Free Republic

As a new illegal immigration concern impacts the United States, Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) announced that his state interdicted suspected illegal aliens fleeing Haiti. On Friday, DeSantis said that Florida stopped a boat filled with 25 illegal immigrants, firearms, and drugs from landing in his state on February 29. He also confirmed that five of them were unaccompanied children. The governor said that the illegal immigrants were part of a human smuggling operation. DeSantis expressed his frustration and criticism of the Biden Administration for failing to do its job of securing the border and making the United States safe. He...

Coast Guard will not enforce new California rule, citing 'safety concerns' The Center Square) - The U.S. Coast Guard says it “will not enforce” a new California Air Resources Board regulation, citing “safety concerns.” The Coast Guard and business organizations oppose CARB's requirement that commercial harbor craft install diesel particulate filters linked to a number of fires. Seventeen states are suing the Environmental Protection Agency for giving an exemption to California alone to enact its own air standards that, by power of its market size, govern much of the rest of the country.

It has been revealed that Seattle law enforcement personnel had been ordered to allow anti-Israel demonstrators to seize control of a major bridge during rush hour traffic on Thursday evening. In addition, the United States Coast Guard had reportedly agreed to hold boat traffic ahead of the demonstration. The activists shut down the drawbridge for more than 3 hours, which caused significant traffic delays with miles-long backups.

Phil Gurtler, a public affairs officer for the Great Lakes at the U.S. Coast Guard station in Cleveland, said a manpower shortage nationwide is forcing the decision to restore staffing and other resources to levels they should be in areas where service calls are highest. “We are going to reallocate some of the personnel and assets,” he said. On average, he explained, staffing at all locations is down by about 10 percent from what the Coast Guard feels a station should have to be “optimally manned.” The numbers reflect the growing challenge of recruiting people into the military over the...

Recruitment and retention challenges have led the U.S. Coast Guard into a system-wide service retreat. A 3500-person shortfall—a nearly 10% shortage in the enlisted ranks—is forcing the Coast Guard to take ten cutters out of service, transfer five tugs to seasonal activation, and shutter 29 boat stations. The moves, couched as a bland “AY 24 Force Alignment Initiative”, present an unprecedented loss of maritime capability at a time when the United States is facing an array of complex challenges at sea. But the Coast Guard simply “cannot maintain the same level of operations” going forward. Behind the scenes, the service...

The U.S Coast Guard is adapting to a workforce shortage by making operational adjustments, aiming to preserve its capacity to fulfill critical missions. The agency has 10 percent fewer enlisted personnel than needed, and it has acknowledged that it cannot continue to operate as before with fewer people. Rather than attempt to run all its vessels shorthanded, it will be idling some of its cutters and transferring crew to fully man the remaining active vessels. “We cannot do the same with less. Conducting our missions is often inherently dangerous, and doing so without enough crew puts our members and the...

Ordering the Selected Reserve and Certain Members of the Individual Ready Reserve of the Armed Forces to Active DutyHOMEBRIEFING ROOMPRESIDENTIAL ACTIONSBy the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, including sections 121 and 12304 of title 10, United States Code, I hereby determine that it is necessary to augment the active Armed Forces of the United States for the effective conduct of Operation Atlantic Resolve in and around the United States European Command’s area of responsibility. In furtherance of this operation, under the stated authority, I hereby authorize the...

Law guarantees Veterans receive a compensation adjustment next year On June 14, 2023, President Joe Biden signed into law the Veterans Compensation Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA) Act of 2023, which directs the Department of Veterans Affairs to provide a cost-of-living adjustment for Veterans benefits in 2024 equal to the COLA applied to Social Security benefits, as determined by the Social Security Administration (SSA). The legislation, passed with bi-partisan support in the House and Senate, is an annual procedure for Congress but an important one, as it must be accomplished to ensure Veterans receive a COLA, and that it keeps pace with...

The US Coast Guard covered up more than 100 instances of rape, sexual assault and other sexual misconduct at its Connecticut officer training academy dating back to the 1980s, a secret investigation found. The “Operation Fouled Anchor” probe, which was kept confidential by top military officials for several years, revealed that the alleged crimes were ignored or covered up by top officials, CNN reported Friday. “There was a disturbing pattern of not treating reported sexual assaults as criminal matters,” a draft of the report stated. Most of the credibly accused suspects never faced criminal investigations, instead being slapped with extra...

Just wanted to report in after seeing Fleet Week Los Angeles, held dockside in San Pedro. I helped out a tiny bit, handing out maps and schedules to visitors. I just wanted to report that patriotism is alive and well, where you may not expect it. All kinds of Angeleños showed up, wearing tshirts about military service, patriotism, God, faith and family. Many young families, service men and women, police, community volunteers, veterans. I did see one Black Lives Matter ball cap, but also saw a first: “dare to be Lutheran” on a tshirt. Most poignant: a woman came up...

In a series of tweets, the Coast Guard said they were conducting a training mission at the mouth of the Columbia River when two aircrews received a mayday call from a boat named Sandpiper. The video shows the boat was in the middle of the surf just floating back and forth on Friday morning. Since the conditions were so bad, boats could not be sent in to rescue the man. Instead, the Coast Guard said aircrews decided to lower a rescue swimmer and have the man on board jump into the water. The boat capsized right as the man on...

A Japan Coast Guard vessel is reportedly taking on water and leaking oil after grounding in rough weather while on a routine patrol on January 18. The vessel is stranded and awaiting a salvage crew but in no danger of sinking. The 3,100 gross ton Echigo, built by Mitsui Engineering & Shipbuilding and commissioned in 1990, was operating in central Japan on Wednesday morning. Strong winds of 25 mph were blowing with heavy surf when the vessel approached a lighthouse near Kashiwazaki along the Sea of Japan. (...)

The woke war on the military has been overseen by the Biden administration and by disloyal military brass who have sought to advance their careers at the expense of national security.But the latest attack is coming in the form of a bipartisan Senate bill for the NDAA.The National Defense Authorization Act is a massive annual omnibus defense spending bill that currently hovers around $850 billion. It’s been the subject of detailed negotiations and the only real win that Republicans have come away with is dumping Biden’s military vaccine mandate, but without actually assuring a return for those servicemembers forced to...

An Army captain was separated from the service for refusing to take the COVID-19 vaccine as the GOP attempts to roll back Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin’s military vaccine mandate. Capt. Stephen Rogerson (a pseudonym) has served in the Army for 17 years, and on Dec. 6, a three-person administrative board voted to separate him from service. On the same day, the House passed an $858 billion defense funding bill, the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for the fiscal year 2023, that included a provision to rescind the military’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate. But soldiers like Rogerson are “falling through the...

A group of Republican lawmakers are calling on the Biden administration to reassess the U.S. Coast Guard’s policy for “religious exemptions from the COVID-19 vaccination order,” which will likely force the involuntary discharge of a service member whom President Joe Biden thanked last month for his “heroic work.” Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., along with 16 other congressmen, sent a letter to Biden, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, and U.S. Coast Guard Commandant Linda Fagan on Monday regarding the administration’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate for U.S. Coast Guard members. “Service members that have not obtained a COVID-19 vaccine risk an...

President Joe Biden on Friday personally called to thank a Coast Guard rescue swimmer — who is facing discharge over Biden’s vaccine mandate — for saving people’s lives during Hurricane Ian. The White House publicized the call in a press release and Biden himself bragged about calling him.

NEW LONDON, Conn. (AP) — The Coast Guard Academy is disenrolling seven cadets for failing to comply with the military’s COVID-19 vaccination mandate, after their requests for religious exemptions were denied and they were ordered to leave campus. The academy in New London, Connecticut, confirmed the disenrollments Tuesday, The Day newspaper reported. A lawyer for several of the cadets said they were told on Aug. 18 that they had to leave campus by 4 p.m. the next day. “They were escorted to the gate like they were criminals or something,” the lawyer, Michael Rose, told the newspaper. “No one helped...

The Coast Guard Academy is disenrolling seven cadets for failing to comply with the military’s COVID-19 vaccination mandate, after their requests for religious exemptions were denied and they were ordered to leave campus. The academy in New London, Connecticut, confirmed the disenrollments Tuesday, The Day newspaper reported. A lawyer for several of the cadets said they were told on Aug. 18 that they had to leave campus by 4 p.m. the next day. "They were escorted to the gate like they were criminals or something," the lawyer, Michael Rose, told the newspaper. The cadets’ names have not been released. Rose...

Coast Guard Academy cadets seeking religious exemption from the military's COVID-19 vaccine mandate were ordered to vacate the campus within 24 hours of receiving notification of final military adjudication of their cases and given no further details regarding their future in the service. Much like the West Point cadets whose appeals of religious accommodation requests (RAR) for exemption were denied, the Coast Guard cadets were afforded barely any time to adjust to the final military adjudication of their cases... After being ordered to leave within 24 hours of being notified that their disenrollment appeals were denied, the seven unvaccinated Coast...

NEW BUFFALO, Mich. — REAL News Michiana has obtained exclusive bodycam video of a false arrest of Granger man by the United States Coast Guard last month. The Coast Guard made the arrest based off of a flyer sent to them from an anonymous source, then claimed the man was wanted for assaulting a federal officer at the January 6th, 2021, rally in Washington D.C. It turned out, there was no warrant. The Coast Guard arrested Walker on June 11th of this year at the Moorings Marina in New Buffalo. However, there was no warrant and no evidence the 68-year-old...