For a couple of years now, the Pentagon has raised a growing concern for the U.S. military: Recruitment levels are dropping pretty fast.

The Pentagon is particularly focused on recruitment levels for younger millennials and Gen Z.

A Department of Defense survey found that when young people were asked, "How likely is it that you will serve in the military?" only 11% responded "definitely" or "probably."

So, the military has been investing in some unexpected strategies, and a big one is video games. The Pentagon is hoping the world of esports, streaming, and gaming will turn things around for their generational recruitment crisis.

Technically, video games aren't totally new territory for U.S. military recruitment. In the early 2000s, the Pentagon released its own game called America’s Army, a multiplayer shooting game in the vein of Call of Duty or Counterstrike. After decades of pretty reasonable success, it eventually discontinued in early 2022.

The U.S. military has also collaborated with game makers behind franchises like Call of Duty or Doom, sometimes using modified versions of games to teach recruits, at other times consulting with game designers to plan "realistic" war scenarios or even recruiting game designers for Washington think tanks focused on military strategy.

So, this relationship is decades old. But, the dropping numbers of military applicants in recent years has ushered in a new era in the gaming-military complex, and this is where esports and streaming have really dominated.

There is now a pro-esports team for every branch of the military – even the space force. They compete with other pro teams, other military branches, and even other allied countries' military teams. The military also sponsors many esports tournaments, which helps enlarge their presence even more.

They've also steadily been streaming on the massively popular platform Twitch, the top gaming streaming site in the world, but this is where recruiters have most recently run into trouble.

Twitch's age limit is only 13 years old, and critics have objected to using such recruitment tactics on children. In some cases, the military allegedly had links with vague messages like "Sign up to win!" which, when clicked through, only led to recruitment forms.

In 2020, Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez even proposed an amendment to a fiscal bill to stop the military from using video games for recruitment. Lawmakers voted against it, 292 votes to 126. Though it didn't pass, it renewed attention on the controversial practice and put a strain on the military's video game push.

Around the same time as the House vote, the Army found itself in hot water after banning viewers on Twitch who trolled and criticized the military, including writer and activist Jordan Uhl.

After being sued for violating free speech, the military temporarily left Twitch altogether.

Some critics have also pointed out the dangers of trivializing war and militarized violence for children, by equating it with a video game. Even today, the Air Force has a game directly on its website called Airman Challenge that lets you learn about drones and operate one to bomb "insurgents" in Middle Eastern countries like Afghanistan and Iraq.

It's unclear what exactly is next for the military's big recruitment push in video games. Although the recruitment practice has repeatedly found itself in controversy, it seems to be far from slowing down. Esports tournaments and sponsorships are only continuing, and the military has cautiously waded back into the world of streaming.

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The U.S. Army is now projecting that for the next two years it will massively fail to recruit as many troops as it hoped, falling short by nearly 40,000 new recruits, according to the latest estimates and testimony from the Army's second highest leader."We've got unprecedented challenges with both a post-COVID-19 environment and labor market, but also private competition with private companies that have changed their incentives over time," General Joseph Martin, vice chief of staff of the Army, told the House Armed Services readiness subcommittee on Tuesday.The Army is projecting it likely will fall short of its fiscal year 2022 recruiting goal by as many as 10,000 troops and could miss the fiscal year 2023 recruiting goal by as much as 28,000 troops, according to Army estimates.Low unemployment has hurt the ability to recruit for some time, but the situation is growing worse with fewer Americans showing an interest in serving. There is also a decline in the number of people physically qualified. "That's why we've gone from 29 to 23% of the population that is available to serve," Martin said.To get more people to join, financial incentives are being offered. The Army has also explored the idea of no longer requiring recruits to have a high school diploma, but it hasn't settled on a final plan.The statistics paint a grim picture. The Army is authorized to have as many as 485,000 troops for FY22, but already reduced that goal to 476,000. At best, Martin said, the Army believes it will "land at 466 for this year for an end strength," leading to a potential shortfall of 10,000.So far, the Army has recruited 30,000 troops in FY22 -- half the 60,000 goal if the Army were to meet the 476,000 troops size. But one official told CNN that the Army no longer thinks that is possible given the challenges it faces and the 10,000 recruit shortage is a likely scenario.For FY23, the size of the Army could further shrink to between 445,000 and 452,000, Martin indicated. The Army will try to maintain a size of 455,000, but that will also be substantially less than the original plan.Related video: Soldier reunited with dog after deploymentThe good news for the Army is the people who are joining appear to be willing to stay.The retention goal for FY22 was 55,900. As of July 7, the Army has already exceeded its goal by reenlisting 57,738 soldiers, according to Colonel Catherine Wilkinson, an Army spokeswoman.

The first-ever tactical bra is reportedly in development for female soldiers serving in the U.S. Army.

According to the Army Times, female soldiers were surveyed about what they wanted in the "Army Tactical Brassiere," which is undergoing official testing.

Various elements of the garment are reportedly under evaluation, including flame-retardant fabrics, sizing and breathability.

The Army Times reports there are currently four concepts. Two of the bras are similar in structure to sports bras, a third garment is a compression bra and the fourth option has a zipper in the front and adjustable back straps.

An official prototype is expected to be presented in the fall.

The Army Uniform Board will have to approve the prototype before it is an official part of the Army uniform.

Federal prosecutors allege a 24-year-old soldier enlisted in the military so he could become better at killing Black people.

CNN and Rolling Stone reported that the Department of Justice charged Killian M. Ryan on Aug. 26 with one count of knowingly making a false statement on his application for a secret security clearance.

An Army spokesperson confirmed to CNN that Ryan was discharged on the same day for "serious misconduct."

According to the news outlets, the Justice Department began investigating Ryan for lying on an official form. During their probe, they found that he allegedly engaged in violent and racist online activity.

Although his criminal charges are unrelated to his racist online communications, federal prosecutors detailed their findings in court documents, the media outlets reported.

According to the news outlets, during their investigation, the Justice Department found Instagram messages of Ryan detailing how he planned to use combat training to kill Black people.

The news outlets reported that Ryan is charged for lying on an application for security clearance.

According to court documents, the then-21-year-old said he had not seen his biological father in 10 years. Still, it was later discovered that they had been corresponding through Instagram, where they both allegedly engaged with accounts that “associated with racially motivated extremism," the media outlets reported.

An Army helicopter crashed in Alaska, injuring two soldiers.

According to the Military Times, the helicopter was involved in a "rollover" accident on Sunday in Talkeetna. That's about 100 miles north of Anchorage.

The helicopter was reportedly taking off when it crashed.

The injured soldiers were taken to a hospital for treatment and released Monday afternoon, the Anchorage Daily News reported.

The cause of the crash is still unclear. Investigative teams are expected to visit the Talkeetna Airport crash site this week.

According to the Anchorage Daily News, the two injured soldiers are part of the 25th Combat Aviation Battalion at Fort Wainwright in Fairbanks.

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Army, for the first time, is offering a maximum enlistment bonus of $50,000 to highly skilled recruits who sign up for six years.

The service is struggling to lure soldiers into certain critical jobs amid the continuing pandemic.

Maj. Gen. Kevin Vereen, head of Army Recruiting Command, told The Associated Press that shuttered schools and the competitive job market over the past year have posed significant challenges for recruiters.

"We are still living the implications of 2020 and the onset of COVID, when the school systems basically shut down," Vereen told CBS News. "We lost a full class of young men and women that we didn't have contact with, face-to-face."

Heading into the most difficult months of the year for recruiting, the Army is hoping that some extra cash and a few other changes will entice qualified young people to sign up.

According to NBC News, enlistment bonuses vary by position and other circumstances. For instance, the outlet reports that the Army is offering a $9,000 "critical accession" bonus for air and missile defense crew enlistments and an additional $1,000 if the recruit attends training within 90 days.

Thousands of women from all ethnic backgrounds served in World War II, with their contributions and bravery often being overlooked.

But there's a new push to give recognition 75 years later.

The Women's Army Corps (WAC) all-Black 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion members are among those women who served.

"To understand the story of the 6888th, we have to understand what was going on in the country at the time," said Army Col. Ret. Edna Cummings. "In the United States, Jim Crow segregation was the law, so the military was segregated not only by race but also by gender."

The "Six Triple Eight" was the first and only all-Black WAC unit deployed overseas during WWII. Under the Command of Maj. Charity Adams, the 850-member group, was first sent to Birmingham, England, in 1945.

Their mission was to sort years of backlogged mail stacked in warehouses — millions of letters and packages sent to U.S. soldiers and other personnel.

"The chain of command said, 'If we don't clear this backlog, the troop morale is going to remain low because that vital communication was lost to and from the United States,'" Cummings said. "The letters weren't making it to the troops, and the troops could not send letters home — so nobody at the United States knew what was going on."

As Allied forces drove across Europe, ever-changing locations hampered mail delivery to service members.

The task was a logistical nightmare, with many letters addressed to familiar names like John Smith, or simply "Junior, U.S. Army" or "Buster, U.S. Army."

Alva Moore Stevenson's mother, Lydia Esther Thornton, was a member of the Six Triple Eight. An Afro-Mexican woman, Thornton, chose to join the Black unit over a white team when given the option.

"Just having to imagine, wherever you were serving in the European Theater, and you weren't hearing from your family," she said. "I can't imagine."

Implementing a highly-effective system, the women processed about 65,000 pieces of mail per shift, amounting to 195,000 pieces per day.

"Because of the racial segregation, they were self-sustaining. So they not only had to figure out how to direct the mail and to sort the mail and to route the mail, but they also had to be self-sustaining," Cummings said. "In Europe, the Six Triple Eight had to set up their city, a mini-installation. They had to feed themselves, take care of their vehicles, drive themselves. So there was little help."

Given a six-month deadline, they finished in three, all while fighting racial and gender discrimination.

Their pioneering service paved the way for women like Cummings, leading the campaign to recognize the unit with Congressional Gold Medal. She helped create a documentary on Six Triple Eight's story.

"Regardless of gender, race, color, creed, ethnicity, the 6888th performed above and beyond. They did something that no one else could do," Cummings said. "The 6888th broke records, mail-sorting records."

A staunch advocate of the campaign, Sen. Jerry Moran, R-Kansas, introduced the bill in the Senate, where it passed unanimously. He says their efforts ensured that people like his mother and father could communicate during the war.

Only six women from the 6888th are alive today.

"It's important to us because it honors our mom and what she stood for, which was the love of country, love of family," Stevenson said. "I wish she would've been here, but I know she would think it's a lot of, much to do about nothing. But I wish she would've been, been here for this."

In the House, 17 more co-sponsors are needed for legislation for a vote.

Women are the fastest-growing segment of the veteran population — and the homeless veteran population.

Despite over 200 years of service, women say they’re often not recognized as veterans.

“My husband is in the Marine Corps," said Cynthia Taylor, an Army veteran. "His service always, always overshadows mine. No one ever assumes I’m the veteran.”

Taylor served nearly seven years as a combat swim instructor and logistics specialist in the Army.

“I was stationed in Germany and ran 38 different warehouses. We supported Africa and all throughout Europe with supplies, as far as helicopter supplies and food. We provided for humanitarian missions in Africa and things of that nature," said Taylor.

Skills she uses today in her work supporting women veterans. Taylor is a program support coordinator for the Foundation for Women Warriors, a 100-year-old nonprofit dedicated to honoring and empowering the women veteran community.

The nonprofit is campaigning to honor women veterans with a California license plate dedicated to their service. The effort began with a woman who served in the Air Force during Vietnam, who also designed the special decal.

Jodie Grenier, CEO of the foundation, shares a similar experience as Taylor after transitioning from the military.

“When I did tell people that I served in the Marine Corps or served in combat in Iraq, I was often met with, 'Well, you're so petite,' or 'Your hair is so long,'" Grenier.

Questions, she says, men often don’t receive.

"Even if we go to a veteran appointment together, veteran, VA appointment, they will ask for his ID. And he'll be like, she's the veteran, we're here for her," said Taylor. “I had a veteran license plate, they thought I was driving my husband’s car. It wasn’t me. I wasn’t the veteran.”

Despite her years of leadership in the Army, Taylor faced a new uphill battle entirely entering the civilian world.

“I had very little savings, I didn’t have a job, I ended up moving back with my parents because they don’t prepare you for any of that," said Taylor. "You don't know your benefits, what’s available to you because they don’t share it with you.”

And the sisterhood she once had all but disappeared.

"The men, you can only joke around so much, but they don't understand what you're going through," said Taylor. “You just feel so disconnected that you don't know how to make friends with regular people, and it was really isolating and lonely.”

Grenier believes a lack of recognition of women's service has contributed to issues seen today, including many women not accessing the benefits they've earned and a general misunderstanding in society about how many women serve in the military.

“Women have served this country long before they even had the right to vote. They served dating as far back as the Revolutionary War, where they disguised themselves as men to provide battle care. For years and years, women have participated in wars, and it wasn’t even until the 1970s that women that participated in WWI were recognized as veterans.”

Grenier says the isolation and barriers to health care are compounded for women, who have a higher rate of single parenting.

“You don’t serve with a ton of women, and when you transition, you certainly don't transition out into some sort of sisterhood," said Grenier.

According to the VA, 18 states or territories currently offer women veterans license plates.

To make the women veteran license plate available to all California women veterans through the DMV, the foundation must first collect a minimum of 50 paid applications for the license plate with a special decal.

“This is not an initiative to say women veterans need their own thing," said Grenier. "But until we get there until society realizes that women are veterans as well, this is just another way that we can honor the service of these women.”

“Having something that symbolizes the woman as the veteran really speaks volumes and honors her service, that she is the one that made the sacrifice," said Taylor. “I think as a community we owe it to that individual to make sure they don't become homeless, that they are offered the same chances as their male counterparts.”

More than symbolic, they hope it will connect women.

"I really look forward to the day when I can honk my horn and wave and say, 'Thank you for your service,' and know that it’s a woman in the vehicle.”

The foundation is also collecting new and unused children’s toys, clothes, and baby items for women veterans, hoping to support 100 veteran families this holiday season.

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — An after-school activity has the power to change a person's life. Wrestling did exactly that for one Colorado veteran who is sharing that same passion with kids today.

Wrestle Like A Girl is a non-profit organization that started in Colorado Springs and has expanded across the nation.

"I'm a two-time world bronze medalist in women's wrestling, a combat veteran in special operations, and the founder and CEO of Wrestle Like A Girl," said retired Sgt. Sally Roberts.

Roberts said she first started wrestling in middle school while living in Washington.

"My mom had been married five times, and I didn't like being at home after school. So, I would go out and shoplift and break into houses," Roberts said. "I actually got arrested so many times that I was given an ultimatum by the juvenile detention officer: I could either find an after-school activity, or I would face going to juvenile detention."

Roberts said she was cut from several sports because coaches said she did not know how to play well with others.

"When I looked at the list of offerings, I saw that wrestling was a no-cut sport. And I thought, 'That's it, as long as I go out and wrestle and I don't quit, then I won't face juvenile detention,'" Roberts said. "And that one single decision forever changed the trajectory of my life.

Without wrestling, Roberts does not know if she would have become the person she is today.

"It teaches you resiliency, bravery, courage. You're going to get knocked down countless times in wrestling, and all you have is yourself to get back up," Roberts said.

Roberts said she started Wrestle Like A Girl around five years ago.

"I wanted to name the organization 'Wrestle Like A Girl' because it was taking this derogatory term that girls felt shameful about, and we gave it power, we gave it position, we gave it authority," Robert said.

Cheyenne Dyess, 16, is one of the ambassadors of Wrestle Like A Girl. Dyess began wrestling around six years ago.

"When I was in middle school, there was no girl's program that I could enter. So, I wrestled only boys or the occasional girl that would come in," Cheyenne said.

Now, Cheyenne wrestles at Vista Ridge High School, where the boys' and girls' teams practice together.

"Being on this team is like no other. You are there for each other, just like you're there for your family," Cheyenne said.

Cheyenne was diagnosed with cancer in January of 2015 and has been cancer-free for about four years.

"Fighting cancer definitely taught me that things are temporary, and you can go through anything and fight through it," Cheyenne said. "It's really just your mindset. The pain is only temporary, and one of our practice rules is you can always do one more. So, that's really instilled just throughout wrestling, and I had that mindset throughout cancer."

Roberts said Wrestle Like A Girl bridges the gap between access and opportunity when it comes to wrestling.

This story was originally published by Colette Bordelon on Scripps station KOAA in Colorado Springs.

SHELBYVILLE, K.y. — For Emily Hernandez, transitioning from sergeant in the Army to civilian took a toll she did not expect.

"I was just ready for the next chapter, and then when I started working on the civilian side, I just went into work, work, work. 'Cause that's what I was used to. And I started to feel so alone," she said.

After seven years of active duty in the Army and a tour in Afghanistan, Emily went back to her hometown of Shelbyville, Kentucky with her son and husband. When she got back to friends and family, something was missing – she could no longer relate to the people around her.

"I noticed it when I was working night shift and when I would come home, it was about a 20-minute drive. There's not a lot of cars on the road and you're just able to like, sit there with your thoughts. That's when I started to think, I was like, 'man, life is a lot different,'" she said.

In the U.S. – there are two million female veterans and although women make up only 9% of the military, it’s the fastest growing military and veteran population.

In a study published by Boston Medical Center this year, it was found that although female veterans were younger with less combat experience, they were more likely to have lifetime PTSD, depression, suicidal thoughts, and more likely to use lifetime mental health services, compared to male veterans.

Sherry Whitehouse says the root of the mental obstacles for many female veterans is finding the understanding and a sense of identity they had in service in their new role as a civilian. It’s something she struggled with until she found it in helping others like her – at Veterans Club.

"Our ladies definitely have been under served in the past and I'm grateful to the veterans club for allowing that space to be open, safe and supported," said Whitehouse.

The Kentucky-based organization helps more than 6,000 veterans by providing that missing link of understanding – providing healing through connection. Founder Jeremy Harrell said they started a women-only group because the need was great.

"It's a rare thing from what I understand and it shouldn't be, and we hope that this helps others go, 'We should probably do that too,' because there's some women out there who gave their all for the defense of this country. That are hurting because they don't feel like anybody cares," said Harrell.

Whitehouse is the leader of that program, helping women to open up and own every aspect of their self.

"That's one of the things that I've worked really hard to change just across the board with our ladies that it's okay to stand up, It's okay to say I served. It's okay to say that I need help," she said.

Though Hernandez has gone back into the service, she says the connections she's made at Veteran's Club with other women have helped her greatly.

"I didn't want to admit somethings in my own self-reflection. So when I would hear people in the veterans club explain their stories and it sounded a lot like mine. that's when I started feeling like, 'Oh, like I needed this.' And I think that equally they need me as well," she said.

She hopes other women take the step in finding a community that understands.

"Reach out and understand that you're not alone and once the military's over or even if it's not, you know, there's a big group of people that are here and we want to welcome you with open arms," said Hernandez.

Although Veterans Club is based in Kentucky, they are hoping to connect people across the country.

If you or someone you know believes they can benefit from their services, visit their website by clicking on this link.

SHARONVILLE, Ohio — Princeton head football coach Mike Daniels will be the new director of on-campus recruiting for the Army West Point football program, he told WCPO Tuesday.

"To be able to go to an institution that is one of the finest in the world is special," Daniels said. "You're talking about a kid that grew up in the Lincoln Heights area. To be able to go and put myself in a situation, scenario like West Point is amazing. Talk about discipline, honor and just being leaders of the world; I'm very excited about that opportunity."

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He expects to start his new position in early March.

Daniels, a former University of Cincinnati and Princeton High School football standout, coached the Vikings for four seasons after accepting the head coaching position in March 2017.

Princeton had a 6-2 overall record including 6-1 in the Greater Miami Conference during its last season. The Vikings were 6-5 in 2019, when they reached the postseason for the first time since 2007.

"We got it back to where Princeton is a great destination for premier student-athletes," Daniels said. "That's probably the thing I'm most proud of."

The GMC formed in 1966. Fifty-three years later, in 2019, Daniels became the first Black head coach to make the playoffs in the GMC, according to WCPO's Reggie Wilson.

Daniels, a 2003 Princeton graduate and member of the school's athletics hall of fame, said the high school will always be with him personally and professionally.

He said he enjoyed being able to engage the community and the tradition of Princeton athletics, and Princeton's next head coach will inherit a talented team.

"Whoever it is, it's going to be a team that is ready to go win now," Daniels said. "I'm very excited for whoever that is."

Princeton athletic director Joe Roberts told WCPO the school will begin its search for the next head coach immediately.

Daniels received national recognition for his coaching resume during his time at Princeton, where he instructed some high-profile college recruits.

He was named Football Scoop's 2020-21 Minority Coaches Watch List in early December and participated in the 2020 NFL Bill Walsh Minority Coaching Fellowship with the Cincinnati Bengals last summer, among other internships in the NFL.

He also previously coached at UC, Kennesaw State and Buffalo prior to Princeton. He spent three seasons (2011-13) at Statesboro High School in Georgia.

It was at Kennesaw State where he connected with some coaching colleagues who are now on Army's staff.

Daniels said he's looking forward to enhancing Army's on-campus recruiting experience.

"I'm excited about the opportunity, I really am," he said.

As a football player, Daniels was a four-year letterwinner at UC (2003-07) where he was a triple threat as a wide receiver, running back and returner.

He served as the team captain and earned the Jim Kelly Spirit Award in 2007 under then-head coach Brian Kelly.

A 2013 Princeton Athletic Hall of Fame inductee, Daniels was named the 2002 Ohio Division I state offensive player of the year, according to Princeton.

WASHINGTON —

Without coming right out and saying it, President Joe Biden seems ready to let lapse a May 1 deadline for completing a withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan. Orderly withdrawals take time, and Biden is running out of it.

Biden has inched so close to the deadline that his indecision amounts almost to a decision to put off, at least for a number of months, a pullout of the remaining 2,500 troops and continue supporting the Afghan military at the risk of a Taliban backlash. Removing all of the troops and their equipment in the next three weeks — along with coalition partners who can't get out on their own — would be difficult logistically, as Biden himself suggested in late March.

"It's going to be hard to meet the May 1 deadline," he said. "Just in terms of tactical reasons, it's hard to get those troops out." Tellingly, he added, "And if we leave, we're going to do so in a safe and orderly way."

James Stavidis, a retired Navy admiral who served as NATO's top commander from 2009 to 2013, says it would be unwise at this point to get out quickly.

"Sometimes not making a decision becomes a decision, which seems the case with the May 1 deadline," Stavidis said in an email exchange Wednesday. "The most prudent course of action feels like a six-month extension and an attempt to get the Taliban truly meeting their promises — essentially permitting a legitimate 'conditions based' withdrawal in the fall."

There are crosscurrents of pressure on Biden. On the one hand, he has argued for years, including during his time as vice president, when President Barack Obama ordered a huge buildup of U.S. forces, that Afghanistan is better handled as a smaller-scale counterterrorism mission. Countering Russia and China has since emerged as a higher priority.

On the other hand, current and former military officers have argued that leaving now, with the Taliban in a position of relative strength and the Afghan government in a fragile state, would risk losing what has been gained in 20 years of fighting.

"A withdrawal would not only leave America more vulnerable to terrorist threats; it would also have catastrophic effects in Afghanistan and the region that would not be in the interest of any of the key actors, including the Taliban," a bipartisan experts group known as the Afghan Study Group concluded in a February report. The group, whose co-chair, retired Gen. Joseph Dunford, is a former commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan and former chairman of the Joint Chiefs, recommended Biden extend the deadline beyond May, preferably with some sort of agreement by the Taliban.

If the troops stay, Afghanistan will become Biden's war. His decisions, now and in coming months, could determine the legacy of a 2001 U.S. invasion that was designed as a response to al-Qaida's Sept. 11 attacks, for which the extremist group led by Osama bin Laden used Afghanistan as a haven.

Biden said during the 2020 campaign that if elected he might keep a counterterrorism force in Afghanistan but also would "end the war responsibly" to ensure U.S. forces never have to return. The peace talks that began last fall between the Taliban and the Afghan government are seen as the best hope, but they have produced little so far.

Postponing the U.S. withdrawal carries the risk of the Taliban resuming attacks on U.S. and coalition forces, possibly escalating the war. In a February 2020 agreement with the administration of President Donald Trump, the Taliban agreed to halt such attacks and hold peace talks with the Afghan government, in exchange for a U.S. commitment to a complete withdrawal by May 2021.

Related file video: Taliban violence casts shadow over US withdrawal

When he entered the White House in January, Biden knew of the looming deadline and had time to meet it if he had chosen to do so. It became a steep logistical hurdle only because he put off a decision in favor of consulting at length inside his administration and with allies. Flying thousands of troops and their equipment out of Afghanistan in the next three weeks under the potential threat of Taliban resistance is not technically impossible, although it would appear to violate Biden's promise not to rush.

Biden undertook a review of the February 2020 agreement shortly after taking office, and as recently as Tuesday aides said he was still contemplating a way ahead in Afghanistan. White House press secretary Jen Psaki stressed that May 1 was a deadline set by the prior administration and that a decision was complicated.

"But it's also an important decision — one he needs to make in close consultation with our allies and also with our national security team here in this administration," Psaki said. "And we want to give him the time to do that."

In briefings on Afghanistan, Biden would have heard from military commanders such as Gen. Frank McKenzie, head of U.S. Central Command, who have said publicly and repeatedly that the Taliban have not fully lived up to the commitments they made in the February 2020 agreement. McKenzie and others have said violence levels are too high for a durable political settlement to be made.

Congress has been cautious about reducing the U.S. military presence in Afghanistan. Last year it expressly forbade the Pentagon from using funds to reduce below 4,000 troops, but the Pentagon went ahead anyway after Trump ordered a reduction to 2,500 after he lost the election. Trump got around the legal prohibition by signing a waiver.

FORT HOOD, TX — Spc. Vanessa Guillen was sexually harassed by a superior officer during her time at Fort Hood, Army officials revealed Friday afternoon.

The findings were part of an Army investigation conducted by Gen. John Murray, commanding general of Army Futures Command, into the Fort Hood chain-of-command following the soldier's disappearance and death.

“I directed this investigation to identify what happened and to find areas where we needed to improve across our command,” said Gen. Michael X. Garrett, commanding general of U.S. Army Forces Command. “We can and must hold ourselves accountable, learn and improve across all our Army units. To do any less breaks trust with our people and the American public.”

Part of the investigation included a review of Fort Hood's actions from April 22, 2020, to July 1, 2020, under the provisions of Army Regulation 15-6.

According to officials, Spc. Guillen was sexually harassed by a superior non-commissioned officer in her unit.

She informally reported the harassment on two occasions. In both instances, her supervisor failed to report the harassment, and other leaders failed to take appropriate action.

Investigators say there is no evidence that the sexual harassment was related to Spc. Guillen's death. However, according to the report, between April 2019 and September 2019, Spc. Aaron Robinson, who is believed to have killed Spc. Guillen, sexually harassed a different female specialist at Fort Hood. The information was discovered in fall of 2020 during the 15-6 investigation.

Investigators did not find credible evidence to conclude that Spc. Robinson sexually harassed Spc. Guillen or that they had any relationship outside of work.

Investigators also did not find evidence that Spc. Guillen was sexually assaulted.

During the review, officials discovered "inadequate measures" related to the Army's Sexual Harassment and Assault Response and Prevention (SHARP) program. The report determined soldiers in the 3rd Cavalry Regiment and Spc. Guillen's unit were not adequately trained on sexual harassment and sexual assault prevention programs. The programs were also not sufficiently emphasized.

When reviewing the search for Spc. Guillen, investigators determined the 3rd Cavalry Regiment responded "immediately with all available resources upon the discovery that Spc. Guillen was missing on April 22 and determined that her absence was likely not voluntary." The next day, a massive search began for the soldier.

The U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command (USACIDC) took over the case on April 24, 2020, and identified Spc. Guillen as a "missing soldier" who disappeared under "unusual" circumstances.

Officials say the 15-6 investigation does not include alleged criminal misconduct connected to Spc. Guillen's disappearance and death. The criminal matters remain under investigation by the FBI, USACIDC, and other law enforcement agencies.

As a result of the overall investigation, Gen. Garrett has directed the relief of five current and former leaders in the 3rd Cavalry Regiment. This includes officers and non-commissioned officers.

Of the five, three will also receive General Officer Memorandums of Reprimand (GOMORs).

Gen. Garrett has also referred further action against seven additional officers and non-commissioned officers to Lt. Gen. Pat White, commanding general of III Corps, and further action against one non-commissioned officer to a separate command.

The eight officers and non-commissioned officers will receive GOMORs. In addition, one will be relieved of their duties.

An additional Army Regulation 15-6 investigation remains open for the 1st Cavalry Division's command climate and SHARP program at Fort Hood. Officials say it is unrelated to Spc. Guillen's death.

Fourteen Fort Hood leaders and soldiers were relieved or suspended in December 2020 following an independent review of the post.

This story was originally published Sydney Isenberg at KXXV.