Boyer was invited onto the sidelines by the quarterback and the 49ers, Glazer reported. The former staff sergeant, who was in camp with the Seattle Seahawks as a long snapper before being released prior to the 2015 regular season, stood with his hand over his heart during the anthem. Kaepernick and teammate Eric Reed took a knee.

The gesture came during Salute to the Military night at San Diego’s Qualcomm Stadium. Service members in uniform lined the field during pregame festivities, and at least one veteran besides Boyer made his thoughts clear to Kaepernick before kickoff.

When the quarterback left the field following pregame warmups, he was greeted with profanity and obscene gestures from Leo Uzcategui, a 20-year Navy veteran in a military-green Chargers jersey with quarterback Philip Rivers’ No. 17 in camouflage numbering.

“I was in the Navy and I saw men and women bleed and die for this flag,” Uzcategui said. “If he wants to do something, go to some outreach program where he can do some good. And I get it, his First Amendment right. But you don’t sit during the presenting of the colors, and you don’t sit during the national anthem. That is not the way to do it.”

In Oakland, Seahawks cornerback Jeremy Lane also sat on the bench behind his standing teammates as the national anthem was performed before Seattle’s game against the Raiders.

Kaepernick has said he doesn’t intend his stance to be a criticism of the military, claiming he has “great respect for the men and women that have fought for this country.”

Kaepernick’s social activism, which only emerged publicly in recent weeks, also included support for the Black Lives Matter movement through social media.

While negative reaction to the quarterback has been strong, Kaepernick also has been widely praised for his commitment to his stance. Veterans and military members tweeted their support for Kaepernick in recent days under the hashtag #VeteransForKaepernick.

Jim Brown voiced support for Kaepernick while disagreeing with his method of protest. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar called Kaepernick’s decision “highly patriotic” while encouraging him to take further steps to build dialogue between law enforcement and blacks.

Amid the uproar of his emerging social activism, Kaepernick is still trying to win a job with the 49ers less than four years after leading them to the Super Bowl. The quarterback lost the starting job last season, and he hasn’t separated himself from Blaine Gabbert this summer under new coach Chip Kelly.

A Defense Department Inspector General’s Office report outlining some of the program’s failings advises the Army’s assistant secretary of acquisitions, logistics and technology to “proceed with or cancel” the program “after reviewing the results of the 2016 Governmental testing,” which the report says could wrap up by November.

That major decision would come after six years without a program milestone, according to the report. That doesn’t mean nothing’s happened: The launcher malfunctioned at least three times during field tests in Afghanistan — once each in 2011, 2012 and 2013.

The report blames those malfunctions on inadequate training. The weapon was pulled from the war zone after the 2013 incident, according to a Military.com report, which outlined other issues raised by Army Rangers about the XM25’s weight (14 pounds) and limited capacity (five 25mm grenade rounds).

The XM25, known as the “Punisher,” is designed to allow users to control the detonation point of its explosive rounds, letting soldiers engage with targets behind walls, for instance, or in other places where traditional line-of-sight weapons would prove inadequate.

A 2013 memo from the commanding general of the Maneuver Center of Excellence raised concerns similar to those put forward by the Rangers, especially regarding a perceived drop in war-fighting capacity if a soldier turns in his rifle to carry the launcher. The officer’s name is not provided in the report, but then-Maj. Gen. H.R. McMaster led the MCoE from mid-2012 into 2014.

The XM25 program has been delayed five years, but a major decision could come on the launcher by the end of 2016.

Photo Credit: Sgt. 1st Class Raymond Piper/Army

Figures are moving targets

The MCoE report suggested a new, lower procurement figure, one that Army officials said “would have increased the average unit cost of the XM25 to an unaffordable amount,” according to the IG.

But a 2015 report, compiled after Program Manager-Individual Weapons officials spoke with the Army’s seven other centers of excellence about expanding the XM25’s fielding, recommended ordering so many launchers that the same Army officials again said it would be “unaffordable.”

The Army has not released a decision on a final fielding figure. Charts outlining such proposals were redacted from the DoD IG report, as were all figures dealing with program costs. One passage, for example, notes that as “a result of the weapon malfunction and the [redacted], Army officials extended the development effort and XM25 [research, development, test and evaluation] costs have increased from [redacted] to [redacted] between February 2013 and March 2016 — a [redacted] increase.”

One hint: The Army reclassified the program under Acquisition Category II after the IG’s 2014 report, meaning its total costs are expected to top $835 million or its development costs will top $185 million, or both. It previously was an ACAT III program, putting it below those figures. ACAT II programs can range up to $2.79 billion.

The Army agreed with the report’s recommendation to make an XM25 decision after the current round of testing. Officials partially agreed or disagreed with some of the other recommendations, which primarily involved the maintenance of supporting documentation for procurement decisions. 

Army officials did not immediately respond to a request for further comment about the report, including confirmation that some of the program assessments and briefings regarding the XM25 scheduled for mid-August had been completed.

The program’s initial production decision has been delayed five years, per the report, with an original date of early fiscal 2012. The XM25’s development began in 2000 as part of the Objective Individual Combat Weapon program, which was cancelled in 2005.

The Army recently strengthened its insider-threat training protocols, requiring more soldiers to receive in-person presentations on the topic instead of completing computer-based coursework.

The incident, which occurred between the soldier’s verdict and sentencing hearings, prompted several changes to the policies for escorting accused soldiers and for those found guilty, according to the Army’s internal investigation obtained by The (Clarksville, Tenn.) Leaf-Chronicle through a Freedom of Information Act request.

At about 1 p.m. on July 30, 2015, a court-martial at the Kentucky post found Master Sgt. Timothy Shelton, of West Virginia, guilty of several charges of sexual abuse of a child. Shelton’s sentencing hearing was expected to begin after a lunch break at 2 p.m. During this time, Shelton was escorted to his attorney’s office and then to a separate room to speak with his family, according to the investigation.

The officer in charge, whose name was redacted from the document, “determined that it was not appropriate to shackle MSG Shelton during these meetings with his attorneys and family,” the document stated.

This decision was found to be in accordance with Fort Campbell’s escort policy.

“This decision is not inconsistent with the Fort Campbell escort policy, which states that hand and leg restraints may be removed ‘at the request of legal counsel’ so long as security is maintained,” according to the investigation.

Shelton then asked whether he could go outside to his vehicle to retrieve his ACUs, which is the required uniform for the confinement facility, the documents stated. The request was approved and Shelton was escorted to his car in the adjacent parking lot and back to the courthouse without incident.

Things took a dark turn, though, once Shelton asked to go to his car a second time. At about 1:30 p.m., Shelton asked if he could return to his car to retrieve prescription medication he left in his truck.

As they escorted Shelton to his truck, one of the escorts received a phone call from their commanding officer and remained near the front door while the other escort followed Shelton. While going through a box in the back of the truck, Shelton retrieved his revolver where he then used it on himself, according to the investigation. No one else was injured. Military police quickly secured the scene and initiated the investigation.

The incident prompted a Facebook post from the public affairs office which mentioned the shooting outside the courthouse on the military installation. It stated no one else was injured and an investigation was underway.

• “The 101st Airborne Division should review and update the division’s escort policy to encapsulate the lessons learned from this tragic incident. I recommend that the PMO (Provost Marshal’s Office) and the OSJA (Office of Staff Judge Advocate) staff the escort policy to ensure that all participants in future courts-martial are secure and that the policy is fully consistent with legal precedent. All Soldiers assigned as escorts for Soldiers that have been accused of committing a crime should be senior in rank to the accused Soldier. Also, escort details should not be assigned to the same unit the accused Soldier is, to avoid complacency. The policy should clarify when a Soldier needs to be restrained, the rank and duties of the escort team, the accused’s ability to leave the courthouse and the accused ‘s ability to access his vehicle during the court-martial.”
• “The 101st OSJA should establish a standardized escort briefing procedure that will fully implement the updated escort policy. The 101st OSJA should be required to brief all escorts verbally and in writing on their duties and responsibilities. Each escort should be required to sign the counseling to indicate that they understand their duties.”

Service members of all ranks from all branches will be eligible for membership, as will military retirees, contractors, military family members and federal civilian

workers, according to an Aug. 1 Facebook post and a follow-up  article in the base newspaper.

The move comes at the direction of Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall commander Col. Patrick Duggan. Duggan told the paper that his inspiration came from Gen. George Patton, who used the Virginia club’s building as his headquarters prior to World War II, while the then-colonel commanded the installation.

“Patton believed any well-trained soldier, regardless of rank, could have monumental impacts in modern-day mechanized battle,” Duggan told the Pentagram. “Patton believed in soldiers, not rank.”

The club’s changes are far from unique. USA Today reported in 2009 that seven officers clubs were left on Army installations, compared with about 100 in the late 1970s.

An Army Installation Management Command spokesman told Army Times that four such clubs remained, but the IMCOM list included the clubs at Fort Myer and Alabama’s Redstone Arsenal, where the Officers and Civilians Club became The Summit in 2012.

That leaves just Fort Belvoir, Virginia, and Fort Jackson, South Carolina, according to IMCOM: Events at both clubs are open to all military members, guests, and others on post, while membership at the clubs remains restricted and allows for discounts on meals and other services.

Both allow for civilian members with GS-7 or equivalent standing. The Fort Belvoir club is open to senior enlisted (E-7 and above).

Fort Jackson spokesman Patrick Jones said the club’s busiest days often come thanks to some of the Army’s least-senior members, as soldiers graduating basic training celebrate “Family Day” by dining with visitors.

Back at the Fort Myer club, the new membership policy takes effect Sept. 1. Officials plan to announce the club’s new name that day in the base newspaper; community members have been asked to vote for their favorite name from a list of finalists.

What began as an Army vs. Navy argument in Oklahoma City turned dangerous when one of the participants left the verbal exchange and returned with firearms, according to a police report.

Oklahoma City police arrested Joshua Brown, 30, on multiple weapons charges after he allegedly made good on a threat early Saturday morning to return to the scene of an argument about service superiority with weapons. He’d been asked to leave by the alleged victim and his brother when he brandished a gun during the spat, Oklahoma City’s KOCO-TV reported, citing court documents. The men had been drinking, per the report.

He came back a half-hour later with a pistol and an AR-15 while wearing a “Jason”-style hockey mask, according to the news report. The alleged victim, who is identified in a police report as Navy-affiliated, pointed his gun at the man. Both agreed to lower their weapons and Brown agreed to leave the scene, but he fired shots into the air before departing, per the police report.

One bullet went into the alleged victim’s home, KOCO reported. Police arrived on scene shortly after the gunshots and recovered .40-caliber and .223-millimeter shell casings, according to the arrest report.

Brown turned himself into police on Monday. He was charged with pointing a firearm, shooting into an unoccupied dwelling and possessing a firearm while intoxicated.