Ft. Campbell

A jury in western Kentucky took less than 90 minutes to convict a former Fort Campbell soldier of killing his 3-year-old daughter.

The Kentucky New Era reported that the panel on Friday later recommended a 30-year prison sentence for 24-year-old Charles Timothy Morris for the death of Alayna Adair.

Alayna died July 2, 2011 of blunt force trauma to the head.

As the jury left to weigh a sentence, Morris, an Iraq War veteran, dropped his head and began to cry.

Morris maintained his innocence throughout the proceedings. Christian County Commonwealth's Attorney Lynn Pryor sought a life sentence for Morris.

A Louisville organization that helps homeless people has been awarded a $300,000 grant to provide homeless female veterans and veterans with families with job training to help them succeed in civilian careers.

Volunteers of America in Louisville will receive the funding from the Department of Labor's Veterans' Employment and Training Service. The agency announced Monday it is awarding 22 grants totaling more than $5 million to help about 1,900 veterans.

The Labor Department said services provided will include job placement, on-the-job and classroom training, career counseling, life skills and money management mentoring and help in finding housing.

Gov. Steve Beshear has directed that flags at all state office buildings be lowered to half-staff Wednesday in honor of a Fort Campbell soldier who died while supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.

According to the Department of Defense, Sgt. Corey E. Garver, 26, of Topsham, Maine, died June 23rd, in Zormat, Afghanistan, of wounds sustained when enemy forces attacked his unit with an improvised explosive device. 

He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 506th Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, Fort Campbell, Ky.

Funeral services and interment for Sgt. Garver will be held July 10 at Arlington National Cemetery in Washington, D.C.

Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear is recognizing the latest Ft. Campbell soldier to die in Afghanistan. The U.S. Defense Department has announced that 25-year old Sergeant Justin Rogers died Friday in Bagram from a non-combat related incident that is still under investigation.

The Barton, New York, native was assigned to the Headquarters and Headquarters Battalion, 101st Airborne Division at Ft. Campbell.

Gov. Beshear will order that flags at all state office buildings be lowered to half-staff from sunrise to sunset on the day of Sgt. Rogers’ interment. Arrangements are still pending.

Governor Steve Beshear says he will be working with Kentucky's Congressional delegation to hopefully soften the loss of a brigade at Fort Knox. 

The cuts announced Tuesday will deactivate the Third Brigade Combat Team, which has about 3,500 soldiers.   The number of active duty combat brigades is being slashed as the military returns to pre-9\11 troop levels.

Beshear says not much can be done about the federal decision, but the state can continue to position Fort Knox as a vital resource to the Defense Department.  He suggests building on changes the post made under the military's base re-alignment some five years go.

"We ended up building the biggest office building in this state on Fort Knox to house the Human Resources Command that handles all human resources for the Army," Beshear remarks.  "Why not move human resources for the Air Force, Marines, Navy to that location?"

Beshear claims having human resources for every military branch at one location could be an efficiency measure for the Department of Defense.  In addition, he says officials will be looking at other ways to maximize the use of Fort Knox.

Kentucky's Second District U.S. Congressman says he's hopeful the military will find a replacement for the infantry brigade that will leave Ft. Knox by 2017. Bowling Green Republican Brett Guthrie represents the Hardin County region, and told WKU Public Radio he has been in contact with area leaders since Tuesday's announcement by the army.

"If this happens, are there other opportunities to strengthen Ft. Knox in other areas? I don't think it will replace 3,600 permanent soldiers, but there are ways to make this easier, and possibly bring some other military units on to Ft. Knox," said Guthrie.

The loss of the lone infantry brigade combat team at Ft. Knox is part of the army's plan to cut active-duty personnel by 80,000.

Rep. Guthrie says he's concerned that those in Washington making decisions on the size of the military are doing so based mostly on budget concerns, as opposed to what missions America's armed services should be asked to accomplish.

A wide-ranging plan by the U.S. Army to thin its ranks by 80,000 will lead to the loss of the infantry brigade combat team at Ft. Knox.

Ft. Campbell will also lose a brigade, which typically consists of about 3,500 soldiers, but can total up to 5,000 for certain heavily armored units.

The plan announced Tuesday by U.S. military leaders would decrease the overall number of active-duty combat brigades from 45 to 33, and would also impact Army installations in Texas, Georgia, Colorado, North Carolina, New York, Kansas and Washington.

The military downsizing would dissolve the lone infantry brigade combat team stationed at Ft. Knox by 2017. However, Hardin County Chamber of Commerce President Brad Richardson told WKU Public Radio that there are discussions ongoing about the possibility of Ft. Knox landing some other type of Army brigade.

Richardson stresses any such discussions are very preliminary and in no way set in stone.

The army downsizing in no way impacts the thousands of civilian workers employed at the Human Resources and Recruiting centers at Ft. Knox. Still, Richardson says the loss of 3,300 active duty soldiers and their families would hurt the region's economy. He points out about 70 percent of the military personnel stationed at Ft. Knox live off the post, in communities like Radcliff, Vine Grove, and Elizabethtown.

The Kentucky Supreme Court has upheld the death sentence of a western Kentucky man who pleaded guilty to killing three children and attacking their mother near Fort Campbell.

The high court on Thursday found a judge committed no errors in allowing 41-year-old Kevin Wayne Dunlap to admit to the killings in Trigg County and have a jury decide only if he would be condemned to death or face a lesser sentence.

Dunlap was sentenced to death March 19, 2010. He pleaded guilty to stabbing and killing 5-year-old Ethan Frensley, 17-year-old Kayla Williams and 14-year-old Kortney Frensley when they returned home from school on Oct. 15, 2008 near the Fort Campbell military installation in southern Kentucky.

The military says two Fort Campbell soldiers died in Afghanistan after their unit was struck by an improvised explosive device.

Killed on Monday were 23-year-old 2nd Lt. Justin Lee Sisson of Phoenix, Ariz., and 20-year-old Spc. Robert Allan Pierce of Panama, Okla. They were assigned to the 1st Battalion, 506th Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division.

Sisson joined the Army about a year ago after graduating from Florida State University. Pierce joined in April 2011 and served in Korea before arriving at Fort Campbell last August.

Sisson's survivors include his parents, Kevin B. Sisson and Phyllis M. Sisson, both of Phoenix.

Pierce is survived by his spouse, Christian M. Pierce of Huntington, Ark., and parents, Randy R. Pierce of Panama and Lonnetta R. Dart of Hartford, Ark.

A soldier stationed at Fort Campbell has been killed in Afghanistan.

The Department of Defense said Tuesday that 39-year-old Warrant Officer Sean W. Mullen of Dover, Del., died June 2 of wounds sustained when insurgents attacked his unit with an improvised explosive device.

The attack was at Lashkar Gah, Afghanistan.

Mullen was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 5th Special Forces Group (Airborne), at Fort Campbell.