Free Republic

The Royal Australian Navy Anzac Class Frigate HMAS Toowoomba arrived home following a six-month deployment to the Northern Persian Gulf. Her ship's company of 183 men and women were greeted by the Minister Assisting the Minister of Defence, Mr Bruce Billson, the Commander Australian Fleet, Rear Admiral Davyd Thomas and family and friends. HMAS Toowoomba was stationed in the Northern Persian Gulf as part of Operation Catalyst, Australia's commitment to the reconstruction and rehabilitation of Iraq, from January to July of this year. During her time in the Gulf, Toowoomba conducted 65 boarding and security patrols, more than 300 boat...

IF YOU HATED IT the first time, you might like the sequel better. Remember Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, the right-wing goon squad whose defamatory insinuations helped sink John Kerry's presidential campaign? They're back! This afternoon, key Swift boaters George "Bud" Day, Mary Jane McManus and Carlton Sherwood are holding a little reunion, in the guise of a panel discussion at the American Conservative Union's annual Conservative Political Action Conference. The panel topic? "The Left's Repeated Campaign Against the American Soldier." --snip-- The reemergence of the Swifties is depressing, but not because they're likely to do much damage to progressive...

Senior Airman Jason Al-Jehani moves pallets in the cargo yard at Kirkuk Regional Air Base, Iraq, in January. Airman Al-Jehani was one of about 1,000 Army paratroopers who were airdropped into northern Iraq March 26, 2003. He is now a reservist assigned to the 39th Aerial Port Squadron at Peterson Air Force Base, Colo. Airman Al-Jehani is an air transportation journeyman deployed to the 506th Expeditionary Logistics Readiness Squadron. (U.S. Air Force photo/Tech. Sgt. Kevin Williams) by Tech. Sgt. Kevin Williams 506th Air Expeditionary Group 2/13/2007 - KIRKUK REGIONAL AIR BASE, Iraq (AFNEWS) -- Sitting in the cold cargo bay of a C-17...

Cpl. Jeffrey T. Christian Marine Returns to Corps to 'Get Some' By Lance Cpl. Nicole A. LaVine, Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center, Twentynine Palms, Calif., Dec. 14, 2006 -- There are countless ways American’s serve their country. Some become doctors or lawyers, while others become teachers and authors. But, for people like Cpl. Jeffrey T. Christian, a more hands-on job is all that can satisfy their needs to serve. Christian, a 35-year-old native of Huntington, W.Va., re-enlisted in the Marine Corps this year, 13 years after his initial enlistment began in September...

All right, folks. Guess I have to do it again around here and hand out the chill pills. 1) It is absolutely clear to me that we have won this. We will keep the Senate, and I'm 90% sure we keep the House. We'll probably gain a seat, maybe two in the Senate. 2) I know this from the turnout numbers, just as I did in 2004. The fact is, forget Indies. They don't vote in high numbers. It's all about the two parties, and who gets out their base. We have done that today beyond my wildest expectations. The...

FORT HUACHUCA — Master Sgt. Jim Knight said he owes the Army more of his time. So, three months ago, the 58-year-old re-enlisted — 21 years after he retired. “I can’t let somebody else fight my war. Terrorism is every American’s battle,” Knight said. The Vietnam War veteran enlisted in 1965 right out of high school. He retired in 1985. Now, Knight didn’t just get his retirement pay and do nothing. He was gainfully employed, using some of his military training. He also got to do some things he wanted to do. The GI enjoys an inside joke or two...

NORFOLK, Va. (NNS) -- The guided-missile destroyer USS Gonzalez (DDG 66) returned to Naval Station Norfolk, Aug. 17, after an 18-month deployment under the Atlantic Fleet’s Sea Swap initiative. The crew that returned to Norfolk assumed command of the ship Feb. 22, and successfully completed a deployment to the Persian Gulf, Horn of Africa and the Mediterranean Sea. While deployed, Gonzalez was tasked with assisting non-combatant evacuation efforts in Lebanon. The ship was the first U.S. Navy vessel to arrive in support of the evacuation efforts. “We’re an air defense platform and that is our job; we provided air defense...

SAN DIEGO (NNS) -- Nearly 3,500 Sailors and Marines of Expeditionary Strike Group (ESG) 3 returned to San Diego Aug. 16 following a six-month deployment to the western Pacific and the Persian Gulf. ESG 3 participated in maritime security operations, protected Iraqi oil platforms in the Persian Gulf and participated in various multinational exercises. Numerous family members, friends and other supporters eagerly gathered at the base for the group’s long-awaited come back. “I can’t wait to see my husband,” said Anita Elevado, as she held their four-month-old son while waiting for Boatswain’s Mate 3rd Class Francis Mark Elevado assigned to...

They hiked over 40 kilometers, killed close to 20 Hizbullah guerrillas and spent 32 days in Lebanon without a single casualty. But on Monday, soldiers from the Herev Battalion emerged from battle, sweaty, dusty and tired making history twice - as the first battalion to enter Lebanon and the one to spend the longest amount of time deep in enemy territory under Operation Change of Direction. The battalion, consisting strictly of Druse soldiers from northern Israel, was on its way to take control of the northern border with Lebanon on July 12, when Eldad Regev and Ehud Goldwasser were kidnapped...

Link Returns should start around 8:30pm EST.

Lt. Col Ayad Roston, commander, Military Intelligence Company, 4th Iraqi Army Division, talks with Soldiers. Story and photo by Staff Sgt. Russell Lee Klika133rd Mobile Public Affairs DetachmentTIKRIT — Home is where the heart is, and for one Iraqi military officer, his heart is with the Soldiers who are fighting for Iraq’s continued freedom. Lt. Col Ayad Roston, commander, Military Intelligence Company, 4th Iraqi Army Division, was living in the United Kingdom, and waiting for the day he could return to Iraq to help his fellow countrymen continue the fight for freedom and democracy. When the opportunity finally presented itself,...

Lt. j.g. Alfred Nuzzolo mingles with school children in Iraq during his recent seven-month deployment. Nuzzolo helped local Iraqis rebuild a training base that had been damaged during the global war on terrorism. Courtesy Photo U.S. Navy Lt. j.g. Alfred Nuzzolo Engineer Returns from Helping Rebuild Iraq By Pat FisherMarine Corps Logistics Base MARINE CORPS LOGISTICS BASE ALBANY, Ga., July 21, 2006 -- A Navy engineer assigned to the Resident Officer in Charge of Construction office here recently returned from a seven-month deployment to Iraq to help rebuild an Iraqi training base. Lt. j.g. Alfred Nuzzolo, assistant resident in...

WASHINGTON, July 20, 2006 — The morning of Feb. 20 was like any other for Air Force Office of Special Investigations Special Agent Adele Loar, who was assigned to the Strategic Counterintelligence Directorate in Baghdad, Iraq. Her mission, along with the joint team assembled there, was to gather information from Iraqi civilian sources to ascertain current threats to coalition forces. Performing a mission for which she is trained and one that she loves, Loar said it did not matter when or where she worked or the dangers she might face. She especially reveled in the opportunity to be working on...

The nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan returned Thursday from its first deployment. With a crew of nearly 5,000, the vessel spent six months in the western Pacific Ocean and Persian Gulf, where it supported operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom. Three ships with the Ronald Reagan's Carrier Strike Group - the guided-missile destroyers McCampbell and Decatur and the cruiser Lake Champlain - also steamed into San Diego Bay, escorted by SH-60 Seahawk helicopters. Servicemembers were greeted by thousands of flag-and-sign-waving family members and friends who packed the docks at Naval Air Station North Island. Some sailors saw their babies...

TOKYO - A 79-year-old Japanese man who went missing at the end of World War II and resurfaced nearly six decades later in Russia went back to his homeland Sunday to be reunited with relatives. Yoshiteru Nakagawa, who disappeared on Sakhalin island in 1945 when the Soviets took it over from Japan, arrived at New Chitose Airport on Japan's northern island of Hokkaido for the first time since he left Japan in 1939, when his family settled on Sakhalin. "Little did I dream of being able to come back to Japan," Nakagawa, who still lives on Sakhalin, said in halting...

OK I usually dont bother making movie reviews but hey its a weekend and I have nothing better to do. First off this is trully one of the best if not the best Superman movies ever made, not that previous editions didnt make it easy. Brandan Routh carried himself very well and I felt little continuity problems between him and Reeve's, at times in fact you would have thought it was Reeve's himself standing there. Kevin Spacey was born for the role as Lex Luther at times you felt the true evil that Lex Luther really was in the comic...

Bill Clinton speaks against 'demonizing' political leaders6/17/2006, 7:26 p.m. ET By PEGGY HARRIS The Associated Press LITTLE ROCK (AP) — Former President Bill Clinton said Saturday that, if he returns to the White House in 2008 because his wife becomes president, his role would be to "do whatever she wants" because that's what a good citizen would do. Clinton said he didn't know if U.S. Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, a Democrat from New York seeking re-election this year, would run for president in two years as some have speculated, but he predicted a woman could win the most powerful office...

NORFOLK, Va. (NNS) -- The dock landing ship USS Oak Hill (LSD 51) returned to her homeport at Naval Amphibious Base Little Creek, Va., May 31, after a four-month surge deployment operation in support of the global war on terrorism (GWOT). Oak Hill deployed Jan. 24 along with the Naval Station Mayport, Fla.,-based guided-missile destroyer USS Roosevelt (DDG 80) and the guided-missile cruiser USS Vicksburg (CG 69), and conducted maritime security operations as part of the Dutch-led Coalition Task Force (CTF) 150. “From start to finish, this crew performed flawlessly. They were phenomenal,” said Cmdr. Ray Stapf, Oak Hill’s commanding...

Bird flu returns to plague the FTSE By Tom Stevenson and David Litterick (Filed: 25/05/2006) Markets suffered another volatile day as nervous investors added bird flu to their growing list of worries, star fund manager Anthony Bolton warned the slide in world markets "could last months", and a high-profile flotation in New York dived in first-day dealings. WHO reported that bird flu could be passed between humans In London, the FTSE 100 closed 91.6 points lower at 5587.1, while the mid-cap FTSE 250 index slumped 180.3 points to 9054.0. Metal prices also headed sharply lower after Tuesday's record gains were...

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. (NNS) -- The second Virginia-class submarine, PCU Texas (SSN 775), returned to Newport News after successfully conducting alpha sea trials, May 17. The sea trials were conducted to ensure all systems are functioning properly prior to the commissioning of the boat. The objective is to run all operating systems to the fullest extent of their capabilities. “We operated her through the full range of her maneuvering, diving and speed capabilities," said Capt. John J. Litherland, Texas’ prospective commanding officer. "She performed exactly as she is supposed to – no surprises. That is what we were looking for...