For the freedom you enjoyed yesterday...
Thank the Veterans who served in
The United States Armed Forces.
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Looking forward to tomorrow's freedom?
Support The United States Armed Forces Today!
Posted on 05/15/2003 4:56:21 AM PDT by 68-69TonkinGulfYachtClub
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For the freedom you enjoyed yesterday...
Looking forward to tomorrow's freedom? |
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030508-N-0000X-001 At sea aboard USS Stethem (DDG 63) – A Tactical Tomahawk Cruise Missile launches from the guided missile destroyer USS Stethem (DDG 63) during a live-warhead test. The missile traveled 760 nautical miles to successfully impact it’s intended target on San Clemente Island, part of the Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) test range in Southern California. The Tactical Tomahawk is the next generation of Tomahawk cruise missile, and adds the capability to reprogram the missile while in-flight to strike any of 15 preprogrammed alternate targets, or redirect the missile to any Global Positioning System (GPS) target coordinates. It also will be able to loiter over a target area for some hours, and with its on-board TV camera, will allow the war fighting commanders to assess battle damage of the target, and, if necessary redirect the missile to any other target. Launched from the Navy's forward-deployed ships and submarines, Tactical Tomahawk will provide a greater flexibility to the on-scene commander. Tactical Tomahawk is scheduled to join the fleet in 2004. U.S. Navy photo. (RELEASED)
I got a horse, too!
Wanna see my "kitty-katz"?
TANK ART — Iraqis celebrate their liberation by turning weapons into pieces of art. U.S. Army photo by Spc. Jose I. Sanchez
HUEY DELIVERY — Marines from 1st Marine Air Wing prepare a UH-1 Huey helicopter to be off-loaded from inside a High Speed Vessel in preparation for Exercise Cobra Gold ‘03. Cobra Gold 03 is the 22nd U.S. Pacific Command exercise conducted in Thailand demonstrating the ability of U.S. forces to rapidly deploy and conduct joint-combined operations with the Thai and Singaporean armed forces. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. James P. Douglas.
HOME PORT — Attack submarine USS Louisville returns to Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, from a more than eight month deployment in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. U.S. Navy photo by Photographer’s Mate 3rd Class Adan Fabela III.
SPRINKLER TEST — At sea aboard Precommissioning Unit Ronald Reagan May 7, damage controlmen inspect the ship’s hangar bay damage control sprinkler systems during functional tests at sea. Reagan is conducting a scheduled ship builder sea trial off the coast of Virginia. Ronald Reagan is scheduled to join the fleet during commissioning ceremonies on July 12. U.S. Navy photo by Photographer's Mate 3rd Class Rusty Black
WEATHER BALLOON — At sea aboard Precommissioning Unit Ronald Reagan, Petty Officer 3rd Class Timothy Dowd stands by to release a radiosonde attached to a weather balloon. A radiosonde is an instrument carried by a balloon up through the atmosphere, equipped with sensors to measure one or several meteorological variables (pressure, temperature, humidity, etc.), and is fitted with a radio transmitter for sending this information to the observing station. U.S. Navy photo by Photographer’s Mate 3rd Class Janell Blose.
Today's classic warship, USS Duxbury Bay (AVP-38)
Barnegat class small seaplane tender
Displacement 1,766
Length 310'9"
Beam 41'2"
Draw 13'6"
Speed 18 k
Complement 215
Armament 1 5"; 8 40mm; 8 20mm
USS Duxbury Bay (AVP-38) was launched 2 October 1944 by Lake Washington Shipyard, Houghton, Wash.; sponsored by Mrs. R. E. Torkelson and commissioned 31 December 1944, Commander F. N. House in command:
Duxbury Bay sailed from San Diego 12 March 1945, called at Pearl Harbor, and tended planes at Eniwetok and Ulithi before arriving at Kerama Retto off Okinawa, 29 April. She supported the 3d Fleet through service as seadrome control tender, mail ship, movie exchange, and gasoline supply ship for small craft until the end of the war. Duxbury Bay served in the Far East tending patrol squadrons at Shanghai and Tsingtao, China, Jinsen, Korea and Hong Kong, British Crown Colony, until returning to San Francisco 20 October 1946.
Duxbury Bay had two more tours of duty in the Far East, from 25 February to 8 September 1947 and from 2 February to 27 July 1948. During the first she operated out of Yokosuka and Okinawa; during the second she tended planes patrolling over Chinese territory during the expansion of Communist control.
Sailing from Long Beach, Calif., 17 March 1949, Duxbury Bay headed west on the first leg of a round-the-world cruise. She spent one month as flagship for Commander, Persian Gulf, a foretaste of her future duty, then sailed on to arrive at Norfolk 3 July. Between 29 October and 21 November she operated as seaplane base at Halifax, Nova Scotia, during cold-weather exercises.
Between 4 January 1950 and 31 December 1960, Duxbury Bay served 10 tours of duty in the Persian Gulf, the Arabian Sea, and the Indian Ocean as flagship for Commander, Middle East Force. Her service was highlighted by a number of important diplomatic missions in this critical area. During her 1951 tour, her crewmembers served on security patrol and as messengers for the Southeast Asia Treaty Conference at Ceylon at which Commander, Middle East Force, represented the United States Department of Defense. She was visited by Emperor Haile Selassie in February 1953 and transported him to French Somailand. Homeward bound during her 1954-55 tour, she sailed by way of Mombasa, Kenya, Durban, Union of South Africa, and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, for good will visits.
Duxbury Bay sailed from Norfolk 3 October 1956 headed for her regular assignment when the Suez Crisis broke out. With the canal blocked, she was stationed on patrol off the eastern end of Crete assisting in the operation of Suda Bay airfield for aircraft of the United Nations Emergency Force. She also carried underwater demolition teams to Saros Bay, Turkey, for survey operations in February 1957 before returning to Norfolk 11 March 1957. During her next cruise, in January 1958 she joined in flood relief at Ceylon.
She paid a special call to Karachi in December 1959 on the occasion of the visit of President D. D. Eisenhower to India and Pakistan.
She acted as a contingent recovery ship for Project Mercury in May 1963. Duxbury Bay was decommissioned in April 1966, only a few months after returning from her last deployment. She was sold for scrap in July 1967.
LAID TO REST — Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. John Jumper consoles Sarah following her husband’s funeral at Arlington National Cemetery here May 14. Airman 1st Class Raymond Losano, 24, was killed April 25 during a firefight in Afghanistan near the Pakistan border. He was a tactical air command and control specialist assigned to the 14th Air Support Operation Squadron at Pope Air Force Base, N.C. U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Amber Whittington
Rip Airman 1st Class Losano
ARABIAN GULF -- The Coast Guard Cutters (left to right) Baranof, Walnut and Boutwell steam in the North Arabian Gulf in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. They each represent the three classes of the six cutters deployed to the Gulf as part of DOD operations, along with Port Security Units, Law Enforcement Detachments, National Strike Force pollution response personnel and support units. Photo by PA1 John Gaffney
May 7, 2003-Coast Guard Cutter BOUTWELL steams away from the Khawr Al Amaya oil terminal in the North Arabian Gulf as she prepares to head home. She has been providing security to Iraq’s two gulf oil terminals throughout Operation Iraqi Freedom, helping to ensure their availability for use by the people of Iraq in a post-Saddam economic recovery. Coast Guard personnel from Port Security Units 311 and 313, as well as patrolling coalition naval vessel, continue to provide security on the terminals.
May 5, 2003-Coast Guard Cutter WALNUT prepares to recover one of the last of the original buoys remaining in the Khawr Abd Allah Waterway leading to Iraq’s port of Umm Qasr. During their humanitarian assistance mission they replaced 30 buoys and repaired an additional five along the 41-mile Waterway. The 20-day operation vastly improved the navigational safety of the waterway for humanitarian aid, commercial, and military vessels sailing to the port and is a critical step to economic recovery for the people of Iraq and a return to stability and prosperity.
Coast Guard cutters "mission complete" in Arabian Gulf
Photos by PA1 John Gaffney
ARABIAN GULF – Coast Guard cutters Boutwell, a 378-foot high endurance cutter homeported in Alameda, Calif., and Walnut, a 225-foot buoy tender homeported in Honolulu, began heading home today after completing their missions in support of Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom.
Both cutters conducted a wide range of missions while serving in the Gulf, including maritime force protection, coastal and terminal security, and maritime interception and marine environmental response. The cutters also assisted in the post-Saddam economic recovery of Iraq by securing vital oil infrastructure and improving the safety of the navigational approach to its only international seaport.
"Without question, the skill and dedication of the crews of Walnut and Boutwell were instrumental to the overall success of our naval forces and underscored the importance of the Navy-Coast Guard team," said Vice Adm. Tim Keating, the commander of U.S. Naval Forces Central Command. "The can-do spirit demonstrated by the Coast Guard forces in Operation Iraqi Freedom has solidified their service’s character as a maritime, multi-mission, military service and continued its proud history of service to the country in time of conflict."
The Coast Guard’s role in Operation Iraqi Freedom represents its largest overseas deployment in support of military operations since the Vietnam War.
Cutter Boutwell departed Alameda on Jan. 3 and began operations in the Arabian Gulf on Feb. 14. At one point in the deployment, from Feb. 14 until April 25, the cutter spent 70 days at sea without a port call.
Prior to the start of Operation Iraqi Freedom, Boutwell’s crew conducted maritime interception boardings to enforce U.N. sanctions against Iraq. At the outbreak of hostilities and throughout Operation Iraqi Freedom, they operated in the strategically critical and politically sensitive Khawr Abd Allah and Shaat Al Arab Waterways, providing force protection to the massive coalition fleet, securing the Iraqi oil terminals, and preventing the movement of weapons, personnel or equipment by Saddam Hussein's regime or other guerilla or terrorist forces.
The Walnut was originally deployed to the North Arabian Gulf with an oil spill recovery system in the event the regime of Saddam Hussein committed any acts of environmental terrorism. When those threats did not materialize the cutter conducted maritime interdiction operations enforcing U.N. Security Council resolutions, participated in the search for two downed United Kingdom helicopters, and patrolled and provided assistance to captured Iraqi offshore oil terminals being secured by Coast Guard port security personnel.
When the coalition's efforts shifted to humanitarian assistance and economic recovery, the Walnut was ideally suited to provide a valuable service through her aids to navigation capability. The cutter’s crew completely replaced 30 buoys and repaired an additional five along the 41-mile Khawr Abd Allah Waterway. This 20-day mission vastly improved the navigational safety of the waterway for humanitarian aid, commercial, and military vessels sailing to the port and was a critical step to economic recovery for the people of Iraq.
Coast Guard Port Security Units from San Pedro, Calif., Port Clinton, Ohio, and Tacoma, Wash., along with four East Coast-based 110-foot patrol boats, remain in the region to provide maritime security in the Northern Arabian Gulf. -- USCG --
A new book, entitled "A Day in the Life of the United States Armed Forces," features some 300 photographs of service members and DoD officials. Jane Friedman, chief executive officer of Harper Collins Publishers, said, "It shares the message of bravery, dedication, patriotism, honor and sacrifice that's lived out each day by the men and women in our armed forces." Photo by Rudi Williams
A Navy SEAL - Sea-Air-Land - poses for photographer Nick Kelsh at Andersen Air Force base, Guam. Kelsh said the SEAL only agreed to be photographed partly camouflaged by water. Photo by Rudi Williams
Photographers Capture 'A Day in the Life of the United States Armed Forces'
By Rudi Williams
American Forces Press Service
ARLINGTON, Va., May 13, 2003 – Army Gen. Tommy Franks was so touched by the images, he spoke in short, meditative sentences, hesitating between each heartfelt thought.
"You see the pride there," he said, looking at a colorful picture of troops training.
"That's a face with an iron will," Franks said with a prideful smile at a portrait of a soldier in combat gear.
A photo of new Air Force Academy cadets at lunchtime rituals prompted the general's comment: "You think about the days and nights spent thinking about it and studying it, wanting to get it right."
Thumbing through the large 256-page volume, "A Day in the Life of the United States Armed Forces," clearly moved the four-star commander.
Franks, who led coalition forces during the war in Iraq, then reflected on the real-life faces of troops he saw recently in Basra, Najaf, Nasiriyah, Baghdad and other parts of Iraq: "It's going to take all of them years, maybe the rest of their lives, to think back about where they've been and what they did as part of this time in American history."
He said just as the faces of troops in Operation Iraqi Freedom are unforgettable, the pictures in "A Day in the Life of the United States Armed Forces," are equally thought- provoking.
"The people in it (the book) are impressive," said Franks in a recent interview at the Women's Memorial. Franks, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz and other officials were at the memorial May 8 to view the stunning exhibits of photographs from the book.
Also present were Jean Friedman, chief executive officer of Harper Collins Publishers, the book's two producers and 34 of the 125 military and civilian photographers who shot more than 250,000 pictures during a 24-hour period on Oct. 22, 2002. A team of editors sifted through the thousands of photographs to pick 300 for the book, which hit bookstores May 13.
"When you go to a movie and enjoy it, you can't take the movie home and put it on a coffee table," Franks noted. "But you can take a piece of work like this, especially if you really treasure experiences and associations in the military, and put it on the coffee table. And every time you sit down to watch television, you pick up that book and look at the troops.
"If you ask anyone about the characteristics of America's military, what comes to mind?" the general asked.
Just as insightfully, he answered: "You'll think about the technology. But you also think about the human face on that Marine, soldier, airman, sailor or Coast Guardsman, as you saw in Operation Iraqi Freedom. So it's wonderful to see what these wonderful men and women look like on an average day as they're doing their jobs. I think it's a meaningful piece of artwork."
Thinking back about the Army he joined 30 years ago, Franks said, "The service I grew up in didn't look like the service represented in this book.
"And it didn't look like those young people I was with on Capitol Hill today. They're truly the best." He and Rumsfeld had testified before Congress earlier that day. Franks was referring to several U.S. service members from Iraq with him and Rumsfeld at the House briefing "to get the recognition they deserve."
Americans recognize the value of freedom and that liberty is a treasure, he said. America's military works hard to guarantee those freedoms and liberties for the next 200 years of American history, the general added.
"This is a positive time for the military," Franks said.
Friedman told the large crowd at the memorial that, "The logistics of producing this monumental work were coordinated and executed with a precision and proficiency that exemplified our military. It was a major operation handled flawlessly by a most professional team. With that in mind, we believe it's a fitting tribute to its subject."
She said she and her Harper Collins staff immediately recognized how important "A Day in the Life of the United States Armed Forces" would be for so many in this country.
"It shares the message of bravery, dedication, patriotism, honor and sacrifice that's lived out each day by the men and women in our armed forces," said Friedman. "The book illustrates how significant the United States armed forces are in our lives today and every day. It will touch people across the country, whether they be in the military, family, friends or neighbors of someone in the military, or simply citizens of our great country."
Friedman predicted that "A Day in the Life of the United States Armed Forces" would be treasured by Americans in all walks of life that cherish the freedoms represented in its pages.
Lou Korman, co-founder and chairman of EpiCom Media, walked into Friedman's office in October 2002 to show her samples of the types of photographs he wanted to use in the book. "And I said, I think this is fabulous," Friedman said.
"I thought, 'This has an emotional content that's going to be so important.' We'd all gotten through 9-11 and were all shocked and shattered. In New York, the military doesn't have that same kind of positioning as it does around the country and the world.
"We didn't know another war was coming," she noted. "We just thought that a celebration of the military was absolutely what was needed today. And then we knew that this team that had been assembled would produce some of the most glorious photographs of all times. And that's exactly what happened."
The Defense Department's project officer, Navy Lt. Andy Liggett, said, "It was a wonderful experience to bring 125 different public affairs officers from all services, including the Coast Guard, into this project. The enthusiasm was overwhelming and the support we got was fantastic."
The project started out with 100 civilian photographers, "but the producers of the book came across a number of military photographers whose work they thought was outstanding," Liggett said.
"So they came up with the idea that 25 of the military photographers would be treated exactly as the civilian photographers. And they were flown around the world to various locations to shoot different military bases."
The project was then opened up to any military photographer who wanted to submit photos for consideration, the lieutenant noted.
"A number of those photographers' work is included in the book," Liggett said.
"The producers had some themes they wanted to concentrate on and they brought them to DoD," he said. "We gave them some ideas that they hadn't thought about. It was a real team effort."
Liggett pointed out that DoD doesn't benefit financially from the sale of the book. "But we believe that the book will increase awareness of the men and women in uniform and the sacrifices they make for their country on an everyday basis," he said.
Photographer David Hume Kennerly took this picture of Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld at 6:22 a.m. on Oct. 22, 2002. Rumsfeld is hard at work en route to the Pentagon. He's driven by security personnel and receives a daily news briefing, which he absorbs on his 20-minute ride to the office. Photo by Rudi Williams
Coast Guard recruits wait for their eggs to finish cooking at the training center at Cape May, N.J. Photographer Al Diaz wrote that as part of the rigors of their 17-hour day, recruits are required to eat breakfast in silence and always appear clean-shaven - even if it means shaving twice or three times a day. Photo by Rudi Williams
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