Archived Military Matters
The About.com U.S. Military Newsletter
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ABOUT.COM MILITARY
MATTERS
Newsletter #95
02/20/01
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Welcome to the 95th edition of Military Matters. If you have a friend you think would be interested in this newsletter, please feel free to forward this newsletter via Email.
Remember, you can find out almost anything you want to know about the U.S. Military on the About.com U.S. Military Information Site. Updated and new information is added daily. I really appreciate your support.
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GREAT NEWS!!!!!!!: Beginning next, you'll begin receiving two newsletters for the price of one! (The "price" is free, of course <grin>). In order to help balance out my work schedule, and to provide you with more timely news and features, I'm dividing the current "Military Matters" into two separate issues. On Mondays, I'll be sending out "Military Matters" which will consist of the "IN THE SPOTLIGHT" features, the "MILITARY PHOTO OF THE WEEK," the "WEEKLY POLL," and various articles and information pages on the main site. Every Thursday, you'll receive "Military Newsbreaks," which will cover breaking news-items about the United States Military, and the weekly MILITARY HUMOR (Just to keep the news from making us too serious <grin>).
I want to thank each and every one of you for your support in allowing me to expand these services. Please continue to provide your support by visiting http://usmilitary.about.com when looking for the latest in military information.
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BACK-ISSUES: Back-issues of Military Matters are available to read online at:
http://usmilitary.about.com/library/newsletters/blnewsletters.htm
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IN THE SPOTLIGHT: Boot Camp Challenge, Part V. Join Private Joe as he continues
to stumble through military boot camp. In this part, Private Joe discovers his
new home for the next several weeks.
http://usmilitary.about.com/library/weekly/aa021801a.htm
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LINK</A>
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Photo of the Week - Once again, great submissions! Congradulations to LilNurse
for taking first place last week! Check out the winners and make your submission
for this week's "Military Photo of the Week."
http://usmilitary.about.com/library/captions/blcaptions-8.htm
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THIS WEEK'S POLL:
In his first 30 days in office, George W. Bush has promised an additional $5.7 Billion for military pay and benefits, delayed new defense spending until a complete "top-to-bottom" review is accomplished, visited numerous military bases, and ordered an attack on Iraq.
If this was school, and being Commander in Chief was a required course, how would you rate Bush's performance so far?
A - Outstanding Job; B - Commendable Job; C - Average Job; D - Needs Improvement; or F - Total Failure.
http://usmilitary.about.com/library/polls/blbushgrade.htm
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NEWS AND COMMENTARY:
IMPORTANT NOTE: Those of you who wish to vent your opinions about particular
news-stories here can participate in the message forum by clicking on the message
forum link you'll find with the story on the applicable site page.
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U.S., British Planes Attack Sites Close to Baghdad: WASHINGTON — In a sign President Bush will toughen America’s policy toward Saddam Hussein, U.S. and British warplanes bombed five military sites near Baghdad Friday, setting off sirens in the city for the first time in more than two years.
http://usmilitary.about.com/library/news/blnews162.htm
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Link</A>
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Iraq Threatens Retaliation for Attacks: BAGHDAD--Iraq vowed revenge on Saturday for U.S. and British attacks near Baghdad it said had killed two civilians, while Russia and China led a chorus of international concern over raids seen as threatening Middle East stability.
http://usmilitary.about.com/library/news/blnews171.htm
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Link</A>
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Navy Plans Court of Inquiry on Sub Incident: HONOLULU — The commander of the Pacific Fleet said Saturday that the Navy would convene a court of inquiry, the Navy's highest form of administrative investigation, to learn why a U.S. submarine surfaced directly underneath a Japanese fishing vessel.
http://usmilitary.about.com/library/news/blnews190.htm
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Link</A>
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Okinawa Wants SOFA Change: NAHA — Okinawa lawmakers want a change in the way U.S. servicemembers accused of crimes are turned over to Japanese authorities. The Okinawa Prefectural Assembly passed a resolution Friday demanding a change in the Status of Forces Agreement that would allow the speedy transfer of all suspects. Under the current provisions, servicemembers remain under military control until they are indicted in a Japanese court, unless they are charged with rape or murder.
http://usmilitary.about.com/library/news/blnews193.htm
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Link</A>
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Uniforms in DODDS Schools Improve Grades: SCHWEINFURT, Germany — The Schweinfurt
Middle School created a uniform policy in part so students’ wardrobes wouldn’t
stand out. But educators say the policy has helped students stand out — academically.
That was evident Friday when roughly half the student body received awards Friday
for academic achievement and helping others.
http://usmilitary.about.com/library/news/blnews196.htm
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Link</A>
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Graduating in the DMZ: DEMILITARIZED ZONE, South Korea — The four students who graduated from Tae Sung Dong’s elementary school Wednesday must have felt like rock stars. Surrounded by journalists and photographers, the four students, dressed in traditional Korean wear, accepted gifts from generals, politicians and school officials. Tae Sung Dong is the only inhabited village inside the Demilitarized Zone, the 2˝-mile-wide buffer between North and South Korea. More than a million soldiers man either side of the zone.
http://usmilitary.about.com/library/news/blnews197.htm
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Link</A>
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Rudy Joins the Ranks of Action Heros: Ex-Navy SEAL Rudy Boesch is in the national
spotlight again: this time going from grumpy old "Survivor" to collectible action
figure.
http://usmilitary.about.com/library/news/blnews199.htm
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Link</A>
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A Fairy Tale Ending?: Marisol Nichols and Mark-Paul Gosselaar were plowing through
their first scene on NBC's "The Princess & the Marine" in October when they
saw a couple who looked just like them approach the set, sit behind the camera,
put on headphones and watch.
http://usmilitary.about.com/library/news/blnews201.htm
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Link</A>
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Key Tests Omitted on Osprey: To save time and money, the Marine Corps omitted
tests of the V-22 Osprey that would have provided additional data on rapid descents
that contributed to a crash that killed 19 Marines in April, according to a
new report by the General Accounting Office.
http://usmilitary.about.com/library/news/blnews206.htm
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Link</A>
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Court - Free Lifetime Health Care Was Promised: A federal appeals court panel
has ruled that the free lifetime health care that recruits and their families
were promised if they served at least 20 years was an "implied-in-fact contract"
that the government breached in 1956. It was then that Congress changed the
rules, making health care for military retirees available only on a "space available"
basis.
http://usmilitary.about.com/library/news/blnews208.htm
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Link</A>
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Fleet Protection Takes Priority Over Land Projects: WASHINGTON — The time lag
for improvements to Navy barracks and shipments of spare parts just got a little
longer for U.S. sailors. The Navy wants more money to boost force protection
and plans to use the dollars set aside for repairs, housing, roads and plans
to buy equipment for the increasingly aging fleet, the commander in chief of
the U.S. Atlantic Fleet said.
http://usmilitary.about.com/library/news/blnews163.htm
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Link</A>
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Okinawa Town Leaders Demand Marines Leave the Island: CHATAN — As Japanese prosecutors
processed indictments Thursday against a Marine suspected of torching a row
of bars, the Chatan town council demanded the removal of all U.S. Marines from
the island. Lance Cpl. Kurt Billie, 23, was to be indicted in Naha District
Court by Thursday in connection with the fires that destroyed the wooden shacks
last month in the section of Chatan popularly known as "Hamby Town." A Marine
spokeswoman said Billie also is suspected of setting two fires on Camp Hansen
in November and December. Those damaged a warehouse and office space.
http://usmilitary.about.com/library/news/blnews164.htm
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Link</A>
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Midnight Curfew in Hungary Extended to Weekends After Incident: TUZLA, Bosnia
and Herzegovina — U.S. military officials in Hungary have extended a midnight
curfew to weekend nights after 19 soldiers based in Taszar allegedly went on
a drunken tear in a nearby town and some ended up in police custody. U.S. military
and Hungarian police are still investigating what happened early Sunday morning
when the troops apparently had too much to drink at a disco in Kaposvar, which
is about five miles from Taszar. The troops went on a "rampage," allegedly breaking
a billiard table, a washbasin and a lamp at a bar called Cheers, local police
told the Associated Press.
http://usmilitary.about.com/library/news/blnews168.htm
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Link</A>
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Army Denies Airport Ceremony for Solider Killed in Crash: RANCHO CUCAMONGA --
The brother of Bobby MacDonald, the U.S. Army specialist who was killed Monday
in a helicopter crash in Hawaii, said Friday that Army officials have reneged
on an agreement to give his brother full military honors when his body arrives
at Los Angeles International Airport.
http://usmilitary.about.com/library/news/blnews172.htm
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Link</A>
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Pregnant Cadet Poses Another First for VMI: LEXINGTON, Va.--A cadet at the Virginia
Military Institute is pregnant, less than four years after the 162-year-old
school admitted its first female students, VMI officials said Friday.
http://usmilitary.about.com/library/news/blnews173.htm
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Link</A>
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Coast Guard Recovers 46 Bales of Cocaine: A Coast Guard crew recovered 46 bales
of cocaine, each slightly larger than a carry-on suitcase, floating in the Pacific
Ocean off Mexico, officials said Feb. 16. The bales were scattered in the ocean
about 50 miles off the resort city of Acapulco when they were found Feb. 4 by
the crew of the cutter Morgenthau during an anti-drug patrol, said Petty Officer
C.C. Clayton, a Coast Guard spokesman.
http://usmilitary.about.com/library/news/blnews183.htm
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You can read more
military news on the About.com U.S. Military Site at:
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Worth Repeating (Selected from the Forum)
WHAT'S WRONG WITH THE AIR FORCE?: "I had two years of college and made a 90 out of a possible 99 on my ASVAB. Yet, I was given a very bottom of the barrel job. I was made a Survival Equipment Apprentice (2A734) and placed with people who barely passed high school or had GED’s.......If I wanted to have a useless or demeaning job I would have worked at McDonald’s not join the military. " - SEVEER39564
http://forums.about.com/ab-usmilitary/messages?lgnF=y&msg=6407.1
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Around and About:
Law Enforcement:
http://lawenforcement.about.com/
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Shopping About -- Buy your favorite items on the Internet.
http://usmilitary.about.com/gi/shopping/vstore/vstore.htm?channel=careers&site=usmilitary
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WHAT'S NEW: Glossary of Military Terms. Over 6,800 military words and terms defined.
http://usmilitary.about.com/library/glossary/blglossary.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).
http://usmilitary.about.com/mpchat.htm
A HREF="http://usmilitary.about.com/mpchat.htm">(AOL Link)</A>
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MILITARY HUMOR:We've all heard the story of that officer who made the General
so mad that the General threatened to send him to operate a one-man radar station
at the North Pole. Well, I've met such an officer. Captain Jim Ellis of the
United States Air Force was awarded this assignment after a particularly nasty
practical joke (involving green jello and the General's swimming pool) backfired.
The Site was so remote, that Captain Ellis was told he would probably have no company for the entire year he would be there. The closest humans, he was told, was a "very small" Marine encampment about 50 miles away.
After about three months of absolutely no human contact, Captain Ellis heard a loud knock on the door to his pre-fab hut. He opened the door, and saw the biggest, roughest looking Marine he had ever seen in his life! In a deep, rough voice, the Marine introduced himself as Major Simmons from the Marine encampment "nearby."
The major said, "I know how lonely it is up here, and I'd like to invite you over to the Marine encampment for a party this Friday."
Captain Ellis said, "Great! It really is lonely here! And I've heard that the Marines throw really great parties!"
The Major said, "Okay then. I have to warn you, however, there will probably be some drinking going on at this party."
"Heck," the Captain replied, "I'm a drinker from way back. I can probably drink most Marines under the table."
"Okay," said the Major, "but I have to warn you. There will probably be a fight or two breaking out before the party is over."
"No Problem," the Air Force Captain replied. "I know the Marines are tough, but I think I can hold my own."
"Okay," said the Major, "But I should warn you, I wouldn't be surprised if there turns out to be a little wild sex going on."
"Count me in!" Said the Captain, "I haven't even thought of sex for the past two months! What should I wear to the party?"
"Wear anything you'd like," said the Major. It's just going to be you and me.
For more military humor, visit our Military Humor Subject-Area on the About.com U.S. Military Information Site at:
http://usmilitary.about.com/cs/militaryhumor/index.htm
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Link)</A>
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With those words
of wisdom, I once again leave you.,
Rod Powers
About.com's U.S. Military Information Site
