Free Republic

President Obama told a joke. He’s a father, he has daughters, he’s allowed to joke about the situation. Fathers do it all the time. Sadly, 70% of the readers of the Washington Post’s article on this subject found the joke offensive, which suggests to me that liberals only have a sense of humor when it comes to fantasy, but not when it comes to real life...

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti, Jan. 19 (UPI) -- U.S. soldiers arrived by helicopter at Haiti's presidential palace Tuesday with some immediately deploying to the general hospital in Port-au-Prince. Officials said the 82nd Airborne Division is providing a combination of humanitarian aid and security, CNN reported. The hospital, like much of the capital, has no running water or electricity a week after the earthquake, and doctors were using vodka to sterilize equipment. "Our primary purpose is in getting to the population, whether it be the distribution of water, food, or, in this case, where they've got medical treatment going on and they're overwhelmed,"...

In a deafening display of military muscle, a detachment of US paratroopers flew into the heart of the Haitian capital yesterday to secure the flattened presidential palace and reassure onlookers that they were on a mission to help, not take control. Four helicopters brought the first of 2,200 American Marines and seamen into Port-au-Prince as thousands of homeless Haitians camping out in the city’s central squares cheered or simply stared. “We are here to provide security to the [central] hospital,” Sergeant Bill Smith said. “We work with the Government of Haiti. We have rules of engagement but we are on...

Only days after Secretary of Defense Robert Gates explained the systemic flaws that allowed the Nov. 5 shootings at Fort Hood to take place, I was shocked at what I saw during one television report this morning -- especially in light of what other television reports have described. A short while ago, Fox News Channel reporter Steve Harrigan was shown standing upon a hill in Haiti where U.S. Army soldiers, which he described as members of the 82nd Airborne, were overseeing distribution of relief supplies to Haitians desperate for food, water and, in many cases, medical attention. As the camera...

Here is a video report on the plan for close to 10,000 U.S. Military Personnel to be on the ground in Haiti, or on ships just offshore by Monday. The speed with which everything can be put in place is being hampered there by the fact that the Port-Au-Prince Airport has only one usable runway, and there are so many planes needing to use it. An entire brigade of 3,500 from the 82nd Airborne is expected to be on the ground by this weekend to provide security in the devastated area. The Aircraft Carrier U.S.S. Carl Vinson should arrive on...

The US is sending up to 3,500 soldiers and 2,200 marines to Haiti to help rescue efforts in the wake of the devastating earthquake. President Barack Obama pledged one of the biggest relief efforts in recent US history and said Haiti would "not be forgotten" in its hour of need. The search for survivors continues but rescuers lack heavy lifting equipment and many are using their bare hands. The Red Cross estimates 45,000-50,000 people are dead and up to 3m affected. BBC correspondents say the situation is increasingly desperate, with aid only trickling in. Mr Obama confirmed that some US...

WASHINGTON, Nov. 30, 2009 – The remains of a U.S. paratrooper reported missing since early this month in western Afghanistan were recovered yesterday, military officials said. The body of Army Sgt. Brandon Islip was recovered from the Bala Murgahab River in Badghis province after a local Afghan resident provided information on his whereabouts, officials said. Islip, a paratrooper with the Army’s 82nd Airborne Division, went missing with another paratrooper Nov. 4 after being swept away by a fast-moving current while on an airdrop re-supply mission in western Afghanistan. The recovery comes weeks after British divers found the body of Islip’s...

SNIPPET: "I finally got around to reading this. Link to the article is here. It is in Arabic. The article starts off talking about the missing 82nd airborne soldiers earlier this month. This piece basically reiterates what Abu Walid al Masri wrote about in his July 2009 book wherein he outlined this strategy and suggested the Taliban adopt it. Key difference being this new piece is an article in an official Taliban publication. The July 2009 book was Abu Walid’s own work, not part of a Taliban sanctioned media publication that has processes of review and approval before things get...

10/6/2009 - BAGRAM AIRFIELD, Afghanistan (AFNS) -- Air Force officials here dedicated a C-130 Hercules to the Soldiers of the Army's 82nd Airborne Division stationed in Afghanistan Oct. 5 at Bagram Airfield. The transport was originally dedicated at Pope Air Force Base, N.C., Oct. 25, 2008, to Fort Bragg's entire 82nd Airborne Division based in North Carolina. Tail number 79282 from the Air Force Reserve 440th Airlift Wing from Pope AFB has official nose art prominently displaying an American eagle in flight surrounding the iconic 82nd Airborne's insignia wings on the aircraft's fuselage. The plane also sports "Bragg-Pope" on its...

August is a seminal month in the history of the airborne, and especially of the 82nd Airborne Division. Aug. 15, 1942, is the birth date of the 82nd and 101st airborne divisions. "Airborne" was already well under way before the magic date 67 years ago when the War Department formally ordered the formation of two divisions of jumpers and glidermen. Battalions of jumpers had been training at Fort Benning, Ga., since 1940, and the high command of the Army was eager to grow the airborne force. By March, a new infantry division, the 82nd, was activated for training at Camp...

SAINT ROBERT, Mo. (July 22, 2009) — A Waynesville High School graduate serving in Iraq received the Bronze Star with valor device for his role as a medic in rescuing Navy personnel from a burning explosive ordinance disposal vehicle that had been blown into the air by a roadside culvert bomb. Sgt. James H. Carter, 33, followed up on that 2007 award by recently being named Medic of the Year for the 3rd Brigade Combat Team in Iraq, to which he’s assigned as part of the 82nd Airborne in his second tour of duty in Iraq. Although he’s the son...

For more than six decades, Howard Manoian revelled in his heroic reputation as one of the legendary ‘Screaming Eagles’ who landed in Nazi-occupied France on D-Day. The World War Two U.S paratrooper said he was wounded in action twice after initially coming down on Sainte-Mère-Eglise – scene of the ferocious battle on June 6th 1944 depicted in the epic film ‘The Longest Day’, starring John Wayne. But after 84-year-old Mr Manoian came to receive yet another decoration at last month’s 65th anniversary of the Normandy landings – this time the Legion d'Honneur, France’s highest award for bravery – his true...

BAGRAM AIRFIELD, Afghanistan, June 3, 2009 – Fifteen months after transferring authority of Regional Command East in Afghanistan to the 101st Airborne Division, the 82nd Airborne Division reassumed command during a ceremony here today. U.S. soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines stand in formation saluting with their Afghan and coalition counterparts during a transfer-of-authority ceremony at Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan, June 3, 2009. U.S. Army photo by Capt. Michael Greenberger  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. The ceremony marks the official transition from Combined Joint Task Force 101 to Combined Joint Task Force 82, with the new unit assuming responsibility for...

WASHINGTON, Sept. 9, 2008 – At the end of 2006, Iraq seemed on the verge of a civil war. Al-Qaida was inciting divisions between Sunni and Shiia Iraqis. The newly elected government seemed ineffectual. Militia groups roamed neighborhoods and intimidated those who did not agree with them. More than 100 U.S. servicemembers per month were being killed in fighting in the country. Today, that number has dropped dramatically, thanks largely to the troop surge and a new strategy that senior military officials credit with laying the groundwork for success throughout Iraq. U.S. officials understood the challenges in Iraq and studied...

The paratroopers of C Co 2-505 Parachute Infantry Regiment (82nd Airborne) celebrate the 4th of July at Patrol Base Olson in Samarra, Iraq -- halfway around the world from their home country.

05/15/07 -- FAYETTEVILLE) (WTVD) -- 82nd Airborne Division Paratrooper, Major Larry Bauguess of Moravian auguess graduateFalls, N.C. died from injuries sustained from enemy small arms fire in Pakistan Monday. The 36-year-old was the operation officer for the 4th Brigade Combat Team's Special Troops Battalion. Bauguess graduated from Appalachian State University in 1993. Public Family Statement by Mrs. Wesley Bauguess An 82nd Airborne Division Paratrooper died from injuries sustained from enemy small arms fire, in Teri Mengel, Pakistan Monday. Maj. Larry J. Bauguess, Jr., 36, of Moravian Falls, N.C., was the Operations Officer for the 4th Brigade Combat Team's Special Troops...

.....Bush Made his speach standing before five of the six brigades of the 82nd Airborne during the Division's annual ceremony to review and inspect the soldiers.....

WASHINGTON, May 22, 2008 – President Bush saluted thousands of soldiers of the U.S. Army’s 82nd Airborne Division during his visit to Fort Bragg, N.C., today. The president cited the soldiers’ distinguished service in Afghanistan and Iraq. “This is the first time since 2006 that five brigades from your division have assembled together,” Bush remarked to troops after performing an in-ranks review of the division. Many of the paratroopers Bush addressed had recently completed 15-month deployments in Afghanistan and Iraq. “We’ve asked a lot of you,” Bush told the soldiers, noting they’ve “achieved difficult objectives in a new kind...

The president could not have chosen a friendlier audience for a message that he has been trying for months to plant with the majority of the American public, which polls show stopped supporting the war long ago. Bush addressed thousands of troops of the storied 82nd Airborne Division, some of whom returned from Iraq barely two weeks ago and others who are preparing for a fourth deployment this fall. To fatigue-clad soldiers lined up in formation across a parade ground the size of a football field or more, Bush presented a point-by-point definition of the success he says is coming...

THE PRESIDENT: I want to thank you for the warm welcome to Fort Bragg. It is good to be at the home of the Airborne and Special Operation Forces. This is my fourth visit to Fort Bragg since I have been honored to be the President. Somehow I always find my way back to the "center of the universe." (Applause.) And every time I come, I look forward to saying: Hooah! AUDIENCE: Hooah! THE PRESIDENT: I'm pleased to be with the paratroopers of the All American 82nd Airborne Division. You know, you and my dad have something in common: You...