Free Republic

As war rages in Ukraine and China continues to develop its nuclear capabilities, some military officials are warning the United States is unprepared to be dragged into warfare. The warnings come after it was reported in October that America's military had become weaker over the last several years and is at risk of not being able to respond to outside threats. The Heritage Foundation, in its 2023 Index of U.S. Military Strength, noted that the military is “weak” and that it was “at growing risk of not being able to meet the demands of defending America’s vital national interests” —...

fter a White House statement appeared to walk back President Joe Biden's commitment to help defend Taiwan from a Chinese invasion, several Republicans are calling for a firm commitment to a military response, should one be needed. During a news conference with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Monday, Biden was asked if he was willing to "get involved militarily" to defend Taiwan, and he responded that he was. "That's the commitment we made," the president said. But shortly after Biden made the remark, a White House official released a statement saying: "As the President said, our policy has not...

The U.S. Army has selected Sig Sauer to build the service’s Next-Generation Squad Weapon Rifle and Automatic Rifle. This is the first time in 55 years that the Army has broken away from the M16 series of weapons. The new rifles are designed to be more lethal and accurate than previous infantry weapons. On Tuesday, the U.S. Army officially selected a new rifle and infantry rifle for frontline troops. The guns, developed by small arms manufacturer Sig Sauer, have been officially designated the XM5 Rifle and XM250 Automatic Rifle (pictured above). The XM5 Rifle will represent a major departure from...

DUGWAY PROVING GROUND, Utah — The killer drone whooshed out of its launch tube, spreading its carbon wings and shooting into the sky. Flying too fast for the naked eye to track, the battery-powered robot circled the Utah desert, hunting for the target it had been programmed to strike. Moments later, it sailed through the driver’s side window of an empty pickup truck and exploded in a fireball. “Good hit,” exclaimed an operator from AeroVironment, the company that produces the drone and sells it to the U.S. military. NBC News traveled to a military testing center for exclusive access to...

The Department of Defense will respond "appropriately" to a decision this week by the Oklahoma National Guard to rescind the Pentagon's requirement for service members to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. Driving the news: "We are aware of the memo issued by the Oklahoma Adjutant General regarding COVID vaccination for Guardsmen and the governor’s letter requesting exemption. We will respond to the governor appropriately," Pentagon spokesman John Kirby told Axios in a statement. "That said, Secretary Austin believes that a vaccinated force is a more ready force. That is why he has ordered mandatory vaccines for the total force, and that...

The U.S. intelligence community believes terrorist groups operating inside Afghanistan may have the ability to attack the U.S. or other international targets within a year or less if left unchecked, senior defense officials told lawmakers on Tuesday. “We could see ISIS-K generate that capability in somewhere between six or 12 months,” Colin Kahl, the Defense Department’s undersecretary for policy, said in testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee. “And for al-Qaeda, it would take a year or two to reconstitute that capability.” The remarks underscored widespread concerns that the central goal of the 2001 U.S. invasion—to root out and dismantle...

Authorities in California’s agricultural heartland weren’t looking for a military assault rifle when they went to investigate the domestic assault case, but they found one. It was in the garage of a Spanish-tiled home in Fresno that police stumbled upon the AK-74. Its distinctively banana-shaped magazine -- loaded with 20 rounds -- was in a nearby storage container. AK-74s are similar to their more famous cousin, the AK-47. As a fully automatic weapon, the gun recovered by chance in 2019 is federally regulated, and difficult to obtain legally as a civilian in the United States. This one was stolen eight...

he U.S. Army’s Pacific theater strategy has long maintained that it does not plan to consider a land war against China for a number of key reasons. First and foremost, perhaps most obviously, deployment would be a problem. How could any kind of mechanized land force, with the requisite expeditionary capability, mobilize for some kind of large-scale land assault on the Asian continent. Where would there be a staging area? Possibly India, a major U.S. ally, could offer some kind of option. Abrams tanks, for example, need to be shipped, deployed, and prepared, as do larger infantry carriers, howitzers, and...

Chinese officials slammed the U.S. on Tuesday over continued territorial disputes in the South China Sea after the U.S. issued a formal statement declaring most of China's claims in the region to be illegitimate. A statement posted on the website of China's embassy in Washington, D.C., accused the U.S. of "flexing muscles" over a situation in which it was not directly involved. “The United States is not a country directly involved in the disputes. However, it has kept interfering in the issue,” read the statement. “Under the pretext of preserving stability, it is flexing muscles, stirring up tension and inciting...

The Pentagon said Thursday it was "concerned" about Chinese military exercises around a disputed archipelago in the South China Sea, noting the maneuvers will "further destabilize" the region. "The Department of Defense is concerned about the People's Republic of China (PRC) decision to conduct military exercises around the Paracel Islands in the South China Sea on July 1-5," the Pentagon said in a statement. The activities "further destabilize the situation" in the area claimed by China, Vietnam and Taiwan, it said. Such exercises also violate Beijing's "commitments under the 2002 Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China...

Ranger History: Gift to Ist Ranger Battalion from Merrrill's Marauders vets; threw the XO, MAJ Hudson, at Banner Day, April 1975. After that and other misdemeanors like biting horses and people at the Ft Stewart stables, the mule was sentenced to hard time at West Point. He liked the crowds a lot more than he did the Rangers and was a favorite. Believe he was kidnapped by some midshipmen before an Army Navy game but they sent him back after he kicked in a stall. Ranger 1973-2005 February 12, 2005 Burns, TN An old soldier answered his last roll call...