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ABOUT.COM MILITARY MATTERS
Newsletter #80
10/31/00
Howdy all, and welcome to the 80th 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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IN THE SPOTLIGHT: Military Justice 101 - Part VII. All about the United States Military Justice System. In Part VII, The Court-Martial Process, Appeals, and Release of Disciplinary Information.
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Previous Poll: The Army's chief of staff
announced a few days ago that black berets--now worn only by an elite infantry
unit, the Rangers--will become standard headgear for all soldiers next year,
including cooks, clerks, drivers and chaplains' assistants.
Should the Army Stick With Its Decision to Issue Black Berets to Everyone? 4 percent said (A) - Yes - It will improve morale, recruitment, and retention.; 26 percent said (B) - Yes, but the Army should choose a different color and not mess with Ranger tradition; 44 percent said (C) - Only elite forces should wear berets; 2 percent said (D) - Nobody should wear berets; and 23 percent said (E) - The Army Chief of Staff needs to seriously consider retirement
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This Issue's Poll:The issue of women in combat is not a new one. Women
have fought and died in combat in almost every war the United States has been
involved in.
Women fought and died during the Revolutionary War. Women have dropped bombs on Iraq. A few days ago, 2 Navy women lost their lives on the USS Cole, along with several of their male counterparts.
Congressional law, however, does forbid the military from assigning women to any job who's primary function involves ground-combat.
Should Congress Change the Law Which Prohibits Women from Serving in Ground-Combat Jobs? (A) - Yes; (B) - No; (C) - Yes, as long as there are equal physical standards for both males and females; (D) - Women should not be in any combat job (including aircraft and ships) or (E) - Yes, except for "elite" forces, such as Ranger, Delta, SEALS, Pararescue, etc.
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NEWS AND COMMENTARY:
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Curbing the North Korean Threat: When Secretary
of State Madeleine K. Albright said last week that she had made progress in
her talks with North Korean leader Kim Jong Il over curbing his country's missile
program, she offered few details. But, she said, they did discuss "the idea
of exchanging satellite launches for serious missile restraint." That idea,
based on a suggestion by Russian President Vladimir Putin, calls for the United
States to pay a third party--probably Russia, China or Europe--to launch North
Korea's satellites. In exchange, North Korea would restrain its missile program
and, at a minimum, freeze development of its Taepo Dong series of long-range
ballistic missiles, which could potentially reach the United States. Given the
threat these missiles pose, how could anyone object? Indeed, with the established
precedent of Washington promising Pyongyang $4 billion in 1994 in the form of
two new, U.S.-designed nuclear reactors (to be built by Japan and South Korea)
in exchange for freezing its nuclear program, paying others to launch North
Korean satellites seems pretty benign. It does, that is, until one considers
what other technology is almost certain to be transferred. Two other recent
satellite cooperation endeavors--Russia's assistance to India's satellite launch
program and America's work with China since the early 1990s launching U.S. satellites--leave
little question about what's at risk.
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Army Chief Targets Mandatory Sergeant's Time: The top leadership of the Army wants the bar raised on small-unit readiness, and as usual, it’s up to sergeants to get it done. Chief of Staff Gen. Eric Shinseki and Sgt. Maj. of the Army Jack Tilley recently called on the Army’s noncommissioned officers to lead a new charge to improve individual and unit training. Their target: deployable units below the battalion level. As he toured the Army over the past year, Shinseki said he noticed too many soldiers failing to prove mastery of basic tasks such as weapons qualification. Only 70 percent of soldiers Armywide, for example, qualify in their first attempts at rifle, tank and other weapons qualification. “That is where we fall short. Seventy percent performance is not good enough,” he said. “You’ve got to get there. Lives count on it in combat.” As a solution, Shinseki mandated a new standard on the tradition of sergeant’s time. He has ordered all units to have 100 percent of their soldiers present at least one day a week for five continuous hours of training.
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Air Force Wants More Recruits: The Air Force failed to meet most of its retention goals in fiscal 2000 and finished the year with 5,200 fewer airmen than originally planned. Congress authorized the service to finish the year with 360,877 active-duty airmen, plus or minus one-half percent or 1,804 people. Instead, the service finished the year with 355,654 airmen after being forced to ask Congress for permission to reduce its minimum manning requirements. But even as the Air Force missed its manning goals, the chief of staff has lobbied to add airmen — 10,000 of them, in fact. Gen. Michael Ryan told the House Armed Services Committee Sept. 27 that the Air Force needs 10,000 more members to meet the demands of today’s missions. “Today we are performing more missions with fewer
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Lack of Anti-Terrorist Funding Puts Troops in Jeopardy:
American troops stationed in the Pacific and Europe remain at risk because programs
to guard against terrorism are underfunded by millions of dollars, a General
Accounting Office investigation has revealed. The second such look at installation
vulnerability in the aftermath of the 1996 bombing of the Khobar Towers housing
complex in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, that killed 19 Americans showed that while
steps have been taken to increase physical security, significant financial shortfalls
still exist. The GAO, an investigative arm of Congress that probes government
workings with impartiality, disclosed the findings in its report, "Combating
Terrorism: Action Taken but Considerable Risks Remain for Forces Overseas."
Pentagon officials, however, criticized the GAO report saying it did not reflect
its "strong commitment to combat terrorism," but agreed with some of the GAO’s
recommendations.
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The Beret Tradition: On Oct. 17, Chief of Staff Gen. Eric Shinseki announced
that the black beret would become standard Army headgear next year. Shinseki
said he wants to use the sense of pride that the beret has long represented
to the Rangers to foster an attitude of excellence among the entire Army as
it moves forward with its sweeping transformation effort to a lighter, more
deployable, more agile force. His decision has set off a firestorm in both the
active-duty and veteran Ranger community as well as in the Army’s other two
special operations camps, the Special Forces and the airborne. The Rangers are
now considering changing the color of their headgear when the new policy takes
effect. Stars and Stripes Washington bureau chief Chuck Vinch looks back at
the history of the beret in the military, which, as it turns out, is a relatively
short one.
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First Kosovo Elections Run Smooth: PRISTINA, Kosovo — The scarved woman needed help walking. She had already waited in line for four hours when someone led her by the arm to vote. But though her legs trembled, Xhevrie Balushi’s face wasn’t weary. She smiled into a bright noon sky, hundreds of Kosovars queued up quietly behind her for the ballot box. “Before, we had to vote for Serbs, not Albanians,” she said through an interpreter. “So we’re very happy. It’s a sunny day.” By early evening, Kosovo’s first free elections seemed bound to end without a bang in its capital. “It’s very peaceful,” said U.S. Army Maj. Steven Shappell, spokesman for the international peacekeepers . “The campaign was very calm, so we expected elections to be so.” Though results were unavailable at press time, more than 900,000 of the 2 million Kosovars had registered. Though voters cast ballots for local seats only, they did so with relish. Some said they hoped success and peace would mean smooth state elections later.
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Don't Eat, Don't Tell: Sheri Becker*, a third-year cadet at the U.S. Coast Guard
Academy in New London, Connecticut, gets up at reveille, straightens up her
room, puts on her pressed uniform and spit-shined shoes, and stands in stiff
formation in the courtyard while an older cadet barks orders. Dismissed, she
files into the mess hall to gulp down a hearty breakfast, usually greasy sausages
and eggs. Her day is packed with classes -- nautical sciences, leadership, engineering.
Then a quick lunch, exercise, a buffet dinner and intensive studying until lights
out at midnight. From the outside, Becker seems like the perfect, ultra-disciplined
cadet. Inside, she's in turmoil. Under intense academic stress, she's also fixated
on the academy's maximum weight standard for her height and frame (although
at five feet six inches tall and 143 pounds, she has room to spare). After meals
she searches for an empty communal bathroom where she can vomit undetected.
During evening study, feeling stressed, she plows through junk food, then vomits
again. The cycle repeats itself up to four times a day. "A lot of girls are
bulimic here," she says. "The whole day is regimented and my one release is
what I eat." Becker acknowledges that the habit has eroded her self-esteem and
interfered with her studies. Yet she confides in no one. "There's a very competitive
edge at the academy. You don't want anybody to see your weaknesses."
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Pentagon Makes Anti-Espionage Hires: The Pentagon is hiring 450 counterintelligence
specialists to protect defense secrets after learning that China has obtained
classified U.S. missile technology, including critical information about the
heat shield that keeps America's most advanced missiles from burning up as they
reenter the atmosphere, senior defense officials said. While applauding the
attempt to boost security, members of Congress said it was long overdue, coming
more than five years after the Defense Department was told of the suspected
Chinese espionage. A trove of Chinese military documents, given to the CIA in
1995 by a former Chinese missile specialist, showed that Beijing had gathered
some classified data about U.S. nuclear weapons and a great deal of secret information
about America's ballistic missiles, according to officials familiar with the
material.
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Drug Use in Military at 20 Year Low: WASHINGTON -- The incidence of service
members using illegal drugs is at a 20-year low, evidence that DoD is winning
the war against drug abuse in its ranks -- a conflict that began during the
Vietnam War. Ana Maria Salazar, deputy assistant secretary of defense for drug
enforcement policy and support, noted that drug use by DoD personnel is down
90 percent compared to two decades ago. Just 2.6 percent of all service members
reported drug use within the 30 days preceding their response to a 1998 survey,
she said. More than 27 percent of respondents in a 1980 survey said they used
illegal drugs in the preceding 30 days, she noted.
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Bronze Star to be Linked to Danger Pay: Future Bronze Star medals won’t be awarded
to U.S.-based bomber ground crews or Pentagon warriors if the proposed 2001
defense budget becomes law. Under a new rule awaiting President Clinton’s signature,
only service members who had been receiving imminent danger pay could be nominated
for the Bronze Star. If the proposed rule had been applied to Allied Force —
the 1999 air campaign against Yugoslavia — nearly half the 246 airmen awarded
the Bronze Star would not have qualified because they were stationed outside
of the Balkans and Italy, the only areas where airmen were eligible for the
danger pay. Air Force Secretary Whit Peters objects to the proposed rule. “The
change to award criteria for the Bronze Star medal is unfortunate,” Peters said.
“The changing nature of warfare, as well as the Air Force’s evolution into an
expeditionary aerospace force, makes geographic location of combat forces a
secondary concern.”
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Drugs - The Quick Way to End a Career: YOKOTA AIR BASE, Japan — In four years
with the Air Force, 22-year-old Stacy Appleton was doing great. She’d joined
after high school, wanting travel and college classes. The Air Force trained
her for computer work and sent her to Turkey, then Japan. She racked up dozens
of college credits. Her superiors raved. "Outstanding," they wrote. "Meticulous."
"Top-notch." "Promote now!" With her four-year hitch coming to an end, Appleton
lined up job interviews. Three computer companies wanted to hire her, sight
unseen. She shipped her stuff home. Civilian life was only days away. Then everything
went wrong. Appleton wept Thursday as she told her story to a black-robed Air
Force judge and braced herself for sentencing. "I know that I will go to jail,"
she said. She was right.
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Congress Closes Overseas Prosecution Loophole: WASHINGTON — After two years
of discussion and a series of revisions, Congress finally approved a bill Thursday
to slam shut a legal loophole that has allowed some military dependents and
Defense Department civilians based overseas to escape prosecution for crimes.
The legislation passed the Senate by voice vote after winning approval in the
House in July. It now goes to President Clinton for his signature. The bill
would allow prosecutors to bring charges against an American civilian overseas
who is connected to the military and commits a crime that would be punishable
by at least a year in prison under U.S. law. The bill also would give federal
courts jurisdiction over troops who commit crimes overseas but then leave the
service before they can be prosecuted. The loophole exists because host nations
often decline to prosecute foreign-born citizens, even for serious crimes, for
a variety of reasons. And military courts are not structured or equipped to
handle cases that fall outside the sphere of the Uniform Code of Military Justice.
"In theory, we can do it, but by policy, we don’t," said a Pentagon legal official.
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Officer Wants to Resign After Accepting Article 15 Punishment: CAMP FOSTER —
A field-grade officer serving on Okinawa wants to resign from the Marines after
accepting nonjudicial punishment for charges that once included sexual assault
on his 3-year-old daughter. The name of the officer — who is a major — is being
withheld in order to protect the identity of the alleged victim. Because nonjudicial
punishment is considered administrative, details of the officer’s acceptance
of punishment are not releasable, a Marine public affairs spokeswoman said.
However, the spokeswoman verified that the major accepted nonjudicial punishment
for two violations of Article 133 of the UCMJ, conduct unbecoming an officer
and a gentleman. The violations stem from misconduct regarding adultery and
the use of inappropriate language. Additional charges, including raping his
daughter, were withdrawn. Marine Corps officials would not comment on why additional
charges, including raping his daughter, were withdrawn.
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More Than They Asked For: Congress filled the Air Force’s wish list for new
airplanes and buildings, but the money is coming with strings attached. The
2001 Defense Authorization Act, approved Oct. 6 by a congressional conference
committee, pays for aircraft and construction projects the Air Force asked for
and then some. The House passed the bill Oct. 11, and the Senate gave its approval
Oct. 12. But lawmakers remain leery of many Air Force programs and are requiring
the service to complete a long list of studies.
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Air Force Chief Promotion Rates Tight Again This Year: SAN ANTONIO — The selection
rate for promotion to chief master sergeant is not expected to reflect the large
increases seen in the last year in promotions for middle-grade noncommissioned
officers, promotion officials are warning. Legal and force structure caps on
the number of top NCO slots, combined with a sizeable pool of highly qualified
senior master sergeants eligible for promotion, means the selection rate most
likely will be within a few points of the 17.58 percent selection rate in fiscal
2000, said Chief Master Sgt. Greg Haley, chief of the enlisted promotion and
military testing branch at the Air Force Personnel Center at Randolph Air Force
Base, Texas.
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GI Bill Benefit Increases: Congress approved a veterans benefits package that
includes a 23 percent increase in GI Bill benefits, allows post-Vietnam-era
veterans to sign up for the Montgomery GI Bill and requires the Department of
Veterans Affairs to assist veterans in preparing their benefits claims. The
benefits package cleared Congress on Oct. 17 and will be sent to the White House,
where President Clinton is expected to sign it into law. The Veterans Benefits
and Health Care Improvement Act of 2000, S 1402, includes a substantial increase
in GI Bill benefits. Monthly educational benefits for service members who complete
three or more years of active duty, now $528 a month, would increase by $122
to $650 a month. The monthly benefit for those who serve two years on active
duty, now $429 a month, would increase by $99 a month to $528. Both increases
amount to 23 percent.
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Shipping Boats: ALEXANDRIA, Va. -- Did you know you can ship a boat to your
next duty station at government expense as part of your household goods? You
can! All you have to do is make sure your yacht doesn't take you sailing over
your authorized weight entitlement or the move could cost big bucks. "The Military
Traffic Management Command processes nearly 240 boats annually. About 40 percent
of the shipments are canceled due to excess cost to the military member," said
Gail Collier, a MTMC traffic management specialist. She said service members
have been entitled to ship boats since July 22, 1988. "The Navy and Army typically
move more boats than the other military services," she added. The entitlement
doesn't extend to DoD civilian employees, she emphasized. There are no restrictions
as to size of a boat that can be shipped, she noted. For moves within the continental
United States and Alaska, a boat under 14 feet without a trailer or other small
boats such as canoes, kayaks, skiffs, rowboats, dinghies or sculls of any size
may be shipped as normal household goods. The owner-shipper must pay for accessorial
services, such as special packing, crating and handling. MTMC will negotiate
a "one-time-only" rate with a towaway service or a commercial boat hauler to
ship boats over 14 feet long or boats with trailers.
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U.S. Fighters Fly Over North Korea: YONGSAN GARRISON, South Korea — North Korea
demanded an apology after two U.S. fighter planes flew into the communist country’s
airspace Thursday. Around 11:22 a.m., the fighters flew just north of Panmunjom
before turning around, according to North Korea’s Korean Central News Agency
web site. "The infiltration of fighters by the U.S. imperialists into our side’s
territorial airspace is a byproduct of the deliberate and premeditated maneuver
by the warmongers of the U.S. military to intensify and aggravate the situation
on the Korean peninsula, which had been favorably developing day by day," the
Korean Central News Agency, the country’s primary media outlet, said on Thursday.
U.S. Forces Korea acknowledged the flyover incident, saying it was a mistake,
but USFK has not said how long the planes were over North Korea, what types
of planes they were, or whether the planes were armed. Lt. Col. Thomas E. Nickerson
of 8th Army public affairs said Saturday that details will be released after
an investigation is completed.
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Navy Wants Subs Based in Guam: PITI — The Navy is continuing its push to base
nuclear attack submarines in Guam. Compared to subs based in Hawaii or on the
West Coast, submarines from Guam would operate more efficiently in the Western
Pacific, Adm. Frank Bowman said Thursday. "I think it’s a very ripe idea," Bowman
said. Guam Gov. Carl Gutierrez said he liked the news because of the potential
economic impact nuclear submarines would have on Guam. Guam’s Washington delegate,
Robert Underwood, has also said he fully supports the idea. The Navy plans to
have the first of three 688-Class subs in Guam by April 2002, but "It’s not
a done deal," Bowman said. Even though the Chief of Naval Operations has supported
the idea, he has yet to give formal approval, Bowman said.
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FBI Cole Probe Facing Hurdles: ADEN, Yemen –– FBI investigators are having difficulty
getting access to possible witnesses and suspects detained by Yemeni security
forces probing the bombing of the USS Cole, U.S. officials said today. The officials
said that while cooperation with local investigators was exemplary as physical
evidence was collected during the probe's initial phase, the relationship has
grown awkward as the investigation turns increasingly toward questioning Yemeni
citizens and others in custody. "I won't minimize that it isn't without some
work that we are shifting from one phase of the investigation--which was largely
if not entirely focused on physical evidence--to other phases," one senior U.S.
government official said today, speaking on condition of anonymity. The official's
comments came a day after Secretary of State Madeleine K. Albright and FBI Director
Louis J. Freeh urged in a joint statement that the Yemeni government treat U.S.
investigators as partners in questioning witnesses and others who may have information
about the apparent suicide bombing on Oct 12. that killed 17 U.S. sailors.
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US May Cut Troops in Asia: Honolulu -- A thorough review of the American strategy
of stationing ground troops in South Korea and Japan is under way to see whether
forces can be reduced or withdrawn, senior U.S. officials say. Under the proposal,
the United States would instead rely on warships, air power and rapidly deployable
ground forces in Asia within a time frame at least five years in the future.
No decision has been made in a discussion that involves military leaders in
Washington, the Pacific Command in Hawaii and U.S. forces in Japan and South
Korea, officials say. They stress that the review is not intended to lessen
American security commitments in the region. The assesment includes forces in
South Korea and Japan, notably Okinawa. The United States has 36,300 troops
in South Korea and 40,600 in Japan.
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Around and About:
Military Regulations -- Don't take that "shoeclerk's" word for it.
Look it up yourself. You can read most unclassified regualtions online.
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The Perfect University Challenging education, free books, tuition, room and board.
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U.S. Politics & Current Events.
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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: Seems there was a young soldier, who, just before battle, told
his sergeant that he didn't have a rifle.
"That's no problem, son," said the sergeant. "Here, take this broom. Just point it at the Germans, and go 'Bangety Bang Bang'."
"But what about a bayonet, Sarge?" asked the young (and gullible) recruit.
The sergeant pulls a piece of straw from the end of the broom and attaches it to the handle end. "Here, use this... just go, 'Stabity Stab Stab'."
The recruit ends up alone on the battlefield, holding just his broom. Suddenly, a German soldier charges at him. The recruit points the broom. "Bangety Bang Bang!" The German falls dead.
More Germans appear. The recruit, amazed at his good luck, goes "Bangety Bang Bang! Stabity Stab Stab!" He mows down the enemy by the dozens.
Finally, the battlefield is clear, except for one German soldier walking slowly toward him. "Bangety Bang Bang!" shouts the recruit.
The German keeps coming.
"Bangety Bang Bang!" repeats the recruit, to no avail. He gets desperate. "Bangety Bang Bang! Stabity Stab Stab!"
It's no use. The German keeps coming. He stomps the recruit into the ground and says... "Tankety Tank Tank."
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With those words of wisdom, I once again leave you.,
Rod Powers
About.com's U.S. Military Information Site
