Free Republic

’When you get to Pusan, head for Taejon. We want to stop the North Koreans as far from Pusan as we can. Block the main road as far north as possible. Make contact with General Church. If you can’t find him, go to Taejon and beyond if you can. Sorry I can’t give you more information—that’s all I’ve got. Good luck, and God bless you and your men!’ — Major General William F. Dean’s orders to Colonel Smith The US Army is in trouble; besieged by budget cuts, debilitated by 16 years of fighting endless, wars, eaten alive by social engineering,...

Word is starting to seep out, like water slowly exiting a crack in a dam that the US Army’s armored warfare capabilities, capacity and readiness are in big trouble. Coming out of nearly a dozen years of infantry combat in the Middle East against insurgent forces, the Army is still heavily focused on infantry tactics operations, peacekeeping and special warfare. The knowledge and skills needed to fight traditional US Army battles, with armor and mechanized infantry backed up by superior air support, in what used to be called Air Land Battle seem about as ancient as the Dead Sea Scrolls....

WASHINGTON (Army News Service, Dec. 19, 2007) - Secretary of the Army Pete Geren and Army Vice Chief of Staff Gen. Richard Cody today announced plans to activate three new units in 2008, and other unit-stationing decisions to support the Army's growth by up to 74,200 Soldiers, including 65,000 active-duty Soldiers, by 2010. The stationing plans announced during a Pentagon press conference this afternoon include six infantry brigade combat teams, eight active-component support brigades and various-sized combat-support and combat-service-support units. "The Army is undergoing the largest transformational change since 1942," said Gen. Cody. "We've changed our doctrine. We've changed our...

I wrote a commentary recently about my husband’s upcoming third deployment. In that article, I referred to him as a hero. When he read it, he zeroed in on that word and said I was wrong, that he wasn’t a hero – just another Soldier doing what he was told to do. I explained to him my reasons for describing him a hero: because he was able to leave his family and step foot on a plane when he knew he may not come back. Because he was one of the people who volunteered to do that. Because he saw...

FOB KALSU, Iraq (Army News Service, April 6, 2006) – Iraqi police officials, local sheiks from the northern Babil province and leaders from the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, discussed concerns regarding the province’s security April 1. Recent attacks have caused concerns among citizens in the province regarding its security forces. “My son was killed on Highway 8,” said a local sheik. “I do not feel like my tribe and people are safe in this province.” Brig. Gen. Qais Hamza, Babil provincial police chief, voiced his frustrations and pleaded with local sheiks to help him eliminate further violence....

TAJI, Iraq – During the recent, and highly publicized, sectarian tensions between Sunni and Shiite factions, a group of Iraqi and American Soldiers pushed aside the apprehension Feb. 23 to conduct a community health outreach program north of Baghdad. Soldiers from 1st Mechanized Brigade, 9th Iraqi Army Division, along with Soldiers from elements of 1st Battalion, 66th Armor Regiment and 4th Support Battalion, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, conducted a combined operation to provide much needed medical care to a local Iraqi Sunni community, relieving tensions in the area while simultaneously fostering hope in a unified Iraq. Approximately...

BAGHDAD (Army News Service, Feb. 17, 2006) – Responsible for the rebuilding of Baghdad’s infrastructure – restoration and improvement of electricity, water, sewer and transportation systems, members of the 4th Brigade Combat Team Infrastructure Coordination Element – known as ICE – have their work cut out for them. It’s a daunting task that requires support from the Iraqi government, several U.S. governmental agencies and non-governmental organizations, reconstruction efforts are one of the many missions facing the 4th BCT, 4th Infantry Division. “We bridge the gap by developing relationships not only with the Iraqis to gain their priorities – that is...

BEIJING, Jan. 29 (Xinhuanet) -- During the 10th Five-Year Plan period (2001-2005), China imported advanced technology worth 70 billion U.S. dollars, according to sources with the Ministry of Commerce. The figure accounts for about 30 percent of China's total technology import since the start of reform and opening-up at the end of 1970s, the ministry said. Thanks for such technology importation, China's technological level and production capacity in power, metallurgy and petrochemical industry have been lifted up remarkably, the ministry said. China signed a total of 9,902 technology import contracts in 2005, up 15.1 percent year on year, according to...

Mosul, Iraq The first person to use a shield might have been a hairy man who, days earlier, barely survived a barrage from the stone-throwing man in the cave next door. As the use of weaponized sticks and stones spread, improved shields probably were not far behind. Throughout recorded history, bigger and better shields always play catch-up to their bigger and better ballistic brethren. Common wisdom posits that defense systems are preventative measures, but in fact, they are reactive. Every castle wall can be defeated. Somewhere along the line people realized, "the best defense is a good offense." Adherence to...

WASHINGTON, July 24, 2005 – A Task Force Liberty soldier was killed and two others were wounded during an indirect fire attack on a coalition forces base near Balad, Iraq, today, military officials in Baghdad reported. One wounded soldier was taken to a coalition forces medical treatment facility, and the other was treated and returned to duty, officials said. A Marine assigned to Regimental Combat Team 2, 2nd Marine Division, 2nd Marine Expeditionary Force (Forward), was killed in action near Fallujah, Iraq, July 23 when the vehicle he was in was struck by an improvised explosive device. The incident occurred...

The Kerry campaign currently is struggling with recent photographs of the candidate, one dressed in a "bunny" suit at NASA and another on the bow of a ferry imitating a famous scene from the movie Titanic. However, a new photograph has emerged showing the Massachusetts senator in Beijing, People's Republic of China, working with a company associated with the Chinese military. The Kerry campaign and the Kerry Senate office both are refusing to comment on the Democratic presidential candidate's privately sponsored trade trip to China. Repeated phone calls both to Kerry's campaign headquarters and his Senate office were not returned....

Outsourcing has been a hot topic as of late. It's been made even hotter by the fact that 2004 is a Presidential election year. The candidate making the most claims on the dangers of outsourcing has been John F. Kerry. He's mentioned it so much that he might as well trademark the phrase "American Jobs". It was part of his convention speech where called for the closing of tax loopholes "that reward companies for shipping our jobs overseas. Instead, we will reward companies that create and keep good-paying jobs right where they belong -- in the good old U.S.A. We...

The photo at right was displayed on the website of Boston Capital & Technology and shows Senator John Kerry on an outsourcing trade mission he led to China. The BCT website, as of this posting, has been removed from the internet. We've captured as much of the website as we could, but some images now appear as broken links. Captured on our hard drive, however, is the picture from the BCT website showing Senator John Kerry at a banquet in Beijing China during the outsourcing trade mission. The BCT web site, presumably owned and operated by a Paul Marcus, head...

Kerry Led Outsourcing Team to Promote Manufacturing in China During the late 1990s, John Kerry traveled on a "U.S. trade mission to the People's Republic of China organized and sponsored by a private corporation." To prove the trip was a success, the Massachusetts-based firm of Boston Capital & Technology photographed Kerry in the Beijing Great Hall of the People. The image (above) and trip information appear at www.us-china.com, Boston Capital's Website The photo shows Kerry, an unnamed Chinese government official and Paul Marcus, the head of Boston Capital & Technology. Marcus refused to provide details of the China trip, including...

Boston Capital & Technology (BCT) recently held the first U.S. trade mission to the People's Republic of China organized and sponsored by a private corporation that was led by a U.S. Senator. To close the Mission, BCT hosted a banquet in Beijing's legendary Great Hall of the People. Through this Mission and dozens of other on the ground initiatives undertaken by BCT every year, BCT is able to advance their manufacturing projects in China, the projects of their partners and clients, and the position of dozens of other associated U.S. companies establishing positions throughout mainland China.

June 29, 2004: The new infantry brigade organization is similar in size and scope to the Heavy BCT organizational change. The 101st Airborne Division is beginning to undergo this change and will ultimately field 4 of the new BCTs. The 10th and 25th Infantry Divisions will follow later in the process. As with the heavy units expect changes as a result of training at the Joint Regional Training Center in Fort Polk, LA and from a pending deployment back to Iraq. The new infantry brigade is organized as follows; Special Troops Battalion -- Headquarters Company -- Signal Company -- Military...