Author: Michael

There are so many rich, incredible facts surrounding the World War II-era Netherlands American Cemetery near the Dutch city of Maastricht. It lies along a highway that saw some of history’s most memorable names—Caesar, Charlemagne, and Napoleon, just to name a few.
Related: 3 Stories from the Battle of the Bulge you won’t see in ‘Band of Brothers’
In the 20th Century, Hitler’s Wehrmacht also used the road to capture the Netherlands and Belgium and bring them into the Nazi Reich.

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Pentagon leaders are directing a review of the “effectiveness” of women in combat arms jobs — a move that comes nearly a decade since women got the right to serve in these roles. 
Pentagon Press Secretary Kingsley Wilson told Task & Purpose in a statement that the Institute for Defense Analyses is reviewing the “effectiveness” of women in ground combat roles. The Pentagon memo, originally reported by NPR and confirmed by Task & Purpose, calls for the Army and Marine Corps to submit data on ground combat troops’ readiness, training, casualties and deployability.

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Navy SEAL trainees and other sailors hoping to join one of a handful of hard-charging Navy jobs have to pass many brutal fitness tests. But beginning this year, fully qualified SEALs and others in combat roles must now pass a specific, Navy-wide Combat Fitness Test every year to keep those jobs.
Sailors in the Navy’s four combat-focused career fields must now take an annual swim test and then wear a 20-pound weight vest for both a run and a set of traditional strength tests.

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