Free Republic

The federal government just used its publicly employed career professionals to target a working journalist for professional destruction.After a cable news host irresponsibly attacked the U.S. military for aiding in the “death of the republic” by taking to the streets of the U.S. capital for use against the American people, the coordinated response from the Department of Defense through its public affairs channels was swift and unforgiving.The headline in the Defense.gov news article said it all: “Press Spokesman Destroys Host for Despicable Suggestion about US Military Use.” This was a response to an MSNBC cable show host using her show...

2/25/2010 - SHEPPARD AIR FORCE BASE, Texas (AFNS) -- The members of Sheppard Air Force base learned about the legacy of Buffalo Soldiers during a banquet Feb. 19 here. Buffalo Soldiers were the first African Americans to serve in the "regular" U.S. Army immediately after the Civil War. "The Buffalo soldiers were mostly former slaves from all over the nation, but a lot of them were from the South," said Trooper Fred Gray, the former president of the Lawton-Fort Sill, Okla. Chapter of the 9th and 10th Horse Cavalry Association of the Buffalo Soldiers. "They made up about 20 percent...

Increasing the number of women recruits would be “beneficial” to the Swiss army, a top commander has said. “For me, it would be desirable if we could significantly increase the proportion of women in the medium term,” said Corps Commander Daniel Baumgartner in an interview with Neue Zürcher Zeitung published on Wednesday. “Women think and act differently. That would be good for the army,” he added. While Baumgartner did not suggest that compulsory military service should be extended to women, he said a compulsory ‘information day’ should be introduced where women can find out about the opportunities the army could...

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) told CNSNews.com at her press briefing on Thursday that requiring young women to register for the draft is "an issue that we should discuss." [...] "I think it's an issue that we should discuss. I think we should discuss it. Every time we use the word 'draft', people get a misunderstanding about what you're talking about, but I have supported women in every role in the military including Commander in Chief." ...

"Hurry hurry hurry. We can destroy the enemy. Advance." "Hit hit hit the Taliban." "Hit him hit him hit him. Fire, fire." "We're arriving in Khalakhan." "Take care about the troops." "The Taliban are surrendering." "Bring them to me." "One hundred of them are coming to you." "El Ham captured a pickup with their weapons." These were the voices on the radio of the Northern Alliance commanders we have been visiting for weeks. Several other journalists and I were standing with some Afghan soldiers on the roof of a command post--a mud house with a tank's turret and gun jutting ...

WASHINGTON -- Two female soldiers filed suit on Wednesday to scrap the U.S. military's restrictions on women in combat, claiming the policy violated their constitutional rights. Command Sergeant Major Jane Baldwin and Colonel Ellen Haring, both Army reservists, said policies barring them from assignments "solely on the basis of sex" violated their right to equal protectio under the Fifth Amendment of the Constitution. "This limitation on plaintiffs' careers restricts their current and future earnings, their potential for promotion and advancement, and their future retirement benefits," the women said in the suit filed in U.S. District Court.

Female U.S. soldiers serving in Iraq and Afghanistan have more to fear than roadside bombs or enemy ambushes. They also are at risk of being raped or sexually assaulted by fellow soldiers. "The Lonely Soldier: The Private War of Women Serving in Iraq," a book based on 40 in-depth interviews, recounts the stories of female veterans who served in combat zones and tells of rape, sexual assault and harassment by male counterparts. Some were warned by officers not to go to the latrine by themselves. One began carrying a knife in case she was attacked by comrades. Others said they...

Case Shows Contradictions of Army Rules KHOST, Afghanistan -- Pfc. Monica Brown cracked open the door of her Humvee outside a remote village in eastern Afghanistan to the pop of bullets shot by Taliban fighters. But instead of taking cover, the 18-year-old medic grabbed her bag and ran through gunfire toward fellow soldiers in a crippled and burning vehicle. Vice President Cheney pinned Brown, of Lake Jackson, Tex., with a Silver Star in March for repeatedly risking her life on April 25, 2007, to shield and treat her wounded comrades, displaying bravery and grit. She is the second woman since...

Merideth Howard, died a heroine. She was the oldest servicewoman killed in the annals of American Combat. 52 years old. Old enough to be your grandmother. A gray-haired woman in a helmet... She was all of 5-4. She had to stand on a box to see over the turret to man the .50 caliber machine gun on the Humvee she rode shotgun on in Afghanistan. Sgt. 1st Class Merideth Howard died in Kabul, Afghanistan on September 8 of this year, when a Suicide Jihadist drove a Toyota Corolla into her Humvee, and detonated his bomb, killing her friend Staff Sgt....

Forces entrenched at the Pentagon keep trying to push women onto the front lines of combat, despite the fact that U.S. law forbids it. The latest bid: A push to start assigning female soldiers to act as "forward support" personnel (such as mechanics), living alongside combat troops who are often in battle. Last week, Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.) moved to block that with an amendment to the 2006 Defense appropriations bill. The Pentagon and Democrats howled in protest. But why? Who wants more women to be shot? This is a small scene in the larger drama over the feminization of...

E-mail Author Send to a Friend <% printurl = Request.ServerVariables("URL")%> Print Version January 07, 2005, 7:50 a.m. The Army's Gender WarA new policy is unfair to both men and women soldiers. By Elaine Donnelly I recently heard from a female soldier who feels betrayed by the Army. Calm but justifiably angry, the soldier said she is being assigned to a forward-support company that will "collocate" with the Army's new, modular infantry/armor land combat battalions. This is a serious change in policy, unfair to men and women soldiers alike. Under current regulations, women cannot be forced to serve in smaller...

Monday, February 9, 2004 Female GIs: Environment is tense, but protection against misconduct in place By Marni McEntee, Stars and StripesEuropean edition, Sunday, February 8, 2004 Marni McEntee / S&S In military police units, male and female soldiers work together. Here, members of the 233rd Military Police Company, a National Guard unit from Springfield, Ill., relax on top of their Humvee. From left are: Spc. Michael Thompson Jr., Spc. Janet Sutter and Sgt. Richard Carroll. Spc. Ommy Frizarry, right, is with the 519th Military Police Battalion from Fort Polk, La. BAGHDAD — Staff Sgt. Wendy McDermott, a nurse with the...

<p>Defense Secretary Rumsfeld orders review of alleged sexual assaults on female soldiers in Iraq and Kuwait by other soldiers. Details soon. Just breaking!</p>

Wednesday, January 28, 2004 Magazine cover brings whirlwind of fame and attention to soldier Spc. Billie Grimes By Lisa Burgess, Stars and Stripes European edition, Tuesday, January 27, 2004 Lisa Burgess / S&S Spc. Billie Grimes, one of three 1st Armored Division soldiers featured on Time Magazine’s “Person of the Year” cover in December, during a Monday visit to the Pentagon. ARLINGTON, Va. — At 26, Spc. Billie Grimes is too young to remember Andy Warhol, the New York artist who once said, “In the future, everyone will be famous for 15 minutes.” After appearing on the Dec. 23 cover...

Female U.S. Soldiers Under Fire Associated Press January 28, 2004 TIKRIT, Iraq - The roadside bomb near the main American military base here killed one woman soldier, made another a hero, and turned attention to the new role American women are playing in the war in Iraq. The nature of the conflict, with U.S. soldiers facing guerrillas, not conventional troops, has blurred military traditions, and put usually rear echelon troops such as the military police - with their large contingent of women - under direct enemy fire, along with the infantry, special forces and other front line troops. Although women...

New armed forces scandals revisit the question of why women are in them by Kevin Michael Grace ARMIES, navies and air forces are inviting laboratories for government social engineers. Unlike the population as a whole, soldiers, sailors and airmen are captive guinea pigs. Civilians may choose to ignore the latest state edict on proper behaviour and thinking. However, men and women in uniform have no choice but to obey. The irresistible temptation this presents to government do-gooders to tinker with the natural order may be the gravest threat yet to the nation's defenders. A handful of critics charge that more...

Title: "U.S. Military Study: Keep Female Soldiers Away from Arab Gulf A recent medical study has revealed that female American Air Force soldiers deployed to the Middle East region over the past decade for operations against Iraq faced unique health and emotional challenges and threats, and that many of the women suffered severe health problems as a result. The findings of this research, conducted for the United States Air Force, call into question the policy of sending female soldiers to the Arab countries. The study was authored by Air Force Reserve Colonel Penny Pierce, a flight nurse who served in...