Free Republic

Dear General Mattis, I know you’ve been busy sir. Across the globe, our enemies are stacking up against us. The Pentagon is the virtual three alarm fire brigade, attempting to put out every conflagration caused by the Obama administration’s disastrous national security policies. Eight years of worthless, feckless US leadership and budget cuts have severely weakened the US armed forces. While in our history, the US military has been gutted by Congress, then rebuilt, to fight another day, the military has never been a vast social experiment as it is now. This is something that apparently you have not focused...

The United States could reduce Pentagon spending by over a trillion dollars in the next decade-spending $5.2 trillion rather than the currently planned $6.3 trillion- by adopting strategy of military restraint. That’s the bottom line of a study I produced along with several colleagues as part of “Developing Alternative Defense Strategies 2016,” an exercise organized by the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments, where groups from five think tanks used CSBA’s “Strategic Choices” software to reimagine the U.S. military budget.The others all increased military spending. The teams from the Center for New American Security and the Center for Strategic and...

Arthur "Jibby" Jibilian, O.S.S. and Aleksandra Rebic "Forgotten 500" Halyard Mission Reunion / Michigan June 2009. Photo: Rebic collection.This year, 2017, the world will be marking the 72nd anniversary of the end of World War Two, the era of the "Greatest Generation". For me, one of the measures of a man who dies is how deeply the loss is felt in the hearts of those who knew him, and if they didn't know him personally, were affected by his work or by his existence on this earth in a positive way. WWII OSS radioman Arthur "Jibby" Jibilian was short in...

Only three of 58 Army Brigade Combat Teams (BCT) would be available to respond to an enemy attack if one hypothetically happened tonight, according to the vice chief of staff of the Army. “Of the BCTs that are ready, only three could be called upon to fight tonight in the event of a crisis,” Gen. Daniel Allyn told the House Committee on Armed Services during a hearing Wednesday. A BCT usually numbers anywhere between 4,400 to 4,700 soldiers, meaning only approximately 13,500 troops would be ready to fight an enemy in the event of an emergency. To make matters worse,...

The White House is considering granting the Pentagon more authority to launch time-sensitive anti-terrorism operations, which would give Defense Secretary James Mattis a freer hand to authorize raids against the Islamic State. President Donald Trump has indicated he wants Mattis to have the ability to launch raids quickly without necessarily needing White House approval as part of the administration's effort to fight ISIS, the Daily Beast reported Wednesday, citing U.S. officials. This policy change would be a stark contrast to the approach of Trump's predecessor, former President Barack Obama, who insisted on reviewing each anti-terrorism raid regardless of its time...

Years of budget cuts have taken a toll on the Navy's fleet of strike fighters. Nearly two-thirds of the Navy's strike fighters are sitting unused because there is not enough money to repair them, according to DefenseNews.com. The Navy has had to deal with declining budgets in recent years even though the demand for military aircrafts carriers remains the same. Congress was unable to produce a budget before the October 1 start of the 2017 fiscal year. Political leaders say Congress' inability to pass the military budget on time is hurting the fleet. In addition to the grounded planes, there...

A woman who was exposed for posing as a U.S. Army Lieutenant by Guardian of Valor in 2015 was just sentenced to prison by a Nevada judge last week. Kelsie Hoover, a transgender woman who began to undergo gender reassignment surgery a few years ago, was caught posing as a male U.S. soldier at Baltimore Washington Airport named “Michael Cipriani.” Following Guardian of Valor’s video being posted, Hoover was arrested in Oregon and extradited back to Nevada to face charges. Hoover went through trial and was sentenced to up to 20 years in prison.American Military News spoke to Anthony...

Standing on a city street, Mansoor Shams holds a sign that reads: “I’m a Muslim and a U.S. Marine. Ask anything.” The former Marine has been traveling around the nation, inviting those curious to ask him about his experiences. NewsHour joined Shams in Baltimore to listen in on his discussions and hear why he’s so eager to discuss his faith with strangers. JUDY WOODRUFF: Mansoor Shams served in the United States Marine Corps from 2000 to 2004. Recently, he has been traveling around the country with a simple sign that reads: “I’m a Muslim and a U.S. Marine. Ask anything.”...

In his first address to U.S. troops, President Trump vowed Monday to defeat the “radical Islamic terrorists” abroad and to prevent terrorism from “taking root” in America. “Today we deliver a message in one, very unified voice to these forces of death and destruction: America and its allies will defeat you,” Mr. Trump said at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Florida, headquarters of the U.S. Central Command. “Freedom, security and justice will prevail.” The president called the troops “our heroes” and said his administration will provide them with better equipment and supplies to carry the fight to the extremists....

I recently received this shocking letter from a man who has served as a contractor in Afghanistan. It reveals the appalling extent of sharia compliance in the United States military. My name is John Craig. I have been a contractor in Afghanistan for over five years as a mechanical engineer. Recently I have been dismissed by the command of Bagram Air Field and lost my job. I am in Kuwait and in route to go home and find another job. The reason I was expelled from the base is because I had two copies of the Koran. One was a...

Excerpt: Celebration time at the inaugural balls (42 images) Highlights from the various inaugural balls taking place across Washington, DC, to celebrate the inauguration of President Donald J. Trump on January 20, 2017. My commentary: A real nice touch at the Armed Forces Ball. Melania was paired with a sergeant. Trump danced with a Navy petty officer. What a beautiful event and fine tribute to our men and women in uniform! Some splendid photos at the link. Thank you UPI.

...... This morning, they sank to another low by blocking uniformed Air Force members from entering the Inauguration ceremony. ..... [VIDEO - 31 seconds]

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/james-mattis-confirmation-hearing-for-defense-secretary-live-blog/

Alex LockieJanuary 11, 2017 USAF In another positive sign for the beloved A-10, Air Force maintainers at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Arizona have outfitted the Warthog with an upgrade for combat search and rescue missions (CSAR). Dubbed the lightweight airborne recovery system, the upgrade helps A-10 pilots "communicate more effectively with individuals on the ground such as downed pilots, pararescuemen and joint terminal attack controllers," according to an Air Force statement. Of all the fixed-wing aircraft in the US Air Force's inventory, no plane carries out CSAR missions like the A-10. CSAR missions jump off with little warning and...

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama called for a smooth handover of control of the U.S. military to incoming commander in chief Donald Trump, as the outgoing president met Wednesday with military leaders for the last time."We've got to make sure that during this transition period that there is a seamless passing of the baton, that there's continuity," Obama said. He said it was critical to ensure that "we are doing everything we can to make sure that the next president will benefit from the same kinds of outstanding advice and service that these people around the table have provided...

Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus said recently in a December interview that while GOP President-elect Donald Trump can roll back social change in the military, doing so will make the force weaker. Mabus, who has served in the position longer than anyone since World War I, has overseen significant social changes in the military and caused a lot of consternation in the process. Now, in a wide-ranging interview with The Washington Post, he’s warning that if Trump rolls back social change in the military, he should admit that it will damage the force. “You make the decisions you think...

There’s been a fair amount of Trump-supporter braggadocio regarding the President-elect’s nomination of Gen. James “Mad Dog” Mattis as the new Defense Secretary – an admirable choice, certainly. If Mad Dog can navigate the machinations of the Pentagon as well as he did the battlefield we’re in for a rejuvenation of America’s military that should be a major reversal of its downward fortunes over the past few decades. I hope that Mr. Trump fully appreciates the magnitude of the task he has set before Gen. Mattis. That task that has grown steadily in size and complexity since the end of...

A naval program that has become a target for critics is preparing to commission a new vessel named after a well-known shooting survivor. Constructed by Austal USA in Mobile, Alabama, the USS Gabrielle Giffords has completed testing in the Gulf of Mexico and is scheduled to be commissioned in mid-2017. The company handed over the $475 million ship to the Navy on Friday.

Tyler DurdenDecember 21, 2016 One week ago, New Yorkers were captivated, and unnerved, by a 40-minute long military exercise in which one USAF C-130 and several HH-60 Pave Hawk helicopters could be seen circling at very low altitudes above Manhattan. While the US military kept silent about the overflight, U.S. Air Force Col. Nicholas Broccoli, the vice commander of the Air National Guard’s 106th Rescue Wing, said the aircraft were conducting "standard military training." However, one look at the flight pattern of the plane shows there was seemingly little that was "standard" about a C-130(snip)Today we learn that the overflights...

Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH) paid to a million service members living off base in the United States will climb an average of 2.4 percent Jan. 1, or about $41 a month. Actual increases for individual BAH recipients will vary by Military Housing Area, pay grade, and dependency status. For a third straight year, BAH adjustments will not quite keep pace with the average rise in rent and utility costs, as the Department of Defense sticks to a five-year plan to trim the cost of stateside housing allowances gradually. The dampening of rates will continue until 2019 when recipients will...