Here are the top stories for the week of Aug. 3, 2020, straight from AWN News 6 Correspondent, Jolene McNutt:

First Woman Tasked as Commander of Army Reserve

Army Lt. Gen., Jody Daniels, has been named the new commander to the U.S. Army Reserve. This is the first time a woman has ever served in this position. “A career intelligence officer, Daniels has been deployed to Iraq and holds a doctoral degree in computer science,” said USA Today.com. The story shared that women make up about 16 percent of the active-duty military. “Daniels’ military career has been a mix of active and Reserve duty,” USA Today reported. She follows in her father’s footsteps, who was a lieutenant colonel and who deployed to Vietnam. Daniels accepted command at a small ceremony at Fort Bragg, N.C. on July 28.

Potential Top New Cybersecurity Position at White House

There may be a new top cybersecurity position coming to the White House. “The position would serve as the principal advisor to the president on cybersecurity strategy and policy,” said Federal News Network. The position was promoted by Jim Langevin, the chairman of the House Armed Services Emerging Threats and Capabilities Subcommittee. The committee submitted an amendment to the 2021 National Defense Authorization Act in the House to provide for this position and two supporting positions.

NDAA would create National Cyber Director position in White House

Push for Regular, Reliable Data in Military Spouse Unemployment Tracking

Rosemary Williams, a specialist executive with Deloitte Consulting LLP co-authored a report pushing for more reliable data in tracking military spouse unemployment. “The fact that military spouse unemployment is three times more than even the peak of veteran unemployment only further underscores the need for solid data gathering to shine light on this important issue,” Williams told Military Times. Numerous surveys have been collected over the past decade, but the numbers range from 16 percent in a survey from Hiring Our Heroes 2017, to a high of 26 percent in a Department of Defense random sampling survey in 2010. The Deloitte report states that regular, on-going reporting is valuable at both a national level and local level, where labor market opportunities vary depending on location of military bases.

This Week in History

On Aug. 3, 1900, Ernest Taylor Pyle was born in Dana, Indiana. Ernie Pyle went on to be a Pulitzer Prize-winning American journalist. He’s best known for his work as a war correspondent during WWII. He wrote stories about ordinary American soldiers. Ernie Pyle was killed by enemy fire during the Battle of Okinawa on April 18, 1945, at the age of 44. President Harry Truman said, “No man in this war has so well told the story of the American fighting man as American fighting men wanted it told. He deserves the gratitude of all his countrymen.”