Author: Michael

Yes, Fort Bragg, North Carolina, is back. On June 2, 2023, Fort Bragg was officially renamed Fort Liberty; the post was originally named for Confederate General Braxton Bragg. While the renaming removed the Confederate connection from the post, it deviated from the Army practice of naming installations for Army heroes and leaders. It also caused confusion for people trying to remember the (old) new name for the Home of the Airborne and Special Operations Forces.

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The Pentagon ordered a stop to all medical procedures associated with “affirming or facilitating a gender transition” and banned bringing in new recruits who have sought similar treatment in the past, according to a memo circulated online that appears to be signed by Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth.
Pentagon officials did not respond to a Task & Purpose question on the authenticity of the memo, which was dated Feb. 7.

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Veteran advocates are calling on recently confirmed Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary Doug Collins to investigate why the millions of dollars that the agency spends each year to prevent suicides has yet to significantly curtail the number of veterans who take their own lives.
The VA received an estimated $571 million for suicide prevention efforts in Fiscal Year 2024, which ran from Oct. 1, 2023, to Sept. 30, 2024, and it requested even more money for this fiscal year, according to the VA’s latest budget request.

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Millions tuned in from sports bars and their living rooms on Sunday to watch Super Bowl LIX. At the same time, soldiers in C. Company, 3rd Battalion, 15th Infantry Regiment, were in the field training at Fort Stewart, Georgia, when their first sergeant surprised them with a watch party projected on the side of a Light Medium Tactical Vehicle. 
The architect of this particular field-grade Super Bowl Sunday was 1st Sgt. James Welch, who picked up pizzas, pop, and game day snacks for the company under the guise of a chow run. 
Keeping the watch party a surprise was important to Welch.

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Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has ordered the Department of the Air Force to pause its sweeping reorganization effort until Congress approves new leadership under the Trump administration, according to a DAF spokesperson.
The directive — first reported by Air and Space Forces Magazine — was issued Thursday and effectively puts several plans under the so-called Reoptimizing for Great Power Competition already in motion on hold, including work on standing up an Integrated Capabilities Command and Space Futures Command.

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On March 8, 1862, a large, slow-moving and unwieldy Confederate ship steamed toward the blockading Union vessels posted at Hampton Roads, outside of Virginia’s James River. The rebels made a beeline for the sloops USS Cumberland and USS Congress. As the rebel vessel approached, the Cumberland fired into it, but the cannon fire bounced harmlessly off the rebel ship’s ironclad hull. 
It was the Confederate ironclad CSS Virginia, and before the day was done, it would ram the Cumberland, sinking it.

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Female service members are more committed and more likely to recommend service to a young family member than their male counterparts, according to a recent study. 
The 2024 Military Family Lifestyle Survey conducted by Blue Star Families  – a non-profit founded in 2009 to help support military families – showed that on a scale of 1-10 (with 10 being very likely), female respondents averaged 5.42 when asked if they would recommend service while males averaged 4.46.

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