Free Republic

That’s taking time when they go in for their upgrades, and that’s taking a little bit longer than expected.. We have been documenting the U.S. Navy’s troubles with one of its premier amphibious assault ships, USS Boxer (LHD-4). This Wasp-Class ship, per the Navy’s description, is “[t]he largest of all amphibious warfare ships [and] resembles a small aircraft carrier.” It is capable of Vertical/Short Take-Off and Landing (V/STOL) fighter jet operations, meaning that because Boxer does not have launch catapults, it can’t launch classic aircraft carrier fighter jets like the F/A-18, but it can launch the venerable Harrier jump jet...

A California sheriff’s deputy was arrested Thursday after an investigation uncovered that he was leading a double life as a member of an outlaw motorcycle gang, according to reports. San Bernardino County Deputy Christopher Bingham, 45, an 18-year veteran of the sheriff’s department, is being held in the West Valley Detention Center in Rancho Cucamonga on $500,000 bail, according to the Los Angeles Times. The sheriff’s department announced the arrest in a Facebook post on Thursday. “In January 2024, the Gangs/Narcotics Division began an investigation into Deputy Christopher Bingham and his association with a local Outlaw Motorcycle Gang (OMG). During...

Life in the Old Corps - but likely the same as the New Corps too

Arizona Marine stops armed robbery. Shows up to receive an award for his courage wearing a MAGA hat and Let's Go Brandon tshirt! Nicely done Marine!

A Chinese national has been detained after illegally entering a Marine Corps base in the El Centro Sector on Friday, sparking a federal investigation into the incident. The unnamed individual was apprehended on a U.S. Marine base after reportedly ignoring orders to vacate the premises. Border Patrol Chief Agent Gregory Bovino shared the incident on X. Bovino revealed that the subject had been confirmed as being in the country illegally. An accompanying image of the suspect was posted, though details about the individual’s identity remain undisclosed. “His purpose & intent behind his actions are still being investigated,” Bovino wrote. BP...

The mother of a Marine killed during the US’ botched withdrawal from Afghanistan on Saturday called “BS” on the fallen hero’s father getting arrested for heckling President Biden during his State of the Union address.“I was shocked because I thought it was complete BS that they arrested him,” Shana Chappell told The Post. “He shouldn’t have been arrested, he’s a Gold Star father. He’s in the same room as the man that he knows is responsible for our son’s death, so why was he arrested?”Chappell, 51, of Lake Elsinore, Calif., said she’s still struggling to survive nearly three years after...

Bad optics for the censorious Regime.. Last Updated on March 7, 2024 Steve Nikoui, the father of fallen Marine Kareem Nikoui, interrupted Joe Biden’s State of the Union address on Thursday night. The man’s son, Lance Corporal Kareem Nikoui, was among 13 U.S. military servicemen who died during Joe Biden’s disastrous “Abbey Gate” pullout from Afghanistan. A terrorist attack felled the American troops at a Kabul airport named for Hamid Karzai, the Bush administration’s puppet leader of Afghanistan after the U.S. invasion. The Capitol Police confirmed that they arrested Nikoui. Steve Nikoui attended the event as the guest of Florida...

Legendary U.S. Marine Corps Scout Sniper Charles Benjamin “Chuck” Mawhinney died at the age of 75 after an incredible life, both in the military and after. Mawhinney is famous for over 100 confirmed kills as a sniper in Vietnam. “I’m just a simple person, and in Vietnam, I was just doing my job.” Mawhinney once said. His famous quote represents just how humble he was. Mawhinney worked for the U.S. Forest Service after his time in the Marines, retiring after 27 years, and for most of his life, no one knew just how legendary he was.

Five U.S. Marine Corps (USMC) members aboard a helicopter that went missing on a flight from Nevada to California were confirmed dead Thursday morning. A search-and-rescue operation was launched for the CH-53E Super Stallion after it was “reported overdue” on Wednesday, as Breitbart News reported. The heavy-lift cargo helicopter was on a training flight from a Nevada Air Force base to an air station near San Diego. The crew was flying in an historic storm that dumped snow and rain across California, conditions that also hampered search and rescue efforts. It was later found in the snow-covered California mountains –...

The five Marines who went missing while traveling aboard a helicopter from Nevada to California have been found dead, officials said Thursday morning. The helicopter was found crashed in a mountainous area in Southern California, the Marine Corps confirmed on Thursday. This is a developing story.

A Marine Corps helicopter that had been missing with five troops aboard as an historic storm continued drenching California was found Wednesday morning in a mountainous area outside San Diego. The aircraft was located just after 9 a.m. by civil authorities near the mountain community of Pine Valley, about a 45-mile (72-kilometer) drive from San Diego but rescue crews said snowy conditions were making access challenging on the ground They were "using ground and aviation assets to locate the aircrew in coordination with the San Diego County Sheriff's Department and multiple federal state and local agencies," the Marine Corps said...

A missing military helicopter was found in Southern California Wednesday morning, but a search and rescue operation continues for five missing Marines on board, the U.S. Marine Corps said. The CH-53E Super Stallion helicopter was "reported overdue" to Marine Corps Air Station Miramar Tuesday night. The helicopter departed from Creech Air Force Base near Las Vegas and was en route to Miramar, in the San Diego area. The sheriff's department said it received a call at 1:50 a.m. and sent its own helicopter to search, but the helicopter wasn't able to reach the area due to the atmospheric river storm...

Conor MacNessa (Tom Mitchell) will be laid to his final rest at Arlington National Cemetery April 10. Unfortunately it takes that long to be scheduled with full appropriate honors. I will be there, and invite any Freepers in the DC/VA/MD area who may have known and respected Tom to participate. PM me for more details. God love Tom, God Bless and comfort his family, and God Bless you all. 'Til Valhallah, Brother

A Democrat-sponsored bill in Hawaii that could ban former President Trump from the ballot for allegedly inciting the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol advanced in the state legislature Monday. Hawaii state Sen. Karl Rhoads, a Democrat representing Honolulu who frequently criticizes Trump and Republicans over the Jan. 6 riot online, first introduced SB 2392 last week, which aims to "specify that election ballots issued by the chief election officer or county clerk shall exclude any candidate who is disqualified under Section 3 of the 14th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States; article XVI, section 3 of...

The Navy's amphibious ships are not ready to deploy Marines around the world on time, a problem that has no short-term fix and degrades America's ability to deter adversaries and reassure allies at a time when it is needed most, according to one of the Marine Corps' top generals. "There's a saying that wars are a come-as-you-are game," Lt. Gen. Karsten Heckl, the commanding general of Marine Corps Combat Development Command and deputy commandant for combat development and integration -- the Marine who heads the service's modernization efforts, told Military.com on Thursday. "Well, this is where we are. And there...

The 104th Air Assault Division was supposed to save the Russian campaign on the left bank of the Dnipro River in southern Ukraine. Instead, the newly-formed division “suffered exceptionally heavy losses and failed to achieve its objectives during its combat debut,” the U.K. Defense Ministry reported. Two months ago, Ukrainian marines from the 35th Brigade motored across the Dnipro and, under the cover of artillery, drones and intensive radio-jamming, secured a bridgehead in the settlement of Krynky on the otherwise Russian-held left bank. It’s a new front in the war—one the Ukrainians hope eventually to exploit in order to push...

Scout Snipers have a mantra. I learned that mantra years ago when I was assigned to lead a platoon of these Marines. My chief scout in the platoon, a title held by the most experienced Scout Sniper, was Damon. When we met in 2012 on Camp Lejeune, Damon was in his late twenties. His guys were at-home in the woods and with a load on their backs; they rarely complained about being dirty, tired or uncomfortable. I learned quickly that Scout Snipers were the best in the battalion, regular infantrymen who had started out carrying an assault rifle or lobbing...

The Navy announced they ‘safely’ recovered the Military plane that overshot the runway and has been stuck in Kaneohe Bay for almost two weeks. Kaneohe Bay (HawaiiNewsNow) -- The Navy announced they ‘safely’ recovered the Military plane that overshot the runway and has been stuck in Kaneohe Bay for almost two weeks. Navy officials say it took meticulous planning and assembling specialized equipment from off island, a multidisciplinary team of military and civilian experts to carefully raise the P-8A Poseidon from the bay. Officials say the operation lasted 13 hours, beginning at 6:30 a.m., Dec. 2. The aircraft was floated...

Russia lost a dozen elite marines when they cooked food on an open fire and triggered an explosion from nearby live ammunition. Eight more were wounded in the incident that Vladimir Putin's regime has sought to cover-up. Reports say a RPG-7 grenade launcher shell caught fire and exploded at Kuzminsky military training ground in Rostov region, bordering Ukraine. Eight of the marines from 155th Separate Guards Marine Brigade, based in Vladivostok, were killed on the spot. Four more died in hospital, said the News 166 outlet in Rostov, which said the humiliating tragedy had been confirmed by three independent sources....

Come Back, All is Forgiven: Servicemembers who were discharged from the military for refusing to comply with the now-changed COVID mandate are being wooed to return to service by various branches of the military. Critics say the real motivation is failing recruitment stats. The letters are "not an apology” or an “attempt to make things right,” said one military defense lawyer. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Both the U.S. Army and Air Force have sent letters to former servicemembers who were separated from the military branches for refusing to comply with the 2021 Defense Department’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate, providing guidance on how to seek...