[beachn4fun]

Let me see.......if I keep it up at this rate I wonder if I can manage to get to #100 before Tom does?

[beachn4fun]

Yup, it worked. LOL

[68-69TonkinGulfYachtClub]

CLICK BELOW!

[Kathy in Alaska]

[Kathy in Alaska]

Duty ~ Honor ~ Country

Click above to visit "A Day in the Life of President Bush"

[Kathy in Alaska]

A PRAYER OF PROTECTION

The light of God surround you
The love of God enfold you
The power of God protect you
The presence of God watch over you
Wherever you are,God is,
And all is well.
Amen.

Bless This House

Bless this house O Lord we pray;
Make it safe by night and day;
Bless these walls so firm and stout,
Keeping want and trouble out:
Bless the roof and chimneys tall,
Let thy peace lie over all;
Bless this door, that it may prove
ever open to joy and love.


Bless these windows shining bright,
Letting in God's heav'nly light;
Bless the hearth a'blazing there,
with smoke ascending like a prayer;
Bless the folk who dwell within,
keep them pure and free from sin;
Bless us all that we may be
Fit O Lord to dwell with thee;
Bless us all that one day we
May dwell O Lord with thee.

(Click on praying hands above, or on banner at the top to hear the music)

A PRAYER OF PROTECTION

The light of God surround you
The love of God enfold you
The power of God protect you
The presence of God watch over you
Wherever you are,God is,
And all is well.
Amen.

Bless This House

Bless this house O Lord we pray;
Make it safe by night and day;
Bless these walls so firm and stout,
Keeping want and trouble out:
Bless the roof and chimneys tall,
Let thy peace lie over all;
Bless this door, that it may prove
ever open to joy and love.


Bless these windows shining bright,
Letting in God's heav'nly light;
Bless the hearth a'blazing there,
with smoke ascending like a prayer;
Bless the folk who dwell within,
keep them pure and free from sin;
Bless us all that we may be
Fit O Lord to dwell with thee;
Bless us all that one day we
May dwell O Lord with thee.

(Click on praying hands above, or on banner at the top to hear the music)

[Kathy in Alaska]

~ Robert ~

~ A Military Family Member's Wife ~

~ Luke ~

~ Billy ~

~ Britton ~

Thank you to each of these heroes for their dedication and sacrifice for America. We thank all the rest of our Troops whose pictures are not listed here. We extend our gratitude to you and your families. God Bless America! God Bless our Troops! God Bless our Allies! (If you would like to have your family member's picture posted everyday, please FReepmail me.)

[Kathy in Alaska]

beach.....#100!!

[Kathy in Alaska]

(Juliana Gittler / S&S) Soldiers with 14th Cavalry of the 1st Brigade (Stryker Brigade Combat Team), 25th Infantry Division (Light), stand guard over a civil affairs project in a remote town in western Iraq.

(Juliana Gittler / S&S) Soldiers from 1-25’s 1st Battalion, 24th Infantry Regiment stand in the hatch of their Stryker after an operation in Mosul, Iraq. The vehicle’s agility and security make it effective in urban environments, soldiers say.

Stryker: Bulky Fighting Vehicle is Winning Over Once-Skeptical Soldiers

November 10, 2004

By Juliana Gittler, Stars and Stripes European Edition

Editor’s note: They rolled in on eight untracked wheels a year ago, one year after being introduced to the Army. Here’s a look at how the Army’s Stryker vehicle has fared.

MOSUL, Iraq — Ask nearly anyone in a Stryker unit and they’ll say they weren’t too crazy about the eight-wheeled vehicles at first.

Something about rubber tires seemed unlikely to withstand the same beating as a tracked vehicle. The Strykers looked slow and lumbering.

But the naysayers have been converted.

After the Strykers’ introduction to the Army two years ago, and after a year of combat experience in Iraq, the vehicles are almost too good to be true, say those who ride them, fix them or command them.

“I was kind of skeptical,” said Sgt. David Finney, noncommissioned officer in charge of the ground support equipment shop for the 73rd Engineer Company, part of the 1st Brigade, 25th Infantry Division.

“I was used to working on tanks. I saw the tires and thought, ‘what are you going to do with broken tires?’ But it’s surpassed everything I’ve expected,” he said. “It’s definitely saved lives. The Strykers can take a pretty big hit and get back on the road quickly.”

In October, a car bomb packed with 500 pounds of explosives hit a Stryker in Mosul. It killed a soldier and pummeled the vehicle.

The Stryker was back on the road in six days.

“Strykers are extremely durable vehicles,” said 1st Lt. Eric James Joyce, battalion maintenance officer for the 1st Battalion, 24th Infantry Regiment, with the 1-25th.

The vehicle’s heavy armor shelters occupants from blasts and ballistics. Its eight individual wheels have a “run flat” technology that allows them to drive on after being blown out.

“I’ve seen Strykers be hit by an [improvised explosive device] and drive home on eight flats,” said Staff Sgt. Lee Hodges, assistant vehicle commander and gunner for the Reconnaissance, Surveillance and Target Acquisition Squadron of the 14th Cavalry with the 1-25th, who rode a Bradley in the Persian Gulf War.

The rest of the story

[Kathy in Alaska]

HANKIE ALERT!!

A hug across six decades: Pearl Harbor survivor Houston James embraces former Marine Staff Sgt. Mark Graunke Jr. at Dallas' Veterans Day commemoration. Graunke lost a hand, leg and eye while defusing a bomb in Iraq in July 2003.

[Kathy in Alaska]

Inflatable fun: Boys play with a balloon in the old city area of Kabul, Afghanistan.

Thank you US Military!!

[Kathy in Alaska]

U.S. Air Force Senior Airman Sean Barnette, 376th Expeditionary Civil Engineer Squadron, pulls Sgt. Michael Nettles, 68th Medical Evacuation Company, Fort Wainwright, Alaska, from a UH-60 Blackhawk during a training exercise at Forward Operating Base Salerno. U.S. Army photo by Spc. Cheryl Ransford

Firefighters Answer the Call

Air Force firemen remain ready to respond to aircraft and tent fires as well as overturned vehicles at Forward Operating Base Salerno

By U.S. Army Spc. Cheryl Ransford 17th Public Affairs Detachment

FORWARD OPERATING BASE SALERNO, Afghanistan, Nov. 16, 2004 –– With safety in the forefront of everyone’s minds, having firefighters ready and standing by is important when an emergency happens on base.

Four airmen run the fire department at Forward Operating Base Salerno from Manas Air Base, Kyrgyzstan, who respond to most emergencies here.

The types of emergencies the team is prepared to react to range from aircraft and tent fires to overturned vehicles, said Air Force Senior Airman Sean Barnette, 376th Expeditionary Civil Engineer Squadron.

“By having a team of trained firemen on base to react to emergencies, the chances of something getting out of control are lessened,” he said.

One of the main roles of the firemen is ensuring the aircraft land without any problems.

“We are on the flight line, ready to go, every time a prop-type aircraft lands, in case something were to happen during landing,” said Barnette.

While the firemen work with the aircraft most of the time, they are also ready to handle just about any other type of emergency that may arise, said Air Force Airman 1st Class Joshua Flagle, 376th ECES.

Since most of the personnel at Forward Operating Base Salerno live and work in tents, the biggest concern is electrical fires inside the tents.

The rest of the story

[Kathy in Alaska]

ENGAGING THE ENEMY — Marines of 4th Battalion, 14th Marines Mike Battery, Gun 4, receive the command to engage enemy targets with a M-198 155mm Howitzer at Camp Fallujah, Iraq, Nov. 11, 2004. The command was called in by fellow Marines in the city of Fallujah during Operation Al Fajar (New Dawn). Defense Dept. photo by U.S. Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Samantha L. Jones

[Kathy in Alaska]

MARINES IN FALLUJAH — A Marine with Company I, 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, takes cover from a car explosion in Fallujah, Iraq, Nov. 9, 2004. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Luis R. Agostini

A Marine with Company I, 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, aims in on anti-Iraqi forces from inside a building in Fallujah, Iraq, Nov. 9, 2004. At the request of the Interim Iraqi Government, Multi-National Forces in Iraq along with Iraqi Security Forces began Operation Al Fajr to eliminate anti-Iraqi Forces sanctuaries in Fallujah and allow the government to restore a legitimate government to the city. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Luis R. Agostini

[Kathy in Alaska]

Marines with Company I, 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, patrol the streets of Fallujah, Iraq, Nov. 9, 2004. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Luis R. Agostini

Marines with Company I, 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, rest inside a building in Fallujah, Iraq, Nov. 9, 2004. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Luis R. Agostini

A repeat, but worthy.