Free Republic

AL ASAD, Iraq (June 14, 2006) -- The two parties stare at each other from across a table that is filled with bottled water, sports drinks and soda cans. One side filled with local Iraqis from the neighboring area dressed in jeans, T-shirts and baseball hats. The other side is wearing the digital camouflaged uniforms with the eagle, globe and anchor embroidered on the chest over their hearts. Brief remarks from both sides are translated for the other to understand, turning the entire room into an eruption of laugher, as they continue to discuss the rebuilding of Iraq. Town Council...

MARINE CORPS RECRUIT DEPOT SAN DIEGO (March 3, 2006) -- The sounds of their cadence roll through the halls and across the grounds of the depot. Up to 65 Marines go to Drill Instructor School each cycle. During this training period, students learn methods of training recruits to become United States Marines. The overall goal of this institution is to give these students as much knowledge from their instructors’ own experiences, as best they can, said Gunnery Sgt. Christopher L. Hambaugh, Drill Instructor School instructor. Every instructor served time in the trenches before he became an instructor at the school....