Free Republic

WASHINGTON, Aug. 21, 2009 – When a TriWest Healthcare Alliance nurse who serves in the Kansas Air National Guard got notice of an upcoming deployment in 2006, TriWest President David McIntyre ensured the company would see to her family’s needs. “There was no hesitation when I said that I was going to deploy,” said Janet Hanson, a colonel with 24 total years of active and Air Guard military service. “Mr. McIntyre personally said that if my family or I need anything during the deployment to contact him personally, which was great.” McIntyre’s gesture is just one of the reasons TriWest...

Electromagnetic Railgun: An Innovative Naval Program What is the electromagnetic railgun? In a word, innovation. This weapons system will bypass the traditional use of chemical propellants or rocket motors for firing projectiles or missiles. Instead, electromagnetic railguns mounted on U.S. naval vessels will use electricity to launch projectiles farther and faster than any ship in today's fleet. When fully operational, the electromagnetic railgun (EMRG) will: Deliver hypervelocity projectiles at Mach 5 on impact in support of Marines and ground forces.Strike within 5 meters of a pinpointed target from distances in excess of 200 nautical miles. Maximize damage through kinetic energy...

PINEVILLE, La., Nov. 26, 2008 – When soldiers from Louisiana National Guard headquarters and Headquarters Company, 225th Engineer Brigade, received their mobilization orders, thoughts of what they would be leaving behind for the next year ran across their minds. Army Spc. Ryan Custis of Pineville, La., and Army Spc. Curtis Nordby of Dry Prong, La., members of the Louisiana National Guard’s 225th Engineer Brigade in Pineville, La., latch the tailgate on a Humvee containing nearly $3,500 worth of donated Community Coffee. Army photo by Sgt. Rebekah L. Malone  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. But thanks to one local...

8/28/2008 - CHARLESTON AIR FORCE BASE, S.C. (AFPN) -- More than 130 Charleston Air Force Base Airmen deployed from here Aug. 27 to a forward-deployed location in Southwest Asia to support operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom. Members of the 15th Airlift Squadron, 437th Operations Support Squadron and 437th Maintenance Group will fly and manage missions in and out of Iraq and Afghanistan. The squadron will assume control of the 816th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron from the 14th Airlift Squadron based out of Charleston AFB, who will return home. Lt. Col. John Lamontagne, the 15th AS commander, said there was no...

WASHINGTON, Jan. 15, 2008 – About 3,200 U.S. Marines will be sent to Afghanistan this spring on a one-time deployment to help NATO forces there expand on successes gained against the Taliban over the past year, according to a Defense Department news release issued today. President Bush has approved the deployment of Marines that was recommended by Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates, the release said. “This extraordinary, one-time deployment involves approximately 3,200 personnel and will enable commanders in Afghanistan to enhance the training of increasingly-capable Afghan National Security Forces to build on the military successes of 2007 and to...

A baby's cries were the only sound that broke the hush when the soldiers of the 257th Transportation Company marched out Saturday before an overflow crowd of hundreds of relatives and friends who had come to say farewell. For many of the more than 200 men and women who make up the Army Reserve unit, that sound will be one of the things they miss the most when they deploy, first for two months of training in Indiana, then for the Middle East. They have deployed before, but they have become parents since that last deployment, or added new children...

FORT HUACHUCA — Slightly after 11 a.m. on Thursday, a commercial Boeing 757 lifted off the main runaway at Libby Army Airfield carrying 114 soldiers of the 11th Signal Brigade to a 15-month deployment in Iraq. The soldiers, mainly of the brigade’s headquarters company, are the first of the hundreds of soldiers from the 11th Signal Brigade, primarily of the 40th Signal Battalion, headed to Iraq between now and the end of the year. Soldiers of the brigade’s 86th Signal Battalion are expected to return from their 15-month deployment later this month and in November. For more on this story,...

Duncan D. Hunter never thought he would follow in his father (presidential candidate Duncan Hunter)’s political footsteps. He hadn’t planned on joining the Marines either. But 9/11 changed America and Hunter’s life dramatically. Today, he is serving his third combat tour -- the first two in Iraq -- in Afghanistan. And his wife is campaigning as his surrogate for San Diego, California’s 52nd Congressional District, the seat Hunter’s father now holds, including the cities of Alpine and La Mesa. Hunter’s wife Margaret stepped in to carry the campaign on after he was called from the reserves to go overseas. Now...

For the last week or so, there's been a rush on marriage licenses.

FORT HUACHUCA — When it comes to using dogs as part of the Army’s military police community, a small number of two- and four-legged teams are involved in providing protection. The 18th Military Police Detachment’s Military Working Dogs section on this Southern Arizona post has eight dogs and handlers assigned, but not all of them work on the fort. As members are being called to deploy to Iraq and Afghanistan, so are the working dog teams. One team, Sgt. Stephen Gruden and Staff Sgt. Goliath, is currently deployed. On Saturday, Sgt. James Adolfson and J.R., another four-legged staff sergeant, will...

FORT HUACHUCA — Another 50 soldiers from this southeastern Arizona post are heading for Iraq. Friday morning, members of the 504th Signal Battalion wished fellow Signal Corps soldiers of the 518th Tactical Installation Networking Platoon good luck as they prepare to leave this weekend. Noting the battalion formation was to say “farewell within the family to the 518th Platoon,” Command Sergeant Maj. Raymond Thompson remarked he knows the group will do well in facing the challenges ahead of them. “We (the 504th) always treated them (the platoon) as family,” he said. The 504th is the host unit of the platoon,...

9/12/2006 - MOUNTAIN HOME AIR FORCE BASE, Idaho (AFPN) -- More than 160 Airmen from the 726th Air Control Squadron here deployed Sept. 10 in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Their mission is to monitor the airspace over a battlefield and provide military leaders with a clear and accurate picture of that area, allowing commanders to make informed, real-time decisions. "We are self-sufficient and are comprised of 27 Air Force specialty codes. We are capable of going into the middle of nowhere and supporting ourselves," said Master Sgt. Todd Kern, the 726th ACS first sergeant who did not deploy with...

A new poll to freep. This one doesn't usually get hit by Freepers and they do occasionally report on poll results on the local news. Do you think 1st Lt. Ehren Watada should face a court martial for refusing to go to Iraq?

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's activation of the California National Guard to bolster airline security began seamlessly at some airports on Friday, appeared haphazard at others and was rejected at Oakland International - one of three airports the governor said was most important to protect. With 640 activated troops, the Guard's first airport deployment since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks was to begin costing about $128,000 a day in anti-terror funding. The scattershot nature of the deployment was evident throughout the state, with troops helping ease long lines at security checkpoints in Southern California but being relegated to distant fields in San...

US to deploy missile interceptors at Japan base TOKYO (Reuters) - The United States will start deploying missile interceptors at a key air force base in Japan from this summer, as part of efforts with Tokyo to deal with the threat of North Korea's missile arsenal, the Japanese Foreign Ministry said on Thursday. The U.S. military will install Patriot Advanced Capability-3 surface-to-air interceptors at its Kadena Air Base on the southern Japanese island of Okinawa from September and plans to make them partly operational by the end of the year, the ministry said. They will be fully operational by the...

U.S. Army Spc. Lindaann Galeai, who mans the computer help desk for Task Force 3, practices grenade throwing in mobilization training at Fort McCoy, Wis. U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Sam McClarty Task Force 3 Trains to Deploy Medical personnel undergo training to prepare them for combat duty in Iraq. By U.S. Army Maj. Bob Hart 3rd MEDCOM Public Affairs Officer FORT MCCOY, Wis., July 19, 2006 -- Medical care in Operation Iraqi Freedom has progressed to the point that soldiers who are injured there are now surviving at the highest rate in U.S. military history. One of...

REDSTONE ARSENAL, Ala. (Army News Service, July 10, 2006) – Having volunteered with the Red Cross, Cindra Smith knew there was something wrong when she arrived home from work late one night and had a Red Cross message on her machine. “When I called them back I was told to wait by the phone and expect a call,” she said. “When I got the phone call they said my daughter had been shot in the back during an IED attack in Iraq.” Pvt. Tracy Branton, Smith’s oldest daughter, was a heavy wheel mechanic on a convoy in Iraq when it...

All the major training is done. The vehicles will be loaded onto ships later this month at the Port of Olympia, and by the end of next month, the Army’s first Stryker brigade will be on its way back to Iraq. Nearly half the 4,000 soldiers in the 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division were with the unit the first time it went over in November 2003. Their experience, and that of the two Stryker brigades that succeeded them, have informed preparations different from the last time, the Fort Lewis-based soldiers say. “Before, we went over thinking we knew what was...

4/17/2006 - WHEELER ARMY AIR FIELD, Hawaii (AFPN) -- Tactical air controllers from the 25th Air Support Operations Squadron are practicing basic close-combat skills to prepare themselves for an upcoming deployment in support of the war on terrorism. “Not only is the training fun and keeps you physically active, but it is very practical for (Tactical Air Control Party) members because of the missions that we undertake,” said Staff Sgt. George Earhart, a tactical air controller from the 25th ASOS. Although TACPs are in the Air Force, they spend a lot of time with the Army. The need to be...

WASHINGTON, March 30, 2006 – With the war on terror in its fifth year, U.S. military personnel continue to pack duffle bags and don desert camouflage uniforms -- many not for the first time. "I am proud of what I accomplished during my tour in Iraq and would be proud to return, on sea or on land," Navy Lt. Cmdr. David Bitler, a surface warfare officer, said. Bitler is assigned to the USS Tarawa, which returned from a Middle East cruise in February. "Most of all, I'd be honored to work again alongside the Iraqi people, whose bravery and courage...