USO Canteen FReeper Style Salutes Norfolk Naval Base .... November 6,2002

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.

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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 

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Norfolk Naval Base

Just a few miles down the James River
is the gigantic Norfolk Naval Station,
home of the Atlantic Fleet, whose ships,
including six aircraft carriers,are providing
firepower and logistics for Operation
Enduring Freedom in South Asia.

Nearby at Little Creek Amphibious Base,
Navy SEALS train for Afghan operations.
In Virginia Beach, Oceana Naval Air Station
is the base for many of the carrier aircraft striking al-Qaida.

The Norfolk Naval Shipyard in Portsmouth
will be refitting city-busting Trident
submarines so they can attack terrorist camps
with highly accurate conventional missiles
rather than nuclear-tipped ones.

Naval Station Norfolk occupies about
4,300 acres of Hampton Roads real
estate in a peninsula known as Sewells
Point. It is the world`s largest Naval Station;
in fact, based on supported military population,
it is the largest military station in the world.

When the 76 ships and 138 aircraft homeported
here are not at sea, they are along side one of
the 14 piers or inside one of the 15 aircraft hangars
for repair, refit, training and to provide the ship`s or
squadron`s crew an opportunity to be with their
families. Naval Station is homeport to aircraft carriers,
cruisers, destroyers, large amphibious ships, submarines,
a variety of supply and logistics ships, C-2, C-9, C-12
and E-2 fixed wing aircraft, and H-3, H-46, H-53, and H-60 helicopters.

Port Services controls more than 3,100 ships
movements annually as they arrive and depart
their berths. Port facilities extend more than four
miles along the waterfront and include some
seven miles of pier and wharf space.

Air Operations conducts over 100,000 flight
operations each year, an average of 275 flights
per day or one every six minutes. Over 150,000
passengers and 264,000 tons of mail and cargo
depart annually on Air Mobility Command (AMC)
aircraft and other chartered flights from our airfield.
It is the hub for Navy logistics going to the European
and Central Command theaters of operations, and to the Caribbean.

NORFOLK NAVAL AIR STATION, Virginia --
President Bush on Tuesday praised the development
of high-technology weapons systems as part of his
plan to "keep the peace." The Commander-in-
message came in an address delivered to a crowd of mostly military personnel at the only NATO
military base in the United States, the headquarters
of the Allied Command Atlantic (ACLANT) in Norfolk, Virginia.

021009-N-9964S-075 Norfolk, Va., aboard
USS Harry S. Turman (CVN 75) Oct. 9, 2002 –
Steven Tyler (2nd from right), lead singer of the
rock band “Aerosmith” along with Joey Kramer (right),
the band’s drummer, take a tour of flight deck control
where a crewmember explains how aircraft are moved
in the hanger bay and on the flight deck of Truman.
“Aerosmith” boarded and toured Truman while the carrier
was pier side at Norfolk Naval Station. The band had
returned to perform in the area, having cancelled their
original performance scheduled for September 11, 2001
U.S. Navy photo by Photographer's Mate 3rd Class
Christopher B. Stoltz(RELEASED)

Naval Station Norfolk, Norfolk, VA. Apr. 16, 2002 -
An Electronics Technician 2nd Class heads home with
his daughter, at pier 6 after returning from deployment
aboard the guided missile destroyer USS Ramage (DDG 61).

At sea aboard the cruiser USS Cape St. George
(CG 71) Apr. 19, 2002 - The Secretary of the Navy,
the Honorable Gordon R. England, addresses
crewmembers of the Norfolk, Va.- based cruiser,
thanking them for their dedicated service.

Naval Station Norfolk, Va., Apr. 20, 2002 —
A Navy wife greets her husband, an Interior
Communications Electrician 1st Class, as he returns
rom a deployment aboard the amphibious transport
dock ship USS Shreveport (LPD 12).

Norfolk Naval Station, Va., Apr. 25, 2002
U.S. Navy destroyer USS Cole (DDG 67)
returns to her homeport.

Norfolk, Va., May 6, 2002 — Assisted by tugs,
the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71)
glides up the Elizabeth River past downtown Norfolk's
waterfront on its way to the Norfolk Naval Shipyard in
adjacent Portsmouth, Va.

Naval Station, Norfolk, Va., May 7, 2002 —
Virginia Gov. Mark Warner, far right, along with
members of Navy Region Mid-Atlantic's Honor
Guard and Mr. Jon Clodfelter, second from left,
demonstrate the design of a new commemorative
Virginia license plate honoring those who lost their
lives during a terrorist attack the guided-missile
destroyer USS Cole (DDG 67).

This is why the USO Canteen FReeper Style is here,for our troops and their loved ones serving now! And to thank Veterans that have served!

[JohnHuang2]

[JohnHuang2]

Morning, my friend -- GREAT NIGHT!

[Aeronaut]

Morning, my friend -- GREAT NIGHT!

Hoo boy! We're still a bit into the nail-biting here in MN and nex' door in SD, but it still is breaking the right way, so far. I was just reading the Jeffords thread. Man, I wouldn't want to be him about now. See ya!

[JohnHuang2]

Man, I wouldn't want to be him [Jeffords] about now

LOL! Neither would I!

[John Lenin]

The USS Constellation

[Radix]

[radu]

Aircraft Intermediate Maintenance Detachment (AIMD) provides intermediate level maintenance support to 17 Norfolk Naval base tenent squadrons consisting of 13 Type/Model/Series aircraft as well as support to East Coast CV/CVN and L-Class ships.

AIMD Norfolk provides repair, manufacture, test and check of aircraft components and associated support equipment. AIMD Norfolk also provided 94 Sea Operational Detachment (SEAOPDET) personnel to all East Coast aircraft carriers for worldwide deployment and at-sea periods.

[firewalk]

Good morning

**big Smile**

So happy to hear about the Senate & House!!

Have a great day...

[E.G.C.]

MONACO, FREE TED MAHER NOW!!!!!!

[aomagrat]

Today's classic ship, USS Norfolk (DL-1)

Norfolk class hunter-killer ship
Displacement. 5600
Lenght. 540'
Beam. 54'
Draft. 26'
Speed. 32 k.
Complement. 411
Armament. 8 3", 16 20mm., 4 Weapon Alfa ASW Systems, 8 21" tt

The USS Norfolk (DL-1), projected as hunter-killer ship (CLK-1) was laid down 1 September 1949 by the New York Shipbuilding Corp., Camden. N.J., launched 29 Deeember 1951; sponsored by Miss Betty King Duckworth; and eommissioned 4 March 1 953, Capt. Clarenee Matheson Bowley in command.

The first major U.S. warship built since World War II, Norfolk was authorised in 1947 as an anti-submarine hunter killer ship which could operate under all weather conditions and would carry the latest radar, sonar, and other electronic devices. As a large destroyer leader designed on a light cruiser Atlanta (CL-51) hull, she could earry a greater variety of detection gear than a destroyer.

After her Caribbean shakedown cruise (February 1954), Norfolk was assigned to the Atlantic Fleet and between 1955 and 1957 served successively as flagship for Commander Destroyer Flotillas 2, 4, and 6. During 1956 and 1957 she acted as flagship for Commander Destroyer Force, Atlantic Fleet. In June 1957, Norfolk participated in the International Fleet Review as flagship for Admiral Jerauld Wright, Commander-in-Chief Atlantic Fleet and Supreme Allied Commander Atlantic.

By 1959 Norfolk's 8 3" 70 cal. guns had been replaced by 8 3" 50 cal. guns and her 20mm. battery had been removed. In 1960 the addition of an ASROC launcher enchaneed her antisubmarine capabilities.

On 10 May 1960, an 83-foot Cuban vessel harassed Norfolk while she was patrolling the Florida Straits with The Sullivans (DD-537) in international waters.

In Fall 1961 she took part in UNITAS II as flagship for Commander Cruiser Destroyer Flotilla 2. During the operation she performed ASW training exercises with the navies of Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Chile, Argentina, Uruguay, and Brazil. Norf olk repeated this cruise over the next five years during which she served as flagship of Commander South Atlantie Forees except in 1962 when she was flagship for Commander Cruiser Destroyer Forces Atlantic Fleet.

Norfolk joined LANTFLEX 66 as flagship between 28 November and 16 Deeember 1966. During this exercise she was shadowed by the Russian trawlers Repiter and Teodilit. She proved her antisubmarine capabilities again as flagship for Comma nder South Atlantie Forces during UNITAS VIII in Fall 1967.

Norfolk was assigned to Commander Middle East Forees as flagship (17 April-15 October 1968). On this mission she visited Bahrain, French Somaliland, Saudi Arabia, Ethiopia. Kenya, the Seychelles, Mauritius, Malagasy Republio, India, Pakistan, Austr alia, New Zealand, Tahiti, Mexico, and Panama Canal Zone.

In Ootober 1968 Norfolk returned to Norfolk where she decommissioned 15 January 1970 and entered the Atlantio Reserve Fleet. Stricken November 1 1973, she was sold August 22 1974 and broken up for scrap.

The Norfolk class proved too costly to produce in large numbers and was canceled.

[tomkow6]

Good morning, Snow! Good morning, EVERYBODY!

[tomkow6]

Today's FEEBLE attempt at humor:

It's a relief to know the truth after all those conflicting medical studies:

The Japanese eat relatively little fat and suffer fewer heart attacks than the British or Americans.

The French eat a lot of fat and also suffer fewer heart attacks than the British or Americans.

The Japanese drink relatively little red wine and suffer fewer heart attacks than the British or Americans.

The Italians drink generous amounts of red wine and also suffer fewer heart attacks than the British or Americans.

The Germans drink a lot of beer and eat lots of sausages and other fatty foods and suffer fewer heart attacks than the British or Americans.

CONCLUSION: Eat and drink what you like. Speaking English is apparently what kills you.

[tomkow6]

At sea aboard USS Kitty Hawk (CV 63) Nov. 4, 2002 -- Damage Controlman 2nd Class Kyle Nordlund from Clearbrook, Minn., team leader during a General Quarters (GQ) drill, checks a space for fire using a hand held thermal Imager. Thermal imaging technology has a dramatically improved shipboard search and rescue efforts encountered in the tight spaces aboard ship. Navy firefighters, using thermal imagers, can quickly navigate and identify victims in smoke-filled compartments. U.S. Navy photo by Photographer's Mate 3rd Class Jo Wilbourn.

At sea aboard USS Kitty Hawk (CV 63) Nov. 4, 2002 -- Damage Controlman 2nd Class Kyle Nordlund from Clearbrook, Minn., damage control leader during a General Quarters (GQ) drill, checks a space for potential reflash fires using a thermal imager while the #1 Nozzleman (kneeling), Hull Maintenance Technician Fireman Lloyd Dieckman from Oak Harbor, Wash., provides firefighting cover. Thermal imaging technology has a dramatically improved shipboard search and rescue efforts encountered in the tight spaces aboard ship. Navy firefighters, using thermal imagers, can quickly navigate and identify victims in smoke-filled compartments. U.S. Navy photo by Photographer's Mate 3rd Class Jo Wilbourn.

At sea aboard USS Constellation (CV 64) Nov. 4, 2002 -- A weapons handler on the ship’s flight deck positions ordnance delivered by helicopter during an underway vertical replenishment (VERTREP). Constellation and its embarked Carrier Air Wing Two (CVW-2), recently departed its homeport of San Diego Calif., on a scheduled deployment in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. U.S. Navy photo by Photographer's Mate 2nd Class Felix Garza, Jr.

[Severa]

Good morning from VA Beach!

Hey our home (NAS Oceana) and Jas's workplace (NAS Norfolk) are being honored today. Coolness. Wish the weather was better here *grumbles* Been cool and rainy the past few days.

And yes, I did get to go out and vote yesterday. My friend was nice enough to watch my kids while I went two miles down the street to the polling place. 4pm and no line whatsoever. I was out of there in 10 minutes.

Kids are doing fine. Jas is looking forward to the end of Sonar Sup school on Fri. I'm holding up ok. Preop is this Fri, same day we get cable installed. *L* Gonna be a busy weekend it seems.

Have a great day everyone!

[knighthawk]

Indeed, HURRAY!!!

[tomkow6]

I thought you're gonna be helping Dutchess root for the packers?

[SAMWolf]