[MEG33]

~HAPPY BIRTHDAY~US AIR FORCE~

So Many Heroes!
Magnificent thread, Kathy!

[Betis70]

As the son of two Air Force officers who met in the Air Force...Happy Birthday!

:)

[HopeandGlory]

Good morning Troops, Veterans and Canteeners.

* * * * * * * * * * * *

Our Flag Flying Proudly One Nation Under God

* * * * * * * * * * * *

Lord, Please Bless Our Troops, They're fighting for our Freedom.

I pledge allegiance to the Flag
of the United States of America,
and to the Republic, for which it stands;
one nation UNDER GOD,
indivisible,
with liberty and justice for all.

Prayers going up.

[gpapa]

This Day in U.S. Military History September 18

1862 - Confederate General Robert E. Lee's army pulls away from Antietam Creek, near Sharpsburg, Maryland, and heads back to Virginia.

The day before, Lee's force had engaged in the biggest one-day battle of the Civil War against the army of General George B. McClellan. The armies struggled to a standstill, but the magnitude of losses forced Lee to abandon his invasion of Maryland. The significance of the battle was not Lee's withdrawal, but McClellan's lack of pursuit. When Lee settled into a defensive line above Antietam Creek on September 16, he had only about 43,000 troops. McClellan had around 50,000 in position on September 17, with many more on the way. On September 18, the armies remained in their positions without fighting. By this point, Lee was highly vulnerable. His army had its back to the Potomac River, just a few miles away, and a quarter of his force had been lost in the previous day's battle. And after more than two weeks of marching, his men were tired. McClellan, on the other hand, welcomed an additional 12,000 troops on September 18, with another 24,000 who had seen little or no action the day before, to join his original force. But, although he outnumbered Lee's troops by almost three times, McClellan did not pursue Lee. In fact, despite constant urging from President Lincoln and Chief of Staff Henry Halleck, McClellan did not move toward Virginia for over a month. McClellan overestimated the size of Lee's force, assuming that Lee had nearly 100,000 troops in his command, and insisted that the fall of Harpers Ferry, Virginia, on September 15 allowed an additional 40,000 Confederate troops—in his inflated estimation—to fight at Antietam. It should be noted that while McClellan’s soldiers were extremely fatigued after the Battle of Antietam, which was the bloodiest day of the war, it would be difficult to rally them for another attack; but certainly not impossible. Instead, Lee was allowed to escape with his command intact. A chance to destroy the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia was lost, and the war lasted another two and a half years. 1863 - Union cavalry troops clashed with a group of Confederates at Chickamauga Creek.

[Tanniker Smith]

A couple of obits from the entertainment world worth noting:

Author James Rigney (pen name Robert Jordan), author of the neverending "Wheel of Time" series of bestsellers, and

`Match Game' Panelist/Comedian Brett Somers, who was also the wife of Jack Klugman and the ex-wife of Oscar Madison.

My first thought upon hearing the latter news was "Rest in __________", but then I grew up with the Match Game. (My mother actually appeared on the original version in New York, not the California remake of the 70s that everyone remembers.)

[donnab]

Happy Birthday to the AirForce
and may God bless the brave men and women who serve.
Thanks for this post.

A very proud Air Force mom

[skr]

HAPPY 60TH!

[laurenmarlowe]

Thank you MA!

*HUGS*

[Pit1]

Happy Birthday to all our wonderful U. S. Air Force troops. Prayers are with you as you keep flying high.

Semper Fi

[Lost Dutchman]

My first and still fav assignment. Nothing like being young & single in Las Vegas. Plus you got to deploy all over CONUS as often as 2 weeks a month if you wanted.

[Grizzled Bear]

Thank you very much for this thread Kathy!

However; you forgot to mention Esther Blake!

Esther Blake was the first woman to join the new United States Air Force. During WWII her two sons became MIA. She enlisted in the Army Air Corp to fill a desk job freeing a man to fight in order to hasten the end of the war. IIRC both her sons returned safely after being released as POWs.

Later, she enlisted in the Air Force on the first minute, of the first hour of the first day possible. After retiring from active duty she worked at for the VA until her death.

If you are wondering what she didn’t do...well she didn’t sit in a ditch and...complain when her sons became POWs. She was not an attention whore. She took positive steps and made personal sacrifices. Esther Blake was a great American and a fine Airman.

Fishtalk, is there room at your blogspace for profiles of military women? I could recommend some great examples.

[MS.BEHAVIN]

Beautiful thread Lauren,thank you!
This is just a fly by..
Last week, all my residents were sickwith the stomcah flu..
Well, guess who has it now?
The Doc is gonna “shoot” my knee with Cortisone AGAIN tomorrow, and Man, do I dread it..
Somebody tell me better days are coming!
Ms.B

[Just Lori]

[Just Lori]

Ah, the C-17 ....have you ever seen what it can REALLY do?

[hoagy62]

And still NO ONE has thought to post a link to the Air Force Theme? Y’know...”Wild Blue Yonder”?

I’d do it except A) I don’t know where I’d find a file to link to, and B) I’m not entirely sure how.

Anyone?

[yorkie]

Wow, Kathy! Thanks for all the great info on our USAF!

Here’s a little smile for our guys in the Air Force:

Flight Squawks
(for every gripe, there is a creative sign off)
From J.R. Nelson

P: Left inside main tire almost needs replacement.
S: Almost replaced left inside main tire.

P: Test flight OK, except autoland very rough.
S: Autoland not installed on this aircraft.

P: No. 2 propeller seeping prop fluid.
S: No. 2 propeller seepage normal. Nos. 1, 3 and 4 propellers lack normal seepage.

P: Something loose in cockpit.
S: Something tightened in cockpit.

P: Dead bugs on windshield.
S: Live bugs on backorder.

P: Autopilot in altitude-hold mode produces a 200-fpm descent.
S: Cannot reproduce problem on ground.

P: Evidence of leak on right main landing gear.
S: Evidence removed.

P: DME volume unbelievably loud.
S: DME volume set to more believable level.

P: Friction locks cause throttle levers to stick.
S: That’s what they’re there for!

P: IFF inoperative.
S: IFF always inoperative in OFF mode.

P: Suspected crack in windscreen.
S: Suspect you’re right.

P: Number 3 engine missing.
S: Engine found on right wing after brief search.

P: Aircraft handles funny.
S: Aircraft warned to straighten up, fly right, and be serious.

P: Target radar hums.
S: Reprogrammed target radar with words.

P: Mouse in cockpit.
S: Cat installed

Happy Birthday, USAF! We’re so proud of you!

[beachn4fun]

Good morning, Everyone. Good morning

Thank you, Lauren, for preparing the Canteen for today’s activities.

AIR FORCE

DC Metroland weather report ~ Today....Sunny. High 73F. Winds NE at 5 to 10 mph. ~ Tonight....Generally clear. Low 52F. Winds light and variable.

Seems our cold spell will be ending soon. We're heading back into the 80s.

Happy Tuesday? Happy? Tuesday? Ah, I can't think of any reason that Tuesday could be a happy day UNLESS one were to win the lottery on Tuesday. After all, Tuesday follows Monday at the beginning of the week. We know about Mondays, right? Duh!

How about a little trivia to liven up this Happy Tuesday? Are you all excited about it? Yeah? Ok, ok...... hang on....here we go.......

Leather money was used in Russia right up until the 17th century, as was tea money in China.

Tea money? I wonder if that is why we sometimes feel that our money drips right between our fingers? Ok, enought phil-os-o-fee. Moving along now.

Time for me to make my rounds. But, you stay right where you are. Don't touch that dial. Don't change that channel. Put down that remote. Don't leave the room. Keep your eyes on your monitor. Cause...............I'll be bock!

Now remember, the Canteen is ALWAYS

So, come on in and sit for a while. There's always plenty of coffee, pancakes, conversation, silliness, and plain old BS

REMEMBER THEM

DEFENDERS OF FREEDOM

HAPPY BIRTHDAY AF - THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE.

FR CANTEEN MISSION STATEMENT

Showing support and boosting the morale of our military and our allied military and the family members of the above Honoring those who have served before.

[ScreamingGreenAlienGorilla]

Thanks for the tribute — I’m proud to have served in the USAF under a great commander-in-chief (Reagan) and proud to still be serving in the civilian world by providing the finest warfighting systems in the world.

[darkwing104]

Happy Birthday USAF!

Good Morning Canteen FReepers!

[Gritty]

Happy 60th! I am proud to have been a member of it.