Latest news with #FortBenning
Daily Mail
19-07-2025
- Politics
- Daily Mail
Army sergeant investigated for forcing soldiers to do pushups under MAGA banner
An army drill sergeant is under investigation after a video appeared to show him forcing soldiers to do pushups under a MAGA flag. Staff Sgt. Thomas Mitchell is accused of breaking rules about political neutrality in the army. Mitchell allegedly posted a now-deleted video which featured a group of training soldiers doing pushups and burpees under a MAGA banner while on a base in Georgia. The flag read, 'This is Ultra MAGA Country,' in the video uploaded on Friday before it was removed. A second video was then reportedly re-uploaded with the caption, 'Cry about it.' The video uploaded to @11chuckduece on TikTok, a now-deleted account, launched an investigation into the sergeant. The demonstration violates 'multiple military regulations' regarding political activity in uniform on federal property,' wrote. 'The US Army is an apolitical organization,' Jennifer Gunn, a service spokesperson, said in a statement. 'Displaying partisan political materials in government facilities, including training areas, is prohibited under Army regulation. 'We will investigate this matter and address it in accordance with established policies to ensure compliance with standards of conduct and to maintain an environment free from political influence.' Mitchell serves as an infantry drill sergeant with B Company, 2-19th Infantry Battalion, 198th Infantry Training Brigade, at Fort Benning, Georgia. His current status remains unclear. Garrison Public Affairs Director Joe Cole told Law & Crime that the investigation into the video would 'take some time.' The display of political flags or memorabilia inside federal buildings is prohibited according to Defense Department regulations which are 'designed to preserve the military's role as a nonpartisan institution.' Rules also dictate that troops in positions of authority may not use their position of authority or power to politically influence subordinates. Daily Mail reached out to the US Army and Sgt. Mitchell for comment. The incident comes a month after Trump made a speech during the celebration of the Army's 250th birthday. Troops in the crowd behind the president at Fort Bragg were reportedly carefully selected for the televised event based on their political views and physical appearance. Internal 82nd Airborne Division communications obtained by showed the soldiers were sent messages including 'No fat soldiers.' Another memo said that 'if soldiers have political views that are in opposition to the current administration and they don't want to be in the audience, then they need to speak with their leadership and get swapped out.' The end result was a predominantly white, male crowd who booed as Trump hit out at California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass for the fiery protests against Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations as he vowed to 'liberate' the city. They were also seen booing former President Joe Biden and the press - and roared with laughter at Trump's remarks berating his successor. Such actions appear to also be in violation of longstanding Department of Defense protocol, with even the Army's recently-published field manual touting the importance of a politically neutral force. 'Being nonpartisan means not favoring any specific political party or group,' it says, according to NBC News. 'Nonpartisanship assures the public that our Army will always serve the Constitution and our people loyally and responsively.' It goes on to note that troops can participate in political functions - so long as they are not in uniform. 'As a private citizen, you are encouraged to participate in our democratic process, but as a soldier you must be mindful of how your actions may affect the reputation and perceived trustworthiness of our Army as an institution,' the field guide says. At least one 82nd Airborne noncommissioned officer now says he does not see how the troops' reactions on Tuesday could be seen as anything other than 'expressing a political view while in uniform.' He even suggested that none of the soldiers who were booing Newsom and Bass 'even knew the mayor's name or could identify them in a lineup.' Department of Defense officials, though, have denied that the soldiers were in violation of its rules. 'Believe me, no one needs to be encouraged to boo the media,' Sean Parnell, a Pentagon spokesman replied to 'Look no further than this query, which is nothing more than a disgraceful attempt to ruin the lives of young soldiers.' Even if the soldiers did violate Defense Department rules, multiple Army officials told they likely would not be held accountable because they were goaded by the commander-in-chief.
Yahoo
30-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
These Georgia fireworks displays promise a 4th of July with red, white, and boom
The 4th of July is just a week away, and there will be fireworks displays all over Georgia. Not only will they light up the skies on Independence Day, they will also be launched in the days before and after. Here are more details on some of these fun-filled celebrations: June 28 at Southeast Clarke Park in Athens Carnival rides, face paining, inflatables, a Photo Booth, and other activities start 6 p.m. A concert by the Funk Brotherhood will be 7-8:30 p.m. There will be a food truck court. Fireworks will launch from the Athens-Clarke County Tennis Center at about 9:30 p.m. Admission is free. June 28 at Fort Benning in Columbus The event opens at 4 p.m. with food trucks and a kids zone. There's a full list of entertainment as follows: DJ Black Rhino 4:15-5:30 p.m. MCoE Rock Band 5:45-6:30 p.m. Eric Pasley 7-8 p.m. Silver Wings aerial demonstration 8-8:30 p.m. Maddie & Tate 8:30-10 p.m. MCoE Band performance and fireworks show 10 p.m. Admission is free. If you don't have a Department of Defense ID, you will need to be vetted. Visitors who don't take advantage of pre-vetting must use either the Grange or Childers Access Control Points on June 28 after 3:30 p.m. Grange ACP is on Legacy Boulevard just past the National Infantry Museum on the Georgia side of the installation. Childers ACP is accessed from Alabama Hwy. 165. More information about vetting, including how to get pre-vetted, is available at July 1-7 at Stone Mountain Park Stone Mountain is hosting the "Music Across America Drone and Light Show + Fireworks" every night at 9:30 p.m. There will be 250 choreographed drones, lasers and 4K imagery, giant flame cannons, and a fireworks finale synchronized to music. Tickets prices vary depending on whether you just want to watch the show or spend a day at the park. Daily parking passes are $20. July 3-6 at Six Flags Over Georgia in Austell After a day of enjoying the various rides and fun of Six Flags, there will be a fireworks pre-show at 8:45 p.m. with a live DJ, Looney Tunes characters, the cast of Surfin' USA, and the Funtime Drumline. The fireworks start at 9:15 p.m. and the best viewing area is at Metropolis. General admission tickets are about $35 but military/first responders get in for about $25. More details on the potential VIP experiences are available at July 4 at the Augusta Common The celebrations tarts about 5 p.m. with the National Anthem and continues with live music, vendors, and a kids zone with bounce houses and activities. Fireworks will start 9:30 p.m. Admission is free. July 4 at Lake Chatuge near Hiawassee The festivities kick off with a boat parade 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. which you can watch from the Anderson Bridge and the Georgia Mountain Fair Campgrounds. More activities start at 3 p.m. at the Georgia Mountain Fairgrounds capping off with fireworks at 9:45 p.m. Admission to all of this is free. July 4 at Savannah's Waterfront The Third Infantry Division Brass Band & Rock Band will perform on Rousakis Riverfront Plaza from 7:30 – 9:30 p.m. Several restaurant will provide food and drink specials. Fireworks will be launched from a barge in the Savannah River around 9:30 p.m. and will be choreographed to a patriotic soundtrack played from various locations throughout the viewing area. It's about a 20-minute show and will be visible from Rousakis Riverfront Plaza, Plant Riverside District, Eastern Wharf, downtown rooftop bars, and will be streamed on WTOC+, and the WTOC app. July 4 at Claystone, Sandy Beach, and Arrowhead parks in the Macon area Live music with the Plum Tuckered ban is 6:30-9:30 p.m. at Sandy Beach Park, and the fireworks show will start at 9:15 p.m. The park with the best view of the fireworks is Sandy Beach. To see the fireworks from Claystone, you should go to the west end of the beach. General admission is $3, but children 6 and younger get in free. July 5 at the Pier Village of St. Simons Island A festival runs 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. including a 5K and 1-mile fun run. Fireworks start around 9 p.m. and you can watch them along the water at Neptune Park. Admission and parking will be free. July 5 at Blue Ridge Scenic Railway on Depot Street in Blue Ridge The Blue Ridge Scenic Railway is offering a "Firecracker Special" which is a 4-hour roundtrip train ride between McCaysville, GA and Copperhill, TN. Passengers will watch a fireworks show during the 2-hour layover. Ticket prices are about $75 for adults (ages 13 and older), $53 for children (ages 2-12), and is free for younger children. Miguel Legoas is a Deep South Connect Team Reporter for Gannett/USA Today. Find him on Instagram @miguelegoas and email at mlegoas@ This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: Georgia fireworks display events for 4th of July 2025
New York Times
23-06-2025
- Politics
- New York Times
Around Military Bases in the U.S., Unease Over What Comes Next
For some families who gathered this weekend at Fort Benning in Georgia, the past few days have served as a solemn reminder of the unsettling emotions military service can bring. On Friday, a group of Army enlistees graduated from basic training. On Saturday, President Trump bombed Iran. On Sunday, service members and their loved ones pondered an uncertain future. 'People can lose their life, so I'm worried,' said Michele Bixby, 24, of upstate New York, whose brother had just graduated. 'But it's what he wanted to do; it's what he loves to do. He's going to move forward with it no matter what.' One day after the administration announced it had carried out airstrikes at three nuclear sites in Iran, the mood in some communities around military bases on U.S. soil varied from firm support to bitter disagreement. But one sentiment stood out among those interviewed: concern for the safety of America's troops everywhere. No one knows how the strikes on Iran could affect service members. Pete Hegseth, the secretary of defense, emphasized on Sunday that the administration did not want an open-ended war. But Iranian leaders have vowed to retaliate, and U.S. military installations in the Middle East, with more than 40,000 active-duty troops and civilians employed by the Pentagon, are already potential targets. That reality, along with the potential repercussions for the entire military, was on the minds of many people around U.S. bases at home, even as service members accepted that reality as part of the job. 'A lot of the families around here are quickly realizing this is a real threat; this is something we need to be worried about,' said Meghan Gilles, 37, a self-described military brat who works in the Army Reserve's human resources division at Fort Campbell in Kentucky, a training site and home to the 101st Airborne Division. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Gizmodo
18-06-2025
- Business
- Gizmodo
Silicon Valley Execs Join the Army as Officers (But Won't Have to Attend Boot Camp)
The tech industry is fully on board, but the rank and file won't have to do time as grunts. The U.S. military recently announced that four executives from some of the top tech companies in Silicon Valley have joined the Army Reserve as direct-commissioned officers. The move is part of a push to speed up the adoption of technology in the military, but as the news outlet Task & Purpose points out, it's pretty unusual. The Army said in a press release that the four executives are Shyam Sankar, CTO at Palantir; Andrew Bosworth, CTO at Meta; Kevin Weil, Chief Product Officer of OpenAI; and Bob McGrew, an advisor at Thinking Machines Lab and former Chief Research Officer for OpenAI. The four men are being commissioned at the high rank of lieutenant colonel as part of a program called Detachment 201: The Army's Executive Innovation Corps. As Task & Purpose notes, the men will get to skip the usual process of taking a Direct Commissioning Course at Fort Benning, Georgia, and they won't need to complete the Army Fitness Test. The Army didn't respond to questions emailed Tuesday but said in a statement published on its website that, 'Their swearing-in is just the start of a bigger mission to inspire more tech pros to serve without leaving their careers, showing the next generation how to make a difference in uniform.' Their role in the Army Reserve is to 'work on targeted projects to help guide rapid and scalable tech solutions to complex problems,' as the Army puts it. The new reservists will serve for about 120 hours a year, according to the Wall Street Journal, and will have a lot of flexibility to work remotely. They'll work on helping the Army acquire more commercial tech, though it's not clear how conflict-of-interest issues will be enforced, given the fact that the people all work for companies that would conceivably be selling their wares to the military. In theory, they won't be sharing information with their companies or 'participating in projects that could provide them or their companies with financial gain,' according to the Journal. Silicon Valley has always benefited greatly from ties to the U.S. military. Silicon Valley companies were bringing in $5 billion annually from defense contracts during the Reagan administration, something that the average person may not remember about the 1980s. But it's always been an uneasy alliance for consumer-facing tech companies, especially over recent decades. That's all changing, according to many folks who align more with President Donald Trump, who was once considered a shameful person to represent in polite company. As Andrew Bosworth, the CTO at Meta, who is joining the Army Reserves, told the Wall Street Journal, 'There's a lot of patriotism that has been under the covers that I think is coming to light in the Valley.' Bosworth and his buddies can be a bit more open about their goals now that Trumpism has been more normalized in the president's second term. But they also run the risk of hitching their wagons—and the reputation of the companies they represent—to a president who's famous for acting recklessly. After all, this is the guy who just a couple of days ago told Tehran, a city of 10 million people, to evacuate and is heavily suggesting he's going to get the U.S. into war with Iran. Some people may think that's a good thing, and at the very least, it might be a wise business decision for some firm like Palantir to hope for war. But OpenAI and Meta have a lot of products that depend on buy-in from the general public. And we've seen guys like Elon Musk take huge hits to their bottom lines after attaching themselves to Trumpism. And with Trump at the helm, any association with the Army is bound to be perilous in a time of war. We all saw the viral videos of Trump's parade, right?
Yahoo
08-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Fort Benning, Columbus unite for Army 5K birthday celebration
COLUMBUS, Ga. (WRBL)-Saturday morning in Uptown Columbus saw community members come together for a birthday celebration honoring the U.S. Army. This occasion was one of several events this week where Fort Benning and the City of Columbus will collaborate, with a focus on community unity. According to Maj. Gen. Colin Tuley, Commanding General of Fort Benning, 'The aim is to bring the community together.' This week's events include a free community event, 'Salute to the Army 250,' hosted by Fort Benning MWR on June 14th, 2025, from 10 AM to 4 PM at the National Infantry Museum in Columbus, GA. The event will commemorate the Army's 250th birthday with family-friendly activities, live entertainment, equipment displays, food, and a birthday cake. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
