Free Republic

James P. Reilly and Michael J. Reilly, fraternal twins born on Nov. 9, 1923, remained close throughout their abbreviated life together. As allies and co-conspirators, they were always within each other’s orbit, attending the same public schools in Queens, playing sports together and jointly enlisting in the Marines. During World War II, when they were 20, the brothers were part of a unit that stormed the beach of a small Japanese-held island in the Pacific. It would be their last hour together. James was killed by gunfire, his body falling only feet from Michael; he was interred in a battlefield...

The FReeper Canteen Salutes theU.S. Marine CorpsOn Its 240th Birthday10 November 1775 ~ 10 November 2015 Semper Fidelis!(Always Faithful!) O ETERNAL FATHER, we commend to Thy protection and care the members of the Marine Corps. Guide and direct them in the defense of our country and in the maintenance of justice among nations. Protect them in the hour of danger. Grant that wherever they serve they may be loyal to their high traditions and that at all times they may put their trust in Thee; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. Marine Corps Prayer by Bishop SherrillFormer Presiding Bishop...

BEGIN TRANSCRIPT RUSH: Yeah, well, we were just poking along here about 10 minutes ago. It looked like it was actually gonna be kind of a slow day. And then everything blew up here, and then we -- JOHNNY DONOVAN: And now, from sunny south Florida, it's Open Line Friday! RUSH: Yeah. And I still don't know what to make of this. There's something that smells about this still, and I can't put my fingers on it. But we're gonna have to get into it. Anyway, welcome to Open Line Friday. Whatever you want to talk about is fine and...

Daniel Shaw, retired US Marine Infantryman and Combat Weapons Master Instructor, explains why the 1911 is not the defensive gun he chooses to carry. Shaw gives us four reasons why he opts to go with something aside from John Browning's classic handgun: limited magazine capacitysafety leverreliabilitymagazine compatibility The former Marine is careful to note that this is his opinion, based on his experience, and acknowledges that everyone is free to pick the platform that’s right for them. With that in mind, what are your thoughts on the 1911? Do you trust your 1911 with your life? Do you have four...

U.S. Marines are largely supportive of their commandant's decision to drop the M16 rifle for the M4 carbine as the standard infantry weapon. The U.S. Marine Corps will officially recognize the M4 carbine as the standard weapon for infantry personnel beginning in September 2016, following the approval by Commandant Gen. Robert Neller. The move has been welcomed with optimism from infantry. Sgt. Jonathan Ferriera, a mortarman with 1st Battalion 8th Marines who used the M4 during his deployment in Afghanistan says "it's about time." "The M4 holds every quality that the M16 does: everything an M16 can do, the M4...

The mother of Sgt. Rafael Peralta asked God to bless the ship named for her son and keep the crew safe before smashing a bottle of Champagne on the ship's bow Saturday. Peralta, who pulled a grenade against his body to protect his fellow Marines during close combat with insurgents in Fallujah, Iraq, on Nov. 15, 2004, is believed to be the first serviceman born in Mexico to have a naval warship named in his honor.

The M16A4 may soon retire. This week, the Marine Corps announced via internal memo that the M4 carbine will become the primary-issued rifle in infantry and security units, as well as replace the M16 rifle in supporting training schools by September 2016. Commandant of the Marine Corps Gen. Robert Neller approved the change, which was first proposed to the previous commandant, Gen. Robert Dunford, according to Marine Corps Times. This decision falls in line with the Army’s phased transition away from the M16 over the past few years. The M16A4 is on the outs simply because it is outdated, and...

Leave it to the Marines to make the US military’s last stand. It’s the last stand for the Marines, the last stand for reality, the last stand for the military to function as a cohesive war fighting organization and not a Santa Monica yoga class. In America 180, everything is upside down. What kind of madcap lunatic asylum do we live in when the military has to ask for exemptions to keep women out of combat? This is what happens when policy is being dictated by radicals whose idea of combat is elbowing for a place in line at the...

King Stallion, the U.S. Marine Corps’ brand spanking new helicopter, completed its first flight Tuesday. The Marines’ new helo is incredibly advanced - it will be able to lift a whopping three times more weight than its predecessor.

(KHOU) -- It was only a photo of the stands at a Texas A&M home football game. But the commandant of the Corps of Cadets took to social media to say that the story behind that photograph captured what the “Aggie Spirit” is all about. The photo shows the Corps of Cadets section at the Kyle Field when the Aggies hosted Mississippi State on Oct. 3. As the cadets stand to cheer for the team in the fourth quarter, one cadet stands quietly holding his 6-year-old son. Despite the noise, the boy is asleep – his feet resting on the...

Dakota Meyer is a Medal of Honor receipent and an American hero. He went above and beyond the call of duty while serving our nation. So when the Islamic State (ISIS) released a “warning” to Meyer and threatened his life, Meyer responded in an EPIC way! Watch (below) as Meyer pulls over his truck and records this video message for ISIS. He’s ready for Islamic terrorist thugs and knows how to fight. Incredible! Thank you Dakota Meyer for your service.

The case of Bowe Bergdahl is a tragic and shameful one. The Obama White House claimed he served with “honor and distinction”… but the Army just charged him with desertion. He deserves a serious sentence… If not the death penalty, he should be behind bars forever. Why? Because a handful of our troops DIED trying to locate him. Bergdahl also apparently was too willing to assist the enemy, giving up critical troop locations and sharing other information. And our Campaigner-in-Chief Barack Obama violated the constitution and illegally traded him for five high-profile terrorists, most of whom have returned to the...

WASHINGTON, Oct. 6 (UPI) — The U.S. Marine Corps has unveiled new physical standards that all recruits — male and female — must meet to qualify for 29 of the branch’s jobs. The new gender-neutral standards could make it a lot harder for boot camp recruits and Officer Candidates to obtrain certain positions, according to the Marine Corps Times. These fields include infantry, combat engineering, tanks and amphibious assault vehicles, close-air support, and ground ordnance. One of the standards all recruits must meet is being able to evacuate a casualty, and conduct an MK19 grenade launcher lift. Most posts in...

WASHINGTON — Hailed as “a tested warrior and an innovative strategist,” Gen. Robert Neller accepted command of the U.S. Marine Corps on Thursday morning during a traditional ceremony at Marine Barracks Washington. Neller — who was pinned with a fourth star Thursday — became the Corps’ 37th commandant, taking over for Gen. Joseph Dunford, who held the post for less than a year. Dunford will become the 19th chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff on Friday during a ceremony at Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall, Va., replacing retiring Army Gen. Martin Dempsey.

A battle is brewing in Washington over the military's push to open all combat units to women. The Marine Corps is reportedly poised to ask that some positions remain available only to men, following a nine-month study that found units with all genders did not perform as well in combat. The issue is stirring a passionate debate in the military community, pitting the Marine Corps against its own service secretary and creating a bitter divide on the House Armed Services Committee. Navy Secretary Ray Mabus, who is the service secretary for the Marine Corps, blasted the study of the Marine...

Ray Mabus has made up his mind: there’s no job in the Navy or Marine Corps that’s going to be off-limits to women.With more than a month to go before the deadline, the Navy Secretary made it clear on Monday: he will not be requesting any exceptions to the Pentagon edict that all U.S. military jobs be opened to women.“Nobody’s asking for an exemption in the Navy,” Mabus told an audience at the the City Club of Cleveland. “And I’ve been pretty clear about this for a while – I’m not going to ask for an exemption for the Marines.”That...

Despite considerable backlash from within the service, Navy Secretary Ray Mabus said again Monday that the Marine Corps infantry and Navy SEALs will open up to women, no matter what. After receiving heated comments from both male and female Marines who participated in and ran a Marine Corps integration study, Mabus clarified Monday at a forum by the City Club of Cleveland that many of the gender gaps on performance could be closed with more training and leadership. What this means is that he’s sticking to his original plan that all combat jobs in the Department of the Navy will...

The Marines made it known this week that they see the idea of women in combat as a disaster waiting to happen. That contrasts sharply with how the Army has approached the topic. It puts the Pentagon in a potentially tough spot. Washington — This week, the Marine Corps left very little doubt about its view of women in its combat ranks: It does not want them. A study by the corps released Thursday painted a bleak picture of the effectiveness of women in combat, suggesting they are weaker, more prone to injury, less adept at shooting weapons accurately, and...

The Project On Government Oversight (POGO) has a damning report on the F-35B’s shipboard “Operational Test” trials that occurred last May. It paints a dismal picture of an aircraft that is so far from being “operationally capable” it’s almost comical at this point. As a result, it proves what many of us already know: the Marines’ declaration of F-35B initial operational capability made this Summer was a farce. The F-35B’s Operational Test trials aboard the USS Wasp late last May were widely portrayed as a big success and proof that the troubled aircraft had progressed past many of the issues...

Women in a new Marine Corps unit created to assess how female service members perform in combat were injured twice as often as men, less accurate with infantry weapons and not as good at removing wounded troops from the battlefield, according to the results of a long-awaited study produced by the service. The research was carried out by the service in a nine-month long experiment at both Camp Lejeune, N.C., and Twentynine Palms, Calif. About 400 Marines, including 100 women, volunteered to join the Ground Combat Element Integrated Task Force, the unit the Marine Corps created to compare how men...