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The United States is sending a force of 200 Marines supported by two aircraft to Italy as a precaution against unrest in Libya. The force would deploy in case of an attack similar to the one on the US consulate in Benghazi last year. On Wednesday Italy’s Foreign Minister Emma Bonino said that the Marines were being transferred to Sigonella air base in Sicily. "It is taking place in accordance with bilateral agreements," Bonino told a joint session of the House and Senate foreign commissions. "This is a reinforcement for the security of US personnel in Libya or for possible...

Anthony McDaniel of Pascagoula took home two gold and two silver medals in the 2013 Warrior Games in Colorado Springs, Colo., this week. McDaniel won first place in both the 100- and 200-meter wheelchair races. --- snip A 2006 Gautier High School graduate, McDaniel had his legs and left hand amputated while serving in Helmand province, Afghanistan. On Aug. 31, 2010, McDaniel stepped on an improvised explosive device "that was instant amputation," he said. McDaniel, who has three children, lives in San Diego. The sergeant was medically retired on the second anniversary of his injury. Mr. McDaniel is #2

Armed by the arrogant confidence that comes via a protective circle of self-serving, back-scratching politicians (including Republican ones), who do nothing to deter his increasing taunts against all things American, President Barack Hussein Obama continues to publicly trash the cherished image of the military. Taking a leaf straight from the book of his overbearing wife, Michelle, who used military members in full dress as props on the night she invaded living rooms via satellite from the White House to announce this year’s Best Picture, yesterday big brave BHO used Marines holding umbrellas to shelter both himself and Turkish Prime Minister...

'It made him look like a butler': Retired general blasts President Obama for ordering U.S. Marine to break military rules by holding an umbrella The President unwittingly forced two U.S Marines to break protocol and regulations as he ordered them to use umbrellas Former United States Air Force Lieutenant Thomas McInerney criticized the President for making the officers look like butlers By DAVID MARTOSKO, JAMES NYE and DANIEL BATES 16 May 2013 President Obama humiliated the marine who he asked to hold his umbrella by making him ‘look like a butler’, a respected military general claimed today. Thomas McInerney, a...

A CROWD of 15,000 wellwishers cheer proud Royal Marines at a homecoming parade yesterday. They paid tribute to 700 men of 40 Commando who have completed THREE tours of Afghanistan. The unit has lost 18 out of the 61 Marines killed battling the Taliban. Heroes marched in Taunton, Somerset, then picked up medals from their captain general, the Duke of Edinburgh. Sue Cherry, welcoming home son Sam, 19, said: “We’re here to celebrate, but also to think of those who didn’t return.”

 President Barack Obama is having the worst week ever. On top of three erupting scandals, the IRS targeting conservative groups, AP wiretapping, and Benghazi whistle blowers, he stepped into another. He was pictured at a rainy press conference with the Prime Minister of Turkey. We don't think Marines should be holding umbrellas in the rain. #semperdry Two U.S. Marines were forced to hold an umbrella over the heads of state after the White House requested it, to keep Obama dry while he talked with the press. Never mind the staffers who are supposed to assume this role, Obama wanted...

Barack Obama loves the troops… To hold his umbrella. POTUS deploys Marines for rain in Rose Garden with Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan. (Major Garrett)

At an outdoor White House press conference, President Obama called over Marines to shield himself and the Turkish prime minister from the rain.

We all know CBS, NBC, ABC, CNN or Fox wasn't going to do it. "Imam’s Terrorist Ties Exposed by Local News Station," from Judicial Watch, November 26 (thanks to Pamela Geller): While the Obama Justice Department tours the nation condemning unfounded discrimination against Muslims at their place of worship, a local Florida news station uncovers an imam’s ties to a blind sheik behind the first World Trade Center bombing in the early 90s. Not surprisingly, the administration’s campaign to combat mosque intolerance is being heavily promoted while the shocking imam terrorist story gets swept under the rug. We only know...

Camp Lejeune, N.C. -- Service members shuffled through the doors and filled rows of seats at the Goettge Memorial Field House April 30, to honor a man who risked his life to save his fellow Marines in Afghanistan in 2011. The Silver Star Medal, the third highest military decoration for valor, has only been awarded to 40 Marines for actions in Afghanistan. Staff Sgt. Daniel W. Ridgeway, an explosive ordnance disposal team leader with 2nd Explosive Ordnance Disposal Company, 8th Engineer Support Battalion, 2nd Marine Logistics Group, was the 41st to receive the medal for his actions in combat during...

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...

PARRIS ISLAND, SC (WMBF) - The next war fought by American troops will be fought by men and women on the front line. Today, women are allowed - even encouraged - to serve wherever they're needed. And that has every branch of the military racing to develop a plan to make sure they are not only willing to fight, but ready for the job physically and emotionally. At Parris Island the new role of women in the Marine Corps is changing tradition and attitudes about training at one of the nation's premier boot camps. It has never has been training...

Orange County supervisors have unanimously approved a proposed settlement in a federal wrongful death lawsuit filed by the family of Manuel Loggins Jr., an unarmed Marine sergeant who was shot to death by a sheriff’s deputy in a darkend high school parking lot. The suit, which also names the county and the Sheriff's Department, said that Loggins didn't pose a threat to Sandberg in the early morning incident in 2012. Loggins, described by friends as a disciplined and religious career Marine, had recently begun taking his family on prayer walks at the field. His two daughters were in the SUV...

Grandson Gerry's best friend (on the left) just completed Marine Corps basic and showed up here looking for my daughters famous hot wings. My grandson is in the middle of FNG annual training but got leave so he could be here today.This is the hope of America!They're the best!They are out back this minute exercising my K-31.

The United States and Japan on Friday announced plans for basing troops in Okinawa that will result in Marines from there being moved to Hawaii and Guam. ... “Under the plan, the United States will consolidate our forces over time and reduce our impact on the most populated parts of Okinawa,” U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said in a statement. “Together, our plan calls for the immediate return — upon the completion of certain necessary procedures — of certain facilities and areas on Okinawa.

The only two women to participate in the Marine Corps Infantry Officer Course (IOC) failed ongoing tests to determine which infantry positions should be available to women, according to the Marine Corps Times: The women failed the introductory Combat Endurance Test, a punishing test of physical strength and endurance, officials at Marine Corps headquarters said Tuesday. The latest class began March 28 at Marine Corps Base Quantico, Va., with 110 lieutenants participating. Ninety-six men passed the initial endurance test. Twelve men and two women — the only female Marines taking part — failed. The two women both volunteered to participate...

Rank and file told to conserve as Big Sis buys by the billion At least one branch of the U.S. military is scrimping and saving every bullet it can while the Department of Homeland Security is on a bullet-buying spree. Marine Corps Commandant James F. Amos blames sequester budget cuts for causing the Corps to have to scrimp and save every bullet. In a video to Marines, he says, “I ask you to save every round, every gallon of gas, that you take every single aspect, or opportunity, in training to get the most bang for the buck.” “This is...

Two Italian marines arrived back in New Delhi Friday to face murder charges following a last-minute climbdown by their government, leaving India to savour victory at the end of a bitter standoff. Their arrival came after a shock decision by Italy's government to drop its opposition to their trial in India for shooting dead two fishermen off the coast of the southwestern Indian state of Kerala. The Indian government, which last week issued orders to immigration authorities to prevent Rome's ambassador to New Delhi from leaving the country, hailed Italy's U-turn as a victory for diplomacy. Italy meanwhile said it...

Three people have died after a gunman opened fire killing two before shooting himself at Quantico Marine Base last night. Authorities were called to the scene at the Marine Corps Base in Virginia at 10.30 PM yesterday and found one Marine dead at a barracks. In the early hours of today they found a second victim dead, along with the body of the suspected gunman, who died of self-inflicted gunshot wound.

A shooting that prompted a lockdown for hours at a Marine base in Virginia ended with three dead early Friday, including the gunman, authorities said. Sgt. Christopher Zahn said they were notified of the shooting at Marine Corps Base Quantico late Thursday. One person was fatally shot, and the gunman barricaded himself into a room, he said. Using a public address system, police announced a base lockdown as the shooter was holed up inside a building.

<p>Three people are dead, including a gunman who opened fire at Marine Corps Base Quantico in Virginia after shooting one person dead Thursday night.</p> <p>A base spokesman said the suspected shooter was found dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound along with a second victim.</p>

Polite, gentle Republicans are wearisome. In the face of the America-destroying policies of this enemy-within horde of criminal thugs under the crook-in-chief, Barack Obama (or whatever his name is), I would think the Republicans would be brave enough—at least for America’s sake—to leave their mealy mouths at the door and tell it like it is. But, with very few exceptions, they continue to pussy-foot around the outrageous actions and brazen lies of the oligarchy of communist Democrats ruling our nation. We are sick of watching the “opposition” Republicans stand meekly by and let the Democrats get away with lie after...

Yesterday we brought you news of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid using the deaths of seven Marines to fearmonger about sequestration. As a reminder: Mr. President, it's very important we continue training our military, so important. But one of the things in sequester is we cut back in training and maintenance. That's the way sequester was written. Now, the bill that's on the floor, we hope to pass today helps that a little bit. At least in the next six months, it allows the military some degree of ability to move things around a little bit. Flexibility, we call it,...

Just hours after an explosion killed seven Marines in his home state, Nevada Sen. Harry Reid used the fatal training accident as an opportunity to talk about the potential impact of the sequester on military readiness. The Senate Democratic leader initially took to the floor Tuesday to mourn the deaths of the seven Marines, killed during a training exercise at Hawthorne Army Depot in Nevada. “My thoughts are with those who are injured and of course the families of those who lost loved ones,” Reid said. But then, after explaining that the Marines were at the depot for training, Reid...

<p>HARRY REID: "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 Marines.</p> <p>Mr. President, it's very important we continue training our military, so important. But one of the things in sequester is we cut back in training and maintenance. ....</p>

Maybe I'm biased. The Marine Corps actually taught me, among other things, photography. Paid me for it, in fact. I served four years as a Combat Correspondent — a Marine photojournalist — and saw a lot of places from behind a lens. I've been out for some time now, but I've noticed that every year these photographers in uniform get better and better at documenting America's Marines. These images are from just the first three months of the year, and they're so good I had to post them.

The scare tactics that Democrats from President Obama on down have employed to wring political benefit out of the sequester have apparently hit a despicable new low. In comments made about the deaths overnight of seven U.S. Marines in a training incident in Nevada, Dem Senator Harry Reid reportedly suggested that we may see more such incidents because the sequester cuts put Marines at risk. NBC military correspondent Jim Miklaszewski, appearing on Andrea Mitchell's MSNBC show this afternoon, reported that the Marines have strongly rejected Reid's claim, and that one Marine official accused Reid of "pure political posturing on the...

RENO, Nev. – An official at the Hawthorne Army Depot says an explosion has occurred during a Marine Corps training exercise. Russ Collier told KRNV-TV in Reno that the explosion Monday night was an accident unrelated to the ammunition that is stored at the military facility near the small desert community of Hawthorne. There was no immediate information of any injuries. Calls to the depot and to U.S. Joint Munitions Command, which oversees the facility, were not immediately answered. (EARLY)

PARRIS ISLAND, S.C. — The first female Marine Corps general in charge of its tough-as-nails basic training site on Parris Island says she’s confident women in the Corps will be able to handle combat. Brig. Gen. Loretta Reynolds says the Pentagon’s lifting of the combat exclusion against women earlier this year means commanders will be able to “just use the talent that they have. Just use it where they need it. That’s awesome.” Reynolds was the first woman to command a Marine base in a combat zone when she was put in charge of Camp Leatherneck in Afghanistan in 2010....

United States Marines are being told to preserve ammunition and gasoline as a deal softening the impact of automatic spending cuts continues to elude leaders in Washington. Marine Corps Commandant James Amos urged personnel in a video posted online Friday to "save every round, every gallon of gas," and to "take every single aspect or opportunity in training to get the most bang for the buck," a reminder of the cuts' immediate effect on the U.S. military.

Today a Genoa-Kingston Middle School student’s parent is claiming that a teacher ordered his son to cover his US Marine themed t-shirt or be suspended. Dan McIntyre says that his son Michael has wore the shirt to school many times in the past and that he is a big fan of the branch of the US military. Dan McIntyre says that, “A teacher noticed the guns on the shirt.” He went on to say that the teacher said there was a school policy against the image of a gun. Michael complied when the teacher asked him to turn the shirt...

Photographer Joe Rosenthal admitted that when he took a shot of five Marines and one Navy corpsman raising the U.S. flag on Iwo Jima’s Mt. Suribachi on 23 February 1945, he had no idea that he had captured something extraordinary. He was setting up for a different shot when he spotted the group of men planting the flag and quickly took a snap without even looking through the viewfinder. The chance photo would become iconic overnight and go on to win the Pulitzer Prize.

The term “moronic” is defined as “notably stupid or lacking in good judgment.” It is frequently used as an insult. The Obama administration is moronic. This is not an insult. President Obama’s latest “notably stupid” stoke of America’s calculated slow burn is the decision to lift the ban on women in direct combat. Along with the move a few years back to turn the Officers’ Club into the Blue Oyster Bar, this most recent social experiment with national security represents one small step for the “progressive” agenda and one giant prance toward the pansification of the greatest military in world...

He's gutted their healthcare, plans to cut their pay and apparently, doesn't trust them either. David Codrea over at Gun Rights Examiner points out that Marines marching in President Obama's second inaugural parade recently were caring rifles without bolts, meaning they were removed.

Exclusive: Pamela Geller tells of corporal gunned down by Afghan 'ally' SNIP: The event was illuminating in many ways. One speaker insistently emphasized that all religions teach the same core values, and another heralded our “nation building” efforts in Afghanistan. But then something happened that showed all that up as the politically correct nonsense that it is: the club presented a Supreme Sacrifice award to the family of Lance Cpl. Greg Buckley Jr., who was murdered by one of our Afghan “allies” while working out in the base gym after a long day of work “nation building” among those allies...

He's gutted their healthcare, plans to cut their pay and apparently, doesn't trust them either. David Codrea over at Gun Rights Examiner points out that Marines marching in President Obama's second inaugural parade recently were caring rifles without bolts, meaning they were removed.

“Didn't know the Marines had to take the bolts out of their rifles for the Inaugural,” an email forwarded to Gun Rights Examiner from a United States Marine Corps source observed. “Wonder if someone can explain why [they] would be marching in the inaugural parade with no bolts in their rifles!” The email linked to a YouTube video of the 57th Presidential Inaugural Parade, embedded in this column, featuring Bravo Company Marines from the Marine Barracks Washington. Sure enough, the observation in the email is confirmed by watching the video, with screen shots provided in the photo and slide show...

A new administration policy? Barack Obama disarmed the US Marines at the Inaugural parade this year. Dishonored and disarmed: Bolts are clearly missing from these Marine rifles during President Obama’s inauguration parade. This is an unmistakable insult to the honor of the Marine Corps ... It’s not the first time the Obama Administration disarmed US Marines at an event. In March 2012, US Marines were told to leave their weapons outside the tent during Leon Panetta’s speech in Afghanistan.

“Didn't know the Marines had to take the bolts out of their rifles for the Inaugural,” an email forwarded to Gun Rights Examiner from a United States Marine Corps source observed. “Wonder if someone can explain why [they] would be marching in the inaugural parade with no bolts in their rifles!” The email linked to a YouTube video of the 57th Presidential Inaugural Parade, embedded in this column, featuring Bravo Company Marines from the Marine Barracks Washington. Sure enough, the observation in the email is confirmed by watching the video, with screen shots provided in the photo and slide show...

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.

Defense: Plans to reduce our most effective fighting force by 20,000 will leave it unable to meet all its global commitments or respond to spontaneous threats from the shores of Tripoli to anywhere else. There is no greater symbol of America's apologetic retreat from world leadership under President Obama than the planned reductions in the size of the Marine Corps, cuts that were in the works even before sequestration mandated under the Budget Control Act threatened to cut even deeper. The Marines are on course to cut around 4,000 positions a year through 2017, decreasing the total number of Marines...

President Obama, in dogged pursuit of his liberal Nirvana, is free to lift the ban on women serving in combat positions. He is, alas, unable to repeal the laws of nature, physics or gravity. Ask a combat veteran you know how he would have felt knowing that, after being wounded in combat, the only person around to pick him up and carry him to safety was a 5-foot-3, 120-pound woman. Ask any active duty serviceman how he’d feel knowing that, as he lay on the ground bleeding, the only thing between him and a cave-hardened Tali-ban killer was a 20-year-old...

HOUSTON (KTRK) -- There's a good news update on a home ransacked and spray painted by a pair of teen burglars in northwest Houston. While the burglars are now in custody, community members and Marines stepped in to help the homeowner -- a 93-year-old World War II veteran. The Marines quickly marched into the defaced home of WWII veteran Elbert Wood, eager to help. "It's important that he knows we're here for him and that we're always his brothers," Major Roberto Rodriguez said. The presence of these local Marines is just one example of the outpouring of support for Wood...

Noting Army flap, Marine Corps orders its spouses clubs to allow same-sex members By Bill Briggs, NBC News contributor Marine Corps leaders have directed their legal teams to alert spouses clubs at all Marine bases to begin allowing same-sex spouses as members if those social groups want to continue operating on Marine installations, Marine officials confirmed to NBC News Wednesday evening. In an all-hands memo to legal offices across the branch, the Marine commandant's Staff Judge Advocate warned against discrimination based on sexual orientation, and he specifically mentioned a controversial decision made last month by the officers' spouses club at...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ETF6XFiQe7I

What's classier than a Marine in dress blues?A Marine in dress blues escorting a special needs child to the Cinderella Ball. Semper Fi!

<p>The following letter, written by U.S. Marine Joshua Boston and headlined “No ma’am.,” was posted in the CNN iReport on Dec. 27 with the included note from the producer and photo. It has struck a nerve with many and is being circulated around social media venues like Twitter and Facebook.</p>

They don't call 'em Devil Dogs for nothing. Youtube.com

The war medals were stolen from a home in Vista sometime between Nov. 27 and Dec. 15San Diego County sheriff’s detectives are looking for the suspect or suspects responsible for stealing several World War II medals from a veteran's home in Vista. According to detectives, the war medals were stolen during a residential burglary in the 1000 block of Prospect Place sometime between November 27 and December 15. They were the only item taken from the home. The medals have no real monetary value, detectives said, but they do hold great sentimental value to the owner, a World War II...