Free Republic

All it takes is one crack for a stone wall to start crumbling. Nine months after the deadly 9/14 raid on Camp Bastion in Afghanistan, the families of two fallen Marines may finally get some answers. Real accountability, of course, is another story. A formal internal investigation into lax security at the base -- a British-run NATO compound that adjoins our Marines' Camp Leatherneck -- is now under way. A few members of Congress are putting pressure on the administration for the truth. And a couple of mainstream reporters are digging deeper. More, please. And faster. Camp Bastion belongs in...

CAMP LEATHERNECK, Afghanistan -- Teams of builders worked through dust storms Monday to expand a base for a brigade of U.S. Marines now fanning out across southern Afghanistan to change the course of a war claiming American lives faster than ever before. Some 10,000 Marines have poured into Afghanistan in the last six weeks, the military said Monday, transforming this once small base in the heart of the country's most violent province, Helmand, into a desert fortress. The statement to embedded journalists, including a team from The Associated Press, was the first confirmation that the military has fully deployed the...

This September, Senator John McCain's youngest son, Jimmy, 18, will report to a U.S. Marine Corps depot near Camp Pendleton in San Diego. After three months of boot camp and a month of specialized training, he will be ready to deploy. Depending on the unit he joins, he could be in Iraq as early as this time next year, and his chances of seeing combat at some point are high. Of the 178,000 active-duty Marines in the world, some 80,000 have seen a tour in Iraq or Afghanistan, and there are 25,000 bearing the brunt of some of the worst...

TexasCowboy was called home last night. Please Add your prayers.

This is one of those rare moments when it might be better if I were not a former Marine. Don't misunderstand me, I'm incredibly proud of my prior service as one of America's "few good men." But I'm afraid I may now come across as being somewhat less-than objective when I attempt to blast Navy fawning James F. Dunnigan out of the water (no pun intended). Here's why: Last month, Dunnigan, acclaimed author and the editor in chief of Strategy Page, wrote a piece, "Why the U.S. Navy Is Creating a New Marine Corps," in which he said, "the toughest...

MARINE CORPS RECRUIT DEPOT SAN DIEGO, Calif. (August 19, 2005) -- Harley Davidson motorcycles roared through the hallways of Pendleton Hall and bellowed down the streets of the depot while Marine veterans cruised down memory lane Aug. 12. Seventeen former Marines from the Leatherneck Motorcycle Club, California Chapter, came from all over the state to witness recruit graduation and walk around the base where many of them trained decades before. To be a part of the Leatherneck Motorcycle Club, one must first be an active duty, reserve, or honorably discharged U.S. Marine or Navy corpsman who has served with a...

MUDPUPPY'S BIRTHDAY!!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JARHEAD!

Battle-weary Marine Sgt. Juan Jimenez thought two weeks' combat leave meant no fighting for a while — but he discovered he was wrong when he landed in the clink at Newark Airport, all because his bag was missing. Exhausted and eager to get home to Orlando, the frustrated leatherneck said he "raised a ruckus" with American Airlines officials. Jimenez, 25, said Port Authority cops detained him for three hours, apparently hoping the problem would be resolved by the time he was sprung.[snip] Jimenez — whose battalion suffered four dead and 39 wounded in its house-to-house search for rebels in...

Last night due to severe wounds from battling in the Sunni Triangle on 6 Apr 2004 my nephew and personal hero John Thomas Wrobleski succumed to his injuries. J.T. was a lieutenant in the U.S.M.C. He joined the marines 2 days after 9-11. He was born and lived in the north of New Jersey and joined after having many friends in the twin towers perish. 7 months ago he was married to a most wonderful girl who is now a widdow. He leaves 3 brothers a mom and dad and about 50 other family members and hundreds of friends. When...

Happy birthday, Marines! All FR Marines check in here for birthday greetings.