Free Republic

The Israeli military has withdrawn all of its ground troops from southern Gaza save for one bridge in order to “rest and refit,” US officials say – as the Jewish State returns to the negotiating table with Hamas. “They’ve been on the ground for four months, the word we’re getting is they’re tired, they need to be refit,” National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told ABC’s “This Week.” “It is really just about rest and refit for these troops,” Kirby added, “and not necessarily that we can tell indicative of some coming new operation for these troops.”

Joe Biden, amidst his mental confusion, must think he is John Mccain reincarnated. I bet he’s humming, “Bomb, Bomb, Bomb; Bomb Bomb Iran.” You know how it is, Iranians, Yemenis, they all look alike. While the bombs are causing some damage in Yemen, Yemen has seen it before and is unfazed. In fact, the bombing appears to be strengthening the resolve of Yemen to continue its blockade of the Red Sea.The United States does not have enough bombs to force Yemen to surrender. Why? Yemen’s rocket and missile force is mobile. They can move dozens of missiles at the same...

A year ago the U.S. Marine Corps began shopping for a UAV to deliver supplies, at least half a ton per trip, in order to get essential items (ammo, water, food) to combat troops in remote locations. The marines wanted the UAV in action within six months, but no one was able to come up with anything in time. Last month, the marines successfully tested a transport helicopter UAV. Some firms told the marines they were working on it, and one of these outfits, Kaman, modified its K-MAX manned helicopter to meet marine requirements. This month, another contender, Boeing, successfully...

WASHINGTON (AFP) – President Barack Obama's order to surge 30,000 troops into Afghanistan presents the US military with a giant logistical challenge as it faces some of the most forbidding terrain in the world. With few paved roads and a vast, rugged landscape, moving soldiers and equipment into Afghanistan "is a bigger challenge than certainly was the case in Iraq," Defense Secretary Robert Gates said last month. Fulfilling Obama's vow to send troops at the "fastest pace possible," the first units of the buildup are due to arrive within two to three weeks, and the military plans to have all...

6/27/2006 - BAGRAM AIR BASE, Afghanistan (AFPN) -- The U.S. military has turned to an old workhorse as the delivery method for supplies and humanitarian cargo needed to sustain Operation Enduring Freedom. The C-130 Hercules has been around, in one form or another, since the 1950s. It is the aircraft of choice for inter-theater airlift in Afghanistan, where the U.S. Army is conducting operations from areas located on some of the toughest terrain on the planet. The last time "Herc" crews flew combat airdrops at this level was the Vietnam War. "It's the perfect tool to use in this theater,"...

AL ASAD, Iraq (April 26, 2006) -- The cargo bay doors of a KC-130J Hercules opened, bringing the night air into view, as a chill wind circulated through the inside of the plane. Five Marines braced themselves against the front of the cargo bay watching the two remaining parachute systems attentively. The massive plane jumped as its airspeed slowed to half of what it had been moments before. A heavy hum vibrated through the walls of the aircraft, as the pilots powered up its engines and aimed it toward the stars. The two crates slid from the bay and disappeared...