Free Republic

STEPHON TUITT Prediction: Lots and lots of his teammates will have a problem with it. Remember what happened when Alejandro Villanueva simply got caught in the open during the anthem three years ago? His Pittsburgh Steeler teammates threw him under the bus for not getting out of sight, and after a brief spike in Villanueva jersey sales, the lineman ended up issuing a public apology.Stephon Tuitt has decided to dispense with the whole apology approach up front. In fact, Tuitt invites anyone who objects to perform an unnatural act on themselves: Also I’m not kneeling for the flag and screw...

Official Website of the Pittsburgh Steelers This year is quickly moving in the wrong direction with regards to an effective playoff run. What are your thoughts on the some of the issues and how things need to change for a turnaround in 2006? Me? #1 The Running Game The running game isn't quite at the level of past teams. Understatement of the year, huh? Operating a historically ball control offense, without a featured back capable of providing a consistent 3-4 yrds per carry, is a problem. That void allows pass coverages more flexibility without fear of a Steeler running...

CAMP AL QA’IM, Iraq (March 22, 2006) -- After spending seven months of routing out insurgents and stabilizing the Al Qa’im region in western Al Anbar Province, Marines from 3rd Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment say they’re leaving the region in better shape then when they arrived last year. The Twentynine Palms, Calif.-based 1st Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment will replace the Camp Lejeune, N.C.-based unit, commonly referred to as “three, six,” in the region as part of a regularly scheduled rotation of U.S. forces in Al Anbar Province. Known as the “Teufelhunden Battalion,” 3rd Bn, 6th Marines have spent more than...

The American media is up in arms over reports that the Pentagon hired a public relations firm to write positive news stories about the Iraq war and get them printed in the Iraqi press. But Maj. Gen. Rick Lynch, spokesman for U.S. forces in Baghdad, isn't letting journalists get away with their phony display of outrage. After the New York Times front-paged the "fake news" story Thursday under the headline: "U.S. Is Said to Pay to Plant Articles in Iraq Papers," Gen. Lynch defended the practice. "We don't lie. We don't need to lie," he told reporters in Baghdad. "We...

Just announced by Gunny Bob Newman on 850am KOA this morning while he is filling in for the vacationing Mike Rosen ... Gunny Bob received an email today from a 2nd Marine Division officer approving his visit to Fallujah, Iraq this January 2006 to broadcast his evening radio show LIVE. He will be leaving for Iraq on January 3rd or 4th and be in country until mid-January. Gunny Bob is 20-year veteran of the Marine Corps and a FReeper, 'Gunny Bob'. This will be a can't miss week of talk radio! Gunny will get the REAL story from our men...

GUNNY BOB'S COLUMN DECEMBER 01, 2005: Once More Unto The Breach The email came in this morning. A Marine officer from the Ground Combat Element-Multi-National Force (GCE-MNF) in western Iraq was informing me that the 2nd Marine Division would be awaiting my arrival in al Anbar Province in the first week in January 2006. My media "embed" request had been approved. In my mind’s eye, time turned back to May 1977, Platoon 3037, 3rd Recruit Training Battalion, Recruit Training Regiment, Marine Corps Recruit Depot, Parris Island, South Carolina. Private Newman was standing at attention in the "DI hut" in my...

AR RAMADI, Iraq (Nov. 23, 2005) -- Construction of bases for the Iraqi Army and U.S. military’s long-term security presence is steadily progressing in Husaybah, Karabilah and Ubaydi. Iraqi Army soldiers and Marines continue patrolling to ensure insurgents do not return. These patrols also involve detailed searches, looking for hidden weapons caches and deadly improvised explosive devices. Approximately 120 bombs and mines have been located over the course of Operation Steel Curtain. Three aspects of the operation which makes Steel Curtain different from previous operations in the Western Euphrates River Valley are increased Iraqi Army participation, immediate establishment of long-term...

American Forces Press Service CAMP BLUE DIAMOND, Iraq, Nov. 22, 2005 – U.S. and Iraqi forces wrapped up Operation Steel Curtain today near the Iraq-Syria border, military officials here announced. The 17-day offensive was conducted in the cities of Husaybah, Karabilah and Ubaydi, and was geared toward preventing al Qaeda in Iraq from operating in the Euphrates River Valley and throughout the country's Anbar province, officials noted. As part of a larger operation called Operation Hunter, Steel Curtain made way for the establishment of a permanent Iraqi army security presence in the Qaim region. It also set the conditions for...

CAMP BLUE DIAMOND, Iraq, Nov. 22, 2005 – U.S. and Iraqi forces wrapped up Operation Steel Curtain today near the Iraq-Syria border, military officials here announced. The 17-day offensive was conducted in the cities of Husaybah, Karabilah and Ubaydi, and was geared toward preventing al Qaeda in Iraq from operating in the Euphrates River Valley and throughout the country's Anbar province, officials noted. As part of a larger operation called Operation Hunter, Steel Curtain made way for the establishment of a permanent Iraqi army security presence in the Qaim region. It also set the conditions for local citizens to vote...

Marines drop ‘Steel Curtain’ on Iraq-Syria border towns Submitted by: 2nd Marine Division Story Identification #: 200511206429 Story by Cpl. Micah Snead HUSAYBAH, Iraq (Nov. 20, 2005) -- The Marines of 3rd Platoon, Company L, 3rd Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, recently pushed through buildings, streets and the constant threat of improvised explosive devices and enemy attacks to bring stability and security to two Iraq border towns in western Al Anbar province. The platoon took part in Operation Al Hajip Elfulathi (Steel Curtain), along with more than 2,000 Marines, Sailors and Soldiers from Regimental Combat Team 2 and 1,000 Iraqi...

CAMP PENDLETON ---- Two Marines were killed in a bombing in the small Iraqi town of Ubaydi on Monday. Another fell in small-arms fire the same day. And at least five more Marines whose names have not been released died in a blast as they rushed a house in the same town Wednesday. Among the confirmed casualties from Camp Pendleton was Maj. Ray Mendoza Jr., 37, of Columbus, Ohio, Echo Company commander for the 2nd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment. Eight Marines in all, at least three of them from Camp Pendleton, have been killed this week in fresh fighting in...

CAMP BLUE DIAMOND, AR RAMADI, Iraq – Iraqi Army Soldiers and Marines, Soldiers and Sailors continue Operation al Hajip Elfulathi (Steel Curtain) in the al Qaim region today. Construction of bases for the Iraqi Army and U.S. military’s long-term security presence is steadily progressing in Husaybah, Karabilah and Ubaydi. Simultaneously, Iraqi Army Soldiers and Marines continue patrolling to ensure terrorists do not return. These patrols also involve detailed searches, looking for hidden weapons caches and deadly improvised explosive devices. Approximately 120 bombs and mines have been located over the course of Operation Steel Curtain. Three aspects of the operation which...

11/16/2005 - SOUTHWEST ASIA (AFPN) -- Air Force F-15 Eagles, F-16 Fighting Falcons and MQ-1 Predators flew air strikes against anti-Iraqi forces near the Iraq-Syria border in support of Operation Steel Curtain. After Marines swept into Ubaydi, a town near Karabilah, Nov. 14, they came in contact with anti-Iraqi forces. The F-15s flew in and dropped precision-guided bombs against enemy forces in a grove of trees. A Predator unmanned aerial vehicle fired a Hellfire missile at a building from where enemy forces were shooting and successfully drove them from the location. Later the same day, F-16s and a Predator responded...

WASHINGTON, Nov. 16, 2005 – Five Marines assigned to Regimental Combat Team 2, 2nd Marine Division, 2nd Marine Expeditionary Force (Forward), were killed today during a firefight while conducting Operation Steel Curtain in New Ubaydi, Iraq, military officials reported. Sixteen enemy fighters were confirmed killed in the engagement, officials said. Officials also announced that a Task Force Baghdad soldier died today of wounds suffered in a Nov. 15 roadside bomb attack northwest of Baghdad. The servicemembers' are being withheld pending notification of next of kin. In other news from Iraq, Iraqi soldiers from the Desert Protectors -- Iraqi scouts recruited...

WASHINGTON, Nov. 16, 2005 – U.S. Air Force F-15s, F-16s and Predator unmanned aerial vehicles made air strikes against insurgent fighters near the Iraq-Syria border Nov. 14 in support of Operation Steel Curtain. After ground forces with Company E, 2nd Battalion, 1st Marines, swept into Ubaydi, Iraq, a town near Karabilah, and came in contact with enemy fighters, F-15s were called in and delivered precision-guided bombs against enemy forces in a grove of trees. A Predator fired a Hellfire missile at a building from where enemy forces were shooting and successfully drove them from their location. Later that day, F-16s...

Peter Springer lost an eye to an Iraqi suicide bomber -- and then joined the Army Rangers On the morning of December 9, 2003, Peter Sprenger was 2 weeks from the end of an eventful tour in Iraq. He'd been at the "tip of the spear," in army parlance, spending the preceding 10 months roaring through the invasion of Iraq, occupying Baghdad, securing other restive towns. As a member of the 101st Airborne Division, he had a clear mission: to probe for trouble and take care of it. But on that particular morning, the trouble found him. Corporal Sprenger drew...

BAGHDAD, Nov. 16 -- A top American commander in Iraq on Wednesday denounced calls by some U.S. senators and others for a deadline on withdrawal from Iraq, calling that "a recipe for disaster" for the 2 -year-old war. "Setting a date would mean that the 221 soldiers I've lost this year, that their lives will have been lost in vain," said Maj. Gen. William Webster, whose 3rd Infantry Division is responsible for security in three-fourths of Iraq's capital. Webster's criticism of a withdrawal deadline referred to a Democratic proposal that would have required U.S. leaders to fix a rough date...

U.S. Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Nicholas M. Zallis Marine Volunteers for Operation Steel Curtain By Sgt. Josh H. Hauser 2nd Force Services Support Group CAMP GANNON, Iraq, Nov. 15, 2005 — Most Marines will proudly tell you, if asked, one of the greatest and most selfless moments of their lives is when they raised their right hand and swore to serve and protect the country they love. Lance Cpl. Nicholas M. Zallis, assigned to Combat Logistics Battalion-2, 2nd Marine Logistics Group (Forward) serves aboard Camp Gannon alongside his fellow brothers-in-arms. Normally a motor transportation operator, Zallis is now on...

AR RAMADI, Iraq (Army News Service, Nov. 15, 2005) – Iraqi and U.S. Soldiers, together with Marines in Regimental Combat Team–2, began a new phase of “Operation Steel Curtain” Nov. 14 by entering the town of Ubaydi, located on the banks of the Euphrates River about 20 kilometers from the Syrian border. Many of the terrorists who are now fighting in Ubaydi are suspected to have fled from Husaybah and Karabilah, the first two cities that were secured by Iraqi and Coalition Forces at the beginning of the operation last week, officials said. Part of Ubaydi was cleared by Iraqi...

November 15, 2005 Release A051115e Steel Curtain continues in Ubaydi CAMP BLUE DIAMOND, AR RAMADI, Iraq –Iraqi Army soldiers and Marines, Soldiers and Sailors with Regimental Combat Team –2 continue Operation Al Hajip Elfulathi (Steel Curtain) in the town of Ubaydi Nov. 15. It is suspected that many of the terrorists who are now fighting in Ubaydi fled from Husaybah and Karabilah, the first two cities that were secured by Iraqi and Coalition Forces at the beginning of the operation. While the fighting has been sporadic, it has been characterized by commanders on the ground as some of the heaviest...