USO Canteen FReeper Style....Night Stalkers Don't Quit.. ..October 9,2002

FRiends of the USO Canteen FReeper Style and Snow Bunny

[Snow Bunny]

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The USO Canteen FReeper Style
Delivering a Touch of Home

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A Touch of Home

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This is how I think of the USO Canteen 
Freeper Style. It is like a cottage down a road,
a place where a weary veteran can spend the night. 

Since it opened, it is magical how so many
Freepers who post here, feel it too. 
It has been so dear how the Freepers
kept making it a cottage - a home-type of 
place that had a huge living room
for them to visit in and a dance floor, 
a library, etc. 

Many Veterans have written to me, 
saying that the Canteen is like home
to them for the first time since they 
served. 

This is your Canteen -
a respite from our busy 
and sometimes troubling world. 
Make yourself at home.

Snow Bunny

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If you know a Veteran, someone in your family, 
friend of the family, neighbor, who served their  
country, take a brief moment of your day to thank 
them. 

Thank them for the sacrifice they made
for the better good of their country.

We at Free Republic, and the USO Canteen FReeper 
Style, are thankful for every service member 
in our military, who has served our great nation.

So, to the men and women who answered the call,
in both times of war and peace, thank you.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields. 

John McCrae 

Night Stalkers

160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (Airborne)
"Night Stalkers Don't Quit"
Regiment motto

Also I heard the voice of the Lord saying,
 whom shall I send, and who will go for us?
 Then said I, here am I; send me.
 Isaiah 6:8

The 160th SOAR (Airborne) provides helicopter
support to Special Operations Forces worldwide.
The members are experts at night missions.

Operation Enduring Freedom
"They and all who are participating in
Operation Enduring Freedom are heroes.
They put their lives on the line on behalf
of freedom and on behalf of America,
and they do it each and every day. I’m
so very proud of them and their
comrades in arms."
General Richard B. Myers

Night Stalkers:The Army's 160th Special
Operations Aviation Regiment ,whose motto
is "Death waits in the dark" gets its nickname
from its focus on operations requiring nighttime,
low-level flying. The Night Stalkers fly aircraft such
as a version of the Army's Blackhawk helicopter,
customized with infrared imaging gear and high-tech
weaponry.

The Army owes its modern night fighting
aviation capabilities to the
160th Special Operations Aviation
Regiment (Airborne) who pioneered
night flight techniques, shared in
the development of equipment,
and proved that…….
"Night Stalkers Don't Quit"
a motto the Regiment lives by.

The unit originally was formed from
attachments from the 101st Aviation
Battalion, 158th Aviation Battalion,
229th Aviation Battalion and the
159th Aviation Battalion, immediately
entered into a period of intensive night
flying and quickly became the Army's
premier night fighting aviation force
and the Army's only Special Operations
Aviation force.

Task Force 160 was officially recognized
as a Unit on 16 October 1981 when it
was designated as the 160th Aviation
Battalion. Since that time, the 160th
has become known as the
"Night Stalkers," because of their
capability to strike undetected
during darkness, and their
distinguished performance around the world.

It is often difficult to describe the many varied
reasons why certain individuals elect to join in
military service to their country. Life in the United
States Army can be arduous and demanding.

It is a lifestyle in which much, often beyond
comprehension, is asked. Rewards, for the most part,
can be no more than a feeling of have done a good days
job, all the while finding yourself sleeping alone in a cold,
dark, dreary foreign land with no more to eat than a 5 year
old dried out MRE (Meal, Ready to Eat), and the fleeting
memory of your wife and kids. Why a handful of select
individuals would desire this life time pursuit is inexplicable.

However, the following photograph may shed some light.

Ceremony marks return of wings

A pair of well-traveled wings found its
final destination Tuesday after serving
a role in America's war on terrorism. The
wings represented the spirit of American
Airlines flight attendant Sara Low, who lost
her life on Sept. 11 when Flight 11 crashed
into the World Trade Center.

The flight attendant wings were given to
Sara's father, Mike Low, by Karyn Ramsey,
Sara's friend and co-worker, as a remembrance
of his daughter. The same wingspan medallion
took flight on more than 20 combat missions with
a 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment
flight crew in Afghanistan. A Tuesday ceremony,
attended by about 500 people, embodied a father's
fight to keep his daughter's memory alive in the hearts
of family, friends and American aviators.

The event to return the symbolic memento was the
first time a large number of media and television
cameras were allowed onto the heavily guarded
special ops compound at Fort Campbell.

"As Americans we are so thankful
for what you have done for us,"
Mike Low told the flight crew. "
After 9/11 my family and I struggled
to focus on positive things. You are heroes
in the purest definition of the word. You
have given us a great gift of brightness in
very dark times."

The 160th SOAR (Airborne) provides helicopter
support to Special Operations Forces worldwide. <>br> The members are experts at night missions. Flight
engineer Staff Sgt. Mark Baker, 27, volunteered to
wear the gold-colored wings above his heart during
every mission when he heard about the father's request.

He and the MH-47E Chinook helicopter flight crew
returned from their mission about mid-March.

"If my daughter died that way,
I would want someone to step up
and do the same thing," said Baker
who's been with the "Night Stalkers"
for six years.

The look of gratitude was sincere in Low's eyes
as he transferred a necklace with Sara's photo
and an Army coin to Baker. The ceremony also>br> solemnly reflected on the nine 160th soldiers
who lost their lives fighting terrorists since
Sept. 11.

"This is a great healing process for everyone,"
said 160th commander Col. Richard L. Polczynski.
"We had this ceremony because we want to show
that U.S. soldiers are doing something good. I've
got 1,600 people that are Night Stalkers and every
one is proud to have done this
~ to have payback for the nation."

Thursday, 7 March 2002, soldiers hurry to load
ammunition onto a waiting CH-47D Chinook
helicopter at Bagram Air Base.

The tarmac at Bagram Air Base, 65 km (40 miles) north
of Kabul, Friday, 8 March 2002, near CH-47D Chinook
helicopters belonging to A Company, 7th Battalion, 101st
Airborne Division from Fort Campbell, Kentucky, that are
ready to take off for Gardez to participate in the campaign to
flush out Taliban and al-Qaeda holdouts in the mountains
of eastern Afghanistan

At least 9 people, 7 of which were
U.S. troops, were killed 4 March 2002
when an American Army special forces
MH-47E helicopter was shot down in
Afghanistan as Afghan and Western
forces pressed their biggest attack of the
war against regrouping al-Qaeda and
Taliban fighters. The map shows a
perspective view of the area of eastern
Afghanistan where the offensive was concentrated.

The nine people were killed in ferocious
exchanges with al-Qaeda and Taliban
fighters in the mountains of eastern
Afghanistan

10th Mountain Division load into a Chinook helicopter
as they prepare to return to Bagram Air Base on Sunday,
10 March 2002, from fighting near the villages of Sherkhankheyl,
Marzak and Bobelkiel, Afghanistan. The towns were an al-Qaeda
and Taliban stronghold which came under intense bombing and
firefights as the coalition forces battled to root them out. As there
we not enough seats available, soldiers climbed aboard and sat
down anywhere they could.

Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry Battalion
prepare to get on a Chinook helicopter Sunday, 17 March 2002,
in the Shahikot valley region of eastern Afghanistan. The helicopter
is one of the many operated by B Company - "Hercules", 159th
Aviation Regiment, from Hunter Army Airfield, near Savannah, Georgia.

A lone U.S. Army MH-47E Chinook, assigned to the
160th Special Operation Aviation Regiment
(SOAR) – "Nightstalkers", Fort Campbell,
Kentucky, patiently
awaits the next assignment in the back
country of Afghanistan
while ground crews check the security
of the camp perimeter.

A CH-47 Chinook prepares to land for the extraction
of Canadian ground security forces from 1st Platoon, A
Company3rd Battalion Princess Patrichas Canadian Light
Infantry, as well as U.S. personnel on 11 April 11 2002.

[Snow Bunny]

Fotki Photo Storage is down for maintenance.
This section for Canteen links will return soon.
Thank you for your patience.

[Snow Bunny]

[Snow Bunny]

[Snow Bunny]

I pledge allegiance to the Flag
of the United States of America,
and to the Republic, for which it stands;
one nation UNDER GOD,
indivisible,
with liberty and justice for all.

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Thank you Brad C for these pictures of the Flags.

[Snow Bunny]

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.

[Snow Bunny]

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Click on Beamer to go to thread for details of the USO Canteen FReeper Style
Business Card and How To's

[Snow Bunny]

Thank you all for your support of the USO Canteen FReeper Style, the troops and their families.
Thank you Veterans so much!!!!

[tomkow6]

Good morning, Snow! Good morning, EVERYBODY!

HAPPY HUMP DAY!

[Aeronaut]

'morning Bunny.

[tomkow6]

Today's FEEBLE attempt at humor:

While visiting a friend who was in the hospital,
I noticed several pretty nurses, each of whom
was wearing a pin designed to look like an apple.

I asked one nurse what the pin signified.

"Nothing," she said with a smile. "It's just to
keep the doctors away."

[GeekDejure]

Fabulous Canteen!!! (as usual) ;-))

[Snow Bunny]

Individuals may donate $25 which goes toward sponsorship of an
"Operation USO Care Package"
Personal greetings may be included on an
"Operation USO Care Package"
postcard, available for download here by

CLICKING ON THE GRAPHIC….Please be gentle with Souris when you click

USO of Metropolitan Washington
Operation USO Care Package
PO Box 10835
Arlington, VA 22210

[tomkow6]

Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, Oct. 5, 2002 — A tugboat is positioned to move the Newport-class tank landing ship Frederick (LST 1184) to a temporary location with other inactive ships in Pearl Harbor immediately following the ship's decommissioning ceremony at the Naval Station, Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. During 33 years of distinguished Naval service, Frederick made over sixteen major deployments to the western Pacific and Far East including to South Vietnam for withdrawal operations in 1970, the refugee evacuations of 1974, humanitarian assistance to Bangladesh, Operation Desert Shield and Operation Desert Storm in 1990-1991, Operation Sea Angel in 1991, and Operation Restore Hope in Somalia in 1994. Commissioned 11 April 1970, the sixth of twenty Newport-class LSTs, Frederick was the last of her type in commission. Her decommissioning marks the end of the LST era that began in World War II. More than 1,000 LSTs were built by American shipyards, making it the most mass-produced ship in Naval history. Frederick is slated to continue service in the Mexican Navy. U.S. Navy photo by Photographer's Mate Airman Casey L. James. [021005-N-5467C-006] Oct. 5, 2002

[Snow Bunny]

Hi Tomkow so good to see you.
(((( hug ))))
Have a great day today.

[LBGA]

Thanks, Snow Bunny, for honoring the 160th. This is the very elite unit which lost so many men in Somalia. Even more recently, a Chinook went down in the Phillipines taking 10 lives, 8 of them from the 160th and 2 Navy seals.

If there are any lurkers to the Canteen who are in this unit, they probably won't identify themselves because they want to remain anonymous, but I want to thank them for their dedication to freedom and wish them God speed on the very dangerous missions they undertake.

[Sabertooth]

Hi Bunny,

When I saw the title of this thread, "Night Stalkers Don't Quit," I thought it was about the #666 contest every evening.

[tomkow6]

You're up late today!

[Snow Bunny]

Hi Aeronaut sure is good to see you and the morning Flyover.(((( hug ))))

Beamer & Snow Bunny

[Alouette]

Up on a guard tower		Going out on patrol
Pizza delivery service?		On a cold concrete block at a road block

PizzaIDF.org
Ice Cream
in the Artillery

Delight our soldiers out in the field with a Hamburger & Cola and your good wishes! Share your feelings with them at this difficult time in a very tangible way. At the same time you are supporting Israeli Burger restaurants hit by the tourist slump.