Latest news with #Fram
Yahoo
07-07-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
New striker Daniels will 'add to Killie's quality'
New striker Djenairo Daniels believes moving to the "the big stage" of Kilmarnock is "the best decision" for his career as he joins from Cork City. Dutchman Daniels, 23, signs from the League of Ireland side - who he only joined in April - for an undisclosed fee on a two-year deal. Advertisement "I couldn't wait until everything was done," the PSV youth forward said. "I'm finally here now. "The decision was very quick, because it's a big stage, a big opportunity for me and my career. "That was the decision I had to make for myself, and it was the best I am sure." Daniels scored five goals in 12 games for Cork City, having joined them on a short-term deal after he left Icelandic side Fram. Manager Stuart Kettlewell says "his qualities are clear to see". "Djenairo is one that we've been aware of for a while and his qualities are clear to see," he said. "He's been playing consistently recently and we're confident he will come in and hit the ground running, and that he can add to the quality we already have in the squad."
BBC News
07-07-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
New striker Daniels will 'add to Killie's quality'
New striker Djenairo Daniels believes moving to the "the big stage" of Kilmarnock is "the best decision" for his career as he joins from Cork Daniels, 23, signs from the League of Ireland side - who he only joined in April - for an undisclosed fee on a two-year deal."I couldn't wait until everything was done," the PSV youth forward said. "I'm finally here now."The decision was very quick, because it's a big stage, a big opportunity for me and my career. "That was the decision I had to make for myself, and it was the best I am sure."Daniels scored five goals in 12 games for Cork City, having joined them on a short-term deal after he left Icelandic side Fram. Manager Stuart Kettlewell says "his qualities are clear to see"."Djenairo is one that we've been aware of for a while and his qualities are clear to see," he said."He's been playing consistently recently and we're confident he will come in and hit the ground running, and that he can add to the quality we already have in the squad."
Travel Weekly
18-06-2025
- Travel Weekly
HX Expeditions' Spitsbergen is back in service after renovation
HX Expeditions' Spitsbergen has a new eatery and science center upon completion of the ship's refurbishment. The new informal dining space is called Brygga Bistro and serves snacks and light meals in the mid-morning, afternoon and late evening. It is on Deck 5 and offers table service. The science center is on Deck 6 and includes a lecture space, library, citizen science workstations and interactive screens. It also has interpreter systems for language accessibility. The Explorer Lounge and Bar received a refresh with new seating, and the bar now serves HX's 14 new cocktails. When HX Expeditions got new investors and separated from Hurtigruten, HX committed to renovating the Fram and Spitsbergen. Those renovated ships have new exterior colors. The Spitsbergen has a 220-guest capacity and is sailing the Arctic this summer.
Yahoo
10-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Trans troops leaving military following Trump administration ban
Bree Fram, a colonel in the U.S. Space Force and a transgender woman who was tapped to be the grand marshal at the Annapolis Parade last month before bad weather postponed it, said Monday she will retire after a Trump administration directive led to her being placed her on leave. Fram is among a wave of trans people voluntarily leaving military service following an ultimatum from Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, who directed transgender servicemembers to elect by last weekend whether they would go on their own, or face 'involuntary separation.' In a May memo, the Trump administration had argued that 'service by individuals with a current diagnosis or history of, or exhibiting symptoms consistent with, gender dysphoria is not in the best interest of the military services and is not clearly consistent with the interests of national security.' Support for transgender troops serving in the military has declined from 71% in 2019 to 58% in 2025, according to a February Gallup poll, but the majority of Americans still believe the military should be open to transgender and gender-nonconforming servicemembers. Fram, who lives in Virginia, joined the military not long after the attacks of Sept. 11. While she said she is proud of her accomplishments, Fram also said the first 13 years of her career taxed her mentally, as she had to conceal her identity as a trans woman. That changed in 2016, when then-Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter said transgender people could serve openly. Since then, Fram has been open about being transgender. 'I am proud of being a trans person who has served and who has upheld her oath to the Constitution and done everything this nation has asked of me,' Fram said. 'I know the writing that is on the wall and that my service is no longer required or requested by this nation, so I have applied for retirement.' As of Monday, Fram was on administrative leave pending retirement approval. She spoke with The Sun about her retirement and the circumstances around it but added that her views do not necessarily reflect those of the Department of Defense. Nationwide, around 1,000 service members have begun the process of voluntary separation, according to a statement issued by Chief Pentagon Spokesman Sean Parnell on May 8. Maryland has over 6,500 service members across the National Guard, Air Guard, Defense Force and Military Department, a 2023 study showed. Another 27,863 federal servicemembers were born in Maryland, but only 2.5% of them reside in Maryland. Some Maryland officials have voiced their disapproval of the policy, which they say is discriminatory and harmful to national security. In a statement, Gov. Wes Moore, an Army veteran, said: 'We as a nation must respect these patriots by putting a halt to attempts to minimize the military by trying to divide the military.' On May 30, Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown, who was supposed to walk alongside Fram during Annapolis' Pride Parade, signed onto an amicus curiae brief, filed in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, arguing against the ban. Brown called the ban 'discriminatory' and a 'direct attack on our Constitution and the core American values of fairness and equal treatment,' in a statement Friday. 'This policy is not only unjust; it undermines our military readiness and betrays the courage and sacrifice of those who have stepped up to serve. It must be reversed immediately,' Brown said. The weekend deadline set by Hegseth, which coincided with the first week of Pride Month, follows a Supreme Court decision permitting the reinstatement of orders from the Department of Defense that called for the removal of transgender troops. The department says it does not maintain a state-by-state breakdown of how many transgender soldiers will be affected. Maryland's Military Department, which oversees the Maryland National Guard, declined to comment. June 6 was the deadline for active duty members to self-identify in order to be eligible for the voluntary separation process, which offers monetary compensation. The deadline for National Guard members is July 7. Remaining transgender and gender-nonconforming soldiers will be removed through an involuntary process, Hegseth's May memo said. 'We are all being forced out,' Fram said. 'I want to make it clear that there is no 'voluntary' or 'involuntary' separation. Neither of those things would be the choice that any of us would be making.' In a statement Friday, Annpolis Pride, which organizes the parade, said 'our nation is less safe because thousands of brave Americans have been forced to leave the armed forces — not because of any failure in duty, but because of hatred codified at the highest levels of government,' It is unclear if Fram will return for the rescheduled parade in the fall. The U.S Space Force declined to comment. According to Cathy Marcello, the Interim Executive Director of Modern Military Association of America, which works with LGBTQ+ veterans, nearly three-quarters of transgender service members have served for over 12 years. 'People are losing their homes, their livelihoods, their community, their identity — and their families are being uprooted suddenly with no backup plan or safety net,' Marcello said. Maryland's VA department is working with the University of Baltimore's Bob Parsons Veterans Advocacy Clinic to 'connect transgender veterans with legal support services, especially for discharge upgrades or discrimination cases,' Ross Cohen, the acting secretary of the Maryland Department of Veterans & Military Families, said. Fram said that leaving her career has been a 'grieving process' because she is 'stepping away from something that [she] love[s], something that [she] care[s] about, something that [she] intended to do far into the future.' ---------------
Yahoo
09-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
US military's highest ranking transgender officer says seperation process is broken
The highest-ranking transgender officer in the Department of Defense said that the military's transgender separation policy is going to leave gaps in units as skilled service members are removed from the armed forces. U.S. Space Force Col. Bree Fram said that as of June 7, she is on administrative leave from the service, pending separation, as a result of the Pentagon's ban on transgender troops. She told Task & Purpose Monday that she is at the end of her more than two-decade career in the armed forces. She spoke to Task & Purpose in her personal capacity, not in reflection of Pentagon policy Fram, an aeronautical engineer who previously served in the Air Force before moving to Space Force in 2021, was serving as director of requirements and integration for Space Force. In posts on social media, she said that her last official act was to pin medals on three people who served under her. She cried as they saluted her. The Department of Defense officials say they believe there are approximately 4,200 service members with gender dysphoria in the ranks, and that as of May 15, 1,000 had come forward to begin a so-called 'voluntary' separation process. Others who may later be identified and 'involuntarily' separated could receive smaller compensation packages, officials say. 'People are on pins and needles. We're asking each other 'what do you know? What do we all know?' It's been really difficult,' she told Task & Purpose on Monday. 'I want to stress that although this is labeled voluntarily, neither the 'voluntary' or 'involuntary' process is a choice, or what anyone wanted or would have done.' Fram joined the military after Sept. 11, 2001, and came out as transgender in 2016, the same day that the Department of Defense lifted its ban on transgender service. She spent nearly 20 years in the Air Force, then moved to the Space Force in 2021. Transgender service members, Fram said, 'have been operating in a vacuum,' and are looking for more information from military leadership. The military's involuntary separation process for transgender troops, which started on June 7, remains vague on details. Members in the reserves have until July 7 to choose to go through the voluntary separation process. The Air Force and Navy have said that troops with certain years of service are eligible for early retirement in this process. A technical but life-altering issue for troops, said Fram, is the 'separation code' under which they will leave the service. Most troops leaving the military are granted an 'honorable discharge,' a separation code that indicates they left in good standing with no serious discipline issues or professional failures. Though the Pentagon has, at times, said that transgender troops with clean records would receive honorable discharges, but Fram said that's no longer clear. A May 15 memo from the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness said transgender enlisted personnel would be separated under the JFF separation code, meaning it was done by secretarial authority. Officers would be given a JDK code, which indicates on their service record that 'their continued service is not clearly consistent with the interests of national security' — a black mark for troops in the job market, as it could prevent them from getting or maintaining security clearances that are required for certain jobs. Rachel VanLandingham, a retired Air Force lieutenant colonel and JAG, told Task & Purpose that the JDK separation code is usually reserved for matters such as mishandling classified information. Fram said that the main concern for them has been uncertainty over what is next. 'Anyone navigating a transition out of the military is put in a challenging position, but they have this extra burden of being labeled as dishonorable or liars,' she said. Fram also noted that the separations will cause disruptions for ongoing operations as troops who are qualified for specific roles are 'suddenly gone.' Fram's work focused on researching what capabilities and 'fight critical' systems the Space Force will need to field in the next decade. It's specialized work drawing on her years of experience, which others in Space Force don't have, she said. Fram noted that units that have open transgender personnel have tried to do some planning to fill gaps left by separation, but replacing thousands of people across the military 'is not something that happens tomorrow.' 'The impact of this is not just on today. It stretches far into the future,' she said. At her final awards ceremony, Fram said, her colleagues were stunned to learned she was leaving the service and all shook her hand as the event broke up. 'We served with our friends, our colleagues, with people who respected us, and now that's just missing,' she said. A Marine Corps reply-all email apocalypse has an incredible real-life ending Army shuts down its sole active-duty information operations command Army plans to close more than 20 base museums in major reduction Former Green Beret nominated to top Pentagon position to oversee special ops The Navy's new recruiting commercial puts the 'dirt wars' in the past
