USO Canteen FReeper Style....Night Stalkers Don't Quit.. ..October 9,2002

FRiends of the USO Canteen FReeper Style and Snow Bunny

[Snow Bunny]

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The USO Canteen FReeper Style
Delivering a Touch of Home

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A Touch of Home

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This is how I think of the USO Canteen 
Freeper Style. It is like a cottage down a road,
a place where a weary veteran can spend the night. 

Since it opened, it is magical how so many
Freepers who post here, feel it too. 
It has been so dear how the Freepers
kept making it a cottage - a home-type of 
place that had a huge living room
for them to visit in and a dance floor, 
a library, etc. 

Many Veterans have written to me, 
saying that the Canteen is like home
to them for the first time since they 
served. 

This is your Canteen -
a respite from our busy 
and sometimes troubling world. 
Make yourself at home.

Snow Bunny

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If you know a Veteran, someone in your family, 
friend of the family, neighbor, who served their  
country, take a brief moment of your day to thank 
them. 

Thank them for the sacrifice they made
for the better good of their country.

We at Free Republic, and the USO Canteen FReeper 
Style, are thankful for every service member 
in our military, who has served our great nation.

So, to the men and women who answered the call,
in both times of war and peace, thank you.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields. 

John McCrae 

Night Stalkers

160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (Airborne)
"Night Stalkers Don't Quit"
Regiment motto

Also I heard the voice of the Lord saying,
 whom shall I send, and who will go for us?
 Then said I, here am I; send me.
 Isaiah 6:8

The 160th SOAR (Airborne) provides helicopter
support to Special Operations Forces worldwide.
The members are experts at night missions.

Operation Enduring Freedom
"They and all who are participating in
Operation Enduring Freedom are heroes.
They put their lives on the line on behalf
of freedom and on behalf of America,
and they do it each and every day. I’m
so very proud of them and their
comrades in arms."
General Richard B. Myers

Night Stalkers:The Army's 160th Special
Operations Aviation Regiment ,whose motto
is "Death waits in the dark" gets its nickname
from its focus on operations requiring nighttime,
low-level flying. The Night Stalkers fly aircraft such
as a version of the Army's Blackhawk helicopter,
customized with infrared imaging gear and high-tech
weaponry.

The Army owes its modern night fighting
aviation capabilities to the
160th Special Operations Aviation
Regiment (Airborne) who pioneered
night flight techniques, shared in
the development of equipment,
and proved that…….
"Night Stalkers Don't Quit"
a motto the Regiment lives by.

The unit originally was formed from
attachments from the 101st Aviation
Battalion, 158th Aviation Battalion,
229th Aviation Battalion and the
159th Aviation Battalion, immediately
entered into a period of intensive night
flying and quickly became the Army's
premier night fighting aviation force
and the Army's only Special Operations
Aviation force.

Task Force 160 was officially recognized
as a Unit on 16 October 1981 when it
was designated as the 160th Aviation
Battalion. Since that time, the 160th
has become known as the
"Night Stalkers," because of their
capability to strike undetected
during darkness, and their
distinguished performance around the world.

It is often difficult to describe the many varied
reasons why certain individuals elect to join in
military service to their country. Life in the United
States Army can be arduous and demanding.

It is a lifestyle in which much, often beyond
comprehension, is asked. Rewards, for the most part,
can be no more than a feeling of have done a good days
job, all the while finding yourself sleeping alone in a cold,
dark, dreary foreign land with no more to eat than a 5 year
old dried out MRE (Meal, Ready to Eat), and the fleeting
memory of your wife and kids. Why a handful of select
individuals would desire this life time pursuit is inexplicable.

However, the following photograph may shed some light.

Ceremony marks return of wings

A pair of well-traveled wings found its
final destination Tuesday after serving
a role in America's war on terrorism. The
wings represented the spirit of American
Airlines flight attendant Sara Low, who lost
her life on Sept. 11 when Flight 11 crashed
into the World Trade Center.

The flight attendant wings were given to
Sara's father, Mike Low, by Karyn Ramsey,
Sara's friend and co-worker, as a remembrance
of his daughter. The same wingspan medallion
took flight on more than 20 combat missions with
a 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment
flight crew in Afghanistan. A Tuesday ceremony,
attended by about 500 people, embodied a father's
fight to keep his daughter's memory alive in the hearts
of family, friends and American aviators.

The event to return the symbolic memento was the
first time a large number of media and television
cameras were allowed onto the heavily guarded
special ops compound at Fort Campbell.

"As Americans we are so thankful
for what you have done for us,"
Mike Low told the flight crew. "
After 9/11 my family and I struggled
to focus on positive things. You are heroes
in the purest definition of the word. You
have given us a great gift of brightness in
very dark times."

The 160th SOAR (Airborne) provides helicopter
support to Special Operations Forces worldwide. <>br> The members are experts at night missions. Flight
engineer Staff Sgt. Mark Baker, 27, volunteered to
wear the gold-colored wings above his heart during
every mission when he heard about the father's request.

He and the MH-47E Chinook helicopter flight crew
returned from their mission about mid-March.

"If my daughter died that way,
I would want someone to step up
and do the same thing," said Baker
who's been with the "Night Stalkers"
for six years.

The look of gratitude was sincere in Low's eyes
as he transferred a necklace with Sara's photo
and an Army coin to Baker. The ceremony also>br> solemnly reflected on the nine 160th soldiers
who lost their lives fighting terrorists since
Sept. 11.

"This is a great healing process for everyone,"
said 160th commander Col. Richard L. Polczynski.
"We had this ceremony because we want to show
that U.S. soldiers are doing something good. I've
got 1,600 people that are Night Stalkers and every
one is proud to have done this
~ to have payback for the nation."

Thursday, 7 March 2002, soldiers hurry to load
ammunition onto a waiting CH-47D Chinook
helicopter at Bagram Air Base.

The tarmac at Bagram Air Base, 65 km (40 miles) north
of Kabul, Friday, 8 March 2002, near CH-47D Chinook
helicopters belonging to A Company, 7th Battalion, 101st
Airborne Division from Fort Campbell, Kentucky, that are
ready to take off for Gardez to participate in the campaign to
flush out Taliban and al-Qaeda holdouts in the mountains
of eastern Afghanistan

At least 9 people, 7 of which were
U.S. troops, were killed 4 March 2002
when an American Army special forces
MH-47E helicopter was shot down in
Afghanistan as Afghan and Western
forces pressed their biggest attack of the
war against regrouping al-Qaeda and
Taliban fighters. The map shows a
perspective view of the area of eastern
Afghanistan where the offensive was concentrated.

The nine people were killed in ferocious
exchanges with al-Qaeda and Taliban
fighters in the mountains of eastern
Afghanistan

10th Mountain Division load into a Chinook helicopter
as they prepare to return to Bagram Air Base on Sunday,
10 March 2002, from fighting near the villages of Sherkhankheyl,
Marzak and Bobelkiel, Afghanistan. The towns were an al-Qaeda
and Taliban stronghold which came under intense bombing and
firefights as the coalition forces battled to root them out. As there
we not enough seats available, soldiers climbed aboard and sat
down anywhere they could.

Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry Battalion
prepare to get on a Chinook helicopter Sunday, 17 March 2002,
in the Shahikot valley region of eastern Afghanistan. The helicopter
is one of the many operated by B Company - "Hercules", 159th
Aviation Regiment, from Hunter Army Airfield, near Savannah, Georgia.

A lone U.S. Army MH-47E Chinook, assigned to the
160th Special Operation Aviation Regiment
(SOAR) – "Nightstalkers", Fort Campbell,
Kentucky, patiently
awaits the next assignment in the back
country of Afghanistan
while ground crews check the security
of the camp perimeter.

A CH-47 Chinook prepares to land for the extraction
of Canadian ground security forces from 1st Platoon, A
Company3rd Battalion Princess Patrichas Canadian Light
Infantry, as well as U.S. personnel on 11 April 11 2002.

[BeachBelle]

Very sad. He's from my state, but not sure where
Hillsborough is.

[Kathy in Alaska]

Supposed to get into the teens tonight, but then clouds coming in again to warm things up. But always look outside if you really want to know what the weather is. Predicting weather up here is not an exact science. Hehe!

[blackie]

Night Stalker's...Bump !!,p> Good morning Snow Bunny !!

The RATS are in disarray...eradicate the rodents !!

Fire Democrats, Hire Republicans !!

GWB Is The Man !!

Snuff Saddam, NOW !!

Death To all Tyrant's !!

The Second Amendment...
America's Original Homeland Security !!

Freedom Is Worth Fighting For !!

Molon Labe !!

[Soaring Feather]

Ohhhh, the blue walls in the photo make the colors of the flowers jump out all over. Beautiful!

Thank you Troops and Gents of USO Canteen FReeper Style!

[Kathy in Alaska]

I think I'm ready for snow. I'm tired of rain, and when everything is white, it is beautiful. But I'm not complaining, especially when I think about all the places that had no rain, like Flagman's Mt Rushmore fire, and Colorado's fires and Arizona's fires and southern California's fires and radu's crop lose.

[DaughterOfAnIwoJimaVet]

Wow... Tonkin- you really know the way to a lady's heart!

Tonk is a great guy, Belle. A true gentleman (but anyone who disses the military in his presence had better beware) - you can count on flowers every day!

Duchess

[Mr_Magoo]

Air Power

CESSNA YA-37A "Dragonfly"

The YA-37A was modified from the standard T-37B primary trainer to evaluate the design as a counter-insurgency (COIN) attack/reconnaissance aircraft. First flown in September 1963, the airplane underwent performance and systems evaluation testing during 1964 at Edwards AFB, California, and Eglin AFB, Florida.

Much valuable information was obtained from these tests with regard to future design requirements for COIN aircraft. One of the aircraft's remarkable features was its ability to carry out a mission with only one engine still operating.

The aircraft pictured, one of two YAT-37Ds, was retired to the U.S. Air Force Museum in December 1964. However, it was recalled to active service in August 1966 for final design testing of the A-37 attack aircraft, urgently needed for close air support of ground forces in Southeast Asia.

SPECIFICATIONS
Span: 35 ft. 10 in.
Length: 29 ft. 4 in.
Height: 8 ft. 2 in.
Weight: 11,700 lbs. max.
Armament: Max. of 3,000 lbs. including one GAU-2/A 7.62mm "Gatling" gun, plus additional gun pods, high-explosive bombs, fire bombs, rockets, grenades, and/or missiles
Engines: Two General Electric J85s of 2,400 lbs. thrust each
Cost: $161,000

PERFORMANCE
Maximum speed: 485 mph.
Cruising speed: 425 mph.
Range: 270 miles with 3,000 lb. load
Service Ceiling: 36,000 ft.

[Mr_Magoo]

Two medical students were walking along the street
when they saw an old man walking with his legs spread
apart.

One of the students said to his friend: "I'm sure he
has Petry Syndrome - those people walk just like that."
The other student says: "No, I don't think so. The old
man surely has Zovitzki Syndrome, he walks just like
we learned in class."

Since they couldn't agree they decided to ask the old
man. They approached the old man and one of the
students said to him:

"We're medical students and couldn't ignore the way
you walk, but we couldn't agree on the syndrome you
might have. Could you tell us what it is?"

The old man said: "I'll tell you but first you'll tell
me what you think."

Then one of the students said: "I think it's Petry
Syndrome."

And the old man said: "you thought, but you're wrong."

Then the other student said: "I think you have
Zovitzki Syndrome."

And the old man said: "you thought, but you're wrong."

So they asked him: "so what do you have?"

And the old man said: "I thought I needed to fart. I
thought, but I was wrong."

[SevenofNine]

Good morning Canteen members

Well this almost Middle East there is report off World Tribune that killer of US Marine in Kuwait was trained by Al Quada network members

Also another item off BBC wire IDF lay smackdown on cleric school who claim that they teaching young boy to be terorirst

That good reason sad part about it

Young Palensterin girl was whack by one of cleric when she got in the way try escape from gunfire

VERY SAD INDEED

[Kathy in Alaska]

"Nothing," she said with a smile. "It's just to keep the doctors away."

LOL!!

[larryjohnson]

You know how the meteorologist tells the wind by spitting on his finger and holding it up till he finds max wind chill? Well I served a couple winters at Offutt AFB,Nebraska.And now you know what my disability is.

[Kathy in Alaska]

Good morning fellas, Aeronaut and your sidekick Otto, and thank you for your faithful flyover each day.

[Kathy in Alaska]

Hi Geek, nice to see you this fine day.

[Kathy in Alaska]

Good morning. Missed your charming wit.

[tomkow6]

I got a piece of SPAM today offering me 1025 free hours of
AOL.

They just don't know who they're dealing with, do they?

But the "from" address is what really gave 'em away:

"Intelligent Mailbox"

[Mr_Magoo]

1025 free hours???

Gee, that would only last about a day and a half here on FR!

[Kathy in Alaska]

THANK YOU, ALOUETTE for providing the links for supporting our Israeli allies.

[Jen]

DOD IDENTIFIES MARINE KILLED IN KUWAIT

The Department of Defense identified the Marine killed in Kuwait yesterday as Lance Cpl. Antonio J. Sledd, 20, of Hillsborough, Fla. He died from wounds received in action while participating in an urban exercise as part of Exercise Eager Mace.

Sledd was assigned to Lima Company, 3rd Battalion, 1st Marines, 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit, Camp Pendleton, Calif.