In Other News: Army boss’ mission: Persuade schools to welcome recruiters; Year after the slap, Chris Rock punches back in new special

Published 12:00 am Tuesday, March 7, 2023

Army boss’ mission: Persuade schools to welcome recruiters

Army recruiters are struggling to meet enlistment goals, and they say one of their biggest hurdles is getting back into high schools so they can meet students one on one. Recruiters received a recent boost from the Army secretary, who spent a few days in Chicago meeting with students, school leaders, college heads, recruiters and an array of young people involved in ROTC or junior ROTC programs. Secretary Christine Wormuth kept asking what can the Army do to better reach young people and sell itself as a good career choice. The Army just had its worst recruiting year in recent history. It’s up to Wormuth and other Army leaders to find creative new ways to attract recruits.

Year after the slap, Chris Rock punches back in new specialA year after Will Smith smacked him on the Academy Awards stage, Chris Rock finally gave his rebuttal in a forceful stand-up special, streamed live on Netflix, in which the comedian bragged that he “took that hit like Pacquiao.” The 58-year-old comedian on Saturday night performed his first stand-up special since last year’s Oscars. “Chris Rock: Selective Outrage,” streamed live from the Hippodrome Theatre in Baltimore, marked Netflix’s first foray into live streaming. Near the start of Rock’s set, he joked: “Anybody who says words hurt hasn’t been punched in the face.”

Inflatable tanks, missiles: Czech firm makes decoy armamentsA Czech company that produces more than 30 different inflatable military decoys, including tanks, armored vehicles, aircraft and howitzers, has seen sales soar over the past year. Its products include U.S.-made HIMARS rocket systems, the weapons that were among the billions of dollars in Western military aid that has helped Ukraine fight off the Russians since the Feb. 24 invasion. Inflatech chief executive Vojtech Fresser won’t say if his decoys are used by Ukrainian forces. The decoys can deceive enemy cameras, thermo-cameras and radars into believing they have pinpointed a valuable target and use expensive missiles to destroy it. While he won’t directly comment on support for Ukraine, he said: “I can imagine that if we want to support a partner country which is in trouble, we would send them inflatable decoys. Or it already has them, and if not, it will have them, for sure.” Fresser said he would prefer to make toys for kids. “But first, we have to secure a safe world for them. Then, we’ll hopefully return to civilian projects.”