Free Republic

Apache to Al Qaeda: "Happy 9-11, bitches!" (Graphic violence alert)

BAGHDAD, Aug. 29, 2008 – The view from the sky indicates the tide in Iraq may be turning. An AH-64D Apache takes off from Camp Taji, Iraq. Pilots with 4th Squadron, 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment, have enjoyed a less intense and less kinetic mission since arriving at Baghdad International Airport. Courtesy photo  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Soldiers of 4th Squadron, 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment, made the move from Camp Taji to Camp Stryker at the Baghdad International Airport about a month ago. Army Maj. Parker Frawley, the unit’s operations officer, said the squadron already is seeing the...

If YouTube proved the natural home of anyone who happened to find himself in simultaneous possession of a camera phone, some Mentos, and a can of Diet Coke, then the not-yet-two-year-old LiveLeak.com is digging a foxhole for itself. It's become a meeting place for those who blow stuff up and those who like to watch it explode. Troops in the field in Iraq and Afghanistan are the most valued content providers on LiveLeak. The site's unsqueamish emphasis on raw video - it does have some rules, not that you would notice - makes it a destination spot for short...

An AH-64D Apache Longbow helicopter gunship from the 1st Attack Reconnaissance Battalion, 1st Aviation Regiment, prepares for a night mission, May 31, 2008. The 1-1 ARB Gunfighter air and ground crews work around the clock sustaining air operations and are part of the Combat Aviation Brigade, 1st Infantry Division, from Fort Riley, Kan., flying in support of Task Force Iron, 1st Armored Division, in northern Iraq. Photo by Maj. Enrique Vasquez, Combat Aviation Brigade, 1st Infantry Division. TIKRIT — Since the days of early aviation, Army pilots have played a key role in the outcome of ground battles and air...

FORT HOOD, Texas, Feb. 1, 2008 – A 1st Cavalry Division AH-64D Longbow Apache pilot got word that two of his friends, fellow pilots, were shot down during a fierce battle in Najaf, a city in Iraqi army control south of Baghdad, Jan. 28, 2007. Army Chief Warrant Officer 3 Zachary Johnson (right), a pilot with 4th Battalion, 227th Aviation Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division, gets pinned with the Distinguished Flying Cross by Army Maj. Gen. Joseph F. Fil Jr., 1st Cavalry Division's commander, at the Fort Hood Catering and Conference Center on Jan. 28, 2008. Johnson, a Nampa, Idaho,...

According to a press release issued earlier this month by Finjan, a security research firm, compromised Web servers are infecting thousands of visitors daily with malware that turns their Windows machines into unwitting bots to do the bidding of an as yet unidentified criminal organization. Security firms ScanSafe and SecureWorks have since added their own takes on the situation, though with varying estimates on the number of sites affected. All reports thus far say the compromised servers are running Linux and Apache. According to an article on ServerTune.com, the exploit involves a rootkit installed on the compromised server that replaces...

BAGHDAD – An Apache air weapons team killed four insurgents emplacing an improvised explosive device on a dirt road south of Yusufiyah Jan 6.An unmanned aerial vehicle initially spotted the individuals emplacing the IED, and then observed them cross a foot bridge and hide in reeds nearby.The air weapons team from 1st Battalion, 3rd Aviation Regiment, 3rd Combat Aviation Brigade, consisting of two AH-64 Apache helicopters, was called in to engage the insurgents. The pilots were able to identify the targets with the help of the unmanned aerial vehicle.The Apache helicopters fired a Hellfire missile and 30 mm rounds, killing...

A grainy videotape released Tuesday shows a carload of important Al Qaeda terrorists in Iraq being blown up by missiles from a U.S. Army chopper, military officials said. At least one of the dead operatives was a "high-value" target linked to suicide bomb attacks, including the car bombing of the Australian Embassy in Baghdad, an Army spokesman told FoxNews.com. Of the six men killed in the Sunday attack, one was "believed to be an Al Qaeda cell leader known to facilitate attacks and orchestrate suicide bomb attacks," Maj. Alayne Conway of the 3rd Infantry Division told Fox. Conway did not...

U.S. commanders in Iraq have released dramatic video showing a car containing Al Qaeda operatives being blown up by hellfire missiles attached to Apache attack helicopters. The car was destroyed in the mission that military officials say demonstrates greater cooperation between locals and coalition forces in Iraq. One of the terrorists killed in the attack on Sunday is an insurgent who had been imprisoned on Nov. 11 but released shortly afterward. He conducted two attacks on U.S. and coalition forces, including one on Thanksgiving, before being killed, officials said. One of the "high value" individuals targeted "is believed to be...

CONTINGENCY OPERATING BASE SPEICHER, Iraq, Dec. 19, 2007 – In today’s world of technologically advanced aviation, Army pilots alone cannot keep AH-64D Apache Longbow helicopters operational without ground crews. An AH-64 Apache Longbow crew chief conducts final pre-flight checks as he prepares a 1st Attack Reconnaissance Battalion, 1st Aviation Regiment, helicopter gunship for a night mission Nov. 24, 2007. The 1-1 ARB Gunfighter air and ground crews work around the clock sustaining air operations, and are part of the Combat Aviation Brigade, 1st Infantry Division, from Fort Riley, Kan., flying in support of Task Force Iron, 1st Armored Division,...

Half of Army gunships are grounded By Robert Watts, Whitehall Correspondent Last Updated: 2:44am GMT 11/11/2007 Half of the Apache gunships supporting British troops in Afghanistan and Iraq were grounded this summer, new Government figures reveal. A third of the Chinook transport helicopters on operations were also withdrawn from service as they were found not to be "fit for purpose". The heavy toll that the conflicts have had on Britain's air power is revealed in a survey of the state of Army helicopters, conducted by the Ministry of Defence in August. Ministers do not make public exactly how many helicopters...

A Family of Heroes By MAUREEN ROSE - Turret Staff Writer FORT KNOX — The Army’s aviation community is known as a tight-knit family. But the folks with the 8th Battalion, 229th Aviation Regiment (Attack), headquartered at Fort Knox, have taken the family thing to an historic level. The Aviation Support Facility supervisor Dennis McNamara wears two hats, like all the people in the unit. In addition to being a civilian supervisor, McNamara also is an Army Reserve first lieutenant and an Apache helicopter instructor pilot in the 8/229th. McNamara, affectionately called “D-Mac” by his coworkers and family, chalked up...

Left to right, Chief Warrant Officer Terry Eldridge, Capt. Thomas Loux, Chief Warrant Officer Cole Moughon and Chief Warrant Officer Kyle Kittleson pose in front of an AH-64D Apache. The four pilots from 1st “Attack” Battalion, 227th Aviation Regiment, 1st Air Cavalry Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division, reacted quickly when they came upon four anti-aircraft gun trucks and 20 heavily armed insurgents, Sept. 29. Photo by Sgt. 1st Class Rick Emert, 1st Air Cavalry Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division Public Affairs. CAMP TAJI — For the past year, Apache pilots from the 1st Air Cavalry Brigade have conducted countless reconnaissance missions in...

In a February report from Web site tracking and analysis firm Netcraft, the Apache Web server dipped below 60% market share for the first time since September 2002. Subsequent monthly reports indicated that the downward trend had continued unabated. Now, five months later, Netcraft's July Web Server Survey confirmed this decline: Apache again lost ground to Microsoft Internet Information Server (IIS).In July, Microsoft added 2.4 million sites, bringing the total number of Windows Server sites above the 40 million mark, Netcraft found. Microsoft's market share also received a boost, increasing 1% since June to reach 32.8% overall. Apache saw an...

Taiwan Chooses Boeing Over Bell In US$1.5 Billion Helicopter Deal July 10, 2007: 06:47 AM EST TAIPEI (AP)--Taiwan's army wants to buy 30 Boeing Co. (BA) Apache attack helicopters from the United States, an official said Tuesday, in a deal that will almost certainly roil rival China. Col. Dai Kuang-chao said the military opted for the Boeing AH-64D Apache Longbow over Bell's AH-1Z Cobra because it better suited the army's needs. "This fits our military requirements," Dai said. "The Cobra may be a bit newer but it is still not battle proven." The deal, worth US$1.5 billion, still needs the...

Giving up his seat to a wounded soldier, an Army officer strapped himself to the side of his Apache helicopter gunship that airlifted them out of a furious firefight in Iraq, the U.S. command said Monday. The Army called it an "unusual casualty evacuation," but Chief Warrant Officer Allen Crist's selfless act goes way beyond heroism. Realizing that Specialist Jeffrey Jamaleldine needed medical attention fast, Crist put the critically wounded man in his own spot on the two-seat Apache on Saturday. Crist then rigged a harness to strap himself to the fuselage and crouched on the stubby left gun wing...

BAGHDAD, Iraq — Insurgents shot down a U.S. military helicopter south of Baghdad, and the two pilots were rescued with minor injuries, the military said Tuesday. The OH-58D Kiowa Attack helicopter was brougt down by ground fire on Monday. After an Apache helicopter rescued the two pilots, a U.S. warplane dropped two 500-pound, laser-guided bombs on the downed craft to destroy it, the military said in a statement. It gave no further details on the location of the crash and said the incident was under investigation.

Caught in the middle of the Helmand river, the fleeing Taliban were paddling their boat back to shore for dear life. Smoke from the ambush they had just sprung on American special forces still hung in the air, but their attention was fixed on the two helicopter gunships that had appeared above them as their leader, the tallest man in the group, struggled to pull what appeared to be a burqa over his head. Strike force: An Apache gunship on patrol in Afghanistan As the boat reached the shore, Captain Larry Staley tilted the nose of the lead Apache gunship...

Turkey's helicopter gunship saga far from over Monday, April 2, 2007 Strangely, Italian-British AgustaWestland's victory in Turkish bid may lead to purchase of US choppers ÜMİT ENGİNSOY ANKARA/WASHINGTON- Turkish Daily News National Defense Minister Vecdi Gönül says Friday's selection of the Italian-British AgustaWestland as winner of Turkey's multibillion-dollar attack helicopter tender comes as an historic decision, putting an end to a 12-year uncertainty over the Army's key modernization program. But leading defense analysts and industry sources say that it is too early to reach this judgment, because U.S. manufacturers may eventually prove to be theunexpected but actual beneficiaries of the...

The Free Software Foundation has admitted defeat in its attempts to ensure that the forthcoming GNU GPLv3 is compatible with the Apache and Eclipse licenses, meaning that code from some of the leading free and open source projects can still not be merged. "We regret that we will not achieve compatibility of the Apache License, Version 2.0, with GPLv3, despite what we had previously promised," said the FSF in an explanatory document accompanying its latest draft of the GPL. The FSF had hoped to ensure compatibility between two of the most used free and open source licenses, but while it...

February 2, 2007 -- (WEB HOST INDUSTRY REVIEW) -- Internet research organization Netcraft (netcraft.com) announced on Friday the results of its Web Server Survey for February 2007. Netcraft says it received responses from 108,810,358 Web sites, an increase of 1.93 million from last month. According to the survey, Apache had a decline of 442K Web sites this month and saw its share of the Web server market slip by 1.47 percent to 58.7 percent. Netcraft says this is the first time Apache's market share has been below 60 percent since September 2002. Microsoft-IIS on the other hand gained 935K Web...

THE four helicopter heroes who pulled off one of the most daring wartime rescue missions in Afghanistan have told their incredible tale for the first time. They revealed how they hung precariously from two Apaches, braving hurricane winds from the blades and heavy enemy fire to swoop down and pluck the body of Royal Marine Matthew Ford from a Taliban fort.

Royal Marines have carried out one of the most daring rescue missions ever to retrieve the body of a fallen comrade in Afghanistan. It followed a ferocious battle in which 200 British troops backed by artillery, helicopters and aircraft raided a fort believed to be a major headquarters for Taliban militants. Officials say that as the troops advanced they were engaged from several insurgent positions. On retreat they discovered one Marine was missing and four men volunteered to go on a daring rescue mission. Apache attack helicopters were used to mount the raid. They have no room for passengers inside,...

Here's a fun little game about wreaking havoc on the terrorist forces in Iran: Overkill Apache: Iranian Assault

One killed and a casualty American in the crash landing of a helicopter WASHINGTON - a pilot of American helicopter was killed and another wounded soldier Sunday in the crash landing of a AH-64 Apache little after his takeoff of the airport of Kandahar, in the south of Afghanistan, announced Monday morning the American army. An investigation was open. The US army excluded that the apparatus was touched by a shooting enemy and specified that an investigation was open to determine the causes of the accident. The helicopter left on mission when it was crushed on the ground, one...

This is remarkable film footage. This is a night vision movie from Iraq, showing live action against Iraqi insurgents. The pictures were taken from an AC-130 Specter gunship two and a half miles from the target. The guys in the picture are setting up a roadside bomb and planning to ambush an American convoy which followed a short while after the pictures were taken. They were setting up the ambush and were pacing off the distance from the bomb to where the convoy was to pass by. Turn your sound up. The level of effort these Specter crews put forth...

A picture is worth millions of words.

AH-64 Apache and Predator drone gun camera footage in Tall Afar, Iraq(New video of them destroying insurgents)

WASHINGTON, April 2, 2006 – Military officials in Iraq today confirmed the death of two helicopter pilots from Multinational Division Baghdad whose AH-64D Apache Longbow helicopter crashed southwest of Baghdad yesterday, and provided details on recent operations. The Apache crew's remains were recovered following aircraft recovery operations at the crash site, officials said. The crew was conducting a combat air patrol when the helicopter went down "due to possible hostile fire" west of Yousifiyah, officials reported. The names of the soldiers are being withheld pending notification of next of kin. In other news, Iraqi and U.S. soldiers killed four terrorists,...

WHAT A PICTURE - AT OVER TWO MILES AWAY!!Here is what  technology can do in a war zone. The pictures were taken from an  AC130 Specter gunship two and a half miles away.The guys in the picture are setting up a roadside bomb and planning to ambush an American convoy which followed a short while after the pictures were taken. They were setting up for the ambush and were pacing off the distance from the bomb to where the convoy was to pass by.Turn your sound up. http://lvlranch.com/images/iraqiinsurgents-takeout.wmv

It is an incontestable fact that no kind of fortress, wheresoever placed, however strongly manned, however expensively constructed, and however numerous its garrison, has ever given permanent security to a State-has seldom indeed given it even temporary protection. Moreover, a fortress once invested is certain to fall, unless a relieving field-army can beat the besiegers away. We read in the history of one generation of the "virgin" fortress of Ingoldstadt or of Metz, but when we open the records of another generation, we find that its pride has bitten the dust. In some cases a very small fort in a...

WASHINGTON, Jan. 16, 2006 – Two Task Force Ironhorse soldiers were killed today when their AH-64 Apache helicopter crashed, and various operations in Iraq netted terrorism suspects and weapons, military officials in Baghdad reported today. The Apache crashed in a swampy area north of Taji at about 8:20 a.m. while conducting a combat air patrol, officials said. Though emphasizing that it is premature to determine the cause of the crash and that an investigation will be conducted, military officials said the area where the aircraft went down has been known for terrorist activity. The soldiers' names are being withheld pending...

OK he talks a bit of smack. But I give him a pass since if anyone has ever seen Top Gear, you know it blows away any US car show. Top Gear-Lotus vs Apacheyep, needs decent bandwith

This is information and a video the MSM will not show you. The enemy, attempting to use the cover of darkness to gather and prepare to fight our forces, are found out and destroyed: (This video is uncut and graphically violent) Iraqi Insurgent Take Out - http://lvlranch.com/images/iraqiinsurgents-takeout.wmv

WASHINGTON -- Retired 1st Sgt. Mark Matthews, 111, one of the last of the nation's legendary Buffalo Soldiers, died of pneumonia Sept. 6 at Fox Chase Nursing Home in Washington. ---snip--- Fort Huachuca, Ariz., where he was first stationed, was still using local Indians as guides.

MISSION HILLS, Calif. (AP) - Aviation pioneer Jack Real, who helped develop the Apache helicopter and authored a book on his friendship with reclusive billionaire Howard Hughes, has died. He was 90. Real died Sept. 6 of heart failure at Providence Holy Cross Medical Center in Mission Hills, longtime companion Betty O'Connor said. He had suffered from Parkinson's disease and had been hospitalized for nearly a year. ``He was a such a special man and had an influential role in the aviation industry,'' said O'Connor, a former executive administrative assistant at Lockheed. ``He was a very kind, gentle man, but...

CAMP TAJI, Iraq, Aug. 22, 2005 — Day in and day out, aviation brigade aircraft are taken apart for routine “phase” maintenance or to handle problems that come up in daily operation. After looking at an aircraft that’s been taken apart into what looks like a million pieces on a hangar floor, and then put back together, it can take a special breed of pilot willing to be the first one to take it out for a spin. “There's no boredom with this job. It's taxing, mentally and physically, but there's something new every day.” U.S. Army Chief Warrant Officer...

This is how it's done"

Apache pilot was 'loving husband' By Emily Baker Killeen Daily Herald Christopher Chabot Martin was a soldier at heart, said a close family friend. “That’s all the boy was,” said Christy Greenville, a surrogate sister-in-law. “He was our little Army man.” Martin, 31, was killed Monday evening when the AH-64D Apache Longbow he piloted crashed during a training exercise at Fort Hood. Martin, a member of Alpha Company, 1st Battalion, 4th Aviation Regiment, 4th Infantry Division, was promoted posthumously to chief warrant officer 2. The helicopter’s other crew member was treated at Darnall Army Community Hospital and released Monday evening....

KALSU, Iraq (July 13, 2005) -- The AH-64A Apache is the U.S. Army’s principal attack helicopter. It’s equipped with some of the latest avionics and electronics and can be operated almost anytime, in almost any weather, day or night. Here since April and flying the Apache, Task Force 1/151st Aviation Attack Battalion patrols Iraqi air from a small post south of Baghdad. The unit also provides convoy security and protection for warfighters on the ground. And while the unit supports the mission of the 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing (Forward), the firepower they can bring to the fight would be of...

US pilots killed in Iraq helicopter crash Monday 27 June 2005, 17:07 Makka Time, 14:07 GMT US helicopters have been the target of RPG attacks Two American pilots have been killed in a helicopter crash north of Baghdad. The US Army AH-64 Apache attack helicopter crashed in a field and burst into flames at about 11.45am on Monday in al-Mashahda, 30km north of the capital. Iraqi journalist Ziyad al-Samarai told Aljazeera that the aircraft was hit by a rocket in the farm-rich area. The journalist said a meeting of officials was being held in al-Mashahda police station at the time...

U.S. Helo Crashes Near Baghdad Associated Press June 27, 2005 BAGHDAD, Iraq - A U.S. military helicopter carrying two pilots crashed north of Baghdad on Monday, a day after a spate of suicide attacks left nearly three dozen people dead in northern Iraq. An AH-64 Apache helicopter crashed in Mishahda, 20 miles north of the capital, an Associated Press reporter at the scene said. The helicopter was in flames on the ground. There were no immediate reports of casualties. The U.S. military confirmed that a helicopter carrying two pilots crashed near Baghdad. The crash was under investigation and a recovery...

The LAMP (Linux, Apache, MySQL, PHP/Perl) software stack is emerging as a popular and cost-effective Web development platform. This is understandable given that it comprises a free operating system, Web server, database, and scripting language. However, a problem with having a number of separate open source components is integration. The XAMPP project aims to eliminate this problem. With XAMPP, there is no reason for developers to skip over an open source solution when considering Web development platforms. The XAMPP download includes more than just Apache, MySQL, PHP, and Perl. It also includes a number of related open source packages. Included...

U.S. Apache helicopter down in Iraq -military 4 minutes ago BAGHDAD (Reuters) - A U.S. Apache attack helicopter crashed in Iraq on Monday, a U.S. military spokesman said. ADVERTISEMENT "We had a helicopter crash northwest of Taji," Lieutenant Colonel Cliff Kent, spokesman for the 3rd Infantry Division said, referring to a major airbase north of Baghdad. He said an investigation was underway. It had not yet been determined whether there were casualties aboard the AH-64 helicopter, which carries a crew of two, Kent said. Local people said they saw one of a pair of helicopters crash out of the sky...

The main Korean language Mozilla site appears to have been hacked and defaced. While the main www.mozilla.or.kr page is unaffected (it now redirects to the forums), several other pages, including www.mozilla.or.kr/products, have been replaced by the message "Simiens Crew ownz u viva os macacos". Unlike Mozilla Europe, Mozilla Japan and Mozilla China, the Korean Mozilla site is not officially affiliated with the Mozilla Foundation. The community-run site offers localised Korean versions of Mozilla applications, Korean user support forums and a Korean translation of MozillaZine. The site appears to have been attacked by the Simiens Crew, a prolific Brazil-based hacking group....

Lord, Keep our Troops forever in Your care Give them victory over the enemy... Grant them a safe and swift return... Bless those who mourn the lost. . FReepers from the Foxhole join in prayer for all those serving their country at this time. .................................................................. .................... ........................................... U.S. Military History, Current Events and Veterans Issues Where Duty, Honor and Countryare acknowledged, affirmed and commemorated. Our Mission: The FReeper Foxhole is dedicated to Veterans of our Nation's military forces and to others who are affected in their relationships with Veterans. In the FReeper Foxhole, Veterans or their family members should...

A Kuwaiti company is alleging that Boeing Co. failed to pay it for helping persuade Kuwait's government to buy 16 of Boeing's Apache Longbow combat helicopters for more than $900 million. The Kuwaiti company, al-Khaldiya Electronics & Electrical Equipment Co., filed suit in U.S. District Court in St. Louis, seeking unspecified damages for what it says is Boeing's violation of a 1995 contract between the companies. Kuwait's defense minister, Sheikh Jaber al-Hamad al-Sabah, announced the Apache purchase in September 2002. The helicopters are in the process of being delivered, al-Khaldiya said. Boeing denies that it owes al-Khaldiya more money under...

Tired of playing second fiddle in Web hosting, Microsoft is revamping its server software in an attempt to snatch market share away from the popular Apache-Linux combination. When the software giant releases Longhorn Server in 2007, it will introduce a re-architected edition of its Internet Information Services Web server, said Bob Muglia, senior vice president in charge of Windows Server development. The changes will make IIS more modular, which will speed up performance for Web applications, he said. "We're componentizing IIS so you can load just the pieces of the Web server that you really need," Muglia said. "In the...

Project Harmony =============== Motivation ---------- There is a clear need for an open-source version of Java 2, Standard Edition (J2SE) runtime platform, and there are many ongoing efforts to produce solutions (Kaffe, Classpath, etc). There are also efforts that provide alternative approaches to execution of Java bytecode (GCJ and IKVM). All of these efforts provide a diversity of solutions, which is healthy, but barriers exist which prevent these efforts from reaching a greater potential. Proposal -------- We propose that we create a new Apache project, Harmony, that will achieve the following goals : 1) create a Compatible, independent implementation of...

Global Warming Tax   Duke Energy, a leading U.S. electricity and gas utility, announced this week its support for a global warming tax () — essentially a consumption tax on consumers of gasoline, oil, natural gas and coal. The tax is intended to reduce energy use and resulting emissions of greenhouse gases. Duke calls it a “carbon tax,” but we might call it the “Greenpeace tax” in honor of the various radical environmental groups, like Greenpeace (), pushing global warming hysteria and supporting such a tax. But we could also call it the “corporate appeasement tax” in honor of businesses...