Armed Forces

Anastasia Adair accidentally kills herself with new assault rifle

On a day when representatives of more than fifty county sheriffs will hold a news conference announcing a lawsuit against Colorado's new gun-control laws comes a tragic reminder of how dangerous semi-automatic weapons can be -- even to those who own them. The victim: Anastasia Adair, 22, who appear ... More >>

Air Force sex assaults: Prevention chief arrested ten years after scandal at Air Force Academy

The arrest of Lieutenant Colonel Jeffrey Krusinski on charges of sexual assault in Virginia has drawn condemnation from officials as high-ranking as President Barack Obama, and no wonder. After all, he was the Air Force's chief of sexual-assault prevention. Krusinski is also a graduate of the Air F ... More >>

Sand Creek Massacre and John Chivington's explosive actions 151 years after Glorieta Pass

The explosions outside the State Capitol yesterday startled people from downtown to Capitol Hill. But unlike so many other explosions today, these were planned. Artillery blasts marked the 151st anniversary of the Battle of Glorieta Pass, on March 26, 1862, when Colonel John Chivington led the First ... More >>

Phil Anschutz-owned company buys Colorado Springs Gazette

For years, media observers have speculated that Dean Singleton would someday purchase the Colorado Springs Gazette with the idea of synergizing with his other Front Range newspapers, most prominently the Denver Post. But that day isn't today. With Singleton taking a backseat to John Paton in Digital ... More >>

Aurora theater shooting: 12 dead, 59 injured, chief won't address Joker rumors

Update below: During a just-completed news conference about last night's shooting at the Aurora Town Center Century 16 during a midnight screening of The Dark Knight Rises, Aurora Police Chief Dan Oates was asked by numerous national reporters to confirm reports that accused gunman James Holmes had ... More >>

Aurora theater shooting: James Holmes bought four guns in two months and 6k rounds of ammo

James Holmes, the 24-year-old suspect in the Aurora theater shooting, legally bought four guns at metro gun shops in the last sixty days, Aurora police Chief Dan Oates said at a press conference tonight. Holmes also bought more than 6,000 rounds of ammunition off the Internet, Oates said, including ... More >>

Terrorists setting wildfires? Rumors heating up with Obama's visit

This has been one hot summer -- and it's bound to get even hotter. Tempers are flaring over the handling of the wildfires, and rumors are heating up over their possible cause: terrorists are setting the fires. And President Barack Obama's visit to the Waldo Canyon fire today is fanning the conspirac ... More >>

Growing numbers of veterans are becoming addicted to gambling

Where's the military when the chips are down?

Do Ask, Do Tell: Telluride Gay Ski Week reaches out to active military service members

Reichen Lehmkuhl wants you to come to Telluride Gay Ski Week."This is the first Telluride Gay Ski since the defeat of the marginalizing 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' policy for our LGBTQ U.S. military service members," says Reichen Lehmkuhl, celebrity host of this Telluride Gay Ski Week, in a news release ... More >>

Sexual assaults: Air Force Academy rate half of average civilian campus's

Last week, we shared details about sex-assault accusations against three Air Force Academy cadets -- Stephan Claxton, Kyle Cressy and Robert Evenson -- nine years after a scandal over similar crimes rocked the institution. An AFA rep stresses that the academy takes such incidents very seriously -- b ... More >>

Stephan Claxton, Kyle Cressy, Robert Evenson: Inside Air Force sex charges

​In January 2003's "The War Within," Westword's Julie Jargon shared tales of female Air Force Academy attendees allegedly raped by fellow cadets amid a culture that didn't take such crimes seriously enough. And unfortunately, the war's not over. Similar charges against three more cadets have s ... More >>

Golden Corral in Aurora skips Military Appreciation Monday for remodeling

​Monday, November 14, was 2011 Military Appreciation Monday at hundreds of Golden Corral restaurants across the country, where free "thank you" dinners were served from 5 to 9 p.m to anyone who has ever served in the U.S. military -- no ID required. But there was no Military Appreciation Mond ... More >>

Colorado School of Mines tops DU, CU in Best Colleges survey -- and AFA is liberal arts?

Big pics below.​U.S. News & World Report has released its annual list of the best colleges in the country -- but finding Colorado institutions will take a while if you start from the top. None appear in the top fifty, and of the three that appear in the top 100, Colorado School of Mines tops t ... More >>

Dan Baum's book in the making, Guns Gone Wild, already has gun guys up in arms

Boulder author Dan Baum is a gun owner, and his most recent work, a companion piece to his upcoming book Guns Gone Wild that was released as a Kindle Single, makes an argument that most gun owners would seemingly support: that the AR-15 rifle is fun, a beacon of hope in a sinking gun market that doe ... More >>

Luiza Fritz, lesbian soldier, mulls legal action to rejoin military after Don't Ask Don't Tell repeal

Luiza Fritz.​This week marked the official end of Don't Ask, Don't Tell, the policy that allowed gays and lesbians to serve in the U.S. military so long as command didn't learn about their sexuality. Luiza Fritz, who was discharged in 2008 for being a lesbian, would like to continue her servi ... More >>

Air Force Academy donates jet engine to West High School's aircraft maintenance program

Bigger pic below.​ West High School has a new addition to its airplane hangar. (How many of you knew West even had an airplane hangar?) Yesterday, the U.S. Air Force Academy donated a jet engine to DPS's Aircraft Maintenance Program, which is offered through the Emily Griffith Technical Colleg ... More >>

Grenade wrapped in duct tape found in Colorado Springs park: Happy Valentine's Day!

Flickr​What to get that special someone on Valentine's Day? Candy and flowers are so played out -- so how about a hand grenade? Granted, we don't know for certain that the grenade found at Colorado Springs' Memorial Park yesterday morning was intended as a gift. But it was wrapped -- in duct t ... More >>

Air Force Academy prayer luncheon goes on, but advocate who sued to stop it declares victory

AFA chapel.​Yesterday, a judge rejected arguments made in a lawsuit opposing an Air Force Academy prayer luncheon. The 11:30 a.m. event is underway at this writing. But while Mikey Weinstein of the Military Religious Freedom Foundation, a plaintiff in the suit, is disappointed by the ruling, h ... More >>

Air Force Academy prayer luncheon lawsuit: Faculty members say event's unconstitutional

AFA chapel.​Attorney David Lane may have lost his last high-profile case -- an excessive-force complaint against Denver cop/ex-American Gladiators contestant Vicki Ferrari -- but he's hardly shying away from taking on big challenges. Note that he's just filed a lawsuit against the Air Force Ac ... More >>

Richard Paul: Grenades, C-4 at Durango man's home seized as part of Vegas gun-running bust

Flickr​Durango's Richard Paul comes across as a helpful and chipper salesman in a just-released cyber-sheaf of court documents. Problem is, he's accused of selling an array of machine guns and other weaponry to undercover federal officers -- and when his Durango home was raided, authorities r ... More >>

Pinalcchio

Renowned forensics experts say a Pinal County, Arizona deputy's high-profile tale about getting shot after encountering drug smugglers doesn't add up

Air Force Academy's cadet survey: Rep. Mike Coffman joins advocates in call to make it public

Air Force Academy chapel.​In mid-August, an Air Force Academy cadet survey showed statistically significant discrimination, harassment and the like against females, homosexuals, bisexuals and racial minorities, plus a considerable amount of unwanted religious proselytizing. But that info came ... More >>

Air Force Academy's decision to keep cadet survey secret protested by 50 AFA backers

Air Force Academy chapel.​In recent years, Air Force Academy climate surveys, in which cadets and staffers are asked about AFA life, have been made publicly released. For 2010, though, AFA superintendent Mike Gould nixed that, saying the surveys are meant to be tools for improvement, not publi ... More >>

Medical marijuana for vets: Veterans Health Administration still unenthusiastic about its use

Wanda James.​Last month in this space, dispensary owner and veteran Wanda James shared her excitement about the decision by the Veterans Health Administration to allow vets to use medical marijuana. But "excitement" isn't a word that leaps to mind after reading the VHA's directive on this poli ... More >>

Marijuana dispensary owner & vet Wanda James lauds new PTSD rules, calls for pot rescheduling

Wanda James.​Why has dispensary owner Wanda James so actively promoted medical marijuana use for veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder? One reason: She and husband/partner Scott Durrah both served in the military. So she's thrilled that the Veterans Administration is loosening rules con ... More >>

Medical marijuana in Colorado Springs: Drew Milburn touts cannabis to his fellow veterans

Drew Milburn.​The prospect of an initiative that could ban dispensaries in Colorado Springs frustrates We Grow Colorado's Drew Milburn. After all, he views his business as a public service -- one that can benefit fellow military veterans like him. He's especially eager to reach those who suff ... More >>

Medical marijuana community fights health department's PTSD policy

Courtesy of US Defense Dept.Approved PTSD simulator treatment.​Colorado Springs dispensary owner Drew Milburn, a veteran, doesn't like the state health department's opposition to using medical marijuana to treat post-traumatic stress disorder -- and he's not alone. Team 420 has scheduled a pr ... More >>

Jamey Johnson

Sunday, June 13, Comfort Dental Amphitheatre, 303-830-8497.

Deferred Hat Tip - Elvis Costello's Armed Forces

​ First off -- yes, I've heard Elvis Costello before -- and yes I've liked a couple of his albums. I've also been surrounded by nutballs that think Elvis Costello is the greatest thing in the universe. Their insistence that I must listen to Armed Forces has kept that album from ever being p ... More >>

Can a veterans court help former GIs find justice here at home?

New Air Force Academy worship site for Pagans, Wiccans and Druids has already been "violated," says AFA spokesman

Yesterday, we told you about a new worship space at the Air Force Academy designed for use by cadets and staffers who practice Earth-centered beliefs, including Pagans, Wiccans and Druids. A photo of the new Air Force Academy worship space -- with an unwelcome addition.​ Shortly thereafter, a ... More >>

Freaky Friday: Russian Navy sings the Beatles

​You can learn the craziest things on the Internet. Like that the Russian Navy has a crack squad of old guys that cover Beatles tunes. Or half-learn, I guess, because I am not at all sure that any of that is true. But I am sure that today's video is of a bunch of old guys dressed in sailor sui ... More >>

Wolverines!: Remembering the Red Dawn attack on its 25th anniversary

Remembering genuine American heroes.​August 10, 1984 is a date that will live in infamy.On that fateful morning, twenty-five years ago today, the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by air and ground forces of the Soviet Union.The United States was at peace with that na ... More >>

Peterson Air Force Base loses out to Texas' Lackland for 24th Air Force location

Lackland Air Force Base. Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado Springs was one of the finalists to become the home for the 24th Air Force, described by the service as "a new numbered Air Force headquarters focused on the cyber mission." But it'll have to settle for Miss Congeniality. Lackland Air For ... More >>

The Good Soldier

When the Army tried to take down Andrew Pogany, it messed with the wrong coward.

Front and Center

An Army of Anyone

You need a high school diploma to enlist -- or a recruiter willing to bend the rules.

The Wilding Blue Yonder

Reel life, real problems.

Privacy, Please

The Air Force has a bad case of subpoena envy.

Locked and Loaded

The Army's Special Forces game moves in for the kill.

The Message

Fighting the Chills

Follow That Story

Back in the Brig

Follow That Story

Ready, Aim, Fire!

Red, White, Orange and Blue

The Broncos call in a $20,000 air strike for patriotism.

Follow That Story

Academy Gets a Pass

The Message

Military Matters

The War Within

As America prepares to invade Iraq, female Air Force cadets wage their own battle.

A Bad Case of Gas

Montclair residents want Lowry to clean up a mess before it becomes a household problem.

Par for the Course

Lowry's neighbors give the Air Force what fore over pests, pollution and unsporting behavior.

A Native Is Restless

Weary Denver computer programmer Thom Lancy dreams of retracing the Kon-tiki expedition to the South Seas.