[68-69TonkinGulfYachtClub]

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snippy_about_it

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USO CANTEEN FREEPER STYLE MISSION STATEMENT
Showing support and boosting the morale of
our military and our allies military
and the family members of the above.
Honoring those who have served before.

Please Thank someone in the military for ensuring our Freedom.
Take a moment and Thank a Service Man or Woman.
Just Click on the graphic to SEND a message to someone in the military.

[Aeronaut]

Good morning Tonk. Still off them?

[Kathy in Alaska]

Click for current time
in Afghanistan

[Kathy in Alaska]

Duty ~ Honor ~ Country

Click above to visit "A Day in the Life of President Bush"

[Kathy in Alaska]

A PRAYER OF PROTECTION

The light of God surround you
The love of God enfold you
The power of God protect you
The presence of God watch over you
Wherever you are,God is,
And all is well.
Amen.

.

Bless This House

Bless this house O Lord we pray;
Make it safe by night and day;
Bless these walls so firm and stout,
Keeping want and trouble out:
Bless the roof and chimneys tall,
Let thy peace lie over all;
Bless this door, that it may prove
ever open to joy and love.


Bless these windows shining bright,
Letting in God's heav'nly light;
Bless the hearth a'blazing there,
with smoke ascending like a prayer;
Bless the folk who dwell within,
keep them pure and free from sin;
Bless us all that we may be
Fit O Lord to dwell with thee;
Bless us all that one day we
May dwell O Lord with thee.

.

(Click on praying hands above,
or on banner at the top to hear the music)

[Kathy in Alaska]

San Diego-based DesRon 7 Shuts Down One-Third of Iraqi Oil-Smuggling

Story Number: NNS030219-07
Release Date: 2/19/2003 12:27:00 PM

From Destroyer Squadron 7 Public Affairs

ABOARD USS CONSTELLATION, At Sea (NNS) -- Feb. 11 wasn't just another day for the staff of San Diego-based destroyer squadron (DesRon) 7.

In partnership with a multinational maritime interception force (MIF) of partners from around the globe, staff members anxiously awaited reports from Her Majesty's Australian Ship (HMAS) Cardiff after weeks of intelligence collection and diligent planning. The goal: verification that a three-ship take down in progress by the Royal Marines and crew of Cardiff was a success, effectively shutting down one-third of the 'new wave' of Iraqi oil smuggling regime.

As reports came in, the results were clear. Boarding teams were able to take control of the three steel-hull ships, each boasting a 5,000 to 6,000 dry weight ton (DWT) capacity of illegal oil. The three tankers accounted for approximately one-third of the estimated fleet of consolidation tankers that specialize in the illegal marketing of Iraqi oil; pursuit of the remainder of the smuggling fleet is in progress.

Embarked aboard USS Constellation (CV 64) operating in the Arabian Gulf, the staff of Commander, Destroyer Squadron 7 has become accustomed to the waiting game. Data collection and careful assembly of evidence packages have become vital in the wake of last year's shift in oil smuggling tactics towards the use of "consolidation tankers," ships that bunker oil from smaller platforms and are more capable of slipping past the coalition of ships in position to detect and return them to Iraq. Verifying the transfer of oil from the smaller "dhows" to the larger tankers is key to the seizure and halt of the practice of illegal oil trade.

Current Gulf operations are a true coalition effort. Reports from a December routine boarding by the crew of HMAS Anzac assisted in paving the way for this effort, forming the data trail that links the smuggling community together. Hidden tanks were then confirmed, and the source of oil was verified as Iraqi. In close partnership with the staff of Commander, 5th Fleet, intelligence collection continued until conditions permitted the eventual "go ahead" given by Commodore Mark Balmert, Commander DesRon 7, to initiate the boardings.

"Today's seizure of approximately $1 million (U.S. dollars) in oil makes for a successful day," commented Lt. Bruce Stanley, one of the squadron's tactical action officers (TAO). "But in addition to impacting the operation of third-party smugglers, profits are prevented from returning to the Iraqi regime. The effects of the three-ship seizure will impede smuggling channels for months to come," Balmert added.

Monday's take-down could be considered a "jackpot"; three large tankers caught in the act of accepting Iraq's contraband oil. Analysis continued throughout the week to determine the exact origin of the oil and the fate of the three tankers. Lt. Lacey Edge, another TAO added, "Our work will continue. There's always another ship behind the one just captured."

News of the MIF's early-January seizure of the three consolidation tank ships has spread quickly throughout the smuggling network, and soon, new tactics and routes will emerge. With large profits to be gained, and a bounty of oil to smuggle, the profit margin is great. Meanwhile, the coalition's work continues daily in pursuit of the remainder of the smuggling fleet. Teamwork and multinational spirit drive them on.

[Kathy in Alaska]

Watch me burro my jumpshot: High school agriculture students haul ass after a loose ball during a Future Farmers of America donkey basketball game in Merced, Calif. The players had to hold onto their reins at all times and mount the animals to shoot or pass.

[Kathy in Alaska]

The surviving cubs of Kita, the 5-year-old lioness that died Feb. 10 at the San Francisco Zoo, frolic in a sterile quarantine room of the zoo's hospital. Animal keepers bottle-feed them every three hours. The male (right) and female are still in a critical period of life, but are so far growing normally. They weigh five pounds each.

[Kathy in Alaska]

Where's he going? Eric Hartge's dogs watch him ride a rescue basket into a helicopter after his kayak got stuck in the ice on Peachblossom Creek in Easton, Md. Hartge tried to rescue the stranded dogs after they chased a deer onto the ice floes. It took a volunteer fire department, three helicopters and a boat to rescue the trio.

[Kathy in Alaska]

Final mush? John Schandelmeier and his dog team cruise across a windblown lake along the Steese Highway near Central, Alaska. Schandelmeier, a 12-year veteran of the Yukon Quest International Sled Dog Race, says this year's may be his last.

[Kathy in Alaska]

FIRE PROTECTION

Senior Airman Jesse Williams, a fire protection driver operator from the 320th Expeditionary Civil Engineering Squadron, adjusts his helmet prior to participating in a C-130 aircraft joint rescue exercise with a foreign-national air force fire team. The 320th fire protection team and foreign national fire teams trained together to better prepare for a real fire emergency at a forward-deployed location in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. This training was designed to improve communications, cohesiveness, and equipment familiarity. U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sergeant Matthew Hannen

A foreign national air force fire chief goes over fire fighting procedures for a C-130 aircraft joint rescue exercise with the 320th Expeditionary Civil Engineering Squadron fire protection team. The 320th fire protection team and foreign national fire teams trained together to better prepare for a real fire emergency at a forward-deployed location in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sergeant Matthew Hannen