Army

Roberto Pagan-Franco didn't have a bank account for decades. His employer paid him in cash or with a check that the Baltimore resident took to a check-cashing store. A few years ago he lost his job after a severe illness and for a time was homeless. Not exactly the type of customer you'd expect a big bank to court. But Pagan-Franco enrolled in a PNC Bank program that targets consumers who otherwise might be shut out of the banking system. And today, the 54-year-old has checking and savings accounts at PNC and is in the process of getting a credit card.

Ravens coach John Harbaugh will be honored tomorrow for his support of the U.S. Army. Gen. Raymond T. Odierno , the Chief of Staff of the Army, will present Harbaugh with one of five Outstanding Civilian Service Awards during a ceremony at Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall, Va.  The program honors those who have passionately supported the U.S. Army. The citation that will be presented to Harbaugh by Gen. Odierno, the Chief of Staff of the Army, will read:  “For outstanding service to the United States Army, Soldiers, families, veterans and military communities.

WASHINGTON -- The Army has a message for officers and enlisted soldiers who are friends, lovers or business partners: Your days are numbered.As early as this week, the Army will impose stricter curbs on fraternization: personal relationships of any kind -- with the same or the opposite sex -- that could harm what soldiers refer to as "unit cohesion" and "good order and discipline."The new guidelines will bring the Army into line with the other services, which bar personal or business relationships between officers and the enlisted ranks, regardless of sex.For more than two decades, the Army has permitted such relationships between officers and lower-ranking soldiers so long as they were not in the same chain of command.

Mary Charlotte Sneeringer, a retired Army intelligence worker, died of respiratory failure May 20 at her Mayfield home. She was 95. Born Mary Charlotte Nash in Baltimore, she attended the old St. Katherine's Commercial School in East Baltimore. She did modeling for the Hecht Co. as a young woman. After raising a family, she became an Army civilian employee. She worked at the Intelligence Command at Fort Holabird and was trained as an adjudicator for security clearances. She rose to the GS-12 level and received numerous performance awards.

ARMY (6-5) VS. NAVY (8-3) When: 2:30 p.m. Where: Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia TV: Chs. 13, 9 Radio: 1090 AM, 1430 AM Managing prosperity: Navy has had problems with supposedly inferior teams this season, notably losing to Duke, which had dropped six in a row entering the game. Navy again is favored to beat Army, but this version of the Black Knights is much-improved, having qualified for a bowl for the first time since 1996.

Mary Charlotte Sneeringer, a retired Army intelligence worker, died of respiratory failure May 20 at her Mayfield home. She was 95. Born Mary Charlotte Nash in Baltimore, she attended the old St. Katherine's Commercial School in East Baltimore. She did modeling for the Hecht Co. as a young woman. After raising a family, she became an Army civilian employee. She worked at the Intelligence Command at Fort Holabird and was trained as an adjudicator for security clearances. She rose to the GS-12 level and received numerous performance awards.

The Navy football team will have a new look when it battles Army on Dec. 10. The Midshipmen will sport new Nike Pro Combat system uniforms, which feature the phrase "Don't Tread on Me" on the back inner collar and the upper sock. The Navy anchor is also displayed on the front collar and the pant leg. Navy's Pro Combat gloves are white and show off the image of the anchor. For more on Navy's new uniforms, click here . Watch a video on the uniforms below.  

For three years, Army could take some solace in knowing that the defense was anchored by goalkeeper Tom Palesky, who was instrumental in the team's upset of Syracuse in the first round of the NCAAtournament in 2010. With Palesky's graduation, the Black Knights are hoping that senior Zach Palmieri can fill the void. Coach Joe Alberici said Palmieri deserves the chance to begin the season as the starter. “He's waited his time, three years behind Tom Palesky and served as a very valuable backup,” Alberici said Wednesday.

Navy was selected fifth in the Patriot League preseason poll based on, in part, a 4-9 overall record and a 2-4 mark in the conference last season. The Midshipmen finished out of the top four in the league and failed to qualify for the conference tournament for the first time in school history. Joe Alberici is well aware of those results, but the Army coach said overlooking Navy under the guidance of new coach Rick Sowell would be a mistake. “The demise of Navy is greatly exaggerated,” Alberici said last week.

A Maryland soldier is in Army custody and classified as a deserter - unfairly, relatives say - after he extended a two-week mid-tour leave to take care of his sick wife and their new baby. Republican Rep. Roscoe Bartlett of Frederick has asked the Secretary of the Army to investigate whether the Army mistreated Pfc. Christopher Pfeiffer, 20, of Westminster. Army officials would not comment on whether he faces charges or has received nonjudicial punishment. Lisa Wright, a spokeswoman for Bartlett, said Pfeiffer's case has been brought to the Army secretary's attention, the highest level for such appeals.

Here's a new topic area for BaltTech: Guns. Specifically, Adcor Industries BEAR automatic rifle. I wrote a story today where I covered Adcor , a Baltimore company, has designed a cutting-edge automatic rifle that's currently in the middle of a major Army competition that could replace the M4 carbine (a cousin of the M16.) I toured Adcor's office and machining facility last week, with the owner, Jimmy Stavrakis, and Michael Brown, the inventor of the BEAR. (BEAR stands for Brown Enhanced Automatic Rifle.)

The Army's next-generation carbine may come out of a Highlandtown machine shop best known for making high-volume bottling equipment for major drink makers. Adcor Industries Inc. learned this month that it was among a handful of weapons makers selected to compete to build a possible replacement for the M4, a rifle descended from the well-known M16 and that some soldiers have criticized as unreliable in the dry, dusty conditions in Iraq. Adcor, which employs about 80 people in its block-sized building on South Haven Street, will face some of the biggest names in global gun-making in a race to be the Army's small-arms weapon of choice in the 21st century.

Four players from last fall's top two varsity football teams were among 13 from Maryland schools nominated to play in the 2013 U.S. Army All-American Bowl. Gilman linebacker Micah Kiser and defensive lineman Henry Poggi and Calvert Hall defensive backs Delando Johnson and Kennedy Frazier have been nominated for the Jan. 5 game to be played in San Antonio. The four are among 400 nominees for 90 spots in the annual East-West game. Nine others were nominated from Maryland: Zach Bradshaw, wide receiver, Damascus; Stefon Colbert, wide receiver, Good Counsel; Kirk Garner, defensive back, Good Counsel; Kendall Fuller, defensive back, Good Counsel; Brendan Marshall, quarterback, Good Counsel; Marcus Newby, linebacker, Quince Orchard; Marcell Ngachie, linebacker, Good Counsel; Dorian O'Daniel, linebacker, Good Counsel; and Na'Ty Rodgers, offensive lineman, McDonough.

Johns Hopkins has won 54 of 67 games in this series, including the last six meetings. Army (7-7) lost to No. 11 Lehigh in Friday's semifinal of the Patriot League tournament, which the Mountain Hawks eventually captured. The Black Knights likely won't play in the NCAA tournament, but the Blue Jays (10-3) could use a victory to cement a seed and a home game in the first round. Here are a few factors that could play a role in the outcome at Homewood Field on Saturday. 1) Johns Hopkins' attack.

The situation facing No. 8 Johns Hopkins on Saturday afternoon felt a little familiar to the Blue Jays. Army displayed a few techniques in hopes of obtaining the same result as Navy did against Hopkins a few weeks ago. Like Navy, No. 20 Army used a deliberate offense and stayed within striking distance for most of the first half Saturday, but Hopkins had two scoring spurts in the second half to turn a close game into a 13-6 victory before a...

Rudolph James "Rudy" Redd Sr., an engineer who spent his nearly 40-year career with the Army's Research, Development and Engineering Command at Aberdeen Proving Ground and was an advocate for the mentally ill, died April 27 of a cardiac arrest at his home in the Versailles Apartments in Towson. He was 88. Mr. Redd was born in Charlottesville, Va. After the death of his mother when he was very young, he moved to a home on Druid Hill Avenue, where he was raised by Irene Scott, a close friend of his mother's.

Brendan Buckley, Army Junior, Massapequa, N.Y., defenseman Buckley played a pivotal role in the Black Knights' 6-5 double-overtime upset of then-No. 12 and Patriot League rival Bucknell on Saturday. The 6-foot-1, 187-pound defenseman was tasked with shadowing Billy Eisenreich, and the Bison senior attackman - who has averaged 4.5 points this season - was limited to one goal and one assist. Buckley also led all players with a game-high five caused turnovers and collected one ground ball.

The situation facing No. 8 Johns Hopkins on Saturday afternoon felt a little familiar to the Blue Jays. Army displayed a few techniques in hopes of obtaining the same result as Navy did against Hopkins a few weeks ago. Like Navy, No. 20 Army used a deliberate offense and stayed within striking distance for most of the first half Saturday, but Hopkins had two scoring spurts in the second half to turn a close game into a 13-6 victory before a...

The Johns Hopkins University will use a $90 million award to form an institute that will help the Army develop lightweight materials to better protect soldiers and vehicles, university officials said Wednesday. The Hopkins Extreme Materials Institute will focus on what happens to protective materials at the moment of intense impact. "Both individuals and governments have become increasingly insecure over the last 10 years or so," said K.T. Ramesh, the professor who will direct the institute.

Loyola remained one of two unbeaten teams in NCAA Division I men's lacrosse, as the No. 8 Greyhounds (11-0, 5-0 Eastern College Athletic Conference) scored five of the last six goals to defeat No. 7 Denver, 12-8, Saturday night at Peter Barton Stadium. With the win, Loyola clinched at least a share of the ECAC Lacrosse League regular-season crown. The Greyhounds also clinched the No. 1 seed in the May 2-4 ECAC championships that will be held at the same venue in Denver. The host Pioneers (7-4, 3-2)