Free Republic

  For the freedom you enjoyed yesterday... Thank the Veterans who served in The United States Armed Forces. Looking forward to tomorrow's freedom? Support The United States Armed Forces Today! Tour guide trussell We are going to visit the National Park known as Mesa Verde, located in the southwest corner of Colorado. I will be your tour guide. We will be taking this in sections. Today we will talk about the drive into the park. See that flat topped mountain just ahead? That is Mesa Verde. Just to the right, is the mountain known as the "Sleeping Ute" It looks...

DRAGON IN THE DARK -by D. J. Mc Guire ( How and Why Communist China Helps Our Enemies In the War on Terror ) ( Book Review ) In the four-plus years since 9/11/01 ,Communist China has spent a great deal of time trying to convince us her sinister regime is an ally in the war against terror ; and has even used this war as an excuse to further victimize its captive population. Nothing could be farther from the truth. China’s ties to terrorist organizations are (as the author points out) “long,wide,and deep.” It paid as much as $...

11/29/2005 - BAGRAM AIR FIELD, Afghanistan (AFPN) -- Keeping a mission-capable supply of bullets coming as A-10 Thunderbolt II pilots respond to close-air support requests is a key role for a group of Airmen taking part in the ongoing global war on terrorism. Deployed here from Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Ariz., the role of the 455th Air Expeditionary Aircraft Maintenance Squadron munitions flight is to provide ammunition to those experiencing combat with enemy aggressors. “Our job is to fully maintain, assemble and deliver a ready supply of ammunition for all A-10 operations in support of Marine, Army and other Coalition...

WASHINGTON, Nov. 29, 2005 – U.S. and coalition initiatives to create well-trained and -equipped Iraqi security forces are paying off, with Iraqis taking on more of the fight, a U.S. Central Command general said Nov. 28 at the Heritage Foundation here. "Iraqi security forces are fighting hard. They're fighting well. They are not cracking under pressure, as you see in some armies, and they are making a tremendous contribution," Brig. Gen. Mark Kimmitt, CENTCOM's deputy director of plans and strategy, told the audience. Kimmitt, who divides his time between Iraq and CENTCOM's Tampa headquarters, said Iraq's security forces, which now...

NORFOLK, Va. (NNS) -- More than 600 Sailors aboard the guided-missile destroyer USS Porter (DDG 78) and the frigate USS Carr (FFG 52), homeported in Norfolk, deployed Nov. 28 in support of the global war on terrorism. Porter and Carr will participate in regional exercises with allies as a Surface Strike Group (SSG). The SSG will make diplomatic port calls and respond to any contingency operations, including those associated with the war on terrorism. “The primary focus is going to be enhancing the U.S. diplomatic missions by interacting with foreign countries,” said Cmdr. Douglas Nashold, commanding officer of Porter. Nashold...

Attention moderator: I'm still not good at posting in the correct forum. If this is posted incorrectly, please move it the correct forum, and not delete it this time :) Thanks, papa. Dear FRiends, A friend of mine sent me, and others, this email. Since that time there has been more need. She needs help with letters, postcards, etc to these brave guys and gals who, literally, have no one at home for moral support. They receive no mail or packages from home at all. I thought some of you would be interested in knowing and, possibly, helping with a...

I want to take this opportunity to share with you all, a gread need for prayer and support. A twelve year old girl from my home parish, St. Nicholas Othodox Church here in Portland Oregon, Nikolette Harris has come down with leukemia for the third time. Nikolette was in remission until recently after having battled the disease since she was three. Now that the disease has returned the only option left is a bone marrow transplant. Fortunately, she has a potential donor (more than one, actually) and the process could begin in the next few weeks. The bad news is...

CAMP PENDLETON – All morning yesterday, Dawn Halfaker dashed after a running back and nabbed a blue flag off the opponent's waist in a game of flag football. But she rarely held the ball. A little more than a year ago, Halfaker, a retired Army lieutenant, lost her right arm after a rocket-propelled grenade tore it apart in an ambush in Baquba, Iraq. Twenty-six teams of men and women played eight games of flag football simultaneously on a vast field at Camp Pendleton. Yesterday, Halfaker and her mother, Connie Halfaker, were among more than 400 participants at the All-Star Buddy...

AL QAIM, Iraq (Nov. 24, 2005) -- Marines flying AH-1W Super Cobras, soaring through the skies of Iraq, are growing accustomed to using precision guided ordnance, maximizing the damage to their targets while minimizing collateral damage. Since arriving in western Iraq during September, the Gunfighters of Marine Light Attack Helicopter Squadron 369 have continuously dropped precision guided ordnance on the enemy in support of ongoing operations. The Gunfighters, from Al Qaim, Iraq, dropped their 100th precision-guided AGM-114 Hellfire missile, Nov. 17. “We are destroying target after target in support of ground combat brethren,” said Maj. John Barranco, the officer-in-charge of...

Bush backs Putin on nuke fuel supply for Iran By Joseph Curl The Washington Times November 19, 2005 Members and supporters of the Union of Jewish Students in France shout slogans near Iran's embassy in Paris November 2, 2005. About 100 demonstrators gathered to protest against Iran's politics after Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad called for Israel's destruction. REUTERS/Victor TonelliPUSAN, South Korea -- President Bush told Russian President Vladimir Putin yesterday that the United States supports Moscow's proposal to allow Iran to enrich uranium for a nuclear power plant at a facility to be built in Russia. The two leaders have...

All Readers - PASS THIS ON I don't have to wonder how soldiers feel about the Left's hardline stance against the war. My friends are in Iraq and Afghanistan and I know the truth - they hate it; it's demoralizing and a betrayal. Both Kit and I have posted emails and letters from soldiers here periodically to show our readers what WE hear on an ongoing basis. Here's another. In fact, this soldier wants and needs to be a VOICE. He asks that his words (and those of his platoon mates) be copied, forwarded, and widely disseminated. That is the...

FREEPER JFC'S NEPHEW 1ST LT. MICAH ADKINSON IS IN IRAQ AND HIS MOM CONNIE IS WORRIED. HER IS CONNIE'S E-MAIL TO JFC TODAY: this email was sent to me from my sister, who's son is in Iraq. She is hurting. Please pray for her as well God Bless- JFC This morning I am so sad. If it were not for my family I do not know what I would do. This morning when I got up I thought about what Micah is going through, sleeping on a cold metal vehicle,being fired upon, and when not, not knowing when his vehicle...

Denzel Washington and his family visited the troops at Brook Army Medical Center, in San Antonio, Texas (BAMC) the other day. This is where soldiers that have been evacuated from Germany come to be hospitalized in the States, especially burn victims. They have buildings there called Fisher Houses. The Fisher House is a hotel where soldiers' families can stay, for little or no charge, while their soldier is staying in the hospital. BAMC has quite a few of these houses on base but as you can imagine, they are almost completely filled most of the time. . . . ....

ABOARD USS THEODORE ROOSEVELT (NNS) -- Aircraft assigned to Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 8 stationed aboard USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71) continued support of Operation Steel Curtain (OSC) throughout the second week of November, conducting five consecutive days of strikes against terrorist targets in support of coalition troops in Iraq. The missions flown during OSC demonstrate the quickness and flexibility of CVW 8 and the Theodore Roosevelt Carrier Strike Group (TRCSG) to provide continuous support on both land and sea. “Carrier Air Wing 8 continues to demonstrate that we can deliver a knock-out punch in support of coalition troops on...

ANY SOLDIER As the Veterans Day weekend wraps up, a letter-to-the-editor published in today's Nevada Appeal tells about a wonderful program called "Any Soldier" in which all of us across the country can do something a little more substantive than slapping a "I Support Our Troops" bumper sticker on the backs of our cars. http:\\www.anysoldier.com is a Website with a huge database of troop names and units where one may read their messages and choose whomever you would like to adopt," Jessi Winchester notes. "The contact person for each unit has agreed to accept mail and packages for distribution to...

Support for Category 5 Storm Protection in New Orleans Ebbs in D.C. BY BILL WALSH And BRUCE ALPERT Newhouse News Service Louisiana Governor Kathleen Blanco speaks at a Rebuilding and Recovery Conference in New Orleans, La., Thursday, Nov. 10, 2005. Blanco talked about the effects of Hurricane Katrina and how the state would have to rebuild. (AP Photo/Tony Dejak) WASHINGTON -- In the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, the tattered Gulf Coast received an outpouring of sympathy -- and money -- from Washington. Congress appropriated $62 billion for relief and recovery, and President Bush vowed to rebuild New Orleans "higher...

WASHINGTON, Nov. 11, 2005 – CBS commemorated Veterans Day by highlighting troops and causes that support them, particularly the Defense Department's "America Supports You" campaign, on "The Early Show" this morning. Servicemembers and many others shivered in the November cold outside the show's New York studios for hours to spotlight the America Supports You program every time the cameras panned the crowd. Dozens of servicemembers, from newly minted sailors in dress uniforms to soldiers in desert camouflage fatigues, were intermingled among volunteers holding signs that proclaimed "America Supports You" with the program's signature logo. "Serving those who proudly serve," read...

WASHINGTON, Nov. 11, 2005 – President Bush today used Veterans Day, a day originally designated to commemorate victory in World War I, as an opportunity to reaffirm the United States' commitment to seeing the war on terror through to victory. "The nation has made a clear choice," the president told a gathering of servicemembers, veterans and family members at Tobyhanna Army Depot, Pa. "We will not tire or rest until the war on terror is won." Bush condemned terrorists who attacked the United States on Sept. 11, 2001, and have continued to spread violence around the world, using what he...

WASHINGTON, Nov. 10, 2005 – When the Kentucky Army National Guard's 1st Battalion, 623rd Field Artillery, was activated to deploy to Iraq in November 2004, citizens in the soldier's communities banded together to shower them with support. Ten months later, the communities are still showering their citizen-soldiers with support. People in the rural communities of Glasgow, Tompkinsville and surrounding counties started supporting the soldiers when the unit was in an eight-week training program at Fort Dix, N.J. Soldiers who could afford it had the option to come home for a week during the 2004 Christmas holiday season before leaving for...

WASHINGTON, Nov. 10, 2005 – The two of us were born more than 50 years and nearly 160 miles apart. But we are connected to each other -- and to so many of our fellow Americans -- in ways that easily surpass both age and geography. We were born and raised in Kansas. Both of us are Army veterans. And both of us nearly lost our lives on the battlefield. We were wounded near Castel d' Aiano, Italy, on April 14th, 1945; and in Ramadi, Iraq, on April 6th, 2004, respectively. We were struck down by Italian bullets and Iraqi...