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Tag: U.S. Army

  • U.S. Army Reverses Course, Bans TikTok

    U.S. Army Reverses Course, Bans TikTok

    TikTok has been under increasing scrutiny, with allegations it represents a national security threat. Following guidance from the Pentagon, the U.S. Army has officially banned the app, according to Military.com.

    TikTok has surged in popularity in the U.S., and military personnel are no exception. In fact, as Military.com points out, Army recruiters have been using the app to help reach Generation Z.

    The Department of Defense (DoD) recently issued guidance on mobile phone security, mentioning TikTok specifically. The DoD guidance tells employees to “be wary of applications you download, monitor your phones for unusual and unsolicited texts etc., and delete them immediately and uninstall TikTok to circumvent any exposure of personal information.”

    Following that guidance, the U.S. Army has officially banned the app from personnel phones.

    “It is considered a cyber threat,” Army spokeswoman, Lt. Col. Robin Ochoa, told Military.com. “We do not allow it on government phones.”

    Evidence suggests all individuals, not just military personnel, should be wary of the social media app. A recent lawsuit in California accuses the app of secretly analyzing videos and images without consent, and uploading them to servers in China.

  • Army General Receives Wrist-Slap in Sex Abuse Case

    A two-year court case involving allegations of sexual abuse in the highest levels of the military came to an end today as Brig. Gen. Jeffrey Sinclair was sentenced.

    According to a New York Times report, Sinclair has been ordered by a military judge to forego $5,000 of his pay per month for four months. The general was not discharged from the military and will be allowed to keep his pension and benefits. The general’s chief defense lawyer has stated that Sinclair will be retiring with haste.

    The sentence was far more lenient than many following the case had expected. Sinclair had faced up to life in prison if convicted of several of the more serious charges he was facing.

    Sinclair was originally charged with eight charges related to sexual assault, including forcible sodomy, indecent acts, and conduct unbecoming an officer. The general pleaded not guilty to the charges.

    Sinclair was accused of forcing a female captain to perform oral sex on him and issuing death threats against the woman and her family. The general has since admitted that the woman was his mistress while he was stationed in Iraq and Afghanistan.

    The case was further complicated when the case’s former lead prosecutor, Lieutenant Colonel William Helixon, asked that the more serious charges against Sinclair be dropped. The colonel reportedly argued while in tears that he believed Sinclair’s accuser had lied about evidence found on her phone and had lied under oath.

    Earlier this week Sinclair agreed to plead guilty to lesser charges of misconduct through a plea deal with the prosecution. The deal led to the dismissal of the sex abuse charges, though adultery (a crime in the military) was still included.

    Shortly before the sentencing Sinclair had offered an apology for his conduct and to his accuser. The general called his actions “selfish” and “self-destructive” while stating that he felt “shame and remorse.”

    Image via U.S. Military

  • Army Sex Case: General Sinclair Is Going To Court

    Brigadier General Jeffrey Sinclair is most likely facing jail time as a prime suspect in sexual misdemeanors that include sodomy, assault, and threatening behavior.

    Although the lead prosecutor, Lt. Col. William Helixon, emotionally urged top military officials to drop some of the serious charges, his display of tears and pleading did not change their minds.

    The army wants to prosecute the senior ranking official for what they think are unforgivable sex crimes. Sinclair faces life in prison if convicted of the sexual assault charges.

    Sinclair has pleaded not guilty to eight sexual assault charges, including forcible sodomy and other indecent acts, according to the AP. He could be the most senior member of the U.S. military ever to face trial for sexual assault.

    Sinclair is accused of repeatedly abusing a female in the junior ranks of the military, all the while forcing the young female officer to keep her mouth shut – threatening he would kill her if she didn’t.

    Lawyers said Sinclair, the married father of two, carried on a three-year extramarital affair with a female captain under his command during tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. Pointing out that his admission of an affair will almost certainly end his Army career.

    Last month prosecutor Helixon said he believes the primary accuser in the case lied under oath when she testified that the general forced her to perform oral sex on him and that it is her word against his.

    Helixon, who worked on the case for almost two years, was removed as prosecutor after a superior officer took him to a military hospital for a mental health evaluation, according to the AP.

    Defense attorney Richard L. Scheff said that Helixon left the case because he felt “ethically bound” after failing to convince his superiors to drop the charges against Sinclair, according to the Los Angeles Times.

    “Helixon repeatedly stated that the case against Sinclair should not be prosecuted, but that the Army was forcing the case to move forward,” Scheff wrote in the case for dismissal.

    However, Helixon’s replacement, Lt. Col. Robert C. Stelle, adamantly denied that Helixon believed the general was not guilty of sexual assault, or that he had withdrawn from the case for ethical reasons.

    “At no time did LTC Helixon state that the accused is not guilty of the charged offenses,” Stelle wrote, continuing that Helixon “did not have legal, ethical issues with the case going forward.”

    This is despite the breakdown Helixon exhibited, and regardless of why he is no longer on the case, the trial is going ahead.

    Image via YouTube

  • Army Sex Case: U.S. Army General Could Face Life in Prison

    Brig. Gen. Jeffery A. Sinclair faced military trial Tuesday on charges of sexual assault against an Army captain.

    According to the Los Angeles Times, the now 34-year-old accuser made the allegations against the general in March 2012. She claims that the affair started when she was 29 years old.

    Although the three-year relationship between the two was consensual, she accuses Sinclair of forcing her to partake in oral sex and threatening to harm her family.

    Sinclair, a married man and father of two, denies the captain’s accusations and says the relationship was mutual. He also made it clear that he never made such threats as she claims.

    Defense attorney Richard L. Scheff found that part of the accuser’s testimony surrounding the details of cell phone evidence was unlikely the truth. He’s determined that she may have lied on stand and perjured herself during January’s  trial hearing.

    To Scheff, this gives the Army more of a reason to lessen the charges against the 27-year veteran.(image)

    Still, he emphasizes how much his client will not be able to receive a fair trial due to “unlawful command influence” within the Army and the Obama administration’s intolerance regarding sex offenders.

    The Los Angeles Times reported how:

    “The defense accuses the Army chain of command of pursuing the most serious charges to demonstrate that the military is getting tough on accused sex offenders — even though senior commanders have concluded that Sinclair’s accuser lied.”

    Former prosecutor Lt. Col. William Helixon would probably agree with Scheff’s argument. The lieutenant withdrew from the case in February due to personal feelings towards the charges against Sinclair, who he refers to as “a hero.”

    According to Scheff, Helixon felt that the Army was unethically pushing the case forward, so he is now a witness on the defense team in favor of Sinclair.

    The new prosecutor, Lt. Col. Robert C. Stelle, believes that the accuser’s testimony does conflict with the evidence shown. However, he continues to stand on the fact that the captain is telling the truth about everything else that occurred.

    Furthermore, Sinclair also faces additional charges, which include “adultery, pressuring two other female officers to send him nude photos, possessing alcohol and pornography in a war zone, and abusing his government charge card to pursue liaisons with the captain.”

    The general has pleaded guilty to reduced charges of adultery and misconduct of an officer.

    If convicted he could face life in prison.

    Image via YouTube

  • Lady Gaga Tweets About Manning’s Sentence

    Lady Gaga Tweets About Manning’s Sentence

    Facebook and Twitter are blowing up with varying comments on the recent sentencing  of U.S. Army Pfc. Bradley Manning. And it’s become evident that the buzz isn’t dying within the celebrity circle either.

    During a recent MTV Video Music Awards prep, pop sensation, Lady Gaga tweeted out a very unhappy text in regards to the sentencing of Manning.

     

    Manning was sentenced to life in prison along with another 21 additional charges. sharing more than 700,000 government files to the website Wikileaks nearly three years ago.

    Apparently it’s not only Lady that’s going “Gaga” over the recent sentencing of Manning. Big time musicians from Roger Waters to Moby are even involved in a brand new campaign backing Manning called “I am Bradley Mannning.”

    The Campaign which has joined forces with dozens of celebrities and public figures has created a video that simply asks the audience what they would do if they were in Manning’s situation, holding signs that say, “I am Bradley Manning.” Even Pentagon Papers Leaker, Daniel Ellsberg has a small cameo saying, “I was Bradley Manning.”

    The video traces along the details of Manning’s trial as well as word-by-word retellings of what he leaked that now has him now behind bars.

    While the campaign video hasn’t exactly gone viral, Gaga’s original tweet has certainly done well with 4,620 retweets and a whopping 3,065 people marking it as a favorite.

    Gaga’s known for the dramatic flair so perhaps she’ll make a statement about the Manning sentencing at her opening performance of the 2013 MTV Music Video Awards this Sunday? Stay tuned.

    Watch the “I am Bradley Manning”