Free Republic

Syracuse, NY -- Lt. Dan Choi vowed Tuesday evening to fight to stay in the military after an Army board in Syracuse recommended he be the first person discharged from the New York National Guard for violating the "don't ask, don't tell" policy. A four-officer panel meeting at Hancock Air Base notified Choi at about 5 p.m. that it would recommend he be discharged because he has publicly said he is gay. The recommendation now goes to Lt. Gen. Thomas Miller of the First Army Division, and Gen. Craig McKinley, the chief of the National Guard Bureau, who will make...

6/30/2009 - WASHINGTON (AFNS) -- A former commanding general of the Washington, D.C., National Guard who was killed June 22 in a subway accident along with his wife was remembered in a June 29 ceremony celebrating his life and accomplishments. Retired Maj. Gen. David Wherley and his wife, Ann, a mortgage banker, both 62, were returning from Walter Reed Army Medical Center, where they were learning how to counsel servicemembers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. Their Metro train car collided with another train, killing nine people. It was a sudden event that shocked Guard members and civilians alike, and drawing...

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE No. 09-162 Governor Palin Promotes Three Army Guard Soldiers in Kosovo June 26, 2009, Camp Bondsteel, Kosovo - Governor Sarah Palin today participated in the promotion ceremonies of three Alaska Army National Guard Soldiers from the 1st Battalion, 207th Aviation Regiment. Staff Sergeant Bryant Cox, from Wasilla, was promoted to Sergeant First Class (E-6 to E-7), Sergeant Douglas Montini, from Fairbanks, was promoted to Staff Sergeant (E-5 to E-6), and Sergeant Keith Nosbish, from Anchorage, was promoted to Staff Sergeant (E-5 to E-6). "These soldiers are doing an outstanding job to ensure freedom to those who were...

B-Roll of Governor Palin visiting Camp Bondsteel in Kosovo. Scenes include the Governor arriving by helicopter, visiting with troops, and giving a speech to the Soldiers. Produced Spc. Joseph Samudio. Video (about 5 min.) is at link.

Anchorage, AK – Governor Palin is in Kosovo visiting Alaska Army National Guard aviators who are deployed for 12 months on a peacekeeping mission.

June 25, 2009, Anchorage, Alaska – Governor Sarah Palin is in Kosovo visiting approximately 140 Alaska Army National Guard aviators who are deployed for 12 months on a peacekeeping mission. The 1st Battalion, 207th Aviation Regiment is providing aviation support with UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters to U.S. forces and coalition forces. This is an air assault mission in which the unit will be tasked with various duties including passenger and cargo airlift, external sling load deliveries, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance. “I am happy to pass on the message of sincere thanks from all Alaskans,” Governor Palin said. “We are so...

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE No. 09-156 Governor Palin to Visit Alaska Troops Overseas June 24, 2009, Anchorage, Alaska – Governor Sarah Palin and Alaska Army National Guard officials are visiting Alaskan soldiers who are serving overseas. Palin will make hospital visits, attend promotion ceremonies and observe training exercises through the weekend. Federal clearance was received for Governor Palin, Alaska Adjutant General Craig Campbell and Alaska Command Sergeant Major Gordon Choate to travel for the Alaska National Guard visit. "These troops are our fellow Alaskans,” Governor Palin said. “They are making major sacrifices for all of us. General Campbell and I will...

WASHINGTON, June 24, 2009 – A former commander of the District of Columbia National Guard and his wife were among the nine people killed in the June 22 collision of two Metro subway trains here, officials announced yesterday. Retired Air Force Maj. Gen. David F. Wherley Jr. and his wife, Ann, were among nine people killed in a train collision on Washington D.C.'s Metro subway system June 22, 2009. The general commanded the District of Columbia National Guard for five years. Photo courtesy of the District of Columbia National Guard   (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Retired Air Force...

Gov. Sarah Palin is on her way to an undisclosed "overseas" location to visit deployed Alaska National Guard troops. From Palin’s Twitter feed: "Travel now to bring appreciation from their Alaska family & Natl Guard leadership to heroes in US European Command's area of responsibility." The European command's area of responsibility includes Europe, Russia, the Caucusus and Greenland. I'm not sure where all the state's National Guard troops are deployed in that area, but we know from news coverage some are in Kosovo (they gave vice president Joe Biden a helicopter ride last month). Here's what the governor's office had...

Retired National Guard general among train victims Interactives/Galleries Washington Commuter Train Crash WASHINGTON (AP) -- The victims of the Metro train collision in Washington included the recently retired commanding general of the D.C. National Guard and his wife; two working moms; a retired teacher who was working as a substitute, and a woman who worked with nurses around the world. Here is what family members, co-workers and others had to say about them:

WASHINGTON - Maj. Gen. David F. Wherley Jr., retired commanding general of the D.C. National Guard, and his wife, Ann, were among those killed in the collision of two Metro trains. *snip* especially during the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. That time saw the changing of the D.C. National Guard from weekend warriors to Army troops performing the duties of enlisted soldiers in battle. Wherley worked on deployment and returning ceremonies for Guard troops, funding for tuition for Guard members, and after school activities conducted by the D.C. National Guard. *snip*

TRENTON, N.J. - June 12, 2009 - -- Little Jewel Moore thought her daddy lived inside the computer. That's because since she was 3 months old, he did. Now the 15-month-old toddler is trying to get used to the dad who lives inside her home, Lt. Col. James Moore. And Moore, one of the 2,900 New Jersey National Guard soldiers back from Iraq after a one-year deployment, is trying to get used to the little person his baby has become and the toll his absence has had on his Jewel's older sister, Jasmine, who was 3 years old when her...

Over at Evolution News & Views, I reflect on the question of whether it's "beyond the pale" to read, quote from, and reflect on the worldview implications of James von Brunn's addled thoughts on evolution and eugenics. Excerpt (keep reading after the jump): "Our culture is very comfortable reminding us often of atrocities committed in the name of religion -- whether it's the Crusades, the Inquisition, or 9/11. Ironically, the day of the Holocaust Museum shooting, an interesting new Jewish web magazine, Tablet, published a fascinating scholarly essay by Paula Fredriksen about how under the Nazis, some German theologians tried...

Not long ago the question of military support for the constitution was discussed, with the 2nd amendment as the main subject. Everyone takes an oath to the Constitution, but some oaths are different than others. I, [name], do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which...

Cindy Sheehan, the grieving mother who became an anti-war flashpoint on the road to President George W. Bush's ranch, urged legislators in Salem on Wednesday to keep the Oregon National Guard out of Iraq. But even as she stood on the Capitol steps asking lawmakers to vote on House Bill 2556, inside, the House Rules committee chairman indicated the measure may already be dead. "We have not scheduled it for a work session, and right now I do not see it being scheduled," said Rep. Arnie Roblan, D-Coos Bay. The bill would give the governor the authority to send the...

WASHINGTON — It’s no longer a question of whether additional National Guard troops will be sent to the nation’s southwest border to help combat drug trafficking, arms smuggling and southbound shipments of drug cash. It’s only a question of when — and who pays for it, Uncle Sam or the taxpayers of Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and California. The Obama administration and the governors of the border states are wrangling over prospective duties for the 1,500 additional citizen soldiers requested by the four states to augment local law enforcement along the 1,947-mile frontier with Mexico. Those talks have serious financial...

http://www.baynews9.com/content/36/2009/4/25/465019.html

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (AP) - U.S. Sens. John McCain and Jon Kyl say they support sending National Guard troops to the nation's southern border to guard against spillover violence from Mexico's drug war. McCain says border violence has reached a point to where the government should respond to requests from Arizona, New Mexico and Texas to station additional Guard troops at the border. McCain doesn't foresee the Guard staying at the border for an extended amount of time, but says they're now needed there because of the violence.

A reader just sent me a Force Protection Advisory issued by the Maryland National Guard dated April 9, two days after the DHS report. It warns that during the protests that Guardsmen and Guard facilities might become "targets of opportunity." There is a list of TEA party protest sites in Maryland included. WTF? Leftwing protesters might show up at National Guard offices, but rightwing protesters are almost universally pro-military. If any one from the National Guard shows up at the protest in uniform (which they aren't supposed to do, but hypothetically) I'm betting he'll have a lot of high-fives, back-slaps,...

CAMP LEMONIER, Djibouti, April 13, 2009 – For U.S. Africa Command’s new deputy director of operations and logistics, the words “I can’t do it” won’t cut it. Not from his soldiers, not from the people he serves with, and certainly not from himself. And this Army National Guardsman, Brig. Gen. Roosevelt “Rose” Barfield, knows what it means to be able to “do it.” Barfield was encouraged by a friend to enlist in the Army National Guard fresh out of high school at the age of 17. He served for five years as a soldier in the Kansas Guard while...

Pressure is mounting on President Barack Obama to send troops to the U.S.-Mexico border, with Sen. John McCain adding his support this afternoon. Gov. Rick Perry asked Washington last month for 1,000 National Guard troops, to free up local police and sheriffs, and federal border, immigration and customs personnel. In McCain's homestate of Arizona, Gov. Jan Brewer has also asked for troops. In light of those requests "and the continued escalation of violence, I support sending National Guard troops to assist with securing our southern border and stemming the flow of violence spilling over into the United States," McCain said.

Note: The following text is a quote: http://www.defenselink.mil/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=53628 Disaster Preparedness Exercise Trains 500 Guardsmen in Puerto Rico By Army Staff Sgt. S. Patrick McCollum Special to American Forces Press Service PONCE, Puerto Rico, March 25, 2009 – An underwater earthquake triggers a tsunami as a terrorist cell is discovered producing dangerous chemicals. If there was a time to call the National Guard, this is it. Fortunately, these scenarios are only a simulation at Vigilant Guard 2009, an exercise under way here that tests the capabilities of more than 500 Guard members from five states and territories to handle disasters and...

I don't know if many of my fellow FReepers have seen this outstanding video.

WASHINGTON, March 24, 2009 – The Department of Homeland Security is “still considering” the use of National Guard troops along the U.S.-Mexico border, along with several other initiatives, the DHS secretary said in a White House press briefing today. “This issue requires immediate action,” Janet Napolitano said. “We are guided by two very clear objectives. First, we are going to do everything we can to prevent the violence in Mexico from spilling over across the border. “And second, we will do all in our power to help President [Felipe] Calderón crack down on these drug cartels in Mexico.” Napolitano...

The D.G. Yuengling & Sons seal is printed on numerous items, from beer cans, bottles, shirts, hats and, believe it or not, patches worn by a certain Army National Guard unit on overseas missions. “It reminds of home, actually,” said Chief Warrant Officer Joseph T. Witmer of Etters, York County, who wears a patch that resembles the label on Yuengling Traditional Lager beer. Before mobilizing Thursday to prepare for a tour in Iraq, nine Army National Guard soldiers from the 2nd Battalion 104th Aviation, Fort Indiantown Gap, Annville, saluted Yuengling President Richard “Dick” Yuengling Jr. Tuesday morning at the brewery...

Geneva County (Ala.) Sheriff Greg Ward tells CNSNews.com that he was the one who called in U.S. Army troops from Fort Rucker, Ala., on the night of March 10 – during one of the bloodiest murder sprees in Alabama history. “I got a message from my 911 dispatcher that said we had a call from a lieutenant colonel at Ft. Rucker just to let us know that Ft. Rucker was there if we needed generators, lights, equipment and stuff like that. I told the dispatcher that I would get back with them,” Ward told CNSNews.com in a telephone interview. “You’ve...

The mystery over who ordered U.S. Army forces to patrol the streets of the south Alabama town where 11 people were killed in a shooting spree last week has been solved. WND confirmed troops from nearby Ft. Rucker provided limited assistance after a request from the police chief of Samson, Ala. Multiple news agencies reported the Army was launching an investigation into why the troops were sent to the town, a possible violation of the law. The Associated Press reported uncertainty over who requested the assistance, noting it didn't come from Republican Gov. Bob Riley or the White House. "Under...

After the shooting of 11 people in the South Alabama town last week, regular US Army troops helped to provide law enforcement. This was one of the lead stoies on Glenn Beck today.

There is a point—one hopes—that the old saying “enough is enough” actually means something. And in the case of the US-Mexican border, “enough” has arrived. It time to send down the troops.

Seventy-nine percent (79%) of U.S. voters now say the military should be used along the border with Mexico to protect American citizens if drug-related violence continues to grow in that area. This marks a 21-point jump in support for the use of the U.S. military along the border in just two months. Only 10% now say the military should not be used in that fashion, according to a new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey. Eleven percent (11%) are not sure. Republicans feel even more strongly about the use of the military than others. Ninety percent (90%) of GOP voters say...

The actor best known as "Borat" tricked the Alabama National Guard into allowing him onto a post, giving him a military uniform and briefly letting him train—all, supposedly, for a German TV documentary. The ruse, which included comedian Sacha Baron Cohen exposing his thong underwear while changing clothes, was going well until a young cadet recognized Cohen and notified older officers who weren't familiar with the actor. "It's an embarrassment to the Alabama National Guard," Staff Sgt. Katrina Timmons said Monday. "Since then we have put in protocols to make sure this doesn't happen again." ... Footage from the visit...

WASHINGTON — President Obama weighed in Wednesday on the escalating drug war on the U.S.-Mexico border, saying that he was looking at possibly deploying National Guard troops to contain the violence but ruled out any immediate military move. "We're going to examine whether and if National Guard deployments would make sense and under what circumstances they would make sense," Obama said during an interview with journalists for regional papers, including a McClatchy reporter. "I don't have a particular tipping point in mind," he said. "I think it's unacceptable if you've got drug gangs crossing our borders and killing U.S. citizens."

Obama Considering Deploying Troops to U.S.-Mexico Border President Obama tells regional reporters it is "unacceptable if you've got drug gangs crossing our borders and killing U.S. citizens." FOXNews.com Thursday, March 12, 2009 President Obama says he's considering whether to deploy National Guard troops to the U.S.-Mexico border, after Texas Gov. Rick Perry made an urgent call fort 1,000 more "boots on the ground" to deal with the growing violence. The president weighed the option during a meeting with regional reporters Wednesday afternoon. "We're going to examine whether and if National Guard deployments would make sense and under what circumstances they...

President Obama weighed in Wednesday on the escalating drug war on the U.S.-Mexico border, saying that he was looking at possibly deploying National Guard troops to contain the violence but ruled out any immediate military move. "We're going to examine whether and if National Guard deployments would make sense and under what circumstances they would make sense," Obama said during an interview with journalists for regional papers, including a McClatchy reporter."I don't have a particular tipping point in mind," he said. "I think it's unacceptable if you've got drug gangs crossing our borders and killing U.S. citizens."Already this year there...

Note: The following text is a quote: http://www.defenselink.mil/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=53313 Guard Needs Full Spectrum of Capabilities, General Says By Army Staff Sgt. S. Patrick McCollum Special to American Forces Press Service BALTIMORE, March 3, 2009 – Living up to the National Guard’s motto of “Always Ready, Always There” requires a full spectrum of capabilities, a senior National Guard official told an audience at the Domestic Operations Conference here today. Army Maj. Gen. Peter M. Aylward, director of the National Guard Bureau Joint Staff, speaks to conferees at the NGB Domestic Operations Conference, March 3, 2009, in Baltimore. U.S. Army photo by Staff...

There are currently 142,000 troops in Iraq, but some Hoosier troops are back on American soil. Stout Field was packed with hundreds of families Tuesday for a homecoming celebration honoring 170 soldiers. But these soldiers are also missing two of their own: Sgt. Gary Henry and Spec. Jonathan Menke. Henry, who was from Indianapolis, and Menke, of Madison, died in Baghdad last August after debris from an improvised explosive device detonation on an overpass fell onto their vehicle. The Castor family knows their son Gary is a hero. "He was quite an individual, touched lives that we'll never know," said...

The Carroll National Guard unit will train on urban military operations by holding a four-day exercise at Arcadia. The purpose of the April 2-5 drill will be to gather intelligence, then search for and apprehend a suspected weapons dealer, according to Sgt. Mike Kots, readiness NCO for Alpha Company. Citizens, law enforcement, media and other supporters will participate. Troops will spend Thursday, April 2, staging at a forward operations base at Carroll. The next day company leaders will conduct reconnaissance and begin patrolling the streets of Arcadia to identify possible locations of the weapons dealer. The primary phase will be...

Texas State Senator, Dan Patrick, was on FoxNews this morning at 8:45am. He said he had some “breaking news to share”. Boy was it!!! The Texas State Legislature had been trying very hard to get the Obama Administration to respond to a critical situation on the Texas Border. The Administration had not gotten back with Texas as of last night. So the State of Texas told Washington D.C. basically they could go jump, and “we’ll take care of Texas!”. As of last night… the Texas National Guard has been put on High Alert!!! This is the first time in history!...

The Carroll National Guard unit will train on urban military operations by holding a four-day exercise at Arcadia. The purpose of the April 2-5 drill will be to gather intelligence, then search for and apprehend a suspected weapons dealer, according to Sgt. Mike Kots, readiness NCO for Alpha Company. Citizens, law enforcement, media and other supporters will participate. Troops will spend Thursday, April 2, staging at a forward operations base at Carroll. The next day company leaders will conduct reconnaissance and begin patrolling the streets of Arcadia to identify possible locations of the weapons dealer. The primary phase will be...

DES MOINES, Iowa – Following publicized reports that the Army National Guard was planning a military training exercise on the streets of a rural Iowa town, the commanding officers have called off the mock "invasion." The Guard had planned a four-day urban military operation in tiny Arcadia, Iowa, population 443, sending troops to take over the town and search door-to-door for a suspected weapons dealer. The exercise was designed as a mock scenario to give soldiers the skills needed for deployment in an urban environment, and military officials stressed that only households that consented to be part of the drill...

MADISON, WI - Wisconsin said goodbye Tuesday to hundreds of part-time soldiers bound for Iraq in the largest deployment of Wisconsin National Guard forces since World War II.About 3,200 or so members of the 32nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team and six other Army National Guard units marched onto the floor of the Veterans Memorial Coliseum for a send-off ceremony, creating a sea of camouflage and buzz cuts. About 5,000 family and friends looked on from the stands, holding signs, whooping and calling out their loved ones' names. Lawmakers from around the state, including Gov. Jim Doyle and U.S. Sens. Herb...

PLEASE DISTRIBUTE TO ALL AMERICANS - THIS IS NOT A DRILL! Good information to pass on to the sleeping public. It is preaching to the choir for most of you. Redistribute to the sleepers. 9+ States have now declared sovereignty... Add Washington to the list. In case you didn’t hear about it on the mainstream media (which you haven’t because they want to keep us asleep), numerous states are currently declaring or have already declared sovereignty, including: Washington http://apps.leg.wa.gov/billinfo/summary.aspx?year=2009&bill=4009 New Hampshire http://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/legislation/2009/HCR0006.html Arizona http://www.azleg.gov/FormatDocument.asp?inDoc=/legtext/49leg/1r/bills/hcr2024p.htm Montana http://data.opi.mt.gov/bills/2009/billhtml/HB0246.htm Michigan http://legislature.mi.gov/doc.aspx?2009-HCR-0004 Missouri http://www.house.mo.gov/content.aspx?info=/bills091/bills/HR212.HTM Oklahoma http://axiomamuse.wordpress.com/2009/01/07/state-legislator-charles-key-wants-to-limit-federal-power California http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/pub/93-94/bill/sen/sb_0001-0050/sjr_44_bill_940829_chaptered Georgia http://www.legis.state.ga.us/legis/1995_96/leg/fulltext/sr308.htm Possibly: Colorado, Hawaii, Pennsylvania,...

A German woman from Minnesota has become a U.S. citizen so she can deploy to Iraq this week. Heike Lewandowski became an American at a ceremony Saturday at the Mall of America. She'll be serving for a year with the 34th Infantry's Red Bull Division. The 37-year-old lives in Long Prairie. She met her Minnesota native husband, Jeff, when he was stationed in Germany with the military. She moved to the U.S. in 1998 and has served in the National Guard for eight years.

FRANKFORT, Ky., Feb. 5, 2009 – Kentucky National Guard troops are delivering record numbers of meals and bottled water as part of the relief effort supporting citizens affected by last week's ice storm. Soldiers of the 307th Component Repair Company take cases of packaged meals from a C-23 Sherpa aircraft and load them on a 2.5-ton truck for transport to the distribution facility at Wendell H. Ford Regional Training Center in Greenville, Ky., Feb. 2, 2009. U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Aaron Hiler  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. "This is a huge undertaking on the part of...

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – As Sgt. Michael Franks pulled up to a shack resting among the ice-coated limbs of a forest in northeast Arkansas, he said he couldn't believe that anyone was living on the property

Ohio Humvees Help In Kentucky Storm ReliefSun, Feb 01, 2009. 03:31 PM By: Jennifer Steck Louisville, KY. (AP) -- Airmen from the National Guard are headed to Ohio to pick up Humvees to aid in relief efforts from the ice storm that has crippled parts of Kentucky, especially in the western region. Sgt. Phil Speck of the Kentucky Air National Guard says the Airmen will board a C-130 in Louisville on Sunday afternoon to fly to Columbus, Ohio. They'll drive back to Kentucky in the Ohio National Guard's humvees and spread out to areas of western Kentucky where they are...

With nearly 1.5 million people in the mid-west without power during a cold snap, what other possible reason is there that this new "competent" administration and FEMA would be failing so spectacularly in helping in this natural disaster? It's got to be that Obama hates white people and wants them to die! Of course, I am just aping what lefty blogs were saying about Bush less than 24 hours after Katrina's hurricane winds stopped blowing. But AP is reporting that Midwest disaster relief people are none too pleased with our new president's FEMA. In Kentucky's Grayson County, there are 25...

LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- Gov. Steve Beshear is ordering the largest call-up of National Guard forces in Kentucky state history. A state official said about 438,000 Kentucky homes and businesses remain without electricity following this week's ice storm. Beshear called up all of his Army National Guard troops and some Air National Guard units to get the state back on its feet following the crippling ice storm. "This is the largest state call-up of Kentucky National Guard forces in the history of the commonwealth," Beshear said. "It represents the strongest possible effort to relieve human suffering and ensure the safety and...

One can’t reflect upon the recent changing of the guard in Washington, without recalling the previous one. And in this instance, one can’t judge the previous guard without bringing up Hurricane Katrina.

Newspaper Partners With Tastykake, National Bible Association And USO http://www.thebulletin.us/articles/2009/01/26/top_stories/doc497d5680712db733979890.txt