Free Republic

US Democratic presidential candidate Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) is saluted as he steps off an osprey upon arriving at Marka Airport in Amman, Jordan, July 22, 2008.

Read the indictment here._____________________________________________A former Marine sergeant charged with killing captured enemy combatants in Fallujah, Iraq more than three years ago has taken another bullet from a California federal Grand Jury. The Grand Jury has handed up a superseding indictment charging Jose L. Nazario with the added charges of Assault with a Dangerous Weapon, Discharging a Firearm during a Crime of Violence, and Causing an Act – in this case multiple murder – by two junior Marines under his command, the undated indictment shows. The 28-year old former Riverside Police Department rookie and eight year Marine veteran is already charged...

Breaking news!Judge recomends dismissal of manslaughter charges in Sgt John Winnick case. Recommends a minor dereliction charge with nonjudicial punishment. This is a developing story. Check back with Defend Our Marines for details.

A Marine sergeant charged with murdering an enemy combatant captured in Fallujah during the heat of battle repeatedly told Naval Criminal Investigative Service special agents he didn’t do anything wrong. Sergeant Ryan Weemer’s words were captured during a lengthy 2006 interview with NCIS Special Agents Mark Fox and Tess Berg obtained by Defend Our Marines. The interview took place on November 16 in Chesterfield, Missouri, a suburb of Saint Louis. A carefully cherry-picked version of his statement was revealed by the prosecution during Weemer’s Article 32 preliminary hearing last week. Much less was said about Weemer’s apparent confusion, his overwhelming...

Help!!! We are to attend my neices graduation from Marine boot camp later this month and we need ideas on where to stay. Rent a hotel, a house for two or three days? Thanks in advance!!!

That Marines stand tall and rigid in their actions, thoughts and deeds when others bend with the direction of the wind and are as confused as a dog looking at a ceiling fan. that each and every Marine considers the honor and legacy of the Corps as his/her personal and sacred trust to protect and defend. that most civilians don't have a clue what makes us tick...And that's not a bad thing. Because if they did, it would probably scare the hell out of them. that others say they want to be like us, but don't have what it takes...

CAMP PENDLETON -- A Marine sniper charged with two counts of manslaughter and two counts of assault in the shooting of four Syrians last year had the authority to shoot suspected insurgents if he deemed they posed a threat, his platoon commander testified Tuesday morning. Lt. Dominic Corabi, commander of a scout sniper platoon from Camp Pendleton's 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, said Sgt. John "Johnny" Winnick II had that authority when he led a six-man surveillance team on a mission near Lake Tharthar in the Anbar province of Iraq on June 17. Winnick, 24, a San Diego native and...

The federal trial of former Marine Sgt Jose L. Nazario is on hold until August 19, Defend Our Marines has learned. Presiding US District Judge Steven Larsen issued the order last week. Nazario’s trial was scheduled to begin July 8 at the US District Court for Central California at Riverside. Judge Larsen has also issued an unusual order to Nazario’s defense attorney Kevin B. McDermott to keep the Grand Jury testimony he received in discovery secret, and to return the transcripts to the court undisclosed to the public upon the completion of the case. The delay in the Nazario case...

CAMP PENDLETON ---- A hearing to help determine if a Marine sniper should face trial for killing two Iraqi civilians and wounding two others last year is scheduled to begin at Camp Pendleton on Tuesday morning. Sgt. John "Johnny" Winnick II is accused of voluntary manslaughter, aggravated assault and failing to follow the military's rules of engagement in the incident that took place in Iraq's Anbar province June 17, 2007. A charging document alleges Winnick used a shotgun to kill an Iraqi civilian named Raid Ahmed. He also is alleged to have killed or caused another to kill Rayson Muhammad...

WASHINGTON, June 27, 2008 – The 2nd Battalion, 7th Marines are disrupting the Taliban’s freedom of movement in Afghanistan’s Helmand and Farah provinces, the battalion’s commander said today. “We expected that we were going to experience a lot of friction by the enemy,” Marine Corps Lt. Col. Richard D. Hall told online journalists and bloggers in a teleconference, noting that until the 1st Marine Division unit arrived, Taliban operatives and other militants could operate as they pleased. “We’re disrupting that, and they don’t like it,” Hall said, “so they’ve been trying to come after us because of that.” He praised...

Welcome to the 26 JUN 08 edition of The FReeper Canteen! Happy Birthday toCHESTY PULLER! Lieutenant General Lewis Burwell "Chesty" Puller (26 JUN 1898 - 11 OCT 1971) was the most decorated Marine in American history. Puller is the only United States Marine to receive five Navy Crosses, the United States Navy's second highest decoration after Congressional Medal of Honor. During his career, he fought in World War 2 and the Korean War, and participated in some of the bloodiest battles in Marine Corps history. Puller, whose nickname was inspired by his barrel chest, was born in West Point,...

Major General Doug Stone is trying to turn jailed Iraqi militants into citizens. Call him a do-gooder, but guess what? It's working. Turning Shame Into Pride After Major General Douglas Michael Stone arrived in Baghdad in April 2007 to take command of security prisoners in Iraq, he promptly assembled his officers for some blunt talk. The abuses of Iraqi detainees at Abu Ghraib were a "moral failure" that had shamed a nation long admired for respecting international law and human rights, he told them. They were also a betrayal of the U.S. military's and America's "core values." "Abu Ghraib was...

He said, "Mom I want to join the Marines, please sign these papers,I am only 17." I said okay. 911 happened. Are you sure? "Yes please let me go, I know I have to go." I said okay. He was only 18. They said you young Marines will go to war and some will not come back. He said, "Don't worry; I have to fight for our country." I said okay. He was only 19. He marched up to Baghdad. Sand swirled all around, the heat was extreme, water was scarce, and sleep was little. Hungry, tired and dirty, he...

FALLUJAH — 3rd Battalion, 6th Marines, augmented by Civil Affairs teams, are continuously working with Fallujah City Council members, local tribal leaders and local citizens to carry out projects in an effort to improve the city’s infrastructure. Civil Affairs and Army Corps of Engineers leaders met with the city council’s director generals recently, to talk about projects that will provide key services throughout the city, such as improving the water distribution systems. The city is now in the planning stages of establishing a new water distribution network. 3rd Battalion, 6th Marines recently approved a project to purchase needed parts for...

Half-cocked on Haditha Critics blasted Marines without benefit of facts or fairness Friday, June 20, 2008 If you call someone a cold-blooded killer in public, you'd better have the facts on your side. That's our free, untrained legal advice for Rep. John Murtha, D-Pa., who said precisely that about a handful of Marines once accused of killing civilians in Haditha, Iraq. Seven of the eight Marines initially charged in connection with the alleged incident have been exonerated. There were four charged with participating in the alleged massacre, and four charged with failing to properly investigate it. Lt. Col. Jeffrey Chessani...

CAMP KOREAN VILLAGE, Iraq, June 19, 2008 – Marine Corps Cpl. Andrew E. Nelson doesn’t mind admitting he very easily could have amounted to nothing in life. Marine Corps Cpl. Andrew E. Nelson, 21, a personnel clerk with 2nd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, Regimental Combat Team 5, stands in front of a picture that depicts his main goal, becoming a drill instructor, at Camp Korean Village, Iraq, June 15, 2008. Born in Philadelphia, Nelson overcame hard times to turn his life around. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Ryan Tomlinson, Regimental Combat Team 5  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available....

President George W. Bush shakes hands with General Peter Pace after presenting him with the Presidential Medal of Freedom Thursday, June 19, 2008, during the Presidential Medal of Freedom ceremony in the East Room at the White House. White House photo by David Bohrer One of my great privileges as the President has been to meet so many outstanding Americans who volunteer to serve our nation in uniform. I've been inspired by their valor, selflessness, and complete integrity. I found all those qualities in abundance in General Peter Pace. As Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Pete Pace...

Two homosexual advocacy groups are criticizing the decision to award the Presidential Medal of Freedom to retired General Peter Pace. He'll be honored on Thursday. "Honoring General Pace with the country's highest civilian award is outrageous, insensitive and disrespectful to the 65,000 lesbian and gay troops currently serving on active duty in the armed forces," said Aubrey Sarvis, executive director of the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network (SLDN), in a news release on Wednesday. "Our men and women in uniform are making tremendous sacrifices for our country and are looking for the president to recognize leaders who offer them praise and...

June 19, 2008, 7:00 a.m. Justice?Haditha again. By Mackubin Thomas Owens In November 2005, the Marine Corps reported that a number of civilians had been killed in Haditha by an improvised explosive device (IED) that also killed Marine Lance Corporal Miguel Terrazas, and that eight insurgents were killed in the ensuing firefight. But in March of 2006, Time ran a story, “Collateral Damage or Civilian Massacre in Haditha?� which claimed, based on interviews with locals, that the Marines had killed 24 civilians in cold blood in retaliation for Terrazas’s death. In May, the Marine Corps charged a number of...

ANN ARBOR, MI – Military Judge Colonel Steven Folsom, USMC, this morning dismissed all charges against Lt Colonel Jeffrey Chessani on the grounds of unlawful command influence. He blistered the prosecution’s case in an opinion he read from the bench that lasted an hour. The ruling was without prejudice. Colonel Folsom gave prosecutors 72 hours in which to notify him whether they would appeal. The ruling was greeted with tears of joy from Chessani’s wife and several spectators in the courtroom.

no link yet, just the banner

The Marine Corps attorneys representing Staff Sergeant Frank Wuterich in the so-called “Haditha Massacre” investigation are expected to step down without closure more than a year after their client was charged. Baring unseen events, they will be off the defense team by August 1 and likely earlier than that, according to civilian co-counsel, Mark Zaid. Meanwhile, Wuterich remains in limbo at Camp Pendleton while government prosecutors wrangle with 60 Minutes lawyers over video outtakes the government says will help prove the incident at Haditha was a crime. Wuterich's trial will take place sometime in the fall. Lieutenant Colonel Colby C....

ANN ARBOR, MI – Military Judge Colonel Steven Folsom, USMC, will issue his ruling on the crucial Unlawful Command Influence motion brought by LtCol Jeffrey Chessani’s defense counsel in a Camp Pendleton, California, courtroom on Tuesday, June 17, 2008, at 9:00am PST. Col Folsom had originally scheduled hearings in Chessani’s case to last for three days, June 16–18. However, in an announcement that might prove to be significant to the Chessani case, Col Folson indicated late last week that he will announce his decision on the defense motion to dismiss on June 17 in a hearing that should last approximately...

RIVERSIDE ---- A second Marine has been found in contempt of court for refusing to testify before a federal grand jury and has been ordered to jail. Sgt. Ryan G. Weemer, charged with murder in the death of an Iraqi detainee in Fallujah in 2004, appeared in uniform before U.S. District Court Judge Stephen Larson on Thursday and was ordered into custody after a brief hearing Thursday. Weemer can be held for up to 18 months unless he decides to testify before the grand jury. The jury is investigating Weemer's former squad leader, Jose Nazario, who is no longer in...

HONOLULU (AP) - The Marine Corps said Wednesday it was expelling one Marine and disciplining another for their roles in a video showing a Marine throwing a puppy off a cliff while on patrol in Iraq. The 17-second video posted on YouTube drew sharp condemnation from animal rights groups when it came to light in March. The clip shows two Marines joking before one hurls the puppy into a rocky gully. A yelping sound is heard as it flips through the air. "That's mean. That's mean, Motari," an off-camera Marine is heard telling the Marine who tossed the black and...

President George W. Bush today announced recipients of the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the Nation's highest civil award...." "General Peter Pace, U.S. Marine Corps (Ret.), is one of our Nation's most accomplished and respected military officers. His selfless service and visionary leadership have helped keep our Nation safe."

Attorneys representing Marine Lt. Col Jeffrey Chessani will find out June 16 whether the presiding judge in the “Haditha Massacre” case will grant a defense motion to dismiss his charges because of undue command influence. If Folsom denies the defense motion Chessani will stand general court-martial July 21 for alleged dereliction of duty and orders violations, said Richard Thompson, chief counsel of the civilian law firm representing him. The veteran combat Marine is the highest ranking officer to be charged with a crime in the discredited massacre investigation. Four enlisted men and three officers under his command were also charged...

In the 18th and early 19th centuries, three "huzzahs" were given by British infantry before a charge, as a way of building morale and intimidating the enemy. The book "Redcoat" by Richard Holmes indicates that this was given as two short 'huzzahs' followed by a third sustained one as the charge was carried out.Defend Our Marines headline, June 4, 2008: “Verdict in the Lt Grayson trial---NOT GUILTY ON ALL COUNTS!” Huzzah!I feel one of the striking impressions of the Haditha case is the lack of leadership demonstrated by the Marine General Officers. One of the principles of leadership is to...

CAMP PENDLETON ---- A four-star general testified Monday that a lower-ranking officer did not influence his decision to bring criminal charges against the battalion commander in charge of Marines tied to the deaths of 24 civilians in Haditha, Iraq. Gen. James N. Mattis also testified there was no pressure from above ---- be it from the Pentagon, congressional contacts or the Marine Corps commandant ---- for him to criminally charge anyone in the Haditha killings. "I make my own decisions," Mattis said. (snip) He also said the intense media spotlight on the killings "had no influence whatsoever" in his decision...

    ~The FReeper Canteen Presents~ Road Trip: Marine Corps Base Quantico, Virginia Marine Corps Base Quantico is located near Triangle, Virginia. Known as the "Crossroads of the Marine Corps", it is a major Marine Corps training base, covering nearly 100 square miles. The Corps's Combat Development Command is based here, which develops strategies for Marine combat, and makes up most of the community of over 12,000 military and civilian personnel, including families. Spaniards visited Quantico 40 years before Jamestown was settled and Captain John Smith explored the Potomac banks in 1608. Tobacco was the main product of early...

CLEVELAND, Ohio (AP) -- On leave from the violence he had survived in the war in Iraq, a young Marine was so wary of crime on the streets of his own home town that he carried only $8 to avoid becoming a robbery target. Despite his caution, Lance Cpl. Robert Crutchfield, 21, was shot point-blank in the neck during a robbery at a bus stop. Feeding and breathing tubes kept him alive 41/2 months, until he died of an infection on May 18. Two men have been charged in the attack, and Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Bill Mason said Friday the...

FALLUJAH, Iraq — At the western entrance to the Iraqi city of Fallujah on Tuesday, Muamar Anad handed his residence badge to the U.S. Marines guarding the city. They checked to be sure he was a city resident, and when they were done, Anad said, a Marine slipped a coin out of his pocket and put it in his hand. Out of fear, he accepted it, Anad said. When he was inside the city, the college student said, he looked at one side of the coin. "Where will you spend eternity?" it asked. He flipped it over, and on the...

A handful of Code Pink protesters were in front of the center at 64 Shattuck Square May 21 - their usual day of the week - but the turnout was extremely low compared with recent months when hundreds came out weekly to protest the military enlistment site. While the crowd has slackened, Code Pink officials say the weekly protests will continue until the recruitment center leaves town. A Marines spokesman said Tuesday that there are no plans to move the officer selection office from Berkeley. The lease runs until December 2009. Berkeley Chamber of Commerce Chief Executive Officer Ted Garrett...

SAN DIEGO—A Marine intelligence officer heads to court Wednesday to answer charges of obstruction of justice and making false statements during an investigation into the killings of 24 Iraqis. The court-martial of 1st Lt. Andrew Grayson is the first case to come to trial in the biggest U.S. criminal case involving civilian deaths to come out of the Iraq war. Authorities maintain eight Marines killed the Iraqis shortly after a roadside bomb hit a convoy, killing the driver of a Humvee and wounding two Marines. Grayson of Springboro, Ohio, was not present at the scene of the killings on Nov....

My father-in-law is looking for Military cadences to exercise by. He is retired Navy and would love some cadences. Is there a site we can download some from? He misses the language in the navy

Marines Push Back Taliban, and Optimism Grows By CARLOTTA GALL GARMSER, Afghanistan — For two years British troops staked out a presence in this small district center in southern Afghanistan and fended off attacks from the Taliban. The constant firefights left it a ghost town, its bazaar broken and empty but for one baker, its houses and orchards reduced to rubble and weeds. But it took the Marines, specifically the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit, about 96 hours to clear out the Taliban in a fierce battle in the past month and push them back about 6 miles. It was their...

True American Hero Honored SSgt Vincent Rios, USMC (Ret.), was the Chair of Honor at the Memorial Program on Sunday, May 25, 2008, Lands End, Fort Miley, San Francisco. FReepers Scott and Saundra Hawkins file this first-hand account. Saundra met Vince Rios when they both worked for a federal agency in San Francisco in 1977 and they have remained close friends ever since. “Vince Rios is a true American hero if ever there was one,” says Saundra. Why is Vince Rios a true American Hero? After Sgt. Rios served his first tour of duty in Vietnam, he volunteered to go...

Thanks for serving...

Camp Pendleton, -- San Diego County - In a dusty field off a back road, a group of young Marine recruits gather around a sign to learn the story of Cpl. Jason Dunham. Dunham was a Marine squad leader in Iraq. On April 14, 2004, an insurgent tossed a hand grenade, and Dunham jumped on it to save the lives of his buddies. The blast killed him, and Dunham was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor, the nation's highest award for valor in combat. "Cpl. Dunham probably went to basic training right here," a Marine drill instructor tells the recruits,...

Editor's note: Reporter Mark Walker interviewed Camp Pendleton's Lt. Gen. Samuel T. Helland last Sunday while flying home from a two-week visit with troops in Iraq, Afghanistan, Kuwait and other sites in the Middle East. Watch the video Helland, who heads Marine forces in that region of the world as well as Camp Pendleton’s I Marine Expeditionary Force, responded as follows in this excerpted transcript: What did you learn on your visits with the troops and commanders? Most of the time when I travel in the theater, I like to travel with a purpose. One of the objectives this time...

Hi, I'm writing looking for information. A family member's recent obituary contains the reference "honorably served his country in the United States Marine Corps during World War II. He was a Marooned Mud Marine & received a Purple Heart. " None of knows what a 'marooned Mud Marine' was and we're hoping someone here will know. One guess is Guadalcanal. Thanks so much.

(edit)Kelly, 61, who is also a retired Marine sergeant, was immediately tested to see if he was a match, and as luck would have it, he was.“It was really admirable to see these two men who had defied fear in battle and situations of severe adversity to come together,” Molmenti told FOXNews.com. “Now they’re fighting the biggest fight of their whole lives and they're helping each other with this precious gift.” (edit)

This fallen hero deserves his nation’s thanks, praise, and eternal remembrance (hat tip - reader Lynne): He gave his dad a hero and his country his life. On Sunday, Marine Cpl. Justin Cooper of Eupora was killed in combat in Afghanistan. Cooper’s father, Alan Cooper, said he was told by Marine officials who visited his home Sunday night that the 22-year-old died after he was shot in the chest, just above his body armor, during a fire fight. “I never knew so many people could break down and cry over the phone when you tell them something like that,” Alan...

It was a typical quiet morning on April 22, with the temperature intensifying as a bright orange sun emerged high from the horizon. Lance Cpl. Jordan Haerter, a rifleman with 1st Battalion, 9th Marine Regiment, Regimental Combat Team 1, and Cpl. Jonathan T. Yale, a rifleman with 2nd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, RCT-1, were standing post, just as they’ve done numerous times before. During a standard length watch in a small checkpoint protected by concrete barriers where they overlooked the small gravel road, lined with palm trees leading to their entry control point. However, this morning would be different. Quickly...

Live training and full-scale war games are ideal ways to test physical reflexes and give military trainees hands-on experience with equipment in the real world. However, increasingly various forms of computer-based training, including desktop software applications and full-room simulated environments, provide alternative learning opportunities. "We really believe there are certain skills you can train at each level of fidelity," said Denise Nicholson, director of the Applied Cognition and Training in Immersive Virtual Environments lab at the University of Central Florida. UCF is conducting research on the next version of the Marine Corps' Deployable Virtual Training Environment (DVTE). The corps has...

HONOLULU -- The Marine Corps has yet to charge anyone after two months of investigating a video that reportedly depicts a Marine from Monroe throwing a puppy into a ravine in Iraq. A press release today from Marine Corps Base Hawaii in Oahu states that the investigation is ongoing and that the Corps deplores the apparent act of animal cruelty. The investigation may be concluded soon, according to Maj. Chris Perrine, base spokesman. The puppy video gained international attention and local interest when people on the Internet identified the Marine in the video as a Monroe man. The man’s family...

A 3-year-old boy died Wednesday after being attacked by a dog at Camp Lejeune, Onslow Memorial Hospital spokesman Tim Strickland confirmed. The dog, a pit bull, attacked the child at Tarawa Terrace I, base spokesman 1st Lt. Craig Thomas said. The dog was captured and is being held at the Camp Lejeune kennel, Thomas said.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Marine Corps far surpassed its recruiting goal last month and could eventually be more than a year ahead of schedule in its plan to grow the force to 202,000 members. All military services met or exceeded their monthly recruiting goals in April, with the Marine Corps signing 142 percent of the number it was looking for, the Pentagon said. The Army signed 101 percent of its goal, recruiting 5,681 against a goal of 5,650. The Navy and Air Force met their goals — 2,905 sailors and 2,435 airmen. The Marine Corps enlisted 2,233 recruits against a...

RAMADI, IRAQ (April 29, 2008) – It was a typical quiet morning on April 22, with the temperature intensifying as a bright orange sun emerged high from the horizon. Lance Cpl. Jordan Haerter, a rifleman with 1st Battalion, 9th Marine Regiment, Regimental Combat Team 1, and Cpl. Jonathan T. Yale, a rifleman with 2nd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, RCT-1, were standing post, just as they’ve done numerous times before. During a standard length watch in a small checkpoint protected by concrete barriers where they overlooked the small gravel road, lined with palm trees leading to their entry control point.

Karla Comfort received a lot of looks and even some salutes from people when she drove from Benton, Ark., to Camp Pendleton, Calif., in her newly-painted, custom Hummer H3 on March 2nd. The vehicle is adorned with the likeness of her son, 20-year-old Lance Cpl. John M. Holmason, and nine other Marines with F Company, 2nd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division who where all killed by the same improvised explosive device blast in Fallujah, Iraq, in December.