Free Republic

The town of Sheridan is expected to briefly shutdown Friday as 1,000 law enforcement officers from across the United States are expected to pay their respects to fallen police Sgt. Nevada Krinkee who was killed in the line of duty earlier this month. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Sheridan Police Sgt. Nevada Krinkee, his wife Karla and their daughter. (Courtesy Kane Funeral Home; Cowboy State Daily Illustration) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Sheridan, a tightknit northern Wyoming community nestled in the foothills of the Bighorn Mountains, is about to experience a traffic congestion of epic proportions over the next few days. As many as 1,000 law enforcement officers...

In a poignant and critical statement, “Brock Michael,” a former soldier of the U.S. Army’s 82nd Airborne Division, has expressed his profound disappointment and frustration with the Biden regime. Michael, who recently concluded his four-year active duty, shared his grievances in a now-deleted video during his gear turn-in day, a standard procedure for departing military personnel. Michael’s primary contention revolves around being charged an exorbitant amount for military equipment he was ordered to abandon during the tumultuous withdrawal of U.S. forces from Afghanistan. The charges, totaling $3,561, come as a shock to the soldier, especially considering the circumstances under which...

A United States Army soldier, who recently separated from the service, spoke out against the Biden administration and claimed he was ordered pay for military gear that he was forced to leave behind during the chaotic and deadly Afghanistan withdrawal in 2021. According to Newsweek, the former soldier shared his story Monday on TikTok, claiming that it was the official gear turn-in day after completing roughly four years of active duty service in the Army’s 82nd Airborne Division. The soldier, who is known as “Brock” on TikTok, said the gear turn-in process made him want to “holler,” “scream,” and “yell.”...

A US Army colonel is being slammed as a murderer for turning away four bus-loads of Americans, friendly Afghans, and 300 orphans during the country's evacuation from Kabul Airport last year - likely condemning them to their deaths. The order from the unnamed colonel was delivered on August 25, less than a week before the last troops were withdrawn from the country as the Taliban tightened their grip on the city. Tim Kennedy, the former MMA fighter turned soldier, was among those who witnessed the incident. He told a new Amazon Prime Video documentary called Send Me Tim Kennedy: ‘(We)...

President Biden told US troops in Poland Friday that they will witness the bravery of Ukrainians fighting off Russia’s invasion “when you’re there” — making a significant gaffe after he previously said the US must stay out of the European conflict to avoid triggering “World War III.” Biden made the remark while addressing members of the Army’s 82nd Airborne Division after lunching on pizza and posing for selfies with dozens of paratroopers at a mess hall in Rzeszow, southeastern Poland. “You’re going to see when you’re there, and some of you have been there, you’re gonna see — you’re gonna...

Maj. Gen. Chris Donahue, commander of the Army's 82nd Airborne Division, was the last soldier to leave Afghanistan, officials said Monday. U.S. Central Command released a picture of Donahue preparing to board the final military C-17 cargo plane to leave Hamid Karzai International Airport...

I understand that the commanding general of the 82nd Airborne Division has told the commander of the British special forces at the Kabul airport to cease operations beyond the airport perimeter. Maj. Gen. Christopher Donahue has told his British Army counterpart, a high-ranking field-grade officer of the British army's 22nd Special Air Service Regiment, that British operations were embarrassing the United States military in the absence of similar U.S. military operations. I understand that the British officer firmly rejected the request. This show of rare tension between the U.S. and British command groups in Kabul reflects three factors. First, it...

FORT BRAGG, N.C. — A salute rained down on the plane carrying Staff Sgt. Ian Paul McLaughlin as it arrived at Fort Bragg. McLaughlin returned home to his family but in the most heartbreaking way. A squad leader assigned to 82nd Airborne Division, McLaughlin was killed in Kandahar, Afghanistan, while conducting combat operations on Jan. 11. Pfc. Miguel Angel Villalon, who was a combat engineer on his first deployment, was also killed.

Former General David Petraeus described President Donald Trump’s decision to eliminate Iranian General Qasem Suleimani in Baghdad as the most significant action against terrorism in the Middle East. “It is impossible to overstate the importance of this particular action. It is more significant than the killing of Osama bin Laden or even the death of [Islamic State leader Abu Bakr] al-Baghdadi,” he said in an interview with Foreign Policy magazine. Petraeus said President Trump had effectively reestablished the idea any Iranian attack against American targets would be met with considerable force. “This is the most formidable adversary that we have...

The United States is sending nearly 3,000 additional troops to the Middle East from the 82nd Airborne Division as a precaution amid rising threats to American forces in the region, the Pentagon said on Friday.Iran promised vengeance after a US airstrike in Baghdad on Friday killed Qasem Soleimani, Tehran's most prominent military commander and the architect of its growing influence in the Middle East.The overnight attack, authorized by US President Donald Trump, was a dramatic escalation in the "shadow war" in the Middle East between Iran and the United States and its allies, principally Israel and Saudi Arabia.As former commander of US forces in Iraq and...

TEL AVIV: Five days ago, an undisclosed intelligence agency intercepted a telephone call made by the head of Iran’s Quds Force, Maj. Gen. Qassem Soleimani, in which he was heard ordering his proxies in Iraq to attack the U.S embassy in Baghdad, as well as other Israeli and American targets, with the aim of taking hostages, Israeli sources say. It’s unclear whether this was a lapse in tradecraft on the part of the usually savvy Soleimani or whether the notorious Iranian military leader’s phone calls were being routinely intercepted. Nor is it clear whether it was the US or another...

FORT BRAGG, N.C. -- After protestors stormed a U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, the 82nd Airborne Division based out of Fort Bragg is preparing to be deployed to Kuwait, according to officials. Defense Secretary Mark Esper later announced that "in response to recent events" in Iraq, and at Trump's direction, he authorized the immediate deployment of an infantry battalion of about 750 soldiers from the Army's 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, to the Middle East. He did not specify their destination, but a U.S. official familiar with the decision said they will go to Kuwait.

GROESBEEK, NETHERLANDS 09.18.2019 - Dutch re-enactors, dressed as Soldiers of 82nd Airborne Division during World War II, parachute out of a Douglas C-47 Skytrain to commemorate the 75th anniversary of Operation Market Garden and begin the ceremony to present the Military Order of William to WWII veterans in Groesbeek, the Netherlands, Sept. 18th, 2019. This event is just one of the many events commemorating the largest airborne operation in history, Operation Market Garden, which was aimed at liberating the Netherlands and gaining a foothold into Nazi Germany by crossing the Maas, Waal, and ultimately the Rhine River. To this day,...

By Peter Roper The Pueblo Chieftain Published: January 28, 2016; Last modified: January 28, 2016 11:01PM Elmer Melchi survived parachuting into Normandy on D-Day and he survived jumping into Holland in Operation Market Garden -- although a German soldier shot him when the young 82nd Airborne paratrooper tried to escape from a POW camp. But death finally caught up with the tough 92-year-old veteran Thursday afternoon, taking him in his sleep at the Sangre de Cristo Hospice here. It was expected. Melchi had cancer and knew he was dying. "My dad went for his last jump," said a tearful...

On Jan. 29, 1945, First Sgt. Leonard Funk, Jr. faced a determined German army officer ready to kill him with a pistol. Armed with a Thompson M1A1 submachine gun, the U.S. Army paratrooper had just led an assault against 15 houses occupied by German troops in Holzheim, Belgium. It was part of an operation by the 82nd Airborne Division to clear German soldiers from the area following the Battle of the Bulge. Leading a makeshift headquarters platoon of clerks, Funk and his unit captured 30 prisoners. He left them with several dozen more prisoners—under guard—and returned to the fight. While...

COLUMBIA, SC — A U.S. Army paratrooper from West Columbia has died in Afghanistan. The cause of the death of Capt. James Edward “Ed” Chaffin, an artillery officer with the 82nd Airborne Division, is being reported by the Department of Defense as a non-combat related incident. It is under investigation. Chaffin died Monday in Kandahar, Afghanistan, according to the military. He is the 48th service member with ties to South Carolina that has died in the Southwest Asian country sincd the war began after Sept. 11, 2001. Another 64 service members with ties to South Carolina have been killed in...

SAN ANTONIO – When Chance Darby received the helmet that saved his life in Afghanistan, he said it successfully stopped an enemy rifle bullet but left him with two big headaches. One headache lasted a few days after the impact from a high-velocity round. The other lasted several weeks as he tried to keep the news of the incident from his mother, Lynlee Darby, and his then-fiancée and now wife, Cheryl. Chance proposed to Cheryl shortly before deploying to Afghanistan with the 82nd Airborne Division. On May 31, 2012, Taliban ambushed his platoon while it was dismantling an improvised explosive...

An Army brigadier general has been charged with forcible sodomy, inappropriate relationships, and possessing alcohol and pornography while serving as a senior commander in Afghanistan earlier this year. Brig. Gen. Jeffrey Sinclair, a deputy commanding general of the 82 nd Airborne Division, faces a possible court martial over the charges handed down Wednesday. In May, Sinclair was sent home to the United States in the middle of his combat tour in Afghanistan, where he was serving in the southern Afghanistan province of Kandahar as the deputy commander of logistics and support for the 82nd Airborne. *snip* A news release by...

A Fort Bragg brigadier general has been charged with forcible sodomy and other offenses involving sex, pornography and alcohol, Army officials said this morning. The Fayetteville Observer has been monitoring the case and learned of the charges this morning. Fort Bragg officials will hold a press conference this afternoon. "Brig. Gen. Jeffrey A. Sinclair has been charged with multiple violations of the Uniform Code of Military Justice," said Col. Kevin V. Arata, the 18th Airborne Corps public affairs officer. Charges include attempted violation of an order, violations of regulations by wrongfully engaging in inappropriate relationships and misusing a government travel...

*snip* Sometimes when Rhonda hugged Hero she would softly pet her face and coo, “Justin, are you in there?” It was Rhonda’s gentle way of remembering their son and his last living connection to Hero. At one point, Hero wandered off and took a stroll in the backyard. All of a sudden, the clouds broke and a light began to solidify in a beam directly down on Hero — a kind of vertical halo.