Free Republic

It’s been a summer of good sports: the Tour de France, the Rio Olympics, baseball, and now within weeks, the beginning of the football season. Professional and amateur sports are obviously not coed. Why aren’t women competing with men in the track and field events at the Rio Olympics? Because men can run faster than women. Why aren’t women competing with men in the Tour de France? Because men are stronger and have more aerobic lung capacity. Why aren’t women intercepting a pass in the NFL? Because women don’t have the muscle mass and upper body strength to last five...

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration wants you to stop taking selfies with baby seals. Noting that interactions with humans could endanger a seal pup's growth and even life, the agency advised humans to stay at least 150 feet away from them at all times.

In the 1993 film, Gettysburg, Lieutenant General James Longstreet says to Harrison, the actor/spy from Mississippi, “You know what’s gonna happen here in the morning?” Longstreet was attempting to convince Harrison that participating in General Lee’s attack toward the center of the Yankee lines on July 3, 1863, might not be in the best interest for his health and general well-being. He was also pointing to the fact that Harrison, while motivated to the cause, was incredibly naïve. US Defense Watch to President Obama, Ash Carter, Ray Mabus, Eric Fanning and the Joint Chiefs… “You know what’s going to happen...

AMERICAN SNIPER SELECTED FOR BIG LIBRARY READ, THE WORLD’S LARGEST LIBRARY BOOK CLUB Memoir of U.S. Navy Seal, Chris Kyle, will be available as free eBook and audiobook plus a podcast interview with his widow CLEVELAND— March 17, 2016 – For a two week period, American Sniper will be available for millions of readers worldwide in the largest digital book club through libraries. Big Library Read, facilitated by OverDrive, is a program that connects readers around the world with the same eBook and audiobook at the same time. There will be no waitlists for this popular book. Starting March 17,...

WASHINGTON – The tip of the spear may be losing its edge. Navy SEAL teams don't have enough combat rifles to go around, even as these highly trained forces are relied on more than ever to carry out counterterrorism operations and other secretive missions, according to SEALs who have confided in Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Calif. After SEALs return from a deployment, their rifles are given to other commandos who are shipping out, said Hunter, a former Marine who served three combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. This weapons carousel undercuts the "train like you fight" ethos of the U.S. special...

The internet has no shortage of basement-dwelling commandos beating at their keyboards like chimpanzees as they forcefully insist upon one incorrect factoid or another regarding Special Operations units. All SEALs are considered Tier One, right?No. Rangers pull security for Delta, correct? Time to throw away that scratched-up "Black Hawk Down" DVD, hero.Since the Internet stupidity goes on and on, two of the SOFREP staff decided to team up and write a definitive article about the differences between SEALs and Rangers. This article was co-written by Brandon Webb, who served in SEAL Team Three, and Jack Murphy, who served in 3rd Ranger Battalion.

Defense Department's top attorney , "all remedies legally available" against the publication of No Easy Day, (of the) firsthand account of the mission (which culminated in the demise of 0 bin Laden). "You are in material breach and violation of the nondisclosure agreements you signed," wrote Pentagon general counsel Jeh Charles Johnson. The letter; threats of a criminal prosecution seizure of as well as go after publisher Dutton, an imprint of Penguin Group. In a written response, "Mr. Owen sought legal advice about his responsibilities before agreeing to publish his book and scrupulously reviewed the work to ensure that it...

While top military leaders publicly bash a former Navy SEAL for his book about the raid that killed Osama bin Laden, his foxhole comrades convey their displeasure in a more subtle way. From now on, rogue author Matt Bissonnette will be ostracized by the fraternity. No invitations will be sent to annual events for retired and active SEALs who keep the secretive community of special warriors a closely knit band of brothers, former Navy officers told The Washington Times. Don't look for Mr. Bissonnette at any sanctioned SEAL reunions or memorial events, including those at his old unit, the low-profile...

(THE UNITED WEST) Tom Trento, executive producer of the new movie “Fallen Angel – The Cover-up of the Shoot-Down of SEAL Team Six” which investigates the deaths of 30 U.S. special forces units in Afghanistan (the largest single day loss of life of SEALs in U.S. History), interviews retired U.S. Navy Admiral James “Ace” Lyons, the former commander-in-chief U.S. Pacific Fleet. Lyons states the shoot-down of SEAL Team SIX was a “dereliction of duty” and further states that the Obama-Clinton restrictive rules of engagement also directly led to the deaths of 30 of our nations finest warriors. According to Don...

The juxtaposition of two American military men who could stand in the same courtroom in the coming months couldn't be set in more stark relief. Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl faces a general court-martial for walking off of his base in eastern Afghanistan in 2009. Bergdahl spent five years in Taliban captivity, where he was tormented, before being freed in a controversial prisoner exchange last year. Jimmy Hatch, a Navy SEAL senior chief who led a platoon into a fierce battle to try to rescue Bergdahl, was shot and badly wounded on that mission. Beside him, service dog Remco lay mortally wounded,...

It’s been a week since Ash Carter made his earth-shattering announcement authorizing women to serve in the combat arms and special operations units of the armed forces. Obviously, it was Obama’s plan to roll out Carter in the wake of the San Bernardino attacks, in order to avoid any scrutiny from conservative media outlets. Congress has thirty days to review the catastrophic decision before it becomes full blown policy. It would be interesting to be a fly on the wall and listen to the conversations that must be going on behind closed doors at the various special operations units in...

The U.S. Naval Academy is preparing to open its screening process for Navy SEAL training next year to women who are juniors at the academy, the superintendent said Monday. Vice Adm. Walter 'Ted' Carter told the academy's Board of Visitors at their quarterly meeting that the school is waiting for specific guidance from the Navy before definitely opening next spring's screening. He noted it could take longer before female midshipmen will take part in the rigorous 24-hour marathon screening process. 'We'll be ready to put women through the screener as early as next year,' Carter said. 'I don't know that...

March 25, 2013 Are Benghazi Survivors Hiding In A Washington, D.C. Hospital? Richard Miniter For more than six months since the September 11, 2012 attacks on America’s diplomatic outposts in Benghazi, the Obama administration has been unwilling to turn over the names or whereabouts of any survivors. They may be hiding plain sight. Rep. Frank Wolf (R-VA) has learned that “as many as seven Americans have been or are currently being treated,” at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Washington, D.C.—less than 11 miles from the U.S. Capitol. Rep. Wolf cited two independent confidential sources for his information....

The Navy is poised to promote the admiral in charge of its elite SEAL teams and other commando units even though Pentagon investigators determined that he illegally retaliated against staff members whom he mistakenly suspected were whistleblowers. Rear Adm. Brian Losey was investigated five times by the Defense Department's inspector general after subordinates complained that he had wrongly fired, demoted or punished them during a vengeful but fruitless hunt for the person who had anonymously reported him for a minor travel-policy infraction, according to documents obtained by The Washington Post. After conducting separate, years-long investigations that involved more than 100...

This Tuesday, Rep. Ryan Zinke, a former Navy SEAL Team Six commander, confirmed with Brandon Tyler Webb, founder of the SofRep special operations news site, that he is considering running for House speaker so as to take a stand “against all enemies, foreign and domestic,” including President Barack Hussein Obama. “I think there are a few people who can do that,” the Montana Republican told Webb. “If folks like Paul Ryan and others step aside, and more of my colleagues ask me to run, I will hear the call to serve. Leadership is about service to country, not self. It’s...

John Boozman says breaches targeted ‘most sensitive information’Sen. John Boozman (R., Ark.) said personal information on the Navy’s most elite special operations team could be in the hands of America’s adversaries following the cyber attack on the Office of Personnel Management (OPM). Boozman told a gathering of reporters in Washington, D.C., on Thursday that the attacks, suspected to have originated from China, targeted the “most sensitive information we have.” “The breach there was really staggering, this magnitude some of the most sensitive information,” Boozman said. “A lot of people when you fill out a form to get a top security...

Today is the tenth of anniversary of Operation Red Wings, the mission depicted in movie "Lone Survivor." Let's never forget these amazing heroes!

The Soviet Union was the first to begin developing firearms specifically for their combat divers. The Soviet Navy was worried about divers attacking their ships in their naval anchorages, and in particular those of the Black Sea fleet based in Sevastopol, located on the Crimean Peninsula, and Odessa, Ukraine. These anchorages could be easily threatened by NATO forces operating out of Turkey. It wasn’t an idle worry. The use of divers to attack anchored ships was used extensively by the Italian Navy during World War II, and the British Navy developed their techniques by using captured Italian equipment. The Soviet...

Rick Perry’s June event in Addison, Texas, where he is expected to announce his candidacy for president, will feature a number of retired and current Navy SEALs, according to a invite to the event. Retired Navy SEAL Marcus Luttrell, whose autobiography inspired the 2014 film Lone Survivor, will attend with his wife. The widow of retired Navy SEAL Chris Kyle, whose autobiography inspired the oscar-nominated American Sniper, will also be there. The event will also feature retired U.S. Navy SEAL JJ Jones, retired U.S. Navy SEAL and Medal of Honor Recipient Mike Thornton, retired U.S. Navy SEAL Pete Scobell, and...

Streamed live on May 20, 2015 WOW, watch author Don Brown blow the lid off of the official government report about the tragic shoot down of SEAL TEAM SIX helicopter, Code Name - Extortion 17. On August 6, 2011—three months after members of Navy SEAL Team Six killed Osama Bin Laden—Taliban forces took down a United States helicopter, call sign "Extortion 17." The attack killed the Air National Guard crew, seven unidentified members of the Afghan military, and seventeen members of Navy SEAL Team Six—warrior brothers from the same Team that had killed Osama Bin Laden just ninety days prior....