| 100% | AAH | 3 | US Army program begun in 1972 to find a replacement after the cancellation of the Lockheed AH-56 Cheyenne (abbr.) |
| 28% | UFOS | 4 | In 2021, the U.S. Department of Defense established a group to examine them (abbr.) |
| 28% | IDA | 3 | Where to find Moscow in the U.S.: Abbr. |
| 28% | MWA | 3 | Fraternal org. founded in 1883, now with over 740,000 members, that was to protect families after the death of a breadwinner. (abbr.) |
| 27% | KOI | 3 | A kind of pond, named after the ornamental fish found in said pond |
| 27% | EFI | 3 | U of Chicago org. devoted to interdisciplinary research in the sciences, named after one of its Nobel winning laureates (abbr.) |
| 27% | CTE | 3 | A degenerative brain disease found primarily in athletes and was the focus of the 2015 film "Concussion": Abbr. |
| 27% | SAWIV | 5 | 2007 horror installment that begins with a microcassette being found in the stomach of the villain |
| 27% | ECKERD | 6 | Florida Presbyterian college renamed in 1972 to ___ College, after Jack, owner of one of the largest drugstore chains of the time |
| 27% | DDT | 3 | Target of a 1972 ban in the U.S. |
| 26% | BRINGUPTOSPEED | 14 | Loop in, and a hint to the progression found at the ends of the answers to the starred clues |
| 26% | XXXXX | 5 | Sound of touching glasses in a toast (and a hint to finding the contest answer) |
| 26% | THERESAMAY | 10 | Head of the only government in U.K. history to be found in contempt of Parliament |
| 26% | JAMES | 5 | ___ A. Garfield, 20th President of the U.S.A. and the fourth to sport a beard in office |
| 26% | LINCOLN | 7 | Abraham ___, 16th President of the U.S.A. and the first to sport a beard in office |
| 26% | HARRISON | 8 | Benjamin ___, 23rd President of the U.S.A. and the fifth to sport a beard in office |
| 25% | SOH | 3 | Beginning of the phrase ending in "CAH-TOA" which has been a blessing to many trig. students over the years |
| 25% | NPR | 3 | Media network for Susan Stamberg, the first woman to anchor a nightly news program in the U.S. |
| 25% | GRANT | 5 | Ulysses S. ___, 18th President of the U.S.A. and the second to sport a beard in office |
| 25% | ORR | 3 | Marian ___, mayor of Cheyenne, WY since 2017, who was in the news due to a spat with the Governor of Wyoming in 2019 |
| 25% | DANAE | 5 | Princess who became pregnant with Perseus after Zeus came to her in the form of a shower of gold |
| 25% | TAPS | 4 | Link to this solo (and a copy of the words, too) can be found on the Army Study Guide website |
| 25% | ELMO | 4 | Saint ___ Brady, first African American in the US to obtain a Ph.D. degree in chemistry (University of Illinois, 1916) |
| 25% | TRUMAN | 6 | Harry S. ___, 33rd President of the U.S.A. and the last (so far) to sport a beard in office |
| 25% | LETSCALLITADAY | 14 | "I think we're done here" … or a hint to translating each of the four shaded words in this puzzle |
| 25% | CLEF | 4 | In music, a symbol normally placed at the beginning of a line of music to indicate the pitch |
| 25% | OHS | 3 | Cries of surprise ... with a hint to all the non-Y vowels found in this puzzle |
| 25% | SEEMEAFTERCLASS | 15 | Ominous message at the top of a returned assignment ... and a hint to the beginning of four answers in this puzzle? |
| 25% | ERA | 3 | The Postwar ___ (span of US history that began in 1945) |