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A Marine lost at sea after bailing out of a MV-22 Osprey when it appeared it might crash in the Persian Gulf is believed to be the first American military casualty in support of U.S. operations against ISIS in Iraq and Syria. Cpl. Jordan L. Spears, 21, was declared dead after search and rescue efforts to locate him were unsuccessful, U.S. Naval Forces Central Command said in a statement released Saturday. Asked how Spears death will be classified, Pentagon spokesman Navy Rear Adm. John Kirby told reporters the question was still being decided. "Clearly, that squadron and that ship were...

The Navy said Thursday it had called off a search for a Marine who had jumped from an MV-22 Osprey aircraft over the Persian Gulf after it briefly lost power, and he is now presumed dead. The Navy had been searching for the Marine, a member of the Osprey’s crew, since the incident occurred Wednesday at 2:10 p.m. He and another member of the crew jumped from the Osprey when it appeared it would crash, but its pilot was able to regain control of it and land aboard the USS Makin Island, an amphibious assault ship, Navy officials said. One...

Members of the House Foreign Affairs Committee said Wednesday that they believe Mexico will soon release Sgt. Andrew Tahmooressi, the U.S. Marine who has been held prisoner in Mexico after he crossed into that country carrying weapons in violation of Mexican law. Chairman Ed Royce (R-Calif.) said he met with Tahmooressi in prison back in June, and has continued to press Mexican authorities for his release. Royce said he made a breakthrough in a talk last week with Mexican authorities about Tahmooressi, who has been diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. “Last week I had a good and productive conversation...

House Foreign Affairs Committee meeting just beginning on CSPAN Hearing regarding Sgt. Tahmooressi who has been held for 6 months in a Mexican prison for a wrong turn into Mexico.

This really happened. Today. This was actually posted by The White House on Instagram.

The White House has responded to a popular petition that demands the release of U.S. Marine Sgt. Andrew Tahmooressi from a Mexican prison, explaining that the Obama administration respects the rule of law and will continue to monitor the situation to make sure the soldier is treated fairly. More than 134,000 people signed a petition on the White House’s “We the People” website asking the president to demand the release of Sgt. Tahmooressi, who was imprisoned nearly five months ago for illegally crossing from California into Mexico with three firearms in his truck. The Marine maintains that he crossed the...

An Oklahoma politician is under fire for cautioning people to be “wary” of Muslim Americans — but he’s not backing down. State Rep. John Bennett (R-Sallisaw) refused to apologize for a private Facebook post that called on Christians to “be especially wary” of people who call themselves Muslim-Americans because the Koran “clearly states that non-Muslims should be killed.”

"A West Point man was taken to hospital with life-threatening injuries after he and a friend were attacked by a group of around 20 people in a Huddle House parking lot, police said, potentially as retaliation for Michael Brown's killing. Ralph Weems IV, who is white, was injured early Saturday but is now in fair condition at North Mississippi Medical Center, hospital spokeswoman Genie Causey said. A relative, Bradley Barnes of Madison, told The Associated Press by telephone on Sunday that his brother-in-law was in a medically induced coma following brain surgery. 'They're going to try and wake him up...

A California state assemblyman plans to stage a protest outside the governor’s mansion next week to demand that Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto, who is to be honored at luncheon there Aug. 26, ensure the release of a U.S. Marine held captive in Mexico. Assemblyman Tim Donnelly, who recently lost in a bid to become the Republican nominee in the gubernatorial election in November, declined an invitation to the luncheon and assailed Gov. Jerry Brown for hosting the luncheon in honor of the Mexican president. "I am writing to decline your luncheon invitation,” read the letter Donnelly sent Brown, which...

The body of the pregnant missing wife of a U.S. Marine based in Southern California has been found and her alleged lover has been charged with homicide, police said. Christopher Brandon Lee, 24, was arrested in Anchorage, Alaska and charged in the murder of 20-year-old Erin Corwin, the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department said Monday.

CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. — A Marine sentenced to 11 years in prison for the 2006 killing of an unarmed Iraqi in Hamdaniyah will be retried later this month after his conviction was thrown out because a confession was obtained after he had been improperly denied a lawyer. But the civilian lawyer of the Marine, Sgt. Lawrence G. Hutchins III, argued in a hearing Thursday that he should first get a new Article 32 hearing because the confession was the centerpiece of the government’s case against him. Hutchins was convicted of unpremeditated murder in 2007 for the death of the unarmed...

A Marine veteran says he was denied entry into a Six Flags theme park in New Jersey after being told that the shirt he was wearing would offend people. Mario Alejandro, 33, had been given the shirt (shown above) for Father's Day and he was attempting to take his family to Six Flags Great Adventure last weekend for a child's birthday party. Proceeds from the Fourth of July-themed shirt go to the Marine Reconnaissance Foundation, a nonprofit organization that supports recon Marines and their families. Alejandro served four years in the Marines, including at the start of the Iraq war. He is classified...

Retired Marine Cpl. Robert Richards, a combat veteran who was badly wounded in Afghanistan and later appeared in a controversial video urinating on dead Taliban insurgents, was found dead Wednesday night in his home in North Carolina. He was 28. The death was confirmed Thursday morning by Guy Womack, a lawyer who represented Richards in his long legal battle with the Marine Corps after the video was published anonymously on YouTube in January 2012 and erupted into an international scandal. Womack said the death does not appear to have been a suicide, and the cause will not be known until...

An Army veteran joined a Marine cohort in confronting a Checkers restaurant for flying the American flag upside down. The vets say it’s the second time in three months that the eatery has improperly displayed Old Glory. The video was taken and posted on Facebook by John Zulu of Lakeland, Fl and according to Zulu: I just had to deal with checkers disrespecting the American flag for the second time. Please share this video everywhere. The employee even says, “I’m Mexican, I don’t even believe in the American flag.”

At the tender age of seven, Brian Vanderpool experienced a life changing moment when he watched the movie, Saving Private Ryan. It left such a deep impression on him that he decided to become a Marine. He found out later the movie actually depicted Army personnel, but he had his mind made up.Recently, Lance Corporal Vanderpool, now 20, returned home on leave from an 8 month tour of Afghanistan. He was not expecting to be greeted by a cheering crowd at Sky Harbor Airport in Phoenix, Arizona, which, in his words, “left a big grin on my face.”Early on,...

On Day No. 127 of imprisonment, Marine Sgt. Andrew Tahmooressi entered a federal court in Tijuana and faced four border officials who were involved in his March 31 arrest on weapons charges. Following the approximately five-hour hearing, Defense Attorney Fernando Benitez told Greta Van Susteren on Fox News' "On the Record" that he felt his client was "a little more upbeat" and that he was "growing more optimistic as evidence is entered into his case." Four witnesses -- two Mexican soldiers and two Mexican border agents involved in Tahmooressi's arrest -- testified Monday

HonorAir founder Jeff Miller is launching a fundraising effort aimed at helping to free the U.S. Marine imprisoned in Mexico after crossing the border in a vehicle that contained legally registered weapons. Miller said Thursday that he wanted to help raise money for Marine Sgt. Andrew Tahmooressi, but wanted to get the family's blessing. He got that on Wednesday when he heard from Tahmooressi's mother, Jill Tahmooressi, who lives in Florida and has been fighting for her son's release for four months. "We're very appreciative," she said. Jill Tahmooressi said she welcomed the fundraising, which has a large following among...

by Jason DeWitt | Top Right NewsA Texas couple made a surprising find during a recent visit to a flea market. Lanie Mae and Wally Brown were looking through a stack of used flags, when one of them caught their eye. According to Yahoo News: “I was shocked to see dedications from Marines all over this flag to a lance corporal named ‘Fred,’” Lanie Mae writes in a Facebook message.“While scouring the many heartfelt messages to this young man, simultaneously we saw ‘RIP Fred’ and again, simultaneously we said, ‘we have to get this flag to his mama.’”

<p>When justifying the release of five vicious Taliban terrorists detained at “Gitmo” in exchange for U.S. soldier Bowe Bergdahl, the president said, “We don’t leave our people behind.” He was subsequently accused of violating a law requiring him to notify Congress thirty days before releasing any Gitmo detainees.</p>

When justifying the release of five vicious Taliban terrorists detained at “Gitmo” in exchange for U.S. soldier Bowe Bergdahl, the president said, “We don’t leave our people behind.” Sergeant Tahmooressi completed two combat tours and received two meritorious promotions for battlefield service in Afghanistan. This spring, the honorably discharged 26-year-old veteran was planning to relocate from his home in Florida to California. Late on March 31, disoriented by poorly-lighted, graffiti-covered traffic signs, he inadvertently drove his pick-up truck, loaded with all his possessions – including three legally purchased firearms -- into Mexico at the San Ysidro, Calif., Port of Entry...