Free Republic

The Army adopted its battle rifle in 1963 and has spent 55 years looking for a replacement for the M-16 and its variants. They might have found it in Martin Grier’s Colorado Springs garage. Grier, a self-described inventor who has worked at a local bed and breakfast, built the new “ribbon gun” with a hobbyist’s tools. It looks like a space-age toy drawn by a fifth-grader. But goofy origins and cartoon-looks aside, this could be the gun of the future. The Army is studying Grier’s gun and has ordered a military-grade prototype. ... The specifications are incredible, four 6 mm...

South Korea's Army said Friday it has put a drone combat team in operation, a move to take advantage of the country's advanced ICT prowess. The unit is part of a new "ground intelligence unit" established under the wing of the Third ROK Army (TROKA), headquartered in Yongin, just south of Seoul. ROK is the acronym for South Korea's official name, the Republic of Korea. Army officials hope that the country's first drone battalion will help sharply enhance combat capabilities as a potential game changer in future warfare. "In the midst of rapidly changing strategic circumstances, the role and mission...

WASHINGTON —The U.S. Air Force has selected Boeing to replace the service's aging fleet of UH-1N Iroquois helicopters, which are currently tasked with security missions as well as protecting America's nuclear missile arsenal. The long-awaited Pentagon contract is worth $2.4 billion for up to 84 aircraft. The service awarded Boeing approximately $375 million for the first four helicopters on Monday.

The Senate Armed Services Committee, right as the U.S. negotiates the removal of nuclear missiles from North Korea, is set to consider a new Army general to head U.S. forces on the Korean Peninsula. Gen. Robert “Abe” Abrams will testify in a committee hearing Tuesday on his nomination to command U.S. Forces Korea and two other key military commands in South Korea. The Army general would take charge of 28,500 troops stationed in the South after a year of rollercoaster relations, and as President Trump considers a second summit meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on the regime’s...

A jury has ordered a female blogger to pay an Army colonel she accused of rape a total of $8.4million in damages. Susan Shannon, 52, who now lives in Everett, Washington, first alleged that she was sexually assaulted by Army Colonel David 'Wil' Riggins in 1986, while they were both cadets, on her blog in 2013. She said she waited three decades to come forward about her experience because of the army's 'code of silence'.

Soldiers from a Colorado National Guard space battalion who visited the Pentagon on Sept. 5 said they have no idea what role, if any, they would have in the Space Force that President Trump has proposed. But they did provide a glimpse into the daily grind of space warfare. When they are called up for duty, soldiers from the 117th Space Battalion go to war zones to help commanders on the ground get what they need from space: satellite imagery, weather analysis, early warning of a missile launch, communications and navigation. A space team includes six soldiers — two officers...

The military has dropped charges against a United States Army chaplain and his assistant for refusing to conduct a marriage retreat for a lesbian couple. The women filed a discrimination complaint, which the military investigated. The investigation led to a report charging Major Scott Squires and Sergeant Kacie Griffin with dereliction of duty. While a chaplain at Fort Bragg, Squires reportedly told a soldier he was unable to conduct a marriage retreat that included her and her same-sex partner because of the requirements of his church. Under the army's policies, every United States Army Special Operations Command commander is responsible...

[snip]The Army requires http://www.campbell.army.mil/Installation/Environmental_Handbook/Documents/LBPManagementtPlan_DEC2014.pdf abatement when certified testing identifies deteriorating lead paint in base homes. Yet it also "discourages" this type of lead-paint inspection https://phc.amedd.army.mil/topics/workplacehealth/ih/Pages/Lead.aspx, in part because lead abatement can be costly. These homes put military kids at risk. Reuters obtained medical data from the Army showing that at least 31 small children tested high for lead at a Fort Benning hospital over a recent six-year period. All tested above the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's threshold for elevated lead levels – 5 micrograms per deciliter of blood. Any child who tests high warrants a public health...

The Army has formally terminated its effort to develop a 25 mm airburst weapon, the largest of nearly three dozen ways a Pentagon watchdog has said the military could save $2.3 billion in defense spending. The ill-fated weapon, known as the XM25 and nicknamed "The Punisher," was once hailed as a game-changer for ground troops who would be able to use it to target enemies hiding behind cover. But it came under closer scrutiny several years ago after schedule slippage, cost overruns and aborted operational testing in Afghanistan. In 2016, the Pentagon inspector general recommended that the Army consider ending...

FORT DRUM, N.Y. (WCAX) President Trump is visiting New York's North Country today as part of a trip to Fort Drum. Congresswoman Elise Stefanik in a tweet invited the president to Fort Drum last week. The past three presidents have all visited the post. As part of the visit, the president will sign a defense spending bill. No other stops are listed in in itinerary. Air Force One is expected to land at 1 p.m. in Morristown. The President will then head to Wheeler-Sack Army Air Field in Fort Drum. Our Kelly O'Brien will have the latest on the president's...

The U.S. Army has stopped discharging immigrant recruits who enlisted seeking a path to citizenship -- at least temporarily. A memo shared with The Associated Press on Wednesday and dated July 20 spells out orders to high-ranking Army officials to stop processing discharges of men and women who enlisted in the special immigrant program, effective immediately. It was not clear how many recruits were impacted by the action, and the Pentagon did not immediately respond to requests for comment about the memo. "Effective immediately, you will suspend processing of all involuntary separation actions," read the memo signed by Acting Assistant...

Last week, US Defense Watch reported on the continuing social engineering destruction derby that is laying waste to what is left of the fighting spirit, warrior culture and combat power of the US military. In Six Months’ Worth of PC, Diversity and Leftist Destruction in the US Military, Part I, we discussed several events and policies that occurred or were implemented from June to August 2018. Part II continues with a myriad of examples concerning the leftist social engineering that marches on; without anyone, including Mad Dog Mattis, lifting a finger to stop it. What follows should alarm any American....

NORTH PLATTE, Neb.-- Seventy-seven years have passed since North Platte first welcomed troops at the Canteen with some food and kindness. That spirit of generosity and patriotism still carries on today and the recent community effort to feed 700 U.S. Army men and women passing through the area is proof. The two-day effort on Monday and Tuesday to serve up a tasty meal for our troops had to be kept quiet for security reasons; but, now News 2 has permission to share about the community effort behind the Canteen revival. Lisa Burke of the North Platte / Lincoln County Visitors...

Meet the Army of 2018, where men are women, women are men, Mommies are Rangers and breast milk is served on tap in the First Sergeant’s lactation station. In order for the complete and final unraveling of the Army’s fighting spirit and combat power to occur, the concept of gender neutrality has to be served up on a platter to the young, gullible Millennial masses and shoved down the throats of the last breed of hardass old school holdouts who are 60 days and wake up away from escaping from an organization they have seen go from the Dirty Dozen...

WO1 John A. Ayuyu of Rota is the first fixed wing aviator from the Marianas to graduate from the U.S. Army Aviation Center of Excellence. He is the son of Juan M. Ayuyu and Alvina A. Ayuyu. WO1 Ayuyu completed his rigorous training at Fort Rucker, Alabama. WO1 Ayuyu made his dream a reality through hard work and determination. He successfully graduated from Warrant Officer Candidate School in April of 2017 and has completed the Overwater Survival Training and Survival Evasion Resistance and Escape (SERE) courses. This year, he sets his sights higher finishing at the top of his class...

South Korea says it plans to scale back the number of guard posts along its tense border with North Korea and withdraw some military equipment. The move comes amid talks with the U.S. over how much Seoul should pay for its own defense. The announcement comes as an expert on North Korea's weapons program reports that Pyongyang has begun dismantling key facilities at a satellite launching station in fulfillment of a pledge by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un last month at the Singapore summit with President Trump. In a report on Tuesday, South Korea's defense ministry apprised a parliamentary...

I hope you find this as interesting as I did. I especially like the twin ideas of having mothers help cook the food and also inspecting the food along the supply chain to make sure the young soldiers are getting tasty, nutritious meals. We should do something like that.

A group of army generals rolling tanks and troops into Seoul to seize power. Paratroopers firing at large crowds calling for democracy. Tanks and armored vehicles stationed at universities to intimidate student protesters. Such scenes of military intervention in South Korea have been nonexistent since the country achieved democracy in the late 1980s. But revelations this past week of a document showing the military drafted plans to mobilize troops to suppress protests last year have struck a nerve among people in one of Asia’s most vibrant and wealthiest democracies. Some allege the plans even included a scenario for a coup....

The Department of Defense on Friday identified the American service member killed in Afghanistan on July 12 as Army Sgt. 1st Class Christopher Andrew Celiz from Summerville, South Carolina. Currently, Army officials are trying to determine what the circumstances are surrounding Celiz’ death, Vice Chief of Staff Gen. James McConville said on Friday. “I can tell you that sergeant first class was a hero,” he said. Celiz, assigned to the 1st Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, Hunter Army Airfield, Georgia, died from wounds sustained from enemy small arms fire while conducting combat operations at a medevac landing zone in the eastern...

The U.S. Army will unveil details about its largest reorganization in 45 years Friday, senior service officials said, as they create a new organization in an attempt to adapt more quickly to technology and address expensive failures in weapons acquisitions. Army Futures Command is being established in part to address concerns about the more than $32 billion the Army has spent since 1995 on programs that it canceled early with little to nothing to show for them. The new power center will be on par with other influential Army organizations, such as Training and Doctrine Command and Forces Command, and...