Free Republic

MIAMI, April 26, 2008 – The cost of a pound of coffee in Colombia: $8. A hand-carved souvenir iguana from Cuba: $10. A cold beer in Honduras: $1. Traveling throughout Central and South America talking to soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines and seeing firsthand the U.S. military’s role in the region: priceless. “You can’t put a price on that,” said Dan Simons, president of The World Company in Lawrence, Kan. “It’s off the charts.” Simons and about 50 other participants in the 75th Joint Civilian Orientation Conference wrapped up their week-long journey to parts of the U.S. Southern Command...

WASHINGTON, Nov. 16, 2007 – The Joint Civilian Orientation Conference wrapped up its week-long trip Nov. 10 across the U.S. Pacific Command back in Hawaii with an overview of the U.S. Coast Guard, its missions and capabilities. Following an all-night flight from Japan aboard the C-17 that had served as the group’s shuttle from country to country, participants hit the ground running boarding U.S. Coast Guard cutters and talking to coast guardsmen from Honolulu’s 14th District. Responsible for more than 12 million square miles of the central Pacific Ocean -- an area more than two and a half times...

KADENA AIR FORCE BASE, Japan, Nov. 9, 2007 – If there is a decrease in support from community influencers due to the war on terror, Craig Billingsley hasn’t noticed. Craig Billingsley and Ann Brown, both participants in the Joint Civilian Orientation Conference, try out Army field rations at Kadena Air Base, Okinawa, Japan. Photo by Petty Officer 1st Class Michael D. Heckman, USN   (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. The vice president of Billingsley Holding Corp. in Lawton, Okla., is part of the Joint Civilian Orientation Conference, which landed here today on its fourth day of a week-long...

KADENA AIR BASE, Japan, Nov. 9, 2007 – From the pilot’s seat of a KC-130 air refueler, Mark Brainard carefully guided the craft over the ocean to the landing strip on the coast as his co-pilot coached him. Mark Brainard, chief of staff for the governor of Delaware, sits in the cockpit of a KC-130 air refueler flight simulator Nov. 9, 2007, at Kadena Air Base, Okinawa, Japan. Brainard is part of the Joint Civilian Orientation Conference, which landed here today on its fourth day of a week-long tour of military forces in the U.S. Pacific Command. Photo by...

MANILA, Philippines, Nov. 8, 2007 – Robert Perkowitz stepped up seven concrete stairs to a towering memorial and placed a flowered wreath at its base. Members of the 74th Joint Civilian Orientation Conference participate in a wreath-laying ceremony at the Manila American Cemetery Memorial Chapel, Philippines, Nov. 8, 2007. Photo by Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Michael D. Heckman, USN  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. In his pocket was a military coin given to him by a Special Forces buddy in the hospital recovering from a gun battle in Afghanistan. In his heart swelled a deep appreciation for...

U.S. NAVAL BASE GUAM, Guam, Nov. 7, 2007 – Ann Brown gripped the handle of a .50-caliber machine gun that appeared to be larger than her slight frame. Peering down the sights, she squeezed off a five-round burst in less than a second. Taken aback by the sudden burst, Brown, president of a graphic design company in Colorado, looked up as if shocked and then laughed, almost embarrassed. She said she didn’t realize it would fire that many rounds so fast. Ann L. Brown, president of New Vista Image, Golden, Colo., marshals in an ambulance for an aerial evacuation...

ANDERSEN AIR FORCE BASE, Guam, Nov. 7, 2007 – Wearing a protective vest and Kevlar helmet and carrying an M-16 rifle, Fassil Gabremariam struggled to climb into the turret of an armored Humvee. Members of the 74th Joint Civilian Orientation Conference receive a safety briefing at the munitions storage area of Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, Nov. 6, 2007. Photo by Tech. Sgt. Jerry Morrison, USAF  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. It was hot, and he was sweaty and tired. But as he poked his head through the gunner’s access hole in the top of the military vehicle,...

  Operations, Professionalism Wow Civilian Leaders By Donna MilesAmerican Forces Press Service SOUTH CHINA SEA, Sept. 16, 2004 — The crew of USS John C. Stennis treated civilian leaders from throughout the United States today to a demonstration of what Rear Adm. Pat Walsh, commander of Carrier Group 7, called "raw power" able to project U.S. military force anywhere in the world at a moment's notice. Dee Ruckman, a partner with Gardere Wynne Sewell in Dallas, left, and Kim Labonte, co-owner and business manager for Labonte Motorsports, prepare for an "e-ticket" ride to USS John C. Stennis aboard a C-2...