A Few of FR's Finest...Every Day...4-25-03....Whiskered Warriors and Flippered Friends

Billie and Mama_Bear

[Mama_Bear]

A Few of FR's Finest.....
......Every Day

FR is a Treasure Trove of talented, compassionate, patriotic, wonderful people who gather every day to discuss the latest news and issues; salute and support our military and our leaders;  tell a few jokes;  learn a new word;  write poetry;  pray for those in need;  and congratulate those who are deserving. Thank you, Jim Robinson, for giving us the vehicle in which we can express ourselves.

Free Republic made its debut in September, 1996, and the forum was added in early 1997.   I can remember lurking when there were only a few regulars who posted, and now there are over 60,000 who have registered for posting privileges. The forum is read daily by tens of thousands of concerned citizens and patriots from all around the country and the world.

A Few of FR's Finest November 11, 2001

So many people have written me since my original Veteran's Day Tribute, asking how they, or a loved one, could be included in that tribute. Since I can no longer add the photos to the body of the thread, I've been including them in additional posts as I received enough to make another collage.

Still that doesn't seem to be enough. I think there's never been a better nor more appropriate time to keep the faces of our own Veterans and Active Military in front of FReepers--every day! That's why I wanted to do yet another Daily Thread .....ABOUT FReepers .....and FOR FReepers. But not only about our Military FReepers; for all FReepers! Wouldn't it be nice to get to know a few of the other FReepers as well? That's why, in addition to seeing FR's Finest Military Personnel every day, I thought it might be fun to feature a different FReeper (or FReepers) each day. If you would like to be pictured, or know someone who would, please FReepmail me and we'll turn the spotlight - on YOU - for the day!

And do let me know if you'd like your picture added to the groups of Veterans/Active Military below. I will keep this page updated, and continue to add them to the comment section of the original Veteran's Day thread as well.

<

TOP:  g'nad, AgThorn's son Justin, SLB, AgThorn's son Brett.
MIDDLE:  fish70, razorback-bert, CheneyChick,Leroy S Mort, Mark17.
BOTTOM:  Terry's Take, Taxman, DinkyDau.

TOP:  ValerieUSA's son Grant, SK1Thurman, kd5cts, RangerVetNam,
dansangel and .45man's son-in-law Tony
BOTTOM:  rangerX, Old China Hand, Trish, Howlin's dad, Mustang

TOP: ohioWfan's son, MamaBear's father-in-law, MamaBear's dad, ladtx
MIDDLE:  The Mayor's niece, M.Kehoe, Beach_Babe's son-in-law
BOTTOM:  deadhead's dad, HiJinx, Severa's hubby, viligantcitizen's granddad.

TOP:  spectr17, RightOnline, SERE_Doc, Tet68.
MIDDLE:  FutureSnakeEater, RightOnline's wife, CIApilot, Clamper1797
BOTTOM:  usmcobra, onedoug, DiverDave, Joe6-pack

We now have eleven groups of veterans/active military; we will post each group of three or four twice a week, with thumbnail/links of the remaining seven or eight groups on each thread. Click on any of the thumbnails below to see the group full-size.

         

GROUP 1A: TOP: Logos, SwedeGirl's hubby, Neil E Wright, FallGuy, 1John, Sneakypete MIDDLE:  T'wit, COB1, LadyX, Dick Bachert, 68-69TonkinGulfYatchClub BOTTOM:  YankeeinSC, Delta21, JoeSixPack1

GROUP 2A: TOP:  Bosniajmc, AFVetGal, Archy, A Navy Vet MIDDLE:  4TheFlag, Aeronaut, 68Grunt, Xinga BOTTOM:  Codger, AAABest, Clinton's A Liar, Duke809, dcwusmc

GROUP 3A: TOP:  mc5cents, Norb2569, LBGA's son, VanJenerette MIDDLE:  Jim Robinson, KJenerette, davidosborne, KG9Kid BOTTOM:  gwmoore, Equality7-2521, SAMWolf

GROUP 4A: TOP:  porgygirl, Phil V., MudPuppy, NorCoGOP MIDDLE:  RaceBannon, OneidaM, rdb3, jwTexian BOTTOM:  USMC Vet, TheMayor, Vineyard, rhododogma

      

GROUP 9A: TOP: Q6-God, Scan59, Mama Bear and JKPhoto's son, ofMagog. MIDDLE:  Big'ol_freeper, JustAmy's great uncle, Prodigal Son. BOTTOM:  JustAmy's husband, JustAmy's brother-in-law, JustAmy's brother.

GROUP 10A: TOP: dakine's wife, MeeknMing's dad, Auntbee's nephew, MilitiaMan7, AlasBabylon. BOTTOM:  Joe Brower, Temple Owl, Temple Owl's wife, dutchess' dad, Aomagrat.

GROUP 11A: TOP: ladtx #2 son; DiverDave's twin Don; petuniasevan and husband poorman; Mustard; ladtx #1 son. BOTTOM: AlamoGirl's brother Floyd; AG's dad; AG's brother Jim (inset); WVNan's husband; ladtx' Aunt Eva.

                     

Today's featured "Finest"
in the spotlight are

Some of the most interesting news stories reported during Operation Iraqi Freedom were of the specially trained dolphins helping the Coalition forces locate mines near the port of Umm Qasr.

I thought it appropriate that the dolphins and sea lions deployed with our military receive recognition and official status as "Finest Friends" for their invaluable contribution to the war effort.

The U.S. Navy's Marine Mammal Program boasts a unit of 20 crack sea lions as well as about 70 dolphins specially-trained to defend and protect US sailors and installations from explosive marine attacks.

Meet "K-Dog"

A Navy dolphin, K-Dog, shows Sgt. Andrew Garrett what he's learned as he trains near the USS Gunston Hall, in the Persian Gulf.

In order for President Bush's promise of massive humanitarian aid for the Iraqis to materialize, the port of Umm Qasr in southern Iraq needed to be cleared of mines for safe travel.

And when the harbor, which was mined by the Iraqis to hamper a U.S. invasion, was opened, it was due in no small measure to the efforts of a pair of bottle-nosed Atlantic dolphins; Makai and Tacoma. These mine-sniffing dolphins are part of the U.S. military's Mammal Maritime Unit.

Until the marine mammals arrived, clearing the mines was the job of the British. They located the mines by hand, and many said swimming in the port was like crawling around in mud with your eyes shut.

Though the Navy has been training dolphins for years, this is their first operational deployment. With their natural sonar systems, the dolphins can detect mines even under the most difficult conditions.

The deployment of dolphins and sea lions to a war zone is not without controversy, however these dolphin have been specially taught to avoid touching the mines, which might cause them to explode, said Capt. Mike Tillotson, a Navy bomb disposal expert. He said there is "very little risk to animals in doing this kind of work".

Signalman 2nd Class (DV) Bud Bickford, a mammal handler from Commander Task Unit 55.4.3, brushes the teeth of a bottlenose dolphin, Makai, in the well deck of the dock landing ship Gunston Hall in the Persian Gulf on March 17. "Basically, he’ll work as long as his attitude feels up to it."

Sea Lions play secret
agent overseas...


Meet "Zachary"

While the U.S. Navy has used sea lions for recovery missions for the last 30 years, some of them are now being retrained to not only to detect enemy divers, but to catch them too.

"We train a select small set of sea lions to actually find divers and attach recovery lines to the divers" to allow them to be captured, said Tom LaPuzza who has run the mammal program since its inception in 1960.

"Those are the sea lions that are in Bahrain. This is a new capability that we are demonstrating for the first time," he said adding that if the new recruits did well in their test, they could be used to protect U.S. harbors.

The yelping secret agents are trained to attach a restraint device — a C-shaped, handcuff-like clamp — to the leg of an intruder with their mouths before deploying a floating marker signaling the attacker's position.

These whiskered warriors can swim at 40 kilometers per hour (25 miles per hour) and carry out repeated dives of up to 300 meters (1000 feet).

THIS WEEK'S THREADS 04-21-03 Buster (A Nose for Danger) 04-22-03 daughterofTGSL (Stormy Weather) 04-23-03 cmsgop (Up Close & Personal) 04-24-03 JohnHuang2(John's Two Cents)

Opinions by our own 'King of Ping' The guy's good, folks!

Thanks, Mixer!

1) Click on the graphic to open the Calendar. 2) Once there you can click on any month and even click to the right to go into next year. Once you are in the month that you joined FR you will need to click on the number in the calendar and then an add item screen will come up. 3) In the next box enter your name in the "Calendar Text" field and then click on submit. 4) If any of the screens fail to load simply click on refresh in your browser and that will usually fix it. 5) If all else fails or simply if you want me to do this for you send me a FReepmail and I will gladly do it for you. ~Mixer

[Mama_Bear]

Here's one of them escorting us!

Oh, thank you for posting that! Wasn't that one of the highlights of our trip, watching the dolphins play in the wake? Next time we definitely need to do the 'dolphin encounter'. :-)

[ST.LOUIE1]

I'm doing some sealing and calking under the cabinets and have all her pots and pans all over the place!

Make darned sure you put them back EXACTLY as they were. Wimmen get real nervous when you mess with their pots. LOL

I"ll fire up the pit later and bbq sumptin for her!

Maybe she should cook for you....you're the one doing all the work. : )

I think these every other fridays off create more work for me than if I had to go to my real job!

LOL

[Mama_Bear]

Thanks for the bttt. :-)

Have a good one!

[Pippin]

Now don't you be giving Kneezles any ideas!

Let him fire up that BBQ for Sassy!

[ST.LOUIE1]

ALRIGHT! I'll bring the cheese and crackers!

Hmmmm...fuzzy is bringing that...how about shrimp cocktails? : )

[ST.LOUIE1]

OK, Louie, you talked me into it...I shall, in fact, treat myself...hmmm, a good breakfast, walk in the sun, trip to the CD shop...a day off...too much to choose from, so I choose ALL.

Now you're talkin'! Enjoy! : )

[Pippin]

Sounds good! Okay!

[LadyX]

What an interesting and well-presented post, Mama_Bear!
They are indeed deserving of recognition and our accolades, added to the ranks of K-9s and others who assist man for a variety of purposes - not to be confused with 'porpoises,' segueing into a touching story here..:))

A dear friend of mine lost her husband two years ago under tragic circumstances.
Honoring his wishes to have his ashes scattered in the Atlantic Ocean from a favorite fishing pier near Beaufort, SC, on Hunting Island, one day a group of loved ones and friends made the journey for that reason.

Dreading the moment, Jan stood at the end of the pier, hesitating - and suddenly a school of seven porpoises leaped from the water right in front of them!

To all, it seemed as if the Lord had sent them as His escorts for the Journey Home for the beloved.

A powerful demonstration of God's loving touches, providing the comfort that enabled her to let him go - - -

[Mama_Bear]

Oh! That's right, ok with the Cheetos then. LOL

Good, I love them! Even though the Cheeto dust makes a terrible mess on my paws, LOL.

I don't like Brie either........it just SOUNDS like it should go with champaign. :-)

[dansangel]

Great! I'll tell you all about wolfie - over a bottle of champagne some night. LOL

Whoo-hoo! (Just make sure it's domestic, OK?) :-)

wolfie(((((dansy)))))wolfie

Happy Friday, [[[[[{{{{{(((((Louie_Wolfie_Man)))))}}}}}]]]]]

[Pippin]

Good Afternoon, (((LADYX)))!

[dansangel]

Good (now it is) Afternoon, (((((((Pippin)))))))

:-)

[Pippin]

LOL!

How are you doing (((Dansy)))?

[ST.LOUIE1]

Now don't you be giving Kneezles any ideas!
Let him fire up that BBQ for Sassy!

Humph! You wimmen are all alike....the man does the hard work and is still expected to cook. : (

Stand your ground, kneez....or at least order out. LOL

[dansangel]

Love champagne as long as it is not French, of course...LOL....

Great minds think alike! (See my post to Wolfie above)

So glad to see you (((((((((daisy)))))))))

:-)

[Pippin]

Grrrrrrr!

[ST.LOUIE1]

Great! : )

[Pippin]

I suppose you want me to cook them?

[Mama_Bear]

They are indeed deserving of recognition and our accolades, added to the ranks of K-9s and others who assist man for a variety of purposes - not to be confused with 'porpoises,' segueing into a touching story here..:))

LOL!!! You are so funny! :-)

Jan stood at the end of the pier, hesitating - and suddenly a school of seven porpoises leaped from the water right in front of them! To all, it seemed as if the Lord had sent them as His escorts for the Journey Home for the beloved.

This made me tear up.

You are right...A powerful demonstration of God's loving touches, and His loving touches are all around us, if we look. :-)

[kneezles]

See ya later folks, I need to get back at it! Have a GRAND day!