FORT BLISS, Texas — Fort Bliss officials are in the midst of trying to get their military population vaccinated so they can start loosening Covid-19 restrictions on the post. According to a U.S. Army spokesperson, as of Thursday the vaccination rate had reached 24.1%. That’s an increase of just slightly over one percent following a
Continue ReadingWASHINGTON, DC — The U.S. military withdrawal from Afghanistan is now formally underway, according to several U.S. defense officials on Thursday. Fewer than 100 troops, along with military equipment, have been moved largely by aircraft to execute President Joe Biden’s order to begin the withdrawal process no later than May 1. In addition, contractors and
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EL PASO, Texas — For 100 years, the Armed Services YMCA El Paso has provided help to military families for their health and well-being. It’s the oldest continuously serving military service organization in the country. And the ASYMCA El Paso is holding a charity golf tournament next month. ASYMCA El Paso has over 32 programs
Continue ReadingWASHINGTON, DC — As the entire Defense Department becomes eligible for coronavirus vaccines, the military is seeing a surplus of doses in some places, while the rate at which available doses are used steadily declines. Meanwhile, the acceptance rate for the Covid-19 vaccine has “plateaued” at some bases and dropped precipitously in others. At the
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EL PASO, Texas — A Fort Bliss soldier who police said was high on LSD when he attacked his two sons has pleaded guilty to two charges of injuring a child and received an 8-year prison sentence, according to court records reviewed by ABC-7 on Friday. Zakary Frampton, who was 26-years-old at the time, was
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EL PASO, Texas — Retired U.S. Army Sgt. Patrick Parker of Killeen, Texas travels the U.S. to bring awareness to hunger. The decorated Iraqi War veteran who goes by the name “Sgt. Pushup” does between 500 and 1,000 pushups at every event he attends to show his thanks to those who donate to the cause.
Continue ReadingThe US military withdrawal from Afghanistan is now underway with equipment being packed and shipped out, three defense officials tell CNN. The Pentagon has also approved the deployment of hundreds of maritime, air and land forces to the region to ensure security for American and NATO forces as well as contractors as they withdraw, the
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FORT BLISS, Texas — U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Sean Bernabe, the Fort Bliss commander, told a virtual town hall Thursday evening that “our number one message tonight is ‘we must vaccinate Ft. Bliss.'” He said only 23 percent of the Fort Bliss community is currently vaccinated — that’s out of 105,000 soldiers, civilians, dependents, retirees and contractors.
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WASHINGTON, DC — The Associated Press has learned that a Pentagon panel is recommending that decisions to prosecute service members for sexual assault be made by independent authorities, not commanders. It would be a major reversal of military practice and a change long sought by Congress members. The recommendation by an independent review commission created
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AUSTIN, Texas — A group of Texas lawmakers including State Sen. Cesar Blanco of El Paso introduced new legislation Tuesday to honor the memory of fallen Fort Hood Spc. Vanessa Guillen, ABC affiliate KTRK reported. State Rep. Christina Morales and State Sen. Carol Alvarado announced the new state legislation in a briefing. They said they
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FORT BLISS, Texas — A private first class already facing a court martial over multiple accusations of the sexual assault of women, one of those involving a fellow soldier who was found dead on New Year’s Eve, now faces even more charges of sexual assault and abusive sexual conduct, officials at Fort Bliss disclosed Friday
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EL PASO, Texas — Funeral services were held Friday afternoon for Alvin Jones Sr., the father of Green Bay Packers star running back Aaron Jones. (You can watch the entire funeral in the video player above.) Alvin Jones Sr. died last week at the age of 57 from complications due to Covid-19. Aaron Jones, who
Continue ReadingWASHINGTON, DC — The U.S. Defense Department has confirmed that leaked photos and video of “unidentified aerial phenomena” taken in 2019 are indeed legitimate images of unexplained objects. Photos and videos of triangle-shaped objects blinking and moving through the clouds were taken by Navy personnel, Pentagon spokeswoman Sue Gough said in a statement to CNN.
Continue ReadingA US Army soldier stationed at Fort Jackson in South Carolina was arrested and charged with third-degree assault and battery after the airing of a video that authorities say shows him push and threaten a young Black man on a neighborhood sidewalk. Jonathan Pentland was arrested on Wednesday morning, Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott said
Continue ReadingWASHINGTON, DC — President Joe Biden said Wednesday he will withdraw remaining U.S. troops from the “forever war” in Afghanistan, declaring that the Sept. 11 terror attacks of 20 years ago cannot justify American forces still dying in the nation’s longest war. His plan is to pull out all American forces — numbering 2,500 now
Continue ReadingBRUSSELS (AP) — NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg says the alliance has agreed to withdraw its roughly 7,000 forces from Afghanistan to match U.S. President Joe Biden’s decision to pull all American troops from the country starting on May 1. Stoltenberg says the full withdrawal will be completed “in months” but is not mentioning the 20th
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EL PASO, Texas — An Army National Guard soldier who works as a jail guard in New York City was arrested in El Paso on charges that he lied about his military service to get extra government benefits, authorities announced Tuesday. Shawn Pierre Hobbs, 34, was arrested Monday on wire fraud and aggravated identity theft charges lodged in federal
Continue ReadingWASHINGTON, DC — President Joe Biden plans to announce Tuesday a withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan by the upcoming twentieth anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attacks, according to three people familiar with the plans. The withdrawal extends the US troop presence past a May 1 deadline set by the Trump administration in an
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EL PASO, Texas — A Fort Bliss soldier armed with a shotgun and threatening suicide barricaded himself in a car with an infant Monday afternoon, triggering a standoff with the El Paso police SWAT team. The incident occurred in the 600 block of Hempstead in west El Paso. Police blocked off the surrounding area as
Continue ReadingA US Army officer is suing two Virginia police officers after they pointed guns at him, pepper sprayed him and pushed him to the ground during a traffic stop last December for what the officers believed was a missing license plate on his new SUV. The lawsuit by 2nd Lt. Caron Nazario, who is Black
Continue ReadingA US Army officer is suing two Virginia police officers after they pointed guns at him, pepper sprayed him and pushed him to the ground during a traffic stop last December for what the officers believed was a missing license plate on his new SUV. The lawsuit by 2nd Lt. Caron Nazario, who is Black
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EL PASO, Texas — “Bring my son home, I miss him.” Those were the words blasting from a megaphone at Album Park on Saturday afternoon. It was the voice of Patricia Halliday, the mother of the 21-year-old Fort Bliss Soldier Richard Halliday, that was last seen on July 23, 2020. More than eight months on
Continue ReadingNearly 40% of US Marines are declining Covid-19 vaccinations, according to data provided to CNN on Friday by the service, the first branch to disclose service-wide numbers on acceptance and declination. As of Thursday, approximately 75,500 Marines have received vaccines, including fully vaccinated and partially vaccinated service men and women. About 48,000 Marines have chosen
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UPDATE: Fort Bliss officials told ABC-7 that soldier Oranda Herminette Perez Moctezuma, who prompted a search effort after she went missing under “suspicious circumstances,” was found “in good health” late Wednesday afternoon. In a later statement, El Paso police said Moctezuma was located when she returned to her home around 3 p.m. “She had no
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FREDERICK, Maryland — A man shot and injured two people at a business in the Maryland city of Frederick on Tuesday morning before driving to the U.S. military’s nearby Fort Detrick, where personnel there shot and killed him, police said. Though police didn’t publicly identify the suspect, the U.S. Navy said he was a Navy
Continue ReadingThe US Air Force’s new hypersonic missile program suffered a blow Monday after it failed to launch from a B-52H Stratofortress bomber aircraft flying from Edwards Air Force Base in California. “B-52H Stratofortress took off Monday over the Point Mugu Sea Range intending to fire the first booster test vehicle for the AGM-183A Air-launched Rapid
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EL PASO, Texas — Soldiers in the 2nd Armored Brigade Combat Team returned home to Fort Bliss on Sunday from overseas deployment to be greeted by their families and loved ones. “It’s the greatest blessing ever, because I know the kids really miss him,” Kyla Cardona said. Cardona and her husband have two kids, an
Continue ReadingEL PASO, Texas — Fort Bliss says it is now taking steps to keep their soldiers safe. As part of Operation Ironclad, military officials tell ABC-7 they have developed a list of El Paso businesses that have been blacklisted. Operation Ironclad is an installation-wide initiative to curb, dangerous behavior. Fort Bliss made the decision to
Continue ReadingWASHINGTON, DC — The Pentagon on Wednesday will sweep away Trump-era policies that largely banned transgender people from serving in the military, issuing new rules that offer them wider access to medical care and assistance with gender transition, defense officials told The Associated Press. The new department regulations allow transgender people who meet military standards
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EL PASO, Texas — On Tuesday, 500 unaccompanied boys arrived at the migrant facility on Fort Bliss, according to officials with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The facility has the potential capacity of 5,000 beds and will hold boys ages 13 to 17. The facility is located inside the Fort Bliss grounds
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