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Army Officer Resigns Over Continued U.S. Support for Israel

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An Army officer assigned to the Defense Intelligence Agency has resigned in protest over the United States’s continued military support for Israel.

Maj. Harrison Mann said he resigned from the DIA over the “nearly unqualified [U.S.] support” for Israel, “which has enabled and empowered the killing and starvation of tens of thousands of innocent Palestinians [in Gaza].”

“The past months have presented us with the most horrific and heartbreaking images imaginable — sometimes playing on the news in our own space — and I have been unable to ignore the connection between those images and my duties here,” he said in a slightly edited version of his resignation letter, which he posted on LinkedIn. “This caused me incredible shame and guilt.”

Mann referenced his European Jewish ancestry, noting he was “haunted” by what he believed was his failure to live up to the “unforgiving moral environment when it came to the topic of bearing responsibility for ethnic cleansing.”

A DIA official confirmed to the Washington Examiner that Mann was previously assigned to the agency and noted that “employees resign their positions for any number of reasons and motivations.” (Read more from “Army Officer Resigns Over Continued U.S. Support for Israel” HERE)

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Army Faces Fourth Apache Helicopter Incident Since January

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Two soldiers sustained injuries in the latest Apache helicopter crash at Fort Carson in Colorado on Wednesday evening, adding to a string of recent incidents involving the aircraft. This marks the fourth such incident within a short span of two months, raising concerns about the safety of Army aviation operations.

According to officials at Fort Carson, the AH-64 Apache helicopter, belonging to the 4th Combat Aviation Brigade, 4th Infantry Division, went down during routine training in a southern area of the base at approximately 6:30 p.m. Both pilots aboard the aircraft were treated for minor injuries at a local hospital and subsequently released.

Following the crash, base command decided to ground all of its aviation assets until further notice. Investigators from the Army Combat Readiness Center, based at Fort Novosel, Alabama, have been tasked with probing the incident to determine its cause.

The Army National Guard has also experienced Apache helicopter accidents in recent weeks, with back-to-back crashes occurring on February 12 and February 23. Tragically, the latter incident resulted in the loss of two pilots’ lives.

In response to the incidents within the National Guard, the organization’s top officer ordered an indefinite aviation safety stand-down across all helicopter units, spanning the National Guard’s 54 states and jurisdictions. This measure aims to thoroughly review safety protocols and procedures to prevent future mishaps.

As investigations into these incidents continue, questions persist regarding the safety and operational protocols surrounding Army aviation assets.

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Army Seeking Retirees to Come back to Work Amid Manpower Crisis

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The Army is seeking to bring back retired soldiers to fill critical manpower shortages, according to a service-wide directive published this week.

The All Army Activities (ALARACT) document describes how Army retirees can find and apply for open positions and aims to maintain a sufficient number of personnel to fill all of the Army’s authorized positions. The message comes as the service has publicly acknowledged struggles to balance a shrinking workforce with the demands of sprawling global mission sets as recruitment woes persist for a third year in a row.

“A review of commands’ requests for [the] fill of authorized personnel vacancies, in conjunction with current Army manning guidance, prompted review of how the Army can fill key and critical position vacancies,” the document stated, outlining the current situation. “The retiree recall program can be an effective tool to fill personnel shortages of authorized regular Army vacancies that are considered key and essential.”

It was unclear whether the Army had already identified manning shortages to be filled or was issuing the message in anticipation of future need. The Army did not respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s comments by deadline.

Any Army, Reserve or National Guard soldier who qualifies as retired or will soon be retired — meaning they achieved at least 20 years of service — and anyone receiving retired pay is eligible to apply, the message states. Neither age nor disability, alone, would exclude a soldier from joining depending on the disability, and they would still have to meet the Army’s health requirements.

(Read more from “Army Seeking Retirees to Come back to Work Amid Manpower Crisis” HERE)

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Army Celebrates Trans Soldier, Claims ‘Coming Out’ and ‘Living as One’s True Self’ Saves Lives — Meanwhile, Military Recruiting Crisis Continues

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In the final days of Pride Month, the United States Army highlighted the story of a “transgender female” officer whose life was allegedly saved after “coming out.” Meanwhile, the military is battling the worst recruiting crisis since the beginning of the all-volunteer service in 1973.

The Army featured an article titled “Living Authentically Saves Soldier’s Life,” which featured the “coming out” story of Major Rachel Jones, an Army Sustainment Command Cyber Division chief.

According to the article, Jones “lived every day deeply depressed and suicidal” before publicly coming out as a transgender woman. . .

Stephanie Allers, a program specialist and suicide prevention liaison for the Army, claimed that depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, and suicidal ideation risks are twice as high for veterans and active-duty soldiers who identify as LGBT+ but “have concealed their true selves,” the Army’s article stated.

“One reason for this is the chronic, toxic stress experienced by those who need or opt to hide their true self and those who have experienced loss of support or interpersonal and professional relationships because of their identity or sexual orientation,” Allers said. (Read more from “Army Celebrates Trans Soldier, Claims ‘Coming Out’ and ‘Living as One’s True Self’ Saves Lives — Meanwhile, Military Recruiting Crisis Continues” HERE)

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Army Identifies Nine Soldiers Killed in Helicopter Collision

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On Friday, U.S. Army officials identified the nine soldiers killed in a helicopter crash when two helicopters collided flying out of Fort Campbell in Kentucky on Wednesday.

All nine people on the Black Hawk helicopters died in the accident, which occurred during a routine training mission. The soldiers were all assigned to the 101st Combat Aviation Brigade, and their ages ranged from 23 to 36.

“Now is the time for grieving and healing,” Maj. Gen. J.P. McGee, the commanding general of the installation and of the Army’s 101st Airborne Division, said in a statement. “The whole division and this community stand behind the families and friends of our fallen soldiers.” . . .

The nine soldiers killed were identified as Warrant Officer 1 Jeffery Barnes, 33; Cpl. Emilie Marie Eve Bolanos, 23; Chief Warrant Officer 2 Zachary Esparza, 36; Sgt. Isaac J. Gayo, 27; Staff Sgt. Joshua C. Gore, 25; Warrant Officer 1 Aaron Healy, 32; Staff Sgt. Taylor Mitchell, 30; Chief Warrant Officer 2 Rusten Smith, 32; and 23-year-old Sgt. David Solinas Jr.

(Read more from “Army Identifies Nine Soldiers Killed in Helicopter Collision” HERE)

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Woke Army General Rebuked for Twitter-Trolling Tucker Carlson, Right-Wingers

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An Army watchdog report has found a top general broke social media protocol by taking on Fox News host Tucker Carlson and other right-wingers on Twitter last year.

An investigation by the Army’s Office of the Inspector General found Maj. Gen. Patrick Donahoe, the former commander of the Maneuver Center of Excellence at Fort Benning, Ga., brought “negative publicity” to the Army for engaging in social media arguments over the military’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate for troops and criticizing Carlson’s critique of gender-based military reforms, according to the Washington Post and Task & Purpose.

Donahoe first clashed with Carlson in March 2021 after the top-rated TV personality criticized the Pentagon for making a “mockery of the US military” by introducing new hairstyles for women and flight suits for pregnant service members.

“While China’s military becomes more masculine as it has assembled the world’s largest navy, our military needs to become as, Joe Biden says, more feminine — whatever feminine means anymore,” Carlson said at the time.

In response, Donahoe posted a video of himself re-enlisting a female staff sergeant with the caption: “Just a reminder that @TuckerCarlson couldn’t be more wrong.” Several other Army leaders tweeted in agreement, leading Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) to write Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin regarding Donahoe and other military leaders’ public criticism of Carlson. (Read more from “Woke Army General Rebuked for Twitter-Trolling Tucker Carlson, Right-Wingers” HERE)

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‘Woke’ up Call? Army Majorly Misses Recruiting Goal

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Amid vaccine mandates, complaints of “woke” policies and indoctrination, and a tight jobs market, the Army fell 25% short of its recruitment goal this year, about 15,000 soldiers, the Associated Press reported.

The shortfall actually is worse, because the original target of 485,000 active-duty soldiers was cut by 12,000 in April and further reduced later to 466,000.

The AP said “the worsening problem stirs debate about whether America’s fighting force should be restructured or reduced in size if the services can’t recruit enough, and could also put added pressure on the National Guard and Reserve to help meet mission requirements.”

Meanwhile, as Breitbart News reported in July, an Army training instructs soldiers to shower with transgender members of the opposite sex, even if they have not undergone a surgical transition. In February, the Army began discharging soldiers who refused to be vaccinated with the experimental COVID-19 vaccine, despite the fact the shots have proven to be ineffective in stopping infection and transmission of the disease. In addition, Department of Defense data indicate a massive spike in serious injuries and illnesses among military personnel coincided with the vaccine rollout in 2021.

The AP said it’s “unclear how much the debate over the COVID-19 vaccine is playing in the recruiting struggles.” To date, the Army has discharged more than 1,700 soldiers for refusing the vaccine. (Read more from “‘Woke’ up Call? Army Majorly Misses Recruiting Goal” HERE)

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The Army Has Just 7 Weeks to Meet Its Recruitment Targets This Year. It’s Only 52% Of the Way There.

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The U.S. Army is projected to fall well short of its annual recruitment goal this year, having met only a little more than half of its target for fiscal year 2022.

Army Secretary Christine Wormuth told NBC News Friday that the Army has recruited only 52% of its goal for FY 2022 and is expected be short by as many as 15,000 recruits.

“We are right now at about 52% of the mission that we had originally set for ourselves. So we’ve got a ways to go, and obviously we’ve only got about a month or so until the fiscal year ends,” Wormuth said. “I would say we’re [going to be] about 12,000 to 15,000 recruits short this year.”

The current fiscal year will end on September 30. The Army had initially sought to add 60,000 active-duty enlistments this year, but has since downsized that target amid dismal recruitment shortfalls.

NBC News reports that while the Army is authorized to have as many as 485,000 total troops, it recently lowered that number to 476,000. Wormuth warned that long-term recruitment shortages could impact military readiness. (Read more from “The Army Has Just 7 Weeks to Meet Its Recruitment Targets This Year. It’s Only 52% Of the Way There.” HERE)

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Army Private With Ties to Neo-Nazis, ISIS Pleads Guilty in Plot to Kill Fellow Soldiers

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An Army soldier with links to white supremacists and the occult admitted that he planned to kill other members of his unit in what he called a “jihadi attack” just before they were to be deployed to Turkey, federal prosecutors said.

Pvt. Ethan Phelan Melzer pleaded guilty to attempting to murder U.S. service members, providing and attempting to provide material support to terrorists, and illegally transmitting national defense information.

“Ethan Melzer attempted to orchestrate a murderous ambush on his own unit by unlawfully disclosing its location, strength, and armaments to a neo-Nazi, anarchist, white supremacist group,” Damian Williams, U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, said in a statement. “The defendant believed he could force the U.S. into prolonged armed conflict while causing the deaths of as many soldiers as possible.”

He faces 45 years in prison. Sentencing is scheduled for January 2023, officials said.

Federal prosecutors said Melzer, 24, was a member of 09A, an occult-based neo-Nazi and white supremacist group that espouses antisemitic and satanic beliefs and has expressed admiration for Adolf Hitler and Islamic jihadists such as Osama bin Laden. (Read more from “Army Private With Ties to Neo-Nazis, ISIS Pleads Guilty in Plot to Kill Fellow Soldiers” HERE)

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‘Let’s Go Brandon’ Merchandise at Alaska Exchange Crossed AAFES’ Line on Vulgarity

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The Army and Air Force Exchange Service is emphasizing a ban on the sale of lewd or profane products in its stores after a vendor in Alaska sold figurines carrying a crude catch phrase aimed at the commander in chief.

In the days leading up to Christmas, a temporary vendor at the exchange on Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage sold wooden bear figurines fashioned to resemble former President Donald Trump and holding signs reading, “Let’s Go Brandon,” according to the Anchorage Daily News, which first reported the sales.

The foot-tall bears sported long red ties and slicked-back blond hair in Trump fashion, the newspaper said. . .

The independent vendor’s short-term stint at the Alaska base had already ended by the time the agency learned of the prohibited merchandise, AAFES spokesman Chris Ward told Stars and Stripes by phone on Monday.

“The exchange routinely reviews products to determine their compliance with the Exchange’s prohibition from selling items that are illegal, promote the use of drugs or alcohol, contain racial or ethnic slurs, promote racial or ethnic supremacy, or include words, symbols, or scenes that are lewd, profane or vulgar,” he said. “If the product is determined to be in violation of restrictions, the exchange takes immediate corrective action.” (Read more from “‘Let’s Go Brandon’ Merchandise at Alaska Exchange Crossed AAFES’ Line on Vulgarity” HERE)

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