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

Norfolk Naval Station

Naval Station Norfolk occupies about 3,400 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. The Norfolk Naval Base (NNB) is located on 4,631 acres, directly northwest of the City of Norfolk, Virginia. The Naval Complex includes Norfolk Naval Base as well as other Naval Facilities of the Sewells Point Naval Complex.

When the 78 ships and 133 aircraft home ported here are not at sea, they are alongside 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, and a variety of supply and logistics ships. 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.

Naval Station's Nimitz Hall is a major stopping-off point for people destined for ships, aircraft squadrons, and stations overseas. Nearly 9,000 people are processed through the Transient Personnel Unit annually en route to their destinations.

It is uncommon for these ships to all be in port at one time. Naval Station Norfolk made history with the berthing of five (5) Nuclear Aircraft Carriers on 02 July 97 at 1730, when the Navy's newest Nimitz class carrier, USS JOHN C. STENNIS (CVN-74), returned to port, joining the USS GEORGE WASHINGTON (CVN-73), USS THEODORE ROOSEVELT (CVN-71), USS ENTERPRISE (CVN-65) and the USS DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER (CVN-69). The only other time five carriers were berthed at the Naval Station was in 1992, but they were not all nuclear carriers.

NAVSTA Norfolk lies on the eastern shore of Hampton Roads, immediately east of the north-south oriented Norfolk Harbor Reach. NAVSTA has 20 piers, ranging in age from 6 years (Pier 10) to 63 years (Pier 7). Eleven of the piers are 50 years old or older. During a March 1998 port visit, local harbor authorities described the pier quality at NAVSTA Norfolk as inadequate. Specific deficiencies include two piers that were in CASREP status because the deck of the piers was not thick enough for use and the fact that only two piers have good, as compared to excellent, electrical power vaults. The rest are worse. Most of the piers do not have reliable fuel service, none of the piers have dedicated fire mains, all pilings are reinforced concrete but are eroding at water level, etc., etc. Pier 2 will be demolished and replaced with an up-to-date double-deck facility, but a specific date for the work was not mentioned. Pier 11 (built 1984) was considered to be in the best condition of all NAVSTA piers, but it is more exposed to wind than many of the other piers.

Berths at NAVSTA are numbered from inshore to seaward with odd numbers on the north side and even numbers on the south side. (For example, Berth 5-6 represents Pier 5/Berth 6.) Piers 2, 3 and 4 are warehouse piers and are primarily used for ships taking on stores. Piers 5, 7 and 10 are primarily for the use of surface combatants. Piers 11 and 12 are primarily for the use of aircraft carriers and large surface combatants. Piers 20 through 25 are primarily for the use of destroyer/submarine forces.

The US Naval Station piers at Norfolk are located about 18 nmi west of the entrance to the Chesapeake Bay from the Atlantic Ocean. To reach the piers, vessels from the ocean must transit Thimble Shoal Channel, which crosses the southern end of the Chesapeake Bay; pass through the bridge opening at the lower end of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel; pass between Old Point Comfort on the north and Fort Wool on the south; transit the Entrance Reach Channel at Hampton Roads; and enter the Norfolk Harbor Reach Channel which is adjacent to the west side of the Naval Station. The channels are maintained at a minimum depth of 45 feet. Except for areas close to shore, the water is about 18 feet deep from the Atlantic Ocean to Hampton Roads. The channel boundaries are marked by numerous buoys along the route. The buoys are generally 1/4 nmi apart near turns to about 1 nmi apart along straight sections of a channel.

Port Services controls more than 3,100 ships' movements annually as they arrive and depart their berths. Port facilities extend more than four miles and include some seven miles of berthing space. Naval Station's Nimitz Hall is a major stopping-off point for people destined for ships and stations overseas. Nearly 30,000 people are processed through the Transient Personnel Unit annually en route to their destinations.

The Magnetic Silencing Facility maintains and operates degaussing ranges at the Sewells Point Degaussing Range and Lamberts Point Deperming Station and magnetic treatment and calibration services at Lamberts Point Deperming Station. The Station provides degaussing services, including ranging and deperming for US Navy, US Government and friendly nation ships. They also provide technical reports as required, maintain degaussing records of all US Navy ships, and provide on board technical and administrative training to both US Navy ships and friendly nation Navies.

In March 1946, the Chief of Naval Operations directed the Commandant 5th Naval District, who also had been Commandant U.S. Naval Station, to include Naval Station Norfolk and Naval Air Station Norfolk as separate components under the military command of Commandant Naval Base, whose title was changed to Commander Naval Base and then to Commander, Navy Region, Mid-Atlantic.

Postwar period developments underscored the capacity of the Naval Station to change. The station at first stored inactive aircraft carriers, other reserve vessels, and finally submarines and destroyers. Fire fighting and salvage control now became specialties. The Atlantic Fleet Command came ashore in 1948 and placed its headquarters with a staff of 165 officers and 315 enlisted in an abandoned hospital. At the same time, the station rendered service to military as well as scientific pursuits.

Known officially as Naval Operating Base until 31 December 1952, on 1 January 1953 the name of the installation was changed to Naval Station Norfolk.

Always seeking to provide the best service to its customers, the Naval Station has evolved and made necessary and/or convenient improvements such as the Navy Exchange Mall, which was opened at its present location in November 1989 and expanded again by another 189,000 sq. ft. in September 1998. Another momentous occasion in 1998 was the opening of Enterprise Hall, a new state-of-the-art bachelor housing building, centrally located in the heart of the Naval Station next to the Naval Station Galley.

As part of the Navy's response to the post-Cold War drawdown of the 1990's, many new initiatives were implemented at Navy shore installations to reduce their operating cost, improve their efficiency, and better match their capacity to the reduced size of the Navy. In 1998, the Navy began a major realignment of shore command organizations and processes throughout Hampton Roads in a process known as "regionalization". One of the biggest steps and efficiencies in this process was the merger of separate Naval Station and Naval Air Station (which were directly adjacent to each other) into a single installation to be called Naval Station Norfolk. This consolidation became official on February 5, 1999.

In November 2001 the piers at Naval Station Norfolk were renumbered to help eliminate some of the confusion caused by the current system. The new system will begin at the South end of the station (old pier No. 20) and will be numbered consecutively from No. 1 to No. 13. In instances where there is an existing pier (scheduled for demolition) and a new pier, the pier to be demolished will have an “alpha (A)” added after the pier number. Renumbering of the piers was scheduled in conjunction with the Nov. 19 ribbon cutting of the two new military construction piers on the naval station waterfront. Pier and directional signs will be changed over the weekend of Nov. 15-18. For people who haven’t worked on this base for 20 years, the old pier numbering system was confusing. Just imagine the sailor who is here for the first time standing at pier No. 10. They can see pier No. 7 to the south and pier No. 11 to the north but they are looking for Pier 24. One would assume it is north of pier No. 11 — previously, it was not. That’s because of how Naval Station Norfolk grew. The naval station is a very large old base that grew in pieces. They started out building piers and numbering them at what was then the south end of the base. However, the Navy obtained additional land to the south of these piers. If they had continued to use the numbering convention in place we would have piers with negative numbers. So, they started over again at the south end of the base, with pier No. 20. Now, with the new numbering system taking effect Nov. 15-19, the piers will be numbered in order. This will allow personnel new to naval station to find the pier they need to be at easier.

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Why would such nice lady like yourself say such a thing?

In Memory of All who gave their lives this past year to make sure we had the Freedom to vote.

America's Heroes who have given their all in
defense of Freedom during Operation Enduring Freedom
CIA. Agent Johnny Michael Spann of Winfield, AL Chief Petty Officer Matthew J. Bourgeois, Tallahassee, Fla. Master Sergeant Jefferson D. Davis (39) Clarksville, TN Sgt. 1st Class Daniel Petithory (32) Cheshire, MA SSgt. Brian C. Prosser (28) Frazier Park, CA Sgt. 1st Class Nathan Ross Chapman, 31, of San Antonio, Texas Capt. Matthew W. Bancroft, 29, of Shasta, Calif Capt. Daniel G. McCollum 29, of Irmo, S.C Gunnery Sgt. Stephen L. Bryson, 35, of Montgomery Ala Staff Sgt. Scott N. Germosen, 37, of Coram, N.Y Sgt. Nathan P. Hays, 21, of Wilbur, Wash Lance Cpl. Bryan P. Bertrand, 23, of Coos Bay, Ore Sgt. Jeannette L. Winters, 25, of Gary, IN Staff Sgt. Walter F. Cohee III, 26, Mardela Springs, Md Sgt. Dwight J. Morgan, 24, Mendocino,CA. Maj. Curtis D. Feistner, 34, South Dakota Capt. Bartt D. Owens, 30, of Ohio Chief Warrant Officer 2 Jody L. Egnor, 32, of Ohio Staff Sgt. James P. Dorrity, 37, of Goldsboro, N.C. Staff Sgt. Kerry W. Frith, 37, of Jamesville, Nev Staff Sgt. Bruce A. Rushforth Jr., 35, of Massachusetts. Sgt. Jeremy D. Foshee, 25, of Pisgah, Alabama Spc. Thomas F. Allison, 22, of Tacoma, Wash Master Sgt. William L. McDaniel II Staff Sgt. Juan M. Ridout Daniel Pearl: Reporter for Wall Street Journal, 39, New Jersey Chief Warrant Officer Stanley L. Harriman, 34, of Wade, N.C Sgt. Bradley S. Crose, 27, of Orange Park, Fla. Sgt. Philip J. Svitak, 31, of Joplin, Mo Spc. Marc A. Anderson, 30, of Brandon, Fla. Pfc. Matthew A. Commons, 21, of Boulder City, Nev. Officer 1st Class Neil C. Roberts, 32, of Woodland, Calif. Tech. Sgt. John A. Chapman, 36, of Waco, Texas Senior Airman Jason D. Cunningham, 26, of Camarillo, Calif. Pfc. Kristofer Tif Stonesifer, Doylestown, Pa. Spc. John Joseph Edmunds, Cheyenne, Wyo. Master Sgt. Evander Earl Andrews, Solon, Maine SSgt. Brian T. Craig, 27, Texas SSgt. Justin J. Galewski, 28, Kansas Sgt. Jamie O. Maugans, 27, Kansas Sgt. 1st Class Daniel A. Romero, 30, Colorado Sgt. Gene Arden Vance Jr., 38, Morgantown, W. Virginia MSgt. Peter Tycz II, Tanawanda, NY SSgt. Anissa A. Shero, 31, Grafton, W. VA. TSgt. Sean M. Corlew, Thousand Oaks, CA Cpl. Antonio 'Tony' Sledd of St. Petersburg, Fla.

Today's transportation for you and the Girlz.
My old ship who's home port was Norfolk VA

USS CORRY DD 817

U.S. soldiers Master Sgt. Jack Lee, of Wichita, Kansas, left, 1st Lt. Tina Kroske, of Atlanta, Georgia, center, and Staff Sgt. James D. Coble, of Dillsburg, Pennsylvania, right, deployed on a peacekeeping mission in Afghanistan watch the results on a live TV broadcast of Midterm congressional elections, to elect Senators and Representatives, at U.S. Air Base Bagram in Afghanistan Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2002. (AP Photo/Amel Emric)

.S. soldiers 1st Lt. Tina Kroske, of Atlanta, Georgia, right, Staff Sgt. David Lamb, Cartersville, Georgia, center, and Staff Sgt. James D. Coble, of Dillsburg, Pennsylvania, left, deployed on a peacekeeping mission in Afghanistan watch the results on a live TV broadcast of Midterm congressional elections, to elect Senators and Representatives, at U.S. Air Base Bagram in Afghanistan Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2002. (AP Photo/Amel Emric)

"How are you feeling this morning?"

Feeling better, I think I sweated out most of this fever overnight.
Thanks for your concern.
*HUG*

Thanks for the pics of the military watching the election results.
It's the military, not the politicians or the media that give us the Freedom to vote.
I yet to see the media or the politicians Thank our troops.

WoooooHOOOOOOOOOOO!! Howzit goin', MizBunny?! Great night last night, wasn't it?!

As for the Norfolk Naval Base, while I was an undergrad in the early 80's, I worked Summers and Christmas breaks at the Naval Base in Norfolk, ripping out then reinstalling tile flooring on the ships as they came into port. Met a lotta really good folks aboard those ships, and we were all proud of our Commander-in-Chief atthat time.

I feel that way now, too...MUD

I love this arrangement!!

Thank you so much Canteen men and Troops!

This is a truly beautiful scene.

How to Mail Your Love to a Man: 11 Care-Package Treats No Guy Can Resist
compiled by Farah Miller

Whether he's gone for business, pleasure or in this case, a military operation away from home, there's nothing like sending a care package to show a man how much you care! And no one knows more about sending love via the U.S. mail than the wives and girlfriends of U.S. military men, so take a look at their top 10 tips (collected from members of the Military Wives and Dating a Military Man message boards) for sending a care package any guy would be grateful for:

Essentials "I pack beef jerky (since it doesn't melt), toilet paper (just in case the provided stuff is like sandpaper), batteries, gum and pictures. That's about all I get to send my husband when he is gone, but he gets excited over anything that smells or looks like home. Which is why putting my perfume on the letter is a hit." --hlilmom

Mementos "Any little reminder of our time together is nice. I especially like to include ticket stubs from the last movie we saw. Because he doesn't even know I saved them." --txmom3071

A Letter a Day "I write him notes, but include the dates when I want him to read them on. Just in case the mail is slow I know he'll have something new from me every day!" --militarygals

Cute and Cuddly for Him "Once, I sent my oldest teddy bear with a note saying 'It's for the lonely times. Big boys need stuffed toys too!'" --txmom3071

A letter for every situation "I include letters in separate envelopes. Each envelope has a certain theme to help him along: sad, lonely, sick and always a funny one -- the 'angry at me' stack." --txmom3071

A Song in Your Heart "I've made tapes of all the songs that reminded me of my boyfriend as well as songs that make me think of our relationship. I even included some songs that we just had fun with on a road trip, even though they're not particularly romantic. For a little extra surprise, I record a message at the end of the tape so he could hear my voice." --velvet_ice

Redeemable for Love "I like to include coupons for things he can redeem when he gets home, like a night away at a B&B. Most of the 'prizes' have something to do with spending alone time together since time itself is such a precious gift for us." --lizzbert2000

Lots of Laughter " I burned some CDs with comedians doing stand-up because I didn't want my husband to be depressed or grumpy on a long flight. He's already put in a request for more!" --emmadaisy

Memories "Our private jokes, stories about times we shared and anything else memorable go on 3x5 cards. This way, he can read about them -- and remember me -- each day." --hlilmom

Toys for Big Kids "Novelty items are great, no matter what the age of the person receiving them. One of the first gifts I sent my husband was a yo-yo. It was just an impulse buy, but the whole troop loved it! I hear they passed that thing around until someone dropped it and it broke. This was before we were even engaged, and he still has it in his drawer as a reminder that love can be shown in many ways." --brandielynnw

Baked Treats "Cookies! Two dozen fit right inside two Gladware containers. I make his favorite kind and let cool. Then, I line the inside of each container with Saran Wrap, leaving enough to cover the cookies. I pack them inside (carefully), then cover with the excess Saran Wrap. They will stay fresh for days and days that way. I've even sent them overseas! Trust me, every man appreciates cookies." --butterflyqueen7

Thank you SAM for this information!

I appreicate your efforts in gathering good reading and informative articles.

Good Morning Snow Bunny!

Thanks so much SAM for these photos of some of our troops watching the election returns!