Free Republic

Hi all FYI--for what freedom is worth. Jeff Porter (Capt. US Army now in Afghanistan) relates his experience with the Obama visit to Afghanistan) (Below is from Tiffany, Jeff's wife- then the comment from Jeff) I don't know each of your personal political convictions, and apologize if anyone finds this offensive. I thought it was important enough to share. This is Jeff's first hand view of Senator Obama's visit. Tiffany Hello everyone, As you know I am not a very political person. I just wanted to pass along that Senator Obama came to Bagram Afghanistan for about an hour on...

080722-N-7571S-001 ATLANTIC OCEAN (July 22, 2008) A French F-2 Rafale launches from the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71) during the first integrated U.S. and French carrier qualifications aboard a U.S. aircraft carrier. The Theodore Roosevelt Carrier Strike Group is participating in Joint Task Force Exercise "Operation Brimstone" off the Atlantic coast. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Jonathan Snyder/Released) 080721-N-7241L-009 ATLANTIC OCEAN (July 21, 2008) A French Rafale M prepares to land aboard the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71) during combined French and American carrier qualifications. This event marks the first...

BARLETTA, Italy -- Collecting music written in internment camps before and during World War II may n ot occur to everyone but that has been Francesco Lotoro's quest since 1991. "To allow the musicians to continue to work was also a way to control them better," said the 44-year-old Italian Jew. "At Auschwitz, there were seven orchestras." Lotoro has amassed some 4,000 pieces, all composed between March 1933, when the Nazis' Dachau death camp was opened soon after Hitler won absolute power, and the end of World War II in 1945. But while much is from Nazi camps, Lotoro's collection...

These aren't the 300 Spartans you heard about from Greek myth or the movies. They are the nearly 300 Spartan combat support truckers of the National Guard who are on their way back to Iraq. The 1498th Transportation Co., nicknamed "The Spartans," departs today from March Air Reserve Base for its ultimate destination, a staging area in Kuwait designed for supporting missions into Iraq. ... On Tuesday the largest California Guard unit to deploy during the initial phase of Operation Iraqi Freedom got ready to redeploy to the Middle East, with 18 or so of its original members making the...

Address To The Graduating Class Of The United States Military Academy at West Point, New York - March 6, 1974 Since I am a fiction writer, let us start with a short short story. Suppose that you are an astronaut whose spaceship gets out of control and crashes on an unknown planet. When you regain consciousness and find that you are not hurt badly, the first three questions in or mind would be: Where am I? How can I discover it? What should I do? You see unfamiliar vegetation outside, and there is air to breathe; the sunlight seems paler...

My brother in Gainesville, Georgia closed down his store for a bit to capture the funeral procession of Corporal Matthew Phillips, on the way to neighboring Cumming. Matthew was one of the nine killed in Afghanistan not long ago.

Marines visiting a Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant. Scenes include troops walking inside the restaurant and KFC workers preparing and frying chicken and french fries. Click link to see video clip

The Most Advanced Quadruped Robot on Earth BigDog is the alpha male of the Boston Dynamics family of robots. It is a quadruped robot that walks, runs, and climbs on rough terrain and carries heavy loads. BigDog is powered by a gasoline engine that drives a hydraulic actuation system. BigDog's legs are articulated like an animal’s, and have compliant elements that absorb shock and recycle energy from one step to the next. BigDog is the size of a large dog or small mule, measuring 1 meter long, 0.7 meters tall and 75 kg weight.

Imagine the delight on the faces of troops in Iraq when Heidi Montag and Spencer Pratt arrive to put on a show. One can only assume that Montag will sing and Pratt will glare at soldiers with his simultaneously vacant and menacing Svengali leer. People.com reports that the reality show duo will visit the troops in homage to Montag's stepbrother, who served as an airborne ranger before he died in an accident stateside. Apparently, John McCain's daughter Meghan plans to help the two with their travel plans. From People:

Fellow Freepers, help me out here. How could Malaki pull the rug out from under McCain -- and the U.S. -- by echoing Obama's 16-Months-and-Out-Plan, allowing Iran to take-over Iraq in 2010? Does he really resent the U.S./Bush that much? Does he really want a democratic Iraq or does he want a continuation of tribes at one anothers' throats with him on top? Any anwers would be appreciated.

US Democratic presidential candidate Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) is saluted as he steps off an osprey upon arriving at Marka Airport in Amman, Jordan, July 22, 2008.

Years ago, there was an old tale in the Marine Corps about a lieutenant who inspected his Marines and told the “gunny” that they smelled bad. The lieutenant suggested that they change their underwear. The gunny responded, “Aye, sir, I'll see to it immediately.” He went into the tent and said, “The lieutenant thinks you guys smell bad, and wants you to change your underwear. So, Smith, you change with Jones. McCarthy, you change with Witkowski. Brown, you change with Schultz. Get to it.” The moral: A candidate may promise change in Washington, but don't count on things smelling any...

I am a supporter of President Bush's policies domestic and international. However, I struggle GREATLY with the topic of amnesty or any formal recognition of illegal aliens status as a fair response. Many immigrants have chosen to be legally complaint with United States law remaining years in refugee camps and are still waiting There is an interesting precedent in our U.S. history: My maternal grandfather escaped from Russia at the turn of the last century. His father had played an instrument in the Czar's band. As children, he and his brother and their father worked in the NY coal mines...

DOGS will lead the way in SAS raids after being parachuted in to spy out rebels for troops, The Sun can reveal. Fearless German Shepherds are being trained to jump from aircraft at 25,000ft wearing their own oxygen masks and strapped to special forces assault teams. Once down in hostile terrain in Iraq or Afghanistan, the dogs will be sent in first to seek out insurgents’ hideouts with tiny cameras fixed to their heads. The cameras will beam live TV pictures back to the troops, warning of ambushes or showing enemy leaders’ locations. The amazing tactic – on which The...

The Barret M82 is used by the United States armed forces as the M107 sniper rifle. It fires the .50 Browning MachineGun round, commonly called the .50 BMG. This is the rifle that inspired the famous "recoil" quote. It's not on the Barrett website, but they have some really cool stuff. It's from the 2008 Barrett Annual. This is the inside of the scope cover from an M107 rifle.

Honest Conservative welcomes our distinguished guest Mayor Lou Barletta, the Republican candidate for the House of Representatives from Pennsylvania. His Honor has been a campion of citizens rights to a secure environment and fair government. We will discuss his campaign, its progress and the changing environment as it relates to illegal immigration, energy exploration and the failure of the democrat leaders to do their duty to protect the people they are sworn to protect. The importance of electing dyed in the wool conservatives to the House can not be overstated!

At the start of every presidential race, the Democrats perform a masochistic ritual. They promise to take a stand in Dixieland, get in touch with their inner NASCAR, sweet-talk the Southerners with a heavy emphasis on faith and flag. The aim, every time, is to capture some of those states and thereby clinch the election. Care to guess how well the Democrats have fared lately? Eleven Southern states compose the Old Confederacy. The last Democratic nominee, John Kerry, won zip and lost 11. The previous nominee, Al Gore, won zip and lost 11. Indeed, all the Democratic nominees since 1980...

A friend of mine who had been out of college and working for a couple years recently told me he is considering joining the Navy Reserve, and from what he told me it is an interesting possibility. I've long had some interest in doing some military service (particularly the Navy), but hesitated largely because of the four-year committment. It sounds like the reserves may be a real possibility, though, and I have some questions for anyone here who might be able to answer them.I just finished my first year of law school (which I started straight out of college). However,...

I read and heard a lot in the news today about "Taliban regime resurgent"I wonder who would be trying to give aid and comfort to an enemy in a time of war?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y0SmE8ebD0M

  RIP Prayer Request From Mountainflower ~ TAPS ~ It is with deep sadness that I relate the following to you.  On July 15 I received an email from Dan Small stating that our mutual friend, Hal Jones, has passed away after a 16-month or so battle with cancer. Hal Jones was with us in Washington, DC at Gathering of Eagles I.  It was an honor to get to know him and Dan, and to stand with him as a Marshal that day in March.  He has gone home to be with the Lord on July 14, 2008.  He is...

Wow!A terrific interpretation!Adolf's Got Talent

A high-level Chinese military source secretly disclosed last week that the recent earthquake in Sichuan Province caused a chain-reaction of explosions in the Sichuan mountain areas. The explosions destroyed Chinese army's largest armory, new weapon test bases and part of nuclear facilities including several nuclear warheads. This information is considered China's top military secret.

Workers are installing 1,600 solar panels on the roof of the four-story Jerry L. Pettis Memorial VA Medical Center in hopes of cutting the Loma Linda hospital's electricity bill by at least $60,000 a year.

have done research into the problem , why the ejected catridges hit my face . its because of bigger ejection ports on glock and hk handguns. the ejection port extends upwards and some rounds are not ejected sideways but upward and backward to the face. what do you think? plus, i am right handed but my dominant eye is left so gun is right in front of my face so, the probability of ejected catridge hittin my face is higher compared to shooters with right dominant eye. Currently i am using STOEGER COUGAR 9mm(it is same copy of Brettas COUGA...

The Messiah of Nations (1914) jpstmon.midIn the need that bows us thus, America! Shape a mighty song for us, America! Song to whelm a hundred years' Roar of wars and rain of tears 'Neath a world's triumphant cheers, America! America! Lift the trumpet to thy mouth, America! East and West and North and South, America! Call us round the dazzling shrine Of the starry old ensign, Holier yet through blood of thine, America! America! High o'er looking sea and land, America! Trustfully with outheld hand, America! Thou dost welcome all in quest Of thy freedom, peace and rest, Ev'ry...

Quote: In a handout picture released on the news website of Iran's Revolutionary Guards, four long and medium range missiles rise into the air after being test-fired at an undisclosed location in the Iranian desert on July 9, 2008. Iran today test-fired a missile it said is capable of reaching Israel, angering the United States amid growing fears that the standoff over the contested Iranian nuclear drive could lead to war. G**** Images Hahaha nice Photoshop work If you dont have real pictures fake it

Finding the Target: The Transformation of American Military Policy by Frederick W. Kagan, 2006. Encounter Books. Recommendation: read This book is an excellent accounting of the theories that have gripped and influenced American military thinking and planning since the Vietnam war. Theories? If all your information on the military has come from Hollywood (and there is a new series about Iraq out on HBO, surely this time written by writers who actually served and are thus knowledgeable), then it might come as a surprise that when planning a war you actually have to decide what to hit, what resources are...

Iran has really gone and done it now. No, they haven't sent their first nuclear sub in to the Persian Gulf . They are about to launch something much more deadly -- next week the Iran Bourse will open to trade oil, not n dollars but in Euros' This apparently insignificant event has consequences far greater for the US people, indeed all for us all, than is imaginable. Currently almost all oil buying and selling is in US-dollars through exchanges in London and New York . It is not accidental they are both US-owned. The Wall Street crash in 1929...

I just thought he looked and sounded great. Gone is the smiling Jack, affable-fella demeanour. He must have had some nails with his granola today.... Here's a guy that can talk tough on Iran, and knows what he's talking about in specifics... And, I'm a McCain skeptic. Stark contrast to the Obama and his Platitudes -- which sounds like an oldie's band. Anybody else see it?

Some Senators are being quoted that the Air Force tanker project that Boeing lost will be rebid. Freepmail me for details, or wait about 20 minutes for general announcement.

It's hard to even begin to imagine the sacrifice... When they leave they are husbands and fathers, wives and mothers, sons and daughters, brothers and sisters, yet they are willing to put it all aside and stand up for that one great cause that they believe in, that one great fight they believe will make the world that much of a better place. We often sometimes hear their story, and if we don't, we can see some of it in their faces, in their eyes, in the slightly measured walks as they come home. Often I can't watch without feeling...

UPDATED: War clouds continue to build in the epicenter. Last month in Rome, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad vowed that the United States and Israel would soon be "annihilated," language he had not used so explicitly since October 2005 when he promised to wipe Israel "off the map" and urged Muslims to "envision a world without the United States." This week, his regime authorized a new series of Iranian war games. He ordered the digging of 320,000 graves to bury the enemies of Islam. He is calling for the unification of the Islamic world politically and economically, including the creation of...

My hero -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Asher Baier, 5, prepares for a neighborhood bike parade at River Heights Elementary School Thursday morning in honor of Independence Day. Baier attended the parade with his mother, Tara. His father just returned from a three-year tour of duty in Iraq and is scheduled to return to Iraq shortly. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

For those of you who have ever biked into a little establishment on 17-92 just 1 mi. north of SR434 on a Tuesday nite for their free wings....the Handle Bar & Grille, which closed down, seemingly for good, in February, WILL open again! Friday is the Handle Bar & Wings Grand Opening. Many Charity 'Rides' began at their doorstep, and God willing, soon will again. The Handle Bar is now a 'family restaurant' and 'biker bar'...and in good standing with the local community. It may be that the Good Will of all those Vets on Bikes, Patriot Riders, Eagles, Rolling...

Help!!! We are to attend my neices graduation from Marine boot camp later this month and we need ideas on where to stay. Rent a hotel, a house for two or three days? Thanks in advance!!!

The unflappable public affairs officer for the Marine Corps Central Command during most of the explosive Haditha and Hamandiyah affairs is moving on. Lt. Col. Sean Gibson has been transferred to Marine Corps Installation West at Camp Pendleton after a tumultuous time facing heat for the Marine Corps. Lt. Col. Gibson, who says his age is a “state secret,” never missed a beat running the Camp Pendleton Media Center when it was the epicenter of an international media feeding frenzy. Along with a small staff of Marine public affairs specialists, Gibson quickly and honestly responded to the endless barrage of...

July 5, 2008: A new morale building effort, for U.S. troops overseas, comes in the form of a suitcase size box containing a portable projector and screen, an Xbox video game, DVDs, magazines, snacks and a satellite based high-speed Internet hook-up. This box is for remote bases in Iraq and Afghanistan, manned by fewer than fifty troops. If the "USO In A Box" works, it will be distributed to small navy and marine contingents at sea. The box is, in fact, another effort by the USO (United Service Organizations) to cheer up the troops in wartime. The USO was formed...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rA-nOeLSM7E Television's Vietnam: the Impact of Media 1 of 6 Charlton Heston Narrates

Does anybody have the picture of the disabled vet rising from his wheel chair as the flag passes in a parade?

While many people in the Antelope Valley will spend the Fourth of July celebrating their independence with barbecues, beer, music and cheer, some members of the Blue Star Mothers will think of their sons and daughters still fighting for freedom overseas. Blue Star Mothers of America Inc. is a nonprofit organization with chapters throughout the nation comprising women whose children are serving or have served in the military. Members offer each other emotional support and support the troops by sending cards, letters and care packages filled with snack foods, toiletries and sometimes items such as paperback books or a deck...

There's a story from the Ass Press on Yahoo about a Minnesota doofus (named in the article as a college student) who tried to sell his vote on eBay for $10. He might get upto 5 years in prison and a $10,000 fine. Look it up on Yahoo (if you're interested).

Soldiers in Iraq, Showing The A Team still live on! British Army - Basra click to view

My Nephew-in-law is in his 3 tour in Iraq. He leads a squad of 22 soldiers who are not near any military base. Our family sends out monthly care packages to him and his men. Last week they lost 3 who were temporarily attached to them for a special mission. With all the bad press out there I would like to send in my next care package "words of praise and encouragement" for these guys. Can you take a minute and write a note to them. I will print out each note separately (that is appropriate) and include it in...

Hulu Days of Summer EventHulu is showing 8 free full length classic war movies for your viewing pleasure. (Note: these movies are not commercial-free) You are not required to sign up to view these movies.Behind Enemy LinesThe Blue MaxThe Sand PebblesVon Ryan's ExpressGuadalcanal DiaryThe Longest DayHalls Of MontezumaThe Desert RatsBonus--released July 2,2008:Men in Black All movies available for viewing in hi-res.

Why was Wesley Clark shuffled off?

I saw the movie 300 again recently and it crossed my mind. I know the libs hate the movie and so do the Islamo-nuts all over. So go see it again or for the first time, and think about then and today. (Better yet...buy the CD.) We too stand at the gates...the hordes are comming. 300 On DVDhttp://www.300ondvd.com/index2.html

Picture worth a thousand words By Michelle Malkin  •  July 1, 2008 04:02 PM Here.

What does the 4th of July mean to you? Over the time I have been aware of who we are as a nation I have been asked from time to time just what it means to celebrate the 4th of July. It’s not just the mantra of the birth of a new nation. It’s not the just another weekend to get drunk, party, BBQ, and take advantage of the time off. It has to have a deeper meaning, one that resonates from the past and looks to the future.For me, there was an awareness at the age of 8 about...

LANCASTER [CALIFORNIA] - The brightly colored Phun Time Cruisers and the Patriot Guard Riders provided a personal "welcome home" parade for five Air Force women Sunday at the Texas Cattle Company restaurant in Lancaster. Decorated with American flags, stickers, ribbons and bows, the Chrysler PT Cruisers honked their horns to welcome home Lt. Col. Sandy Burr, who has been in the Air Force for 19 years; Master Sgt. Sandy Pfeffer, who has been in the Air Force for 20 years; Tech. Sgt. Shannon Fisk, who has served in the Air Force for 11 years; and Staff Sgt. Matrika Morgan, who...