Free Republic

Flags will be lowered in New Jersey Saturday, the day of Whitney Houston’s funeral. But a Marine mom in Arlington says it’s an honor Houston doesn’t deserve. When Phyllis McGeath heard Gov. Chris Christie had ordered flags lowered to half-staff for Houston, she said she felt a pain deep inside her. “I was hurt and offended. Disappointed. Saddened,” she said. “I felt like the honor that was given to my son was tarnished.” McGeath had three sons who were active duty Marines. Her oldest, Philip, was killed by a suicide bomber just four weeks ago in Afghanistan. He was 25....

WASHINGTON, Dec 13 (Reuters) - U.S. defense cuts that begin in the 2012 budget will ultimately cost up to 800,000 jobs, and additional spending reductions could push that figure to 1.5 million over the next decade, a top Republican lawmaker testified on Tuesday. Representative Buck McKeon, chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, said his panel estimated the initial $489 billion in defense cuts approved by Congress would cost 100,000 military jobs, mostly Army and Marines, as well as 200,000 civilian defense jobs and 500,000 defense industry positions.

MANAMA, Bahrain (AP) — Marine Gen. James F. Amos, the face of opposition in the military to lifting the ban on gays serving openly, now acknowledges his concern has proven unfounded that repeal would undermine the war effort. In fact, he says, Marines have embraced the change. In an Associated Press interview, Amos called the repeal in September "a non-event."

Many in the West have upheld democracy in Libya as the supreme goal, but it is a means to an end, and the end is Sharia. "The Libyan Revolution: Democracy or ‘Purity of Islam’?" by John Rosenthal for the National Review Online, November 15: Mustafa Abdul Jalil’s announcement last month that Islamic sharia would form the basic source of legislation in the new Libya, and that all laws contradicting the sharia were immediately null and void, came as a surprise for Western observers. Given that the chair of Libya’s National Transitional Council (NTC) wears the sign of his piety on...

Popstar Justin Timberlake was largely the reason actress Mila Kunis accepted an invitation to attend an upcoming Marine Corps Ball — but Cpl. Kelsey DeSantis was the reason Timberlake found himself moved almost to tears at a similar event Saturday night, a night the celebrity writes “changed [his] life.�After Timberlake publicly urged his Friends with Benefits costar Kunis to say “yes� to the request she received from a serviceman, DeSantis invited Timberlake — via YouTube — to the Nov. 12 Instructor Battalion Marine Corps Ball in Richmond, Va.“You want to call out my girl Mila?� De Santis asked in a...

Happy 236th Birthday to all my Brothers and Sisters.

CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. — A 19-year-old found dead in his Camp Pendleton barracks had been beaten to death by a fellow Marine, investigators say. Lance Cpl. Mario Arias Jr., from Canoga Park, Calif., was attacked at the San Diego County base over the weekend, authorities said. The air crew trainee, from Marine Light Attack Helicopter Training Squadron 303, Marine Aircraft Group 39, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, enlisted in August 2010. The Naval Criminal Investigation Service said the suspect is being treated in a hospital for "significant injuries" sustained when he jumped from a third-floor balcony. Ed Buice, spokesman for NCIS...

The Marines set up a booth at San Gabriel Valley Pride's Community Unity Day at Pasadena City College. They were the only military branch to attend. Marine Corps recruiters at the San Gabriel Valley Pride event at Pasadena City College on Saturday didn't care whether the young men who lined up to test their strength were gay or straight. The Marines just wanted to see some pull-ups done properly: Place hands about shoulder width apart, palms facing away; pull upward until chin is over the bar and then slowly return to the hanging position. Repeat until the feet feel like...

Marine Lance Corporal Benjamin Whetstone Schmidt, 24, son of San Antonio Spurs doctor David Schmidt, and local counselor/therapist Becky Whetstone was killed in action Thursday in Afghanistan. Schmidt, a graduate of Alamo Heights High School, spent some brief time at home in August before he embarked on his second tour of Afghanistan in September. Scheduled to end his deployment in May 2012, Corporal Schmidt was killed from a gunshot wound to the head.

We thought he was “the first Big Island boy” to die in the Global War on Terror. The Honolulu mainstream media news reporters told us so and they told us “dozens of people” showed up to witness the passing of his hearse last week Thursday. Both turned out to be not the case. United States Marine Christopher Camero, a Waimea resident, was the first Big Island native to die from wounds received on the battlefield. He is the first to be buried at the West Hawaii Veterans Cemetery. And he is the youngest of the three men from our community...

Don't Forget the InfantryWhen Congress cuts defense spending, the Army and Marine Corps get the short end of the stick. As I write this, 150,000 American ground troops continue to wage violent counterinsurgency campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan. After ten years of war, our country’s land forces are tired, much of their equipment is worn down, and they fear they are fighting for a cause America no longer concerns itself with. But here is the remarkable thing: If their country asked them to continue the fight for another ten years, they would salute and do their duty. For, when someone...

Sources told ABC News a backpack in Melaku's possession contained a package labeled ammonium nitrate as well as spent firearm ammunition. Ammonium nitrate, a common fertilizer, can be used in explosives. The FBI later said despite the label, the backpack presented no immediate threat. A search of Melaku's nearby car also found no potential devices. Law enforcement sources said Melaku does not appear to have known ties to any terror organization. In addition to his arrest today, Melaku already faces pending charges in Loudoun County, Virginia, for a rash of vehicle break-ins, police said.

www.catholicnewsagency.com Marine Corps foundation honors heroic Vietnam War priest By Marianne Medlin Marine Cpl. James Capodanno, stands next to the window dedicated to his brother. Credit: Marine Corps Heritage Foundation Triangle, Va., May 20, 2011 / 02:35 am (CNA).- Servant of God Fr. Vincent Capodanno, a chaplain who was killed in action while protecting U.S. soldiers during the Vietnam War, was honored with a permanent tribute at the National Museum of the Marine Corps.“The Marines who served with Chaplain Capodanno remember him as the Chaplain who went wherever his Marines needed his comfort and guidance, no matter the personal...

Getting straight to the point, male-on-male kissing is the first scenario Marines are discussing at Camp Pendleton as they learn about the repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" and what it means for them. Marines may also have to get used to living with an openly gay service member, recruiters could be punished for barring enlistees that talk about being gay and early discharges may not be granted for those that disagree with the repeal, according to training materials released this month by the Marine Corps.

7/21/2010 By Lance Cpl. Jolene Cooper, Marine Corps Recruiting Command MARINE CORPS BASE QUANTICO, Va.- Marine Corps Recruiting Command launched a new web page www.lifeasamarine.com on Monday. The Web page allows parents, teachers, coaches and others to communicate about their experiences with the Marine Corps. The site may be especially useful for parents who have concerns about their son or daughter joining the Marine Corps. Anyone is able to access and browse this Web site, but those who sign up on the site will have the opportunity to upload photos, videos and stories about how the Marine Corps has impacted...

– [Update 8:38 p.m. Cairo, 1:38 p.m. ET] A team of heavily armed Marine Corps security personnel have been sent to the U.S. Embassy in Cairo to provide additional security for the facility, defense officials tell CNN. The small team of Marines, about a dozen according to one of the officials, are part of a Fleet Antiterrorism Security Team (FAST). The Marines are inside the embassy perimeter. Egyptian military and security forces continue to provide security outside the embassy, the officials said.

The Pentagon will have to cut spending by $78 billion over the next five years, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said Thursday, forcing the Army and Marine Corps to shrink the number of troops on active duty and eventually imposing the first freeze on military spending since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. The surprise announcement from Gates was a reminder for the military establishment - which has benefited from a gusher of new money over the past decade - that it will not remain exempt from painful austerity measures that federal lawmakers say will be necessary to control the soaring...

Late last month, one viral video managed to awaken the internet during that comatose No Man's Land between Christmas Eve and New Year's Day. The video showed actor R. Lee Ermey -- most famous as the real life U.S. Marine drill sergeant turned fictional one in the film Full Metal Jacket (1987) -- at a Toys 4 Tots fundraiser. In his inimitable fashion, Ermey loudly denounced President Obama's "socialism." The crowd more or less cheered, the rest of the dais blanched -- and a viral video was born. According to liberal blogger John V. Moore of Windy City Watch, who...

In an age when many Americans do not recognize that we are at war, most Americans still respect the sacrifices that our military men and women make on their behalf. According to a Rasmussen poll last May, the military continues to have the highest favorable and lowest unfavorable ratings of any group or institution in the United States Whether it is on the flight deck of an aircraft carrier, on the mean streets of a third-world hell-hole, or as a silent sentinel on the Korean border, the servicemen we place in harm's way perform with dedication and excellence. They do...

Complete title: Sen. Durbin Doesn't Directly Respond to Question of Whether He Accepts Judgment of Marine Commandant That Lifting the Ban on Homosexuals in Military Will Cost the Lives of Marines (CNSNews.com) – Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) did not directly respond when asked Thursday whether he accepted the judgement of Gen. James Amos, the Marine Commandant, that lifting the ban on homosexuals in the military will cost the lives of Marines.Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) said he would “have to consider” Amos’s view “during my vote."The House of Representatives voted on Wednesday to repeal the law (Title 10, USC 654) that bars homosexuals from...

I realize this is shameless, but do all of you old timers remember when there were extremely high numbers of Marines dying in peacetime helicopter accidents in 1975 just before the Saigon evacuation?

God bless Marine Corps Commandant Gen. James F. Amos. Despite incredible pressure from the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the Secretary of Defense, and the entire Washington-political-media complex, Amos is courageously standing up for his Marines. The man refuses to buckle and bow to the pressure. The Chairman, the Secretary of Defense and the political-media complex all want to bully the Marines into accepting open homosexuality within their ranks. They simply cannot fathom why anyone would object to this “enlightened — [and politically correct] — view.” Of course, there are very good reasons — rooted in human nature,...

Never let it be said that President Obama lacks political instincts. When his "deficit reduction panel" outlined planned cuts to Pentagon purchasing this week, he made darn sure the news came out on Wednesday -- rather than yesterday, Veterans Day. Otherwise, his panel might have made headlines for suggesting that the Pentagon axe the V-22 Osprey, and cut one-third of Textron's orders; kill Lockheed Martin's warplane, the F-35B; and cancel orders for General Dynamics' amphibious assault craft. As it happens, the U.S. Marine Corps relies or would rely on all of these costly weapons systems. The President's panel proposed a...

SAN DIEGO (AP) -- The new commandant of the U.S. Marines Corps said Saturday that now is the wrong time to overturn the "don't ask, don't tell" policy prohibiting gays from openly serving in the military, as U.S. troops remain in the thick of war in Afghanistan. "There's risk involved; I'm trying to determine how to measure that risk," Gen. James Amos said. "This is not a social thing. This is combat effectiveness. That's what the country pays its Marines to do."

Update: Multiple shots hit the Pentagon shortly before 5 a.m. Tuesday, Marine Col. Dave Lapan, a Pentagon spokesman, said at a late-morning briefing. He didn't know how many shots or from what kind of weapon. Part of nearby I-395 was closed for several hours as police searched for evidence. No one was hurt and damage was minor.)

MILITARY: Suit alleges military violated woman's rights By RICK ROGERS - For the North County Times | Posted: Friday, September 17, 2010 12:00 am The American Civil Liberties Union has filed a lawsuit against the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, its agents, Camp Pendleton military police and a San Diego Marine staff judge advocate on behalf of a North County woman who alleges they violated her constitutional rights with intimidation and harassment. The ACLU of San Diego and Imperial counties filed a 20-page civil complaint Sept. 9 in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California, seeking a jury trial...

All patriots are urged to stand up for the Marine Corps and the United States this Sunday, August 8, 2010, from mid-morning to as long as needed as the terrorist support group Code Pink descends on the Quantico Marine Corps Base in Virginia to give aid and comfort to accused Wikileaks traitor Bradley Manning.From the Code Pink website:CODEPINK, Veterans for Peace, Courage to Resist and others will be holding a rally at Quantico Base to support whistleblower Bradley Manning. We will be delivering Bradley Manning letters of support to the base. To submit a letter to be delivered please email...

Take time to enjoy this great patriotic salute to some of America's finest.

The appointment of Marine Corps General James N. Mattis to head up Central Command (CENTCOM) is, of course, very good news. Mattis, after all, may well be America’s greatest living general. He certainly is one of the most intellectually formidable advocates of counterinsurgency warfare. However, Mattis’ appointment –- or, to be more precise, the reaction to his appointment amongst reporters and by the Pentagon leadership — raises troubling doubts about whether the American elite understand and are committed to free speech. I say this for two reasons: First because the Pentagon has imposed new and more restrictive rules on military...

working my way through the new Marine Corps Operating Concepts document and wanted to highlight some of the weapons and equipment implications. To get back to its naval infantry roots, the service must shed some of the weight its gained fighting as a second land army in Iraq and Afghanistan, it says. The concept document says the imperative to significantly lighten all of the component parts of the Marine’s combined arms air ground task force (MAGTF) “will have a significant impact on research and development, programmatic budgeting, acquisitions, doctrine development, and employment of future systems.” The amount of sealift provided...

The Marine Corps will field its new, lightweight auto rifle this fall to five combat battalions preparing for war-zone deployments. Commandant Gen. James T. Conway gave Corps officials the green light in April to issue approximately 450 M27 Infantry Automatic Rifles, enough to replace every M249 squad automatic weapon in four infantry battalions and one light armored reconnaissance battalion. The limited fielding is a final test to find out if the Heckler & Koch-made weapon performs as well in an operational environment as it has in testing, said Charles Clark III, who oversees infantry weapons requirements at the Corps' Combat...

WASHINGTON – The Marine Corps commandant said Wednesday that the ability of U.S. troops to fight and win wars must trump other concerns as the nation considers whether to let gays to serve openly in the military. In testimony before a House committee, Gen. James Conway said he supports a Pentagon assessment to determine how to lift the ban. But he also suggested that civil rights ultimately would have to take a back seat if it meant tampering with the military's ability to protect the country. "That's what they have been built to do under the current construct and I...

Hawaii Gathering of Eagles is proud to support our ‘LAVA DOGS’, the 1st Battalion 3rd MARINES, deployed into Helmand Prov. AFG, from Marine Corps Base, Hawaii.

Marine assault vehicles key to Afghan strategy As U.S. and Afghan troops prepare for an offensive in Helmand province, the Assault Breacher Vehicle - a cross between a tank and a bulldozer - is intended to conquer the terrain and roadside bombs. By Tony Perry January 31, 2010 Reporting from Camp Pendleton Weighing 70 tons, traveling up to 45 mph and possessed of a smash-mouth name, the Assault Breacher Vehicle is the Marine Corps' latest answer to a perennial problem of offensive warfare: how to push through the barriers and booby traps of an enemy's outer defenses. Over the decades,...

Nearly three miles above the turquoise waters of the South China Sea last July, U.S. Marine Lieutenant Colonel Dan Shipley eyed the dim outline of a fast-approaching Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-29 Fulcrum. Flying with the Royal Malaysian Air Force on a training mission, Shipley had been tracking the MiG by radar from the cockpit of his Boeing F/A-18D Hornet. While Shipley and Captain Justin Archibald, the Hor-net’s weapons and sensors officer, could have tried to simulate firing an air-to-air missile at the MiG from a distance, the war game required that the two confirm with their eyes that the MiG really was...

Anthony Kascak was loathe to leave his burning McKees Rocks home, flames raging all around him early yesterday, until a visiting Marine escorted him to safety. The Marine, Lance Cpl. Shane Duncan, has been credited with rescuing Mr. Kascak, his wife, Patricia Kascak, the couple's granddaughter, Rebecca Kascak, and her 1-year-old daughter, Vanessa; and Mr. Kascak's great-granddaughter, Eve, 4.

The US is sending up to 3,500 soldiers and 2,200 marines to Haiti to help rescue efforts in the wake of the devastating earthquake. President Barack Obama pledged one of the biggest relief efforts in recent US history and said Haiti would "not be forgotten" in its hour of need. The search for survivors continues but rescuers lack heavy lifting equipment and many are using their bare hands. The Red Cross estimates 45,000-50,000 people are dead and up to 3m affected. BBC correspondents say the situation is increasingly desperate, with aid only trickling in. Mr Obama confirmed that some US...

Here is a brief video report saying that Navy ships loaded with "thousands of U.S. Marines" and supplies is headed to Haiti to help the people in their desperate situation following a 7.0 Earthquake that struck there on Tuesday. The Marines will reportedly assist in rescue efforts and with security. . . . (VIDEO)

Date: Wed, November 11, 2009 3:20 pm. From the Sand Pit. It's freezing here. I'm sitting on hard, cold dirt between rocks and shrubs at the base of the Hindu Kush Mountains , along the Dar 'yoi Pomir River , watching a hole that leads to a tunnel that leads to a cave. Stake out, my friend, and no pizza delivery for thousands of miles. (snip)

The Marine Corps has selected the infantry automatic rifle made by Heckler & Koch as the weapon that will replace the M249 Squad Automatic Weapon in infantry fire teams, a senior service official told Marine Corps Times on Wednesday. The H&K IAR “was truly the best in the class on multiple levels and will finally allow the billet of automatic rifleman to be performed as intended without the disruption of the squad integrity that the M249 created,” Chief Warrant Officer 5 Jeffrey Eby, the Corps’ senior gunner, said in an e-mail. The final contract competition also included two models from...

Click on the link to watch the video. It is on the right side, down the middle of the page.

"All paid some, some paid all"

The Marine Corps earned bragging rights during the 9th annual U.S. Army International Sniper Competition at Fort Benning, Ga., last week, when Leathernecks from the Corps' Scout Sniper School (West) in Camp Pendleton, Calif., claimed the title of top marksmen.

We are a forgiving lot, we Americans. We believe in redemption as much as anybody, and that would explain why we released Laith al-Khazali to the bosom of his family. Laith al-Khazali is a leader of Asa’ib al-Haq, the Iranian-backed insurgents in Iraq who, among other things, killed five American soldiers in the holy city of Karbala two years ago. But in what the US military described as its contribution to fostering reconciliation between the Iraqi government and insurgents, al-Khazali was recently released from American custody. This is all well and good, but it does beg the question: Why is...

I am pleased and proud to announce that my USMC son has completed his flight training and will be getting his wings on Friday the 25th of September in Pensacola. He hopes to complete his training in flying the CH-53..... As it turns out my uncle who was killed in WW2 was a Marine pilot. My brother is the family historian, is sending my uncles wings to FL to be used in the ceremony. We have three sons and this is my eldest sons day. The second in line is completing his college is going into flight in the USMC...

Greenville, South Carolina saw the arrival of a Marine who perished in Afghanistan, and Gaffney, S.C. was his ultimate resting place. Only the faint sound of lightly marching feet could be heard as hundreds stood silent on the Greenville-Spartanburg International tarmac Wednesday while fully adorned Marines carried Lance Cpl. Chris Fowlkes’ flag-draped coffin. The solemn arrival began an afternoon-long procession that ultimately wound through the streets of the 20-year-old Marine’s hometown of Gaffney, where businesses shut down and mourners lined the streets. The homecoming came six days after the former Gaffney High School football player died in a military hospital...

I feel guilty because originally I supported the decision by the Associated Press to release the photo of the young Marine that was taken as he lay dying. I lost readers over that and I do not blame them. Sarah Palin weighed in on Facebook. "Many of us join Secretary Gates in condemning the Associated Press for its heartless and selfish decision to turn its back on the wishes of a grieving family in order to exploit the tragic death of a true American hero. Lance Corporal Joshua ‘Bernie’ Bernard was a selfless young American who sacrificed everything for our...

Nearly four years after the so-called "Haditha Massacre," which was cited by U.S. Rep. John Murtha, D-Pa., when he publicly accused U.S. Marines of being cold-blooded killers, and after being cleared by multiple levels of military courts, a Marine officer is facing a new round of allegations stemming from the firefight in Iraq. According to some members of his legal team, the attorneys at the Thomas More Law Center, the original investigation that failed to produce evidence for a conviction took more than 65 investigators and cost millions of dollars. After an lengthy process in which prosecutors lost at every...

CLACKAMAS -- They came by ones and twos Friday, quietly slipping into the pews at New Hope Community Church. They smiled at the words honoring a man whose faith made him an inspiration and whose exploits in three wars made him a hero. And when the last mournful drone of the bagpipes faded, they said goodbye to Col. Kenneth L. Reusser of Milwaukie, the most decorated U.S. Marine Corps aviator in history. "He was the finest gentleman I've ever met," said Harley Wedel of Fairview, a fellow Korean War veteran. "I'm really going to miss him." Reusser flew an amazing...

The pullback of U.S. troops from Iraqi cities this week, right on schedule, was a near-miraculous milestone. It was met with nods and faint smiles across America; outright fanfare should have been more like it. All who helped make this a reality - American troops and military leaders, the Iraqi police and government, and, yes, former President George Bush and Defense Secretary Robert Gates - have earned our thanks. President Obama gets credit, too, for keeping what worked in America's counterinsurgency strategy rather than shredding it just because it had his predecessor's fingerprints on it. Three years ago, no one...