Jezebel: Army

Your Morning Cry: Dad Comes Home From Afghanistan and Surprises His Daughter on Her Birthday

Cassie Murdoch — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 10:00:00 EST

Are Shows About Surprise Military Reunions Hurting Kids?

Margaret Hartmann — Tue, 06 Sep 2011 14:20:00 EDT

There are few things more heartwarming than seeing troops safely return to their families, and there are now two new reality shows that capitalize on this: Lifetime's Coming Home and TLC's Surprise Homecoming. The producers say the goal is to showcase uplifting stories about military personnel and create special moments for the families, but experts say filming a parent's surprise return may put extra stress on children. More »

Should Women Serve In Special Forces?

Irin Carmon — Fri, 20 May 2011 14:35:00 EDT

Should qualified women be able to enter special ops units like the SEALs who killed Osama Bin Laden? That's what Jezebel founding editor Anna Holmes argues in The Washington Post today. Maybe the question, suggested by a recent study on PTSD and women in the military, is whether the military is ready for them. More »

Vintage Propaganda Posters Warn Against STD-Riddled Women

Whitney Jefferson — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 17:53:00 EDT

Before Weapons of Mass Destruction, American soliders faced a different type of war-time casualty: venereal disease. While we remember the posters of Uncle Sam declaring "I Want You to Join the U.S. Army", the Army was also concerned that their potential recruits were clean. More »

Shattering Voices From The Military Rape Lawsuit, Verbatim

Irin Carmon — Tue, 22 Feb 2011 13:04:45 EST

Last week, a group of women and men sued Defense Secretary Robert Gates and his predecessor, Donald Rumsfeld, for creating a culture that enabled and protected their rapists. The words in this video are taken directly from their complaint. More »

Michelle Obama Applauds Service With A Smile

Margaret Hartmann — Fri, 28 Jan 2011 15:27:00 EST

[South Carolina, January 27: First lady Michelle Obama claps for U.S. Army basic combat training graduates at Fort Jackson. Obama talked with Army leaders about how childhood obesity and physical inactivity affect military readiness. Image via AP.]

Let Women Soldiers Serve in Combat, Says Panel

Lauri Apple — Sat, 15 Jan 2011 12:00:02 EST

Women soldiers can serve in combat support roles, but not in straight-up combat. A military panel made up of current and retired officers wants the Pentagon to change that. What kinds of craptastic opposing arguments can we expect to hear? More »

Work-Life Balance For Ultra-Orthodox Female Soldiers

Irin Carmon — Mon, 10 Jan 2011 11:45:00 EST

Ten married Ultra-Orthodox women will join the Israeli army, in an unusual move. (Religiousness, marriage, and pregnancy are reasons for exemption from conscription.) Also, "The women will be permitted to take their young children to the bases where they serve." More »

The Army Shows Women's Butts Some Love

Irin Carmon — Wed, 20 Oct 2010 15:06:00 EDT

160,000 women serve in the U.S. army, but it's taken until now for them to get a uniform design that's designed to fit their bodies — one that acknowledges the existence of breasts and hips, and adds elastic waistbands. More »

Why Women Suffer More Under Don’t Ask Don’t Tell

Janice Formichella — Thu, 09 Sep 2010 11:36:00 EDT

The controversial Don't Ask Don't Tell policy has a much larger negative impact on female service members than male, and serves to maintain sexism found in every level of the armed forces. More »

Operation Desert Porn: J.Crew's Wartime Glamour

Dodai Stewart — Tue, 10 Aug 2010 16:31:00 EDT

Military chic goes in and out of style from year to year, but the August J.Crew catalog makes being stationed in Iraq or Afghanistan look fabulous. War, what is it good for? Inspiring fall collections! More »

Jill Biden To Rip Space-Time Continuum On Army Wives

Anna North — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 14:32:00 EDT

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Jill Biden will appear on an August 8 episode of Lifetime's Army Wives — playing herself. We find this slightly creepy. More »

Company Teaches People How Not To Kill People

Sadie Stein — Thu, 24 Jun 2010 18:20:00 EDT

"Mr. Tabbert is a costumer for a company that outfits mock battles and simulated Arab villages that the military organizes around the country...[in which] the soldiers practice social interactions, lifesaving techniques and information gathering." [NYT] More »

Chicks Dig Big Tanks

Gwen Sharp, PhD — Fri, 02 Apr 2010 13:20:00 EDT

Simon O. sent in this Ukrainian army video meant to recruit women: More »

Army Charges Mom Who Chose Baby Over Deployment

Sadie Stein — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 14:20:00 EST

Wait, the army's not actually willing to jail the single mom who refused to deploy to care for her 10-month-old, and wouldn't put him in foster care. Right? Oh, wait, they are: More »

New HIV Vaccine Less Effective Than Initially Reported

Anna North — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 09:30:00 EDT

Last month, researchers made a big splash with the news that a new HIV vaccine reduced the risk of infection by 31%. But new analysis shows only a 26% reduction, which could have occurred by chance. More »

Should Women Be Allowed On The Frontlines?

Katy Kelleher — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 18:30:00 EDT

Australia is set to join the handful of countries that allow women to serve on the front lines. But many fear that women simply are not strong enough. More »

Kim Kardashian's Perfume "Truly...Speaks To My Fans" (What Does It Tell Them?!)

Sadie Stein — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 11:30:00 EDT

Kim Kardashian, has, obviously, created a perfume. "The fragrance really captures who I am," she says ominously. [WWD]
Heather Mills continues her controversial career, launching a line of recycled, re-modelled, animal-friendly (good!) clothes (bad. Very, very bad.) [DailyMail]

Purple Heart

Anna Holmes — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 17:10:00 EDT

[Fort Stewart, Georgia; July 28. Image via Getty]

Potential Soldiers Are Too Fat To Serve

Margaret Hartmann — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 18:40:00 EDT

One in five military-age Americans are too fat to qualify for the military. Since 2005, the military has turned away 48,000 overweight recruits, more than all the American troops in Afghanistan. More »

Photoshop Of Horrors

Jessica G. — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 10:20:00 EST

Apparently no woman is safe from the marauding Photoshop wand: Ann E. Dunwoody, the first woman to be named a four star general, had her photo digitally altered by the Army before it was sent to the AP. According to Col. Cathy Abbott, chief of the Army's media relations division, "We're not misrepresenting her. The image is still clearly Gen. Dunwoody." In the original image, "The general appears to be sitting at a desk with a credenza and bookshelf behind her. Three stars on her uniform identify her as a lieutenant general, her rank before Friday's promotion. The altered photo, distributed by the Army and run on the AP's photo wire Thursday, shows Dunwoody in fatigues in front of an American flag. Her rank, affixed to the front of a soldier's tunic, is not visible." Unfortunately, the original is not available, however, the digitally altered photo is at left; click on it see a different unPhotoshopped pic. [USA Today via AP] More »

VA Report: 1 In 7 Deployed Female Soldiers Suffer From Sexual Trauma

Jessica G. — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 09:30:00 EDT

According to data just released by Veterans Affairs researchers, one in seven women deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan report being sexually harassed or assaulted during their military service. In addition, these sexually assaulted women (like former Air Force cadet Jessica Brakey, pictured) are almost 60% more likely to suffer from mental health problems than the average veteran, according to USA Today. Rachel Kimerling of the National Center for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder at the VA center in Palo Alto tells the LA Times, "If you think about military service where you are living and working so closely with the same people, that even if it is not sexual assault ... it is possible that severe sexual harassment is just as traumatic." More »

Iraqi Dog Is On Route To US • Nebraska To Rewrite Safe-Haven Law

Maria — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 17:30:00 EDT

• Ratchet, the adopted Iraqi pup of US soldier Gwen Beberg, was picked up yesterday by Baghdad Pups and is expected to arrive in Beberg's hometown later this week. • A 29-year-old man in Michigan was arrested on Thursday for using a car wash vacuum for his "sexual pleasure." • British authorities announced today that Chinese-made "I Love You" flavored body sprays sold in sex shops in England have been found to be tainted with melamine.• Here is video footage of a pride of white African lions (including cute lion kitties) that have been released into a wild reserve in South Africa. • More »

Dog Fight

Maria — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 09:20:00 EDT

Sgt. Gwen Beberg is a Minnesota soldier serving in Iraq who is determined to bring her adopted Iraqi dog, Ratchet, home with her next month. So far, more than 10,000 people have signed an online petition urging the Army to let Beberg keep the canine. In addition, the program coordinator for Operation Baghdad Pups, an organization that helps place Iraqi dogs and cats in U.S. homes, is scheduled to arrive in Baghdad on Wednesday to convince the Army to let Beberg keep Ratchet. Beberg had rescued Ratchet from a burning pile of trash in May; at the moment, the two are separated due to Ratchet's move to a different post in the country. [CNN] More »

U.S. Army Finally Vows To Prevent Sexual Assault In Its Ranks

Jessica G. — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 09:30:00 EDT

After a recent report that 2.6 soldiers per 1,000 were sexually assaulted last year, the Army has finally vowed to prevent these sorts of crimes. According to the Wall Street Journal, the Army's previous strategy did not involve preventing rapes, but a post-assault plan put in place in 2004 after a number of high profile assaults came to light. The 2004 plan "focused on deploying 'sexual assault response coordinators' to all military installations and expanding the range of counseling services," the Journal reports, while the new plan, called "'I AM Strong' — the I AM stands for 'intervene, act, motivate'" — aims to prevent sexual assault through education. More »

The remains of Holley Wimunc, the Fort Bragg...

Maria — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 14:20:00 EDT

The remains of Holley Wimunc, the Fort Bragg Army nurse who went missing on Thursday, have been found. Wimunc's father announced today that authorities have found the remains of his daughter in a brush fire near Camp Lejeune on Sunday. Wimunc's husband, Cpl. John Wimunc, and another Marine, Kyle Ryan Alden, have been arrested for burning a house next door to Holley Wimunc's torched apartment, although the connection between the arrests and Wimunc's apartment and death has not been made by authorities as of yet. [AP] More »

Anonymous Letter-Writer Takes Responsibility For Murder Of Pregnant North Carolina Soldier

Jessica G. — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 09:30:00 EDT

The case of Megan Lynn Touma, the Army dental specialist stationed at Fort Bragg who was found dead in a North Carolina motel bathtub on June 21st, is taking a turn for the creepy after a letter was sent to the local Fayetteville Observer by someone claiming to be Megan's killer. That's not all: the anonymous scribe also said he was modeling himself after the notorious killer Zodiac and even used the Zodiac's target symbol in his sign-off. Fayetteville Police Chief Tom Bergamine told CNN, "I do not believe there is a serial killer on the loose in Fayetteville." However, police do think that the letter was planted to confuse and misdirect the investigation for Touma's killer. They are currently investigating another solider who is studying psychological operations at Fort Bragg. More »

There Really Aren't Ways In Which They Won't Lie

Megan Carpentier — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 15:50:00 EDT

Army Specialist Kamisha Block died last summer in what the Army officially characterized as a non-combat incident and told her family was a case of "friendly fire." Well, if by "friendly" they meant "deliberately killed by a fellow soldier that had been abusing her without punishment to date" and by "fire" they meant "shot her five times and then killed himself," then it was an honest assessment of the situation. Otherwise, they just straight out lied to cover up the fact that the Army failed to protect one of its soldiers from domestic abuse and then lied to cover up the end result of their not-benign neglect. [Military Times, Beaumont Examiner, Editor&Publisher] More »

Pussycat Doll Sells Out For Soap; Women's Basketball In Iraq Scores Big With Kurds

maria — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 17:20:00 EDT

Pussycat Doll takes shilling to high extreme, sings song for Caress body wash. • An Indian man beheaded a woman he believed was a witch. • 18-year-old girl genius makes the natural transition into academia. • "Whether or not we're in a recession, it doesn't matter. That day is the most important day of your life and a memory for a lifetime." —bride-to-be on expensive weddings. • Men undergoing treatment for sleep apnea sleep better when sleeping with their wives. • The U.S. Marine Corps is attempting to recruit women through advertisements in women's fitness mags. • Only 35% of Afghan schoolchildren are female, despite advances in getting Afgani children educated. • A woman sells eggs to fund her Everest climb. • They may be short, but Iraq's female basketball team has dreams as high as mountains! • Fast fashion is out, sewing machines are in! • Don't you know? Asshole male drivers are just getting in touch with their caveman roots. • Awesome 55-year old grandma runs marathons to come to the aid of meth addicts. More »

19-year-old Army medic, Spc. Monica Lin...

Jessica G. — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 10:45:00 EDT

19-year-old Army medic, Spc. Monica Lin Brown, will become the second woman since WWII to earn the silver star, the nation's third-highest medal for valor. Brown was in a convoy of Humvees in Afghanistan last April when a roadside bomb exploded. Five soldiers were wounded in the blast, and Brown shielded her fellow soldiers with her own body as mortars fell less than 100 yards away. "I did not really think about anything except for getting the guys to a safer location and getting them taken care of and getting them out of there," Brown said. [CBS News] More »