Military Glance
The US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is experiencing “severe” staff shortages at all its hospitals, with the number of shortages increasing by 50% this fiscal year, according to a new report from the agency’s independent watchdog.
The report, released on Tuesday, came a day after the Guardian revealed the department had lost thousands of healthcare professionals deemed “core” to the system under Donald Trump, without which, the agency said, “mission-critical work cannot be completed”.
The inspector general found 94% of VA facilities faced a “severe” shortage of doctors, while 79% faced a severe shortage of nurses. Psychology was “the most frequently reported clinical occupational staffing shortage”. A majority of VA facilities also reported severe shortages of police officers, who keep veteran patients and staff safe.
The VA operates the largest integrated healthcare system in the United States, serving 9 million veterans annually. The report is required under two laws, one signed by Trump in 2017, which require the agency’s inspector general annually to determine the extent of staffing shortages within each medical center.
‘Severe’ staff shortages at US veterans’ hospitals, watchdog finds
DC national guard will start deploying on streets of Washington DC, says White House – as it happened
The DC national guard will begin deploying on the city’s streets Tuesday night, the White House confirmed to the Guardian, a day after Donald Trump ordered their arrival and took control of the city’s police force, calling Washington DC a “lawless” city, despite official crime statistics saying otherwise. A White House official told the Washington Post that the national guard is expected to “begin being on the streets starting tonight”. Defense officials said a small number of the roughly 800 guard members planned for the mission had already been mobilized by Tuesday afternoon, with more expected to arrive in the coming days.
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About 850 officers and agents took part in a “massive law enforcement surge” across Washington DC on Monday night and made nearly two dozen arrests, the White House has said. The show of force came after Donald Trump announced he was sending the national guard into the capital and putting city police under federal control, even though the violent crime rate is at a 30-year low. Press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters on Tuesday: “As part of the president’s massive law enforcement surge, last night approximately 850 officers and agents were surged across the city. They made a total of 23 arrests, including multiple other contacts.”
Hegseth subverts Congress by ordering racist Confederate monument’s return to Arlington
The verbal gymnastics by our Defense secretary whenever he orders a Confederate monument to go back up is truly Olympian.
To wit, Secretary Pete Hegseth just ordered the army to refurbish a 1914 Arlington Confederate Monument to the tune of $10 million and restore it by 2027. Hegseth called it a “reconciliation monument … taken down by woke lemmings.”
In his announcement, Hegseth avoids the actual name of the monument, “The Arlington Confederate Monument.” In fact, nothing in his statement mentions the Confederacy at all. There’s a reason for that: Congress passed a law in 2019 preventing the Department of Defense from naming or renaming anything after the Confederacy. Hence, “reconciliation monument.”
In his announcement, Hegseth avoids the actual name of the monument, “The Arlington Confederate Monument.” In fact, nothing in his statement mentions the Confederacy at all. There’s a reason for that: Congress passed a law in 2019 preventing the Department of Defense from naming or renaming anything after the Confederacy. Hence, “reconciliation monument.”
Pete Hegseth reposts video that says women shouldn’t be allowed to vote
The US defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, recently shared a video in which several pastors say women should no longer be allowed to vote, prompting one progressive evangelical organization to express concern.
Hegseth reposted a CNN segment on X on Thursday that focuses on pastor Doug Wilson, a Christian nationalist who co-founded the Idaho-based Communion of Reformed Evangelical Churches (CREC), In the segment, he raises the idea of women not voting.
“I would like to see this nation being a Christian nation, and I would like this world to be a Christian world,” Wilson said.
Another pastor interview by CNN for its segment, Toby Sumpter, said: “In my ideal society, we would vote as households. I would ordinarily be the one to cast the vote, but I would cast the vote having discussed it with my household.”
A congregant interviewed for the segment remarked that she considers her husband as the head their household, and added: “I do submit to him.”
Hegseth reposted the nearly seven-minute report with the caption: “All of Christ for All of Life.”
Later in the video, Wilson says he does not believe women should hold leadership positions in the military or be able to fill high-profile combat roles.
Air Force to deny early retirement benefits to some transgender service members
The Air Force will deny early retirement benefits to transgender service members with 15 to 18 years of military service, even in cases where an early retirement was already approved, according to a new memo.
Transgender service members, who were made to either voluntarily separate or be forced out of the military under a policy instituted by the Trump administration, will instead be offered enhanced voluntary separation pay, which falls short of the early retirement benefit and is typically given to service members who choose to leave active duty before they are eligible for retirement, according to an Aug. 4 memo obtained by The Hill and first reported by Reuters.
An earlier memo, sent in May by Gwendolyn R. Defilippi, acting assistant secretary of the Air Force for manpower and reserve affairs, said transgender service members with 15 to 18 years of service could request Temporary Early Retirement Authority (TERA). In most military branches, including the Air Force, service members are eligible for retirement after 20 years.
An Air Force spokesperson did not immediately return The Hill’s request for comment on the new policy but told Reuters on Thursday that roughly a dozen transgender troops with between 15 and 18 years of military service were “prematurely notified” that their TERA applications were approved, and a “higher level review” was required.
In the Aug. 4 memo, Brian Scarlett, performing the duties of the assistant secretary of the Air Force for manpower and reserve affairs, wrote that, “after careful consideration of the individual applications,” he was “disapproving” TERA requests from trans service members with 15 to 18 years of service. The memo does not explain the decision.
Sergeant in custody after shooting five soldiers on Georgia base, army says
An active-duty soldier opened fire at Fort Stewart military base in south-east Georgia on Wednesday, wounding five other soldiers before being taken into custody.
All victims are in stable condition and expected to recover. Three of the soldiers required surgery, and two were transferred to Memorial Health University medical center in Savannah, the top-level trauma center for coastal Georgia.
Brig Gen John Lubas, commander of the third infantry division and Fort Stewart-Hunter army airfield, said at a press conference on Wednesday that the alleged shooter was 28-year-old Sgt Quornelius Radford, who was assigned to Fort Stewart.
“The shooting occurred at the soldier’s place of work,” Lubas said. “It did involve his co-workers. We’re still not certain about the motivations, but again, he’s been interviewed by army investigators, and we believe we’ll gain more information here shortly.”
Five soldiers shot at Army base in Georgia, suspect apprehended
Five soldiers were shot Wednesday in an active shooter incident at Fort Stewart, an Army base in south Georgia, according to Maj. Charlie Egan, a 3rd Infantry Division spokesperson. Egan said the shooter has been apprehended.
The injured soldiers were "treated on-site and moved to Winn Army Community Hospital for further treatment," installation officials said in a post to the base's official Facebook page. The post did not specify their status.
Fort Stewart's commander, Brig. Gen. John Lubas, is expected to brief the media about the shooting around 3:30 p.m. Eastern, Egan said.
The shooting occurred shortly before 11 a.m. Wednesday in an area of the south Georgia installation associated with the 3rd Infantry Division’s 2nd Armored Brigade Combat Team, a tank unit that returned from a deployment in Europe in the summer of 2024.
The entirety of the fort was locked down shortly thereafter, and the shooter was apprehended at 11:35 a.m., according to the post. Fort Stewart lifted the lockdown for much of the base shortly after midday, and declared the post "all clear" just before 2 p.m. Eastern.
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