Tag Archives: recruit

Army Lifts Ban on Drug Abusers, Mental Health, Self-Mutilation

UPDATE: Army Chief of Staff Gen Mark Milley says the Army “has not and will not” approve waivers for these conditions, saying the USA Today article “mischaracterized” the source documents.

In an effort to boost recruiting, the US Army has eliminated its ban on waivers for potential Soldiers who may have a history of some mental illnesses and drug use:

The Army’s decision to rescind the ban for a history of mental health problems is in part a reaction to its difficulties in recruiting, Ritchie said.

“You’re widening your pool of applicants,” she said.

Awkwardly, that’s precisely the same reason given for eliminating the ban on another potential mental health issue: the confusion between one’s perceived and actual gender, or, more commonly, transgenderism.

Lifting such bans naturally Read more

Breaking: World Will End if Transgenders Banned from US Military

There are indications that successful attempts to use the US military as a tool for normalizing neo-sexuality in the American culture are coming to a grinding halt. President Trump’s decision not to proclaim American “pride” in homosexual behavior for the month of June gave LGBT activists a case of the vapors, and more recent news indicates the DoD is pushing back against allowing transgenders to enlist (previously discussed) [emphasis added]:

Military chiefs will seek a six-month delay before letting transgender people enlist in their services, officials said Friday…

Officials said Friday that the chiefs believe the extra half-year would give the four military services time to gauge if currently serving transgender troops are facing problems and what necessary changes the military bases might have to make.

Despite the fact a longer delay was denied, it’s that second sentence that Read more

Mikey Weinstein Demands Air Force Remove Chaplain Video. Because Jesus.

mikeywilliamsLast month, Michael “Mikey” Weinstein claimed he had made an “important achievement” in “rebuilding the shattered wall separating church and state!” because, according to him, the Commanding Officer of the Air Force Recruiting Service promised to remove a chaplain recruiting video Weinstein found “inappropriate.” According to Weinstein, MajGen Garrett Harencak

responded within a few hours that all Chaplain [sic] videos are being removed pursuant to an overhaul of ‘AirForce.com’ and that he would see to it that the removal of this particular video is accelerated.

A month later, not only is the video still up at AirForce.com — but, in unusually blunt words, the Air Force is actually defending it [emphasis added]:

Air Force Headquarters at the Pentagon told Military.com it does not see a problem with [the video]…

“Chaplains being available to airmen for spiritual support, and sharing these experiences in their official capacity, does not violate the establishment clause or Air Force regulations.”

There are three important issues here:  Read more

Trust is a Casualty: Abdo Makes Eighth Attack/Attempt on Military

Update:  This post has been corrected here; the actual number of attacks/attempted attacks is nine, not eight.

Following the arrest of PFC Naser Abdo on charges he planned to kill Soldiers at Fort Hood in what has been described as a “terror attack,” a local paper says “trust is a casualty” for the military and Islamic communities, describing a tension between non-Islamic Soldiers and their Muslim comrades.

Some may not realize Abdo’s arrest marks eight recent attacks or attempted attacks on the US military by assailants who have apparently been motivated by their Islamic faith. Half of those attacks or attempted attacks have been by members of the US military:  Read more

Arkansas “Jihadist” Case Ends with Sudden Plea Deal

The defense had begun to lay its case earlier this week for Carlos Bledsoe, otherwise known as Abdulhakim Muhammad, accused of murdering a Soldier in an attack on a recruiting center in Arkansas.

The case was suddenly halted earlier this week when Muhammad agreed to a plea deal — guilty, life without parole.

Muhammad’s lawyer had originally told the jury their job was easy:  His client did it.

“This isn’t about whodunit or who didn’t do it,” said Patrick Benca, a lawyer for Abdulhakim Muhammad. “Mr. Muhammad was the one that had his finger on the trigger.”

The prosecution used that to their advantage:  Read more

Petraeus to Replace McChrystal in Afghanistan

In a seemingly unusual move, US Army General David Petraeus appears poised to give up his leadership at Central Command to take over the job of one of his former “subordinates.”  While the situation is not quite that simple, from a military leadership perspective, the ISAF leadership position is certainly inferior to CENTCOM.

That aside, one of the more interesting aspects of this firing/hiring of US military General officers has been the attempt by the media to characterize the enemy’s response.  Newsweek had an entire article on “what the Taliban think…” about Read more