Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel announced today he will ask Congress to revise military law to prevent commanders from overturning major convictions. The decision is in response to a controversial overturned verdict of an Air Force pilot convicted of sexual assault. The move to makes changes to the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) represents a partial victory for victims of ... Read More »
The 2013 Major League Baseball (MLB) season began this week, with most teams enjoying opening day ceremonies at their home ballpark. But this year, a typical sight associated with American outdoor sporting events was missing. Due to the ongoing sequester, all scheduled military flyovers at MLB ballparks were cancelled. Due to the sequestration, the Department of Defense (DoD) cut more ... Read More »
Today marks the 10th anniversary of the War in Iraq. The costly war resulted in the loss of 4,475 U.S. troops, 32,223 wounded and more than 120,000 documented civilian deaths. Millions more were displaced from their homes and fled to other countries. In observance of the anniversary, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, himself a critic of the war and and Army Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, ... Read More »
During a rape victim’s appearance before members of the Senate Armed Forces Committee, she testified that an Army chaplain once told her that her rape was “God’s will.” Former Army Sgt. Rebekah Havrilla’s comments about her conversation with an Army chaplain at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri were previously documented yet had to retell her story partly in response to an ... Read More »
With the White House and Congress at an impasse in budget negotiations, the U.S. military is already experiencing effects from the sequester. Last Monday, the Marine Corps announced plans to suspend its Tuition Assistance Program and on Friday, the Army followed in concert to halt its own program. While the Navy and Air Force are still determining how to move forward ... Read More »
It’s been a troubling week, no, make that a troubling year here in Santa Cruz, California. What was once a relatively quiet university town better known for its historic seaside amusement park, has in more recent years, become a community rife with violence. Sadly, the latest incident involved a former Blackhawk helicopter pilot who gunned down two Santa Cruz Police ... Read More »
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