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ALL The transfer of patients has been moved up 24 hours to Saturday, 7AM We will be there. Same game plan as original. [Mr] T

It is public knowledge that the final move of our Wounded Warriors from Walter Reed to Bethesda Naval Hospital and Ft. Belvour will be Sunday, August 28,2011. Best intel we have is that the ambulances will start transporting our Wounded Warriors out of the main at Georgia Avenue and Elder Street, NW, gate at 7AM. We do not know the exact end time. From some deduction it is expected to be around 1-2PM. THE DC CHAPTER OF FREEREPUBLIC WILL BE THERE, rain or shine or hurricane. All patriots are invited to help show our Wounded Warriors and their families that...

PRELIMINARY REPORTIt is public knowledge that the final move of our Wounded Warriors from Walter Reed to Bethesda Naval Hospital and Ft. Belvour will be Sunday, August 28,2011. THE DC CHAPTER OF FREEREPUBLIC WILL BE THERE and all patriots are invited to help show our Wounded Warriors and their families that they are loved and that we support them where ever the are. Not knowing specific details at this time we have permitted all four corners of all 4 gates from 6AM till 10PM. Once we know which gate(s) they will be leaving from, we will start setting up at...

This is a REAL Commander in Chief. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8TiGYDvc4lU

DON’T FORGET NEXT WEEK, JULY 29TH. WE ARE HAVING THE LAST BIG GET TOGETHER TO CHEER OUR WOUNDED WARRIORS THRU THE GATE. This will be the last chance to see everyone together. A special invite goes out to the past regulars who stood at the gate in our early years. "Eagles don’t flock, you gather them one at a time".This could not have been more true than last night. While we expected “several” additional patriots this Friday, we also knew of several other Friday night regulars who would not be there. An average attendance of a dozen was expected. BUT...

Raising awareness for wounded veterans

Angelina Jolie put a smile on the faces of some wounded warriors she met with last week at Ramstein Air Base in Germany as they prepared to travel back to the U.S. for the first time since being injured. And they clearly put one on hers, too!

Tomorrow the W100 will begin with a 12 mile (19.4 km) ride in the heat of the day. A grueling 30 mile (48.3 km) ride will follow on Tuesday, with President Bush and the warriors finishing up the last 20 miles (32.3) on Wednesday. Stay tuned here for pictures from the trail, video of the ride and daily photo albums. Until then, get a sneak peek at some of the rough terrain and trails President Bush and 14 wounded warriors will be taking on over the next three days:Some of the trail is wide enough for vehicles and several bikes.Parts...

Dear Friends and Colleagues; An opportunity to help wounded warriors and their families presents itself today. Please consider sponsoring an effort by a young Soldier on behalf of Wounded Warriors of all military branches. Army Captain Michael Pariso, an acquaintance of mine currently stationed here at Fort Leonard Wood, has decided to give of himself in this cause by running a charity 5K event along with his daughter on behalf of the Fisher House Foundation (http://www.fisherhouse.org/). When a US Warrior is seriously wounded or injured and faces long term recovery and rehabilitation, they are sent to major military medical centers...

BASRA, Iraq – When the wounded warriors with Operation Proper Exit visited Basra, Iraq, Dec. 7, they received a warm welcome from soldiers on the base, from the ranks of private through major general. Another group, perhaps more unexpectedly, also welcomed them – Iraqi military leaders and civilians. Iraqi Air Force Brig. Gen. Sami Al Tamimy, the commander of the IAF’s 70th Squadron, hosted the group for lunch and spoke with the group of Americans who had been wounded in Iraq years before. “I would like to thank you for all the sacrifices that you’ve made to accomplish our wishes...

NASCAR fans have seen an Army car, a Navy car, an Air Force car, even a Marines, Coast Guard and National Guard cars. But when David Reutimann finished fifth earlier this year in the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway, the No. 00 was sporting a military logo who most in America were unfamiliar. The Armed Forces Foundation was the primary sponsor on the Michael Waltrip Racing car, and Reutimann was ecstatic he could bring a little attention to this relatively new charity. "I think the AFF has been under the radar, so to speak, unfortunately, for what they do,...

BOLLING AIR FORCE BASE, D.C., June 16, 2010 – When an airman is seriously injured, multiple agencies are ready to provide help. But if the servicemember is unable to actively engage those resources, the Air Force assigns a family liaison officer to help the family deal with the emotional and physical turmoil. Master Sgt. Robert D. Greenberg, an Air Force Honor Guard member here, recently served as the family liaison officer for Senior Airman Michael Malarsie's family. Malarsie was injured Jan. 3 in a roadside-bomb attack on his unit near Kandahar, Afghanistan, where he was one of a two-man tactical...

WASHINGTON, June 9, 2010 – Several members of the Washington Redskins joined forces with the USO and the Wounded Warrior Project here yesterday at the ESPN Zone for a “Guitar Hero” video game showdown with soldiers stationed in Basra, Iraq. Soldiers play “Guitar Hero” against players at the ESPN Zone in Washington D.C., as part of the “Pro vs. GI Joe” video game competition, June 8, 2010, which pitted troops against Washington Redskins football players. DoD photo by U.S. Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class William Selby.   (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. The event is known as “Pro vs....

WASHINGTON, June 7, 2010 – A military musician assigned to the U.S. Navy Band here teaches rowing to wounded warriors recovering at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Md. Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Patrick Johnson spends almost every Tuesday and Thursday afternoon motivating wounded warriors at the center’s Mercy Hall. Four years ago, Chief Petty Officer Michel Curtis, also a member of the Navy Band, and Johnson, began rowing at the Capitol Rowing Club here as part of their physical training regimen. Capitol Rowing Club is a masters rowing club on the Anacostia River next to the Washington...

When the darkness and fog cleared on August 29, 1776, the mud soaked trenches were empty. General George Washington had slipped away during the night, living to fight another day. The Battle of Long Island was a clear British victory, but it was a lesson learned in the pursuit of liberty that the American conservative knows, and a lesson that Americans of every race, color and creed should know. So, on August 27, 1776, General Washington arrived in New York, overseeing the construction of new fortifications in Brooklyn Heights. The men found it hard to warm their food or keep...

SIERRA VISTA — The Cochise Area Network of Therapeutic Equestrian Resources, or CANTER, recently received a $3,280 grant from the Cochise Community Foundation. CANTER provides a variety of equine therapies and assisted activities designed to promote the independence of individuals with disabilities and improve their physical, mental and social well-being. The grant will be used to support CANTER’s Helping America’s National Defenders program, which provides equine therapies to active duty and retired military and their families as a way to assist combat veterans who are challenged with brain injuries or post-traumatic stress disorder. Through the program, injured veterans regain strength,...

ARLINGTON, Va., May 5, 2010 – Rolling Thunder motorcyclists joined Warrior Games athletes in a wreath-laying ceremony today at the Pentagon Memorial here to honor the victims of Sept. 11, 2001. Army Staff Sgt. Dean Issacs, a disabled soldier suffering from a spinal cord injury, lays a wreath at the Pentagon Memorial on May 5, 2010, in honor of the victims of Sept. 11, 2001. The ceremony was part of the inaugural Warrior Games celebration. The games, which will feature disabled veterans and wounded active duty athletes in Paralympics-style competition, are slated for May 10-14, 2010, in Colorado Springs, Colo....

WASHINGTON, April 27, 2010 – The maker of rugged Pelican cases, widely used in the military to protect weapons and computer gear, has launched a program to give custom cases for prosthetics to wounded warriors who have lost limbs. Left to right: Lyndon Faulkner, president and CEO of Pelican Products; retired U.S. Marine Corps Sgt. James King; and retired Marine Corps Gen. Peter Pace, Pelican Products board chairman, pose for a photo during an April 27, 2010, ceremony at Walter Reed Army Medical Center’s Fisher House in Washington, D.C., announcing the “Pelican for Patriots program. The Pelican Products company offers...

4/22/2010 - SOUTHWEST ASIA (AFNS) -- Under the charge of 379th Air Expeditionary Wing Top 3 organization affiliates, base members here helped ease the stress of other servicemembers while recuperating from injury or passing through on their way home to an emergency situation. During a two-week clothing drive, organization members collected more than $8,200 in money and clothing to support wounded warriors and servicemembers on emergency leave orders. "I couldn't be more pleased with the outcome of this project," said Master Sgt. Michelle McMeekin, the 379th Expeditionary Force Support Airman Readiness Center NCO and Top 3 lead on the clothing...

WASHINGTON, April 22, 2010 – The Air Force’s Air Mobility Command has been able to continue providing airlift capabilities despite the cloud of ash from an Icelandic volcano that has troubled air travel, a senior officer responsible for moving military personnel and equipment around the world said yesterday. “As soon as we saw the potential impact from the volcanic ash cloud forming, we initiated some discussion about possible consequences and courses of action,” Air Force Brig. Gen. Randy Kee, vice commander of the 618th Tanker Airlift Control Center at Scott Air Force Base, Ill., said during a "DoD Live" bloggers...

FORT DETRICK, Md., April 22, 2010 – From developing a new microprocessor-controlled prosthetic leg to a non-chafing socket device, the Telemedicine and Advanced Technology Research Center here is making big strides in advancing prosthetic science to improve wounded warriors’ quality of life. The center, tucked away at this western Maryland post, reaches out to a broad spectrum of researchers at universities, hospitals, and small businesses to promote next-generation, cutting-edge prosthetic technologies. “The objective is to help amputees and traumatically wounded servicemembers return to the highest level of functionality that they are capable of,” said Troy Turner, who manages the center’s...

Ilario Pantano is excited to announce that, after due consideration, he has joined the Alliance for Bonded Term Limits, and looks forward to promoting the issue in this election and in future elections. The catalyst for Pantano has been the increased exposure to the culture of D.C. that he has had over the recent weeks through the success of his current congressional campaign. By being invited into special programs to raise money for Republican candidates, he has seen the power of money in politics up close. Pantano observed, "When NRCC Chairman Pete Sessions introduced me to dozens of members at...

CAMP RAMADI, Iraq, March 29, 2010 – Separated by seven time zones, the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea, a deployed U.S. paratrooper and his stateside wife celebrated the strength and resilience of America’s wounded warriors with synchronized 50-mile runs March 20-21. Army Sgt. 1st Class Jason Bruch prepares to begin a 50-mile run to celebrate the strength and resilience of America’s wounded warriors, March 20, 2010, at Camp Ramadi, Iraq. Tammy Bruch, his wife and an Army reservist, ran 50 miles at Fort Bragg, N.C., at about the same time. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Michael J. MacLeod  (Click photo...

MERCERSBURG, Pa., March 12, 2010 – Matthew Bilancia addresses the slopes like a man on a mission, cutting and edging his snowboard down the mountain with the confidence and passion of someone who’s been doing it all his life. Army Spc. Tonya Jacobs, injured in an on-the-job accident in Kuwait in 2008, laces up her ski boots for a wounded warrior adaptive sports session March 11, 2010, at Whitetail Ski Resort in Mercersburg, Pa. The USO of Metropolitan Washington and the Two Top Mountain Adaptive Sports Foundation sponsored the event. DoD photo by Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Carden  (Click...

DETRICK, Md., Feb. 25, 2010 – Movie-goers have seen the concept play out time and time again on the big screen. Sinister Borg drones reconstitute missing digits and limbs before their eyes in the “Star Trek” series. Alien Jack Jeebs in “Men in Black” regrows his head after it’s damaged or blown off. The military is working to bring some of that science-fiction capability to wounded warriors so they can harness their own body’s power to regenerate itself and repair disabling and disfiguring battlefield injuries. The Armed Forces Institute of Regenerative Medicine is leading the charge with an ambitious program...

BAGHDAD - When eight combat veterans recently volunteered to return here, they knew they’d be interacting with troops, answering questions about their injuries, their experiences and their new lives as wounded warriors. They were ready. From Baghdad to Taji to Balad, Soldiers on the ground seemed to have the same question — what was the most frustrating part after they sustained their injuries. The answer was unanimous among the vets. Stay in contact with those who have been injured. "As Soldiers, we have such a bond. Whether we've been together for six months or five years, it's a brotherhood; whether...

Brigadier General (R) Anthony J. Tata wrote a great piece today for Big Government in which he, among other things, recalled Governor Palin's visit to Walter Reed Army Medical Center last December: "As a retired flag officer, I often have the privilege of visiting with our wounded and their families and so I commit some time and money, donating so far 100% of the book royalties to the USO Metro DC Hospital Services Fund for our wounded warriors at Walter Reed Army Medical Center and Bethesda National Naval Medical Center. The huge response my review of her book generated, and...

BAGHDAD - Rick Kell, executive director of the Troops First Foundation, has done it again. Six wounded warriors stepped off a C-130 Hercules here, Jan. 31, and took their first steps on Iraqi soil since being severely wounded the last time they were here. This is the fourth time Kell has returned wounded service members to Iraq as part of Operation Proper Exit, a program aimed at helping the warriors find emotional closure after being injured. Although this is the fourth trip, this set of Soldiers differs from previous groups, as all six Soldiers are now retired. Capt. Ferris Butler...

It was somewhat surreal. Not just that Sarah had worn it but that a million book buyers now have the picture of that jacket in their home on the book cover and yet the jacket now resides in the Miller house. Anytime a celeb has worn something we tend to feel it’s special, and yet – it’s just a tiny, very light weight bright red coat!

WASHINGTON, Jan. 7, 2010 – Some 200 wounded active duty members and military veterans will compete in the inaugural Warrior Games May 10-14 in Colorado Springs, Colo., Defense Department officials announced today. The U.S. Olympic Committee will host the games, and events will include shooting, swimming, archery, track, discus, shot put, cycling, sitting volleyball and wheelchair basketball, Army Brig. Gen. Gary Cheek, commander of the U.S. Army Warrior Transition Command, said at a Pentagon news conference. Athletes will be recruited from each of the military services, including the Coast Guard, through an independent selection processes. Many already participate in some...

In September 2009, Ride2Recovery auctioned a dinner experience with Todd and Sarah Palin, the proceeds of which benefit the organization’s wounded warrior efforts. Cathy Maples, President, R & D Electronics was the winning bidder....

CAMP RAMADI, Iraq, Jan. 4, 2010 – Five severely wounded veterans returned to Iraq last week as part of the third installment of an evolving program to help wounded warriors heal from traumatic combat injuries. Army Command Sgt. Maj. Lawrence Wilson accompanies Army Sgt. 1st Class Mike Schlitz, a wounded warrior returning to Iraq as part of Operation Proper Exit, Dec. 29, 2009, at Camp Ramadi, Iraq. The program returns severely wounded veterans to the battlefield where they were wounded to help them find psychological closure. U.S. Army photo by Spc. Michael J. MacLeod  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available....

12/31/2009 - KANDAHAR AIRFIELD, Afghanistan -- When the crewmembers of 451st Expeditionary Aeromedical Evacuation Flight first deployed to Kandahar Airfield in August, they knew they would be transporting many wounded warriors throughout Afghanistan. What they didn't expect was to be transporting some of those patients in nothing but their underwear. Hospitals here just had no clothing available. "These guys are giving their lives, their buddies are dying, some of them are giving their limbs in combat, and I think they deserve to be treated much better than being transported in just their underwear," said Master Sgt. Scott Wilkes, a 451st...

Mark Finelli is hoping to turn a 100-mile journey into thousands of dollars for injured troops. He and three fellow war veterans who served in Iraq and Afghanistan are hiking 100 miles in their combat boots this week to raise money for the Wounded Warrior Project, a national charity that supports injured service members and their families. The hikers, all graduate students at the University of Arizona, set out Monday on their Phoenix-to-Tucson trek. They expect to be back at the UA on Saturday. Finelli is a one-time Marine corporal who served in Iraq from mid-2006 to early 2007. A...

Wounded warriors are given courtside seats from season ticket holders in the Seats for Soldiers event, some of them wounded badly say they are ready for redeployment..(Video)

WASHINGTON, Nov. 18, 2009 – Lawrence Minnis never met a dog he didn’t like. Army Capt. Lawrence Minnis sits with his two adopted pit bulls at the Washington Humane Society’s Behavior and Learning Center, Nov. 12, 2009. Minnis met the dogs through the humane society’s Dog Tags program, in which soldiers recovering at Walter Reed Army Medical Center sign up to help teach animals housed at the shelter learn how to behave. DoD photo by Fred W. Baker III  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. “I want just about every dog I see,” the Army captain said with a laugh....

WASHINGTON, Oct. 6, 2009 – In 2005, David Dominguez of San Diego noticed casualty reports in Iraq and Afghanistan were barely making news. After several years of war, the American public had settled back into its routine. Dominguez set up a nonprofit organization to remind people of the sacrifices being made on their behalf. He called it “Freedom is Not Free.” The name Dominguez chose gave expression to his sentiment that the brave men and women serving in the military, and their families, were shouldering the price for the freedoms that all Americans enjoy. Dominguez brought his long-time friend and...

ANDREWS AIR FORCE BASE, Md., Oct. 2, 2009 – Minutes after the hulking C-17 transport jet rolled to a stop on the tarmac, two oversized ambulances backed up to its rear loading ramp to receive its precious cargo: 23 wounded warriors and sick or injured servicemembers in need of advanced medical care. The 779th Aeromedical Staging Facility at Andrews Air Force Base, Md., transports a severely wounded soldier being medically evacuated from Iraq for advanced treatment care at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington. DoD photo by Donna Miles  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Most of the patients...

100% of proceeds from this auction will benefit the Ride 2 Recovery program whose mission is to improve the health and wellness of wounded warriors by providing a life changing experience that can impact their lives forever. He just posted on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/home.php?ref=home#/karlrove?ref=nf I'm participating in a charity auction to benefit wounded warriors. Bid on a private lunch for three (3) with me at Bobby Van's Steakhouse in Washington, D.C. 100% of proceeds from this auction will benefit the Ride 2 Recovery program whose... mission is to improve the health and wellness of wounded warriors by providing a life changing...

For Immediate Release September 5, 2009 Historic Event Made it alive While experts said it was impossible, after surviving 7,000 miles of open ocean the Brown brothers stepped off their tiny open fishing boat at 6:40 pm, London Time, Friday, September 4, 2009 at the Limehouse Marina in downtown London making world history by setting several world records, The Smallest Powerboat to Cross The Atlantic, The First Flats Boat to Cross the Atlantic, and the Longest Ocean Voyage in a Flats Boat. The tiny open fishing boat, an Intruder made by Dream Boats in Hudson Florida, separates itself from other...

HEIDELBERG, Germany -- Three weeks before returning to Germany after a 15-month tour in Anbar province with the 1st Armored Division, then-Sgt. Richard Ranno was closing the door of a Conex being used as an arms room when a mortar round slammed through the roof, throwing the doors off their hinges and turning the container into a watermelon shape. Ranno was also thrown to the pavement. To this day, Ranno is not sure if it was this incident or the various improvised explosive devises he encountered as an infantry Soldier that caused his current list of injuries. Ranno suffers from...

It can't sink, it can't sink, it can't sink were the words going through my mind along with help us Lord Jesus, and trust your equipment. Bob is saying don't panic. He did not remember saying those words to me, but it actually helped me to remember not to panic. Huge waves are breaking into the boat, we are being pushed up on a shoal. The boat is full of water and if it is not tied down it is gone. The antenna has fallen, the T top dry box just bounced open and all my important papers are falling,...

SNIPPET: "As a result of our Global War on Terror, nearly 35,000 United States service personnel have been seriously wounded in combat. Shockingly, out of the 755,000 veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, the Department of Veterans Affairs says more than 181,000 are collecting disability benefits of some type -- many requiring grueling physical therapy and continuing care in an attempt to get about with their daily lives. And not surprisingly, many young men and women are returning with emotional scars that may take years to uncover and resolve. Only half of the wounded are able to return to...

WASHINGTON, July 22, 2009 – Sounds of dribbled basketballs and players’ shouts filled the Wagner Gym at Walter Reed Army Medical Center here yesterday, but absent were the thuds and squeaks of players running up and down the court. A member of the National Naval Medical Center team shoots during a wheelchair basketball tournament at Wagner Sports Center, Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Washington, D.C., July 21, 2009. DoD photo by William D. Moss  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Replacing them at the first City Wheelchair Basketball Tournament were the hissing of hands slowing wheelchairs and the clanging as...

WASHINGTON, July 1, 2009 – A retired Army captain who survived third-degree burns over 30 percent of his body while stationed in Iraq believes that through family, faith and a lot of hard work, anything can be overcome. Retired Army Capt. Alvin Eugene Shell Jr. survived third-degree burns over 30 percent of his body while stationed in Iraq. He credits his family, faith and hard work for his recovery. U.S. Army photo  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Capt. Alvin Eugene Shell Jr., who served with the 16th Military Police Brigade, credits his wife, Danielle, his three sons, his mother...

WASHINGTON (Army News Service, June 29, 2009) -- Wounded Soldiers sent home from overseas are greeted by their own before they are even off the plane at Andrews Air Force Base, Md. The Army’s wounded are welcomed back to the country by a team of three Soldiers from the U.S. Army Military District of Washington: the Medical Evacuation to CONUS Hospitals team. Col. James Conaway, Master Sgt. Jon Taylor and Master Sgt. Juan Reyna act as advocates and liaisons for wounded Soldiers transitioning back to the United States. “We help to coordinate, communicate and just take care of all the...

JOINT BASE BALAD, Iraq, June 29, 2009 – Six wounded soldiers, all amputees, returned here last week hoping to close the door on the combat that changed them forever. Left to right; U.S. Army Sgt. Robert Brown, retired Staff Sgt. Bradley Gruetzner, and Sgt. Christopher A. Burrell, soldiers wounded in combat while deployed to Iraq, walk through “Hero’s Highway” at Air Force Theater Hospital before returning to Camp Victory after a visit to Joint Base Balad, Iraq, June 25, 2009. Brown, Gruetner, Burrell, and four other soldiers had the opportunity to return to Iraq and to visit the places they...

LANDSTUHL, Germany, June 26, 2009 – The boxes arrive daily from the United States, 15 to 20 each day, along with $8,000 to $12,000 in cash every week from Americans and U.S. nonprofit groups. Air Force Maj. Gen. Michael D. Dubie, the adjutant general of the Vermont National Guard, stands in the Wounded Warrior Ministry Center -- nicknamed the "Chaplains' Closet" -- at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, Germany, June 17, 2009, during a visit to wounded warriors. U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Jim Greenhill  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. The boxes and the money are meant for the...

WASHINGTON, June 24, 2009 – When four of the seven-member Team Denali, which included four wounded veterans, reached the top of Mount McKinley in Alaska’s Denali National Park, what should have been celebratory whoops and hollers was instead a quiet, tempered satisfaction, the team’s leaders said. Though the weather was perfect when Army Lt. Col. Marc Hoffmeister and Army Spc. Dave Shebib approached the highest point in North America, they enjoyed it without three of their team members. "The summit was almost anti-climactic to be honest," Hoffmeister said. "It was great, but it was bittersweet that we could only have...

WASHINGTON, June 10, 2009 – Many cheering and excited Virginians lined the route of the “Ride 2 Recovery” Memorial Challenge bicycle ride, in which 35 wounded warriors took part last month. Cyclists pose with actor Gary Sinise at the National Memorial Parade in Washington, D.C., May 25, 2009, before Virginia's "Ride 2 Recovery" Memorial Challenge bicycle ride. Fifty cyclists, including 35 wounded warriors, participated in the six-day, 350-mile bicycle ride across Virginia. Courtesy photo  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. This is the second year the ride was held in Virginia. “The event was very successful,” said John Wordin,...