Free Republic

Rockets center Dikembe Mutombo, seated next to first lady Laura Bush and proudly flashing his familiar broad smile, was honored by President George Bush Tuesday at the State of the Union Address in Washington. Mutombo, working almost daily, raised $29 million (donating $15 million himself) for the construction of the Biamba Marie Mutombo Hospital and Research Center in Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Mutombo plans to open the hospital — Kinshasa's first new one in 40 years — this summer. It is named for his mother, who died nine years ago when civil unrest and...

FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. - Retired basketball great Michael Jordan's older brother James stands just 5-feet-7 but he's standing tall for America. Army Command Sgt. Maj. James Jordan has asked to stay in the Army for a year beyond his mandatory retirement date so he can complete a full year-long deployment to Iraq with about 500 other members of the 35th Signal Brigade. "We are currently at war," Jordan said yesterday before his unit started shipping out. "We are doing things, and it requires leaders to do certain things. That's what I am, a leader." Under normal conditions, the 47-year-old Jordan would...

My company is fuel transportation. We are the Army Reserve 724th Transportation Company. But in Iraq we have civilian contractors Kellogg Brown and Root. They do all the fuel hauling. So we basically become force protection for convoys. Friday, April 9th, about 7 a.m., my platoon started getting ready for a fuel convoy from LSA Anaconda in Balad to Baghdad International Airport (BIOP). We were running security for 21 civilian fuel trucks. We had 26 in the whole serial. I was in the 21st truck with a civilian, riding shotgun (passenger). I had never ridden with a civilian on a...

The proud warriors of Baker Company wanted to do something to pay tribute To our fallen comrades. So since we are part of the only Marine Infantry Battalion left in Iraq the one way that we could think of doing that is By taking a picture of Baker Company saying the way we feel. WE HAVE NOT FORGOTTEN and are proud to serve our country. Semper Fi 1st Sgt Dave Jobe