Archived Military Matters
The About.com U.S. Military Newsletter
Note: Newslinks contained in this archived newsletter will take you to the discussion area of the U.S. Military Forum, but links to the stories from there are probably no longer valid. Online news-sources normally leave links active for only a few days.
MILITARY MATTERS
Newsletter #24
11/23/99
Howdy all, and welcome to the 24th edition of Military Matters, the newsletter for About.com's U.S. Military Information Page. If you need information about anything concerning the Military, please try http://usmilitary.about.com. If you know anyone who is interested in military matters, please feel free to email them a copy of this newsletter.
To subscribe or unsubscribe to this newsletter, go to:
http://usmilitary.about.com/gi/pages/mmail.htm.
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SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT: Military Matters will not be published on Friday, November 26, in observance of the Thanksgiving holiday.
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IN THE SPOTLIGHT: What the Recruiter Never Told You -- Part IV of a Multipart Series -- In this part, "Commissaries and Exchanges"
http://usmilitary.about.com/library/weekly/aa112299.htm
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Last Poll: Who do you Think is the U.S.'s Biggest Military Threat Today? Russia; China; North Korea; Iraq; Unnamed Terrorist Organization. 52 percent of you said China, followed by 22 percent who said North Korea, and 21 percent who said unnamed terrorists. Very few of you thought Russia was a significant threat.
http://forums.about.com/ab-usmilitary/start/?msg=433.1
This Issue's Poll: How Big of a Problem is Racism in the U.S. Military? Significant - Needs immediate attention; Modest - needs attention; Modest - but getting better; Slight - and getting better; No Problem.
http://forums.about.com/ab-usmilitary/start/?msg=469.1
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NEWS AND COMMENTARY:
To read the full stories, click on the link below. If you are not a member of our Forum, and don't wish to join, you may still read the story by clicking on "Enter as a Guest" when you see the login screen. Members, of course, may post responses to any of these story items.
NAVY LAUNCHES SPY SATELLITE: CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - A multimillion Navy satellite that can instantaneously beam spy satellite photos, intelligence reports and missile warning alerts to troops around the world is hovering high above Earth after a night-owl rocket launch from Florida's coastal spaceport late Monday.
http://forums.about.com/ab-usmilitary/start/?msg=468.1
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OKINAWA NAMES SITE FOR U.S. BASE MOVE: TOKYO The governor of Okinawa on Monday took a major step toward resolving a three-year controversy over the United States' military presence on the Japanese island by choosing the relocation site for a U.S. Marine heliport.
http://forums.about.com/ab-usmilitary/start/?msg=457.1
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THOUSANDS MARCH AGAINST ARMY SCHOOL: Actor Martin Sheen joined thousands who risked arrest Sunday by marching into Fort Benning to demonstrate against the school that trains Latin American soldiers and police. Opponents blame the school for human rights abuses committed by some of its graduates.
http://forums.about.com/ab-usmilitary/start/?msg=467.1
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CLINTON PROMISES THE 'NET IN EVERY POT: FLORENCE, Italy - President Bill Clinton on Sunday continued to argue for greater equity as the best route to resolving ethnic and religious conflict around the world. Clinton made a little stir with his suggestion that Internet availability should be "as complete as telephone access," maintaining that the Net could dramatically reduce the income gap between rich and poor.
http://forums.about.com/ab-usmilitary/start/?msg=466.1
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CLINTON URGES ALBANIANS TO BEHAVE: SOFIA, Bulgaria -- On the eve of a visit to war-ravaged Kosovo, President Clinton said Monday that he will urge ethnic Albanians liberated by a U.S.-led air war to set aside their hatred and cease their violent reprisals against the Serbs who once oppressed them.
http://forums.about.com/ab-usmilitary/start/?msg=465.1
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U.S. WANTS RIGHT TO FIGHT, FIRST: The U.S. is insisting that Nato must be given "the right of first refusal" to intervene in any future humanitarian crisis in Europe, to block the European Union from launching a military operation without consulting Washington.
http://forums.about.com/ab-usmilitary/start/?msg=463.1
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CHINA SAYS IT CAN BEAT THE U.S.: BEIJING - China's first successful test of a spacecraft for manned flight also had major military implications, proving China has mastered technology that could defeat U.S. anti-missile defenses, an official Chinese newspaper reported Monday.
http://forums.about.com/ab-usmilitary/start/?msg=462.1
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MARINE SAYS ANTHRAX WORRIES HARMS MOTHER: Marine Pfc. James M. O'Neil told a federal judge Monday that he needs to be discharged, as his mother is quite ill over worries about him receiving the anthrax vaccination.
http://forums.about.com/ab-usmilitary/start/?msg=461.1
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MILITARY WORRIED OVER LOSS OF GEEKS: WASHINGTON--When Lee Futterfield ended a 20-year Air Force career to launch a start-up computer company, he took eight young information technology specialists with him. In some branches of the government, including the Air Force, top officials fear the growing "computer-geek" shortfall will soon hurt operations.
http://forums.about.com/ab-usmilitary/start/?msg=458.1
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SOLDIERS OR MAYORS? The mission In Kosovo is forcing U.S. Soldiers to adapt to civilian tasks. In Kosovo the soldiers have had to learn to be surrogate mayors, school principals, police chiefs, social workers and even corporate chief executive officers as they try to forge lasting peace in a land divided by centuries of hate.
http://forums.about.com/ab-usmilitary/start/?msg=456.1
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NO MORE PRESENTS HOME: A 33-year-old tradition has been canceled: Recruits training at Parris Island this year won't be able to buy presents for their families during the Yuletide season. Recruit Wrap, which involved hundreds of area volunteers each year, was stopped by the Marine Corps Recruit Depot's commanding general, Brig. Gen. Stephen Cheney.
http://forums.about.com/ab-usmilitary/start/?msg=455.1
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DOD WEIGHS JAVASCRIPT BAN: Security issues have the government considering bans on JavaScript and other 'mobile' code from military Web sites.
http://forums.about.com/ab-usmilitary/start/?msg=454.1
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AF MAY GAIN BACK AGRESSORS: After years of cutbacks, the number of Air Force aggressor units could be growing again. Aggressor units are cadres of pilots who use enemy air forces' rules and tactics. In training dogfights, the aggressor pilots serve as the opposing "red force'' to train other pilots what to expect during a real air war.
http://forums.about.com/ab-usmilitary/start/?msg=453.1
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THE BIG FIX: The Marine Corps' fire support and reconnaissance communities could get an overhaul in the coming months depending on the outcome of reviews ordered for each by Marine Commandant Gen. James L. Jones.
http://forums.about.com/ab-usmilitary/start/?msg=448.1
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MARINE OFFICER'S SCHOOL SELECTION CHANGES: Marine Officers hoping to attend a resident intermediate-level school no longer face a screening process. Instead, their fates lie with their career monitors who will screen eligible Marines and make recommendations for seats at the resident course. The new screening process is currently used to select company grade officers for resident Career Level Schools.
http://forums.about.com/ab-usmilitary/start/?msg=447.1
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YOUR MOTHER WEARS A LAPTOP? SAN DIEGO -- Laptop computers soon may be standard issue for new sailors. The Navy is preparing a budget request to Congress that, if approved, would launch a program to issue laptops to all sailors as part of their clothing allowance.
http://forums.about.com/ab-usmilitary/start/?msg=446.1
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RACISM IN THE MILITARY?: In a broad survey of more than 40,000 U.S. troops, one in five blacks responding also said they felt race relations played a negative part in their prospects for promotion or assignment. But a summary of the survey said minorities felt discrimination in uniform was less pronounced than in other areas of public life.
http://forums.about.com/ab-usmilitary/start/?msg=464.1
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IRAQ CLAIMS CIVILIANS HURT IN AIR ATTACK: CAIRO: An Iraqi television channel monitored in Cairo reported that U.S. and British warplanes bombed Iraqi civilian targets Monday, wounding ten people.
http://forums.about.com/ab-usmilitary/start/?msg=459.1
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BIG BUCKS TO ENLIST: WASHINGTON -- The Army is offering bigger cash bonuses and other incentives in an effort to draw more recruits at a time of dwindling interest in the military. For the first time ever, recruits can have both a $20,000 enlistment Bonus AND up to $50,000 in educational aid.
http://forums.about.com/ab-usmilitary/start/?msg=460.1
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AF PROMOTES OVER 3,000 TO CAPT: The overall number of first lieutenants selected for promotion this year was down 154 from last year. But the 3,101 line first lieutenants picked in the promotion zone were chosen at a rate of 99.5 percent, .2 percentage points higher than last year.
http://forums.about.com/ab-usmilitary/start/?msg=452.1
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ARMY DECEMBER NCO PROMOTIONS: There will be 3,559 noncommissioned officer promotions in December, and about one-half of those will go to specialists and corporals recently placed on selection lists.
http://forums.about.com/ab-usmilitary/start/?msg=451.1
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ONBASE ATM FEES: Concerned that its lowest-paid troops are being charged too much at automated teller machines, the Defense Department may ban ATM fees at machines on military bases.
http://forums.about.com/ab-usmilitary/start/?msg=445.1
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DIRTY DETAILS: HEIDELBERG, Germany -- A female sergeant described how one of the Army's preeminent NCOs allegedly stripped her down and sexually assaulted her after a drinking binge in his hotel room.
http://forums.about.com/ab-usmilitary/start/?msg=450.1
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DEDICATION TO AMERICA'S HEROES: The President, in the name of Congress, has awarded 3,427 Medals of Honor to 3,408 of our nation's bravest Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines, and Coast Guardsmen since the decoration's creation in 1861. For the next 3,427 days, the U.S. Military Forum will post a Medal of Honor Citation. Please join us every day to read about the accomplishments of these heroes, and to give thanks to their dedication and sacrifice to our great Nation.
http://forums.about.com/ab-usmilitary/messages/?ctx=262144&cacheTag=x23-57&ld=&msg=0
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DO YOU HAVE A MILITARY WEB SITE? If so, and you would like to make a little money, plus give your viewers access to the latest and greatest in military information, About.com will pay you 6 cents per click for traffic you drive to the About.com U.S. Military Web Site. Details are at:
http://affiliates.about.com
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LINK OF THE WEEK: Academic essays about women in the Military and Women in combat.
http://www.militarywoman.org/academic.htm
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MILITARY HUMOR The following is a true story from WWII:
During WWII, the Germans attempted to build a "Decoy" Air Base. The German "airfield," constructed with meticulous care, was made almost entirely of wood. There were wooden hangars, oil tanks, gun emplacements, trucks, and aircraft.
The Germans took so long in building their wooden decoy that Allied photo experts had more than enough time to observe and report it. The day finally came when the decoy was finished, down to the last wooden plank.
And early the following morning, a lone RAF plane crossed the Channel, came in low, circled the field once, and dropped a large wooden bomb.
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With those words of wisdom, I once again leave you.,
Rod Powers
About.com's U.S. Military Guide
