After three years a Facebook page dedicated to making violent jokes targeted at female marines has finally been taken down. All it took was a state Representative writing a letter to the Defense Secretary and top military brass to say “Hey, this is really messed up and contributes to the culture of sexual abuse in the military, and you’ve known about it for years, but it’s still there. Maybe you should do something about it?”

Break out the tissues. Four-year-old Alyssa Brown made a very important wish at Snow White’s wishing well at Disneyland recently. She asked to have her father, a Marine serving in Afghanistan, back home with their family. It was a lovely idea but you know what they say, be careful what you wish for…

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It’s safe to say, having body armor that doesn’t fit correctly is almost no armor at all. That’s why we’ve been following the development of body armor for women in the armed forces so closely. Previously, the armor was in a prototype stage and being worn by the 101st Airborne Division out of Fort Campbell, Kentucky. It turns out, the women of the 1st Armor Brigade Combat Team, Third Infantry Division are being deployed to Afghanistan soon and when they do, they’ll be wearing armor that fits.

When Colonel Rob Kiebler returned home from a 14 month stint on active duty, his homecoming happened to perfectly line up with his son Danny’s birthday. Given that his son had very recently fallen in love with Star Wars, it was only natural for him to  dress up like a Jedi and march into his son’s party alongside a bunch of Star Wars cosplay enthusiasts. We hope Danny had a very festive birthday, and we’re glad to see folks continuing to use the Force for good, especially when that good consists of reuniting military parents with their children and putting smiles on the next generation of Star Wars fans’ faces.

(via i09.)

UPDATE: The Hill has since updated its post to say that they were mistaken in reporting that the USS Illinois would be crewed only by women. The Hill left unclear whether this mistake was made completely erroneously or because the Illinois would have more than the usual opportunities for seawomen seeking posts on nuclear submarines. Please enjoy the rest of this post, which is still otherwise about factual gender opportunities or lack-thereof in the U.S. armed forces and Command Sgt. Maj. Jane Baldwin and Col. Ellen Haring’s lawsuit against the mandates that restrict them.

Nuclear submarines have been some of the last holdouts in co-ed military integration worldwide. Long deployments and superlatively cramped and mostly communal living spaces kept most navies from being comfortable with bunking men and women together. The strict economy of space has kept separate bathrooms and sleeping quarters low on the priority list of technological innovations for new submarine classes.

However, in the past year or so, the United States increased the categories of women allowed to set foot on submarines from “female civilian technicians for a few days at most; women midshipmen on an overnight during summer training for both Navy ROTC and Naval Academy; [and] family members for one-day dependent cruises,” to allow women to serve in certain cases. But yesterday, Memorial Day, First Lady Michelle Obama sponsored and announced the creation of the USS Illinois, a Virginia-class nuclear sub that will, when it enteres the Navy fleet in 2015, be crewed by women, exclusively.

The American military is generally pretty cool with cooperating with Hollywood on making military stories look as authentic as possible (while still making the military look honorable). And while they have lent their expertise and image to many fantastical kinds of movies — including Marvel‘s Iron Man — there was just something bugging them about where they fell in the food chain in The Avengers. Namely, were they going to have to answer to the director of S.H.I.E.L.D., Nick Fury? Because apparently, this was unclear, and the military brass were not cool with that. And that’s why the highest level of “official” crimefighting came from the New York National Guard.

One solider had the greatest idea to surprise his son on his birthday. The father, just home from Afghanistan, came to their home dressed up as the Marvel hero Captain America. His son opened the door, also dressed up like Captain America. And had no idea it was his dad. The charade went on for a while with them playing (the kid’s little march is the BEST) until finally the boy’s mom thought it was time to make the big reveal. Watch and “awww.” I’d just like to know when a superhero is going to show up at my door…

(via Best Week Ever)

Two years after the United States Navy (finally) allowed women aboard submarines, the British Royal Navy is preparing to follow suit. The ban is set to be lifted after it was determined that there were no health concerns related to women’s exposure to nuclear reactors. Women could start serving as early as next year.

First, a caveat: It’s Memorial Day weekend, and we’re in no way saying anything disparaging about our men and women in uniform. That said, this is an article about the United States Army using X-Men: First Class as a recruiting tool, telling future recruits that joining the Army is as glorious as being a mutant. That’s the Army — not known for its unconformity — using the X-Men — known fairly well for their unconformity — to recruit soldiers — who are probably expected to conform to Army regulations and rules. And not just that, but the X-Men don’t exactly think that highly of the Army, at least not in X-Men: First Class.

In a first for the United States Air Force Academy, a pair of twins have marked a new milestone — the Robillards have become the first family to graduate four sisters. This week, Amanda and Alicia Robillard followed in the footsteps of their sisters Nicole (Class of 2009) and Lauren (Class of 2007), all pictured above, from left to right. While their sisterly bond helped them throughout their training and education, they made clear that their time at the academy was spent forging their own individual paths.