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No photo ops, no grandstanding, no comments--just a quiet comforting visit from former President George W. Bush and his wife Laura to Fort Hood, Texas. After traveling to the base, which is about 30 miles from their ranch, the former first couple spent about two hours visiting the wounded before slipping away as unobtrusively as they arrived, specifically telling the base commander no press coverage according to Bill Sammon of Fox News. A fine example to set. Except President Obama decided to take a break from passing health care reform and holiday at Camp David. The worst terrorist attack on...

This is a video of an American group PRAISING the Islamic Murders at Ft Hood This is happening in America! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WhHYiWCm8Gs

<p>WASHINGTON (AP) — The Army chief of staff says it's important for the country not to get caught up in speculation about the Muslim faith of the alleged Fort Hood gunman.</p>

WASHINGTON — The Army's chief of staff says the Army is taking a hard look at itself to make certain that something like the Fort Hood rampage doesn't happen again.The shootings left 13 dead and 29 wounded. The alleged gunman, Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan (nih-DAHL' mah-LEEK' hah-SAHN'), was wounded by civilian police.Gen. George Casey warns against reaching conclusions about motives until investigators have fully explored the attack. Early reports suggest Hasan, a Muslim, was angry about the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and worried about his pending deployment to Afghanistan.Casey says focusing on Hasan's Islamic roots could "heighten the backlash"...

Breaking News: Military Releases Names of Dead in Fort Hood Shooting

An army major accused of firing on and killing fellow soldiers in Texas is a US-born Muslim. The reasons for the shooting are not clear, but Major Nidal Malik Hasan was reported to be unhappy at alleged racial Major Nidal Malik Hasan is a career soldier with some 20 years experience, who had trained as a psychiatrist and treated troops returning from combat. He is also reported to be a devout Muslim, who attended daily prayers at a mosque and was seen on the morning of the shooting wearing traditional Arabic dress as he shopped for groceries. His relatives said...

The suspect, a Virginia Tech graduate and one-time Vinton resident, was shot but survived at Fort Hood, Texas. Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, the Army psychiatrist accused of shooting 12 people to death and wounding 31 others at Fort Hood, Texas, on Thursday, was the son of Roanoke merchants and restaurateurs, lived in Vinton and graduated from Virginia Tech. Hasan was born in Arlington to Palestinian immigrants from near Jerusalem who later settled in Vinton. Neighbors on Vinton's Ramada Road remembered him as a "studious" boy who went by "Michael." While his brother Eyad -- "Eddie" -- would play football with...

Check page 32. This was a task force called: Thinking Anew: Security Priorities for the next administration. It ran from April 2008-January 2009. http://www.gwumc.edu/hspi/old/PTTF_ProceedingsReport_05.19.09.pdf

The ongoing debate over the way forward in Afghanistan has settled into the “light footprint,” counterterrorism approach, versus the “heavy footprint,” population-centric counterinsurgency approach. Reportedly, what is about to emerge from the Obama administration is a hybrid of the two, with the vast majority of troops providing security in Afghanistan’s major population centers and pulling troops out of less populated rural zones. Drone strikes and periodic raids would be employed to check the Taliban in remote areas. The danger in such an approach is that once rural villages are ceded to insurgent control, they may never be recaptured as the...

All Army chaplains wear the same uniform, and...answer to the same calling: to provide comfort and to relieve the suffering of American soldiers. But one chaplain stands out from the crowd. Thomas Dyer is the first and only Buddhist chaplain in the history of the U.S. Army. Dyer will be deployed to the Middle East in December along with the 278th Armored Calvary Regiment. Although his faith is grounded in pacifism, the 43-year-old Dyer says war has become a necessary part of peace. "My teacher has concluded that without the military, without civil protection, the world would enter into a...

Initial fielding of FNH USA's Special Operations Forces Combat Assault Rifle (SCAR) to the US Special Operations Command (SOCOM)...is anticipated in early 2010 to fully equip the majority of [SOCOM]. So far 1,200 Mk 16 and Mk 17 SCAR weapon systems have been delivered...but...it expects a larger order for around 20,000 weapons next year...The order will also include...15,000 5.56 mm Mk 16 SCAR-Light and 5,000 Mk 17 7.62 mm SCAR-Heavy weapons as well as a number of 40 mm Mk 13 Enhanced Grenade Launcher Modules.

Chalk up another bull's-eye for the Marine Corps. On Friday, Camp Pendleton is celebrating a big win over the Army, a traditional military rival. Shooters from the Southern California base's School of Infantry have returned home with the top prize in the ninth annual U.S. Army Sniper Competition that took place Oct. 14-22 at Fort Benning, Ga.

This press release is fresh - not up on his website yet ... Pelosi’s Halloween Healthcare Horrors: Death for the Baby Boomers, Jail for the Middle Class, Free Healthcare for Illegal Aliens By Congressman John Carter Today House Speaker Nancy Pelosi unveiled the long-awaited healthcare “reform” bill in the House of Representatives. It is a horrific assault on the health, economy, and freedoms of this country, especially our senior citizens who rely on Medicare. It was created behind closed doors, with Republicans, who represent nearly half the country, literally locked out of the room by Democrats. Democrat staffers had the...

Boeing has announced the successful completion of two key reviews for the U.S. Army's High Energy Laser Technology Demonstrator (HEL TD) program. Completion of a critical design review in July allows Boeing to begin building a rugged beam control system on a Heavy Expanded Mobility Tactical Truck (HEMTT), a widely used military tactical vehicle. A system functional review in June addressed key enablers for fielding a next-generation, solid-state laser weapon system. "This demonstration program is making significant progress in developing a weapon system that will transform the way soldiers are protected on the battlefield," said Gary Fitzmire, vice president and...

The crucial Nov. 3 special election in upstate New York features two candidaties -- liberal Republican Dede Scozzafava and Democrat Bill Owens -- connected to the Working Families Party (WFP) which is the New York political arm of the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN). <snip> With both Big Labor and ACORN working to defeat the Conservative -- who is also being attacked by the national GOP Establishment -- Hoffman's campaign is sending out a nationwide call for volunteers to help match the "community organizers" being brought into the 23rd District by his major-party opponents. "We need boots...

The U.S. Army has formed its second THAAD anti-ballistic missile (ABM) battery. The first battery was formed last year, and will be ready for combat next year. Next, the army will form two more THAAD batteries over the next three years. Three years ago, there was a successful test of THAAD (a SCUD type target was destroyed in flight) using a crew of soldiers for the first time, and not manufacturer technicians, to operate the system. Each THAAD battery has 24 missiles, three launchers and a fire control communications system. This includes an X-Band radar. The gear for each battery...

NATO defense ministers Friday endorsed the kind of broad counterinsurgency approach for Afghanistan that is the basis for the pending troop request by the NATO and the U.S. commander there, General Stanley McChrystal. The ministers, including U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates, are meeting in Bratislava, Slovakia. NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen says the defense ministers have a "general shared view" that the alliance must make Afghanistan strong enough to defend itself against militant forces. And he said the ministers also agree on the approach for accomplishing that. "There is the support of this counterinsurgency strategy, which means that ministers...

The Army will make an exception to a decades-old rule and allow a Sikh doctor to serve without removing his turban and cutting his hair, an advocacy group said Friday. The doctor, Capt. Kamaljeet Singh Kalsi of Riverdale, N.J., is the first Sikh to be allowed to go on active duty with a turban, beard and unshorn hair in more than 20 years, the New York-based Sikh Coalition said.The decision does not overturn an Army policy from the 1980s that regulates the wearing of religious items, the acting deputy chief of staff, Maj. Gen. Gina Farrisee, wrote in a letter...

The White House Friday highlighted a new multi-million-dollar technology fund for Muslim nations, following a pledge made by President Barack Obama in his landmark speech to the Islamic world. The White House said the US Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) had issued a call for proposals for the fund, which will provide financing of between 25 and 150 million dollars for selected projects and funds. The Global Technology and Innovation Fund will "catalyze and facilitate private sector investments" throughout Asia, the Middle East and Africa, the White House said in a statement. Eligible projects would advance economic opportunity and create...

Just how effective has Sarah Palin’s intervention in the NY23 special election been? Douglas Hoffman, the Conservative Party candidate that got Palin’s endorsement, raised $116,000 in a single day, according to a source within the campaign. The source told me to refer back to Chris Cillizza’s coverage of the race at the Washington Post blog The Fix, which noted that Hoffman had raised $210,000 … over the course of a week. Stacy McCain confirmed this with another source in the campaign. He has a few updates as well on Democratic fundraising in the contest. If nothing else, this confirms the...

THE WEEKLY STANDARD just received a statement from Sarah Palin endorsing conservative Doug Hoffman for Congress: The people of the 23rd Congressional District of New York are ready to shake things up, and Doug Hoffman is coming on strong as Election Day approaches! He needs our help now. The votes of every member of Congress affect every American, so it's important for all of us to pay attention to this important Congressional campaign in upstate New York. I am very pleased to announce my support for Doug Hoffman in his fight to be the next Representative from New York's 23rd...

RICHMOND, Va., Oct. 21, 2009 – Darren Costine retired from the Army in 2001, but with 22 years of service under his belt, the former first sergeant said, the Army is still in his blood. Darren Costine, a retired soldier who now works at the Defense Supply in Richmond, Va., deployed to Iraq as a civilian weapon system support manager. DoD photo by Jackie Girard  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. That’s why he volunteered to return to the Middle East for six months as a civilian support representative for Defense Logistics Agency. Costine, who lives in Chester, Va., is...

A few weeks back we wrote about a new Army program, the Accelerated Precision Mortar Initiative (APMI), a response to an urgent request from Afghanistan to get troops precision mortar fire. While we tend to focus on big ticket items, it’s often the smaller weapons that make huge differences to troops in the field, particularly those chasing fleeting Taliban around Afghanistan’s harsh mountainous terrain. By providing prompt, precise, indirect fire support to the individual rifle squad, the precision mortar is one such weapon. I spoke to Maj. Jeffrey Hilt, the program lead for the Army from PEO Mortars, to get...

    ~The FReeper Canteen Presents~ Road Trip: Pine Bluff Arsenal, ArkansasThe Pine Bluff Arsenal (PBA) is a United States Army installation located in Pine Bluff, Arkansas. PBA is one of the six Army installations in the United States which stores chemical weapons. PBA supplies specialized production, storage, maintenance and distribution of readiness products, and delivers technical services to the Armed Forces and Homeland Security. PBA also designs, manufactures and refurbishes smoke, riot control, and incendiary munitions, as well as chemical/biological defense operations items. It serves as a technology center for illuminating and infrared munitions and is also the...

[Part 1 of this series.][The frustration of most Americans with the systematic destruction of their country, its society, and its economy, by a handful of corrupt politicians grows daily. It is not that they are not willing to do anything about it, but the fact they do not seem to know what to do. The growth of the tea-party movement and the huge march on Washington are evidence of their eagerness to do "something," but it is equally obvious that demonstrations and a millions articles have done nothing at all, and the leftist "Destroy America" railroad roars on without even...

There used to be a time in this country, not that long ago, when, despite our religious, cultural and societal differences, there were at least a few basic tenets upon which we, as Americans, could all agree. We could locate our borders, we spoke a common language and shared a common understanding of our Founders and constitutionalism. -SNIP-........after further evaluation of what’s really going on behind the scenes in Washington, I have come to an even more alarming conclusion: What they are doing is committing legislative jihad.Socialists have declared jihad on our economic prosperity Socialists have declared jihad on...

Bob Basso has just released another powerful video message as Thomas Paine. In this one, he urges a restoration of the common bond over diversity. He asks us to defend the principals of our founding fathers in the Second American Revolution. Video: Thomas Paine - “The Broken Common Bond”

Lord Monckton is one of the few people who has thorough familiarity with a recently completed draft of the treaty President Obama will sign in Copenhagen in just a matter of weeks. He does not mince words about what he has found in the course of his reading of the document. The treaty is not just a foot in the door for one-world government. It IS communist, one-world government. And because of the high regard in which our Constitution holds foreign treaties, this document, if ratified by Congress, would supercede the Constitution. The treaty will, of course, be signed under...

The US military on Friday cancelled plans to send a 3,500-strong Army brigade to Iraq because of improving security conditions there, possibly freeing up troops for the war in Afghanistan. The 1st Infantry Brigade Combat Team from the 10th Mountain Division based in Fort Drum, New York, had been scheduled to relieve another combat brigade in Iraq in January but will not deploy, the Defense Department said in a statement. With the US commander in Afghanistan asking for major reinforcements, the move could provide another brigade for the troubled mission if President Barack Obama decides to approve the troop request....

US soldiers in the Gulf of Suez raided a freighter that was apparently shipping arms from Iran to Syria or Hizbullah in early October, German newspaper Der Spiegel reported on its Web site on Monday.

WASHINGTON (AP) - In the chaos of an early morning assault on a remote U.S. outpost in eastern Afghanistan, Staff Sgt. Erich Phillips' M4 carbine quit firing as militant forces surrounded the base. The machine gun he grabbed after tossing the rifle aside didn't work either. When the battle in the small village of Wanat ended, nine U.S. soldiers lay dead and 27 more were wounded. A detailed study of the attack by a military historian found that weapons failed repeatedly at a "critical moment" during the firefight on July 13, 2008, putting the outnumbered American troops at risk of...

It was named one of Time magazine’s best inventions of 2008, but Raytheon’s Active Protection System (APS), formerly known as “Quick Kill,” was nowhere to be found on the floor of the Washington Convention Center at the Army’s annual conference this week. I asked the Raytheon folks about its status and the best they could come up with was that the program is “maturing”; there was no APS on display nor were there videos showing field tests of the system. By contrast, over at the Israeli Military Industries booth, the Israelis were showing video of their “Iron Fist” APS in...

This is a REALLY LONG POST — this came directly from my husband, SGT Daddy (with some minor edits from me for OPSEC reasons) The morning began with the siren signaling incoming. I ignored it. I hate putting on my gear and besides the big boy voice had dutifully reminded me that I should remain in hard shelter. I didn’t argue by deed or word. In the meantime the 155’s began to blaze away in support of some action that did not affect me. Later I was called out of my room to help in the aid station. Two of...

WASHINGTON, July 20 (Reuters) - U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates on Monday announced a temporary increase in the size of the U.S. Army that would boost the force by up to 22,000 troops for three years. He told reporters at a news briefing that the increase, intended to cope with strains from the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, would raise the total strength of the Army to 569,000 soldiers. "The Army faces a period where its ability to deploy combat units at acceptable fill rates is at risk," Gates told reporters. "This is a temporary challenge which will peak in...

Next time you're in Afghanistan, make sure to keep an eye out for the U.S. Army's Space and Missile Defense Command's giant blimp-like surveillance airship

Chris Higgins, 21, an upbeat Harvard University junior, is a social studies major who has worked at an orphanage in Uganda and backpacked around China while learning Mandarin. He is also a master sergeant in the Army ROTC, an officer-in-the-making who has spent weekends firing an M-16, rappelling, and honing land-navigation skills while many classmates are launching a blitz on the college social scene. “I have a mission,’’ said Higgins, a native of East Setauket, N.Y. That mission - to serve the country and gain leadership experience - is shared by a sharply growing number of American undergraduates, who have...

Forward Operating Base Shank, Afghanistan - The soldiers in his New York-based combat unit call Staff Sgt. Brandon Camacho the "Bullet Magnet." Camacho - either the luckiest or unluckiest soldier in Afghanistan - is on his second tour here with the Fort Drum-based 10th Mountain Division's 3rd Brigade Combat Team. The reason for the nickname: He's just earned his fifth Purple Heart after being shot in the left knee in a firefight 100 miles south of Kabul, military officials said. "One of my friends said, 'You're the luckiest unlucky person I know,'" said Camacho, 24, who grew up in Saipan...

Spc. Rachael Potts and an Iraqi engineer prepare to run dirty water through a solar-powered water filtration system at Forward Operating Base Hammer, Sept. 5. Photo by Pvt. Jared N. Gehmann, 82nd Airborne Division. BAGHDAD — In an effort to provide a better quality of life for the citizens of Iraq's Ma'dain region, U.S. paratroopers here put their time and energy into learning how to set up and operate a solar-powered water filtration system, Sept. 5. Paratroopers assigned to 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, Multi-National Division- Baghdad implemented a self-powered, energy efficient water filtration system to provide the...

(English-language translation) During a meeting with Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez in Caracas, American essayist and political analyst Noam Chomsky yesterday criticized the use of Colombian military bases by the United States Army. "The U.S.'s justification to establish military bases in Colombia is narcotraffic. However, this justification is not very serious," the essayist said and added: "There exists an intervention attitude under the pretext of narcotraffic." President Chávez greeted Chomsky at Miraflores Palace, where he received "the warmest welcome". "It was time you visited us and for the Venezuelan people to see and hear you directly," Chávez told the Professor Emeritus...

RAY GUNSApplied Energetics Receives US Army Contract For Laser Guided Energy Laser Guided Energy (LGE) is a transformational weapon technology by which a controllable high voltage electric charge can be precisely guided by a laser through the atmosphere to induce a range of effects against a variety of targets. by Staff Writers Tucson AZ (SPX) Aug 21, 2009 Applied Energetics has announced it has been awarded a $3.1 million Contract from the U.S. Army's Research, Development and Engineering Command (U.S. Army RDECOM - Picatinny, NJ) for the continued development and advancement of the company's Laser Guided Energy(TM) (LGE) technology. Regarding...

TOBYHANNA — Wednesday was the second trip for U.S. Rep. Paul E. Kanjorski, D-10, to the Tobyhanna Army Depot in four months to announce new government funds. He's expecting to be back soon. "I wouldn't doubt we'd be up here in the near future announcing more funding," he said. Kanjorski on Wednesday announced $2.4 million in federal stimulus money going to infrastructure improvements around the depot. Specifically, the money will be used to improve the quality of life at the depot's barracks for military personnel stationed there for training. About 2,000 troops pass through Tobyhanna in a year in addition...

FORT LEAVENWORTH, Kan., Aug. 17, 2009 – Ten years ago, when he was a battalion commander at Fort Sill, Okla., then–Army Col. Jim Davis received a call that the Army had a new chaplain for his soldiers -- and he was Muslim. Chaplain (Maj.) Dawud Agbere and his family pose outside of their home in Normandy Village on Fort Leavenworth, Kan., Aug. 11, 2009. U.S. Army photo by Prudence Siebert  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. The 400 soldiers with 6th Battalion, 27th Field Artillery, although mostly Christian, trusted Chaplain Dawud Agbere right away, said Davis, now an assistant professor...

HEIDELBERG, Germany — The Army is reviewing personnel records of nearly 19,000 noncommissioned officers as it seeks to purge the senior enlisted ranks of underperforming, or even criminal, leaders. The records are being checked for courts-martial, negative evaluations, failed leadership courses, removals for cause, reprimands and other disciplinary actions incurred since these sergeants made their current ranks. Among the reasons for records of reprimands and disciplinary actions are driving under the influence, sexual harassment charges, drug abuse and alcohol problems. If such sergeants do not voluntarily retire, they will, for the most part, be discharged within six months. “We’re trying...

Before 2001, America’s military women had rarely seen ground combat. Their jobs kept them mostly away from enemy lines, as military policy dictates. But the Afghanistan and Iraq wars, often fought in marketplaces and alleyways, have changed that. In both countries, women have repeatedly proved their mettle in combat. The number of high-ranking women and women who command all-male units has climbed considerably along with their status in the military. “Iraq has advanced the cause of full integration for women in the Army by leaps and bounds,” said Peter R. Mansoor, a retired Army colonel who served as executive officer...

PARIS — Oxford Hills Comprehensive High School will be the site of a National Guard riot control drill Thursday morning to prepare in the event of a panic over distribution of serum to treat the swine flu. The school on Route 26 at the Paris-Norway town line has been designated by state officials as a distribution site for the H1N1 flu vaccine. The drill is to prepare for a worst-case scenario should the serum have to be transported from Augusta and people rush to get it. On Thursday morning, four or five National Guard Humvees will travel from Augusta to...

For some service members, serving at Joint Task Force Guantanamo is one more chapter in the book they call life. For others, the significance of the mission holds a deeper meaning -- more personal -- especially for service members who have lost friends, loved ones or know someone affected by the attacks on Sept. 11, 2001. For the Soldiers of the 189th Military Police Co., the mission became more personal when family members of September 11 attack victims, visiting Guantanamo during the recent military commissions proceedings, made a special effort to say “thank you,” and convey gratitude, face to face,...

Savannah, NY (--The parents of a Central New York soldier who recently finished training at Fort Leonard Wood are seeking to block her overseas deployment, alleging that an Army recruiter misled the family. the parents of Hillary J. Poole of Savannah, filed a federal lawsuit Friday in Springfield, Mo. Poole is scheduled to be shipped Thursday to St. Louis. From there, she is slated to go to Germany before arriving in Afghanistan in October. The suit says Poole's mother signed her name and her husband's name to enlistment papers in February after being told that the paperwork simply allowed the...

Please join us in the campaign to show Gratitude to our US Military. Go the following link to the Gratitude Campaign and email the link to everyone you know: THE GRATITUDE FOR OUR MILITARY CAMPAIGNLet's show our military how grateful we are for their service all over this country. It's a neat video you can download to distribute in emails, thumbdrives, and any other way you can too. Thank you.

US/EasternWASHINGTON (AP) - Defense Secretary Robert Gates has announced that the size of the Army is being increased by 22,000 to help meet deployment needs around the world. Gates made the disclosure Monday at a news conference at the Pentagon where he was joined by the chairman of the military Joint Chiefs of Staff, Adm. Mike Mullen. The Army currently has a total troop strength of 547,000. Gates said the military, with President Barack Obama's backing, decided that because of the continuing operations in Iraq and Afghanistan and political turmoil in Pakistan, the Pentagon's ability to fill vacancies was "at...

ashington, D.C. (AHN) - Defense Sec. Robert Gates on Monday said he was increasing the size of the U.S. Army by 22,000 soldiers over the next three years to help U.S. forces in Afghanistan and Iraq, wars he described as "faster-paced against an even more adaptive enemy."In a press conference, Gates said he will add to the active-duty end strength of the Army from the current authoroized end-strength of 547,000, to a temporary 569,000. "These additional forces will be used to ensure that our deploying units are properly manned, and not to create new combat formations," he said. The increase...