Independent military reporting for those who’ve served — and won’t stay silent.
It has been just over a week since 21-year-old Specialist Jacob Allen Ashton was found dead at Fort Drum and an arrest has been made. According to Public Affairs at Fort Drum, a soldier in Ashton’s company has been charged with murdering him. Specialist Riley Birbilas was arrested sometime last week. Both soldiers were members…
In March, an Army master sergeant was arraigned for sexual and battery charges at Joint Base Lewis-McChord The army offered little details about the crimes committed by Master Sergeant Eric F. Brainard but did say he was offered a plea agreement. After accepting his plea, he was convicted on May 31, 2024. During a special…
The body of one of the Georgia National Guard soldiers who died during “non-combat incidents” in Iraq has returned to Georgia. Spc. Owen James Elliott, 23, died July 31 in Baghdad during an incident, according to the Army National Guard. Georgia National Guard Spc. Travis Jordan Pameni also died in Baghdad after a separate incident…
By Mike Strasser, Fort Drum Garrison Public Affairs When inspections were mandated for 100-percent of the Army’s privatized housing inventory, Fort Drum Housing Division officials and senior leaders launched a campaign to inform every resident on post of the process. The topic was addressed during a housing forum in July and at an installation town…
A Salty Soldier analyst recently identified a soldier who describes herself as “your friendly neighborhood mom I’d like…” The self-described “airborne soldier” is an enlisted military police officer in the Alabama National Guard. Specialist Madison Gray, from the Birmingham suburb of Irondale, played volleyball and softball in high school before graduating high school in 2020….
Note: This article has been updated to add media that was removed from the Department of Defense media distribution after this was originally published. It has been 6 years since a professor at West Point predicted artificial intelligence would be used in weaponry in the next 10 to 20 years, but it is already here…
An Army First Sergeant somehow managed to be demoted to a specialist after serving for 17 years. Specialist Miguel Garza, a food inspector assigned to the Public Health Command Europe, career began its decline on New Year’s Eve in 2021 and ended in under a year. After drinking alcohol with his family, he decided to…
The Army recently highlighted one of their drill sergeants for volunteering to become a drill sergeant as an (E-5) sergeant. Joshua Samuels volunteered and was selected to be a drill sergeant as an E-5, “in hopes to help inspire others,” according to the Army. Any Army E-5 or promotable E-4 can volunteer to become a…
The Army has identified the soldier who was found dead at Fort Drum on Monday as a 21-year-old Specialist from Ohio. Jacob Allen Ashton’s death is currently under investigation by the Department of the Army Criminal Investigation Division, which declined to offer any other information. Army officials say Specialist Ashton was from the Headquarters and…
U.S. officials spoke on condition of anonymity to offer a little more detail about the U.S. personnel who were injured during an attack in Iraq on Monday. At least one of two Katyusha rockets fired at Al Asad Airbase landed inside the base, causing the injuries. “We can confirm that there was a suspected rocket…