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Navy Chaplain Dick Pusateri has witnessed the stress of war on the faces of troops put in harm's way daily, in the strained relationships of families facing long deployments and the confessions of men shaken by the human cost of war. For too long, chaplains were among the few people combat Marines felt they could turn to in a crisis. The Navy and Marine Corps aim to change that by sending teams of mental health professionals to the frontlines this month, after studies showed a jump in the past five years in cases of combat-related mental health disorders, primarily post-traumatic...

WASHINGTON, Aug. 1, 2007 – New York National Guardsmen will start deploying to Afghanistan late this year, Defense Department officials said today. About 1,700 Guardsmen of the 27th Infantry Brigade Combat Team will relieve South Carolina National Guardsmen of the 218th Brigade Combat Team as the primary trainers of the Afghan National Army. The New York brigade is based in Syracuse. “Thousands of New York Guardsmen have answered the call from serving at Ground Zero when the Twin Towers fell to commanding combat troops in Central Iraq and now to the mountains of Afghanistan,” said Army Lt. Col. Paul Fanning,...

HICKAM AIR FORCE BASE, Hawaii, March 25, 2007 ? Marine Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, gave coins, and his wife, Lynne Pace, gave hugs as the two wished 340 Marines and sailors Godspeed as they deployed to Iraq from Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii. Lynne Pace, wife of Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff U.S. Marine Gen. Peter Pace, hugs a Marine while her husband, left, wishes deploying Marines well on Hickam AFB, Hawaii, Mar. 25, 2007. Three hundred Marines of 1st Battalion, 12th Marine Regiment, wait for a flight to start a seven-month deployment...

Juan Martinez was looking forward to returning to his construction job after finishing a monthlong sentence for violating probation on drug charges. But when he was finally released from the Orange County jail, he was met by immigration agents - not his mother. The 23-year-old illegal immigrant was set to be deported with $68 in his pocket and few prospects. "I just probably won't come back," he said about being sent to Tijuana, Mexico. "If I do, I'll keep coming back to prison and I don't want that." Martinez is among tens of thousands of illegal immigrants being identified at...

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A forklift carries cargo onto the amphibious assault ship USS Nassau, Oct. 31, 2005. Personnel from the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit (Special Operations Capable) began on loading equipment and supplies pier-side at Naval Station Norfolk, Va., in preparation for a six-month deployment in support of the Global War on Terrorism. U.S. Navy photo by Seaman Apprentice Charles A. Ordoqui USS Nassau Loads Gear for Deploying Marine Unit When the advance team completes loading the equipment, the ship will head to Camp Lejeune to on load the remaining personnel and gear. By U.S. Navy Seaman Apprentice Charles A. Ordoqui Fleet...

DYESS AIR FORCE BASE, Texas (AFPN) -- While on active duty, Tech. Sgt. Jim Callahan wished that there was a way his wife and children could see and hear his voice, even though he was deployed thousands of miles away. Now retired and working as a computer systems analyst at the base library, Mr. Callahan and the rest of the library staff are working to ensure that families of deployed Airmen here have a way to see and hear their deployed loved one by means of a video service, no matter how far apart they are separated. Titled “Goodnight Son,...

Hi Freepers, I figured this would be the best forum to ask this kind of question without being bothered with all the politics and such. Plus, you guys seem to be friendly and from time to time moderately trite. I'm trying to find out what would be the best way to have phone/web access while I am deployed for 18 months. I have been considering getting Satellite Phone with a data cable for my laptop from Iridium. I tried to figure out where my unit will be stationed. My battalion is an aviation unit, so I presume we will be...