Free Republic

A federal law passed in February 2012 to help middle class families by creating jobs and cutting payroll taxes included a section mandating the creation of a nationwide interoperable broadband communications system for law enforcement and first responders. The system, which is being created under the direction of the First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet), seeks to create a nationwide broadband network capable of being used for a variety of law enforcement purposes including remote surveillance, mobile biometric applications like field fingerprint scanning and facial recognition, as well as automated license plate reading. The system is currently in a pilot phase...

Oath Keepers is a non-partisan association of current and formerly serving military, police, and first responders, who pledge to fulfill the oath all military and police take to “defend the Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic.” That oath, mandated by Article VI of the Constitution itself, is to the Constitution, not to the politicians, and Oath Keepers declare that they will not obey unconstitutional orders, such as orders to disarm the American people, to conduct warrantless searches, or to detain Americans as “enemy combatants” in violation of their ancient right to jury trial. The Oath Keepers motto is “not...

The House Judiciary Committee unanimously passed a bill which would permanently reauthorize the 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund Wednesday, the day after comedian Jon Stewart gave impassioned testimony in support of the bill in video that quickly went viral. The bill will now go to the floor for a full vote in the House of Representatives, where it is likely to pass. It's unclear whether Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell will take up the bill in the Senate, although Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York said Wednesday that he was "imploring, pleading, even begging" McConnell to bring the bill...

9/3/2009 - BAGHDAD (AFNS) -- Two Airmen stationed inside the International Zone here are in the process of training Iraqi firefighters to be able to respond to a crisis at a moment's notice. By the end of this training, Master Sgt. Jeffrey Kimball and Tech. Sgt. Essam Cordova, 821st Expeditionary Civil Engineer Squadron, Iraqi Training Advisory Mission fire rescue advisors, said the Iraqis should be capable of running a response system similar to 9-1-1 in the United States. "The best way to think about it is when you call 9-1-1 you feel like you're safe, and we're trying to do...

KANDAHAR AIRFIELD, Afghanistan, May 14, 2009 – As the gray smoke dissipates, men and women lie scattered on the gravel. Some moan, some call for help and some are silent. These U.S. servicemembers are role players taking part in a force-protection exercise simulating a mass-casualty event here. Air Force Tech Sgt. Rick Dickey, the morning shift leader of the U.S. provost marshall’s office at Kandahar Airfield, Afghanistan, evaluates the simulated wounds of a role-player during a combined military and civilian mass-casualty exercise, April 30, 2009. U.S. Army photo by Elisebet Freeburg  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. The U.S....

Updated: 12-03-2002 04:24:54 PM Anguish, Tributes Expressed At Oregon Memorial Service LARRY BACON Courtesy The Register-Guard, Eugene, Oregon The close-knit community of firefighters joined hundreds of mournful townspeople Sunday in an emotional salute and farewell to the three Coos Bay firemen who lost their lives in a burning building last Monday. The ceremony followed a procession through the twin communities of Coos Bay and North Bend that included more than 275 fire vehicles from about 100 fire departments across the Northwest. To the strains of a bagpipe band made up of police and fire officials from the Portland area, nearly...