Free Republic

More than eight years after a South Carolina couple was brutally killed in their home on Halloween night alongside their elderly mothers, one of the family members who gave a slew of tearful media interviews mourning the victims has just been charged with the crime. Anderson County Sheriff Chad McBride announced the jaw-dropping conclusion of the case on Friday, telling reporters that Amy Vilardi and her husband, Rosmore “Ross” Vilardi, had been taken into custody and charged with the murders of Amy’s mother, Cathy Scott, 60; Cathy’s husband, Michael Scott, 59; Michael’s mother, Barbara Scott, 80; and Cathy’s mother, Violet...

UNITED STATES MARINE CORPS BIRTHDAY On November 10th, The United States Marine Corps Birthday commemorates the establishment of the Continental Marines. #MarineCorpsBirthday The United States Marine Corps, a branch of the United States Armed Forces, is responsible for providing power protection from the sea. They use the mobility of the United States Navy to deliver combined-arms task forces rapidly. The Continental Congress first established the Continental Marines on November 10, 1775, leading up to the American Revolution. Two battalions of Marines fought for independence both on land and at sea. The birth of the U.S. Marine Corps began as a...

A dramatic scene played out at Camp Pendleton Friday evening when a driver attempted to crash through the main gate at the Marine base just north of San Diego, military officials said. The incident occurred around 6:30 p.m. when a driver attempted “to gain unauthorized access to the installation,” Camp Pendleton tweeted. Guards deployed “final denial barriers” which stopped the car in its tracks. Video captured by a passing driver shows the vehicle then burst into flames. The occupants of the car were taken to Palomar Hospital, according to KTLA sister station KSWB in San Diego. Their conditions were not...

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WAVY) — The process to rename Camp Pendleton — a military base in Virginia named after a Confederate general — is underway. In a press conference in June, Gov. Ralph Northam said he supported renaming bases that carry Confederate names. After that, he directed his administration to review and recommend a replacement name for Camp Pendleton, which is in Virginia Beach, a governor’s office spokeswoman said. A working group, which includes representatives from the Secretariat of Veterans and Defense Affairs and the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, has been reviewing multiple names and will submit its...

Sixteen US Marines were arrested at Camp Pendleton in California on Thursday during battalion formation for alleged illegal activities ranging from human smuggling to drug-related offenses, according to the 1st Marine Division. “Information gained from a previous human smuggling investigation precipitated the arrests,” a statement said. “None of the Marines arrested or detained for questioning served in support of the Southwest Border Support mission,” it added. Two Marines — Byron Darnell Law II and David Javier Salazar-Quintero — were arrested July 3 for allegedly transporting unauthorized immigrants as part of a smuggling operation.

A search is ongoing in the Sulu Sea for a 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) Marine assigned to USS Essex (LHD-2) who has been missing for almost two days. Since 9:40 a.m. local time Thursday — Wednesday evening in the U.S. — Navy and Marine Corps aircraft have run around-the-clock searches of the Sulu Sea and Surigao Strait for the Marine who is presumed overboard from Essex, the 13th MEU said in a statement. The search efforts are being assisted by the Philippine Coast Guard vessel. “As we continue our search operation, we ask that you keep our Marine and...

SAN DIEGO -- The military says 15 Marines have been taken to Southern California hospitals after a seafaring tank caught fire during training at Camp Pendleton. Marine 1st Lt. Paul Gainey told The Associated Press that at about 9:30 a.m. Wednesday an amphibious assault vehicle caught fire while the Marines were conducting a training exercise on a beach at the base, north of San Diego.

An 8-year-old boy with a rare genetic disorder passed away on Sunday, a day after becoming an honorary Marine. Wyatt Gillette, who was diagnosed with Aicardi-Goutieres Syndrome four years ago, was honored by Marines at Camp Pendelton in California on Saturday. Marine Corps Commandant Gen. Robert Neller agreed to make Gillette a Marine after a petition was posted online.

Were it not for the "go soft" on crime and gun violence attitude that Liberals hold so dearly to their hearts, Hadiya Pendleton would likely still be alive today... Michael Ward, in 2012, pleaded guilty to Aggravated Unlawful Use Of A Weapon, a felony punishable by 1 to 3 years imprisonment in the state of Illinois. Had Ward received a 1 to 3 year prison sentence, he would have been unable to murder Hadiya Pendleton in January of 2013 because he would have been incarcerated at the time. But sadly, he never served time for his gun conviction, and, he...

A number of fires are burning throughout Southern California as the area faces high temperatures and winds. Here's a rundown: Fires: Carlsbad/Poinsettia Fire Camp Pendleton/Tomahawk Fire Anaheim fire Ventura/Briggs Fire Long Beach fire Bernardo Fire Miguelito Fire snip Camp Pendleton: A brush fire burning at Camp Pendleton has lead to an evacuation order for Naval Weapons Station Fallbrook and Camp Pendleton's De Luz housing, according to the Camp Pendleton Scout. It has been named the Tomahawk Fire. Officials say the fire has spread to more than 100 acres, the Associated Press reports. snip Mary Fay Pendleton Elementary School on the...

CAMP PENDLETON — A surf contest pitting top area surfers from several branches of the armed forces against surfers from the British Army is set for May 24 at Camp Pendleton. This is the fourth year Red Bull is holding the Rivals Surf Competition on base, but the first year that the contest has international participants. The U.S. team’s 12 active-duty military surfers were picked based on performance at last month’stryouts at the base’s Del Mar Beach. Teams compete at the Del Mar Jetty in a modified version of the National Surf League’s game format. The one-day contest is similar...

The four Marines killed Wednesday while clearing unexploded ordnance at Camp Pendleton were bomb removal technicians. The four were killed around 11 a.m. during a routine sweep to make a range safer for future training exercises at Camp Pendleton in San Diego County, said a Marine official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly. There was no live firing on the range at the time.

4 Marines reported killed in "Range Maintenance Operation" at Camp Pendleton. Accident happened around 11AM Pacific.

An innocent girl, a volleyball player innocently sitting in a park with friends, was gunned down in gang crossfire in Chicago. Killed by mistake at age 15 – just for being in a public place in a dangerous city – the girl’s mourning family would have been alone in their grief, no more than a statistic to the rest of America, if it weren’t for the fact that she had performed as a majorette in the president’s inaugural celebration a week before. So the story went national. Chicago’s 500-plus killings in 2012 alone, plus the countless thousands of attempted murders...

Marines serving in Afghanistan from Camp Pendleton and other bases will soon receive specially designed underwear to provide protection against the improvised explosive devices that are the Taliban's favorite weapon. The new underwear, which look like the shorts worn by professional cyclists, will not stop bullets or shrapnel but are designed to prevent dirt and other debris from entering wounds to the genitals and causing infection. Made of sturdy silk, the so-called "ballistic boxers" are treated with antimicrobial agents to prevent such infections. U.S. troops have suffered an increase in wounds to the genitals and urinary tract due to roadside...

3 Middle Eastern Men Tried To Enter Base Without Proper Authorization, Base Alert Says. SAN DIEGO -- One of the nation's largest military bases is reportedly under tighter security after three Middle Eastern men tried to enter without proper authorization. shortly after midnight Sunday, a rented silver Toyota Corolla driven by Naeem attempted to enter Camp Pendleton through the main gate. As it was being searched, Petrossian and Avanosian drove up in a black Mercedes, but were told to wait. Instead, they continued past the gate and onto the base. Following a short pursuit, the Mercedes was stopped and searched....

Was it just a wrong turn, or something more sinister? Marine base Camp Pendleton — one of the largest military bases in the country — is reportedly on high alert after three Middle Eastern men tried to enter the base last weekend on multiple occasions in multiple vehicles. And while the men initially claimed they didn’t know each other and simply took a wrong turn, new information from a local gas station about “hateful comments” and “terrorist threats” casts doubt on their story: http://clipsyndicate.com/video/playlist/8178/2340295?wpid=9528 KGTV explains some of the shocking details: According to a Be On the Lookout (BOLO) alert...

"Tea Party Movement Spreads To Military The Tea Party movement has gained a foothold in the armed forces. A new Tea Party group, Armed Forces Tea Party Patriots, has grown quickly since being launched last month by an active duty Marine Corps sergeant. The group, which vows to "stand up on the very soil we defended to preserve common sense conservatism and defend our Constitution that is threatened by a tyrannical government," currently has over 400 members, who have signed up through its Facebook page, though many are not active duty military. And it has close ties to the broader...

CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. — A military judge in California has denied a motion to dismiss charges against a Marine sergeant whose squad killed 24 Iraqi men, women and children after a bomb killed a Marine. Lt. Col. David Jones ruled Friday at Camp Pendleton on a defense motion claiming there was unlawful command influence while a general considered a court-martial for Staff Sgt. Frank Wuterich. The judge ruled there was no record of any "meaningful comment" between the general and an aide who had investigated the case as a military lawyer. Wuterich is facing trial on reduced charges of voluntary...

CAMP PENDLETON, California (AFP) – A US military judge Friday refused to dismiss charges against a former squad leader accused of a role in the 2005 killings of 24 Iraqi civilians. Staff Sergeant Frank Wuterich is the last Marine still charged in the case as prosecutors have struggled to make the allegations stick. So far the other seven accused were either acquitted or had charges withdrawn before court martial. Judge Lieutentant Colonel David Jones said Friday the "motion to dismiss charges against the former squad leader Sergeant Frank Wuterich is denied. There was no improper influence flowing upwards or downwards."...