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MILITARY MATTERS
Newsletter #44
2/21/00
Howdy all, and welcome to the 44th 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.
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Last Poll: Should the President order the Arrest of the Vieques Protesters? 61 Percent of you said "Yes."
http://forums.about.com/ab-usmilitary/messages/?msg=1199.1
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This Issue's Poll: Should Tax Money be used to Construct and Maintain Veteran Memorials?
http://forums.about.com/ab-usmilitary/messages/?msg=1258.1
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NEWS AND COMMENTARY:
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McCain Shifts to Attack Mode: DETROIT - John McCain, who had sworn off personal attacks in South Carolina, sharpened his rhetoric at events throughout Michigan. He accused Mr. Bush of wanting to perpetuate a corrupt campaign finance system in Washington and caving into legislators who want to pack the federal budget with unnecessary spending.
http://forums.about.com/ab-usmilitary/messages/?msg=1247.1
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Gore Calls Republicans "Morally Blind": ALBANY, N.Y. - Al Gore yesterday said the Republicans who are trying to keep him from the White House are "morally blind."
http://forums.about.com/ab-usmilitary/messages/?msg=1243.1
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President's Day: Al, Bill, John and George (sounds like a fab four) all want to be president this year. But are any of them marked for greatness? On Presidents Day it seems fitting to pit the resumes of Al Gore, John McCain, Bill Bradley and George W. Bush against those of the presidents we honor on this day: Abraham Lincoln and George Washington.
http://forums.about.com/ab-usmilitary/messages/?msg=1234.1
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How the Candidates Compare on Defense: The U.S. government spends about 16 percent of its budget on defense, although the number of active-duty troops has dropped by about one-third since the end of the Cold War. Here's how the top candidates compare on defense issues:
http://forums.about.com/ab-usmilitary/messages/?msg=1228.1
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Risk Reduction: The debate over the military's use of anthrax vaccine is a sad one, overshadowed by the knowledge that it could quickly become much sadder. Begin with what is known, and that may be the end of it -- for the vast majority of those who serve in uniform. A lot of mother's sons and daughters will needlessly come home in body bags if they find themselves unvaccinated in a theater in which anthrax is used.
http://forums.about.com/ab-usmilitary/messages/?msg=1250.1
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Anthrax shot criticism little comfort to ex-Marine: As one who left the military because of mandatory anthrax shots, James M. O'Neil took little satisfaction from a congressional panel's recommendation to terminate the program until a better vaccine is approved. "I'm personally bitter because it ended my career and because of what it's done to my family," said O'Neill, 22, who was honorably discharged from the Marine Corps last month.
http://forums.about.com/ab-usmilitary/messages/?msg=1245.1
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US Will Offer Logistical Support in Congo: PRETORIA, Republic of South Africa, -- Once there is a peace agreement in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the United States is willing to provide logistics support for a U.N. peace mission, but it has no plans to contribute ground forces.
http://forums.about.com/ab-usmilitary/messages/?msg=1224.1
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Exemptions to Anthrax Vaccinations: WASHINGTON -- DoD officials are in the process of approving a policy that standardizes exemptions to the anthrax vaccination program. But, they said, they provided exemptions because it's "good medicine," not because of any concerns about the vaccine's safety or efficacy. The new exemptions fall into two categories, administrative and medical, said Marine Maj. Gen. Randy L. West, special adviser to the secretary of defense for anthrax and bio- defense affairs.
http://forums.about.com/ab-usmilitary/messages/?msg=1222.1
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Recruiter Found Guilty in Sex Case: TAMPA -- An Air Force recruiter was convicted of committing sexual acts with two 17-year-old female recruits and of improper conduct toward other women. Air Force Master Sgt. Raymond Allen, a 16-year veteran, faces a maximum sentence of life in a military prison at his sentencing Monday by a court martial jury.
http://forums.about.com/ab-usmilitary/messages/?msg=1259.1
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War Trials Urged for Russian Generals: MOSCOW - U.N. Human Rights Commissioner Mary Robinson yesterday suggested Bosnian-style prosecutions of Russian generals for overseeing "executions, tortures and rapes" in Chechnya, further aggravating already tense relations between Russia and the West.
http://forums.about.com/ab-usmilitary/messages/?msg=1244.1
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Marines Face Hazing Charge: TWENTYNINE PALMS, Calif.--Two Marines face charges of assault and dereliction of duty in connection with the hazing of a private, a Marine Corps spokesman said. Another 10 Marines face less severe administrative discipline for not stopping the alleged hazing in which a 20-year-old private reported that he was terrorized by his squad leader, Staff Sgt. Bob Hall said Sunday.
http://forums.about.com/ab-usmilitary/messages/?msg=1233.1
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Recruiting Times are Still Tough: Rising prosperity. Plenty of good-paying jobs. Bosses could care less if the workers are weekend couch-potatoes. For military recruiters, the times are tough indeed.
http://forums.about.com/ab-usmilitary/messages/?msg=1256.1
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Pilot Skill-Levels Degraded: The Air Force and Navy are producing combat pilots of "degraded skill and quality" due to aging aircraft and a shortage of flying hours, a congressional report charges.
http://forums.about.com/ab-usmilitary/messages/?msg=1246.1
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A New Iran?: TEHRAN - Iran's hard-line ruling clergy had wanted merely to spice up the 1997 presidential race when they approved the moderate candidacy of a relatively unknown mullah named Mohammed Khatami. Instead, Mr. Khatami's unexpected landslide victory set in motion a reform juggernaut that, according to weekend results, was sweeping hard-liners out of the parliament, or Majlis, dealing another blow to their shrinking influence. If the returns from Friday's parliamentary election continue to favor the reformists, as is likely, it will be the first time the Majlis is free of hard-line domination since the 1979 Islamic revolution brought the clergy to power.
http://forums.about.com/ab-usmilitary/messages/?msg=1242.1
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U.S. appears to be helpless as Iraq skirts oil embargo: WASHINGTON - Iraq is breaking the United Nations-imposed oil embargo with the help of Iran's military, raising money for both governments and continuing with the tacit cooperation of countries friendly to the United States, according to knowledgeable U.S. national security officials.
http://forums.about.com/ab-usmilitary/messages/?msg=1241.1
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China Threatens Invasion: BEIJING - With Taiwan's presidential election just weeks away, China issued a dramatic ultimatum to the island on Monday to start talking about reunification or face military invasion.
http://forums.about.com/ab-usmilitary/messages/?msg=1236.1
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Purple Heart Highway Honors Vets: Washington DC - Interstate 95 soon will be designated a Purple Heart Memorial Highway in honor of the wounded and fallen American soldiers who have fought battles in many foreign lands.
http://forums.about.com/ab-usmilitary/messages/?msg=1229.1
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Blunder Spells Death for Spy: TAIPEI: When mainland missiles splashed down close to Taiwan four years ago, Taiwan's Defence Ministry issued a statement to reassure apprehensive citizens. The missiles were unarmed, it said, and the warheads contained only a device to determine their accuracy. Issuing that statement, Taiwanese sources now acknowledge, was a bad mistake. The information tipped off Beijing's security services that somebody high up was spying for Taiwan. As a result, they launched a massive probe that resulted in the execution last August of a mainland general, his mistress and a colonel.
http://forums.about.com/ab-usmilitary/messages/?msg=1226.1
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Pan Am Bombing Part of Libya Plot: NEW YORK -- U.S. officials say they now believe the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 in 1988 was part of a larger operation by Libya to retaliate for the Reagan administration's bombing raid on Muammar Gadhafi's headquarters in 1986.
http://forums.about.com/ab-usmilitary/messages/?msg=1223.1
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Iwo Jima Vets Gather: WASHINGTON -- More than 600 Marines who endured indescribable carnage on Iwo Jima gathered this weekend to remember the corps' bloodiest battle and talk over the changes that have come to their country in the 55 years since. Many among these veterans speak with sadness of the dwindling numbers of men and women now choosing military service as a career. It is a symptom, they say, of a loss among many young Americans of a sense of honor and duty to country.
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Ft Bragg Soldier Going Country: Pfc. Gary Hughes has gone country. The 20-year-old 82nd Airborne Division soldier appeared on TNN during the wee hours on Friday, belting out John Michael Montgomery's hit ''Be My Baby Tonight.''
http://forums.about.com/ab-usmilitary/messages/?msg=1248.1
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Trader Jon, Dead at 84: PENSACOLA - Martin Weissman, better known as "Trader Jon," was never a pilot or in the Navy, but he was renowned among naval aviators for serving up cheer, loyalty and friendship at his ramshackle bar. The proprietor of Trader Jon's for nearly half a century died Friday at Sacred Heart Hospital. He was 84. He never fully recovered from a 1997 stroke that left him partly paralyzed and with impaired speech.
http://forums.about.com/ab-usmilitary/messages/?msg=1240.1
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Retired Member Killed by Parking Lot Device: TAMPA - Military investigators were trying to determine Saturday what went wrong with a pop-up security device in a parking lot at MacDill Air Force Base, causing an accident that killed a retired reservist. Donna Jo Norder, 46, was driving into a parking lot at U.S. Special Operations Command shortly before noon Friday when a 3-foot barrier that pops up out of the road to block traffic apparently malfunctioned.
http://forums.about.com/ab-usmilitary/messages/?msg=1239.1
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Can I hug a Hero?: PALM SPRINGS, Calif. -- Wearing a bright red blazer and a big smile, Mary Previte walks up behind a man she credits with saving her life and says: "Lieutenant." Retired Lt. James Hannon rises from his seat and turns to face her. "Can I hug a hero?" she asks, as the two embrace in the lobby of the Hilton Hotel. The meeting came Saturday, nearly 55 years after Hannon and five other paratroopers landed in Weihsien, China, to rescue Previte and about 1,400 other civilians held captive by Japanese troops during World War II.
http://forums.about.com/ab-usmilitary/messages/?msg=1235.1
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Boys Honor Long Forgotten Airmen: Moyers, Okla. -- The strains of "God Save the Queen" rolled from the southeastern Oklahoma hills Sunday in honor of a memory awakened by a group of rural schoolboys and preserved by their aluminum cans. The siblings of four British airmen who died when their planes crashed here exactly 57 years ago watched solemnly as the boys unveiled their tribute --- a granite slab ensuring that the fliers' memory lives on among the forest of pines where their planes fell.
http://forums.about.com/ab-usmilitary/messages/?msg=1231.1
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Heros of Tomorrow: She is the Grand Forks battalion commander, chief petty officer, 1998 North Dakota Junior Outdoor Prone champion and 1998 Cadet of the Year for the Grand Forks Civil Air Patrol squadron. Her name is Cassidi Reese. Reese, 17, is only a senior in high school, but she has accomplished more than many people will in a lifetime.
http://forums.about.com/ab-usmilitary/messages/?msg=1227.1
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Serbs Stone American G.I.s: KOSOVSKA MITROVICA, Yugoslavia--A crowd of angry Serbs pelted American and German peacekeepers with rocks and bricks Sunday during a massive house-to-house search for illegal weapons in this tense, ethnically divided Kosovo town.
http://forums.about.com/ab-usmilitary/messages/?msg=1217.1
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Military to Invade Alaska: FAIRBANKS - Alaska will once again be invaded this week by land, sea and air. The annual Northern Edge and Cope Thunder military training exercises will include units from around the nation. A fictitious military peace enforcement mission is at the center of Northern Edge 2000, which will be held in conjunction with the Cope Thunder air war exercise. The exercises feature personnel from the Army, Air Force, Navy, Marines and National Guard.
http://forums.about.com/ab-usmilitary/messages/?msg=1254.1
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China General To Streamline Forces: SINGAPORE -- The head of China's air force said Monday his country will streamline its huge military, and promised that Beijing would never ``invade or threaten any sovereign state.''
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Meanwhile, in Iraq.....: ANKARA, Turkey -- U.S. warplanes bombed an Iraqi air-defense system Saturday in response to Iraqi artillery fire during patrols of the no-fly zone over northern Iraq, the U.S. military said. Three Iraqi civilians were wounded, according to the official Iraqi News Agency said.
http://forums.about.com/ab-usmilitary/messages/?msg=1238.1
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Russian President Promised to Wipe Out all Rebels: MOZDOK, Russia -- Russian warplanes rained bombs on Chechnya's rugged southern mountains today, and acting President Vladimir Putin promised to keep on fighting until the last rebel is wiped out.
http://forums.about.com/ab-usmilitary/messages/?msg=1237.1
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US Troops in for the Long Haul: WASHINGTON - The United States should brace for keeping its troops in Bosnia and Kosovo indefinitely as long as Slobodan Milosevic holds power in Yugoslavia, the outgoing supreme NATO commander cautioned Congress today.
http://forums.about.com/ab-usmilitary/messages/?msg=1221.1
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Cheers and Tears for Returning Aussies: The cheer went up and the tears started as the plane carrying 330 Australian army, air force and military police personnel returning from East Timor came to a halt in hangar 96 at Sydney Airport yesterday morning. About 800 people were waiting with flowers, soft toys and handmade welcome signs, straining at steel barriers for a glimpse of their loved one walking down the aircraft stairs.
http://forums.about.com/ab-usmilitary/messages/?msg=1220.1
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Americans Search Serb Side of Town: KOSOVSKA MITROVICA, Yugoslavia -- Thousands of Albanians today began a march to call for an end to ethnic divisions in Kosovska Mitrovica, where NATO-led peacekeepers searched for illegal weapons after weeks of violent clashes.
http://forums.about.com/ab-usmilitary/messages/?msg=1218.1
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Weapons Disposal Workers Exposed to Nerve Gas: SALT LAKE CITY -- Two employees at the chemical weapons incinerator received medical attention after a deadly nerve agent was detected in the room they were working in. The two were repairing a conveyor belt which carries metal out of a decontamination furnace at the Tooele Chemical Demilitarization Facility when an alarm went off, alerting to the presence of sarin, said Pettebone.
http://forums.about.com/ab-usmilitary/messages/?msg=1255.1
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Taking Aim at High-Tech Enemies: KIRTLAND AIR FORCE BASE -- Increased reliance on technology on the battlefield has created a new vulnerability that Air Force and other weapons scientists are looking to exploit. The potential weapon is microwaves, an invisible form of electromagnetic energy. They are between radio and infrared frequencies on the electromagnetic spectrum. Microwaves can disrupt electronics, similar to a close lightning strike or the electromagnetic pulse released by a nuclear detonation.
http://forums.about.com/ab-usmilitary/messages/?msg=1252.1
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Future of the A-10: The A-10 attack airplane came into the Air Force in 1975, and its demise has been predicted from time to time over the years. But the ''warthog'' may only be reaching midlife.
http://forums.about.com/ab-usmilitary/messages/?msg=1249.1
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Are Pilots Outdated?: SINGAPORE - Robotic drone aircraft will increasingly dominate future air wars, taking on missions too dangerous for pilots, speakers told an air power conference on Monday. British defense contractor BAE Systems Plc (BA.L) believes the fighter pilot will probably disappear altogether as air forces switch to drones.
http://forums.about.com/ab-usmilitary/messages/?msg=1232.1
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Everything but the Chaplain: NATICK, Mass. -- The Army's new "containerized chapel" has almost everything troops need for religious ceremonies in faraway locales: a large tent, folding chairs for pews, generator-powered heat, air conditioning and lights. Not to mention Bibles, Muslim prayer mats and Jewish prayer shawls -- in camouflage, no less. The only thing missing is the chaplain.
http://forums.about.com/ab-usmilitary/messages/?msg=1230.1
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Tiny Infrared Camera: FORT BELVOIR, Va., -- A new, incredibly small infrared camera may soon join the military. The UL3 alpha infrared camera is about the size of a D cell battery and weighs just six ounces, said Jim Campbell, deputy director of the Science and Technology Division at the Night Vision and Electronic Sensors directorate here.
http://forums.about.com/ab-usmilitary/messages/?msg=1225.1
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Boeing Loses 1.3B Dollar AF Deal: LOS ANGELES - The Boeing Co. lost options to complete a $1.3 billion project to build 33 global positioning satellites for the Air Force in a decision that could cost the company hundreds of millions of dollars. Boeing will be allowed to build as many as 12 of the satellites, but others will be put out for competitive bidding, the Air Force said in a statement Friday.
http://forums.about.com/ab-usmilitary/messages/?msg=1219.1
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LINK OF THE WEEK: Want to find some military memorabilia and collectibles? Try Barbara Crews' Military Collectibles on the About.com Collectibles Site.
http://collectibles.about.com/msub82.htm
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CHAT: Dennis Fauchier (DennisHOST) will be hosting General Military Chats every Saturday from 6:00 PM (EST) to 7:00 PM (EST) and every Wednesday from 12:00 PM (EST) to 1:00 PM (EST). Edward Hanrahan (AssassinHOST) will host every Saturday night from 9:00 PM (EST) to 1:00 AM (EST).
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MILITARY HUMOR: An Air Force Colonel was driving in the housing area one day and approached a stop sign. He barely slowed down and ran right through the stop sign after glancing for traffic. What the officer didn't know was that a security policeman was watching the intersection. The SP pulled out after him and stopped the car two blocks away.
SP: "ID Card, License, registration and proof of insurance please."
Colonel: "Before I give it to you, tell me what the heck you stopped me for, *Airman*."
SP: "Watch your tone sir; you ran that stop sign back there!"
Colonel: "Airman, I slowed down, what the heck is the difference?"
The SP pulled out his night-stick and began whacking the Colonel over the head and shoulders. Bang! Bang! Whomp! Bang!
SP: "Now, Sir....do you want me to just slow down, or stop!!!?"
For more military humor, check out the Military Humor Netlink on the About.com U.S. Military Site at
http://usmilitary.about.com/msubmenujokes.htm
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With those words of wisdom, I once again leave you.,
Rod Powers
About.com's U.S. Military Information Site
