Free Republic

WASHINGTON, Nov. 26, 2008 – Wounded warriors who call into the Marine Wounded Warrior Call Center near Quantico, Va., find truth in the motto, “once a Marine, always a Marine.” That’s because their calls are answered by people like Alfredo Soto, who fondly remembers the camaraderie he experienced during his service in the Marine Corps. “We were always being told to look out for and take care of your buddy,” Soto, 36, said. He is one of several veterans and military family members who work the phones at the call center in Dumfries, Va. “I know I’m out of...

WASHINGTON, Feb. 15, 2007 – About 100 troops from the New York Army National Guard are assisting in snow removal in upstate New York, where winter storms have left more than 10 feet of snow in some areas over the past two weeks. Soldiers of the New York National Guard's 827th Engineer Company wait aboard trucks in Syracuse, N.Y., for a convoy to begin during Feb. 14, 2007. More than 100 New York National Guard troops are helping remove snow in Oswego and Onondaga counties. Photo by Sgt. 1st Class Peter K. Towse, USA  '(Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image...

WASHINGTON, Sept. 8, 2006 -- Troops appreciate a congressionally legislated insurance program that provides financial aid to badly wounded servicemembers, a senior DoD official told a Senate committee here yesterday. Congress established the Traumatic Servicemembers Group Life Insurance program in 2005 in response to the experiences of some former and current military members who found themselves financially strapped after they suffered severe injuries during the war against terrorism. Coverage applies to active-duty and reserve-component members. “The program is working very well, and the Department of Defense is a satisfied customer,” Michael Dominguez, principal deputy undersecretary of defense for personnel and...

8/7/2006 - RANDOLPH AIR FORCE BASE, Texas (AFPN) -- They gave something that they can never get back, and a group here does its best to ensure these heroes smoothly move on to the next phase of their lives. Palace HART -- Helping Airmen Recover Together -- is a program that assists Airmen injured in operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom. Many of them have amputations and other handicaps. The program assists them in staying on active duty, if possible, but it also helps injured veterans transition to life in the civilian world. The program started in 2004. "Place HART...

JACKSONVILLE, Fla., May 3, 2006 – Two Afghan children are receiving lifesaving treatment in the United States, thanks in part to the efforts of members of the Florida Army National Guard serving in Afghanistan. (Left to right) Florida Army National Guard Brig. Gen. John M. Perryman; Ahsan Sarwari and his son, 8-year-old Tamin Sawari; Ainuddin Kofi and his son, 2-year-old Azad Kofi; translator Abdul Matin; and Florida Army National Guard Lt. Col. Tom LaFountain pose for a photo at Camp Phoenix, near Kabul, Afghanistan, before the journey to the states for the children's medical treatment. Photo by Lt. Col....

ARABIAN SEA (NNS) -- USS Reuben James (FFG 57) rendered medical assistance to a Sri Lankan fisherman while conducting maritime security operations (MSO) as part of a Dutch-led task force in the Arabian Sea, April 21. During a routine visit to a Sri Lankan fishing vessel, the Deuedu Pietro, Sailors from Reuben James discovered that one of the vessel’s crew members had sustained a knee injury five days earlier that had become infected. The Sailors radioed back for medical assistance from Reuben James’s independent duty corpsman, Hospital Corpsman 1st Class (FMF/PJ) Matthew Breske. Breske joined the boarding team aboard the...

ABOARD USS ARDENT – While conducting maritime security operations (MSO) in the Arabian Gulf, March 6, USS Ardent (MCM 12) responded to a distress call by an Iraqi-owned commercial vessel. Ardent arrived on scene after the crew of Motor Vessel Gulf Queen reported via bridge-to-bridge radio that the vessel was dead-in-the-water with no topside or navigational lighting visible. The Avenger-class mine countermeasure ship deployed two rescue and assistance teams (RNA), which performed a security sweep of the crippled ship and conducted an assessment of its electrical and engineering conditions as well as the welfare of the crew. According to Engineman...

ABOARD USS CAPE ST. GEORGE (NNS) -- USS Cape. St. George’s (CG 71) boarding team responded to a distress call by a Panamanian-flagged motor vessel while conducting maritime security operations in the North Persian Gulf Feb. 27. The master of Motor Vessel Hader, a diesel tanker, contacted Cape St. George via bridge-to-bridge reporting it had been fired upon and illegally boarded. One of Cape’s two Visit, Board, Search and Seizure (VBSS) teams boarded the vessel and conducted a security sweep of the ship to verify that it was safe for the master and his 11 crew members to stay aboard....

WASHINGTON (Army News Service, Nov. 10, 2005) – The Army announced that it is changing the name of the Disabled Soldier Support System, or DS3 – a program that assists severely wounded Soldiers – to the U.S. Army Wounded Warrior Program. "The name change of this program is indicative of the Warrior spirit that today’s Soldiers so proudly display,” said Gen. Peter J. Schoomaker, Army Chief of Staff. “Medical technology has advanced to the point where Soldiers injured today on the battlefield are much more likely to survive than those injured in previous wars," said Schoomaker. "Soldiers enrolled in the...

NEW ORLEANS (AFPN) -- Plowing through 5 feet of water and providing fuels assistance to those who request it is not the typical job for an Air Force fuels team, but here they did what needed to be done. A fuels team with the 2nd Logistics Readiness Squadron left Barksdale Air Force Base, La., on Sept. 1 to assist with helicopter refueling in response to Hurricane Katrina recovery efforts. With them, the team brought two R-11 jet fuel trucks and a C-300 1,200 gallon ground product truck. While en route, the team was told their mission was relocated to Joint...