Free Republic

President-Elect Trump is a super patriot, a nationalist who has big plans to rebuild this nation and the US military after eight years of neglect and Marxist social engineering that have utterly destroyed its capability to wage war on sea, land and in the air. Certainly, Mr. Trump has great intentions, but he has never served a day on active duty, in the reserves or in the National Guard. Therefore, he will undoubtedly adhere to the recommendations and analysis provided by the nation’s new Secretary of Defense. Enter retired Marine Corps General James Mattis. Nicknamed ‘Mad Dog’ Mattis, the general,...

The Senate Armed Services Committee passed the waiver on Thursday that will allow retired Gen. James Mattis to serve as defense secretary so soon after leaving the Marine Corps, sending it to the full Senate for approval. The vote was 24-3. Democratic Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand, Richard Blumenthal and Elizabeth Warren all voted against the waiver. The committee approved the exemption following a wide-ranging confirmation hearing where Mattis fielded questions about threats facing the country, acquisition programs and how his time in uniform will affect his role as the department's top civilian. The law requires an officer to be out of...

It's official: Marines are headed back to the Taliban hotbed of Helmand province, Afghanistan, the Marine Corps announced Friday. The deployment of 300 Marines from II Marine Expeditionary Force will return to the southwestern province that was the site of the Corps' major battles within the country as advisers and trainers for the Afghan National Army and police, officials said in a release. The deployment comes at the request of U.S. Central Command and U.S. Forces Afghanistan in support of the ongoing NATO-led Resolute Support mission, which began after most combat forces pulled out at the end of 2014. The...

WASHINGTON — According to some reports, America's fifth-generation stealth aircraft doesn't excel at dogfighting. But fortunately, the F-35 Lightning II is not built for dogfighting. While some analysts have argued that the air-to-air-combat capabilities of the F-35A won't match some of its peer aircraft, pilots who spoke to Business Insider pointed out that the US's fifth-generation fighter is designed in such a way that dogfighting may be an afterthought. "If you were to engage an F-35 in say, a visual dogfight capability," US Air Force Brig. Gen. Scott Pleus began, "the capabilities of the F-35 are absolutely eye-watering compared to...

The U.S. Marine Corps is progressing with a new project to arm its MV-22 Osprey aircraft with new weapons such as laser-guided 2.75in rockets, missiles and heavy guns - a move which would expand the tiltrotor's mission set beyond supply, weapons and forces transport to include a wider range of offensive and defensive combat missions, Corps officials said. "Currently, NSWC (Naval Surface Warfare Center) Dahlgren explored the use of forward firing rockets, missiles, fixed guns, a chin mounted gun, and also looked at the use of a 30MM gun along with gravity drop rockets and guided bombs deployed from the...

An East Stroudsburg man was arrested Wednesday on charges he stole tip jars from at least four restaurants and the Toys for Tots donation jar from the Arlington Diner in Stroud Township. Michael M. Moya, 23, was identified earlier in the week as a suspect in the Toys for Tots theft at 834 N. Ninth St., and investigators already were gathering evidence on the other thefts, Stroud Area Regional police said.

Last week, I received this email from Rennae: "Dear Larry, "Larry Wayne Lindsey is from Colorado. He has been a staunch supporter of President-elect Donald Trump, who had a big rally on the state capital steps in Colorado, where Larry did security. "Larry is a Marine veteran who served with honor. He has also been battling cancer for about three years. Three days ago, they only gave him the night to live. I fear he won't get to see the inauguration. I am trying to get through a maze of people to see if we can get a call...

UK Defence Secretary Sir Michael Fallon and his US counterpart, Defense Secretary Ash Carter, officially confirmed plans for the US Marine Corps F-35B to be detached aboard the Royal Navy's new Queen Elizabeth aircraft carrier during its maiden operational deployment set for 2021. This announcement was made December 15th during a ministerial meeting in London. USMC file picture: Two F-35B Lightning II Joint Strike Fighters complete vertical landings aboard the amphibious assault ship USS Wasp (LHD 1) during the opening day of the first session of operational testing. On the margins of the ministerial meeting, Sir Michael also deepened UK...

What a remarkably moving thing to see an old Marine declaring his gratitude for the privilege of having fought one last battle on behalf of a man he feels might yet be among this country’s greatest presidents in a video that is now understandably going viral. It does not get much more American than this – and thank you for your service, Dr. Larry Lindsey. “…It is you people the good people of America for whom I cry, my loved ones and my friends, and the sacrifices they continue to make in this fight for our country. Dying is the...

I had the privilege tonight of observing how the USMC brings home their dead. The thought hit me that I have no idea, nor have I ever seen how our Soldiers are treated. I just hope we are at least as respectful. Tonight as we arrived at the Louisville airport, the aircraft captain announced that there was a USMC Sgt on board the aircraft who was on escort duty. The captain asked all onboard to remain seated til the Sgt had left the aircraft. As we pulled into our gate I observed a lot of people moving around in the...

OK, my son is at Parris Island right now and as of today has one month to graduation. He is hanging tough. But he wrote me and asked for more letters, more news. My fingers are about worn out sending and writing stuff. He likes Marine jokes and I sent him a few but I am running out of ideas. I would like you guys to submit Marine positive humor that I can send him to encourage both him and the other men in his platoon. We need to encourage these guys. Jokes are welcome. Letters are welcome. Help me...

The voice of the pilots is clear – the platform is working exceptionally. The F-35 is a platform with the ultimate level of sophistication, made simple. And therein lay the beauty of the F-35, and just why it will be so deadly, it’s simple. The combined F-35 fleet now has over 75,000 flight hours, yet many continue to question the performance and value of the aircraft. Much of this can be expected given early program challenges, and the reality that many of the F-35s capabilities are classified. Add that many do not grasp the war the F-35 was designed to...

Full Title: Everybody should read General John Kelly’s speech about two Marines in the path of a truck bomb Eight years ago, two Marines from two different walks of life who had literally just met were told to stand guard in front of their outpost’s entry-control point. Minutes later, they were staring down a big blue truck packed with explosives. With this particular shred of hell bearing down on them, they stood their ground. Heck, they even leaned in. I had heard the story many times, personally. But until today I had never heard Marine Lt. Gen. John Kelly’s telling...

Full Title: John Kelly, Trump’s Homeland Security pick, gave a remarkable speech 4 days after his son died serving in Afghanistan On Veterans Day in 2010, inside an unremarkable hotel ballroom in St. Louis, Marine Gen. John F. Kelly, delivered what the Washington Post described as “a passionate and at times angry speech about the military’s sacrifices and its troops’ growing sense of isolation from society.” That he was able to speak at all was remarkable. Four days earlier, Kelly’s 29-year-old son, Marine 1st Lt. Robert Michael Kelly, stepped on a land mine while leading a patrol in southern Afghanistan....

Marine Corps Gen. John Kelly, commander of the U.S. Southern Command, predicted last week that the Ebola virus will not be contained in West Africa, and if infected people flee those countries and spread the disease to Central and South America, it could cause “mass migration into the United States” of those seeking treatment. “If it breaks out, it’s literally, ‘Katie bar the door,’ and there will be mass migration into the United States,” Kelly said in remarks to the National Defense University on Tuesday. “They will run away from Ebola, or if they suspect they are infected, they will...

New limits are being imposed on media access to the detention center at the U.S. base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, the commander of the military's Southern Command said Thursday, outlining rules that will limit what journalists can see and how often they can visit the already highly restricted site. Journalists will be allowed to visit the center on tours that will be organized once per quarter, lasting no more than a day, and they will no longer be able to visit inside the two detention center camps where a majority of the 107 current prisoners are held, Marine Corps Gen....

Marine Corps combat veteran Stefan Meza says he literally put his life on the line to preserve and protect our freedoms. But after serving three tours of duty in two different wars, the aspiring police officer now believes his own rights were violated at Santa Rosa Junior College over something he said to a friend in class. Go Trump. It was those two words Meza said that got a sharp reaction from his yoga teacher who had been taking roll. "She told me not to make political comments in class and I said 'Yes, ma'am. It won't happen again. My...

Lt. Gen. James Mattis (USMC) is known as one of the most accomplished commanders in recent history and as one of the finest Marines to walk this planet. He also is a dedicated reader, and credits some of his success in the middle east to studying the works of those who had gone before him. This list is assembled from this list of required reading for CENTCOM USMC officers

The Senate Armed Services chair vowed to help move Mattis through the upper chamber's confirmation process. McCain, who will chair Mattis's confirmation hearing, told the Washington Examiner that he would write the bill to grant Mattis a waiver of the seven-year rule. Not all lawmakers agreed on that Thursday night. Sen. Kristen Gillibrand, D-N.Y., a former Hillary Clinton supporter, said she is against changing that rule in order to accommodate Mattis. "While I respect Gen Mattis's service, I oppose a waiver-civilian control of our military is a fundamental principle of American democracy," Gillibrand tweeted.

For the first time in history, the F-35B took off from a ship with a full-load of weapons. Integrating the F-35B will change tactics on-board amphibious assault ships The Marine Corps F-35B Short-Take-Off-and-Vertical-Landing Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter took off from a Navy amphibious assault ship for the first time with a full load of weapons -- in preparation for its planned deployment in 2018. The aircraft flew from the Navy's first America-Class Amphibious Assault Ship, the USS America, to Yuma Proving Grounds, Ariz., where it dropped live precision guided weapons on mock targets in the desert. The F-35B dropped...