Free Republic

Inspector of the Army Lt. Gen. Alfons Mais described the army as "standing bare" and said it would be limited in its capabilities should it be asked to assist in a NATO mission in a post he shared on his LinkedIn profile, Stripes.com reported. But Mais claimed in the post that the army would be limited in its capabilities to assist in a NATO mission: "The options we can offer policymakers to support the Alliance are extremely limited." According to the report, Mais appealed to his government to do more to boost its combat readiness in 2014, following the Russian...

A $36 million Russian Su-34 bomber was reportedly shot down by Russia's own forces over Ukraine's eastern Luhansk region, Ukrainian media outlets claimed on Monday. The jet was reportedly downed near Alchevsk, a city in the Luhansk region—one of the areas where the war is currently focused. Alchevsk is currently under the occupation of Moscow-backed separatist forces. Videos and images shared by the Strategic Command of the Armed Forces of Ukraine on the Telegram messaging app on Monday appear to show the charred remains of a Russian Su-34 fighter-bomber. -snip- "Russian invaders from the air defense shot down their own...

The aftermath of the Russian attempt to cross the Siverskyi Donets River. The better part of a Russian army battalion—50 or so vehicles and up to a thousand troops—in recent days tried to cross a pontoon bridge spanning the Siverskyi Donets River, running west to east between the separatist provinces of Donetsk and Luhansk in eastern Ukraine. Ukrainian artillery caught them at the river bank—and destroyed them. The rapid destruction of around three dozen tanks and other armored vehicles, along with the bridge itself, underscores Russia’s deepening woes as its troops try, and fail, to make meaningful gains in...

Milley as the top ranking military officer met with top military officials in the Pentagon two days after the MAGA riot and telling them to keep him in the process for all military actions, including the use of nuclear weapons. It also involved outreach to Milley's counterpart in the Chinese military to provide reassurances the US would not strike its rival, according to the book. 'If you get calls, no matter who they’re from, there’s a process here, there’s a procedure. No matter what you are told, you do the procedure. You do the process. And I'm part of that...

The city braced for deportation raids this weekend that didn’t come to pass, but legal groups and city officials fanned out across the five boroughs to assuage fears and inform immigrants of their rights. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents were planning to arrest families who recently arrived, missed their court dates, and were ordered deported. But fear has spread among many immigrants. At Saint Joan of Arc Church on Stratford Avenue in the Bronx, around 60 people filed into the basement for know-your-rights workshops. Alejandra, who didn’t want to provide her last name, said she came to the U.S. 12...

Militaryless, democratic, non-conflict-having Costa Rica is the new front in the United States’ War on Inanimate Objects. The country’s national assembly has given the OK for a veritable US invasion force to enter Costa Rican territory: 7,000 marines on 46 warships, including the Wasp-class amphibious assault ship the USS Makin Island, pictured. La Nación quotes a document from the US Embassy that states that, “The US personnel in Costa Rica will be able to enjoy freedom of movement and the right to carry out the activities that they consider necessary to complete their mission.” Well isn’t that just permissively vague....

The Barack Obama presidential campaign is pouring money into the Republican bastion of Alaska to beat John McCain and to help the Alaska Democrats running for Congress against Ted Stevens and Don Young. "We've taken a look at the political dynamic of Alaska and, as a result, have made Alaska one of our 18 battleground states," said Obama deputy campaign manager Pete Rouse. "We believe we can win in Alaska and we're making it a priority."

Just saw on Fox that the IDF is monitoring unusual activity on Syrian border in the Golan Heights...tanks there, they are removing land mines at the border...not up on their website yet

<p>ASHINGTON -- The Marine Corps relieved one of its top commanders in Iraq yesterday, an extremely unusual action, especially for a unit engaged in combat.</p> <p>Colonel Joe W. Dowdy has been the officer in charge of the First Marine Regiment, one of the three major Marine Corps ground units fighting toward Baghdad. His regiment is reported to have been used to pin down Republican Guard units in the city of Kut while the other two major units, the Fifth and Seventh Marines, crossed the Tigris River on Thursday and raced toward Baghdad. Those units encountered heavy ground fighting yesterday on the outskirts of the capital and had at least three M1 tanks disabled by Iraqi fire.</p>

<p>WITH THE 5TH MARINES, Iraq — Iraqi armor and infantry were pummeled with air strikes and artillery fire yesterday after falling for a trap that lured the Iraqis into vacated U.S. positions in the central part of the country.</p> <p>The armored unit, including Soviet-made tanks, were approaching vacated positions across the open desert when two Navy F-14 aircraft swooped down from a bright, clear sky — the first after three days of fierce sandstorms — and released laser-guided missiles and bombs.</p>

WITH THE 5TH MARINES, Iraq, March 27 (UPI) -- An Iraqi armored unit and infantry troops were pummeled with airstrikes and artillery fire Thursday after falling for a trap that lured the Iraqis into vacated U.S. positions in central part of the country. The armored unit, including Soviet-made tanks, were approaching vacated positions across the open desert when two Navy F-14 aircraft swooped down from a bright, clear sky -- the first after three days of vicious dust storms -- and released laser-guided missiles and bombs. Cobra helicopter gunships then buzzed in lower, firing Gatling guns and rocket launchers. Plumes...