Thank You Always for Your Service!

Tomorrow is Armed Services Day. Let's us take a moment to thank the men and women of our armed forces for their service to our country and for the protection of our liberties.

From the Fort Bliss office of Public Affairs comes this:

Fort Bliss is ready to open its gates to the El Paso community in celebration of
Armed Forces Day 2009, scheduled for 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. May 16, on Noel Field.
Admission is free.

Planned activities include static displays of military equipment and Fort Bliss emergency services, a demonstration by military police working dog teams, rappelling demonstrations, entertainment by the 62nd Army Band and special entertainment provided by the Directorate of Family, Morale, Welfare and Recreation. Historical tours of the post include stops at the Health Fair, Marksmanship Center, Rappel Tower and Motor Transport Course, so visitors can participate in activities at these areas.

Additional attractions include a chili cook-off, a car show, and food and drink concessions. Armed Forces Day is an open-house event that provides the public with the opportunity to meet with servicemembers and learn about the equipment they use in support of this nation. All branches of the U.S. Armed Forces in the El Paso area are invited to participate.

For more information, call the Fort Bliss Public Affairs Office at 568-4505

Our good buddy, Marty Martinez, reminds us:

With Armed Forces Day being this weekend here are a few tips on honoring our military and flying our flag.

When being displayed, the flag should always be allowed to fall free. It should not be drawn back or up, in folds. Also, it should never touch anything beneath it, such as the ground, floor, water or other items. This is important to remember when display flags along sidewalks and in yards. If it does touch anything beneath it, correct this
mistake quickly. If the flag is soiled from touching the ground or dirt, the
flag should be cleaned with a mild soap solution and dried before being displayed again.

The flag should never be used as clothing, bedding or drapery. The flag should never have any mark, insignia, letter, word, figure, design, picture or drawing of any nature placed upon it. Also, the flag should never be used for advertising purposes in any manner. When displayed with another flag against a wall from crossed staffs, the United States flag should be on the flag's own right. Its staff should be in front of the staff of any other flag. When the flag is displayed from a staff projecting horizontally or at an angle from a window sill, balcony or front of a building, the union of the
flag should be placed at the peak of the staff unless the flag is at half-staff.
When the flag is not flown from a staff, it can be displayed either horizontally or vertically against a wall. The union or blue field should be uppermost and to the flag's own right or the observer's left. When displayed in a window of a home or a place of business, the flag should be displayed in the same way - with the union to the left of the observer in the street. The flag should never be displayed with the union down, except as a signal of distress, such as extreme danger to life or property.

It is a universal custom to display the flag only from sunrise to sunset on buildings and on stationary flag staffs in the open. However, when a patriotic effect is desired,
the flag may be displayed 24 hours a day, if properly illuminated during the hours of darkness. A light needs to specifically illuminate the flag so it is recognizable by a casual observer.

The United States flag can be flown every day of the year, but should especially be flown:

New Year's Day

Inauguration Day

Martin Luther King Jr.'s Birthday

Lincoln's Birthday

Washington's Birthday

Armed Forces Day

Memorial Day

Flag Day

Independence Day

Labor Day

Columbus Day

Veteran's Day

Thanksgiving Day

Christmas Day

state holidays and other days as may be proclaimed by the United States
President.

The United States flag should never be flown if it is faded or frayed. Give frayed and faded flags to organizations, such as The American Legion, Veterans of Foreign Wars or the Boy Scouts, in order to be ceremonially burned. Local posts and chapters of these organizations can be contacted for this type of disposal.

Honor our flag, our military and our nation. God Bless America.