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Here it is guys. Ping away Tonk.

Fellow canteen freepers let's make our FRiend proud and prepare and send care packages.

From the Valentines Project on the USO Canteen FReeper Style thread last Wednesday and at the USO Canteen FReeper Post Office are listed some suggestions for care packages, all food must be in the original packaging. Anything questionable will be destroyed.

I have some leftover instructions from the USS Theodore Roosevelt care packages I sent last year while they were deployed for Afghanistan.

The instructions were:

You can't send anything that is powdered.
No spices, no talc. No liquids, nothing that can explode or melt.

They wanted videos, books, batteries, disposabel cameras, cards, games, anything to entertain them.

Let's be creative and support our troops on the Tarawa and elsewhere.

Visit often.

020628-N-3228G-002 Pearl Harbor, HI (Jun. 28, 2002) -- The amphibious assault ship USS Tarawa (LHA 1) leaves Pearl Harbor to participate in exercise "Rim of the Pacific" (RIMPAC) 2002. RIMPAC 2002 is designed to improve tactical proficiency in a wide array of combined operations at sea, while building cooperation and fostering mutual understanding between participating nations. Countries participating this year are: Australia, Canada, Chile, Peru, Japan, the Republic of Korea and the United States. U.S. Navy photo by Photographer's Mate 1st Class William R. Goodwin. (RELEASED)

National Geographic Television Spotlights USS Tarawa
Story Number: NNS021125-04
Release Date: 11/25/2002 12:35:00 PM

By Journalist 2nd Class Crystal King, USS Tarawa Public Affairs

ABOARD USS TARAWA, At Sea (NNS) -- Heads turned and eyes darted towards a film crew aboard USS Tarawa (LHA 1) recently, as the amphibious assault ship's Sailors and Marines became the major focus for the video cameras of a National Geographic television documentary team.

The four-member film crew came aboard Tarawa from Nov. 14-21 during Fleet Exercise operations, the second-to-last phase of the Tarawa Amphibious Ready Group’s training exercises in conjunction with the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit, off the Southern California coast.

“We’re making a documentary about the Sailors and Marines preparing for deployment, potentially towards the Arabian Gulf,” said production correspondent Michael Davie. “We want to paint a television portrait of these people, particularly the young adults, about their feelings and the lifestyle aboard ship, and what they think about the possibility of going to war.”

Throughout the week, various crew members allowed the National Geographic team to look at their daily lifestyle, as well as their roles in a variety of training exercises, including a mass casualty drill, well deck and flight deck operations, and a search-and-rescue drill.

“We do this because we want to, not because we have to,” said Aviation Structural Mechanic 3rd Class Michael Garcia, one of Tarawa’s search-and-rescue swimmers.

“I think this will make citizens of the United States of America realize how hard the American Sailor and Marine work during a normal work day, and how well trained and prepared they are in case they have to go to war,” said Capt. Jay Bowling, the ship’s commanding officer.

The documentary does not have a scheduled air date yet.

USS Tarawa sailors reenlist, pay Tribute at USS Arizona Memorial

Story by JO2 Crystal King, USS Tarawa public affairs

Onboard USS Tarawa -- During the early morning of June 26, Sailors from USS Tarawa (LHA-1) spoke in hushed tones and walked slowly in their freshly pressed white uniforms through the chamber of the USS Arizona Memorial. Some had come to reenlist, some had come to administer the enlistment oath, but all had come to pay their respects to fallen shipmates from a different time and to remember a tumultuous part of Navy history.

On Dec. 7, 1941, more than 1,100 Sailors died on board USS Arizona (BB-39) during the attack on Pearl Harbor. Most of those Sailors are still entombed inside the ship.

"As the first one into the memorial, I thought of what a hellish nightmare they had to endure," said Chief Petty Officer Robert Klinehoffer. "This was more than a reenlistment ceremony for me. It was a chance to let every one of them know they haven't been forgotten, and that what they fought for then is still what we fight to preserve today."

Another reenlistee, Petty Officer First Class James Price, said, "It was amazing to see that after 60 years the ship's oil tanks are still leaking, leaving small slicks on the surface of the water."

The six who took the oath in front of the wall bearing the names of the ARIZONA Sailors were among a total of 18 who reenlisted there or on the Battleship USS Missouri (BB-63) during TARAWA's port visit to Pearl Harbor. The San Diego-based amphibious assault ship made the port visit June 24-28 during its participation in the major multinational exercise Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) 2002.

"The ARIZONA memorial and the natural beauty of Pearl Harbor make this a very popular site for our reenlistments," said Petty Officer First Class Pamela Jensen, a TARAWA command career counselor and prior re-enlistee at the USS Arizona Memorial. "Being here makes me realize our place in the big scheme of things."

"This is a very humbling place," said Senior Chief Brian Wells, reflecting on his reenlistment and visit. "My reenlistment was important, but I could have done it anywhere. I did it here to pay respect to my shipmates."