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Army now testing recruits for sickle cell trait
The Army has started testing recruits for sickle cell trait, or SCT, to identify at-risk Soldiers, as the service plans to screen all Soldiers within a year, according to a U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command medical officer.
Earlier this month, the screening push kicked off to both give Army leaders an idea of how SCT has impacted the ranks, and to help Soldiers combat the lifelong ailment, said Maj. Sean Donohue, command surgeon at TRADOC’s Center for Initial Military Training.
“On the enlisted side, recruits [at basic combat training] are now tested as part of their initial screening exam,” Donohue said. The SCT tests are grouped in “with a variety of other blood samples as part of initial processing.”
Since Nov. 2, roughly 2% of recruits have been diagnosed with the blood disorder, he said, a number on par with the national average.
The US Army is adjusting its pre-positioned stock for more than just war
The U.S. Army is taking steps to ensure its pre-positioned stock in the European and Asia-Pacific theaters is right-sized not just for conflict but for strategic competition with Russia and China, according to the service’s new commander in charge of materiel.
The service published a strategy for aligning its Army pre-positioned stock, or APS, a few years ago in order to modernize and configure the fleet for combat.
APS historically has been designed to be ready for troops to draw from rapidly to respond during a regional conflict. But since the strategy’s publication, the Army has realized “that we needed to take it to another level,” Gen. Edward Daly, Army Materiel Command chief, told Defense News in a November interview.
Daly assumed command in July after serving as the AMC deputy commander under Gen. Gus Perna. Perna is now in charge of the Trump administration’s Operation Warp Speed — an effort to rapidly develop a COVID-19 vaccine.
New Museum Tells the Story of the U.S. Army
The National Museum of the United States Army officially opened today at Fort Belvoir, Virginia. It is the first museum to tell the entire story of the Army, which has existed since June 14, 1775 — even before the existence of the United States itself.
The Army “has been a force for profound good in our world,” said Acting Defense Secretary Christopher C. Miller, who spoke at the museum’s opening event.
“From the fields of Lexington [and] Concord to the hills of San Juan and from the cliffs of Normandy to the Korangal Valley, more than 30 million brave men and women have donned the Army uniform to fight for freedom at home and abroad,” Miller said. “For more than 240 years, they made innumerable contributions to our nation and the world — not just in combat, but also in humanitarian assistance, disaster relief, international cooperation and other vital missions. Their feats are enshrined throughout this museum.”
CDT Bender & CDT Walker Named 2021 Rhodes Scholars
The United States Military Academy is proud to announce the Rhodes Scholars for the Class of 2021, CDT Tyrese Bender and CDT Evan Walker. They are of 32 scholars from the United States and will be joining recipients from more than 60 other countries. The last time West Point had more than one Rhodes scholar was back in 2014.