December 2019 By Sabrina Merold Sexual assault has continued to be a serious problem in the armed forces and rates of Service members reporting sexual assault are on the rise. The most recent report from the Department of Defense (DoD) on Sexual…Read More »
White supremacy and racism in the military By Kathleen Gilberd Memo compiled from On Watch articles and updated, September 2021 White supremacy and extremism in the armed forces (Issue 32.3, Fall 2021) Recognizing and challenging racism within the military (Issue 31.4, Winter…Read More »
Updated September 2021 By Kathleen Gilberd Counselors and attorneys hear many accounts about denial of military medical care and inadequate care—soldiers whose serious health problems are never evaluated, incorrectly diagnosed, or mistreated. Servicemembers generally feel they have little recourse when denied care…Read More »
By Jeff Lake Following the April 2020 murder of Vanessa Guillen at Fort Hood at the hands of another soldier, the military was forced — thanks to organizing by her family and the resulting public outcry — to appoint an independent commission…Read More »
By Bill Galvin In December the Navy issued new conscientious objector regulations, Milpersman 1900-020. It is essentially the same as the previous version, with some reorganization and minor changes in wording to bring it more in alignment with DODI 1300.06, which was…Read More »
By Jeff Lake As discussed in the last issue of On Watch, the President has issued an Executive Order which allows transgender individuals to enlist and serve openly in the military. This article will review the recent issuance of DoD Instruction 1300.28…Read More »
BY AARON FRISHBERG When Congress passed, and the president signed, the National Defense Authorization Act of 2020, a bill was included known as the SFC Richard Stayskal Medical Accountability Act. Sergeant Stayskal, for whom the Act was named, was diagnosed with pneumonia…Read More »
by James M. Branum See update. In the messaging put out by US military recruiters, one common theme is that the military “protects freedom,”[1] but unfortunately the military itself does a poor job of protecting the rights of its members to engage…Read More »