Independent military reporting for those who’ve served — and won’t stay silent.
A West Virginia National Guard soldier has died after she and another Guardsman were shot Wednesday afternoon while serving on a mission in Washington, D.C. Spc. Sarah Beckstrom, 20, of Summersville, West Virginia, was pronounced dead after the attack, officials confirmed Thursday. Beckstrom was serving with the 863rd Military Police Company, 111th Engineer Brigade, and…
Retired Marine Corps Captain Kareem El, a decorated former officer and Washington, D.C.–based tech founder, is at the center of allegations that he was forcefully detained by U.S. military police while visiting Okinawa, Japan. The claims originate from video and statements posted online by his brother. The U.S. military has not yet issued a public…
A Fort Bragg infantryman once accused of killing his infant daughter — and later acquitted — is back in handcuffs. This time, Fayetteville police say he was caught secretly peeping on a 15-year-old girl inside a JCPenney fitting room at Cross Creek Mall. For a soldier who only months ago walked away from a military…
A simple, slightly cheeky piece of workplace wisdom at Scott Air Force Base has gone viral after catching the attention of service members and civilians alike. The sign, posted outside the Defense Health Agency (DHA) at Scott AFB, reads: The message, originally intended as a reminder about infection control and hygiene, quickly found its way…
WASHINGTON, D.C. — A Halloween night gathering in Washington’s Navy Yard neighborhood escalated into chaos as hundreds of juveniles clashed in the streets, prompting a multi-agency law enforcement response that included National Guard members. According to the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD), First District officers began monitoring the crowd around 7:30 p.m. near the park between…
A Kansas National Guardsman arrested for allegedly trying to aid a Russian intelligence service had been working as a long-haul tanker truck driver, The Salty Soldier has confirmed. According to a U.S. Department of Justice press release, Canyon Anthony Amarys, 28, of Alamogordo, New Mexico, was arrested on October 28 and charged with attempting to…
Editor’s Note: A previous version of this article contained an incorrect image of then-2nd Lt. Jaime S. Gustitus following her graduation from the Air Force Institute of Technology’s Graduate School of Engineering and Management in 2023. The image has since been updated. DAYTON, Ohio — Newly obtained police documents and radio transmissions are shedding more…
Army Sergeant Kayla Thomas grew up in the rough streets of Baltimore, but she’s turned her Army uniform into a ticket to opportunity—and a platform to speak her mind. Known online as @1realmash, Thomas has built a strong social media following, runs a podcast called The Mashup, and uses her experience in uniform to inspire…
The U.S. Army is tightening eligibility for its Future Soldier Preparatory Course (FSPC) — a program once hailed as the service’s answer to historic recruiting shortfalls — limiting new participants to focus on either academics or fitness, but not both. An Army spokesman confirmed the change this week, noting that implementation has been delayed due…
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Army Secretary Daniel Driscoll — a former Army officer who deployed to Iraq before later working in law, investment banking, and venture capital — sounded less like a Washington bureaucrat and more like a fed-up platoon leader at this year’s Association of the United States Army annual meeting. In a blistering keynote…