I want to wish you all a Happy Thanksgiving and thank Zane again for this awesome site and all of you who contribute. It keeps me sane here in bizarro-world.

I have a great job. I am the lead adviser to the Afghan Air Corps Safety Officer, establishing their aviation and ground safety program from the ground up. I think that everyday there is something that amazes me, sometimes good and sometimes bad.

Right now I'm leading the mishap investigation of an Mi-17 helo that crashed at 10,000 MSL. Can't go into details, but I can say the the laws of density altitude and need for extensive mountain flying training apply in Kabul, too. I got a few rides to the crash site in an Mi-17 and a CH-47 Chinook. So, a Navy guy doing mountain flying over the Hindu Kush in a Russian export helicopter investigating an Afghan Air Force crash. If you told me 5 years ago that I was going to do this then I would have told you to stop smoking the wacky weed.

Do me a favor. If you know a family that has somebody deployed right now then give them a call today and offer your thanks for their sacrifice and offer a helping hand.

God bless you guys & gals and the USA.

Crazivan, God bless you, and thank you.

CrazyIvan,
And a Happy Thanksgiving to you from West (by god) Virginia. We give thanks for our blessings here because of good people like you there.
Take care,
Jim

Our military is the greatest and those in uniform are true hero's.
A very special thanks to you Ivan and your fellow hero's.
Happy thanksgiving and a prayer you come home safe.

Crazy I,
Happy Thanksgiving to you and your troops over there in Bizarro-World. Having started out as a Navy Phrogg pilot, I feel your pain. Life and the USN take you to places you never dreamed of...some good, some not-so. Y'all are in our prayers and thoughts DAILY. Stay safe and make sure they keep the twirly-side UP.

A little food for thought that helped me maintain my sanity aboard the USS Saipan:

"I love the Fucking Navy cause the Navy LOVES Fucking Me!"
"A bitchin Sailor is a Happy Sailor so by Gawd we are the happiest of all!"
"USS Saipan: Why react when we can OVERREACT?! Why Panic when we can SAI-PANIC!"

Cheers y'all. Phroggs Phorever.
AWOL Arn
TC-12 Reserve Dawg in Corpus Crispy.

Ivan! Good to hear from you again!
A friend of my fathers sent this to me this morning and I thought some might enjoy this. I also wanted to give my sincerest gratitude to you and all of our Forces in the Service, THANK YOU! Because of you, we can enjoy our freedom.

This is the law: the purpose of fighting is to win. There is no possible victory in defense. The sword is more important than the shield, and skill is more important than either. The final weapon is the brain. All else is supplemental, John Steinbeck once said.

1. Don't pick a fight with an old man. If he is too old to fight, he'll just kill you.

2. If you find yourself in a fair fight, your tactics suck.

3. I carry a gun 'cause a cop is too heavy. (Gotta love this one!!)

4. America is not at war. The U.S. Military is at war. America is at the Mall. (Ain't this the truth?)

5. When seconds count, the cops are just minutes away. (Yep, time is sometime, but shoot first, then call 911.)

6. A reporter did a human interest piece on the Texas Rangers. The reporter recognized the Colt Model 1911 the Ranger was carrying and asked him, "Why do carry a .45?" The Ranger responded with, "Because they don't make a .46."

7. An armed man will kill an unarmed man with monotonous regularity.

8. The old sheriff was attending an awards dinner when a lady commented on his wearing his sidearm. "Sheriff, I see you have your pistol. Are you expecting trouble?" "NO Ma'am. If I were expecting trouble, I would have brought my rifle."

9. Beware the man who only has one gun. HE PROBABLY KNOWS HOW TO USE IT!!!


To this I will add my comments: I was once asked by a lady visiting if I had a gun in the house. To which I said I did. She said, "Well, I certainly hope it isn't loaded!" To which I said, "Of course it's loaded." She then asked, "Are you that afraid of someone evil coming into your house?" My reply was, "No, not at all. I am not afraid of the house catching afire either, but I have fire extinguishers around, and they are all loaded."

Ivan! Good to hear from you again!
A friend of my fathers sent this to me this morning and I thought some might enjoy this. I also wanted to give my sincerest gratitude to you and all of our Forces in the Service, THANK YOU! Because of you, we can enjoy our freedom.

This is the law: the purpose of fighting is to win. There is no possible victory in defense. The sword is more important than the shield, and skill is more important than either. The final weapon is the brain. All else is supplemental, John Steinbeck once said.

1. Don't pick a fight with an old man. If he is too old to fight, he'll just kill you.

2. If you find yourself in a fair fight, your tactics suck.

3. I carry a gun 'cause a cop is too heavy. (Gotta love this one!!)

4. America is not at war. The U.S. Military is at war. America is at the Mall. (Ain't this the truth?)

5. When seconds count, the cops are just minutes away. (Yep, time is sometime, but shoot first, then call 911.)

6. A reporter did a human interest piece on the Texas Rangers. The reporter recognized the Colt Model 1911 the Ranger was carrying and asked him, "Why do carry a .45?" The Ranger responded with, "Because they don't make a .46."

7. An armed man will kill an unarmed man with monotonous regularity.

8. The old sheriff was attending an awards dinner when a lady commented on his wearing his sidearm. "Sheriff, I see you have your pistol. Are you expecting trouble?" "NO Ma'am. If I were expecting trouble, I would have brought my rifle."

9. Beware the man who only has one gun. HE PROBABLY KNOWS HOW TO USE IT!!!


To this I will add my comments: I was once asked by a lady visiting if I had a gun in the house. To which I said I did. She said, "Well, I certainly hope it isn't loaded!" To which I said, "Of course it's loaded." She then asked, "Are you that afraid of someone evil coming into your house?" My reply was, "No, not at all. I am not afraid of the house catching afire either, but I have fire extinguishers around, and they are all loaded."

God be with you CrazyI. I have son in law that is Army SF and he is deployed right now. This year Thanksgiving has special significance for our familly. I am indebted to all you guys.

Thanks again

Tim

One of the many things I am truely thankful for, is the men and women who lay it on the line every day in the armed forces of the United States. Crazyivan, you and all will be in our prayers, God Bless.

If you get around this bunch, say Hi to Allen Reed, Let him know familys thinking of him.

UNITED STATES MARINE CORPS
TASK FORCE WOLFPACK
REGIMENTAL COMBAT TEAM 2
II MARINE EXPEDITIONARY FORCE FORWARD
UNIT 41695

See ya, Bub

I said it before and I'll say it again. You guys are awesome. Thanks for your kind words.

AwolArn -- I love Phrog drivers. You guys are the only ones crazy enough to fly those things (not that helicopters really fly...they levitate by PFM). Roger the first quote...how true it is.

jmtgt -- When I get down to Kandahar, I'll look up your brother. Those guys have a tough job down there.

Yellow -- Amen. I like #8. Take a look at my picture. We carry the rifle everywhere.

qmdv -- God bless your son-in-law. If the military carries the burden of the nation on its back then the special forces are the backbone.

Skylane -- I see the Wolf Pack guys every once in a while. I'll keep my eyes open for a "Reed" name tag.

Fly safely and keep the forums alive. By the way, I'm backing TwinPOS for president, Supedave manages the strippers, and Zane is the bartender. Zane would make a good bartender.