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!

[DaughterOfAnIwoJimaVet]

I told you guys, CWOJackson taught me everything I need to know...plus, it's not your place to quiz me. One more infraction and it's the big M (mast) for you!

So you want overalls? What color? LOL

[Snow Bunny]

Sweet dreams Bentfeather.Thank you so much for helping with the Canteen.
(((((( hug )))))))

[Snow Bunny]

I love this,thank you so much.

[Snow Bunny]

Hi my friend, good to see you.
((((((( hug ))))))))))

[radu]

Please be careful swinging that mast, Cap'n!! This Dramamine has my reflexes a little sloooow and I might not be able to duck quickly! LOL!!

[Kathy in Alaska]

I am worthless in the fashion field. (Patriotic themes are my favorite.) I will leave it up to the Wardrobe Mistress, and be grateful for whatever. Hmmmmmm......I wonder if that is wise, considering that you are wearing your Captain's hat tonight. LOL!

[Snow Bunny]

Hi maxwell! Good to see you.LOL I love your post.

[Snow Bunny]

giggle...hahaahha

[Snow Bunny]

LOL what fun

[Snow Bunny]

Hi thank you so much for your post and picture and link on the B-52 Bomber .

[DaughterOfAnIwoJimaVet]

I can't believe I'm doing this after your repeated insubordination, but I know where to find you something to wear. DON'T MOVE.

(Don't worry, radu. Got it under control.)

(Snow, we gotta have a meeting with the brass about this Kathy...she's got a 'tude. LOL)

[Snow Bunny]

Hi sultan88, it is great to see you. How neat that you live near Norfolk Naval Base. Thanks for being here.

[Mr_Magoo]

e-mail call . . .

[Snow Bunny]

oh oh how do I type oh oh heh heh I mean like oh OH. hahhahahahhahahaa as in yikes.....ROTFL

You are all so cute.

[Kathy in Alaska]

Here I am trying to be nice and all I get is grief. I only asked a few simple questions just to see that you won't be running Tonkin's ship aground, (if it was my ship I wouldn't worry) and.......oh, never mind. I forgot I need to be nice. LOL!

[radu]

FUN?? We're in a storm...on a boat...with a Cap'n going berserk, threatening to swing masts! Heeeeeelp! LOL!!!!

[radu]

Yes!! Be nice!! I don't want a mast on Tonk's ship to get broken if it happens to hit my hard old noggin while it's being swung around! LOL!!! Tonk would never forgive me!

[radu]

Such a long list of names of those who gave their all in defense of Freedom during Operation Enduring Freedom. So sad. I, for one, will never forget their ultimate sacrifice. May they all Rest In peace.

[Kathy in Alaska]

Well, according to the radar report, smooth sailing is not too far ahead. So just hang on, and calm seas should be here in about 10 minutes.

How's this look?

[DaughterOfAnIwoJimaVet]

You said something about a hat. You wanted a hat right? Oh, OOPS! You were making fun of mine! LOL!

Now, I'm warning you...an officer in the Coast Guard taught me all about the mast - and he taught me about a couple of other things, too, which you would NOT enjoy! Get back in line, sailor - is that perfectly clear? (Dang, I love this. LOL)

Signed,
Captain D