December 2023 — M2CC Newsletter

News from M2CC 

DECEMBER 2023 EDITION 

Army Veteran Battling 

Terminal Cancer Gets 

His Wish to Shoot a 

Tank One Last Time 

See page 22 

Monthly Newsletter 

WWW.M2CC.US 

The Abominable Shopping Season 

Strikes Again 

Like most military families struggling to 

climb the never-ending series of financial 

peaks along life’s path, we’ve always 

been uneasy about money. Mortgages, car 

loans, school tuition, music lessons, credit 

card payments, repair bills, sports fees, 

application fees, grocery bills, insurance 

bills, and all the other costs that encumber 

the typical military family, pile up into a 

seemingly overwhelming mountain of 

expenses to climb. 

We trudge up each treacherous peak, 

wondering if we’ll ever get out of debt, 

save enough for college and make it to 

retirement. We kept at it, believing that 

one day, we’ll finally reach the summit 

and plant a flag signaling that our personal 

Continued on page 14

2 | M2CC - News www.m2cc.us DECEMBER 2023 EDITION

WWW.M2CC.US Monthly Newsletter | 3 

Meet the Chief 

Chief Michael J. 

Persley 

Michael J. Persley was 

promoted to the rank of 

Chief on May 23, 2015 and 

assumed the duties of being 

the Chief Law Enforcement 

Officer for the City of Albany. 

He has been employed with 

the Albany Police Department 

for 25 years and has held 

numerous positions within 

the department. He was 

previously the Gang Unit 

Commander, East District 

Police Commander, and 

Assistant Commander of the 

Albany-Dougherty Metro 

SWAT Team where he has 

served as an entry team 

member, assistant team leader, 

team leader and negotiations 

commander. His other 

assignments have included 

working in narcotics, general 

and gang investigations. 

Chief Persley holds a Master 

Degree in Administration/ 

Justice and Security from 

University of Phoenix, a 

Bachelor Degree in Criminal 

Justice from Troy University 

and an Associate Degree 

in Criminal Justice from 

Darton College. Chief Persley 

has over 2800 hours of 

basic and advanced police 

training. He is a graduate 

of the IACP Leadership in 

Police Organization and the 

Northwestern School of 

Police Staff and Command. He 

is a member of the Georgia 

Association Chiefs of Police 

and International Association 

Chiefs of Police. He serves 

on several community boards 

including Stop the Violence, 

YMCA, Leadership Albany and 

is a member of the Dougherty 

County Rotary Club. 

Chief Persley is retired 

from the Georgia Army 

National Guard and served 

for over 22 years. He was 

an enlisted soldier and 

later commissioned as an 

officer. He held the rank 

of Captain at his time of 

retirement. He served this 

country on deployments to 

Bosnia-Hercegovina, Iraq and 

Afghanistan. 

Email the Chief: 

APDChief@albanyga.gov

4 | M2CC - News www.m2cc.us DECEMBER 2023 EDITION 

first released to Congress, there were 270 allegations of extremist 

activities. In 2022, that figure dropped to 146 before rebounding 

over the past year. 

Dozens of Troops 

Suspected of Advocating 

Overthrow of US 

Government, New Pentagon 

Extremism Report Says 

An annual Pentagon report on extremism within the ranks reveals 

that 78 service members were suspected of advocating for the 

overthrow of the U.S. government and another 44 were suspected 

of engaging or supporting terrorism. 

The report released Thursday by the Defense Department inspector 

general revealed that in fiscal 2023 there were 183 allegations of 

extremism across all the branches of military, broken down not 

only into efforts to overthrow the government and terrorism but 

also advocating for widespread discrimination or violence to 

achieve political goals. 

The statistics indicate the military continues to grapple with 

extremism following its public denunciations and a stand-down 

across the services ordered by Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin 

in 2021. Furthermore, the numbers do not make it clear whether 

the military's approach is working. In 2021, the year the data was 

The Army had the most allegations in fiscal 2023 with 130 soldiers 

suspected of participation in extremist activity. The Air Force 

suspected 29 airmen; the Navy and Marine Corps reported 10 

service members each. For the first time, the inspector general also 

reported numbers for the Space Force as a separate entity from the 

other services -- it suspected four Guardians of extremism. 

The IG report also included instances of alleged criminal gang 

activity: There were 58 allegations of gang activity across the 

military. 

However, the report did note that, out of all the suspected extremism 

and criminal gang activity, 68 of the total cases were investigated 

and cleared or deemed unsubstantiated. 

In the U.S., extremist activity, including neo-Nazi, white supremacist 

and anti-government movements, has been growing, and numerous 

violent plots by veterans and even active-duty troops have been 

thwarted in recent years. Experts on extremist movements have 

warned about the growing potential of more violence and future 

attacks, similar to the Oklahoma City federal building bombing in 

1995 that killed 168 and was carried out by an Army veteran. 

In February, a former National Guardsman, Brandon Russell, who 

founded the Atomwaffen Division, a neo-Nazi hate group, was 

charged with plotting to blow up Baltimore's electrical grid and 

cause as much suffering as possible. Russell, who allegedly kept 

a framed photo of Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh, was 

sentenced to five years in prison in 2018 after an arrest in Florida 

for possessing explosives. 

In the wake of the Jan. 6 siege of the U.S. Capitol building, the 

Pentagon tried to make a show of dealing with the problem of 

extremism among troops after it became clear that veterans as well 

as some active-duty troops were among the mob that stormed the 

halls of Congress in an effort to halt the certification of the 2020 

election. 

Including the military-wide extremism training stand-down ordered 

by Austin -- were largely symbolic and were widely considered as 

just another box for commanders to check. 

One active-duty noncommissioned officer said that, aside from the 

fact that no one was paying attention at the stand-down briefing 

he attended, the commander giving the lecture was "talking about 

what he thought were radical groups like Black Lives Matter." 

The idea that far-left groups are just as problematic as far-right ones 

is a popular talking point among conservatives and Republican 

lawmakers. However, law enforcement officialsand experts who 

study the topic have consistently noted that far-right groups


espousing anti-government and white supremacist views are the 

biggest threat to the U.S. today. 

The report also revealed that other efforts such as screening 

prospective recruits before enlistment are not working as well as 

intended. 

Some recruiters did not complete all of the screening steps and 

"as a result, military service recruiters may not have identified 

all applications with extremist or criminal gang associations," 

according to the inspector general report. 

"Further, the audit found that one military service entered data 

indicating applicants disclosed extremist or gang associations even 

though the applicants had not made such disclosures," the IG said, 

but it did not reveal which of the services falsely accused some of 

its recruits of having extremist ties. 

What the report does make clear, however, is that when allegations 

are made, they are being referred for investigation, and when 

allegations are substantiated, some action is taken. 

Of all the extremist and gang activity allegations, 135 were reported 

to military or civilian law enforcement, and 109 of the allegations 

were reported to another DoD organization or official. 

Furthermore, 69 of all the allegations were substantiated at the time 

the report was written and the vast majority of those -- 50 -- were 

handled through administrative actions. That included involuntary 

discharge for 19 and counseling in three instances, while 17 more 

were handled by nonjudicial punishment and two went to courtmartial. 

There were no substantiated cases of extremism or gang activity 

where no action was taken. 

While these figures, compared with the overall size of the services, 

are small, research and experts say that military service members 

and veterans pose an outsized danger to communities when they go 

down the path of extremism, given their increased familiarity with 

firearms and ability to organize and plan effectively. 

In 2020, an Air Force sergeant at Travis Air Force Base in California 

pulled up to a federal courthouse in Oakland, California, in a white 

van and opened fire on security guards, killing one before going on 

the run and murdering a county sheriff's deputy a week later as part 

of a larger plan to incite a civil war. 

Also in 2020, members of a group that included two Marines and 

styled itself as a "modern day SS" were arrested on allegations that 

they were plotting to destroy the power grid in the northwest. U.S. 

court records in that case say members discussed recruiting other 

veterans, stole military equipment, asked others to buy explosives, 

and discussed plans to manufacture firearms.

6 | M2CC - News www.m2cc.us DECEMBER 2023 EDITION


Focus on Oversight a Key for Success at 

CoreCivic 

In the corrections industry, maintaining high standards of 

operation is imperative to meeting the needs of the individuals 

in our care. That's why CoreCivic adheres to a stringent set of 

guidelines set forth by our own standards, as well as those of our 

government partners and the American Correctional Association 

(ACA). 

Founded in 1870, the ACA is considered the national benchmark 

for the effective operation of correctional systems throughout 

the United States. To become accredited, a facility must achieve 

compliance with ACA mandatory standards and a minimum of 

90 percent non-mandatory standards. CoreCivic facilities adhere 

to ACA standards, and in 2020, CoreCivic earned an average 

ACA audit score of 99.6 percent across all facilities. 

Key ACA audit areas include facility personnel, resident reentry 

programs, resident safety, health care, and more. 

holds our facilities and staff to a high standard. To be able to 

represent our facility and receive reaccreditation in person is an 

honor." 

Adhering to ACA standards is only one part of CoreCivic's 

commitment to robust oversight. When government partners 

utilize CoreCivic's services, we are held not only to our own 

high standards and those of the ACA, but we are often held to 

the same or higher accountability of our public counterparts 

through stringent government contracts, unfettered access to 

our facilities for our partners, and hundreds of on-site quality 

assurance monitors. 

We provide access to our government partners, with most of 

our facilities having government agency employees known as 

contract monitors who are physically on-site to ensure we are 

operating in line with partner guidelines. 

Recently, the ACA held in Nashville, Tennessee, its 151st 

Congress of Corrections, an annual convention that brings 

together corrections professionals from across the country. In 

addition to various workshops and events at the convention, the 

ACA Commission on Accreditation also held panel hearings to 

award accreditation to correctional facilities that meet the ACA's 

rigorous requirements. Listed below are the seven CoreCivic 

facilities that earned reaccreditation this year, with mandatory/ 

non-mandatory scores: 

• Bent County Correctional Facility - 100/99.0 

• Citrus County Detention Facility - 100/100 

• Eloy Detention Center - 100/100 

• Lake Erie Correctional Institution - 100/99.3 

• Saguaro Correctional Center - 100/99.8 

• Stewart Detention Center - 100/100 

• Tallahatchie County Correctional Facility - 100/100 

"The accreditation process is very important," said Warden 

Fred Figueroa from Eloy Detention Center, one of the seven 

CoreCivic facilities that was awarded reaccreditation. "ACA 

To maintain our own high standards, annual on-site audits covering 

all operational areas are administered to ensure compliance with 

contractual and regulatory obligations and corporate-mandated 

requirements. Each CoreCivic Safety facility is audited by our 

internal quality assurance division, which is independent from 

our operations division. Facilities are expected to be audit-ready 

year-round, maintaining continuous compliance with numerous 

applicable standards. 

CoreCivic employs 75 staff members dedicated to quality 

assurance, including several subject matter experts with extensive 

experience from all major disciplines within our institutional 

operations. 

"A lot of hard work goes into preparing for these audits," 

Figueroa said. "Once they're complete, the staff can see their 

accomplishments and feel proud." 

Having multiple levels of oversight helps CoreCivic maintain 

a safe environment for those in our care. By holding ourselves 

accountable to our own high standards, along with our 

government partners' and ACA's standards, CoreCivic continues 

to be a trusted partner working to better the public good.


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WWW.M2CC.US Monthly Newsletter | 9


global warming at 2.7 Fahrenheit since pre-industrial 

times. 

Pope Francis, who was forced to abandon plans to 

attend because of a case of bronchitis, on Sunday said 

that “even from a distance, I am following with great 

attention the work.” In remarks read at the Vatican by 

an aide, the pope called for an end of what he called 

“bottlenecks” caused by nationalism and “patterns of 

the past.” 

Earth is Running a 

Fever; UN Climate Talks 

are Focusing on the 

Contagious Effect on 

Human Health 

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — With Planet Earth 

running a fever, U.N. climate talks focused Sunday on 

the contagious effects on human health. 

Under a brown haze over Dubai, the COP28 summit 

moved past two days of lofty rhetoric and calls for unity 

from top leaders to concerns about health issues like 

the deaths of at least 7 million people globally from 

air pollution each year and the spread of diseases like 

cholera and malaria as global warming upends weather 

systems. 

World Health Organization Director-General Tedros 

Adhanom Ghebreyesus said it’s high time for the U.N. 

Conference of Parties on climate to hold its first “Health 

Day” in its 28th edition, saying the threats to health from 

climate change were “immediate and present.” 

“Although the climate crisis is a health crisis, it’s well 

overdue that 27 COPs have been and gone without a 

serious discussion of health,” he said. “Undoubtedly, 

health stands as the most compelling reason for taking 

climate action.” 

After two days of speeches by dozens of presidents, 

prime ministers, royals and other top leaders — in the 

background and on-stage — participants were also 

turning attention to tough negotiations over the next 

nine days to push for more agreement on ways to cap 

Protests began in earnest Sunday at COP28: In one, a 

group gave mock resuscitation to an inflatable Earth. 

“Well, I mean, it’s cheesy doing CPR on the Earth,” said 

Dr. Joe Vipond, an emergency room physician from 

Alberta, Canada, who took part. “We’re kind of in a lot 

of trouble right now,” he said, so will do “anything we 

can do to bring attention to this issue.” 

Saturday capped off with conference organizers 

announcing that 50 oil and gas companies had agreed 

to reach near-zero methane emissions and end routine 

flaring in their operations by 2030. They also pledged 

to reach “net zero” for their operational emissions by 

2050. 

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said “the 

promises made clearly fall short of what is required.” 

In comments Sunday, he called the methane emissions 

reductions “a step in the right direction.” But he 

criticized the net zero pledge for excluding emissions 

from fossil fuel consumption — where the vast majority 

of the industry’s greenhouse gases come from — and 

said the announcement provided no clarity on how the 

companies planned to reach their goals. 

“There must be no room for greenwashing,” he said. 

Temperature rises caused by the burning of oil, gas and 

coal have worsened natural disasters like floods, heat 

waves and drought, and caused many people to migrate 

to more temperate zones — in addition to the negative 

knock-on effects for human health. 

“Our bodies are ecosystems, and the world is an 

ecosystem,” said John Kerry, the U.S. climate envoy. 

“If you poison our land and you poison our water and 

you poison our air, you poison our bodies.” 

He said his daughter Vanessa, who works with the 

WHO chief, “repeats to me frequently that we should


not measure progress on the climate crisis just by the 

degrees averted, but by the lives saved.” 

In the United States, 8.5% of greenhouse gas 

emissions come from the health sector and the Biden 

Administration is trying to use funds from the Inflation 

Reduction Act to try to cut that down, Assistant 

Secretary of Health and Human Services Admiral 

Rachel Levine said. 

U.S. officials said one of the main issues has been 

waste anesthesia emissions from hospitals and 

greenhouse gases that escape when patients are treated 

for respiratory diseases like asthma with albuterol 

inhalers. 

Part of the solution may come through raising 

awareness: when officials used a system that showed 

anesthesiologists how much gas they used and how 

much escaped, emissions fell by as much as half, 

said Dr. John Balbus, the Health and Human Services 

climate change and health equity director. 

fossil fuels, but pledged to support efforts to curb health 

care sector pollution, which accounts for 5% of global 

emissions, according to the WHO head. 

The impact of human activity on the climate was visible 

to conference-goers in Dubai, an oil-rich boom city 

that often faces higher levels of air pollution than other 

places on Earth due to its location. Haze is common. 

The Dubai government, on its web site, listed its Air 

Quality Index level mostly at “good” on Sunday. 

IQAir, a Swiss vendor of air-quality monitoring 

products, listed Dubai as the city with the 18th-worst air 

quality in the world with “moderate” air quality levels 

as of noon local time on Sunday. It cited high levels of 

two types of particulate matter in the air and advised 

mask-wearing for “sensitive groups” and a reduction of 

outdoor exercise. 

Dr. Yseult Gibert of Montreal said 70 percent of 

operating-room emissions come from the way patients 

are given anesthesia. She said some types of anesthesia 

are more climate-friendly than others, without 

sacrificing on quality or effectiveness when it comes 

to care. 

A report last week issued by Unitaid, which helps 

get new healthcare products to low- and middleincome 

countries, explored how product redesign, 

improvements in manufacturing and other measures 

could reduce the carbon footprint of 10 products used 

for health emergencies, women’s and children’s health, 

and HIV, malaria and tuberculosis. 

Forest fires caused in part by climate change can have 

dramatic effects on homes, health and lives. Heat 

waves, which can be deadly, also can weigh on mental 

health, Gibert said, while poor air quality can make 

life harder for those facing lung and heart ailments and 

cause respiratory issues, like asthma in kids. 

“Not a lot of people know that the climate crisis is a 

health crisis,” she said. 

A COP28 declaration backed by some 120 countries 

stressed the link between health and climate change. 

It made no mention of phasing out planet-warming


MILITARY HEROES 

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VISIT OUR 

WEBSITE AT M2CC.US


financial goals have been achieved. It will 

be all downhill from there. 

After more than 30 years of marriage, we 

still haven’t planted that flag. Every pay 

raise my husband received over the years 

seemed accompanied by more expenses, 

so that our uncomfortable debt-income 

ratio never seemed to improve. As our 

household income increased, our lifestyle 

absorbed it without much notice, and 

we trudged on, never really finding that 

windfall of profit we’d been looking for 

all our lives. 

We keep climbing from one crumbling 

financial ledge to the next, in an unending 

quest for the pinnacle of financial stability 

and freedom. Sometimes we think we’ve 

found a foothold, but something always 

seems to come along and knock us into 

another crevasse of debt. Our saboteurs 

aren’t polar bears, mountain goats, or the 

Abominable Snowman. The monetary 

enemies we’ve faced were surprise 

roof leaks, transmission failures, tax 

assessments and college tuition bills. 

And now, in December, we must take on the 

monster that wreaks its fiscal devastation 

upon us annually — the Holiday Shopping 

Season. 

“Now, kids, your father and I are NOT 

going to buy a lot of Christmas presents 

this year,” I’ve told our three children 

every December since they were in middle 

school. Despite their “we’ve heard this 

before” eye-rolling, I’ve sincerely meant 

it every time. The problem: Once I get out 

into the frenzy of holiday shoppers, I lose 

my way. Despite careful budgeting and 

planning, I am bombarded by a blizzard 

of twinkle lights, eye-catching displays, 

irresistible sales, fuzzy slippers, cheese log 

samples, ingenious gadgets, two-for-one 

deals and unsolicited perfume spritzes. 

I’ve never been a savvy customer — but 

rather, a “misfit shopper” — so, like the 

preacher’s daughter at the frat party, I 

sometimes don’t know when to stop and 

find myself easily manipulated into doing 

very bad things. 

I show up at the mall armed with good 

intentions, a budgeted list of specific 

items, and a plan to go home and cook 

an economical dinner. The next thing 

I know, I’ve overdosed on department 

store fragrances and Harry & David 

samples. My husband and kids have 

called numerous times, wondering why I 

haven’t come home yet. My automobile 

is stuffed to the moon roof with shopping 

bags, half of which contain items I bought 

for myself. 

Woozy and confused, I chew the remnants 

of peppermint bark I vaguely recall


buying from a female elf at Macy’s, run 

through a drive through to pick up a 

bucket of chicken for the family, make the 

humiliating “drive of shame” back home, 

and wonder when the avalanche of credit 

card bills will roll in. 

What happened? Will I ever learn financial 

self-control and stay on course? Why am I 

always blinded by the blizzard of holiday 

shopping temptations? Am I destined to 

be financially adrift forever? 

With predicted increasing inflation, a 

mortgage the size of Montana, and three 

demanding twenty-somethings coming 

home for the holidays, I will, once again, 

try to resist the abominable evils of the 

holiday shopping season. I will not try 

on boots, agree to an exfoliating hand 

massage, sample gourmet mustards or take 

the tiniest whiff of perfume being spritzed 

my way. I must stick to my list, pay in 

cash, avoid anyone dressed up like an elf 

and save some singles for the Salvation 

Army bucket. 

I may not have Rudolph to guide me, but 

there’s no need to cancel Christmas. This 

misfit shopper will make it through the 

holiday spending blizzard of 2023, and 

keep on climbing. Onward and upward.


Coast Guard Review 

Blasts Service for Failing 

to Safeguard Members 

from Sexual Assault, 

Harassment 

A Coast Guard review released Wednesday 

found that the service failed to live up to its 

core values when it mishandled sexual assault 

reports and hid results of investigations into 

the cases, eroding trust in leaders and causing 

further psychological harm to victims. 

The 90-day review into the Coast Guard's 

climate and handling of sexual assaults 

and harassment claims -- ordered in July 

by Commandant Adm. Linda Fagan -- said 

service members are "not experiencing the 

safe, empowering workplace they expect 

and deserve" and don't trust that they will be 

protected if they report an incident. 

VISIT OUR WEBSITE 

AT M2CC.US 

Fagan called for the review following 

reports by CNN on the service's failure to 

disclose the results of an investigation called 

Operation Fouled Anchor, which uncovered 

60 substantiated cases of rape, sexual assault 

and harassment over nearly two decades, and


failures by leaders to prosecute suspects for 

misconduct. 

The authors of the review released Wednesday 

also found, when hearing from victims as far 

back as the 1960s, that the failings contributed 

to "deep-rooted feelings of pain and a loss of 

trust in the organization." 

Such cover-ups and missteps are incongruent 

with the Coast Guard's values of honor, respect 

and devotion to duty, they added. 

"For so many victims, there are even deeper 

levels of broken trust: in leaders who failed 

them in preventing and responding to sexual 

violence; in a military justice system with 

antiquated legal definitions of rape; in nonexistent 

support programs for those impacted 

prior to 2000," wrote the authors, Rear Adm. 

Miriam Lafferty, John Luce and Command 

Master Chief Ann Logan. 

Merry 

Christmas 

From our family to yours, 

Happy Holidays and a 

Happy New Year! 

Most of the alleged perpetrators never were 

criminally investigated, and some of those who 

remained in the service went on to become 

senior officers. 

As part of their investigation, the team reviewed 

Coast Guard reports, documents and programs 

pertaining to sexual assault and harassment 

prevention, speaking with service members on 

Coast Guard culture, training and experiences, 

and surveying command climate and making 

recommendations for reform. 

They traveled to dozens of installations, 

interviewed hundreds of service members, 

received more than 175 written comments and 

sifted "through a mountain of data" to assess 

the situation. 

"You made it very clear to our team that these 

failures and lack of accountability are entirely 

unacceptable, and you let us know the Coast 

Guard must do something about it," the team 

wrote in a message to service members in the 

beginning of the report. 

The report found that the Coast Guard made 

efforts to combat sexual assault and harassment 

in the ranks over the past two decades, spending 

money and other resources studying the 

problem and developing recommendations. 

But those efforts led only to "incremental 

improvements" and not to "lasting sustainable 

change." 

The team made new recommendations 

on improving leadership, accountability, 

transparency, training, awareness and victim 

support. Its accountability recommendations, 

however, did not extend to past cases or officers 

involved in Operation Fouled Anchor. 

Fagan noted in a separate response that the 

Coast Guard is responding to numerous


congressional requests related to the incidents 

and that the Coast Guard Investigative 

Service is "conducting additional inquiries as 

warranted." 

The commandant also announced reforms to 

training, education, victim services and other 

programs that are to take place within the next 

year to improve overall response. 

"We must ensure that every Coast Guard 

workplace has a climate that deters harmful 

behaviors and gives everyone the positive 

Coast Guard experience they expect and 

deserve," Fagan wrote. 

This week, the Coast Guard posted a copy 

of a 2015 "Culture of Respect" study on the 

commandant's website after CNN obtained a 

copy and published a report on it. The report, 

which, like the Operation Fouled Anchor 

investigation, was concealed for nearly a 

decade, found that the Coast Guard failed to 

address racism, hazing and discrimination as 

well as sexual assault in its ranks. 

After the release of the report, Sen. Chris 

Murphy, D-Conn., whose state is home to the 

Coast Guard Academy, questioned how many 

more "damning" reports the Coast Guard has 

not made public. 

"I am in disbelief that we are once again having 

a conversation about Coast Guard leadership 

covering up evidence of pervasive harassment, 

discrimination, racism, sexism and assault 

within its organization," Murphy wrote in a 

release Nov. 30. "This culture of avoidance 

and cover-up needs to end." 

The House Homeland Security Permanent 

Subcommittee on Investigations has a hearing 

planned for Dec. 12 on sexual assault and 

harassment in the Coast Guard. 

Ahead of the hearing, K. Denise Rucker Krepp, 

a former Coast Guard officer and former chief 

counsel of the Maritime Administration, wrote 

subcommittee leaders about the report, noting 

that current Coast Guard leaders refuse "to 

hold past leaders accountable." 

"Past systemic failed leadership destroyed 

lives and the cancer of failed leadership is 

destroying the health of today's Coast Guard," 

Krepp wrote in a letter obtained by Military. 

com. "Please continue to hold the hearings 

on the sexual assault that are occurring in the 

Coast Guard. Please demand that past leaders, 

including those I served with in the Coast 

Guard legal community, be held accountable. 

Please stop the rot." 

The witness list for the sexual assault hearing 

has not been released.



No More Late Night Alcohol Sales: 

Army and Air Force Exchange 

Stores to Ban the Practice Next 

Month 

The change on Army and 

Air Force bases is meant 

to support the Pentagon's 

suicide prevention 

initiative, which said that 

limiting when alcohol is 

available "reduces heavy 

drinking and other adverse 

outcomes associated 

with alcohol misuse," 

including suicide, 

according to Defense 

Department research and 

recommendations. 

Other initiatives listed in 

the recommendations by 

the suicide prevention 

committee, created by 

Defense Secretary Lloyd 

Austin in 2022, included 

increasing the price of 

alcohol sold on Pentagon 

property, establishing 

24/7 sobriety programs for 

service members arrested 

or convicted for alcoholrelated 

crimes, and 

banning the promotion of 

alcohol on military bases. 

"Consistent with the 

Department of Defense's 

Suicide Prevention and 

Response Independent 

Review Committee's 

recommendations, the 

Army and Air Force 

Exchange Service 

is aligning the times 

alcohol can be sold to 

be consistent with that 

of DoD's other military 

exchanges," Chris Ward, a 

spokesperson for AAFES. 

The latest initiative affects 

161 Express, Class Six 

and other exchange stores 

worldwide, according to 

Ward, who also indicated 

that the change would 

have little impact on sales 

for that time frame. 

"Alcohol sales after 

2200 and before 0600 at 

the 161 stores impacted 

accounted for less than 

1% of total alcohol sales 

last year," he said. 

Stars and Stripes reported 

that 25% of AAFES 

outlets sell alcohol in the 

soon-to-be-banned time 

frame. The publication 

also reported that the 

NavyExchange stopped 

selling alcohol between 

10 p.m. and 6 a.m. at 

more than 100 locations 

a decade ago as a way to 

stop sexual assault and 

alcohol-related offenses. 

"Junior enlisted service 

members spoke openly 

about their own 

excessive use, including 

how they recognized 

their own drinking was 

problematic," according


to the report with the final 

recommendations of the 

Suicide Prevention and 

Response Independent 

Review Committee. 

"Other service members 

spoke about past alcoholrelated 

convictions, 

especially driving under 

the influence (DUI) 

charges, and military law 

enforcement at every 

installation told us that 

excessive alcohol use 

is involved in most of 

the on-base incidents to 

which they respond," it 

added. 

The study by the 

committee, which was 

an independent panel, 

said that 18% of service 

members who died by 

suicide in 2021 were 

diagnosed with an 

alcohol-use disorder. 

Other findings said that 

10% of troops engaged in 

heavy drinking or binge 

drinking at least once per 

week over the month the 

study measured. 

Outside of limited 

hours and banning 

alcohol promotion, the 

study recommended 

that additional training 

be implemented to 

prevent abusive alcohol 

consumption. 

"Revised training should 

include modules and 

information about alcohol 

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use and misuse, the 

alcohol content of drinks, 

what constitutes healthy 

versus unhealthy and 

excessive drinking, how 

alcohol impairs judgment 

and performance as well 

as increases risk for 

suicide and perpetrating 

sexual violence, and 

strategies for recognizing 

and addressing harmful 

drinking in oneself and 

others," it said.


Army Veteran 

Battling Terminal 

Cancer Gets His 

Wish to Shoot a 

Tank One Last 

Time 

Doctors estimated in 

September that Jay Tenison, 

who was diagnosed with 

terminal cancer, had 3-6 

months to live. One of the


things on his bucket list was to fire a 

tank one last time. 

Tenison, 39, is a former tanker who 

served from 2004 to 2008 on active 

duty and another five years in the 

Army Reserve. On Tuesday, he got 

to check that item off the list -- he 

fired his last shot at Fort Moore, 

Georgia. 

“It was everything I had hoped for, 

and went beyond my expectation,” 

he told Military.com. When asked 

how he did on the gunnery event, 

which included the M1A2 Abrams 

main battle tank engaging multiple 

targets, he said, “I killed everything.” 

It was the culmination of a major 

movement in the Army community to 

get Tenison into an Abrams tank one 

last time after he posted the request 

on Reddit late last year. He reported 

his hair had started falling out, he 

was growing increasingly fatigued 

and had lost at least 60 pounds. 

“To me, this is one of the most special 

things I will do in command,” Col. 

Ryan Kranc, commander of the 316th 

Cavalry Brigade, which oversees 

training for cavalry and armor troops, 

told Military.com. “It's humbling.” 

Tenison was also awarded the 

Order of Saint George, a unique and 

prestigious medal worn around the 

neck, given to cavalry and tanker 

soldiers for outstanding service. 

In early 2022, Tenison was diagnosed 

with Stage IV stomach cancer after 

reporting pain to his doctors. After 

months of chemotherapy, he got the 

worst news of his life -- there was 

nothing medical care could do for 

him and his doctor recommended he 

focus on quality of life. 

Before the live fire, Tenison was put 

into a simulation of the Abrams, a 

virtual reality tool all soldiers go


through before gunnery. He says he 

was quickly able to relearn how the 

tank operates. His only concern was 

climbing in and out of the tank. He 

also got to speak with basic trainees in 

tanker school, who wore COVID-19 

pandemic-era masks to protect him. 

The Abrams is relatively unchanged 

since Tenison’s time in service, 

which included a deployment to 

Ramadi, Iraq, with 2nd Battalion, 

37th Armor Regiment, during a 

kinetic time in the region. He spent 

some of the mission behind a desk 

doing administrative work, but also 

Merry 

Christmas 

was a part of convoys for resupply 

missions and taking the dead off the 

battlefield. 

“We lost seven or eight guys; I got 

to carry the bodies back,” Tenison 

recalled. “We would just go and 

retrieve them. They would already 

be in a body bag.” 

He was struggling in college and 

with other personal matters when he 

joined the Army at 20 years old. Like 

many enlistees, he needed a reset 

button and was seduced by the $7,000 




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enlistment bonus 

to become a 

tanker. 

He jokes that 

the Army’s pitch 

shouldn’t have 

been as easy as it 

was, but adds that 

he doesn’t have 

any regrets. He 

later earned his 

master’s degree 

in engineering 

from Arizona 

State University 

and had a passion 

for renewable 

e n e r g y , 

particularly 

solar power. 

He worked on 

designs for solar 

arrays for local 

municipalities 

and the 

Department of 

Veterans Affairs, 

including a 

project at the 

Los Angeles VA 

hospital. 

In addition to 

getting behind 

a tank one last 

time, he spent 

time at the beach 

in Pensacola, 

Florida, with 

his daughters. 

They also took 

a trip to Disney 

World. One of 

the last things on 

his bucket list is 

skydiving. 

“I feel really 

special,” Tenison 

said. “I’m going 

to make a video 

diary for my 

daughters for 

when they’re 

older. I’m going 

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of Caring 

Offering master’s 

and doctoral 

degrees for 

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to tell them to 

keep on going 

and keep giving 

back. I’m hoping 

I can explain 

to them that 

this was a huge 

thing and what 

happens when 

a community 

supports itself.” 

Family Nurse Practitioner 

Women’s Health Care NP 

Psychiatric-Mental Health NP 

Learn more at frontier.edu/military


Merry 

Christmas 

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Golf Program Helps US Veterans Adjust to Life 

After the Military 

Sometimes servicemembers have a 

difficult time transitioning back to the 

civilian world. Many are exposed to high 

stress and traumatic events during the 

time they served. They may have been in 

combat zones or suffered physical injuries 

— even loss of limbs. 

But a program is trying to help these 

warriors back here on home soil. PGA 

HOPE (Helping Our Patriots Everywhere) 

is a rehabilitative golf program that helps 

these veterans adjust to life after the 

military. 

“Coming home from war, it’s not 

something that everybody can do,” says 

PGA HOPE ambassador Charles Patrick 

Wilcox. “And that’s why, you know, to 

have a support network for a veteran is 

very important. It helps them integrate 

back into society with the help of other 

veterans. 

Vets enrolled in the program gather at 

the Inspiration Golf Range & Activity 

Center located on the Lyons Campus of 

the VA New Jersey Health Care System, 

in Bernards Township. This is where they 

can connect with other veterans for a sense 

of camaraderie and learn about the game 

of golf. 

Golf has become a therapeutic part of the 

process since the program started in 2015. 

There are around 300 veterans in New 

Jersey involved and nationally, there are 

around 12,000 to 13,000. 

The program is funded by PGA Reach 

and supplemented by PGA Section 

Foundations. Visit PGA HOPE for more 

information or to support.

December 2023 — M2CC Newsletter

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