Free Republic

White House Spokesperson Josh Earnest News Briefing Video

Dramatic video shows ten American sailors on their knees as they surrendered to Iranian troops in the Persian Gulf while a U.S. 'commander' is filmed apologizing to the revolutionary guard Footage of sailors on the floor, with hands behind their heads surrounded by Iranian guards has been released It was aired on the Islamic republic's state television after the Navy personnel were freed following a standoff When the sailors were taken off of the boats in the Persian Gulf, they were questioned by the IRGC Later the captives were pictured looking relaxed while sitting on a big carpet sharing plates...

ice President Joe Biden told CBS New the U.S. did not apologize to Iran after the country released ten Navy sailors it had abducted on Tuesday night. “When you have a problem with the boat, (do) you apologize the boat had a problem? No,” he explained. “And there was no looking for any apology. This was just standard nautical practice.” The vice president explained that the “the Iranians picked up both boats — as we have picked up Iranian boats that needed to be rescued.” Iranian officials then “realized they were there in distress and said they would release them,...

The White House said on Wednesday that it is pleased that Iran released 10 American sailors it had detained, but continues to have concerns about Tehran's sponsorship of terrorism and threats to Israel, Reuters reports. White House spokesman Josh Earnest told Reuters he was not aware of any discussions between Washington and Tehran about an American apology for the incident and noted one "certainly" had not been given. Earnest explained that President Barack Obama had not mentioned the incident during his State of the Union address on Tuesday night so as not to elevate the issue and jeopardize the sailors'...

Iran state television released images of the 10 U.S. sailors that the Iranian military held in custody overnight Tuesday. ABC News first reported the photos, which appeared after the sailors were released by Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps Wednesday morning.

Iran has released two United States Navy patrol boats and 10 crew members who were described as "trespassing" in Iranian waters near a major naval base, state news media reported on Wednesday. The Pentagon and the State Department said that one of the boats had experienced mechanical problems en route to Bahrain from Kuwait on a routine mission on Tuesday, and the Iranians appeared to have accepted that explanation.

Washington (CNN)Ten American sailors are in Iranian custody after two small U.S. naval craft apparently briefly entered Iranian territorial waters, a U.S. senior defense official said Tuesday. The official, however, expects the situation to be resolved quickly. A senior administration official said there is nothing to indicate this was anything hostile on the part of any entity in Iran, adding that the U.S. has received high-level assurances that the sailors will be released promptly. White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest told CNN's Jake Tapper that President Barack Obama will be in touch with members of Congress about the incident. "Certainly,...

VJ Day Kiss - 70 years ago 70 years ago ... August 14, 1945 was the dawn, ending those dark days from 1939 - 1945 which were marked by a horrific world war. World War II left no continent untouched and a devastating body count. With causalities approaching 70 million, it may have been the worst war in recorded human history, such seen in this interactive video: The Fallen of World War II on Vimeo But as the Psalmist wrote: "... weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning." Psalm 30:5 (KJV) Finally the night of...

In honor of Memorial Day and the fallen. This is a moving tribute by the West Point Glee Club with pictures collected by John Langslov. Solos by Ronan Tynan and Sgt. McKenzie. If this does not bring a tear to your eye, you have no heart.

The firefighting robot, known as SAFFiR for Shipboard Autonomous Firefighting Robot, is a bipedal automated machine designed to fight fires in the place of humans, according to a U.S. Navy blog post. The Office of Naval Research (ONR) and Virginia Tech are working together on SAFFiR. The robot is designed to do tasks like humans, such as opening doors and using fire hoses, and has sensors, including infrared stereovision and a rotating laser for light detection and ranging (LIDAR) to move through heavy smoke.

Some of the Navy's first female submariners were secretly videotaped while undressing and showering on board the USS Wyoming, a ballistic missile submarine, service officials confirmed Wednesday.

The United State Navy announced via official press release that Master-At-Arms 2nd Class Mark Mayo will be posthumously award the Navy and Marine Corp Medal at his burial this Friday. Petty Officer Mayo died in the line of duty protecting his ship, the U.S.S. Mahan, on March 24th, 2014, after a civilian intruder boarded the Mahan, disarmed the Petty Officer of the Watch, and engaged in a shootout with Petty Officer Mayo and other responding sailors.

The sailor who was slain during a shootout aboard a guided-missile destroyer at a Virginia base saved another sailor's life by jumping between her and a civilian gunman who was trying to board the ship, Navy officials said Wednesday. (snip) He parked his tractor-trailer cab near Pier 1, was able to walk onto the pier and began heading up a ramp toward the USS Mahan when he was confronted by Navy security, said Mario Palomino, the Naval Criminal Investigative Service special agent in charge of the Norfolk field office. The man then got into an altercation with a female petty...

The crew of the USS Dewey have honored the dying wish of a Pearl Harbor survivor by allowing him on board the latest version of the destroyer he served on in the Second World War. Electrician’s Mate Second Bud Cloud was due to begin hospice care, when his friend Jennie Haskamp reached out to the Dewey's crew and asked if he could see the ship in San Diego. But when they arrived at the dock, the sailors carried the 90-year-old veteran on board and attentively listened as he shared his memories from the war.

(Reuters) - Pirates attacked an oil supply vessel off the Nigerian coast and kidnapped the captain and chief engineer, both U.S. citizens, an American defense official and security sources said on Thursday. Pirate attacks off Nigeria's coast have jumped by a third this year as ships passing through West Africa's Gulf of Guinea, a major commodities route, have come under threat from gangs wanting to snatch cargoes and crews. The U.S.-flagged, C-Retriever, a 222-foot (67 meter) vessel owned by U.S. marine transport group Edison Chouest Offshore, was attacked early Wednesday, UK-based security firm AKE and two security sources said. The...

It’s made for Hollywood: the story of an average American family man, captain of a cargo ship in dangerous waters, his vessel overtaken by armed Somali pirates demanding ransom, saving his crew by allowing himself to be removed from the boat and taken hostage. All of this is the basis for “Captain Phillips,” starring Tom Hanks as the titular, real-life hero. The only problem, say some members of the real Capt. Phillips’ crew, is none of it is true. Capt. Richard Phillips, they say, is no hero, and the film is one big lie. “Phillips wasn’t the big leader like...

<p>Supplies were dwindling, his 20-man crew had not been paid for months and Captain Khan Jubair Niaz was desperate as his ship drifted aimlessly in the Gulf of Suez.</p> <p>“We have not committed any crime and yet we are being punished,” Niaz wrote in a plaintive email to the Sailors' Society, a 200-year-old, United Kingdom-based nonprofit that specializes in ministering to merchant seafarers. “I just want to go home. I am not interested in money. If I die here on this ship, then money is no good to me.”</p>

“Jada were a popular night club act at Club Lido in Panama City. Not surprisingly, her routine was entitled “Beauty and the Beast”. She is shown here performing for the sailors of the US Task Force 11, while they were on leave. The troops were on their way to New York City to participate in Navy Day celebrations, but made a stop before passing through the Panama Canal.”

In line with Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel’s order for troops to have their workplaces searched for “degrading or offensive” materials—part of an attempt to curb sexual assault in the military—the Navy will inspect even its bathrooms. While what’s degrading or offensive is open to interpretation, the material can include song lyrics and “inappropriate cartoons.” In a memo sent on June 13, Navy Secretary Ray Mabus ordered that all sailors, Marines, cadets and civilian employees have their workplaces searched by June 28. The “comprehensive visual inspections” of the workspaces conducted by commanding officers will “ensure they are free from materials that...

October 12 marks the 12th anniversary of the bombing of the USS Cole. The grim milestone comes as President Obama faces mounting questions about his administration's dereliction of duty during the murderous attack on our consulate in Benghazi, Libya. And it comes just a day after resurgent al-Qaida thugs pulled off the drive-by assassination of a top Yemeni security official who worked at the U.S. embassy in Sanaa. These are not "bumps in the road." These are gravesites on the blood-spattered path to surrender. Seventeen U.S. sailors died in the brutal suicide attack on the guided Navy missile destroyer as...