Free Republic

It has been a while since I have been here but y'all always provide the BEST information! My son is currently deployed in Afghanistan. He is in a very remote area, no internet and intermittent phone. I finally talked to him on Saturday and he said his Commander has selected him for Ranger School!!!! 1 of 6 in his Company! He is so excited as it is something he was going to volunteer for after his deployment. His Capt. said he would go to Pre-Ranger training. The only thing he is worried about is the 5 mile run. He has...

Please, prayers needed. My son who is 14 lost a close friend yesterday in a car accident. We live in a small community and we are devastated. He was riding with a friend and the friends parents, the Mom lost control and the car flipped several times killing Zack instantly. Please pray for both families! My son and his friends would like to have remembrance bracelets made to raise money for the family as they don't have much. I am too scattered right now to think, but can any of you think of a Psalm or Bible verse about friendship...

Curious what people thought of Obama's presentation to Sergeant First Class Leroy A. Petry.

FAIRBANKS - A roadside bomb in Afghanistan killed three Fort Wainwright soldiers on patrol in armored vehicles Monday afternoon, according to a U.S. Army news release. The soldiers were members of the recently deployed 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, which began arriving in the country last month. The bomb also killed a soldier from the unit the Alaska-based soldiers were replacing. Two other soldiers from the Fairbanks brigade were injured. The soldiers were on patrol in Spin Ghbarga, a town in southern Afghanistan’s Zabul province, which borders Pakistan. The 4,000-soldier Stryker brigade is serving a yearlong deployment...

Members of Navy SEAL team 6, the Special Operations unit responsible for killing Al Qaeda leader Usama bin Laden in Pakistan last Sunday, have expressed concerns about their safety and the safety of their families now that details of the mission have been made public. Speaking to Marines at Camp Lejeune Thursday, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said the concerns were expressed to him directly a week ago when he met with members of the unit to congratulate them on their mission. Gates said the SEALs were mainly focused on their families and worried they could be subject to retaliatory attacks....

Hey Y'all My son is leaving for Afghanistan early this week and I am going crazy. I have never felt such strong conflicting feelings in my life. I won't dare express my fears to my son. I am so very proud of him and terrified for him at the same time. To the military Moms and Dads out there....will it get better? Please say a prayer for him and all of our troops!

As commander of coalition forces in eastern Afghanistan and the face of the 101st Airborne Division, Maj. Gen. John F. Campbell carries enormous responsibilities on his shoulders. But in his pockets, and in his heart, the general carries daily reminders of the men and women who bravely follow his orders, in the form of index cards with names and key pieces of information about our fallen troops. "We will remember them as not only soldiers, but as parents and spouses and siblings and coaches and mentors and friends, and most of all here, as Screaming Eagles, " Maj. Gen. Campbell...

VoA News: Afghan President Hamid Karzai and Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Gilani have agreed to boost joint efforts to make peace with the Taliban. Mr. Gilani flew Saturday to the Afghan capital, Kabul, to hold talks with President Karzai.

I know I am preaching to the choir here but I am sick to death hearing about Charlie Sheen who believes himself to be oh so wonderful. Tweets, interviews, and all of this nonsense about a selfish drug addict! Did any of you hear about Staff Sgt. Chauncy R. Mays, 25, of Cookville, Texas Spc. Christopher G. Stark, 22, of Monett, Mo. Spc. Rudolph R. Hizon 22, of Los Angeles, Calif. Pfc. David R. Fahey Jr., 23, of Norwalk, Conn. Sgt. Kristopher J. Gould, 25, of Saginaw, Mich. Spc. Brian Tabada, 21, of Las Vegas, NV. Spc. Andrew C. Wilfahrt,...

He is missing one eye, the roof of his mouth and can barely eat or drink - but America's 'most injured soldier' is going back to war-Actual Title America’s most wounded soldier to return to combat is going back to the front line to serve his country once more. Captain D.J. Skelton will take charge of 192 men from his previous unit and fight in the dangerous plains of Southern Afghanistan. Friends said his achievement should have been physically impossible but he pushed through the pain because of his ‘warrior spirit’.

A friend of mine in academia forwarded this e-mail to me from an Egyptian student whose good sense he vouches for. The student tells a story very different from what most of you are seeing on television or reading in your papers. Unless the author gives me permission to reveal his identity, I am not at liberty to disclose it. [Update: The author, Sam Tadros, has given his permission to publish his name.] - Clarice Feldman **** My apologies for the length of this article, but I see it as extremely important to tell the whole story as it happened.

I am asking for a prayer request for a good friend of my son. They are in the Army together. Wednesday evening he went to the hospital because he was spitting up blood. After testing they found he does not have any platelets to stop the bleeding, they gave him a transfusion and it failed after a while. They think he might have Leukemia, and he has been medivacted to another hospital where they are doing bone marrow tests. Please pray for him, he is only 25 and has a young son. Thank you!

Just had to post about how proud I am of my middle son, who enlisted in the Army and took his oath today! He will be heading to Fort Benning in Aug. and then to Airborne School! That is the 2nd one this year! Just realized when my boys leave the nest, they really leave! LOL!

Hey y'all Just wanted to give anyone who is interested the movie Restrepo is being shown on On Demand under the National Georgraphic Channel. Unbelievable documentary that follows the 173rd Airborne in the Korengal Valley of Afghanistan. This FOB has been abandoned because of the casualty rate. God Bless our Troops!

I need advice on booking airline travel. I am admittedly a homebody. If I do travel it is to the beach and I can get there by car. My son is stationed in Alaska and he has block leave at Christmas. I would like to get him home for Christmas. Is it better to just book round trip which is about $1600.00+ or find deals from place to place? He said he does not mind traveling off times or multiple airports. Just to vent.....if his leave was a week earlier and lasted a week longer it would be half the...

KANDAHAR, AFGHANISTAN -- To the U.S. Army soldiers and Marines serving here, some things seem so obviously true that they are beyond debate. Among those perceived truths: Tthe restrictive rules of engagement that they have to fight under have made serving in combat far more dangerous for them, while allowing the Taliban to return to a position of strength. "If they use rockets to hit the [forward operating base] we can't shoot back because they were within 500 meters of the village. If they shoot at us and drop their weapon in the process we can't shoot back," said Spc....

I have some questions regarding pre-deployment. Can you ping me if you are/were recently infantry? My son is in the 25th ID Thanks

Two top California legislators are coming under fire after new evidence has emerged that they helped a group of radical antiwar activists cross the Iraqi-Jordanian border in order to deliver aid to families of enemy insurgents in the war-ridden Iraqi city of Fallujah. In December 2004, Sen. Barbara Boxer (D) and Rep. Henry Waxman (D) each sent letters of diplomatic courtesy to the U.S. Embassy in Amman, Jordan, requesting assistance for members of the radical group Global Exchange and the antiwar group Palisadians for Peace.

Tonight I leave for Fort Benning to attend my son's Turning Blue Ceremony and then Army Graduation on Friday!! I am so proud of him! He was a challenge growing up. Came out like a bear and stayed that way, LOL! Throughout the years as much as it drove me crazy I had always thought his attitude and personality would serve him well if funneled in the right direction. I have saved all of his letters from day 1 and while he is still the same person, he has matured in ways that I can't believe. People had told me...

LAS VEGAS -- The father of a Las Vegas businessman who was shot and killed by police at a Las Vegas Costco store says he's been receiving eyewitness reports which directly contradict the official version of Saturday's events. William Scott, the father of Erik Scott, gave his first interview to 8 News NOW's George Knapp.