Army now accepting recruits with mental health issues. Oh this can't end well.

Courtesy of MSN: 

People with a history of “self-mutilation,” bipolar disorder, depression and drug and alcohol abuse can now seek waivers to join the Army under an unannounced policy enacted in August, according to documents obtained by USA TODAY. 

The decision to open Army recruiting to those with mental health conditions comes as the service faces the challenging goal of recruiting 80,000 new soldiers through September 2018. To meet last year's goal of 69,000, the Army accepted more recruits who fared poorly on aptitude tests, increased the number of waivers granted for marijuana use and offered hundreds of millions of dollars in bonuses. 

Expanding the waivers for mental health is possible in part because the Army now has access to more medical information about each potential recruit, Lt. Col. Randy Taylor, an Army spokesman, said in a statement. The Army issued the ban on waivers in 2009 amid an epidemic of suicides among troops. 

But accepting recruits with those mental-health conditions in their past carries risks, according to Elspeth Cameron Ritchie, a psychiatrist who retired from the Army as a colonel in 2010 and is an expert on waivers for military service. People with a history of mental health problems are more likely to have those issues resurface than those who do not, she said. 

“It is a red flag,” she said. “The question is, how much of a red flag is it?”

Oh I would say that it is a big red flag.

Especially considering that when the Bush Administration relaxed enrollment guidelines to allow in recruits with substance abuse issues and some mild mental health issues, it resulted in the Kandahar Massacre and of course the murders in Afghanistan perpetrated by Wasilla's own Jeremy Morlock.

Those men should never have been allowed to don the uniform and yet they were cleared for recruitment and sent overseas into perhaps the most stressful environment on the planet.

And now we are seeing an even further relaxation of the screening process which is supposed to weed out those who cannot handle the challenges of life in the military, and who may end up being a danger to themselves or to others.

Of course how can we really screen out the mentally unfit, when their poster child is currently occupying the White House?

In wake of National Guard scandal Anchorage school district bans military recruiters indefinitely.

Courtesy of Alaska Dispatch:  

On the heels of scathing allegations of sexual and other misconduct against officers in the Alaska Army National Guard, the Anchorage School District has halted all military recruiting at its schools indefinitely, according to Heidi Embley, district spokeswoman. 

Ed Graff, district superintendent, started alerting all branches of the military Monday that they could no longer recruit on school property until they met individually with Graff to "discuss student safety and other issues," Embley said. 

Embley said Graff's action came in the wake of media reports on leaked investigative files that describe sexual misconduct in the Alaska Army National Guard, some accounts involving high school students. 

According to the files, a former student at Dimond High School in Anchorage said that an officer repeatedly asked her out on dates. The woman said that the officer told her she was pretty and that her eyes “stunned” him. When he tried to take her to his home, she jumped out of the car and used a stranger’s phone to call her father for help. 

Two other former Dimond High students said the same officer invited them to parties where there would be alcohol. They were underage. A sergeant said the officer bragged about having sex with several people, including a high school student, according to the files prepared between 2010 and 2014.

The Alaska National Guard expressed disappointment in the school district and claims to have replaced all the bad apples, but it is really hard to blame the school district for demonstrating caution.

Besides I actually think that it would be a great thing is recruiters were simply kept out of high school from now on. It was one of the worst features of the No Child Left Behind Act and I think it is time for it to come to an end.

Sarah Palin gets her panties in a twist over the military possibly identifying Evangelical Christians and Teabaggers as a threat. Gee, if only somebody had a book coming out defending Christianity and Christmas.

Family values advocate, and defender of Christianity, Sarah Palin.

This from the Ho-ho-ho's Facebook page:

I had the honor of visiting Fort Hood in 2009 during the "Going Rogue" book tour and meeting some of the great men and women in uniform who serve our country there. Please take a look at this article by Todd Starnes about a pre-deployment briefing at Fort Hood in which troops there were told that evangelical Christians and the Tea Party were a threat to the nation! Not only is such a thing unfathomable, but as shocking is that the Commander in Chief has not used his authority to stop this nonsense. I think the troops at Fort Hood who lived through a terrible act of terrorism a few years ago know better than most that Christians aren't the ones using religion as an excuse to attack our nation. 

Palin's ghostwriter then links to this article, by Palin's favorite over the top  reporter Todd Starnes.

Now some of you may remember a similar story that I posted last week about the US Army identifying the American Family Association as a domestic hate group due to its aggressive anti-gay stance. This Starnes article sounds very similar except that it supposedly includes the Tea Party and Evangelicals in general as "enemies of America."

Yeah but here's the thing.

Starnes cites maybe one or two soldiers, who refuse to be identified, as his source on this story, however Fort Hood completely refutes their claims:

Meanwhile, the public affairs office at Fort Hood is denying the soldiers' allegations. 

“The allegations you are asking about were brought to the attention of the Fort Hood leadership immediately and a (sic) inquiry is occurring,” read a statement from Tom Rheinlander, the public affairs director at Fort Hood. “At this time, initial information gathered about the training and what you claim occurred is not substantiated by unit leadership and soldiers present at this training venue.”

So did this really happen? Is it an exaggeration of what actually DID happen? Or is it just more made up bullshit for Fox News and Sarah Palin to use to suggest that under President Obama there has been a coordinated attack on Christianity?

Doesn't really matter if its true.

Fox News gets to agitate and invigorate the Right Wing with stories like this, so they will vote for Republican candidate with "traditional values," (See Christianity.), and Sarah Palin gets to use it to sell a book or two.

In the conservative world everybody wins.

Well, except the truth that is.

Though to be honest the idea of identifying the Tea Party, and certain Evangelical groups, as "enemies of America" does not seem like such a bad idea to me.

Alaska Army base under investigation for sexual misconduct. This one has pinups!

Lieutenant Colonel Joseph Miley's wife, Tracey, as she appeared in a racy calendar approved by her husband.

Courtesy of Mail Online: 

The Army commander of a remote Alaskan base is under investigation for sexual misconduct, after allegedly allowing officers to have affairs and for permitting scantily clad women soldiers to pose for a calendar. 

Soldiers at the anti-ballistic missile base claimed Lieutenant Colonel Joseph Miley had created a 'toxic environment' by turning a blind eye to cases of sexual misconduct. 
It was claimed that women soldiers at Fort Greely were also being allowed to trade sexual favors for favorable treatment from officers. 

Even if sexual misconduct is consensual, the Army forbids commanders to have relationships with their subordinates. 

Marco Morales, spokesman for the Space and Missile Defense Command, confirmed the commander was under investigation in an email obtained by Bloomberg. 

Incidents of inappropriate sexual relations between officers and soldiers had increased because no disciplinary action was being taken, according to three sources, who spoke to the news agency on the condition of anonymity. 

An anonymous complaint was made against Lieutenant Colonel Miley earlier in the year, after he promoted a racy calender featuring his wife Tracey as the August shot, alongside women from the base. 

An alleged inappropriate relationship had formed between the soldier who took the photos and one of the soldiers who posed in it. 

At first blush this may seem to be less egregious than some of the sexual assaults reported earlier, as it appears that some of the sexual activity was with consent. But if the environment on the base was one in which female military members were sexualized and treated differently depending on their desirability of participation in sexual activities it would be tantamount to them being forced to prostitute themselves in order to gain favor or move forward with their career.

I am by no means a prude, and have often mocked the military for its puritanical views on sex and marriage, but this is not about sex, this is about power. And THAT makes it wrong.

Sarah Palin angry that American soldiers cannot deliver the message of Jesus Christ one bullet at a time.

"Does this kick?"

Apparently Palin is pissy because the Army is asking that soldiers file off a New Testament message etched onto the scopes of their rifles by a military vendor:

The U.S. Army is directing troops to remove a Bible inscription that a vendor etched into the serial numbers of weapon scopes, Fox News has learned. 

Soldiers at Fort Wainwright in Alaska told Fox News they received a directive to turn in their scopes so the Bible references could be removed.

The scopes were made by Trijicon and referenced New Testament passages in John 8:12 and Second Corinthians 4:6. The verses appeared at the end of the scope serial numbers – “JN8:12” and “2COR4:6.” 

“The biblical verse (JN8:12) must be removed utilizing a Dremel type tool and then painted black,” read instructions on how to remedy the matter. After the letters and numbers were scrapped off, soldiers were directed to use apply black paint to ensure the verses were totally covered. 

Well this is blatant censorship in Palin-world and she took to Facebook to raise a sink with the handful of losers still reading her ghostwritten Facebook rants. (I know what you're about to say, but I only read it so that you don't have to.)

Who's giving the order? Who has the guts to take responsibility for this nonsense?

Yes WHO has the guts to take responsibility for this nonsense? 

After all what could be the harm in having a weapon that is mostly aimed at Islamic people etched with a reference to this Bible passage?

Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.

I mean what could be so wrong with sighting through a scope, etched with words that condemn nonbelievers to eternal darkness, before firing bullets at those nonbelievers to snuff out their lives forever?

You know besides EVERYTHING?

Is this woman ever on the right side of ANY issue?

Sarah Palin discusses the tattoos on her son's "warrior body." Because you know, nothing creepy about that.

Courtesy of the mother of Oedipus's Facebook page:

What are we succumbing to, America? The army orders "the removal of Christian symbols from a chapel." I wonder what they'll make of my son and all the other soldiers with their numerous Christian symbols tattooed on their warrior bodies? What say you, politicians, about America's finest protecting us in these war zones who will NOT be "removing their Steeples, Crosses, Bible Verses, etc." to adhere to this new nonsensical political correctness?

First off, Eeeww!

Secondly it appears that what has enraged the Grizzled Mama is an article about the army removing a steeple and taking crosses off of a chapel over in Afghanistan. How THAT somehow suggests that her son will soon be in danger of having tattoos scraped from his "warrior body" with a rusty spoon is, how can I say this nicely, fucking insane!

And thirdly hasn't Track Palin's "warrior body" been discharged from the army? Somehow I doubt that the Army gives two shits what kinds of body modifications Track experiments with these days.

However IF it is true, as claimed, that Track is currently serving in the reserves, the Army is actually pretty clear about which tattoos are permissible:

“As long as tattoos do not distract from good military order and discipline and are not extremist, racist, sexist or indecent they’re permitted.”

So to be clear, religious symbols are fine. Swastikas, naked boobies, and racial epithets are not.

In other words unless Track is secretly a perverted neo-nazi racist he should be fine, and we can chalk this up to yet another desperate attempt by Palin to have one of her children seen as a victim.

Palin to rally army of Right Wing bloggers. Oh, this can't be a good thing!

Courtesy of Fox Nation:

The conservative blogosphere has yet to move past the death of patron saint Andrew Breitbart, but it will get a major jolt this month from an equally provocative hero: Sarah Palin. 

The former Alaska governor and 2008 GOP vice presidential nominee has committed to delivering the keynote address at Right Online, the annual gathering of conservative bloggers and online activists organized by the Koch-backed non-profit group Americans for Prosperity Foundation. 

The June 15-16 conference will be the first time the event is held on a different weekend and in a different city from the liberal online activism conference upon which it was based, Netroots Nation. 

And that’s no mere coincidence, say Right Online organizers. 

This year’s meeting is focused on higher-level tactics and strategies than past year’s editions of Right Online, which sometimes had the feel of a crash course on blogging 101. The Vegas conference features training on video exposes to be conducted by guerrilla video journalist James O’Keefe, a session on polling featuring conservative’s favorite pollster Scott Rasmussen and a session moderated by columnist Michelle Malkin entitled “How to Use Facebook & Twitter to Win,” which will include instruction on using social media to drive narratives. 

It’s an area in which Palin can rightly be considered a pioneer, having mastered a high-impact, communication style that almost completely circumvents a traditional media from which she’s sometimes gotten rough treatment. 

You know much of the reason that Palin is now considered an internet pioneer is related to her frustration over the information that was gathered and dispensed online by the Alaska bloggers.

Palin became obsessed with us, and in response brought Rebecca "RAM" Mansour up here for her "audience with the Queen," so that she could utilize C4P to fight back against the uncomfortable truths that were being revealed on a daily basis.

Of course even then she could never manage to actually work the internet without somebody ghostwriting her Facebook posts and online articles for her.

Palin has not so much "mastered" the online communication, as hidden herself behind it in order to shape a mythology about herself that her on air appearances all too quickly reveal to be false.

Having said that I have to admit to being more than a little uncomfortable with the idea of Palin somehow leading a crazy ass army of blogging sycophants, willing to fill the internet with lies about the President and attacking our democracy one post at a time, while also working to reshape Palin's image so that she can once again be relevant.

Gee can you even imagine having Sarah Palin, James O'Keefe, and Michelle Malkin all at the same conference?  That is almost TOO much insanity even for Vegas!

The US Military begins to respond to the "Jesus rifles" debacle.

It appears that both the Army and the Marines are concerned enough to at least investigate the situation.

Army officials said Tuesday they will investigate whether a Michigan defense contractor violated federal procurement rules by stamping references to Bible verses on combat rifle sights used by American forces to kill enemy fighters in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The Marine Corps, another major customer of the telescoping sights that allow troops to pinpoint targets day or night, says service acquisition officials plan to meet with the contractor, Trijicon of Wixom, Mich., to discuss future purchases of the company's gear.

Capt. Geraldine Carey, a Marine Corps spokeswoman, said Tuesday in an e-mailed statement that "we are aware of the issue and are concerned with how this may be perceived." Carey said Marine Corps acquisition officials plan to meet with Trijicon to discuss future buys of the company's sights. The statement did not say what the nature of those discussions would be.

However it does not appear that the people in charge of our two wars in ISLAMIC COUNTRIES really grasp the potential fallout.

A spokesman for U.S. Central Command, which manages military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, said the sights don't violate the ban on proselytizing because there's no effort to distribute the equipment beyond the U.S. troops who use them.

"This situation is not unlike the situation with U.S. currency," said the spokesman, Air Force Maj. John Redfield. "Are we going to stop using money because the bills have 'In God We Trust' on them? As long as the sights meet the combat needs of troops, they'll continue to be used."

Okay the comparisons between U.S. currency and death dealing weaponry is completely ridiculous. The only way the two would be in the same category would be if our soldiers in Afghanistan were stuffing dollar bills down the enemies throat until they suffocated!

Besides at least the phrase "In God we trust" could refer to Allah, and therefore appear much more benign to the people of Iraq and Afghanistan. It is much harder to explain away phrases like "For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ" and "Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, 'I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life'". Especially when those references are stamped onto a gunsight that just helped an American soldier blow the brains out of an Afghan soldier from a hundred yards away.

Are you still not sure how badly this looks for the US military, and how dangerous it could be for our troops? Perhaps this will put it into perspective.

Mikey Weinstein, president of the Military Religious Freedom Foundation, says the Trijicon sights could give the Taliban and other enemy forces a propaganda tool: that American troops are Christian crusaders invading Muslim countries.

"I don't have to wonder for a nanosecond how the American public would react if citations from the Quran were being inscribed onto these U.S. armed forces gun sights instead of New Testament citations," Weinstein said. The foundation is a nonprofit organization opposed to religious favoritism within the military.

Weinstein said he has received complaints about the Scripture citations from active-duty and retired members of the military. He said he couldn't identify them because they fear retaliation.

I am hoping that after all of this attention the President will address this situation in the next week or so. This kind of religious and ethnic insensitivity should not be a part of our country's message to the world any longer.

Army is offering new recruits $20,000 for opportunity to send them into Iraq without adequate training.

As the U.S. Army continues to keep thousands of troops deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan, Army recruiters have a new perk to offer new recruits.

The Army is now offering a $20,000 "QS" – or “Quick Shipper” -- bonus to new and prior service recruits joining, selecting any job and shipping out for training within 30 days.

I would implore all parents to keep your children from accepting this offer!

It is clearly designed to tempt the young person who wants to make money quickly and is less likely to think carefully about what this offer may mean to their safety and potential survivability.

The Army is almost broken, and these desperate attempts to keep it afloat will only result in an increase in American casualties, and more unintentional Iraqi deaths. I almost cannot believe that military leaders would allow it to happen.

But this policy cannot work if it does not help to provide more cannon fodder for this illegal war.

Don't let your children die for this lie!