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American Military News
26-05-2025
- General
- American Military News
A ‘gentle giant': Maryland soldier killed in training to be honored in Memorial Day service
The first piece of evidence that Jacob Mullen wanted to serve in the military is a kindergarten assignment: 'If I were president, I would be in the Army,' the lined paper says below a young boy's drawing of a soldier. The glamour of military service in video games and other media might have played a role in his ambitions to enlist, but as he got older, Mullen was just 'very much into the idea of serving his country,' his mother, Linda Mullen, said. It also came from his love for being a part of a team, she said. When he wrestled for Parkside High School, he always sought to score for the team. He wasn't a football star but loved the game for the camaraderie. He was big on lifting weights and would always hit the gym with his friends. 'If they were lifting twice a day, he lifted twice a day,' Linda said. As a freshman in high school, he wrestled at around 145 pounds; by his death in January, he weighed twice as much, stood 6-foot-2 and had lifted cars in strongman events. 'He was a big man, but he could be so tender,' said his mother. His family always called him a 'gentle giant.' The Fruitland native, who ended up serving at Fort Stewart Army Base in Georgia, will be honored this year at a statewide Memorial Day service at Dulaney Valley Memorial Gardens. He and a fellow service member, Staff Sgt. Shelbe Butner, were killed in January during a training operation. Mullen was 25, and Butner was 28. They died during a nighttime driving exercise at Fort Stewart, which is the largest Army post east of the Mississippi River. The 3rd Infantry Division said in a news release that the two motor transport officers were training 'under blackout conditions' in a Joint Light Tactical Vehicle, which rolled off the road into standing water. The night before, three Army personnel on a training mission in Washington were among the dozens killed when a commercial airliner collided with their Black Hawk helicopter in midair. Army Chief Warrant Officer 2 Andrew L. Eaves, a Southern Maryland resident who was one of the helicopter's pilots, will also be honored at this year's ceremony. Four Army soldiers from Fort Stewart who had been deployed to Lithuania were also found dead last month after they and their vehicle went missing during a training mission. Three of them were located, dead, in the mud-encased armored vehicle after rescue crews pulled it out from 15 feet of water. Monday's statewide Memorial Day ceremony at the Timonium cemetery, which kicks off at 10 a.m., will include addresses from U.S. Rep. for Maryland Johnny Olszewski Jr. and Maj. Gen. Janeen Birckhead, adjutant general of the Maryland National Guard. In addition to Mullen and Eaves, eight other Armed Forces members who died while serving on active duty will be honored: Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Jack M. Brown, of Crofton, died May 22, 2024; Army Lt. Col. Mickey M. West Jr., of Aberdeen, died June 4, 2024; Army Pfc. Charles M. Hyman, of Baltimore, died June 8, 2024; Army Staff Sgt. Sean A. Lange, of New Market, died August 25, 2024; Air Force Master Sgt. Justin S. Keirn, of Bel Air, died October 16, 2024; Air Force Senior Airman Gregory K. Riley Jr., of Aberdeen, died November 17, 2024; Army Spc. William T. Brown III, of Baltimore, died December 17, 2024; And Army Staff Sgt. Jared A. Finnerty, of Pasadena, died February 16, 2025. Next year's honorees already include three more service members who died in March and April, including Army Pfc. Davon T. Moore, an Owings Mills resident. Last year, the annual ceremony honored Maryland Air National Guard Tech Sgt. Lacy O'Neill and Makai Cummings, two Baltimore-area natives who were killed in separate car crashes. Colleagues of Cummings, a Baltimore City College lacrosse standout, and O'Neill, an outdoors enthusiast, had described the losses to their units as devastating — both were known for being extremely friendly and talented, always willing to help their fellow service members. Mullen's loved ones remember him for his sunny personality. 'He was always a very, very positive person,' said Ryan Williams, who met Mullen while they both served at Fort Stewart. 'I couldn't figure out how he did it.' Williams, who left the Army last July, had a bit of a sibling rivalry with Mullen. Within Williams' first 10 minutes in the platoon, colleagues started describing him and Mullen as 'twins.' But they did have some points of contention: Williams is from Texas, and the soldier from Maryland 'wanted to make sure that I knew that Texas wasn't all that as much as I thought it was.' But the two did end up becoming 'super close. we were brothers at the end of the day,' said Williams. Mullen enjoyed his role as a driver in the Army and often helped Williams learn the ropes of that job. 'He never thought twice about helping myself or somebody else,' said Williams, who described Mullen as a selfless friend who 'did it without thought of what's in it for him. ' And he was never a kid who shied away from affection, either, his mother said — even in his teenage years 'when he loved you, he loved you with his whole being.' That's carried on to his children, too. Like his early desire to serve in the Army, Mullen had early ambitions to become a father; he was coming up with baby names as an 8-year-old, his mother said. Since then, he's been able to name three children of his own: Axel, 3; Josephine, 2; and Elsie, who is due in June. But he'd been coming up with more names all along — his mother found the lists while going through his belongings. Some of those names were inspired by mythological figures whom Mullen loved to research. 'He could talk your ear off about it all day long,' his mother said. 'Some people were always on their phone … Jacob was probably reading something [about history or mythology] or looking at cars.' Allergies in the household always dashed Jacob's hopes for a dog, but his mother is now a happy dog owner — and she's convinced that her son posthumously helped them connect. In the wake of his death, she and her sister saw the pup in an adoption ad that referred to the dog as a 'gentle giant.' Curious, she checked the website and was entranced by the dog's sad eyes. 'I just remember thinking, 'he's so sad, and I'm so sad, so maybe we could just be sad together,'' she said. The dog's name? Hermes, the Greek god believed to connect the living and the dead. 'I didn't realize that I needed him,' said Hermes' new owner. He has made things 'a little bit easier,' giving her a friend she can focus on — 'and he makes me get out of bed.' 'He made me keep moving at a time when it was really hard to keep moving,' she said. Have a news tip? Contact Dan Belson at [email protected], on X as @DanBelson_ or on Signal as @danbels.62. ©2025 Baltimore Sun. Visit Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- Yahoo
The Army wants more drones, electronic warfare tech. This unit is the guinea pig.
The 3rd Infantry Division is testing new formations where soldiers are part of specialized teams that focus on using a certain kind of drone technology or specific electronic warfare threat. The concept is being developed as the Army shifts its focus to fighting conventional wars in the 21st century. As the service changes the way it organizes its forces and prepares for the next big conflict, several units have been hand-selected as part of the service's Transforming in Contact initiative, including the 3rd Infantry Division's 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team. Started by Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George in 2024, the plan centers around quickly fielding new tech to soldiers so they can give feedback on how it's best used, before they're in a situation where they have to rely on it. After testing some of the concepts at home-based training centers, the 3rd Infantry Division is bringing new units to a field exercise where they will train alongside NATO allies at the Joint Multinational Readiness Center in Hohenfels Training Area, Germany, this month and next. The division's commander, Maj. Gen. Christopher Norrie, told reporters on a call Tuesday that drones, or unmanned aerial systems, UAS, are a threat to all of the Army's formations and weapons. 'What we believe is that the right lesson to learn as we look around the world is the importance of conducting combined arms operations altogether. It's not just tanks, it's not just infantry, it's not just aviation or artillery, but it's all of those things working together,' Norrie said. 'Being able to do that as a combined arms team at scale and at night, we believe in our souls that that's how we win.' The goal is to get drones and UAS 'down to every section within that brigade,' meaning that soldiers in all squads and platoons will have some knowledge of how to operate and use them in battle, Donovan Blatherwick, innovation chief for the 3rd Infantry Division, told Task & Purpose. Just how much drone expertise each soldier in a platoon will be expected to have is still being worked out, he added. As part of its emphasis on drones, the division is testing UAS-focused teams of soldiers within its cavalry squadron, like platoons who specialize in using anti-tank systems, first-person viewer attack, FPV, drones or sensing enemy drones. While cavalry squadrons historically had 'guys on the ground' going to a vantage point to do reconnaissance for their unit, now the Army is looking to drone operators to increase the distances they can see and collect intelligence on, said Capt. Gabriel Velazquez, a spokesperson for the division. Blatherwick said the idea is to improve reconnaissance at the unit level. 'They're not having to send up a request to collect intel or pictures on a certain site. Everybody really within the brigade can kind of just do it themselves on their own,' he said. For its UAS dismounted team, Armstrong said they've used them successfully in exercises in Germany with 'complex terrain' — a scenario that poses an issue for armored brigades that might struggle with 'limited lines of sight.' But with these dismounted UAS teams helping with reconnaissance, their electronic warfare platoons can get 'closer to the enemy and in a better position to use their UAS to help us make contact with unmanned systems first,' Armstrong added. In the same way that drones are becoming central to modern-day wars, the division is expanding its use of electronic warfare with a second electronic warfare platoon instead of one. At a recent National Training Center exercise at Fort Irwin, California, soldiers used a deception command post as a decoy. To do so, the soldiers thought about where they thought 'the enemy was gonna look for a command post,' Armstrong said. 'We put a physical signature there and then we played back our electronic signature there and put our actual command post somewhere else,' he said. 'That had them expose their weapon systems, which gave us an opportunity to attack them instead of us having to displace our command post.' The division is also testing a brand new formation of just over 100 soldiers called a multi-effects company 'to integrate what we deemed kind of the four most important technology categories,' Blatherwick said. Within this company, they're experimenting with platoons that are each focused on electronic warfare, UAS, counter-UAS, and loitering munitions. Blatherwick said this company is the armor team's version of the multi-functional reconnaissance team concept that was developed for mobile brigade combat teams in phase one of Transforming in Contact. The multi-functional reconnaissance teams are made up of three 'hunter-killer' platoons focused on drones, electronic warfare, and robotics and autonomous systems. 'Armor moves a lot faster than [mobile brigade combat teams] do and cover a lot more ground so the difference with our [multi-effects company] is that it's looking a lot deeper. It's got the ability to sense a lot deeper and then put fires a lot deeper than what we previously had before,' Blatherwick said. 'Really it's the ability to touch the enemy a lot sooner.' The first phase of the Army's Transforming in Contact plan fielded new equipment to soldiers in the 101st Airborne Division's 2nd Brigade Combat Team, the 10th Mountain Division's 3rd Brigade Combat Team, and the 25th Infantry Division's 2nd Brigade Combat Team. After training with the new tech in exercises at home and abroad, 101st Airborne soldiers now fly drones with 3D printed parts and 10th Mountain soldiers use commercially available UAS like Skydio X2D that they can carry in their rucksack and use for reconnaissance in the field. In the same way that the first phase taught a mobile brigade combat team to assemble on the battlefield with lighter and smaller formations, the armored brigade combat team is learning that they might also have to slim down their presence. For instance, the 101st Mobile Brigade Combat Team created smaller command posts made up of four Humvees and a tent. For armored brigades, those command posts might look like four Armored Multi-Purpose Vehicles, AMPVs, and a tent, officials said. The second phase of Transforming in Contact includes the 3rd Infantry Division's 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team and 2nd Cavalry Regiment from Rose Barracks, Vilseck, Germany. Officials then plan to expand the concept to two divisions, two Stryker brigade combat teams, members of the National Guard and two armored brigade combat teams. For the 3rd Infantry Division, that includes its 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, a unit made up of 1,250 vehicles, 87 tanks, 125 Bradleys, 18 Paladins, and consumes more than 31,000 tons of ammunition in one day of combat, according to stats provided by officials with the division. 'It's the equivalent of having in the National Football League an offensive lineman who's 6'9, weighs 435 pounds, and can run a 40-yard dash in 3.5 seconds. These are big athletes that get up the field to break the will of an adversary determined to beat us here,' Norrie said. While the threat of drones is very real to soldiers, Col. Jim Armstrong, commander of the 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, described a recent exercise at the National Training Center in Fort Irwin, California, where drones were used to give them the upper hand. As the unit's lead battalion began closing in on a town that they planned to seize, soldiers flew a drone overhead to get a better idea of what they were walking into. 'Before that assault force company commander went into that town, he knew where every single enemy element was in the town before going in and making contact, trying to develop the situation while soldiers were in harm's way,' Armstrong said. 'We were committing our crude assets only at a time and place of our choosing and when it was to our advantage.' Army to eliminate 2 Security Force Assistance Brigades, reassign experienced soldiers Why the Army's new XM7 rifle reignited a debate over volume of fire Air Force delay on separation and retirement orders isn't 'stop loss,' defense official says F-35's close call over Yemen raises questions about how it's used An Army unit's 'extreme use of profanity' was so bad, they made a rule about it
Yahoo
19-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
First armor brigade conducts combat center rotation with new tools
The Army recently put its first armor brigade through a combat training center rotation under its new Transformation in Contact initiative. The 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division launched Exercise Combined Resolve this past week in Hohenfels, Germany, at the Joint Multinational Readiness Center. The brigade is the first armored unit to conduct the new Transformation in Contact modernization effort. The initiative seeks to deliver new equipment to operational units as they prepare for major training events and deployments. The aim is to gain feedback and make adjustments to deployment needs while continuing the regular readiness preparation that operational units undergo for standard deployments. This Army division will change how armor brigades and divisions fight The initiative began with three infantry brigades, one each from the 101st Airborne Division, 25th Infantry Division and 10th Mountain Division. Those units saw the addition of Infantry Squad Vehicles, drones, sensing and strike capabilities. The work resulted in changes to the structure of the infantry brigade, which have since been dubbed 'Mobile Brigade Combat Teams.' Final decisions about the layout of those brigades have yet to be made. The TIC initiative continues with this armor brigade and seeks to raise those changes to the division level also, officials said. 'Raider Brigade is spearheading the Army's Transforming in Contact initiative and experimenting with new capabilities to enhance battlefield effectiveness while deployed to Europe,' said Maj. Gen. Christopher Norrie, commanding general of the 3rd Infantry Division. 'The lessons learned through this exercise will help inform the Army how an armored brigade combat team fights on future battlefields.' Exercise Combined Resolve pairs U.S. and NATO forces with partner nations to validate interoperability. The armor brigade used a variety of recently acquired unmanned robotic systems, counter drone tools and electromagnetic decoys during the training. The 1st ABCT's participation in TIC is structured around four key phases: adapting how the unit fights, integrating emerging technologies, reorganizing formations to suit mission needs and rapidly incorporating new capabilities as they become available, according to an Army release. Maj. Gen. Thomas Feltey told Army Times in April that his unit, 1st Cavalry Division, oversaw training for 3rd BCT, 10th Mountain Division during that unit's Germany rotation. The experience helped kickstart TIC work in the cavalry unit. But, Feltey said, the armor units have their own characteristics separate from the traditional dismounted infantry units. 'An ABCT has a lot of different moving pieces,' Feltey said. 'Our battlespace is much larger, and things move faster.' Feltey plans to convene senior armor leaders for feedback on how to reconfigure the units and their assets to capitalize on the new tech and approaches to fighting fast with armor. These sessions will be called 'Iron Horse sprints,' he said.
Yahoo
19-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Army announces latest unit rotations, including soldiers from Lithuania heading home
The Army announced the latest rotation of units in Europe and the Middle East, including the return of a combat team that lost three of its soldiers in a Lithuanian training accident last month. The 3rd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Calvary Division from Fort Cavazos, Texas will replace the 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division from Fort Stewart, Georgia. During the 3rd Infantry Division's training in Lithuania, three soldiers were killed in an accident in March after their vehicle drove into a deep pond. Their disappearance prompted a week-long search of a local swamp with help brought in by the Lithuanian military. During their deployment, soldiers from 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division were deployed to several eastern and central European countries, including Poland, Estonia and Lithuania. The swapping of units are part of regular rotations of roughly 6,000 American forces deployed to locations across Poland and the Baltic states. As part of Operation Atlantic Resolve, soldiers head to Europe for nine months at a time and join multinational training events with regional U.S. Allies like Bulgaria, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Romania. 3rd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Calvary Division, approximately 3,500 soldiers, recently wrapped a stint at the national training center to prepare for the deployment, a 1st Cavalry Division spokesperson told Task & Purpose. Additionally, soldiers from the 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division based out of Fort Riley, Kansas are also headed to Europe this summer. Like the soldiers from 1st Cavalry Division, these soldiers completed a rotation at the National Training Center at Fort Irwin, California in February to prepare for the upcoming deployment. They are replacing 3rd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division soldiers based out of Fort Bliss, Texas who headed to Poland last December and joined exercises across Eastern Europe. The 4th Combat Aviation Brigade, 4th Infantry Division will head to the Middle East to support ongoing operations against the Islamic State group. The region saw more action over the last month when the U.S. stepped up attacks against Houthi rebels in Yemen after a three-month hiatus. In the year prior, soldiers assigned to Central Command were fighting a two-front war against both the Islamic State group and Iranian proxies launching drones and rockets from Iraq and Syria. The attacks on U.S. forces were prompted by Israel's war against Hamas, U.S. officials said. The ongoing attacks were mostly thwarted with the exception of a Jan. 28 drone attack in Jordan that killed three U.S. soldiers. The 4ID soldiers will replace the 101st Airborne Division Combat Aviation Brigade. Nearly 2,000 air assault soldiers from the 101st brigade deployed to the Middle East in February after a year's worth of training for long-range, large-scale air assault operations, including nighttime missions. While in the Middle East they flew heavily around Erbil, Iraq. Navy fires commanding officer, command master chief of expeditionary security squadron The Marine Corps has settled the debate over the size of a rifle squad Leg day: Army cuts down on number of paid parachutists Navy commissions its newest submarine, the USS Iowa Why veterans are the real target audience for 'Helldivers 2'
Yahoo
16-04-2025
- Yahoo
'He set an example every day': Body of fallen soldier returns home to Joliet
JOLIET, Ill. - The return of a fallen U.S. soldier who hails from Joliet made for an emotional day on Tuesday, as his family gathered at Lewis University Airport to welcome him home. Army Staff Sgt. Jose Duenez Jr. was one of four service members who died in Lithuania following a training mission last month. Community members—overseas and here at home—are now paying tribute to the young soldiers. What we know Duenez was assigned to the 3rd Infantry Division out of Fort Stewart in Georgia. The Joliet native deployed to Poland in 2021 and Germany in 2022. Most recently, he was serving in Lithuania as a member of the 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team. Duenez and three other U.S. soldiers went missing on March 25 while conducting a recovery mission to repair and tow an immobilized tactical vehicle. At the time, they were operating an M88A2 Hercules. Days later, their bodies were discovered inside their sunken armored vehicle, which was located in a peat bog near Pabradė, Lithuania. "Sgt. Jose Duenez will always hold a special place in our hearts. As both a leader and a Soldier, he set an example every day—always the first to arrive and the last to leave, greeting every challenge with a smile and a readiness to support anyone who required assistance," said Capt. Madyson K. Wellens, Diesel Forward Support Troop commander, 5th Sqn., 7th Cav. Regt. "He was the definition of a silent professional." Along with Duenez, the deceased soldiers have been identified as Sgt. Edvin F. Franco, 25, of Glendale, California; Pfc. Dante D. Taitano, 21, of Dededo, Guam; and Staff Sgt. Troy S. Knutson-Collins, 28, of Battle Creek, Michigan. "This loss is simply devastating," said Maj. Gen. Christopher Norrie of the 3rd Infantry Division in a press release. "These men were honored Soldiers of the Marne Division. We are wrapping our arms around the families and loved ones of our Soldiers during incredibly difficult time." In their honor, thousands of people recently lined the streets of Lithuania's capital city, Vilnius, as their bodies were transported to the airport to be flown back to the United States. Here at home, Gov. JB Pritzker has ordered all entities covered by the Illinois Flag Display Act to fly flags at half-staff in honor and remembrance of Duenez until sunset on Thursday, April 17. Joliet Mayor Terry D'Arcy is encouraging all residents to take part, too. "Joliet is a small, big town, and when one family grieves, we all grieve," D'Arcy said. "He was a son, he was a brother, he was a husband, he was a father, and he was a soldier." Around 4:30 p.m. Tuesday, Duenez's body arrived at Lewis University Airport in Romeoville, where his family was waiting on the airfield. His American flag-draped casket was surrounded by loved ones before it was transferred to a hearse. Led by local police officers, a procession then carried his body Tezak's Funeral Home to Celebrate Life in Joliet. Community members holding American flags stood across from the airfield to show their support. "Heartache, a lot of heartache," said Dolores Garcia, community member. "It's our soldier, he's from our country." "We all worry about these young kids," said Silvia Gaona-Padilla, another community member who shares that her son is the same age as Duenez. "Most of them, they all know each other because they play against each other or go to the same high school or grammar school, so they all get to know each other somehow along the way." Duenez would have turned 26 years old on April 8. He served in the U.S. Army for more than seven years and was most recently an M1 Abrams Tank System Maintainer. He is one of six siblings and also leaves behind his parents, his wife and their young son. What's next Duenez's visitation will be held from 4 to 8 p.m. on Thursday at Tezak's Funeral Home, located at 1211 Plainfield Road in Joliet. His funeral service will be held at 11 a.m. on Friday at Word of Life Church, located at 1500 Cedarwood Drive in Crest Hill. There will be brief visitation preceding the service, beginning at 10 a.m. The Source FOX 32's Kasey Chronis reported on this story.
