Ghanaian Hiplife star SkewFaze is beaming with pride as his eldest daughter has been accepted into the US Army.
Taking to Instagram, SkewFaze shared his excitement and immense joy over his daughter’s achievement.
In a viral post, the ‘Gbalagazaa’ hitmaker is seen with his daughter and wife, sharing their blissful family moment with the world.
“By the Grace of God, our 1st daughter has successfully signed and joined THE ARMED FORCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, and at this point, I can’t even begin to tell you how super proud I am as a father. Everything is working according to God’s plan,” he wrote on Instagram.
The heartwarming post has garnered a wave of congratulatory messages and well wishes from fans and colleagues in the entertainment industry.
Samad Oppong, a former player for Asante Kotoko, is set to embark on a new chapter as a military officer in the United States of America, having graduated from the US Academy on November 22, 2023.
A beloved figure during his time at Ashanti Gold, Oppong, who is considered a cult hero, proudly received his graduation certificate in a video shared on GhanaWeb’s platform.
This achievement marks him as the second ex-Kotoko player to join the US Army, following in the footsteps of Michael Adu Amofa.
Oppong had two notable spells with Asante Kotoko, initially from 2009 to 2011 and later returning in 2014 for a brief period before his departure.
Known by the nickname “Okocha” due to his skillful play and resemblance to Nigerian legend Jay Jay Okocha, the 34-year-old retired from professional football and relocated to the USA.
Beyond his military pursuits, Oppong continues to stay connected with the Ghanaian community in Ohio, often participating in friendly games between the Ghanaian and Sierra Leonean communities.
The convictions of 110 black soldiers arrested in the aftermath of the 1917 Houston Riots have been overturned by the US Army.
A military review determined that the soldiers were subjected to unfair trials and were “wrongly treated” because of their race.
Consequently, their records will be reclassified to acknowledge their military service as honorable.
The Houston Riots unfolded following months of racial provocations against members of a regiment referred to as the “Buffalo Soldiers.”
“By setting aside their convictions and granting honourable discharges, the Army is acknowledging past mistakes and setting the record straight,” Secretary of the Army Christine Wormuth said in a statement on Monday.
The 3rd Battalion, 24th Infantry Regiment, constituted one of four regiments consisting entirely of black servicemen, commonly referred to as the “Buffalo Soldiers,” a nickname dating back to the 1860s.
The Houston Riots unfolded on August 23, 1917, stemming from prolonged racial tensions, including the violent arrest and assault of two black soldiers.
Fueled by rumors of additional threats to the soldiers from a white mob, a group of armed black soldiers gathered in the Texas city, leading to confrontations.
Tragically, nineteen individuals lost their lives in the violence, including civilians.
The army subsequently convicted 110 soldiers from the regiment on charges such as disobedience of lawful orders, mutiny, and assault with intent to commit murder.
The aftermath saw the execution of nineteen soldiers, with 13 secretly executed within a day of sentencing. Others received life sentences behind bars.
Historians say the process was “characterised by numerous irregularities”, the Army said.
In October 2020 and December 2021, the Army received petitions from retired general officers requesting clemency for all the soldiers.
Under Secretary of the Army Gabe Camarillo said: “We cannot change the past; however, this decision provides the Army and the American people an opportunity to learn from this difficult moment in our history.”
The Army has said relatives of the soldiers may be entitled to compensation.
The US Army said that the person who shot and killed 18 people in Maine should not have been allowed to have a weapon because he behaved strangely. They had warned about this three months before the shooting happened.
The Army said that Robert Card, who is in the army reserves, was checked in July and they found that he is not able to be sent out for military deployment because they have concerns about his well-being.
Afterward, he stayed in a mental hospital for two weeks before being let go.
Card was discovered deceased on Friday, putting an end to the search for him following the shooting that took place at a bar and bowling alley last Wednesday.
Over twelve people were hurt in the shooting that took place in the city of Lewiston.
In July, the military declared that Card was not suitable to handle a weapon, ammunition, or take part in firing exercises, according to Army spokesperson Lt Col Ruth Castro.
She mentioned that the Army Reserve Command tried many times to get in touch with the reservist.
According to an article on Monday, CNN reported based on sources they did not name, that the army had requested the local police to investigate Card because they were worried he might suddenly become very angry and hurt a lot of people.
Sagadahoc County Sheriff Joel Merry said on Monday evening that in September, a deputy couldn’t find the reservist at his home in Bowdoin on two occasions, which caused an alert throughout the state.
He also mentioned that his office was contacted in May by some family members of Card, who were worried about his mental health and ability to access weapons.
A person working in his office told Card’s Army Reserve training group about something.
There was another incident where Card supposedly hit his friend – another soldier – while they were arguing and threatened his US Army base in Saco, Maine.
The many missed signs on Card have caused a discussion about Maine’s “yellow flag” law, which was approved in 2019.
The law says that authorities have to follow a few steps before they can take guns away from someone who is considered a threat to themselves or others.
This is considered a less strict version of a “red flag” law, which means it has fewer rules for a court to temporarily take away someone’s gun.
Card was not allowed to enter a gun store in a recent situation.
The owner of a store that sells guns in Maine, Rick LaChapelle, said that a person who is 40 years old came to his store on August 5th to pick up a device called a silencer that they bought on the internet.
He had to complete a document that asked: “Have you ever stayed in a mental hospital. ”
Card said yes, according to Mr.
The workers checked the form and told Card that he was not allowed to buy the silencer because of his answers on the questionnaire.
Police said that Card was found dead on Friday night near a river about 10 miles away from Lewiston. It appeared that Card had shot himself.
The United States Army Southern European Task Force Africa has expressed its admiration for the ongoing Medical Readiness Training Exercise (MEDREX) being conducted at the 37 Military Hospital in Accra.
The three-week exchange programme between the US and Ghana Armies is an opportunity for medical personnel from the two countries to showcase and share advance medical procedures, new ideas and knowledge and best practices in healthcare delivery.
It also creates the opportunity for US army medical staff to work with other military and civilian establishments in Ghana and other African countries.
US Major-General Todd Wasmund, Head, United States Army Southern European Task Force Africa, after touring some wards and units of the 37 military hospitals, said he was impressed with how the facility was utilising limited resources and logistics to provide care for patients.
“I am thoroughly impressed by what I have seen today at the hospital. A five-hundred bed teaching hospital making the most of the resources available and giving confidence to the patients, caring for patients and helping them to heal and doing that with the spirit of selflessness and giving. It is so refreshing to see,” he said.
He thanked the US Army Medical Team for its participation in the programme, which formed part of the larger exercise – African Lion 2023.
Commander James Aggrey-Orleans, Ghana Navy, and the point-of-contact for the MEDREX, said the programme had enhanced the capacity of participating medics to work in difficult environments with limited resources as well as learn more advanced practices in the medical field.
The month-long MEDREX programme (May 13 to June 18, 2023) is the US Africa Command’s largest annual joint exercise involving Ghana, Morocco, Senegal and Tunisia, with about 8,000 personnel drawn from 20 nations.
It is a platform for military health specialists from the U.S. Army and their African Partners to exchange medical practices, procedures and techniques that build and strengthen treatment capabilities, resulting in lasting relationships among them.
Open-source intelligence analysis shows that 16 US-supplied armoured vehicles have been lost by Ukraine in recent days. This comes after the Ukrainian military declared that three Russian settlements had been taken during an attack in the eastern Donetsk region.
According to Jakub Janovsky of the Dutch open-source intelligence website Oryx, which has been gathering visual proof of military equipment losses in Ukraine since Russia’s invasion began on February 24, 2022, the 16 US Bradley infantry fighting vehicles either destroyed or damaged and abandoned in recent days represent nearly 15% of the 109 that Washington has given Kyiv.
The Bradley fighting vehicle, which moves on tracks rather than wheels, can hold around 10 troops and is used to transport personnel into battle while providing supporting fire.
When the first batch of more than 60 Bradleys were sent to Ukraine at the end of January, US Army Lt. Col. Rebecca D’Angelo, commander of the Army’s 841st Transportation Battalion, said the armored vehicles would be important to Kyiv’s offensive operations.
“This is going to hopefully enhance their capabilities to provide forward advancement in the battlefield and regain lost ground, by having equipment that matches or exceeds what the Russians have,” D’Angelo said in a US Army report.
But when Washington announced in January it would supply to Bradleys to Ukraine, CNN military analyst James “Spider” Marks, a retired general, said the Bradleys would need the right mix of other abilities, including air support, long-range artillery and incisive intelligence.
“A single piece of equipment like the Bradleys is wonderful, but it needs to be used in conjunction with all those other enablers,” he said at the time.
Air support is one area where Ukraine’s military is lacking, although Kyiv’s forces are expected to get F-16 multi-role fighter jets from Western allies in the future.
The Bradleys are among almost 3,600 pieces of military equipment Ukraine has lost in the war, according to Oryx. Meanwhile, the website says it has documented the loss of more than 10,600 pieces of Russian military equipment.
In a statement in Monday, Moscow claimed it had destroyed multiple Ukrainian armored vehicles in the Zaporizhzhia region.
“Enemy armored forces are currently launching more and more attacks in the [Zaporizhzhia] direction. However, Russian anti-tank troops stand in their way, cold-bloodedly turning Western armored vehicles into scrap heaps,” the Russian Ministry of Defense said.
The statement did not say what kind of vehicles were destroyed.
Despite the loss of the Bradleys, Ukraine reports it has taken back at least three villages from Russian forces in fighting over the weekend.
Ukraine’s advance south from the front-line town of Velyka Novosilke in the Donetsk region now stretches somewhere between 5 and 10 kilometers (3 to 6 miles), according to information released by Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar.
Writing on Telegram Sunday evening, Maliar said the village of Makrivka had been recaptured from Russian control – the third in a string of settlements that sit along the Mokri Yaly River to be declared liberated by Ukrainian forces over the course of the day.
Earlier, videos emerged showing soldiers hoisting the Ukrainian flag from buildings in Neskuchne and Blahodatne.
CNN military analyst Mark Hertling said the situation was positive for Ukraine from both morale and battlefield perspectives.
“It reinforces the fact that they are moving forward,” Hertling told CNN’s Jim Acosta.
Meanwhile, “every single piece of land Ukrainian forces can pull back to their sovereign territory is going to be part of a march toward operational success,” Hertling said.
Reporting on developments, Russian military bloggers offered a pessimistic assessment of the situation facing the Kremlin’s forces in the area. The Rybar Telegram channel suggested late Sunday that Ukraine’s offensive looked set to continue, adding that Russian forces “should expect the pressure to intensify in the near future.”
Fighting is taking place near the village of Urozhaine, slightly further down the river, Rybar reported. The channel added that heavy cloud and rain were also limiting Russian forces’ ability to use drones to repel the Ukrainian advance.
A Ukrainian army spokesman said Russian forces had blown up a dam on the river, adding that there was flooding on both banks but saying it “would not affect our counteroffensive actions.”
On Monday, Ukraine accused Russia of blowing up another small dam along the border between Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia, near the village of Novodarivka.
Floodwaters spilled over both banks of the Mokri Yaly River after the dam of a small reservoir near the village was destroyed, according to Ukraine’s Military Media Center.
Novodarivka is one of several villages in the area that Kyiv’s troops have claimed in recent days.
In its most recent battlefield roundup, Russia’s Ministry of Defense made no mention of retreats but said its forces had “destroyed the concentrations of manpower and equipment” of three Ukrainian brigades operating in the same area.
Further west, in neighboring Zaporizhzhia region, Russian airstrikes and artillery fire by the Vostok brigade had succeeded in pushing back three Ukrainian advances south of Orikhiv, the Russian Defense Ministry said.
Meanwhile, a Ukrainian army spokesman told CNN that Kyiv’s forces have been counterattacking around the eastern city of Bakhmut for a week but downplayed its importance saying, “this is not a major offensive.”
“These are counterattacks where we take advantage of the fact that the enemy is rotating, that the enemy has not fully reconnoitered, has not fully coordinated its units, has not fully dug in. We take advantage of this and counterattack them,” Serhii Cherevatyi told CNN by phone.
He said Russian forces continue their shelling towards Ukrainian positions but said Ukraine’s forces had advanced up to two kilometers (1.25 miles) in places.
Cherevatyi said Russia’s presence in Bakhmut was maintained by airborne troops, with support from infantry personnel and mercenaries from several smaller private military companies.
While Russian forces continue to hold the city, Ukraine’s forces have concentrated their efforts on areas to the northwest and southwest.
Hertling noted that Ukraine has been using a “deep-strike capability” to disrupt Russian supply lines well back from the front lines.
“Ukraine has been very good in terms of striking deep targets that effect the logistics support,” Hertling said.
A Ghanaian-American family in the US is mourning the passing of their son who died at a military base in Alabama.
The news has left the family and close friends of the deceased soldier in trauma and shock.
According to the military, the 21-year-old soldier, Pvt. Abdul-Nafsu Latifu was killed in an “altercation with another soldier” at the Alabama Army post, Fort Rucker, where he was training to become an Army air traffic control operator.
A source revealed that news about his demise was published on local websites in Alabama as early as 11:30 am CST, even though his next-of-kin was officially called four hours later to report that he had been hospitalised and in critical condition.
Pvt. Abdul N. Latifu, until joining the US Army, lived in New York.
He is described as very smart and respectful by all who have encountered him.
As relatives, friends and neighbours visit his New York home to mourn with the family, eulogies and questions continue to pour in.
“He was full of life and one of the smartest lads I’ve come across”, a neighbour said. “I cannot seem to comprehend this news because Latifu will not fight anyone for any reason, at best he walks away. So, I’m dumbfounded, to say the least”, another maintained.
“Something is not right about this; someone needs to start saying what really happened, not what they’re feeding us, what are they covering up?” a teary friend of the deceased lamented in disbelief.
Preliminary comments from Jimmie Cummings, a Fort Rucker Public Information Officer, only speak to events surrounding the hospitalisation of the deceased following injuries sustained during the supposed altercation.
The communication also suggested the detention of another soldier involved in the incident but falls short of identifying him or her.
The alleged attacker is said to have used an Army-issued steel folding shovel in the assault that caused Pvt. Latifu his life.
A follow-up statement issued by the U.S. Army Aviation Center of Excellence and Fort Rucker said no formal charges have been filed, but Army Criminal Investigation Division agents are probing the incident.
Maj. Gen. Michael McCurry, the commander of Fort Rucker stated, “On behalf of the U.S. Army Aviation Center of Excellence and Fort Rucker, I extend our deepest condolences to Pvt. Latifu’s family, friends and community,” McCurry said in a statement. “Together we mourn the loss of a promising young soldier.”
Pvt. Latifu was a trainee in the Army’s Advanced Individual Training programme at Fort Rucker where he was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 13th Aviation Regiment, 1st Aviation Brigade.
Loved ones and close friends of the murdered soldier say the communication from the military smacks of a seeming cover-up. It is unclear how far investigations have gone in the murder of the 21-year-old son, brother, uncle and promising soldier, but the army maintains it is conclusively probing the matter.
