WASHINGTON, DC — President Donald Trump on Friday awarded the Medal of Honor to a U.S. Army Ranger who helped rescue more than 70 hostages being held by Islamic State militants in Iraq in 2015. The President recognized Army Sgt. Maj. Thomas P. Payne with the award for “conspicuous gallantry.” Payne had led a combined assault team
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A United States Marine convicted of killing a transgender woman in the Philippines in 2014 has been granted an “absolute pardon” by President Rodrigo Duterte in a case that sparked outrage over alleged preferential treatment given to American military personnel on assignment in the country. Lance Cpl. Joseph Scott Pemberton has served about six years
Continue ReadingFORT HOOD, Texas — The Navajo Nation says it’s “deeply disturbed” by a recent series of deaths at Fort Hood, Texas, after learning one of its own died earlier this week. Pvt. Corlton Chee of Pinehill, New Mexico, collapsed during a training exercise on August 28, according to a statement from Fort Hood, and died
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FORT HOOD, Texas — A soldier from New Mexico died this week after collapsing during a training exercise at Fort Hood in Texas, U.S. Army officials said Friday. According to data obtained by the Associated Press from Fort Hood officials, this is the 28th soldier at the central Texas Army base to die this year.
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EL PASO, Texas — The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) announced it is partnering with OnStar’s emergency services to improve access to suicide prevention resources for veterans. “Nationally the VA has began a partnership with OnStar to facilitate better suicide prevention efforts and provide around the clock confidential support,” El Paso VA suicide prevention social worker
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FORT BLISS — The recent death of a decorated Fort Bliss soldier during a training exercise at the post is under investigation, Army officials said Wednesday. Sgt. Roger Matamoroschavarria, 27, was killed in what an Army spokesman described as a “mishap” last Friday night involving a military vehicle. The spokesman did not provide any further
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HOLLOMAN AIR FORCE BASE, New Mexico – An unmanned military aircraft was damaged during takeoff Wednesday morning at Holloman Air Force Base, officials said. The U.S. Air Force MQ-9 Reaper assigned to the 49th Wing ran off the runway at the air base about 8:30 a.m. The military indicated that no other aircraft were involved
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FORT HOOD, Texas — The U.S. Army announced Tuesday that it is removing Maj. Gen. Scott Efflandt from his post as commander of Fort Hood and is now denying his previously delayed transfer to assume command of the 1st Armored Division at Fort Bliss. The announcement came as officials announced a new “in-depth investigation into the
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AUSTIN, Texas — A dozen Texas Senate members are re-upping their request for a congressional investigation into the Fort Hood military base after a soldier was found dead last week, becoming at least the ninth person stationed at the Killeen post to have been found dead this year, according to officials and media reports. The body
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NEWTON, Mississippi — A suspect in the March shooting deaths of three people, including a Fort Hood soldier, was arrested Friday in Mississippi, according to police in Texas. Officers with the U.S. Marshals Gulf Coast Regional Fugitive Task Force arrested the suspected man, identified as Barnard Lnell Morrow, in Newton, Killeen police said in a statement. Morrow,
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LAS CRUCES, New Mexico – A new leader has taken charge of New Mexico State University’s Physical Science lab and he has plenty of experience with cutting-edge technology from his time in the Army. Retired Army Brig. Gen. Eric Sanchez, a 1987 graduate of NMSU, has come home to help lead this program at his
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SAN DIEGO, California — Arson is suspected as the cause of a July 12 fire that left extensive damage to the USS Bonhomme Richard and a U.S. Navy sailor is being questioned as a potential suspect, a senior defense official said Wednesday. The official, with knowledge of the investigation, spoke to The Associated Press on condition
Continue ReadingTEMPLE, Texas — A body believed to be that of a missing Fort Hood soldier has been found. Officials are awaiting forensic confirmation but police said that identification found on the body indicate it is that of Sgt. Elder Fernandes. “At this initial stage of the investigation, there is no indication of foul play,” police
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EL PASO, Texas — Texas Land Commissioner George P. Bush has ordered a leadership shake-up at the Ambrosio Guillen Texas State Veterans Home in northeast El Paso, hours after an El Paso Matters report raised questions about the Covid-19 death of a World War II veteran at the nursing home. “Over the past several months, we
Continue ReadingKILLEEN, Texas — An Army official indicated a soldier missing from Fort Hood in Texas had transferred units after reporting sexual abuse. Sgt. Elder Fernandes was reported missing last Wednesday. Killeen police say the 23-year-old hadn’t been seen since last Monday when his staff sergeant dropped him off at home. A Fort Hood public affairs officer
Continue ReadingFORT HOOD, Texas — The U.S. Army is asking for the public’s help in finding 23-year-old Fort Hood soldier Elder Fernandes, according to a statement from Fort Hood in Texas. “The 1st Cavalry Division is actively attempting to locate Sgt. Elder Fernandes who has gone missing,” the statement said. “Our primary concern is for his
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TOPEKA, Kansas — A former Fort Bliss soldier described by prosecutors as a Satanist and linked to a neo-Nazi group was sentenced Wednesday to 2 1/2 years in federal prison for distributing information through social media about building a bomb and making napalm. A federal judge rejected a request from Jarrett William Smith’s attorney for
Continue Reading FORT HOOD, Texas — Army leaders have delayed the planned transfer of the Fort Hood commander, as a team of independent investigators look to determine whether leadership failures at the base contributed to the murder of a soldier earlier this year, and several other deaths. Maj. Gen. Scott Efflandt, commander of Fort Hood was slated
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HOUSTON, Texas — Mourners gathered Friday in Houston to honor the life of a slain Texas soldier whose story has renewed a push for changes in the way the military handles sexual abuse and harassment from Fort Hood to Capitol Hill. Vannessa Guillen’s family held the memorial service at Cesar E. Chavez High School, where
Continue Reading HOUSTON, Texas — A memorial service for Fort Hood Army Specialist Vanessa Guillen will be held this Friday at the high school she attended in Houston, ABC affiliate KTRK reported. According to the family’s attorney, Natalie Khawam, the Guillen family will host a private funeral on Saturday, Aug. 15, and Vanessa will be laid to
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KILLEEN, Texas — Killeen police have arrested 9 people, including at least two Fort Hood soldiers, during a two-day child prostitution sting, according to ABC affiliate KXXV. It was joint effort by the Killeen Police Department Special Victim’s Unit in partnership with the Texas Department of Public Safety Human Trafficking Program. Authorities said the overall
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EL PASO, Texas — The new William Beaumont Army Medical Center replacement hospital is being delayed again, according to the U.S. Army. Officials with Beaumont, the Army Corps of Engineers and the Health Facility Planning Agency made the announcement Saturday. The Army says a protest has been filed over a contact with the U.S. Government
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HARKER HEIGHTS, TEXAS — A central Texas man has been charged with murder in the slaying of a Fort Hood soldier whose body was found beside a road four miles from where his burned sport utility vehicle was found. Brandon Michael Olivares, 28, of Killeen, was already booked into the Bell County Jail in Belton on an
Continue Reading FORT HOOD, Texas — Fort Hood, which the Army touts as the “the premier installation to train and deploy heavy forces,” has the most reported sexual assaults, sexual harassment and killings of any base in the military branch, Army secretary Ryan McCarthy said Thursday. McCarthy spoke at the post after meeting with civilian and military leadership as
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BELTON, Texas — U.S. Army officials said Tuesday that a Fort Hood soldier drowned at the same lake near the Texas base where another soldier’s body was found last month. The body of Spc. Francisco Gilberto Hernandezvargas, 24, was recovered Sunday after he went underwater while being pulled on an inner tube behind a motorboat on Stillhouse
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SAN ANTONIO, Texas — A Texas man accused of threatening a mass shooting at Fort Hood in retaliation for the slaying of a Fort Hood soldier has been released on bond, jail records show. Mario Eloy Peña has been charged with a count of making terroristic threats, according to Bexar County jail records. An affidavit
Continue ReadingKINGSVILLE, Texas — The U.S. Navy’s first Black female tactical aircraft pilot, Lt. j.g. Madeline Swegle, received her “wings of gold” on Friday, marking a historic milestone for naval aviation. Swegle was named a naval aviator and awarded her gold naval aviator wings with 25 classmates during a small ceremony at Naval Air Station Kingsville
Continue ReadingSAN CLEMENTE, California — At least one Marine is dead and eight others are missing after a “mishap” involving an amphibious assault vehicle off the southern California coast, officials said Friday. Eight other Marines, including the one who died, were recovered off San Clemente Island after the amphibious assault vehicle (AAV) they were on sank
Continue ReadingWASHINGTON, D.C. — During a meeting between Vanessa Guillen’s family members and President Donald Trump at the White House on Thursday, the president told them that they have his support and that he will personally help with funeral expenses. “If you need help with the funeral financially, I will help,” the president told the family
Continue Reading WASHINGTON, DC — The U.S. Army on Thursday named the five members of the independent panel that will soon review the command climate and culture at Fort Hood, Texas, in the wake of Spc. Vanessa Guillen’s murder and her family’s claims that she was too intimidated to report allegations of sexual harassment by a fellow
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