(WASHINGTON) — The Federal Aviation Administration is sounding the alarm over a staggering increase in laser strikes against aircraft in the United States.
Laser strikes occur when people on the ground shine lasers toward aircraft in order to distract them. This can cause temporary blindness for pilots.
“It could dazzle a pilot’s eyes,” Ganyard told ABC News. “It’s essentially a single piloted airplane until the person whose eyes were dazzled comes back to normal and there’s always the chance that it can be caused permanent damage.”
Laser strikes on planes reached record numbers in 2021, according to new data from the FAA.
The agency received 9,723 reports of laser strikes last year — the highest number ever recorded.
“It’s distracting, and usually it happens when planes are close to the ground. That’s the last time you really want anybody flying a plane to be distracted,” Col. Steve Ganyard, an ABC News contributor, said.
Laser strikes have been on the rise in recent years — the FAA reported 6,852 incidents in 2020, 6,136 incidents in 2019 and 5,663 incidents in 2018.
“Many types of high-powered lasers can completely incapacitate pilots, many of whom are flying planes with hundreds of passengers,” the agency said.
Last year, there were 47 injuries related to the laser strikes, the FAA said.
Lasers used can be easily purchased in stores or online by civilians.
Intentionally aiming lasers at aircraft violates federal law. Individuals may face up to $11,000 in civil penalties per violation and up to $30,800 for multiple incidents. Violators can also face criminal penalties from federal, state and local law enforcement agencies.
“The FAA continues to educate the public about the hazards of laser strikes because they pose such a serious threat to the safety of the pilot, the passengers and everyone in the vicinity of the aircraft,” FAA Administrator Steve Dickson said in a release.
The agency issued $120,000 in fines for laser strikes last year.
(BRIDGEPORT, Conn.) — A Bridgeport, Connecticut, chapter of the NAACP is demanding the Department of Justice investigate the Bridgeport Police Department over the cases of two Black women, Lauren Smith-Fields and Brenda Lee Rawls, who were both found dead in their homes.
The demand comes after two Bridgeport police detectives assigned to both cases, were placed on administrative leave pending an investigation by the police department’s internal affairs office.
The detectives were disciplined due to a “lack of sensitivity to the public and failure to follow police policy” in the handling of the two cases, according to a statement from Bridgeport Mayor Joseph P. Ganim on Jan. 30.
Rawls was found dead and alone in her home on Dec. 12, 2021. The cause and manner of death are still undetermined, according to the Connecticut Office of the Chief Medical Examiner.
Smith-Fields was found dead in her apartment that same day, shortly after being with a man she had met on a dating app.
The Connecticut chief medical examiner’s office found that Smith-Fields’ cause of death was “acute intoxication due to the combined effects of fentanyl, promethazine, hydroxyzine and alcohol.” The medical examiner ruled the manner of death an “accident.”
The families of Smith-Fields, 23, and Rawls, 53, claim Bridgeport police failed to notify them of the deaths and say they learned of the deaths from others.
During a virtual press conference on Wednesday, Bridgeport NAACP president Rev. D. Stanley Lord recommended new training, revised hiring practices, community input and oversight, and more in order to address criticisms of “insensitivity” and “prejudicial” treatment toward “Blacks and other citizens of color” from the department.
“The operation within the Bridgeport Police Department seems to be a constant disarray and dysfunction,” Lord said.
He added, “Recent actions by uniformed officers and detectives have cast a shadow on the performance of the department publicly and has made clear that there is a great need for diversity in its staff, its leadership, and decision-making practices.”
Lord reported that African Americans make up less than 15% of the Bridgeport Police Department. BPD confirmed the statistic.
However, Black Americans make up 35% of the city’s population, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
In a statement to ABC News from the city of Bridgeport, BPD said it “serves its residents and all members of our community regardless of race, ethnicity, gender or religion. Members of the Bridgeport Police Department are hired and promoted based upon a competitive Civil Service exam process.”
The families of Smith-Fields and Rawls have continued to call for proper investigations into their deaths following the mayor’s announcement. The cases have been reassigned and are still under active investigation.
“It is an unacceptable failure if policies were not followed,” Ganim said in his statement. “To the families, friends and all who care about the human decency that should be shown in these situations in this case by members of the Bridgeport Police Department, I am very sorry.”
The Bridgeport police union called the mayor’s decision to place the officers on leave “regrettable.”
“We caution against a rush to judgment until we have all the facts surrounding this case,” said Sgt. Brad Seely, the union president, in a statement obtained by ABC-affiliate WTNH. “We will file grievances over the placement of Dets. Llanos and Cronin on administrative leave to restore them back to full duty status.”
Seely cited staff shortages in calling for the return of the two detectives.
The union also extended “sympathy and sorrow to the families and friends of Lauren Smith-Fields and Brenda Rawls, whose untimely deaths have brought unimaginable pain.”
(ATLANTA) — Gregory McMichael, the retired Georgia police officer convicted in the killing of Ahmaud Arbery, informed a federal court Thursday evening that he has withdrawn his plans to plead guilty to federal hate crime charges connected to Arbery’s death after a federal judge this week rejected the terms of a plea agreement reached with the Justice Department.
Counsel for McMichael, the father of Travis McMichael, who shot Arbery in February 2020 three times at close range, informed U.S. District Court Judge Lisa Wood in a filing that they are now ready for him to stand trial on the federal hate crimes charges next week.
It is still not clear whether Travis McMichael similarly plans to withdraw his plans to plead guilty after the hearing earlier this week when Wood said she could not accept the terms of the plea agreement reached between the DOJ and the McMichaels, which would have constrained her ability to determine their sentence.
Wood told the men she wanted an answer by Friday.
If Travis McMichael also decides to withdraw his pleas, they will go to trial next week with their co-defendant William “Roddie” Bryan, who was not offered the same plea deal.
Gregory McMichael, 66, a retired Georgia police officer and his 36-year-old son were convicted of state murder charges last year along with Bryan, 52, and were all sentenced to life in prison, the McMichaels without the possibility of parole.
Friday’s decision by the McMichaels comes just days after Wood rejected a plea deal in which federal prosecutors guaranteed the men would be able to serve the first 30 years of confinement in federal prison.
During a hearing on Monday in U.S. District Court in Brunswick, Georgia, Wood said she felt “uncomfortable” approving a plea deal that locked her into giving the McMichaels a three-decade sentence in a federal penitentiary. She noted that the case was in its early stages and said, “I can’t say that 360 months is the precise, fair sentence in this case.”
Wood’s decision came on the heels of Arbery’s parents, Wanda Cooper-Jones and Marcus Arbery, giving impassioned statements in court. They asked the judge to deny the men their wish to go to federal prison, which is safer and better funded than most state prisons, according to legal experts.
“Granting these men their preferred conditions of confinement would defeat me,” Cooper-Jones told Wood. “It gives them one last chance to spit in my face after murdering my son.”
At Monday’s hearing, assistant U.S. attorney Tara Lyons said Travis and Gregory McMichael agreed to plead guilty to count one of a multi-count indictment alleging they interfered with Arbery’s right to enjoy the use of a public road he was jogging on “because of Arbery’s race and color.” Lyons said the agreement called for other charges to be dismissed, including attempted kidnapping and discharging a firearm during a violent crime.
The agreement also called for the McMichaels to waive their right to appeal in both the federal and state cases.
Arbery, 25, was fatally shot on Feb. 23, 2020, after the McMichaels saw him jogging in their Satilla Shores neighborhood near Brunswick, Georgia. They said they assumed Arbery was a burglar, armed themselves and chased him in their pickup truck. The McMichaels’ neighbor, Bryan, joined the pursuit, blocking the victim’s escape path with his truck.
Bryan also used his cellphone to record Travis McMichael fatally shooting Arbery with a shotgun, video that became integral to their state murder convictions.
(CHICAGO) — Chicago is bracing for massive protests over the prison release of former city police officer Jason Van Dyke, who was convicted of murder in the 2014 line-of-duty shooting of 17-year-old Laquan McDonald.
The 43-year-old Van Dyke was let go from the custody of the Illinois Department of Corrections Thursday morning, sources told ABC Chicago station WLS. His release came after he served half of a six-year, nine-month sentence he was given in 2019.
In anticipation of Van Dyke’s release, Chicago police and city officials met with business leaders on Wednesday for a security briefing and Mayor Lori Lightfoot attempted to allay fears in a statement she issued Thursday morning.
“I understand why this continues to feel like a miscarriage of justice, especially when many Black and brown men get sentenced to so much more prison time for having committed far lesser crimes,” Lightfoot said. “It’s these distortions in the criminal justice system, historically, that have made it so hard to build trust.”
Lightfoot noted that Van Dyke was the first Chicago police officer in more than a half century to be convicted of a crime committed in the line of duty.
“While I know this moment is disappointing, it should not prevent us from seeing the significant progress Van Dyke’s prosecution and conviction represent,” she said.
Demonstrators are expected to gather Thursday afternoon at Federal Plaza in Chicago in hopes of delivering a letter to U.S. Attorney John Lausch requesting federal civil rights charges be brought against Van Dyke.
The Rev. Jesse Jackson and members of his Rainbow PUSH Coalition, are expected to join Black Lives Matter Chicago protesters and Father Michael Pfleger, the Catholic priest and Chicago activist, at Thursday’s protest.
More demonstrations are being planned for Friday, officials said.
On Tuesday, Sens. Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth, both Democrats from Illinois, issued a joint letter to U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland requesting a briefing on a federal investigation into the McDonald murder case. The senators said the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Illinois has refused to say whether the federal investigation launched in April 2015 was still ongoing or closed.
McDonald was killed on Oct. 20, 2014. Police dashcam video of the shooting played at Van Dyke’s trial showed McDonald was armed with a knife but did not appear to be moving toward the police officers following him when Van Dyke responded and opened fire on the teen 16 times in a span of 15 seconds.
Van Dyke testified at his 2018 trial that he believed McDonald was coming at him with a knife. An autopsy showed McDonald had a small amount of the hallucinogenic drug PCP in his system when he died.
The Cook County Circuit Court jury found Van Dyke guilty on charges of second-degree murder and 16 counts of aggravated battery with a firearm, one for each shot he fired at McDonald.
Four Chicago police officers were subsequently fired over their alleged cover-up of McDonald’s killing after an investigation found they made false statements to investigators about the shooting.
Van Dyke was initially sent to a state prison to serve his sentence, but after he was beaten by fellow inmates in his cell he was transferred to a federal prison in 2019.
(OROVILLE, Calif.) — A shooting inside a Greyhound bus on Wednesday killed one person and injured four others, including an 11-year-old girl, according to police.
Police said a dispute on the bus led the suspect to shoot his gun while the bus was parked at an Am/Pm convenience store in Oroville, California, around 7:30 p.m. local time. Four victims were transported to local hospitals. A fifth victim was pronounced dead on the scene despite lifesaving measures, according to police.
The 11-year-old victim is currently in stable condition, according to police. The other victims include a 25-year-old woman who is pregnant and in critical condition, a 30-year-old male who is in stable condition and expected to be released from the hospital and a 32-year-old male who sustained multiple gunshot wounds and is in critical condition, according to police.
Police identified the suspect as 21-year-old Asaahdi Elijah Coleman from Sacramento. He has a juvenile criminal record, according to the district attorney.
Witnesses told police more than 10 shots were fired. Police were able to locate 12 nine-millimeter expanded casings.
The suspect fled the bus when police arrived and ran through a shopping complex and into a Walmart. The suspect was “acting bizarrely,” according to 911 calls coming from inside the Walmart. Police said the suspect had gotten into another altercation with a customer.
He was acting erratically and had removed his clothes, according to police.
Police encountered the suspect at the front of the Walmart and took him into custody without using force. The suspect was brought to Butte County Jail and the firearm was recovered, according to police.
Police do not believe there are any suspects at large.
“The witnesses who were on the bus have been transported and they are being interviewed,” Butte County Sheriff Kory Honea said during a news conference on Wednesday.
(DALLAS) — A dangerous winter storm is dropping snow, sleet and ice in Texas, knocking out power and suspending operations at the Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott warned Thursday, “We are dealing with one of the most significant icing events … in at least several decades.”
Abbott has issued a disaster declaration for 17 counties expected to see the worst impacts from the ice.
Abbott blamed the ice for knocking out power to at least 50,000 customers.
Abbott said 12,000 linemen will be working on the power issues.
State officials are urging residents to stay home as ice and snow accumulate on roads.
The temperature also poses danger. On Friday the wind chill — what temperature it feels like — is expected to plunge to the single digits in Dallas and below zero in the Texas Panhandle.
This storm comes one year after Texas’ power grid disaster, when back-to-back winter storms left more than 4 million people without heat and safe water. It took days for power to be restored, and more than 100 people died because of subsequent blackouts. Months later, Abbott signed a bill to reform the state’s power grid.
At a Thursday news conference Abbott stressed that the grid is reliable and said, “the power grid is performing very well at this time.”
Texas has about 15% more power generation capacity compared to last year, Abbott said, adding that 99% of power generators have passed inspection this year.
He said there’s several days worth of natural gas in storage should the weather hinder the flow of natural gas.
(WASHINGTON) — A man who was arrested for parking his car illegally, for failure to obey and assault on a police officer, has returned and parked his Chevy Tahoe once again in front of the Supreme Court building Thursday, Capitol Police said in a tweet.
Dale Paul Melvin of Kimball, Michigan, was outside of the Supreme Court, when he was arrested in October also for illegally parking and refusing to leave, Capitol Police had said in a statement at the time.
U.S. Capitol Police say Melvin used some “concerning language” on public social media postings shortly before he showed up in font of the Supreme Court, a statement released by the agency said.
“Our officers and agents are focused on our critical mission,” said USCP Chief Tom Manger. “I applaud them for their keen observation and for not taking any chances when it comes to safety and security.”
Capitol Police says after some discussion the 58-year-old was not arrested and agreed to leave the area.
Melvin told Capitol Police in October: “The time for talking is over.” He then had to physically be removed from the car after speaking with Capitol Police investigators, authorities said.
Capitol Police said roads are back open after witnesses saw Melvin hold up a letter, then promptly drive away after he parked his car illegally in front of the Supreme Court.
Roads around the Supreme Court and U.S. Capitol are clear, police said.
(NEW YORK) — A massive winter storm is pushing east, blasting the Midwest with snow and the South with ice — and now taking aim on the Northeast.
Over 4,000 flights have been canceled as of Thursday morning — the biggest flight cancellation day of the year. Dallas, Chicago and Austin are the most impacted cities.
The snow has already pummeled Chicago and St. Louis. Governors in Illinois, Missouri, Oklahoma and Kentucky have declared states of emergency.
More heavy snow is expected from St. Louis to Indianapolis to Cleveland on Thursday. Six to 12 inches of snow is forecast for Indiana and Ohio.
Arkansas, Tennessee and Kentucky could see a thick layer of ice and possible power outages.
In Texas, officials are urging residents to stay home as ice and snow accumulate on roads. More than 50,000 customers are without power in Texas and the Dallas Fort Worth International Airport has suspended operations as the state tackles a winter storm dropping snow, sleet and ice.
The snow is also stretching into western Pennsylvania, New York state and northern New England. Ice accumulation is expected in Pennsylvania, the Hudson Valley and southeastern New England where some power outages are possible.
On Friday, the storm heads to the Interstate 95 corridor. Freezing rain and falling temperatures could cause very icy roads in Boston and the New York City area.
(NEW YORK) — As the COVID-19 pandemic has swept the globe, more than 5.7 million people have died from the disease worldwide, including over 894,000 Americans, according to real-time data compiled by Johns Hopkins University’s Center for Systems Science and Engineering.
About 63.9% of the population in the United States is fully vaccinated against COVID-19, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern:
Feb 03, 9:46 am
Medicare to start paying for at-home COVID-19 tests
Medicare will cover the cost of at-home COVID-19 testing kits starting this spring, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced Thursday.
It will be the first time that Medicare has covered an over-the-counter test at no cost to beneficiaries. The new initiative will enable payment from Medicare directly to participating pharmacies and retailers to allow beneficiaries to pick up the at-home testing kits for free, according to CMS, a federal agency within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services that administers the Medicare health insurance program and works in partnership with state governments to administer the Medicaid assistance program.
CMS said it “anticipates that this option will be available to people with Medicare in the early spring.”
Last month, the U.S. government began requiring health insurers to pay for at-home COVID-19 tests. But that directive did not initially extend to Medicare, which provides health insurance coverage for Americans ages 65 and up, as well as some younger individuals with disabilities.
Feb 02, 4:49 pm
White House prepping to send out COVID-19 vaccines for kids under 5
Vaccines will be made available to the 18 million kids between the ages of 6 months and 5 years “in short order” if they’re authorized and recommended by FDA and CDC later this month, White House COVID-19 coordinator Jeff Zients said at Wednesday’s White House briefing.
“We’ve already secured ample doses and the necessary needles and supplies specially made for kids in this age group. Following FDA authorization, we would immediately begin packing and shipping doses to states and health care providers,” Zients said. “And in short order following CDC recommendations, parents will be able to get their kids under 5 vaccinated.”
Dr. Anthony Fauci, chief medical adviser to the White House, said parents should feel confident that the FDA would only approve the vaccine if it was effective and safe.
“We are anticipating that we will get a good efficacy signal for the use of vaccines in children under 5 years old,” he said, adding, “But let’s wait for the FDA determination and, ultimately, the CDC recommendation.”
Pfizer and BioNTech on Tuesday asked the FDA for emergency use authorization for their COVID-19 vaccine for children under 5. Pfizer and BioNTech said they’ve submitted data for two doses but expect the vaccine to be a three-dose series, and that the data for the third dose will be provided in the coming months.
The FDA’s advisory committee will meet on Feb. 15 to review the Pfizer vaccine for use in children under the age of 5. The advisory committee is an independent group whose vote is nonbinding, but the FDA takes it into consideration when making a final decision.
The vaccine would then need to be authorized by the FDA. The CDC advisory committee would then need to meet for recommendations, and it would also need to be approved by CDC director Rochelle Walensky.
-ABC News’ Cheyenne Haslett
Feb 02, 4:05 pm
More than 100,000 Americans have died from COVID since Thanksgiving
Since Thanksgiving, there have been more than 100,000 confirmed COVID-19-related deaths in the U.S., according to federal data.
The U.S. is reporting an average of nearly 2,300 new COVID-19-related deaths each day, the federal data show.
However, the nation’s death toll remains significantly lower than last winter when the U.S. peaked at about 3,400 deaths per day.
About 126,000 Americans with COVID-19 are currently in hospitals — down from 160,000 patients at the nation’s peak 13 days ago.
But 14 states are struggling with ICU capacities of 15% or less: Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oklahoma and Texas.
-ABC News’ Arielle Mitropoulos
Feb 02, 3:10 pm
US Army will ‘immediately’ discharge unvaccinated soldiers
The U.S. Army “will immediately begin separating Soldiers from the service who refuse to be vaccinated,” the Army announced in a press release.
“Army readiness depends on Soldiers who are prepared to train, deploy, fight and win our nation’s wars,” Secretary of the Army Christine Wormuth said. “Unvaccinated Soldiers present risk to the force and jeopardize readiness. We will begin involuntary separation proceedings for Soldiers who refuse the vaccine order and are not pending a final decision on an exemption.”
The Army was the last of the military services to say it would remove service members who didn’t comply with the Secretary of Defense’s mandatory vaccination order. In the fall, the Army issued temporary guidance that soldiers who didn’t get vaccinated would be “flagged” so they would lose a command, not be promoted or would only remain until their contracts expired.
Under the earlier flagging policy, six commanders were removed from command, and 3,073 soldiers received reprimands. Wednesday’s announcement begins the discharge process for those 3,073 soldiers.
According to Army statistics, 96% of the Army’s approximately 475,000 soldiers are fully vaccinated, and 97% have received at least one dose.
(WASHINGTON) — As the COVID-19 pandemic has swept the globe, more than 5.7 million people have died from the disease worldwide, including over 894,000 Americans, according to real-time data compiled by Johns Hopkins University’s Center for Systems Science and Engineering.
About 63.9% of the population in the United States is fully vaccinated against COVID-19, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern:
Feb 03, 9:46 am
Medicare to start paying for at-home COVID-19 tests
Medicare will cover the cost of at-home COVID-19 testing kits starting this spring, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced Thursday.
It will be the first time that Medicare has covered an over-the-counter test at no cost to beneficiaries. The new initiative will enable payment from Medicare directly to participating pharmacies and retailers to allow beneficiaries to pick up the at-home testing kits for free, according to CMS, a federal agency within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services that administers the Medicare health insurance program and works in partnership with state governments to administer the Medicaid assistance program.
CMS said it “anticipates that this option will be available to people with Medicare in the early spring.”
Last month, the U.S. government began requiring health insurers to pay for at-home COVID-19 tests. But that directive did not initially extend to Medicare, which provides health insurance coverage for Americans ages 65 and up, as well as some younger individuals with disabilities.
Feb 02, 4:49 pm
White House prepping to send out COVID-19 vaccines for kids under 5
Vaccines will be made available to the 18 million kids between the ages of 6 months and 5 years “in short order” if they’re authorized and recommended by FDA and CDC later this month, White House COVID-19 coordinator Jeff Zients said at Wednesday’s White House briefing.
“We’ve already secured ample doses and the necessary needles and supplies specially made for kids in this age group. Following FDA authorization, we would immediately begin packing and shipping doses to states and health care providers,” Zients said. “And in short order following CDC recommendations, parents will be able to get their kids under 5 vaccinated.”
Dr. Anthony Fauci, chief medical adviser to the White House, said parents should feel confident that the FDA would only approve the vaccine if it was effective and safe.
“We are anticipating that we will get a good efficacy signal for the use of vaccines in children under 5 years old,” he said, adding, “But let’s wait for the FDA determination and, ultimately, the CDC recommendation.”
Pfizer and BioNTech on Tuesday asked the FDA for emergency use authorization for their COVID-19 vaccine for children under 5. Pfizer and BioNTech said they’ve submitted data for two doses but expect the vaccine to be a three-dose series, and that the data for the third dose will be provided in the coming months.
The FDA’s advisory committee will meet on Feb. 15 to review the Pfizer vaccine for use in children under the age of 5. The advisory committee is an independent group whose vote is nonbinding, but the FDA takes it into consideration when making a final decision.
The vaccine would then need to be authorized by the FDA. The CDC advisory committee would then need to meet for recommendations, and it would also need to be approved by CDC director Rochelle Walensky.
-ABC News’ Cheyenne Haslett
Feb 02, 4:05 pm
More than 100,000 Americans have died from COVID since Thanksgiving
Since Thanksgiving, there have been more than 100,000 confirmed COVID-19-related deaths in the U.S., according to federal data.
The U.S. is reporting an average of nearly 2,300 new COVID-19-related deaths each day, the federal data show.
However, the nation’s death toll remains significantly lower than last winter when the U.S. peaked at about 3,400 deaths per day.
About 126,000 Americans with COVID-19 are currently in hospitals — down from 160,000 patients at the nation’s peak 13 days ago.
But 14 states are struggling with ICU capacities of 15% or less: Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oklahoma and Texas.
-ABC News’ Arielle Mitropoulos
Feb 02, 3:10 pm
US Army will ‘immediately’ discharge unvaccinated soldiers
The U.S. Army “will immediately begin separating Soldiers from the service who refuse to be vaccinated,” the Army announced in a press release.
“Army readiness depends on Soldiers who are prepared to train, deploy, fight and win our nation’s wars,” Secretary of the Army Christine Wormuth said. “Unvaccinated Soldiers present risk to the force and jeopardize readiness. We will begin involuntary separation proceedings for Soldiers who refuse the vaccine order and are not pending a final decision on an exemption.”
The Army was the last of the military services to say it would remove service members who didn’t comply with the Secretary of Defense’s mandatory vaccination order. In the fall, the Army issued temporary guidance that soldiers who didn’t get vaccinated would be “flagged” so they would lose a command, not be promoted or would only remain until their contracts expired.
Under the earlier flagging policy, six commanders were removed from command, and 3,073 soldiers received reprimands. Wednesday’s announcement begins the discharge process for those 3,073 soldiers.
According to Army statistics, 96% of the Army’s approximately 475,000 soldiers are fully vaccinated, and 97% have received at least one dose.
