<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/u-s-military">U.S. military</a> forces have deployed one of the nation&#8217;s most elite groups of airborne division soldiers to <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/europe">Europe</a> for the first time since World War II, vowing to fight alongside Ukrainian troops in the war against Russia, according to a report. 
CBS News <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/ukraine-news-russia-us-army-101st-airborne-nato-war-games-romania/">reported</a> Friday that the U.S. Army&#8217;s 101st Airborne Division, a group trained to deploy anywhere in the world and fight within hours, deployed approximately 4,700 soldiers from Fort Campbell, Kentucky, to Romania, where soldiers stand ready to reinforce NATO&#8217;s eastern flank on a moment&#8217;s notice.
&#8220;We&#8217;re ready to defend every inch of NATO soil,&#8221; the division&#8217;s Deputy Commander, Brigadier General John Lubas, told the outlet, adding their presence is necessary because of the group&#8217;s unique light infantry force capabilities.
 &#8220;We bring that mobility to our aircraft and our air assaults,&#8221; Lubas said.
Division soldiers, nicknamed the &#8220;Screamin&#8217; Eagles,&#8221; are now the closest American forces to the ongoing fighting in Ukraine since Russian President Vladimir Putin launched military operations there earlier this year. Since then, Russian troops have advanced on the Crimean Peninsula and scaled the Black Sea coast into the Kherson region, including Mykolaiv and Odesa port cities.
&#8220;We&#8217;re closely watching them. So we&#8217;re building objectives to practice against that replicate exactly what&#8217;s going on in Ukraine,&#8221; Colonel Edwin Matthaidess, Commander of the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, told CBS. &#8220;It keeps us on our toes.&#8221;
U.S. soldiers and Romanian troops have been conducting air assault attacks to show Russian forces that NATO allies are fully prepared to cross into Ukrainian territory if ordered by officials.
&#8220;The real meaning for me, to have the American troops here, is like if you were to have allies in Normandy before any enemy was there,&#8221; Romanian Major General Lulian Berdila told CBS News. 
The move from U.S. forces comes after NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg warned Russia against using nuclear weapons in the Ukraine conflict after the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines were heavily damaged by underwater explosions in the Baltic Sea surrounded by Sweden, Germany, and Poland.
&#8220;All currently available information indicates that this is the result of deliberate, reckless, and irresponsible acts of sabotage,&#8221; NATO said in a statement, according to <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/attacks-against-nato-allies-critical-infrastructure-be-met-with-determined-2022-09-29/">Reuters</a>. &#8220;We, as Allies, have committed to prepare for, deter and defend against the coercive use of energy and other hybrid tactics by state and non-state actors.&#8221; 
&#8220;Any deliberate attack against the allies&#8217; critical infrastructure would be met with a united and determined response,&#8221; the statement added.
The Department of the Army <a href="https://www.army.mil/article/256658/army_announces_upcoming_unit_deployments_in_support_of_european_allies_and_partners">announced</a> last summer it would begin deploying troops to the region in &#8220;support of our unrelenting commitment to Europe and our NATO allies.&#8221;

The Recon Clash-22 Military Competition In Poland

U.S. Military ‘Ready To Defend Every Inch Of NATO Soil’ Amid Russia/Ukraine War: Report

U.S. Military Sends Elite Troops To Eastern Europe Amid Russia/Ukraine War: Report

NATO

U.S. Army

Ukraine

Ukraine-Russia War

Vladimir Putin

Volodymyr Zelensky

In the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/movies" target="_blank" rel="noopener">cult-classic</a> &#8220;Stripes,&#8221; the late, great, heavyweight actor John Candy told his fellow &#8220;recruits&#8221; that he joined the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/u-s-army" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Army</a> so he could lose a few pounds and &#8220;walk out of there a lean-mean fighting machine.&#8221;
Now, that same fitness plan could soon be a reality for millions of obese Americans looking to serve the good ol&#8217; U-S-of-A. According to several reports, the Army is <a href="https://www.military.com/daily-news/2022/10/12/no-more-tape-test-only-soldiers-crush-fitness-test.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">considering</a> dropping certain weight limits for recruits so long as he or she is able to pass the physical fitness test with flying colors.
Per Military.com, &#8220;Soldiers who score at least a 540 on the <a href="https://www.military.com/daily-news/2022/09/29/armys-new-fitness-test-here-real-time-no-seriously-its-future-uncertain.html">Army Combat Fitness Test, or ACFT</a>, will be exempt from having their body fat measured.&#8221; The highest score possible on the fitness test is 600.
It is possible to be physically fit, albeit plus size — take any NFL lineman, for instance. It would be very difficult, as the physical fitness test is still challenging, but in theory, an obese person could skip the &#8220;tape test&#8221; if they crush everything else.
The potential plan — which could allow larger recruits to avoid a potential obstacle to training — comes as a beleaguered military is struggling to figure out why recruitment is down across the board.
Writing in The Wall Street Journal, Jimmy Byrne <a href="https://www.wsj.com/amp/articles/what-if-they-gave-a-war-and-everybody-was-woke-military-recruitment-crt-training-obesity-reading-labor-market-11659108526" target="_blank" rel="noopener">observed</a> in June that “Nearly every branch has struggled to meet its recruitment goals for 2022, with some falling as short as 40%. Worse yet, only about a quarter of America’s youth meet current eligibility standards — and recent surveys show only 9% are even interested.”
As pointed out by Byrne, one explanation could be the &#8220;wholesale embrace of woke politics.”
Of course, if you ask anybody in the Biden administration — such as <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/how-did-lizzo-go-from-being-oppressed-to-playing-james-madisons-flute-while-twerking" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Army Secretary Christine Wormuth</a> — there&#8217;s no woke politics in the military — just diversity, inclusion, and equity (DIE) training.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
.<a href="https://twitter.com/SecArmy?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SecArmy</a> Christine Wormuth gets heated while explaining the importance of diversity, equity, and inclusion programs for soldiers. <a href="https://t.co/v9aOk4LFqc">https://t.co/v9aOk4LFqc</a> <a href="https://t.co/eo3Ccv4Zjy">pic.twitter.com/eo3Ccv4Zjy</a>
&mdash; Washington Examiner (@dcexaminer) <a href="https://twitter.com/dcexaminer/status/1579558861090222080?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 10, 2022</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
In other words, the geniuses in Biden&#8217;s Pentagon cannot figure out why Americans are not interested in a military that mandates DIE-ing.
Earlier in 2022, the Army also ditched a gender- and age-neutral physical fitness test. That means women and older recruits have different requirements for physical fitness than men and younger Americans do.
In addition to woke Americans, other branches such as the Air Force have also been encouraging expectant mothers to sign up for the fight.
In September, the Air Force announced that it &#8220;has updated a policy to allow women, both enlisted and civilian, to apply and compete for an Officer Training School commission while pregnant.&#8221;
“We’re in a race for talent, and our policies need to reflect that,” Under Secretary of the Air Force Gina Ortiz Jones <a href="https://www.airandspaceforces.com/pregnant-candidates-can-now-apply-to-air-force-officer-training-school-without-a-waiver/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> in a statement. &#8220;This policy change will ensure we’re able to fully tap into the talent amongst our force as well as those looking to join us.&#8221;
It does not seem wise to have a military full of leftist pregnant women, but could it really be so bad if a bunch of folks like &#8220;Ox&#8221; in &#8220;Stripes&#8221; join the Army?
<iframe loading="lazy" title="John Candy in Stripes" width="500" height="375" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/bD4xwK13lGk?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>
The views expressed in this piece are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

Stripes

U.S. Army Reportedly Changing Controversial Body Fat Test. Good News For ‘Stripes’ Fans.

U.S. Army Reportedly Changing Controversial Body Fat Test. Good News For 'Stripes' Fans.

America

Biden Administration

Health

Obesity

U.S. Military

Woke Culture

Wokeness

On Monday, <a href="http://dailywire.com/news/the-life-and-times-of-joe-biden-according-to-joe-biden-volume-1/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">President Joe Biden</a>&#8216;s Secretary of the Army Christine Wormuth gave a master class on how the Left advances its agenda into every orifice of the United States <a href="http://dailywire.com/news/bidens-military-forget-mom-dad-use-woke-substitutes-instead-air-force-cadets-told/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">federal government</a>.
Wormuth is a <a href="https://www.army.mil/leaders/sa/bio/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">liberal arts graduate</a> with a master&#8217;s of public policy who has served in the civilian position since May 2021. The Biden appointee declared Monday that the armed forces aren&#8217;t woke, they just have diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts in every military base to make marginalized members of society feel included within military ranks.
&#8220;You know we get criticized, frankly, sometimes for being woke, I&#8217;m not sure what woke means,&#8221; Wormuth said sharply. &#8220;But first of all I would say, if woke mean we are not focused on war fighting, we are not fighting on readiness, that doesn&#8217;t reflect what I see at installations all around the countries or overseas when I go to visit.&#8221;
What does Wormuth see? Just <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/anti-white-racism-is-all-the-rage-amongst-big-business-banks-unions-and-government" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Critical Race Theory principles</a> being carried out — no wokeism here!
&#8220;But I think we do have a wide range of soldiers in our Army,&#8221; she added. and I think we have to make them feel included. That&#8217;s why a lot of our diversity, equity, and inclusion programs are important.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
.<a href="https://twitter.com/SecArmy?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SecArmy</a> Christine Wormuth gets heated while explaining the importance of diversity, equity, and inclusion programs for soldiers. <a href="https://t.co/v9aOk4LFqc">https://t.co/v9aOk4LFqc</a> <a href="https://t.co/eo3Ccv4Zjy">pic.twitter.com/eo3Ccv4Zjy</a>
&mdash; Washington Examiner (@dcexaminer) <a href="https://twitter.com/dcexaminer/status/1579558861090222080?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 10, 2022</a></blockquote>
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Of course, Americans actually don&#8217;t want diversity, equity, and inclusion in the military.
We want a uniform, fighting machine that follows a chain of command and hierarchy of duties. We would prefer to exclude anybody not fit to serve or that slows down the army&#8217;s readiness to kill.
That matters not to the Biden administration.
Once the Biden administration came into power, recruiting for the military plummeted. It doesn&#8217;t seem like it&#8217;s a coincidence that recruitment dropped alongside its push for DEI principles in the army.
Writing in The Wall Street Journal, Jimmy Byrne <a href="https://www.wsj.com/amp/articles/what-if-they-gave-a-war-and-everybody-was-woke-military-recruitment-crt-training-obesity-reading-labor-market-11659108526" target="_blank" rel="noopener">observed</a> that &#8220;Nearly every branch has struggled to meet its recruitment goals for 2022, with some falling as short as 40%. Worse yet, only about a quarter of America’s youth meet current eligibility standards — and recent surveys show only 9% are even interested.&#8221;
Those numbers can&#8217;t be explained by factors caused pandemic. At the time Byrne&#8217;s column was written, America had an unemployment rate of 3.6% nearly identical to the unemployment rate in 2019. Under President Donald Trump, the military exceeded its recruiting goals. Teenage obesity, perhaps another explanatory factory, only rose by three percent. The military is even giving out gigantic bonuses to entice Americans,  but nothing is working.
As pointed out by Byrne, one explanation could be &#8220;the wholesale embrace of woke politics.&#8221;
Rather than ditch those efforts in wake of dismal recruiting figures, the Biden administration is pushing them like never before.
If you ask Wormuth, those &#8220;woke politics&#8221; don&#8217;t even exist in Biden&#8217;s military.
&#8220;One of the things I think that&#8217;s most important &#8230; is keeping the army apolitical and keeping it out of the culture wars,&#8221; she said incredulously on Monday.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Army Secretary Christine Wormuth: &quot;One of the things I think that&#39;s most important &#8230; is keeping the army apolitical and keeping it out of the culture wars.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/dwevDGJ4aM">pic.twitter.com/dwevDGJ4aM</a>
&mdash; The Post Millennial (@TPostMillennial) <a href="https://twitter.com/TPostMillennial/status/1579529586903220224?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 10, 2022</a></blockquote>
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In the same session, Wormuth declares that military leaders stay out of politics and the culture war, but also declares that the military is being used as a vehicle to foist DEI onto the American people.
Her comments were revealing. Wormuth doesn&#8217;t think DEI is political. She thinks it is good, moral, and smart.
Yet even looking at just one of the planks  DEI shows that &#8220;equity&#8221; is entirely anti-American and will get people killed.
Stanford professor Victor Davis Hanson explained to The Daily Wire last spring that the transition to “equity” away from “equality” is intentionally done to increase government power and advance Leftist ideology.
“Equality is an American idea of equality and fairness in opportunity,” Hanson <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/biden-admin-unleashes-total-transformation-of-government-with-equity-action-plans" target="_blank" rel="noopener">explained</a>. “Equity is a French revolutionary idea of equality of result mandated by a coercive government.”
As for what that entails for the American people, Hanson explained that “it simply means that in reductionist fashion, any inequality is due to racism or bias and the government must have the wisdom and morality to punish perceived victimizers and redistribute to supposed victims.”
“All else does not count–not merit, not tragedies, not health, not class, not work ethic, not family structures, not culture, not anything—except the elite in charge will always be exempt from the ramifications of their own equity ideology,” he explained.
So the end result of Wormuth&#8217;s plan is a military with fewer recruits and therefore killers and is used as a vehicle for Leftist, woke indoctrination.
Of course, &#8220;the Elite in charge&#8221; won&#8217;t face the ramifications of this ideology. They won&#8217;t be on the battlefield.
It should be noted that if you re-arrange DEI, you get DIE — which is exactly what will happen to more of our soldiers if that nonsense proliferates any further.
The views expressed in this piece are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

Amy Wormuth

Biden’s Army Secretary: We’re Not Woke — We Just Have Diversity, Equity, And Inclusion

Biden's Army Secretary: We're Not Woke — We Just Have Diversity, Equity, And Inclusion

Critical Race Theory

Diversity Equity and Inclusion (DEI)

Military

A <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/whoopi-blows-up-at-media-for-daring-to-question-bidens-mental-health/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">media</a>-praised <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/transgender" target="_blank" rel="noopener">transgender</a> major in the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/u-s-army-colonel-sent-busloads-of-americans-afghan-allies-to-be-murdered-by-taliban-evac-team-says/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">U.S. Army</a>, and their spouse, a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/virginia-trans-prof-who-defended-adult-child-sex-hired-by-johns-hopkins/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Johns Hopkins</a> anesthesiologist, have been federally indicted for allegedly trying to leak medical information on U.S. Military members to the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/u-s-embassy-tells-americans-to-leave-russia-immediately/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Russian</a> government.
The pair reportedly provided sensitive medical information on military members and their families to someone the couple thought was from the Russian embassy, but was actually an undercover FBI agent, the Baltimore Banner <a href="https://www.thebaltimorebanner.com/community/criminal-justice/johns-hopkins-doctor-and-spouse-an-army-doctor-indicted-for-trying-to-leak-medical-information-to-russia-TVCKU2TGUJB7JIH7M6D4GKMHZ4/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> Thursday afternoon. Jamie Lee Henry and Anna Gabrielian are charged with conspiracy and wrongful disclosure of individually identifiable health information.
<div class="content-margin">
As a doctor at Fort Bragg, Jamie Lee Henry, who identifies as a transgender woman, had a secret security clearance, and used the access to try to help Russia, according to the indictment.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
BREAKING: First openly trans Army officer charged in plot to give U.S. military medical info to Russians to help in war against Ukraine &#8211; <a href="https://t.co/apHT1vYazs">https://t.co/apHT1vYazs</a> <a href="https://t.co/AmJ6jMmEfr">pic.twitter.com/AmJ6jMmEfr</a>
&mdash; Breaking911 (@Breaking911) <a href="https://twitter.com/Breaking911/status/1575553251264471040?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 29, 2022</a></blockquote>
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During one meeting with an undercover fed on August 17, Gabrielian, a Johns Hopkins anesthesiologist, reportedly said “she was motivated by patriotism toward Russia to provide any assistance she could to Russia, even if it meant being fired or going to jail,&#8221; the indictment said.
</div>
<div class="content-margin">
“My point of view is until the United States actually declares war against Russia, I’m able to help as much as I want,” Henry reportedly told the agent. “At that point, I’ll have some ethical issues I’ll have to work through.”
The pair allegedly handed over sensitive information to the undercover officer during a meeting on August 31, the document outlined.
“Gabrielian highlighted to the [undercover agent] a medical issue reflected in the records of [the military member’s spouse] that Russia could exploit,” it said, while Henry allegedly provided medical information on five patients at Fort Bragg and spouses of active and deceased Army veterans, according to the Baltimore Banner.
Henry landed <a href="https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/chrisgeidner/the-first-out-transgender-active-duty-us-army-officer-my-sto" target="_blank" rel="noopener">praise</a> from the media in 2015 as the &#8220;first out transgender active duty U.S. Army officer.&#8221;
</div>
“My commander said, ‘I don’t care who you love, I don’t care how you identify, I want you to be healthy and I want you to be able to do your job,’” Henry told BuzzFeed about coming out as trans. “I was blown away … because of the stereotypes that I held, growing up in the South, growing up in a fundamentalist Christian family, that he would automatically think I was a freak, he would automatically think, ‘You need to be discharged just like the regs recommend.’”
During the profile, Henry said being trans improved their medical skills. “I find my trans experience has allowed me to relate to people, because all of us suffer, and I could relate to people’s suffering,&#8221; the officer said. &#8220;I’m able to comfort people that feel isolated and lost and alone and broken. I can sit down with them and look them in the eyes, and say, ‘I can walk with you through this. I care about you, and I mean it.’”

Midsection Of Man Wearing Military Uniform

First ‘Out’ Trans Active Duty Army Officer, Spouse Indicted For Allegedly Trying To Leak Medical Info To Russia

First 'Out' Trans Active-Duty Army Officer, Spouse Indicted For Trying To Leak Medical Info To Russia

Indictment

Russia

Transgender

A two-star general’s retirement has reportedly been placed on hold as the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/u-s-military">military</a> investigates him over his social media conduct.
Maj. Gen. Patrick Donahoe is under administrative review by the U.S. Army. He previously served as commanding general of the Army’s Maneuver Center of Excellence at Fort Benning, Georgia, but he has since been reassigned as his review plays out, according to the <a href="https://www.armytimes.com/news/your-army/2022/09/19/ex-fort-benning-commanders-retirement-halted-over-tweets/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Army Times</a>.
Donahoe “has been temporarily assigned as a special assistant to the Commanding General of the U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command pending appropriate Department of the Army administrative reviews,” Army spokeswoman Cynthia Smith said.
A source familiar told the Army Times that Donahoe is under review for his social media conduct. It is not clear if Donahoe would be disciplined, or what discipline might come down should the review process find him guilty of some infraction.
Donahoe is well-known for his presence on Twitter. In 2019, the <a href="https://www.militarytimes.com/2019/10/14/military-members-you-should-be-following-on-twitter/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Military Times</a> ranked him number one on a list of “top service members to follow” on the platform.
“All soldiers are leaders and the good ones stay informed with the broader world events that could determine their future. Brig. Gen. Donahoe is one of the real OGs on twitter giving soldiers a hint on how a top military leader thinks. And if leaders learn from example, you can’t go wrong by following his,” the outlet wrote at the time of his Twitter usage.
Donahoe currently has over 23,000 followers on Twitter. His account has been made private and his tweets are protected against public viewing.
Donahoe kicked off a series of media stories and criticism against him after he used his personal Twitter account to mock a retired Marine who publicly disagreed with Donahoe’s views on the COVID-19 vaccine.
In July 2021, Donahoe <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/media/retired-marine-woke-fort-benning-commanding-general" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> he would make the vaccine mandatory if he had the authority, citing a surge in ICU visits by young soldiers. Former Marine Josiah Lippincott responded to Donahoe, pointing out that the military had lost a total of 26 servicemembers to COVID-19 out of 2 million. After some back-and-forth, Donahoe responded by tagging Lippincott’s alma mater, Hillsdale College, and telling it to “come get your boy.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
 <a href="https://t.co/k4WlL62BCm">pic.twitter.com/k4WlL62BCm</a>
&mdash; Ducky ¯_(ツ)_/¯ (@thatjerkme) <a href="https://twitter.com/thatjerkme/status/1572003938823438338?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 19, 2022</a></blockquote>
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That incident is reportedly not the subject of the ongoing review, though it is unclear what the review is focusing on specifically. Donahoe has been involved in several social media-related controversies in recent months, including criticizing Fox News host Tucker Carlson after he accusing President Joe Biden of “feminizing” the military, the Army Times reported.

Pentagon

Two-Star General, Tucker Carlson Critic Under Military Review Over Tweets: Report

Department of Defense

Tucker Carlson

An Army paratrooper stationed at Fort Bragg in Fayetteville, North Carolina, died after being shot outside his apartment.
Sgt. Nicholas Bobo, 22, was found by police responding to a call of shots fired at approximately 11:00 p.m. on Tuesday. He was discovered with multiple gunshot wounds and was pronounced dead at the scene, according to law enforcement.
Bobo, a native of Cordova, Tennessee, also had his vehicle taken from the Enclave at Pamalee Square, <a href="https://www.fayobserver.com/story/news/crime/2022/09/15/fort-bragg-paratrooper-nicholas-antonio-bobo-killed-in-tuesday-shooting-in-fayetteville/69497815007/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according to</a> the Fayetteville Observer. Police do not believe the shooting was random. No arrests have been made in the shooting death.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Sgt. Nicholas Bobo, 22, of Gordova, Tennessee, was killed Monday night at about 11 p.m., according to Fayetteville police. <a href="https://t.co/wkuNxsMaX3">https://t.co/wkuNxsMaX3</a>
&mdash; WBTW News13 (@WBTWNews13) <a href="https://twitter.com/WBTWNews13/status/1571253329786699776?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 17, 2022</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
The paratrooper was an automated logistical specialist assigned to the 407th Brigade Support Battalion. Bobo leaves behind his wife, daughter, and parents. He joined the Army in 2018 and had been stationed at Fort Bragg since 2019.
His awards and decorations, <a href="https://www.cbs17.com/news/local-news/cumberland-county-news/man-killed-outside-fayetteville-apartment-was-22-year-old-military-paratrooper/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according to</a> a report by WNCN-TV, include the Army Good Conduct Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Army Service Ribbon, and the Army Parachutist Badge, Driver Mechanic Badge-Driver Wheeled Vehicle, and Marksmanship Qualification Badge Expert-Carbine.
Army Criminal Investigation Command and the Fayetteville Police Department are investigating the incident.
The report comes as the U.S. military is facing an “unprecedented” recruiting crisis under President Joe Biden that has forced it to drastically cut forecasts for the number of new recruits it expects.
The Daily Wire <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/more-pronouns-less-recruits-u-s-military-facing-unprecedented-recruiting-crisis-under-biden" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> that Dr. Mark T. Esper, Secretary of Defense during the Trump administration, said this was “a major issue affecting all the armed services.”
“The answer is NOT lower standards; quality must be paramount,” he wrote on Twitter. “Rather, we need a sustained effort by America’s leaders to inspire our youth to serve. … This is a growing national security issue!”
The news also comes as conflict continues following Russia&#8217;s invasion of Ukraine and other global issues emerging during the Biden administration, including a highly criticized military departure from Afghanistan in August 2021. The final weeks of the exit included a bombing that killed 13 U.S. military members outside of the Kabul airport.
The Kabul bombing became a point of contention again in March when President Joe Biden failed to mention the Fallen 13 during his State of the Union address to Americans.
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) <a href="https://twitter.com/GOPLeader/status/1498860731055419396" target="_blank" rel="noopener">blasted</a> Biden over the issue.
“To the 13 American families who lost loved ones in Afghanistan in August, you deserved to be recognized by the President tonight,” McCarthy wrote on Twitter. “Americans remember your sacrifice, and we are forever indebted to you.”

Fort Bragg sign

North Carolina Army Paratrooper Killed In Shooting Outside Of His Apartment

Murder

North Carolina

Shooting

The <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/pentagon" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Pentagon</a> is recommending U.S. soldiers struggling with soaring food prices apply for welfare, in a move that underscores both low military pay and the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/economist-reveals-when-america-can-expect-one-whopper-of-a-recession/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">economic headwinds</a> facing the nation as a whole.
The recommendation came last month from Sergeant Major of the Army Michael Grinston, and directs Army soldiers and their families to apply for food stamps through the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program known by the acronym SNAP.
&#8220;With inflation affecting everything from gas prices to groceries to rent, some Soldiers and their families are finding it harder to get by on the budgets they&#8217;ve set and used before,&#8221; <a href="https://www.army.mil/article/258256">the written guidance from Grinston reads</a>. &#8220;SNAP is a U.S. government program that provides benefits to eligible low-income individuals and families via an electronic benefits transfer card that can be used like a debit card to purchase eligible food in authorized retail food stores. Service members and their families may be eligible.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
&quot;The guidance points soldiers to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and links them to the federal welfare program’s website.&quot; &#8211;Billions and billions for Biden&#39;s suicidal Green New Deal and Ukraine, no money fo feed our soldiers and families!<a href="https://t.co/nEX2AckBWY">https://t.co/nEX2AckBWY</a>
&mdash; Laughing Libertarian (@William16723077) <a href="https://twitter.com/William16723077/status/1568608357191192577?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 10, 2022</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
The official guidance includes other lending and financial counseling programs available to soldiers and lists contact information to help them enroll in SNAP.
Although the Biden administration and much of the media insists the U.S. is not in a recession, the nation has experienced negative GDP growth in each of the last two quarters, meeting the traditional definition for a recession. In addition, inflation is running at nearly double-digit percentages and food prices in particular have risen at the fastest rate in decades.
Mackenzie Eaglen, is a resident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute who studies defense budgets and military readiness, said nearly a quarter of enlisted men and women can’t afford to put food on the table.
“What they need is more money,” Eaglen wrote in a <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/inflation-catches-the-pentagon-flat-footed-army-paychecks-food-stamps-defense-department-budget-ppi-troops-11662405897?mod=hp_opin_pos_6">Wall Street Journal column</a> this week. “The Defense Department’s flat-footed response to inflation will result in a real—and cumulative—pay cut for service members.”
Eaglen said the Pentagon received more federal funding from Congress than it had requested, but ignored inflation concerns and short-changed the men and women who serve.
Now, she wrote, “Congress will have to appropriate even more to save America’s troops from the Defense Department’s negligence. It’s the only way to get troops and their families the financial lifeline they need.”
Base pay for the lowest-ranking Army private is $21,999.60, according to <a href="https://www.goarmy.com/benefits/while-you-serve/money-pay.html">GoArmy.com</a>. Salaries for enlisted men and women the lower ranks rise gradually through promotions, but not always by years of service alone.

US-MILITARY-TRAINING

Pentagon Tells Struggling Army Soldiers, Families To Apply For Food Stamps

Pentagon Tells Struggling Army Soldiers, Families To Consider Food Stamps Amid Soaring Inflation

Food Stamps

A <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/u-s-army">U.S. Army</a> colonel turned away four busloads of Americans, orphans, and others with verified paperwork guaranteeing safe passage out of <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/afghanistan">Afghanistan</a>, members of a volunteer evacuation team claimed in a new documentary.
The members, comprised of military and security veterans, conducted an evacuation blitz in the final days of U.S. occupation in Afghanistan, rushing to save stranded Americans and other vulnerable groups who qualified before the Taliban took control of the country. The operators said in a new Amazon Prime Video documentary, “Send Me,” that an unnamed U.S. Army colonel “murdered” hundreds of potential evacuees by refusing them spots on flights out of the country because their papers could have been faked, according to the <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11153217/US-colonel-branded-MURDERER-condemning-bus-loads-Americans-Kabul-evacuation.html">Daily Mail</a>.
Former Army Ranger and MMA fighter Tim Kennedy said the incident took place on August 25, 2021, days before the American withdrawal concluded. Kennedy’s team of highly-skilled specialists had driven four buses filled with hundreds of people through a secret, U.S. military-controlled gate into Kabul’s Hamid Karzai International Airport at 3 a.m.
The evacuees&#8217; documents had been verified, and the group, comprised of Americans, allies, Christians, orphans, and others, was preparing to board a flight out of Afghanistan, which the Taliban controlled by that point. A colonel with the 82nd Airborne met the buses and allegedly demanded they all be sent away.
“No, I don’t care who they are, those people get back on those buses and they go back into Kabul. Get em off this base?” the colonel said, according to Kennedy.
Kennedy said: “There’s not enough capacity in my soul to be able to mourn four busloads of people that are about to die because the time spend (sic) on anguish and mourning could have been spent saving other people.”
Former Force Recon Marine Chad Robichaux, another member of the elite evacuation team, said the colonel had “essentially just killed” the group by sending them back out of the airport in view of the Taliban, which would identify them and hunt them down for working with the Americans.
“Whoever just made the decision to turn this bus around essentially just killed – just murdered – these people. And by the way, some of those people are children,” Robichaux said. “And some of these people were women. But some of these people are Americans, that we just sent back to the Taliban.”
The final days of the 20-year U.S. involvement in Afghanistan ended in chaos and bloodshed. A day after the alleged episode with the Army colonel, an ISIS-affiliated terrorist <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/this-isnt-about-your-son-this-is-about-my-son-mom-of-marine-killed-in-afghanistan-blasts-bidens-self-centered-response-to-her">detonated</a> a suicide bomb outside the airport&#8217;s perimeter, killing 13 U.S. service members and hundreds of Afghan civilians.
The U.S. military <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/pentagon-releases-video-of-august-drone-strike-that-killed-afghan-family">launched</a> a retaliatory drone strike days later, but mistakenly killed ten civilians, including seven children, instead of an Islamic State operative. The target of the strike ended up being an aid worker who worked for a California-based company.
Kennedy appeared on <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/media/tim-kennedy-fox-friends-everyone-needs-know-happened-kabul-airport">Fox News</a> Friday and urged the U.S. to learn from the deadly mistakes of President Joe Biden&#8217;s <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/in-hasty-withdrawal-u-s-left-behind-7b-of-military-gear-including-78-aircraft-and-12000-humvees-in-afghanistan-report">withdrawal</a> from Afghanistan.
“So many lives were lost. Today is the anniversary of 13 Americans. Hundreds of Afghans were killed at that gate — a terrorist attack during the evacuation, one of the most poorly planned strategic evacuations in American history,” Kennedy said. “If we&#8217;re not learning from this, if we’re not treating this as an opportunity to improve not just strategically, but who we are as a people, making sure that all of our allies look to us and know that we&#8217;re going to stand by them all the way to the end, that we are good allies, that we&#8217;re good friends.”
“We’re not just going to turn our back and we&#8217;re done when it&#8217;s no longer a public interest. That we’re going to work all the way through to the final finish line. There are so many important lessons to be learned here,” he said.
The extraction team saved roughly 12,000 people from Afghanistan, the team members said. Another member of the group, Army veteran Nick Palmisciano, recalled the final days of the U.S. withdrawal as desperate Afghans attempted to give their infant children to U.S. soldiers to be taken out of the country.
“It’s impossible to explain the level of desperation people felt” Palmisciano says in the documentary, according to the <a href="https://nypost.com/2022/08/28/us-army-colonel-blocked-busloads-of-americans-allies-trying-to-escape-afghanistan-documentary/">New York Post</a>. “Just think in the first couple of days people were trying to hang on to the bottom of C-17s. That’s desperation that Americans don’t understand.”

Taliban

U.S. Army Colonel Sent Busloads Of Americans, Afghan Allies To Be ‘Murdered’ By Taliban, Evac Team Says

Afghanistan

Joe Biden

The call came early in the morning, not long after I had spent the entire night wandering the hallways of my home. No pleasantries were exchanged, just the gruff voice of the sergeant I knew from my time overseas.
“I assume you’ve seen the news?”
I nodded, realized he couldn’t see me, and then answered with a belated, “Yeah.”
“What a mess,” he stated. “What a damned mess.”
The man on the other line was Paul “Gonzo” Gonzalez, the team sergeant who ensured I came home alive from Afghanistan. Despite having a Hispanic last name, Paul was an Irish American with pasty white skin and dark brown hair. What made him most intimidating was the way his jaw muscles flexed when he was irritated. I imagined — at that moment — his jaw was clenched so tight his teeth might break, given the current news cycle.
Gonzo was there with me on a fateful day in Afghanistan. He found me standing on a makeshift helicopter tarmac covered in blood and clutching another soldier’s rifle to my chest. Holes torn through my shirt and hands drenched in viscera, he rotated my head from side to side until I swatted his arm. “I just got my bell rung,” I told him. This made Gonzo raise an eyebrow, given that my responses were slow, I was swaying from side to side, and I looked like hell. “Okay, I went headfirst into a wall. Seriously. I’m fine.”
The Taliban had hit our small forward operating base, and I took the brunt of a 107mm rocket, as did another soldier. The other man had to be medically evacuated due to the gravity of his injuries, and I helped patch him up as best I could. Then we hoisted him on a litter and ran to the helicopter. I don’t remember portions as I was slipping in and out of lucidity, unaware that I was even injured. We both survived, but now, some 18 years after the event, my past was coming back to haunt me.
Gonzo waited on the other end of the line until I said something. “First Ramadi, and now this? It’s embarrassing,” I spat. 
Gonzo and I also fought together in Ramadi, Iraq, from 2006 to 2007. In 2015, we watched helplessly as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) took over the city. Now a repeat scenario was happening in our other war. We watched with horror as the Afghan government collapsed overnight and the Taliban seized control of the capitol. Iraq hurt, but Afghanistan delivered the killing blow to the morale of most veterans.
Neither Gonzo nor I could put into words the anger, frustration, or fruitlessness we felt. Instead, we were two combat veterans lamenting events unfolding in Kabul. Little did we know just how bad it would get, and <a href="https://www.brookings.edu/blog/fixgov/2021/11/12/anger-betrayal-and-humiliation-how-veterans-feel-about-the-withdrawal-from-afghanistan/">how hard it would hit</a> so many other veterans.
A year removed from the withdrawal in Afghanistan, a question I’m often asked is, “Was it worth it?” When people ask, my mind goes to names like Seitsinger, Mancini, O’Neil, Thomas, Fuller, and Meister — men who died in Afghanistan that I had served alongside.
There’s an old Metallica song from the critically acclaimed album, “Master of Puppets,” entitled “Disposable Heroes” that I sometimes listen to. The song details young men being fed to the military industrial complex only to die in battle. The album has once more become popular after the most recent season of “Stranger Things” in which social outcast Eddie Munson shreds to the title track. But much of the album is about how war — and drugs — manipulate you.
I suppose that looking back now, I feel like the U.S. government was the “Master of Puppets,” manipulating those of us who fought in the war, only to watch it explode in our face. In fact, we got sold an ever changing narrative throughout four different presidencies.
During my time in Afghanistan, a focal point became the poppy fields and drug trade through the Silk Road. That ended disastrously, so the narrative changed. Minerals and commodities, stabilization efforts, democracy, rooting out terrorism, or anything to slap lipstick on the pig of war was used as a tool to rewrite or change the focus. The story about what we were doing in Afghanistan and why became so convoluted that the American populace checked out and sort of forgot we were still there. That was, until 13 service members died in an explosion at Abbey Gate during the evacuation process in August 2021. Suddenly everyone gave a damn about our dead service members because the media’s Eye of Sauron turned its gaze once more to Afghanistan. But all those names I just rattled off? No one set out beers in their memory at local taverns. They were just… disposable heroes.
I suppose that’s why many veterans are salty about the way the withdrawal happened, because for almost 20 years our efforts didn’t matter until that loud alarm at the 11th hour. Then, perhaps more importantly, our politicians and military leaders fumbled so hard we became a laughingstock to the international community. We capitulated to the demands of the Taliban on their timeline, abandoned our allies and interpreters, and ran out of the country like a dog with a tail between its legs. Then when we tried to flex our muscles, we had a retaliatory airstrike that solely killed Afghan civilians. The thing I remain baffled by is the fact that we could have withdrawn in a manner that didn’t have such disastrous results. We should have told the Taliban to pound sand and that we’d leave once we had everyone out. 13 service members died because of ineptitude and lack of leadership, not because they had to.
But back to the question everyone wants to know — was it worth it? 
In some respects, I think we can say yes. Despite an unclear mission and embarrassing withdrawal, there are small silver linings. We gave young girls the opportunity to get an education, ended human rights violations, and bore the sword in defense of the marginalized and oppressed. Continuing the war the way we did, however, was based on decisions of complacent old men and women who’ve never seen combat. Perhaps that’s the greatest fallacy we’ve embraced as a nation: we send our young to die based on the whims of politicians who’ve never served in the killing fields.
Please don’t mistake this critique as not being proud to have served or that I don’t love my country. I do. In fact, I often have this dream where I return to Afghanistan, much like how Vietnam veterans have taken trips to find their healing in the rice paddies of Vietnam. When I daydream about it, I imagine I’d visit the places where my friends died and my own blood stained the ground, just as our grandfathers visited the hallowed sands of Omaha Beach.
But these days I don’t know if that’ll ever happen. I want it to. I imagine most who fought in the sands and mountains don’t want to be trapped in the mental prison of the past. But I suppose &#8211; as many of us have learned &#8211; we must become content with our dead brothers and sisters being nothing more than disposable heroes. 
Portions of this article are adapted from the book, <a href="https://amz.run/5GAb">Where Cowards Go to Die</a>, by Benjamin Sledge (Regnery Publishing, July 2022).
<a href="https://benjaminsledge.com/">Benjamin Sledge</a> is a wounded combat veteran with tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, serving most of his time under Special Operations (Civil Affairs and Psychological Operations Command). He is the recipient of the Bronze Star, Purple Heart, and two Army Commendation Medals for his actions overseas. Upon returning home from war, he began work in mental health and addiction recovery. 
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

Readers Pass – Sledge – Disposable Heroes- Reflections from A Soldier On The Afghanistan Withdrawal16x9

Was It Worth It? Reflections From A ‘Disposable Hero’ Of The War In Afghanistan

Iraq War

Marines

Readers Pass

The American military is having trouble finding new recruits these days. The problem isn’t just that young Americans have more lucrative options and serious health and legal issues—it’s also that they have a fundamentally different view of the country and military service than in ages past.
About a decade ago, I had a conversation with a group of students—highly intelligent and deeply kind students, actually—that I will never forget. It was the equivalent of a roundhouse kick to the solar plexus.
During class we got onto the subject of World War II. I mentioned the extraordinary bravery of the American, Canadian, and English soldiers on D-Day and how their eventual success in uprooting the German occupation of France <a href="https://www.ushistory.org/us/51c.asp#:~:text=Hitler's%20refusal%20to%20surrender%20to,The%20time%20had%20finally%20come.">helped to ensure Germany’s surrender a year later</a>, preventing a WWI-style armistice which might have kept the Nazi regime in place.
Over the years, I had mentioned the same thing many times to classes, and each time students seemed to grasp the enormity of allied bravery in face of so much danger and carnage, especially when most of them could recall the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PmiphUYwL_0">opening sequence</a> of “Saving Private Ryan.” They understood that these men were the custodians and defenders of modern liberty and that the proper response to their service was deep gratitude.
But something was different this time around. Their response was not wonderment or awe. It was a diffident shrug of the shoulders or an indifferent blank stare.
“I would try my best to avoid the draft. Maybe go to Canada. I don’t know. Why should I have to die?”
I was a bit dumbstruck. I tried a different tact.
“Well, there are times when you are the only one left to preserve your country or your way of life. Sometimes history calls us to certain forms of service. I am pretty sure that is how these men felt about their sense of duty.”
They had an immediate response.
“But I didn’t decide to be American. If I was German, I’m sure I would have ended up fighting for them and think they were on the right side. If I was born in the Middle East, I’m sure I’d have a different view of America and the West.”
They were suggesting there is no right side. It’s all a matter of perspective. Justice is artificial and conditioned by subjective bias. In this view, patriotism is a form of affection experienced only by the unenlightened who do not understand their love of country is a hollow extension of historic chance itself. The proper response to this chance isn’t patriotic zeal but relativistic acceptance. This is how they arrived at the conclusion there is never a “right side” in a war, never a “higher” moral precept, never a reason to die for a political cause. Among progressive activists today, many of whom are young Americans in their 20s, <a href="https://www.moreincommon.com/media/dtffhla2/2022-4thofjuly-report_more-in-common_final.pdf">only 9% say that their American identity is “very important” to them</a>; compare this to the US average of 48% and the whopping 92% for devoted conservatives. 
It would be foolish to assume this trend is not somehow connected to the fact that the American military is now experiencing severe shortfalls in meeting its recruitment goals, shortfalls that haven’t been this severe in half a century. To be fair, there are also significant structural reasons including COVID and the attractiveness of the current job market.
But dig a little deeper and the reasons for paltry recruitment numbers are utterly deflating, symptomatic of a generation whose lifestyle and values do not bode well for the country’s future success, much less its security. Only a small percentage of young Americans today can meet these two qualifications: being physically fit and having no disqualifying criminal record.
One in four meet the qualifications. A staggering 75% <a href="https://www.thoughtco.com/us-youth-ineligible-for-military-service-3322428">aren’t able to serve in the American military</a> because of high levels of youth obesity, drug use, and inadequate education. But buried inside this reality is a disturbing trend that speaks to the perspective so many young Americans now possess, a perspective voiced by my students just a few years ago that is now becoming more mainstream: in just the past few years the number of young Americans willing to serve has dropped <a href="https://dnyuz.com/2022/07/14/with-few-able-and-fewer-willing-u-s-military-cant-find-recruits/">from 13% to 9%</a>. That is a 31% change and reveals not just a health crisis with the presence of a pandemic and frustration about perceived failures in Afghanistan and Iraq, but a generational pivot in the way they look at the country and the nobility of defending it.
It is a bit reductive and hysterical to merely conclude young people have been taught by their teachers to hate the country and despise our history. While that attitude is certainly more present and powerful than it was a generation ago, my argument is that it is symptomatic not of national self-loathing, but naive individualism. The average young person now has no grasp of the enormity of the responsibilities of the modern American military, from honoring security commitments all over the world, to patrolling sea lanes to keep international commerce flowing, to responding to humanitarian crises when they appear. I don’t remember seeing the Chinese or Russian militaries when an earthquake devastated Haiti in 2010. But I do recall the presence of 30 American Navy ships in late 2004 when a tsunami killed over a quarter million people <a href="https://www.wearethemighty.com/mighty-history/largest-humanitarian-missions-in-history/">in and around Indonesia</a>.
We don’t have to be a Spartan-esque society to have patriotic warriors defending the nation from time to time. Both Aeschylus, the Father of Greek Drama, and Socrates, the Father of Greek Philosophy, fought bravely in the campaigns against the Persians. Historian Stephen Brumwell’s extraordinary biography of George Washington is entitled “Gentleman Warrior.” Successful American generals who successfully defended the country have a tendency to become presidents—Washington, Jackson, Taylor, Grant, Garfield, and Eisenhower.
Service is noble and doesn’t require young Americans to agree with every military policy or action their nation pursues. We should not be alarmed if declining enrollments are a symptom of a booming economy. But we should be concerned if it is tied to a fashionable disdain of the nation and to a fundamental misunderstanding of the work the American military does in the world.
Jeremy S. Adams is the author of the recently-released Amazon best-selling book Hollowed Out: A Warning About America&#8217;s Next Generation. He has taught American civics for 24 years in Bakersfield, California and was the 2014 California Teacher of the Year (DAR). You can follow him on Twitter @JeremyAdams6.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

U.S. Troops Honor Fallen Comrade Near Dujail

Criminal Records, Obesity, And ‘Fashionable Disdain’ For Country Cause Shortfall In Military Recruitment

U.S. Air Force

U.S. Navy

The U.S. Military is facing an &#8220;unprecedented&#8221; recruiting crisis under Democrat President Joe Biden that is forcing it to drastically cut forecasts for the number of new recruits that it expects to bring into the armed services.
The news comes as war has broken out in Europe between Russia and Ukraine, and China is increasingly acting hostile toward Taiwan. Both situations risk spiraling out of control and could end up with the United States being dragged into war.
The Associated Press reported that U.S. Army officials said this week that they will be 10,000 recruits short this year, and next year is projected to be even worse. The report said that Army Gen. Joseph Martin, vice chief of staff for the Army, indicated that the military branch could be down to 445,000 soldiers by the end of next year, down from what it was hoping would be 476,000 soldiers by the end of this year.
The report said that with the majority of the current fiscal year already gone, the Army has only met 50% of its recruitment goals.
Dr. Mark T. Esper, Secretary of Defense during the Trump administration, said that this was &#8220;a major issue affecting all the armed services.”
&#8220;The answer is NOT lower standards; quality must be paramount,&#8221; he wrote on Twitter. &#8220;Rather, we need a sustained effort by America&#8217;s leaders to inspire our youth to serve. &#8230; This is a growing national security issue!&#8221;
Martin tried to suggest that &#8220;competition with private companies&#8221; was a significant factor with the military&#8217;s recruiting struggles and said that if the trend is not reversed, the military would have to reconfigure things to be able to meet the challenges that it faces on the battlefield.
Top political commentators responded to the report by suggesting that the wokeness that has spread in the armed services under Biden has played a major factor in people not wanting to join.
&#8220;Maybe it’s better having a country that inspires patriots to defend it, rather than one that makes them want to throw up,&#8221; national security expert Dave Reaboi tweeted.
Political strategist Arthur Schwartz responded to the report by writing: &#8220;More pronouns, less recruits.&#8221;
The U.S. military has increasingly pushed LGBTQ ideas since Biden took office. Days before being sworn into office, Biden tapped transgender four-star Admiral Rachel Levine to be the Department of Health and Human Services assistant secretary for health. Levine became the first transgender federal official confirmed by the Senate.
In May 2021, the Army targeted recruits with an LGBTQ <a href="https://twitter.com/AlanRMacLeod/status/1392367395906498560?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1392445612042424322%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es2_&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.pinknews.co.uk%2F2021%2F05%2F12%2Fus-army-recruitment-drive-the-calling-queer-story-woke-video%2F">animated ad</a> that shows a child of two mothers grow up &#8220;defending freedom&#8221; by marching in Pride parades before joining the U.S. Army to &#8220;shatter stereotypes.&#8221;
Just last month, the U.S. Marines and U.S. Air Force joined the &#8220;Pride Month&#8221; <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/u-s-military-slammed-over-pride-month-tweets-perfect-self-parody-of-american-interests">virtue signaling</a> with <a href="https://twitter.com/usairforce/status/1531985672902520834?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1532073732126445568%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es3_&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.dailywire.com%2Fnews%2Fu-s-military-slammed-over-pride-month-tweets-perfect-self-parody-of-american-interests">tweets</a> celebrating LGBTQ lifestyles.

Miami Beach, Florida, Hyundai Air & Sea Show, Military Village vendor, Army Aviation truck and booth

‘More Pronouns, Less Recruits’: U.S. Military Facing ‘Unprecedented’ Recruiting Crisis Under Biden

U.S. Military Facing ‘Unprecedented’ Recruiting Crisis Under Biden

Gender Pronouns

United States <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/naval-academy">Naval Academy</a> announced on Monday that Chilean authorities found the body of 21-year-old Texas native Luke Gabriel Bird, Midshipman Second Class, in a lagoon of the Salto El Agua waterfall in the Valparaíso Region of Chile.
“We are incredibly saddened by the tragic loss of Midshipman Luke Bird this weekend,” Vice Adm. Sean Buck, 63rd Superintendent, U.S. Naval Academy, <a href="https://www.usna.edu/NewsCenter/2022/07/NAVAL_ACADEMY_IDENTIFIES_DECEASED_MIDSHIPMAN.php">said</a> in a statement. “My wife, Joanne, and I and the entire Naval Academy community offer our sincerest condolences to Luke’s family, friends, and fellow midshipmen during this difficult time. I encourage all of our Naval Academy family to offer support to one another as we navigate the grieving process.”
Officials reported Bird slipped and fell over the waterfall on July 16 during a hike with a Chilean Naval Academy student. Travel experts <a class="editor-rtfLink" href="https://www.alltrails.com/trail/chile/valparaiso/salto-del-agua?u=i" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ranked</a> the trail’s difficulty as hard due to the uneven terrain that requires ropes for maneuvering up and down near the waterfall.
Bird enrolled at the Arturo Prat Naval Academy — Chile’s Naval Academy — to train in a semester abroad program where he served in the 20th and Second Companies.
Travis Delgado, Midshipman First Class and a friend of Bird, said rather than finding words to summarize Luke’s character, he would rather talk about his actions.
“Luke was an unfathomably smart midshipman,” Delgado said. “We attended many courses together, allowing me to get to know him beyond just being company mates.”
Delgado said Bird spent much of his free time mentoring and tutoring him in courses they took together.
“He greatly exemplified the hard working midshipman who helps anyone at the drop of a hat,” Delgado added. “He was a great man and will be dearly missed by all those in 20th Company and throughout the brigade.”
Officials authorized Bird to wear the National Defense Service Medal, a bronze medal awarded to cadets or midshipmen at the Air Force, Army, or Naval Academy. He also earned the Marksman Rifle Qualification Badge and Sharpshooter Pistol Qualification Badge.
Bird lived in New Braunfels, Texas, where he attended New Braunfels High School and involved himself in sports and other extracurricular activities. He wrestled for the high school for three years, serving as the team’s captain for his junior and senior years. When he wasn’t wrestling, officials said he was an avid cyclist, active in student government, and vice president of the National Honor Society.
Before enlisting in the Naval Academy, Bird joined the NBHS Marine Corps JROTC unit as a battalion commander. Officials selected him as one of only five Marine Corps JROTC cadets in the nationwide program to receive a Legion of Valor Bronze Cross for Achievement. The award recognized Bird for his outstanding achievement in scholastic and military subjects and outstanding leadership demonstrated in school and the community.
Bird also pursued a degree in ocean engineering while enlisted as an active member of the Semper Fi Society and competed with fellow mates as an intramural sports athlete.
“Bird is survived by his mother, Audra Courter, and stepfather, Matthew Craig Courter; his father, Chad Bird, and stepmother, Stacy Bird; his sister, Auriana Mallory and husband Josh; step-siblings Candace Shover, Shelbi Nickerson, Colton Nickerson, Nakayla Courter, Tabitha Coombes and their families; grandparents Ted and Nelda Dickman, and Carson and Jeanette Bird; step-grandparents Stephen Awbrey, and David and Judy Osborne; aunts and uncles Rayna and Scott Barefoot, Annette Dickman and Colleen Aken, Cara and Mike Pilch, Rob and Stephanie Carnes, and Shannon and Kenny Kahlden; as well as 12 cousins, and eight nieces and nephews,” officials said.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
USNA IDENTIFIES DECEASED MIDSHIPMAN
“We are incredibly saddened by the tragic loss of Midshipman Luke Bird this weekend,” -VADM Sean Buck
“He greatly exemplified the hard working midshipman who helps anyone at the drop of a hat,” -1/C Travis Delgado<a href="https://t.co/KJT8xieRLy">https://t.co/KJT8xieRLy</a> <a href="https://t.co/oyjV4wHFg5">pic.twitter.com/oyjV4wHFg5</a>
&mdash; U.S. Naval Academy (@NavalAcademy) <a href="https://twitter.com/NavalAcademy/status/1549092734484353024?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 18, 2022</a></blockquote>
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Bird-Luke

Chilean Officials Discover 21-Year-Old U.S. Naval Academy Midshipman Deceased Body In Lagoon

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