Free Republic

MORE THOUGHTS CONCERNING FT HOOD Maybe one of these days people will realize that hating one’s country, whether for religious reasons or otherwise, is more than adding another colour thread to society’s rich tapestry but wicked, warped, and very, very dangerous. --NINME, from Quote of the Day–So far via SondrakRemember Obama's Cairo apologia? He'd probably you just as soon forget what he said back in early June. "The attacks of September 11th, 2001 and the continued efforts of these extremists to engage in violence against civilians has led some in my country to view Islam as inevitably hostile not only...

Former President George W. Bush and Mrs. Laura Bush made a private visit to Darnall Army Medical Center at Ft. Hood Friday evening. The former president and first lady visited with soldiers wounded in the incident on Thursday, as well as some of their family members.

FORT HOOD, Texas – The Army released an official list of the 13 people fatally shot at Fort Hood and said 16 victims were still being treated in hospitals, 9 of them in intensive care units. Fort Hood's Deceased The fatal victims of the Fort Hood shooting, as released by the Department of Defense on Saturday. * 1. Lt. Col. Juanita Warman, 55, Havre de Grace, Md. * 2. Maj. Libardo Caraveo, 52, Woodbridge, Va. * 3. Cpt. John P. Gaffaney, 54, San Diego, Calif. * 4. Cpt. Russell Seager, 41, Racine, Wis. * 5. Staff Sgt. Justin Decrow, 32,...

FORT HOOD, Texas – The Army released an official list of the 13 people fatally shot at Fort Hood and said 16 victims were still being treated in hospitals, 9 of them in intensive care units.

Breaking News: Military Releases Names of Dead in Fort Hood Shooting

They were soldiers preparing to go to war, sometimes for the second or third time. They were also sons, daughters, fathers and a mother-to-be. They were 21-year-old Jason Dean Hunt, who his sister said was proudest behind the wheel of his Bradley Armored Vehicle, from rural Oklahoma; Francheska Velez, 21, who was looking forward to the birth of her first child, from Chicago; and Amy Krueger, 29, a sports and outdoors enthusiast, from tiny Kiel, Wis. These were three of the 13 people -- a dozen soldiers and a civilian Defense Department police officer -- killed Thursday when an Army...

ACTION ALERT: FT. HOOD SHOOTINGS November 6th, 2009 8 : 09 AM Our Family has a soldier stationed at Ft. Hood. We have contacted him and he is safe. Overnight I have made contact with friends at the 1st Cav and I am collecting cards and letters from the public of support for those who were injured and for the families of those who were killed. We will collect your cards and letters of support and get them to the correct individuals in bulk via Federal Express. Send them today! It costs you 44 cents to support these troops and...

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan, Nov. 4, 2009 – Many U.S. servicemembers working and living alongside Afghan soldiers here find they have much in common with their Afghan counterparts. Army Capt. Jacob White discusses planning with Afghan soldiers Maj. Mohammed Ahmen and Capt. Zalmay at Forward Operating Base Bullard in Afghanistan’s Zabul province, Sept. 29, 2009. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Stephen Decatur  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Paratroopers of the 82nd Airborne Division’s 4th Brigade Combat Team live on the same bases with their Afghan counterparts and work side by side with them during combat operations. The U.S. soldiers advise and...

This is a two-fold story about an adaptive sports rehabilitation program for severely disabled US soldiers who are veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts. The first half focuses on a river rafting trip down the Salmon River in Idaho, the second focuses on the medical facility where these men have been rehabilitated. It is a story of how these men reach a point where they can embrace life again and feel a reason to go forward despite their permanent, often horrifying injuries. The three soldiers on the river trip are Major Anthony Smith, 39, an African American man who...

-- Roadside bombs today killed eight U.S. service members in Afghanistan, the military said.

U.S.: 4 Troops Die in Afghan Chopper Collision Hostile fire ruled out in Monday morning crash; two soldiers injured KABUL - The U.S. military said four American troops were killed and two injured in a collision of two helicopters in southern Afghanistan Monday morning. Hostile fire was ruled out in the crash. No further details were released. In an unrelated incident, another helicopter went down Monday during a joint, international security force operation against insurgents in western Afghanistan in which a dozen militants were killed.

How many more US soldiers have to die before B. Hussein Obama does what only his generals—his most qualified voices—tell him to do regarding troop levels?! Dick Cheney is absolutely correct for decrying Obama as dithering while US troops are in battle because all you have to do is count the number of US war dead in Afghanistan from the time that Gen. McChrystal asked Obama for more troops, which was waaaay back on Aug. 30th! It is the opinion of this writer that less US troops would’ve died—so the ones that did die were preventable deaths—if Obama would’ve just...

WASHINGTON (Oct. 17) -- More than 3,000 U.S. troops scheduled to deploy to Iraq won't go after all, as the military tries to draw down troop levels in the war-torn country, a Pentagon spokesman said Saturday. The 1st Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division will not replace a North Carolina National Guard unit already in Iraq, Lt. Col. Eric Butterbaugh told CNN. The 3,500-troop combat team, based in Fort Drum, New York, was to leave in January, he said. "[The cancellation] reflects a thorough assessment of the security environment in Iraq and continued improvement in the ability of the...

The US military on Friday cancelled plans to send a 3,500-strong Army brigade to Iraq because of improving security conditions there, possibly freeing up troops for the war in Afghanistan. The 1st Infantry Brigade Combat Team from the 10th Mountain Division based in Fort Drum, New York, had been scheduled to relieve another combat brigade in Iraq in January but will not deploy, the Defense Department said in a statement. With the US commander in Afghanistan asking for major reinforcements, the move could provide another brigade for the troubled mission if President Barack Obama decides to approve the troop request....

KANDAHAR AIRFIELD, Afghanistan, Oct. 15, 2009 – In a country where fewer than 30 percent of people are considered literate, U.S. forces are working to help in rebuilding Afghanistan’s education system, which has been devastated from 30 years of war, anti-education politics and an unstable government. Soldiers with the 649th Regional Support Group are helping children like this boy from a village in the Deh Chopan district of Afghanistan’s Kandahar province. The soldiers are distributing backpacks filled with school supplies in the province, where many children do not have the resources to attend school. U.S. Army photo by Spc. Elisebet...

In the chaos of an early morning assault on a remote U.S. outpost in eastern Afghanistan, Staff Sgt. Erich Phillips' M4 carbine quit firing as militant forces surrounded the base. The machine gun he grabbed after tossing the rifle aside didn't work either. When the battle in the small village of Wanat ended, nine U.S. soldiers lay dead and 27 more were wounded. A detailed study of the attack by a military historian found that weapons failed repeatedly at a "critical moment" during the firefight on July 13, 2008, putting the outnumbered American troops at risk of being overrun by...

WASHINGTON (AP) - In the chaos of an early morning assault on a remote U.S. outpost in eastern Afghanistan, Staff Sgt. Erich Phillips' M4 carbine quit firing as militant forces surrounded the base. The machine gun he grabbed after tossing the rifle aside didn't work either. When the battle in the small village of Wanat ended, nine U.S. soldiers lay dead and 27 more were wounded. A detailed study of the attack by a military historian found that weapons failed repeatedly at a "critical moment" during the firefight on July 13, 2008, putting the outnumbered American troops at risk of...

Lt. Col. Kristan L.K. Hericks (center), CO of the 419th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion "Wolfpack," and her 419th Soldiers successfully completed a 12-month tour at Camp Taji and will be redeploying home to Irvine, Calif, soon. Photo courtesy of the 13th Sustainment Command (Expeditionary). CAMP TAJI — After a long and often-times grueling year here, the 419th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion (CSSB) "Wolfpack" is on its way home. Over the next few days, the Wolfpack Soldiers will see a Relief in Place/Transfer of Authority ceremony where they officially pass the torch to the 541st CSSB, as well as an awards...

Im wondering if anyones heard specifics about the casualties.Have friends in the 4BCT which are deployed in this area. Thanks.

~ EXCERPT ~ KABUL — Two more NATO soldiers, including one American, are reported dead in the latest fighting in Afghanistan. A NATO statement says the U.S. soldier died of wounds suffered in an insurgent attack in southern Afghanistan on Sunday. The statement says a second service member died of wounds in a roadside bombing Monday in southern Afghanistan. NATO is not releasing the service member's nationality.

The men of Bravo Company have a bitter description for the irrigated swath of land along the Arghandab River where 10 members of their battalion have been killed and 30 have been wounded since the beginning of August. “Like Vietnam without the napalm,” said Spc. Nicholas Gojekian, 21, of Katy, Texas. A prime agricultural area of vineyards and pomegranate orchards, the 18 miles of valley that the 1st Battalion, 17th Infantry Regiment patrols includes Taliban insurgents, booby traps and buried explosives... ...So far, the Army mission has been an uneasy mix of trying to woo elders with offers of generators,...

KABUL – Hundreds of insurgents armed with automatic rifles and rocket-propelled grenades stormed a pair of remote outposts near the Pakistan border, killing eight U.S. soldiers and capturing more than 20 Afghan security troops in the deadliest assault against U.S. forces in more than a year, military officials said Sunday. The fierce gunbattle, which erupted at dawn Saturday in the Kamdesh district of mountainous Nuristan province and raged throughout the day, is likely to fuel the debate in Washington over the direction of the troubled eight-year war. It was the heaviest U.S. loss of life in a single battle since...

Will soldiers have enough time to vote?Published: Saturday, October 3, 2009 FORT DRUM (AP) — Military and election officials insist that hundreds of deployed Fort Drum soldiers will have enough time to return their absentee ballots in next month’s special election in New York’s 23rd Congressional District, even though they won’t be mailed out for another two weeks. Friday was the regular deadline for counties to mail out absentee ballots to military personnel for the Nov. 3 general election. But those ballots don’t have the names of the three candidates in the 23rd District because the special election wasn’t set...

The high school football ritual is a little different for the Falcons of Fort Campbell High School in Kentucky. As the name implies, the school is on a military base. Therefore on top of sports, homework and standard teenage drama, many players are also dealing with the stress of having a parent deployed in Iraq or Afghanistan. Playing football on a military base is a different experience from a standard public school. For one, Gerard J. Counts, a retired command sergeant major, gives the team fiery pre-game speeches before they play. Almost every high school football team hears such a...

As we are living our lives back home, the war goes on. As we lay our heads down on a soft and comfortable pillow every night, there are soldiers fighting a war. As we run about our busy lives from errand to errand, our soldiers are fighting for our freedom. As we enjoy our delicious home cooked meals, our soldiers are eating less than desirable meals. While we are concerned with the next television show that comes on, our soldiers are concerned with the next I.E.D that is headed their way. While we get so busy that we forget to...

OSAGE BEACH, Mo. (Sept. 22, 2009) — The Missouri National Guard will host two events near the Lake of the Ozarks that are designed to assist and recognize soldiers who recently returned from supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom. About 100 soldiers from Company C, 1st Battalion, 106th Assault Helicopter Battalion, of Fort Leonard Wood, and Detachment 3, 1st Battalion, 185th Theater Aviation Company, of Springfield, are expected to attend the Yellow Ribbon and Freedom Salute programs on Oct. 3 and 4 at Tan-Tar-A Resort. Yellow Ribbon is a reintegration program for soldiers returning from a long deployment. As part of the...

I have just returned from giving a talk on the benefits of Army education to new recruits at the Army Training Centre at Pirbright, Surrey. A red-brick facility with its own parade ground, it delivers the 14-week training course undertaken by all adult recruits when they first join the Army. On completion of the Common Military Syllabus, these Soldiers Under Training (SUTs) go on to learn their chosen trade, which covers a host of military professions ranging from anti-aircraft radar operator and artillery gunner to Army musician. Pirbright trains more than 4,000 men and women a year, and as such...

I would like some guidance on the best way of adopting a soldier currently serving in Afghanistan. I am a history teacher and freeper from Maine who would like his homeroom to adopt a soldier for the year. Obviously we would like to send care packages directly to the soldier if possible and not money to an organization. Any advice would be helpful.

FED up with pop charts full of weedy boy bands? Well, here's a trio of REAL men aiming for No1. All three are serving soldiers who have witnessed the horrors of war first-hand, from Afghanistan to the Gulf. And now Trooper Ryan Idzi, Sergeant Major Gary Chilton and Sergeant Richie Maddocks - who are known simply as The Soldiers - have signed a recording deal with Warner Records. There are high hopes for the threesome's debut album, which is out on October 26. ******* ...it is this sense of how important camaraderie is to our Armed Forces that looms large...

Not long ago at Fort Bragg, N.C., the country's largest military base, seven soldiers sat in a semi-circle, lights dimmed, eyes closed, two fingertips lightly pressed beneath their belly buttons to activate their "core." Electronic music thumped as the soldiers tried to silence their thoughts, the key to Warrior Mind Training, a form of meditation slowly making inroads on military bases across the country. Think military and you think macho, not meditation, but that's about to change now that the Army intends to train its 1.1 million soldiers in the art of mental toughness.

I dare anyone to watch this video...it will stop you dead in your tracks, lest we never forget 1 million + plus men and women have given their lives for our freedom. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ul60BvTk0U&eurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Efacebook%2Ecom%2Fhome%2Ephp%3F&feature=player_embedded

Four US soldiers have been killed by a bomb in southern Afghanistan, a Nato spokesman has said. Brig Gen Eric Tremblay said they were struck "while patrolling in one of the most violent areas of Afghanistan", but did not give an exact location. The deaths bring the number of foreign forces killed in Afghanistan in 2009 to 295, the deadliest year since the US-led invasion to overthrow the Taliban. The previous deadliest year was 2008, when 294 military personnel died.

My associate and I got a letter for a Korean War Veteran who thought his service was long forgotten. You can go to the original article and post your thanks in the comment section.

In late 2004, Nicks began visiting Army and Navy medical centers in Washington, D.C. While visiting wounded service men and women, Nicks became determined to find an object she could leave with each soldier that would raise their spirits, motivate, and give them something to look forward to each day. She eventually decided to purchase hundreds of iPod Nanos, load them with music, artists, and play-lists which she would hand select, and autograph them. She now regularly delivers these tokens of her appreciation, bringing her closest friends to share the experience. In 2006, Nicks held a get-together to raise money...

FORT CAMPBELL, Ky. — The Army has identified four soldiers killed in a helicopter training accident in Colorado. Those killed in Wednesday's crash were 40-year-old Chief Warrant Officer Terrance Geer, 41-year-old Chief Warrant Officer Robert Johnson, 33-year-old Staff Sgt. Paul Jackson and 28-year-old Staff Sgt. Chad Tucker. The soldiers identified Friday were all members of Delta Company, 1st Battalion, 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment at Fort Campbell. Army Special Operations Command officials say their MH-60 Black Hawk helicopter crashed while conducting mountain and environmental training near Colorado's second-highest summit, Mount Massive -snip-

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Four U.S. soldiers have been charged with cruelty and maltreatment of four subordinates in Iraq after a suicide investigation brought to light alleged wrongdoing, the military said Friday. There is no confirmed evidence that the suicide, which involved a fifth subordinate in the unit, was a result of any mistreatment, said Lt. Col. Kevin Olson, a spokesman for Multi-National Division-South, who said the military is looking into that possibility. Charges were brought Wednesday against three sergeants and a specialist with the 13th Cavalry Regiment out of Fort Bliss, Texas, accusing them of engaging in "verbal abuse, physical...

Pfc. Michael Jackson Apodaca, 18 who was arrested Monday, is accused of working as a paid hit man, and assassinating a member of the Juarez Cartel who had become an informant for U.S. authorities. Along with Apodaca, El Paso police have charged Ruben Rodriguez Dorado, 30, and Christopher Andrew Duran, 17 with capital murder. The informant, Jose Daniel Gonzalez Galeana, was shot several times at his home on May 15. Both Dorado and Duran told detectives that Apodaca was the one paid to carry out the execution. Witness accounts along with the police investigation have confirmed this. Pfc. Apodaca enlisted...

ARLINGTON, Va., Aug. 20, 2009 – Soldiers from the Georgia Army National Guard’s 48th Infantry Brigade Combat Team are playing a supporting role in today’s elections in Afghanistan, the unit commander told reporters yesterday. Pfc. Justin Bell of the Georgia Army National Guard’s 48th Infantry Brigade Combat Team clears his M4 carbine after entering Camp Phoenix in Kabul, July 28, 2009. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Terry Wade  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. “[It] is a very big day,” said Army Brig. Gen. Larry E. Dudney Jr., commander of Task Force Phoenix 9 in Kabul. “We’re excited to be...

LEADVILLE, Colorado — Four soldiers died after a Black Hawk helicopter crashed during a training mission on Colorado's second-highest mountain, the Army's Special Operations Command said Thursday. The helicopter crashed Wednesday afternoon near the summit of 14,421-foot Mount Massive. The Army initially said two were killed, one was injured and one was missing. The missing man was found dead late Wednesday, and the injured man died on the way to the hospital Wednesday, said Lt. Col. John Clearwater, a spokesman for the command at Fort Bragg, N.C. All were male soldiers from Fort Campbell, Ky., he said. Their names haven't...

I put my carry-on in the luggage compartment and sat down in my assigned seat. It was going to be a long flight 'I'm glad I have a good book to read. Perhaps I will get a short nap,' I thought. Just before take-off, a line of soldiers came down the aisle and filled all the vacant seats, totally surrounding me. I decided to start a conversation. 'Where are you headed?' I asked the soldier seated next to me. ' Chicago - to Great Lakes Base. We'll be there for two weeks for special training, and then we're being deployed...

Before 2001, America’s military women had rarely seen ground combat. Their jobs kept them mostly away from enemy lines, as military policy dictates. But the Afghanistan and Iraq wars, often fought in marketplaces and alleyways, have changed that. In both countries, women have repeatedly proved their mettle in combat. The number of high-ranking women and women who command all-male units has climbed considerably along with their status in the military. “Iraq has advanced the cause of full integration for women in the Army by leaps and bounds,” said Peter R. Mansoor, a retired Army colonel who served as executive officer...

The combat equipment that once belonged to two fallen Iraqi Special Operations Forces Soldiers is displayed during the memorial service held in Baghdad, July 28. The fallen Soldiers were fatally wounded by an assailant when they entered a house while serving a warrant issued by the Criminal Investigative Court of Karkh. Photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Jimmy Pan, Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force - Arabian Peninsula. BAGHDAD — The atmosphere was somber and emotions ran high among U.S. and Iraqi Special Operations Force Soldiers as they mourned the loss of two fallen comrades during a recent memorial service...

Here is bizarre video of Democrat Congressman Frank Kratovil of Maryland answering a question by a young boy who was concerned about the Health Care of his grandfather. Red State reports the boy asked: A young boy in the crowd asks the Congressman, “My grandfather is a retire war veteran. What are you going to do to make sure he is cared for with Health Care?” Instead of answering the boy's question, the congressman talked about -- suicide. He reportedly rambled on about the danger of suicide among returning soldiers without ever answering the boy's question. . . . ....

FORT MONMOUTH, N.J., Aug. 3, 2009 – Army Sgt. 1st Class Debra Tanacea was eager to begin her first deployment in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. She had been wearing the Army uniform for 16 years, she said, and felt more than ready to accept the challenge of serving in a hostile environment. But after learning the requirements of one particular project, she wasn't sure it was a mission she could accomplish. Her job was to collect personal protective equipment, or PPE, damaged by improvised explosive devices for forensic testing so that it could be improved. But it was the...

U.S. soldiers were given a true Irish welcome at a wedding in Co Clare this week. The 300 troops were stranded in Shannon last weekend after their Iraq-bound plane was grounded. As luck would have it, they were booked into the same hotel as the wedding party for Amelia Walsh and Sean O'Neill. And so the 300 troops were invited to join the festivities at the Clare Inn in Newmarket-on-Fergus. The groom's uncle, Joe O'Neill said: "It didn’t take long before the combat fatigues were manoeuvring to the strains of ‘The Walls of Limerick'." The happy couple posed for pictures...

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Soldiers from an Army unit that had 10 infantrymen accused of murder, attempted murder or manslaughter after returning to civilian life described a breakdown in discipline during their Iraq deployment in which troops murdered civilians, a newspaper reported Sunday. Some Fort Carson, Colo.-based soldiers have had trouble adjusting to life back in the United States, saying they refused to seek help, or were belittled or punished for seeking help. Others say they were ignored by their commanders, or coped through drug and alcohol abuse before they allegedly committed crimes, The Gazette of Colorado Springs said.

US/EasternWASHINGTON (AP) - Defense Secretary Robert Gates has announced that the size of the Army is being increased by 22,000 to help meet deployment needs around the world. Gates made the disclosure Monday at a news conference at the Pentagon where he was joined by the chairman of the military Joint Chiefs of Staff, Adm. Mike Mullen. The Army currently has a total troop strength of 547,000. Gates said the military, with President Barack Obama's backing, decided that because of the continuing operations in Iraq and Afghanistan and political turmoil in Pakistan, the Pentagon's ability to fill vacancies was "at...

Bomb kills 4 U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan The roadside explosion in the dangerous eastern region bordering Pakistan pushes the American death toll in July to 30. By Laura King July 21, 2009 -- A roadside bomb killed four American soldiers in eastern Afghanistan on Monday, adding to the toll in what has already been the conflict's deadliest month for Western forces. The latest deaths push the number of coalition troops killed in July to at least 55 -- 30 of them American. U.S. military officials have forecast a bloody summer in Afghanistan, in part because thousands of newly arrived American...

Please keep this young man and his family in your prayers every day. Dear Lord grant him strength and mercy. May your divine light reside in his his soul and please keep him free from harm.