USO Canteen FReeper Style ....Guantanamo Bay.... October 29,2002

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 

Anti-Terrorism Detainee Operations Mission

U.S. Naval Base Guantanamo Bay
is the oldest U.S. base overseas

and the only one in a Communist
country. Located on the southeast
corner of Cuba, in the Oriente Province,
the base is about 400 air miles
from Miami, Florida.

In December 1903, the United States
leased the 45 square miles of land and
water for use as a coaling station. A treaty
reaffirmed the lease in 1934 granting Cuba
and her trading partners free access through

the bay, payment of $2,000 in gold per year,
equating to $4,085 today, and a requirement
that both the U.S. and Cuba must mutually
consent to terminate the lease.

Diplomatic relations with Cuba were cut
in 1961 by President Dwight Eisenhower.
At this time, many Cubans sought refuge
on the base. U.S. Marines and Cuban
militiamen began patrolling opposite sides
of the base's 17.4 mile fenceline. Today,
U.S. Marines and Cuba's "Frontier Brigade"
still man fenceline posts 24 hours a day.

In October 1962, family members of service
people stationed here and many base
employees were evacuated to the United
States as President John F. Kennedy
announced the presence of Soviet missiles
in Cuba. This was the start of the Cuban
Missile Crisis which resulted in a naval
quarantine of the island until the Soviet Union
removed the missiles. The evacuees were
allowed to return to the base by Christmas 1962.

Another crisis arose just 14 months later
on Feb. 6, 1964, when Castro cut off water
and supplies to the base in retaliation for
several incidents in which Cuban fishermen
were fined by the U.S. government for fishing
in Florida waters. Since then, Guantanamo
Bay has been self-sufficient and the Naval Base
desalination plant produces 3.4 million gallons
of water and more than 800,000 kilowatt hours
of electricity daily.

The base is divided into two distinct areas by
the 2 1/2 mile-wide Guantanamo Bay. The
airfield is located on the Leeward side and the
main base is on the Windward side. Ferry
service provides transportation across the bay.
The primary mission of Guantanamo Bay is to
serve as a strategic logistics base for the
Navy’s Atlantic Fleet and to support counter
drug operations in the Caribbean.

In 1991, the naval base's mission expanded
as some 34,000 Haitian refugees passed through
Guantanamo Bay. The refugees fled Haiti after a
violent coup brought on by political and social
upheaval in their country. The naval base
received the Navy Unit Commendation and
Joint Meritorious Unit Award for its effort.

In May 1994, Operation Sea Signal began
and the naval base was tasked to support
Joint Task Force 160, here providing
humanitarian assistance to thousands of
Haitian and Cuban migrants. In late August
and early September 1994, 2,200 family
members and civilian employees were
evacuated from the base as the migrant
population climbed to more than 45,000
and the Pentagon began preparing to house
up to 60,000 migrants on the base.

The last Haitian migrants departed here
Nov. 1, 1995. The last of the Cuban migrants
left the base Jan. 31, 1996. In October 1995,
family members were authorized to return,
marking an end to family separations. An
immediate effort began to restore base facilities
for family use, including a child development
center, a youth center, two schools and Sunday
A school. Additionally, the revitalization of Boy
and Girl Scout Camps and the Guantanamo
Bay Youth Activities (a free sports program
for children) was enacted.

Since Sea Signal, Guantanamo Bay has
retained a migrant operations mission
with an ongoing steady state migrant
population of approximately 40. The
base has also conducted two contingency
migrant operations: Operation Marathon
in October 1996 and Present Haven in February
1997. Both of these short-fused events
involved the interception of Chinese migrants
being smuggled into the United States.

After 52 years of service, Guantanamo's Fleet
Training Group relocated to Mayport, Florida, in
July 1995. One month later, the naval base lost
another major tenant command when the
base's Shore Intermediate Maintenance Activity
disestablished after 92 years of service here.

The Naval Base includes, as separate
commands, a Naval Hospital and Branch
Dental Clinic, detachments of the Personnel
Support Activity, Naval Atlantic Meteorologic and
Oceanographic Command, Naval Media Center,
Naval Communications Station, Department of
Defense Dependent Schools and a Navy Brig.
Directly supporting the base as departments of
Naval Station are Naval Criminal Investigative
Service, Resident Officer in Charge of Construction,
Human Resources Office, Family Support and
Service Center, Red Cross, Security and Navy
Exchange/Commissary.

Al Qaeda Prisoners At Camp X-Ray

To identify the camps, a name was
designated to each to correspond with
the phonetic alphabet used for official
military "radio" communication (Camp
Alpha, Camp Bravo up to Camp Golf).
When additional sites were established
on the north side of the base, camp names
were designated using the opposite end of
the alphabet, to include Camp X-Ray.

As of February 19, 2002, Camp X-Ray
was the only camp site on the northern side
of the U.S. Naval Base Guantanamo Bay
and was being used as a temporary
detention facility.

Following the events of September 11, 2001,
the military operations in Afghanistan and the
ensuing captures of numerous Al Qaida and
Taliban individuals, a decision was made to
transfer a number of detainees to the facility.
The base was to serve as a temporary holding
facility for Al Qaeda, Taliban and other
detainees that come under U.S. control
during the war on terrorism.

The U.S. Southern Command was in charge
of the operation and activated Joint Task
Force-160 (JTF-160) to head the detainee
operations. The task force included active
duty service members from Fort Hood, TX;
Fort Campbell, KY.; Roosevelt Roads, P.R.;
Camp Lejeune; Norfolk, VA; Dover AFB, DE,
and Charleston AFB, SC. Reserve component
personnel were to also deploy on this mission.
Military Police personnel were to make up
the bulk of JTF-160.

The first detainees arrived at Camp X-Ray January 11, 2000

Among the items detainees receive
are soap, a toothbrush, toothpaste,
shampoo, a foam sleeping mat, two
blankets, a prayer cap and a Koran.

U.S. Army Pfc. Jodi Smith watches from
the outer perimeter as detainees in orange
jumpsuits sit in a holding area in Camp X-Ray
at Naval Base Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, during
in-processing to the temporary detention facility
on Jan. 14,2002

The detainees will be given a
basic physical exam by a doctor,
to include a chest x-ray and blood
samples drawn to assess
their health.

DoD photo by Petty Officer 1st
class Shane T. McCoy, U.S. Navy.

U.S. Army Military Police escort a detainee
to his cell in Camp X-Ray at Naval Base
Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, during in-processing
to the temporary detention facility on
Jan. 11, 2002. The detainees are being given
a basic physical exam by a doctor, to include
a chest x-ray and taken and blood samples
drawn to assess their health. DoD photo by
Petty Officer 1st class Shane T. McCoy, U.S. Navy.

Detainees in orange jumpsuits sit in a
holding area under the watchful eyes
of Military Police at Camp X-Ray at
Naval Base Guantanamo Bay, Cuba,
during in-processing to the temporary
detention facility on Jan. 11, 2002. The
detainees will be given a basic physical
exam by a doctor, to include a chest x-ray and blood samples drawn to assess their health.
DoD photo by Petty Officer 1st class
Shane T. McCoy, U.S. Navy.

Security teams stand guard at their positions during a
rehearsal on Thursday, January 10, 2002 for handling
incoming detainees. (U.S. Navy handout)

A sign reading "direction," written in Arabic,
on the northeastern-most guard tower at Camp X-Ray.
The sign is intended to show detainees the direction
of Mecca. (U.S. Navy handout)

When taken to interrogation, a detainee's head is
forced down by a guard "so he can't make a plan."

[Snow Bunny]

Hi Light Speed.
Thank you so much for the link and these photos are fabulous!

[FlyVet]

#37 Middle pic looks like a nasty whack BUMP.

[larryjohnson]

Good mornin from Maine where the Eagle flew over my cove a while ago leading a crow( I refuse to think he was being chased by a crow). I love standard time cause it is light early and I am an early bird up with the first light.29degF and CAFB is this morning's 0700L obs.

[southerngrit]

My heart goes out to this brave man's loved ones. He did not shirk his duty, rather, he VOLUNTEERED to serve America. He will not be forgotten.

Thanks to all servicemen and servicewomen who place their lives in danger each day so that we can remain free.

God bless you all. You are in our hearts.

[xp38]

Good Morning SB and all FR Canteeners! Prayers for the family who lost their soldier. May God comfort them in this time of sorrow.

[Bahbah]

My prayers for the brave soldier who was lost defending us all. My heart hurts for his loved ones. I am profoundly grateful for his service.

[tomkow6]

Good morning, Snow! Good morning, EVERYBODY!

It's a GREAT day to be a CANTEENER!

[tomkow6]

Today's FEEBLE attempt at humor:

A police officer, who was hoping to catch someone being drunk,
waited outside a bar. Now most bars close at midnight...... so he
parked himself right around the bar and waited for someone to
come out drunk and try to drive. Sure enough, at 11:45 PM a man
came stumbling out of the bar. It took him 5 minutes to get to
his car and another five to turn the car on. The police officer
sensed victory and let the man start driving.

He pulled the man over only 50 feet away from the Tavern.

He walked up to the man and said, "I just saw you come out of
that bar and you were pretty loaded."

"Daknguifshregjdgfnfdjgn," said the drunk man.

"How many beers did you have?" asked the police officer.

"Anoout fiften," said the man.

"FIFTEEN! And you are trying to drive?!? You will get life for
this," said the officer.

"Hop outta the car. I am gonna run some tests on you," said the
officer.

The man hoped out of his car with perfect grace, he smiled and
stood on one foot, hopped up and down and said his ABC's fowards
and backwards. The police officer couldn't get it.

"Ok, let me smell your breath," said the officer.

"Sure," said the man.

He exhaled right into the officers nose and the officers smelt no
beer on his breath.

"Well I guess I am gonna have to let you go, but why did you
stumble out of the bar so drunk?"

"Oh I am the DD," said the man.

"A designated driver?"

"No, a designated decoy," said the man.

[kassie]

Thank you for letting us know to pray for this person and his family. Praying for all our military,no matter where they are.

[aomagrat]

Today's Classic warship USS Adams (DM-27)

Robert H. Smith class minesweeper
Displacement. 2,200
Lenght. 376' 6"
Beam. 40' 10"
Draft. 18' 10"
Speed. 34. k.
Complement. 363
Armament. 6 5", 8 40-mm., 12 20-mm., 2 dct., 4 dcp., 80 mines

The USS ADAMS (DM-27) was laid down as DD-739-an Allen M. Sumner-class destroyer-on 20 March 1944 at Bath, Maine, by the Bath Iron Works, redesignated a destroyer minelayer DM-27, on 20 July 1944, launched on 23 July 1944-sponsored by Mrs. Maude Ryan Adams, the widow of Lt. Samuel Adams, and commissioned at Boston, Mass., on 10 October 1944, Comdr. Henry J. Armstrong in command.

After fitting out there, she embarked upon her shakedown voyage on 1 November. That cruise, which took her to Bermuda waters, lasted for the entire month. On the 29th, she headed back toward the United States and arrived at Norfolk, Va., on 3 December. Following post-shakedown availability in the navy yard there, she put to sea on 11 December with sistership SHEA (DM-30), bound for New York and a rendezvous with BENNINGTON (CV-20). The two destroyer minelayers departed New York with the aircraft carrier on 15 December and set a course for the Panama Canal. The three warships transited the canal on 20 December and, on the 22d, headed for the California coast. They arrived at San Diego on the 29th and remained there two days undergoing repairs. On New Year's Day 1945, they got underway again, headed for Oahu, and they arrived in Pearl Harbor six days later.

For almost two months, ADAMS remained in the Hawaiian operating area. During that time, she acted as plane guard for BATAAN (CVL-29) while the carrier conducted carrier landing qualifications for naval aviators. She also carried out gunnery exercises and shore bombardment practice. The warship spent two periods in the Pearl Harbor Navy Yard-once for the installation of VF radar equipment and again to have her main deck plating strengthened. Early in February, she laid mines and tested mine detection equipment on them. Later, the warship conducted mine laying exercises. She finished out her tour of duty in the Hawaii area late in February with another plane guard mission with Bataan.
The destroyer minelayer stood out of Pearl Harbor on 2 March bound for the western Pacific. She arrived in Ulithi Atoll on 14 March and remained until the 19th, when she put to sea with a task group of the Okinawa invasion force. The warship saw her first combat on 23 March, the day before she arrived off Okinawa. That evening, enemy aircraft attacked her task group. ADAMS sustained her first casualties when a projectile fired from the after five-inch mount exploded prematurely killing two sailors and injuring another 13. At dawn the following day, she began minesweeping operations off Okinawa. The destroyer minelayer provided gunfire support and mine destruction services to the wooden- hulled minesweepers (AM's) doing the actual sweeping.

Those operations continued over the next few days in spite of Japanese air resistance. During that time, she was attacked by at least twelve different planes. She knocked six of her tormentors out of the air and claimed probable kills of two others. On the 28th, one of those attackers splashed about 25 feet from her port bow showering her with debris and gasoline. The damage she sustained in a collision with a salvage vessel forced her into the anchorage at Kerama Retto for emergency repairs. On 1 April, while she was operating to the southeast of Kerama Retto a badly damaged Japanese plane splashed close aboard her stern and what must have been two bombs exploded under her fantail causing severe damage and jamming her rudders at hard right. While she steamed in right-hand circles, two more suicide planes swooped in at her. ADAMS destroyed one while the other succumbed to the antiaircraft battery of MULLANY (DD-528), the ship dispatched to assist ADAMS. Later, ADAMS was towed into Kerama Retto to begin temporary repairs alongside ENDYMION (ARL-9).

ADAMS departed Kerama Retto on 7 April, bound ultimately for the United States and permanent repairs. She made stops at Guam and at Pearl Harbor before arriving at the Mare Island Navy Yard on 7 May. She completed repairs and post-repair trials and calibrations during the first week in July. On 6 July, she put to sea for exercises off Santa Catalina and entered port at San Diego on the 10th. After brief post-repair shakedown training and inspections, the destroyer minelayer stood out of San Diego on 17 July on her way back to Hawaii. She arrived at Oahu on the 23d and spent the next 11 days in gunnery exercises-both antiaircraft and shore bombardment-in the Hawaiian operating area.

On 4 August, she and KOINER (DE-331) departed Pearl Harbor, bound for the western Pacific. The two warships stopped overnight on the 11th and 12th at Eniwetok Atoll where they picked up SITKA (APA-113). They escorted the attack transport to the Marianas and arrived at Guam on 15 August, the day hostilities ceased. The following day, she got underway for Okinawa, arrived in Buckner Bay on 18 August, and remained there through the 31st. On 1 September, she stood out of Buckner Bay on her way to Japan. She arrived off Kagoshima, Kyushu, on the 3d and began sweeping a channel into the port. That operation continued until 9 September at which time she headed back toward Okinawa. She reached Buckner Bay on 11 September and remained at anchor until the 16th. On that day, she put to sea to evade a typhoon but returned to port on the 18th.

She departed Okinawa again on 24 September, headed for Japan, arrived in Ise Wan, Honshu, on the 26th and began minesweeping operations in preparation for the landing of Army troops at Nagoya. She anchored in Ise Wan on the 28th and remained there while her commanding officer, double-hatted as task group commander, directed the minesweeping mission. She remained at Ise Wan through the end of October. On 1 November, the destroyer minelayer laid a course for Sasebo where she arrived two days later. She stayed there through most of November provisioning ship from units preparing to return home.

On 25 November, ADAMS left Sasebo to voyage to Kiirun, Taiwan, where she arrived on the 28th and reported for duty with Task Group (TG) 70.5. She returned to sea with TG 70.5 on 4 December for a 10-day minesweeping assignment in Taiwan Strait. At the conclusion of that mission, she returned to Kiirun on 15 December. Four days later, she put to sea with a convoy bound for Shanghai, China, and entered the Yangtze River on the 21st. ADAMS remained at Shanghai until 3 January 1946. Between 3 and 6 January, the warship voyaged back, to Sasebo where she rejoined the 5th Fleet.

ADAMS continued similar duty in Far Eastern waters until early April when she headed back to the United States. Upon her arrival home, she was assigned to the 1st Fleet and served in it until decommissioned in December. The destroyer minelayer was berthed with the San Diego Group, Pacific Reserve Fleet. She remained in reserve for almost 23 years. On 7 February 1955, while still in reserve, she was redesignated a fast minelayer MMD-27. Her name was finally struck from the Navy list on 1 December 1970, and she was sold to Chow's Iron & Steel Co., of Taiwan, on 16 December 1971.

USS Adams was named in honor of Lieutenant Samuel Adams, USN, a hero of the Battle of Midway.

[JudyB1938]

I am bawling. I hate it when one of our brave kids gets hurt, let alone killed. That's okay. He has a big reward in Heaven. It's just that his poor family and friends who got left behind who will be in such grief. I pray that God give them EXTRA peace. Amen.

[68-69TonkinGulfYachtClub]

U.S. Naval Base Guantanamo Bay, Cuba Joint Task Force 160

Click on the picture to visit this site.



Please take a moment and Thank a Service Man or Woman.
Just Click on a flag to SEND an e-mail.

Army	Navy	Marines	Air Force	Coast Guard	Canadian Military

[tomkow6]

Morning, Tonk!

[68-69TonkinGulfYachtClub]

"Prayers for a soldiers family! A soldier was killed .......He was a member of the U.S. Army and lost his life in service to our nation on October 18, 2002. I cannot give you his name, it happened in Poland in a covert operation. But a friend of the Canteen has asked for prayers for his family.He was with several other soldiers. I am sorry I cannot give any more information.I know you all understand."

May God Welcome him Home and comfort his family and friends.

[68-69TonkinGulfYachtClub]

Morning Brother!
Thanks for the daily humor.
The troops and everyone in the Canteen really appreciate it.

[SAMWolf]

History of U.S. presence in Guantanamo Bay

The southeastern tip of Cuba is less than 400 miles away from Miami, closer still to the Florida Keys. Yet this island has been one of America’s most bitter rivals for the past 40 years, and a land forbidden to Americans - except for one tiny parcel of land known to its residents as “Gitmo.”

Located on the entrance of Guantanamo Bay is U.S. Naval Base Guantanamo Bay. How did America end up with a military base on enemy soil? It’s a story that goes back to 1898.

On Feb. 15, 1898, the battleship USS Maine was sunk in the harbor of Havana, Cuba. At the time, Cuba was a Spanish colony.

Some in America were itching for a fight with Spain, and the sinking of the Maine - which may well have been an accident - was blamed on Spanish agents. America prepared for a fight that would be known as the Spanish-American War.

In April 1898, the Navy scouted the Guantanamo Bay area as a base location for the war. Finding it to their liking, a team of about 650 U.S. Marines landed at Guantanamo Bay on June 10, 1898. It was the beginning of a military presence that would last more than 100 years.

Just two months after the Marines landed, the war was over. But the American presence in Cuba was not.

In December 1903, with a new, favorable Cuban government in place, America agreed to lease 45 square miles of land and water at Guantanamo Bay.

In 1934, the special arrangement was worked into a treaty. Under the treaty, America agreed to pay Cuba $4,085 dollars a year to lease the base. More importantly, the two nations agreed that the treaty could not be broken unless both nations agreed to it. This insured that America would be in Cuba as long as it wanted.

Guantanamo Bay became an important base for American sea power. It was strategically located for action in both the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. During World War II, it was an important installation to support anti-submarine activities.

After World War II, Communism rose throughout Europe, beginning with Soviet domination of the Eastern European nations.

In 1959, the Communist threat got closer to America. A young radical named Fidel Castro led a revolution in Cuba against the U.S.-sponsored dictator, Fulgencio Batista. Castro’s forces took over in 1960, and suddenly, Guantanamo Bay was a front-line installation in the Cold War. In January 1961, President Dwight D. Eisenhowe

r cut diplomatic ties with Cuba. Many ordinary Cubans wanted to defect to the United States, and hoped to do so through the base. Castro, hoping to discourage them, planted eight miles of cactus along the U.S. Naval Base border.

By 1962, the Cold War was getting very hot in Cuba. The U.S. Central Intelligence Agency backed a group of Cuban exiles in a botched attempt to invade the island nation. The failed “Bay of Pigs” invasion made Castro even more hostile toward the United States, and more open to the Soviets.

In October 1962, American reconnaissance planes spotted Soviet missiles at Cuban installations. President John F. Kennedy told the Cubans and Soviets to remove the missiles.

It was the beginning of the Cuban Missile Crisis - and the closest America ever got to nuclear war. At Guantanamo Bay, all wives and children of soldiers and sailors were sent home to America on just a few hours notice. Ever since, dependents have been required to keep a suitcase ready at all times for a rapid evacuation.

The naval base at once became both more dangerous and more important. It was now a forward location in the Cold War and a thumb in Castro’s eye - which it remains to this day. Castro remains so irked by the base that he refuses to cash the yearly rent checks of $4,000!

Guantanamo Bay has become a self-sufficient community of about 6,000 people. It makes its own fresh water and power, and has schools, Boy Scout troops, youth baseball, grocery stores, exchanges and homes.

In the 1990s, Gitmo’s primary mission as a logistics base for the Atlantic Fleet was overshadowed by some humanitarian missions.

Beginning in 1991, Guantanamo Bay was the temporary home for migrants from other countries. That year, 34,000 Haitian refugees came through the base after fleeing violence in their homeland. In 1994, the base hosted more Haitian and Cuban refugees after more strife in the two Caribbean neighbors. At one point, all dependents and civilians were sent home to make room and create enough resources for the migrants.

Now, Guantanamo is home to a very different kind of international visitor. In January, the first al-Qaida and Taliban prisoners from the war on terror were taken to Gitmo, where they are being imprisoned.

[68-69TonkinGulfYachtClub]

From the men in the military and in the Canteen
TO
The women in the military and in the Canteen.

[68-69TonkinGulfYachtClub]

Morning SAM!

[SAMWolf]

Prayers for a fallen soldier.

[SAMWolf]

Morning Tonk. I'm off to work. See you tonight.