Latest news with #OldGuard
Yahoo
6 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
The Army has realized that horses are no longer good for ‘warfighting'
Goodbye horses, the Army's over you. The Army is drastically scaling back its Military Working Equid program, the Army term for the service's contingent of horses, donkeys and mules. With a few exceptions for ceremonial horse teams, the equine operations will wind down over the next year at five Army bases, with animals being donated or transferred to private owners, the Army announced last week. Why the drawdown? According to the Army, it's 'to align more resources with warfighting capability and readiness.' 'This initiative will save the Army $2 million annually and will allow the funds and soldiers dedicated to [Military Working Equid] programs to be redirected to readiness and warfighting priorities,' according to the Army's release. The 'warfighting priorities' were not specified. The Department of Defense currently owns 236 horses, mules and donkeys, which are housed and cared for on Army bases, Army spokesperson Lt. Col. Ruth Castro told Task & Purpose on Monday. The one-year reduction will see the closure of MWE programs at bases in California, Arizona, Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas: Fort Irwin, Fort Huachuca, Fort Riley, Fort Sill and Fort Hood. The Army will keep horse teams at two locations, including the 3rd Infantry Regiment, or 'the Old Guard,' at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia, which restarted its caisson services in June after a two-year pause following the death of two horses. That effort saw the Army invest more than $18 million in new real estate and equipment for the horses. Though the age of the war horse is long gone, horses have not been totally absent from combat use in the modern Army. Army Special Forces soldiers famously used horses with the Northern Alliance during the initial invasion of Afghanistan in 2001 — those horses were provided by Afghan partners. The last time the Army staged an outright cavalry charge was 83 years ago during World War II. The 26th Cavalry Regiment in the Philippines, made up of American and Filipino fighters, resisted Japanese forces with horseback tactics. On Jan. 16, 1942, Lt. Edward Ramsey led a mounted force into the village of Morong. When the cavalry encountered a larger Japanese infantry force, Ramsey ordered them forward, even yelling 'charge!' The horse-based assault was so sudden and shocking it pushed the Japanese forces back. According to the Army, equine veterinarian experts will oversee the drawdown of the MWE animals. They will be donated or adopted by outside parties. The latest on Task & Purpose Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps learns an old lesson: Don't mess with Audie Murphy A breakdown of safety procedures 'directly contributed' to an 82nd Airborne paratrooper's death WWII Marine Raider who fought at Iwo Jima, Guadalcanal wants cards for 100th birthday Navy identifies special warfare sailor killed while parachuting Pentagon appears to pause renaming of Navy ships Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
15-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
KiKi Layne's Training for Old Guard 2 Was Intense. This Is The Routine That Changed Everything For Her.
"Hearst Magazines and Yahoo may earn commission or revenue on some items through these links." "When you're working with Charlize Theron, you better have your ass in the gym." It's a lesson actor KiKi Layne learned while preparing to film the 2020 Netflix movie Old Guard. "I got started with strength training a bit in college, but I really took it to another level to prepare for the first Old Guard movie," the 33-year-old tells Women's Health in the latest installment of our video series Strong Like. "I've never worked out that much in my life... I've just been trying to keep up ever since." KiKi reprises her role as former Marine Nile Freeman in the sequel Old Guard 2 (streaming now), which once again meant getting in fighting form. This time, she had her cousin Dwayne helping her train in the gym. (Cute, right?!) So what does KiKi's go-to routine look like? It starts off with a series of exercises to help prime KiKi for what will ultimately be the main event: a round of boxing. "We want to loosen all those muscles up, get all those muscles firing, so she can be good and ready and hit hard," Cousin Dwayne explains. Those exercises begin with isometric bicep curls and tricep push-ups to warm up the arms. Next is what the duo refers to as balance touches (an exercise that resemble a single-leg deadlift) to work on her control and power. Those are followed by back squats. "I love a good little glute workout," KiKi says. With the strength moves out of the way, KiKi grabs a jump rope to get in some fast-twitch muscle work before donning her boxing gloves. "I love boxing," she says. "I got started using it in training on the first Old Guard film. It became a great way for me to get into being a more physical character, playing a Marine, and I've been trying to keep it up ever since."$29.00 at at at at at Get the full scoop on KiKi's workout regimen—plus all the deets on her cute fit—by watching the Strong Like video above. You Might Also Like Jennifer Garner Swears By This Retinol Eye Cream These New Kicks Will Help You Smash Your Cross-Training Goals
Daily Maverick
12-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Maverick
The Old Guard 2 — botched sequel is stripped of everything that made its predecessor memorable
It's been five years, but the immortal mercenaries of comic adaptation The Old Guard, led by Charlize Theron's axe-wielding Andy, are back in a movie sequel on Netflix. Somehow, though, in that time the franchise has lost its edge. Back in Covid times, audiences were starved for fresh blockbuster entertainment. Cinemas were closed. People were stuck at home. Enter streaming services, especially Netflix, with their own selection of big-budget movie escapism delivered directly to your TV screen. One of the films that ticked those boxes and stood out from this period was 2020's The Old Guard. Based on the comic series by Greg Rucka and Leandro Fernández, and written by Eisner Award-winning Rucka himself, The Old Guard mixed visceral action with musings on mortality, and threw in some surprising LGBT+ representation as it focused on a group of unkillable mercenaries. For centuries, this band has been secretly fighting on the side of good, although leader Andy (Charlize Theron), AKA axe-wielding Andromache of Scythia, has grown cynical. Her efforts seem pointless when the world seems as dark, violent and cruel as ever. Without giving anything away, by the time sequel The Old Guard 2 starts – watch it on Netflix now – Andy has embraced her mission with renewed enthusiasm. The issue now is the emergence of a hitherto unknown immortal, much older than Andy and her squad: Discord (Uma Thurman), who was formerly paired with immortality expert Tuah (Henry Golding). While Tuah proves to be an ally, sour-faced Discord is out to destroy Andy, and that starts by unleashing the latter's mentally unstable ex, and original companion, Quỳnh (Veronica Ngô), who has turned misanthropic after centuries of torment. It all sounds good and well on paper, but fans of the original soon realise that Part 2 of the onscreen Old Guard saga has stripped out everything that made its predecessor memorable. The edges are gone; Andy's labrys is blunted. Almost immediately, The Old Guard 2 rolls back or retcons the narrative choices that introduced a meaty sense of consequence by the end of the first film. What's a bigger punishment for a lonely immortal than subjecting them to a century of exile from their found family? Well, it turns out it doesn't matter. Six months later they're welcomed back into the fold. No spoilers, but there's an even bigger plot point reversal, paired with some clunky, nonsense exposition. Now, it can be argued that this is comic tradition – no one stays dead; there's always a workaround to return to the status quo. Certainly, The Old Guard 2 has a strong comic book feel in its choices of locations and set décor. This includes a secret Chinese nuclear facility that is all chrome, glass and neon, and could be mistaken for a modern art gallery, or Discovery's Sandton headquarters. However, it's impossible to forgive how, repeatedly, The Old Guard 2 botches its handling of what made the original work. For example, the action scenes. You can get creative and brutal when you're dealing with characters who have instantaneous healing, but barring one dismembered finger and a gruesomely torn ankle, it doesn't feature in the film. Even worse, with a switch from The Woman King's Gina Prince-Bythewood to Victoria Mahoney in the director's chair, something has gone horribly wrong with the hand-to-hand fight choreography. Combat lacks punchiness, feeling instead like someone filmed a slowed-down rehearsal. To be fair, The Old Guard 2 does feature one sequence with memorable visual flair. A stroll through the back alleys of Rome transports Andy back through time. But that's it. And, on top of it all, queer themes are dampened down to be nearly nonexistent. A passionate kiss between two male characters in the first film, following a poetic declaration of love, has no equivalent here. The closest moment in the sequel is when the same characters chastely touch foreheads. There's no shortage of talent in The Old Guard 2, which also features Chiwetel Ejiofor in a key supporting role, but nobody has much to work with, barring Matthias Schoenaerts with a concluding character arc. Thurman looks like she doesn't want to be there, and her performance sits in the no man's land between overblown and sinisterly subdued. Meanwhile, though it's no fault of the actors, the long-awaited reunion between Theron's Andy and Ngô's Quỳnh is completely lacking in emotional payoff, going the route of clichéd and superficial conversations instead. Then again, it turns out that The Old Guard 2 is a lot like Pirates of the Caribbean 2 in the sense it expands on a story that didn't necessarily need further exploration. Ultimately, it cheekily serves as a stepping stone to a third Old Guard instalment, with no satisfying resolution whatsoever. DM
09-07-2025
- Politics
Army will end most of its ceremonial horse programs and adopt out the animals
WASHINGTON -- The U.S. Army's history is closely tied to its cavalry units, those soldiers who rode into battle on horseback. But the service announced Tuesday that it's moving toward a future without the ceremonial horses and will put most of them up for adoption. The Army, however, will keep operating the Old Guard ceremonial caisson units at Joint Base San Antonio and Arlington National Cemetery for burial honors. Ceremonial cavalry units will be closed down at bases including Fort Cavazos in Texas, whose horses were showcased during the military parade in Washington on June 14, which was the Army's 250th anniversary and also President Donald Trump's birthday. Army spokesperson Steve Warren said other ceremonial units will close at Fort Carson in Colorado, Fort Sill in Oklahoma, Fort Irwin in California, Fort Riley in Kansas and Fort Huachuca in Arizona. The Army estimates that closing down the units will save about $2 million a year, and the changes are being made as part of its overall warfighting realignment, Warren said. The Trump administration has moved to cut costs across the federal government and directed changes at the Pentagon like reducing top military leadership positions that it says will promote efficiency. Pentagon leaders have faced pushback from Democratic lawmakers for spending on the deployment of troops to protests in Los Angeles and expected costs to turn a Qatari jet into Air Force One. The Army is giving the affected bases 12 months to shutter the ceremonial cavalry units, and 141 horses will be adopted outside the military, Warren said. Some horses may be donated to organizations, but none will be sold, he said. The horses 'are part of the Army family, we're going to treat them with compassion,' Warren said. The Army has just recently resumed caisson operations at Arlington National Cemetery after an investigation found the horses in those units were mistreated, left to graze in lots with little grass, leading them to consume sand and gravel. Two horses died in 2022, and caisson operations were suspended until earlier this year. The Arlington National Cemetery horses are part of the caisson platoon of the 3rd Infantry Regiment, known as the Old Guard, which is best known for guarding the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at the cemetery, located just across the river from Washington.
Metro
09-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Metro
'Painful to watch' action sequel dominates Netflix chart with 37,000,000 views
A new action-packed sequel has topped the charts on Netflix, despite being branded 'painful to watch' by unimpressed fans. The Old Guard 2 was released on July 2, almost five years to the day that the first movie premiered on the streaming platform. Charlize Theron reprised her role as Andy, leading her team of immortal warriors who quietly protect the world at any cost – however, they are forced to contend with another mysterious threat against humanity. KiKi Layne, Matthias Schoenaerts, Luca Marinelli, Veronica Ngô, Chiwetel Ejiofor and Marwan Kenzari also returned for the follow-up, while Uma Thurman and Henry Golding joined the star-studded cast. Despite only being out a matter of days, the flick has soared straight to the top of the Netflix chart, with more than 37.5million views in the last week alone, and over 66.8m hours viewed. Wake up to find news on your TV shows in your inbox every morning with Metro's TV Newsletter. Sign up to our newsletter and then select your show in the link we'll send you so we can get TV news tailored to you. The original, which was released in 2020, also returned to the top 10 with almost 10m views in total. However, it hasn't gone down too well with movie-lovers and currently claims a poor 37% Rotten Tomatoes score from the audience, and an even lower ranking of 24% from unhappy critics. Not holding back, Jeremiah J fumed: 'First one was amazing. This one felt like a B Movie in plot and action. And the ending was so bad I wish I hadn't watched it. Too many plot holes and nothing emotional. Felt dead and forced.' Stephanie W demanded: 'I want that hour and a half of my life back. The characters apparently all lost brain cells between the first movie and this. They contradict the original. 'Waste of my life. I actually never review movies and hate this movie so much that I came here to warn others.' 'Well, what a wet fart of a movie this is,' Rik O posted. 'It's an action film that struggles with action. 'I can't put it into words, because even when things are happening on screen like car chases or fights, it still manages to be duller than dish water. Really disappointing.' 'This movie was genuinely painful to watch, showing an exponential downgrade from the first film,' Chrystian D added. 'Poorly executed, badly told, bland, disorganized, and with an ending so generic it's nauseating. 'They clearly stretched the story to set up a third film, but honestly, it's so bad and repulsive that I doubt they'll secure the budget for another after this disaster. 'It's especially disappointing because the first movie completely won me over.' Speaking of that possible third film, producer Greg Rucka touched on whether the Old Guard universe could be expanded further in a recent interview, sharing that there is definitely more to explore. More Trending 'There is a complete three-part story that can be told,' he previously told Looper. 'God willing, if it's a success, Netflix comes back and says, 'Hey, let's do it again.' There's more to tell, and there are questions that we want to answer.' The Old Guard 2 is available to stream on Netflix now. Got a story? If you've got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@ calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we'd love to hear from you. MORE: Emotional Netflix fans moved by Liam Payne tribute in new Building The Band series MORE: Netflix 'masterpiece' breaks another record with 106,000,000 views in just 12 days MORE: I'm a TV critic and this week I'm bingeing a jaw-dropping series
