Free Republic

~ The FReeper Canteen Presents ~ ~ Remembering Our Troops!! ~ Marines & Kids---OOH RAH! U.S. Navy Intelligence Specialist 2nd Class Joshua Coats, right, assigned to U.S. Southern Command, supervises a relay race with elementary school kids during Fleet Week Miami at Miami, May 6, 2024. Fleet Weeks are a tradition of the U.S. Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard, where major U.S. cities host Marines, Sailors, and Coast Guardsmen for one week of community-wide events. Fleet Week Miami, in its first year, is an opportunity for residents and visitors to meet with service members, foster community relationships, and...

~ The FReeper Canteen Presents ~ ~ Remembering Our Troops!! ~ Honoring Military Kids! Jhone Ebert, Nevada Superintendant of Public Instruction talks to Tech Sgt. Schaedel's children at Scherkenbach Elementary School in Las Vegas, Nevada, April 22, 2024. Nevada education officials visited several schools in the Las Vegas Valley to present the prestigious Purple Star School Award for their exceptional support of military-connected families during the Month of the Military Child. (U.S. Army National Guard photo by Spc. Adrianne Lopez)(Photo used tonal adjustments to enhance subjects) Canteen Mission StatementShowing support and boosting the morale ofour military and our allies'...

~ The FReeper Canteen Presents ~ ~ Remembering Our Troops!! ~ Please Don’t Drop Me! Aviation Boatswain’s Mate (Aircraft Handling) 3rd Class Kejuan Holland, from Carrollton, Georgia, assigned to USS Anchorage (LPD 22), left, and Aviation Boatswain’s Mate (Aircraft Handling) 3rd Class Koji Iwasaki, from Los Angeles, assigned to amphibious assault carrier USS Tripoli (LHA 7), carry a simulated casualty during an aviation firefighting drill aboard Tripoli in San Diego, April 25, 2024. Tripoli is an America-class amphibious assault ship homeported in San Diego. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Malcolm Kelley) Canteen Mission StatementShowing support...

Multiple outlets in Ukraine and South Korea reported this week that communist North Korea is preparing to send military engineers to aid the Russian invasion of Ukraine – reports Pyongyang has not confirmed at press time, but the Pentagon addressed on Tuesday as concerning. The alarm regarding the potential presence of the North Korean armed forces in the Ukraine war theater follows a brief but consequential visit to Pyongyang by Russian strongman Vladimir Putin, who signed a mutual defense treaty with his counterpart, communist tyrant Kim Jong-un, that requires either country to act in the event that one of the...

~ The FReeper Canteen Presents ~ ~ Remembering Our Troops!! ~ Marines Save The World & Eat Food! U.S. Marine Corps Capt. Caden Lloyd, left, the food service officer for MCAS Iwakuni, and a Florida native, left, and Sgt. Maj. Jody Armentrout, right, the sergeant major of Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, and a Texas native, pose for a group photo during the Food Pantry cooking competition held by Matthew C. Perry High School at MCAS Iwakuni Japan, April 18, 2024.The students of M.C. Perry High School were tasked with creating unique dishes with non-perishable items such as spam,...

The first Kenyan police officers assigned to tackle rampant gang violence in Haiti are leaving Kenya on Tuesday and are set to arrive this week, the U.S. State Department said on Monday. "We hope to see further measurable improvements in security, particularly with respect to access to humanitarian aid and core economic activity," State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller told reporters Kenya volunteered in July 2023 to lead an international force to tackle violence in the Caribbean nation, where gangs control most of the capital Port-au-Prince and have carried out widespread killings, kidnappings and sexual violence. SNIP

~ The FReeper Canteen Presents ~ ~ Remembering Our Troops!! ~ Taking Time For The Youngest Fans! The United States Air Force Air Demonstration Team "Thunderbirds" greet Charleston Airshow attendees after their performance at Joint Base Charleston, South Carolina, April 19, 2024. The airshow offered more than 50 demonstrations and displays including science, technology, engineering and mathematics exhibits, static display aircraft and aerial demonstration performances like the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds, C-17 Globemaster III, and F-35B Lightning. (U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Alex Fox Echols III) Canteen Mission StatementShowing support and boosting the morale ofour military and...

~ The FReeper Canteen Presents ~ ~ Remembering Our Troops!! ~ Take A Bow, Sailors! Congratulations! PORTSMOUTH, Va. (April 18, 2024) Hospital Corpsman 1st Class Blaine Jackson, a native of Brooklyn, New York, and assigned to Navy and Marine Corps Force Health Protection Command, and Hospital Corpsman 1st Class Jhandi Hansford, a native of Silver Spring, Maryland, and assigned to Reserve Component Naval Medical Forces Atlantic pose for a photo during the fiscal year 2023 Naval Medical Forces Atlantic Regional Active Duty and Reserve Sailor of the Year (SOY) announcement, April 19, 2024. SOY finalists participated in a variety...

~ The FReeper Canteen Presents ~ ~ Remembering Our Troops!! ~ Dad Dancing With His “Dandelion”! Leaders from across the 1st Battalion, 3d U.S. Infantry Regiment (The Old Guard) conduct the “Dandelion Ball” on Fort Belvoir, VA, April 6, 2024. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Ethan Scofield) Canteen Mission StatementShowing support and boosting the morale ofour military and our allies' militaryand family members of the above.Honoring those who have served before. Military Kids Are The Best! Children from the 97th Air Mobility Wing (AMW) pose for a photo with base leadership and Robert Garrison, city of Altus mayor, during...

~ The FReeper Canteen Presents ~ ~ Remembering Our Troops!! ~ Don’t Mess With Him! Soldiers with the Presidential Salute Battery (PSB), HHC, 1st Battalion, 3d U.S. Infantry Regiment (The Old Guard) leave via UH-60 Blackhawks on Fort McNair, DC., April 15, 2024. PSB left Fort McNair en route to Marine Corps Base Quantico in order to conduct their quarterly live fire exercise. (U.S. Army Photo by Sgt. Ethan Scofield)Canteen Mission StatementShowing support and boosting the morale ofour military and our allies' militaryand family members of the above.Honoring those who have served before. Lookin’ Sharp! Service members from across...

~ The FReeper Canteen Presents ~ ~ Remembering Our Troops!! ~ Gone Fishin’! Team Little Rock members reel in a line during Sports Day at Little Rock Air Force Base, Arkansas, April 12, 2024. Participants took part in this morale event to bolster wellness and camaraderie. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Sarah Ortega Corona) Canteen Mission StatementShowing support and boosting the morale ofour military and our allies' militaryand family members of the above.Honoring those who have served before. Wheelchair Rugby goes up a notch! U.S. Air Force Master Sgt. Corey Nowell, 436th Aerial Port Squadron traffic...

U.S. troops have begun construction of a pier to be used to bring humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip, the Pentagon confirmed Thursday. “I can confirm that U.S. military vessels, to include the USNS Benavidez, have begun to construct the initial stages of the temporary pier and causeway at sea,” Pentagon press secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder said. The news came on the same day Palestinian terrorists fired mortars at United Nations officials as they toured the proposed pier site, as Breitbart News reported.

~ The FReeper Canteen Presents ~ ~ Remembering Our Troops!! ~ The Message: Don’t Mess With Me! U.S. Marine Corps Cpl. Camron Wilson, a native of Silsbee, Texas, and motor vehicle operator with Ground Distribution Company, 1st Distribution Support Battalion, Combat Logistics Regiment 1, 1st Marine Logistics Group, carries an ammunition belt on his shoulders before participating in a static mounted machine gun range at Camp Pendleton, California, March 22, 2024. The range consisted of vehicle maneuvers and machine gun training, increasing the Marines’ proficiency when operating truck mounted heavy and medium machine guns. (U.S Marine Corps photo by...

~ The FReeper Canteen Presents ~ ~ Remembering Our Troops!! ~ We Are The Champions! U.S. Marines with 1st Marine Logistics Group are presented the Holcomb Trophy for achieving the highest aggregate pistol scores during the Marine Corps Marksmanship Competition West on Camp Pendleton, California, Feb. 25, 2024. The award was created in honor of General Thomas Holcomb, the seventeenth Commandant of the Marine Corps, who was a member of the first Marine Corps competitive rifle team. MCMC West is one of four marksmanship competitions in the Marine Corps and provides advanced marksmanship training and competition to regional units...

On Friday’s broadcast of MSNBC’s “Inside with Jen Psaki,” Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA) stated that the military operation to build a pier to help deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza is a mission where “we knew” that the American troops in charge of the mission, “might be in harm’s way from Hamas. But after the events of this week, anybody doing humanitarian aid is going to wonder if they’re in harm’s way from the IDF. And so, we’ve got to see a dramatic uptake in Israel allowing humanitarian aid to suffering people.”

~ The FReeper Canteen Presents ~ ~ Remembering Our Troops!! ~ Nope! No Land Sighting. Keep Floating! PACIFIC OCEAN (Feb. 6, 2022) Seaman Anthony Dyer, from Baltimore, stands watch on the bridge wing of the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Fitzgerald (DDG 62). Fitzgerald is on a scheduled deployment in the U.S. 7th Fleet area of operations to enhance interoperability with alliances and partnerships while serving as a ready-response force in support of a free and open Indo-Pacific region. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Catie Coyle) Canteen Mission StatementShowing support and boosting the morale ofour...

~ The FReeper Canteen Presents ~ ~ Remembering Our Troops!! ~ We Sing Too! Members of the U.S. Army Europe and Africa Band and Chorus perform to an audience of patients and medical professionals at the Aleris Rehab Station in Stockholm, Sweden, March 11, 2024. The Stronger Together Outreach Tour is an annual initiative preceding the DEFENDER-Europe 24 exercise, demonstrating U.S. Army Europe & Africa’s commitment to the NATO Alliance and our global Partners. As part of this effort, the USAREUR-AF Band serves as a bridge to increase cultural ties and enrich the alliance between the U.S. and Sweden...

MOSCOW, March 20. /TASS/. Eliminating French military personnel that may appear in Ukraine would be a critical but not particularly difficult mission for the Russian Armed Forces, but for Paris such a humiliating defeat of its legions would be tantamount to being guillotined, Russian Security Council Deputy Chairman Dmitry Medvedev said. "Actually, for the success of our cause, it would be nice if the restless French dispatched a couple of regiments to ‘Banderaland.’ It would be very problematic to hide such a number of servicemen, so systematically eliminating them would not be the most difficult task, but surely the most...

~ The FReeper Canteen Presents ~ ~ Remembering Our Troops!! ~ Future Military Leaders! Bravo! U.S. Marine Corps Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps cadets from Okkodo High School, Guam, carry military equipment during the 3rd annual JROTC Fitness Challenge hosted at JFKHS, Feb. 24, 2024. Most of the fitness challenge were actual tests that are conducted during DoD physical fitness assessments, i.e. push-ups and sit-ups. The addition of the equipment trail run challenge was to educate the cadets on what working in/carrying military equipment would feel like in the field. This event is also the only pure team event...

Taiwan has officially confirmed the presence of US troops stationed on its islands in the Taiwan Strait permanently, a development that could further escalate mounting tensions with China.The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) passed in 2023 facilitated the deployment of these troops to conduct training programs for Taiwanese frontline forces.The move comes as China continues to assert its disputed claim over Taiwan, viewing it as a renegade province despite never having ruled it. The heightened military activities by China in and around the Taiwan Strait have prompted Taiwan to bolster its defense capabilities.