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Congress has approved a burial plot in Arlington National Cemetery for women who served as pilots during WWII. The women served as Women Airforce Service Pilots, or WASP. They flew noncombat and training missions, but their jobs weren't entirely without danger--38 women died in service. Despite this, they weren't considered to be veterans until 1977, when federal law changed to acknowledge their service. Even still, the Army revoked the right of WASP to be buried at Arlington in 2015. Pending President Obama's signature, that will change shortly.The legislation to reinstate their eligibility was introduced by Rep. Martha McSally (R-AZ). [...]the...

This month, President Barack Obama's defense secretary, Ashton Carter, decreed that there will be 220,000 combat military jobs offered to women -- including in Army special operations forces and the Navy SEALs. He said, "They'll be allowed to drive tanks, fire mortars and lead infantry soldiers into combat ... and everything else that was previously open only to men." Technological changes since the time of the M60 Patton, embodied in the M1 Abrams tank, mean that a woman can probably drive a tank. But what if track pads or a tank track has to be repaired in the field and...

A senior Defense Department official said the ban on women in combat should be lifted because the military's goal is "to provide a level, gender-neutral playing field." I'd like to think the goal of the military should be to have the toughest, meanest fighting force possible. But let's look at "gender-neutral playing field." The Army's physical fitness test in basic training is a three-event physical performance test used to assess endurance. The minimum requirement for 17- to 21-year-old males is 35 pushups, 47 situps and a two-mile run in 16 minutes, 36 seconds or less. For females of the same...

Leftist, liberal, and progressive men are ushering in the greatest pansi-fication and weakening of our nation in the modern era. Awkwardly refusing leadership in times of real crisis, the men of the left, are allowing women and children to literally be the mouthpiece and driving force behind the cause. They do so dishonestly, disingenuously, and they do so without discernment. In recent days the president hid behind the letters of four children that he claimed, "were really smart" to help shape his approach to reforms he claimed constitutional authority over, to implement in response to recent shootings. (Not ever having...

Last Thursday Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta and other U.S. military leaders lifted the ban on women serving in combat positions. I, for one, think this is a great idea and have a few modest proposals, if the brass inside the beltway is open to suggestions, on how they should deploy the dames (and whom they should deploy). First off, if you truly want to eviscerate the enemy—namely Muslims—then I propose sending the most nerve grating and foul women Hollywood has to offer straight into hot zones as our forward armies. I’m a thinkin’ starting off with Roseanne Barr, Joy...

A Navy ship commander pleaded guilty Friday to sexual assault and rape of two female sailors, and a military judge ordered his dismissal and sentenced him to more than three years in prison.

CAMP BLUE DIAMOND, AR RAMADI, Iraq (August 5, 2005) -- During basic training at Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island, S.C., Joanna Lael Baker met her nemesis as she stood atop of the rappel tower and peered down at her certain doom. Her fear of heights was being challenged in a finale that meant the difference between her passing the test with the other recruits and falling back in training. She took a deep breath, grabbed the rope and jumped 40 feet down – stopping short just a few feet from the woodchips. Lance Cpl. Baker finally conquered her fear...

New York (July 29, 2005) -- Marines from 6th Communication Battalion joined officers of the 101st and 75th precincts of the New York Police Department in teaching children about leadership and drug awareness through the Drug Education For Youth (DEFY) program held at Floyd Bennett Field, recently. The Marines ran the program from July 5 to July 15. The program, which focuses on building the self-esteem of inner city children ages nine through 13, was created to help the children resist the temptation of drugs and gangs. During the program, groups of children from Far Rockaway and East Brooklyn participated...

In battle, one of the hardest challenges is saving the wounded. Medical professionals encounter injuries not normally seen in peacetime, and many times see multiple life-threatening injures requiring immediate treatment on the battlefield. Another problem is moving patients across hot desert sands on bumpy roads in Iraq, which can be logistically challenging and uncomfortable for the patient. And there is always the danger of roadside bombs. To solve these problems, military aeromedical planners developed what is now an efficient medical evacuation system that moves patients from where they were injured to definitive care quickly and safely. Along the way, patients...

BALAD, Iraq, July 29, 2005 – Bernd and Virginia Zoller are two full-time Army Reserve officers with a lot in common, pulling military duty in an uncommon place. First off, the Zollers share the same rank -- lieutenant colonel -- and both are public affairs officers. "We were promoted together here on Dec. 24 in this room," Lt. Col. Virginia Zoller said during a July 27 interview with American Forces Press Service here. And the pair has the same last name, because they're a couple. The Zollers will celebrate their first year of marriage Aug. 29. Virginia, 42, acknowledged she...

NELLIS AIR FORCE BASE, Nev. (AFPN) -- U.S. Air Force Air Demonstration Squadron, “Thunderbirds,” officials announced their new pilots for the 2006 demonstration season which includes the first female demonstration pilot in the 52-year history of the Thunderbirds. Capt. Nicole Malachowski, of the 494th Fighter Squadron at Royal Air Force Lakenheath, England, joins the team as the first female demonstration pilot on any U.S. military high performance jet team. Lt. Col. Kevin Robbins, from the Air Force Weapons School at Nellis Air Force Base, Nev., and Capt. Ed Casey, of the 56th Training Squadron at Luke AFB, Ariz., also were selected for...

Sergeant, 23, Is First Woman Awarded Silver Star Since World War IIBy John J. Lumpkin Associated Press Writer Published: Jun 16, 2005 WASHINGTON (AP) - A 23-year-old sergeant with the Kentucky National Guard on Thursday became the first female soldier to receive the Silver Star - the nation's third-highest medal for valor - since World War II. Sgt. Leigh Ann Hester, who is from Nashville, Tenn., but serves in a Kentucky unit, received the award for gallantry during a March 20 insurgent ambush on a convoy in Iraq. Two men from her unit, the 617th Military Police Company of Richmond,...

Steve Rasmussen stood earnestly, his voice cracking with emotion describing his father’s love for the U. S. Military Academy and his privilege to witness something that meant so much to his father with the hope it will mean the same to its new owner. His father, James Asa Rasmussen, USMA class of 1945, who died October 26, had a last wish of contributing his class ring to the Class Ring Memorial Program. His ring was included among the 12 present at the ring ceremony conducted at the Pease & Curren Refinery in Warwick , R.I. , March 8. In four...

A tribute to fallen HEROES  from the staff and visitors at FreeRepublic.com, FreedomUSA.org and Veterans for Constitutional Restoration (VetsCoR)  During the course of this country's history brave men and women have stepped forward from time to time, answering the country's call to fight against would-be tyrants, dictators and despots,  and to defend the individual freedom that is our birthright.  Many of these brave men and women have paid the ultimate price. It is to these brave men and women of the Army, Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps, Coast Guard, and Merchant Marine that we dedicate this page, and to...

WEST POINT, N.Y. - Graduating U.S. Military Academy cadets - who came here just weeks before the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks - were told Saturday they were a special group forged by historic events. Gen. Richard Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, called the class "one of the few since the early days of the Vietnam War who came to West Point in peace time, saw the nation transition to war and chose to stay, knowing you would raise your right hand and take an oath and swear to defend the constitution of a nation that was still...

FRAMINGHAM -- When Collin Kelly arrived at Edgell Grove Cemetery to place flowers on soldiers' graves yesterday, he discovered a crowd of people and decades of emotions buried deep. The cemetery visit by the young boy, whose effort to honor dead veterans has made him a national media celebrity this past week, attracted a large group of onlookers: veterans, reporters, patriotic well-wishers and people grieving the loss of loved ones laid to rest at Edgell Grove.

(snip, snip) "Do you ever take a half step back and say, 'Was this war really necessary?' Or you don't even go there?" asks Safer. "No, on a daily basis. Because it's a responsibility I have to my soldiers, because they're gonna ask me those questions," says Blickhan. "And no reporter can put it as blunt as an American paratrooper. 'Why are we here? Why are we doing this?' And I've gotta be able to answer that. In my heart, I've found an answer that it's worth it. And I've lost soldiers, and Americans are dying over there, and Iraqis...

Sunday, May 01, 2005 The Battle For Mosul The Deuce-Four Fighting for Mosul Mosul, Northern Iraq As the new map of Iraq unfolds, a picture of progress emerges. The Iraqis who want freedom and democracy are gaining ground. From what I hear about the news back home, this might sound unreal. Nightly tallies of roadside IEDs and suicide car bombers driving headlong into crowds, like the Vietnam body counts on the Huntley-Brinkley Report, are the main summary of events, while most of this country is peaceful. There are seventeen provinces in Iraq, and more than ten are quiet. They are...

Pfc. Sam Huff decided at age 16 she would enlist in the Army. On Monday she was killed when a roadside bomb detonated next to her Humvee in Baghdad. Eighteen-year-old Pfc. Sam Huff was born with a man's name. But she was a consummate "girlie-girl," said her father, Robert Huff. She liked to wear false eyelashes and played flute in her high-school band. Last July, she joined the Army, the first step in a career she hoped would take her to the FBI. On April 18, Huff, an only child, became the 37th U.S. female to die in combat since...