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Operation HO, HO, HO - Some OT Good News!
You won't find this in the New York Times!
******************************************* OPERATION HO, HO, HO by Sgt. Christopher Stanis, 1AD PAO BAGHDAD, Iraq – Here comes Santa Claus, here comes Santa Claus right down … Baghdad Lane? After a suggestion from Sgt. 1st Class Joseph Ferrand, a medic with 1st Battalion, 325th Airborne Infantry Regiment, to the 1-325 chaplain, Capt. Darren Chester, the two, with a handful of other 1-325 paratroopers conducted “Operation Ho, Ho, Ho” Dec. 20. The unit is part of task Force 1st Armored Division. “It’s not a big Walt Disney story to tell,” said Ferrand. But it is a story from the heart. The group brought stockings stuffed with toys and candy to two orphanages in Baghdad – the Al Awiya orphanage and the St. Hanna orphanage. “I remembered working with the orphanages, and the kids,” Ferrand said. “I asked the chaplain what he had planned, and he didn’t have anything, so I offered up the idea.” With toys sent to Ferrand by family and friends and donations from 1-325 soldiers, “Santa’s little helpers” stuffed more than 80 stockings full of goodies for the children. A tight squeeze and a couple of turns down alleyway streets led to a gated, well kept yard with a small two-story house. Inside, a Christmas tree stood in the corner of the living room. At the base of the tree sat a nativity scene. Around a coffee table in the room sat three aged, warm-hearted women. These are the sisters of the St. Hanna orphanage, a Catholic orphanage that currently houses about a dozen girls. The well-mannered girls filed down the stairs to receive their gifts. After a short visit, the soldiers moved on to the next orphanage. This time, more than 60 rambunctious children filled the room of the barracks-like building where Ferrand’s group passed out the presents. Some of the orphan children lost their parents during major ground operations of this war; some lost their parents in past wars. Others were simply not wanted, or the parents couldn’t afford to take care of them, Ferrand said. Ferrand had an earlier relationship with the orphanages. He helped conduct physicals and provided needed medical care to the children early after the liberation of Iraq. He said he can see the improvement in their health and in their spirits. “No matter where you go in the world, kids are kids are kids,” Ferrand said. “They want to learn … they want an education. These kids have a good outlook on life.” ************************************************ Have a great Saturday! John H On the 'Poco Loco' out of Deale, MD on the beautiful Chesapeake Bay! |
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Operation HO, HO, HO - Some OT Good News!
John H wrote:
You won't find this in the New York Times! ******************************************* OPERATION HO, HO, HO by Sgt. Christopher Stanis, 1AD PAO Because it is military PR, that's why. And no, John, I didn't read past the credit line. Once you see it was "written" by someone in the military, the b.s. meter should go on... Sorry. Get yourself a real newspaper. -- Email sent to is never read. |
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Operation HO, HO, HO - Some OT Good News!
"Harry Krause" wrote in message
... John H wrote: You won't find this in the New York Times! ******************************************* OPERATION HO, HO, HO by Sgt. Christopher Stanis, 1AD PAO Because it is military PR, that's why. And no, John, I didn't read past the credit line. Once you see it was "written" by someone in the military, the b.s. meter should go on... Sorry. Get yourself a real newspaper. Harry, I'm not sure why the author should be an indication of whether this actually happened. If it were an article about how wonderfully we're doing with the restoration of petroleum pipelines, which is usually followed the next day by a guerrilla attack on a pipeline, I'd agree with your skepticism. But this? |
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Operation HO, HO, HO - Some OT Good News!
Doug Kanter wrote:
"Harry Krause" wrote in message ... John H wrote: You won't find this in the New York Times! ******************************************* OPERATION HO, HO, HO by Sgt. Christopher Stanis, 1AD PAO Because it is military PR, that's why. And no, John, I didn't read past the credit line. Once you see it was "written" by someone in the military, the b.s. meter should go on... Sorry. Get yourself a real newspaper. Harry, I'm not sure why the author should be an indication of whether this actually happened. If it were an article about how wonderfully we're doing with the restoration of petroleum pipelines, which is usually followed the next day by a guerrilla attack on a pipeline, I'd agree with your skepticism. But this? 1. All articles written by folks such as "Sgt. Stanis" are cleared by military political officers. See 1., immediately above. -- Email sent to is never read. |
#5
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Operation HO, HO, HO - Some OT Good News!
Harry Krause wrote:
John H wrote: You won't find this in the New York Times! ******************************************* OPERATION HO, HO, HO by Sgt. Christopher Stanis, 1AD PAO Because it is military PR, that's why. And no, John, I didn't read past the credit line. Once you see it was "written" by someone in the military, the b.s. meter should go on... Ah the old BS meter hey Harry. This is from Harry the US east coast distributor of BS:-) I suppose the BS distributors collective went on strike when the BS meter was brought into service by most voters??? These brave mostly young people are daily risking their lives on your behalf & given no more US attacks, the organising of afghanistan, the easy surrenders of Iran, Iraq & Libya it seems they're doing a magnificent job, absolutely magnificent!! The world including the citizens of afghanistan, iran iraq & libya should be so grateful the US was under the steady hand of the repubs led by W at the time the long planned attack against you happened. The west particularly so because it coincided with a potential world wide economy slowdown which for sure would have been turned into a meltdown had the left still been there over taxing & pouring otherwise free choice spendable GDP producing US taxpayers cash into pet lefty loser programs, which surpriiiiiiise surpriiiiiiise just happen to in the main go as wages into the pockets of their unionised supporters. Vote buying using other peoples' money!!! K I try to keep a little on topic material if possible so ..... Here's some of Harry's lies for you, just to bring back old memories:-) Just to make your day, not only was I a civilian employee in SE Asia, it was in Vietnam, it was during the war against Vietnam, I did see some horrific sights and I was working at the time for a U.S. general. Is that straightforward enough for you, John, or is your amoeba still chasing your synapse I'm doing my part to ease unemployment. I'm hiring another writer for my staff. Will be putting the ad on MONSTER.COM and in the Wash Post. I need more staff because 2004 is a major election year and business booked to date indicates we'll be drowning in work. We need to hire a production coordinator, too. It has very little to do with the state of the economy, other than using it as reason to defeat Republicrap candidates. I'm doing my part to ease unemployment. I'm hiring another writer for my staff. Will be putting the ad on MONSTER.COM and in the Wash Post. We have first-class benefits, including a top-of-the-line health insurance plan, a non-contributory defined-benefit pension plan, a 401k, and a life insurance policy equal to annual salary. We contribute a share of profits to the 401k on behalf of the employee. Our employees pay $4.50 for generic prescriptions and $8.00 for non-generics, but that's going up next year to $10 and $15. New employees get two weeks vacation the first year, and that goes to three weeks the third year. In addition, we have 12 paid holidays and we shut down from noon on Christmas eve to the day after New Year's Day. We also provide 20 days of paid sick leave a year. And we have an outside company administering pre-tax flexible bennies for our employees. Our fringe benefit package follows the trade union model, except, of course, for the profit contributions to 401k's. Trade unions are not-for-profit enterprises. How do these compare to the bennies at your shop? Paid? Every year? I call "bull****". With 3 weeks vacation, 12 paid holidays, and 20 paid sick days that's 47 *paid* days off every year. Are they hourly employees? For a "small business", that's the road to bankruptcy. Boy...and you had me going there for a minute. Not quite so simple, though you are trying hard to make it so. Our business is up because we're on the cusp of an election year. Our business always goes up in a major election year. You could say we're going to be doing very well in 2004 because Bush is such a total failure. The 20 paid sick days aren't part of the "paid" days off unless those days are used. None of our people abuses sick leave. In fact, no one as yet has even come close to using 20 sick days in one year. They're there in case they're needed. Oh, I forgot. We also provide everyone with LTD. The company provides an insurance plan that pays 50% of an employe's salary for Long Term Disability. Employes have the option of purchasing an additional 16.66%, bringing their total to 66.66%. The basic benefit maximum is $4,000 per month. With the buy up, the limit is increased to $10,000 per month. Sure. I'm in the market for a new marine diesel of 420-480 shp. I'm especially interested in Volvo's TAMD74P EDC, because Volvo has had a lot of experience with electronic controls in that size diesel. I've dismissed getting a Cat 3208 TA because the technology is so old and because a couple of commercial fishermen I know who have had 3208's have, basically, burned them out. Thanks. Yes, Cummins is talked about favorably by some of the guys I've been talking to. Most of them have had experience with Cats, especially the 3208, and in recent years some have moved to Volvos. These are commercial fishermen, mostly, running hulls somewhat similar to what we're doing. No, the diesel is for a new boat we're having built. Hmmm. A fishing/day cruising boat with some range, nice speed, a real soft ride, offshore capabilities and sleeping/full head(with standup shower enclosure)/galley accommodations. Fiberglass, although the architect did try to convince me to go with cold-molded wood, which I do like. More specifically, I suppose, a lobsta' boat, sort of, if that brings up a mental image for you. She'll measure 36' sans a bowsprit x a little more than 12' in beam. The hull buttom is built down to the keel. There are no chines. The hull is efficient at displacement and planing speeds. According to the hull builder, if we keep the weight within certain limits, we'll achieve a WOT of about 37-38 mph, and a very easy cruise of 30-32 mph on a single diesel of about 420-450 hp. She'll cruise slow and economically, too. We expect a very smooooooooooth riding boat, able to take on a big headsea at a pretty good clip without beating up the folks inside. Fitting out a boat like this is going to be an interesting and stimulating experience. Basically, we get to spec everything and we end up with a custom boat It's Lou Codega. He's a widely known and respected naval architect. He does Regulator's hulls, too. He's done the Navigator 37. I believe he's also done designs for Carolina Classic. Cummins faxed me a bunch of computer generated data today on engine choices for the new boat. On the 36-footer, 16,000 pounds displacement: QSM11 635 hp, 36.3 mph WOT, 32.1 mph at sustained cruise, marine gear ratio of 1.77, turning a four blade 26x35 prop on a 2.50 inch Aquamet 22 shaft. Too much engine. QSM11 535 hp at 2300 rpm, 33.3 mph WOT, 29.5 mph at sustained cruise of 2100 rpm, same gear ratio, 24x34 prop. Right on the money. 6CTA8.3 450 hp, 30.6 mph WOT, 27.5 mph at sustained cruise, 2.00:1 gear ratio, 24x31 four blade prop on Aquamet 22 2" shaft. Cummins tells me its program is "about 8% too conservative." Looks like the QSM11 535 will be the right engine. Its fuel use is only a little more than the 450's and a lot less than the 635 hp engine. What I want is a 30 mph sustained cruise speed, and 535 hp will do it. Cummins also figured the boat at 1000 pounds heavier than our target, which is probably the smart thing to do. Besides, the QSM is a new, all computerized design. The hull form is what got to me. The boat has a substantial keel and it is a built-down keel, right to its bottom, not just "tacked" on. It backs down beautifully. And it seems to roll one heck of a lot less in a beam sea than the semi-vee 36 footers I've been on, and especially some large deep vee fishing boats of about the same size its been my pleasure to fish aboard. I believe it is a function of the keel and the really low center of gravity. Amazing, for a boat that is round bilged and fairly flat under the transom. No chines. Just splash rails forward and aft. A soft, soft ride...which is what I wanted. Here's just some of his prior lies (in his own words pasted); I sold off nearly $3,000,000 in new motors and boats, depressing the new boat industry in southern Connecticut for an entire season. Everything was sold...every cotter pin, every quart of oil, 30 days after I started. For near full-retail, too. He had just under $1,000,000 on floor plan with a syndicate of banks led by National Shawmut of Boston. He had been a solid customer of that back for more than 20 years and they gave him great rates. As far as your other complaints, well, almost every president in my memory, and I *remember* Truman, Eisenhower (who cheated on his wife), Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan and Bush, lied and participated in deceit to one degree or another, and on issues far more important than who was giving them blow jobs. Good lord. I met *every* president in the damned group except Bush, and I worked once for his father. My father used to pray that the north shore of LI Sound would be hit by a mild hurricane. No one injured, no on-shore property damaged, but lots of boats sunk. Preferably early in July. We had the Hatteras for two years. Last year, out of the cold clear, a broker approached me with an offer to buy. Our continued Florida lifestyle was somewhat up in the air, because the two breadwinners hereabouts were about to be offered long-term but temporary assignments they could not refuse in the Washington, D.C., area. So, after being romanced a little, we sold the Hatt for almost precisely what we paid for it. Not bad, after two full years of use. And I mean full years. So, we didn't "make" any money off the Hatt, but we didn't lose any, either. The proceeds were prudently invested. The PWC was won as a prize in a raffle. Never mind that. Why does he have a Bilgeliner in front of his office? Is it a display of "Boating Don'ts?" Yeah, when we were in the boat biz, my father always had one or two "around the back" that he was forced to take in trade. These were sold as "as is, where is." He made sure the engine would start and run. Beyond that, it was up to the prospective buyer to decide if he wanted it. They moved off the lot pretty quickly, partially because my dad's main store was on a highly trafficked commercial route with lots of manufacturing and machining and aerospace plants near by. In those days, workers at these places could fix anything. Actually, Dipper, I don't think my father ever saw a Bayliner. But he still called bumpers bumpers. -- Bayliner wined and dined my father a half dozen times to entice him into becoming its dealer. His operation was the largest small boat dealership in its area of New England, and for 30 years, he was the *exclusive* Evinrude dealer in a densely populated coastal county. He also handled Mercuries. He never liked Bayliners, and referred to them as "jerry-built." From 1947 until he died, he sold more than 500 outboard motors a year from his stores, accounting for a reasonably high percentage of *all* outboards sold in his home state for those years. This is a killer. My father was in the boat business dating back to right after the Big War. When he died and I was looking through his warehouse, I found wrapped in a nuclear fall-out bag (no kidding), a brand-new 1949 Evinrude 8015 50 hp outboard. The motor was a gift to my father from Evinrude for winning some outboard stock utility or hydroplane race. I gave the motor to a friend of my dad's, who worked at the shop as head mechanic. I don't believe he ever used it and I'm sure it is still brand-new. I have no idea who might own it now. He also built boats, and I worked on a few, both wood, glass covered wood and all fiberglass. After he died, however, we sold the biz and I've just been an occasional boat owner. Besides, I worked off and onin the boat business and inherited it when he died. So, as I said, I'm knee-deep in boat heritage. Oh, and I had some friends who died in the service, too, but it wasn't for what they believed in. They were drafted, shipped to Vietnam and came back in body bags. During the war, he turned out experimental brass shell casings for the Army and hopped up outboards for the Navy, which wanted to use them on smaller landing craft. I had photos at one time of my father with Ole Evinrude himself. My mother knew one of Evinrude's wives...she was a minor movie star or singer...I forgot which. Maybe both. Have you ever sailed from San Francisco to Hawaii? I have. Have you ever rounded Cape Horn? I have, twice. Have you ever transited the Panama Canal? I have. Have you owned more than 20 boats in your lifetime? I have. Have you ever sailed large boats competitively? I have. Have you ever been hundreds of miles from land in a powerboat under your command? I have. My father and his chief mechanic once crossed the Atlantic in winter in a 22' boat powered by twin outboards. Yes, it is possible, even the fuel. Got a "fireboat" welcome in NYC. Here are some: Hatteras 43' sportfish Swan 41' racing/cruising sloop Morgan 33 O'Day 30 Cruisers, Inc., Mackinac 22 Century Coronado Bill Luders 16, as sweet a sailboat as ever caught a breeze. Century 19' wood lapstrake with side wheel steering Cruisers, Inc. 18' and 16' wood lapstrakes Wolverines. Molded plywood. Gorgeous. Several. 14,15,17 footers with various Evinrudes Lighting class sailboat Botved Coronet with twin 50 hp Evinrudes. Interesting boat. Aristocraft (a piece of junk...13', fast, held together with spit) Alcort Sunfish Ancarrow Marine Aquiflyer. 22' footer with two Caddy Crusaders. Guaranteed 60 mph. In the late 1950's. Skimmar brand skiff Arkansas Traveler fiberglass bowrider (I think it was a bowrider) Dyer Dhow Su-Mark round bilge runabout, fiberglass Penn Yan runabouts. Wood. Old Town wood and canvas canoe Old Town sailing canoe...different than above canoe Sometime in the early 1960s, I was driving back from Ft. Leonard Wood to Kansas City in a nice old MGA I owned at the time. About halfway home it started raining heavily, I turned on the wipers, and EVERY SINGLE electrical accessory and light in the car flashed on, there was a large popping sound and it all blew out at once. And the car caught fire. I pulled over to the side of the road, watched the fire, removed my license plate and hitched on home. For all I know, that old MGA is still there. Sure was a pretty little car. Puh-lease, Karen. You've not seen nor have I ever posted one example of my professional writings on building structure and the effects on it of hurricane-force winds and seismic activity. I haven't done any of these in at least 10 year, but at the time I was field researching, photographing and writing these reports, they were quite accurate, topical and well-received by their intended audiences. A small fleet of Polar skiffs were purchased by an inshore bait, tackle and boat rental business on the ICW in NE Florida. These boats were not used on open waters. Within 90 days, cracks developed in the liners that also served as the deck over the flotation in the bottom of the hulls. A guide I know, one whose boats and engines are supplied to him by manufacturers, also had a Polar skiff go bad on him for the same reasons -liner and then hull fractures. Harry has claimed to have a 20 yrs his junior beautiful wife, he even put a fake pic of a beautiful woman on a website once claiming it was his "young bride", he may have a wife, although I doubt it, we don't like nor tolerate misogynists for long. Needless to say he's made up many "dramatic" over the top stories over the years about this lie to feed his ego & pretend he's the centre of attention, but as with his boat claims & other crap, there's never once been even a shred of independently verifiable material. After he stalked Madcow in real life, which was most frightening, I do suspect he's very very dangerous & that this "bride" story is his delusional appropriation of his, probably court ordered, treating psychotherapist as "wife" (it seems he was under lock & key for what?? over a year??? a sexual deviant maybe??), have a read of just a small part of his BS & make up your own mind, it's all about free choice:-) 1. She *is* my bride. There are no rules that determine the end of "bride-hood." If I want to refer to her as my bride, I may. 2. As a professional writer, I know the rules of language and am entitled to break them in exercise of my license. 3. I doubt many married women would object to their husbands lovingly referring to them as brides. The connotations are pleasant. 4. She's 20 years younger than I am. Naw. What happened was that I handled a couple of "political" consulting jobs funded out of the DC area to help a few candidates and defeat a couple of ballot issues. Through no fault of mine, we won each of the races, so some of the deep pockets types based in the DC area think I actually *know something* about the process. I was offered a contract that requires my presence in DC quite frequently. My bride also was offered a job up here that represented a significant professional career move. So, we're "up here" much of the time and "down there" the rest of it, except when we're "somewhere else." I've been back to Jax (well, really south of Jax) five times since coming "up here" late last summer and my bride just returned from a business trip there. I swear this is true. Here's a funny. My bride had to fly out to San Diego Wednesday and hitched a ride on her company's corporate jet. They landed in Salina, Kansas, which is due north of Wichita and Skippy's suburb of Derby. So when she gets to San Diego, I get a call asking, "What the hell did you do in Kansas...we didn't fly over one significant patch of water...?" Harry, you make over 500 posts a week to this group and you don't own a boat? And why are you so crabby? Maybe these two factors are related? One has to own something to use it? Hmmm. My bride drives off in her car every day, but she doesn't own it. I'm not crabby. You asked for advice I gave you some. I questioned your wanting to take a very small boat out into high seas and suddenly you turned sour. It's your pot; you are the one stewing in it. No, it is the boat of a friend. It is a 24' ProLine center console with, if I recall, a 225 hp Merc on it. It was a dark and stormy day in January (1997) when we went out, but the sky cleared once we got out to the Gulf Stream. Bride and I caught and released: 1 white marlin 12-15 yellowtail snappers, maybe two pounds each. Pretty, pretty fish. Assorted red snappers 1 amberjack 2 jack crevalle jacks 1 snook Nondescript sharks Did you spend a year as a line psychotherapist at a 650-bed state hospital for forensic patients? Did you spend a year as senior psychotherapist at a county facility for substance abusers? Did you spend two years as chief of therapy at a private, 200-bed facility for the mentally and emotionally ill, at which approximately half the patients were trying to beat drugs or alcohol? Are you currently chief of therapy for a for a multi-practitioner practice of some 825 patients, about a third of which are seeking help for substance abuse problems? Licensed psychotherapist Screening as to character and background for each degree earned On-going screening by faculty while in educational system Interviews and screenings for required years of internships, plus, at the same time, supervision by a licensed professional. Close professional and personal supervision by a licensed therapist for two years of employment before being allowed to apply for licensure Licensure background check, submission of recommendations by licensed practitioners Four hour written examination on state laws Five hour written examination on diagnosis, procedure and practice My wife went through this before becoming licensed. Her final internship was as a psychotherapist at a 600-bed high security state psychiatric hospital where, on a daily basis, she was exposed to more danger than your average soldier. My wife worked for a year as psychotherapist in a Florida 600-bed state mental institution for forensic patients. She saw and treated numerous sexual deviants who do a bit more than expose themselves. Such "treatment" is part of being in the mental health professions. You see, I'm a nautical psychotherapist, and for only $125 an hour, until their health insurance runs out, I help Bayliner owners overcome their feelings of boatable inadequacy. She is a licensed, practicing psychotherapist and often tells me I am the sanest person she sees each day. Which can be taken any way one likes. 1. I'm married to a psychotherapist. Live-in therapy, dontcha know? And much of Freud is passe. My ex-wife surpassed the anti-Christ at least a decade ago. They're not actually "free" moments. I go to boat dealers to round-up Bayliner owners who are trying to find one who will take their own version of flotsam and jetsam in on trade. 1. The address listed is not a home address. It is an office. 2. I have three phone numbers. The phone number listed is not one of mine. It has never been one of mine. The phone number *did* belong to an after-hours message recording hotline my wife maintained for her most mentally disturbed patients. Some of these troubled souls were court-ordered referrals. *Every* call to that phone number--every call--was recorded AND because of the nature of the line, my wife had the ability to alert the telephone company to trace the phone number of every incoming call to that line, *even* if the person making the call tried to block his number. Why, you might ask? Because when you are dealing with suicidal people, they'll liable to tell their therapist over the phone that they are planning to take their life. If the therapist believes the threat is real, she or he will want to dispatch emergency srvices and perhaps the police. In the years my wife has provided this pro bono service, she has never received a threatening or abusive call from a mentally ill patient or court-ordered referral. However, after the ranking Flaming Ass of this newsgroup posted the hotline number in this newsgroup, she received a number of abusive, foul-mouthed AND life-threatening calls. These were mostly directed at me but, of course, I never received them BECAUSE (duh!) the phone is not mine and I've never answered it. Naturally, my wife alerted the authorities, with whom she works closely because of her court-referred patients. The authorities are investigating the callers and have involved both the FBI *and* authorities in other states, including Florida, Georgia, California and Texas. Working with the telephone company, the authorities have been able to trace the origin of virtually every abusive call. And, of course, they have the tape recordings of the abusive messages. Several suspects have been identified. I really don't know what the outcome of all this will be. We haven't had an update in several weeks, nor are either of us here that interested in the sleazeballs that would make such calls. The phone number, of course, is "wired," so when the obnoxious calls came in from the idiot rec.boaters, the numbers were easy enough to trace. The local police handled a complaint, the local telco was involved and when it was discovered the point of origin was out of state, the FBI got involved. At least one of the idiots was caught and prosecuted. As far as I can tell, he has not posted here again Sorry. Get yourself a real newspaper. |
#6
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Operation HO, HO, HO - Some OT Good News!
In article ,
Harry Krause wrote: John H wrote: You won't find this in the New York Times! ******************************************* OPERATION HO, HO, HO by Sgt. Christopher Stanis, 1AD PAO Because it is military PR, that's why. And no, John, I didn't read past the credit line. Once you see it was "written" by someone in the military, the b.s. meter should go on... Sorry. Get yourself a real newspaper. what paper would you recommend? would the china gazzet work for you? or about the old york times |
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