Free Republic

SNOWMASS VILLAGE, Colo., April 6, 2007 – Sgt. Luke Murphy stretched out his prosthetic leg as he sat on the ground beneath the ski roster hoping beyond hope that someone would be a no-show and he’d get their slot for another spin down the mountain. Army Cpl. Shane Parsons, a 4th Infantry Division soldier who lost both legs and suffered a traumatic brain injury in Ramadi, Iraq, shimmies up the rock-climbing wall at the National Disabled Veterans Winter Sports Clinic in Snowmass Village, Colo. Photo by John Buehler  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. The 101st Airborne Division soldier...

CHICAGO - Hit by one of its most difficult recruiting periods in decades, the Defense Department is paying United Airlines to show passengers a Pentagon-produced video touting military jobs. The 13-minute video "Today's Military" is played between standard in-flight programming, such as NBC sitcoms or Discovery Channel productions, the Chicago Tribune reported. It profiles five military jobs, none in dangerous regions such as Iraq or Afghanistan. The video shows only one soldier beyond U.S. borders: an Army animal-care specialist on a humanitarian mission in Thailand. The Defense Department is paying United about $36,000 to run the video from April 17...