FReeper Canteen ~ Remembering Our Troops ~ 23 December 2011

Serving The Best Troops and Veterans In The World !! | The Canteen Crew

[Kathy in Alaska]

~ The FReeper Canteen Presents ~

~ Remembering Our Troops!! ~

AFGHANISTAN BOUND

U.S. Army soldiers board a Boeing 737 as they prepare to leave Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, Nov. 28, 2011, for a deployment to Afghanistan. The 290 soldiers are assigned to the 25th Infantry Division's 4th Brigade Combat Team, Airborne. U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Christopher Gross

Canteen Mission Statement

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

TAJI TROOPS

U.S. Army military policemen conduct a dismounted patrol along a road outside Camp Taji, Iraq, Dec. 2, 2011. The policemen are assigned to the 82nd Airborne Division's 2nd Brigade, Company H, 2nd Brigade Special Troops Battalion. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Kissta Feldner

RIFLEMAN REASSEMBLY

U.S. Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Matthew Stowe reassembles an M240B medium machine gun aboard the USS Makin Island under way in the Pacific Ocean, Dec. 7, 2011. Stowe is a rifleman assigned to the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Elyssa Quesada

ARCTIC EXERCISE

U.S. Marines and sailors climb up the side of the USNS Arctic while conducting a simulated expanded, visit, board, search and seizure mission as part of a composite training exercise while under way in the Atlantic Ocean, Dec. 7, 2011. The troops are assigned to the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit's Force Reconnaissance Platoon. U.S. Marine Corps

PATTERN IS FULL

F-16 Fighting Falcons demonstrate an "elephant walk " formation as they taxi down a runway during an exercise on Kunsan Air Base, South Korea, Dec. 2, 2011. The Falcons are assigned to the 8th and 419th Fighter Wings. The exercise showcased the participating aircrews' ability to quickly and safely prepare an aircraft for a wartime mission. U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Rasheen Douglas

PERFECT FIT

Ryan Blanck, a prosthetist and developer of the Intrepid Dynamic Exoskeletal Orthosis brace, checks the fit after he adjusts one of his braces on Army 1st Lt. Matthew Anderson, an infantry platoon leader, at the Center for the Intrepid in San Antonio, Nov. 10, 2011. DOD photo by Linda Hosek

PATROL PALS

U.S. Marine Lance Cpl. Jon Lyman hands a piece of candy to an Afghan child during a security patrol in Garmser District, Helmand province, Afghanistan, Nov. 30, 2011. Lyman is a mortar man assigned to Weapons Company, 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment. U.S. Marines and Afghan soldiers met with local elders at a shura and built rapport with local children during the patrol. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Reece Lodder

FLEET FLUTE

U.S. Navy Petty Officer 3rd Class Danielle Clark, center, plays the flute beside Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force Band musicians in front of an audience of more than 500 people at Commander, Fleet Activities Yokosuka Fleet Theatre in Yokosuka, Japan, Dec. 3, 2011. Clark is assigned to the U.S. 7th Fleet Band. U.S. Navy photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Kenneth R. Hendrix

WADI CROSSING

U.S. Marines patrol across the Musa Qal`eh Wadi crossing in Helmand Province, Afghanistan, Dec. 6, 2011. The Marines are assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment. The structure was built by U.S. troops in an effort to bridge the Musa Qal`eh district center to neighboring villages during the rainy season when the wadi, or seasonal river, is full.

HOVERING HAWKS

Two U.S. Army UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters prepare for takeoff at Bagram Air Field, Parwan province, Afghanistan, Dec. 4, 2011. U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Matt Hecht

Please remember that The Canteen is here to support
and entertain our troops and veterans and their families,
and is family friendly.

[BIGLOOK]

Aloha again Night Owl! ((HUGS))

We actually had some sun today......Hallelujah! But this sunny day was short lived. What can one expect for Winter Solstice.

[ConorMacNessa]

Good evening, Taz!

*HUGS*

Hope you have a Happy Christmas!

Etiam non princeps sed usque ad genua, Principis Pacis!

[TASMANIANRED]

White Chistmas in Hawaii...Globular Worming.

Hope request moves through speedily.

[Kathy in Alaska]

Permission Granted!

[TASMANIANRED]

Evening Russ, Merry Christmas

Many thanks for today’s inspiration.

[TASMANIANRED]

Evening Connie, Hugs.

My pinapple jam finally set up.

Color me delighted.

[alarm rider]

A most Happy Christmas to you Kathy, to all the canteeners and of course the troops, veterans and those who support them.

God bless us all, and God bless our country.

Regards,
AR

[TASMANIANRED]

Evening Sandy, Hugs.

[TASMANIANRED]

And to you and your family as well.

[The Mayor]

Merry Christmas and Thank you!

[ConorMacNessa]

Thanks very much, Kathy!

*HUGS*

Nollaig Shona!

Etiam non princeps sed usque ad genua, Principis Pacis!

[Publius]

Forty years ago today I signed in with my unit at Fort Lewis.

I had driven across the country from Fort Gordon, hit a blizzard in Albuqueraue, hit -5 degrees in Flagstaff, hit torrential rain in the Bay Area, hit a blinding rain and snow storm in the Siskyous, and arrived just shy of the infamous Christmas Blizzard of '71.

My unit sent me off to the BOQ and told me to check in after Christmas. This was that Christmas I wrote about last year which I spent pretty much alone. It was my first Christmas away from home.

When my battalion got a new CO that summer, I told him about my experience, and he was furious. There are military traditions surrounding Christmas, and I had been locked out of them by simple indifference. He immediately made sure that newly arriving officers had a fellow officer to guide them around and keep them in the loop for the holiday traditions.

Something good came out of it.

[SandRat]

HiYa TAZ, Hugs... picked up the Pac-n-Pla for Nate today, it’s all set up and waiting on him.

[Publius]

It took me no fewer than 3 days to put it all together. Fortunately, Christopher Hogwood had his 1981 period instrument "Messiah" videotaped in 1982 at Westminster Abbey, and somebody was kind enough to post the entire thing at Youtube in bite-sized segments.

I did a lot of explanatory writing.

[Kathy in Alaska]

1st!!

[MoochPooch]

Evening, Kathy. Happy Hanukkah!

[TASMANIANRED]

Sounds like a rough Christmas.

[TASMANIANRED]

Excellent.

Is he sitting up yet?

[TASMANIANRED]

Sounds like a labor of love.

[Kathy in Alaska]

2nd!!