Free Republic

DIYALA – The newly-renovated dining facility here at Forward Operating Base Cobra was officially renamed “The Private First Class Erin L. McLyman Dining Facility” during a dedication ceremony, April 3. Pfc. McLyman lost her life during a mortar attack at the FOB, March 13. The renovated Dining Facility is part of an expansion of FOB Cobra to make living conditions here better for Soldiers. "To say that we inherited a neglected outpost would be an understatement," said Lt. Col. Joseph Davidson, commander of 1st Squadron, 14th Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division. "For many of the...

WASHINGTON, March 30, 2007 – Running a nonprofit organization can be strain on an individual’s time, space and resources. One home-front group’s leader says she relies on a specific form of aid through the tough times: divine intervention. Frankie Mayo, founder of Operation AC, said the fund-raising strategy for her troop-support group is prayer. “When God puts something on your heart to do, you just have to do it,” she said. “I pray at night before I go to bed about the issues that have come up, and the next morning God shows me what I’m supposed to do.”...

Married couple Bill and Cathy Hood serve with the Army Corps of Engineers. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers courtesy photo Married Couple Dedicated to Serving in Iraq Bill and Cathy Hood do their part by assisting in the reconstruction of Iraq. By Polli Barnes Keller Gulf Region North TIKRIT, Iraq, Jan. 19, 2007 -- What makes a married couple decide to pack their personal belongings and close up the homestead to work in Iraq? Bill and Cathy Hood can answer that question. Married for 14 years and coming from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Kansas City District, the...

FOB GRIZZLY -- Soldiers dedicated the newly built Troop Medical Clinic here in memory of a fallen Soldier from the 382nd Military Police Battalion whom friends remembered for his compassion and dedication. Army Sergeant First Class Daniel Brozovich, killed in action by an improvised explosive device Oct. 18, was memorialized in a ceremony that officially opened the FOB’s clinic. The upgrade will give troops and caregivers 1,000 more square feet of clinic space.“This is a really nice setup,” said Army Col. Jeff Clark, commander, 21st Combat Support Hospital, the clinic’s parent organization. “It’s what you all deserve to work...

WASHINGTON ? Americans must understand the dedication, commitment and sacrifices of Iraqi troops, a top Coalition spokesman said Thursday. Iraqi Soldiers and Police are putting their lives on the line for a democratic, free Iraq, Maj. Gen. Bill Caldwell, Multi-National Force - Iraq spokesman, said in a telephone interview from Baghdad. Coalition Forces trained and equipped about 320,000 Iraqi Soldiers and Police. This number will reach 355,000 by the end of the year. They are increasingly in the lead in the fight against insurgents and sectarian violence. ?Last month during Ramadan, when we experienced one of the highest months of...

FORT HUACHUCA — Fort officials dedicate the post’s Military Intelligence Library to Chief Warrant Officer Christopher Nason in a ceremony at 8 a.m. Friday. Maj. Gen. Barbara Fast, commanding general of the U.S. Army Intelligence Center and Fort Huachuca, and Nason’s sister, Gena Nason, will unveil a plaque honoring him. Nason, a Fort Huachuca military intelligence Soldier, died Nov. 23, 2003, of injuries sustained in a vehicular accident in Iraq. He was assigned to Company A, 306th Military Intelligence Battalion on the fort and had volunteered to serve a temporary yearlong assignment in Iraq. The Military Intelligence Library serves the...

HADITHA, Iraq (July 4, 2006) -- Lance Cpl. Douglas Tetreault carries a spent round fired from an AK-47 assault rifle, which was surgically removed from his thigh last month after he was shot during a firefight with insurgents in Haditha, Iraq. The 21-year-old native of Adams, Mass., wears a nine-inch scar on his thigh every time he steps “outside the wire” to go on combined patrols with Iraqi soldiers in Haditha – a city of 30,000 nestled along the Euphrates River northwest of Baghdad. “It felt like someone had kicked me in the leg at first,” said Tetreault, after a...

WASHINGTON, June 15, 2006 – In a solemn ceremony under sunny skies, the ground that nearly five years ago was the scene of a catastrophic attack was today dedicated to the memory of those who were killed. Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld speaks to the audience at the June 15 site dedication ceremony to mark the beginning of work on the Pentagon Memorial at the site where 184 innocent lives were lost when terrorist hijacked American Airlines Flight 77 crashed on Sept. 11, 2001. Photo by Petty Officer 1st Class Chad J. McNeeley, USN  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image...

MARINE CORPS BASE QUANTICO, Va., June 7, 2006 – Calling freedom of religion a principal right in "a nation of people from all races and creeds who believe in liberty and freedom," Deputy Defense Secretary Gordon England helped the Marine Corps dedicated its first Islamic prayer center here yesterday. Deputy Defense Secretary Gordon England and Marine Corps Commandant Gen. Michael Hagee unveil a plaque to dedicate the new Islamic prayer center at Marine Corps Base Quantico, Va., June 6. Photo by Lance Cpl. Kara L. Coonrod, USMC  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. England offered his congratulations to the...

AL ASAD, Iraq (Nov. 22, 2005) -- Sergeant Joshua Nixon, a maintenance mechanic for Marine Aircraft Group 26 and Mountain Ranch, Calif., native, has the Marine Corps in his blood. His father spent three years in the Corps during the end of Vietnam, and today does maintenance work at Marine Corps Air Station Yuma, Ariz. Even his mom, though never a Marine, is on the Marine Corps team as Yuma’s animal control officer. It’s no surprise the career path their son has chosen. “I grew up with the idea of wanting to join the Marine Corps one day,” he said....

Technology and Funds to Drive "Smart Highways"

There's a recent television commercial most of us have seen, which involves a tourist losing his credit card in the jungle. It deals with security and protection issues for the cardholder. After posing the question, 'Who's going to find it here anyway?' - the scene shifts to a raucous disco party, featuring bejeweled, champagne-popping monkeys in a hot tub, whooping it up on the man's lost credit card. Last May, when the Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission traveling road show appeared in Tillamook County, a full house at the Fairgrounds, which included legislators and candidates, made it very clear to...

William Grim's AMERICA WATCH GEORGE W. BUSH IS A COWBOY -- THANK GOD! by William Grim, Iconoclast Contributing Editor Our good "friends" in Europe never tire of saying that President George W. Bush is a cowboy. I guess they think that is an insult, but it just shows, once again, how little our "friends" really know about the United States. Let's consider the Cowboy for a minute and what he represents. The Cowboy is symbolic of those qualities that, in more honest times, used to be called the manly virtues: an affinity for hard work and honest dealings; independence...