Free Republic

For the first time in history, the F-35B took off from a ship with a full-load of weapons. Integrating the F-35B will change tactics on-board amphibious assault ships The Marine Corps F-35B Short-Take-Off-and-Vertical-Landing Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter took off from a Navy amphibious assault ship for the first time with a full load of weapons -- in preparation for its planned deployment in 2018. The aircraft flew from the Navy's first America-Class Amphibious Assault Ship, the USS America, to Yuma Proving Grounds, Ariz., where it dropped live precision guided weapons on mock targets in the desert. The F-35B dropped...

Shifting Battleground Since the polling team last surveyed likely voters in August, a lot has changed. The number of battleground states has shrunk — from 19 to 14 — as Alaska, Georgia, North Dakota and Montana returned to their Republican roots. In August, Obama led in the 14 states by 3 points. Now McCain leads in those states by 2, and the underlying political landscape has shifted a bit as well. In August, by a 7-point margin, more voters identified themselves as Democrats. Now, in the battleground states, the Democratic advantage in party identification has shrunk to 2 points.

FORT HOOD, Texas (Army News Service, Aug. 8, 2006) – The Purple Heart Medal will have its own monument at the 1st Cavalry Division Museum at Fort Hood next month. The announcement came on Purple Heart Day, Aug. 7. In its 85-year history, thousands of First Team Soldiers have earned the Army’s oldest medal. Nearly 2,000 Purple Hearts were awarded during the division’s last rotation to Iraq. “This monument on the museum grounds will give units a nice, shaded area to hold ceremonies,” said Carrie Cutchens, a museum staff member and collection specialist. The monument is slated for dedication during...

Old Indian grounds discovered near site of proposed park COOLEEMEE, N.C. (AP) -- Looters searching for stone tools and spearheads near a proposed scenic park site have turned up one of the oldest American Indian archaeological sites in North Carolina. Though locals had been finding arrowheads near the site for years, no one knew that there had been an ancient settlement there, said Ken Sales, the chairman of the River Park Task Force, which is planning the park near Cooleemee Falls. Over the past two months, archaeologists at Wake Forest University surveyed 30 acres of parkland, screening soil at about...