FReeper Canteen ~ Road Trip: NAS Key West, Florida ~ 8 JUL 2008

Serving The Best Troops And Veterans In The World | The Canteen Crew

[laurenmarlowe]

 

 

~The FReeper Canteen Presents~

Road Trip: Naval Air Station Key West, Florida

Naval Air Station Key West is a naval air station and military airport located four miles east of the central business district of Key West, in Monroe County, Florida, United States.

NAS Key West supports the needs of aviation units and is host to many tenant commands, including Fighter Composite Squadron 111, (VFC-111), Strike Fighter Squadron 106 (VFA-106) Detachment, the Caribbean Region Operations Center (CARIBROC), Naval Security Group Activity Key West, the Air Force's 6947th Electronic Security Squadron (6947 ESS), the U.S. Army's 749th Military Intelligence Company, the U.S. Army Special Forces Waterborne Operations Division (SFWOD) and Joint Interagency Task Force East (JIATF - East).

The U.S. Navy's presence in Key West dates back to 1823 when a Naval Base was established to stop piracy in this area. The lower Keys were home to many wealthy shipping merchants whose fleets operated from these waters. This drew the interest of pirates such as Blackbeard and Captain William Kidd, who used the Keys as a base from which to prey on shipping lanes.

During World War I (1914-1918) the base was expanded again, and in 1917, a U.S. naval submarine base was established on what is now naval air station property. Its mission during World War I was to supply oil to the U.S. fleet and to block German ships from reaching Mexican oil supplies.

The seaplane base was designated as a Naval Air Station on December 15, 1940, and served as an operating and training base for fleet aircraft Squadrons. This set the stage for America's entry into World War II. Fortunately, the government retained the property, which proved to be a wise decision as the nation scrambled to re-arm in a state of emergency at the outbreak of the war.

Naval Base Key West was reopened to support Navy destroyers, submarines, patrol craft and PBY aircraft. Other satellite facilities were established to support other war efforts, including Meachum Field for lighter than air operations on Key West, and runways for land-based and carrier-based aircraft on Boca Chica.

Air Test and Evaluation Squadron ONE (VX-1) was based at NAS Key West and conducted airborne antisubmarine warfare (ASW) systems evaluation out of Boca Chica, while Helicopter Antisubmarine Squadron ONE (HS-1) conducted helicopter fleet replacement training out of the former seaplane base at Trumbo Point until the late 1960s/early 1970s when these squadrons relocated to NAS Pawtuxet River, Maryland and NAS Jacksonville, Florida, respectively.

In the 1970s, Fleet Air Reconnaissance Squadron THIRTY-THREE (VAQ-33) relocated to NAS Key West from NAS Norfolk, Virginia with a mix of EC-121 Warning Star, EA-3 Skywarrior, EA-6A Intruder, EA-4 Skyhawk II, and the sole example of the EF-4 Phantom II aircraft. The squadron also subsequently operated variants of the EP-3 Orion/Aries aircraft. Reporting as an element of the Fleet Electronic Warfare Systems Group (FEWSG), the squadron provided "Orange Air" electronic adversary services for Fleet training until its disestablishment the early 1990s.

  NAS Key West is the U.S. Navy's premier training facility for tactical aviation squadrons. Local aerial ranges enable aviators to engage in training maneuvers within minutes of takeoff. The station is equipped with a sophisticated tactical combat training system which tracks and records combat aerial maneuvers. As a host facility, NAS Key West provides and maintains facilities and services for tenant commands, and ensures quality of life for all personnel.

NAS Key West is the host facility for numerous tenant activities, including Joint Interagency Task Force South, U.S. Coast Guard, and U.S. Army Special Forces Underwater Training School to name a few.

 As in the past, NAS Key West continues to be frequently utilized for detachments by active and reserve U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps fighter squadrons and U.S. Air Force, Air Force Reserve and Air National Guard fighter and rescue squadrons for exercises and unit level and continuation training. The Naval Air Training Command also uses NAS Key West from time to time for training detachments of student strike pipeline aviators, including initial carrier qualifications.

U.S. Navy P-3C and E-2C aircraft also routinely conduct detachment operations at NAS Key West, primarily counternarcotics (CN) reconnaissance missions in the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean basin in support of both the U.S. Coast Guard and Joint Interagency Task Force East (JIATF - East).

Learn More About NAS Key West Base Here!

Built in 1847 to aid to ships navigating dangerous reefs off the lower Keys, the Key West Lighthouse now stands sentinel over one of Florida's finest historical sites.

The tower and nearby Keeper's Quarters have been faithfully restored and maintained as they were before the lighthouse was deactivated in 1969. Many of the historic elements remain, including the pipes used to deliver acetylene gas that powered the light before it was electrified in 1927. The clapboard bungalow where the keepers and their families lived while maintaining the beacon has been recreated in turn-of-the-century style with historic furniture, furnishings and photos that provide a sense of life in Key West during that formative time.

Visit The Key West Lighthouse Here!

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We pray for your continued strength, to be strong in the face of adversity.

We pray for your safety, that you will return to your families and friends soon.

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

 

 

[The Mayor]

Freep mail me to be on or off the Daily Bread ping list

July 8, 2008

The Time Machine

ODB RADIO: Listen Now |  Download
READ: Revelation 21:1-4

With the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. —2 Peter 3:8

In 1896, H. G. Wells published a book titled The Time Machine, an imaginative tale of a scientist who builds a machine that can transport someone through time. The time traveler is preoccupied with the future, not the past. Like many scientists, he believes “progress” will enable the human race to build a better world. Yet in Wells’ book, this science-fiction story does not have a happy ending.

The protagonist travels millions of years into the future. There the world has grown cold and dark. As a bleak snow falls, he sees the last remnants of life awaiting extinction. Thoroughly sickened by the twilight of life on our planet, the scientist returns to the time of his origin to report his anguish.

The biblical view of the future is very different. It tells us that God is Lord over time itself: “With the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day” (2 Peter 3:8). We can be optimistic about the future because God will replace our world with a new one. In that new heaven and new earth we will experience blessed fellowship with our Creator for eternity (Rev. 21:1-4). Even now, Jesus is preparing a place for those who love Him (John 14:1-3), a place where “there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying” (Rev. 21:4).  — Dennis Fisher

If God has made this world so fair,
Where sin and death abound,
How beautiful beyond compare
Will paradise be found! —Montgomery

Jesus is preparing a place for us and preparing us for that place.

Bible in One Year: 2 Chronicles 28–30; Proverbs 3:11-26

[SandRat]

1?

[rabscuttle385]

I wanna go on a road trip!

[SandRat]

All Smiles

An Iraqi girl is all smiles as U.S. Soldiers pass her during a pamphlet hand out mission in Kadhimiya, Iraq, July 3, 2008. Photo by Sgt. Manuel Martinez, Joint Combat Camera Center Iraq.

[Jet Jaguar]

BTTT

[laurenmarlowe]

United States Marine Corps Band~National Anthem

[Tanniker Smith]

Good evening, Lauren.

Good evening, all!

[SandRat]

Cool Cone

An Iraqi boy enjoys a fresh sherbet ice cream cone on a hot day along Route Florida in the Thawra 1 area of the Sadr City district of Baghdad, Iraq, July 2, 2008. Photo by Tech Sgt. Cohen Young, Joint Combat Camera Center Iraq.

[laurenmarlowe]

PERSIAN GULF (July 2, 2008) Chief Aviation Warfare Systems Operator Robert Abplanalp, assigned to the "Saberhawks" of Helicopter Anti-submarine Squadron Light (HSL) 47, communicates with a pilot as they prepare an SH-60B Seahawk for an aerial change of command ceremony on the flight deck of the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72). Lincoln is deployed to the U.S. 5th Fleet area of responsibility supporting maritime security operations U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communications Specialist 2nd Class James R. Evans (Released)

BOSTON (July 4, 2008) Rascal Flatts performs in Boston's Esplanade during the 35th Annual Boston Pops Fireworks Spectacular. The Multi-purpose amphibious assault ship USS Bataan (LHD 5) is in Boston participating in the 27th annual Boston Harborfest, a six-day long Fourth of July festival showcasing the colonial and maritime heritage of the cradle of the American Revolution. U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Patrick Gearhiser (Released)

AFGHANISTAN (July 4, 2008) Sailors from Combined Security Transition Command-Afghanistan hold a vintage American flag with 48 stars, which was flown over Camp Eggers in Kabul, Afghanistan, to commemorate "Fourth of July" celebrations at the camp. The 48 star flag was flown in the United States from July 4, 1912 through July 3, 1959. Retired Navy Cmdr. Joseph Agra III acquired the flag in 2000 after a fisherman retrieved it from the water off the coast of the Bataan Peninsula in the Philippines. Agra has carried the flag to several locations and has flown it over camps in Kuwait, Iraq and Afghanistan. U.S. Air Force Photo by Staff Sgt. Beth Del Vecchiov (Released)

[laurenmarlowe]

Howdy Mayor, and thank you!

FIRST!!

[SandRat]

King Me

Stars and Stripes reporter James Warden photographs a game of checkers between Lt. Col. Christopher Vanek, commander, 1st Battalion, 87th Infantry Regt., and Hawijah's Sons of Iraq contractor Khalaf Ibrahim Ali, in a downtown market July 1, 2008. Photo by Staff Sgt. Margaret Nelson, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division Public Affairs.

[laurenmarlowe]

Almost! Evening Sand!

SECOND!!

[Kathy in Alaska]

Road Trip: NAS Key West, Florida

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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[laurenmarlowe]

Hop on board, glad to have ya!
And Welcome to the Canteen!

THIRD!!

[SandRat]

Beat by the mayor again. lol

Evenin’ lauren

[laurenmarlowe]

Good evening to you JJ! *HUGS*

How are ya this evening?

[The Mayor]

Well Hi, Howdy! Thanks for the thread!

[laurenmarlowe]

Howdy Tann!

Hope you had a good day today!

[AliVeritas]

Amen.

[laurenmarlowe]

20 seconds, Sheesh! LOL!

Thank you for the awesome pictures Sand!

[Kathy in Alaska]

Honoring Our Heroes

AbnSarge USA
Allegra
3 sons (armymarinemom and amdad)
Brett USN (CindyDawg)
Brother and Son-in-Law (kalee)
Cannoneer No. 4
Capt Future Snake Eater USA (RightOnline)
Capt Jason Clendenin (friend of Frou)
Chris USA (amom)
Chuck USA (RightOnline)
Clarinet_King USAF (NerdDad/CDBear)
Col Mike (gpapa)
CMS USA
David USAF (LUV W)
Defender2
Deven USA (Shimmer)
Ethan USMC (georgiabelle)
Ev USA (Mozie)
Fred (DocRock)
GulfWar1Vet USA
IS2 Brianne USN (My Hearts in London - Everett)
IS2 Heather USN (My Hearts in London - Everett)
Jade Falcon USN
JemiansTerror USA (Jemian)
Jet Jaguar USAF
Joel (NEMDF)
Jonathan USMC (AZbushgal)
Josh USN (doug from upland)
Karen USA (fatima's granddaughter)
KB4W USAF (arbee4bush)
Kenneth (Sweetbaby/LadyPilgrim)
Kevin USMC (skimask)
Kevin and David USA (vigilante2)
Laurita USA
LCpl Carter USMC
Lindsay (Sweetbaby/LadyPilgrim)
Lt David (Coldwater Creek)
M1911A1 USMC (M0sby)
M1Tanker
MEG33's Navy Grandson
Mike1Sg USA (mystery-ak)
Milo828 USA (mystery-ak)
Nate USN (sneakers)
Old Sarge USA
OneLoyalAmerican USCG
PFC Dan USA (son of swmobuffalo)
Robert, Jeremy, Daynnis USA (SoldierDad)
Sat-Com Chris USA (son of KC Burke)
Sgt Dusty USA (MountainDad)
Sgt Sean Reed (preed)
Sgt Spencer USA (grame)
Son USCG (GodBlessUSA)
SPC Mike USA (AbnSarge)
SSGT John Linde USA (JFoxbear)
Terrence USN (Sweetbaby/LadyPilgrim)
The Sailor
tongue-tied USN/USA
Tonkin USN/USCG
txradioguy USA
Valerie USAF (Shimmer)
Victor and Tony D USMC (weldgophardline)
William USA (jackv)

 

[SandRat]

2 posted on Monday, July 07, 2008 6:00:56 PM by The Mayor

3 posted on Monday, July 07, 2008 6:00:58 PM by SandRat

2 seconds difference between us.

[laurenmarlowe]

Howdy MA! *HUGS*

[laurenmarlowe]

Thanks for clearing that up! :o)

The clock in my ‘puter is kinda fouled up. I try and try to post straight up 8:00 CDT, and it gets later and later every week!

[Jet Jaguar]

Doin’ good here.

Getting ready to head to bed.

[SandRat]

Sounds like it’s time for a new battery, or to feed the squirrel in the cage more so he’ll run faster. lol

[MEG33]

Thank you for the road trip to NAS, Key West, lauren.

Aaron Tippin - Where The Stars & Stripes & The Eagle Fly
*Thank you To All Who Serve Our Country*

[Kathy in Alaska]

A PRAYER OF PROTECTION

The light of God surround you
The love of God enfold you
The power of God protect you
The presence of God watch over you
Wherever you are, God is,
And all is well.
Amen.

BLESS THIS HOUSE

 Bless this house O Lord we pray; Make it safe by night and day; 
Bless these walls so firm and stout, Keeping want and trouble out:
Bless the roof and chimneys tall, Let thy peace lie over all;
Bless this door, that it may prove ever open to joy and love.
Bless these windows shining bright, Letting in God's heav'nly light;
Bless the hearth a'blazing there, with smoke ascending like a prayer;
Bless the folk who dwell within, keep them pure and free from sin;
Bless us all that we may be Fit O Lord to dwell with thee;
Bless us all that one day we May dwell O Lord with thee. 

(Click on graphics for music)

A PRAYER OF PROTECTION

The light of God surround you
The love of God enfold you
The power of God protect you
The presence of God watch over you
Wherever you are, God is,
And all is well.
Amen.

BLESS THIS HOUSE

 Bless this house O Lord we pray; Make it safe by night and day; 
Bless these walls so firm and stout, Keeping want and trouble out:
Bless the roof and chimneys tall, Let thy peace lie over all;
Bless this door, that it may prove ever open to joy and love.
Bless these windows shining bright, Letting in God's heav'nly light;
Bless the hearth a'blazing there, with smoke ascending like a prayer;
Bless the folk who dwell within, keep them pure and free from sin;
Bless us all that we may be Fit O Lord to dwell with thee;
Bless us all that one day we May dwell O Lord with thee. 

(Click on graphics for music)

[Kathy in Alaska]

Hello Veterans, wherever you are!!

[laurenmarlowe]

Take care JJ, and thank you for your service to our Country.

Thanks for stopping in!

[mylife]

Very cool! This looks like a nice base.

[laurenmarlowe]

I’m blaming it on Vista, LOL!

Just figured out how to adjust the clock, hopefully I can get that right! :o)

[laurenmarlowe]

Good evening to you MEG! *HUGS*

Thank your for the beautiful post, and the Aaron Tippin. WOO HOO!

[Kathy in Alaska]

Prayers needed for Chaplain (LTC) Larry Blum

txradioguy served with him in Iraq.

Brigade Chaplain 3rd Bde 1st Armored Division
Chaplain Blum has returned from his assignment in Germany to battle a brain tumor, but his time to go Home draws near.

Please visit the family site at CaringBridge

Good evening everyone,

It is with sadness of heart, that I come to you all this evening.

After a visit from the hospice nurse, our "fears" have been realized in that we know that it is the tumor that is causing dad's sickness. She has informed us that we are looking at his last days now and that these things are the sign of that. We are currently giving him medicine for his pain.

Onward Christian Soldiers

[SandRat]

Viruses
Intrusions
SPAM
TROJANS
Anger

[Kathy in Alaska]

Thanks, lauren, for today's Road Trip: NAS Key West, Florida

[laurenmarlowe]

Howdy my! *HUGS*

It does indeed look like a great base!

Never been to Florida, but that road trip is certainly on the list!

[mylife]

(((Hugs))) and prayers

[AZamericonnie]

Supporting our Soldiers, Sailors, Marines, Airmen, and Coast Guardsmen
at more than 1,000 places across the U. S. and around the world.

~Tribute to Our Troops~

[mylife]

I was stationed in Orlando and Pensacola for bootcamp and schools.

I Liked Pensacola alright. Orlando? Meh... not so much, but Disney World rocks!

[MEG33]

((((HUGS)))
;o)

[laurenmarlowe]

Prayers continue for LTC Blum and his family.

Very sad news that he will leave his family too soon.

May God wrap them in His arms and comfort them always, and ease Chaplain Blum’s path.

[AZamericonnie]

Praying that the good Chaplain’s pain is under control & he is comforted by all the loving friends & family that surround & pray for him.

[Kathy in Alaska]

Thanks for your prayers. This is a tough one. ((HUGS))

[laurenmarlowe]

That’s all true Sand.

It’s all of the hidden stuff you can’t get to, that you don’t need, that drives me nuts.

Sheesh!

[SandRat]

50?

[SandRat]

50?

[SandRat]

50?

[SandRat]

50?