Free Republic

More than two-thirds of America's youth would fail to qualify for military service because of physical, behavioral or educational shortcomings, posing challenges to building the next generation of soldiers even as the U.S. draws down troops from conflict zones. The military deems many youngsters ineligible due to obesity, lack of a high-school diploma, felony convictions and prescription-drug use for attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder. But others are now also running afoul of standards for appearance amid the growing popularity of large-scale tattoos and devices called ear gauges that create large holes in earlobes.

This pilot brings a whole new meaning to “stick the landing.” Just after taking off from the carrier in early June, U.S. Marine Corps Capt. William Mahoney, attached to Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 263, had to get creative with an emergency landing. “It was a normal flight day, we were going out to re-punch currency for landing on the ship in the evening,” Mahoney said in a video posted on YouTube. But as soon as he left the deck, the jet indicated a problem. “As I was climbing away from the deck and put the gear up and realized that...

Picture it: It's March 1, 2015. Tokyo and Beijing are headed towards what was once the unthinkable. Over the last several months China has instituted daily non-naval maritime patrols around the hotly disputed Senkaku/Diaoyu islands. Beijing is even sending fully-fledged naval assets within the islands' 12 mile exclusion zone while its aircraft carrier, the Liaoning, exercised only 50 miles away from the islands back in February — truly the end of Beijing's small-stick diplomatic strategy. But on 1 March the plot thickens. Two Chinese SU-27 fighters come within 25 feet of a Japanese P-3 Orion surveillance plane just 10 miles...

Former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin is calling on the Obama administration to bring Marine Sgt. Andrew Tahmooressi back home. "Does it seem like a decorated Marine is the only one Obama doesn't want crossing our border?" Palin asked on Wednesday. As Breitbart News has noted, "on March 31, Marine Sgt. Andrew Tahmooressi accidentally crossed the Mexican border with guns in his truck. He was promptly arrested, chained, and beaten by Mexican authorities." "This terrible and unnecessary situation will likely be resolved via the court system and there is every indication that Sgt. Tahmooressi has a strong case to win, but...

The USS Mesa Verde with 550 Marines on board entered the Gulf on Monday to support possible U.S. action to help Iraq's Shi'ite-led government combat a Sunni Islamist insurgency that has overtaken large areas of the country's north, CNN reported. The USS Mesa Verde joins the aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush, which the Pentagon ordered on Saturday to move into the Gulf. President Barack Obama has said he is considering military action, short of putting U.S. troops in Iraq, to aid that government's efforts to stop the insurgency.

I’ve written about the plight of U.S. Marine Sgt. Andrew Tahmooressi for weeks now. It’s a sad story. It’s made even sadder by President Obama’s terrible trade for what appears to be a deserter and traitor, while he allows a true hero to languish behind bars in Mexico. Tahmoorsessi is being falsely imprisoned by our “friend” and neighbor Mexico. He’s been mistreated, beaten and some would say tortured. I’ve already suggested what should be done to free this Marine hero - warn the President of Mexico that every option is on the table until we get our Marine hero back....

PARRIS ISLAND (WTOC) - The highest ranking enlisted Marine at Parris Island has stepped down from his position following last week's alleged assault with a former Marine. Parris Island released the following statement early Monday afternoon: Understanding the Marine Corps has very high standards of personal and professional conduct for its most senior leaders, Sgt. Maj. Archie voluntarily stepped down as the depot sergeant major, and the commanding general regrettably accepted his retirement. People all over the country have reacted to this viral video between protester and former Marine Ethan Arguello and Depot Sgt. Maj. Paul Archie. The altercation began...

A Texas couple has adopted a bomb-sniffing dog that was with their son when he was killed in Afghanistan. The parents of Staff Sgt. Christopher Diaz adopted Dino Saturday, after the 6-year-old Belgian malinois was declared retired in a ceremony at Camp Pendleton. Law permits such an adoption if it will help a family with the grieving process. Dino had to pass a test to ensure he didn't suffer the canine equivalent of post-traumatic stress disorder after his combat experience. Rich Landgrebe, operations manager for the Marine working-dog program, said the test showed Dino has the right temperament to be...

A brief clip from a great old movie with Dragnet's Jack Webb.

Tobacco sales on Navy ships and in stores on Navy and Marine Corps bases would be a thing of the past under a plan being considered by Navy Secretary Ray Mabus, but some congressional members are pushing back. The Navy Department, which includes the Marine Corps, would be the first military department to prohibit tobacco sales. […] Congress is considering a measure that would prevent Mabus from instituting a sales ban, with the prohibition’s opponents arguing it overreaches on a habit that is unhealthy but still legal. …

    ~The FReeper Canteen Presents~ Road Trip: Marine Corps Recruit Depot, San Diego, California Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego is a United States Marine Corps military installation in San Diego, California. It lies between San Diego Bay and Interstate 5, adjacent to Lindbergh Field and the former Naval Training Center San Diego. MCRD San Diego's main mission is the initial training of enlisted male recruits living west of the Mississippi River. Over 21,000 recruits are trained each year. The Depot also is the home to the Marine Corps' Recruiter School and Western Recruiting Region's Drill Instructors School....

A petition on the White House website asking President Obama to demand the release of a Marine sergeant in a Mexico prison has garnered more than 100,000 online signatures -- a threshold that typically elicits an administration response. “The effect of this unjust incarceration on a decorated combat Marine is despairing,” says the petition, which as of Saturday afternoon had 116,051 signatures. Marine Sgt. Andrew Tahmooressi was arrested March 31 after crossing the Mexican border with three guns in his truck. Tahmooressi said he accidentally crossed the border and immediately told Mexican authorities that he had three guns in his...

VIDEO AT LINKAt a petite 5’3’’, Sage Santangelo may not look like a combat fighter at first glance. But the female second lieutenant has never let that hold her back from pursuing her dream of becoming an infantry officer in the Marine Corps. Growing up, Santangelo found she was always able to keep up with the guys and enjoyed playing hockey on all boys’ teams. But when she joined the Marines, Santangelo found the playing field changed; she was segregated into female-only training units and as a woman, was relegated to less strenuous physical training than her male counterparts. And...

Andrew Tahmooressi, 22, was arrested for driving into Mexico with firearms A U.S. Marine Corps reservist who had been living in San Diego will remain in a Mexican jail after firing his attorney. Andrew Tahmooressi, 22, was expected to testify before a Mexican judge during a court hearing Wednesday. Instead, he fired his attorney. Now the case is up in the air. On Monday, Tahmooressi's mother Jill told NBC 7 that her son said his attorney had instructed him to lie under oath. Tahmooressi was arrested April 1 after driving his black Ford pickup over the border at San Ysidro...

The U.S. Marine who has been jailed since accidentally crossing into Mexico nearly two months ago with three registered guns will appear before a judge for the first time Wednesday in Tijuana, where his mother says he is ready to face his accusers. Sgt. Andrew Tahmooressi has been held in two Mexican prisons since his arrest, one of which he tried to escape after receiving threats, according to his supporters. On Wednesday at 9 a.m. local time, he'll go before a federal judge in Mexico's sixth-largest city. According to his Tijuana-based attorney, Alejandro Osuna, Tahmooressi will be afforded the chance...

This weekend we celebrate Memorial Day in honor of our American servicemen and women who have sacrificed their lives defending us both at home and abroad. Many of our troops enlist in the military upon adulthood and have served in wars before their classmates have even graduated from college. These men and women are true American heroes and we must protect them just as well as they protect us. Unfortunately, despite President Obama’s Memorial Day proclamation that we shall “never forget” the sacrifices of our soldiers, he and Secretary of State John Kerry have forgotten about a living American hero...

“THE BATTLING BOYS OF BENGHAZI” We're the battling boys of Benghazi No fame, no glory, no paparazzi. Just a fiery death in a blazing hell Defending our country we loved so well. It wasn't our job, but we answered the call, fought to the Consulate and scaled the wall. We pulled twenty Countrymen from the jaws of fate Led them to safety, and stood at the gate. Just the two of us, and foes by the score, But we stood fast to bar the door. Three calls for reinforcement, but all were denied, So we fought, and we fought, and...

Americans say the U.S. Army is the most important service branch to national defense, but the Marine Corps is still considered the most prestigious, said a Gallup poll released Friday. The annual poll​, timed to mark the start of the long Memorial Day weekend, showed that 26 percent of Americans say the Army is the most important military branch, followed closely by the Air Force at 23 percent. The Marine Corp was called the most important by 19 percent, the Navy by 17 percent and the Coast Guard by 3 percent, the poll found.

Priorities: A Marine Corps combat veteran remains in a Mexican jail after missing a freeway ramp and crossing the border with legally owned American firearms — without a single hash tag from the White House. It is a tough time for veterans these days, starting with those left to die — or even commit suicide — while on Veterans Administration waiting lists, seemingly abandoned by their commander-in-chief who early on promised to make things right and redress their grievances. Also seemingly abandoned is Sgt. Andrew Tahmooressi, a 25-year-old combat veteran, who was jailed in late March after he missed a...

Cpl. William Kyle Carpenter doesn’t remember much about the day he and a fellow Marine were caught in the blast of a hand grenade in southern Afghanistan while manning a rooftop security post. There was almost no time to react before the explosion tore into him in a searing, angry ball of white light. Carpenter recalls that he “got right with God” as he was enveloped by the sensation of warm water pouring all over him. It was his own blood. “My last few seconds before I lost consciousness,” he said, “I had accepted the fact that ... I was...