Found below are a few news items that caught my attention this past week. I am hopeful that the titles and short commentary will encourage our readers to click on the embedded links to read more on subjects that may be of interest to them.

Drop me an email at [email protected] if you believe that there are other subjects that are newsworthy.

Transgender Ban in Military to be Lifted on July 1
In July 2015, the Pentagon announced a working group to study how to modify existing regulations to allow open transgender military service. The working group was expected to complete its review after six months and provide options for how to address the various regulations needed to be updated in order to allow for open service by transgender people.   Read more . . .

Pentagon Will Not Disclose Battlefield Injuries
The Pentagon will not disclose the details of U.S. forces wounded in a battle against the Islamic State group, a stand that Secretary of Defense Ash Carter said was consistent with Defense Department policy in previous conflicts. “We made no change in policy with respect to disclosing information about wounded service members, none whatsoever,” Carter said Wednesday. This week, Pentagon Press Secretary Peter Cook said he would not provide details on whether four service members were injured in Syria earlier this month because it would aid the Islamic State group.  Read more . . .

Brain Study Helps Explain Some Veteran’s Agony
A new brain study may help explain the agonizing and puzzling symptoms suffered by so many combat veterans, from headaches to fuzzy thinking, military researchers reported Friday.  They found a unique pattern of scarring in the brains of men who died days or years after being in or near powerful explosions. The scarring doesn’t look like damage sustained by people with other types of brain injury, such as sports or car accidents, the team at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USU) in Maryland said.  Read more . . .

Vietnam Medal of Honor Winner Recalls Trick
Army Capt. Paul “Buddy” Bucha faked out the enemy while leading a motley crew in Vietnam.The Medal of Honor recipient was hailed as a hero after he made North Vietnamese fighters believe his 187th Infantry Regiment was much bigger than it really was. The combination of bravery and cunning helped him earn the nation’s highest military honor, an award bestowed upon him by the president.  Read more . . .

U.S. Military at High Risk
Army Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Milley sounded the alarm that the US Army is currently in a state of “high risk” when it comes to being ready enough to defend the nation and respond to a large conflict.  “On the ‘high military risk,’ to be clear, we have sufficient capacity and capability and readiness to fight counterinsurgency and counterterrorism,” Milley said at a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing Thursday. “My military risk refers specifically to what I see as emerging threats and potential for great power conflict and I am specifically talking about the time it takes to execute the task … and the cost in terms of casualties.”  Read more . . .

Personal Fitness for Basic Training
The three PFT events are two minutes of push-ups, two minutes of sit-ups, and a timed 2-mile run. Your results from each event are assigned a score. Your age, gender and the amount of repetitions or time elapsed for each event determines your score. Unlike other military endurance tests the APFT is normally performed in normal workout gear. To graduate boot camp you must score 150 points or higher with at least 50 points in each event.   Read more . . .

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