Checkpoint’s most-read military stories in 2015 — from heroism to Jade Helm 15
By Dan Lamothe December 31, 2015
Maj. Lisa Jaster, center, embraces 1st Lt. Shaye Haver, left, and Capt. Kristen Gries after a Ranger School graduation ceremony on Oct. 16, 2015, in Fort Benning, Ga. Jaster joined Griest and Haver as the first female soldiers to graduate Ranger School. (Branden Camp/AP)
For the U.S. military, 2015 was a year of challenges, transitions and preparing for the future. But it also was a year of breakthroughs, heroism and sacrifices that sometimes get recognized and sometimes go quietly unobserved.
This marks the first full year for Checkpoint, The Washington Post military blog that I helped launch in June 2014. The site has shown significant growth this year and has an expanding list of contributors, things for which I’m grateful.
With all that in mind, here’s a look back at the most-read stories in 2015. It includes some of the Pentagon’s biggest stories of the year, but also a number of thoughtful pieces and quirky news that captured wide attention. A caveat: Some of our largest stories on these same subjects ran as traditional stories, rather than Checkpoint posts, so they are not reflected here.
As always, thank you for reading — and best wishes for 2016.
10. The Marines just lost a ‘Viking warrior.’ His friends won’t forget him.
Master Sgt. Eden Pearl, right, is shown here in Afghanistan with Army Spec. Nick Rousch. They were wounded by the same improvised explosive device. (Courtesy of friends of Eden Pearl)
It’s somewhat remarkable that a story published just a week ago could already be among Checkpoint’s most-read stories for the year, but here we are.
Readers gravitated toward the sad story of Marine Master Sgt. Eden Pearl on several levels. For one, there is intrigue because he was one of the first members of Marine Corps Forces Special Operations Command, the elite force the Marines established as wars were raging in Iraq and Afghanistan to join with the military’s other elite units.
But Eden’s story hit a more emotional note for many readers — and in some ways stands as a symbol for the sacrifices of thousands of other U.S. service members during the long war against terrorism since the attacks on Sept. 11, 2001.
An inspiring leader who deployed to Kosovo, Iraq and Afghanistan during his military career, he was wounded in August 2009 by a roadside bomb that lifted his Humvee off the ground and set it ablaze. He suffered burns over more than 90 percent of his body and eventually had both legs and an arm amputated because of infection but survived for more than six years, until Dec. 20.
9. Ranger School officer combats rumors about how women passed in pointed Facebook post and 8. These are the Army’s first female Ranger School graduates
The Army’s groundbreaking decision to allow women to attend its famously difficult Ranger School for the first time was covered closely on Checkpoint, with dozens of pieces covering different angles and reporting from Fort Benning, Ga., the mountains of the Chattahoochee National Forest and the swamps of Eglin Air Force Base, Fla.
These two posts capture a duality of sorts that existed throughout the year, as three women — Maj. Lisa Jaster, Capt. Kristen Griest and 1st Lt. Shaye Haver — ultimately became the first female graduates of Ranger School.
While some observers celebrated a historic achievement and the tenacity it took to accomplish it, others questioned whether the Army went easier on the women who attempted the course. Key Army officials involved insisted throughout the process that never happened, and they opened up the school to on-the-ground coverage from The Washington Post and other media outlets to underscore their point.
One of The Post’s top stories on Ranger School this year did not run on the blog but front and center above the fold on Page 1 to profile the first two women who made it through in August, Griest and Haver. Checkpoint also profiled Jaster when she met requirements in October.
7. New top Marine Corps general releases plan to shake up the service
The attention this story received underscores the level of interest in how the military is positioning itself for future operations after years of conventional combat operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. Gen. Joseph F. Dunford released his “planning guidance” for the service in January, a few months after he became the commandant of the Marine Corps.
Less than six months later, President Obama selected Dunford to become the new chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Dunford took over that post in October, with Gen. Robert B. Neller becoming the new chief of the Marine Corps in September.
6. These U.S. airmen refused to be taken hostage. Now they’ll get valor awards.
Senior Airman Goodie J. Goodman, left, Tech. Sgt. Matthew J. Greiner and Senior Airman Dustin H. Temple stand after their valor awards were distributed in May at Pope Airfield in North Carolina. Temple received the rare Air Force Cross, while Greiner and Goodman received Silver Stars for their roles in fighting off a brutal ambush in Afghanistan in September 2014. (U.S. Air Force)
In May, the Air Force recognized three elite combat controllers with some of the service’s most prestigious valor awards for heroism in Afghanistan’s Helmand province in September 2014. Senior Airman Dustin H. Temple received the Air Force Cross, which is second only to the Medal of Honor in honoring heroism in combat in the service. Senior Airman Goodie J. Goodman and Tech. Sgt. Matthew J. Greiner received the Silver Star, which is two levels below the Medal of Honor.
The three airmen fought off a vicious ambush by the Taliban in an area of the country in which tens of thousands of U.S. troops once operated but were withdrawn in 2014. That underscored a growing problem: deteriorating security across much of Afghanistan in 2015 as the role of the U.S. military was limited and Afghan security forces struggled to withstand enemy attacks.
A video released by the Air Force after the airmen were decorated for their valor demonstrated how fierce the battle they faced was.
“They were much, much more brave than any insurgent that I have ever had throughout my deployments there,” Senior Airman Goodie J. Goodman told reporters in a conference call beforehand. “They didn’t seem like they were willing to quit until the last soul.”
5. Marcus Luttrell, Navy SEAL friend of Chris Kyle, warns killer after verdict
The murder trial of Eddie Ray Routh, the Marine veteran who killed legendary Navy SEAL sniper Chris Kyle and his friend Chad Littlefield, played out in 2015 and generated widespread attention. The Post covered it at length, both beforehand and from the courtroom in the dusty Texas town where Routh was tried.
Routh was convicted of murder in February, prompting a Navy SEAL friend of Kyle’s, Marcus Luttrell, to issue a threatening warning to him about what he would face while imprisoned. The commentary went viral, in part because Luttrell also is well known: He was the focus of the 2013 movie “Lone Survivor,” which depicts the doomed mission in Afghanistan that killed the rest of his team.
4. U.S. military social media accounts apparently hacked by Islamic State sympathizers
CENTCOM-hacked-3
The Islamic State militant group that still terrorizes people in Iraq, Syria and other countries was covered widely in 2015 — and its ability to grab attention seemed never-ending at times.
In one prominent example, the Twitter and YouTube pages of U.S. Central Command were hacked in January by what appeared to be Islamic State sympathizers. The attack, which was called cyber-vandalism by the Pentagon, was embarrassing for the U.S. military and prompted a review.
3. Bowe Bergdahl, once-missing U.S. soldier, charged with desertion
Bowe Bergdahl, the U.S. soldier who walked off his base in Afghanistan in 2009 and was held captive by insurgents for five years, provided a long saga in 2015 that will continue into the new year, as the Army court-martials him for alleged misbehavior before the enemy in desertion.
The details of Bergdahl’s case became more clear after the Army held a preliminary hearing in San Antonio in September that depicted the soldier as disillusioned with his unit and self-deluded about his abilities as a fighter. A general who investigated his case, Lt. Gen. Kenneth Dahl, testified then that he did not believe Bergdahl left his base to join the Taliban but wanted to cause a crisis by disappearing so he could later reappear and air his grievances before a general officer.
In another story that didn’t quite crack the Top 10 on Checkpoint but came close, it emerged in December that while facing court-martial, Bergdahl spoke at length to a filmmaker and then approved their recorded conversations appearing in an ongoing popular podcast, “Serial.” In the first episode, Bergdahl said he compared himself to the fictional action hero Jason Bourne.
“Doing what I did is me saying that I am like, I don’t know, Jason Bourne…. I had this fantastic idea that I was going to prove to the world that I was the real thing,” Bergdahl said. “You know, that I could be what it is that all those guys out there that go to the movies and watch those movies, they all want to be that, but I wanted to prove that I was that.”
2. I’m a veteran, and I hate ‘Happy Memorial Day.’ Here’s why.
Sometimes, it isn’t breaking news that captivates readers but thoughtful reflection on the world in which we live. A guest post by Marine Corps veteran Jennie Haskamp published just before Memorial Day did that, expressing anguish that too many people don’t understand that the real meaning of the holiday is to honor fallen U.S. service members.
“I’m angry,” she wrote. “I’ve come to realize people think Memorial Day is the official start of summer. It’s grilled meat, super-duper discounts, a day (or two) off work, beer, potato salad and porches draped in bunting. But it shouldn’t be. It’s more than that.”
The piece went viral, prompting conversations on talk radio and social media — and hopefully a greater understanding of a day meant to honor Americans killed doing their jobs on behalf of their country.
1. Why Operation Jade Helm 15 is freaking out the Internet — and why it shouldn’t be
U.S. Special Forces are shown here in training in January. (U.S. Army Special Operations Command)
The U.S. military launched a new Special Operations exercise this summer. Months before it happened, however, word about it leaked online, prompting a growing crescendo of conspiracy theories about a future federal government takeover and mockery of said conspiracy theories.
Checkpoint weighed in on the controversy in this piece early on, attempting to provide context and perspective on what Operation Jade Helm 15 was and was not. It became the most read story on this site for all of 2015 — something that, in retrospect, still prompts questions about how millions of Americans view their government and military.
The operation reached a popular culture high point in May, when comedian Jon Stewart ripped reaction to the exercise on Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show.” The operation itself opened in July without media access allowed and ended without event in September.
Obama later named it the most entertaining conspiracy theory he has ever heard about himself.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/checkpoint/wp/2015/12/31/checkpoints-most-read-military-stories-in-2015-from-heroism-to-jade-helm-15/
