Free Republic

Here we go… The US Army now has its first female infantry recruit, a police officer in Louisiana. According to Fox News: Tammy Barnett said she figures her new job will be a lot like her old one. With one notable exception: She’ll be the first female to do it. The 25-year-old Louisiana police officer is set to report to basic training as the Army’s first female infantry recruit, The Army Times reported. Barnett will serve in one of the military occupational specialties opened to women on April 1. She made her initial visit to recruiters in November, took her...

A division of the Department of Veterans Affairs tasked with fixing up the VA's broken veteran suicide hotline has dropped roughly 1.4 million phone calls from veterans since fiscal year 2015, a VA whistleblower told the Washington Examiner. That high number of abandoned calls is raising questions about whether the VA is doing all it can to fix up the suicide hotline, which has been criticized as the latest part of the VA that is failing veterans. Scott Davis, a whistleblower and program specialist at the VA's Health Eligibility Center in Atlanta, noted that the VA's Health Resource Center is...

The overweight leader of the state's National Guard has passed a fitness test, meeting a deadline to shape up that was imposed by the governor, who himself has faced questions about his weight. Air Force Brig. Gen. Michael Cunniff was given 90 days to slim down and meet his obligations in September after he was reprimanded by the Pentagon about his weight and for repeatedly dodging physical-fitness tests. He informed Republican Gov. Chris Christie that he was administered his fitness test Tuesday and passed, Christie spokesman Kevin Roberts said Wednesday. It was unclear how much weight the general had to...

The Pentagon Paid Millions to Pro Sports Teams for Military Tributes That time 80 members of the National Guard unfurled an American flag on the turf during an Atlanta Falcons football game? You paid for that. That on-field swearing-in ceremony for soldiers at a New York Mets game? You pairs for that, too. That's because the Department of Defense paid at least $6.8 million in taxpayer money to professional sports teams for military tributes over the last few years, according to a new report by U.S. Senators John McCain (R) and Jeff Flake (R), both of Arizona. The document shows...

Gov. Chris Christie wants the leader of New Jersey's National Guard to shape up. The Republican governor has given Air Force Brig. Gen. Michael Cunniff 90 days to slim down and meet his obligations. The action comes after Christie's staff told The Washington Post that the governor was unaware the general had been reprimanded by the Pentagon about his weight and for repeatedly dodging physical-fitness tests.

PARIS — A gunman opened fire on a high-speed train traveling from Amsterdam to Paris Friday, wounding two people before being subdued by two American passengers, officials said. French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve, speaking in Arras in northern France where the suspected was detained, said one of the Americans was hospitalized with serious wounds. Their names were not immediately released. Philippe Lorthiois, an official with the Alliance police union, said on i-Tele that the two Americans were soldiers. In Washington, the Pentagon said it “can only confirm that one U.S. military member was injured in the incident. The injury is...

While male in red truck seen firing at training center two days in a row National Guard authorities in Hattiesburg said a shooter fired into the air near soldiers training at Camp Shelby on Wednesday morning It was in the same area where soldiers reported gunshots fired from a pickup truck a day earlier. The description of the shooter was the same in both instances, Patterson said: a white male in a red pickup truck

Several state lawmakers plan to introduce legislation that will make it legal for Minnesota National Guard members to carry weapons at recruiting centers, or whenever in uniform. State Sen. Paul Gazelka, R-Nisswa, says the killing of five military personnel in Tennessee is not to be taken lightly and said, "It is time we make sure our Minnesota National Guard members can have the ability to protect themselves when in uniform." Gazelka said "our guard members are targets wherever they go in uniform because they represent the United States and there are those who would do harm to them for that...

While driving past the local National Guard armory yesterday everything was looking normal.Today there are Humvee's blocking both entrances.Wonder if threat level has increased?

PHOENIX -- Gov. Doug Ducey signed an executive order Wednesday arming the Arizona National Guard in response to multiple shootings at military facilities in Chattanooga, Tennessee. "With the number of tragic shootings that have occurred on military installations in recent years, it's imperative that our soldiers and airmen -- people who put their lives on the line every day to protect our state and nation -- have at least the same level of self-defense as the citizens they're fighting for," Ducey said in a statement. Ducey's order will allow Guard personnel to carry weapons at Guard facilities and train them...

Gov. Scott Walker has issued an executive order allowing Wisconsin National Guard members to carry weapons while they are on duty. The move comes less than a week after a gunman in Chattanooga, Tennessee, opened fire on a military recruiting center, then drove to a Navy operations support center and launched a second attack, killing four Marines and a sailor. "Safety must be our top priority, especially in light of the horrific attack in Chattanooga," Walker said in a written statement. "Allowing our National Guard members to carry weapons while on duty gives them the tools they need to serve...

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) -- Governors in at least a half-dozen states ordered National Guardsmen to be armed in the wake of an attack on two military facilities in Tennessee, and Florida Gov. Rick Scott went a step further Saturday by immediately relocated recruiters to armories. In an executive order, the Republican governor said he wants Guard recruiters to move from six storefront locations into armories until state officials can evaluate and make security improvements, including possibly installing bullet-proof glass or enhanced surveillance equipment. Scott ordered the Guardsmen to be armed, as did governors in Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas, Oklahoma and Indiana....

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — In the wake of the deadly shootings at two Tennessee military centers, Gov. Rick Scott has signed an executive order meant to protect and arm members of the Florida National Guard. In the executive order signed Saturday, Scott wants "to ensure that all qualified full-time Guardsmen are adequately armed for their personal protection." The order calls for expedited processing of concealed weapons permits for Florida Guardsmen.

ARKANSAS (KFSM) – Following the shooting death of four Marines in Chattanooga, Gov. Asa Hutchinson has authorized Arkansas National Guard Adjutant General Mark Berry to arm full-time military personnel. The governor also ordered the Arkansas flag to be flown at half-staff on Monday (July 20), according to a news release. “Our hearts break at the news of another senseless act of violence and terror, this time out of Chattanooga,” Governor Hutchinson said. “Our prayers go out to all the families of the victims, especially the family of Staff Sgt. David Wyatt of Russellville, one of Arkansas’s own.” He continued, “I...

A soldier from the Louisiana National Guard who died alongside Marines in a training accident deserves to be buried in Arlington National Cemetery, his father said Saturday. Former Green Beret Stephen Florich told Fox & Friends it is a “travesty” his son has been denied that honor because he was not on active duty at the time of his death. Most active duty or retired military members of military service are eligible for in-ground interment at Arlington. Members of the reserves or National Guard are not eligible unless they have been on active duty. “I think my son was very...

During the raid to arrest two robbery suspects at a local apartment, police said officers uncovered details of a possible terrorist cell, with alleged plans for an attack in the Southland. Images In an exclusive investigation, Channel 4 News has learned more about the two suspects under investigation by the FBI's counter terrorism task force and an alleged plot that targeted several prominent locations in the Los Angeles area.ANA GARCIA (REPORTER): Is it possible that an Islamic Prison Gang with possible links to Middle Eastern operatives were planning to blow up these targets? El Al Airlines at LAXIsraeli Consulate On...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) applauds the passage of the FY 2016 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) by the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) on Thursday after a week of debate and consideration by both parties. Sen. Cruz introduced or cosponsored more than a dozen amendments that were successfully adopted by the committee. “Congress’ first priority is to provide for the national defense and ensure our soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines have everything they need to defend our freedom,” said Sen. Cruz. “I am grateful for the committee’s support for my amendments, including measures that will ensure...

Deploying National Guard troops in Baltimore City was bound to happen, but when it did the same question that surfaced months ago, hundreds of miles away in Ferguson, Missouri, surfaced there: Why did it take so long? According to various reports, rioting and looting that began over the weekend and spilled over into early Tuesday morning, ostensibly in the name of Freddie Gray, a 25-year-old African-American man who died April 12 in police custody under circumstances that remain unclear, finally prompted embattled Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake – she of “give them space to destroy” fame – to request National Guard...

Rawlings-Blake says she's thinking 'long and hard' about whether to run for U.S. Senate By Yvonne Wenger The Baltimore Sun As she weighs a decision to run for U.S. Senate, Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake said Wednesday she’s considering whether she can serve Baltimore better in her current job or in Congress. Rawlings-Blake, who is in her first full term, declined to say how soon she would decide whether to run for the seat that will be vacated by longtime Sen. Barbara A. Mikulski. Mikulski announced this week that she will retire at the end of her term after nearly half a...

Target shooters at the 27 1/4 Road range could find themselves with military company about four times a year. Soldiers with Company C of 1st Battalion, 157th Infantry Regiment, headquartered in Grand Junction, will qualify at the range in the use of small arms, under an agreement with the Colorado National Guard and the Bureau of Land Management. Charlie Company soldiers now qualify on arms smaller than an M 240 Bravo — a machine gun — at a range in Fort Carson. “It’s a five-hour bus ride in good weather and a $5,000 round-trip proposition,” said Lt. Col. Brey Hopkins,...