Free Republic

[photo source] 4 June 1962. Navy chaplain Luis Padillo was giving last rites to dying soldiers as sniper fire surrounded him. A wounded soldier pulled himself up by clinging to the priest’s cassock, as bullets chewed up the concrete around them. Hector Rondón Lovera, who had to lie flat to avoid getting shot, later said that he was unsure how he managed to take this picture. [See all pictures he took that day]. Norman Rockwell eeriely used this photograph as a template for his Southern Justice painting, “Murder in Mississippi“. Thanks, Lucian, for the link.

As America honors Sen. Ted Kennedy, Tucsonan John Wills watches video of the coverage with a different purpose. "I'm really proud and really moved," he says. Touching at times, John has a smile on his face, because his son, J.D. Wills, is part of history. J.D. is in the Navy, and he was selected to be one of the casket bearers carrying Sen. Kennedy's flag draped casket. "It's a great honor, a once in a lifetime opportunity. I wouldn't pass it up for the world," J.D. says. J.D. says while it's an honor to be a part of the memorial,...

Randy Hetrick had a problem. As a special ops squadron commander deploying on ships, submarines and safe houses, he needed a way to keep his team in world-class shape without having access to world-class gyms. So during a deployment in Southeast Asia, Hetrick grabbed some parachute webbing and began stitching away. He anchored the straps, and, using his body weight for resistance, started doing presses. And flys. And curls. The prototype for his TRX Suspension Trainer was born, and since hitting the market in 2005, the portable straps have recorded more than $20 million in sales. "This thing has become...

A U.S. Navy helicopter conducting surveillance off the coast of Somalia was fired upon Wednesday by pirates aboard a Taiwanese-flagged vessel, where some 30 crewmembers are being held hostage, according to U.S. Naval Forces Central Command. The Somali pirates fired what appeared to be a large-caliber weapon at the U.S. Navy SH-60B but didn’t strike it, according to the Navy. No one was injured in the incident and the crew did not return fire, the Navy said. The Taiwanese ship Win Far was seized April 6. Since then, it has been used as a "mother ship" for the launching of...

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Somali pirates holding a hijacked ship off the coast of Somalia fired at a U.S. Navy helicopter as it made a surveillance flight over the vessel, the first such attack by pirates on an American military aircraft, the Navy said Thursday.

Kidnapping. Falsified documents. Hooters nights. Meet the sleazebucket car dealers who prey on our troops. —Photo: Matt Eich/Aurora SelectONE DAY in April, a 19-year-old sailor named William Kirkgaard was walking to the store at the Norfolk naval station when a man in a black Ford Mustang pulled up and asked for directions to the main gate. Kirkgaard indicated the way, whereupon the man, who said he was a former Marine, began asking questions: Why don't you have a car? Are you a member of the Navy Federal Credit Union? Claiming he worked there, Kirkgaard says, the man then offered him...

(AP) — PHOENIX - The bride wore white. The groom looked serious. The chaplain spoke about love conquering adversity. Some in attendance cried. In many ways, it was a perfectly ordinary wedding. Except there was nothing ordinary about it. The ceremony for Timothy Schlappi and Lacey Vollentine took place in room 7-C-29 at Maricopa Medical Center on Wednesday afternoon. Timothy, who has been in the Navy for 13 years, was part of a parachute-jumping exercise in Eloy on Aug. 10. He had jumped in the service more than 850 times. But somewhere between the plane and the ground, something went...

President Obama has decreed that from now on terrorists, after their interrogation, are to be released and given a "cash for klunkers" trade in so they can drive home. Below is a picture of the U.S. Navy complying with Obama's new order. This would be a good idea.

Servant of God Fr. Vincent Capodanno Washington D.C., Aug 18, 2009 / 06:12 am (CNA).- Servant of God Fr. Vincent Capodanno, a U.S. Navy chaplain whose heroic ministry to U.S. Marines in Vietnam won him the nickname “the Grunt Padre” and a posthumous Congressional Medal of Honor, will be remembered with a Mass at the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception on the evening of September 3.The organization CatholicMil.org, which is dedicated to supporting Catholics in the U.S. armed forces, told CNA that Archbishop Timothy Broglio of the Archdiocese for Military Services will celebrate the Mass in the Crypt...

Five fallen U.S. sailors from what has been described as America's first war on terrorism lie in a crumbling cemetery in Libya, their graves identified only by their heroism on a night more than 200 years ago. They represent a lingering legacy of the Intrepid -- a small ship used in a daring raid in 1804 to destroy the captured American frigate Philadelphia anchored in Tripoli Harbor, denying the enemy use of the former U.S. warship. Much the same tactic was attempted six months later when the Intrepid sailed into the same harbor, packed with gunpowder for use as a...

The mystery of a missing ship embroiled in contradictory reports deepened Saturday, as investigators in Finland said a ransom demand was made for the freighter that vanished more than two weeks ago. It wasn't immediately clear whether the request for money from the purported hijackers of the vessel, named the Arctic Sea, was legitimate. Markku Ranta-Aho of Finland's National Bureau of Investigation told national YLE radio Saturday that "a ransom demand has been made and it was addressed to the shipping company which is based in Finland, and let's say it's a largish amount of money." He did not give...

The Iraqi Navy and Marines are the smallest of the Iraqi Ministry of Defense armed forces. With only 68 kilometers (43 statute miles) of coastline and two oil terminals, Iraq does not require a large naval force. However, what Iraq has now and what is on order is insufficient for the duties assigned. The Iraqi Navy has one Saettia class Patrol Ship, five Preditor class Patrol Boats, 26 Defender class small Patrol Boats, and 24 Fast Attack Boats (FAB). The 50 Defenders and FABs are used by the two Marine battalions. The Iraqi Navy is receiving three more Saettia class...

Being a member of the largest graduating class in the history of the State of Florida means that Scott Speicher's remains were received by large number of my former classmates today. His memorial procession traced through my childhood streets and high school, past the familiar bastions of Naval Bases--familiar but never taken for granted-- and to a final home of rest in his native country. Although I may have had a passing acquaintance with Scott within the walls and classes of my school, I cannot claim a long-past connection with him in the close confines of a small west-side community...

Defense: President Obama dreams of a world without nuclear weapons. Unless testing and maintenance of our nuclear deterrent is resumed, it will be a world without American nuclear weapons.In his Prague speech this spring, the president spoke of "America's commitment to seek the peace and security of a world without nuclear weapons," ignoring the fact that before 1945 we lived in such a world and it was neither peaceful nor secure. We recently observed the anniversaries of the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, actions that brought an abrupt end to the carnage of World War II and arguably...

The U.S. Embassy in Belgrade is proud to host a brass and drum troupe from the Naval Forces Europe and Africa Allied Forces Band, based in Naples, Italy, to join this year’s Gu�a Trumpet festival. The six-member band will be a guest of Gu�a festival from August 6 – 9, 2009. The band will play on the stages and streets of Gu�a and on the main stage on August 7th at 22:30h. The band is eager to play in Serbia and to learn more about “truba�i� music and Serbian traditions.

Energy: As Russian attack submarines patrol our eastern seaboard, Moscow signs a deal to help Castro's Cuba drill for oil off the Florida coast. In Moscow and Havana, the cry is "Drill, Comrade, Drill!"Two Russian nuclear attack submarines have taken up positions along our East Coast in recent days, another sign of renewed assertiveness by the former communist giant. The move comes as Moscow inks a deal with the communist relic of Cuba to drill for oil we refuse to go after. The submarines are of the Akula class, a counterpart to the Los Angeles class attack subs of the...

WASHINGTON — A pair of nuclear-powered Russian attack submarines has been patrolling off the eastern seaboard of the United States over recent days, a rare mission that has raised concerns inside the Pentagon and intelligence agencies about a more assertive stance by the Russian military. The episode has echoes of the cold war era, when the United States and the Soviet Union regularly parked submarines off each other’s coasts to steal military secrets, track the movements of their underwater fleets — and be poised for war. But the collapse of the Soviet Union all but eliminated the ability of the...

This Iraqi Security Force Update provides a summary of changes to the ISF during July 2009. This update does not include analysis of the June 2009 9010 Quarterly Report to Congress. The 9010 Report will be addressed separately. The Iraqi Security Force Order of Battle as of 31 July 2009 is published at Montrose Toast.

<p>WASHINGTON (Aug. 2) - Navy pilot Capt. Michael "Scott" Speicher was shot down over the Iraq desert on the first night of the Gulf War in 1991 and it was there he apparently was buried by Bedouins, hidden in the sand from the world's mightiest military all these years.</p>

The Armed Forces Institute of Pathology (AFIP) has positively identified remains recovered in Iraq as those of Captain Michael Scott Speicher. Captain Speicher was shot down flying a combat mission in an F/A-18 Hornet over west-central Iraq on January 17th, 1991 during Operation Desert Storm. "Our thoughts and prayers are with Captain Speicher's family for the ultimate sacrifice he made for his country," said Ray Mabus, Secretary of the Navy. "I am also extremely grateful to all those who have worked so tirelessly over the last 18 years to bring Captain Speicher home." “Our Navy will never give up looking...

Remains of the first American lost in the 1991 Persian Gulf War have been found in the Anbar province of a Iraq, the U.S. Navy said Sunday. The Armed Forces Institute of Pathology has positively identified the remains of Captain Michael "Scott" Speicher, whose disappearance has bedeviled investigators since his jet was shot down over the Iraq desert on the first night of the 1991 war. The Navy said the discovery illustrates the military's commitment to bring its troops home. "This is a testament to how the Navy never stops looking for one of its own. No matter how long...

Note: The following text is a quote: American Forces Press Service Navy Task Force Assesses Changing Climate Special to American Forces Press Service WASHINGTON, July 31, 2009 – Rapidly diminishing sea ice, melting glaciers, rising sea levels, increased storm severity -- all are possible consequences of a climate that mounting evidence suggests is changing significantly. As the scientific community works to understand the changing climate, the chief of naval operations has created a task force, headed by Rear Adm. David Titley, the Navy's senior oceanographer, to better understand and evaluate its implications for maritime security. “Task Force Climate Change was...

BATH, Maine (AP) - In a solemn ceremony punctuated by talk of courage, service and sacrifice, the mother of a Marine corporal on Saturday christened a warship honoring her son, who died after covering an exploding grenade to protect his comrades in Iraq. After composing herself and taking a deep breath, Deb Dunham smashed a bottle of champagne over the bow of the 510-foot warship Jason Dunham, then held the bottle aloft before a cheering crowd of more than 1,500 people. She was joined by the Marines who served with her son, by her husband, Dan Dunham, and their daughter...

Maybe Nancy Pelosi is just sick and tired of John Murtha getting all of the "bennies" from the defense budget. Not anymore, the defense policy bill has a provision that Pelosi has been pushing for a long time. It would speed up the transfer of military bases to private developers. The reason Pelosi wants the provision is Treasure Island, a Navy base that closed in 1993 and sits atop a man-made island in the San Francisco Bay. The city wants the Island and wants it cheap. For years the Navy and the City have been haggling over the sales price,...

<p>EOUL, South Korea — This is a developing story. Please refresh for the latest update.</p> <p>North Korea seized a South Korean fishing boat early Thursday after it accidentally crossed the countries' sea border, a news report said.</p> <p>Yonhap news agency quoted a Defense Ministry official as saying that the incident took place at about 6:30 a.m. in the East Sea and that four people were on board the South Korean boat.</p>

Only one flag besides the Stars and Stripes that represents the United States has ever flown over the White House in Washington, DC. Only one flag is ever displayed in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda. That flag is not one that represents an individual state, branch of service, or other select group. It is the POW/MIA (Prisoners of War/Missing In Action) Flag that calls to mind the sacrifice and plight of those Americans who have sacrificed their own freedom, to preserve liberty for all of us. It’s presence serves to remind us that, while we enjoy the privileges of freedom, somewhere...

F-35C meets US Navy's single-engine derision By Stephen Trimble When Lockheed Martin rolls out the F-35C on July 28, US Navy pilots will be one step closer to operating a single-engine fighter off a carrier deck. The DEW Line contributor Dave Majumdar explores this issue with an active F/A-18 pilot with more than 1,700 flying hours, who asked to remain anonymous. If there is any doubt that the US Navy aviation community will accept a single-engine fighter, such as the F-35C, one pilot has a clear answer: That "decision has been made" already and, after all, "the Navy is not...

SEVASTOPOL, July 26 (RIA Novosti) - The Russian Navy is developing a concept of building a balanced nuclear missile force by 2050, the Russian Navy commander said on Sunday. "In our understanding, it is important to know exactly what the Navy should be by the year 2050, proceeding from two things: it must be a balanced nuclear missile force and, secondly, it must comply with the state's national interests and economic possibilities," Adm. Vladimir Vysotsky said on the occasion of Russia's Navy Day being celebrated on Sunday. Vysotsky said the Russian Navy should develop harmoniously without any preference given to...

The 6,000 tonne Arihant - which means ‘Destroyer of Enemies’ in Sanskrit - was officially named on Sunday in the southern port city of Visakhapatnam. Attending the ceremony the Indian prime minister, Manmohan Singh, said the launch was “historic milestone in the country’s defence preparedness”. India joins a select club of nations with the capacity to develop nuclear submarines. Until now, only the United States, Russia, France, Britain and China had the technology for such submarines. The move is likely to rattle neighbouring Pakistan, which has fought three wars with India - two of them over control of the Kashmir...

Over at Media Bistro, we find an odd story that has it all: foul language, boorish behavior, sexual harassment, a male U.S. Navy officer, and a female journalist. Only the story isn’t what you might think it would be considering the ingredients. In this case it is the naval officer suing the female reporter for sexual harassment. Media Bistro has learned that US Navy Commander Jeffrey D. Gordon has filed a sexual harassment complaint against the Miami Herald's Carol Rosenberg with Gordon claiming that Rosenberg made comments about Gordon’s “sexual orientation,” repeatedly showered foul language upon him, and made comments...

Subject: Old Sea Story There's an old sea story in the Navy about a ship's Captain who inspected His sailors, and afterward told the Chief Boson that his men smelled bad. The Captain suggested perhaps it would help if the sailors would change underwear occasionally. The Chief responded, "Aye, aye sir, I'll see to it immediately! The Chief went straight to the sailors berth deck and announced, "The Captain thinks you guys smell bad and wants you to change your underwear. Pittman, you change with Jones, McCarthy, you change with Kwiatkowski, and Brown you change with Schultz. Now get to...

The ultra-precision of high-energy lasers soon may be the pinpoint, measured response that will keep threats a safe distance from U.S. Navy ships. Under a new Navy initiative called the Maritime Laser Demonstration, Northrop Grumman will apply its solid-state laser systems expertise and successes to demonstrate a laser weapon system to defeat a wide range of current threats. "Naval forces face a wide range of challenges from small surface craft to advanced aerial threats. New solutions are required to meet these challenges within cost and force structure constraints," said Steve Hixson, vice president of Advanced Concepts - Space and Directed...

MOSCOW, July 20 (RIA Novosti) - The Russian Navy will expand and modernize its Soviet-era naval maintenance site near Tartus in Syria to support anti-piracy operations off the Somali coast, a high-ranking navy source said on Monday. About 50 naval personnel and three berthing floats are currently deployed at the Tartus site, which can accommodate up to a dozen warships. "Two tug boats from the Black Sea Fleet will deliver a new berthing float to Tartus," the source said. "Following modernization, the Russian naval maintenance site in Tartus will become fully-operational," he added. The Navy maintenance site near Tartus is...

VIRGINIA BEACH What started in J.C. "Tip" Tipton's garage 40 years ago has morphed into one of the best live-action shows in town. Trouble is, it's not open to the public. Tipton was the first president of the UDT-SEAL Association, a support group for members and veterans of the Navy's underwater demolition and sea-air-land commando teams. The group has been celebrating its 40th anniversary this weekend during its annual East Coast reunion at Little Creek Naval Amphibious Base, where 4,000 active and retired SEALs, their families and guests saw a dramatic display of the clandestine warriors' skills and equipment Saturday....

Oldest WWI veteran dies aged 113 Henry Allingham was the last surviving founding member of the RAF Henry Allingham, the world's oldest man and one of the last surviving World War I servicemen, has died at the age of 113, his care home has said. Mr Allingham served with the Royal Naval Air Service in WWI, later transferring to the Royal Air Force at the time of its creation. Bosses at his Brighton care home said everybody was "saddened by Henry's loss and our sympathy goes to his family". Last month, Mr Allingham, born in 1896, became the world's oldest...

NOVOROSSIISK, July 14 (RIA Novosti) - Russian President Dmitry Medvedev was shown around the guided-missile cruiser Moskva, the flagship of Russia's Black Sea Fleet, at the southern port of Novorossiisk on Tuesday. The president is on a working visit to the Southern Federal District. Commander Capt. 1st Rank Sergei Tronev gave the president a tour of the warship, explaining its basic specifications. The Moskva is a Slava-class missile cruiser designed as a surface strike ship with some anti-air and ASW capability. The ship has sixteen SS-N-12 Sandbox (Bazalt) nuclear-capable supersonic anti-ship missiles, mounted in four pairs on each side. Bazalt

MOSCOW, July 14 (RIA Novosti) - Russia has successfully test-launched a Sineva sea-based ballistic missile, a source in the Defense Ministry confirmed on Tuesday. "The launch was conducted on Monday from a Delta IV class strategic nuclear-powered submarine in service with Russia's Northern Fleet," the source said. Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said on Monday that Russia had successfully test-launched a ballistic missile from a strategic submarine, but did not specify the type of missile or the name of the submarine. "The target was hit and the pieces of the missile landed in the designated area," the president said at a...

MOSCOW, July 10 (RIA Novosti) - Russia's newest Borey class strategic nuclear submarine, the Yury Dolgoruky, has completed the first round of sea trials and is returning to a shipyard in northern Russia, the Sevmash plant said on Friday. Sea trials of the submarine, which is expected to be armed with new Bulava sea-based ballistic missiles, started on June 24 in the White Sea. "A team of workers and submariners has successfully completed the set tasks," Sevmash general director Nikolai Kalistratov said. He added that the Yury Dolgoruky would still have to pass a number of sea trials later this...

SAN DIEGO—U.S. Attorney Karen P. Hewitt announced today the unsealing of a 25-count indictment charging six individuals with corruption and fraud charges related to defense contracting at Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command (SPAWAR), a government organization based in San Diego that is responsible for the development of technology to collect, process, display and manage information essential to successful military operations. A federal grand jury sitting in San Diego handed up the indictment on June 30, 2009, which was sealed until their arrests earlier today. According to the indictment, federal employees Gary Alexander and his wife, Kelly Alexander, worked at...

THE Navy is facing a sex scandal involving claims male sailors took part in a contest to bed women sailors, assigning a dollar value to each conquest. Higher values were placed on officers or lesbians and scores were recorded in a book referred to as ``the ledger.'' Competitors were also encouraged to have sex in unusual places such as on pool tables. The allegations have been made against crew aboard HMAS Success, the largest ship ever built for the Australian Navy and the flagship of the fleet.

July 8, 2009: The U.S. Navy is soliciting donations for the ships silver (www.ussny.org) for the new amphibious ship (USS New York, LPD 21) named in memory of the September 11, 2001 attacks in New York city. Like the regimental silver of army units, the ships ceremonial silver collection grows larger as new pieces are added to commemorate notable events in the history of the ship. Ships silver is passed on to the next ship of the same name. There have been many U.S. Navy ships named "New York." The first was an armed gondola built to serve on Lake...

Bruce Fleming has been an English professor at the United States Naval Academy for twenty-two years and has served as a member of USNA’s Admissions Board. He has expressed concerns over the Academy’s admissions process which he strongly believes places too much emphasis on racial diversity at the cost of quality students. He explains these concerns as follows: Here’s a question: would you rather be defended by the officer with high all-around predictors (including leadership and athletics in addition to grades and test scores), or low ones? I bet you think I’m joking when I say that at the Unites...

The pullback of U.S. troops from Iraqi cities this week, right on schedule, was a near-miraculous milestone. It was met with nods and faint smiles across America; outright fanfare should have been more like it. All who helped make this a reality - American troops and military leaders, the Iraqi police and government, and, yes, former President George Bush and Defense Secretary Robert Gates - have earned our thanks. President Obama gets credit, too, for keeping what worked in America's counterinsurgency strategy rather than shredding it just because it had his predecessor's fingerprints on it. Three years ago, no one...

After a long hiatus, the Israeli Navy has returned to sailing through the Suez Canal, recently sending one of its advanced Dolphin-class submarines through the waterway to participate in naval maneuvers off the Eilat coast in the Red Sea. IDF sources said the decision to allow navy vessels to sail through the canal was made recently and was a definite "change of policy" within the service. In 2005, then OC Navy Adm. David Ben-Bashat decided to stop sending Israeli ships through the canal due to growing threats in the area. However, the Dolphin-class submarine sailed through last month to get...

Can anyone recommend some websites where I can download free patriotic music for the 4th? I'm guessing Susa, military marches, themes of the armed forces, that kind of thing?

In the spring of 1941, the Navy was looking to replace its F4F "Wildcat" (also manufactured by Grumman) in light of new developments in the field of aeronautics, and the worsening military situation both in Asia and in Europe. On June 30, 1941 the Navy ordered the prototypes XF6F-1 and XF6F-2. They were to have the Wright R-2600-16 engine, producing 1,700 horsepower, on the -1 and a Wright 2800-16 fitted with a turbo-supercharger on the -2. Immediately after the first flight of the XF6F1 on June 26, 1942, the craft was mysteriously redesignated the "XF6F-3" and the engine was changed...

The U.S. Navy has ordered a chat group gathered on a special website the military set up for families of service members to drop the word "Christian" from its title. It also has changed the website's rules to ban all "religious discussions" because such speech "contradicts our purpose by creating unnecessary divisions among site members." The issue was exposed by officials with Liberty Counsel, a public interest law firm that has written to Navy Secretary Ray Mabus demanding that the censorship on the NavyforMoms.com website be reversed. "The prohibition of religious groups and religious speech on Navy for Moms by...

USS Chinook provided assistance to an Iraqi fishing boat in the North Arabian Gulf after it experienced mechanical problems leaving it unable to operate at sea, June 22. Photo courtesy of U.S. Naval Forces, 5th Fleet Public Affairs. USS CHINOOK, At Sea — USS Chinook provided assistance to an Iraqi fishing boat in the North Arabian Gulf after it experienced mechanical problems at sea, June 22. U.S. and Iraqi Sailors aboard the Basra Oil Terminal, as part of Combined Task Force Iraqi Maritime, received a distress call from the fishing boat Kadem Alabbas approximately 50 miles from the Kuwaiti coast,...

Russia’s strategic nuclear-powered Yury Dolgoruki submarine has finally been launched. It is the first submarine, which Russia made after the collapse of the USSR. Russian shipbuilders can be both proud and ashamed of the new cruiser: the works on the submarine began 16 years ago. The construction of the nuclear cruiser was very slow due to the lack of finance. When the submarine was finally assembled, it turned out that the Bulava rocket was not ready for it. Officials of Russia’s Defense Ministry say that the new rocket would be passed into service in 2009 or in 2010. The Yury...

The latest addition to the Iraqi Navy fleet, Patrol Ship “The Fatah,” arrives at the Port of Umm Qasr, June 21. Courtesy photo. UMM QASR — Leading a procession of Iraqi Navy (IqN) ships and escorted by three MI-17 helicopters, the latest addition to the Iraqi fleet, Patrol Ship “The Fatah,� arrived in port here, June 21. Fatah is the first of four ships contracted from the Fincantieri Shipyard in La Spezia, Italy, and is being designated as the flagship of the IqN. The 34-member Iraqi crew sailed the Fatah here from La Spezia, completing a 5,100-nautical mile, 26-day voyage....