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• A US soldier wounded by an improvised explosive device that killed three other US service members has died of his injuries, according to the Department of Defense.
• Army Sgt. Jason Mitchell McClary was the youngest of the four deceased US troops. He was 24.
• 14 US service members have lost their lives in Afghanistan this year.

A US soldier critically injured by a roadside bomb that killed three US service members in Afghanistan last week died of his wounds over the weekend.

Army Sgt. Jason Mitchell McClary, a 24-year-old native of Export, Pennsylvania, died Sunday in Landstuhl, Germany from injuries sustained from the improvised explosive device in Andar, Ghazni, Afghanistan on Nov. 27, the Department of Defense said in a statement Monday.

McClary was assigned to 1st Battalion, 38th Infantry Regiment, 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, Fort Carson, Colorado. That blast also killed three special operations troops — Army Capt. Andrew Patrick Ross, Army Sgt. 1st Class Eric Michael Emond, and Air Force Staff Sgt. Dylan J. Elchin.

Read More:A roadside bomb in Afghanistan killed 3 US special operations troops

Two other US service members were injured in the incident, as was an American civilian contractor.

Five US service members were killed in Afghanistan in November, making it the deadliest month for US forces fighting in country this year. The death of Sgt. McClary brings the total death toll for American service members in Afghanistan so far this year to 14.

Over the past three years, the Afghan security forces have lost over 28,000 troops and police officers, the Afghan president said last month. During that time, government control of Afghanistan has dropped from 72 percent in 2015 to just over half.

Read More: The war in Afghanistan looks bleak as the government loses more control and Afghan security force casualties rise

The Taliban "are not losing right now," Gen. Joseph Dunford, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said recently. "We used the term stalemate a year ago and, relatively speaking, it has not changed much."

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There's one big difference between a military attack helicopter and a military transport helicopter: one carries a lot of guns, and the other carries a lot of weight. 

And the US Army AH-64 Apache and Russian Ka-52 Alligator are generally considered to be the two best military attack helicopters in the world (with the Russian Mi-28N arguably in a close third). 

The Apache first flew in 1975, and has since been upgraded several times, with the newest variant being the AH-64E. 

The Alligator, on the other hand, first flew in 1997 and is a successor to the Ka-50 Black Shark. 

Here's how they match up. 

SEE ALSO: The 9 best military attack helicopters in the world

SEE ALSO: We climbed into an Apache helicopter's cockpit and saw why it's one of the most difficult aircraft to fly

PERFORMANCE: The Ka-52 has a top speed of 196 mph, a maximum altitude of 18,044 feet and maximum range of 683 miles.

Source: airforce-technology.com

The Apache's newest variant has a top speed of 188 mph, a maximum altitude of 20,500 feet and maximum range of 299 miles.

Source: US Army, Telegraph

DESIGN: The Ka-52 has two three-blade counter-rotating rotors, making it extremely maneuverable. Russian media even claims it can pivot 90 degrees on the spot.

Source: The National Interest

• President Donald Trump announced his nomination of General Mark Milley for the chairmen of the Joint Chiefs of Staff on Saturday.
• The nomination breaks an unofficial tradition of rotating chairmen by which service they align with.
• Trump was expected to make the nomination at the Army-Navy game Saturday afternoon.

President Donald Trump took to Twitter Saturday morning to announce his nomination of General Mark Milley, 60, as the new chairmen of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the nation's top military position. 

"I am pleased to announce my nomination of four-star General Mark Milley, Chief of Staff of the United States Army — as the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, replacing General Joe Dunford, who will be retiring,"wrote Trump.

Milley has served as chief of staff of the Army since August 2015.

Read more: 11 books the US Army's top officer recommends to help understand the world

He reportedly graduated from Princeton before serving as a Green Beret. He would go on to hold leadership roles in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The selection of Milley breaks the unofficial tradition of rotating chairmen by which service they're a part of. Milley is replacing Dunford, a Marine, who took the reigns from an Army chairman.

The announcement comes surprisingly earlier, considering Dunford's official tenure doesn't end until Oct. 2019. Trump went on to tweet, "Date of transition to be determined." 

Trump was expected to make the announcement at Saturday's Army-Navy game, reportedly telling White House pool reporters on Friday, "I have another one for tomorrow that I’m going to be announcing at the Army-Navy game, I can give you a little hint: It will have to do with the Joint Chiefs of Staff and succession."

SEE ALSO: Trump reportedly plans to pick the Army chief to be his top general

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• US Defense Secretary James Mattis reportedly furiously intervened last month after finding out junior Army officers were blamed for the Niger ambush in 2017. 
• Mattis’ rage reportedly got results: One senior officer “who had largely escaped punishment was told he would be reprimanded,” the New York Times reported.
•  "And this week, Capt. Michael Perozeni … received word from the Army: His reprimand was rescinded.”

The Department of Defense last month did an about-face on the punishments handed down to members of the Green Beret team deemed responsible for the deadly Oct. 4, 2017, ambush in Niger that left four Army Special Forces personnel dead, the New York Times reports, shifting blame from junior officers to more senior commanders following a furious intervention from Secretary of Defense James Mattis.

• According to the New York Times, a “livid” Mattis chewed out “top military officials” involved in the Niger investigation after purportedly reading news reports regarding letters of reprimand handed down to Capt. Mike Perozeni, the team leader of Operational Detachment Alpha Team 3212 singled out for blame for the ambush.
• Perozeni, his second-in-command, and four others in the chain of command were punished in line with the long-awaited Pentagon investigation that, released in May, appeared to lay blame at the feet of the junior officers, citing an absence of “key pre-deployment collective training” and “pre-mission rehearsals” as well as a lack of appropriate equipment for such an excursion.
• But, as the New York Times reported in early November, “those absent from the six letters of reprimand include the two senior officers who approved the mission and who then oversaw the operation as it went fatally awry.” This reportedly infuriated a Mattis, who officials described to the Times as “dissatisfied with the punishments given largely to junior officers.”
• Mattis’ rage reportedly got results: One senior officer “who had largely escaped punishment was told he would be reprimanded,” the New York Times reported. “Another senior officer’s actions before and around the time of the mission were also under new scrutiny. And this week, Capt. Michael Perozeni … received word from the Army: His reprimand was rescinded.”
• For a blow-by-blow of the post-investigation Niger blame-game, read the full New York Times story here.

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• The Russian Army will soon receive the new Chukavin SVCh sniper rifle.
• It is designed by the maker of the AK-47.
• The Chukavin SVCh has a maximum range of more than 4,200 feet, depending on the round. 

The Russian Army will soon receive the new Chukavin SVCh sniper rifle, according to Popular Mechanics. 

The Chukavin fires 7.62x54mmR, .308 Winchester and .338 Lapua Magnum rounds, Popular Mechanics reported. The rifle also has a maximum range of more 4,200 feet, depending on the round, according to armyrecognition.com, a magazine that covers military technology.

Designed by Kalashnikov Concern, the maker of the AK-47, the Chukavin will replace the Dragunov SVD, which has been in Russian military service since the 1960s. 

Russian President Vladimir Putin himself fired the Chukavin five times in September, hitting a target nearly 2,000 feet away with three of those shots, according to Russian state-owned media.

Unveiled at Russia's Army 2017 forum, the Chukavin is shorter and lighter than the Dragunov without compromising durability, according to Kalashnikov. 

Alexey Krivoruchko, the CEO of Kalashnikov, told Russian state-owned media outlet TASS in 2017 that the Russian Defense Ministry as a whole and the Russian National Guard were interested in the rifle, according to thefirearmblog.com.

Russian state-owned media reported in May that the Russian Army will also replace the AK-74M with Kalashnikov's AK-12 and AK-15. 

Watch Putin test out the SVCh below: 

SEE ALSO: The Russian maker of the AK-47 has a new assault rifle and may have a buyer in a close US ally

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• A retired Army general has been indicted by a grand jury after the Army's attempt to prosecute him failed.
• The US Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces determined in February that rape charges are subject to a five-year statute of limitations.
• The general has been charged with three counts of incest and three counts of rape for incidents that allegedly took place between 1987 and 1988.
• The general will be tried in Virginia, where there is no statute of limitations for rape charges.

A civilian court is going to do what the Army could not: prosecute a retired general officer for the alleged rape of a young girl.

Retired Army Maj. Gen. James J. Grazioplene has been charged with three counts of incest and three counts of rape, said Paul Ebert, commonwealth’s attorney for Prince William County, Virginia. Grazioplene is due in court on Dec. 21 and has not yet entered a plea, Ebert told Task & Purpose on Monday.

The 69-year-old former two-star Army general was arrested at his home on Dec. 7, the same day he was indicted by a grand jury in connection with a sexual assault investigation that began in August, a Prince William County Police news release says.

The alleged victim is a girl who was between 16 and 17 years old at the time the incidents that allegedly took place between August 1987 and May 1988, the news release says.

Grazioplene’s attorney Thomas Pavlinic could not be reached for comment.

The Washington Post first reported on Monday that Grazioplene had been charged in Prince William County Circuit Court after the Army’s attempt to prosecute him failed following a ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces in February that rape charges have a five-year statute of limitations.

Unlike the military, Virginia does not have a statute of limitations for the charges that Grazioplene faces, Ebert said.

An Army spokesman declined to comment about Grazioplene being charged in civilian court. "It would be inappropriate for the Army to comment on this case given the pending legal act," Lt. Col. Emanuel Ortiz told Task & Purpose on Monday.

The reason why the Army could not court-martial Grazioplene is that in the 1980s, Congress passed a law that eliminated the statute of limitations for offenses punishable by death under the Uniform Code of Military Justice – which included rape at that time – but the legislation failed to specify what those crimes were, said retired Air Force Col. Don Christensen president of Protect Our Defenders.

The poor wording led to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces to decide in February that because rape was not named in the law, it in fact had a five-year statute of limitations, said Christensen, a former Air Force prosecutor.

Christensen faulted the military for not correcting imprecise language in the UCMJ that allowed the appeals court to up-end Congress’ intent on the statute of limitations.

“We’ve had other people who have already been convicted had their cases overturned because of these statute of limitations issues,” Christensen said. “We’ve other cases like the general’s that were going to trial that had the charges thrown out. He’s not the only one. There have been convicted rapists set free, and then there are other cases pending trial that have resulted in the charges being dismissed.”

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• US Army snipers recently conducted visual testing for new camouflaged ghillie suits, which are expected to enhance soldier lethality.
• Testing involved an activity similar to the classic game of hide-and-seek, as snipers wearing the Improved Ghillie System prototypes hid in varied environments while other snipers attempted to spot them.

The camouflaged ghillie suits worn by US snipers are vital tools that enhance concealment, offering greater survivability and lethality, but these suits are in desperate need of an upgrade.

The US Army is currently testing new camouflaged ghillie suits to better protect soldiers and make them deadlier to enemies.

Trained snipers from across the service recently gathered at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida to conduct visual testing for several prototypes, an important preliminary evaluation, the Army revealed earlier this month.

SEE ALSO: The US Army's new camouflage will hide soldiers and tanks in plain sight — wherever they are

What are ghillie suits?

A ghillie suit is a type of camouflaged clothing designed to help snipers disappear in any environment, be it desert, woodland, sand, or snow.

"A sniper's mission dictates that he remains concealed in order to be successful," Staff Sgt. Ricky Labistre, a sniper with 1st Battalion, 160th Infantry Regiment of the California National Guard explained recently. "Ghillie suits provide snipers that edge and flexibility to maintain a concealed position, which is partial to our trade."

What are Army snipers wearing now?

The Flame Resistant Ghillie System (FRGS) suits currently worn by US snipers were first fielded in 2012, appearing at the Army Sniper School, the Marine Corps Scout Sniper School and the Special Operations Target Interdiction Course.

The Army has decided that these suits need a few critical improvements.

The FRGS suits are heavy, uncomfortable, and hot, Debbie Williams, a systems acquisition expert with Program Executive Office Soldier, said in a statement in October.

"The current [accessory] kit is thick and heavy and comes with a lot of pieces that aren't used," Maj. WaiWah Ellison, an assistant product manager with PEO Soldier explained, adding that "soldiers are creating ghillie suits with their own materials to match their personal preference."

But, most importantly, existing US military camouflage is increasingly vulnerable to the improved capabilities of America's adversaries.

"The battlefield has changed, and our enemies possess the capabilities that allow them to better spot our snipers. It's time for an update to the current system," Sgt. Bryce Fox, a sniper team leader with 2nd Battalion, 505th Infantry Regiment, said in a recent statement.

What is the Army developing to replace the existing suits?

The Army plans to eventually replace the FRGS suits with Improved Ghillie System (IGS) suits.

The new IGS suits, part of the Army's increased focus on military modernization, are expected to be made of a lighter, more breathable material that can also offer the stiffness required to effectively camouflage the wearer.

The ghillie suits will still be flame resistant, a necessity after two soldiers from the Army's 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment burned to death after their camouflaged sniper gear caught fire in Iraq; however, that protection will primarily be provided by the combat uniform worn underneath.

The new suits will also be modular, which means that snipers will be able to take them apart in the field, adding or subtracting pieces, such as sleeves, leggings, veils, capes, and so on, as needed.

• More than nine years after the Battle of Kamdesh, a soldier killed there was posthumously awarded with the Distinguished Service Cross on Saturday.
• Upgraded from the Silver Star, Army Staff Sgt. Justin Gallegos's award was presented to his son in a ceremony Saturday at Joing Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Alaska.
• The Distinguished Service Cross is the military's second-highest award for valor.
• The battle for Combat Outpost Keating is one of the Afghanistan war's bloodiest battles.
• Attending the ceremony were several members of Gallegos's unit, which became one of the most decorated units of the war. 

JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, Alaska -- More than nine years after the Battle of Kamdesh claimed eight lives and left 27 injured, a soldier killed there received a posthumous medal upgrade Saturday to the nation's second highest honor, the Distinguished Service Cross.

Army Staff Sgt. Justin Gallegos, 27, had been posthumously awarded the Silver Star for his actions at Combat Outpost Keating, the location of the assault by Taliban insurgents that led to one of the bloodiest battles of the war in Afghanistan."

The Distinguished Service Cross was presented here to Gallegos' son, MacAidan Justin Gallegos,14, who lives in the area with his stepfather and mother, Amanda Marr. Marr and Gallegos were divorced at the time of his death.

"A couple weeks ago, when I heard the news that Justin's Distinguished Service Cross had finally been approved, I knew that one of the great discrepancies in the long narrative of the battle of Combat Outpost Keating had finally been corrected," Maj. Stoney Portis said during the ceremony. Portis was Gallegos' commander at the time of the battle.

Called "a day for heroes" because of the number of heroic acts during the Oct. 3, 2009, battle, COP Keating was all but overrun when, just before dawn, Taliban fighters assaulted the outpost with machine-gun and rocket-propelled grenade fire.

With what the citation calls "extraordinary heroism," Gallegos, a team leader for Troop B, 3rd Squadron, 61st Cavalry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, maneuvered "under heavy sniper and rocket-propelled grenade fire to reinforce a [High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle] battle position that was critical to the Outpost's defense," the citation states.

"While under heavy fire for nearly an hour, Staff Sergeant Gallegos continued to suppress the oncoming enemy with the crew-served weapon. Once the weapon's ammunition was exhausted, he engaged the enemy with his M4 carbine to allow fellow Soldiers in a nearby truck to evacuate from their position," it states.

As they attempted to join the unit defending the outpost, Gallegos retrieved and moved a wounded soldier to safety while under fire, then exposed himself again to ongoing machine-gun fire while trying to provide suppression and cover so the rest of his team could move to his position.

"During this final act, Staff Sergeant Gallegos paid the ultimate sacrifice," the citation states. "Staff Sergeant Gallegos' actions enabled a section of Soldiers to regroup and provide necessary security to stave off enemy forces from the west side of the camp. His actions played a critical role in the defense of Combat Outpost Keating, and Troop B's subsequent counterattack against a numerically superior Taliban force."

Medals of Honor have been awarded to two soldiers who fought at Keating, while 37 have received Army Commendation Medals with combat "V" device for valor, 18 were awarded Bronze Star Medals with "V" device, and nine received Silver Star Medals.

Upgrading Gallegos' medal was not a quick or easy process, requiring a literal act of Congress. The order for the upgrade was included in the 2018 National Defense Authorization Act. Saturday's ceremony marked the end of that journey, Marr said, shining a spotlight on Gallegos' heroic actions.

"We never really know what we're going to do in any situation that's like that, but I would've known that Justin would've been that person," Marr said. "When I was notified, even, of his death, I knew that it had to be something extraordinary … there was not another explanation. Justin didn't die -- he just fought hard. So I just knew."

Medal of Honor recipients Staff Sgt. Ty Carter and Staff Sgt. Clint Romesha were in attendance at the medal ceremony, as was Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, who presented a flag to MacAidan Gallegos and a handful of veterans of the unit.

Gallegos' other medals and commendations include the Silver Star; Bronze Star; three Purple Hearts; two Army Commendation Medals; two Army Achievement Medals; the Army Good Conduct Medal; the National Defense Service Medal; the Afghanistan Campaign Medal with Campaign Star; the Iraq Campaign Medal with Campaign Star; the Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal; the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal; the Army Service Ribbon; two Overseas Service Ribbons; the NATO Medal; and the Combat Action Badge.

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• Army Recruiting Command is understaffed, and tasked with filling a large gap of recruits after missing last year's goal. 
• In an attempt to close that gap, the Army Recruiting Mid-Atlantic battalion commander ordered that only soldiers and station commanders who had met a certain quota would get to work a holiday schedule. 
• Lt. Col. Keith Bryant had targeted recruiting station commanders who hadn’t made their first quarter goals, as well as individual recruiters with fewer than three enlistments since October.
• However, the commander has since rescinded this directive, as it is not in line with US Army Recuiting Command headquarters or brigade policy, according to the USAREC spokeswoman.

Army Recruiting Command is undermanned and tasked with filling a large gap of recruits after missing last year’s goal. Though the service is trying to fill those recruiter slots and coming up with new marketing to get young Americans in the door, there have been a handful of drastic measures floated this year, and the most recent one came from Army Recruiting Mid-Atlantic.

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• Retired Army Maj. Gen. James Grazioplene was arrested December 7 on multiple charges of rape and incest.
• The charges are based on allegations dating back to the 1980s, and were previously dismissed by the military judicial system for exceeding the statute of limitations.
• Grazioplene's daughter, Jennifer Elmore, spoke out to the Washington Post, alleging her father sexually abused her for 15 years starting when she was three years old.
• The Post reviewed letters and interviewed several people who corroborated Elmore's allegations.
• Grazioplene was indicted by a grand jury in Prince William County, Virginia, where there is no statute of limitations.

The daughter of a retired two-star Army general may finally see her father face justice for years of alleged sexual abuse after the military justice system dismissed the case.

Over the course of seven months, Jennifer Elmore shared her traumatic story with the Washington Post, and provided letters from the period of abuse at the hands of her father, James Grazioplene, who retired at the rank of major general in the Army. Post reporter Dan Lamothe also spoke with five other people, who corroborated Elmore's account.

Read more:After a military court dismissed the case, a retired Army general has been indicted for rape in a civilian court

Elmore told the Post she recalled the first instance of abuse took place at her grandmother's home in LeRoy, New York, when she was three years old. The abuse continued for the next 15 years, and escalated to what she termed "night visits" to her room.

For the past three decades, she told the Post, she confided in few friends and fewer family members. A high school boyfriend interviewed by the newspaper corroborated that she had told him of the abuse years ago. Letters from Elmore and one from her mother, Ann Marie Grazioplene, to James Grazioplene's sister Elizabeth Powley, all reviewed by the Post, provide written accounts of Grazioplene's disturbing abuse. 

"Jim has ... made an attempt at sexually molesting Jennifer. She was sleeping, thank God," said one letter reviewed by the Post, addressed to Powley by Ann Marie Grazioplene. "I caught him before he got started." 

One of Elmore's confidants, a coworker named Julie Adams, accompanied Elmore to Fort Bragg in 2015 to submit evidence to investigators, according to the Post. She made the decision to report her father to the Army, she told the newspaper, after a troubling phone call with her parents. During the call, which her current husband heard, Grazioplene told her "the only thing worse that I could have done to you is murder you," Elmore told the Post.

The Army investigated Elmore's allegations and brought a case against the general in 2017. But the case was dismissed on a technicality; a decision in February 2017 placed a five-year statute of limitations on rape charges. 

Over a year later, Grazioplene was arrested December 7, 2018, on multiple charges of rape and incest after an indictment by a grand jury in Prince William County, Virginia, where there is no statute of limitations.

Elmore and her attorney declined to comment further due to the new charges. Officials for Prince William County and the Army also declined to comment.

Grazioplene told the Post, "I will not comment. The charges are false and incorrect."

Elmore told the Post, which typically does not publish the names of alleged sexual assault victims, that she wanted her story to be told.

"If I stay silent and the next person opts for that, and the next person opts for that, and the next person opts for that, where are we?" 

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• Maj. Matthew Golsteyn has been charged with a war crime following a 2016 interview on Fox News, where he admitted to killing a suspected Taliban bomb maker in 2010.
• In 2011, Golsteyn told the CIA that he killed the Afghan man, who was believed to be unarmed after being released from custody. In another interview, Golsteyn said military rules required him to release the suspect.
• Golsteyn's attorney says the charges are based on an inaccurate portrayal of Golsteyn's statement to the CIA.
• On Sunday, President Donald Trump tweeted his support of Golsteyn, lauding him as a hero — which may ultimately sink the Army's case.

President Donald Trump announced an unprecedented review of a former Army Green Beret, who had been charged with murder for the 2010 killing of a suspected Taliban bomb-maker.

"He could face the death penalty from our own government after he admitted to killing a terrorist bomb maker while overseas," the president said in a tweet Sunday.

The charges against Army Maj. Matthew Golsteyn mark the latest step in a 9-year probe aimed at resolving whether the decorated former Green Beret is a war hero, as many believe — or a war criminal. The Army opened its latest investigation in December 2016, after Golsteyn admitted in an interview with Fox News to killing the suspected terrorist while his unit was deployed in Afghanistan.

The interview, which took place in October 2016, was part of a pre-election Fox News special discussing rules of engagement, which had become more restrictive during the Obama administration. In it, Golsteyn said military rules required him to release the suspect.

Golsteyn appears to be standing by his 2016 admission that he killed the Afghan, but disputes that he killed the man in cold blood. Instead, he claims that he and another soldier set out after the suspect soon his release, believing he still posed an imminent threat to US troops.

During the Fox News interview, Golsteyn described the circumstances of the suspected Taliban militant's detainment.

The Afghan was suspected of involvement in the killing of two Marines, who died in an explosion. Golsteyn said in the interview that Afghan tribal leaders helped identify the suspect. US forces detained the man, but because of strict rules of engagement they had to release him. 

In the interview, Golsteyn said he was concerned that the Afghans who aided US forces would be targeted by the suspected bomb maker.

"It is an inevitable outcome that people who are cooperating with coalition forces, when identified, will suffer some terrible torture or be killed," Golsteyn said. 

The Army's case 

Golsteyn received a Silver Star, the military's third-highest award for valor in combat, for actions during his deployment in Afghanistan. But after he detailed the incident in an interview with the CIA, the Army opened an investigation and stripped his award. He was also removed from the Special Forces.

According to Army documents obtained by the Washington Post, Golsteyn reportedly told the CIA that he and another soldier escorted the suspect back to his home but rather than releasing him, they assassinated the unarmed Afghan man. The Army documents also allege that Golsteyn and two other soldiers later burned the body in a trash pit at their base compound.

But the same Army documents show that members of his unit expressed doubt that the officer would kill an unarmed suspect, and investigators found no evidence of a corpse in several burn pits, according to the Post. 

The Army's investigators did not have enough evidence to press charges.  

Now prosecutors may be able to use Golsteyn's on-air confession to bolster their case. Otherwise, Golsteyn's attorney Phil Stackhouse says there is nothing new.

"They have insinuated to me that they have new evidence," Stackhouse told Fox News. "I don't believe there is any new evidence at all."

Golsteyn says the charges are based on a 'complete lie'

"They quoted me as saying that me and someone else with me took a detainee to his home and assassinated him. The problem is I never said that," Golsteyn told NBC News on Thursday. "It was a complete lie."

NBC News reported Golsteyn stands by what he told Fox News in 2016, but maintains that he did not violate military law. Stackhouse made an appearance on Fox and Friends Sunday morning to support his client. In the interview, Stackhouse said that shortly after releasing the Afghan man, Golsteyn and another Special Forces soldier set out after him, maintaining that the man was planning to continue making bombs for the Taliban and posed an imminent threat to US forces.

Will Trump's tweet sink the Army's case?

Trump's decision to tweet his support for the former Green Beret is an unprecedented move that may prove beneficial to Golsteyn's defense.

The president lauded Golsteyn as a "US Military hero," which could count as a violation of unlawful command influence — a tenet of the military justice system that prohibits leaders from influencing the outcome of a court-martial. But it is typically flagged when leaders prevent a defendant's access to due process, and does not necessarily apply in this case, experts told Task & Purpose.

It is unclear whether Trump's tweet means he intends to ever grant Golsteyn a pardon, and the president can still do so at any point. 

As far as the Army's treatment of Golsteyn, Stackhouse told Fox News, "I think he's been betrayed."

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• Some anti-war Democratic lawmakers are torn over the president's abrupt decision to withdraw US troops from Syria and Afghanistan. 
• Progressive Democrats who have long opposed American "forever wars" in the Middle East argued that while Trump's unilateral move ignores humanitarian concerns and diplomacy, it is a welcome step towards "foreign policy restraint."  
• Some voices on the left made the case that bringing the troops home — regardless of how the decision was made or implemented — is the right move. 

Some dovish Democratic lawmakers are torn over President Donald Trump's abrupt decisions this week to withdraw US troops from Syria — where they were sent without congressional approval. Many anti-war liberals are also concerned about the president's reported plan to halve the American military presence in Afghanistan, where the US has been at war for over 17 years. 

Progressive Democrats in the House and Senate expressed nuanced opinions on Trump's unexpected unilateral move, voicing outrage over Congress' failure to hold the White House accountable in matters of war and foreign intervention. Some are reasserting their belief that the US shouldn't be engaged in "forever wars," while also expressing concern over Trump's failure to address humanitarian or diplomatic crises. 

Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy, a member of the Foreign Relations Committee who has pushed progressives to assert a more coherent foreign policy strategy, argued that Congress has long abdicated its responsibility to approve military action, which is often covertly ordered by the executive branch. Murphy said Democrats shouldn't defend the illegal US military presence in Syria. But Murphy opposed the way in which Trump is rolling out the foreign policy shift. 

"Guess what? Our military strategy in Syria — under Obama and Trump — has never made sense," Murphy tweeted on Wednesday. "Fighting ISIS makes sense, but our half-hearted intervention in the civil war has never been enough to tip the balance but just enough to give false hope to the rebels that they can win."

Rep. Barbara Lee, a California Democrat who was the sole member of Congress to vote against authorizing war on Afghanistan in 2001. She argued that ending the unauthorized "perpetual war" in the Middle East must be accompanied by a congressionally-approved plan to address humanitarian concerns and a broader diplomatic strategy. 

"While I agree we must bring home our troops as soon as possible, there is no plan in place to address the humanitarian disaster in Syria or advance negotiated peace," Lee wrote on Thursday. "We MUST end these unauthorized wars, but the manner in which we do it matters."

Rep. Ro Khanna, a California Democrat and co-chair of the House Progressive Caucus, praised the president's move on Wednesday, calling the troop withdrawal "a good first step toward ending our foreign policy of interventionism." He argued that Democrats should remain firm in their call for a "foreign policy of restraint" and called for the end to US support for Saudi Arabia's war in Yemen and the repeal of the 2001 authorization for the use of military force. 

"Instead of criticizing withdrawal from the illegal war in Syria, Dems would have more credibility calling for pressure on Erdogan to have a cease fire, collaboration with allies, and a short timeline for removing troops," Khanna tweeted Friday, referring to Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. "Critique the tactics, not the strategy of less intervention."

Rep. Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii, an Iraq war veteran who has long called for an end to US intervention in Syria, on Friday called the widespread GOP opposition to the troop withdrawals "astonishing" and evidence of  "just how attached to war some are."

Some pundits on the left are also arguing that Trump is making the right decision to reduce US influence in the Middle East, no matter how he settled on or announced the move. 

"It is mind boggling that we, as a nation, are unable to appreciate that thousands of Americans will now no longer be in harm’s way, fighting a war that Congress never debated and that much of American public never even knew was happening," Trevor Timm, executive director of the Freedom of the Press Foundation, wrote in The Guardian on Friday. 

Ignoring the advice of his top advisers and triggering the resignation of Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis, Trump announced he will withdraw all 2,000 US troops from Syrian and bring 7,000 troops home from Afghanistan, shortly after he declared victory over the Islamic State (ISIS) in Syria. The move drove the president's secretary of defense, James Mattis, to resign from his position Thursday. 

"We have won against ISIS," Trump said in a video message Wednesday. "We've beaten them, and we've beaten them badly. We've taken back the land. And, now it's time for our troops to come back home."

A host of top Republicans, the bulk of the foreign policy establishment, and the Democratic Party have all condemned the troop withdrawals and expressed shock and concern over Mattis' resignation. Murphy called the resignation "a national security crisis," while Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell — who very rarely publicly criticizes the president — said he is "distressed" by the news. 

"Withdrawal of this small American force in Syria would be a huge Obama-like mistake," South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham said Wednesday, insisting that "ISIS is not defeated."

Florida Sen. Marco Rubio called the president's decision a "grave error," while Rep. Adam Kinzinger of Illinois told The Washington Post that "history will look at this as one of the stupidest strategic moves."

Mattis has publicly argued that the US must maintain its presence in Syria in order to suppress a resurgence of ISIS. 

US troops are training, advising, and assisting Afghan forces and carrying out counterterrorism operations against regional terror groups, like ISIS and Al Qaeda. In September of last year, Trump ordered the deployment of an additional 3,000 troops to Afghanistan.

Ryan Pickrell contributed to this report. 

SEE ALSO: Trump's move to pull US troops out of Syria was reportedly the final straw for Mattis

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• An Army Special Forces veteran pleaded guilty to two drug trafficking conspiracy counts, admitting he attempted to smuggle nearly 90 pounds of cocaine from Colombia. 
• Master Sgt. Daniel Gould was charged in August after officials at the US Embassy in Bogota discovered cocaine in gutted-out punching bags.
• An X-ray scan revealed the cocaine stash in the bags before they were loaded on a military aircraft bound for Florida.
• According to a US Attorney's statement, Gould had previously smuggled 10 kilograms of cocaine into the US, then reinvested money from the first transaction to purchase the larger load.

A highly decorated Army Special Forces soldier pleaded guilty to charges of drug trafficking conspiracy, admitting he attempted to smuggle nearly 90 pounds of cocaine from Colombia to Florida aboard a military aircraft in August 2018.

Master Sgt. Daniel Gould first smuggled 10 kilograms of the narcotic in early 2018, according to the US Attorney's statement. A co-defendant in the trial traveled to Colombia with the payment for the first load, which Gould then placed in a gutted-out punching bag.

According to a report by the Panama City News Herald, Gould had a driver transport the cocaine to Bogota, where it was placed on a military aircraft and transported to the US. The cocaine was then distributed in northwest Florida, according to the US Attorney's statement. Gould was assigned to 7th Special Forces Group, an Army command garrisoned at Eglin Air Force Base in the same region.

The conspirators reinvested the money from the first load, sending about $65,000 back to Colombia on another military aircraft. Then, in early August, Gould returned to Colombia to retrieve the second load of cocaine.

Using the same method, Gould hid 40 kilograms — nearly 90 pounds with a street value over $1 million, according to US attorneys — in the punching bags. The cocaine was discovered at the US Embassy in Bogota on August 13, 2018, when the bags went through an X-ray. Gould had already departed Colombia when the drugs were discovered, and was waiting in Florida to retrieve them. 

Gould recently separated from the Army, according to the Herald. The Green Beret received the Silver Star, the nation's third-highest military award for valor, for combat action in Afghanistan in 2008. 

One of Gould's co-defendants, 35-year-old Henry Royer, pleaded not guilty to the same charges of drug trafficking, according to the Herald. A third man, Colombian national Gustavo Pareja, has also been indicted. 

Gould will be sentenced on March 12; he faces 10 years to life on each count of conspiracy. 

• Read more:
• A Special Forces soldier is being investigated for smuggling millions of dollars of drugs — and it may be part of a much bigger scheme
• A Special Forces soldier accused of a multimillion-dollar drug-smuggling attempt is heading to trial, and he faces life in prison

SEE ALSO: 2 Navy SEALs may face court-martial in last year's strangling death of an Army Green Beret

SEE ALSO: Watch the Fox News interview that launched the murder investigation of an Army hero

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• On March 18, 2014, President Barack Obama awarded 24 Army veterans with Medals of Honor in a single ceremony.
• The unusual event honored veterans of World War II, the Vietnam War, and the Korean War who had previously been overlooked for the nation's highest military award for valor.
• A 12-year congressional review of service records found dozens of awards had been overlooked or denied due to racial or ethnic discrimination.
• Obama awarded 21 medals posthumously, and three to living recipients Melvin Morris, Jose Rodela, and Santiago Erevia.

On March 18, 2014, in one of the longest ceremonies of its kind, 24 Army veterans received the Medal of Honor for actions during their service in World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War.

12 years earlier, Congress began a review of Jewish and Hispanic Americans' war records, finding that dozens had been overlooked or denied the nation's highest military award for valor due to discrimination. 

"No nation is perfect," President Obama said at the ceremony. "But here in America, we confront our imperfections and face a sometimes painful past, including the truth that some of these soldiers fought and died for a country that did not always see them as equal."

Three living veterans were honored at the ceremony, and 21 were honored posthumously for their heroic actions. These are their stories.

SEE ALSO: These are the incredible stories of US troops who've earned the Medal of Honor during the war on terror

Spc. 4th Class Leonard Alvarado sacrificed his own life in the dense jungles of Vietnam: 'His actions in the face of the enemy were always extraordinary.'

With nothing but his M60 machine gun, Spc. Alvarado faced barrages of enemy gunfire, grenades, and satchel charges to provide cover as his unit aided another platoon in the jungles of Phuoc Long Province, Vietnam. 

Steve Koppenhoefer, Alvarado's platoon leader, told Stars and Stripes the specialist was an extraordinary yet intimidating figure on the battlefield. He died from wounds sustained during the battle and was originally awarded the Distinguished Service Cross, the Army's second-highest award for bravery in combat.

Alvarado's award was upgraded to the Medal of Honor to reflect his sacrifice. Read the full citation.

Cpl. Joe Baldonado drew enemy fire towards his own position to protect his comrades.

Cpl. Baldonado stayed in an exposed position for some three hours to defend his platoon from waves of enemy attacks near Kangdong, Korea. 

3rd Squad, 2nd Platoon, Company B, 187th Airbone Infantry Regiment was ordered to defend Hill 171 against enemy efforts to take control of their position. Attacking forces concentrated their fire on Baldonado's position, eventually retreating. 

Baldonado was killed by a grenade that exploded near his position. To date, his remains have not been recovered.

Read the full award citation. 

5-foot-3 Pvt. Pedro Cano crawled with a rocket launcher through heavily mined areas to confront German soldiers — and somehow survived the ordeal.

Between December 2 and 3, 1944, Pvt. Pedro Cano killed nearly 30 enemy soldiers near Schevenhutte, Germany. 

Cano crawled through a mined area with a rocket launcher, firing rockets and tossing grenades into enemy positions as close as 10 yards away. The next day, he crawled through heavy enemy fire, again destroying numerous enemy positions. 

Cano, born in Mexico in 1920, became a US citizen in 1946. 

Read the full citation.

• The US Army is considering putting certain weapons in the hands of artificial intelligence to quickly return fire when US soldiers come under attack.
• The improved response time provided by AI offers the Army an enhanced ability to defeat enemy weapons, Bruce Jette, the head of Army acquisitions, explained Thursday.
• There are concerns about putting AI controlling weapons and the removal of a human being from the decision-making process on the use of deadly force.
• "Time is a weapon," Jette explained, "Let's say you fire a bunch of artillery at me, and I can shoot those rounds down, and you require a man in the loop for every one of the shots. There are not enough men to put in the loop to get them done fast enough."

The head of U.S. Army acquisitions said Thursday that allowing artificial intelligence to control some weapons systems may be the only way to defeat enemy weapons.

U.S. military has embraced AI, arguing that America cannot compete against potential adversaries such as Russia and China without the futuristic technology.

Concern over placing machines in charge of deadly weapons has prompted military officials to adopt a conservative approach to AI, one that involves a human in the decision-making process for the use of deadly force.

But Bruce Jette, assistant secretary of the Army for Acquisitions, Logistics and Technology (ASAALT), said it may not be wise to put too many restrictions on AI teamed with weapons systems.

"People worry about whether an AI system is controlling the weapon, and there are some constraints on what we are allowed to do with AI," he said at a Jan. 10 Defense Writers Group breakfast in Washington, D.C.

There are a number of public organizations that have gotten together and said, "We don't want to have AI tied to weapons,"Jette explained.

The problem with this policy is that it may hinder the Army's ability to use AI to increase reaction time in weapon systems, he said.

"Time is a weapon," Jette said. "If I can't get AI involved with being able to properly manage weapons systems and firing sequences then, in the long run, I lose the time deal.

"Let's say you fire a bunch of artillery at me, and I can shoot those rounds down, and you require a man in the loop for every one of the shots," he said. "There are not enough men to put in the loop to get them done fast enough."

Jette's office is working with the newly formed Army Futures Command (AFC) to find a clearer path forward for AI on the battlefield.

AFC, which is responsible for developing Army requirements for artificial intelligence, has established a center for AI at Carnegie Mellon University, said Jette, who added that ASAALT will establish a "managerial approach" to AI for the service.

"So how do we put not just the AI hardware and architecture and software in the background? How do I do proper policy so we [ensure] weapons don't get to fire when they want and weapons don't get to fire with no constraints, but instead we properly architect a good command-and-control system that allows us to be responsive and benefit from the AI and the speed of some of our systems?" Jette said.

"We are trying to structure an AI architecture that will become enduring and will facilitate our ability to allocate resources and conduct research and implantation of AI capabilities throughout the force," he said.

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• Soldiers from the 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division became the first unit to receive the new Joint Light Tactical Vehicle, the Army's Humvee replacement, on Jan. 14.
• It took four years for the Army to begin fielding these new vehicles.
• A few days after the unit Raider Brigade received the new JLTVs, a photo of what appears to be one of the new vehicles rolled over on its side appeared online.

It took four years for the Army to finally start fielding the much-hyped Joint Light Tactical Vehicles, and it took soldiers less than four days to destroy one.

Soldiers with the 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division at Fort Stewart in Georgia receivedthe first of its 500 JLTVs on Jan. 14.

A few days later, a photo surfaced on U.S. Army WTF! Moments showing what appeared to be one of the Raider Brigade's brand new vehicles on its side in the aftermath of a rollover, hood open and parts spilling onto the pavement.

Luckily, nobody was injured in the rollover, which occurred during Operator New Equipment Training on the tank trails at Fort Stewart, 1st ABCT public affairs officer Maj. Pete Bogart told Task & Purpose on Tuesday.

Even better: the JLTV involved in the rollover doesn't even belong to the 1st ABCT. According to Bogart, it's a loaner vehicle from Oshkosh sent to Fort Stewart along with the ABCT's current fleet of 8-10 JLTVs explicitly for master drivers and senior NCOs to get a feel for it.

"They handle differently than the Humvee, and they handle differently than the MRAP," Bogart said. "There's a level of finding our comfort zones in driving because it's not something we've ever handled before."

Master drivers are currently going through two 40-hour courses spread over five days before the JLTV is fielded on the unit level around the beginning of February, Bogart said. And so far, the reviews are overwhelmingly positive.

"The main comment is how smooth the ride is," Bogart said. "When you're hitting bumps, it feels more like a passenger car. .. [soldiers] are blown away by how smooth it is."

"It's really exciting to be the first to try out [the JLTV]," he added. "I came into the Army in 2001, and all we've ever had was Humvees. Our guys are excited for it, the maintenance and training guys are excited for it ... we're all excited."

Beyond the Army, the Marine Corps planned on fielding 69 JLTVs to an infantry battalion with II Marine Expeditionary Force at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina. God knows how many of those will survive their first week.

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• Texas combat veteran Sgt. Scott D. Rowe is suing 3M Company, which he claims knowingly produced and sold problematic earplugs to the US military.
• 3M Company settled last summer for $9.1 million with the Department of Justice, which released a statement calling the earplugs "defective."
• An attorney representing veterans who believe their hearing was negatively affected by 3M's combat earplugs said that none of the money went to veterans like Rowe, who served in Iraq during Operation Iraqi Freedom.
• 3M Company denies that the earplugs caused any injuries.

A Texas veteran is suing the company he says knowingly produced and sold defective earplugs which were issued to the U.S. military, leading him and many others to develop hearing problems, including tinnitus.

Sgt. Scott D. Rowe, who served in Iraq during Operation Iraqi Freedom from 2003 to 2004, told the Houston Chronicle that he's "never at peace" from the "high-pitched frequency" he hears every day, as a result of the earplugs he received from 3M Company. Rowe told the Chronicle that 3M "lied," and "took our well-being for jeopardy while we're out there protecting the country."

Rowe says in his lawsuit that 3M was aware of the defects in earplugs when it acquired the company that originally developed them, Aearo Technologies, in 2008. He says, according to the Chronicle, that the earplugs were made too short, which makes them difficult to be put deeply into the ear canal, causing the earplug to loosen and sound to get in around them.

This isn't 3M's first rodeo; the company settled for $9.1 million in July 2018 with the Department of Justice, which said in a statement that the "defective" earplugs were"too short for proper insertion into users' ears...and therefore did not perform well for certain individuals." But one attorney who is representing veterans whose hearing was impacted by the faulty earplugs, Ben Whitley, told WRAL-TV that "none of that money" from the settlement is going to the affected veterans.

"3M has a long history of serving the U.S. military. We have sold and continue to sell thousands of products to help our troops and support their missions. Safety is a key component of what we do for the United States military and 3M denies that Combat Arms Earplugs caused injuries," the company said in a statement to Task and Purpose.

3M also said in a statement to WRAL that they continue to disagree with the original lawsuit's claims, and chose to settle "for a variety of reasons, including to avoid further legal fees."

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• The US Army has put in an order for Black Hornet personal-reconnaissance drones — drone planes small enough to fit in a soldier's pocket.
• These tiny drones, which are able to covertly and continuously cover the battlefield at ranges up to 1.24 miles for nearly a half hour, can send back real-time video and high-definition photos to the operator.

Pocket-size drones are on their way to US Army soldiers, offering a better view of the battlefield and giving them a lethal edge over enemies.

The Army has awarded FLIR Systems a $39.6 million contract to provide Black Hornet personal-reconnaissance drones — next-level technology that could be a total game changer for US troops in the field — the company said in a recent press release.

The Black Hornet Personal Reconnaissance System

Measuring just 6.6 inches in length and weighing only 1.16 ounces, these "nano unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) systems" are "small enough for a dismounted soldier to carry on a utility belt,"according to FLIR Systems.

These drones can provide situational awareness beyond visual line-of-sight capability day or night at a distance of up to 1.24 miles, covering ground at a max speed of 20 feet per second.

The "nearly silent" combat systems can provide constant covert coverage of the battlefield for almost a half hour, transmitting both live video and high-definition photographs back to the operator.

A life-saving tool for troops

FLIR said the drone's ability to covertly detect and identify threats will save the lives of troops in combat.

The Army is looking at a number of technologies that will allow soldiers to spot and even fire on enemies without putting themselves in harm's way, such as night vision goggles connected to an integrated weapons sight that allows troops to shoot from the hip and around corners with accuracy.

Read More:Soldiers will soon be much more deadly with new night vision that lets them shoot around corners and fire accurately from the hip

On its way to troops this year

The new drones "will give our soldiers operating at the squad level immediate situational awareness of the battlefield through its ability to gather intelligence, provide surveillance, and conduct reconnaissance," Army spokesman Lt. Col. Isaac Taylor told Task and Purpose.

The drones will first be delivered to a single brigade combat team, but they will later be sent to platoons across the various brigade combat teams.

Deliveries will start early this year, FLIR said in its recent press statement.

• The Army is developing a new, more grueling, and complex fitness exam that adds dead lifts, power throws, and other exercises designed to make soldiers more fit and ready for combat.
• Nearly half of the commanders surveyed last year said new troops coming into their units could not meet the physical demands of combat, leading to the creation of a new fitness test.
• Officials also say about 12% of soldiers at any one time cannot deploy because of injuries.
• Unlike the old fitness test, which graded soldiers differently based on age and gender, the new one will be far more physically demanding and will not adjust the passing scores for older or female soldiers.

FORT BRAGG, N.C. (AP) — Army soldiers struggle to haul heavy sleds backward as fast as they can down a grassy field at Fort Bragg, filling the brisk North Carolina morning air with grunts of exertion and the shouts of instruction from their coaches.

Watching from the sidelines, Sgt. Maj. Harold Sampson shakes his head. As a military intelligence specialist he spends a lot of time behind a desk. Over his two decades in the Army, he could easily pound out the situps, pushups, and 2-mile run that for years have made up the service's fitness test.

But change has come. The Army is developing a new, more grueling and complex fitness exam that adds dead lifts, power throws, and other exercises designed to make soldiers more fit and ready for combat.

"I am prepared to be utterly embarrassed," Sampson said on a recent morning, two days before he was to take the test.

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Commanders have complained in recent years that the soldiers they get out of basic training aren't fit enough.

Nearly half of the commanders surveyed last year said new troops coming into their units could not meet the physical demands of combat. Officials also say about 12% of soldiers at any one time cannot deploy because of injuries.

In addition, there has long been a sense among many senior officials that the existing fitness test does not adequately measure the physical attributes needed for the battlefield, said Gen. Stephen Townsend, head of US Army Training and Doctrine Command.

The new test, "may be harder, but it is necessary," Townsend said.

The new test will not adjust passing scores for older or female soldiers

Reaching the new fitness levels will be challenging. Unlike the old fitness test, which graded soldiers differently based on age and gender, the new one will be far more physically demanding and will not adjust the passing scores for older or female soldiers.

For example, in the current test — two minutes of situps, two minutes of pushups, a 2-mile run — younger soldiers must do more repetitions and run faster to pass and get maximum scores than those who are older or female.

Townsend said the new test was designed based on scientific research that matched specific exercises to tasks that soldiers in combat must do: sprint away from fire, carry a wounded comrade on a stretcher, haul cans of fuel to a truck.

The scoring is divided into three levels that require soldiers with more physically demanding jobs, such as infantry or armor, to score higher.

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"We needed to change the culture of fitness in the United States Army. We had a high number of nondeployable soldiers that had a lot of muscular/skeletal injuries and medical challenges because we hadn't trained them from a fitness perspective in the right way," said Army Maj. Gen. Malcolm Frost, commander of the Army's Center for Initial Military Training and the officer in charge of developing the new fitness test.

"The goal is about a having a more combat-ready army."

Frost said that about one-third of the soldiers who come into the service leave before their third year, many because of muscular skeletal injuries.

The new test, he said, will help screen out recruits who are less physically fit and mentally disciplined. Those who make the cut are more likely to stay in the service.

It will also challenge senior officers such as Sampson, who have been doing less physical desk jobs.

"It breaks the mindset of 'I am an intel soldier,'" said Sampson. "It changes it to 'I am a soldier,' because bullets on the battlefield don't discriminate."

What's on the test

The Associated Press was with Frost on a recent sunny Tuesday as he watched soldiers from three battalions go through the test. The six events take nearly an hour and are done in order with only a few minutes rest in between:

• A dead lift, with weights between 140 pounds and 340 pounds.
• A standing power throw, which requires soldiers to throw a 10-pound medicine ball backward and overhead.
• Hand-release pushups, completing as many as possible in two minutes.
• The "sprint-drag-carry" that includes a 50-yard sprint, a 50-yard backward sled drag, a 50-yard lateral, where soldiers shuttle sideways down the lane and back, a 50-yard carry of two 40-pound kettle bells and a 50-yard sprint.
• After a short rest, the soldiers do the leg tuck pullup, as many as possible in two minutes.
• A 2-mile run.

"Many folks find it easy to do the maximum standard for the current test," Frost said. "This new test is gender and age neutral. I cannot max this test."

Across the country, 63 battalions are working on the final test development and will eventually go back to their units and train others. By Oct. 1, the entire Army will be using the test. By October 2020, it will be the official exam that all soldiers will have to pass.

Technique is key to success.

As the soldiers lined up to fling the medicine ball back over their heads, coaches stood by ready to shove them out of the way if the ball went straight up and came right back down.

The first throws landed with a chorus of thuds; many throws fell short. But the second and third tries went farther as soldiers figured out when to release the ball.

Next they quickly moved to pushups.

Crouched beside a soldier straining to master the hand-release, Frost shouts out encouragement and then drops down to demonstrate proper form. Each time the soldier lowers his body, both hands must quickly lift off the ground and immediately press back down for the next pushup.

A few lanes away, Staff Sgt. Idis Arroyo, has started what most consider the toughest element, the sprint-drag-carry. Pulling the 90-pound sled backward down the lane, her feet slip and she stumbles.

"C'mon get up! Get up, pull, pull!" a coach yells. Arroyo bounces up, drags it to the end and shifts quickly to the next movement.

How hard was it?

"It was pretty difficult," said Arroyo, who is with the 519th Military Intelligence Battalion. "Once we got into the sprint-drag-carry and then sprint again and the laterals and all that, I think that was actually the hardest part."

But she said she knows it will help her when she has to embed with a combat unit.

A harder test for less fit soldiers or longtime veterans

Commanders said the test will be harder at first for less fit soldiers or longtime veterans, who are in less physical jobs, and many may fail at first. But they said that over time, as soldiers adjust and get stronger, their scores will improve.

Lt. Col. Eric Haas, commander of Arroyo's battalion, watched as his soldiers powered through the test. He said it was very telling to watch fit leaders struggle.

"This is a good assessment of where we are physically," Haas said. "For years I've been taking the Army physical fitness test and that's the most miserable I think I've seen a 2-mile finish line."

Sampson, who is also with the 519th battalion and has deployed three times to Iraq and Afghanistan, said improving fitness will make his soldiers more prepared to do their jobs.

"It doesn't matter that 90% of the time I may sit in a chair working behind a computer," he said. "I'm going to have to move a person from point A to point B."

As for his expected embarrassment on the test? He scored well and passed.

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