Free Republic

Before you can get on the air, you need to be licensed and know the rules to operate legally. US licenses are good for 10 years before renewal and anyone may hold one except a representative of a foreign government. In the US there are three license classes—Technician, General and Extra.

The man who was at the helm of the crane that caught fire and collapsed in Manhattan’s Hudson Yards Wednesday once had his operating license suspended after a co-worker plummeted 48 stories to his death. The Department of Buildings identified Chris Van Duyne of Rockaway, New Jersey, as the man who was operating a construction crane that snapped and struck a neighboring building before smashing onto the street below. Despite verifying Van Duyne was the operator, the DOB said records didn’t list the 62-year-old man on the construction paperwork. The DOB couldn’t say whether the omission was unusual and said...

NORTH CONWAY. N.H.—Vivek Ramaswamy isn’t making much of a dent in the polls yet, but judging from the audience reaction at a packed Masonic lodge in Wolfeboro, New Hampshire, it won’t be long. Everyone was paying close attention. There was no sense in the room of skepticism over why this 37-year-old guy—out of nowhere and standing there with his doctor wife—had the temerity to run for president. They got it. He had done his homework and then some. Several people during the lengthy question session prefaced theirs with “I voted for Trump but I’m going to vote for you.” Others...

What do you think of when you hear Spec Ops Operator? Beards, Heckler & Koch MK 23s and HK416s? Well maybe a guy with a black Under Armour T-shirt with an OD brown operator hat instead. On the serious side, US SOCOM (Special Operation Command) have just released their 2018 Fact Book. Inside the new Fact Book are a run down of SOCOM Medal of Honor recipients, Bull Simons Award winners and Commando Hall of Honor inductees as well as breakdowns of SOCOM’s many, many sub-commands including JSOC, MARSOC, USASOC, AFSOC and NSWC functions and capabilities. The insightful part of...

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) — Sources tell CBS 3 that blood tests on the crane operator involved with Wednesday’s deadly building collapse in Center City detected the presence of a prescription painkiller and marijuana. The blood, along with urine, was taken from 42-year-old Sean Benschop at the hospital approximately two hours after the collapse at 22nd and Market Streets, which killed six people and injured 13. (See Related Story) Sources say investigators also noticed that Benschop, who has a history of 11 prior arrests, including a conviction for possession and dealing drugs, was speaking in what police considered an unusually slow, quiet...

Afghan National Army Maj. Gen. Mohammad Mangal (right) congratulates Afghan National Army Col. Fatah, who graduated from the intermediate-level operator and field-level tactical radio maintenance class. Fatah also was recognized as an exceptional performer. Courtesy photo Afghan Army Graduates Radio Operator Class The class was taught in English, but the Afghan soldiers – aided by interpreters and student leaders – led the class in team exercises and design problems. By Combined Forces Command-Afghanistan KABUL, Afghanistan, April 12, 2006 — The Afghan National Army recently graduated 28 students from its first intermediate-level operator and field-level tactical radio maintenance class at...

CAMP FALLUJAH, Iraq (Jan. 13, 2006) -- Cincinnati native, Cpl. Tasha M. Monz is on her third deployment to the Middle East in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom, proving the war in Iraq has become yet another major milestone for women in the military. This time around, Monz, assigned to Combat Logistics Battalion 8, 2nd Marine Logistics Group (FWD), serves as the battalion commander’s radio operator and often finds herself in volatile areas as her job takes her beyond the camp’s concertina wire and into the streets of Iraq. “I love it,” said the 22-year-old, referring to the weekly convoys...