Free Republic

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said on Friday that the U.S. Navy was renaming the USNS Harvey Milk, named for one of the country’s first openly gay elected officials in San Francisco

NORFOLK, Va. (NNS) -- The recovery and salvage ship USS Grasp (ARS 51) was decommissioned after 20 years of service and transferred to Military Sealift Command (MSC) in a ceremony at Naval Amphibious Base Little Creek Jan. 19. Past and present crew members attended the 11 a.m. ceremony to say farewell to the ship. “There’s always a little bit of sadness at the end of a career,” said Grasp’s executive officer Lt. Cmdr. Andrew Chicoine, “at the same time, people are looking forward to the next part of their life.” As a U.S. Navy ship, Grasp had a crew of...

Lord, Keep our Troops forever in Your care Give them victory over the enemy... Grant them a safe and swift return... Bless those who mourn the lost. . FReepers from the Foxhole join in prayer for all those serving their country at this time. ...................................................................................... ........................................... U.S. Military History, Current Events and Veterans Issues Where Duty, Honor and Countryare acknowledged, affirmed and commemorated. Our Mission: The FReeper Foxhole is dedicated to Veterans of our Nation's military forces and to others who are affected in their relationships with Veterans. In the FReeper Foxhole, Veterans or their family members should feel...

Another task in the Coalition's nation building mission is ridding Iraq's Persian Gulf waters of pirates. Coalition forces maintain a significant security presence in Iraqi waters in support of United Nations Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1483. Under 1483, coalition forces will provide law enforcement and security functions for the area until an Iraqi maritime security force can be established. During the height of the war, the Navy was on guard against pro-Saddam forces using the small dhows as bomb platforms. Local pirates are believed to routinely prey upon both local traders and smugglers in Gulf waters. Most incidents are never...

TACOMA, WASH. - The Army's new Stryker armored vehicles are headed for their first operational assignment -- service in Operation Iraqi Freedom. Vehicles of the Fort Lewis-based Stryker Brigade Combat Team began rolling onto ships today at the port of Tacoma, Wash. The Stryker vehicles and related equipment will support 3,600 soldiers from the I Corps' 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division who will begin their assignment in Iraq in a few weeks. This week’s move at the port of Tacoma represents several benchmarks for the port, according to the Military Traffic Management Command. It’s the biggest movement of military cargo...

Exercise Focuses on WMD Traffickers By Donna Miles American Forces Information Service WASHINGTON, Sept. 12, 2003 -- A Japanese-flagged commercial merchant vessel is suspected of carrying items related to weapons of mass destruction. Military and law enforcement assets from Australia, France, Japan and the United States trail the vessel. The Japan coast guard, working with its French, U.S. and Australian law enforcement counterparts, boards the vessel on the high seas and conducts a search. This is the scenario for Pacific Protector, a three-day exercise now under way in international waters off northeastern Australia. The exercise, which began Sept. 12...

Heavy tanks aboard ships are rerouted after Turkey refused to accept forces WASHINGTON - The war in Iraq is providing Pentagon officials with a biting reminder that the nation's most powerful tank divisions can't run to a fight - they have to sail to it, at speeds no faster than about 22 knots. At a time when Army leaders near Baghdad say they want more tanks and artillery to protect their vulnerable supply lines, the nearest heavy armored division is still at least a week away, its soldiers flying in from Texas but its equipment still sailing around the Arabian...