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GAMETIME ABROAD Clemson handles Maryland Gamecocks face upstart Missouri VOL. 119, NO. 12 WWW.THEITEM.COM
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 27, 2013 | SUMTER, SOUTH CAROLINA
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Whistleblower’s lawyer: USAF could do more BY BRADEN BUNCH bbunch@theitem.com Jennifer Smith’s lawyer said the U.S. Air Force has taken a good first step but still has a way to go. Earlier this week, the Air Force announced eight high-
ranking officers at Shaw Air Force Base were reprimanded for various substantiated allegations made by the former female airman, who accused the military branch of creating a sexually hostile workplace for women. Smith, a 17-year highly
decorated enlisted veteran of the Air Force who rose to the rank of technical sergeant, made her formal complaint of various sexual misconduct charges in November 2012, ultimately leading to Maj. Gen. Lawrence Wells ordering an investigation into the
various accusations. In addition, declassified reports from the Smith investigation verified it was the former technical sergeant’s whistleblowing that led to the “Health and Welfare Inspection” ordered last year by Air Force Chief of Staff Gen.
Mark A. Welsh III. During this investigation at more than 100 Air Force installations worldwide involving nearly 600,000 military and civilian personnel, officials removed 631 pieces of pornography, SEE SMITH, PAGE A11
Third Army opens Hall of Heroes
BRADEN BUNCH / THE ITEM
Shirrie Miller, director of the Sumter County Career Center, speaks at a Sumter School District Board of Trustees meeting recently.
Locals still pushing for Career Center name change BY BRADEN BUNCH bbunch@theitem.com
PHOTOS BY MATT WALSH / THE ITEM
Soldiers walk down the newly opened Hall of Heroes at Army Central headquarters on Friday where they observed placards commemorating the 24 Third Army service men, all Medal of Honor recipients, who were inducted into the Hall at Shaw Air Force Base that day.
24 Medal of Honor recipients inducted at Shaw ceremony BY BRISTOW MARCHANT bmarchant@theitem.com An American soldier is not just an individual doing a particular job, even if an occasionally hazardous one. He or she is also meant to embody certain virtues, both of their branch and their nation. Twenty-four soldiers who served with the Third Army/U.S. Army Central have exemplified those values by earning the highest distinction for bravery and sacrifice in the service of their country, the Congressional Medal of Honor. On Friday, their modern-day successors formally SEE HEROES, PAGE A7
Unlike many other issues tabled by governmental bodies, the recent delay in renaming the Sumter County Career Center is apparently not making the proposal fade away. Instead, Sumter School District officials will revisit the proposal to rename the career center on Monday, Nov. 4, from 6 to 7 p.m. in the school’s commons area. At its last meeting, the district’s Board of Trustees tabled efforts to rename the school as the Sumter Career and Technology Center after some board members said they wanted more time to consider the proposal while also learning more about the school’s new direction. The proposed rebranding of the school comes at a time of several changes at the campus next door to Sumter High School. Career Center director Shirrie Miller, who proposed the name change and received the endorsement of interim superintendent Dr. Frank Baker, said at the last board meeting that technological training was becoming the focal point of the campus. Recently the school restarted its mechatronics program with a
Lt. Gen. James L. Terry, left, Army Central commanding general, completes the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the Third Army/U.S. Army Central Hall of Heroes on Friday.
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Fred L. Hatfield Sr. Benny Altman Leconia K. Baker Taylor J. Harrelson
Sondra B. Kessinger Lois Lee Christopher C. Foye A11
SEE NAME CHANGE, PAGE A11
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