Pentagon review calls for reforms to reverse spike in sexual misconduct at military academies
A new report says the U.S. military academies must improve their leadership, stop toxic practices such as hazing, and shift behavior training into the classrooms in order to address an alarming spike in sexual assaults and misconduct.
Navy probe prompted by suicides condemns conditions at shipyard: 'We let our people down'
A Navy investigation triggered by a series of suicides is recommending widespread improvements in housing, food, parking and internet for sailors, as well as changes to mental health and other personnel programs.
Navy expands boot camp to sharpen focus on character issues
The Navy is adding two weeks to boot camp in a major overhaul aimed at improving recruits' war fighting and emergency skills while also focusing on suicide prevention and character issues such as sexual assault, hazing and extremism in the ranks.
Across services, troops face discipline for refusing vaccine
U.S. officials say all of the military services have now begun disciplinary actions and discharges for troops who have refused to get the mandated coronavirus vaccine, with as many as 20,000 unvaccinated forces at risk of being removed from service.
Coworkers: Man charged in Capitol riot had a Hitler mustache
FILE - In this Jan. 6, 2021 file photo rioters supporting President Donald Trump storm the Capitol in Washington. An Army reservist charged with taking part in the attack on the U.S. Capitol was known as a Nazi sympathizer who wore a Hitler mustache, coworkers told federal investigators. (AP Photo/John Minchillo, File)WASHINGTON – An Army reservist charged with taking part in the attack on the U.S. Capitol was known as a Nazi sympathizer who wore a Hitler mustache, coworkers told federal investigators. The filing included photos from Hale-Cusanelli’s cellphone of him with a Hitler mustache, along with pro-Nazi cartoons. Jonathan Zucker, Hale-Cusanelli’s attorney, wrote in a filing that there was no evidence his client belongs to any white supremacist organizations.
Mexico's last island penal colony may now host cruise ships
Visitors will be able to tour the remote island jail, but not stay overnight. Ad“Visitors will have their first contact with the former island prison which for 100 years sheltered numerous criminals,” Torruco said. When Panama closed its Isla Coiba penal colony in 2004, Isla Marias became the last one remaining in the Americas. But in the end, the Islas Marias wound up costing Mexico far more per prisoner than did mainland jails. Chile closed its Santa Maria prison island in the late 1980s, Costa Rica’s Isla San Lucas penal colony closed in 1991 and Brazil’s Isla Grande in 1994.
3 sailors have COVID on US ship that saw outbreak last year
FILE - In this July 9, 2020 file photo the USS Theodore Roosevelt aircraft carrier makes its way into San Diego Bay as seen from San Diego. Three sailors aboard the USS Theodore Roosevelt have tested positive for COVID-19, the Navy said Monday, Feb. 15, 2021, less than a year after a massive outbreak on the ship sidelined it in Guam for nearly two months. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull, File)WASHINGTON – Three sailors aboard the USS Theodore Roosevelt have tested positive for COVID-19, the Navy said Monday, less than a year after a massive outbreak on the ship sidelined it in Guam for nearly two months. The outbreak on the ship last year was the largest the military has seen so far, with more than 1,000 sailors testing positive. Other ships that have been underway or at their home ports over the past year have had smaller numbers of sailors test positive, but none have had such a major outbreak.
Agriculture secretary nominee Vilsack endorses biofuels push
FILE - In this Dec. 11, 2020, file photo former Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, who the Biden administration chose to reprise that role, speaks during an event at The Queen theater in Wilmington, Del. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)WASHINGTON – Tom Vilsack, President Joe Biden's nominee for secretary of agriculture, pledged Tuesday to focus on climate change initiatives and work to address racial inequities in agricultural assistance programs. Vilsack, who testified before the Senate Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee, would bring much on-the-job experience to the position. In addition to serving two terms as the governor of Iowa, he spent eight years as President Barack Obama's Agriculture Secretary. But if you don’t have a grocery store, what then?”AdVilsack seems to enjoy bipartisan support and faced no serious criticism from Republicans on the committee.
Navy pauses plan to move Wisconsin badger to Virginia museum
Naval Academy wants the state of Wisconsin to return the statue. The statue, crafted from melted-down cannons seized from Cuba during the Spanish-American War, was affixed to the first USS Wisconsin prior to World War I. The academy museum contacted state officials last March seeking the statue's return so it could be loaned to the nonprofit Nauticus Museum in Norfolk, Virginia, where the second USS Wisconsin is berthed as an exhibit. Academy museum director Claude Berube last week consulted with U.S. Rep. Mike Gallagher, a Wisconsin Republican and former Marine. AdThe academy museum previously extended the state loan until mid-September due to COVID-induced closures in Norfolk.
Army left out in Bowl Day marred by cancellations, opt outs
When that bowl game was called off because there was not another team available, it suddenly left Army looking for a postseason opponent. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger, File)At a time when team after team had opted out of bowl games, Army found itself in a different sort of situation — left out. “It was a difficult day for all of college football,” said Nick Carparelli, the executive director of Bowl Season, the renamed Football Bowl Association. For the Hokies, the decision ended a 27 straight bowl game run. Some of the canceled bowl games — 15 in all, including three on Sunday alone — included the Bahamas Bowl, Celebration Bowl, Hawaii Bowl, Holiday Bowl, Las Vegas Bowl, LA Bowl, Pinstripe Bowl, Quick Lane Bowl, Redbox Bowl and Sun Bowl.
Pearl Harbor dead remembered in ceremony shrunk by pandemic
A U.S. Navy sailor plays taps in front of the USS Missouri during a ceremony to mark the anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor, Monday, Dec. 7, 2020, in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. Officials gathered in Pearl Harbor to remember those killed in the 1941 Japanese attack, but public health measures adopted because of the coronavirus pandemic meant no survivors were present. The military broadcast video of the ceremony live online for survivors and members of the public to watch from afar. The Arizona today lies at the bottom of the harbor, where it sank shortly being hit by two bombs. Warren Upton, a 101-year-old who served on the USS Utah, understood why he could not attend in person this year.
Shipyard, union are getting back on same page after strike
BATH, Maine – Months after a bitter strike during a pandemic, Bath Iron Works managers and production workers are starting to get on the same page when it comes to catching up on the production schedule. Machinists Union Local S6 and shipyard managers have been meeting with help from a federal mediator since the two-month strike ended in August. Bath Iron Works is one of the Navy’s largest shipbuilders and is a major employer with 6,800 workers in Maine. Bath Iron Works will be competing against the Ingalls shipyard in Mississippi on that contract. The Bath-built Thomas Hudner in 2019 scored the highest in the program history, outperforming a destroyer from the Ingalls shipyard, according the Navy's Board of Inspection and Survey.
Veterans Day in 2020: quiet parades, somber virtual events
Residents and staff listen to the national anthem during a socially-distanced Veterans Day ceremony at the Southern Nevada State Veterans Home, Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2020, in Boulder City, Nev. With infections raging again nationwide, several veterans homes are fighting new outbreaks. At the annual Veterans Day gathering at the New Hampshire State Veterans Cemetery, many participants wore masks and kept their distance from others. “Veterans Day looks a lot different this year than it has in the past,” said Andy Patterson, commander of the Disabled American Veterans of New Hampshire. Ninety-eight veterans have died from COVID-19 in Missouri’s seven veterans homes since Sept. 1, and Gov.
No. 1 Alabama-LSU, No. 5 Texas A&M-Tennessee postponed
5 Texas A&M at Tennessee will not be played Saturday because of COVID-19 issues, raising the number of Southeastern Conference games postponed this week to three. Texas A&M said it has three active COVID-19 cases, including two people who traveled with the team to South Carolina last week. 24 Auburn's game at Mississippi State was postponed because of COVID-19 positive tests and contact tracing within the Bulldogs' program. In the American Athletic Conference, Navy's game at Memphis on Saturday was postponed because of positive COVID-19 tests at the Naval Academy. It’s the second week in a row that Navy had a game postponed because of positive tests at the Academy and the subsequent quarantine of student-athletes.
Cal-Washington game canceled after player's positive test
The season opener between California and Washington has been canceled following a request from the Golden Bears due to a positive coronavirus test for one of their players. The school said the player with a positive test is asymptomatic. He took his regular daily antigen test and then a supplemental PCR test, which also showed a positive result. This marked the first positive test on Cal’s football team since practices began last month. This is the fourth time a Tulsa game has been postponed or canceled because of COVID cases.
The Latest: Lions put Jalen Elliott on reserve/COVID-19 list
(Jose Sena Goulao, Pool via AP)The Latest on the effects of the coronavirus outbreak on sports around the world:___The Detroit Lions have put safety Jalen Elliott on the reserve/COVID-19 list. The list is for players who either test positive or have been in close contact with an infected person. ___UConn has suspended all men's basketball activities after a player tested positive for the coronavirus. The confirmation of a positive COVID-19 case occurs when a player receives two consecutive positive test results. He was placed on it because he had been in close contact with someone who had tested positive.
Navy jet crashes in California, but pilot ejects safely
The Navy says a fighter jet has crashed in the Mojave Desert but its pilot safely ejected. The F/A-18E Super Hornet from Naval Air Station Lemoore in California's Central Valley went down Tuesday, Oct. 20, 2020 in Superior Valley south of Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel, File)CHINA LAKE, Calif. – A Navy fighter jet crashed Tuesday in the Mojave Desert, but its pilot safely ejected, the Navy said. “The pilot ejected safely and was taken to a local medical facility for examination,” it said. Last month, a Marine Corps fighter pilot safely ejected from a F-35B jet after colliding in mid-air with another plane during a refueling operation in a remote desert area of Southern California.
Pearl Harbor shooting probe finds mental health care flaws
The Navy said Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2020, its investigation into a shooting at Pearl Harbor last December was unable to determine what caused a submarine sailor to kill two civilian workers before fatally shooting himself. Romero was assigned to the USS Columbia submarine, which was in dry dock at the Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard at the time of the Dec. 4 shooting. The report singled out shortcomings by the submarine force's mental health program, which diagnosed Romero with “phase of life problems.” Romero met with a licensed provider at the program's Pearl Harbor clinic once. A forensic psychiatrist who reviewed Romero's case for the investigation said Romero showed signs of an undiagnosed mental disorder. The psychiatrist said the most probable diagnoses for Romero, in order of likelihood, were as follows: autistic spectrum disorder, attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder, social anxiety disorder, personality disorder, anxiety disorder, depressive disorder and adjustment disorder.
Navy releases documents from Cold War loss of submarine
The first of the documents released were 300 pages from the official inquiry into the sinking of the USS Thresher on April 10, 1963. The crew of an accompanying rescue ship heard something about the “test depth.” Then the sailors listened as the sub disintegrated under the crushing pressure of the sea. The documents released Wednesday included the timeline of the sinking, evidence lists, reports, testimony and correspondence. Even more than 50 years later, technical details including the test depth were redacted. His suspicion is that the Navy was pushing the limits and placing personnel at risk during the Cold War.
More military bases increase health protections due to virus
The military, however, still has a dramatically low death rate, losing three active-duty service members out of nearly 23,000 virus cases so far. I find that each base does things a little bit different, and theyve adapted very carefully, Defense Secretary Mark Esper said when he traveled to Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri this week. The military has relied largely on its local commanders to make decisions about their base restrictions. For example, Army, Navy and Marine commanders had loosened restrictions at those bases in Japan, but reversed those decisions this month. Active-duty military cases of COVID-19 increased steadily through the spring, but began to escalate more sharply in June, jumping by about 3,000 or more a week.
Shipbuilder files complaint over union threats during strike
Strikers picket outside the district lodge of Local 6 across from Bath Iron Works, Monday, June 22, 2020, in Bath, Maine. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)Navy shipbuilder Bath Iron Works on Friday filed a complaint with the National Labor Relations Board, accusing its largest union of threatening workers who cross the picket line during an ongoing strike in Maine. The company accused leaders of Machinists Local S6 of threatening so-called scabs with fines and loss of benefits and hinting at violence. We are extremely disappointed that union leaders would make false and threatening statements to the very employees they are supposed to represent, said BIW President Dirk Lesko. Wadleigh insisted that production workers who cross the picket line are no longer eligible for union benefits, and may face fines, as well.
As COVID-19 cases spike, where are the Comfort and Mercy ships now?
The ships were deployed in late March to help assist frontline hospital workers and provide care on the ships, should hospitals overflow with patients. Comfort arrived in New York City on March 30, a day after it left Virginia, according to Business Insider. Comfort left New York City after treating 182 patients, 70% of whom had COVID-19, according to NavyTimes. Comfort is available in case it is needed for future help, according to NavyTimes, while USNI News reported the same is true for Mercy. (Getty Images)The USNS Comfort departs for its home port of Norfolk, Virginia on April 30, 2020 in New York City.
Striking shipbuilders are losing health coverage in pandemic
PORTLAND, Maine The stakes are growing in a strike against Navy shipbuilder Bath Iron Works during a global pandemic as company-provided health insurance is running out for 4,300 shipbuilders who've left their jobs. Keeping health insurance through the so-called COBRA program can cost up to a couple of thousand dollars a month. Others said they will simply do without health insurance. Kelley Hammond, a 58-year-old marine electrician, opted to forgo purchasing insurance and filled a blood pressure prescription Tuesday, before the expiration of the companys insurance. The shipyard is already about six months behind scheduled, partly because of the pandemic, and it will need subcontractors to help get back on schedule, Bath Iron Works President Dirk Lesko has said.
US naval buildup in Indo-Pacific seen as warning to China
This week, however, Navy commanders said they were able to take advantage of the timing, particularly during this period of great power competition with China. Carriers and carrier strike groups writ large are phenomenal symbols of American naval power. Koehler said that most recently China deployed aircraft to Fiery Cross Reef in the Spratly Islands and is now operating them out of there. The USS Theodore Roosevelt and its strike group are operating in the Philippine Sea near Guam. The USS Ronald Reagan has left port in Japan and is operating in the Philippine Sea south of there.
Navy carrier sidelined by virus is back operating in Pacific
WASHINGTON WASHINGTON (AP) Ten long weeks after a massive coronavirus outbreak sidelined one of the Navy's signature warships, the U.S.S. Theodore Roosevelt has returned to sea and is conducting military operations in the Pacific region. So I thought it was appropriate, said Sardiello, who asked one of the other Navy ships to borrow their flag. She had tested positive for the virus and was in quarantine for about five weeks. There are still about 350 sailors on Guam who are either in isolation or are there as support staff.
Naval Academy holds its first-ever virtual graduation event
On Thursday, the Senate confirmed Kenneth Braithwaite, a former U.S. ambassador to Norway and a 1984 graduate of the Naval Academy, as Navy secretary. The decision not to have a live Naval Academy graduation ceremony reflects concern about the coronavirus pandemic. It stands in contrast to the Air Force, which held a scaled-back live graduation ceremony in Colorado Springs, Colorado on April 18. The Army is scheduled to hold a U.S. Military Academy live graduation ceremony at West Point, New York, on June 13 with President Donald Trump as the commencement speaker. In the virtual spirit of Friday's Naval Academy event, Milley, chimed in with a Twitter note of encouragement to the graduates.
FBI says Texas naval base shooting is 'terrorism-related'
The entrances to the Naval Air Station-Corpus Christi are closed following an active shooter threat, Thursday, May 21, 2020, in Corpus Christi, Texas. (Annie Rice/Corpus Christi Caller-Times via AP)CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas A shooting at a Texas naval air station that wounded a sailor and left the gunman dead early Thursday was being investigated as terrorism-related, the FBI said, but divulged few details as to why. A police spokesman would not confirm that the activity was related to the shooting at the Naval station. We have determined that the incident this morning at the Naval Air Station Corpus Christi is terrorism related, Greeves said. According to U.S. officials, unlike Pensacola, there are no international or foreign national students at the Texas base.
8 more sailors aboard US ship test positive a second time
WASHINGTON Eight more sailors aboard the USS Theodore Roosevelt have tested positive again for the coronavirus, raising to 13 the number who appear to have become infected a second time while serving aboard the sidelined aircraft carrier. All the sailors had previously tested positive for the virus and had gone through at least two weeks of isolation. On Saturday, a Navy official confirmed eight additional sailors had tested positive again. A day earlier the Navy had said in a statement that five had tested positive a second time. That some crew were testing positive again has puzzled officials and raised questions about reintegrating troops into the military if a second infection were possible.
10 Things to Know for Today
The Navy hospital ship USNS Comfort passes lower Manhattan on its way to docking in New York, Monday, March 30, 2020. The ship has 1,000 beds and 12 operating rooms that could be up and running within 24 hours of its arrival on Monday morning. It's expected to bolster a besieged health care system by treating non-coronavirus patients while hospitals treat people with COVID-19. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)Your daily look at late-breaking news, upcoming events and the stories that will be talked about today:1. POLITICAL PRISONERS FEAR INFECTION In some cells in Iran, Syria and other countries in the Middle East, prisoners crammed into filthy jails fear the coronavirus could run rampant.
US Navy dropping live bombs in middle of Florida
US Navy dropping live bombs in middle of Florida – If you hear loud booming sounds, don’t worry it’s just the Navy dropping bombs in the middle of Florida. The Naval Air Station in Jacksonville is conducting live and inert bomb training at Pinecastle Range Complex in the Ocala National Forest. The range complex is about 2 miles west of the Camp Ocala campgrounds and near several hiking trails. It's common for F-18 jet fighters and other Navy aircraft to drop bombs in the middle of the range. Anyone who has a noise complaint is asked to call the Fleet Area Control and Surveillance Facility in Jacksonville at 800-874-5059.
Local10.com college football picks: Week 12
Will there be any separation with this week's Local10.com college football picks? Local 10 News reporter Ian Margol and sports reporter Clay Ferraro are picking Auburn to beat Georgia at home. That's a split from sports director Will Manso and reporter Liane Morejon, who are picking the Bulldogs. Ian calls Notre Dame "vastly overrated." Will MansoIndiana at Penn StateFlorida at MissouriMichigan State at MichiganAlabama State at FSUNavy at Notre DameWake Forest at ClemsonGeorgia at AuburnMinnesota at IowaCincinnati at USF
Local10.com college football picks: Week 8
The group is all in on the trio of teams from South Florida, but the same can't be said about Florida State. The Seminoles are a unanimous pick to lose at Wake Forest this weekend. They should be able to withstand a struggling Georgia Tech squad Saturday at Hard Rock Stadium. But he won't make any headway this weekend with identical picks. Liane Morejon is hedging her bets on Michigan as she tries to narrow the gap between first and last place.
Closing arguments set for Monday in murder trial of Navy SEAL
(CNN) - Closing arguments are expected to begin Monday in the trial of Chief Special Warfare Operator Eddie Gallagher, a Navy SEAL accused of stabbing an ISIS prisoner to death, among other violations of military law. Other SEALs who served alongside Gallagher testified they saw Gallagher stab the ISIS fighter. SEAL Special Operations Chief Craig Miller testified he saw Gallagher stab the prisoner "on the right side of his neck, toward the jugular vein." He posed for pictures with prisoner's body, witnesses saySeveral SEALs testified during the first week they saw Gallagher take pictures with the body. Former SEAL Dylan Dille told the court he saw Gallagher pose for individual and group photos with the body.
Graves of 30 World War II service members are found
CNN imageThe remains of 30 US Marines and Navy service members lost since a bloody WWII battle in the South Pacific have been found on remote Tarawa Atoll, said an organization that recovers lost US service members. History Flight, founded in 2003, is a nonprofit organization dedicated to "researching, recovering, and repatriating" American service members missing after past conflicts, according to its website. The organization has had a hand in recovering hundreds of sets of remains from both the European and Pacific theaters of World War II. At Tarawa Atoll, the primary American objective was to win the airfield on the thin Betio Island. Remains from more than 500 of the US service members were buried in a cemetery on the island.
Prosecution rests in SEAL Eddie Gallagher's military murder trial
Edward Gallagher is accused of stabbing a wounded teenage ISIS fighter in the neck in Mosul in May 2017. A Navy judge has removed the lead prosecutor in the case against a Navy SEAL charged with murdering a wounded person and shooting at(CNN) - Prosecutors in the military trial of Navy SEAL Eddie Gallagher, accused of committing multiple violations of military law in Iraq, rested their case Tuesday. But by week's end, one of the prosecution's own witnesses dropped a bombshell, testifying that he was the one responsible for the ISIS fighter's death. After the prosecution rested, the court-martial members, who act as a jury, were dismissed from the courtroom. The judge denied the motion, and the trial will continue Wednesday at 12 p.m.