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The Marine Corps is on the defensive for a second time this month over changes to its famous Infantry Officer Course (IOC). Military communities were abuzz in early February when officials confirmed that successfully completing the Combat Endurance Test (CET) — the rigorous first stage of IOC — would no longer be a requirement for passing the 13-week course. The Corps answered criticism on Feb. 7, but found itself in the same position this week as new standards for IOC’s training hikes were revealed. The course previously required a Marine to complete nine hikes, of which six would be evaluated...

In January 2013, the Department of Defense announced it was removing the combat exclusion ban that kept women out of infantry units and special operations forces like Navy SEALs and Army Green Berets. Where do we stand nearly four years later? Former Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta argued, "If members of our military can meet the qualifications for a job — and let me be clear, we are not reducing qualifications — then they should have the right to serve." And the day the change in policy was announced, Col. Ellen Haring of the U.S. Army Reserves, who filed a...

Have you noticed a white film on your dishes in recent months? As we first reported earlier this year, the reason is a new environmental law. Most manufacturers have reformulated their dishwasher detergents after laws limiting phosphates went into effect last year. Julie Schimpf of Ft Thomas, Kentucky showed me how bad her dishes looked. Julie said "there's this frosty, filmy look on the top and bottom and it won't go away. I'm finding the same film here on the edges of my plates." Complaints Nationwide Our partners at Consumer Reports Magazine have heard many of the same complaints, from...

For 30 years it has been used to test the fitness of officers who police riots and other outbreaks of serious public disorder. The so-called 'shield run' involves officers covering a distance of 500 metres in less than two minutes, 45 seconds while wearing full riot gear and carrying a shield. But when Inspector Diane Bamber, 51, failed to meet the time limit, she claimed she had been left humiliated. She brought a sex and age discrimination case against her force, Greater Manchester Police, and now stands to win up to £30,000 after an employment tribunal ruled in her favour....

Not long ago, honors courses were considered a hallmark of student achievement, a designation that impressed colleges and made parents beam. Now, those courses are vanishing from public schools nationwide as administrators move toward a more inclusive curriculum designed to encourage underrepresented minority students to join their high-achieving peers in college-level Advanced Placement classes. Fairfax County’s public schools are at the forefront of the movement, nudging would-be honors students toward more-rigorous AP courses, despite criticism from some parents that eliminating honors will have the reverse effect and lead some students to choose less-demanding “standard education” classes instead of AP. Honors...

DAYTON -- The Dayton Police Department is lowering its testing standards for recruits. It's a move required by the U.S. Department of Justice after it says not enough African-Americans passed the exam. Dayton is in desperate need of officers to replace dozens of retirees. The hiring process was postponed for months because the D.O.J. rejected the original scores provided by the Dayton Civil Service Board, which administers the test. Under the previous requirements, candidates had to get a 66% on part one of the exam and a 72% on part two. The D.O.J. approved new scoring policy only requires potential...

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed legislation Wednesday that proposed an instant fix for students failing to meet California's standard for proficiency: redefine proficiency. Schwarzenegger concluded that changing a few words won't solve academic woes. "Redefining the level of academic achievement necessary to designate students as 'proficient' does not make the students proficient," his veto message said. Assemblywoman Loni Hancock, D-Berkeley, called the governor's veto of her Assembly Bill 2975 a "missed opportunity" that ultimately will hurt students. "Schools will be labeled as failing schools even if they are making progress and improving their test scores," she said. AB 2975 argued that...

When it comes to education, conventional wisdom argues that it’s better to go to college after high school. Conventional wisdom states that an educated society will spur economic growth, that a college degree leads to a higher income, and that America needs to increase college enrollment to strengthen against international competition. However, in George Leef’s essay, The Overselling of Higher Education, he argues that this conventional wisdom has flooded universities with apathetic students, subsequently causing a “deterioration of academic standards, credential inflation and soaring costs of college attendance.” Leef serves as executive director of The John William Pope Center for...

WND AT THE WHITE HOUSE McClellan sidesteps women-in-combat Spokesman queried about rapes, pregnancies in co-ed military Posted: May 19, 2004 5:40 p.m. Eastern Editor's note: Each week, WorldNetDaily White House correspondent Les Kinsolving asks the tough questions no one else will ask. And each week, WorldNetDaily brings you the transcripts of those dialogues with the president and his spokesman. By Les Kinsolving © 2004 WorldNetDaily.com At today's White House news briefing, WND asked presidential press secretary Scott McClellan about sexual assaults in the military and women in combat. WND: Scott, the top of Page 1 of Sunday's New York Times...