Free Republic

WASHINGTON, July 10, 2006 – Defense officials are attributing the 13th consecutive month in which every military service met or exceeded its active-duty recruiting goal to more than just good luck. Bryan Whitman, deputy assistant secretary of defense for public affairs, cited the high priority every service has placed on recruiting, including the resources to back up that commitment, with successes measured both in numbers and quality of recruits. Active-duty recruiting numbers, both for June and for the first nine months of fiscal 2006, continued to exceed 100 percent of goal across the board, Whitman told reporters today. At the...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. trade deficit narrowed more than expected in November to $64.2 billion as shipments of aircraft, cars and other capital goods propelled exports to a new record and lower oil prices helped trim imports, a government report showed on Thursday. The monthly trade gap fell 5.8 percent from the record set in October and was significantly below Wall Street's median forecast of $66.25 billion. October's record deficit was trimmed slightly to $68.1 billion from an initially reported $68.9 billion gap. Separate reports showed new claims for jobless benefits rose less than expected last week, while import...

NEW ORLEANS (NNS) -- Operating initially out of a pierside warehouse and then the parish Emergency Operations Center (EOC) at a nearby oil refinery, corpsmen from USS Shreveport (LPD 12) conducted immunizations for more than a thousand local and federal relief workers in September. Six hospital corpsmen worked in daily shifts to provide Hepatitis A, Hepatitis B and tetanus shots to Marines, National Guardsmen, sheriffs, firemen and Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) personnel. Some evacuees and media members also benefited from the free inoculation service. Relief workers are particularly vulnerable to illness and disease because of potential exposure to blood,...

BAGHDAD, Iraq, Sept. 13, 2005 — The humvees descended on Salhiya in the blink of an eye. Roads were closed and cordons were established as armor-clad soldiers stepped from their vehicles, wary eyes hidden behind dark glasses. As the dismounted U.S. soldiers got closer to the crowd, their tight-lipped expressions suddenly turned into smiles as children circled around for hugs. The children were orphans excited about another visit from the soldiers of A Company, 4th Battalion, 64th Armor, 4th Brigade Combat Team. The orphanage fell under the company’s normal patrol route so the soldiers and the children were well acquainted,...