The Most Talked About Stories This Week on Military.com

Here are the stories generating the most comments this week on Military.com, along with a sampling of responses edited for clarity:

Obama Commutes Sentence of Chelsea Manning

• "As a classified documents custodian among other classified jobs while active duty, I find this pardoning mess to be as treasonous as the release of the documents themselves. This is a slap in the face to anybody punished for minor procedural infractions involving classified information. I witnessed careers destroyed for locking confidential memos in desks instead of safes. It is a sad day for anybody who ever wore a American military uniform." -- cowboyzist


• "Not a pardon. The conviction stands, so does the [dishonorable discharge]. Confinement was reduced. Comparable to [President Richard] Nixon's clemency action for 2nd Lt. William Calley, the platoon leader at My Lai -- reduced the sentence but did not vacate the conviction." -- LTC.D

Millions More Vets to Be Able to Shop at Exchanges Online

• "For those that have not been in a PX or NEX in the last decade or so, be aware that the prices are generally a bit higher than comparable products on the outside. Commissary is where I find my savings, and think it is a shame that disabled vets cannot use that particular privilege unless retired or 100 percent disabled. Even gas on base is generally higher than out in town." -- Debra Milner


• "I've been to the PX and let me tell you, it's not like the ones we might have had during the Nam years. There are some bargains but if you have to make a long drive to get to a military base, it would not be worth it. 198th Light Infantry Brigade, 1968." -- Big White Daddy

More State IDs No Longer Accepted at Bases

• I understand the need for better ID. But, good grief, California driver licenses are OK! One can obtain a CA license with only an utility bill for ID (and demonstrably not an ability to drive). LA Times reports 605,000 licenses issued to illegal immigrants in 2015. My war dog K9 tag requires better ID. -- Military_Watchdog


• Forgive me. The claim made that California's policy of issuing a license to undocumented people somehow threatens base security is silly. The license does not grant access to the base. The card is simply used to identify a person and to access his data in an ever-growing database. -- Nemacolin

Mattis at Odds With Trump on Russia, Backs Women in Combat

• I don't think Mattis's testimony said anything except that he would give President Trump his best advice on any issue. As far as women in combat positions, he said that he wasn't going in with any agenda but would always put the military's ability to perform it's primary functions first. That was a far cry from agreeing with some of the changes brought about in the previous administration. --27633171


• The leadership should send their daughters to the slaughter in the front line of combat, first, just to set a good example for the sheeple to follow. You don't have to look outside of American borders to find the enemy within. --20206797

Air Force Relaxes Tattoo Policy, Allows Sleeves

• A pure disgrace to the service I gave the 30 best years of my life to. Tattoos have no place on a uniform member's body where they can be seen. Personally, and this is only my opinion, an airman's ability to serve is degraded when you decorate yourself in colors that serve no useful purpose. -- patriotman


• I was a USMC 0311 (Rifleman) with K35 in 1968; Vietnam War. Came into country on Jan. 3, 1968. Our weapons platoon had a gunner we called Tattoo. He had tats all over his upper body. That many tats was very unusual in those days. Mostly military tats. We were very happy to go anywhere with Tattoo, and he performed his job. I'm not sure what tattoos have to do with job performance. --21801675

-- Justin Sloan can be reached justin.sloan@monster.com.