Free Republic

While I understand that only a fraction of the population of this nation is directly affected by what you are about to read, I would never-the-less like to remind you that the remainder of the population is affected coincidentally. While the majority of the American population probably never even considered the Armed Forces as a possible career objective, there are those who never considered life without serving their country, in uniform, on a field of combat. Most of these young men and women never take the time to internalize some idealized vision of charging death for God and Country,

They will now only get the $7.50 daily proration for the individual days they are actually serving in harm’s way instead of for the whole month. (DOD) Barack Obama cut pay for military men and women serving in harm’s way starting this month. The Army Times reported: Starting this month, some troops will begin receiving less Imminent Danger Pay when a new policy takes effect that will prorate the standard $225 monthly IDP stipend. Under the new policy, troops will be paid only for the actual days they spend in the danger pay location, defense officials said Thursday. Under the...

It is the little-known battle that claimed the lives of thousands of Americans during World War II. But now black-and-white photographs, captured by Life magazine photographer W. Eugene Smith, show the everyday horrors for the U.S. soldiers fighting against Japanese forces on the Mariana Island of Saipan between June 15 and July 9, 1944. Faces etched with the pain of their experiences, war-weary men are captured transporting their wounded comrades or forcing Japanese civilians from their hiding places. The photographs were taken during a battle that claimed the lives of 22,000 Japanese civilians - many by suicide - and nearly...

Soldier, chaplain, shepherd Auxiliary Bishop Rick Spencer of the U.S. Archdiocese for the Military Services wears many hats. By Fr. Eric Albertson | For the Catholic Herald   Fr. Eric Albertson | For the Catholic Herald Bishop Spencer with Staff Sgt. Jeremy Todd, chaplain assistant who provided security for the bishop during his recent deployment to Afghanistan. He is a priest, a soldier, an Army chaplain and yet he is also a bishop, serving as an auxiliary for the U.S. Archdiocese for the Military Services. Chaplain (Col.) Rick Spencer wears many hats besides his zucchetto, including the Army patrol cap,...

Michael Hastings’ new book, The Operators, jabs at what could be a vulnerable spot for the Obama Administration, the president’s relationship with the troops. The book describes a visit to Baghdad: After the talk, out of earshot from the soldiers and diplomats, he starts to complain. He starts to act very un-Obamalike, according to a U.S. embassy official who helped organize the trip in Baghdad. He’s asked to go out to take a few more pictures with soldiers and embassy staffers. He’s asked to sign copies of his book. “He didn’t want to take pictures with any more soldiers; he...

... Cpl Kavanagh lied about his age to join the Cheshire Regiment at 15 and was sent to the Third Anglo-Afghan War in May to August 1919. He wrote: “The endurance and experience gained by the tribesman from years of incessant raiding make him a formidable enemy. “He will sometimes hide his rifle and appear as a peaceful villager.” One tip to young recruits was: “Avoid shaking hands with a strange Pathan. They will seize with their left hand and stab with their right.” Cpl Kavanagh continued serving with the British army and was evacuated from Dunkirk in 1940. He...

NEW YORK (AP) - Even before the Army sent him to Afghanistan, supporters say, Pvt. Daniel Chen was fighting a personal war. [snip] Then he was sent overseas, and the hazing began: Soldiers dragged him across a floor, pelted him with stones and forced him to hold liquid in his mouth while hanging upside down, according to diary entries and other accounts cited by a community activist. On Oct. 3, the 19-year-old Chen was found dead in a guardhouse in Afghanistan with what the Army said was apparently a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Just hours before, she joined her husband for a Christmas lunch at Buckingham Palace with the Queen. But it was just the young royal set at the Sun Military Awards tonight. The Duchess of Cambridge was the belle of the ball in a strapless black velvet dress as she walked the red carpet with her husband Prince William, who looked dapper in black tie Prince Harry was two steps behind his older brother at London's Imperial War Museum, also donning a suit. Kate's black Alexander McQueen gown - the same designer as her wedding dress - had frill trim around...

Spc. Ronald H. Wildrick Jr. and Sgt. Christopher L. Muniz of Schofield Barracks Oahu Hawaii died in Afghanistan on Dec. 11, 2012 from improvided exposive devise (IED). Their names were released by the Pentagon on December 13, 2012, the same day four soldiers flying in two OH-58D Kiowa Warrior helicopters, died at Fort Lewis in Tacoma Washington. John Roco eulogizes their Christmas time ultimate sacrifice, remembering their families and all who have given for the sake of us all in making it safe for all of us of these United States of America

The New York Police Department has foiled an alleged terror plot targeting law enforcement and soldiers returning from the battlefield. The New York Times reported that 27-year-old Jose Pimentel was acting as a 'lone wolf' and was taken into custody Saturday. He allegedly was inspired by Al-Qaida, although his citizenship was not immediately known.

Iranian soldiers march during the annual military parade on September 22, 2011 in front of the mausoleum of the Iran's late leader Ayatollah Khomeini in Tehran, Iran. The parade marks the beginning of the 1980-1988 war between Iran and Iraq.

A Rishon Lezion academic institution is at the cutting edge of robotics technology that will prevent future IDF soldiers, experts say. .....

On September 11, as Americans commemorate the tenth anniversary of that fateful day, more than 350 9/11 first responders, injured veterans, victims’ family members and supporters will embark on a 540-mile Ride 2 Recovery (R2R) bicycle trip to visit each crash site. Riders will begin the eight-day trek at Liberty State Park on New York Harbor, peddle to the Flight 93 National Memorial in Shanksville, Pennsylvania and finish at the Pentagon in Washington, D.C.

click article link to read storyA member of an anti-gay church that pickets at military funerals said via Twitter that church members will come to Carson City in the wake of the shooting deaths of three Nevada National Guard soldiershttp://www.rgj.com/article/20110907/NEWS/110907005/Anti-gay-church-hints-will-protest-funerals-slain-guardsmen-Carson-IHOP-shooting?odyssey=mod|newswell|text|FRONTPAGE|s

Girl Gets Wish! Daddy Home From War!!The best video you'll see this year!Soldier Suprises Daughter in class - One of the BEST reactions! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JtiTcVrvecM

Debora Marshall wasn't sure what she was witnessing. She came home from work to find sheriff's cruisers blocking streets in her sleepy Timber Pond subdivision. Deputies with guns drawn and bulletproof vests surrounded her house. "They had it blocked off at both ends. I thought a murderer was on the loose," she said. So did the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office. Authorities thought her son had killed her. "My son was home and clueless," Marshall said. "I was at work, and all my neighbors thought I was dead." In what appears to be the first incident of its kind in Hillsborough...

Thanks to all those who responded to my post The Gulf Wars in Hindsight (see above); I appreciate the dialogue; however, I was really hoping for my own insight and benefit to hear from more soldiers who participated or are still active in the Iraq and Afghan wars; Their feelings and perspectives are the ones I wish to know and think on; any of you out there, please share at length. I understand you are all honorable and follow orders as good soldiers, but I would like to know your thoughts on the war, in retrospect. Thanks to all.

Staff Sgt. Christopher Fessenden is on duty in Afghanistan now after tours with the Army in Iraq. He has traveled with standard-issue equipment -- weapons, helmet, uniform, boots and so forth -- plus a radio-controlled model truck his brother sent. The truck is not a toy to him. He says it just saved six soldiers' lives. "We cannot thank you enough," said Sgt. Fessenden in an email from the front that his brother Ernie, a software engineer in Rochester, Minn., shared with ABC News. The little truck was used by the troops to run ahead of them on patrols and...

I have a real problem with the SRM constantly referring to the douchebag that was arrested for his plot to make an attack on Fort Hood as a "soldier". The term "soldier" should not be sullied or denigrated in connection to this worthless bag of semi-human debris. Our Soldiers are volunteering to put their lives on the line in order to protect and preserve our freedom and way of life. They are always the first in line for budget cuts even though they don't ask for much. Their lives with their families are constantly disrupted by the policy makers that...

AUSTIN, Texas (Reuters) - U.S. Customs and Border Protection inspectors returned 33 Mexican soldiers on Tuesday who inadvertently crossed over the Rio Grande river into Texas, authorities said. The soldiers, packed into four Humvees, crossed over the Donna-Rio Bravo International Bridge into south Texas at around 2 p.m., said Felix Garza, a spokesman for CBP in Pharr, Texas. "They crossed the boundary line on the bridge. Once they did that they were forced to continue traveling to our primary inspection area," Garza told Reuters. "They were processed according to protocols, and they were released and returned to Mexico without incident...

Mexican soldiers discovered the largest marijuana plantation in the country's history, hidden under black cloth in the middle of the desert. The 300-acre plantation is four times larger than the previous record discovery by authorities and workers had even installed toilet facilities, the Defence Department said. The towering pot plants sheltered under black screen-cloth in a huge square on the floor of the Baja California desert, more than 150 miles south of Tijuana, across the border from San Diego.

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Mexican troops crossed the border into the United States Thursday, KGNS-TV reported Friday. A convoy of three military trucks loaded with soldiers and weapons crossed the border at Bridge No. 2 in Laredo, Texas, the station reported.

A convoy of three Mexican military trucks loaded down with soldiers and weapons may have violated territorial sovereignty near Laredo, TX on Thursday, driving through a border checkpoint and crossing into the United States. KGNS-TV reports the crossing happened at a section known as Bridge Number Two: Mexican leaders say the soldiers, who had just been deployed to Nuevo Laredo, didn’t know the area, got lost and then made their way through Bridge Two.

BAGHDAD (AP) - The U.S. military says two American soldiers have been killed while conducting operations in southern Iraq. Tuesday's statement didn't give details on the operations, saying only the two were killed Monday. They were not identified pending notification of next of kin. The new deaths bring to 4,462 the number of American service members who have died in Iraq since the war began in 2003, according to an Associated Press count. And it brings to eight the number of U.S. troops killed in June so far. Shiite Muslim militias have stepped up attacks on U.S. forces with the...

Here's Lt. Col. Bateman's account of a little-known ceremony that fills the halls of the Army corridor of the Pentagon with cheers, applause and many tears every Friday morning. It first appeared on May 17 on the Web-log of media critic and pundit Eric Alterman at the Media Matters for America Web site. "It is 110 yards from the 'E' ring to the 'A' ring of the Pentagon. This section of the Pentagon is newly renovated; the floors shine, the hallway is broad, and the lighting is bright. At this instant the entire length of the corridor is packed...

Syrian soldiers are killing other Syrian soldiers in the northern part of the country, according to a source who spoke with Israel National News Monday night on condition of anonymity. The source said the soldiers being massacred were being pursued by their fellow security officers because they had broken ranks and tried to escape to Turkey. "These are the soldiers who were seeking asylum across the border," the source said. "They were running away, and so the other soldiers surrounded them and slaughtered them." Syrian state television reported Monday that 120 security officers have been slaughtered in the town of...

Osama’s dream was to shift history into the realm of myth. He passionately believed that the ordinary course of mundane history wasn’t what really mattered: there was a divine and a miraculous history just behind the veil. Osama aimed to pierce the veil, to bring hundreds of millions of Muslims into his reality, transfixed and transported by the vision of a climactic fight of good against evil, of God against America and its local allies. That dream died in Iraq. But on this Memorial Day it is not enough to remember, and give thanks, that Osama’s dream died before he...

“War is an ugly thing, but not the ugliest of things; the decayed and degraded state of moral and patriotic feeling which thinks that nothing is worth war is much worse. A man who has nothing for which he is willing to fight; nothing he cares about more than his own personal safety; is a miserable creature who has no chance of being free, unless made and kept so by the exertions of better persons than himself.” – John Stuart Mill ere are 26 million veterans in the United States. This weekend we honor them and our fallen heroes. No...

PITTSBURGH — When Frank Buckles died in February at his West Virginia home, his passing closed a chapter in the country’s history. He was the last American veteran of World War I, and his death drew the attention not only of friends and family but of historians, editorial writers, politicians, and the President of the United States. “He was like a cat with nine lives,” photographer and filmmaker David DeJonge said of Mr. Buckles, who was 110. During his long, eventful life, Mr. Buckles was stricken by scarlet fever, which killed his older brother, recovered from the often-deadly Spanish flu,...

This ought to make you sick… The official Obama policy: Photos of dead US soldiers – Good. Photos of dead Osama Bin Laden – Bad. In February 2009, his second month in office, Barack Obama changed official policy to allow photos of dead US soldiers. The LA Times reported: "The Obama administration has decided to open the gates of Dover. In a policy to be unveiled today, Pentagon officials told reporters, Defense Secretary Robert Gates — the only holdover from the Bush administration — will announce that news photos of flag-draped coffins will be allowed, as long as families agree."...

Americans tonight are united in celebration and gratitude. God bless all the brave men and women in our military and our intelligence services who contributed to carrying out the successful mission to bring bin Laden to justice and who laid the groundwork over the years to make this victory possible. It’s a testament to the hard work and dedication of these brave Americans who relentlessly hunted down our enemy. This is a victory for the American people, for the victims who were heartlessly murdered on September 11 and in Al Qaeda’s other numerous attacks, and for all the peace-loving people...

I received this in the e-mail today from a friend. I cannot vouch for it's authenticity, but wanted to share it with everyone here. If there are any veterans who can shed light on whether it not his sounds real I would appreciate it. Personally, I was in the military years ago during peaceful times from 1975 to 1978, so I never saw combat. I tried to post it exactly as I received it, the photo above is one that I found on the web. I posted it because the irony of this war is that some day in...

The cliche notwithstanding, there are atheists in foxholes. In fact, atheists, agnostics, humanists and other assorted skeptics from the Army's Fort Bragg have formed an organization in a pioneering effort to win recognition and ensure fair treatment for nonbelievers in the overwhelmingly Christian U.S. military. "We exist, we're here, we're normal," said Sgt. Justin Griffith, chief organizer of Military Atheists and Secular Humanists, or MASH. "We're also in foxholes. That's a big one, right there." For now, the group meets regularly in homes and bars outside of Fort Bragg, one of the biggest military bases in the country. But it...

<p>RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) -- A group of religious non-believers at Fort Bragg is pushing for the U.S. military to make sure they get the same treatment as religious groups.</p> <p>Soldiers at the post have filed paperwork seeking recognition for their group, called Military Atheists and Secular Humanists. They want to hold meetings at the base, work with the Army's chaplains and have their gatherings listed in a bulletin of religious services.</p>

Rogue U.S. soldiers snipped the pinky off an Afghan teen they killed for kicks - and later used it to wage a bet while playing spades, a blockbuster expose reports. That's one of the shocking stories in a new Rolling Stone magazine expose of an Army "kill team" that targeted innocent Afghan civilians for death. Staff Sgt. Calvin Gibbs, the squad leader and main target of the Army's ongoing war crimes investigation, allegedly sliced the finger off Gul Mudin - the approximately 15-year-old Afghan that Spc. Jeremy Morlock and Pfc. Andrew Holmes are accused of killing. "When it came time...

Offutt Air Force Base -a USAF installation near Omaha, Nebraska- is today home to the U.S. Strategic Command (USSTRATCOM), the Air Force Weather Agency, and the 55th Wing of the Air Combat Command, serving as HQ to each. The base has been with us for some time, and has a storied past: US Army first began flying out of Offutt late in WWI, initially as a balloon field in 1918. It was thus named in honor of World War I pilot and Omaha native 1st Lt. Jarvis Offutt in 1924. Offutt AFB happens to be where the first two atomic bombers were...

L/Cpl Tasker was the 358th serviceman killed in the conflict while his dog Theo was the sixth British military hound to die in action in Iraq and Afghanistan In life, they were united in their tireless work saving countless British soldiers in Afghanistan. In death, they were united in tragedy. Shortly after Lance Corporal Liam Tasker was killed in a firefight with the Taliban, his devoted Army search dog Theo suffered a seizure and passed away too. The pair had uncovered 14 home-made bombs and hoards of weapons in just five months – a record for a dog and his...

Two US soldiers have been killed in a shooting at Frankfurt airport, Sky sources have said. Two other people are said to have been injured in the incident and police have reportedly arrested a 21-year-old suspect from Kosovo. The shots were fired on or near a bus carrying soldiers, according to reports.

KUNDUZ, Afghanistan — Forget the drones, laser-guided bombs and eye-popping satellite imagery. For the average soldier, the most significant change to modern warfare might just boil down to instant chatting.

With no fear of reprise the Nacros have notched up the drug war inside of Mexico to now include an open declaration of killing Americans that work for, or have anything to do with the US Federal government operating inside of Mexico. On the heels of the recent daylight assassination inside of Mexico of one US Federal Special Agent Jaime J. Zapata and the attempted murder of his partner who was fortunate enough to have survived the attack (but who now struggles for his life in a local hospital), there is a clear indication that the drug cartels mean business...

The streets were crowded with families, friends and citizens, all giving them a proud welcome – except for one tiny group of local muslims who taunted them with banners and jeers, calling the soldiers rapists, murderers and baby killers. Police protected them from angry locals but five of the protesters were later convicted of abusive conduct and harassment.

Illinois National Guard soldiers deployed far from Egyptian unrest By JOHN REYNOLDS (john.reynolds@sj-r.com) THE STATE JOURNAL-REGISTER Posted Jan 28, 2011 @ 11:30 PM The 440 Illinois National Guard soldiers on a yearlong peace-keeping mission in Egypt have not been seriously affected by rioting in Cairo. The group, which includes about 20 soldiers from the Springfield, isn’t able to use commercial communication methods, which the Egyptian government has shut down, but Guard officials said Friday they have been in contact with the soldiers. The soldiers, who are stationed in the Sinai near the Egypt/Israeli border, have not been targeted during the...

01-01-2011 21:38 N. Korean soldiers leave barracks en masse looking for food An increasing number of North Korean soldiers are showing “AWOL” behaviors to avoid intense physical training and look for food, the local daily, Chosun Ilbo, said Saturday, sourcing it to RFA. AWOL is a military acronym for "absence without leave." “It’s hard to punish them because there are too many of such soldiers,” an unnamed North Korean informant, told RFA in the report. Some of the soldiers display “on-off’ AWOL behaviors, for example, leaving the barracks in the morning looking for food and coming back in the evening....

This was forwarded to us by family friend XXXXXXXX: From an airline captain: My lead flight attendant came to me and said, "We have an H..R. on this flight." (H.R. stands for human remains.) "Are they military?" I asked. "Yes," she said. "Is there an escort?" I asked. "Yes, I already assigned him a seat." "Would you please tell him to come to the flight deck. You can board him early," I said. A short while later a young Army sergeant entered the flight deck. He was the image of the perfectly dressed soldier. He introduced himself and I asked...

The embers glowed softly, and in their dim light, I gazed round the room and I cherished the sight. My wife was asleep, her head on my chest, my daughter beside me, angelic in rest. Outside the snow fell, a blanket of white, Transforming the yard to a winter delight. The sparkling lights in the tree, I believe, Completed the magic that was Christmas Eve.

DARPA, the Defense Advanced Research Products Agency, has given us a lot of strange gadgets over the years, and they’ll carry the streak right on with their SCENICC system, which is currently up for bid to create. It’s been a while since we heard from the folks out at DARPA, so it’s good to hear that they haven’t accidentally torn open a hole in the space-time continuum that caused them to fall backward into time and emerge on the other side in a parallel universe where velociraptors evolved from men or something. This time, we’re getting a look at the...

If you go to this web site, LetsSayThanks.com you can pick out a thank you card and Xerox will print it. The card will be sent to a soldier that is currently serving in the Middle East . It is FREE and it only takes a second. http://www.letssaythanks.com/Home1280.html

Modern warfare relies increasingly on robotics for intelligence gathering and increasingly for strike capabilities, but the decision-making capacity still rests solely in the hands of human commanders. But British defense company BAE systems is testing a way to turn over battlefield decisions over to robot troops as well. ALADDIN (Autonomous Learning Agents for Decentralised Data and Information Networks) is BAE’s response to the overload of sensors and data now confronting battlefield commanders who now have UAV observations, soldier-based sensors, satellite data, and reams of other intelligence washing over them in such volumes that, as Air Force Lt. Gen. David A....

A website launched on Tuesday, which published the names of 200 Israeli soldiers who participated in the Cast Lead counterror operation in 2008 and 2009 in Gaza, as well as their photographs, ranks, positions, birthdates, identity numbers and addresses, was taken down briefly Thursday for violating the terms of its use. The site was back up later, referring to the soldiers as war criminals.