Free Republic

WASHINGTON, March 12, 2008 – Nick Jackson wakes up earlier and has longer days than most freshmen at the University of Cincinnati, and once a week his clothes are selected for him. But unlike most students here, Jackson, one in about 30 cadets enrolled in the Army Reserve Officers Training Corps, will graduate school without debt and with a job awaiting him. “I decided to take the scholarship for financial reasons, but then once I got in here and I met everybody and I’m friends with everybody, it’s turning into something else,” said Jackson, dressed in Army camouflage as...

CINCINNATI, March 12, 2008 – Scores of students at the University of Cincinnati will be surprised today to find their history courses taught by servicemembers in uniform instead of their familiar tweed coat-clad professor. For the second consecutive semester, History Professor Tom Lorman will yield the lectern to participants of the Defense Department’s “Why We Serve” outreach program, which places military speakers before audiences at venues across the United States. “The speakers will provide the students insight into what makes a warrior a warrior,” said Lorman, whose accent reveals his English upbringing. “You can’t hear from warriors of past,...

WASHINGTON, Nov. 16, 2007 – When Marine Staff Sgt. John Costa arrived in Ramadi, Iraq, in August 2006, U.S. troops walked the city streets in daylight at their peril. Marine Staff Sgt. John Costa is one of 10 servicemembers selected to tell the military’s story to the American people at community and business events, veterans organizations and other gatherings as part of the Defense Department’s “Why We Serve” public outreach program. Defense Department photo  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. “The place was one of the worst cities in Iraq, if not the worst. You could not conduct foot-borne...

WASHINGTON, Nov. 9, 2007 – Serving in the military was something Jose Munoz always wanted to do, but it wasn’t until after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks that he was spurred to enlist and fulfill that dream. Army Sgt. Jose Munoz is telling the military’s story to the American people at community and business events, veterans organizations and other gatherings as part of the Defense Department’s “Why We Serve” public outreach program. Defense Department photo  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Munoz, now a sergeant with five and a half years in the Army, said a lack of...

WASHINGTON, Oct. 12, 2007 – A veteran Air Force combat medic helped to transform the way wounded troops are treated and evacuated during a recent deployment to Afghanistan. Air Force Tech. Sgt. Mark A. DeCorte is participating in the Defense Department’s “Why We Serve” public-outreach program. Photo by Gerry J. Gilmore  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Tech Sgt. Mark A. DeCorte recalled the previous practice when unarmed battlefield medics were flown in to treat and evacuate injured servicemembers usually after an area had been cleared of the enemy. However, DeCorte emphasized, “When you have a wounded soldier on...

WASHINGTON, April 2, 2007 – Eight servicemembers with duty experience in Iraq, Afghanistan or the Horn of Africa, who have been selected to tell the military’s story to the American public, met with Deputy Defense Secretary Gordon England here March 30. Deputy Defense Secretary Gordon England, left, greets a group of servicemembers participating in the “Why We Serve” public outreach program in his Pentagon office March 30. Defense Dept. photo by Gerry J. Gilmore  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. “It’s important and it’s vital, particularly now,” England told the group of their mission to relate their experiences to...

Last week, the News Sentinel received an e-mail from a young Knox County sailor serving aboard a destroyer in the Mediterranean. He was awaiting the moment the United States launched war on Iraq. He addressed the e-mail to his community, to folks who support the war effort as well as those who oppose it. "My name is James Cornelius. I am a Damage Controlman in the US Navy. I joined the Navy on July 17, 2001 at the Military Entrance Processing Station on Parkside Drive in Knoxville. I left for Recruit Training Command in Great Lakes, Illinois on the 5th...