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Tribute To HEROES

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While the dogtag is used to provide information on an individual serviceman,
I also believe that the chain which holds them represents a connection to all
servicemen, no matter where you served, how you served or when you served.

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The Minuteman in 1776 has a connection to the soldier fighting in Afghanistan today.
That connection is every individual who has ever served in the United States Military.

Each of us represents a link in the chain that connects that Minuteman of
over 200 years ago to the soldier in Afghanistan today.

SAMWolf

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Tribute to Vietnam Veterans

Please click on picture.

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The great intangible of America's wars beyond logistics,
beyond strategy, beyond wonder weapons and Generals,
is the spiritual force of its fighting men and women -
and that is the force that the USO so serves.

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Free Republic....Click for Donations

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Partners

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.To Jim Robinson,
Founder of FRee Republic and Navy Veteran

Thank you, from all those
who frequent the FReeper Canteen

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Here is a look into my inner thoughts My serious ideas for some boycotts I cherish the rights for people to say What they believe, it’s the American Way Although some of their words might offend Their right to speak it I will defend I learned about this from Voltaire Freedom of speech should be everywhere Here is a word for Barbara Streisand Written in Shakespeare’s very own hand When he wrote it he thought of you Yes it`s “The taming of the Shrew”
And to Ms Julia Roberts Your sense of logic really hurts You should stick to what you know Playing the part of a high class 'ho
And to Rosie O’Donnell the know it all If I need your advice I’ll surely call Here is a question just for you with your big toosh Why would you of all people hate a Leader named Bush
I have things to say about Rob Reiner The old big fat liberal whiner I read a lot of the things that you said To me you will always be a Meathead
Oh by the way, George Clooney Your comments prove you are a Looney Because you played a Doctor on TV An Actor you are, but not to me
And how can I forget Sean Penn You prove you are dumb again and again I saw the movie “Dead man walking” I wish it were called “Sean’s not talking”
To a great singer known as Cher Behind your voice is empty air When you speak it seems to me The best part of you was Sonny
I also have words for Alec Baldwin About what you’d do if Bush did win I have a good suggestion for you A long term trip to Timbuktu.
Here is a note for Belafonte An aging singer from antiquity I read your words about Colin Powell I found them all to be most foul
And to Martina Navratilova It’s so bad but you came over I do not even like your stupid game And you are as ugly as your name
I’ll never forget Susan Sarandan I am glad that she ain’t commanding I like your looks and that you can act But that is all you do and that’s a fact
Just because you all make a good pay Doesn’t give you the right to say Things that truly offend me And those in the Military Yes we have the right to speak I think our time is now unique For the rest of the world to know We are the 1 nation with our ducks in a row Many know you from the silver screen But there is another way you are seen Anti-American all of the time I’ll never give you another dime. Here I am at the end of my thoughts I’d like to see some more Boycotts These people make a lot of money While putting down the land of the Free - Radix

Good morning, Snow! Good morning, EVERYBODY!

Today's FEEBLE attempt at humor:

Mr. Jones patted his daughter's hand fondly, and told her,
"Your young man told me today he wanted you as a bride, and
I gave my consent."

"Oh, Papa," gushed the daughter, "it's going to be so hard
leaving mother."

"I understand perfectly, my dear," beamed Mr. Jones. "You
just take her with you."

Did Ya Know.....?

Katharine Lee Bates wrote the words to the classic American anthem "America The Beautiful" after her trip to the summit of Pikes Peak in 1893.

Mornin', everybody ! :O)

Sorry for no graphics. I'm still at my Dad's house. I'm taking him to a doctors appt. today in Tyler. It's his new hand doctor. He had skin graft surgery on his hand/arm and the surgeon said he needed it looked at again in about 10 days or so. It looks like he'll keep most of his mobility/motion in his left hand, but he's lucky because it was pretty ugly looking. Anyway......

We got his pictures back yesterday. Picture #24 & 25 here are of his car when I went to get his personal stuff out of it. This is where it was towed to in Flagler, Colorado.

Frame #24 & #25
Click on the frame for enlarged view

Hard for me to imagine he walked away from this. He had to crawl out the drivers side window. None of the doors would open. All the glass was busted out except the front windshield, and, as you can see, it was shattered too.....

ARMED AND READY — Senior weapons loaders arm munitions on an F-16CG flown by Maj. Todd Higgs before a sortie from Incirlik Air Base, Turkey. The airmen are deployed with 125th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron, from the Tulsa, Oklahoma, Air National Guard, in support of Combined Task Force, Operation Northern Watch. ONW has been enforcing the no-fly zone over Northern Iraq since 1997. U.S. Air Force Photo by Tech. Sgt. Anna Hayman

U.S. Soldiers at Bagram
Adopt an Afghan Village

By U.S. Army Spc. Joe Healy
82nd Airborne Division

BAGRAM, Afghanistan — A convoy of seven vehicles drove off Bagram Air Base recently, traveling on a dusty, dirt road to a remote village three miles northeast of the base. The 25 volunteer soldiers in the convoy had one mission - to provide humanitarian aid to Afghans. The Adopt-a-Village program had begun.

“It is always great going out and helping the locals,” said Staff Sgt. A.J. Handler, of the 401st Civil Affairs Battalion. “This is the first time we’ve provided aid to the village of Surat Khawl.”

Although the distance between the base and Surat Khawl is short, the difference is life style is remarkable, said Sgt. Maj. Jim Miller, Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 82nd Airborne Division. “These people here are dealing with basic survival issues,” he said.

About 300 residents live in Surat Khawl, said Handler. Approximately 100 villagers were on-hand to receive the boxes and bags of humanitarian aid from the U.S. soldiers. The aid included large bags of beans, rice and flour. Children received stuffed animals, rubber balls, games and school supplies. Hats, jackets and mittens were dispersed to everyone. Female U.S. soldiers distributed clothes and shoes to female villagers.

“The mothers and daughters really appreciated the clothes and shoes we gave out,” said Sgt. 1st Class Shannon Cromartie, Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 82nd Airborne. Div. “You can’t realize the living conditions until you see it.”

Handler said without Miller’s work, the Adopt-A-Village program would not have been successful. “It was Sergeant Major Miller’s idea,” said Handler.

Miller said he got the idea after going out with Civil Affairs to visit an orphanage. After the visit, Miller emailed his friends and family in Jeffersonville, Ind., and recounted the experience.“Once I e-mailed my friends back home, the project took a life of its own,” he said. “Boy Scout troops, churches and local businesses got together and started sending items over here.”

After collecting donations for six weeks, Miller’s office was full of boxes. He acknowledged the volunteer efforts of 82nd Airborne Division soldiers.

“I am also proud of the soldiers who volunteered to help out,” said Miller. “Especially the young soldiers who get to see first-hand the desperation of the people here.”

Miller said the Adopt-a-Village program has targeted Surat Khawl for future donations. “We are going to sponsor and work closely with Surat Khawl in the future,” he said.

Cromartie said she wants to go on the next aid mission to Surat Khawl. She wants to visit her new friend.

“After all the goods were passed out and all of us soldiers were back in our vehicles leaving the village I saw one girl, all alone, looking at me,” said Cromartie. “There was one teddy bear left in a box, so we stopped our vehicle and I gave it to the lonely girl. The smile that spread across her face was beautiful.

“That’s what Adopt-A-Village is all about.”

David Letterman.... Top Things A Drill Instructor Would Never Say:

"%$&@ the 0400 crap -- I'm getting up at noon";

"I'd be lost without my yoga";

"For a zestier tuna salad, add a pinch of dill";

"I'm yelling because I have self-esteem issues";

"Dude, you're getting a Dell";

"Marine, you have the piercing blue eyes of a young Paul Newman";

"With Pert Plus, I just wash...and go";

"When are the Tony Awards?";

"Dr. Phil has changed my life";

"I still live with my parents."

Air Power

FAIRCHILD REPUBLIC A-10A "THUNDERBOLT II"

The A-10 is the first USAF aircraft designed specifically for close air support of ground forces. It is named for the famous P-47 Thunderbolt, a fighter often used in a close air support role during the latter part of WW II. The A-10 is designed for maneuverability at low speeds and low altitudes for accurate weapons delivery, and carries systems and armor to permit it to survive in this environment. It is intended for use against all ground targets, but specifically tanks and other armored vehicles. The Thunderbolt II's great endurance gives it a large combat radius and/or long loiter time in a battle area. Its short takeoff and landing capability permits operation from airstrips close to the front lines. Service at forward area bases with limited facilities is possible because of the A-10's simplicity of design.

The first prototype Thunderbolt II made its initial flight on May 10, 1972. A-10A production commenced in 1975. Delivery of aircraft to USAF units began in 1976 and ended in 1984.

Emerging in the wake of the Vietnam War, the Fairchild-Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II symbolizes the U.S. Air Force close air support mission like no other plane in the inventory. Known popularly as the 'Warthog', what became the A-10 began as a proposal to fill the USAF's call for a new close air support aircraft under the 1967 A-X program.

Combat experience over Southeast Asia revealed deficiencies in the Air Force's ability to support ground troops, leading to the call for a purpose-built attack plane. Additionally, a new, heavy-hitting subsonic jet was required to counter the Soviet threat in western Europe, a force characterized by tanks, armored personnel carriers and large-scale mobile artillery. Chosen for prototype development along with the Northrop proposal in December 1970, the Fairchild design was built at Farmingdale, New York and first flown on 10 May 1972.

Christened as the A-10 by the Air Force, the plane was literally designed around a General Electric GAU-8A 30mm cannon capable of firing foot-long shells at the incredible rate of 4,200 rounds per minute. The design represented a radical departure from contemporary USAF combat aircraft, featuring a large straight wing with eleven underwing and underfuselage stores stations capable of carrying 16,000 pounds of ordnance. Placing its twin TF34 turbofan engines on the upper aft fuselage sides protected them from ground fire, foreign object damage and also minimized their infrared signature. A great number of parts were interchangeable between the left and right sides, and the pilot sat in an armored titanium tub capable of withstanding hits as large as 23mm cannon shells.

Chosen over Northrop's A-9 design in January 1973, Congressional pressure forced the A-10 into a second fly-off against the proven A-7D Corsair II in April 1974. (One of the A-7D's used in the 1974 A-10 fly-off, USAF #69-6200, can be seen here at the National Warplane Museum in Horseheads, NY.) Winning handily, the Thunderbolt II entered full production with all subsequent final assembly and flight testing taking place at the Fairchild plant in Hagerstown, Maryland. The plane entered the operational inventory in March 1977 with the 354th TFW, while the first new planes delivered to the Air National Guard and Reserves arrived in 1982.

Scheduled for retirement in the 1990s, the A-10's future looked bleak until Operation Desert Storm thrust the plane into active combat for the first time in its history. The aircraft amassed an admirable record in its few weeks over Iraq and Kuwait, destroying thousands of tanks, artillery pieces, armored personnel carriers, missile sites and other vehicles, while ensuring its future in the process. Two A-10 pilots even scored aerial victories, both downing Iraqi helicopters with 30mm cannon fire. Although not designed as a fighter, the A-10 generally carried a pair of AIM-9 Sidewinder heat-seeking missiles on its outer pylons for defense.

SPECIFICATIONS
Span: 57 ft. 6 in.
Length: 53 ft. 4 in.
Height: 14 ft. 8 in.
Weight: 47,000 lbs.
Armament: One GAU-8/A 30mm Gatling Gun and 16,000 lbs. of mixed ordnance
Engines: Two General Electric TF34-GE-100 turbofans of 9,000 lbs. thrust each
Crew: One
Cost: $2,400,000

PERFORMANCE
Maximum speed: 450 mph.
Cruising speed: 335 mph.
Range: 800 miles
Service Ceiling: 44,200 ft.

Photos/Information courtesy of the US Air Force Museum

Morning Miss Bunny...

Since it's "Themeless Thursday", here's one that's made the rounds, but reflects my views

Expressions of an American

I like big cars, big boats, big motorcycles, big houses, and big campfires.

I believe the money I make belongs to me and my family, not some governmental stooge with a bad comb-over who wants to give it away to crack addicts for squirting out babies.

Guns don't make you a killer. I think killing makes you a killer. You can kill someone with a baseball bat or a car, but no one is trying to ban you from driving to the ball game.

I believe they are called the Boy Scouts for a reason, which is why there are no girls allowed. Girls belong in the Girl Scouts.

I think that if you feel homosexuality is wrong, it is not a phobia, it is an opinion. I don't think being a minority makes you a victim of anything except numbers. The only things I can think of that are truly discriminatory are things like the United Negro College Fund, Jet Magazine, Black Entertainment Television, and Miss Black America. Try to have things like the United Caucasian College Fund, Cloud Magazine, White Entertainment Television, or Miss White America and see what happens. Jesse Jackson will be knocking down your door.

I have the right "NOT" to be tolerant of others because they are different, hate America or want to kill me. When 100% of these people who hijack airplanes and slam them into buildings are ARABS and MUSLIM, in cities where 100% of the population is American. That is not racial profiling; it is the law of common sense.

I believe that if you are selling me a milk shake, a newspaper, or a hotel room, you must do it in English. As a matter of fact, if you want to be an American citizen you should speak English. My father and grandfather shouldn't have to die in vain so you can leave the countries you were born in to come over and disrespect ours.

I think the police should have every right to shoot you if you threaten them after they tell you to stop. If you can't understand the word "freeze" or "stop" in English, see the above lines.

I feel much safer letting a machine with no political affiliation recount votes when needed.

I know what the definition of lying is.

I don't think just because you were not born in this country, you are qualified for any special loan programs, government sponsored bank loans or tax breaks, etc., so you can open a hotel, coffee shop, trinket store, or any other business.

We did not go to the aid of certain foreign countries and risk our lives in wars to defend their freedoms so that decades later they could come over here and tell us our constitution is a living document and open to their interpretations.

I don't hate the rich. I don't pity the poor. I know wrestling is fake, but so are movies and television, and that doesn't stop you from watching them.

I believe a self-righteous liberal or conservative with a cause is more dangerous than a Hell's Angel with an attitude.

I think Bill Gates has every right to keep every penny he made and continue to make more. If it ticks you off, go and invent the next operating system that's better and put your name on the building. Ask your buddy that invented the Internet to help you.

It doesn't take a whole village to raise a child right, but it does take a parent to stand up to the kid and smack his little behind when necessary and say "NO."

I think tattoos and piercing are fine if you want them, but please don't pretend they are a political statement. And stay home until that new lip ring heals, I don't want to look at your ugly infected mouth as you serve me fries.

I am sick of "Political Correctness" and of all the suck ups that go along with it. Get a life and a clue before you impose your will and opinion on others.

I am proud to be from America and nowhere else. You should be too regardless of race, creed or color. Otherwise get out.

And if you don't like my point of view, tough!!!!!!!!!!!!

Good afternoon y'all!

Howdy troops, veterans, and allies wherever you may be today. Thank You! for answering the call to duty to our country. We enjoy our Freedom because of you and for that I'm eternally grateful. God bless you all!

I took a glance at the opening to today's thread before I headed out last night...and my nose still burns from the Coke that spewed from it when I laughed. At least I missed the keyboard. LOL!!! I got choked so badly I woke my hubby up. Hilarious, Sam!!

Wonderful jobs!! Woohoo!! I love Themeless Thursdays!! Woohoo!! I wish I could have gotten on earlier! My ISP was upgrading during PRIME HOURS..hello?? LOL! Do it while MoJo is snoring..not during my play time!!LOL!