Freeper Canteen ~ Sunday Chapel Thread ~ HAPPY PURIM ~ March 20, 2011

The Canteen Crew | March 19, 2011 | Serving The Best Troops In The UNIVERSE AND BEYOND!

[Brad’s Gramma]

 

 

 

 

ACTIONS SPEAK LOUDER THAN WORDS

Purim is one of the most joyous and fun holidays on the Jewish calendar. It commemorates a time when the Jewish people living in Persia were saved from extermination.

The story of Purim is told in the Biblical book of Esther. The heroes of the story are Esther, a beautiful young Jewish woman living in Persia, and her cousin Mordecai, who raised her as if she were his daughter. Esther was taken to the house of Ahasuerus, King of Persia, to become part of his harem. King Ahasuerus loved Esther more than his other women and made Esther queen, but the king did not know that Esther was a Jew, because Mordecai told her not to reveal her identity.

The villain of the story is Haman, an arrogant, egotistical advisor to the king. Haman hated Mordecai because Mordecai refused to bow down to Haman, so Haman plotted to destroy the Jewish people. In a speech that is all too familiar to Jews, Haman told the king, "There is a certain people scattered abroad and dispersed among the peoples in all the provinces of your realm. Their laws are different from those of every other people's, and they do not observe the king's laws; therefore it is not befitting the king to tolerate them." Esther 3:8. The king gave the fate of the Jewish people to Haman, to do as he pleased to them. Haman planned to exterminate all of the Jews.

Mordecai persuaded Esther to speak to the king on behalf of the Jewish people. This was a dangerous thing for Esther to do, because anyone who came into the king's presence without being summoned could be put to death, and she had not been summoned. Esther fasted for three days to prepare herself, then went into the king. He welcomed her. Later, she told him of Haman's plot against her people. The Jewish people were saved, and Haman was hanged on the gallows that had been prepared for Mordecai.

The book of Esther is unusual in that it is the only book of the Bible that does not contain the name of G-d. In fact, it includes virtually no reference to G-d. Mordecai makes a vague reference to the fact that the Jews will be saved by someone else, if not by Esther, but that is the closest the book comes to mentioning G-d. Thus, one important message that can be gained from the story is that G-d often works in ways that are not apparent, in ways that appear to be chance, coincidence or ordinary good luck.

 

[Kathy in Alaska]

Welcome Troops, Veterans, Families, and Allies!
God Bless You and Keep You Safe.

Thanks, unique, for our troop blessing.

A Beautiful Life

Sing Me A Going Home Song

[Arrowhead1952]

Good morning to everyone at the Canteen.

[Kathy in Alaska]

And good morning to you, Arrowhead. Thank you and a Blessed Lord’s Day to you and yours as well.

[txradioguy]

Morning SGM. Greeting from the wilds of Afghanistan!

God Bless Texas!

[txradioguy]

Morning MEG!

[MEG33]

(((HUGS)))
How are you!

[Kathy in Alaska]

Welcome Troops, Veterans, Families, and Allies!
God Bless You and Keep You Safe.

Thanks, unique, for our troop blessing.

Master, The Tempest Is Raging

Now The Day Is Over

[MEG33]

Counting Fridays I see! It’s warm in Texas..Spring has sprung.

[txradioguy]

Pretty good. Getting a serious case of short timeers disease...7 more Fridays!

[MEG33]

OH how I hope they hurry past..I know how much you are yearning to be with your family! Thank you for all you do!

[Kathy in Alaska]

[txradioguy]

Apache Leaves Hadrian

Troop Says Farewell to Deh Rawud, Australians After Nine Months Together

By SFC John Wollaston – Combined Team Uruzgan PAO

FORWARD OPERATING BASE HADRIAN, Afghanistan- For the last seven months they’ve shared everything from living and work spaces, to patrol areas and missions. They’ve shared laughs with new found friends and consoled each other over the loss of a fallen comrade. But now a partnership forged in the everyday hazards of life in Afghanistan is coming to an end.

Since late July, Apache Troop 1st Squadron, 2nd Stryker Cavalry Regiment has worked with their Australian counterparts to mentor the Afghan Army and Police in an effort to achieve stability and peace in the Tangi Valley.

But a change in the mission for the Regiment during the last six weeks of its deployment means Apache Troop has packed up and left Hadrian and its successful partnership with the Australians.

“I’m sad to see them (Apache Troop) go.” said Major David French, the commanding officer for Combat Team Charlie, part of the Australian Defense Force Mentoring Task Force 2. “They are great guys at every level.”
“It was a great experience” according to Apache Troop Commander Matthew Piosa. “I think we both learned a lot from each other and we’ll both be better units for having worked together.”

Despite different backgrounds, uniforms and accents, French and Piosa meshed their two companies into a single, complimentary force allowing each to have a more effective end result in their mentoring missions with the Afghan National Army and the Afghan National Police. Even the dynamic of Piosa being a Captain and French a Major, the reflection of American and Australian command philosophies didn’t hinder the mission in Deh Rawud.

“We worked on a peer to peer basis.” according to Maj. French. “There’s not a whole lot of difference in age or experience. There’s been times where something’s happened in the TOC where he’s the senior representative and he’s been able to direct my guys to do things and vise versa.”

“Up front the differences seem insignificant.” Said Capt. Piosa. “There was a sense from everyone on the base that we were one team; working together to protect the population and develop the Afghan National Security Forces.”

“We’ve gone through some tough times and we’ve both lost soldiers,” Maj. French added. “But we’ve also done some great things and achieved a lot in a short time.”

On their last day at FOB Hadrian, Americans and Australians gathered together one last time to exchange parting gifts, company t-shirts from the respective units and a framed plaque with the logos of Apache Troop and Charlie Company, surrounded by pictures taken of soldiers and diggers in action, as well as those of their fallen comrades.

“It was great to see how another nation does business.” Piosa said. “The partnership between the U.S. and Australian forces in Deh Rawud was phenomenal.”
And with the arrival of Charlie Company 4-70th as the replacement for Apache Troop, the “getting to know you” phase starts anew for Americans and Australians alike.

“It’s good to get fresh blood in,” Maj. French said. “We’re at the six month point of our deployment and 4-70th is just getting here, so we get a new perspective on things and they bring a different view as well.”

“It’s a new challenge, the only constant is change”

[Arrowhead1952]

Stay safe over there. We have a unit heading back later this year too.

[Kathy in Alaska]

Good morning/afternoon/evening/night Troops, wherever you are.

Thank you for doing your part to help keep all of us free and safe.

Thanks, unique, for the pastries.

Coffee is always on........

How about a donut?

Cookies?

Veggies?

Sandwich?

[E.G.C.]

Morning coffee bump.

[DeoVindiceSicSemperTyrannis]

Ooooo.....chocolate dipped hamentaschen! Those look good! Thank you!

[blackie]

Thanks Kathy!

{{HUGS}}

[ConorMacNessa]

A Blessed Lord's Day to you and yours, Kathy! Hope your Dad is doing well!

Lamh Foistenach Abu!

[SevenofNine]

OH KATHY guess who in Israel give you a hint

http://www.israpundit.com/archives/34601?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

[SevenofNine]

OH KATHY guess who in Israel give you a hint

http://www.israpundit.com/archives/34601?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter