Free Republic

The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not reflect the official position of the U.S. Army Intelligence Center and Fort Huachuca, U.S. Army, Department of Defense, or the U.S. Government. Few combat commanders will deny the importance of reconnaissance to the success of tactical operations. The opposing force (OPFOR) at the National Training Center (NTC) will attest that the success of any visiting unit operation depends largely on the success of the "Blue" force's (BLUFOR) division and regimental reconnaissance teams. Military Intelligence (MI) soldiers--in particular military occupational specialty 98G (Cryptologic Linguist) and MOS 96R...

ORLANDO, Fla -- Fishermen will be prohibited from catching red snapper and some other snapper and grouper species in the southeast Atlantic in a nearly 5,000-square-mile zone off the coasts of Georgia and Florida under a measure passed by a federal fisheries management council Wednesday. Members of the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council voted 9-4 in favor of the ban which supporters hope eventually will restore the red snapper's population over the next three decades. Opponents, though, doubt studies showing that the population is overfished and said Florida fishermen already have been squeezed by restrictions in the Gulf of Mexico...

BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. -- Federal officials just extended a ban on red snapper fishing off the east coast of Florida, but not everyone knows about the extension. The ban was originally set to expire June 2 after six months, but now it will be in place through December. A lot of people who work in the commercial and recreational fishing industries get bulletins that update them on changes to fishing regulations, but the feds never sent one saying the snapper ban had been extended. William Golding said he has gotten call after call from people wondering if the red snapper...

WINTER SPRINGS, Fla. -- Once daylight broke, search teams began a third full day of searching for a missing 11-year old autistic girl in Winter Springs. Police told Eyewitness News they are not giving up hope that they will find Nadia Bloom okay. The search for her has been going on since Friday afternoon when Nadia disappeared from the Barrington Estates neighborhood.

OCOEE, Fla. -- When two gunmen tried to break into an Ocoee house early Tuesday morning, the homeowner pulled out his gun and shot one of the men dead. Another robber ran off after the home invasion on Pomegranate Court. WFTV gathered new information Tuesday afternoon about the shooter and the robber.

Greeter Terminated For 'Gross Misconduct' PALM BAY, Fla. -- A Walmart greeter who was shown on video getting punched by a customer has been fired. Ed Bauman, 69, said the act of defending himself cost him his job. Bauman went into Walmart hoping to get back to work for the first time since police said he was punched by a customer. Instead, Bauman said he was fired. His termination notice called the incident an act of "gross misconduct" and accused Bauman of fighting with a customer. "They told me I did a good job of defending myself," said Bauman. "Then...

OCOEE, Fla. -- Ocoee police are still searching for the gunman who ambushed a business owner and shot his wife near their home off Lake Johio Road late Tuesday night. Investigators told Eyewitness News the suspected shooter waited until the victims arrived at the front gate of the Willows on the Lake subdivision in Ocoee and tried to rob them of their bank deposit bag. Ocoee police could not track down the suspect with their dogs or helicopter, but they believe surveillance cameras at several nearby businesses and at the Chase Bank next to the subdivision's entrance may have captured...

ORLANDO, Fla. -- It was an Internet romance and it led to an attempted murder and a suicide in Orlando. Police say a woman, scorned by a man she thought was her online lover, showed up at his Middlebrook Pines Apartment (see map) late Sunday night with a handgun. The man survived the shooting, but then the shooter killed herself. Paula Harris, 30, drove all the way from the Atlanta, Georgia area, according to investigators, and checked into the Holiday Inn at Universal Boulevard and Sand Lake Road (see map), just over four miles from 44-year-old Andre Barboza's Orlando apartment....

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. -- An Orange County man caught two burglars breaking into his house, so he pulled out his gun and shot them both Tuesday night. One of the burglars was killed and the other is in critical condition. The deceased burglar was identified as 17-year-old Brandon Martinez. Deputies say the owner of the house on Rubens Court (see map) won't be arrested. They say he did nothing wrong. The homeowner, along with his brother and son, had just gotten home from work when he confronted the burglars Tuesday night. They had already ransacked his house and even tried...

(CBS) As members of Congress debate a "public option" for health care coverage, they remain safe and secure in their own generous health plan. CBS News correspondent Sharyl Attkisson reports it's subsidized by millions of your tax dollars annually. The government doesn't even keep track the total cost. What exactly does Congress get? Sen. Lindsey Graham agreed to show CBS News first hand, flashing his Blue Cross Blue Shield insurance card. Blue Cross Blue Shield is one of five plans offered to members of Congress. Most Americans, 74 percent are offered only one plan - if their employer offers insurance...

BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. -- The debate over health care reform got rowdy again Tuesday, this time in Brevard County. The legislation in front of Congress right now has led to a lot of angry debates across the country. Tuesday, the AARP tried to answer questions from some angry residents there. They all came here to be heard and, with no other public forum offered by congressional leaders in Brevard County, they turned to the AARP to demand answers. "Why wouldn't AARP insist the government fix Medicare and Medicaid and Social Security before we discuss anything?" one attendee asked. More than...

ZHUKOVSKY, August 14 (RIA Novosti) - President Barack Obama has banned U.S. Air Force planes from participating in MAKS-2009 air show in Russia citing the ongoing economic crisis, the show organizer said on Friday. "Eight U.S. aircraft were originally set to be showcased at MAKS and two more to participate in demonstration flights. But the U.S. president's last-minute decision was not to send the planes, which is due to economic, rather than political, reasons," said Vladimir Borisov of the Aviasalon firm. Earlier reports said over 711 companies, including 465 Russian firms, will participate in the biennial air show outside Moscow...

PALM BAY, Fla. -- Police shot a dog Thursday while responding to a domestic disturbance in Palm Bay. Officers, with guns drawn, approached a house on Geary Street. That's when a pit bull charged at officers. Officers say they were forced to open fire. "I myself fired a bean bag, less lethal round, hitting the pit bull in the head. The other officer fired a 9-mm, hitting the pit bull in the right rear leg," explained Sgt. Don Smith, Palm Bay Police Department. The dog survived the shots. Police took the dog, along with two others, into custody. Police also...

MELBOURNE BEACH, Fla. -- The Florida Department of Law Enforcement says officers caught suspected wildlife cop shooter, Christopher Eddy, Friday evening in Melbourne Beach. Eddy, 23, is suspected of shooting veteran Fish and Wildlife Officer Vann Streety at least six times, during a traffic stop in a rural area in west Cocoa. Investigators tracked Eddy down in a wooded area on A1A, in Melbourne Beach after he tried to steal a car. Eddy admitted his crime to Eyewitness News as he was being handcuffed. “It was just unjust the way they treated me, because they pulled me over and they...

LEE COUNTY, Fla. -- A couple fought back against two bold intruders in their Lee County Home. The homeowner and his fiancee, a retired coast guard officer and a former maximum security prison guard, said they woke up in their home early Monday morning to find a gun pointed in their faces. The couple took action and fought back against the two intruders. The homeowner even managed to get the crook's gun. "At that point I was going to take his life and he begged for his life, ''I don't want to die, I don't want to die, please don't...

SEMINOLE COUNTY, Fla. -- A man was shot and killed outside a home near Altamonte Springs early Friday morning. Deputies say he was trying to break into a home on S. Magnolia Avenue when someone inside shot him. Investigators say at approximately 4:00am on Friday, a woman was awakened by a loud, pounding sound coming from the front door of her home. She woke up her husband to let him know what she heard and asked him to go check on what was happening. "Yes someone's just tried to break down my front door," said the caller to the 911...

SEMINOLE COUNTY, Fla. -- A child rapist who admitted to preying on nearly 20 children is now a free man. Kareem Merthe was released during a hearing in Seminole County Friday morning. His mother collapsed outside the courtroom and later died. Officials say his mother went outside to get some fresh air when she collapsed. The 26-year-old preacher's son had been locked up for nine years and as a young teen, Merthe admitted to preying on children as young as 4 years old. He told investigators he raped them at his father's church in Sanford. Kareem Merthe had nothing to...

A self-described aspiring rapper confessed to robbing a convenience store Friday night and shooting a clerk in the temple with a BB gun in a misguided effort to gain "street credibility" for his career in Gainesville hip-hop, according to police. Steven Gilmore Jr., 21, was arrested in his Gainesville Place Apartment, at 2800 S.W. 35th Place, after a tip led police to his home. Gilmore confessed to the Friday night robbery and to a robbery last week of Hungry Howie's restaurant, police said. Police also arrested Gilmore's accomplice, a 16-year-old who police said served as a lookout for the Friday...

POLK COUNTY, Fla. -- A Polk County man caught two thieves on his property so he pulled out a gun and started shooting, killing one suspect. The homeowner, Jamie Jones, was working in his Winter Haven orange grove Tuesday morning when he heard a noise. Jones says he grabbed his gun and saw a man and woman trying to drive away in his SUV Land Cruiser. Jones yelled at them to stop, but the driver tried to run him over so he started shooting. The Polk County sheriff said Jones had a right to protect himself. "The word to the...

SEMINOLE COUNTY, Fla. -- Eyewitness News has learned that the Shoot Straight Gun Range will no longer be renting out guns at any of its Florida locations. According to Casselberry Police, 26-year old Jason McCarthy of Winter Springs rented a gun then shot himself in the head at the Casselberry location on Monday evening. The Shoot Straight Gun Range is the same place where a woman shot and killed her son and then herself earlier this month.