Free Republic

The U.S. military on Saturday announced the first U.S. troop deaths due to direct Iranian fire since the opening days of the war, saying two were killed and another was missing in an attack on a base in Jordan.They were killed Friday as the U.S. and partner forces defended against Iranian ballistic missile and drone attacks, a statement said. Four other service members who were medically evacuated to Jordanian hospitals were later discharged. The dead were not identified. Since the war began, 16 U.S. service members have now been killed and over 430 wounded.Minutes earlier, Iran’s supreme leader had warned...

I am on the email list of my Democrat Congressman Vindman. I got an email today which begins: It now takes 100 days to get a primary care appointment at the Fredericksburg Veteran Affairs (VA) Health Care Center. That is unacceptable. I regularly hear from veterans across my district who are struggling to get the care they need because of staffing shortages and unacceptable delays at this care center. Our veterans served our nation with honor. They deserve a VA health care system that is fully staffed, responsive, transparent, and accountable — and they should never have to wait 100...

Talking to LBC's Sunday with Lewis Goodall, the Deputy Leader of the Labour Party called for more restrictions on social media usage around the date of elections, calling for rules to be aligned with current broadcasting restrictions. "We absolutely need to strengthen regulation in the social media place," she told LBC, adding that she already has some proposals to put forward, "especially when it’s election time,” as part of a current bill being looked at in Parliament. "We’ve got an elections bill going through the House of Commons at the moment; to strengthen that bill, so that social media comes...

"They were putting the pride banners above my veterans, and that does not work, sorry," said American Legion Commander William McKenna during a phone interview with Eyewitness News. McKenna said that they have had calls and people showing up to express their concerns about the Pride flag hanging above the Hometown Heroes veterans' banners. "If you put a pride flag by one of my veterans, I'm taking every one of them down," McKenna said. . . "People started complaining about the flag being on the same pole above a veteran's banner," said Jeff Cusick, the treasurer of Northport Pride Fest....

...Republicans last week introduced legislation they say will improve the care that veterans receive from the federal government, though Democrats and federal employee unions warn the measure will actually degrade veterans’ benefits and employees’ rights. The Take Care of America’s Veterans Act (H.R. 9237 and S. 4744) is a package of more than 60 bills relating to the Veterans Affairs Department. Included is the Major Richard Star Act (H.R. 2102), a bill that would grant full military retirement pay to veterans who were forced to retire early due to a combat injury, as well as a provision to increase benefits...

By focusing on the physical search for a home, it can be easy to overlook the quiet, internal crisis that happens when a Veteran feels they no longer belong to a community. It is a specific kind of isolation—a feeling that their values, their purpose and their spirit have been sidelined while they struggle to survive. Some of the most common challenges Veterans experiencing homelessness may face include: Abandonment: A deep sense of isolation and loneliness that can leave a Veteran feeling forgotten by their country and their community. Disconnection from self: A loss of self-identity that occurs when a...

The story of Alex Miller has many tragic antecedents...Miller, 23, an American who had served in the IDF, died of an apparent suicide in Miami, where he had been living since being discharged from the army... “We had a lot of conversations about the [2022] attack, but apparently, the attack and Noam’s death broke him. Even though he didn’t admit it, he suffered a lot,” he [father, Danny Miller] told Israel National News... The circumstances surrounding Miller’s heartbreaking death came a day after the High Court of Justice heard a petition challenging the state’s handling of discharged soldiers and reservists...

As parades make their way down city streets and burgers are flipped on thousands of grills across the nation, let’s take a moment to remember the lives of the nation’s most recently fallen heroes — the soldiers who made the ultimate sacrifice in the line of duty during Operation Epic Fury. Since the beginning of the strikes launched against Iran on Feb. 28, 2026, 13 service members have died in combat. Maj. Jeffrey O’Brien, 45, of Waukee, Iowa Capt. Cody Khork, 35, of Winter Haven, Florida Chief Warrant Officer 3 Robert Marzan, 54, of Spotsylvania, Virginia, Master Sgt. Nicole Amor,...

For more than a decade, Guy Shoemaker pitched military service to potential new recruits with one key promise: healthcare for life. “You’re going to have medical and dental for the rest of your life,” said Shoemaker, a retired Army sergeant first class and recruiter who spent a year in Afghanistan. “I used that phrase too many times.” That promise held up when Shoemaker, 64, of Fort Worth, Texas, was diagnosed with throat cancer in 2021. TRICARE — the military’s healthcare program for active service members, retirees and their families — covered the chemotherapy, radiation and years of follow-up care that...

South Korea sent more troops to join the Vietnam War than any other country other than the United States, and since has joined other U.S.-led conflicts in the Persian Gulf, Afghanistan, and Iraq. South Korea has dispatched 57,000 troops to 30 countries at the request of the United States or the United Nations. A late 2019 poll—in the midst of a contentious standoff in burden-sharing negotiations—indicated that 92% of South Koreans supported the alliance with the United States. Together the allies maintain formidable capabilities. The ROK armed forces today total 599,000 active duty troops. In 2020, South Korea had the...

A billboard campaign has been launched promoting abortion to veterans in Georgia, New Mexico, and Virginia. Key Takeaways: * Vet Voice Foundation (VVF) partnered with The Brigid Alliance to place billboards near Veterans Affairs (VA) clinics and hospitals. * The billboards include messages like "We've got your six," and promise that the Brigid Alliance will handle all the logistics for abortion-seeking women. * The Brigid Alliance said the billboard campaign was launched in response to changes in abortion coverage through the VA. The Backstory: In December of 2025, the Department of Justice (DOJ) reversed a Biden administration rule allowing VA...

On his Facebook page, Elkins shared a picture of him with his eldest daughter as she ate a burger Saturday, hours before his rampage. “Lol!!!! Took my oldest on a lil 1 on 1 date had to catch her down bad ugh ugh,” the killer wrote, along with a string of laughing emojis. Two weeks ago, Elkins shared a picture of himself posing with seven children as he described taking them to church for an Easter service. “Happy Easter had a wonderful time at church for the first time with all my kids what a blessed day,” he wrote in...

One of Australia's most decorated soldiers, Ben Roberts-Smith, has been arrested and is expected to be charged with five counts of the war crime of murder.The Victoria Cross recipient was arrested at Sydney Airport's domestic terminal after a flight from Brisbane this morning.The former special forces soldier's arrest comes after a mammoth defamation trial against Nine Newspapers that in 2023 ended in a court finding that on the balance of probabilities, allegations he was responsible for, or complicit in the deaths of four detainees in Afghanistan were substantially true.There have been no findings of guilt against Mr Roberts-Smith to a...

Traumatic brain injuries are quickly emerging as the signature wound of the U.S. war with Iran so far, echoing a pattern of post-9/11 wars... More than 200 U.S. troops have so far been wounded in the war, and at least 140 of those were TBI-related injuries... It’s a surge being driven by Iran’s reliance on one-way attack drones and the concussive blasts they deliver in strikes against American troops in countries across the Middle East, including Kuwait and Saudi Arabia and Bahrain. Symptoms of TBI can be subtle at first but often linger for years, or even a lifetime, ranging...

The Pentagon has added Operation Epic Fury to its casualty database, as of April 3 showing 365 U.S. troops wounded in action and 13 killed.The update follows weeks of rising casualty reports tied to the operation. On Friday and into Saturday, a search remained ongoing for one of two F-15E crew members taken down in Iran. U.S. officials said March 1 that three service members had been killed and five seriously wounded. By March 2, the number of those killed had risen to six.Military.com sought clarification on how the Pentagon defines those killed in action, died of wounds, or non-hostile...

The Friends of the Israel Defense Forces said that it is giving more than $430,000 to families of 118 fallen Israeli soldiers through its After the Shiva program ahead of the Passover holiday. The funds will support “ongoing financial needs, along with holiday shopping gift cards, personalized gifts and herb plants to help families prepare for and observe Passover,” the group said. Maj. Gen. (Res.) Nadav Padan, CEO of the group, stated that “supporting bereaved families is a sacred responsibility that reflects the deep bond between Israel’s supporters around the world and those who have made the greatest sacrifice on...

The community is encouraged to line the streets of Bardstown to help celebrate the life of “our local hero” Tech. Sgt. Ashley Pruitt as she returns home to be laid to rest, according to the Nelson County Sheriff’s Office. Pruitt, 34, was one of six service members killed on March 12 when a KC-135 aircraft crashed in western Iraq during Operation Epic Fury. A dignified transfer will be held when Pruitt’s remains arrive at Samuels Field Airport in Bardstown at 11 a.m. Thursday before her body is escorted to Houghlin-Greenwell Funeral Home. “Ashley’s life was one of purpose, courage, and...

There are no erasures or do-overs when it comes to waging war. Bush often described his role as that of “decider,” and there were no more consequential decisions during his presidency than the invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq... Bush has said that the hardest part of being in office was reading the casualty reports and seeing the brutal consequences of his policy first-hand: placing calls to sobbing widows, looking into the eyes of Gold Star families, visiting injured soldiers at Walter Reade and Bethesda as they practiced using a prosthetic limb or struggled with PTS. (Bush does not use the...

Four IDF soldiers were killed while fighting in Southern Lebanon, the IDF confirmed on Tuesday. The military shared the names of the fallen soldiers: Captain Noam Madmoni, Staff Sergeant Ben Cohen, Staff Sergeant Maxsim Entis, and Staff Sergeant Gilad Harel. During the incident, two additional soldiers were wounded, one in serious condition and the other with moderate wounds.

The GoFundMe for a Trussville man killed last week during Operation Epic Fury has reached over $1 million in donations. Maj. John A. "Alex" Klinner, 33, was one of six killed in an incident involving a KC-135 and another aircraft. Klinner's sister-in-law set up a GoFundMe to support Klinner's wife, Libby, and the couple's three children. Within hours, the fundraiser reached its $150,000 goal, and it was increased to $1.5 million after donations poured in, surpassing $1 million. Among donors was billionaire hedge fund manager Bill Ackman, who gave $100,000. Two others killed in the incident were from the 99th...