Scammers have operated as Exchange Inc. to broker the sales of vehicles and vehicle parts, AAFES said in the announcement. It’s not a new scam, officials said, but it’s recently branched out to include the sale of boat engines.

Some ways to tell whether you’re dealing with an exchange impostor:

• AAFES isn’t allowed to sell vehicles in the continental U.S. If you’re buying a vehicle stateside, you’re not buying from the exchange.
• The scammers frequently request payment via untraceable, generally unrefundable methods, such as third-party gift cards like Google Play cards.
• The transaction comes via a classified ad or a resale website. AAFES only operates on installations and via the exchange web portal.

Shoppers should verify any suspicious payment requests by calling the AAFES customer service line at 800-527-2345, officials said. Those who believe they have been scammed can file a complaint through the Internet Crime Complaint Center at www.ic3.gov.

The “Guardians of America’s Freedom Medal,” created via legislation introduced by Sen. Robert Menendez, D-N.J., is the first official Defense Department commendation for military working dogs, the New York Times reported.

Menendez announced the passage of the legislation on Tuesday at the U.S. War Dog memorial in Holmdel, New Jersey. The award, included in the latest defense authorization act, will be official when President Trump signs the NDAA, something he’s expected to do in the coming days.

The legislation will allow each service to establish its own criteria for the award, Menendez said, according to the New York Times. Each service also will design its own version of the award.

“These dogs endure multiple tours of duty. Some come back having lost limbs and others give their lives in service to their teams,” Menendez said, according to the New York Times. “Yet until now the U.S. military did not recognize the incredible service and sacrifice of working dogs and their handlers.”

The U.S. War Dog memorial, where Menendez made the announcement, features a bronze statue of a Vietnam War soldier kneeling next to his loyal canine companion. The memorial was built in 2006 next to the New Jersey Vietnam Veterans Memorial.

According to the New York Times, several hundred dogs are currently deployed to the Middle East.

Menendez, who cited the life-saving exploits of several working dogs and their handlers who attended Tuesday’s announcement, said there’s no reason why military dogs should be treated as just equipment or animals.

“If we as a nation can strap a Kevlar vest on Cairo and send him on a mission with SEAL Team 6, or we can deploy dogs like Kira or Khrusty or Rudy to dangerous regions around the world, then I think they deserve more than treats and a pat on the head,” he said.

The new measure is a significant change of pace from the way military dogs were considered at the time of the Vietnam War. According to the New York Times, dogs were often considered to be “equipment” and that many were euthanized or given away to the Vietnamese at the end of their service.

“Honoring [the dogs’] service — as well as their partner — I think is incredibly important. You know, we have lost a lot of dogs along the way who gave their lives … others have been maimed for life,” the senator said. “At the end of the day, I think it’s the least a grateful nation can do for them and for their handlers.”

Dorchester County coroner Paul Brouthers said 19-year-old Chandler Ari Dunmeyer shot himself in his mother’s home in the Summerville area on Sunday. Brouthers says his mother heard the shot and found Dunmeyer dead.

Dunmeyer had been free on $50,000 bond from the Horry County Sheriff’s Office. He had been charged with murder in the death of 20-year-old Collee Muirhead of Myrtle Beach.

Police say officers were called to a Myrtle Beach motel in January and found Muirhead’s body. Horry County Assistant Solicitor Seth Oskin told Stars and Stripes that Dunmeyer and Muirhead were involved in prostitution and that Dunmeyer shot her in the head following a disagreement.

Myrtle Beach Police charged Dunmeyer with murder and possession of a weapon during a violent crime, according to Stripes. Dunmeyer later confessed to killing Muirhead.

Dunmeyer was serving in the Army’s 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg at the time of Muirhead’s killing, but was administratively separated from the Army on June 22.

According to Stripes, Dunmeyer was initially granted bond on the condition that he be released into military custody. However, this was altered later to allow him to live with his relatives in Dorchester County.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.

The planned updates to the My Career Advancement Account online portal, including the move to a new website, were slated to run July 19-27. The site remains down after encountering what officials characterized as “unforeseen technical issues” in a Monday Facebook post.

The program is open to spouses of active-duty service members in paygrades E-1 to E-5, W-1 and W-2, and O-1 and O-2, including spouses of activated members of the Guard and Reserve (Title 10 orders) in those same paygrades. It allows spouses to pursue job-related licenses, credentials or academic degrees from MyCAA scholarship-approved accredited colleges, universities or technical schools.

Via social media and in a statement to Military.com, officials said they are working on a temporary plan that would allow eligible spouses to apply for and manage their MyCAA accounts over the phone. Updates on that plan, and on the website’s relaunch, will be posted at the Defense Department’s Spouse Education and Career Opportunities Facebook page, officials said.

A Defense Department spokeswoman told Military.com that spouses already registered with SECO via Military OneSource would receive updates via email, or via phone if requested.

Richard “Gary” Black was shot to death by police in his home in Aurora, Colorado, at 1:30 a.m. Monday while holding the 9mm pistol he used to kill the intruder moments before, The Denver Post reported.

Black, a South Carolina native, served as an Army lieutenant, received a Purple Heart and was awarded a Bronze Star for his actions in the Vietnam War, the Post reported.

The 73-year-old veteran was asleep in his home when the naked intruder kicked in the door and entered the house. Black’s wife, stepson and grandson were also in the home. The intruder grabbed Black’s grandson, who was asleep on a sofa, dragged him to a bathroom, and began choking the 11-year-old in the bathtub, according to Siddhartha Rathod, an attorney for the family.

“This is a horror movie scenario,” Rathod said to the Denver Post, calling Black a hero who saved the boy’s life.

The intruder had not been identified as of Wednesday, the Post reported. He had been attending a nearby party when he ran across a road and into Black’s home, Rathod said. Others at the party followed him onto Black’s property, he said, according to the Post.

Black and his stepson tried to fight off the intruder, and hit him over the head with a vase, but that didn’t stop the attacker, Rathod told the Post. Black got his 9mm and shot the intruder.

Black’s wife called 911 during the intruder’s attack, and Aurora police arrived at what they called a “chaotic and violent scene,” heard gunshots and saw an armed man. An officer with the Aurora Police Department shot Black, who was standing in his living room, the attorney said, according to the Post.

Black died at a hospital soon after. His grandson remained hospitalized as of Tuesday afternoon with serious but non-life-threatening injuries, Rathod said.

The deaths are under investigation by the 17th Judicial District Attorney. The Denver Police Department is assisting in the investigation, according to the report, and the officer who fired the shot that killed Black has been placed on administrative reassignment with pay.

The cadets were rescued Sunday afternoon, Lt. Col. Curt Kellogg, spokesman for the 25th Infantry Division, told Army Times.

The two cadets, who were visiting from the mainland, were participating in land navigation training at Schofield Barracks East Range when they got lost in the midst of the jungle operations training course, a dense, jungle-like environment that covers nearly six square miles, according to the Honolulu Star-Advertiser.

According to the Star-Advertiser, the Army launched a search operation involving about 200 soldiers and vehicles after the two cadets had not returned by noon Saturday. Nearly 23 hours later, the two cadets, who had found a road running through the training area, were picked up by an Army vehicle driving along the route, Kellogg said.

They were exhausted from a night in the jungle but otherwise in good shape, officials said.

Honolulu police and firefighters assisted in the search, Kellogg said.

Col. Fernando Guadalupe Jr. was arrested June 10 and later charged with solicitation for prostitution, according to an incident report by the Richland County Sheriff’s Department. His arrest was first reported by The State.

Guadalupe was arrested as part of an investigation called Operation Full Armor, a sweeping federal and state law enforcement effort to capture online predators.

Operation Full Armor involved the Richland County Sheriff’s Department setting up ads on websites pretending to be 13- and 14-year-old girls in order to seek out people online who wanted to participate in sexual activity with the teenagers. These child predators would show up at the address given, expecting to meet a teenage girl and would instead be greeted by handcuffs.

Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott announced Thursday that 38 people have been arrested so far as part of Operation Full Armor, according to The State.

Guadalupe does not face any charges relating to minors, but he is being charged with solicitation of a prostitute. Guadalupe responded to one of the online posts and showed up at a staged home expecting to meet a prostitute, according to The State. He was arrested by authorities when he arrived.

According to the incident report from the Richland County Sheriff’s Department, Guadalupe propositioned an undercover law enforcement officer for sex and agreed to pay $100 for 30 minutes of “sexual services.”

According to the Army, Guadalupe has been the head of Fort Jackson’s Leader Training Brigade since January 2017. Before Fort Jackson, Guadalupe was the Resolute Support Mission director of staff at NATO headquarters and the chief of doctrine and tactics for the U.S. Army Aviation School of Excellence.

He is a career aviation officer who was commissioned as a second lieutenant at Georgia State University in 1994.

In a statement, Fort Jackson officials said they “are aware of the allegations of sexual misconduct by a soldier assigned to Fort Jackson. The soldier has been suspended from his duties pending the outcome of the investigation.”

Fort Jackson officials are cooperating with local authorities in the case, post officials said in the statement.

“The Fort Jackson leadership takes these allegations seriously,” the statement said. “Sexual misconduct is inconsistent with Army values and the Army profession.”

Army officials referred any other questions to the sheriff’s department.

The change was announced Thursday in a picture that outlined a three-step process, Stripes reported. The message was sent via a command messaging list to DoD personnel.

According to Stripes, the change was made in order to more closely follow Navy policies, and not in response to any specific alcohol-related incidents. While the Navy rules for drinking in foreign countries allow troops to follow local drinking laws, commanders can set the rules based on their discretion, Stripes reported.

In this case, the policy was changed after a recent review and research of Bahraini law determined that it does not establish a drinking age, Lt. Christina Gibson, a U.S. Naval Forces Central Command spokeswoman, told Stripes. As a result, the drinking age was set to be in accordance with the Navy’s policy.

The change will be made through a three-step process to ease the transition, Stripes reported. The first step, which went into effect Thursday, bans the off-base purchase of alcohol by anyone under 21.

The second step will go into effect on Aug. 1 and will ban the under-21 purchase of alcohol on base as well. However, the consumption of alcohol that was purchased prior to the ban on base will still be allowed.

On Sept. 1, a full ban on the consumption of alcohol by anyone under 21 will go into effect.

The press release noted that the current hold on training operations allows personnel and Fort Hood maximum flexibility when it comes to safely conducting firefighting operations both in the air and on the ground. Multiple agencies are assisting in the fight against the fire, including the Missouri Army National Guard and the Fort Hood Fire Department. Multiple units from Fort Hood are also assisting.

The release also noted that the fire, in its current state and location, is not a risk of leaving the installation boundary and also poses zero threat to life and property.

These operations involve both air-water drops on the fire in addition to using bulldozers to “cut and widen fire breaks” in order to contain the fire.

According to Stripes, the fire has been burning for the last four days and is located over 6,500 acres of Fort Hood. Because of the hot and dry conditions throughout the state, Stripes reported that the fires are unlikely to go away naturally until the state gets hit with a significant amount of rain precipitation.

Fort Hood officials said that updates on the progress of the fire will be released when they become available.

Anderson, who commands the Dearborn Army Recruiting Company, quickly sprung into action, relying on his years of combat lifesaver training as he reacted. Anderson grabbed the driver from behind, pulling him from the wrecked vehicle, before quickly realizing that the unresponsive man needed CPR.

Understanding the importance of the timing of CPR compressions, Anderson asked a passer-by to play “Staying Alive” by the Bee Gees — the song has a timing similar to the required cadence of CPR compressions, a trick he learned during Army CLS training.

“I knew I had to do CPR, bu I also needed a tempo for the compressions,” Anderson said, according to an article by Army Training and Doctrine Command.

While he was working on the compressions, another man came and helped Anderson as the two tagged teamed performing CPR as instructors recommend.

After about five minutes, according to Anderson, firefighters arrived at the scene and used a defibrillator on the unconscious man before taking him in an ambulance to the hospital. Anderson was told by first responders that the man had a pulse.

“I don’t want to be called a hero,” Anderson said about his actions on June 12, according to TRADOC. “I stopped to help because it was the right thing to do — not just as a soldier, but as a good human being.”

Col. Wayne Hertel, commander of the Army’s 3rd Recruiting Brigade, praised Anderson for his actions.

“Capt. Anderson displayed tremendous personal courage, made great use of his training and expertise in life saving measures, and positively represented our Army and United States Army Recruiting Command,” Col. Hertel told TRADOC. “I am just glad he was able to be there and make a difference.”