http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/army/ en-us Tue, 22 Jul 2008 12:56:06 GMT Focus Forum 15 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2049310/posts Tonight ABC aired their interview with Sen. Barack Obama with correspondent Terry Moran conducting; here is a clip of the segment that ran on ABC's World News Tonight: Moran: If you had to do it over again, knowing what you know now, would you support the surge? Obama: No. Because, keep in mind that -- Moran: You wouldn't? The Pittsburgh Tribune Review http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2049310/posts#comment Tue, 22 Jul 2008 12:56:06 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2045697/posts Last week my wife and I traveled to Fort Hood, Texas to see our youngest son, 1st Lt. Christopher B. Lee, leave with his unit for a 15-month combat tour to Afghanistan. We visited him and his wife, Katie, and our eight-month-old granddaughter Avary, at their military-provided duplex housing on the fort located in Central Texas. Chris’s unit, 1st Battalion of the 26 Infantry Brigade of the 1st Infantry Division (The Big Red One), just missed the Pentagon’s policy change of combat tours from 15 to 12 months, by two weeks. If he had been deployed on or after August... North Star Writers Group http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2045697/posts#comment Tue, 15 Jul 2008 12:14:52 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2044844/posts 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... The New York Post http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2044844/posts#comment Sun, 13 Jul 2008 17:44:46 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2044719/posts Europe's armed forces are underperforming and require Franco-British co-operation to meet future challenges, a think-tank has said. An investigation by the International Institute For Strategic Studies found that only 2.7% of military personnel were ready for overseas operations. In 2007 Europe had some 71,000 military personnel deployed overseas, out of nearly two million service personnel. Europe needs a Franco-British impetus to deal with security crises, it says. Alexander Nicoll, one of the co-authors of the report, said "most European armed forces are unable to live up to their own targets for availability". "The Nato goal - that 40% of land... BBC News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2044719/posts#comment Sun, 13 Jul 2008 08:31:35 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2044553/posts James Corey Glass, apprentice mortician and United States Army deserter, was keeping an unusually close eye on the text messages coming into his cellphone. He was hoping to hear that a court had blocked the Canadian government’s attempt to send him back to the United States. On Wednesday afternoon, the message came: Mr. Glass, 25, could remain in Canada while he appealed his removal order by the country’s Immigration Department. It was a welcome reprieve, he said, but well short of a guarantee that he and other deserters could make Canada their new home. The Canadian government’s effort to remove... New York Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2044553/posts#comment Sat, 12 Jul 2008 21:30:20 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2044346/posts Twenty years ago today (March 24, 2005), Army Major Arthur D. "Nick" Nicholson drove into East Germany to survey Soviet military activity. It was a bright Sunday morning, and he was about to become the last American to die in the Cold War. Relatively few people have heard of Nicholson, even though his killing dominated newspaper headlines around the world for several tense days two decades ago. A handful of people won't ever forget him: A small band of former comrades gathers at his Arlington National Cemetery each spring... I wrote about Nicholson's story in National Review last year. Since... Arlington National Cemetery Website http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2044346/posts#comment Sat, 12 Jul 2008 10:18:47 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2040767/posts A look at the development of the Iraqi security forces. Two provinces have transfered to Iraqi control. The Long War Journal http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2040767/posts#comment Fri, 4 Jul 2008 16:41:52 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2040613/posts ‘Decades later the Declaration of Independence was canonized as American scripture,” the vinegary historian Walter McDougall writes of the nation’s founding document, “but in 1776 it was generally read once — in army camps, taverns, and village greens — cheered, and forgotten.” Its fate might have been to be forgotten forevermore, if it weren’t for George Washington and his Continental Army. When our great adventure in liberty still seemed an impossible risk, they were the embodiment and vindicators of the Declaration. Our nation was born on the shoulders of an army, whose exertions and principled patriotism gave the famous parchment... NRO http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2040613/posts#comment Fri, 4 Jul 2008 05:06:31 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2040460/posts ...the John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School is not even “a pygmy in the lineup of TRADOC schools.” JFKSWCS is missing from the TRADOC listing of branch centers and schools altogether. It is an orphan, with neither guidance nor funding from the U. S. Army organization designed to support it. ***Snip**** ...senior Army leaders have crippled Special Forces doctrine, organization, training, material acquisition, leadership development, personnel management, facilities, and maintenance. “Center and School” is becoming a hollow title; SWCS is being degraded to the equivalent of Ranger School.... SOF magazine http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2040460/posts#comment Thu, 3 Jul 2008 22:32:46 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2040238/posts My Nephew-in-law is in his 3 tour in Iraq. He leads a squad of 22 soldiers who are not near any military base. Our family sends out monthly care packages to him and his men. Last week they lost 3 who were temporarily attached to them for a special mission. With all the bad press out there I would like to send in my next care package "words of praise and encouragement" for these guys. Can you take a minute and write a note to them. I will print out each note separately (that is appropriate) and include it in... none http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2040238/posts#comment Thu, 3 Jul 2008 14:09:36 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2040149/posts A U.S. Army simulation game at Summerfest, shut down after complaints to festival officials, was replaced Wednesday by a modified version in which players shoot at still targets instead of virtual human beings. The decision to reopen “America’s Army” was announced late Wednesday afternoon in a joint news release from the Army and Summerfest faxed to the Journal Sentinel on Army stationery. --------------------- This is a followup to an earlier FR post at: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2039585/posts Milwaukee Journal/Sentinel http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2040149/posts#comment Thu, 3 Jul 2008 11:23:32 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2039585/posts UPDATE: Army shuts down warfare game At the request of Summerfest officials, the U.S. Army on Tuesday removed a virtual urban warfare game that allowed fest-goers as young as 13 to hop into a Humvee simulator and fire machine guns at life-size people displayed on a computer screen. "We're determining it's probably not something that we want to have shown at Summerfest," said John Boler, vice president of sales and marketing, said before the decision was made to request removal of the game, called Virtual Army Experience. The game drew criticism from Peace Action Wisconsin, which called it "totally inappropriate... Milwaukee Journal Sentinel http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2039585/posts#comment Wed, 2 Jul 2008 04:46:23 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2039478/posts CAMP STRIKER, Iraq, July 1, 2008 – During his 13 years in the Navy, Craig Bedard learned how to fight fires. He transitioned to the Army to continue serving his country and to learn a new skill he hopes to practice after his time in the military comes to an end. Army Staff Sgt. Craig Bedard, force protection noncommissioned officer in charge for the 101st Airborne Division’s 3rd Brigade Combat Team, writes down information for surveillance system maintenance in his office at Camp Striker, Iraq, June 25, 2008. U.S. Army photo by Pvt. Christopher McKenna, 3rd Brigade Combat Team,... American Forces Press Service http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2039478/posts#comment Wed, 2 Jul 2008 00:39:59 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2039370/posts Picture worth a thousand words By Michelle Malkin  •  July 1, 2008 04:02 PM Here. michellemalkin.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2039370/posts#comment Tue, 1 Jul 2008 20:40:25 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2039091/posts MANDOZI, Afghanistan - Army Pvt. Justin Fillmore has some family military history. Yet he didn't really know what to expect in his first overseas combat mission. He is here in Afghanistan, he says, because he wanted to give a break to other soldiers, some of them on their second, third or fourth combat deployments. "I'm young enough, I can handle it," Fillmore, 23, of Latrobe says as he sits by a Humvee, smoking a cigarette. "I'm happy it happened, that I got to go while I still had the mind-set for it." The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2039091/posts#comment Tue, 1 Jul 2008 12:13:50 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2038755/posts The U.S. Army's official history of the Iraq war shows military chiefs made mistake after mistake in the early months of the conflict. Failures to recognize the chaos engulfing the country and to send in enough troops to restore order after the 2003 invasion have long been highlighted by critics, but a new report shows the Army assessing itself. CNN.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2038755/posts#comment Mon, 30 Jun 2008 20:18:54 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2038680/posts WASHINGTON -- Army brigades from Texas, New York and Pennsylvania, and two Marine units from North Carolina have been ordered to deploy to Iraq early next year, the Pentagon announced Monday. The units _ which include about 33,000 troops _ would replace forces already in Iraq, and allow the U.S. to maintain 15 combat brigades in the country through 2009 if needed. The units are: _ 1st Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division, Fort Hood, Texas _ 2nd Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division, Fort Hood, Texas _ 3rd Brigade, 10th Mountain Division, Fort Drum, N.Y. _ 56th Stryker Brigade, 28th Infantry Division, Pennsylvania... newsmax.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2038680/posts#comment Mon, 30 Jun 2008 18:03:49 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2038111/posts DURAGI, Afghanistan -- Early morning, and 14 U.S. soldiers stand in a semi-circle for a mission briefing. Four Humvees, engines running, rumble beside them. "We're going to Warshallah today," Army Capt. Sam Karr, 28, of Manhattan, Kan., tells his platoon. "I guess it has, like, 200 bad guys in it. That's nothing, dudes -- we've got 14, so we're good." The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2038111/posts#comment Sun, 29 Jun 2008 13:11:08 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2036707/posts The US Army has ruled the controversial shooting death of a Massachusetts soldier in Afghanistan was a suicide, according to the soldier's family's website. Ciara Durkin, a 30-year-old Army specialist who worked in finance, was found dead with a single bullet in her head on Sept. 28, 2007, at Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan, near her M-16 rifle. At the time, the Army declared that her death was not combat-related, but provided no more public information. "The Durkin family has received the Army's final report into Ciara's death, with their conclusion that she took her own life," her family said... The Boston Globe http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2036707/posts#comment Thu, 26 Jun 2008 14:09:18 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2036290/posts Dear Friend ......I NEED YOUR ASSISTANCE. My name is Sgt.Evans Mark, I am an American soldier with Swiss background, serving in the military with the army 3rd infantry division.With a very desperate need for assistance, I have summed up courage to contact you. I found your contact particulars in an address journal. I am seeking your kind assistance to move the sum of ( $ 25 million u.s. dollars ) Twenty Five million united states dollars to you, as far as I can be assured that my share will be safe in your care until I complete my service here,... Con / Scam Artist http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2036290/posts#comment Wed, 25 Jun 2008 18:13:43 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2034719/posts WASHINGTON — Ever since the Army lost its warplanes to a newly independent Air Force after World War II, soldiers have depended on the sister service for help from the sky, from bombing and strafing to transport and surveillance. But the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have frayed the relationship, with Army officers making increasingly vocal complaints that the Air Force is not pulling its weight. In Afghanistan, Army officers have complained about bombing missions gone awry that have killed innocent civilians. In Iraq, Army officers say the Air Force has often been out of touch, fulfilling only half of... The New York Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2034719/posts#comment Sun, 22 Jun 2008 14:58:22 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2033618/posts I haven't posted a thread in some time, but my sister is freaking out. Her son, 20, was supposed to get on a plane for Germany on Monday (then on to Afghanistan), but he never boarded. He later sent her a text msg and apparently this is all over a woman. I need to know what consequences he faces if he doesn't report soon. Personally, I am shocked. I keep thinking its a joke. UNBELIEVABLE. Any advice is very much appreciated. http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2033618/posts#comment Fri, 20 Jun 2008 00:20:04 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2033438/posts WASHINGTON – The Army general who led the investigation into prisoner abuse at Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison accused the Bush administration Wednesday of committing war crimes and called for those responsible to be held to account. The remarks by Maj. Gen. Antonio Taguba, who's now retired, came in a new report that found that U.S. personnel tortured and abused detainees in Iraq, Afghanistan and Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, using beatings, electrical shocks, sexual humiliation and other cruel practices. "After years of disclosures by government investigations, media accounts and reports from human rights organizations, there is no longer any doubt as to... SacBee http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2033438/posts#comment Thu, 19 Jun 2008 18:07:18 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2031289/posts Casie offers lots of videos over at the link. Right Wing News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2031289/posts#comment Sun, 15 Jun 2008 02:56:18 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2031283/posts Today is not only Flag Day (231 years ago), it is also the 233rd birthday of the United States Army, arguably the oldest military service of our nation. (I say arguably since this celebration dates back to the beginning of the Continental Army. The United States Army wasn’t actually “founded” until 1784, but they consider themselves as descended from that older group.) If you can read this, thank a teacher. If you can read it in English, thank a veteran. Over the years, the United States has sent many of its fine young men and women into great peril to... Drumwaster's Rants http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2031283/posts#comment Sun, 15 Jun 2008 02:38:09 GMT