Free Republic

TODAY I CHOOSE TO SUCCEED! I am here because of prior choices I have made. My thoughts control my actions. My actions determine my destiny. My destiny is controlled by my choices. Today, I choose to … • Live my life with honor, courage and commitment, • Follow the rules and do my best in all my endeavors, • Perform like a mature and professional military person, • Be honest with myself and not make excuses for my actions • Admit when I’m wrong and be held accountable • Maintain a positive attitude. I am who I am and...

Please join with fellow FREEPERS to pray for President Trump, Vice-President Pence, and for America: Government, Family, Military, Business, Education, Churches, and the Media. This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. (I John 5:14) Religion forum threads labeled “Prayer” are closed to debate of any kind.

The grievous shooting at Fort Hood Wednesday claimed three innocent lives and left 16 wounded—the deaths occurred in a gun-free zone due to former president Clinton’s 1993 policy to disarm soldiers on military bases. The attack at Fort Hood lasted 15 minutes before military police arrived and exchanged fire with the shooter who then shot himself, according to the Wall Street Journal. “Only the most out-of-touch radical would try to disarm soldiers,” Rep. Steve Stockman (R-Texas) noted in a press release. He urged House members Thursday to repeal the ban and support his “Safe Military Bases Act.” This is the...

Up against a midnight deadline to avoid a government shutdown, the Senate passed legislation Wednesday that temporarily would extend spending on most federal programs at current levels while raising Congress' budget by 6 percent. The measure, approved by a 62-38 vote that sends it to President Obama's desk, would keep the government open for one more month. Obama is virtually certain to sign it before day's end. The legislation also would patch over problems in the struggling postal service and pay for soon-to-expire highway programs for an additional month as well. The stopgap measure is needed because Congress has failed...

ROSTOV-ON-DON, April 21 (RIA Novosti) - The first six Mi-28N Night Hunter attack helicopters have been delivered to Russia's North Caucasus military district, a military source said on Tuesday. "The first six Mi-28N helicopters have been put in service with combat units [in North Caucasus]," the source told RIA Novosti, without specifying the schedule for further deliveries. The Mi-28N is the latest modification of the Mi-28 attack helicopter, manufactured by the Rostvertol plant in southern Russia. It has been designed to conduct hunter-killer missions against main battle tanks, helicopters, ground forces, and armor in any weather conditions. The Night Hunter...

WASHINGTON, Aug. 14, 2008 – Two troop-support groups hosted a “Military Showers of Appreciation” for 15 expectant military mothers July 27 at Camp Pendleton, Calif. Many of the expectant mothers helped by the two groups -- North Star Group and Operation Showers of Appreciation -- have spouses who are deployed and will not be home for the birth of their new babies. “Military Showers of Appreciation assists active-duty military families from all branches that are expecting new babies with various items they will need to care for their new baby,” said Mandy Sims, vice president of the North Star...

CARACAS, Venezuela (AFP) - Venezuela's government is investigating members of the armed forces for allegedly passing on state secrets to the US military, officials said yesterday. The probe comes as state-run media reports claimed the US embassy in Caracas was also involved in the affair. "Some low-level officials were sending information to the Pentagon," Vice President Jose Vicente Rangel told the Ultimas Noticias daily. El Universal newspaper quoted Rangel as saying the suspects transmitted "state secrets". The vice-president said the suspects included both active and retired members of the Venezuelan navy. Media reports said some of the officials involved had...

I dream of rain, I dream of gardens in the desert sand-----Sting (Desert Rose) That song is so much more poignant now that I have spent another summer here in Mesopotamia. The climate here is like nothing most Americans have ever seen, let alone imagined. The sun rises at 0600 or so and the first thing you notice in the light is the amount of dust in the air. You can tell whether it will be hell to breathe or if the heat is your only elemental enemy of the day. The sun rises into the sky like an orange...

Two cousins of a Kosovo Liberation Army soldier shot dead by British peacekeepers in 1999 won a landmark compensation claim yesterday. In the first successful high court damages claim by civilians injured by peacekeeping forces abroad, Mohamet Bici and Skender Bici won cases for negligence and trespass to the person against the Ministry of Defence. The first was shot in the jaw, and the second suffered trauma. Damages are to be assessed later. The men's solicitors said they had not yet worked out figures, but other lawyers estimate around £100,000 for the pair. A defence source said the implications for...