Free Republic

MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. (Feb. 24, 2006) -- Most Marines strive to be the best at what they do, but only a select few can claim they were the "first" in history to accomplish something. Like Samuel Nicholas who became the first Marine officer in 1775, Opha Mae Johnson who became the first female Marine in 1918 or Carol A. Mutter who became the first female major general in 1994. Through hard work and dedication, Kimberly D. Walker joined these distinguished Marines in February when she became the first female master gunnery sergeant to serve as a combat...

2/1/2006 - WASHINGTON (AFPN) -- As the president spoke to the nation during the State of the Union address, an Airman sat in the gallery, dressed in blues, displaying the combat medals she earned in Iraq. America’s most prominent leaders were gathered in one room on Capitol Hill for the annual speech Jan. 31. Sitting attentively at her feet, the Airman’s German shepherd attended the speech too. Tech. Sgt. Jamie Dana is an Air Force security forces specialist and military working dog handler. In June she was severely injured by an improvised explosive device while on duty in Iraq with...

AL ASAD, Iraq (Jan. 19, 2006) -- Since December 1997, he has flown off the coast of Macedonia and over the deserts of Afghanistan and Iraq, during four deployments. He has progressed from a lance corporal to a sergeant who holds all the flight qualifications and designations of the CH-46 Sea Knight. He is trusted as the most dependable crew chief instructor by his squadron’s commanding officer. Sergeant Daniel Wilson, a quality assurance representative with Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron 266, is currently serving in a staff noncommissioned officer billet and represents the Fighting Griffins for combat meritorious staff sergeant at...

South Bend, IN - A South Bend police officer, found guilty for drunk driving, learned Wednesday that he's being demoted. Sergeant Ronald Nowicki will be demoted to a corporal. The South Bend Board of Public Safety went above and beyond the police chief's recommendation of a 21-day suspension. Nowicki will also face that 21 day suspension without pay beginning Thursday. In late December, Nowicki pleaded guilty to operating while intoxicated. Nowicki did not attend Wednesday's hearing, but NewsCenter 16 did speak with him about the decision. He says he does plan to appeal the decision.

FORWARD OPERATING BASE HIT, Iraq (Jan. 5, 2006) -- While on a long deployment overseas, Marines look forward to from letters from home, the occasional phone call or photos sent from their loved ones. These are the times where it’s the little things that matter so much – showers, a warm place to sleep and hot chow. To add one more item to this list, Marines from the 2nd Marine Logistics Group’s Food Service Company recently set up a Field Food Service System to support the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit (Special Operations Capable) at the unit’s base of operations, Forward...

SPANGDAHLEM AIR BASE, Germany, Nov. 16, 2005 — When the blast of an explosive device sent his sport utility vehicle hurling 45 feet away from his convoy in Baghdad City, Iraq, Master Sgt. Jimmie Hughes literally did not know what hit him. About a year since that fateful day when Hughes was knocked unconscious, he was honored here Nov. 11 with the prestigious Purple Heart military decoration. The award signifies that a U.S. military member or a U.S. civilian national suffered serious injury or death in action against an enemy of the United States. As the soft sounds of the...

More than just a branch of America’s armed forces, the modern U.S. Marine Corps serves as a model that other military forces worldwide have attempted to emulate, with varying degrees of success. Marines are aware of this, and justifiably proud. But that pride has not always been conducive to working and playing well with others.

Like the exploits of 21st-century special operators – including U.S. Navy SEALs, Army Delta soldiers, Force Recon Marines, Air Force commandos, and CIA paramilitary operatives – stories of men like Ortiz are rarely gleaned from books, newspapers, and magazines. Their incredibly dangerous work often goes unseen and is thankless.

Recruit Daniel Murphy, who in college was a 325-pound offensive lineman protecting quarterbacks and opening holes for running backs, lost 100 pounds to join the U.S. Marines, the military's swift-moving, expeditionary shock troops.

CAMP FALLUJAH, Iraq (Sept. 28, 2005) -- Most Marines in Iraq consider themselves lucky when they walk away from one improvised explosive device attack, but two, or even three? Sergeant Matthew P. Dalrymple, team leader, 2nd TOW Platoon, 2nd Tank Battalion, 2nd Marine Division, is just like any other Marine in his unit. Except for the slight scarring on his right hand, the large bruises on the underside of his arm or the small, freshly bandaged shrapnel wounds, no one would guess he is recovering from his third IED attack. It’s business as usual now for the Chillicothe, Ohio native....

SOUTHWEST ASIA (AFPN) -- Staff Sgt. James Murphy isn’t your typical Airman. A 30-year-old tattoo of U.S.M.C. peeking out from his T-shirt sleeve and his no-nonsense attitude may shed light on some of his life story, but it wouldn’t come close to telling most of it. Sergeant Murphy, a night shift supervisor for the flightline dining hall in the 380th Expeditionary Services Squadron, is deployed from the 920th Rescue Wing from Cocoa Beach, Fla. After almost three years in the Air Force, the 48-year-old never thought he’d be here, in the Air Force. He also didn’t think he’d go from...

CAMP TAJI, Iraq – Task Force Baghdad Soldiers at Camp Taji are being given the opportunity to advance to sergeant or staff sergeant, even while deployed. The standard is the same here as it is back at home station: prospective noncommissioned officers must still appear before a promotion board. Prior to the board, however, a Soldier must get ready. Preparing good Soldiers for advancement is extremely important to Staff Sgt. Everick L. Moore, who is serving with the 3rd Infantry Division in Iraq. “If I send good Soldiers to the board, the Army will have good leaders,” said Moore, a...

WASHINGTON, Aug. 19, 2005 – Army Sgt. Manuel Mendoza-Valencia, 24, of San Ramon, Calif., was presented with the first Sentinels of Freedom scholarship today in the Pentagon's Hall of Heroes. "Sgt. Manny Mendoza has been an example of will and courage both on the battlefield and in his recovery," Gordon England, acting deputy secretary of defense, said. "He has given greatly in service to America. And like the men and women of our latest generation, Manny has much more to give and a long, bright future ahead of him." Mendoza is a veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom and a double...

NEW YORK – Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) today announced the arrest and indictment of New York City Police Department Sergeant Martin Peters on charges that he murdered Juliet Alexander, the mother of his two children. Ms. Alexander was a Detention Enforcement Officer with the former Immigration and Naturalization Service, now a part of ICE. Commenting on the Peters indictment, New York ICE Deputy Special Agent-in-Charge Salvatore Dalessandro said, “Today’s arrest brings this case one step closer to bringing closure to the law enforcement brothers and sisters of ICE and the family of Juliet Alexander.” The indictment alleges that on...

WASHINGTON, May 13, 2005 – A man who probably is best known as the Marine drill instructor from the movie "Full Metal Jacket" and as host of the History Channel's "Mail Call" program visited recovering troops at Walter Reed Army Medical Center here May 12. Marine Sgt. James King tells R. Lee Ermey, best known as the Marine drill instructor in the movie "Full Metal Jacket" that he plans to enter the Marine Corps Marathon and the New York Marathon after he recovers from the amputation of his left leg. Ermey met recovering war wounded at Walter Reed Army Medical...

MCRD/ ERR PARRIS ISLAND, SC (March 4, 2005) -- As the children were dropped off at the All-Weather Training Facility to begin their training endeavors as Young Marine recruits, volunteer "drill instructors" stood waiting to train them. "That initial shock from the drill instructors is what is going to make them believe they are actually going through recruit training," said Gunnery Sgt. Joseph Curran, the Parris Island Young Marines Program volunteer coordinator. Similar to Marine recruit training, the children will be referred to as recruits until the day they graduate and complete the training. The young recruits met Saturday from...

Bank president fights for soldier after robbery Published Monday, June 14, 2004 FORT CAMPBELL, Ky. (AP) - Seven hours from his Army post and thousands of miles from the Iraq war he left behind, Master Sgt. Kenneth Schweitzer confessed to walking into an Iowa bank, firing shots into the ceiling and walking out with a bag of cash. He drove straight to a police station and turned himself in, saying he didn’t need the money, he just wanted to live in an 8-by-8-foot cell, authorities said. The case has baffled police and acquaintances of Schweitzer, a 38-year-old father and decorated...

California Congressman Pete Stark CURSES Soldier for Writing His Congressman a Letter. Leaves Insulting and Cursing Voicemail on Soldier's Cell Phone Voicemail  NBC TV News article Sunday, May 9th  Saturday, May 8th Oakland Tribune:   Read the Constituent’s Letter that Pissed off the Congressman   .WAV format of Stark’s Verbal Abusive Voicemail   Hear the angry voicemail from Pete Stark with Rush Limbaugh's comments:   See Saturday’s article in the Fremont ARGUS:  

It started with the mind-numbing reading of a 200-page pension overhaul bill, erupted into a remarkably bitter name-calling match between House Republicans and Democrats, and ended with a GOP lawmaker summoning Capitol Police to evict an outraged gaggle of Democratic colleagues from a congressional library. Ultimately, nobody was assaulted or arrested. But the brouhaha that exploded yesterday morning in the Ways and Means Committee marked the most bitterly partisan spat thus far in the 108th Congress, a place already known for unusually angry relations between the Republican majority and the Democratic minority, especially in the House. The Longworth building showdown...

"Gunny" Joe Simpson has little time to waste on battlefield pundits who are criticizing the war effort safe from TV studios inside Washington's Beltway. "I'm not political, but that sounds like liberals talking," fumed Bravo Company's hard-as- nails gunnery sergeant, spitting on the ground and taking a puff at his stogie. "The Marines are a light force. That enables us to travel fast. The initial shock force has worked. We crossed into Iraq and gave Saddam Hussein no time to adjust. He has only retreated. "What are we now, right here, [50 miles] or less from the heart of Baghdad?...