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ISKANDARIYAH — Shiite and Sunni Muslims came from far and wide Sept. 2 to begin working together for the greater good of their country. Sparked by a successful recruiting campaign, these Iraqis crossed over their sectarian boundaries and started their journey toward becoming the newest members of the Iraqi Army. Congregating at the compound of 2nd Battalion, 4th Brigade, 8th Iraqi Army Division, located adjacent to Forward Operating Base Iskandariyah, home of 1st Battalion, 501st Airborne, 4th Brigade Combat Team (Airborne), 25th Infantry Division, these new recruits arrived by the truck load to be processed and transported to their basic...

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Has Apple delayed Mac OS X 10.5 - aka Leopard - to October? That's certainly what some unnamed industry sources have claimed, suggesting the delay has been made to allow the company's coders to get the OS' Boot Camp utility compatible with Windows Vista.

Report: Apple to Charge for Boot Camp$29 for the option to dual boot OS X and Windows A report at MacScoop claims that according to leaked report from Apple, the final release of Boot Camp when released will cost users roughly $29 USD. Boot Camp has been available as a free public beta since early 2006 when Apple made its first transition to Intel processors. The software add-on allows x86 Mac users to install a fully working copy of Windows XP, which ran natively on their x86 Macs. Users who use Apple's Boot Camp are able to install and separately...

January 22, 2007 Boot Camps Gaining Popularity With Korean Parents, Not Kids By CHOE SANG-HUN POHANG, South Korea — Spitting plumes of white smoke, a wave of South Korean amphibious assault vehicles lands on the freezing cold beach. Inside the armored vehicles, schoolchildren huddle in oversize helmets and camouflage fatigues. Some look terrified, but one girl snaps open a hand-held mirror to check her face before the landing. A 14-year-old boy dozes all the way to the beach. “Some of these kids are hard cases to crack,” said Sgt. First Class Shim Sang-kyu, a crew-cut marine, shouting above the noise...

As he took the stage to usher Windows Vista to market, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer last week tried to put the software's laborious birth behind him. The company's 71,000 employees -- and the entire PC industry, for that matter -- could be excused for breathing a sigh of relief, too. "It's an exciting thing to finally be here, and that's probably all I'll say about the past," Ballmer said at the unveiling from Nasdaq's cylindrical high-tech building in New York's Times Square. Office 2007 and Exchange Server 2007 also were introduced, and 30 more products will follow over the next...

<p>PENSACOLA, Fla. (AP) — Eight former juvenile boot camp guards have been charged with aggravated manslaughter in the death of a teenage boy.</p>

Hollywood may have to tone down its portrayal of the military's screaming, in-your-face boot camp drill sergeant. In today's Army, shouting is out and a calmer approach to molding young minds is in, says the head of Pentagon personnel. The Army says it has reduced by nearly 7 percent the number of recruits who wash out in the first six to 12 months of military life.

(CNN) -- A teenager who died at a Florida boot camp was suffocated by guards who were restraining him, a medical examiner has determined. The teen's mother hailed the findings, saying "the truth is out," but a lawyer for one of the guards accused the examiner of giving in to political pressure. Martin Lee Anderson, 14, died in January after he was restrained and struck by workers at the boot camp for juvenile offenders. No charges have been filed in connection with Anderson's death. Initial autopsy results in February had determined Anderson died from complications from sickle cell trait, which...

Educators get an eyeful at boot camp PARRIS ISLAND, S.C. -- With spittle flying from his lips, Staff Sgt. Craig Finger herded 38 wide-eyed new recruits off a bus and onto the yellow footprints where generations of young men and women have begun their transformation from civilian to Marine... Each year, the Marines pay for nearly 2,000 educators to observe four days of basic training, or boot camp, to reach people the corps considers "key influencers" of young people... Last year, the program helped the Marines meet their goal of 32,000 new recruits despite suffering heavy losses in Iraq, having...

Please excuse the vanity - its for a good cause. I have a friend at work whose cousin has joined the Marines and is leaving in a few weeks, presumably for Parris Island. As many do, the family is throwing a celebratory party before he leaves. My friend would like to get her cousin something, preferably that he can use in boot camp or shortly after. As neither of us has close recent experience with someone entering the military, we're not sure what is useful or appropriate. Some things I suggested: Phone cards Stationary and stamps Are these good suggestions?...

PANAMA CITY, Fla. - Lawmakers and the family of a teenager seen on videotape being kneed and struck by juvenile boot camp guards are calling for the immediate arrest and prosecution of the guards. The Bay County Medical Examiner ruled that Martin Lee Anderson died of internal bleeding caused by a genetic blood disorder. But his family said Friday they believe the boy died because of the 30-minute beating that took place hours before the 14-year-old died. The U.S. Justice Department is investigating possible civil rights violations. Gov. Jeb Bush said he did not support calls to shut down the...

New recruits used to be welcomed to boot camp here with the "shark attack." For decades, drill sergeants in wide-brim hats would swarm around the fresh-off-the-bus privates, shouting orders. Some rattled recruits would make mistakes. A few would cry. Today, the Army is opting for a quieter approach. "I told my drill sergeants to stop the nonsense," says Col. Edward Daly, whose basic-training brigade graduates about 11,000 soldiers a year. Last fall, Col. Daly began meeting with all new recruits shortly after they arrive at boot camp to thank them. "We sincerely appreciate the fact that you swore an oath...

On Oct 20, 2005 I was reading my Sgt Grit’s American Courage Newsletter #108 when I found a letter from a very determined young lady named April Cheek. (You can read her letter at the link, it's about the 10th letter in the newsletter). Anyhow, I was genuinely touched by her determination and I wanted to let her know that, so I decided to write her. I only knew her first and last name from the newspaper, so I looked up the female recruit schedule and found that female recruits arriving Oct 10th would be in Papa Company. I sent...

This is not your father's boot camp. Apparently, there have been some pretty big changes in the operating procedures of those infamous Army training centers where young men and women go to get, shall we say, seasoning for the rigors of military life. Veterans who went through the process 20 or 30 years ago might not recognize it today. And a lot of what they see, they might not like. The Pentagon has put military personnel on notice that it won't tolerate abuse or mistreatment of recruits by drill sergeants or anyone else. The higher-ups have even made an example...

I have a nephew that will be starting boot camp for the Marine Corps. My wife and I are interested in getting him something that might be useful to him at boot camp. We would be interested in any insight that our fellow freepers might have into what a young man might need in his first months as a Marine. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

The Army, struggling amid the Iraq war to sign up new soldiers, will miss its March and April recruiting goals, but hopes to attract more recruits with a patriotism pitch, the Army's leader said on March 23, 2005. The Army and Marines, providing the ground forces for Iraq, have run into recruiting troubles while the Navy and Air Force have not. The Marines in January and February missed their goals for signing up new recruits. A Marine Corps drill instructor yells at a recruit at Parris Island, South Carolina January 6. Photo by Shannon Stapleton/Reuters

An autopsy revealed 19-year-old Jason Tharp drowned last week during water survival training at the Marine Corps boot camp at Parris Island, S.C.Video shot on Feb. 7, the day before Tharp's death, by NBC affiliate WIS-TV in Columbia, S.C., shows Tharp, visibly shaken and almost terrified, taking a forearm shot from a Marine drill instructor.In the Marines only five weeks, Tharp had written seven letters home telling his family he wanted out. His father, John Tharp, claims Jason had been singled out by drill instructors because he couldn't keep up with the rigorous basic training."I don’t know how they could...

“Turn ’em on, Fire Watch. Turn the lights on,” he shouted, as he and the other drill instructors stormed between the bunks, yelling at the young recruits to get up and face another grueling day. And they had better move fast, fast, fast! For the next several minutes, the recruits counted off, put on their fatigues, boots and caps — performing each task on command, always being yelled at, constantly shouting back at the top of their lungs, "Aye, sir!" Next, they would make their bunks — exactly right — and sweep the squad room, crawling along the floor like...

I remember watching a news clip of a Marine Infantry unit preparing to deploy from Camp Lejuene during the First Gulf War. I watched a young, squared away sergeant move competently among his men checking their gear and speaking quietly to them despite the rude, intrusive glare from the TV camera lights. Damn… I was proud of him and there was a muted urge to be there and be part of it again welling up deep from inside me. A few years later, I stopped at Quantico when I had a chance to go back there for a visit in...