WARK92

Notice Rocko is off lead. I don't recall exactly how Tray put it, something like ... anybody works better without somebody breathing down their neck

From Aaron, "Barry, explosive detector, is the oldest pup (8*) in the kennels. He is the most vocal dog here and has scared most of the people on post. I am from Ithaca, NY, the youngest in the kennels, 22, and single. I have been in the Army four years and have been working K-9 for two years. I am stationed at Ft. Polk, La. I also must add that I'm a big hockey fan and player - play or watch whenever I get a chance."

OK ladies, send valentines to Aaron: abarriere@hotmail.com - Aaron is leaving Bosnia soon for Lackland AFB in Texas to continue with K9 work as an instructor. He will be at Ft. Polk for a short while before TX. The other single guys' addys (and all pics) are on first page.

*Aaron doesn't have Barry's exact birth date, only that it's January so he gave him his brother's, the 29th. Nice thought :) and ya know, any excuse is good for a party. The guys can split a cake and, of course, the dogs will have to have their own treats.

Hmmm, s'pose I need all the B-days now. In the meantime, especially considering how bad I am about remembering birthdays, "Mom" sends lotsa hugs and happiest B- and V-day wishes ... to dogs and guys (~.*)

Tag courtesy of Cindy who is very graciously taking special requests: FantasyFreek@aol.com - use "Face tag" subject line.

Reminder: everybody likes valentines - we're not necessarily talking romance here. Have your kids' classes (or any group) make up a bunch for all the guys. Send other stuff related to their particular interests too - John (below) rides a Harley, and likes fishing, hunting and camping for instance.

Aaron just wanted a shot of the tank - posed Barry to make it a better pic. I thought Barry's So-what-else-is-new? expression might be, "OK, nice nose on this dawg, I'm still the baddest best here." Or, "Panzer? Pansy." Or, "Stop a tank? Big deal." Friends came up with considerably better ...

"All right you guys I'm really hungry ... time for McDonalds - if you're in a hurry we can hit the drive-thru." ~ Jag

Still looking for exactly the right one - send yours: MarthaJones1@aol.com, subject line: K-9 caption (please see mail ID notes for all submissions/suggestions at end of page).

Aaron, Wayne Newton, Al and Seska - Seska was featured on "Entertainment Tonight" when Clint Black paid a call a while back.

Training with locals - guys in the blue berets are from United Nations K-9 section

"There are more than one million mines here from the war that ended in '95. We are using American dogs for the American mission here, and we train the locals how to train their dogs to locate explosives and mines," Tray.

Brit is 6 years old. He has Czech blood lines, but was not born there. "On our time off, Brit and I watch TV. He loves to sit on the couch or chair, and he is very meticulous in how the chair or couch is set up for him. He will claw at the fabric, like a cat and then spin around, over and over again, until he is ready to lay down. He is about 92 pounds and is very aggressive with everybody while he is working. To those he knows by smell and sight, he is friendly only when he is inside and in a relaxed room."

Single Roger (pic on front page) is 6'5", 220 lb., 34 years old. He likes to jet ski, water ski, work on older cars, camp, play paintball and football. britroger@hotmail.com

I am the SFOR Kennel Master for these guys and I can't say enough about how great they are, possibly the best group of soldiers I have had the pleasure of leading. We are from seven different installations from east coast to west coast and we all just meshed. This is my last deployment and I will be hanging up the uniform in Nov. of 02 with feelings of joy and relief but there will also be a great sense of loss but as you know old soldiers never really get out, you can't get rid of it.

Home Station FT Carson CO/Hometown Melbourne, Fl.
SSG John W. Hanna (Big Daddy)
19 yr. Military Police Corp, 16 yr. K9
Male/6'2"/245lb.
age: 38
Married, two children and a very loving and dedicated wife, Joni, and a great German shepherd named Diana. I'm the third tallest and heaviest SGT in the photo (back row tinted glasses). Avid Harley Davidson rider, have a Roadking, love to hear from other bikers. Love to hunt and fish and camp.
Address:
SSG John W. Hanna
HHC 29th ID (K9 Section)
OTF-Eagle Base
APO AE 09789

E-mail: hannajoh1@yahoo.com (also have instant messenger)

Why Would Anybody Like a Job Like This?
(A K-9 Career Story)

http://www.dogsinthenews.com/issues/0202/articles/020205a.htm
If you want to write to author, he does answer. Addy is on article, also link to his whole WTC story. I contacted him a while back about help finding more K-9 unit addresses. Also recently to confirm it was just one dog lost 9-11. Sirius, WTC Dog, Found in Rubble http://dogsinthenews.com/issues/0201/articles/020129a.htm

Side note: I figured Paul would know if Sirius was the only canine victim, so I asked for Elizabeth, who organized the cross-stitch memorial flag project. It was her idea to include dogs. She's designing the pattern for Sirius' square now and I'm going to work it - pretty cool privilege. I had already volunteered for two squares for people lost on flights. http://www.memorialflag.org/

Side note two: I have never had a "from the beyond message" - but I've never had any reason to doubt other people who've said they had/do. When I'm working on the stitching, it feels like I'm being watched. It's not strong or a spooky feeling, just that it's there. And, I ain't the only one it's happened to.

BTW, the stitching is not difficult, no great expertise needed. Send the info along to crafty people. It is a once in a lifetime thing. "When done the flag will be 35' high and 62.5' wide." That's a lot of squares, details on site.

Reader comment: "Well said: 'So why would anybody like a job like this? I can only answer, Duty, Honor and Country.' Also, the love of the animal. As well as, no one can do it better.

Main index page, WAR series
http://www.therealmartha.com/WAR/index.htm
"The Whispering Activist" a.k.a. Martha Jones - Opinions and ideas, mine and from others, that everyone can use to get involved, make a difference and lighten the load. Find hoax busters, media hype alerts, timely info, controversy, common sense, commiseration, empathy, household tips, easy recipes, critter stuff, variety links, and a little humor along the way.

"Hey there, hi, this is great ... " subject lines do not cut it, spammers do that. Due to at least 10 tons of junk to sort every day - when I don't recognize sender name and subject line is not clearly defined, I delete. Downloads, from anyone, even you my friend, also have to be automatic deletions. Most people do not realize their scanners can't catch the latest virus/worms. Embedded images or copies of doc. files are welcome. Typing in all caps is not. It's extremely irritating and should never be used unless you mean to be screaming, which is even more irritating. I will not read, no matter the subject. If you have a great joke, article or essay you haven't seen everywhere, go ahead and send the first few lines. I will ask you to retype the whole thing if I don't already have it in proper form. BTW, double spaces between sentences, broken lines or any sloppy spacing are also major editing pains. Don't even think about forwarding with << >> marks. If you do not know about copy and paste into a new mail and blind copy courtesy, check http://www.rrudder.com/safe/bcc.html.

Please attach your credit on personal submissions - full name, initials or however you're comfortable. Also let me know if you'd like e-mail addy published for direct contact. Pen names OK too, I'm the only one who needs to know who are if for any reason your own name would cause difficulty.

I do try to answer all mail within 24 hours. If you do not hear from me in two or three days, it's likely the mail was lost, please try again. If you check and find your mail deleted, it could be because you saved me the trouble of opening one of many duplicates by using a clear subject line - thanks.