Free Republic

BAGRAM AIRFIELD, Afghanistan, Sept. 5, 2008 – Task Force Gladiator, together with the Afghan National Police and a contracted construction and supply company, delivered 75 desks, 10 chalk boards and 150 sets of school supplies to the villages of Jurghati, Hasanzi and Shawo Katay in the Kohi Sofi district of Afghanistan’s Parwan province Aug. 26. A child from the Kohi Sofi district of Afghanistan’s Parwan province, laughs at Army Sgt. Jeremy Smith of Task Force Gladiator’s Alpha Company. The task force distributed school supplies to the district’s Shawo Katay, Hasanzi and Jurghati villages on Aug. 26, 2008. Courtesy photo  (Click...

It is reported that a Surrey hotel refused a potential guest a room because he was a soldier, which, if true, is appalling. But it is the latest manifestation of a worrying trend. Recently a soldier on his way back home from Iraq was turfed off a train because he did not have his Armed Forced ID card which entitled him to a reduced fare. Rifleman Zachary Hoyland was in full uniform at the time. Why are soldiers in uniform not allowed free travel, in the same way that police officers in uniform are?

100 GIs to man Patriot missile battery in Poland By Jeff Schogol, Stars and Stripes Mideast edition, Wednesday, August 27, 2008 ARLINGTON, Va. — About 100 U.S. soldiers are expected to man a Patriot missile battery in Poland as part of an agreement recently struck between U.S. and Polish officials, a top State Department official said Monday. Under the agreement, the United States can base part of its missile defense system in Poland; in return, the U.S. military will send Patriot missiles to Poland. Both sides hope to establish a garrison for the battery by 2012, said John C. Rood,...

CAMP TAJI, Iraq, Aug. 14, 2008 – As deployments have remained consistent for soldiers and family members of the 4th Infantry Division, separation has been commonplace. Army Pfc. Shannon Willingham, who hails from Pendleton, S.C., shows off the books she has read to children back home while on Camp Taji, Iraq, Aug. 12, 2008. Willingham serves in Multinational Division Baghdad as a supply clerk with the 4th Infantry Division’s Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 3rd Battalion, 4th Aviation Regiment, Combat Aviation Brigade, 4th Infantry Division. U.S. Army photo by Capt. Kathryn Rains, Multinational Division Baghdad   (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution...

American Airlines is charging troops for their extra baggage, a practice that forces soldiers heading for a war zone in Iraq to try to get reimbursement from the military. One of the country's largest veterans groups is asking the aviation industry to drop the practice immediately. American, which recently charged two soldiers from Texas $100 and $300 for their extra duffel bags, said it gives the military a break on the cost for excess luggage and that the soldiers who incur the fees are reimbursed. (snip) Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) spokesman Joseph Davis said service members destined for Iraq...

In their stunning follow-up to the classic bestseller, We Were Soldiers Once...and Young, Lt. Gen. Hal Moore and Joe Galloway return to Vietnam and reflect on how the war changed them, their men, their enemies, and both countries—often with surprising results. More than fifteen years since its original publication, the number one New York Times bestseller, We Were Soldiers Once...and Young is still required reading in all branches of the military. Now Moore and Galloway revisit their relationships with ten American veterans of the battle—men such as Sgt. Maj. Basil Plumley and helicopter pilot Bruce "Old Snake" Crandall—as well as...

Tucson, Ariz. (AP) -- Four Mexican soldiers crossed into a remote area of Arizona and briefly held a U.S. Border Patrol agent at gunpoint before realizing where they were and returning to Mexico, U.S. authorities said. Border Patrol spokeswoman Dove Crawford said the incident early Sunday on the Tohono O'odham Indian Reservation, about 85 miles southwest of Tucson, was in an area where the border likely was marked only with barbed wire.

This was why many Army officers were excited when Petraeus was appointed to chair this year's promotion board. Rarely, if ever, had a combat commander been called back from an ongoing war to assume that role. It almost certainly meant that McMaster would get his due. (Some referred to the panel as "the McMaster promotion board.") McMaster did get his star—but so did many others of his ilk. That's what makes this list an eyebrow-raiser. Among the 40 newly named one-star generals are Sean MacFarland, commander of the unit that brought order to Ramadi; Steve Townsend, who cleared and held...

It’s Time Israel Woke Up By Burt Prelutsky Because December 7, 1941, was when the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, FDR quite aptly called it a day that would live in infamy. For Israel, July 15, 2008, is just such a date. That was the day that Ehud Olmert’s government swapped child murderer Samir Kuntar and four of his Lebanese cohorts to Hezbollah for the corpses of Israeli army reservists Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev. Israel agreed to do this even though the Arabs reneged on their promise to disclose the present whereabouts of Israeli airman Ron Arad. While one can...

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - The U.S. military has charged two soldiers over the killing of an Iraqi prisoner, military officials said on Saturday. Staff Sergeant Hal Warner and 1st Lieutenant Michael Behenna, stationed near Baiji, 180 km (110 miles) north of Baghdad, were charged with premeditated murder over the death of Ali Mansur Mohamed, the U.S. military said in a statement. Mohamed was originally believed to have been released from U.S. custody in mid-May, the statement said. Military officials were unable to immediately provide details on how Mohamed was killed. Warner would face a hearing later this month to determine whether...

The remains of what appear to be four US soldiers who died in 1846 during the Mexican-American war have been found, Mexican officials have said. The skeletons were found at the site of the Battle of Monterrey in northern Mexico alongside relics indicating the bodies were US soldiers... Mexico's state archaeological agency said the bodies were found in several digs between 1996 and 2008 but it took a long time to identify the remains because it was believed only Mexicans were buried at the battle site.

Specialist Matthew Philips was killed in the attack on the base in Afghanistan on Sunday, July 13. He will be laid to rest on Saturday, July 26 at 1:00 at Coal Mountain Baptist Church in Cumming, Georgia. His body will be taken from Ingram's Funeral Home, in downtown Cumming, north on Highway 9. The church is on Highway 9, the burial will be at Coal Mountain Cemetery just down the road from the church following the service. Please join me if you can to show our support for his family and our brave military by lining the road with supporters....

Obama Makes Stop On Way To Afghanistan In Whirlwind Tour Of Middle East, Europe CHICAGO (CBS) A group soldiers serving overseas, including some from the Chicago area, were overjoyed Saturday when presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama visited in Kuwait. As CBS 2's Susan Carlson reports, Obama stopped in at Camp Arifjan in Kuwait before making his first trip to Afghanistan. Camp Arifjan is a major gateway for U.S. soldiers moving into and out of Iraq. The soldiers applauded thunderously when Obama arrived; one of them could barely contain herself as she sported a Chi-town sign. When the cheers settled...

Jerry Boykin had lost 15 pounds in the grueling Delta Force selection process, but he faced one more ordeal: a one-on-one interview with an overweight Army psychologist. “Could you spend several days alone in a sniper position with a homosexual?” the psychologist asked. Boykin had to think about that one. Finally, he replied, “If it was my mission, I could. But he’d better understand that I’m not like that.” The story is from the retired three-star general’s book “Never Surrender: A Soldier’s Journey to the Crossroads of Faith and Freedom.” The book’s release date is July 29. Boykin spent most...

FORWARD OPERATING BASE HAMMER, Iraq, July 16, 2008 – Army Staff Sgt. Colin Goldson gladly takes on the difficult, tiring and endless task of feeding the soldiers and civilians of the 1st Armored Division’s 2nd Brigade Combat Team. Army Staff Sgt. Colin Goldson of Landover, Md., checks the temperature of water used to wash the lunch dishes in the dining facility on Forward Operating Base Hammer, Iraq, July 12, 2008. U.S. Army photo by Pfc. Michael Schuch, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division   (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. A contracting officer/technical representative and food service specialist,...

For those who are unaware, at a military theater, the National Anthem is played before every movie. From a Chaplain in Iraq : I recently attended a showing of 'Superman 3,' here at LSA Anaconda. We have a large auditorium we use for movies, as well as memorial services and other large gatherings. As is the custom back in the States, we stood and snapped to attention when the National Anthem began before the main feature. All was going as planned until about three quarters of the way through The National Anthem the music stopped. Now, what would happen if...

The Messiah of Nations (1914) jpstmon.midIn the need that bows us thus, America! Shape a mighty song for us, America! Song to whelm a hundred years' Roar of wars and rain of tears 'Neath a world's triumphant cheers, America! America! Lift the trumpet to thy mouth, America! East and West and North and South, America! Call us round the dazzling shrine Of the starry old ensign, Holier yet through blood of thine, America! America! High o'er looking sea and land, America! Trustfully with outheld hand, America! Thou dost welcome all in quest Of thy freedom, peace and rest, Ev'ry...

KABUL, Afghanistan, July 13 — Taliban insurgents mounted a large-scale attack on an American forward operating base in eastern Afghanistan in the early hours of Sunday, killing nine American soldiers in fierce fighting that continued through the day. Mark Laity, a spokesman for NATO, confirmed that nine soldiers had been killed and 15 more wounded, but did not give their nationality. Separately, a senior American military official confirmed that the nine soldiers killed were Americans. Four Afghan soldiers also were wounded, Mr. Laity said. The Taliban assault on the base was the deadliest single attack on the NATO security force...

KABUL (Reuters) - Insurgents killed nine U.S. soldiers in an assault on an Afghan army and NATO outpost in northeastern Afghanistan on Sunday, making it one of the worst days for foreign troops casualties in the country since 2001. Afghanistan is suffering from a rising tide of violence this year, with a sharp increase in Taliban attacks, especially in the east where NATO says militants have taken advantage of peace deals in Pakistan to cross the border and fight in Afghanistan. --snip-- The dead soldiers were all American, a NATO official said. Fifteen ISAF troops and four Afghan soldiers were...

At least eight US soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan in clashes with Taleban militants. US commander Daniel Dwyer told the BBC the soldiers had been killed in clashes in the north-east of the country. The BBC's Martin Patience in Kabul says it is one of the biggest single losses in a day for the coalition since the start of military operations there. The attack came as international and Afghan security forces battled militants on several fronts. On Sunday, US forces said 40 insurgents had been killed in Helmand province in the past 24 hours. There are conflicting reports as...

WASHINGTON, July 11, 2008 – The Armed Forces Institute of Pathology has identified human remains found in Iraq as those of two 10th Mountain Division soldiers who had been missing since a May 2007 ambush. Army Sgt. Alex R. Jimenez, 25, and Pfc. Byron W. Fouty, 19, were listed as “missing/captured” during operations in Mahmudiyah, Iraq, on May 12, 2007. The two men were soldiers with the 10th Mountain Division’s 4th Battalion, 31st Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, based at Fort Drum, N.Y. Jimenez and Fouty were part of a patrol of seven Americans and an Iraqi army interpreter...

The body of Alex R. Jimenez, a Lawrence-based soldier who was kidnapped more than a year ago, has been found in Iraq in a tragic ending to a family's wrenching hope for his return. Jimenez's father, Ramon "Andy'' Jimenez, was notified by Army servicemen who came to his home yesterday that his son's body was found two days ago by Iraqi authorities, who contacted their American counterparts. The elder Ramirez, who had held out hope that he would one day see his son's return, seemed to come to terms with the news. "It comforts you when you accept something, and...

Spc. Razan Saied seems like an unlikely soldier. She once taught elementary school in her native Kurdistan, in northern Iraq. That was before she, her husband and their three children fled the Saddam Hussein regime a decade ago. Later, as U.S. citizens, her husband and children supported her decision to enlist in the Army, even if they didn't fully understand it. "I kind of thought she was joking," said her 10-year-old son, Alan. "She's a soccer mom!" said daughter Sana, 14. But Spc. Saied felt a calling to serve, which she did as a Kurdish translator for U.S. commanders. She...

Return to the Article June 29, 2008Don't Let These Old Soldiers Just Fade AwayBy Dylan Gwinn General Douglas Mc Arthur once said to Congress, "...old soldiers never die, they just fade away." As was often the case, the General was quite correct. Too often our society revels in the accomplishments of its great men while events are happening, only to then lose sight of those accomplishments as time marches on. But, how does our society remember "old soldiers" whose accomplishments went almost un-noticed when they were happening? How will we remember men like Lt. Col. Charles "Chuck" Dryden who...

The last of the five Army brigades to deploy with the “troop surge” in Iraq will return in July after a 13-month deployment, during which soldiers detained more than 800 terrorist suspects and helped foster Iraqi self-governance. The 3rd Infantry Division’s 2nd Brigade Combat Team has operated in the Arab Jabour area of southeastern Baghdad, where the number of attacks plummeted from about 30 a week when they arrived in May 2007 to about one a week now. “All in all, it's been a very successful operation for us,” Army Col. Terry Ferrell, 2nd Brigade Combat Team commander, told reporters...

FORWARD OPERATING BASE DELTA, Iraq, June 24, 2008 – “Running cable isn’t that interesting unless you stop and play with the puppy,” said Army Spc. Jennifer Dimitroff, a Lancaster, Calif., native assigned to Company B, 44th Expeditionary Signal Battalion here. Army Spc. Sharmayne Smith, a Washington, D.C., native assigned to Company B, 44th Expeditionary Signal Battalion, works on cable in an office on Forward Operating Base Delta, Iraq, June 21, 2008. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Daniel T. West, 214th Fires Brigade  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. The puppy Dimitroff mentioned was adopted by contractors living near one...

BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- An explosion rocked a municipal building Tuesday in Baghdad's Sadr City neighborhood, killing six Iraqis, two U.S. soldiers and two civilian U.S. Embassy employees, officials said. An Iraqi soldier removes razor wire to allow a vehicle to pass in Baghdad's Sadr City earlier this month.

BAGHDAD, June 23 -- Two U.S. soldiers were killed and three were wounded Monday when a council member opened fire on them after a meeting in a small town south of Baghdad, the U.S. military said. An Iraqi interpreter also was wounded in the shooting in Salman Pak Nahia, which is about 20 miles south of Baghdad, said Capt. Charles Calio, a U.S. military spokesman. Two Salman Pak residents identified the assailant, who was killed, as council member Raed Hmood Ajil. Residents Rafi Suleiman, 39, and Abu Dawood said in phone interviews that Ajil, a Sunni tribal leader, opened fire...

In a historic appointment, President Bush selects Lt. Gen. Ann Dunwoody to direct the Army Materiel Command. WASHINGTON -- President Bush on Monday nominated a top logistics officer to be the first female four-star general in U.S. history, tapping Lt. Gen. Ann E. Dunwoody to head the command responsible for supplying the Army with all its equipment. Dunwoody's selection as chief of Army Materiel Command comes nearly 11 years after the first female three-star general was appointed, as head of Army intelligence, and 38 years after the first two female Army one-stars were named. -snip-

FORWARD OPERATING BASE FALCON — Upon arriving in Baghdad, the 4th Battalion, 42nd Field Artillery Regiment, began its 15-month deployment in central Baghdad detached from its organic brigade, the 1st Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division from Fort Hood, Texas. Now attached to the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, Multi-National Division – Baghdad, the “Straight Arrows” Battalion conducts the same mission of providing a safe and secure environment for the Iraqi citizens but in a different operating environment. “Every Soldier in the Battalion has embraced their mission here in Baghdad with a lot of courage, dedication and motivation,”...

FORT HUACHUCA — For more than two centuries, the U.S. Army has fought and won the nation’s wars. But during the 233 years, America’s senior service also has saved lives, delivered clean food and water to refugees, and upheld “democracy in Iraq and ensuring peace in Afghanistan,” the fort’s senior officer said on Friday. “Whatever the mission, America turns to her Army for help during times of crises, and the Army always delivers success,” said Maj. Gen. John Custer, looking across Chaffee Parade Field with a large representation of soldiers from a number of units in front of him. Those...

Staff Sgt. Joseph Reinsburrow, 64th Military Police Company and native of Towanda, Pa., holds an Iraqi child June 12 in Hurriyah, while Iraqi Police and Coalition forces hand out toys and school supplies to the local children. Photo by Sgt. Daniel Blottenberger, Multi-National Division Baghdad. CAMP VICTORY — When Iraqi Police (IP) and Coalition forces arrived at the Zainab Girls School in Hurriyah June 12, they were met by the smiling faces of more than 50 children and their caretakers in the Baghdad community. “This makes it all worth while,� said 1st Sgt. Thomas Gray, 64th MP Co., 18th Military...

The names “Thomas and Dorothy” were carved in the bark of one trunk. Another said “Bob and Carma”. Other trees were marked with soldiers’ home states - Iowa, Maine or Alabama - and several bore hearts and the names or initials of a wife or girlfriend. The beech trees of Saint Pierre de Varengeville-Duclair forest bore a poignant testimony to the D-Day landings for more than six decades. Thousands of American soldiers stationed there after the liberation of Normandy spent their spare hours with a knife or bayonet creating a lasting reminder of their presence.

A number of veteran events are coming up in the Sierra Vista area. “The one-year clock is ticking and the name of the game is fundraising,” said Joe Larson, administrator of the Southern Arizona Veterans Memorial Cemetery. He was speaking about next May’s reburial of remains of soldiers from the late 1800s from a Tucson cemetery to the Sierra Vista site. Larson spoke at the monthly meeting of the Grater Sierra Vista Area United Veterans Council meeting on Saturday. The Historic Soldiers Relocation Project will involve the reburial of 70 sets of remains, of which 53 are known, in an...

FORT STEWART, GA (WTOC) - The man who commands the Third Infantry Division returned home to the Coastal Empire with more than 200 soldiers Monday. Major General Rick Lynch reflected on his division's success in Iraq and the support they felt from being back at home. "In the course of life, you get a choice between reading history and making history, and by God, we made history over the past 15 months," he said to hundreds of family members and soldiers at Fort Stewart Monday. Minutes earlier at Hunter Army Airfield, he talked about the history Third Infantry made in...

Not surprisingly, something went unnoticed in the establishment media's coverage of Barack Obama's latest gaffe. What got the play was that Senator Obama had a great-uncle, not an uncle, who was involved, in some way or another, in the liberation of Buchenwald, not Auschwitz. Auschwitz was liberated by the Red Army. What didn't get much, if any, play was the Illinoisan's observation that his now great-uncle was, presumably, so traumatized by the experience of liberating a death camp that, when he returned stateside: "...he just went up into the attic and he didn't leave the house for six months, right....

The life of Sgt. 1st Class L. David Ezell can be summarized by his last moment on Earth. Unafraid, the man nicknamed "Easy" by his Army comrades waded into a pile of garbage to disarm a bomb April 30 in a Baghdad neighborhood. He knew the bomb could kill him, but his goal was to save the lives of the Iraqis the homemade device could have slaughtered. Something went wrong on the delicate job. The bomb detonated and Ezell died. But hundreds of times before, with the same calm demeanor, Ezell won his fight with insurgent explosives in Iraq and...

Children eagerly wait in line for toys and candy in Dehna Village, west of Baghdad, May 29. Iraqi army soldiers from the 6th Company, 24th Brigade, 6th Iraqi Army Division, partnered with the 1st Battalion, 21st Infantry Regiment, "Gimlets," 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, "Warrior," 25th Infantry Division, Multi-National Division - Baghdad, worked together to hand out humanitarian aid in the village. U.S. Army photo by Spc. Dustin Weidman. BAGHDAD — The line extended out the gate, around the corner and disappeared up the narrow street. The residents of Dehna Village, west of Baghdad, lined up waiting for aid May...

FORWARD OPERATING BASE KALSU — Iraqi farmers near Patrol Base Copper received new means to irrigate their fields and provide clean water for their families through coalition assistance May 25. Soldiers with 2nd Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment, distributed water pumps and filters to local sheiks at the base, approximately 30 kilometers south of Baghdad. The pumps help residents use canal water to irrigate crops; the filters provide drinkable water. “We’re very thankful for the support the Americans give us,” said Sheik Nahid, with the Gourani tribe. “We haven’t been able to farm our fields without water, but now we can...

Rep. Tom Tancredo today asked Gen. David Petraeus about infiltration of American gangs into the U.S. military. "The fact that gang members are being trained in our military is a growing cause for concern," said Tancredo. "Our local law enforcement officers and gang units are now facing criminals who have obtained advanced weapons and training courtesy of the U.S. taxpayer." News reports indicate that the growing level of gang activity, driven largely by the growing problem of illegal immigration, has begun spilling over into the military. A number of gang members have returned to their communities only to commit crimes...

Some veterans I have known Usually, we post something honoring all veterans on Memorial Day. And well we should, because every one of them, going back to Lexington and Concord, deserves remembrance. We remember and thank them all. An experience over the weekend leads me in a different direction this Memorial Day, however. I am thinking about the veterans whom I've personally known, and about some family members who have served. This weekend, I met a great fellow named Concrete Bob. Bob blogs here and here. We first became aware of each other when my article Returning Soldiers Gunning for...

JALALABAD, Afghanistan -- Single soldiers and civilians working for the U.S. military in Afghanistan can now have sex legally. Sort of. A new order signed by Maj. Gen. Jeffrey Schloesser, commander of Combined Joint Task Force-101, has lifted a ban on sexual relations between unmarried men and women in the combat zone. General Order No. 1 outlines a number of prohibited activities and standards of conduct for U.S. troops and civilians working for the military in Afghanistan. Previously, under the regulation, sexual relations and "intimate behavior" between men and women not married to each other were a strict no-no. The...

The President and Mrs. Bush are at Camp David today. On Monday, the President will commemorate Memorial Day by visiting Arlington National Cemetery where he will lay a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknowns. The President’s Radio Address subject was Memorial Day. I have included it below and highlighted some passages.

"My son died with honor.” These words struck this writer like a bolt from the blue. Captured by a television news crew, they were spoken with quiet dignity by Johnny Spann to reporters at the front gate of his home in Winfield, Alabama, upon learning of the death of his son, Johnny Mike Spann, the first American to die on a foreign field of battle in the War on Islamic Terror. Mike, as he was known to his friends and family, was killed on November 25, 2001, during a combined al-Qaeda–Taliban uprising at a temporary prison in Qala-i Jangi, not...

FORT CAMPBELL, Ky. - When Evelyn Burwell put on a cap and gown to accept her high school diploma, she knew someone wasn't in the audience , her dad. The 18-year-old's father is serving in Iraq, like so many other parents of her classmates at Fort Campbell High School, the largest high school on an American military base. His service has meant missing two of his children's high school graduations, countless anniversaries and birthdays, and this year, his daughter being crowned prom queen.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammad-Ali Hosseini here Wednesday strongly condemned the US troops' "defamatory" approach towards Holy Quran, saying the gesture has rendered hearts of Muslims in Iran and other parts of the world. "The US troops' insult to Muslims' religious sanctities and beliefs has a precedence. Repetition of such moves is shameful and purposeful," said Hosseini. He said a suitable strategy should be worked out by the UN and other international forums and organizations to prevent desecration of divine religions and a suitable model of encountering such defamatory gestures should be adopted. He added that Iran's Foreign Ministry will continue...

Discrimination against British soldiers in uniform to become a criminal offenceby MATTHEW HICKLEY - More by this author » Last updated at 16:35pm on 19th May 2008New laws will make it a criminal offence to discriminate against Britain's soldiers, sailors and airmen wearing uniform in public, under Government proposals outlined yesterday. Courts will also hand out tougher punishments to anyone who assaults or threatens a serviceman wearing the Queen's uniform - which will become an 'aggravating factor' during sentencing. Other measures designed to boost recognition and respect for the UK armed forces include a drive to encourage thousands more...

Stephen Baldwin, Gary Sinise, Robert Duvall, Namrata Singh Gujral lead Fest Line-upArlington, Virginia – Indo-American actress, Namrata Singh Gujral, will present the American Pride Films Award for “Encouragement of Films that Salute the heroism of the Armed Forces�, just one of the few highlights of the Second Annual GI Film Festival, which will be held May 14-18, 2008 at the Carnegie Institution for Science in Washington, DC. Fellow actors Gary Sinise, Stephen Baldwin and Robert Duvall are all scheduled to attend the 2008 star studded festival line-up. Overall, the five-day festival will present both classic and premier films honoring the...

Recently, there were a number of media stories about how the U.S. Army has been recruiting more men with criminal records. When pressed about this, the army released a report showing that recruits let in via "moral waivers" made better combat soldiers. That is, they got promoted faster, re-enlisted at a higher rate, got more awards for valor and were noted for superior combat performance. They were also better educated, and more likely to talk back. A slightly higher percentage of them got punished for that. All this is nothing new. It was noted as far back as World War...