training, the unit qualified 132 Skydio operators, according to the release.

“They can take the [Sydio] aircraft out of its case, assemble it, mission plan and get it in the air in less than 10 minutes,” Sweeny said.

Every company in the 3rd BCT is slated to receive a Skydio system, with next steps expected to include using the systems in training at the Joint Multinational Readiness Center in Hoehenfels, Germany.

Spc. Elijah Jean-Paul, with Delta Company, 317 Engineer Battalion, 3rd Brigade, 10th Mountain Division performs drone operator qualifications Mihail Kogalniceanu Airbase, Romania. (Sgt Kourtney Nunnery/Army)

“The end state of this whole exercise is to test the personnel, the structure of the platoon and the communication between the squads and how we work together as a whole,” said 1st Lt. Alexis Gavrillis, an intelligence officer in the battalion.

When it comes to implementing the GhostX drone, the system is slated to go to each of the battalions in the BCT.

While the Army began including counter-drone training as part of basic training this year, the field training this particular outfit recently concluded is likely to be replicated throughout many more Army units.

The drone certification process is MOS-agnostic. Soldiers with the training can apply it in their units when needed, regardless of their primary job.

Defense News reported in September that the Army awarded Anduril Industries and Performance Drone Works a $14.42 million contract for its small drone program.

The Army recently released a “sources sought” notice for industry to solicit pitches on an interim capability for tactical drones at the brigade level, according to a service release.

Todd South - December 26, 2024, 12:00 pm

Camouflage and tiaras: First active-duty Miss America reflects on year
1 week, 2 days ago
Camouflage and tiaras: First active-duty Miss America reflects on year

2nd Lt. Madison Marsh, 23, will complete her year as the first active-duty Miss America in January.

The extent to which 2nd Lt. Madison Marsh had found herself in uncharted military territory became clear at a NASCAR event in February, where her dual-hat duties required her to execute quick changes between her Air Force combat utility uniform and full pageant regalia.

Her schedule had her meeting the Air Force Thunderbirds demonstration team and then a collection of military generals before shifting to a more conventional Miss America crowd-greeting public appearance at the race.

Marsh, 23, who will complete her year as the first active-duty Miss America in January, said she realized a level-setting conversation was in order as she scrambled to conform to wildly different appearance standards in rapid succession.

“Obviously, the Miss America people, they don’t know Air Force uniform standards, so no one knows, ‘Oh wait, you can’t wear lashes and a long giant ponytail and red lipstick and eyeshadow in uniform,’” Marsh said. “And it’s like, no I can’t do both of those at once.”

Eyelashes aside, Marsh, a 2023 U.S. Air Force Academy graduate and Truman Scholar whose next plans involve a study program at Harvard, found a mutually beneficial way to serve out her dual identity in 2024. In conversations that began when she was crowned Miss Colorado in May 2023, she began to plan out with her chain of command how it might be feasible and practical to serve out a potential Miss America role while on active duty.

“I know a lot of people from all across the country, on many different bases, had to pour in a lot of time after I had won,” she said, “figuring out the legal logistics of what this is actually going to look like and trying to look at some of the Air Force memos and how we can really make this work.”

2nd Lt. Madison Marsh at the Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida, February 2024. (Miriam Thurber/Air Force)

Ultimately, the Air Force moved her into a highly customized public affairs position, building off her existing slate of public engagements for Miss America to conduct outreach for the service and generate awareness and interest in joining the military.

Since she won the title in January, Marsh said, she’s participated in 106 Air Force-related public engagements involving conversations with students, parents and other “influencers” to promote military service.

“We’ve really found an amazing way to overlap both of these jobs to make sure that we’re still hitting the standard and reaching the people in the environment that we want to reach,” she said.

Marsh’s grueling travel schedule hasn’t allowed for many conventional military activities and experiences in what is essentially her first active-duty role. Marsh’s time spent on base at her home station, Joint Base San Antonio-Randolph, Texas, she said, has largely consisted of mandatory activities, including drug testing, medical appointments, meetings with commanding officers and performance reviews.

Occasionally, she said, she’s gotten recognized by other service members while running errands in utilities and a ballcap. While she enjoys making the connections, she said, it’s also a little stressful given the appearance standards and requirements for Miss America.

“Even last week, I was doing my outprocessing for my base and showed up to work with no makeup,” she said. “And one of the people who worked at the front was like, ‘Oh, we’ve got to get the major.’”

Even sans makeup, she said, she agreed to a group photo with the office staff.

“Everyone always has the opportunity to do small things for other people and make their day,” Marsh said. “So, that’s been cool, to give people joy like that this year.”

Even apart from her top title in one of the nation’s most prestigious pageant competitions, Marsh’s achievements and aspirations demonstrate her fearlessness.

She’s had internships with prestigious organizations such as NASA; became an activist for pancreatic cancer research at age 17 following the death of her mother from the disease; has a black belt in Tae Kwon Do; and possesses a pilot’s license, which seeded her initial ambition to fly for the Air Force.

Marsh told Military Times her experience in military training should be an encouragement to young women who fear they couldn’t hack it in uniform or at war.

Polling data made public by the Defense Department in December showed that just one in four women aged 16 to 21 believe they could make it through boot camp, and just 8% believe they have what it takes to fight in a war.

“When I entered basic [training] I was 17 years old. I was on the cheer team in high school. I was very scrawny … maybe 110 pounds,” Marsh said. “I worked very hard the year before I went into basic to make sure I was going to go above and beyond the standards that were going to be expected of me, and also having the mental resilience to keep going when you fail. I think that willingness to learn is going to carry people so much farther, and also not closing yourself off from opportunities.”

Reflecting on her experiences as a Truman Scholar and her upcoming studies at the Harvard Kennedy School, Marsh noted, “I never would have gotten that if I would have counted myself out before I even showed up to basic.”

After Marsh hands off her crown, she’s headed to Hanscom Air Base, Massachusetts, where she’ll complete her final year-plus of studies to earn a master’s of public policy from Harvard under the Air Force Institute of Technology’s Civilian Institutions program.

With her fiance also in the Air Force, Marsh said she plans to continue to serve, though she’s not fully certain how long she’ll be in or what military career she’ll pursue. While she initially joined through a desire to be a pilot, Marsh said she has ruled out a return to flight training, adding that she wants to find a service job that she’s “fully passionate about.”

“The Air Force has treated me extremely well so far,” she said. “So, I can only imagine what other opportunities are going to be in store.”

Hope Hodge Seck - December 26, 2024, 11:01 am

Rollback of DOD anti-extremism efforts coming in 2025, experts predict
1 week, 2 days ago
Rollback of DOD anti-extremism efforts coming in 2025, experts predict

The piecemeal progress of extremism-prevention efforts during the past four years is more than can be expected out of the Pentagon in 2025, experts said.

Following the attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, where about 15% of the rioters were veterans or service members, the Pentagon launched an effort to root out extremism from the ranks and prevent anyone with a bent toward political violence from joining the military.

After the past four years, experts in extremism prevention deemed those efforts incremental at best and perfunctory at worst. Political opposition “very much slowed things down,” said Kate Bitz, a senior organizer at the Western States Center, and lawmakers from both parties protested there was too much “gray area” in new anti-extremism policies.

But even the piecemeal progress since 2021 is more than can be expected out of Pentagon leadership in 2025, said Bitz, as well as leaders from the Global Project Against Hate and Extremism and Human Rights First.

President Donald Trump’s administration will “take the military back to the days when extremism in its entirety was ignored,” said Wendy Via, co-founder of the Global Project Against Hate and Extremism.

Extremism stand-down checked a box with no lasting result, critics say

Efforts to dismantle systems that track and report instances of extremism in the military could be led by Pete Hegseth, a staunch opponent of diversity, equity and inclusion policies — and Trump’s pick for Defense Secretary. Hegseth has compared the Pentagon’s extremism policies to a “purge” and a “sham.” Hegseth said he intends to fire “woke” military leaders, a plan that Via believes will create an environment of distrust inside the Pentagon.

His opposition to the Pentagon’s extremism-prevention efforts is partly personal. The Associated Press reported that a fellow service member flagged Hegseth, an Army National Guard veteran, as an “insider threat” because one of his tattoos was associated with the white supremacist movement.

“In the future when it comes to the DOD’s approach, there’s every possibility that extremist elements will not just be ignored, but to some degree embraced,” Witz said. “These are groups that intentionally attempt to recruit veterans who bring military skills into bigoted movements. And many white nationalist and anti-democracy groups also advocate that members enter the military in order to gain these kind of skills. So, I suppose that’s a rather bleak picture.”

The Defense Department Office of Inspector General reported in 2023 that the Pentagon investigated 183 allegations of extremist activity among service members that year, including 78 cases of troops advocating for the overthrow of the U.S. government. The watchdog prefaced the report by flagging that the services weren’t tracking and reporting data accurately, which meant those numbers didn’t include all cases.

Army imposes stricter rules for addressing extremism among troops

This summer, the services took steps to standardize the system for how it reports cases of extremism to the IG’s office. Hanah Stiverson, the associate director of democracy protection at Human Rights First, worries that funding to that system will be cut.

“Clear data and implementation of anti-extremism efforts is critical for national security,” Stiverson said.

Before Trump takes office next month, Congress is already poised to defund at least some of the Pentagon’s extremism-prevention initiatives. The House and Senate approved the annual military spending package this month, which includes a measure to prohibit leaders from spending any of the $895 billion going to the military on the Countering Extremism Working Group. President Joe Biden signed the measure into law Monday.

The Countering Extremism Working Group was formed after Jan. 6, 2021, and it offered dozens of recommendations to the Pentagon for how to address extremism in the ranks. Via thinks it’s likely the recommendations will not be implemented.

“There’s no question that the 2024 NDAA contributes to the undermining of the idea that extremism in the military needs to be appropriately addressed,” Via said.

This story was produced in partnership with Military Veterans in Journalism. Please send tips to MVJ-Tips@militarytimes.com.

Nikki Wentling - December 26, 2024, 9:00 am

Why the 1914 Christmas Truce changed nothing on the Western Front
1 week, 3 days ago
Why the 1914 Christmas Truce changed nothing on the Western Front

The Christmas Truce may have been a break from reality, but it was not the dawn of peace it's oftentimes made out to be.

By late December 1914 World War I had been raging for nearly five months. Had anyone really believed it would be “all over by Christmas,” then it was clear they had been cruelly mistaken.

With the strength of imperial Germany now evident to all, there appeared to be no chance of victory in the foreseeable future. By this time men were beginning, almost despite themselves, to gain a kind of grudging respect for their opposite numbers lurking across no man’s land.

They were enduring the same terrible weather, the same dreadful living conditions, and, after all, they had managed to fight each other to an absolute standstill.

The earlier rumors of atrocities, knavish tricks and the callous use of “dum-dum” bullets had abated as more experience was gained of the destructive power of high-velocity bullets, shrapnel bullets and shell fragments.

The war had become the new reality for countless men, as they were wrapped up into the stultifying routines and deadly horrors of trench warfare. There seemed no respite in sight, but it was critical to maintain a high level of watchfulness, or else the consequences were often fatal.

Amid the continuing fighting, there was also growing evidence in some localized sectors of the line the two sides were edging to a modus vivendi that helped ameliorate some of the worst aspects of trench life.

British soldiers among smashed dugouts and trenches during the Battle of Flanders. (National Archives)

Many Germans could speak English, and a fair number of German soldiers had lived and worked in Britain before the war. Sometimes it seemed almost natural for an attitude of “live and let live” to creep in.

Breakfast time seemed quieter, latrine breaks were respected, and men engaged in mundane tasks were left in peace. Soldiers would banter across no man’s land, and there were even rumors of informal shooting contests at impromptu targets displayed in each other’s trenches.

Such behavior attracted the attention of General Sir Horace Smith-Dorrien — commander of the British Expeditionary Force’s II Corps — who issued orders to try and eradicate such relaxed practices:

Experience of this and every other war proves undoubtedly that troops in trenches in close proximity to the enemy slide very easily, if permitted to do so, into a “live and let live” theory of life. Understandings — amounting almost to unofficial armistices — grow up between our troops and the enemy, with a view to making life easier. …The attitude of our troops can be readily understood and to a certain extent commands sympathy. … Such an attitude is, however, most dangerous, for it discourages initiative in commanders and destroys the offensive spirit in all ranks. … Friendly intercourse with the enemy, unofficial armistices … and the exchange of tobacco and other comforts, however tempting and occasionally amusing they may be, are absolutely prohibited.

It is interesting to note the understanding tone taken in this order: This was not the knee-jerk reaction of high command of popular imagination.

On Dec. 24 there was a severe frost, and it began to snow in some places. As the water froze in the trenches around their feet, the troops seemed to have little or nothing to look forward to.

Peacetime Christmas celebrations seemed a world away. Nevertheless, that day Leutnant Walther Stennes, of the German 16th Infantry Regiment, noticed a distinct change in the tempo of the war:

On Christmas Eve at noon fire ceased completely. We had received mail from Germany. … When it became dusk, we opened the parcels and tried to be a little like at home — write letters. Of course it was unusual that the opposite side also ceased fire, because they always maintained sparse rifle fire. Then my officer controlling the sentries came in and asked, “Do you expect a surprise attack? Because it’s very unusual the situation.” I said, “No I don’t think so. But anyhow everybody’s awake, no one is sleeping, and the sentries are still on duty. So I think it’s alright.” The night passed, [and] not a single shot was fired.

The British, too, were being inundated with letters and parcels containing presents from home. There was even a special gift, commissioned for every soldier, originating from Princess Mary — a tin containing tobacco, cigarettes or sweets, among other ephemera, that would be issued on Christmas Day to troops in the field.

All told there was a strange atmosphere — an awareness something was in the air. The question was, what? Perhaps a gesture of friendship, but equally possible was a sudden deadly attack to capitalize on the kind of lethargy identified by Smith-Dorrien.

As they pondered, strange sights and sounds emanated from the German trenches, as Private William Quinton, of the 2nd Bedfordshire Regiment, noted:

Something in the direction of the German lines caused us to rub our eyes and look again. Here and there, showing just above their parapet, we could see very faintly what looked like very small colored lights. … We were very suspicious and were discussing this strange move of the enemy, when something even stranger happened. The Germans were actually singing! Not very loud, but there was no mistaking it. … Suddenly, across the snow-clad no man’s land, a strong clear voice rang out, singing the opening lines of “Annie Laurie.” It was sung in perfect English, and we were spellbound. … To us it seemed that the war had suddenly stopped! Not a sound from friend or foe, and as the last notes died away, a spontaneous outburst of clapping arose from our trenches. Encore! Good old Fritz!

There were several reports of trees being erected in the German front lines to brighten up the dark, miserable night.

It was ironic that several much-loved “British” Yuletide customs, including Christmas trees and colored lights, had been imported from Germany during the Victorian era through the influence of Prince Consort Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha.

In some sectors there was no doubting the underlying friendly intent, and soon there were fraternal demonstrations from both sides.

The men who took the initiative in initiating the truce were brave — or foolish — men. To show themselves above the parapet meant breaking the ingrained habits from painful experiences of the accuracy of snipers.

Wounded soldiers are moved across no man's land in Ginchy, France. (National Archives)

Still, the distinct signs of a thaw in relations meant some men were tempted to test the waters despite the obvious risks. What were their foes really like? Were they really the monstrous creations of propaganda or just ordinary soldiers like themselves?

Yet the risks were still very real, as illustrated when Sergeant Frederick Brown, of the 1/2nd Monmouthshire Regiment, watched Sergeant Frank Collins take his first steps out into no man’s land:

About 8 a.m. voices could be heard shouting on our right front, where the trenches came together to about 35 yards apart, German heads appeared, and soon our fellows showed themselves, and seasonal greetings were bawled back and forth, evidently Xmas feeling asserting itself on both sides. Presently, a Sergeant Collins stood waist high above the trench, waving a box of Woodbines above his head. German soldiers beckoned him over, and Collins got out and walked halfway toward them, in turn beckoning someone to come and take the gift. However, they called out, “Prisoner!” and immediately Collins edged back the way he had come. Suddenly a shot rang out, and the poor sergeant staggered back into the trench, shot through the chest. I can still hear his cries, “Oh, my God, they have shot me!” and he died immediately. Needless to remark, every head disappeared in a trice with very bitter feelings on our part.

This was not a unique occasion. Yet despite the obvious risks men were still tempted into making approaches to their enemies. Individuals would get out of the trench, then dive back in, gradually becoming bolder.

As Private George Ashurst, of the 2nd Lancashire Fusiliers, recalled:

We’d been standing up on the firing parapet, and nobody was shooting. So one or two fellows jumped out on top … others followed, and there were scores of us on top at the finish. … We tied an empty sandbag up with its string and kicked it about on top — just to keep warm of course. … Some Germans came to their wire with a newspaper; they were waving it. A corporal in our company went for it, went right to the wire, and the Germans shook hands with him, wished him “Merry Christmas” and gave him the paper. … It was so pleasant to get out of that trench from between them two walls of clay and walk and run about — it was heaven.

Although such friendly overtures and resulting fraternization in no man’s land were not universal, there is no doubt a fair proportion of the British battalions in the front line, particularly in III and IV Corps areas, were involved to some degree.

Some officers tried to direct what occurred, but the press of events soon swept them along. One such was Lieutenant Sir Edward Hulse, of the 2nd Scots Guards:

By 8 a.m. there was no shooting at all, except for a few shots on our left. At 8:30 I was looking out and saw four Germans leave their trenches and come toward us. … I went out alone and met Barry, one of our ensigns, also coming out from another part of the line. By the time we got to them, they were three-quarters of the way over and much too near our barbed wire, so I moved them back. They were three private soldiers and a stretcher-bearer, and their spokesman started off by saying that he thought it only right to come over and wish us a happy Christmas and trusted us implicitly to keep the truce.

The spreading truce proved an organic process, taking on its own impetus and expanding beyond the control of individuals.

It was not planned or controlled, it just happened. That it was the same for both sides was vouchsafed by Leutnant Stennes:

The whole thing was an absolutely spontaneous action. Not even the officers knew anything about it. When I rushed out of the dugout, I found many of my company standing in the open, waving and saying, “Merry Christmas!” On the other side some Indians were standing up and waving! The men hesitantly advanced to the middle, first hesitating, then later on stepping freely forward, and in the middle of no man’s land they met, shook hands and then began talking. Then more men came out. Suddenly no man’s land was covered with Indian and German soldiers. I met some English officers, we shook hands, offered cigars and talked as much as we could. Anyhow, we understood each other. Of course everybody was unarmed — not even a knife — that was given out as a rule. But the sentries, they were standing on duty, rifle at the ready, on both sides.

There is no doubt precautions were taken in the opposing trenches against the very real possibility of betrayal. Chastened by the death of their comrade, many of the Monmouthshires would remain on their guard against any more of the “mistakes” of the kind that had cost Frank Collins his life.

England's King George V, right, speaks with Scottish soldiers. (National Archives)

The idea soccer matches were played between the British and Germans in no man’s land during the truce has taken a strong hold, but the evidence seems a little intangible. Yet there are several semi- feasible accounts, including one interview recorded in the 1960s with Leutnant Johannes Niemann, of the Saxon 133rd Regiment, who told of a game with Scottish Highlanders in no man’s land:

A Scottish soldier appeared with a football, which seemed to come from nowhere, and a few minutes later a real football match got underway. … It was far from easy to play on the frozen ground, but we continued, keeping rigorously to the rules, despite the fact that it only lasted an hour, and that we had no referee. A great many of the passes went wide, but all the amateur footballers, although they must have been very tired, played with huge enthusiasm. … But after an hour’s play, when our commanding officer heard about it, he sent an order that we must put a stop to it. A little later we drifted back to our trenches, and the fraternization ended. The game finished with a score of three goals to two in favor of “Fritz” against “Tommy.”

Of course not everyone was involved in the truce, and some battalions remained collectively aloof.

Private Clifford Lane and his comrades in the 1st Hertfordshire Regiment were simply not in the mood for a truce:

When relieved by another section after dark, [we] returned to the forward trench, soaked to the waist and plastered with mud. … We were now ready to enjoy what the English news papers described as our Christmas dinner! This consisted of the usual bully beef and hard biscuits with the addition of a lump of cold Christmas pudding about the size of a tennis ball. There wasn’t even a rum issue! The night was completely silent apart from the occasional rifle shot fired by a nervous sentry, but towards midnight there seemed to be some commotion in the enemy trenches, and shortly afterwards a Chinese lantern was raised above the enemy parapet and shouts of, “Zum wohl!” [cheers] were heard. We were immediately ordered to open fire, and thus what was undoubtedly a friendly gesture was brutally repulsed.

This unfriendly attitude was the case where British battalions were facing Prussian units, who were generally considered far more dangerous opponents than the Saxons or Westphalians.

In fact, General Douglas Haig’s I Corps was unaffected by the truce, as was most of Smith-Dorrien’s II Corps.

The truce lasted for a varying amount of time. In some areas it was just Christmas Eve or Christmas Day itself. But elsewhere the truce endured for several days.

Indeed, once the truce was established, the new status soon achieved a strange “normality” for those taking part. However, other motivations lurked below the surface, as both sides seized the opportunity to bring up supplies of building materials and set to work on improving their sorry trenches. Hulse was typical of this pragmatic approach:

We improved our dugouts, roofed in new ones and got a lot of very useful work done towards increasing our comfort. Directly it was dark, I got the whole of my company on to improving and remaking our barbed wire entanglements all along my front and had my scouts out in front of the working parties, to prevent any surprise; but not a shot was fired, and we finished off a real good obstacle unmolested.

It is crucial to realize that for the vast majority of the participants the 1914 Christmas truce was a matter of convenience and maudlin sentiment.

It did not mark some deep flowering of the human spirit rising up against the war or signify political antiwar emotions taking root among the ranks. The truce simply enabled the soldiers to celebrate Christmas in a freer, more jovial and above all safer environment, after all the exhausting torments they had been enduring.

It also allowed them to satisfy their natural curiosity about the one another. Finally, it let them to carry out vital construction works, which would have been nigh impossible under the constant threat of snipers.

In these circumstances the truce could not last. It was a break from reality, not the dawn of some brave new peaceful world.

The gradual end of the truce mirrored the start — it too was a dangerous business, where a mistake could cost lives if the firing opened up while men were still milling about between the trenches.

For Captain Charles Stockwell, of the 2nd Royal Welsh Fusiliers, the truce ended early on Boxing Day, and the transition was handled with a consummate courtesy.

Not a shot all night: our men had sing-songs — ditto the enemy. He played the game and never tried to touch his wire or anything. At 8:30am I fired three shots in the air and put up a flag with “Merry Christmas” on it, and I climbed on the parapet. He put up a sheet with, “Thank you” on it, and the German captain appeared on the parapet. We both bowed and saluted and got down into our respective trenches — he fired two shots in the air, and the war was on again!

Soon war had regained its grip on the whole of the British sector.

When it came to it, the troops went back to war willingly enough. Many would indeed have rejoiced at the end of the war, but they still stood fast alongside their friends — their comrades — in the line, still willing to accept the orders of their NCOs and officers, still willing to kill Germans.

It is this last point that must give most pause for those who believe the truce to have been some kind of moral epiphany.

If that were true, then it was short-lived and shallow indeed; even after meeting and “putting a face” on their enemies, the average British soldier was more than willing to shoot them the moment the truce was over.

Belgium and a good part of northern France were still occupied; German aggression had not visibly diminished. The Germans and French were still embroiled in what they perceived to be a war of national survival.

As such the truce had changed nothing and meant nothing.

Peter Hart is oral historian of the Imperial War Museum London. He is author of The Great War (2013); Gallipoli (2011); The Somme: The Darkest Hour on the Western Front (2009); and 1918: A Very British Victory (2008).

This story was originally published in the January 2015 issue of Military History.

Peter Hart - December 25, 2024, 10:00 am

From Grinch greetings to Santa sightings, the holidays come to troops
1 week, 4 days ago
From Grinch greetings to Santa sightings, the holidays come to troops

Holiday helpers have been busy, as plenty of organizations and individuals have been working to make the days a bit brighter for troops and their families.

Holiday helpers have been busy this month, as plenty of organizations and individuals have been working to make the days a bit brighter for troops and their families who may be thousands of miles away from loved ones.

These separations happen because of deployments and a variety of factors related to the military lifestyle. For some families, rising consumer costs can also make it harder to buy their child a toy or put the long-anticipated traditional holiday meal on the table this holiday season.

Many military families are among those helpers, often stepping in to bring some holiday spirit to others in their community, whether it’s inviting single service members over for a meal or gathering other military families together. They often volunteer in various ways during the holidays to help others, too.

Here are just a few examples of holiday happenings in military communities around the world.

Leaders serve a holiday meal to active duty and civilian staff members at Naval Medical Center Portsmouth/Navy Medicine Readiness and Training Command on Dec. 11. (Naval Medical Center Portsmouth)
Holiday meals for the troops

Some 107,948 pounds of beef, 54,261 pounds of ham, 29,344 pounds of shrimp and 11, 648 containers of eggnog are included in holiday feasts sent to troops around the world, whether they’ll be eating in dining halls, aboard ships or in remote areas. The Defense Logistics Agency’s Troop Support command begins planning for the feast in the spring, receiving orders from commands and working with vendors to get the feast in the works. Other items include:

  • 130,929 pounds of turkey, including whole and roasted turkeys
  • 5,521 cans of sweet potatoes
  • 42,934 pies and cakes
Holidays around the globe

Holiday parties have been offering up entertainment and goodies for military families in many locations.

The Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego mascot, Lance Cpl. Bruno, met up with the Grinch as part of the entertainment at the depot’s annual holiday family event, with crafts, music and more.

Santa visited with families of the 148th Fighter Wing at Minnesota Air National Guard gathered near an F-16 Fighting Falcon on Dec. 13 at a kids’ holiday party.

And the USO holiday tour brought actor and singer Charles Esten to Naval Support Activity Naples, Italy, where he performed Dec. 12. Many of the more than 250 USO locations participate in holiday events for troops and families.

Santa gathers with children near an F-16 assigned to the 148th Fighter Wing, Minnesota Air National Guard, on Dec. 13, during a kids' holiday party. (Audra Flanagan/Air National Guard)

Meanwhile, giveaways and charity events help military families stretch their dollars. Various organizations have held toy drives for military families around the world, including the nonprofit Operation Homefront. Its annual toy drive is designed to relieve financial stress for junior and mid-grade enlisted families E-1 to E-6. Toys and holiday meal kits are distributed at various events. The toys are delivered by field staff and volunteers across the country and reach tens of thousands of military families each year.

The nonprofit Soldiers’ Angels’ Adopt-A-Family program has connected donors to “adopt” 1,893 military and veteran families as of Monday, including 5,219 children, to support them with presents and grocery gift cards. But there are still 343 families with a combined 1,106 children who are waiting to be adopted, according to Soldiers’ Angels spokeswoman Michelle Julazadeh Chavarin.

This season, Army Emergency Relief provided $100 military commissary gift cards to 900 Army families between Thanksgiving and Christmas at a number of installations in the U.S. and overseas. Some commissaries opened their doors early so the gift card recipients could shop early.

The Gary Sinise Foundation brought more than 700 military families of the fallen for the Snowball Express Healing Retreat from Dec. 7-11 at Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida. More than 1,700 family members came from 90 cities around the country and overseas.

The Armed Services YMCA, which provides a number of programs and services for junior enlisted families around the holidays and throughout the year, partnered with Jack Daniel’s Distillery in Operation Ride Home to help junior enlisted and their families travel home for the holidays. Since the program’s inception in 2011, it’s helped more than 14,000 people travel home.

The Travis Spouses‘ Club and community partners wrap bags during the 2024 Travis Air Force Base Holiday Dorm Drop gift assembly on Dec. 11. (Kenneth Abbate/U.S. Air Force)

Many single service members aren’t able to go home for the holidays, and some communities make sure they’re not forgotten. For example, earlier this month, the spouses’ club at Travis Air Force Base, California, along with community partners, organized the assembly of over 850 gift jars to be delivered to airmen living in the dormitories in a mission dubbed Holiday Dorm Drop.

Through Soldiers’ Angels, 41,052 donated holiday stockings stuffed with various goodies are sent to deployed service members, hospitalized veterans and National Guard and Reserve members around the country.

Giving back

Many troops and family members also give back to their military community and local civilian community. This might be through the Marine Corps Toys for Tots program or various toy drives and other events.

Left to right: Eighth Army Commanding General, Lt. Gen. Christopher LaNeve, his wife, Kimberly LaNeve, Eighth Army Senior Enlisted Adviser, Command Sgt. Maj. Robin M. Bolmer, and Eighth Army ROK Deputy Commanding General, Brig. Gen. Sang Min Lee, share a gift with a child at Namsan-won Orphanage in Seoul, South Korea, on Dec. 13. (Spc. Kelsey Kollar/U.S. Army)

Some are steeped in tradition and long-standing relationships. For example, senior leaders and staff from Eighth Army visited the children of Namsan-won Orphanage in Seoul, South Korea, on Dec. 13, continuing the tradition of delivering Christmas gifts to children in the orphanage’s care.

The orphanage was built by soldiers from Eighth Army and the Republic of Korea Army during the Korean War as a sanctuary for children of Korean soldiers and policemen who died during the war. The Eighth Army has continued to support the orphanage, which continues to house and care for 33 children.

Karen Jowers - December 24, 2024, 3:00 pm

Santa catches a ride with troops to bring Christmas to Alaska village
1 week, 4 days ago
Santa catches a ride with troops to bring Christmas to Alaska village

Forget the sleigh powered by a herd of flying reindeer. Santa and Mrs. Claus hopped on military transports to deliver Christmas to a Tlingit village.

YAKUTAT, Alaska — Forget the open-air sleigh overloaded with gifts and powered by flying reindeer.

Santa and Mrs. Claus this week took supersized rides to southeast Alaska in a C-17 military cargo plane and a camouflaged Humvee, as they delivered toys to the Tlingit village of Yakutat, northwest of Juneau.

The visit was part of this year’s Operation Santa Claus, an outreach program of the Alaska National Guard to largely Indigenous communities in the nation’s largest state. Each year, the Guard picks a village that has suffered recent hardship — in Yakutat’s case, a massive snowfall that threatened to buckle buildings in 2022.

Santa and Mrs. Claus talk to a child in Yakutat as part of the Alaska National Guard's Operation Santa program Wednesday. (AP Photo/Mark Thiessen)

“This is one of the funnest things we get to do, and this is a proud moment for the National Guard,” Maj. Gen. Torrence Saxe, adjutant general of the Alaska National Guard, said Wednesday.

Saxe wore a Guard uniform and a Santa hat that stretched his unit’s dress regulations.

The Humvee caused a stir when it entered the school parking lot, and a buzz of “It’s Santa! It’s Santa!” pierced the cold air as dozens of elementary school children gathered outside.

In the school, Mrs. Claus read a Christmas story about the reindeer Dasher. The couple in red then sat for photos with nearly all of the 75 or so students and handed out new backpacks filled with gifts, books, snacks and school supplies donated by the Salvation Army. The school provided lunch, and a local restaurant provided the ice cream and toppings for a sundae bar.

Student Thomas Henry, 10, said while the contents of the backpack were “pretty good,” his favorite item was a plastic dinosaur.

Another, 9-year-old Mackenzie Ross, held her new plush seal toy as she walked around the school gym.

“I think it’s special that I have this opportunity to be here today because I’ve never experienced this before,” she said.

Yakutat, a Tlingit village of about 600 residents, is in the lowlands of the Gulf of Alaska, at the top of Alaska’s panhandle. Nearby is the Hubbard Glacier, a frequent stop for cruise ships.

Some of the National Guard members who visited Yakutat on Wednesday were also there in January 2022, when storms dumped about 6 feet of snow in a matter of days, damaging buildings.

Alaska National Guard soldiers and airmen shovel the roof of a building in Yakutat. (Dana Rosso/U.S. Army National Guard via AP)

Operation Santa started in 1956 when flooding severely curtailed subsistence hunting for residents of St. Mary’s, in western Alaska. Having to spend their money on food, they had little left for Christmas presents, so the military stepped in.

This year, visits were planned to two other communities hit by flooding. Santa’s visit to Circle, in northeastern Alaska, went off without a hitch. Severe weather prevented a visit to Crooked Creek, in the southwestern part of the state, but Christmas was saved when the gifts were delivered there Nov. 16.

“We tend to visit rural communities where it is very isolated,” said Jenni Ragland, service extension director with the Salvation Army Alaska Division. “A lot of kids haven’t traveled to big cities where we typically have Santa and big stores with Christmas gifts and Christmas trees, so we kind of bring the Christmas program on the road."

After the C-17 Globemaster III landed in Yakutat, it quickly returned to Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, an hour away, because there was nowhere to park it at the village’s tiny airport. Later, it returned to pick up the Christmas crew.

Santa and Mrs. Claus, along with their tuckered elves, were seen nodding off on the flight back.

Mark Thiessen, The Associated Press - December 24, 2024, 1:00 pm

Indigenous WWI veterans get long awaited Medal of Honor review
1 week, 4 days ago
Indigenous WWI veterans get long awaited Medal of Honor review

Numerous Indigenous veterans are currently being reviewed as potential recipients of the Medal of Honor — more than a century after they served.

“I’m so thankful that his blood runs in our veins,” said Tewanna Anderson-Edwards of her great uncle Otis W. Leader, a World War I Choctaw code talker.

Leader, a corporal in the Army’s 16th Infantry Regiment, 1st Infantry Division, once destroyed a machine gun nest singlehandedly after some of his men had been killed, capturing two machine guns and defeating 18 enemy soldiers in the process.

He would go on to receive the Purple Heart, the Silver Star Medal, the Victory Medal and French Croix de Guerre with Palm, among other awards.

General John J. Pershing even once referred to Leader as one of the “war’s greatest fighting machines,” according to the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma.

But despite those accolades, Leader and other WWI code talkers — service members who used Indigenous languages to create undecipherable communications — still haven’t received the recognition they deserve, Edwards believes.

“There’s just no telling how many lives they saved,” Edwards told Military Times.

A move to rectify that, however, may be on the horizon.

Leader is one of a group of Indigenous veterans who are currently being reviewed as potential recipients of the Medal of Honor — more than a century after they served. In all, roughly 12,000 Native Americans served during World War I.

Cpl. Otis W. Leader, a World War I code talker who's now eligible for the Medal of Honor. (Courtesy of the Sequoyah National Research Center)

“It’s my ultimate goal to see that he gets his due recognition. ... He so deserved it,” Edwards said. “He wasn’t just a code talker, he was a war hero.”

Leader’s eligibility for the Medal of Honor comes as part of the World War I Valor Medals Review Act, which was passed as part of the 2018 National Defense Authorization Act.

The law allows for a review of actions by non-white veterans who served in World War I to determine whether select acts of valor, which were during that period often diminished due to one’s skin color, warrant the nation’s highest military honor.

To qualify, veterans from various racial backgrounds must have been awarded the Distinguished Service Cross, Navy Cross, French Croix de Guerre with Palm or have been recommended for a Medal of Honor.

Once such a service record is brought to the attention of the Army or Navy, the associated branch reviews the record and issues a determination regarding award status.

As part of that process, the Pentagon was advised to collaborate with the Valor Medals Review Task Force, a joint operation run by the World War I Centennial Commission and Park University’s George S. Robb Centre for the Study of the Great War.

Dr. Timothy Westcott, the Missouri-based department’s director, told Military Times he first became interested in the subject after he saw a university presentation during Black History Month about Sgt. William A. Butler, a Black war hero who was nominated for, but never received, the Medal of Honor.

In September 1918, George S. Robb — the department’s namesake — was recommended for a Medal of Honor on the same piece of paper as Butler. While Robb would go on to receive the nation’s highest military decoration, Butler would be presented a Distinguished Service Cross.

Pvt. Leo F. McGuire, a Native American soldier, received the Distinguished Service Cross on Aug. 9, 1918. (National Archives)

From there, Westcott got involved with the Centennial Commission, which oversaw the Valor Medals Review Project and Task Force and researched veteran service records to make retroactive award recommendations to the Pentagon and Congress.

When the commission disbanded in 2024 after completing the National World War I Memorial in Washington, the Robb Centre took charge of that effort.

So far, Westcott and the department have identified 214 service members from World War I who met the criteria for Medal of Honor eligibility. Of those, 24 are Indigenous veterans.

“We have submitted 56 [total] nomination packets,” he said, noting that the process is particularly grueling. “It takes us about six to nine months to write a nomination packet, and those are approximately 150 to 165 pages in length each.”

Of the 56 packets Westcott’s team has submitted, 49 have been sent to the Army. The other seven have gone to the Navy.

Soldier honors Native American heritage after religious accommodation

There’s currently no timeline for approval. Once Westcott and his team submit the packet, there’s limited contact between the center and the service, he said. Since the department submitted its first packet in 2022, the Army has provided just one follow-up communication.

Before it disbanded, the Centennial Commission worked with the Sequoyah National Research Center at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock to build a database of all Indigenous personnel who served in World War I.

Erin Fehr, the assistant director and archivist for Sequoyah who helped construct the database, told Military Times that the idea for it came after she put up a 2017 exhibit on the WWI code talkers.

“Most people associate code talkers with World War II, when in reality they began in the first World War,” she said.

But as Fehr was getting the exhibit together, a lack of public awareness of Indigenous military service during the First World War became apparent.

“[Visitors] didn’t even realize that Native people were involved in the war at all,” said Fehr, who is Yup’ik.

So, Fehr embarked on a journey to find as many names of Native American service members from World War I as possible to establish a wall of honor, listing veterans by tribal affiliation. In three months, she and the center had discovered 2,300 names that they taped to a wall in the exhibit for visitors to see.

But there was much more work to do.

“We haven’t found those 12,000 names,” she said.

Pvt. Pontiac Williams, a Native American soldier, was recommended for and eventually received the Distinguished Service Cross. (National Archives)

Since then, Fehr and Sequoyah have been relentless in compiling a comprehensive list, with the team currently tracking around 6,200 names.

Westcott approached Fehr some time in late 2018 or early 2019, Fehr said, and asked for the center’s assistance in finding Indigenous service members who may be eligible for the Medal of Honor under the World War I Valor Medals Review Act.

Fehr jumped at the opportunity to collaborate.

“The whole purpose behind this project was not to keep the information for ourselves,” she said.

Fehr said a good portion of her research and findings have come from periodicals released by the American Indian boarding school system, since many service members had been sent to such places during their youth.

American Indian boarding schools were erected in the late 19th century and devised as a way to eradicate the traditions and languages of Indigenous peoples — oftentimes through verbal, physical and sexual abuse — while forcing assimilation. There were more than 523 such schools operating at one time, according to The National Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition.

“Kill the Indian in him, and save the man,” said R.H. Pratt, the founder and superintendent of Carlisle Indian Industrial School, the first federally run Indigenous boarding school.

A recent Washington Post investigation found that more than 3,100 students died at American Indian boarding schools, more than three times the amount the U.S. government previously reported.

Fehr pointed out the grim paradox at play for Native Americans who attended boarding schools and then joined the ranks: All their lives, they’d been chastised for speaking their language. In many cases, it was beaten out of them. But when they enlisted to serve the country that had wronged them, it was their language they were told was key to defeating the enemy.

Fehr also explained that the military was unsure how to handle Native American enlistees leading up to World War I because of boarding schools. Considering the goal of the schools was to achieve assimilation into white culture, keeping Indigenous troops separate would signal that the federally funded schools had failed.

The U.S. ultimately decided to integrate the ranks.

Among those men was Leader, of whom Edwards says she now has only vague memories — namely, his palpable warmth and beautiful smile.

“He was like a big Santa Claus to me,” she said.

Because of Leader’s demeanor, no one would ever guess the tragedies and adversity he faced in the war, she added.

But his story is one Edwards hopes will soon be recognized with the highest military honor. And it’s one of many in the Indigenous community she hopes will be widely shared.

“We’re just now beginning to find a balance,” she said, “between never forgetting and moving forward with all this.”

Riley Ceder - December 24, 2024, 11:00 am

How ‘Merry Christmas’ and ‘Happy Holidays’ reflect US military values
1 week, 5 days ago
How ‘Merry Christmas’ and ‘Happy Holidays’ reflect US military values

In this op-ed, an Army chaplain discusses how the military's commitment to religious freedom demonstrates the principles troops are sworn to defend.

The seasonal greeting “Merry Christmas” is made possible by the reality captured in the greeting “Happy Holidays.”

This duality underscores a uniquely American commitment to the freedom of religious expression enshrined in the First Amendment to the Constitution. It is a reminder of the delicate balance between our secular status as a nation-state and the religious freedom that typifies our legal and cultural framework.

In the United States, the First Amendment protects both the free exercise of religion and guards against government establishment of religion. These twin protections ensure that citizens can freely express their beliefs — or choose not to — without fear of coercion or marginalization.

This commitment is not merely theoretical; it is the foundation of the Department of Defense’s approach to religious accommodation within the armed forces.

In 1st, Sikh man graduates from Marine boot camp with turban, beard

A key aspect of this protection is that the government, including the Department of Defense, does not, will not and cannot define “religion.”

To do so would be to infringe upon the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment. Any governmental attempt to define religion risks excluding belief systems or practices that may not fit a predefined framework.

Such an action would inherently limit the full breadth of religious expression and potentially marginalize minority or nontraditional beliefs. Instead, the U.S. government operates from a position of neutrality, allowing individuals to define their own religious practices and convictions.

This neutrality is particularly important in the armed forces, where individuals from diverse religious backgrounds serve together in pursuit of a common mission to protect the security of our nation.

Religious accommodation is an essential aspect of military policy, reflecting the importance of respecting and protecting the beliefs of all service members. Whether it involves granting time for prayer, providing dietary accommodations or ensuring the ability to wear religious symbols, the Defense Department’s policies are guided by the principle that no service member should have to choose between their faith and their duty.

Religious accommodation in the military also serves a practical purpose. By honoring the diverse beliefs of service members, the Defense Department fosters a more inclusive and cohesive force.

This inclusivity strengthens the military’s readiness, as service members who feel respected and valued are better able to thrive. Moreover, this commitment to religious freedom reflects the values that service members are sworn to defend — values that set the United States apart as a beacon of liberty.

The interplay between secularity and religious expression is what makes holiday greetings like “Merry Christmas” possible.

It’s an expression that acknowledges a specific religious tradition, whereas “Happy Holidays,” on the other hand, encompasses a broader spectrum of beliefs and practices that flourish in a society committed to freedom of conscience.

Both greetings play an important role in our society. And for service members, this balance is more than symbolic; it is a lived reality that underscores the strength of the Constitution we have pledged to uphold. In fact, religious holiday greetings offered with genuine sincerity ought to be recognized as symbols of the unique religious freedom we are afforded in the U.S.

Thus, as we celebrate another holiday season, let us remember the profound importance of the First Amendment as we exchange season’s greetings with one another.

It is the foundation that ensures the Defense Department, and the nation it serves, remains a place where all beliefs are respected. This reality is a testament to the strength and resilience of a truly pluralistic society — a society where freedom of religion is not just a legal principle but a shared commitment to honor the dignity of every individual.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

Chaplain (Maj.) Jordan Henricks is an active duty Army Chaplain currently serving as the world religions instructor at the U.S. Institute for Religious Leadership.

The opinions expressed in this article are the personal opinions of the author and do not represent the United States Army or the Army Chaplain Corps.

Chaplain (Maj.) Jordan Henricks - December 23, 2024, 7:00 pm

Will most troops move under new household goods program in 2025?
1 week, 5 days ago
Will most troops move under new household goods program in 2025?

More than half of installations in the continental United States are moving troops' shipments under the new system.

The new system aimed at improving the shipments of service members’ household goods is gaining steam into 2025.

By the end of 2024, 94 installations — more than half of the installations in the continental United States — will have the go-ahead to move service members’ household goods under the Transportation Command’s new Global Household Goods contract, as the command works toward bringing all domestic shipments on board by the coming spring.

The process has been gradual to test the reliability of the new system, with large and small installations alike participating. Earlier this month, TRANSCOM added 20 installations to the new system, with two beginning in November — Hanscom Air Force Base, Massachusetts, and Naval Support Activity Saratoga Springs, New York — and another 18 coming online in December.

For moves outside the continental United States, troops and their families shouldn’t expect to see their belongings shipped under the new system until September 2025 at the earliest.

As of Dec. 4, the Defense Department had sent 777 task orders to the new contractor, HomeSafe Alliance, for troops’ shipment requests from the active installations in the new system, according to TRANSCOM. HomeSafe had completed 330 deliveries. HomeSafe and TRANSCOM began a gradual rollout of the new system with five installations in spring 2024 before ramping up more in the fall once the peak military moving season was over.

TRANSCOM’s effort to improve the moving experience for service members and their families began in 2018 after a particularly brutal moving season. It aims to solve longstanding problems, such as lost or damaged items, and an onerous claims system.

However, some members of the moving industry have said they’ve improved the moving experience for service members in recent years. They warn that HomeSafe is offering lower rates to moving companies under the new system, potentially adversely affecting the quality of service members’ personal property shipments, and even forcing some companies out of business.

TRANSCOM awarded the $6.2 billion contract — worth potentially up to $17.9 billion over nine years — to HomeSafe Alliance, a consortium of companies. Work began in early 2023 after contract protests ended.

Under the new system, HomeSafe will be fully responsible for shipments, from the time a moving company is assigned to packing, hauling and unloading, as well as handling any loss or damage claims.

As before, the work is done by moving companies. As these companies sign up to do business with HomeSafe, the new contract essentially privatizes the management of household goods shipments, but TRANSCOM will continue to oversee the enterprise.

In December, TRANSCOM was also scheduled to activate all shipping routes between the 94 active locations in the new system and set in place the process for those who want to make a Personally Procured Move, or PPM. Those are moves where the service member chooses to arrange all or part of the move, with reimbursement from the government. TRANSCOM will provide further PPM details once the change is fully implemented.

Service members should visit the Defense Personal Property System, or DPS, landing page when requesting a household goods shipment. If service members are in areas where HomeSafe Alliance has started making the moves, they will be automatically placed in the new system.

Karen Jowers - December 23, 2024, 6:42 pm

Following controversy, Maryland governor receives Bronze Star
1 week, 5 days ago
Following controversy, Maryland governor receives Bronze Star

The award comes months after reports that Moore claimed the award on a 2006 White House fellowship application when the paperwork had not been processed.

ANNAPOLIS, Md. — Maryland Gov. Wes Moore received a Bronze Star for his deployment to Afghanistan 18 years ago, several months after a controversy arose when a newspaper reported he had claimed to have received it on a 2006 White House fellowship application when the paperwork had not been fully processed.

The private ceremony at the governor’s residence in Annapolis, Maryland, on Friday was confirmed by the governor’s office.

Lt. Gen. Michael Fenzel, the governor’s close friend and former commander who had recommended Moore for the medal, pinned the Bronze Star for “meritorious service” onto the governor’s chest at the ceremony, The Washington Post reported.

Maryland governor says he made ‘honest mistake’ claiming Bronze Star

“I’m so happy to be in a position to right a wrong,” Fenzel said during the ceremony, the newspaper reported.

Moore, a Democrat, had been recommended for the medal while he was deployed by his superiors, including Fenzel, and Fenzel encouraged Moore to include it in the application because it had received the necessary approvals, both men said.

Moore, then 27, questioned it but said Fenzel assured him it would be awarded by the time fellows were selected. Yet the award paperwork never went through. Around the time Moore ended his 11-month deployment, he won the White House fellowship.

The New York Times reported in August that Moore had prematurely claimed the Bronze Star on the fellowship application.

Fenzel said Friday that the controversy was the first time he learned that Moore, a former Army captain, had never received the Bronze Star. On learning about it, Fenzel said he immediately called the chief of staff to U.S. Secretary of the Army Christine Wormouth to notify her that he planned to recommend Moore for the award again and create the paperwork anew, including collecting approval from Moore’s old chain of command.

The citation was signed on Nov. 19. But Moore learned he received the medal on Dec. 14, when Wormouth personally told him at the Army-Navy football game, according to the governor’s staff.

The Associated Press - December 23, 2024, 5:00 pm