FReeper Canteen ~ Road Trip: Grand Forks Air Force Base, North Dakota ~ 19 SEPT 2017

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CHARLESTOWN, Mass. (Jan. 14, 2008) The first major snowfall of the New Year blankets the USS Constitution. Despite the weather "Old Ironsides" remained open for free public tours. At 210 years-old, USS Constitution is the oldest commissioned warship afloat in the world, manned by 67 active-duty United States Sailors and visited by nearly half a million visitors annually. U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Eric Brown (Released)

GOD BLESS AND PROTECT OUR TROOPS AND OUR BELOVED NATION!!!

Boston, Oct. 21, 2009 - Boatswains Mate 2nd Class Philip Gagnon pipes as USS Constitution performs an underway demonstration in honor of the three-masted wooden frigate's 212th birthday. (U.S. Navy photo by Airman Mark Alexander/Released).

USS Constitution's 1812 Marine Guard fire vintage Springfield flintlock muskets during the ship's underway. "Old Ironsides" was underway for the "Constitution Day Cruise," which is conducted to thank the family and supporters of Constitution. U.S. Navy photo by Airman Nick Lyman (Released)

OUR TROOPS ROCK!!!!!!!

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The Best Portion of All

September 19, 2017

I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation. Philippians 4:12

“His piece is bigger than mine!”

When I was a boy my brothers and I would sometimes bicker about the size of the piece of homemade pie mom served us. One day Dad observed our antics with a lifted eyebrow, and smiled at Mom as he lifted his plate: “Please just give me a piece as big as your heart.” My brothers and I watched in stunned silence as Mom laughed and offered him the largest portion of all.

If we focus on others’ possessions, jealousy too often results. Yet God’s Word lifts our eyes to something of far greater worth than earthly possessions. The psalmist writes, “You are my portion, Lord; I have promised to obey your words. I have sought your face with all my heart” (Ps. 119:57–58). Inspired by the Holy Spirit, the writer conveyed the truth that nothing matters more than closeness to God.

What better portion could we have than our loving and limitless Creator? Nothing on earth can compare with Him, and nothing can take Him away from us. Human longing is an expansive void; one may have “everything” in the world and still be miserable. But when God is our source of happiness, we are truly content. There’s a space within us only God can fill. He alone can give us the peace that matches our hearts.

Loving Lord, thank You that nothing and no one can meet my every need like You can.

When we are His, He is ours, forever.

You have made us for yourself, Lord. Our hearts are restless until they can find rest in You. Augustine of Hippo

INSIGHT

In Philippians 4:12, the key verse for today, the apostle Paul says he’s learned the secret of being content. Yet for Paul, life wasn’t easy—especially life as an evangelist. In another letter written by him, Paul lists the many trials he faced: five times he was brutally whipped, three times beaten with rods, and once pelted with stones. He was in danger at sea and on land, was imprisoned several times, and often went without sleep or food (see 2 Cor. 11:23–27). How could Paul be content in such difficult circumstances? What was his “secret”? He wrote, “I can do all this through him who gives me strength” (Phil. 4:13). Because of the strength God gave him, Paul could be content “whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want” (v. 12).

Do you struggle with contentment? Ask God to give you the strength to be content in your situation.

Alyson Kieda

Hi Everybody!

(((HUGS)))

Greetings everyone!

Just blew in the door, gotta unload the car, be back shortly!

*HUGS*

Hai! (((HUGS))) Left Milwaukee to Orlando, staying over for a flight tomorrow to LA, almost blew my daily of ten hours flying.

Was stationed there Dec. 1963-Jan 1968, got off at 0800 went to Emerado for a beer. Grand Forks AFB flight line was as cold as Elelson.

Good evening, Lauren!

***HUGS***

It's great to see you this evening! Thanks very much for tonight's Road Trip to Grand Forks Force Base, North Dakota!

GOD BLESS AND PROTECT OUR TROOPS AND OUR BELOVED NATION!

"The Star Spangled Banner"
Verse Four
(Click)

Oh! thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand
Between their loved home and the war's desolation!
Blest with victory and peace, may the heav'n rescued land
Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation.
Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,
And this be our motto: "In God is our trust."
And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

Please let me know by Freepmail if you would like
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Welcome To All Who Enter This Canteen, To Our Serving Military, To Our Veterans, To All Military Families, To Our FRiends and To Our Allies!

Missing Man Setting

"The Empty Chair"

By Captain Carroll "Lex" Lefon, USN (RET), on December 21st, 2004

"In the wardroom onboard the aircraft carrier from which I recently debarked was a small, round table, with single chair. No one ever sat there, and the reasons, both for the table being there, and for the fact that the chair was always empty, will tell the reader a little bit about who we are as a culture. The wardroom, of course, is where the officers will dine; morning, noon and evening. It is not only a place to eat – it is also a kind of oasis from the sometimes dreary, often difficult exigencies of the service. A place of social discourse, of momentary relief from the burdens of the day. The only things explicitly forbidden by inviolable tradition in the wardroom are the wearing of a cover or sword by an officer not actually on watch, or conversation which touches upon politics or religion. But aboard ships which observe the custom, another implicit taboo concerns the empty chair: No matter how crowded the room, no matter who is waiting to be seated, that chair is never moved, never taken.

The table is by the main entrance to the wardroom. You will see it when you enter, and you will see it when you leave. It draws your eyes because it is meant to. And because it draws your eyes it draws your thoughts. And though it will be there every day for as long as you are at sea, you will look at it every time and your eyes will momentarily grow distant as you think for a moment. As you quietly give thanks.

AS YOU REMEMBER.

The small, round table is covered with a gold linen tablecloth. A single place setting rests there, of fine bone china. A wineglass stands upon the table, inverted, empty. On the dinner plate is a pinch of salt. On the bread plate is a slice of lemon. Besides the plate lies a bible. There is a small vase with a single red rose upon the table. Around the vase is wound a yellow ribbon. There is the empty chair.

We will remember because over the course of our careers, we will have had the opportunity to enjoy many a formal evening of dinner and dancing in the fine company of those with whom we have the honor to serve, and their lovely ladies. And as the night wears on, our faces will in time become flushed with pleasure of each other’s company, with the exertions on the dance floor, with the effects of our libations. But while the feast is still at its best, order will be called to the room – we will be asked to raise our glasses to the empty table, and we will be asked to remember:

The table is round to show our everlasting concern for those who are missing. The single setting reminds us that every one of them went to their fates alone, that every life was unique.

The tablecloth is gold symbolizing the purity of their motives when they answered the call to duty.

The single red rose, displayed in a vase, reminds us of the life of each of the missing, and their loved ones who kept the faith.

The yellow ribbon around the vase symbolizes our continued determination to remember them.

The slice of lemon reminds us of the bitterness of their fate.
The salt symbolizes the tears shed by those who loved them.
The bible represents the faith that sustained them.
The glass is inverted — they cannot share in the toast.
The chair is empty — they are not here. They are missing.

And we will remember, and we will raise our glasses to those who went before us, and who gave all that they had for us. And a part of the flush in our faces will pale as we remember that nothing worth having ever came without a cost. We will remember that many of our brothers and sisters have paid that cost in blood. We will remember that the reckoning is not over.

We many of us will settle with our families into our holiday season, our Christmas season for those who celebrate it, content in our fortune and prosperity. We will meet old friends with smiles and laughter. We will meet our members of our family with hugs. We will eat well, and exchange gifts and raise our glasses to the year passed in gratitude, and to the year to come with hope. We will sleep the sleep of the protected, secure in our homes, secure in our homeland.

But for many families, there will be an empty chair at the table this year. A place that is not filled.

WE SHOULD REMEMBER."

Many Thanks To Alfa6 For Finding Capt. Lefon's Chronicle Of "The Empty Chair."

"Träumerei"
Robert Schumann
(Click)

Never Forget The Brave Men And Women Who
Gave Their Lives To Secure Our Freedom!!

US base opens on Israeli soil:

https://mobile.twitter.com/calev_i24/status/909844536490303488/video/1

https://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2017-09-18/israel-and-us-open-first-american-military-base-in-israel

🇺🇸.....till they all come home....🇺🇸

Great road trip!

Good evening, lauren, and thank you for today's Road Trip: Grand Forks Air Force Base, North Dakota.

Thanks, unique, for the road trippers!

~ Road Trip: Grand Forks Air Force Base, North Dakota ~

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I was stationed at Grand Forks AFB from 1985 to 1992 during the height of the Cold War.

The 321st Strategic Missile Wing was the host wing and had 150 Minuteman III ICBMs placed in an area the size of New Jersey. The Minuteman weapon system maintained a near 100% alert rate. The missiles were ready to launch on the President’s orders and the Missile Combat Crews, maintenance personnel, security forces, cooks, and other troops worked constantly to keep the missiles ready to launch.

The Tenant Wing was the 319th Bomb Wing (Heavy). The 319th had B-52Gs and KC-135A Tankers and had several sitting “cocked” on Alert with a SIOP mission. Sometime around 1986 the 319th transitioned from the B-52s to the B-1B Lancer (the Bone). A little later the KC-135A models were modified to the KC-135R model.

Watching a group of B-52Gs and KC-135As practice a Minimum Interval Take Off, MITO, is one of the most awesome things a person can witness. A group of bomber and tankers taking off with only about ten seconds between aircraft, the smoke and noise, was the sound of freedom and deterrence. It also makes one think of the mission as it was the practice used to get the aircraft off the ground to escape incoming warheads. MITOs were so impressive yet gave one pause to realize what we were really doing and what our duties meant.

At the time the base had over 6000 personnel. The base was busy 24/7 with the missile and bomb wings all on Alert. The smell of burning JP4 jet fuel was always present across the base and the sound of the constant operations on the flight line, combined with the jet engine test cell was the background to sleep by.

Grand Forks AFB was very cold in the Winter and hot during the Summer but was a place where the people of the Strategic Air Command performed their duties and kept the peace.

We directly helped win the Cold War.

Good evening, ETR!

*HUGS*

Great to see you this evening!

"I am an American fighting man. I serve in the forces guarding our country and our way of life.
I am prepared to give my life in their defense."

Good evening Luv!

*HUGS*

We will not rest until all are Home!

"I am an American fighting man. I serve in the forces guarding our country and our way of life.
I am prepared to give my life in their defense."

Good evening, Mac...*HUGS*...how is your garden growing this summer and into fall?

How are your folks in Florida?

Mine in Houston all had water up to the houses, but none inside, and my brother in inland Georgia had a tree take out the porch and end up in the garage roof. Thankful All.

We certainly will not!