Iran says it recovers information from U.S. sailors’ devices

Iran has retrieved thousands of pages of information from devices used by U.S. Navy sailors who were briefly detained in January, the country’s state television reported March 15.
The report quotes Gen. Ali Razmjou, a naval commander in the powerful Revolutionary Guard, as saying that information filling about 13,000 pages was retrieved from laptops, GPS devices and maps.
He said the move falls within Iran’s rights under international regulations, and that the information recovered could be used in “various fields.” Iranian authorities returned all the devices taken from the Americans even though it had the right to confiscate them, he said.
The Guard plans to publish a book on the incident based on international reactions and coverage of the event, Razmjou added.
The U.S. Navy’s Bahrain-based 5th Fleet, which is responsible for American naval forces in the Gulf, said it was aware of the report but had no immediate comment.
The sailors, nine men and one woman, were detained for less than a day in January after they drifted into Iranian waters off Farsi Island, an outpost in the middle of the Persian Gulf that has been used as a base for Revolutionary Guard speedboats since the 1980s. AP
 

Marines alter women’s uniform policy to cover more tattoos

The U.S. Marine Corps is making it easier for women to cover up tattoos by allowing them to wear crew-neck undershirts beneath their uniforms.
The Marines made the change March 10 after U.S. Rep. Chellie Pingree complained that its dress policy unintentionally discriminated against female recruits. Men are allowed to wear crew-neck T-shirts.
Last month, the Democrat from Maine urged the Marine Corps to amend its rules and accept 20-year-old Kennebunk resident Kate Pimental. She has a tattoo just below her collarbone that says, “Let your smile change the world but never let the world change you.”
The Marine Corps has a strict policy on tattoos — especially visible tattoos. Recruits can have no more than four tattoos, and they cannot contain any vulgar, racist, sexist or anti-American words or images or references to drugs. Additionally, sleeve tattoos that cover the arm are prohibited, as are visible tattoos on the neck.
The altered dress code means Pimental can now cover her tattoo, which she got shortly after turning 18.
“There is nothing I want more than to be able to serve as a Marine,” she said.
Gen. Robert Neller, commandant of the Marine Corps, said in letter to Pingree that changing the dress code so qualified women applicants like Pimental can join the Marines will “add to the strength and power of today’s Marine Corps.” AP