Free Republic

Everyone wants to support American vets and when you hear about the great work Wounded Warriors Project does for our own American vets, well, ... you just can't fight the urge to dig deep and give to support the cause. But who/what are you really supporting? Not so much the vets.... DC Clothesline: In the first version of this article, I used the 2012-2013 Wounded Warrior Project 990 Tax Forms. This updated version is using the 2013-2014 Wounded Warrior Project 990 Tax Forms. (Thank you, David Isakson, for all of your assistance) I had made some errors in my...

The Arctic geopolitical situation is changing rapidly. The Arctic is warming faster than the rest of the globe, with the region losing roughly 13 percent of its ice per decade. Melting ice has raised the possibility of access to new transshipment routes, fishing grounds, mineral deposits, vast petroleum reserves, and tourism opportunities. Use of the Northwest Passage across Canada or the Northern Sea Route across Russia could shorten transcontinental shipment distances by at least a third and open new venues for destination tourism. A truly transpolar route may be possible by 2030, which would shorten shipping times even more. On...

MARKET TIME The transition from advisory roles to operational ones began with the creation of the Coastal Surveillance Force, designated as Task Force (TF) 115, whose primary mission—code-named Operation Market Time—was to interdict the flow of supplies to communist forces by conducting random searches among the throngs of junks and sampans that travelled these waters on a daily basis. Seventeen existing 82-foot patrol boats (WPBs) were provided by the Coast Guard, but for these shallow-water operations the Navy had to rely on modifying a 50-foot aluminum craft that was being used in the Gulf of Mexico to transport crews to...

Success would be achieved when the offensive forced the North Vietnamese to meet at the negotiating table and stop supporting the Viet Cong. U.S. Air Force, Navy, and Marine airmen flying from bases in Thailand and South Vietnam and from aircraft carriers in the Gulf of Tonkin were to apply that pressure in the North by disrupting supply routes and destroying resources that facilitated aggression in the South. Specific targets included electric power, war-supporting industry, transportation, military complexes, petroleum storage facilities, and air defenses. Unfortunately, the campaign was compromised and circumscribed by unprecedented micromanagement emanating from the White House and...

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...

The terms of the Versailles Treaty that ended World War I prohibited Germany from joining Great Britain, France and other major powers in developing tanks — those heavily-armed, thickly-armored tracked vehicles that had debuted late in the conflict and had helped to break the stalemate of trench warfare. But the tank ban didn’t actually stop Nazi Germany from inventing new tanks and refining tactics for their use. Instead, the treaty limitations pushed German armored vehicle development into the military-industrial shadows. In the decades before Panzers swept across Europe and the Soviet Union, the Panzerwaffe armored corps evolved in secrecy.

Marine Corps uniform changes expected this year

CEDAR FALLS | Disabled Afghanistan war veteran Taylor Morris and his wife Danielle are pondering their next move regarding building a new home on a site in northwest Cedar Falls. The Cedar Falls Planning and Zoning Commission Tuesday voted to recommend the City Council deny the Morrises residential zoning to build their house on about 1.5 acres off North Union Road and along the Cedar River in the extreme northwest portion of the city. The Morrises may take their proposal to the council or appeal to the city Board of Adjustment. Commissioners also urged them to present any new pertinent...

This is a petition to honor Miss Elizabeth (the Fort Hood Hug Lady) by posthumously renaming the Fort Hood Deployment center the Elizabeth Laird Deployment Center. Miss Elizabeth has doled out more than half a million hugs to soldiers leaving and coming home from Ft. Hood. She's touched so many lives. For some, her's was the last hug that they had on this earth. For others, her's was the first good thing that happened to them when they got home. She was there days, nights, weekends, holidays... rain or shine, Miss Elizabeth was there for our troops. And she did...

During WWII a young boy and his mother living in an isolated cabin take in soldiers from the U.S. and Germany on Christmas Eve. The war was nearly over and Fritz's mother insisted that the men come together for the meal.

Charlie McCarthy Show Titled The Night Before Christmas. Original Air Date Was 12/24/1944. This is the "Armed Forces Radio Service" version of the program, minus the original Chase & Sanborn opening, closing and commercials...

This is an enhanced version for 2010. Thanks to all our soldiers! "Merry Christmas From Afghanistan" Merry Christmas from Afghanistan, oh man, it's that time of year, and the birth of Jesus doesn't seem to please the terrorists down here; I'd like to take a moment for you folks at home to make it clear; Merry Christmas from the Eastern Hemisphere. Merry Christmas from Afghanistan, way back in the USA, You've got mistletoe and falling snow, we've got sandstorms and grenades But what the hell, it's just as well we celebrate it anyway, Merry Christmas from 5,000 miles away. And...

The VHS Tape was discovered in my Parents things. They taped it because I was deployed & one of the guitar pickers playing in the show. I made this video to preserve it for posterity. This is excerpts of the 8th Annual Walt Disney World Christmas Parade live telecast, featuring the Men & Women service members deployed into the Gulf, during Operation Desert Shield. Original air date Dec. 25th. 1990 This video is dedicated to all servicemenbers who deployed in Operations Desert Shield & Desert Storm, and especially those who may not have had the chance to watch it when...

SOLDIERS CHRISTMAS IN THE VIETNAM WAR - I'M NOT DREAMING OF WHITE CHIRSTMAS - Gilbert O'Sullivan & The Bay City Rockers Originally posted by BornToWander December 2008.

AMERICAN CHRISTMAS CLASSICS was inspired by those who nobly served in our country's military services, especially the veterans of World War II.

Travel back to the 1940s and taste the bittersweet experience of wartime Christmas--at the front and on the American home front.

SAN PEDRO, California- The Battleship USS Iowa will welcome the University of Iowa Hawkeye fans to the Rose Bowl, by firing it's 5 inch guns in celebration. These are the small guns on the side of the ship. A pep rally will be held on the dock in front of the USS Iowa on Thursday December 31, from 12 to 5 p.m.. The guns may be fired around 4 p.m.. All Iowa fans are invited to the free rally. Food and drink will be available through local vendors. Because of the State of Iowa providing $3 million toward the restoration...

Tried by Fire - Winter battles by 84th Infantry Division in Battle of the Bulge, crossing of the Roer and Rhine, and the desperate race to the Elbe. The Battle of the Bulge (16 December 1944 -- 25 January 1945) was the German offensive campaign launched through the Ardennes forested region of Wallonia in Belgium, France and Luxembourg on the Western Front toward the end of World War II in Europe. The surprise attack caught the Allied forces completely off guard and became the costliest battle in terms of casualties for the United States, whose forces bore the brunt of...

No medical or mental health care. No subsidized college or work training. For many who leave the U.S. military with less-than-honorable discharges, including thousands who suffered injuries and anguish in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere, standard veterans benefits are off limits. The discharge serves as a scarlet letter of dishonor, and the effects can be severe: Ex-military members with mental health problems or post-traumatic stress disorder can't turn to Veterans Affairs hospitals or clinics; those who want to go to college aren't eligible for the GI Bill; the jobless get no assistance for career training; the homeless are excluded from vouchers....

Pearl, who died at age 40 this week after a six-year battle with his injuries, was said to have been the most severely wounded service member to have fought in the Afghanistan conflict and survived. He persevered through months of painful skin grafts and numerous surgeries, and the loss of both legs and one arm due to infections. Pearl's family declined to comment through a spokesperson, but an open letter distributed on their behalf on Facebook said he died peacefully on Sunday in San Antonio, Tex. alongside his wife, Alicia, and their daughter, Averey. The Marine Corps acknowledged his death...