FReeper Canteen ~ Road Trip ~ NAS Brunswick, Maine ~ 13MAY 2008

~The FReeper Canteen Presents~

Road Trip: NAS Brunswick, Maine

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Naval Air Station Brunswick is the last, active-duty Department of Defense airfield remaining in the northeast, and is home to four active duty and one reserve squadron. NAS Brunswick has a Reserve Fleet Logistics Support Squadron flying C-130 "Hercules" transports as well as Lockheed P-3 "Orion" long-range maritime patrol aircraft, tasked by Patrol and Reconnaissance Wing Five and its active duty squadrons.

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About 20 percent of NAS Brunswick's activities, facilities and services support the AEGIS destroyer shipbuilding program at nearby Bath Iron Works. The base also houses the Navy's only cold-weather Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape (SERE) school; additional SERE training takes place on 12,000 acres near Rangeley in northwestern Maine.

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The U. S. Naval Air Station, Brunswick, Maine, originally constructed and occupied in March of 1943, was first commissioned on April 15, 1943, with the primary mission of training British Naval Command (Royal Canadian Air Force) pilots. It is located two miles east of the town of Brunswick, south of U. S. Route 1.

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The first U. S. squadron to arrive at NAS Brunswick was a heavier than air scouting squadron (VS1D1), under the command of Lieutenant John G. Shelley, Wellesley, Maine. When they began operations, there was only a half mile of runway, no hangers or operations tower. The ready-room the pilots utilized was also incomplete and the men used packing boxes for seats and a pot-bellied stove to warm the hut. It became better known as the "family room" when the mens' wives began making frequent appearances to see the aviators off on missions.

After the air station was deactivated in October 1946, the land and buildings were leased jointly to the University of Maine and Bowdoin College as annexes to ease the over-crowded conditions at both colleges caused by G. I. Bill student influx. When the station facilities were no longer needed, both colleges terminated their leases in 1949 and the base was taken over by the Brunswick Flying Service.

At this time, the buildings that had housed men and implements of war were put to uses never included in military design. Hanger One was a skating rink; hanger two and the operations tower was a civilian flying school; hanger three housed automobiles; ammunition magazines were mushroom farms; and shrubbery nurseries graced the northern boundaries of the reservation. Any resemblance to a Naval Air Station was purely coincidental.

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As Maine's second largest employer, NAS Brunswick employs 4,863 military and civilian personnel, including 713 officer, 3,493 enlisted personnel and 657 civilians. The air station provides over $187 million to the local economy, including $115 million in salaries, $38 million in contracts and material purchases and $34 million in medical purchases.

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Approximately 20 percent of NAS Brunswick's activities, facilities and services are in direct support of the AEGIS Destroyer shipbuilding program at nearby Supervisor of Shipbuilding, Bath and the Bath Iron Works Corporation. Also, the Navy's only cold weather Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape (SERE) school is taught at Brunswick and on 12,000 acres near Rangeley in northwestern Maine.

Learn More About NAS Brunswick Here!

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In nearby Bath, you can take a visit to the Maine Maritime Museum.

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Founded in 1962, Maine Maritime Museum collects, preserves and interprets materials relating to the maritime history of Maine. Located on the banks of the Kennebec River in Bath, the Museum is a major regional cultural resource and a highly popular visitor destination. Maine's maritime heritage is told through gallery exhibits, an historic shipyard site, adult and children's educational programs, special events and narrated excursions along the rivers and coast to points of historic significance and scenic beauty.

Visit The Maine Maritime Museum Here!

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FR CANTEEN 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.

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We pray that your hope, courage, and dignity remain unbroken, so that you may show others the way.

God Bless You All ~ Today, Tomorrow and Always

May 13, 2008

Reframing The Picture

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READ: Deuteronomy 32:7-12

As an eagle stirs up its nest, hovers over its young, spreading out its wings, . . . so the Lord alone led [Jacob]. —Deuteronomy 32:11-12

For 3 months I had a ringside seat— or should I say a bird’s-eye view— of God’s amazing handiwork. Ninety feet above the floor of Norfolk Botanical Garden, workers installed a webcam focused on the nest of a family of bald eagles, and online viewers were allowed to watch.

When the eggs hatched, Mama and Papa Eagle were attentive to their offspring, taking turns hunting for food and guarding the nest. But one day when the eaglets still looked like fuzzballs with beaks, both parents disappeared. I worried that harm had come to them.

My concern was unfounded. The webcam operator enlarged the camera angle, and there was Mama Eagle perched on a nearby branch.

As I pondered this “reframed” picture, I thought of times when I have feared that God had abandoned me. The view in the forest heights of Virginia reminded me that my vision is limited. I see only a small part of the entire scene.

Moses used eagle imagery to describe God. As eagles carry their young, God carries His people (Deut. 32:11-12). Despite how it may seem, the Lord “is not far from each one of us” (Acts 17:27). This is true even when we feel abandoned.

Under His wings I am safely abiding;
Though the night deepens and tempests are wild,
Still I can trust Him—I know He will keep me;
He has redeemed me and I am His child. —Cushing

Because the Lord is watching over us, we don’t have to fear the dangers around us.

Bible in One Year: 2 Samuel 13–15; Proverbs 15:12-21

SOUTH CHINA SEA (May 12, 2008) Cargo handlers aboard the USS Essex (LHD 2) conduct cargo hook training with a CH-46E Sea Knight assigned to Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron (HMM) 265. The Essex Expeditionary Strike Group is steaming to support a potential humanitarian assistance mission in the wake of Cyclone Nargis. U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Kari R. Bergman (Released)

SOUTH CHINA SEA (May 10, 2008) Marine Cpl. Thomas Lunger, assigned to the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit embarked aboard the amphibious dock landing ship USS Harpers Ferry (LSD 49), helps heave-in line during a replenishment at sea with the Military Sealift Command underway replenishment oiler USNS Walter S. Diehl (T-AO 193). Harpers Ferry is part of the Essex Expeditionary Strike Group, which is steaming to support a potential humanitarian assistance/disaster relief tasking in the wake of Cyclone Nargis. U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Michael D. Kennedy (Released)

DARLINGTON, S.C. (May 9, 2008) Crew members of the No. 88 Navy Chevrolet Monte Carlo work frantically during a pit stop midway through the Diamond Hill Plywood 200 at Darlington Raceway. The No. 88, owned by JR Motorsports, is part of the NASCAR Nationwide Series, and finished 15th in the race. U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communications Specialist 1st Class Curtis K. Biasi (Released)

Road Trip ~ NAS Brunswick, Maine

FR CANTEEN 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.

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