the Canteen. Thank you for your 20 years of service to this great country in the USAF. the Canteen. Thank you for your 20 years of service to this great country in the USAF.Thank you, but I never made it to Elmendorf, except passing through, on my way to Vietnam, the longest year of my life. You should have heard the cheer on that Freedom Bird, as it lifted off, on its way back to the world, after a year in Nam.