Free Republic

PARIS, January 24, 2016 - The United States potentially will make recommendations to position U.S. troops with Iraqi security forces in northern Iraq to support the next phase of isolating the key city of Mosul, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said. Marine Corps Gen. Joseph F. Dunford Jr., who met here with his French counterpart for talks focusing on the multinational effort against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, told reporters traveling with him that the U.S. troops would be placed where they can best support the Iraqi forces in the fight. "We're about winning....

Mountain biker Damian Hiley was hours into a Saturday ride on a West Sycamore Canyon trail in Scripps Ranch — one he’s been excited to try out for some time — when he and his cycling group came upon a man standing in the middle of the trail, a gun at his hip.

(CNN)The U.S. Coast Guard will stop actively searching for the 12 Marines who went missing when the two helicopters carrying them apparently crashed off the coast of Hawaii last week. The search suspension goes into effect at sunset Tuesday. No survivors have been found nor bodies reported recovered. "A decision to suspend searching without finding survivors is extremely difficult given the depth of its impact. ... Our thoughts and prayers are with Marine Corps helicopter squadron and particularly with families and loved ones of those missing," said Coast Guard Capt. Jim Jenkins in a written statement.

All four life rafts from the two choppers that collided off Oahu's North Shore have been recovered on Monday but with no sign of any survivors, according to an official with the U.S. Marines. In spite of this, rescuers on Tuesday will continue searching for the 12 Marines who were on board the two helicopters when they crashed late Thursday. This would be the fifth day of search-and-rescue operations.

HONOLULU (AP) — Authorities searching the area where two Marine helicopters crashed off Hawaii have found some life rafts that were carried aboard the aircraft, but still no sign of the 12 crew members who were on board. Coast Guard Chief Petty Officer Sara Mooers said Monday she believes three life rafts have been recovered so far. Some were inflated, but it was unclear how they came to be inflated, she said. The search for the Marines entered its fourth day Monday. Mooers said at this point, it is still a search for survivors. Rescuers from various agencies have been...

Families confirmed identities of some of the missing Marines involved in a helicopter collision over Hawaii on Thursday. The U.S. Coast Guard is searching for 12 Marines who were reportedly on board two CH-53 helicopters when the aircrafts collided at 3 a.m. Thursday. The families of seven Marines released statements providing identities of the supposed helicopter passengers. One was Captain Kevin Roche, whose family released a statement hoping for his return and offering thanks for the report they received following the news. "Captain Kevin Roche is a passionate Marine who loves his family and his country - and we love...

HALEIWA, Hawaii (AP) -- A retiree who lives across the street from a Hawaii beach said she heard two booms that were loud enough to shake her house on the night two Marine Corps helicopters crashed off the island of Oahu. "I threw my blanket off, put my slippers on and ran outside thinking it was a car accident," Elaray Navarro said. The Coast Guard was notified late Thursday of the crash by another civilian who saw the aircraft flying then disappear and a fireball. Someone else reported a flare in the sky, Coast Guard spokesman Lt. Scott Carr said.

The Air Force said it will conduct a review to determine whether the use of "airman" is appropriate given the military's push towards full gender equality. [...] This confirms that a review of job titles, like the one initiated by Navy Secretary Ray Mabus, is soon coming. Mabus' review resulted in an order to the Marine Corps to purge the word "man" from job titles, with the exception that compound words can remain the same. In other words, "infantryman" is acceptable, but "reconnaissance man" is not. That order came as part of the broader initiative to open all combat roles...

Friends: 2 USMC CH-53 helicopters went down off the coast of Oahu, 12 souls missing. One of my son's best friends is a CH-53 pilot stationed in Hawaii, and cannot be reached. We don't know if he was flying at the time. Please pray for Brian and all those involved. Thanks

U.S. Marine Corps 22 mins *The Marine Corps can confirm there is an active search and rescue operation ongoing for two CH-53 helicopters of the coast of Oahu. The U.S. Coast Guard is currently conducting search and rescue operations. The aircraft are from the 1st Marine Aircraft Wing from Marine Corps Base Hawaii. We will provide more details as they become available.* — Major Christian Devine, USMC

TEHRAN, Jan. 13 (MNA) – Rear Admiral Ali Fadavi said IRGC Navy will decide about detained US marines who illegally entered Iran waters once chain of command passes down its orders. “All vessels must give prior notice if they want to sail through another country’s waters, especially if they are military,” said Ali Fadavi, Commander of the IRGC (the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps) Navy, referring to the two American riverine command boats that had illegally crossed into Iranian territorial waters around Farsi Island in the Persian Gulf. “In the world of international relations, there is only one instance of innocent...

Rep. Duncan Hunter has had enough of Navy Secretary Ray Mabus' strong support for opening all Marine combat posts to women, declaring him "a greater threat to the Marine Corps than ISIS.” The Republican congressman and Marine veteran from California, who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, is furious with Mabus for pushing through an end to the ban on women serving in all combat positions over the Marine Corps' objections. Particularly, he's taking exception to memo Mabus sent to the Marines Corps this week, instructing it integrate Marine boot camp, which has been separate for men and women, and change...

The first shots exploded around 9:40 p.m. On Sept. 11, 2012, a group of local fighters, AK-47s in hand, burst through the fortified front gate of a US outpost in Benghazi, Libya. One very long night later, the diplomatic compound was engulfed in flames and a covert CIA base a mile away lay in ruins, partially reduced to rubble by mortar fire. Four Americans were dead, including Ambassador Christopher Stevens and two CIA members. What happened in between is covered in "13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi," a new film from "Transformers" director Michael Bay in theaters Friday. It...

Also demands Marine Corps make boot camp co-ed. Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus recently sent a memo to Marine Commandant Gen. Robert Neller directing him to review the Marine Corp's position titles to ensure their gender neutrality. Mabus told Neller to drop the term "man" from position titles so that they become gender integrated by the deadline of April 1, according to the Marine Corps Times. "As we achieve full integration of the force ... this is an opportunity to update the position titles and descriptions themselves to demonstrate through this language that women are included in these MOSs,"...

Tyler Schlagel slipped out of his parents' house while they were asleep three weeks ago and drove through the wintry darkness to his favorite fishing lake high in the Rockies. Mr. Schlagel, a 29-year-old former Marine corporal who was stocking shelves at a sporting goods store, carried with him the eight journals he had filled during tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. He also carried a .40-caliber pistol. Under the bright mountain stars, he kindled a small campfire. When the flames grew high, he threw the journals into the fire, then shot himself in the head. Mr. Schlagel's death Dec. 9...

Even so after more than seven long years of Obama taunting and harassment, there are millions of patriots who would fire back: “We’re waiting, Mr. Obama”. One can only imagine how Marines at Marine Corps Base Hawaii in Kaneohe Bay, subjected to working out at their gym with President Barack Hussein Obama must feel when reading the general email he sent under the cover of “-Friend”, just one day later. In Obama’s own defiant words: “I’ve got 12 months left to squeeze every ounce of change I can while I’m still in office. And that’s what I intend to do.”

Marine Corps uniform changes expected this year

During the Korean War, a U.S. Marine battalion must fight its way out of a frozen mountain pass despite diminishing supplies, freezing temperatures and constant attacks by overwhelming numbers of Chinese soldiers.

A senior Navy Department official decided Monday to force a Marine Corps officer out of the service for his handling of classified information, three years after he was first investigated after sending a warning to deployed colleagues about an Afghan police chief whose servant later killed three Marines. Maj. Jason Brezler will be separated from the Marine Corps following a decision by acting Assistant Navy Secretary Scott Lutterloh, said Michael Bowe, Brezler’s attorney. The case grabbed attention in Congress and among highly decorated senior officers in the military, some of whom advocated on Brezler’s behalf to let him stay in...

Donald Trump made a promise and he delivered. In October, the Republican presidential candidate made a commitment to U.S. Army First Sgt. Todd Landen (Ret.) very, very personal. In front of a large crowd at a Sioux City, Iowa, event, he promised the wounded veteran and his family that he would get action to end the runaround Landen was getting from the Veterans Administration. "I am going to put pressure on the VA like you won't believe," Trump said then. "As president, I can guarantee it. As Trump I can say, 'I'll probably be able to pull it off anyway.'"...