Free Republic

WASHINGTON – Seven protesters, including activist Cindy Sheehan, have been arrested at an anti-war rally and march in Washington. Sheehan began shouting "arrest that war criminal" through a bullhorn and pointing to the White House from an area of sidewalk park police had closed off Saturday afternoon. The other six protesters were among a group of more than a dozen who had lain down on the sidewalk next to a row of flag-draped cardboard coffins outside the White House fence.

BAQUBA, Iraq (Army News Service, Dec. 28, 2007) -- Tribal leaders of Khalis and Hibhib in Diyala province held a reconciliation meeting at the Governance Center here Dec. 27. The meeting marked the end of Operation Raider Reaper, a month-long campaign conducted by the 4th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division and several companies of the Iraqi Army 5th Division. The focus of the operation was to clear al-Qaida and insurgents from Diyala province. The meeting focused on keeping the peace post-Raider Reaper, ending sectarian violence and finding a means to bring displaced families back to their homes. Every...

WASHINGTON, June 15, 2007 – In the shadow of the Washington Monument, with its 50 American flags snapping in the breeze, the “President’s Own” U.S. Marine Band helped kick off the grand finale of the National Anthem Project here yesterday. The “President’s Own” U.S. Marine Band plays patriotic songs during the National Association for Music Education’s National Anthem Project’s grand finale at the Washington Monument on Flag Day, June 14, 2007. The project is a multiyear effort to re-teach Americans “The Star-Spangled Banner.” Photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Molly A. Burgess, USN  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available....

USS PELELIU, At Sea (NNS) -- Six ships and nearly 5,000 Sailors and Marines assigned to the USS Peleliu (LHA 5) Expeditionary Strike Group (ESG) concluded operations in the U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet area of operations, July 9. Deployed Feb. 15 from San Diego and Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, the Sailors and Marines assigned to Amphibious Squadron 3 and the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU), Special Operations Capable (SOC), supported operations Iraqi Freedom (OIF) and Enduring Freedom, and conducted maritime security operations (MSO) throughout the region. MSO help set the conditions for security and stability in the maritime environment, as well...

USS ENTERPRISE, At Sea (NNS) -- USS Enterprise (CVN 65), Destroyer Squadron (DESRON) 2 and Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 1 successfully completed the first operational portion of their deployment, July 6. The carrier now heads to the Western Pacific to begin operations with U.S. Navy’s 7th Fleet. While in U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet area of operations (AOO), the nearly 6,000 Sailors assigned to the strike group supported Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom, as well as conducted maritime security operations (MSO). Coalition maritime forces continue to conduct MSO in the region to help set the conditions for security and stability...

ABOARD USS RONALD REAGAN (NNS) -- USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76), Destroyer Squadron (DESRON) 7 and Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 14 concluded military operations as part of Carrier Strike Group (CSG) 7 in the U.S. 5th Fleet area of operations (AOO) May 29. The nearly 6,000 Sailors assigned to the Ronald Reagan Carrier Strike Group supported operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom, as well as conducted maritime security operations (MSO) in the region. MSO set the conditions for security and stability in the maritime environment, as well as complement the counter-terrorism and security efforts of regional nations. MSO deny international...

TIKRIT, Iraq, May 29, 2006 – Operation Barnstormer, part of the Iraqi Agriculture Ministry's program to protect key staple crops from insect damage, wrapped up yesterday with a final day of aerial spraying in the northern Iraqi province of Dahuk, Task Force Band of Brothers officials reported. Flying low to the ground, an airplane sprays pesticide on wheat crops in the northern Iraqi province of Dahuk. The spraying was part of the Ministry of Agriculture's Operation Barnstormer. U.S. Army photo   The operation began May 16 and covered most of the major agricultural areas in the Iraqi provinces of Karbala,...

CAMP BLUE DIAMOND, Iraq, Nov. 22, 2005 – U.S. and Iraqi forces wrapped up Operation Steel Curtain today near the Iraq-Syria border, military officials here announced. The 17-day offensive was conducted in the cities of Husaybah, Karabilah and Ubaydi, and was geared toward preventing al Qaeda in Iraq from operating in the Euphrates River Valley and throughout the country's Anbar province, officials noted. As part of a larger operation called Operation Hunter, Steel Curtain made way for the establishment of a permanent Iraqi army security presence in the Qaim region. It also set the conditions for local citizens to vote...