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(PRWEB) July 8, 2006 -- As Independence weekend celebrations spread throughout the United States, V.I.P. Promotions Founder/CEO Tommy Nero interviewed U.S. Army Captain James Van Thach while he was spending his July 4th, weekend deployed to Baghdad, Iraq on his first overseas tour of duty. "It's so unusual these days, Captain Thach, to find young people even thinking about devoting their lives to something greater than themselves May I ask why you volunteered to join the Infantry after finishing Touro Law School?" "Mr. Nero, there are higher callings in life than just focusing on building a very comfortable lifestyle for...

6/26/2006 - CAMP AL RUSTAMIYAH, Iraq (AFPN) -- In order for coalition troops to leave Iraq, the Iraqis must first be prepared to take over operations from the coalition. Part of accomplishing that task involves coalition forces training and validating the new Iraqi military. Four Airmen assigned to a small forward operating base about 10 miles outside Baghdad are responsible for that training. "Our job is to train, advise and mentor the Iraqi force to help them transition to taking over their country and getting coalition troops back home," said Maj. Derek Jenkins, the senior military adviser from the Coalition...

AL ASAD, Iraq (June 6, 2006) -- Sipping on bottled water, rifle in hand and wearing a good 60 pounds of body armor on this sprawling U.S. military airbase, Lance Cpl. Emanuel Cantu says he doesn’t mind training for combat in Iraq’s blistering 110-plus degree temperature. In fact, he says he loves it. After all, four months of serving in Iraq as part of a quick reaction force has helped the 31-year-old Marine lose more than 20 pounds, but more importantly, he says he’s found his niche in the Marine Corps – training to save lives. “I feel like I’m...

WASHINGTON, May 12, 2006 – Spending Mother's Day thousands of miles away from their kids is going to be no picnic for more than 7,400 military moms deployed in support of the war on terror. Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Christine Buckley, deployed to Djibouti with Combined Joint Task Force Horn of Africa, has been home only twice to celebrate Mother's Day with her sons, ages 8 and 6. Photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Robert S. Taylor, USN  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Many say they're planning their own celebrations thinking of their children and calling home,...

FORT HUACHUCA — It’s early in the morning, the sun has yet to start its rise in the east and the only lights breaking the darkness on this Southern Arizona Army post are the soft orange illuminations from street lamps. But already there are stirrings as GIs begin to awake, stretching their muscles, yawning and occasionally growling their discontent knowing ahead of them will be chow, physical exercises, training and duty before the work period ends. It’s a routine part of a soldier’s day. And in today’s Army, a sense of security is also part of soldiers’ lives, developed through...

What You Should Do to Prepare for an EpidemicStock Up on Essentials and Have an 'Outbreak Plan'How To Protect Yourself Bird Flu How Would You Know If You Had Avian Flu?A Bit of Context on the Bird Flu Threat How To Protect Yourself By LARA SETRAKIAN March 12, 2006 — Will there be an outbreak of avian flu that threatens humans? Many experts disagree on when or if a human pandemic will occur, but do say there is a chance that the virus could mutate, leading to widespread infection. In that case, the best thing you and your family can...

FORT SAM HOUSTON, Texas, March 1, 2006 – Defense Department officials are working to create a pandemic influenza plan in time for the Department of Homeland Defense's end-of-March deadline, a DoD medical official said Feb. 27. The plan will lay out the department's roles and responsibilities in varying stages of an avian influenza -- or "bird flu" -- outbreak, both at home and overseas, said Ellen Embrey, deputy assistant secretary of defense for force health protection and readiness, during a Joint Operations Medical Managers Course in San Antonio. DoD's work is a coordinated, integrated effort to ensure the department is...

CAMP TAQADDUM, Iraq (Feb. 1, 2006) -- Every day, service members in Iraq put on their gear and prepare for battle in the war on terror, but one day a year the two top teams in the National Football League suit up and battle to see who will be the next Super Bowl champion. In Iraq, fans of the Pittsburgh Steelers and Seattle Seahawks hope their schedules will allow an opportunity to watch the game and support their team. They may not be home with their immediate family to watch the game, but from thousands of miles away a few...

AL ASAD, Iraq (Jan. 25, 2006) -- The Banshees of Marine Tactical Electronic Warfare Squadron 1 are preparing to return home after six months of duty in support of Operation Iraq Freedom at Al Asad, Iraq. The EA-6B Prowler squadron based at Marine Corp Air Station Cherry Point, N.C., recently completed its mission of electronic warfare in support of II Marine Expeditionary Force and was relieved by VMAQ-2. The Banshees logged more than 800 flight missions, or sorties, which added up to more than 3,000 flight hours. "This was a very successful deployment for us," said Maj. John D. Thurman,...

MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP PENDLETON, Calif (Jan. 25, 2006) -- As another rotation of Marine forces are deploying to Iraq, Marine reserves from around the country will be filling the ranks and heading to combat operations with their active-duty counterparts. One such group of Marine reservist from the 4th Landing Support Battalion gathered on Camp Pendleton recently to familiarize themselves with some of the weapons and gear they will carry during their upcoming deployment in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Approximately 100 members of the 4th LSB traveled from cities like Seattle, Savannah, Ga. and Charleston, S.C., to cross-train in...

Under the watchful eye of Mark Atwood, a Department of State trainer, Gen. Siafullah Hakem, the local immigration chief, and his Afghan Border Police colleagues, reviews the monitor of the Rapidscan x-ray machine at Kandahar International Airport. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. 1st Class Stephen Lum Afghan Border Police Prepare Airport for Hajj Afghan Border Police are receiving important airport screening training as the Kandahar International Airport prepares to open to Afghan nationals before the Hajj. By Sgt. 1st Class Stephen Lum 117th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment KANDAHAR AIRFIELD, Afghanistan, Nov. 29, 2005 — Afghan Border Police are receiving...

A U.S. soldier assigned to the 84th Engineers Battalion helps guide a scraper to the loading dock so it can be lifted into the cargo ship Tayrona Princess at Ford Island, Nov. 10, 2005. U.S. Army photo by Spc. Juan Jimenez 84th Engineers Prepare for Iraq Deployment Soldiers, sailors and civilians worked to load 190 pieces of heavy equipment on board a cargo ship to support the engineers' second deployment to Iraq. By U.S. Army Spc. Juan Jimenez Hawaii Army Weekly FORD ISLAND, Hawaii, Nov. 28, 2005 — The Tayrona Princess, a 450-foot cargo ship from the Philippines, arrived...

JEFFERSON PARISH, La. (NNS) -- Seabees of Naval Mobile Construction Battalion (NMCB) 40, deployed to the Gulf Coast region in support of Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Rita relief efforts, are helping a private school here to recover from damage caused by the hurricanes. Students at Saint Louis King of France Catholic School are on schedule to meet their self-imposed Oct. 10 deadline to be back in the classroom, thanks to the Seabees. “The hurricane affected everybody, and that includes the [repair] contractors,” said Pam Schott, Saint Louis King of France’s principal. “So there’s no one here to help us get...

I can't think of a better place with better people to start a discussion on recommendations for survival preparedness. A list of items that people here find necessary to survive during a disaster. As we've all seen this is our personal responsibility. I'm sure there are sites all over the internet with this information but Freepers are the best...so have at it.

Look at this current disaster we can see that all levels of government had (to be kind) shortcomings. So what now? Well lets remember 1st the level of government. The 1st level is YOU the citizen (or resident). What is your responsibility? Do you have a disaster kit available? http://www.ready.gov has a list of what you need. Do you have a plan as how to evacuate if you need to? The second level of government is your neighborhood. Get to know your neighbors, who has special needs, who has what training in 1st aid, medical, building trades, contacts etc. From...

A Most Solemn Call Christine Darg Dear friends, The following call is a very serious one and right on, I want to add again the call to pray for New York as this City represents by my understanding the main target of the next attack in the US, also as until recently it had the largest concentration of Jewish People in the world. They call it the "Big Apple" and the Jewish people are the "Apple of God's Eye". I really felt that was a lot of the reason that it became already the target on 9/11, and it will...

SPACE CENTER, Houston (AP) - Discovery's astronauts lowered a huge container filled with a 2 1/2-year backlog of space station trash and old broken equipment into the shuttle Friday for return to Earth next week. It was their biggest task of the day, coming just one day after NASA cleared Discovery to come home and one day before their departure from the international space station. The contents of the cargo container, which was slowly anchored into the shuttle's payload bay by a robot arm, will either be junked once it's back on Earth or returned to engineers for analysis. Their...

The purpose of FreeRepublic.com's multiple message boards is to limit the topics for each board to particular topics. Posting the same message on all the boards defeats the purpose of multiple-boards for special topics. It is very annoying to see the same message on every bulletin board. PLEASE! DO THE READERS A FAVOR. STOP CROSS-POSTING YOUR MESSAGES!

Police Prepare For DNC Protesters 6 minutes ago There are only two weeks to go before delegates arrive for the Democratic National Convention. NewsCenter 5's Kelley Tuthill reported Monday that police are gearing up for the arrival of thousands of protesters. Most will peacefully express their points of view, but others may be more interested in disruption than discussion. Protesters, police and political conventions can often be a messy mix. "The protesters will try and get police officers to overreact," said former Philadelphia Police Commissioner John Timoney. Timoney said that extensive planning lead up to the 2000 Republican Convention. "The...

HURRICANE ISABEL DISCUSSION NUMBER 20 NWS TPC/NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER MIAMI FL 11 PM EDT WED SEP 10 2003 SATELLITE INTENSITY ESTIMATES ARE A CONSENSUS T6.5...127 KT...AND SO THE ADVISORY INTENSITY IS INCREASED TO 125 KT. THE MOST RECENT 3-HR AVERAGE OBJECTIVE DVORAK INTENSITY ESTIMATE WAS JUST BELOW 130 KT. ALTHOUGH THERE IS CURRENTLY NO UPPER-LEVEL OUTFLOW TO THE NORTH... THERE ARE TWO VERY EFFICIENT OUTFLOW CHANNELS OPERATING TO THE WEST AND EAST OF THE HURRICANE. ISABEL IS EXPECTED TO REMAIN A MAJOR HURRICANE THROUGHOUT THE FORECAST PERIOD. WIND RADII HAVE BEEN ADJUSTED SLIGHTLY INWARD BASED ON A RECENT QUIKSCAT PASS....