FReeper Canteen ~ Road Trip: Area 51, Nevada ~ 14 APR, 2009

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

[laurenmarlowe]

 

 

 

~The FReeper Canteen Presents~

Road Trip: Area 51, Nevada

Area 51 is a nickname for a military base located in the southern portion of Nevada in the western United States (83 miles north-northwest of downtown Las Vegas). Situated at its center, on the southern shore of Groom Lake, is a large secretive military airfield. The base's primary purpose is to support development and testing of experimental aircraft and weapons systems.

The base lies within the United States Air Force's vast Nevada Test and Training Range. Although the facilities at the range are managed by the 99th Air Base Wing at Nellis Air Force Base, the Groom facility appears to be run as an adjunct of the Air Force Flight Test Center (AFFTC) at Edwards Air Force Base in the Mojave Desert, around 186 miles southwest of Groom, and as such the base is known as Air Force Flight Test Center (Detachment 3).

Other names used for the facility include Dreamland, Paradise Ranch, Home Base, Watertown Strip, Groom Lake, and most recently Homey Airport. The area is part of the Nellis Military Operations Area, and the restricted airspace around the field is referred to as (R-4808N), known by the military pilots in the area as "The Box."

The intense secrecy surrounding the base, the very existence of which the U.S. government barely acknowledges, has led it to become the frequent subject of conspiracy theories and a central component to unidentified flying object (UFO) folklore.

Area 51 shares a border with the Yucca Flat region of the Nevada Test Site (NTS), the location of 739 of the 928 nuclear tests conducted by the United States Department of Energy at NTS. The Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository is approximately 40 miles southwest of Groom Lake.

The original 6-by-10 mile rectangular base is now part of the so-called "Groom box", a 23-by-25.3 mile rectangular area of restricted airspace. The area is connected to the internal NTS road network, with paved roads leading south to Mercury and west to Yucca Flat. Leading northeast from the lake, the wide and well-maintained Groom Lake Road runs through a pass in the Jumbled Hills.

The road formerly led to mines in the Groom basin, but has been improved since their closure. Its winding course runs past a security checkpoint, but the restricted area around the base extends further east. After leaving the restricted area, Groom Lake Road descends eastward to the floor of the Tikaboo Valley, passing the dirt-road entrances to several small ranches, before converging with State Route 375, the "Extraterrestrial Highway", south of Rachel, Nevada.

Groom Lake is not a conventional airbase, as frontline units are not normally deployed there. It instead appears to be used during the development, testing, and training phases for new aircraft. Once these aircraft have been approved by the United States Air Force or other agencies such as the CIA, operation of that aircraft is generally conducted from a normal air force base. Groom is reported, however, to be the permanent home for a small number of Soviet-designed aircraft which are analyzed and used for training purposes.

Soviet spy satellites obtained photographs of the Groom Lake area during the height of the Cold War, and later civilian satellites produced detailed images of the base and its surroundings. These images support only modest conclusions about the base, depicting a nondescript base, long airstrip, hangars and the lake.

Unlike much of the Nellis range, the area surrounding the lake is permanently off-limits both to civilian and normal military air traffic. Radar stations protect the area, and unauthorized personnel are quickly expelled. Even military pilots training in the NAFR risk disciplinary action if they accidentally stray into the exclusionary "box" surrounding Groom's airspace.

Perimeter security is provided by uniformed private security guards working for EG&G's security subcontractor Wackenhut, who patrol in desert camouflage Jeep Cherokees and Humvees, and more recently, champagne-colored Ford F-150 pickups and gray Chevy 2500 4X4 pickups. Although the guards are armed with M16s, no violent encounters with Area 51 observers have been reported; instead, the guards generally follow visitors near the perimeter and radio for the Lincoln County Sheriff.

 Deadly force is authorized if violators who attempt to breach the secured area fail to heed warnings to halt. Fines of around $600 seem to be the normal course of action, although some visitors and journalists report receiving follow-up visits from FBI agents. Some observers have been detained on public land for pointing camera equipment at the base. Surveillance is supplemented using buried motion sensors and by HH-60 Pave Hawk helicopters.

Learn More About Area 51 HERE!!

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God Bless You All ~ Today, Tomorrow and Always

 

 

[SandRat]

1?

[The Mayor]

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April 14, 2009

God Remembers

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READ: Genesis 8:1-17

God remembered Noah, and every living thing, and all the animals that were with him in the ark. —Genesis 8:1

A Chinese festival called Qing Ming is a time to express grief for lost relatives. Customs include grooming gravesites and taking walks with loved ones in the countryside. Legend has it that it began when a youth’s rude and foolish behavior resulted in the death of his mother. So he decided that henceforth he would visit her grave every year to remember what she had done for him. Sadly, it was only after her death that he remembered her.

How differently God deals with us! In Genesis, we read how the flood destroyed the world. Only those who were with Noah in the ark remained alive. But God remembered them (8:1) and sent a wind to dry the waters so that they could leave the ark.

God also remembered Hannah when she prayed for a son (1 Sam. 1:19). He gave her a child, Samuel.

Jesus remembered the dying thief who said, “Lord, remember me when You come into Your kingdom.” Jesus replied, “Today You will be with Me in Paradise” (Luke 23:42-43).

God remembers us wherever we are. Our concerns are His concerns. Our pain is His pain. Commit your challenges and difficulties to Him. He is the all-seeing God who remembers us as a mother remembers her children, and He waits to meet our needs.

There is an Arm that never tires
When human strength gives way;
There is a Love that never fails
When earthly loves decay. —Wallace

To know that God sees us brings both conviction and comfort.

Bible in One Year: 1 Samuel 25-26; Luke 12:32-59

[laurenmarlowe]

United States Marine Corps Band~National Anthem

[wastedyears]

I wouldn’t want to take a road trip there.

[Kathy in Alaska]

Road Trip: Area 51, Nevada

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[laurenmarlowe]

Cadet 1st Class Tyler Stecker creates an umbilical pairing for the flight model of FalconSAT-5 at the U.S. Air Force Academy, Colo., March 17. The umbilical pairing will allow the satellite's batteries to be continually charged until launch. FalconSAT-5 is slated for launch in December. (U.S. Air Force photo/Dave Armer)

Master Sgt. Ryan Yeggy and Senior Airman Alii Chun pull together the front flaps of a 4,000 square-foot dome shelter while Staff Sgt. Timothy Robinson laces the panels together during a construction project April 1 at Manas Air Base, Kyrgyzstan. Two of the structures are being erected in preparation for the increased number of coalition personnel transiting through Manas to and from Afghanistan. The Airmen are assigned to a nine-person Basic Expeditionary Airfield Resources team deployed to Southwest Asia. All of the team members are deployed from Holloman Air Force Base, N.M. (U.S. Air Force photo/Tech. Sgt. Phyllis Hanson)

Security personnel accompany an Iraqi national policeman of the criminal investigations division on a walking patrol. They are meeting Iraqi civilians and handing out leaflets in the Rashid community of southern Baghdad, Iraq, December 2008. The Airmen are assigned to Detachment 3, 732 Expeditionary Security Forces Squadron with the 716th Military Police Battalion. (U.S. Navy photo/Petty Officer 2nd Class Todd Frantom)

[HopeandGlory]

Good morning Troops, Veterans and Canteeners.

* * * * * * * * * * * *

Our Flag Flying Proudly One Nation Under God

* * * * * * * * * * * *

Lord, Please Bless Our Troops, They're fighting for our Freedom.

* * * * * * * * * * * *

God Bless Our Republic

Prayers going up

[SandRat]

[rdl6989]

I’d love to take a road trip there, especially at night lol.

[laurenmarlowe]

WOO HOO Sand!!

FIRST!!

[laurenmarlowe]

Good evening and THANK YOU Mayor!

SECOND!!

[Parley Baer]

The closest I have been is on the road to Rachael Nevada.

[laurenmarlowe]

Howdy wastedyears, thanks for joining us this evening!

THIRD!!

[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~

[randog]

The second picture down, the picture of the warning sign. I was in Goldfield last year visiting in-laws. The test range runs right up to highway 95 there at Goldfield and the folks took me to take a gander. I thought it might be a good idea to jump the barbwire fence and run the 25 yards out to the warming sign, have them take my pic, and run back. They were adamant that the Esmerelda county sheriff would have been there to greet me by the time I returned from my excursion.

[laurenmarlowe]

Hi MA! *HUGS*

[laurenmarlowe]

Good evening to you Hope, and thank you for our Pledge Of Allegiance!

[Tanniker Smith]

Good evening, lauren!
Good evening, all!

[laurenmarlowe]

Howdy rdl6989, thanks for stopping in this evening.

I’d love to take a road trip there too!