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

[ST.LOUIE1]

Speaking of chickens....I had this gif left over from Halloween.
Now don't go callin' PETA on me. : )

[Mama_Bear]

Yes, I think we should do this rather than our regular Friday night rally next week.

Sounds like a good idea to me. I'll see if I can get JK to make up some signs. Be thinking about wording for signs and we can discuss it this evening.

[FreeTheHostages]

wow, that's a great letter. thanks for the tissue alert.

[Diver Dave]

Sounds like an great opportunity to say "Welcome Home" and "Thank You." I'll do my darndest to get down there - even if it's for a bunch of airdales. :)

Haven't been to a homecoming since '67

[deadhead]

Yes, that truly is a Tissue Alert! Touched my heart.

God Bless Army PFC Howard Johnson, Jr. and his loved ones.

Colleen

[Aquamarine]

Click on the pic

[ST.LOUIE1]

Hey, fuzzy, sit real close to the Big Guy tonight, smile real pretty at him and maybe we'll get, you know, lalalala

[Diver Dave]

Another great story, LX. (sniff, sniff) Thanks.

[deadhead]

"America is soooooo wonderful, even Flipper is on our side."

Great quote jwfiv! Beautiful thread Mama_Bear ! A big thanks to our friends from the sea. Loved to watch the tv show Flipper when I was a young one.

Colleen

[Mama_Bear]

Hey, fuzzy, sit real close to the Big Guy tonight, smile real pretty at him and maybe we'll get, you know, lalalala

You are so silly!

Hey, I'm not getting on Sheila's bad side to get you your "lalalala", so you'll need to come up with a different plan. (Besides, it hasn't worked up to this point....we STILL have no music. LOL!)

[Mama_Bear]

Hi Colleen.....thanks for bringing that dolphin graphic by. Glad you enjoyed the post today. I think everyone likes dolphins - they are so beautiful!

[Mama_Bear]

A very touching letter, LadyX. Thanks for sharing it.....and for the tissue alert.

[ST.LOUIE1]

Hey, fuzzy, sit real close to the Big Guy tonight, smile real pretty at him and maybe we'll get, you know, lalalala

You are so silly!

: ( Hey, I'm not getting on Sheila's bad side to get you your "lalalala", so you'll need to come up with a different plan.

Hmmmmm....how about baking him some red, white, and blue *flag* cookies, stick a stem winder in them and when he winds them up they play Stars & Stripes Forever? Surely he couldn't resist any request you have of him.

Never mind, It's Jim we're talkin' about. : (

(Besides, it hasn't worked up to this point....we STILL have no music. LOL!)

Jim has a mean streak. : (

[Mama_Bear]

Surely he couldn't resist any request you have of him.

Well, so far he has been resisting just fine. LOL.

Actually, it's John we need to be asking....that's what Jim always tells me - and we rarely see him. (Is it any wonder why we rarely see him?) LOL!

I need to answer some mail and start getting ready to head up to Fresno for our rally.

Thank you for spending so much time with us today. You are so much fun, charming wolfie!

(((((((((((((Louie))))))))))))) :-)

[firewalk]

Hello LadyX

Hope you have a nice weekend (-:

[ST.LOUIE1]

Surely he couldn't resist any request you have of him.

Well, so far he has been resisting just fine. LOL.

Yeah. : (

Actually, it's John we need to be asking....that's what Jim always tells me - and we rarely see him. (Is it any wonder why we rarely see him?) LOL!

Ain't messin' with John, he does weird things to our profiles. LOL

I need to answer some mail and start getting ready to head up to Fresno for our rally.

Ok, take care, have fun. Give Sis a peck on the cheek for me. : )

Thank you for spending so much time with us today. You are so much fun, charming wolfie!
(((((((((((((Louie))))))))))))) :-)

Jim may be able to resist you but with talk like that....I sure can't. : )

Smaaaaack! LOL

[LadyX]

Oh, Aqua, what a perfectly coordinated post!!

Dolphins leaping high in their joy and delight - breezy song expressing that, with His reflected Light upon the sea!

May we all have that kind of spirit in our own life, and when we worship Him!

[Mama_Bear]

Smaaaaack! LOL

:-) SMAAAACK back!

[Aquamarine]

Thanks Lady for expanding on that post in such a beautiful Spiritual way!.....I project...you describe ;)

[LadyX]

We happen to be on the same Good News Wave length, Aqua..:))

You do so well leading the Way - I add 'Wurdz' - He smiles..:))

We here love the things you give us - - -