DEOMI News Highlights
DEOMI News Highlights is a weekly compilation of published items and commentary with a focus on equal
opportunity, equal employment opportunity, diversity, culture, and human relations issues. DEOMI News
Highlights is also a management tool intended to serve the informational needs of equity professionals and
senior DOD officials in the continuing assessment of defense policies, programs, and actions. Further
reproduction or redistribution for private use or gain is subject to original copyright restrictions.
Air Force Changes Policy on Limiting Orders for Pregnant Reservists [Oriana Pawlyk,
Military.com, 2 February 2017]
 Pregnant Air Force reservists and guardsmen on active duty are now eligible to serve out their
orders until they give birth, according to a recent policy change.
 The change affects airmen in the reserve component serving in active-duty capacity, also known
as Active Duty Operational Support (ADOS) orders.
 The Air Force for first time granted 12 weeks of paid maternity leave to all active-duty and
reservist female airmen on active orders for at least 12 months, per the fiscal 2017 National
Defense Authorization Act.
Air Force Changes Policy on Limiting Orders for Pregnant Reservists
Budget act includes changes to Army sexual assault policy [David Vergun, Army.mil, 30 January
2017]
 Changes to the law covering the review of discharges, the definition of sexual harassment, and
reporting requirements for the Department of Defense have taken effect.
 Many of the changes in the law reflect practices already adopted by the DOD, according to Col.
Walter M. Hudson, chief of the Army’s Criminal Law Division in the Office of the Judge
Advocate General. The changes came about when the National Defense Authorization Act for
fiscal year 2017 was signed into law by the president Dec. 23, Hudson said.
 Former Soldiers with claims of post-traumatic stress disorder or traumatic brain injury in
connection with combat or sexual trauma as a basis for their discharge can now provide medical
evidence from the Department of Veterans Affairs or civilian health care providers to discharge
review boards as a possible means to upgrade their discharge status. The board is instructed to
give “liberal consideration” to that evidence.
Budget act includes changes to Army sexual assault policy
White House says LGBT protections for federal workers will remain [Juliet Eilperin and Sandhya
Somashekhar, The Washington Post, 31 January 2017]
 The White House vowed Tuesday to keep the Obama administration protections extended to
lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender workers, a statement said, apparently responding to reports
that the orders would be reversed.
 The executive order Obama signed in 2014 had two parts. It expanded protections in federal
hiring, which already barred discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, to also include
gender identity. And it required all companies doing business with the federal government to have
explicit policies barring discrimination against gay and transgender workers.
 The move was significant because it applied to 24,000 companies that collectively employed
about 28 million workers—representing about a fifth of the U.S. workforce.
White House says LGBT protections for federal workers will remain
3 February 2017
Page 1
DEOMI News Highlights
Diversity
Afghanistan Seeks More Women to Join Its Army
Air Force Changes Policy on Limiting Orders for Pregnant Reservists
Analysis: Do We Still Need Black History Month?
Boy Scouts, Reversing Century-Old Stance, Will Allow Transgender Boys
First enlisted women report to Army infantry school
March to equality: A. Philip Randolph and the desegregation of the military
Military Times launches Black Military History Month
Minorities are key to reaching America’s full economic potential [OPINION]
Q-and-A: Colin Powell on Vietnam service, Iraq and Afghanistan, and Black History Month
Raising a Transgender Child
Soldiers cheer Army’s decision to authorize dreadlocks in uniform
Texas’ first openly transgender mayor finds ‘amazing’ support in McKinney suburb
White House says LGBT protections for federal workers will remain
Miscellaneous
Air Force welcoming more uncovered tattoos
Congress Delays Rollout of Navy’s Unisex Dress Cover
Trump Refugee Rule May Block Military Interpreters from US
When troops worry about their kids’ schools, our military suffers
Misconduct
Bullied kids suffer academically, too, study says
A horribly bullied teen committed suicide. Now his former Dairy Queen boss has been charged with
involuntary manslaughter.
Marine Hornet CO fired for playing ‘bad cop’ too often
Racism
Teens behind racist graffiti sentenced to visit Holocaust Museum, read books by Black and Jewish
authors
When ‘Black Like Me’ Means ‘White Like Them’
White privilege essay contest stirs passions in upscale town
Woman Linked to 1955 Emmett Till Murder Tells Historian Her Claims Were False
Religion
Fayetteville man who threatened Raeford mosque sentenced in federal court
Muslim woman assaulted at JFK airport; man charged with hate crimes
You have to be Christian to truly be American? Many people in the U.S. say so.
Sexual Assault/Harassment
Army CID warns of ‘Sextortion’ scams
Budget act includes changes to Army sexual assault policy
Female sheriff’s officer accused of sex harassment says she’s the victim
Retired General Demoted 2 Ranks After Sexual Assault Investigation
3 February 2017
Page 2
Diversity
http://www.military.com/daily-news/2017/01/27/afghanistan-seeks-more-women-join-its-army.html
Afghanistan Seeks More Women to Join Its Army
By Agence France Presse
Military.com, January 27, 2017
An Afghan National Army soldier stands guard near the largest US
military base in Bagram, 50km north of Kabul, after an explosion
on November 12, 2016. (SHAH MARAI/AFP/File)
Afghanistan has announced fresh initiatives to bring more women
into the army, weeks after the country's first female pilot sparked a
national debate on insecurity and women's rights by seeking asylum
in the US.
The defense ministry wants to boost the proportion of women in the army to 10 percent, deputy ministry
spokesman Mohammad Radmanesh told AFP Friday, confirming a slew of incentives including a special
salary scale for female recruits.
"At this stage, we have 1,575 Afghan women in our army ranks, it is mere three to four percent which is
nothing," Radmanesh said.
"We are aiming to raise this percentage to 10 percent."
Fifteen years after the end of the Taliban regime, gender equality remains a distant dream in Afghanistan
despite claims of progress.
In December Niloofar Rahmani, a 25-year-old pilot lionized widely as the "Afghan Top Gun", announced
she was seeking asylum in the US, citing fears for her safety and sparking a spirited national debate.
Rahmani became a symbol of hope for millions of Afghan women when she surfaced in the press in 2013
after becoming Afghanistan's first woman pilot since the Taliban era.
But with fame came death threats from insurgents and she routinely faced contempt from her male
colleagues in a conservative nation where many still believe that a woman does not belong outside the
home.
Her shock asylum bid triggered a storm of criticism in Afghanistan for "betraying" her nation but also
garnered support from activists.
Radmanesh said there are 400 Afghan female recruits currently training at defence ministry institutions.
Afghan forces are beginning their third year of providing security across the war-torn country after NATO
moved into an advisory and training role -- and the toll on the local forces has been devastating.
An estimated 5,000 were killed and another 15,000 wounded in 2015, primarily by the Taliban, while
incomplete figures for 2016 show the toll was even worse.
Some 5,523 Afghan service members died between January 1 and August 19 alone according to a quarterly
report from the office of the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR).
An additional 9,665 were wounded during the period.
SIGAR's full report for 2016 has not yet been released.
http://www.military.com/daily-news/2017/02/02/air-force-changes-policy-limiting-orders-pregnantreservists.html
Air Force Changes Policy on Limiting Orders for Pregnant
Reservists
By Oriana Pawlyk
Military.com, February 2, 2017
Pregnant Air Force reservists and guardsmen on active duty are now eligible to serve out their orders until
they give birth, according to a recent policy change.
The change affects airmen in the reserve component serving in active-duty capacity, also known as Active
Duty Operational Support (ADOS) orders.
"Prior to this change, Reserve and Guard members were taken off active-duty support orders in their 34th
week of pregnancy regardless of whether or not they were medically able to serve," Air Force spokesman
Col. Patrick Ryder told reporters Tuesday.
The order, authorized last month by then-Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Manpower and Reserve
Affairs Gabe Camarillo, allows pregnant service members to serve through the end of their orders or the
birth of their child -- "whichever comes first," Ryder said.
"This policy removes a perceived barrier that pregnancy is a limiting factor in retaining talent," Air Force
spokeswoman Brooke Brzozowske said. "Air Force leadership reviewed an outdated policy and adjusted
course in order to be more inclusive. This decision is another step toward a more diverse and inclusive
culture, enabling airmen to make their greatest contribution to mission success."
The Air Force for first time granted 12 weeks of paid maternity leave to all active-duty and reservist female
airmen on active orders for at least 12 months, per the fiscal 2017 National Defense Authorization Act.
How that applies to reservist airmen can vary, said Col. Pamela Powers, the mobilization assistant to the
principal deputy assistant secretary of the Air Force for manpower and reserve affairs.
"The key is eligibility," Powers said. "A critical factor in obtaining non-chargeable maternity leave is a
continuous ADOS order or multiple sets of orders.
"If a reservist goes off ADOS orders to participate or attend Inactive Duty Training or Unit Training
Assembly periods, it constitutes a break in orders and negates the 12-month continuous period, which in
turn, makes them ineligible for the 12 weeks of non-chargeable maternity leave," Powers said.
Airmen in the Guard or Reserve on shorter tours can serve until the original order termination date, or the
date of birth "plus any accrued ordinary leave, whichever is earlier," according to an Air Force release.
In some cases, pregnant reservists can have their ADOS orders extended "past the 12-month pregnancy
threshold if there is a valid requirement, funding is available and both their permanent unit and supported
unit commanders approve," the release said.
"However, there are limitations and exceptions to serving throughout a pregnancy," Powers added.
"The supported commander will determine whether duty limitations would prevent the airman from
performing her duties, whether she can be transferred to other duties or, if necessary, a curtailment of the
orders," she said.
Oriana Pawlyk can be reached at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter at @Oriana0214.
http://www.nbcnews.com/news/nbcblk/analysis-do-we-still-need-black-history-month-n714186
Analysis: Do We Still Need Black History Month?
By Mashaun D. Simon
NBC News, February 4, 2017
A museum patron stands in front of 'Film' display (highlighted by a
James Baldwin quote) at the National Museum of African American
History and Culture (NMAAHC), Washington DC, September 28,
2016. (Anthony Barboza / Getty Images)
Each year the conversation arises on whether Black History Month
is still viable. But some scholars believe that Black History Month
is more important than ever this year, as the country discerns the
new realities of the current presidential administration and its allies
and their approach to aid communities of color.
Two University of Texas at Austin professors spoke with NBCBLK about the importance of Black History
Month in today's current climate. They both agree that it is more important than ever, even though they
point out there are some limits to the month long impact.
Eric L. McDaniel, associate professor in the Department of Government at the University of Texas at
Austin, argues that participation in Black History Month should not be the burden of the Black community
alone. He points out that American society historically has suffered from a lack of context. He believes
through context, some of the issues America faces as it pertains to the Black community, could be rectified.
"There is very little effort put into understanding how we got here. A failure to understand the experiences
and needs of a group leads to disastrous thinking and policies," he told NBCBLK. "For instance, not being
aware of the Tuskegee experiment impedes medical professionals from understanding why Blacks are
untrusting of the medicine. Or not being aware that the Black Panther Party is the precursor to school
breakfast programs prevents people from seeing the group as multidimensional and providing innovative
policy solutions."
Stacey Dash. Morgan Freeman. Nas. Over the years, each has questioned the viability of Black History
Month in one way or another.
Morgan Freeman debated the need for Black History Month some years ago, saying he did not want a
month long recognition because "Black history is American history," he said.
Host Morgan Freeman during the awards show for the 2013
Laureus World Sports Awards at the Theatro Municipal Do Rio de
Janeiro on March 11, 2013 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. (Ian Walton /
Getty Images for Laureus)
Last year, Stacey Dash called for an end to BET and Black History
Month, arguing that in order to end segregation such entities needed
to be abolished.
And recently, rapper and entrepreneur Nas admitted to cringing at the idea of Black History Month but has
now changed his tune.
McDaniel agrees that Black History is about American history, but points out that understanding that
history provides patterned awareness commonly neglected.
http://www.nbcnews.com/news/nbcblk/analysis-do-we-still-need-black-history-month-n714186
"What we are seeing today is not new. People need to be aware of the rhetoric and policies of the past.
Black history month organizers should work diligently to make people understand that this is about
American history," he said. "As long as the history of Blacks, Latinos, Asian, Gays or other marginalized
groups is ghettoized and treated as separate from American history, the nation will continue to make the
same mistakes. Ignoring or belittling Black history creates a false national narrative that leads the nation to
recreate oppression and never learn from its mistakes."
The brainchild of historian Carter G. Woodson, Black History Month was birth from Woodson's Negro
History Week - an effort to highlight the contributions of African Americans in America that were largely
excluded from American history.
Laurie Green, associate professor of History also at the University of Texas at Austin, believes what
Woodson intended was historical engagement. If nothing more, Green believes Black History Month
accomplishes the engagement Woodson intended. However, she is convinced that just having the
knowledge base is not enough.
Through her work, she attempts to provoke cravings within her students to engage Black history beyond its
commemorative appeal. For example, many of the students she teaches are either Black history or Women's
history majors, or both.
(Getty Images/Hero Images)
"Many of them are students who had teachers that were
great and they wanted to know more. They had parents
and teachers they learned from and they wanted to
know more.
Or they got involved in the Black Lives Matter
movement and want to know more," she told
NBCBLK. "There are some who are angry that the
history was so boiled down to such platitudes."
Therefore, she invites her students to ask questions.
"That way they are getting involved with history. Provoke questions to make people feel like they have lost
something and then have things on hand to say, 'Here are some spaces where you can get more.' It is
political but by using the moment to take what they think they know and turning it upside down could
inspire some rethinking," she said.
Follow NBCBLK on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram
SEE ALSO:
Celebrating Black History Month the Altus AFB way [Defense Video Imagery Distribution System, 201701-31
JBSA recognizes African American History Month [Defense Video Imagery Distribution System, 2017-0201]
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/30/us/boy-scouts-reversing-century-old-stance-will-allow-transgenderboys.html
Boy Scouts, Reversing Century-Old Stance, Will Allow
Transgender Boys
By Niraj Chokshi
The New York Times, January 30, 2017
A boy scout carried a rainbow flag during a gay pride parade in
San Francisco in 2015. (Credit: Noah Berger/Reuters)
Reversing its stance of more than a century, the Boy Scouts of
America said on Monday that the group would begin accepting
members based on the gender listed on their application, paving the
way for transgender boys to join the organization.
“For more than 100 years, the Boy Scouts of America, along with
schools, youth sports and other youth organizations, have ultimately deferred to the information on an
individual’s birth certificate to determine eligibility for our single-gender programs,” the group said in a
statement on its website. “However, that approach is no longer sufficient as communities and state laws are
interpreting gender identity differently, and these laws vary widely from state to state.”
The announcement, reported on Monday night by The Associated Press, reverses a policy that drew
controversy late last year when a transgender boy in New Jersey was kicked out of the organization about a
month after joining.
“After weeks of significant conversations at all levels of our organization, we realized that referring to birth
certificates as the reference point is no longer sufficient,” Michael Surbaugh, the Scouts’ chief executive,
said in a recorded statement on Monday.
The announcement came amid a national debate over transgender rights, with cities and states across the
nation struggling with whether and how to regulate gender identity in the workplace, in restrooms and at
schools.
In recent years, the Boy Scouts of America has expanded rights for gay people. In 2013, the group ended its
ban on openly gay youths participating in its activities. Two years later, the organization ended its ban on
openly gay adult leaders.
Advocates for gay and transgender people who had pushed for changes in Boy Scouts’ policy praised
Monday’s announcement.
“From our perspective, they clearly did the right thing,” said Zach Wahls, who co-founded Scouts for
Equality, a nonprofit group that advocates for stronger protections in the organization for gays and
transgender people. “My team and I knew that they were considering a policy change, but we are both
heartened and surprised by how quickly they moved to change the situation.”
Last year, in response to parent complaints, the Boy Scouts of America removed an 8-year-old transgender
boy from the Secaucus, N.J., Cub Scout pack he had joined just about a month earlier, according to The
Record, a newspaper in northern New Jersey.
“It made me mad,” Joe Maldonado, the boy, told the newspaper. “I had a sad face, but I wasn’t crying. I’m
way more angry than sad. My identity is a boy. If I was them, I would let every person in the world go in.
It’s right to do.”
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/30/us/boy-scouts-reversing-century-old-stance-will-allow-transgenderboys.html
Joe’s case may have been the first in which a transgender boy was ejected from the program, Mr. Wahls, a
former Eagle Scout, said.
When Mr. Wahls helped found Scouts for Equality in 2012, the Boy Scouts of America did not yet allow
gay scouts or leaders, and “there was zero conversation about transgender issues.”
While he was encouraged by what appeared to be the group’s quick decision on accepting transgender
scouts, Scouts for Equality plans to push for a more formal policy, Mr. Wahls said.
“We want to make sure that they work with experts who have experience with transgender youth and youth
programs,” he said.
The Boy Scouts of America claim nearly 2.3 million members between the ages of 7 and 21, and the group
counts many notable figures among its alumni and volunteers.
One of them, Rex W. Tillerson, President Trump’s nominee for secretary of state, was involved in getting
the organization to accept gay scouts and leaders. He was the national president of the Boy Scouts of
America from 2010 to 2011 and served on its executive board in 2013 when it voted to lift the ban on gay
scouts.
That decision came after years of reluctance from the organization and a wrenching internal debate that
involved threats from some conservative parents and volunteers that they would quit. When the ban on gay
leaders was reversed in 2015, the Mormon Church, the largest sponsor of scouting units, briefly threatened
to leave the group as well.
SEE ALSO:
Boy Scouts of America will allow transgender children to join [The Washington Post, 2017-01-30]
https://www.armytimes.com/articles/first-enlisted-women-report-to-army-infantry-school
First enlisted women report to Army infantry school
By Meghann Myers
Army Times, February 2, 2017
There are some unfamiliar faces running around Sand Hill as of Tuesday — female faces.
The Army's infantry school at Fort Benning, Georgia, welcomed its first class of 11X basic trainees this
week, more than a year after the Defense Department lifted the ban on women serving in combat
occupational specialties.
Among them is Takiyah Carroll, a 19-year-old Maryland native, one of 145 women working their way
through infantry training this year, according to a Tuesday release from the Army.
"Friends told me that I'm crazy," Carroll said in the release, "and my mom was kind of tense" about her
daughter putting herself in harm's way.
The first class to include women in infantry basic training is due to graduate on May 19, according to the
release.
They're also some of the first to pass a new physical fitness test specific to the tougher jobs in the Army.
Carroll destroyed the Occupational Physical Assessment, which went into effect this year and is adjusted
for each MOS, according to her recruiter.
The recruit lifted 225 pounds in the deadlift event, where the requirement was 160, Sgt. 1st Class Lee
Meadowcroft said in the release.
"It's about time," he said of opening combat arms to women.
Fully integrated
Enlisted infantry roles will be the latest in a line of combat jobs opening to women since early 2016.
In anticipation of a decision on lifting the ban, the Army opened the notoriously tough Ranger school to
women in 2015, when a military police officer and an AH-64 helicopter pilot completed the training.
Eight months later, one of those women — Capt. Kristen Griest — became the Army's first infantry officer.
She was followed in October by 10 women who were the first to complete the Infantry Basic Officer
Leader Course.
In December, 13 women joined the Armor officer corps ahead of the first class of enlisted female armor
soldiers.
And one woman, whose identity is being kept confidential, will become the first member of the 75th
Ranger Regiment when she reports this spring.
More than 500 women are slated to join combat MOSs this year, according to U.S. Army Recruiting
Command statistics.
That includes a potential 164 combat engineers, 90 cannon crewmembers, 45 fire support specialists, 43
cavalry scouts, 32 armor crewmen, among other jobs.
http://www.militarytimes.com/articles/march-to-equality-a-philip-randolph-and-the-desegregation-of-themilitary-and-defense-industry
March to equality: A. Philip Randolph and the
desegregation of the military
By Kevin Lilley
Military Times, January 31, 2017
(Photo Credit: null)
Less than five years after he’d played a critical role in
desegregating the defense industry, A. Philip Randolph joined other
civil rights leaders in a meeting with the president of the United
States … and let him have it.
“I said, ‘Mr. President, the Negroes are in the mood not to bear
arms for the country unless Jim Crow in the Armed Forces is abolished,’” Randolph recalled telling Harry
Truman.
The president was less than pleased with the assessment, Randolph said in a 1968 oral history housed by
the Lyndon B. Johnson Presidential Library. That didn’t stop Randolph from pressing forward.
“The Negroes, Mr. President, have never had a fair break in the Armed Forces,” he told the president. “This
isn't anything new. Not only have they not had a fair break, but they have been the objects of affront and
insult all over this country; and we have fought and bled in every war, but they have not gotten adequate
recognition and consideration."
The president’s reply, as Randolph recalled it: “Well, what do you want done?”
It may seem like an atypical reply for the leader of a superpower to give to anyone, but Randolph’s stature
in the civil rights landscape by 1948 made it understandable.
DELIVERING A MESSAGE
Three decades earlier, he’d launched The Messenger, which billed itself as “The only radical Negro
magazine in America.” He and his publication opposed U.S. involvement in World War I while railing
against a segregated military and defense industry. His views led to his arrest under the Espionage Act;
charges were later dropped, according to his New York Times obituary.
In 1925, Randolph founded the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters and began what would be a dozenyear quest to secure a labor agreement with the Pullman Company. Randolph and his organization would
survive threats, accusations of Communist ties and other attacks from management until the deal was done
in 1937.
The group’s position in the African-American community extended far beyond that of a typical union.
Members would deliver copies of The Chicago Defender, keystone of the African-American press at the
time, well beyond city limits. Randolph’s message of desegregation became more than a workplace matter
– especially as another world war loomed.
The U.S. defense industry joined the fight in Europe before American military units did. But while gains in
that sector had created jobs and revitalized economic indicators, segregation prevented those benefits from
reaching all sectors of the population.
Randolph and others wanted that changed. His idea, which he brought to President Franklin Roosevelt in
early 1941, was to organize a march on Washington.
http://www.militarytimes.com/articles/march-to-equality-a-philip-randolph-and-the-desegregation-of-themilitary-and-defense-industry
“… [H]e told me definitely that he didn't want a march on Washington because it would end up in violence
and bloodshed and no doubt some people might get killed,” Randolph recalled in the oral history. “And he
said if a precedent such as that were to be established, it would simply stimulate other groups to plan
marches on Washington and there would be no end to it. And he wouldn't be able to control it.”
The argument didn’t sway Randolph, who wanted an executive order desegregating the defense industry.
He recalled inviting Roosevelt to speak at the march, even requesting the War Department provide tents for
the protesters. The president declined.
Randolph set a July 1 date for the march, and crowd estimates soon crept into the tens of thousands, or
larger. Roosevelt installed Fiorello LaGuardia, then-mayor of New York City, as an intermediary of sorts,
putting him in charge of a committee to address the matter. The mayor eventually would advocate for an
executive order, and Randolph recalled a committee member reading him a draft.
A. Philip Randolph, foreground, testifies before the Senate Armed
Services Committee in March 1948. He told the panel that millions
of blacks would refuse to register to serve under draft and military
training unless racial segregation and discrimination are ended.
Photo Credit: null
There was a problem.
“It doesn’t apply to the federal government,” Randolph recalled
pointing out. “They said, ‘Well, you can't apply this to the federal
government. The federal government is above everything.’ I said, ‘But the federal government is guilty,
too, of discrimination against Negroes as far as jobs are concerned.’ And he said, ‘Well, now you're going
to throw this whole thing into the fire.’”
Out of the fire would emerge Executive Order 8802, signed June 25, 1941, in which Roosevelt would, in
part, “reaffirm the policy of the United States that there shall be no discrimination in the employment of
workers in defense industries or government because of race, creed, color, or national origin. …”
The “or government” part is in Roosevelt’s handwriting, not typed. Randolph called off the march.
MILITARY DESEGREGATION
While defense industry workers, at least in theory, wouldn’t suffer discrimination, service members spent
World War II in segregated units. As Truman made his push for a peacetime military draft, one that would
take form as the Selective Service Act of 1948, Randolph and other civil rights leaders lodged their
concerns and levied their accusations of mistreatment by the military of black service members.
So, what did Randolph want done?
“I said, ‘Well, some action ought to be taken in the form of an Executive Order barring and banning Jim
Crow in the Armed Forces, eliminating discrimination and segregation,’ " Randolph recalled in the oral
history. “He says, ‘I agree with you.’”
But the military draft law went through without any desegregation language, and Randolph set about
organizing civil disobedience across the country, asking African-Americans not to register for the draft.
On July 26, 1948, Executive Order 9981 would take effect. The same day, according to the Harry S.
Truman Library and Museum, anonymous Army staff officers told the press that the order didn’t mean the
http://www.militarytimes.com/articles/march-to-equality-a-philip-randolph-and-the-desegregation-of-themilitary-and-defense-industry
service would be forced to integrate its units. Truman clarified the intent days later at a news conference,
but Randolph didn’t call off plans for resisting the draft law until August.
Despite the early stumble, “there were definite changes that took place in the Armed Forces,” Randolph
said in the oral history. “Negroes began moving into everything, various areas, and so forth. The young
Negroes began going into the army, in larger numbers because there was some security involved and there
was opportunity for promotion.”
President Harry S. Truman and Army Secretary Frank Pace Jr.
pose with members of the integrated 82nd Airborne Division on
Feb. 27, 1951, at the White House Rose Garden. Truman signed
Executive Order 9981 in 1948.
ONE MORE MARCH
As integration moved forward in the military and began in fits and
starts around the nation, Randolph had nearly completed his
transition from young, jailed firebrand to elder statesman. Once
under fire for advocating socialism, a Truman Library document
from presidential adviser David Niles in 1948 labels Randolph as “not a left-winger” and one of a group of
“pretty conservative Negroes.”
But he wasn’t done meeting with presidents. Randolph led the organization of what would become the
March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom in August 1963, doing so with direct input from President
Kennedy, who initially lobbied for it not to take place. While some doubted whether Randolph would’ve
been able to muster 100,000 for his threatened 1941 march, most estimates put the 1963 event – which
included Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech – at 250,000 marchers.
Randolph and Bayard Rustin, a fellow established civil rights leader and march co-organizer, would read a
list of the march’s demands after King’s speech, asking for, among other items, the desegregation of all
school districts, comprehensive federal civil rights legislation and a federal aid program to train displaced
workers of all races.
Randolph would step down from the union he founded in 1968. He died in 1979 at age 90. There are
statues honoring him in both Boston and Washington, D.C. – both in train stations.
http://www.militarytimes.com/articles/military-times-launches-black-military-history-month
Military Times launches Black Military History Month
Military Times, February 1, 2017
(Photo Credit: Army)
From the slopes of Bunker Hill, to a war of freedom, to WWI and
WWII, to desegregation to Iraq and Afghanistan – black American
service members have given their all, selflessly and often without
reward, but with hope.
In the spirit of our nation’s Black History Month, Military Times is
declaring Black Military History Month. Throughout February, we
will reveal amazing stories of service and sacrifice. This is not a
futile attempt to encapsulate the African-American military experience, but to celebrate some of the stories
that have made that experience what it is today. Visit militarytimes.com/blackhistory to learn more about
these and other men and women, past and present, who have made their mark on a timeline that dates back
centuries:
Crispus Attucks, who died in 1770 at the hands of British soldiers during a protest that would become
known as the Boston Massacre. Some consider Attucks, a runaway slave, to be the first casualty of the
Revolutionary War.
Dan Bullock, the youngest American service member killed during the Vietnam War. Bullock enlisted at
age 14 and was a 15-year-old Marine private first class in 1969 when his combat base near Da Nang came
under attack.
Doris Miller, who earned a Navy Cross for his actions during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and was
later killed in action while serving on an escort carrier that was sunk by a Japanese submarine.
Melvin Morris, a Green Beret whose heroism in Vietnam earned him the Distinguished Service Cross.
After a review of his actions in 2002, his award was one of two dozen upgraded to the Medal of Honor.
Jackie Robinson, who broke baseball’s color barrier, but not before a brush with military justice in Texas.
Larry Spencer, whose Air Force career spanned more than 40 years and took him through the enlisted
ranks to the role of service vice chief.
Cathay Williams, who in 1866 became the first African-American woman to enlist in the Army by telling
her recruiter she was a man named William Cathay.
Military Times' Black Military History Month is celebrated in partnership with the following organizations:
• Tuskegee Airmen, Inc.
• Buffalo Soldiers
• Air Force Association
• The ROCKS, Inc.
• Korean War Veterans Association, USA
• American Veterans Center
• GI Film Festival
• HistoryNet.com
• Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW)
• Shades of Blue
• World War I Centennial Commission
• Congressional Medal of Honor Foundation
http://thehill.com/blogs/pundits-blog/economy-budget/316769-minorities-are-key-to-reaching-americasfull-economic
Minorities are key to reaching America's full economic
potential [OPINION]
By Henry Cisneros
The Hill, January 30, 2017
(Getty Images)
At a time when the national dialogue is intensifying over how to
ensure that women and minorities in this country can access
opportunity in both the private and public sectors, it is important to
review progress that has been made, the most successful vehicles
for advancing inclusive goals, and prospects for the future.
Small business and entrepreneurship have provided ladders to the middle class for generations of
Americans. For immigrants, women, and racial and ethnic minorities—all of whom have faced tall barriers
to entry in any number of institutions in our society—entrepreneurship has often been a pathway to a better
life.
One such example was the incomparable Muriel Siebert, who in 1967 became the first woman to own a
seat on the New York Stock Exchange. Siebert was rejected by nine banks while seeking a loan for the
purchase of the seat, eventually securing the funds when David Rockefeller, then the chairman of Chase
Manhattan Bank, personally signed off on the loan, allowing her to shatter that glass ceiling.
In the years since, progress has been steady and, importantly, bipartisan. Just two years after Siebert bought
that seat, President Nixon, who was a strong and early advocate for small businesses and for minority
entrepreneurs, established the federal Office of Minority Business Enterprise.
We have just witnessed the departure of our nation’s first African-American president, and the journey
we’ve begun and the distance we still have to go in terms of equality are being debated in communities
across our nation. But one thing most will be able to agree on is that governments at all levels should
continue to provide an environment in which minority and women led businesses can thrive.
At the federal level, one positive trend we have seen is in direct contracting and subcontracting with
minority and women owned businesses. The federal government is the nation’s largest procurer of goods
and services, spending $400 to $500 billion annually. During fiscal 2013, it broke its record by awarding
8.6 percent, or $30.6 billion, to so-called small disadvantaged businesses, breaking the previous record set
the year before of 8 percent, and exceeding the stated goal of 5 percent.
African-Americans make up about 13 percent of the country’s population, according to U.S. Census data.
Latinos comprise over 17 percent, while women, of course, are close to 51 percent. Our business
participation ought to better reflect these demographic realities.
Efforts to make the federal procurement process fairer continue, and the successes we have achieved come
not through happenstance but conscious effort. After taking office, President Obama created an Office of
Minority and Women Inclusion at 29 federal agencies to track their records on diversity.
States have been important laboratories for such efforts as well. This past year in New York, Gov. Andrew
Cuomo announced that fully 25 percent of state contracts involved minority-owned business participation.
It is a remarkable achievement that ought to serve as a model for other states, as well the national
government.
http://thehill.com/blogs/pundits-blog/economy-budget/316769-minorities-are-key-to-reaching-americasfull-economic
Why focus on government contracts? Not because minority and women-owned businesses are asking for
handouts or seeking favors. Historical barriers have made it more difficult for women and minorities to
gain access to markets and government procurement offers the opportunity to demonstrate that, once on a
level playing field, they can compete with anyone.
Even within this procurement process, obstacles are daunting. Minority firms actually have to spend 11
percent more in cash outlays and working hours than non-minority small businesses to obtain the same
federal contracting results, according to a study based on data from 2012.
The reason for this, the study’s author suggests, is that minority and women business owners have to spend
more resources to identify opportunities because their social and business networks don’t bring them into
contact with the kinds of relationships and information they need.
The new administration in Washington, as well as local and state governments throughout the country,
should focus on improving outreach to these businesses, efforts that would benefit everyone by increasing
competition, creating efficiencies, sparking innovation, and bringing more diverse perspectives into the
process.
The efforts the federal government has made over recent decades are generating results. There are lessons
to be learned and decisions to be made about continuity going forward.
Since 2007, the number of minority-owned firms in the U.S. has increased by 38 percent, to 8 million,
according to the U.S. Department of Commerce. The number of employees hired at minority firms in that
time has increased by 23 percent, while it has dropped by 4 percent at other firms across the nation.
For women-owned businesses the numbers are even more impressive. There are now over 11 million
businesses owned by women, a 45 percent increase since 2007. That is a growth rate five times the national
average. Women are also the majority owners of 38 percent of all American businesses, up from 29
percent in 2007.
These trends are driven by underlying trajectories. African-American and Latino business owners
are younger, on average, than their non-Hispanic white counterparts. Latinos, who make up the fastest
growing minority, are also the youngest ethnic minority in the country, with 17.9 million Latinos under
the age of 18.
It is this next generation that will make the greatest impact in the business world, from manufacturing to
healthcare to finance. It will be essential to our nation’s economic progress to harness this potential and to
create opportunities in small business and entrepreneurship.
Henry Cisneros served as U.S. secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development under
President Clinton and was mayor of San Antonio from 1981 to 1989. He is now a partner at Siebert
Cisneros Shank & Co.
The views of contributors are their own and are not the views of The Hill.
http://www.militarytimes.com/articles/q-and-a-colin-powell-on-vietnam-service-iraq-and-afghanistan-andblack-history-month
Q-and-A: Colin Powell on Vietnam service, Iraq and
Afghanistan, and Black History Month
By Tony Lombardo
Military Times, January 31, 2017
(Photo Credit: Courtesy photo)
Colin Powell didn’t sign up with four stars in mind.
The New York City native and son of Jamaican
immigrants had a much simpler objective.
“I came in the Army to be a good soldier. And what
I've tried to do every day of my 35-plus years in
services is to be a good soldier every day, and let the
Army decide how far they wanted me to go.”
As it turned out, the Army wanted him to go very far. And Presidents George H.W. and George W. Bush
needed him to serve further still. Today, at 80 years old and “retired,” Powell is still finding ways to serve.
The first (and so far only) African-American to serve on the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the first AfricanAmerican to serve as secretary of state, recently shared insights from his incredible career as part
of Military Times' Black Military History Month.
The following are highlights from the exclusive interview, edited for space and clarity:
Q. To start, we wanted to hear about your experience in Vietnam, specifically serving as an adviser.
A. I arrived in Vietnam on Christmas Eve in 1962, and I was assigned to be an adviser to a South
Vietnamese battalion. I learned a lot about survival out in the forest. It wasn’t really a jungle. It was a
forest. And I learned a lot about what it is to work with other nationalities, and to not have language
exchanges with them, because very few of them spoke English.
Q. It’s very common in today's military to go out and work with partner nations. And as you
mentioned, you don't speak the same language. Can you offer some advice for service members in
that position?
A. Well, you always have to try to put yourself in their position – not see everything through your eyes, but
get on the other side and look back at yourself, so that you're reflecting their culture and their beliefs.
Really, that was the lesson I learned in Vietnam.
Eating rice 21 times a week put me into their culture fully. Just staying up with them and letting them know
I was just like them. We all slept on the ground together, and we all trenched up and down those mountains
together. And they accepted me as one of them, and I was proud to be one of them.
Q. Can you talk about your time during the Nixon administration? You were a White House fellow.
A. I was very privileged as a military officer to have been selected to be a White House fellow. You work
somewhere within the administration. In my case, it was the administration of President Richard Nixon in
his second term as president. And I worked in the Office of Management and Budget in the White House. I
came away from that with having had an enormous exposure to how the federal government works.
Beyond that, though, I also traveled and I went to both Russia and China that year. I came back from that
having the experiences with the people who were supposed to be our enemies, and could be our enemies if
http://www.militarytimes.com/articles/q-and-a-colin-powell-on-vietnam-service-iraq-and-afghanistan-andblack-history-month
war came. I came away from that with a better understanding of the Soviet Union and a better
understanding of the strength that we have in the West.
Then-Joint Chiefs Chairman Army Gen. Colin Powell, himself a
Vietnam War veteran, bows his head after laying a wreath at the
annual Memorial Day observance at the Vietnam Memorial in
1991.(Photo Credit: Ron Edmonds/AP)
And it was my experience in the Soviet Union, I think that it
allowed me to be a better counterpart to my Russian colleagues.
Because they knew I had been in Russia, and I had not only studied how to fight a war if a war came, but
how to work for peace. And to make sure that peace came, and not a war.
Q. What can you say to those in uniform today, who read the headlines about Russia and China and
who may be anxious about what the future may bring?
A. My feelings about Russia and China were shaped in my White House fellow days and throughout my
military and diplomatic career as national security adviser and secretary of state. I think that we have to be
on guard with these two countries. But at the same time, I don't think they are seeking war. But they are
acting in ways that are not always in our interest.
I think that it is important to make sure that you reach out and keep in close contact with both countries.
Understand what they’re trying to do. I found that I could work very pleasantly with both my Chinese
colleagues and my now Russian — no longer Soviet — my Russian colleagues on the basis of respect, and
mutual understanding. And interests that sometimes diverged. But I don't think either of those countries is
looking for a war with the United States of America.
Q. Can we talk about Desert Storm? I'm curious what kind of lessons you reflect on today.
A. Desert Storm, I think was a very successful operation. And the reason it was so successful is that the
first President Bush gave us a very clear mission. And it was a mission that was blessed by Congress.
Because it was a clear mission, we could get wide support from around the world. And the mission was to
eject the Iraqi army from Kuwait and restore the legitimate government of Kuwait to Kuwait City. And we
put 500,000 troops into that operation and another 200,000 allied troops joined us.
It was the only time in my career or in, frankly, most of American military history, where a chairman can
say to the president of the United States, I guarantee the outcome. And the reason I could guarantee that
outcome is that the president gave us everything we asked for. In a relatively short period of time, the Iraqi
army was no longer in Kuwait, and the government had been restored.
But the best part from my perspective is the way in which the American people saw this operation. And
they had been told that tens of thousands might be killed. They were worried about this volunteer army that
had never been in this level of combat before. And they were absolutely joyful at the results. And they
threw parades for our troops. And it just refreshed my memory that a classic military theory says, make
sure you know what you're getting into.
And then, when you've decided on that political objective, then you put decisive force in to achieve it. And
that's what we did in Desert Storm. Some people argue that we ended the war too soon. And there others
who say we should have gone to Baghdad. We didn't end it too soon. We ended it when the president
wanted to end it, because we were killing people that didn't need to be killed, because the mission had
http://www.militarytimes.com/articles/q-and-a-colin-powell-on-vietnam-service-iraq-and-afghanistan-andblack-history-month
really been accomplished. And we didn't want to inflict too many casualties on our own troops, and
especially also on the other side.
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Army Gen. Colin Powell, left,
consults with Army Gen. H. Norman Schwarzkopf, head of U.S.
Central Command, on May 14, 1992, as the leaders took part in a
meeting to discuss the allied military coalition in Operation Desert
Shield. (Photo Credit: Tech. Sgt. H.H. Deffner/Air Force)
So I think it was a great success. But the biggest thing was the
American people just absolutely fell in love with their armed forces
once again.
Q. Can you talk about your tenure as secretary of state?
A. I was very proud to be appointed as secretary of state and in that first year of course, we had 9/11. And I
was in Peru that day. I wasn't in Washington. And I'll never forget the handwritten note by my assistant
saying that a plane had hit one tower, and we thought it was a small plane. And it looked like an accident.
And it was like, 10 minutes later, he came in with another note saying a plane had hit the other tower, and I
immediately knew it was a terrorist attack.
I told my plane to get ready, my pilots to get ready. We had to fly back to Washington as soon as possible.
It was a long flight, but when I got back, I immediately joined the president. After a lot of discussion, we
realized we had to respond to this attack in a forceful way. And that's what we did.
At first, we did it in Afghanistan. And eliminated that threat —chased Osama bin Laden out of the country,
and his people. And the leadership, the Taliban leadership of the country, would not cooperate with that. So
we took out that government as well. … Osama bin Laden has gone to his great reward in the sky. And we
still have an issue with the Taliban, who are trying to take over the country again. So you always have to be
careful. Be careful when you enter a conflict like this that you have, not necessarily a clear path to the end,
but you have some sense of when it will all come to an end.
One of the challenges facing our young men and women now is that this conflict in there and in Iraq, both
them have been going on for, like, 15 or 16 years with a volunteer force that represents a small part of the
American population — 1 percent. And they're the ones who have to keep going back and keep going back.
And we are asking an awful lot of our young men and women in uniform, and a lot of their families. And it
is also very expensive.
So I think one of the challenges coming up for the new administration is how to find a solution to these
problems in Iraq and Afghanistan, and really turn it over to the people. And to the their governments while
at the same time providing assistance aid so they can do what is necessary to provide peace and security for
their people.
Q. We write about this — where the cities, for example, that were once overtaken by U.S. troops,
have fallen again. You know, from an emotional standpoint for some of these troops, it's been hard to
rectify that in their minds. What would you say to them directly, those who are having trouble?
A. Well, I would say that we are enormously proud of their willingness to serve repeated tours in these
places. And don't feel in any way that your service is unrewarded, or your service has no value to it. And
it's very much rewarded and respected by the American people, and it has value. Al-Qaida, ISIS, cannot be
http://www.militarytimes.com/articles/q-and-a-colin-powell-on-vietnam-service-iraq-and-afghanistan-andblack-history-month
allowed to prevail, or else we will be chasing the world back to the bad period of constant conflict. And so,
it's important that we understand their service is necessary and valuable.
But it places an enormous demand upon them and of their families. And that sacrifice is greatly appreciated
by those of us who used to be uniform, and I think all of the American people.
Q. February is Black History Month.
A. I'm glad that we celebrate Black History Month, but we also have to remember that black history is
really a part of American history. And it's not separate, and it is all one history. That's the message we're
communicating in the new National Museum of African American History and Culture's facility [Editor’s
note: Powell is a member of the Smithsonian museum’s council]. It shows you what blacks have been able
to accomplish. And it also describes and shows some of the terrible situations blacks had to go through to
get where we are today. But it does it in the context of being part of American history.
I've always gone in my life as a soldier who happens to be black, but I would not ever call myself a black
soldier, or a black general, or a black secretary of state. I was very proud of my race and I never failed to
give credit to those soldiers and statesman who went before me, and kind of paved the way for me. But at
the same time, I don't want someone to think, well, it's a black secretary, is there a white secretary
somewhere. No, there's not. There's only one. And so, I've always seen myself first and foremost as an
American and as a leader of all of the people. And a representative of all of the people of the United States,
and I happen to be black.
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/31/well/family/raising-a-transgender-child.html
Raising a Transgender Child
By Rachel Rabkin Peachman
The New York Times, January 31, 2017
The Ford family. (Credit: Jill Promoli Photography)
In September 2015, Vanessa and JR Ford sent a group email to
announce that their 4-year-old, whom their family and friends knew
as their son, would be starting prekindergarten that year as “her true
self” — a girl named Ellie.
The Fords’ decision to help Ellie transition socially from boy to girl
was not something they did on a whim. Starting well before age 4,
Ellie showed countless signs of being unhappy as a boy: being sullen; drawing self-portraits as a stickfigure girl; pretending to be female superheroes; dressing up in princess costumes.
“For Ellie, whenever she put on a dress, she would turn into a different person; she would smile at people
and talk to people,” Ms. Ford said. “It was such a profound change, we thought we had a son who would
grow up to be a gay man. We were only thinking about sexuality because it didn’t occur to us that gender
identity was a part of this.”
That is, until their family’s “Frozen”-themed birthday party. When Ms. Ford said to her child, who was
dressed in a Princess Elsa costume, “You’re my favorite princess boy,” the response was strikingly clear:
“Mom, I’m not a boy; I’m a girl in my heart and my brain.”
The Fords are one of the families profiled in the upcoming documentary “Gender Revolution: A Journey
With Katie Couric,” airing Feb. 6 on the National Geographic channel. The TV special accompanies the
January issue of National Geographic, which is devoted entirely to gender and features a 9-year-old
transgender girl on the cover.
The family also is participating in a study called the TransYouth Project, led by Kristina Olson, an assistant
professor of psychology at the University of Washington in Seattle, who is featured in the documentary.
The research is the first large-scale, national, longitudinal study to examine the development of transgender
and gender nonconforming children.
“By the time Ellie gets to puberty, there will be a couple hundred kids who are 10 years into the study
having already gone through puberty,” Ms. Ford said. “So all of these questions around stability of gender,
puberty blockers, cross sex hormones, impact in mental health — we’re going to have such a better idea
because of other kids who’ve been surveyed.”
Initial findings, published last year in the journal Pediatrics, revealed that transgender children who socially
transitioned with the support of their families did not have higher rates of depression than children who
were gender-conforming, or cisgender. While 40 percent of transgender people report having attempted
suicide, this study shows that mental health problems are not inevitable if children have a support system.
“The one really big thing that we know about human development is that feeling loved and supported is
really important to the well-being of all children,” Dr. Olson said.
The Fords, who live in Washington, D.C., sought guidance from gender experts and mental health
practitioners. Ellie, they said, was “consistent, insistent, and persistent” in her gender identity, which
experts say is a hallmark for those who are transgender — those whose gender identity does not align with
the gender they were assigned at birth. An estimated 1.4 million adults in the United States currently
identify themselves as transgender.
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/31/well/family/raising-a-transgender-child.html
Though many children will experiment and play with a range of gender roles at different points in their
life, early data reveals that kids who truly are resolute about their gender identity are unlikely to feel
differently as adults.
The Fords felt certain that their child was not merely going through a phase. In fact, the Fords said, once
she began to express herself and dress as she wished she immediately blossomed into a happier child. She
chose the name Ellie, inspired by a favorite stuffed elephant.
The Fords said they went public with their story because they feel it is important to raise awareness about
transgender issues and to humanize and normalize gender nonconforming people.
The editors at National Geographic said they had similar motivations for devoting their magazine issue and
documentary to the subject. National conversations surrounding transgender rights (such as the battles over
restroom laws) and gender equity (including the quest for equal pay for women and parental leave for
fathers) call for examination, said Susan Goldberg, editorial director of National Geographic Partners and
the first female editor in chief of the magazine. “Families are grappling with these issues, schools are, the
courts are, and legislators at all levels of government are — and science is looking more at it too,” Ms.
Goldberg said.
Even the language we use to talk about gender has changed. Facebook offers more than 50 gender options.
National Geographic developed a glossary of terms and a discussion guide for parents, teachers and
children.
“We’re in the middle of a real historical, cultural shift,” said Christia Spears Brown, a professor of
developmental psychology at the University of Kentucky and author of “Parenting Beyond Pink and Blue:
How to Raise Your Kids Free of Gender Stereotypes.” “The complexity of gender has always been there,
we’ve just long ignored that it’s much more complex than we want it to be.”
The response to National Geographic’s issue reflects how divisive the topic is for many people. An editor’s
note on the magazine’s website about its transgender cover girl, Avery Jackson, said: “Tens of thousands of
people have weighed in with opinions, from expressions of pride and gratitude to utter fury. More than a
few have vowed to cancel their subscriptions.”
The Jacksons, who live in Kansas City, Mo., received hate mail and death threats via social media. As a
result, they decided to step away from the public eye and, through a publicist, declined to be interviewed.
(Credit: National Geographic)
But the Fords say they have had overwhelming support from their
community. Still, they are acutely aware of the national climate and
controversies surrounding transgender rights. They try to shield Ellie, but
occasionally she will hear something on the radio about bathroom laws.
“The very first question we got about growing up was, ‘Daddy, do I have to
have a man voice like you?’” Ms. Ford said. “We’ve told her that we can
help her, and medicine can help her be the girl and the woman she wants to
be.”
The Fords are optimistic, but they are also bracing themselves for possible
struggles. To that end, they legally changed their child’s name to Ellie the
week before the inauguration in an event they called “Ellie’s Forever Name
Day.” They consider it a first step in legally protecting her rights as a transgender person.
https://www.armytimes.com/articles/soldiers-cheer-armys-decision-to-authorize-dreadlocks-in-uniform
Soldiers cheer Army’s decision to authorize dreadlocks in
uniform
By Meghann Myers
Army Times, January 30, 2017
(Photo Credit: Marine Corps)
The Army on Jan. 5 released a new grooming and
appearance directive that authorized religious exemptions
for turbans and beards for Sikh men and hijabs for Muslim
women, but buried down in the document was a provision
that changed everything for many black women in the
service.
For the first time, Army Regulation 670-1 allows women to wear their hair in long, twisted "locks," as long
as the strands are less than 1/8 inch wide, the scalp is in a uniform grid, and, when gathered, the hair fits
into the required bun size of 3 1/2 inches wide by 2 inches deep.
"Is this a joke? Where's Ashton?" exclaimed Staff Sgt. Chaunsey Logan in a public video posted to her
Facebook page. "On Jan. 5, in the year of our Lord 2017, we are now allowed to wear locks in uniform."
Facebook and Twitter flooded with the news, including excited posts from soldiers who had been waiting
for the change.
"It feels amazing," said 1st Lt. Whennah Andrews, a District of Columbia National Guardsman, in a
Wednesday interview with Army Times. "When I was going through this process, I just keep thinking
about the females that were going to come after me."
Andrews, a seven-year Army veteran and prior-enlisted soldier, submitted an exception to policy request
last year, complete with a YouTube video on the viability of locks in the Army.
Inspired by Marine Corps Staff Sgt. Cherie Wright, who led that service's effort to authorize locks, she
teamed up with Nikky Nwamokobia, who runs a natural beauty channel on YouTube.
Together they created a video dissecting the Army's hair regulations, with visual examples of how soldiers
could still be within standards with their hair in locks, the same way they can with braids and twists, which
were already allowed.
"I read the regulation on it in detail, and it seemed as if someone who really didn’t understand what they
were wrote it," Nwamokobia said.
Army officials could not confirm whether Nwamokobia's video tipped the scales for its decision to allow
locks, but they confirmed that the topic of locks came up during the working group discussing religious
headgear and beards, and regulations were changed as a result of those discussions.
Both women theorized, though, that the last hold-outs for a ban on locks were based on popular perceptions
of large, free-form dreadlocks with no pattern.
"I felt like the biggest thing I want to do, and I felt like Nikky did a great job of doing that, was to remove
the stigma," Andrews said. "People hear locks, they just think Rastafarian, [and] 'oh, it’s going to be
unclean.'"
https://www.armytimes.com/articles/soldiers-cheer-armys-decision-to-authorize-dreadlocks-in-uniform
Making the case
For years, women in the Army had been forced to spend time, money and discomfort straightening their
hair with chemicals or hot irons, wearing expensive and uncomfortable wigs, or cutting their hair off
entirely in order to keep thick, coarse, curly hair within regulation, particularly women whose natural hair
couldn't be coiled into a regulation bun.
"Our hair grows up," Nwamokobia said. "It doesn’t grow down."
To get their natural hair to lie flat, many women resorted to harsh salon chemical treatments to alter their
hair's structure and make it grow straight. Even for those who preferred that style, Nwamokobia said, it
could be tough for someone in the Army who is deployed for months at a time.
"Something that we all understand is when you color your hair, it starts growing out roots," she said. "Let’s
say someone gets a perm to get their hair straight. It's growing out natural. So it’s growing out kinky, curly,
twisty, where the ends are straight. If you don’t touch up the roots, then your relaxed ends are going to
break off."
But it's not feasible to head to a salon or do your own chemical relaxing downrange, she said.
Other women wove their hair into narrow cornrows and braids that were, while still time-consuming, less
cumbersome than straightening or wigs. Those hairstyles must periodically be taken out and redone, to give
the scalp a rest and to braid new growth at the roots.
The difference with locks, Nwamokobia said, is that when the hair is properly coiled together, it starts to
grow in that pattern, and it only takes periodic tightening to keep them smooth.
Locks are also better for the scalp, the women said. Tight braids and cornrows can lead to hair loss, and, in
some cases, wearing a wig for long periods -- especially with a cover over it -- can restrict oxygen to the
scalp and cause irritation or even infection.
Andrews herself had switched from long braids to locks early in her Army career, when regulations defined
dreadlocks as "matted" or "unkempt," and certain leaders were willing to look the other way for small,
smooth, coiled ropes.
But in 2014, after an uproar over the past ban on both dreadlocks and two-strand twists, the Army relaxed it
rules for the size of braids and twists but narrowed the definition of locks, forcing Andrews to take out her
hair.
"I’m basically putting on a costume by wearing a wig," Andrews said. "It came to a point where I had to
make a decision. And also, being an officer, you’re looked at as an example, so you don’t want to be out of
regulation. I didn’t want to be defiant."
Recognizing locks as professional, Nwamokobia said, could also be a big morale bump.
"When someone tells us there’s nothing you can do to look professional if you have locks, it’s kind of a
confidence hit," she said. "It just shows how our military’s evolving. It’s more of a reflection of the world
that we’re serving."
And Andrews is happy that the Army heard her voice.
"We’re not stating that we should not be in regulation," she said. "We can adhere to the regulations. The
locks are just another way of getting there."
http://www.dallasnews.com/news/lgbt/2017/02/01/texas-first-transgender-mayor-finds-amazing-supportsuburban-mckinney
Texas’ first openly transgender mayor finds ‘amazing’
support in McKinney suburb
By Eline de Bruijn
Dallas (Texas) Morning News, February 2, 2017
Herbst said she was hoping for tolerance but has been amazed by the support she
has received. (Jae S. Lee/Staff Photographer)
NEW HOPE -- As the mayor of a tiny McKinney suburb, Jess Herbst imagined the
worst after she came out as a transgender woman at this week’s council meeting.
Instead, her town lived up to its name, she said, and the residents of New Hope
have been nothing short of "amazing."
“I was hoping for tolerance, and what I've gotten is overwhelming support,”
Herbst said Wednesday, a day after the meeting and two weeks after she wrote an
open letter to residents online.
Herbst, 58, was thrust into her role as mayor in May when her predecessor died of a heart attack. At the
time, she was an alderman and went by the name Jeff.
Her unanimous appointment by fellow council members inspired her to be “as honest to them as possible”
with who she is — the state’s first openly transgender mayor.
“I live my life as a female now,” her letter reads, “and I will be performing my duties to the town as such.”
Alderman Bob Parmelee has been on the council about 12 years and said residents at the meeting Tuesday
were "very positive."
"As long as a person does a good job as mayor, and she is doing a good job as mayor," he said.
Collin County is traditionally conservative, and the town of New Hope has a population of 700, including
cattle raisers, city people and "some of everybody," Parmelee said.
Herbst expected some snide comments and negative rhetoric online. But she hasn't seen much of that in the
2,000-plus emails she has received and in her day-to-day interactions with people.
"I think that it's a lot harder to be negative toward people when they are directly in front of you. It puts a
face on it," she said.
Herbst decided to pen the letter to control the narrative because she knew people would find out eventually,
and she invites anyone to read about her experiences at her blog, JessHerbst.com.
"Most people don't have to be this upfront," she said, "but this is where I landed."
Being upfront may not help Herbst if she seeks election, noted James Keel, who built his home in New
Hope nine months ago.
"I don't think he would've been voted in looking like that," Keel said Thursday as he added a fence to his
property. “He looked like a man the last time I saw him.
“It is what it is,” he shrugged.
Patrice Wheeler has lived in New Hope since 2005 and owns about 26 acres near Town Hall. She attended
Tuesday night's Town Council meeting.
http://www.dallasnews.com/news/lgbt/2017/02/01/texas-first-transgender-mayor-finds-amazing-supportsuburban-mckinney
"I don't care about like being transgender," Wheeler said. "I want you to do your job and act on behalf of
the citizens."
A native of Greenville, Herbst graduated in 1977 and moved with wife Debbie and their two daughters to
Debbie's hometown of New Hope in 1999. Herbst joined the town council in 2003 and has been an
alderman, road commissioner and mayor pro tem.
She came out to her family and close friends eight years ago. Her wife of 36 years knew the truth early on
in their relationship.
Debbie Herbst said she's relieved that her community now knows what she's known for years and is able to
be honest with her colleagues and others.
"I don't have to worry about hiding anymore," she said. "My husband presents himself as a woman. It's still
the same person if you knew him before you know him now."
Debbie Herbst said that she and Jess are closer than ever. "We've been soul mates and together for such a
long, long time and we still love each other the same, even more so," Debbie Herbst said.
While some may believe that transgender people are gay, Jess Herbst said she's attracted to women. Herbst
began hormone replacement therapy two years ago "for my gender identity and not for sexual orientation,"
she said.
Herbst was inspired when Olympic gold medalist Bruce Jenner came out as transgender in early 2015 and
identified as Caitlyn Jenner. At the time, Herbst was a few months into her hormone replacement therapy
and said Jenner "brought the word 'transgender' to public attention."
She also credits the internet with helping her fully explore who she is, from the supportive community she
has found with her blog to simply being able to purchase size 12 women's shoes.
"I didn't think anybody else felt like the way that I did," Herbst said. "It was obviously something I kept
hidden because, if you can't relate to someone else, you just think gee, I'm weird."
Early last fall, after she was appointed mayor, Herbst came out as transgender to her colleagues at Town
Hall and to her customers as a self-employed computer technician.
She was surprised when they supported her.
"You have to be honest if you're going to be in a place in public office," she said. "It's your responsibility to
the people."
Among the supportive emails she has received are messages from other public officials in the area saying
they're also transgender, she said. She'll be meeting with them to talk about how she has handled her
identity.
"There are way more of us than most people understand," Herbst said. "The more people are honest, the
easier it's going to become for the rest of us to come out and be public about who we really are."
SEE ALSO:
Texas Mayor Announces That She Is Transgender [The New York Times, 2017-02-01]
‘I use the name Jess, a simple change from Jeff’: A Texas mayor announces she’s transgender [The
Washington Post, 2017-02-01]
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/white-house-considers-reversing-lgbt-protections-for-federalworkers/2017/01/30/06160150-e736-11e6-80c2-30e57e57e05d_story.html
White House says LGBT protections for federal workers
will remain
By Juliet Eilperin and Sandhya Somashekhar
The Washington Post, January 31, 2017
Janie Killips waves an LGBT pride flag on Jan. 21 during the
Women's March in Madison, Wis. (Angela Major/Associated Press)
The White House vowed Tuesday to keep the Obama
administration protections extended to lesbian, gay, bisexual and
transgender workers, a statement said, apparently responding to
reports that the orders would be reversed.
“President Trump continues to be respectful and supportive of
L.G.B.T.Q. rights, just as he was throughout the election,” the White House said in a statement. “The
president is proud to have been the first ever G.O.P. nominee to mention the L.G.B.T.Q. community in his
nomination acceptance speech, pledging then to protect the community from violence and oppression.”
The stance followed reports that the Trump administration was considering a sharp break with Obama-era
protections.
A draft of a potential executive order that began circulating in Washington over the weekend that would
overturn then President Obama’s directive barring discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and
gender identity in the federal workforce and by federal contractors.
The draft order included multiple provisions, including possible exemptions that would adoption agencies
and groups receiving federal funds to deny services to LGBT Americans based on their beliefs. The White
House statement did not address those possible changes.
Chad Griffin, president of the Human Rights Campaign, said in a statement Tuesday he and other activists
remained concerned that the new administration could still undermine other legal protections based on
sexual orientation or gender identify.
“Claiming ally status for not overturning the progress of your predecessor is a rather low bar. LGBTQ
refugees, immigrants, Muslims and women are scared today, and with good reason. Donald Trump has
done nothing but undermine equality since he set foot in the White House,” Griffin said. “Donald Trump
has left the key question unanswered — will he commit to opposing any executive actions that allow
government employees, taxpayer-funded organizations or even companies to discriminate?”
The New York Times first reported the decision by the White House to stick with the Obama-era
protections.
That top officials have been debating whether to wade into the issue of gay and transgender rights
highlights the tension the new administration faces when it comes to social issues. Trump campaigned on
an economic message, but he is under pressure from the social conservatives who propelled him into office
to implement their top priorities.
The issue of gay rights is particularly fraught for Vice President Pence, who as governor of Indiana signed
a controversial measure expanding religious liberties in a way that gay rights groups said opened the door
to legalized discrimination. A national outcry over the bill led Pence and the state legislature to weaken the
measure.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/white-house-considers-reversing-lgbt-protections-for-federalworkers/2017/01/30/06160150-e736-11e6-80c2-30e57e57e05d_story.html
Speaking to reporters earlier Monday, White House press secretary Sean Spicer declined to comment on
whether an executive order affecting gay and transgender people was under consideration.
“I’m not getting ahead of the executive orders that we may or may not issue,” Spicer said. “There is a lot of
executive orders, a lot of things that the president has talked about and will continue to fulfill, but we have
nothing on that front now.”
The executive order Obama signed in 2014 had two parts. It expanded protections in federal hiring, which
already barred discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, to also include gender identity. And it
required all companies doing business with the federal government to have explicit policies barring
discrimination against gay and transgender workers.
The move was significant because it applied to 24,000 companies that collectively employed about
28 million workers — representing about a fifth of the U.S. workforce.
But the order drew sharp criticism from religious leaders — including many who were Obama’s allies at
the time — because it did not provide an exemption for religious organizations that contract with the
government. Many faith-based groups, including Catholic Charities USA, receive federal grants to assist
people with housing, disaster relief and hunger, and expressed concern about the precedent it could set for
other forms of federal funding.
Gay rights groups argued that such an exemption would amount to a loophole giving groups the right to
discriminate.
Any attempt by the Trump administration to rescind or weaken Obama’s order would essentially be an
effort to “authorize discrimination” against gay and transgender people, said James Esseks, director of the
LGBT program at the American Civil Liberties Union.
“The Trump administration has shown that it’s willing to go against core American values of freedom and
equality, and it’s troubling to hear they may
target LGBT people as well,” he said.
But he said the impact might be mitigated because federal law bans discrimination on the basis of sex.
Many courts have interpreted discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity to be a
form of sex discrimination.
Robert Costa contributed to this report.
SEE ALSO:
Trump vows to continue LGBT workplace rights protection [Reuters, 2017-01-31]
Trump to keep Obama executive order for LGBTQ workplace protections [USA TODAY, 2017-01-31]
Obama’s Protections for L.G.B.T. Workers Will Remain Under Trump [The New York Times, 2017-01-30]
Miscellaneous
http://www.bnd.com/living/magazine/article129018259.html
Air Force welcoming more uncovered tattoos
By Mary Cooley
Belleville (Ill.) News-Democrat, January 29, 2017
The U.S. Air Force is eliminating the 25%
tattoo policy on February 1. The new policy
will not restrict tattoo size and will allow
both arm and leg sleeves. (Video: Derik
Holtmann)
Effective Wednesday, airmen like Master
Sgt. Joseph Rivera and Tech Sgt. Robert
Knipfer can roll up their sleeves and remain
in regulation dress.
The United States Air Force is
again changing its policy on tattoos and body
modifications. Doing so both opens career opportunities for current tattooed airmen and allows a greater
base of potential recruits, says a force support squad commander.
The last major change was in 1998, and this change reflects changing societal norms, said Major Jeff
Elliott, force support squad commander at Scott Air Force Base. Body art may now cover more than 25
percent of a body part and don’t have to be covered by uniform, which is a major departure from previous
regulations.
The updated policy also allows one tattoo band on one finger of one hand. The head is still an unauthorized
area for tattoos. Airmen are barred from tattoos that are related to gangs, extremist and supremacist
organizations, or body art that advocates sexual, racial, ethnic or religious discrimination.
Elliott said about half of the contacts and applicants for the Air Force have some kind of tattoo, and one in
five had enough ink coverage that the service would have to review before welcoming the airman into
service.
One Belleville tattoo artist says he is already seeing interest from airmen in adding to body art now that the
regulations are being relaxed.
“At least 30 percent of my business is military,” said Jason Wilson, of Integrity Tattoos in Belleville. “A lot
of Air Force because of how close we are, and two (of three) of us are both Army veterans. We’re seeing
more of those people wanting to get more extensive tattoos now that regulations will be lifted and there will
be less blow back from getting more.”
More acceptable applicants
Rivera, who was an Air Force recruiter from 2009 to 2013, said he would have to send photos and take
measurements to ensure the tattoo did not cover more than 25 percent of a body part.
“A lot of qualified applicants, I had to walk down to the Army,” he said.
The relaxed policy is “a great opportunity to get a larger pool of applicants” to the Air Force, Elliot said.
Elliott has tattoos on his back, and he said, “I would get more, but my wife” prefers he doesn’t.
Both Rivera, 37, and Knipfer, 31, came into the Air Force with tattoos, and now have more than either can
count.
http://www.bnd.com/living/magazine/article129018259.html
“It allows a little bit of self-expression,” Knipfer said. At the same time, being part of the Air Force is being
part of “the heritage, and that’s awesome” and something he plans to be part of for several more years.
Some special duties within the service have been largely off-limits to those with tattoos, even those falling
well within the regulations of placement and size.
TSgt Robert Knipfer and MSgt Joseph Rivera roll their sleeves up
to show their tattoos, which is considered out of regulation
currently. As of Feb. 1, the United States Air Force has established
new regulations that will allow airmen to roll up their sleeves or
wear short sleeves that will reveal their tattoos. (Photo: Derik
Holtmann)
Knipfer has two full-sleeve tattoos, and his legs are also covered
but his back is “an open canvas” ready for the next one, he says.
Because of the ink to his wrists, he had to ask for a waiver to become a training instructor at Lackland Air
Force Base in Texas, where basic training takes place. His waiver was denied.
“You’re a great candidate, but ...” he says he was told of his tattoos. Since the announcement in midJanuary of the policy change, he’s spoken with the training squadron there and is hopeful that he will be reassigned.
Some special duty posts are likely to be less open to those with tattoos covering more than 25 percent of a
body part, Rivera said. Those include recruitment and training, both posts that are higher profile.
Elliott said not being accepted for special duties “definitely slows any (career) progress moving forward”
but does not stop career advancement.
“Those standards are way more stringent,” Elliott said of the special duty assignments, but the change
“goes back to societal norms. For those that are squadron commanders now, that (tattoos) is the norm.”
The military life — and the moving that comes with it — may have something to do with airmen going for
tattoos instead of furniture, Wilson says.
“The military are more willing to invest in a bigger, nicer, elaborate pieces of artwork,” he said.
For those considering art, Wilson has some warnings — he has seen changes to policy before.
“It seems they try to relax on these things because they’re short on people enlisting, then people get
extreme and then they have to cut back,” he said. “It’s almost like a teenager being out of control. If the
soldiers can’t police themselves with good taste, then the superiors are going to have to do something.”
Body art that is not in good taste is also risky, Wilson said. Some military members who get pinup-style
tattoos of topless women later come in to have a bikini top or shirt added to the ink, he said.
“Nudity is not going to help you climb the ladder in the military,” the tattoo artist said.
SEE ALSO:
New Air Force Uniform Policy: Flight Suit Sleeves Can Show More Tattoos, Offer Updated Take On
Classic Design For US Military Airmen [International Business Times, 2017-01-31]
http://kitup.military.com/2017/01/congress-delays-rollout-navys-unisex-dress-cover.html
Congress Delays Rollout of Navy’s Unisex Dress Cover
By Hope Hodge Seck
Military.com, January 31, 2017
A provision in the recently passed defense budget for 2017 means
female Navy officers and chiefs will have an extra two years before
they are required to wear a new dress cover designed to closely
resemble that worn by men.
The new cover, which replaces a female-only bucket-style design,
was to be a required uniform item beginning Oct. 31, 2016. But
language in the National Defense Authorization Act, signed by
President Barack Obama just before Christmas, pushes the mandatory wear date back to Oct. 31, 2018. The
provision, which also requires the Navy to produce a report on its female dress uniforms, including cost
assessments, and feedback from officers and enlisted sailors, is a likely a rebuke to outgoing Navy
Secretary Ray Mabus, who attracted criticism with his aggressive efforts to push the Navy toward genderneutral uniforms.
Shortly before he left office this month ahead of President Donald Trump’s inauguration, Mabus told
Military.com during a meeting with reporters that his push to change the uniforms was inspired by his
attendance of the annual Army-Navy football game. When the West Point cadets marched onto the field, he
said, it was impossible to distinguish them by gender from a distance. But the same was not true of the
Naval Academy midshipmen, whose dress uniforms were gender-specific.
In a Navy administrative message published Jan. 26, the service announced a variety of uniform updates,
among them the delay of the unisex cover rollout. According to the message, the enlisted white “Dixie
Cup” hat, another formerly male-only accessory, will remain mandatory for wear, but with jumper-style
uniforms only, while the current female combination cover will continue to be worn by enlisted sailors in
ranks E-6 and below with the four-button coat service dress blue uniform until Dec. 31, 2019.
It’s possible the congressionally mandated delay, having interrupted the Navy’s phase-out of the bucket
hat, may cause some supply challenges. The message notes that female officer and chief combination
covers are no longer available to buy at Navy Exchange uniform centers. The junior female enlisted covers
are available, but in very limited supply.
In additional uniform updates, the message notes that female officers and chiefs now have the option of
wearing male service dress blues trousers with their female blues uniform. And as of February, the newly
redesigned jumper-style “cracker jack” dress blues for sailors below the rank of chief will be available in
the fleet, beginning at fleet concentration areas, the message said.
The redesigned uniform, which has been issued at boot camp sing Oct. 1, features a side zipper for the
jumper top and a front zipper for the slacks, to allow for greater ease changing in and out of the uniform.
http://www.military.com/daily-news/2017/01/28/trump-refugee-rule-block-military-interpreters-us.html
Trump Refugee Rule May Block Military Interpreters from
US
By Amy Bushatz
Military.com, January 28, 2017
Alex Unguist, left, interpreter, and U.S. Air Force Master Sgt.
Richard Holder, right, talk with the village elder Oct. 25, 2012,
outside Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan. (USAF photo/Staff Sgt.
Jonathan)
A new executive order issued by President Donald Trump on
Friday that temporarily halts the entrance of most refugees into the
U.S. while indefinitely ending the entrance of refugees from Syria
may impact a program that brings to the U.S. Iraqis and Afghans
who have served with American forces as interpreters.
The executive order, signed Friday evening, puts at least a 120-day hold on new refugees from all countries
while officials conduct a review of the refugee screening process. A separate rule also puts a 90-day hold
on the entrance of all immigrants from a series of countries considered particularly high-risk, including
Iraq. When the refugee program restarts, the order states, the U.S. will accept only 50,000 refugees
annually, down from the current 110,000.
Currently, only one percent of the world's 19.5 million refugees are ever resettled, according to Catholic
Social Services, a nonprofit that assists the U.S. government with refugees.
Interpreters who work for U.S. forces are able to apply for resettlement in the U.S. under a Special
Immigrant Visa (SIV) program because they are often targeted for assassination due to their association
with the U.S. The SIV program in Afghanistan is still accepting new applicants, according to the State
Department, while a near identical program existed in Iraq until it was sunset for new applicants last April.
About 500 Iraqi applicants and their families and about 13,000 Afghan applicants and their families are still
in the SIV pipeline awaiting final approval, officials with State Department said. The application for
resettlement through SIV can take up to three years, according to SIV advocates, in part because SIV
refugees receive vetting from every U.S. intelligence agency, they said.
To date, more than 34,000 Afghans and 20,000 Iraqis have received immigration benefits from SIV
programs, State Department officials said. The department issued 12,086 SIVs to Afghan interpreters and
their families in fiscal 2016, and 2,250 to Iraqis.
State Department officials declined to speculate about the impact any potential U.S. government policy
change may have on Iraqi or Afghan refugees. But an official with No One Left Behind, a veteran-run
nonprofit that helps former interpreters resettle in the U.S., said it is not clear whether Afghan and Iraqi
applicants will be affected by the rule.
Officials with No One Left Behind said they are advocating for SIV applicants to be exempted from the
new rule, said Jason Gorey, a veteran and the organization's chief operating officer.
A clause in the new rule allows for exclusions on a case-by-case basis "when in the national interest," when
admitting the person is part of a prior international agreement, or if the person is "already in transit and
denying admission would cause undue hardship."
http://www.military.com/daily-news/2017/01/28/trump-refugee-rule-block-military-interpreters-us.html
"When [he was] president-elect, Trump said that 'extreme vetting' is the approach that he's likely to take for
these individuals," Gorey said. "Our message is that the SIV program already includes extreme vetting.
They are the most thoroughly vetted individuals to come to our country -- period."
The SIV program has bipartisan support, Gorey said, adding that the fact it's at risk as part of the executive
order is likely an oversight.
"I don't think that it's malice or even intentional in any way on the Trump administration," he said. "This is
sort of an in-the-weeds detail that this sort of small population of interpreters that clearly everyone supports
coming to America is going to get caught up in this larger executive order."
Gorey said there are applicants who have U.S. visas in hand but are not yet in country who may be delayed.
He said because the applicants are under threat, lives could be lost as the result of any delay.
"The reason the SIV process exists is that these people are being actively hunted," he said. "And I have no
doubt that, especially if it goes beyond 120 days, it will cost lives."
Amy Bushatz can be reached at [email protected].
SEE ALSO:
Iraqi military allies may get travel waivers, but White House officials won't guarantee it [Military Times,
2017-01-30]
Pentagon, caught by surprise by Trump’s travel ban, pushes for some Iraqis to get special consideration
[The Washington Post, 2017-01-30]
Veterans protest travel ban, saying it hurts interpreters [Military Times, 2017-01-30]
Veterans in Congress Call for Ban Exemptions for Iraqi Interpreters [Military.com, 2017-01-30]
https://www.washingtonpost.com/posteverything/wp/2017/02/02/when-troops-worry-about-their-kidsschools-our-military-suffers/
When troops worry about their kids’ schools, our military
suffers
A third of service members say their child’s educational opportunities are a factor in
deciding whether to accept an assignment or remain in the military.
By Jim Cowen
The Washington Post, February 2, 2017
An Army Ranger during an exercise at Camp James E. Rudder at
Eglin Air Force Base in Florida. (Nick Tomecek/Northwest Florida
Daily News via AP)
Military readiness can be defined in a number of ways: the ability
of a military unit “to accomplish its assigned mission” or
“accurately defining expected threats and resourcing the military to
counter them.” More often than not, the issue of readiness is framed
as a question of whether or not service members are adequately trained and properly equipped.
But a fighting force — even one as formidable as the United States military — isn’t truly ready unless its
members have confidence that their needs are being addressed on the home front. For service members, a
major component of readiness is knowing that as they move from base to base with family in tow, the
quality of their children’s education doesn’t suffer. Currently, though, readiness is being negatively
impacted because many military families are making decisions about whether to leave the armed forces or
to accept a move to a particular duty station based in part on the quality of the surrounding schools. These
choices can create a brain drain that ultimately undermines the nation’s fighting force.
A recent survey of current and former military personnel conducted by my organization, the Collaborative
for Student Success, along with the Military Times, a leading publication widely read by active duty and
former U.S. military personnel, puts a finer point on the connection between the quality of K-12 education
of military-connected children and readiness.
More than one-third of respondents, 35 percent, said dissatisfaction with a child’s education was or is “a
significant factor” in deciding whether to continue military service; 40 percent said they either have
declined or would decline a career-advancing job at a different military installation to remain at their
current military facility “because of high performing schools.” When asked, “Did moving between states as
part of your military service add challenges to your children’s education,” 70 percent answered yes.
The vast majority of survey respondents — 90 percent — reported having spent more than five years in the
military. They have years of experience and expertise that our armed forces can ill-afford to lose.
Their core concern is one that all American parents contend with: schools with standards that are
inconsistent from district to district or state to state and that, in many instances, don’t adequately prepare
children for career or college. But what sets military families apart is that, by design, they are highly
nomadic. Our armed forces function more effectively when officers and enlisted personnel, with their
varied roles and tenure, are rotated among the many U.S. military installations. Children in military
families attend as many as nine schools during their K-12 years.
The result: Over a million military-connected children, most of whom attend public schools, are exposed to
the vagaries of our educational system far more than their peers in civilian families. As the Military Child
Education Coalition reports, there is no “consistent school-based data on the academic health of these
https://www.washingtonpost.com/posteverything/wp/2017/02/02/when-troops-worry-about-their-kidsschools-our-military-suffers/
students” and without such data, “decisions about children, time, money, and initiatives are at risk of being
based on supposition rather than reality.” Military parents are often left to make career-related decisions
based on keeping kids in schools they are comfortable with or moving their families and placing kids in
unfamiliar schools where they might wind up either ahead of or behind their new classmates.
A new assessment of several states with large military populations found that military families face a
number of education obstacles, with the performance of students varying dramatically depending on
geography. The Lexington Institute concluded that a shortage of high-quality educational programs for
military-connected students, such as Advanced Placement classes in high school, “often restricts
educational opportunities, negatively impacts educational achievement, causes military families to make
tough choices, inhibits quick assimilation into school communities, and can reduce a family’s satisfaction
with a military career.”
The study focused on four states with large military populations, including Virginia. Among the findings, it
noted overall success in the state, which has a wide distribution of military families and has military kids in
every district. But it also found that “many districts struggle to meet the academic and social emotional
needs” of military-connected students.
U.S. military leaders are beginning to recognize the readiness connection.
Before he retired, then-Army Chief of Staff Gen. Ray Odierno indicated that local school performance
would be a factor in the placement of Army units around the country. If state and local officials intend to
keep military bases in their communities, Odierno said in 2013, “they better start paying attention to the
schools that are outside and inside our installations. Because as we evaluate and as we make decisions on
future force structure, that will be one of the criteria.” He commissioned a study, highlighting which
schools are successful — and which are not — to examine the quality of schools that serve the children of
soldiers.
Last year, then-Defense Secretary Ashton Carter unveiled a policy allowing service members to remain at a
particular duty station for an extended period in exchange for extended service.
And the federal Every Student Succeeds Act, taking effect next year, creates a tool, the “military student
identifier” number, that will “allow schools to keep tabs on test scores, graduation rates” and other metrics
for military-connected students.
Advocates for military families are hopeful these developments signal policy changes to come, changes to
ensure consistent, quality education for the kids of those who serve. These steps also represent an
acknowledgment that the education of service members’ children is an integral part of maintaining
readiness in the world’s most capable fighting force.
Jim Cowen is executive director of the Collaborative for Student Success and a former U.S. Navy officer.
Misconduct
http://www.cnn.com/2017/01/30/health/bullying-academic-achievement-study/index.html
Bullied kids suffer academically, too, study says
By Susan Scutti
CNN, January 30, 2017
Bullying isn't just about physical violence or emotional pain -- it can impact kids' educations, too.
Kids bullied their entire school career have declining test scores, a growing dislike of school and failing
confidence in their abilities, say the authors of a study published Monday in the Journal of Educational
Psychology.
Researchers tracked several hundred children in the United States from kindergarten through 12th grade,
and found nearly a quarter experienced chronic bullying through their school years.
"The good news is that it goes down. The longer kids stay in school, the less likely it is that they will be
victimized," said Gary W. Ladd, professor of psychology at Arizona State University, who led the study.
Once the kids start high school, the aggression tends to taper off.
Ladd wondered about the bullied kids who said "they didn't like school and didn't want to go there."
"The majority of research done on bullying and victimization addresses children's psychological and health
adjustment," Ladd said.
But when it comes to understanding their school achievement, there wasn't much out there, leading him and
his colleagues to investigate.
Vulnerability to victimization
In 1992, Ladd and his colleagues enlisted 383 kindergarteners -- 190 boys, 193 girls -- into their study. The
participants attended various public schools, mostly in Illinois. The team then frequently assessed each
child's feelings of victimization, enthusiasm for school, academic esteem and performance via teacher
evaluations and standardized test scores.
Among the assessments were annual surveys in which the children described their experiences with
bullying, addressing whether they had been hit, picked on, or verbally abused by other kids. Frequency was
measured on a scale of one, meaning "almost never," to five, meaning "almost always." The study is part of
a larger investigation of children's social, psychological and academic adjustment funded by the National
Institutes of Health.
Nearly one-quarter of the children came from families with low annual incomes ($20,000 or less) and 39%
from middle to high incomes (more than $50,000), with the remaining students, about a third, from the
middle level in between these two extremes. Approximately 77% of the children were white, 18% AfricanAmerican, while the remainder had Hispanic, biracial or other ethnic backgrounds.
Though the study began largely in Illinois, by the fifth year, participants had spread to 24 states, which
Ludd noted as evidence of the "mobility of the American population, especially in the rust belt area."
The new study found that both the prevalence and frequency of victimization declined over the years of
schooling, but they also identified subtypes revealing differences in both the bullying and its effects.
Nearly a third of the kids, 32%, experienced little or no bullying. Meanwhile, about a quarter of the kids,
26%, suffered decreasing bullying over time. The academic scores of this group were similar to those of the
little or no bullying group, suggesting that kids could recover when bullying lessened over time.
"There are some kids who seem like they escape or they are able to become less victimized as they move
through school," said Ladd. "I'm sorry that we don't know why. I think that's one of our next questions."
http://www.cnn.com/2017/01/30/health/bullying-academic-achievement-study/index.html
Nearly a quarter of the kids (24%) suffered chronic levels of bullying during their school years. These kids
had lower academic achievement, a greater dislike of school and less confidence in their academic abilities.
About a fifth (18%) experienced moderate bullying, which increased later in their school years. Their
results were similar to those who had been chronically bullied.
Overall, boys were much more likely to suffer chronic or increasing bullying than girls. And, in every age
group, even though bullying in general declines over time, more boys than girls were bullied.
"So some children appear to start school well, but become more vulnerable to victimization as they move
along," said Ladd. "Of course, that group worries us more than the group escaping from victimization
because if you're going to prevent these problems, it's important to find kids early and do something about
it."
The researchers said the study was unique in its focus on how bullying impacts academic performance, and
for how long it studied the students. Typically, said Ladd, studies of bullying are short-term, using data
from the beginning to the end of a single school year. Even the longest studies follow kids for five or six
years, he said.
Wondering what a bully will do next
For a student who experiences bullying, it's hard to escape into school work.
"The children who are frequently bullied are not only not liking school and not wanting to be there, but are
finding it hard to participate in the classroom," said Ladd, adding that there are a lot of factors that probably
discourage their engagement.
"Most of the classrooms that we worked in had some kind of group activities, collaborative activities with
other children," he said. "It might be especially hard for kids who are victimized to participate in those
groups if their bully is sitting there with them."
"One of the things kids talked about was that it was harder for them to pay attention when they were sitting
in the classroom thinking about what the bully was going to do to them next or what they were going to do
to them after school or things of that nature, so we also wondered about whether or not this was a major
distraction for children."
Cyber-bullying wasn't an issue when the study began and so was not tracked. However, Ladd commented
that, based on other studies and what his colleagues say, "the kids who are most abused by their peers in
school are getting it on social media, too."
"A lot of children who are bullied don't talk about it at home, don't tell their parents. They're embarrassed to
admit that they're being treated that way," said Ladd.
To be aware of this, the researchers add that parents might need to visit their child's teachers or talk to
school personnel to understand more about their child's life.
'Bullies are often suffering, too'
According to Michelle K. Demaray, a psychology professor at Northern Illinois University, the long study
period was a strength, but also contributed to a flaw in the research: By 12th grade, 23% of the participants
had left the study.
"As with any longitudinal study, a disadvantage was the attrition or drop-out rate," said Demaray.
But the researchers themselves acknowledged this and adjusted their calculations accordingly. They also
compared the "kids who dropped out to those who didn't and only one major difference was found -- boys
http://www.cnn.com/2017/01/30/health/bullying-academic-achievement-study/index.html
were more likely to drop out," said Demaray. The comparison showed no racial or family income
differences.
Like Ladd, Demaray hopes to learn more about the group of kids who become increasingly victimized over
time.
"The more we learn about this group, the more we can figure out potential prevention and intervention
efforts targeting them and maybe reduce their chances of becoming victimized later in school," said
Demaray.
Ryan M. Hill, an instructor in the department of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at UTHealth McGovern
Medical School, found the study to be "exceptionally well done."
"The research has been clear for years that the impacts of bullying are profound and varied," said Hill,
noting that bullying influences depression, suicide-related behaviors, and a range of other mental health
outcomes.
"Bullying doesn't just impact a handful of students," Hill said. Adding up the numbers, he noted that "more
than 40% of children" have their academic performance impacted by bullying.
Though his own research focus is on the prevention of depression and suicide, Hill said it is also important
to "not forget about the bullies."
"The research is clear that bullies are often suffering, too," said Hill. "Both bully victims and perpetrators
are in need of services and preventing bullying means also preventing children from becoming the bullies."
Adding that verbal, physical, and cyber bullying all have impacts on children's well-being, Hill concluded:
"Each new piece of evidence about the effects of bullying emphasizes the need to develop policies and
interventions to prevent and address bullying in our schools and communities."
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2017/02/02/a-horribly-bullied-teen-committedsuicide-now-his-former-dairy-queen-boss-has-been-charged-with-involuntary-manslaughter/
A horribly bullied teen committed suicide. Now his former
Dairy Queen boss has been charged with involuntary
manslaughter.
By Travis M. Andrews
The Washington Post, February 2, 2017
Kenneth Suttner. (Howard County coroner)
High school wasn’t easy for 17-year-old Kenneth Suttner.
“A lot of people, kids, made fun of the way — basically everything about him,”
his best friend Lexie Graves testified, according to the Columbia Daily Tribune.
Suttner was overweight and spoke with a speech impediment: two prime targets
for bullies at Glasgow High School in Glasgow, Mo.
As Mary Korte, the mother of one of Suttner’s friends, put it, “Kenny spent his life
trying to tolerate negative words and actions.”
That life came to an abrupt end on Dec. 21, when Suttner committed suicide. Now,
his former supervisor at a Dairy Queen has been accused of causing his death.
Glasgow School District Superintendent Mike Reynolds admitted bullying took place in his district, but he
said it wasn’t too bad. Others disagreed.
“These things were brought to the attention of the appropriate school officials, and it’s a shame it was
swept under the rug,” Korte said.
Barbara Smith, the mother of another student, testified that she moved her son out of the school district
because the bullying was so bad, so unchecked.
“Every time we went to the school to do something about the bullying, it just got worse,” Smith said.
Perhaps the worst alleged offender, though, was Suttner’s 21-year-old supervisor at the Dairy Queen where
he worked. Harley Branham, a manager there, allegedly did everything she could to make the boy’s life
miserable.
Allison Bennett, a former co-worker, testified that Branham constantly ridiculed him. She made him lie
prostrate on his stomach while cleaning the fast food restaurant’s floor by hand. Once, she threw a
cheeseburger at Suttner because he made it incorrectly, Bennett said. (Branham said this was all meant, and
taken by Suttner, in jest.)
Eventually, Suttner had enough.
The sun had long set Dec. 21, but Suttner sat on a log outside his house anyway.
The cold didn’t matter much, not that night.
After placing a few calls to friends and family, he raised a .22 to his head and ended his life.
In an unusual legal twist on an all-too-common sad story, Branham was arrested after a prosecutor charged
her with involuntary manslaughter.
Missouri law allows for a coroner to seek an official inquest, which, as the Associated Press noted, is a rare
process in the United States, similar to a grand jury investigation save for a major difference — coroner’s
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2017/02/02/a-horribly-bullied-teen-committedsuicide-now-his-former-dairy-queen-boss-has-been-charged-with-involuntary-manslaughter/
inquests are public. Following Suttner’s suicide, Howard County Coroner Frank Flaspohler asked a sixperson jury to decide whether the boy’s death was an accident or a crime.
“I felt there was bullying going on and things weren’t getting corrected,” Flaspohler said. “Hopefully this
makes the school pay attention to what’s going on. And it’s not just in that school. We all need to wake up
and say this exists and we need to take care of it.”
On Tuesday, almost 20 witnesses testified at the six-hour inquest. Among them was Branham, who
admitted to calling the boy an “a–hole” but said, “There’s a lot of people at Dairy Queen saying I was the
reason [he killed himself], but I don’t understand why it would be that way.”
“We wanted to be very cautious and responsible,” said April Wilson, the special prosecutor overseeing the
case. “Both sides of the issue are extremely important. A young man is dead. But we also want to
acknowledge that it’s not easy being in public education.”
Following the inquest, the jurors concluded the Dairy Queen “negligently failed to properly train
employees about harassment prevention and resolution” and that the school district was “negligent in
failing to prevent bullying.” Finally, they found Branham was the “primary actor” in the boy’s death.
On Wednesday, Wilson filed a second-degree involuntary manslaughter charge against Branham, KTVI
reported. She was arrested by a Howard County sheriff’s deputy, the Columbia Daily Tribune reported.
It is unclear whether she has a lawyer or has entered a plea.
Dairy Queen, meanwhile, released a statement reading, “We first learned of the situation today and our
thoughts and prayers are with the family. We are still in the process of gathering information but
understand from the franchisee that the manager is no longer employed at this location.”
The Suttner family also released a statement, calling the jury’s decision “justice for Kenny.”
https://www.marinecorpstimes.com/articles/marine-aviation-commander-fired
Marine Hornet CO fired for playing ‘bad cop’ too often
By Jeff Schogol
Marine Corps Times, February 2, 2017
Lt. Col. Wade Workman presents the flag of Maj. R. Sterling
Norton, a fallen pilot with Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 232, to
his wife during his funeral ceremony at the Miramar National
Cemetery, San Diego, Aug. 12.Photo Credit: Sgt. Lillian Stephens.
Lt. Col. Wade Workman would play “bad cop” to hold his Marines
accountable, one member of his squadron said, but an investigation
determined the former squadron commander should have yelled
less and listened more.
Workman was fired as commander of Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 232 on Dec. 28 after a 3 rd Marine
Aircraft Wing command investigation found he had created a hostile work environment. Marine Corps
Times obtained a redacted copy of the investigation through a Freedom of Information Act request.
“Lt. Col. Workman has engaged pilots and maintainers on several occasions in a confrontational way,” the
investigation found. “This had led to a reluctance on the part of squadron personnel to engage with him
about aircraft maintenance or flight issues. This may not meet the strict definition of berating behavior, but
it clearly has negatively affected the squadron’s culture of trust.”
Workman was the fourth commander in the aviation community to be fired in 2016, a year when the
service’s aviation crisis hit full boil. He declined to comment when contacted by Marine Corps Times on
Thursday.
Aviation commanders are struggling to keep enough planes and aircraft flying amid a shortage of spare
parts, aging aircraft and delayed maintenance caused by budget cuts. All of these factors have drastically
reduced the number of Marine aircraft that are able to fly.
Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 232 failed three inspections -- in June, September and November -- and it
was later forced to stop flight operations after one officer called the unit “the worst squadron he had
inspected in his 35 squadron inspections in the Wing,” the investigation found.
“The multiple inspection failures were a consequence of Lt. Col. Workman’s unwillingness to listen to his
maintenance department leadership and to comply with suspected adjustments,” according to the
investigation.
Indeed, those under Workman’s command said he would yell and scream at maintainers and pilots over
maintenance issues, the investigation found. One squadron member told the investigating officer: “If I
down this jet what is the Skipper going to say to me. I feel like we force it.”
Others complained that flight operations were so constant that maintainers did not have any time for
maintenance days and technical training, according to the investigation. Workman told the investigating
officer that he was unaware the training wasn’t taking place and he was caught off guard when inspections
revealed the training shortfalls.
The head of Marine aviation, Lt. Gen. Jon Davis, has acknowledged that maintainers are working long
hours, but he has vowed to make them more effective at their jobs instead of increasing the overall number
of maintainers.
https://www.marinecorpstimes.com/articles/marine-aviation-commander-fired
“Right now, my sense is I haven’t given them all the tools they need – spare parts,” Davis, deputy
commandant for aviation, told reporters in Washington. “I haven’t given them the right training. I want my
corporals and my sergeants and my staff sergeants out on the flightline teaching the lance corporals how to
maintain these airplanes.”
The investigation did not find any evidence that the squadron was flying aircraft that were not safe. Still,
two of the squadron’s F/A-18 Hornets crashed on his watch, one of which was fatal.
Workman admitted that he talked to the squadron and someone else – whose name was redacted – about
what may have caused the fatal crash before the investigation was complete, the investigation found. The
name of the pilot who died is not included in the report but Maj. Richard Norton was killed in a July 28
crash.
One squadron member told the investigating officer he “believes that the CO followed his heart instead of
his head in a difficult situation,” the investigation found.
Ultimately, Maj. Gen. Mark Wise, commanding general of the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, fired Workman
“due to a loss of trust and confidence” in Workman’s ability to lead the squadron “based on issues
concerning command climate,” said Capt. Kurt Stahl, a spokesman for the wing.
“Leaders are responsible for holding themselves and their units to a standard – a standard that enables 3d
Marine Aircraft Wing to effectively operate as an integral part of the Marine Air Ground Task Force in
defense of the nation,” Stahl said. “The majority of units and leaders meet and exceed expectations and are
accomplishing amazing things each and every day. When the standard is not met, corrective actions are
taken and sometimes that includes making changes in leadership.”
Racism
https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/teachable-moment-teens-behind-racist-graffiti-sentencedto-visit-holocaust-museum-read-books-by-black-authors/2017/02/01/3b61e48c-e8cb-11e6-b82f687d6e6a3e7c_story.html
Teens behind racist graffiti sentenced to visit Holocaust
Museum, read books by black and Jewish authors
By Moriah Balingit
The Washington Post, February 1, 2017
A group paints the exterior of the Ashburn Colored School. (Bill
O'Leary/The Washington Post)
When five boys spray-painted a historic black school in Ashburn,
Va., with swastikas, “WHITE POWER” and vulgar images, they
were motivated more by teenage naiveté than by racial hatred, a
Loudoun County prosecutor concluded.
Three of the boys are minorities themselves, and one also marked the
walls with “BROWN POWER.” None had previous troubles with the law.
So Deputy Commonwealth’s Attorney Alex Rueda prepared an unusual sentence recommendation meant to
educate them on the meaning of hate speech in the hope that they come to understand the effect their
behavior had on the community.
The boys, who are all 16 or 17, have been sentenced to read books from a list that includes works by
prominent black, Jewish and Afghan authors, write a research paper on hate speech, go to the U.S.
Holocaust Memorial Museum and listen to an interview with a former student of the Ashburn Colored
School, which they defaced. The school taught Loudoun County’s black children from 1892 until the
1950s, a period during which they were barred from attending school with white students.
The five teens pleaded guilty this week to destruction of property and unlawful entry before Judge Avelina
Jacob in Loudoun County Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court.
Rueda said the boys could benefit from understanding the devastating power of hate speech.
The daughter of a former librarian, Rueda said she learned about the world through books.
Police said the boys went to the building late Sept. 30 with spray cans and defaced the aging facade of the
historic school.
“It really seemed to be a teachable moment. None of them seemed to appreciate — until all of this blew up
in the newspapers — the seriousness of what they had done,” Rueda said.
The boys targeted the building because it is owned by the Loudoun School for the Gifted, and one boy had
left the private school on unfavorable terms, Rueda said. “So it really seemed to be an opportunity to teach
them about race, religion, discrimination, all of those things.”
Before the vandalism, students at the Loudoun School for the Gifted had been working to restore the site so
it could serve as a sober reminder of the county’s segregated past.
The slurs painted there devastated the students who had started the meticulous restoration work and were
raising money through bake sales and yard sales to fund the project.
Deep Sran, founder of the Loudoun School for the Gifted, said he felt the sentence was appropriate.
He said he was especially pleased that the order includes listening to an interview with Yvonne Thornton
Neal, one of the Ashburn Colored School’s former students.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/teachable-moment-teens-behind-racist-graffiti-sentencedto-visit-holocaust-museum-read-books-by-black-authors/2017/02/01/3b61e48c-e8cb-11e6-b82f687d6e6a3e7c_story.html
“We thought it would be good to really understand the story of Ms. Neal and the local community and why
it was so important to them,” Sran said.
The vandalism occurred during a contentious election season, stoking fears that racial tension in the
suburban D.C. community was growing.
An outpouring of support followed from community members who volunteered on a “community
restoration day” to help undo the damage and from people around the world who donated through a
GoFundMe page, giving more than $60,000. Washington Redskins owner Daniel Snyder pitched in an
additional $35,000.
Rueda’s reading list includes “The Beautiful Struggle,” the memoir of Ta-Nehisi Coates; and “Night,” Elie
Wiesel’s searing account of Auschwitz. She also included two works by Afghan author Khaled Hosseini
and other important works by Alice Walker and Toni Morrison.
The boys are also sentenced to write a report that will be “a research paper explaining the message that
swastikas and white power messages on African American schools or houses of worship send to the
African American community as well as the broader community, which includes other minority groups.”
They also must write reports on the books they read.
If the boys complete their sentences, their cases will be dismissed.
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/30/education/edlife/black-white-peer-pressure.html
When ‘Black Like Me’ Means ‘White Like Them’
By Boluwaji Ogunyemi
The New York Times, January 30, 2017
From my first steps onto campus, I was determined to make my Nigerian parents proud and to seize the
opportunities they had left their native country for. I had graduated high school in Newfoundland and
Labrador, Canada’s most eastern province, at the top of my class and as student body vice president. Being
the single black student in a school of 600 had been immaterial to me. I had not developed a sense of black
identity because, simply, I did not have to.
So here I was at the University of Western Ontario, the sole black on a dormitory floor made up mostly of
white students from Toronto and a few ethnic minorities. It was, for most of us, the first time we were
living away from home, and we spent time asking honest and sometimes naïve questions about one another,
including ones about religion and race. It proved to be a safe, collegial space to check our biases. Or so I
thought.
A few months in, we received an email notification that our exam grades were available. One by one, the
pre-meds among us logged onto the reporting system to access our scores and, following the lead of one
floor mate, shared them aloud. Each of us had already fallen prey to the paranoia that even a single
mediocre grade would compromise our chances of medical school acceptance.
“76!” a friend proclaimed, appearing satisfied. “80” from my roommate. “74” from another. “72,” lamented
another. Then I nervously stepped up to enter my login. “94!” I declared in relief.
Most of the others donned looks of approval or surprise, while one, an Indo-Canadian business student, was
notably shocked. “Are you trying to be white, Bolu?!” he jeered. The others laughed boisterously at the
question.
I was confused. Surely, performing well didn’t make me any less black, did it? This was the first time I saw
myself as a racialized minority in the context of an educational institution. Some of my peers, it seems,
were subscribing to the stereotype of black underachievement.
Throughout my undergraduate years I would hear comments of derision about “acting white.” Coming
from black and white colleagues alike, this quip was particularly common when I decided to pass up social
activities to study. I would often succumb to peer pressure in the hope of fitting in, and I found myself
second-guessing my dedication toward academics.
Similar experiences were described in the work of another man of Nigerian ancestry. In his 2003 book
“Black American Students in an Affluent Suburb,” John U. Ogbu, then a professor of anthropology at the
University of California at Berkeley, described how black youth are often seen as betraying their cultural
identities by aspiring to academic success.
After months of fieldwork in the affluent Shaker Heights suburb of Cleveland, he had developed what he
called the “cultural-ecological theory of academic disengagement”: The education gap between black and
white students could be partly explained by students underperforming to avoid derision by their peers. It
was indeed a controversial finding.
Dr. Ogbu, who died a few months after his book was published, classified immigrants like my family —
those who chose to migrate to settler societies like Canada and the United States — as voluntary minorities
who accepted many aspects of the culture they had chosen.
In contrast, he described involuntary minorities — indigenous people and those who came here as part of
the slave trade — as suffering from marginalization and discrimination for multiple generations. Some of
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/30/education/edlife/black-white-peer-pressure.html
these individuals, he found, were less trusting of educational institutions, which they saw as part of the
system that contributed to their historical disenfranchisement. They clung to manners of speech and dress
that were distinct from the (predominantly white) mainstream and that fostered a disregard, even a disdain,
for assimilation.
Dr. Ogbu’s theories rang true at times in my own life as I continued to struggle with the balancing act:
Would I slack off or go to the library in the evenings to pre-read for the next physiology lecture and risk
being caught “acting white”? (It was Dr. Ogbu who popularized the phrase in the mid-1980s, to explain
why black students might spurn behaviors associated with achievement.) How much would I have to lower
the grades I reported to my friends when they would pry, to fit their preconceptions?
Both my grades and my identity were slipping.
But toward the end of my undergraduate years, I found myself spending time with other first-generation
Canadians from Africa. Like me, many of them understood that agency and dedication would propel them
farther than foreign names and pigmentation would pull them back. The doors that advanced education
promised to open were a primary reason our parents emigrated to North America. My new friends and I
were not trying to conform to what peers, strangers or society believed a black male should be.
I attended medical school in St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador. Commonly, minority physicians-intraining report tremendous support from their communities. In his memoir, “Black Man in a White Coat,”
the African-American psychiatrist Dr. Damon Tweedy describes receiving positive and encouraging
reactions when medical staff members saw the “young brother” sporting a white coat during his medical
training at Duke in the late 1990s.
This would be the case for me as well.
Unfortunately, it is not always the case for others, who have the ability to succeed but succumb to social
pressure. Minorities with aspirations of upward mobility have considerable barriers holding them back.
Systemic factors like differential access to high-quality child care, lower socio-economic status overall and
poorly funded schools account for much of the educational achievement gap between black students and
the general population. Peer pressure should not be one of them.
Every step I took, from undergraduate training to medical school to competitive postgraduate training
programs, yielded fewer and fewer colleagues of my complexion — a pattern documented in a recent
article by Dr. Amit G. Pandya and other members of the American Academy of Dermatology diversity task
force. It is for this reason that the academy runs a mentorship program that engages medical students of
color in the hope of creating an ethnically diverse cohort of dermatologists.
The University of Toronto’s Community of Support initiative recognizes the importance of a health care
community that reflects the diversity of the Canadian population, with black and indigenous students a
priority. Through its mentoring program I work with black students who aspire to become physicians.
Many of them tell me that interacting with a physician who looks like them encourages them to continue
their own journeys.
I tell them what my immigrant parents told me: to surpass expectations placed upon them by institutions,
friends and themselves. Because achievement has no color.
Boluwaji Ogunyemi is chief dermatology resident at the University of British Columbia.
http://bigstory.ap.org/article/c6d7507b7fe34dc1aa73c62d0b6f7259/white-privilege-essay-contest-rufflesupscale-coastal-town
White privilege essay contest stirs passions in upscale town
By Michael Melia
The Associated Press, January 31, 2017
WESTPORT, Conn. (AP) — When the town sponsored a student essay contest on the topic of white
privilege, it was intended to provoke discussion in this wealthy, overwhelmingly white community on
Connecticut's Gold Coast.
It did, along with no small amount of outrage.
Contest organizers have been surprised by the reaction from some who say the question wrongly suggests
race plays into the good life enjoyed in Westport.
Residents like Bari Reiner, 72, say the question is offensive because the town welcomes anybody who can
afford to live here. "It's an open town," Reiner said. "There are no barricades here. Nobody says if you're
black or whatever, you can't move here."
The contest , put on by the town's diversity council, asks students to describe the impact white privilege has
had on their lives, using a term that refers generally to advantages conferred automatically to whites, and
not to minorities. The concept has moved into the mainstream as the nation has discussed race more openly.
The chairman of the diversity council, Harold Bailey Jr., said that in addition to the chatter in town, people
as far away as Singapore have weighed in online.
"There's a lot more controversy around it than many of us expected," said Bailey, a retired IBM vice
president who is black. "Just the fact it says 'white' and 'privilege,' for some people that's all they need to
see, and all of a sudden we're race-baiting or trying to get people to feel guilty. That's not at all what it's
about."
Like other New York City suburbs on the Connecticut shoreline, Westport ranks among the country's
wealthiest places. Its median family income tops $150,000, and it is home to the world's largest hedge fund,
Bridgewater Associates. As of the 2010 census, its 26,000 residents were also 93 percent white.
The town has a liberal streak that some attribute to its vibrant arts community, and it voted by more than 2
to 1 for Democrat Hillary Clinton over Republican Donald Trump. It also has not been immune to episodes
of racism. Dozens of students at the public Staples High School were disciplined for circulating racially
offensive memes in a private Facebook group uncovered in November.
The diversity council, TEAM Westport, was created more than a decade ago to increase diversity and make
the town more welcoming. The winner of the annual contest's $1,000 top prize will be announced April 3.
The essay questions are developed by a committee and approved by Staples faculty members.
Some parents welcomed the discussion stirred by this year's question as a reminder for local teens that not
all places are as affluent and homogeneous as Westport.
"I like the idea to get it out there so kids can talk about it and embrace it," said Bert Dovo, a white father of
two who are now in college.
Janet Samuels, 60, said that her children are now grown but that she believes it is the role of parents to
teach what privilege is.
"That would upset me very much," Samuels, who is also white, said of the essay question. "I wouldn't go
there."
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/27/us/emmett-till-lynching-carolyn-bryant-donham.html
Woman Linked to 1955 Emmett Till Murder Tells Historian
Her Claims Were False
By Richard Pérez-Peña
The New York Times, January 27, 2017
Carolyn Bryant Donham in 1955. (Credit: Gene Herrick/Associated Press)
For six decades, she has been the silent woman linked to one of the most
notorious crimes in the nation’s history, the lynching of Emmett Till, a 14year-old black boy, keeping her thoughts and memories to herself as
millions of strangers idealized or vilified her.
But all these years later, a historian says that the woman has broken her
silence, and acknowledged that the most incendiary parts of the story she
and others told about Emmett — claims that seem tame today but were
more than enough to get a black person killed in Jim Crow-era Mississippi
— were false.
The woman, Carolyn Bryant Donham, spoke to Timothy B. Tyson, a Duke University professor —
possibly the only interview she has given to a historian or journalist since shortly after the episode — who
has written a book, “The Blood of Emmett Till,” to be published next week.
In it, he wrote that she said of her long-ago allegations that Emmett grabbed her and was menacing and
sexually crude toward her, “that part is not true.”
The revelations were first reported on Friday by Vanity Fair.
As a matter of narrow justice, it makes little difference; true or not, her claims did not justify any serious
penalty, much less death.
The two white men who were accused of murdering Emmett in 1955 — and later admitted it in a Look
Magazine interview — were acquitted that year by an all-white, all-male jury, and so could not be retried.
They and others suspected of involvement in the killing died long ago.
Emmett Till was 14 when he was killed in 1955. (Credit: Associated Press)
But among thousands of lynchings of black people, this one looms large in
the country’s tortured racial history, taught in history classes to
schoolchildren, and often cited as one of the catalysts for the civil rights
movement.
Photographs in Jet Magazine of Emmett’s gruesomely mutilated body — at
a funeral that his mother insisted have an open coffin, to show the world
what his killers had done — had a galvanizing effect on black America.
The case has refused to fade, revived in a long list of writings and works of
art, including, recently, “Writing to Save a Life: The Louis Till File,” a
book that unearths the case of Emmett’s father, a soldier who was executed
by the Army on charges of murder and rape.
The Justice Department began an investigation into the Emmett Till lynching in 2004, Emmett’s body was
exhumed for an autopsy, and the F.B.I. rediscovered the long-missing trial transcript. But in 2007, a grand
jury decided not to indict Ms. Donham, or anyone else, as an accomplice in the murder.
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/27/us/emmett-till-lynching-carolyn-bryant-donham.html
“I was hoping that one day she would admit it, so it matters to me that she did, and it gives me some
satisfaction,” said Wheeler Parker, 77, a cousin of Emmett’s who lives near Chicago. “It’s important to
people understanding how the word of a white person against a black person was law, and a lot of black
people lost their lives because of it. It really speaks to history, it shows what black people went through in
those days.”
Patrick Weems, project coordinator at the Emmett Till Interpretive Center, a museum in Sumner, Miss.,
said, “I think until you break the silence, there is still that implied consent to the false narrative set forth in
1955.”
“It matters that she recanted,” he added.
Emmett, who lived in Chicago, was visiting relatives in Money, a tiny hamlet in the Mississippi Delta
region when, on Aug. 24, 1955, he went into a store owned by Roy and Carolyn Bryant, a married couple,
and had his fateful encounter with Ms. Bryant, then 21.
Emmett Till’s mother at his funeral in 1955. She had insisted that
the coffin be open, to show the world what his killers had done.
Credit Chicago-Sun Times, via Associated Press
Four days later, he was kidnapped from his uncle’s house, beaten
and tortured beyond recognition, and shot in the head. His body was
tied with barbed wire to a cotton gin fan and thrown into the
Tallahatchie River.
Roy Bryant and his half brother, J. W. Milam, were arrested and
charged with murder.
What happened in that store is unclear, but it has usually been portrayed as an example of a black boy from
up North unwittingly defying the strict racial mores of the South at the time. Witnesses said that Emmett
wolf-whistled at Ms. Bryant, though even that has been called into doubt.
Days after the arrest, Ms. Bryant told her husband’s lawyer that Emmett had insulted her, but said nothing
about physical contact, Dr. Tyson said. Five decades later, she told the F.B.I. that he had touched her hand.
But at the trial, she testified — without the jury present — that Emmett had grabbed her hand, she pulled
away, and he followed her behind the counter, clasped her waist, and, using vulgar language, told her that
he had been with white women before.
“She said that wasn’t true, but that she honestly doesn’t remember exactly what did happen,” Dr. Tyson
said in an interview on Friday.
Ms. Donham, now 82, could not be reached for comment.
Dr. Tyson said that in 2008, he got a call from Ms. Donham’s daughter-in-law, who said they had liked
another book of his, and wanted to meet him.
It was in that meeting that she spoke to him about the Till case, saying, “Nothing that boy did could ever
justify what happened to him.”
Dr. Tyson said that motivated him to write about the case.
Ms. Donham told him that soon after the killing, her husband’s family hid her away, moving her from place
to place for days, to keep her from talking to law enforcement.
She has said that Roy Bryant, whom she later divorced, was physically abusive to her.
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/27/us/emmett-till-lynching-carolyn-bryant-donham.html
“The circumstances under which she told the story were coercive,” Dr. Tyson said. “She’s horrified by it.
There’s clearly a great burden of guilt and sorrow.
Devery S. Anderson, author of a 2015 history, “Emmett Till: The Murder That Shocked the World and
Propelled the Civil Rights Movement,” said, “I’ve encountered so many people who want someone be
punished for the crime, to have anyone still breathing held responsible, and at this point, that’s just her.”
But what matters now, he said, is the truth. It has been clear for decades that she lied in court, he said, “to
get it from her own mouth after so many years of silence is important.”
For his part, Mr. Parker, a pastor, said he harbors no ill will toward Ms. Donham, and hopes that her
admission brings her peace.
“I can’t hate,” he said. “Hate destroys the hater, too. That’s a heavy burden to carry.”
Religion
http://www.fayobserver.com/news/crime_courts/fayetteville-man-who-threatened-raeford-mosquesentenced-in-federal-court/article_5d76e8e3-f8a3-5a00-becb-f4c24a0ad4d5.html
Fayetteville man who threatened Raeford mosque sentenced
in federal court
By Alan Wooten
Fayetteville (N.C.) Observer, February 2, 2017
The Fayetteville man who threatened members of the Masjid Al Madina Mosque in Raeford was sentenced
to eight months of home confinement today.
Russell Thomas Langford, 36, of the 1700 block of Sykes Pond Road, pleaded guilty Nov. 7 to threatening
mosque members in order to obstruct their free exercise of religious beliefs, news release from the U.S.
Justice Department said. The sentence was given in the Middle District of North Carolina, said federal
prosecutors Tom Wheeler and Sandra Hairston.
"The free exercise of religion is a foundational principle of our society," Wheeler said in the release. He's
the acting assistant attorney general. "Hateful threats designed to obstruct this right to religious freedom
and to intimidate members of a religion simply because of their beliefs have no place in our communities.
An attack on one religion is an attack on all religions. The Justice Department will continue to vigorously
prosecute crimes motivated by religious animus."
Langford, a Bronze Star recipient, was a major assigned to the G-33 Mobilization Section of the U.S. Army
Reserve Command on Fort Bragg when the incident happened June 9. He was ordered to not possess
firearms by a Hoke County judge in early July. His mother, following that ruling, said Langford suffers
from post-traumatic stress disorder.
In pleading guilty Thursday, Langford admitted he acted intentionally to threaten the members and obstruct
their religious exercise and used a dangerous weapon that night. In court testimony, Langford said he
repeatedly drove past the mosque, eventually seeing a mosque member leave. He followed the man to his
home and then returned to the mosque and approached another member, whom he threatened to kill and
bury on the mosque premises, pointing a firearm at the member. He then drove away.
When he returned to the mosque again, he was stopped by several of its members, who called lawmen.
Langford admitted he used derogatory anti-Muslim terms repeatedly in the multiple contacts with mosque
members.
Hoke County deputies, who stepped up patrols around the mosque after the incident, said they found
several firearms, ammunition and additional weapons in Langford's Chevrolet Tahoe at the mosque. Capt.
John Kivett said there were three handguns.
Two open packages of bacon were left outside one of the mosque entrances earlier that afternoon and a
silver Tahoe was seen parked outside the mosque.
The FBI and Hoke County Sheriff's Office carried out the investigation in the case; prosecution was
handled by Graham Green, assistant U.S. attorney of the Middle District of North Carolina, and trial lawyer
Julia Gegenheimer of the Civil Rights Division.
Staff writer Alan Wooten can be reached at [email protected] or 486-3570.
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-new-york-hatecrime-idUSKBN15B1S3
Muslim woman assaulted at JFK airport; man charged with
hate crimes
By Gina Cherelus
Reuters, January 27, 2017
A Massachusetts man who prosecutors said yelled that President Donald Trump "will get rid of all of you"
after assaulting a female Muslim employee at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport faces nine
hate crime charges.
Robin Rhodes, 57, of Worcester attacked Rabeeya Khan, who was wearing a hijab, or head scarf, while she
was working at Delta Airlines' Sky Lounge on Wednesday evening, Queens District Attorney Richard
Brown said in a statement on Thursday.
Rhodes, who was waiting for a connecting flight home after arriving from Aruba, approached the door of
the office where Khan was working and said: "Are you sleeping? Are you praying? What are you doing?"
He punched the door, which struck Khan's chair, and then threatened her and kicked her in the right leg,
according to Brown's statement.
Khan tried to flee, but Rhodes blocked her until a passerby stopped and attempted to calm him down, the
statement said.
She was then able run out of the office. Rhodes followed her to the lounge's front desk, where he got down
on his knees and began to bow in imitation of a Muslim praying, prosecutors said.
"Trump is here now," Rhodes shouted, according to Brown's statement. "He will get rid of all of you. You
can ask Germany, Belgium and France about these kind of people. You will see what happens."
According to the statement, Khan suffered pain in her right leg and was afraid Rhodes would hurt her more.
Delta spokesman Anthony Black said Khan worked for an Israeli company that provides services to the
airline, which had reached out to her employer to offer support.
In a statement, the airline said: "People who are violent or exhibit bullying behavior are not welcome."
Rhodes is due to be arraigned in Queens Criminal Court, where he will face nine hate crime charges,
including third-degree assault, second-degree unlawful imprisonment and first-degree harassment. If
convicted, he faces up to four years in prison.
An official at Brown's office said contact details for Rhodes' lawyer were not immediately available.
(Additional reporting by Ian Simpson in Washington; Editing by Daniel Wallis and Lisa Von Ahn)
SEE ALSO:
Man Kicked J.F.K. Airport Worker Wearing Hijab, Prosecutor Says [The New York Times, 2017-01-26]
Man charged with hate crime at JFK is Worcester businessman, political donor [Boston Globe, 2017-01-27]
Man charged with hate crimes after encounter with Muslim airline worker [CNN, 2017-01-27]
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/acts-of-faith/wp/2017/02/01/you-have-to-be-christian-to-truly-beamerican-people-in-the-us-are-far-more-likely-to-say-so/
You have to be Christian to truly be American? Many
people in the U.S. say so.
By Julie Zauzmer
The Washington Post, February 1, 2017
About one-third of all Americans think that you have to be a Christian to truly be an American — despite
the history of religious pluralism that dates back to the nation’s very earliest days.
In a timely survey released Wednesday afternoon, just as the United States is debating the merits of
suspending immigration from seven majority-Muslim countries, the Pew Research Center asked residents
of numerous nations what it takes to truly belong in their countries. Americans were far more likely than
residents of other countries included in the survey to say that religion was key to sharing in the national
identity.
Thirty-two percent of Americans said one should be Christian to really be American, compared to just 13
percent of Australians, 15 percent of Canadians and 15 percent of Europeans who felt the same way about
belonging in their homelands.
The same number of Americans — 32 percent — said that being born in the United States is key to being
an American. More Americans — 45 percent — said that sharing “national customs and traditions” was
important, and many more — 70 percent — said being an American meant speaking English.
Religion was the only question on which Americans were an outlier. On birth, language and customs,
America fell in line with other industrialized nations.
While religious minorities have lived in the United States since before the American Revolution — Thomas
Jefferson defended the rights of Muslims, and George Washington wrote a famous letter guaranteeing
religious liberty to the Jews of Rhode Island — still pastors and politicians alike have frequently described
the United States as a “Christian nation.”
Republicans, who are themselves more likely to be Christian, said at a higher rate that one need be
Christian to be American: 43 percent compared to 29 percent of Democrats and 26 percent of independents.
One’s own religion also strongly affected the answers: Pew found that 57 percent of white evangelical
Protestants thought it was very important to be Christian in order to be American, while 29 percent of white
mainline Protestants, 27 percent of Catholics and just 9 percent of people unaffiliated with a faith felt the
same way.
This opinion is apparently becoming much less popular with the younger generation of Americans, who are
less likely to affiliate with a religion than generations before them. Among adults over 50, 44 percent told
Pew that being Christian was key to being American; among those younger than 35, 18 percent said so.
In Sweden, where 73 percent of the population is Protestant but many do not consider religion important in
their lives, a mere 7 percent of respondents felt that one needs to be Christian to be a real Swede. The
number was similarly low in several other European countries: 8 percent in the Netherlands, 9 percent in
Spain, 10 percent in France and 11 percent in Germany.
Sexual Assault /
Harassment
https://www.dvidshub.net/news/222161/army-cid-warns-sextortion-scams
Army CID warns of ‘Sextortion’ scams
By U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command
Defense Video Imagery Distribution System, February 1, 2017
CID Lookout is a U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command
initiative to partner with the Army community by providing a
conduit for members of the Army family to help prevent, reduce and
report felony-level crime. (Photo by Jeffrey Castro)
The U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command’s Computer
Crime Investigative Unit (CCIU) cautions Soldiers to be on the lookout for “Sextortion scams” where
criminals will try to engage in online sexual activities with unsuspecting service members, and then
demand money or favors in exchange for not publicizing potentially embarrassing information.
Officials describe “sextortion scams” as cyber sexual extortion in which perpetrators conduct schemes that
leverage those sexual acts for financial gain or other forms of blackmail.
Once the Soldier sends a compromising photo or participates in a video chat, the perpetrator threatens to
send those images to the Soldier’s command, family, and friends unless “hush money” is paid, according to
CID special agents. Officials caution that Soldiers may be prime victims because they want to protect their
career and out of embarrassment, they may reluctantly give in to the financial or other demands of the
extortionist. CCIU agents added that this particular scam is sometimes effective because once the
perpetrator gets the unsuspected Soldier to perform some sort of virtual sexual act with an “attractive
person” on the Internet, while they are secretly recorded, the true nightmare begins because they are now
more likely to be blackmailed for those compromising images.
“Be cautious of your online communications and do not share intimate, personal information with strangers
or people you have never met in person,” said Special Agent Daniel Andrews, director of CCIU.
Unfortunately, these incidents continue to occur across the globe, and sextortion victims are encouraged to
seek the assistance of law enforcement.
“Victims are at risk of further exploitation, which can include demands for additional payments, more
sexual images, sensitive military information, or access to U.S. Army systems and facilities, so early
notification to law enforcement is important,” Andrews said.
If you have been the victim of sextortion, please adhere to the following:
• DO NOT send money to the scammer(s). CCIU is aware of instances where scammers threatened to
release videos unless a second or even third payment is made.
• DO NOT continue to correspond with the scammer(s).
• DO preserve whatever information you have from the scammer(s), such as social networking profile,
email accounts used, where money was directed to be sent, etc.
• DO notify CCIU at [email protected] or 571-305-4478 to report being a victim if you are a
service member or an Army civilian employee. If you are not associated with the military, report the crime
to your local police department, DHS Homeland Security Investigations at [email protected],
or the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center at www.ic3.gov.
For more information about computer security, other computer-related scams and to review previous cybercrime alert notices and cyber-crime prevention flyers visit the Army CID CCIU website at
http://www.cid.army.mil/cciu-advisories.html.
https://www.army.mil/article/181423/budget_act_includes_changes_to_army_sexual_assault_policy
Budget act includes changes to Army sexual assault policy
By David Vergun
Army.mil, January 30, 2017
Changes to the law regarding review of discharges, the definition of
sexual harassment and reporting requirements for the Department
of Defense have been made, said Col. Walter M. Hudson. Many of
the changes in the law reflect practices already adopted by DOD.
Hudson, chief of the Army's Criminal Law Division in the Office of
the Judge Advocate General, said these changes came about when
the National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 2017 was
signed into law by the president Dec. 23. (Photo Credit: Courtesy
of SHARP)
WASHINGTON (Army News Service) -- Changes to the law
covering the review of discharges, the definition of sexual
harassment and reporting requirements for the Department of
Defense have taken effect.
Many of the changes in the law reflect practices already adopted by
DOD, according to Col. Walter M. Hudson, chief of the Army's
Criminal Law Division in the Office of the Judge Advocate
General. The changes came about when the National Defense
Authorization Act for fiscal year 2017 was signed into law by the president Dec. 23, Hudson said.
The new NDAA is now codified in Title 10 of the United States Code and Public Law. The following are
some of the changes that were legislated:
REVIEW OF DISCHARGES
Former Soldiers with claims of post-traumatic stress disorder or traumatic brain injury in connection with
combat or sexual trauma as a basis for their discharge can now provide medical evidence from the
Department of Veterans Affairs or civilian health care providers to discharge review boards as a possible
means to upgrade their discharge status. The board is instructed to give "liberal consideration" to that
evidence.
Through enhanced public outreach, engagement with veterans' service organizations, military service
organizations, and other outside groups, as well as direct outreach to individual veterans, the DOD
encourages all veterans who believe they have experienced an error or injustice to request relief from their
service's Board for Correction of Military/Naval Records or Discharge Review Board.
For discharge upgrades, if the discharge was less than 15 years ago, veterans should complete DD Form
293 (included in the related links section below) and send it to their service's discharge review board (the
address is on the form). For discharges over 15 years ago, veterans should complete the DD Form 149 (also
included in the related links section below) and send it to the address on the form.
SEXUAL HARASSMENT DEFINITIONS REFINED
The definition of sexual harassment that triggers a command investigation will no longer be limited to "the
work environment." It will simply be "the environment," meaning it could take place anywhere and at any
time. This change reflects current training that advises Soldiers that they can be held accountable for acts of
harassment that occur off post or during off-duty hours.
https://www.army.mil/article/181423/budget_act_includes_changes_to_army_sexual_assault_policy
TRAINING FOR RETALIATION INVESTIGATORS
All personnel who are tasked to investigate claims of retaliation by Soldiers reporting sexual assault will
receive special training on the nature and consequences of both the retaliation as well as the sexual assault
trauma. Those receiving the training are personnel of the Criminal Investigation Service or CID, Inspector
General offices, and anyone assigned by a commander to investigate claims of retaliation made by or
against members of the command.
Alleged victims of sexual assault who report retaliation will receive in writing the results of the retaliation
investigation.
REPORT TO CONGRESS
The services currently provide annual reports regarding the number of complaints of retaliation in
connection with reporting of sexual assaults. Going forward, those reports will be much more detailed,
including a description of the complaint, demographic information on the complainant and alleged
retaliator, and the results of any investigation.
http://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/wayne/2017/01/29/female-boss-denies-sexuallyharassing-male-wayne-county-sheriffs-cop/96321642/
Female sheriff's officer accused of sex harassment says she's
the victim
A male cop and his female boss have both lost their guns and badges in a scandal at the
Wayne County sheriff's office.
By Tresa Baldas
Detroit (Mich.) Free Press, January 29, 2017
Detroit Free Press file photo of Theodore Levin United States
Federal Court House in Detroit.(Photo: Kirthmon F.
Dozier/Detroit Free)
A female boss accused of sexually harassing a male subordinate at
the Wayne County Sheriff's Office is firing back in what is playing
out as a he-said, she-said story, with damning accusations being
made against one another.
The male officer says in a federal lawsuit that she sexually harassed
him for a year with raunchy comments, texts and stalking behavior and that his complaints were laughed
off by supervisors who did nothing, triggering a lawsuit against the sheriff's office.
Now in response to the lawsuit, the 51-year-old female sergeant at the center of the case claims she's the
victim in this situation — not him — and that a "good old boys network" is ganging up on her for
accusing one of their own of a serious crime: sexual assault.
Offering her side of the story through her attorney, the sergeant claims she's not the sexual aggressor that
the subordinate male officer is painting her to be and that she never pursued the 53-year-old married
corporal as he claims in his lawsuit.
Rather, she alleges that he grabbed her breast in a jailhouse room in 2015 and that when she threatened to
report him, he filed a sexual harassment claim at work in retaliation, followed by the federal lawsuit a year
later.
Attorneys for both sides have said the sex assault allegation was turned over to the Detroit Police
Department for investigation. The DPD told the Free Press that the investigation has wrapped up and that it
turned over its findings to Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy, who has not yet decided whether to
seek criminal charges.
Both officers have lost their guns and badges pending the outcome of the investigation. They work at desk
jobs in separate buildings.
Lawyers for both sides say their clients have suffered professionally and personally.
But the woman, not the man, is the one who's getting the cold shoulder at work, claims her lawyer, Jeffrey
Burg, who said his client is being shunned for speaking out against a popular officer.
"If there weren't a good old boys network, they would be respectfully silent ... but people are ganging up
against her without knowing," said Burg, who believes his client is getting mistreated because she's a
woman.
"In a traditional male environment like the sheriff's department, you're going to face pressure against you
because you're a woman. And when you're ranked higher than a macho man like this, watch out."
http://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/wayne/2017/01/29/female-boss-denies-sexuallyharassing-male-wayne-county-sheriffs-cop/96321642/
As for his client's accuser, Burg said: "He was a very popular corporal ... everybody loves this guy. He's not
like a weak victim in the workplace."
The plaintiff in the sexual harassment lawsuit is Richard Kozlowski Sr., who has worked at the Wayne
County Sheriff's Office for about two decades. He has declined to be interviewed. His lawyer, Scott Batey,
scoffed at the woman's sex assault claim. The Free Press is not naming the woman because she is claiming
sexual assault.
"Her allegations against my client are completely fabricated in retaliation for his complaints of sexual
harassment and are insulting to the thousands of women who have been sexually assaulted," Batey said.
"Her allegations are unbelievable and inconsistent with the actions of someone who has been sexually
assaulted."
Batey said his client filed his sexual harassment complaint at work on Sept. 29, 2015; then, almost two
weeks later, she responded with a sexual assault complaint for an incident that allegedly took place five
months earlier.
"The timeline didn't line up at all," Batey said. "She ... waited five months after she learned my client
complained in writing that she was sexually harassing him?"
According to both sides, here is the timeline of events in the case:
May 23, 2015: Kozlowski allegedly grabbed the female boss's breast in a room at the Wayne County Jail.
She took a medical leave of absence.
Sept. 29, 2015: Kozlowski filed a sexual harassment complaint with the sheriff's office.
Oct. 12, 2015: She filed a sexual assault complaint with the sheriff's office.
Oct. 20, 2015: Kozlowski is suspended.
Nov. 28, 2016: Kozlowski files a sexual harassment lawsuit in federal court against the sheriff's office,
claiming it ignored his sexual harassment complaint.
Jan. 4, 2016: Sheriff's office responds to the lawsuit and denies wrongdoing.
Meanwhile, Burg argues that his client is not the woman that Kozlowski is portraying her to be in his
lawsuit, in which he claims she taunted him with raunchy comments — like allegedly offering him oral sex
or suggesting a three-way with him and his wife — sent him inappropriate text messages and frequently
drove by his house.
Burg said his client did none of those things. He said Kozlowski only filed the lawsuit to save face from the
more serious allegations he was facing from her.
Contact Tresa Baldas: [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @Tbaldas
http://www.military.com/daily-news/2017/02/01/retired-general-demoted-2-ranks-sexual-assaultinvestigation.html
Retired General Demoted 2 Ranks After Sexual Assault
Investigation
By Oriana Pawlyk
Military.com, February 1, 2017
Then Gen. Arthur Lichte, Air Mobility Command commander from
Scott Air Force Base, Ill., talks to Airmen in the U.S. Air Force
Expeditionary Center on Fort Dix, N.J., Jan. 22, 2008. (U.S. Air
Force Photo/Master Sgt. Bob Lorusso)
Retired Air Force Gen. Arthur Lichte has been demoted to the rank
of major general and will forfeit roughly $5,000 a month in
retirement pay after the service's Office of Special Investigations
found that he engaged in inappropriate sexual acts while in uniform.
Lichte, who retired Jan. 1, 2010, after more than 38 years of service, could have been charged with conduct
unbecoming an officer, adultery, and having an unprofessional relationship under the Uniform Code of
Military Justice, but those charges have a statute of limitations, Air Force spokeswoman Ann Stefanek told
Military.com on Wednesday.
Larry Youngner, Lichte's attorney, said they intend to appeal the Air Force's decision.
OSI ordered an investigation into the retired general in August after being notified that a female officer -who initially had filed a restricted report in July to her sexual-assault response coordinator -- changed her
report to unrestricted to involve law enforcement.
The investigation found that Lichte engaged in inappropriate sexual acts with the female officer twice in
2007, while holding the rank of lieutenant general as the service's assistant vice chief of staff and Air Staff
director at the Pentagon. In 2009, Lichte, then a four-star general, once again had an inappropriate sexual
relationship with the same female officer under his command, the service found.
Lichte was head of Air Mobility Command, headquartered at Scott Air Force Base, Illinois, between 2007
and 2010.
Media reports identified the victim as a female colonel. The victim "felt she had no choice to engage in
sexual contact with [Lichte] due to his rank and position in the AF," according to the heavily redacted OSI
report.
The Air Force has not released the victim's name due to privacy considerations, Stefanek said.
Lichte's actions "did not rise to the level of rape," as deemed by OSI, and are not a criminal offense,
Stefanek said. The UCMJ does not have a statute of limitations for rape charges, but does have a five-year
limitation on related sexual misconduct. In this case, the service used administrative action and issued a
letter of reprimand, in addition to the demotion in rank.
As a four-star, Lichte received $18,000 a month in retirement pay, according to the Defense Department's
2009 pay scale for a retiree of 38 years. After the demotion, his pay will be reduced by about $5,000,
Stefanek said.
Youngner, of Tully Rinckey PLLC, issued a statement on Wednesday saying the firm intends to "appeal the
Air Force's wrong decision concerning this unsworn accusation." "My client did not commit a sexual
assault and vehemently denies the unsworn allegations made against him regarding consensual events that
http://www.military.com/daily-news/2017/02/01/retired-general-demoted-2-ranks-sexual-assaultinvestigation.html
happened over eight years ago," Youngner said in a statement provided to Military.com. "Although my
client is not proud of what transpired, he cooperated fully and provided statements, under oath, to defend
against the allegations that went to an officer grade determination board."
Youngner said Lichte, who is regretful of his decisions, "continually asserted that he is deeply sorry for the
pain he has caused his family, especially his strong and loving wife."
Then-Secretary of the Air Force Deborah James issued Lichte a letter of reprimand before her departure,
the Air Force said in a release.
USA Today obtained a copy of the reprimand and quoted part of it: "You are hereby reprimanded!" James
wrote, exclamation point hers, in the letter of Dec. 6, 2016. "Your conduct is disgraceful and, but for the
statute of limitations bar to prosecution, would be more appropriately addressed through the Uniform Code
of Military Justice."
James also initiated an Officer Grade Determination Board process to help assess the highest grade that the
general "had satisfactorily served in prior to retirement," the release said.
Defense Secretary James Mattis reviewed the action and took the next procedural steps to withdraw
Lichte's certification of satisfactory service as an O-10, Stefanek said.
She said Acting Air Force Secretary Lisa Disbrow then determined the rank at which Lichte last served
"satisfactorily."
"The Air Force takes all allegations of inappropriate conduct very seriously," Disbrow said in a statement.
"We expect our leaders to uphold the highest standards of behavior. These standards and rules underpin
good order and discipline. Airmen at every level are held accountable."
After Disbrow's determination, the investigation formally concluded Jan. 31, Stefanek said.
Lichte will not face a court-martial.
Officials told Military.com in September that Lichte could have faced trial proceedings even years after
retiring from service. The UCMJ retains jurisdiction over retired members, adding the service looks at
about "10 cases a year" recalling a retiree, or members of the Reserve or National Guard, for the purpose of
considering a "court-martial for misconduct committed while on active duty," a military lawyer said at the
time.
The current offenses would not translate in a civilian court, an official said, should the victim want to
pursue alternative avenues.
But Lichte could face other problems, including possibly being unseated as a board member at Airbus, a
position he's held since 2010.
In September, Airbus spokesman Jamie Darcy told Military.com the company was "aware of the
allegations, and we are closely following the Air Force investigation."
"As an organization, Airbus has a culture of zero tolerance for sexual misconduct," Darcy said at the time.
When asked if Airbus would terminate its business arrangement with Lichte if the Air Force investigation
turned up evidence of misconduct, Darcy replied, "As a policy, we don't publicly speculate on hypothetical
situations." Darcy could not be reached for further comment Wednesday.
Lichte was also appointed as the ninth member of the Air Transport Services Group Inc. board of directors
in 2013.
http://www.military.com/daily-news/2017/02/01/retired-general-demoted-2-ranks-sexual-assaultinvestigation.html
Officials with the aviation company, based in Wilmington, Ohio, told Military.com in September that they
too were "aware of reports of an Air Force inquiry pertaining to his military service, and we will have no
comment on the matter until after the investigation is completed."
Oriana Pawlyk can be reached at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter at @Oriana0214.
SEE ALSO:
Air Force busts retired four-star general down two ranks for coerced sex [USA TODAY, 2017-02-01]
Air Force: Retired 4-star demoted after sexual assault investigation [Air Force Times, 2017-02-01]
‘Inappropriate sexual acts’ prompt Air Force to retroactively demote retired general two ranks [The
Washington Post, 2017-02-01]