Free Republic

The 18-year-old man killed Wednesday when a thrill ride broke apart at the Ohio State Fair had joined the Marines less than a week before the tragedy. The Ohio State Highway Patrol identified the lone person who was killed Thursday as Tyler Jarrell of Columbus. Seven others, who ranged in age from 14 to 42 years old, were injured when the Fire Ball ride malfunctioned and sent riders flying into the air. The Marine Corps said in a statement that Jarrell, 18, enlisted on July 21 and wanted to be in the infantry or serve as a combat engineer. He...

Jury awards millions to pilots flying improperly packed airplane with USMC MRAPs By USMC Life| July 13th, 2017|Featured, News|11 Comments A Cook County jury has returned a verdict in favor of the families of three of seven crew members who perished in the dramatic crash of a National Airlines 747 cargo airplane in Bagram, Afghanistan on April 29, 2013. The crash itself was captured on a dashcam video that went viral over the internet shortly after the accident occurred.

IITTA BENA, Miss. (AP) — A U.S. military plane used for refueling crashed into a soybean field in rural Mississippi, killing at least 16 people aboard in a fiery wreck and spreading debris for miles, officials said. Leflore County Emergency Management Agency Director Frank Randle told reporters at a briefing late Monday that 16 bodies had been recovered after the KC-130 spiraled into the ground about 85 miles (135 kilometers) north of Jackson in the Mississippi Delta. A witness said some bodies were found more than a mile from the crash site. Marine Corps spokeswoman Capt. Sarah Burns said in...

At least five people are dead after a military transport plane crashed in Mississippi, according to reports. The plane came down early Monday evening, sending plumes of black smoke billowing into the air above a field near Moorhead, northwest of Jackson. Sheriff Ricky Banks told the Clarion-Ledger that at least five people had died on the aircraft, believed to be carrying nine.

USMC Vet: Employer Won't Let Me Come to Work With PTSD Service Dog A United States Marine Corps veteran who suffers from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder said his employer won't let him come to work with his service dog. Yauncey Long said Cincinnati Bell, a Midwest telecomm company, refused to let him work in the company of his service dog, C4. Long said he's gotten pushback from the company, including "unsatisfactory" responses from management, after he applied for reasonable accommodations. He said he was sent home every day for a week without pay after he came to work with C4. Long...

AHOY Marines! "School circle, ready seat, adjust." I will make this short, I know you all have a 96 hour pass burning a hole in your pocket, and the bus will be here soon to get you on the road to family and friends for the 4th of July Holiday Weekend. Question: "Why is it you and I have never received a BILL for our freedoms?" Answer: "Someone else has already paid the price, usually with their shed blood." We mark this weekend for celebration of our Nations 241st birthday, as well we should. But let us call to mind...

In 1964, at the Olympic Games in Tokyo, Billy Mills, an Oglala Lakota, prepared to run the 10,000 meter race in hopes of winning an Olympic gold medal. Today, over five decades later, he is celebrating his 79th birthday.

A trio of retired generals is urging Defense Secretary James Mattis not to delay accepting transgender recruits into the military after reports that the Pentagon chief was considering such a move. “Defense Secretary Jim Mattis has stated that he will make personnel decisions based on evidence about what best promotes force readiness,” retired Army Lt. Gen. Claudia Kennedy, retired Army Major Gen. Gale Pollock and retired Army Brig. Gen. Clara Adams-Ender wrote in a statement provided to The Hill.

President Trump on Friday signed Veterans Affairs reform legislation meant to protect whistleblowers while making it easier to fire problematic employees at the department. The Department of Veterans Affairs Accountability and Whistleblower Protection Act passed by Congress earlier this month streamlines the process to remove, demote, or suspend VA employees for poor performance or misconduct. In addition, it authorizes the VA secretary to recoup any bonuses awarded to employees who have acted improperly. “Veterans have fulfilled their duty to this nation and now, we must fulfill our duty to them,” Trump said. “So to every veteran who is here with...

In the late 1700s, the newly independent republic of the United States was continually beset by piracy at sea from four Muslim Barbary Coast states: Algiers, Tunis, Tripoli, and Morocco. The U.S., with limited military resources and staggering debts from the War for Independence, sought to establish secure routes for international commerce to spur rapid economic growth needed to build the emerging country. Yet the U.S. faced constant Ottoman attacks on its merchant ships. American and European ships venturing into the region routinely faced capture of crewmembers, who risked being held as slaves until hefty ransoms were paid. The persistent...

A U.S. Marine who graduated early was barred from participating in his Indiana high school’s commencement ceremony Tuesday because he was wearing his uniform, the Northwest Indiana Times said. Pfc. Jacob Stanley graduated from Crown Point High School in December and then joined the Marines, the paper said. Stanley completed boot camp on Friday, flew home for his graduation and even practiced with his classmates during the day, the paper reported. But Principal Chip Pettit reportedly told Stanley that he wouldn’t be allowed to wear his uniform at the ceremony, the Times said. Stanley reportedly got more than a few...

Left-wing news outlet Vox attacked Marines on Memorial Day, claiming in an article that the Marine Corps has a “toxic masculinity problem.” The article, which was simply titled “The Marine Corps has a ‘toxic masculinity’ problem,” continued to claim that the Marine Corps often “marginalizes or mistreats female troops.” Citing the Marines United nude photo sharing scandal, Vox staff writer and defense correspondent Alex Ward attempted to link the Marines with systemic sexism and listed ways how the Corps could get rid of their “toxic masculinity.” “And to be fair, it’s not just the Marines. Sexual assault has increased in...

Three married U.S. Marine officers have found themselves under investigation for a night in February that went off the rails in Bogotá, involving allegations they went drinking with some local women, were slipped illicit drugs, robbed of U.S. property and landed in a local hospital emergency room.

A new TV ad from the U.S. Marine Corps focuses on a woman in combat, the first commercial of its kind for the military branch. The woman starring in the new spot, Marine Capt. Erin Demchko, has served in Afghanistan and was a logistics officer on a Female Engagement Team, according to the Marine Corps website. “FETs build trust with local civilians to gather information and improve relations with the community,” says the website. “Capt. Demchko worked side by side with her fellow Marines to complete missions in the region.” The ad follows a young girl who stands up...

On May 13th, 1967, I was shot through my upper right thigh, shattering my femur and almost severing my leg. I celebrate this day every year because it was the day I almost died but through God’s grace, I have lived this half century more. I was a twenty-one year old Lance Corporal (E-3) in the Marines serving as an Artillery Scout (an enlisted Forward Observer) with Golf Company 2nd Battalion, 1st Marines (2/1) about 16 kilometers Southwest of Danang, Vietnam. Our company was on a local sweep a little north of Hill 55, following the edge of the Song...

The United State’s military may be about to undergo a radical change. The Marine Corps Times is reporting that there’s an initiative in the works that might see Marines branch out, away from the traditional model that trained every member of the Corps on the basics of physical combat. Some of the new Marines may even skip basic training. The idea gained momentum almost a year ago, when Former Defense Secretary Ash Carter suggested a military build up required soldiers with computer skills, and that these new recruits might be able to move into units with credit for their civilian...

In the latest incendiary comments from the Turkish government, a senior adviser to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned on Wednesday of the possibility of future Turkish attacks on American forces operating in the region. “If they [Kurdish forces] go too far, our [forces won’t care] that American armored vehicles are there. … Unexpectedly, a number of rockets may also hit them by accident,” said Ilnur Cevik, in response to a radio interview question on the recent deployment of American soldiers with the Kurdish militias in Northern Syria. Following last week’s surprise Turkish airstrikes on Iraqi and Syrian Kurdish forces in...

CAMP PENDLETON, California — Maj. David Palka had seen combat before in Iraq and Afghanistan, but roughly 90% of the Marines under his command — tasked with setting up a remote fire base in northern Iraq in 2016 — had only heard the stories. Their trial by fire in March 2016 came just hours after they landed on Army CH-47 helicopters under cover of darkness in Makhmur, Iraq. Getting off the helicopters at around 2 a.m., the Marines were in what was essentially open farmland with a large protective berm of dirt around their small perimeter. “By 0900, we received...

Democrats in the Senate pounced on the story to attack then-President George W. Bush over Iraq. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, flanked by other Democratic leaders, went before news reporters the day the story came out waving the newspaper in front of cameras as proof the president was failing to take care of American troops in a war. Much of the information for the story came from a Marine Corps scientist, Franz Gayl, who had been put in touch with the article's authors by Erin Logan, a staff member for then-senator Joe Biden (D., Del.). Ten years later, documents and...

The 450-strong amphibious Maritime Operations Commando team will be sent on emergency missions amid fears jihadis will attack vessels and ports The Maritime Operations Commando will also be sent on global raids against enemy ships or terrorist vessels. Ports are also under threat, as jihadists may try to smuggle armed terrorists into the UK. And Somali pirates are a risk, with at least six attacks on ships off the Horn of Africa in the past month. Troops for the new unit will be formed from the Royal Marines ’ 42 Commando battalion in Plymouth.