Free Republic

FORWARD OPERATING BASE FALCON, Iraq, Nov. 14, 2008 – The senior noncommissioned officer of the fire effects and coordination cell for the 4th Infantry Division’s 1st Brigade Combat Team in Multinational Division Baghdad began his mission almost immediately upon arriving at this base in southern Baghdad’s Rashid district in March. Army Master Sgt. Craig Wagner, a forward observer assigned to Headquarters and Headquarters Detachment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, Multinational Division Baghdad, is a veteran of operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm, and is serving his third combat deployment in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. U.S. Army...

SACRAMENTO – Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger will declare a fiscal emergency this week and release his blueprint for closing an estimated $14 billion budget deficit, a gap so large that cuts to schools, health care and welfare programs appear inevitable. It's an uncomfortable deja vu for the governor, who rode into office in 2003 facing a similarly sized shortfall and promising to fix the state's budget roller coaster once and for all. California's reliance on volatile sources of tax revenue, as well as voter-approved ballot measures that dictate state spending, have helped create the problem. But so have some decisions that...

Roman Catholics have overtaken Anglicans as the country's dominant religious group. More people attend Mass every Sunday than worship with the Church of England, figures seen by The Sunday Telegraph show. Blair becomes Catholic in private ceremony The changing face of British Christianity Your view: What can the Church of England do to win back worshippers? This means that the established Church has lost its place as the nation's most popular Christian denomination after more than four centuries of unrivalled influence following the Reformation. Last night, leading figures gave warning that the Church of England could become a minority faith...

BAGHDAD (Army News Service, March 27, 2006) – Operation Swarmer wrapped up March 22 and accomplished the tactical objectives set out by combatant commanders on the ground without any casualties, Multinational Force Iraq officials said March 23. Operation Swarmer was the largest air assault since the initial invasion of Iraq. Company A, 3rd Battalion, 187th Infantry Regiment, “Angels from Hell” were among the most productive units in locating weapons caches and detaining suspected insurgents. Combined, the company found five caches and detained 18 suspected terrorists during the six-day mission. Capt. Jeff Lesperance said the company thoroughly searched more than 100...