Forget the creepy guys in trench coats—the Penn State University and the Roman Catholic sex abuse scandals remind us that it’s harder than you might imagine identifying a rapist and sex offender within an institutional cathedral. Put that perpetrator in military uniform or clerical apparel and we want to deny it is even possible. Be…
In March 2011, the Military Leadership Diversity Committee issued a report to President Obama and the 112th Congress recommending the elimination of the Combat Exclusion Policy. Retired Air Force Gen. Lester L. Lyles, commission chair, said the recommendation is one way the congressionally mandated body suggests the military can get more qualified women into its more-senior leadership ranks. “We know…
In 1869, Major John Wesley Powell set out on a remarkable westerly mission—to explore and study the unchartered waters and canyons of the Green and Colorado Rivers. Powell, a distinguished geologist, ethnologist, and one-armed Civil War veteran, began the journey with nine novice oarsmen and four wooden boats. As they entered what is now Canyonlands…
Today President Barack Obama signs into law the repeal measure of the ban on allowing gays to serve openly in the military. In a historic vote on Saturday, Dec. 18, 2010, the Senate repealed the 17 year-old Clinton-era policy known as ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ by a count of 65 to 31. This is a…
Earlier today, the Secretary of Defense Robert Gates and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Adm. Mike Mullen announced the results of the Pentagon’s Comprehensive Working Group Review of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”. The 10-month study led by US Army General Carter Ham and DOD General Counsel Jeh C. Johnson concluded that the repeal of the…
The US Army & Marine Corps continue to circumvent the ground combat exclusion policy. U.S. women are fighting on all fronts of the war on terrorism and are regularly engaged in combat operations, yet there are still barriers to their work and promotion. The policy is anachronistic and does not reflect the reality on the…
Veterans Day began in 1919 when President Woodrow Wilson designated November 11 as the first commemoration of Armistice Day to remember the end of the “War to End All Wars” and honor those who have served our great Nation in uniform. As we observe this Veterans Day, the tenth as a Nation at war, please…
Most news about West Point, my alma mater, makes me exceedingly proud. While the news about West Point being ranked #4 this year in Forbes list of top colleges, (down from #1 last year) is reinforcing and encouraging, last Tuesday’s news is not. It makes me sick and angry. Cadet Sergeant Katherine Miller from Findlay,…
There is a cartoon that circulates annually this time of year. With a picture of a young boy at the table and hands in prayer position and a set of dog tags in the opposite corner, the cloud reads, “Thanksgiving is a day we take pause to give thanks for the things that we have….
The Washington Post Saturday, December 12, 2009 By Donna McAleer and Erin Solaro By this time next year, U.S. troops will have been in Afghanistan longer than the Soviets were. The United States has been engaged in combat in Afghanistan and Iraq longer than in any previous war. Not factoring in the increase in soldiers…