Free Republic

Libertarian activist and radio host Adam Kokesh is hoping to get 1,000 people to march on Washington on July 4 — armed with loaded rifles. The plan, launched with a Facebook group today, is to gather on the Virginia side of the Potomac, where gun laws are lax, and then march across the bridge with loaded rifles slung over their shoulders into the District, where openly carrying weapons is generally prohibited. “This will be a non-violent event,” the Facebook group warns, “unless the government chooses to make it violent.” Already, over 200 people have said they’ll attend the march. Here’s...

WASHINGTON — The Marine helicopter squadron responsible for flying President Barack Obama, Vice President Joe Biden, cabinet members and other VIPs has a new aircraft: An MV-22 Osprey. HMX-1’s tilt-rotor aircraft is painted green and will be used in a support role, transporting the president’s staff and the media, Marine spokesman Capt. Richard Ulsh confirmed. Helicopters that transport the president are typically painted white on top and referred to as “white tops.” “The Osprey is a staple within our fleet. It has proven itself in the most difficult environments as a capable and reliable asset,” Ulsh said, noting that including...

As Ben Shapiro would say, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is dancing on the graves of dead Marines in order to score political points. Today during remarks on the Senate floor about an explosion at an Army base in Nevada last night that killed seven Marines during a training exercise, Reid shamelessly implied sequestration and cut backs in funding were to blame for the accident.  As I indicated, it was quite a big explosion. We'll follow this news very closely. I will do whatever I can going forward to support the United States military and the families of the fallen...

Last week, the Washington Post published an opinion piece by a Marine captain titled, "I Killed People in Afghanistan. Was I Right or Wrong?" The column by Timothy Kudo, who is now a graduate student at New York University, is a fine example of the moral confusion leftism has wrought over the last half century. Captain Kudo's moral confusion may predate his graduate studies, but if so, it has surely been reinforced and strengthened at NYU.

Original Iwo Jima monument, which used to be housed at the Intrepid Sea-Air- Space Museum, to hit the auction block. The 10-ton piece, inspired by the iconic photo taken at the Battle of Iwo Jima in 1945 and the model for the flag-raising Marine Corps War Memorial statue in Arlington, Va., will be up for sale at Bonhams auction house on Feb. 22. It is listed for sale for $1.3 million to $1.8 million.

It apparently takes more than a few good men, according to the U.S. Marine Corps. It takes all kinds of people to support military families, including same-sex spouses of service members. CNN published a story this week about a woman married to a female lieutenant colonel at Fort Bragg who believes she was rejected from an officers' spouse club because she's gay. Less than a day later, Maj. Gen. Vaughn Ary advised Marine Corps legal staff such clubs conducting business on its bases must admit same-same spouses. If they do not, the clubs will be barred from meeting on any...

To the editor: A recent editorial called for unlimited gun ownership to defend against the government. I hear this argument a lot, but what good is your AR-15 when you're fighting the full force of the United States military? All they have to do is drop a smart bomb on your house from high above and you're done. You wouldn't even see it coming. Alternatively, they could simply run over your house with a Kevlar-plated M1 Abrams tank, or shell your dwelling from cannons positioned far away. I support the right to bear arms to protect your home and family...

<p>I was wondering if anyone had information on the Marines who were stationed in Beirut 30 years ago today when it was attacked, perhaps a list of survivors or those who received a metal for valor on that day.</p> <p>A former employee of mine who left the business about 10 years ago has it on his Facebook page that he was not only there, but received a metal from then President Reagan for heroism. I hired him and worked side by side for 2 years with him, heard all his stories and he never ONCE mentioned this to me. I know he got a dishonorable discharge for desertion when he refused to deploy to the Philippines, but the thing that really gets my goat was we graduated HS both in the class of 83. He told me he was an NBC specialist who mostly ran tear gas testing drills later, but he is so full of sh*t that I want to really blast him for claiming this if it wasn't true, but I won't unless I have some kind of proof.</p>

No U.S. Marines were in Libya when protesters stormed a diplomatic mission in the eastern city of Benghazi and killed the U.S. ambassador and three other Americans late Tuesday, a senior Obama administration official said Saturday. The official’s comments contradict earlier reports of a small Marine presence at State Department facilities in the North African nation. The U.S. diplomatic compound breached Tuesday by Libyan protesters in Benghazi had a relatively light security posture compared to diplomatic facilities in other conflict zones. Marines are guarding diplomatic facilities in Egypt, Tunisia and Yemen, Defense Press Secretary George Little told reporters Thursday. “The...

How could this have been allowed to happen?  Infuriating:   The consulate where the American ambassador to Libya was killed on Tuesday is an “interim facility� not protected by the contingent of Marines that safeguards embassies, POLITICO has learned. Ambassador Chris Stevens was killed with three other Americans in an attack on the U.S. consulate in the city of Benghazi, where Libyan rebels ousted strongman Moammar Qadhafi last year. Marine Corps spokeswoman Capt. Kendra Motz said that Marines were not posted to the consulate, unlike the embassy in the capital, Tripoli. A defense official told POLITICO on Wednesday that the...

The Marine Corps has created its first law enforcement battalions — a lean, specialized force of military police officers that it hopes can quickly deploy worldwide to help investigate crimes from terrorism to drug trafficking and train fledgling security forces in allied nations. The Corps activated three such battalions last month. Each is made up of roughly 500 military police officers and dozens of dogs. The Marine Corps has had police battalions off and on since World War II but they were primarily focused on providing security, such as accompanying fuel convoys or guarding generals on visits to dangerous areas,...

This is the USMC Silent Drill Platoon when they visited the US Marine Air Station in Beaufort, SC. The exhibition was scheduled to be held on the parade field. However, it was moved inside a jet fighter hanger due to rain.

Fiery Reaction to Marine’s Stolen Saddam Rifle Is it among the spoils of war? Or worthy of a felony conviction that carries a 10-year prison sentence? The recent conviction of a Twentynine Palms Marine from Hemet has sparked a debate from readers and a fierce defense from the Marine himself. To rewind, Staff Sgt. Joel Cleve Miller was convicted last week of illegal possession of a machine gun. Federal prosecutors said he smuggled a chrome-plated AK-47 that once belonged to Iraqi Dictator Saddam Hussein’s Royal Guard back to his home in Hemet after a 2005 tour in Iraq. Miller now...

I’ve heard of high schools and colleges cancelling graduation speakers because they were too controversial, too liberal or too religious, but this is the first time I’ve heard of one being cancelled for being too conservative. Ronan High School in Ronan, Montana, had arranged for famed and award winning film producer Gerald Molen, a Montana native to speak at their graduation ceremony. Molen is best known for his Oscar winning film, Schindler’s List. He also produced Twister, Rain Man, Days of Thunder, Hook, Minority Report, Jurassic Park and The Lost World: Jurassic Park. Before becoming a film producer, Molen served...

Happy Anniversary: 100 Years of Marine Corps Aviation…

Proposed US Military buildup under a conservative U.S. Administration circa 2012-2024 CLICK HERE FOR THE FULL ARTICLE The following plan is based on a major US economic turnaround based on sound Free Market principles geared to US interests, energy independendece, a balanced budget, stabilization of Social Security & Medicare & eliminating unessary and wasteful entitlements & entire federal agencies. It is also based,under a conservative leadership in Washington, on adopting lower corporate and individual income taxes so the revenue to the treasury expands and increases significantly which will fuel the buildup necessary to remain technologically superior by two generations...

CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. (AP) — A Marine facing dismissal for running a Facebook page criticizing the Obama administration is now backed by a team of lawyers and federal congressmen as he fights to stay in the military and test its age-old policy of limiting the free speech of service members. Sgt. Gary Stein will appear before a military board at Camp Pendleton on Thursday to argue his case. The 26-year-old Marine has been rallying for support since he was notified last month that the military was moving to discharge him after determining he was in violation of the Pentagon policy...

A Marine Corps officer has filed a whistle-blower complaint with the Department of Defense alleging that he was retaliated against for voicing concerns about a commander who put U.S. troops in danger in Afghanistan. Maj. Fred C. Galvin of the 3rd Marine Expeditionary Force, currently stationed in Okinawa, Japan, filed the complaint earlier this week through a former Fayetteville lawyer. Galvin, a 24-year Marine Corps veteran, had been facing the potential end of his military career until Thursday. That's when he went before a Marine Corps Board of Inquiry at Camp Butler, Japan. The board was charged with determining if...

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...