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WASHINGTON, Nov. 30, 2009 – The remains of a U.S. paratrooper reported missing since early this month in western Afghanistan were recovered yesterday, military officials said. The body of Army Sgt. Brandon Islip was recovered from the Bala Murgahab River in Badghis province after a local Afghan resident provided information on his whereabouts, officials said. Islip, a paratrooper with the Army’s 82nd Airborne Division, went missing with another paratrooper Nov. 4 after being swept away by a fast-moving current while on an airdrop re-supply mission in western Afghanistan. The recovery comes weeks after British divers found the body of Islip’s...

FORT BRAGG, N.C., June 3, 2009 – Irony, our English teachers told us, often is confused with odd coincidence. Just ask Army Pfc. Wenderson Jangada of the 82nd Airborne Division, who will tell you it is ironic that the benefits of enlisting in the U.S. Army can be more significant to immigrants than to citizens. Army Pfc. Wenderson Jangada raises his right hand to become a U.S. citizen May 22, 2009, in Raleigh, N.C. Jangada, who speaks six languages, is from Brazil. U.S. Army photo  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Jangada, who became a U.S. citizen in Raleigh,...

FORT BRAGG, N.C., May 20, 2009 – Of all the people who gathered on a gray and rainy Monday morning to watch the 82nd Airborne Division kick off its annual All American Week celebration with a division cohesion run, perhaps no one faced more obstacles to be there than Army Sgt. John Hoxie. Army Sgt. John Hoxie, of the 82nd Airborne Division’s 325th Airborne Infantry Regiment attends a reception following an award ceremony May 19, 2009, at Fort Bragg, N.C. Hoxie received the Bronze Star medal at the ceremony for his heroism while on a 2007 deployment to Iraq....

TAMPA - A Special Operations paratrooper died this afternoon after a jump went wrong and he landed in a lake at Gadsen Park. Air Force Col. Larry Martin said the soldier was participating in parachute training. He would not identify the U.S. Army paratrooper. The training is a normal operation that goes on every few weeks at MacDill Air Force Base, Martin said. The incident in under investigation and the 6th Air Mobility Wing has convened an interim safety board to collect evidence, officials say. Because of the ongoing investigation, Martin declined to comment on how Thursday's training session went...

OAKLAND — A 15-year-old gang associate was in critical condition Friday after he was wounded twice by his own gun during a struggle with a 32-year-old he pointed the weapon at, police said. The man, who police said was a former paratrooper in the Honduras army, was not hurt and waited for police to respond to where the confrontation happened. He gave a statement to investigators before he was arrested on suspicion of assault while the district attorney's office determines whether he acted in self-defense. Police would not release the name of the teen or the adult pending the district...

05/15/07 -- FAYETTEVILLE) (WTVD) -- 82nd Airborne Division Paratrooper, Major Larry Bauguess of Moravian auguess graduateFalls, N.C. died from injuries sustained from enemy small arms fire in Pakistan Monday. The 36-year-old was the operation officer for the 4th Brigade Combat Team's Special Troops Battalion. Bauguess graduated from Appalachian State University in 1993. Public Family Statement by Mrs. Wesley Bauguess An 82nd Airborne Division Paratrooper died from injuries sustained from enemy small arms fire, in Teri Mengel, Pakistan Monday. Maj. Larry J. Bauguess, Jr., 36, of Moravian Falls, N.C., was the Operations Officer for the 4th Brigade Combat Team's Special Troops...

Katherine Jenerette says she has entered the Republican primary for the First District Congressional seat out of frustration with the GOP. "The Democrats have a home team advantage now," Jenerette says, "and Republicans need a congressman who can go toe-to-toe with them. We've had a Republican Congress for six years, and we can have more of the same or we can have someone in there that will make a difference. "I am not afraid to say what needs to be said and push legislation for family and values, fiscal responsibility, national security and subjects like immigration and border control. Republicans...

We have a three way Republican Primary in South Carolina’s First Congressional District. Henry Brown is an incumbent Congressman running for this fifth term. I really have no feelings toward Brown one way or the other. He isn’t one to show up in the media much. He received a rating of 96 from the American Conservative Union for 2007, not too shabby and he’s been involved in government for about 27 years, starting in the city council, moving up to state office and then Federal.He has two challengers in the primary. The first, Paul Norris, is the President of...

Disabled soldier goes back to war in Afghanistan Six months after losing a leg, Corporal Stuart Hale has returned to the battle zone in Afghanistan   Sonia Verma at the Kandahar Airbase A British paratrooper who lost his leg to a landmine has become the first amputee to return to military service in Afghanistan, in the war zone where he was disabled. Corporal Stuart Hale arrived with the 3rd Batallion, The Parachute Regiment last month for a joint operation against the Taleban with Canadian forces in Kandahar province. It is a fight that he was forced to leave on...

North Myrtle Beach Times - page 8, Thursday, March 20, 2008Jenerette Completes School KATHERINE JENERETTE GRADUATES from US ARMY AIRBORNE SCHOOL Former North Myrtle Beach Planning Commissioner, U.S. Army Lieutenant Katherine Jenerette recently graduated from the U.S. Army's Airborne school at Ft. Benning, Georgia. Airborne officers are considered to be among the Army's most valuable combat officers. Every member of the Rangers and Special Forces - two of the Army's most elite corps - is airborne qualified.Information about the Airborne school states: Throughout the fast-moving course of instruction, mental alertness and physical conditioning are emphasized and Airborne School is...

BAGHDAD, Jan. 22, 2008 – As a fresh-out-of-basic training addition to a company of paratroopers who have already been in combat for 13 months, Army Pfc. Kyle Canamore is finding out that he still has a lot to learn. Pekin, Ill., native Army Pfc. Kyle Canamore, the newest member of the 82nd Airborne Division’s 2nd Platoon, Company B, 2nd Battalion, 325th Airborne Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, pulls security during a patrol through Baghdad’s Shaab neighborhood Jan 17, 2008. Photo by Staff Sgt. Mike Pryor, USA  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Helping his new platoon search a...

A former French Army paratrooper is in the process of planning a le Grand Saut or "Super Jump" in an attempt at breaking several parachute records... as well as the sound barrier. Michel Fournier, 63, is hoping to break records for the highest ever parachute jump, the longest sky dive, and the highest altitude achieved by a person in a balloon during his attempt to be the first person to break the sound barrier in free-fall, according to the UK Daily Mail. (The current record holder, Air Force Capt. Joseph Kittinger, "only" reached 614 mph -- about Mach .90 --...

U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Benjamin Mixon (left), commander, 25th Infantry Division and Multi-National Division - North, pins the Silver Star on Capt. Brennan Goltry, platoon leader, 2nd Platoon, Company C, 2nd Battalion, 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division, during a ceremony July 31, 2007, at Patrol Base Olson in Samarra, Iraq. Goltry also received two Purple Hearts and the Combat Infantryman Badge. U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Michael J. Carden Army Paratrooper Awarded Silver Star in Iraq Platoon leader honored for his heroism and courage under fire. By Staff Sgt. Michael J. Carden 3rd Brigade Combat Team82nd...

U.S. Army 1st Lt. Kenneth Fowler U.S. Army Maj. Sally Petty Paratrooper Reunites with Ninth-grade Teacher in Iraq By Sgt. Mike Pryor 2nd Brigade Combat Team 82nd Airborne Division Public Affairs CAMP TAJI, Iraq, Feb. 1, 2007 — Do you ever wish you had a chance to say "thank you" to that one special teacher who helped you make it through school, the one who believed in you and pushed you to succeed? "Of all the FOBs in Iraq, I never expected to end up on the one where my high school history teacher works," 1st Lt. Kenneth Fowler 1st...

At Hannity Forums liberals, leftists and democrats are accusing Joshua Sparling of working with conservatives / FReepers to set this confrontation with war protesters up intentionally as a publicity stunt so Joshua can get more name recognition for himself. Plus other typical anti-American and anti-US military type statements. --- Why Joshua Sparling should never leave the househttp://www.hannity.com/forum/showthread.php?t=235591 (the liberal leftist democrat who started this thread could use a good slappin' around along with others who will be obvious by their hatred of our military) Liberal leftist democrats spit at Iraq War hero Joshua Sparling yesterday in DChttp://www.hannity.com/forum/showthread.php?t=235355 (I started this...

Free Republic's Kristinn Taylor had his excellent first hand report linked to by Michelle Malkin below. --- Spitting at a war hero By Michelle Malkin   ·   January 28, 2007 10:19 PM Readers of this blog will remember the name Joshua Sparling. In December 2005, the Iraq war veteran received a disgusting, anti-war death wish card while being treated at Walter Reed Army Hospital in Washington, D.C. for injuries from a bomb explosion in Ramadi. Last month, his right leg was amputated. And this weekend, while participating in a counter-protest against the moonbat convergence, he was spit at by anti-war demonstrators....

For those who may never have served in an elite unit, laughing and singing in the face of death, boasting about wanting to fight and welcoming the sting of battle, might seem like the behavior of disturbed, socially disconnected people. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Those young paratroopers were proud. In fact, as proud as any members of any elite military unit I had ever served with or encountered. What bolstered that pride was a committed-to-death blending of nationalism, military tradition, and religious faith that few national armies can match. Though military service is mandatory in Israel, there is an almost spiritual quality to it. There is a reason for that.

March 23, 2006 Good News & Bad From Iraq's Front Lines by Joe Katzman at March 23, 2006 02:58 PM Tony writes in with a tip from the Peoples' Republic of Boulder, CO. This guy is a hero: "I ran back to the lead vehicle and told the major what was up. He agreed with me that we didn't have time to try and get them to retrieve their own. He asked me what I wanted to do. I said I want to get them sir. So the plan was to take the lead vehicle with the .50 cal...

The problem is, transforming a good man into a Navy SEAL is not cheap - about $350,000 a copy - nor is it easy. Sure, there are lots of schoolyard scrappers, gym rats, competitive swimmers, and adrenaline junkies who believe they have what it takes to become SEALs. But few pack the gear to endure-to-completion BUD/S (Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL) training. Some are injured. Many fail to measure up during various training evolutions. Most simply quit, concluding that the wet, miserably cold life of a frogman is not for them. None of this, however, changes the U.S. Defense Department's requirement for...