(Stars and Stripes)
Word gets around online — especially if the news is bad behavior by troops.
That was reflected in stripes.com's most read articles of 2014, where three of our website's top 10 stories were about troops under investigation over an incident. Social media outrage no doubt propelled the stories to the top of the list.
Stripes.com readers also clicked en masse this year on stories about pay changes, fiscal waste and offbeat news.
Here's our website's top 10 stories of 2014:
No. 10
Biden challenges graduating AF Academy cadets to create 'new world order', by Tom Roeder of The (Colorado Springs, Colo.) Gazette, posted May 28.
In a graduation speech at the Air Force Academy, Vice President Joe Biden urged cadets to "shape a new world order for the 21st century," and to rebuild "America’s foundations, our economic foundations, our moral and strategic foundations."
No. 9
Female fighters of the PKK may be the Islamic State's worst nightmare, by Seth Robson of Stars and Stripes, posted Aug. 30.
Stars and Stripes reporter Robson and photographer Joshua L. DeMotts traveled to Makhmur, Iraq, where they met female guerillas fighting Islamic State militants along with their male counterparts.
No. 8
Feds: Navy engineer tried to steal schematics for new carrier class, by Hugh Lessig and Peter Dujardin, (Newport News, Va.) Daily Press, posted Dec. 5.
A civilian engineer at Norfolk Navy Shipyard was arrested and charged with trying to pass U.S. military technology to the Egyptian government.
No. 7Former Marine wins award for self-portrait, by Victoria Brito, The Brownsville (Texas) Herald, posted May 12.
An Iraq and Afghanistan veteran received a Marine Corps Heritage Foundation award for her striking charcoal painting that portrays her clutching a uniform and American flag.
No. 6
DOD announces changes to imminent danger pay, by Jon Harper of Stars and Stripes, posted Jan. 3.
At the beginning of the year, the Defense Department removed and added regions to the list of areas where servicemembers qualify for imminent danger pay.
No. 5
DOD wants bullet that can change direction after being fired, by Matthew M. Burke of Stars and Stripes, posted Dec. 15.
In a story that went viral online, a YouTube video posted by secretive military tech agency DARPA shows tests for a program to develop ammunition that can change direction in midair.
No. 4Parris Island sergeant major charged in alleged assault during protest, by Rebecca Lurye, The (Hilton Head Island, S.C.) Island Packet, posted June 7.
The sergeant major at Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island, S.C., was charged with third-degree assault and battery after a confrontation with a protester outside the base.
No. 3
Army's top sex assault prosecutor suspended after assault allegation, by Chris Carroll and John Vandiver of Stars and Stripes, posted March 6.
Amid rising reports of sexual assault in the military, the Army's top prosecutor for sexual-assault cases was removed from his job while the Army investigated a report that he had tried to kiss and grope a subordinate lawyer at a sexual assault conference two years prior. The story was picked up by several major media outlets.
No. 2
Report: Pentagon to destroy $1B in ammunition, by Tom Vanden Brook, USA Today, posted April 28.
According to a government watchdog report, the Pentagon plans to destroy more than $1 billion worth of ammunition, some of which could still be used by troops.
No. 1Air Force will take 'appropriate action' over viral POW/MIA emblem photo, by Jon Harper of Stars and Stripes, posted Feb. 15.
A photo that went viral on social media of an airman posing with her tongue "licking" the mouth of the silhouetted prisoner of war in the iconic POW/MIA emblem sparked outrage with readers and veterans and "disappointed" Air Force officials. A spokeswoman at Fairchild Air Force Base identified the airman and said an investigation had been launched.
