Free Republic

Source: Official White House Photo by Shealah CraigheadCOVID-19 has upended our lives and highlighted government incompetence, but it is also necessary to showcase government’s successes during the pandemic. Perhaps the greatest example of government success concerning the pandemic is the Trump administration’s Operation Warp Speed.In short, due to the Trump administration’s no-nonsense approach regarding the development of the vaccine, in which the federal government partnered with several private companies and drastically reduced red tape and regulatory hurdles, the United States has three viable vaccines.Remarkably, Operation Warp Speed has resulted in multiple vaccines in less than a year. Before Operation Warp...

President Obama’s nominee to head U.S. Central Command recently penned a memo to Defense Secretary Ash Carter demanding that the Pentagon stop discussing the operations of elite American troops. Foreign Policy, which obtained an excerpt of the memo, reported that Gen. Joseph Votel, currently the chief of U.S. Special Operations Command, wrote the December 8 memo to express concern about the Obama administration’s exposure of special operations forces’ activities. “I am concerned with increased public exposure of SOF activities and operations, and I assess that it is time to get our forces back into the shadows,” Votel wrote to Carter....

Asymmetric Solutions is a Division of Applied Defense Technologies. The St. Louis-based company is staffed by combat experienced SpecOps vets, including: Army Green Berets, Army Delta, Navy SEALs, SEAL 6, and Agency SOF. The company offers a real-world training environment with exceptional instructors on self defense from criminal violence.On Tuesday Assymetric Solutions tweeted out that they were being deployed to Ferguson, Missouri.

The top White House spokesman on Friday tried to staunch a torrent of snarky commentary this week poking fun at President Obama´s assertion that he wasn´t interested in a border “photo op." Veteran CBS News White House Correspondent Mark Knoller peppered White House press secretary Josh Earnest with questions about whether Obama really intended to eschew photo ops in general. “His view is that solving problems is most important, and solving problems is what somebody who´s exhibiting leadership is focused on,” Earnest said. “And that´s what the president was doing when he was in Dallas on Wednesday. It´s also what

On Sunday, President Obama made a surprise appearance in Afghanistan after sneaking out of the White House on Saturday night. There, he spoke with Afghan president Hamid Karzai via phone, because Karzai refused to speak with Obama in person. Obama told the troops, “For many of you, this will be your last tour in Afghanistan… America’s war in Afghanistan will come to a responsible end.” Obama’s visit was marred by the White House’s release of the name of a top CIA officer in Afghanistan. He was in the country for under four hours. The conspicuous timing of Obama’s visit, directly...

The commander of U.S. Special Operations Command said Tuesday that his unit’s budget would lose $1 billion this year as a result of the defense budget stalemate in Washington. During an annual National Defense Industrial Association conference for special operators, Navy Adm. William McRaven noted that the Defense Department is operating on a continuing resolution, which limits spending to 2012 levels, even as automatic, across-the-board spending cuts called sequestration are set to begin March 1. “The continuing resolution … in all honesty puts a greater constraint on us than sequester

Omaha high school students this fall will do something the school board has not allowed them to do since the mid-1990s: answer questions about sexual behavior on a federal survey. Omaha Public Schools board members had previously worried about how the data would be used and noted that students from private high schools were not asked to participate in the survey. Monday night, however, they unanimously dismissed those concerns in favor of letting organizations and the community learn more about students' behaviors. “We want the information, even if it is misused,” said board member Sandra Jensen

Omaha Public Schools employees likely will get a controversial book about cultural proficiency during the second semester of this school year. Reading the book won't be mandatory, but district officials hope employees do read it. "You really can't mandate anything," said Carolyn Grice of OPS's student and community services department. "It will be an expectation." The school board spent more than $130,000 in federal stimulus money to purchase 8,000 copies of the book, "The Cultural Proficiency Journey: Moving Beyond Ethical Barriers Toward Profound School Change." OPS officials have said the book is one aspect of the district's three-year plan "to...

The Omaha Public Schools used more than $130,000 in federal stimulus dollars to buy each teacher, administrator and staff member a manual on how to become more culturally sensitive. The book by Virginia education consultants could raise some eyebrows with its viewpoints. The authors assert that American government and institutions create advantages that “channel wealth and power to white people,” that color-blindness will not end racism and that educators should “take action for social justice.” The book says that teachers should acknowledge historical systemic oppression in schools, including racism, sexism, homophobia and “ableism,” defined by the authors as discrimination or...

OPS didn't report abuse allegations By Jonathon Braden and Jason Kuiper WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITERS In December 2008, a 13-year-old girl reported that her teacher at an Omaha middle school touched her sexually and asked her for sex in exchange for a better grade. She rejected her teacher’s advances, told her mom and reported the incident to school officials. But Omaha Public Schools officials did not report the allegations to authorities, despite a state statute that requires notification of suspected abuse. Instead, OPS did its own investigation, and, ultimately, allowed teacher Shad M. Knutson to return to the classroom at Nathan...

In this March 2009 file photo, an Iraqi Air Force C-130 Hercules takes off from a Mosul airfield with humanitarian relief supplies. The Iraqi Air Force began independent C-130 air operations, Sept. 29. U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Michael R. Holzworth. NEW MUTHANA AIR BASE — The Iraqi Air Force (IqAF) began fully independent C-130 air operations, Sept. 29, marking the end of the U.S. C-130 air advisory mission here and the deactivation of the U.S. Air Force's 321st Air Expeditionary Advisory Squadron. An official ceremony here tranfered control of Iraqi C-130 operations to the IqAF's Squadron 23.Presiding...

WASHINGTON, June 5, 2009 – Demand for the services of U.S. Special Operations Command could strain the force, the command’s top officer said here yesterday. Navy Adm. Eric Olson testified before the House Armed Services Committee’s subcommittee on terrorism, unconventional threats and capabilities. Special Operations Command, with headquarters in Tampa, Fla., is responsible for organizing, equipping, training and providing fully capable special operations forces to serve under the operational control of geographic combatant commanders around the world. This gives the command many of the administrative details in managing the force. In addition, the command is a combatant command in its...

When I received information about the upcoming “Pastoral Meeting about Children and Adolescents at Risk,” organized by the Latin American Bishop’s Conferences (CELAM), I decided to attend as a representative of the Commission of Life, Family and Childhood of the Peruvian Episcopal Conference. What made up my mind was the appearance on the program of speakers from UNICEF and the Pan-American Organization for Health (OPS), which is a member organization of the World Health Organization (WHO). I was very curious as to what UNICEF and OPS would say to Church representatives from throughout Latin America who had gathered for...

WASHINGTON, Nov. 19, 2006 -- American and Iraqi forces killed scores of insurgents and found numerous enemy weapons caches during anti-terrorist operations conducted across Iraq in recent days, according to Multinational Corps Iraq news releases. In one such operation conducted in the Tikrit area, U.S. soldiers with the 3rd Battalion, 1st Brigade, the 5th Squadron, 73rd Cavalry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division, and soldiers with the 1st Brigade, 5th Iraqi Army, teamed up to kill nearly 50 insurgents while capturing 20. A large enemy weapons cache complex containing six caches was also uncovered during the sweep. Many of the seized...

BRUSSELS, Belgium, Nov. 16, 2006 -- With NATO expanding its focus beyond its traditional Euro-Atlantic boundaries and into new missions such as those in Afghanistan, exactly how far can and should the alliance extend its reach? That’s among the issues Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and his fellow NATO defense chiefs discussed at NATO headquarters here yesterday during the autumn session of the NATO Military Committee. Canadian Air Force Gen. Ray Henault, the committee chairman, opened the two-day session emphasizing the need to focus on current operations “and the ways and means to build...

WASHINGTON, Aug. 18, 2006 – The United States walks away from Africa at its own peril, the U.S. general in charge of military operations there said in an interview here yesterday. Marine Gen. James L. Jones, Supreme Allied Commander Europe and commander of U.S. European Command, said Africa is a reality that cannot be denied. The continent is potentially an economic giant, and the United States must engage on the continent. With the exceptions of Egypt, Sudan, Kenya and the nations of the Horn of Africa, the entire continent is in U.S. European Command’s area of responsibility. Officials at U.S....

WASHINGTON, July 21, 2006 – Watching TV coverage of Marines from their former unit helping Americans leave Beirut churns up a host of emotions for former Marines who served there when a barracks was bombed in October 1983. Marine Gen. P.X. Kelley (left) and Col. Tim Geraghty (right) take then-Vice President George H.W. Bush on a tour around the site of the Beirut barracks bombing two days after the Oct. 23, 1983, explosion killed 241 servicemembers, mostly Marines, at the Beirut International Airport. Photo by Randy Gaddo   Randy Gaddo was a Marine staff sergeant with the 24th Marine Amphibious...

Tactical Ops Center Runs 24/7 Joint Command Post provides real-time data so commanders can make critical decisions rapidly. By U.S. Army Pfc. Jason Dangel 4th Brigade Combat Team BAGHDAD, July 14, 2006 -- The brain, defined as a part of the spine and central nervous system, is responsible for controlling all functions in the human body. Just like the human brain, the 4th Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry DivisionÂ’s Tactical Operation Center operates 24 hours-a-day, seven days-a-week. The TOC, or command post, manages all operations within the brigade combat team. It is where all brigade staff sections come together...

“Lava Dogs” of the 1st Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, bow their heads at the start of their unit’s transfer of authority ceremony at Jalalabad Airfield, Afghanistan, May 13, 2006. The Marine battalion turned over its area of operations in eastern Afghanistan to the U.S. Army’s 1st Battalion, 32nd Infantry, the “Chosin Battalion,” and is returning to Marine Corps Base Kanoehe Bay, Hawaii, after a five-month deployment supporting Operation Enduring Freedom. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Stephen Kwietniak 'Lava Dogs' Hand Off Afghan Ops to 'Chosin Few' The Marine battalion returns to Hawaii as the Army's 1st Battalion,...

ABOARD THE USS PELELIU (May 8, 2006) -- Geared with live ordnance, Marines and aircraft from Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron 166 (Reinforced), 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit (Special Operations Capable), conducted operations in Iraq May 8. AV-8B Harrier aircraft from Fighter Attack Squadron 214, attached to HMM-166 (Rein), from Yuma, Ariz., have been launching from the USS Peleliu and into hostile territory since mid-April in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom, while the entire 11th MEU (SOC) was conducting training exercises in Udairi Range, Kuwait. “It was more than a six-hour mission,” said Capt. Casey D. Elam, AV-8B pilot, VMA-214, of the...