Fireplex

Tic-Tac-Gohhh!

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It was great to once again have a Cousin Eddie with us. We had 2 PAX from different regions in SC last week and today we extended a warm (very warm!), humid, and sandy welcome to JAX FL, Gecko. Nothing like getting that F3 Passport stamped! That made it a 12-pack for the beatdown.

This Gloom’s “gameful employment” brought to you by Nugget’s influence. Our brother has a reputation for bringing games into his Q’s, so YHC, looking for a fresh Q idea, decided to throw-down with a man-sized game of sandbag Tic-Tac-Toe. a.k.a. Tic-Tac-Gohhh! Of course, we started with the warmup…

WARM-O-RAMA:

  • SSH – 18 IC
  • Swartz Jacks – 20 IC (just pay attention Leatherman, you’ll get ’em figured out)
  • Imperial Walkers – 20 IC
  • Hill Billy Walkers – 18 IC
  • Crab Flippers (a.k.a. Cherry Pickers) – 20 IC
  • Flying Squirrels – 10 OYO

Mosey down N. Bedford Street to the field on North Bedford Street Park, where PAX would find what pre-ruck rucker Ruxpin caught YHC red-handed setting up prior to the workout: A man-sized Tic-Tac-Toe painted on the field (shout-out to sprayable sidewalk chalk!) YHC should’ve taken a pic because, you have to admit, it did have a cool F3 symbol painted in the middle square.

PAX counted-off by 2’s…well, some of us did. Uh, hem, Doubtfire! It took a couple tries but we got it figured out. Nonetheless, 12 PAX beat the Fartsack to post for this highly excellent game! 12 PAX equals 2 teams of six. Y’all started your Saturday with 2 Six PAX! Here’s how it all went down:

THE THANG:

Teams were set up EXACTLY 100′ feet apart. Team X, with 5 40lb sandbags stacked at their cone marked with X’s. Team O, with 5 40lb sandbags stacked at their cone marked with O’s. On the count of 3, 2, 1 Gohhh! PAX took turns and had to carry a sandbag and carefully place it (like a baby, per Q’s instructions) into the tic-tac-toe design in the middle of the field trying to get 3-in-a-row-tic-tac-toe! Teams played to win the best of 7 rounds.

Round 1: O’s win! (wouldn’t you like to hear THAT more??)

  • Winners, Plank.
  • Losers, 25 Sandbag Squat Swings
    • (Yes kids, sometimes you win, sometimes you lose!)

Round 2: O’s win! (yep, you heard it here first, folks! O’s won 2 straight!)

  • Winners, Plank.
  • Losers, 25 Sandbag Squat Curls

Round 3: X’s win! O’s 2 – X’s 1

  • Winners, Plank
  • Losers, 25 OH Shoulder Press

Round 4: X’s win! O’s 2 – X’s 2

  • Winners, Plank
  • Losers, 25 Bulgarian Ball Busters

Round 5: X’s win! O’s 2 – X’s 3

  • Winners, Plank
  • Losers, 25 Sandbag Pulls (vertical…sack to your Bombjacks!)

Round 6: O’s win! O’s 3 – X’s 3

  • Winners, Plank
  • Losers, 25 Plank Pulls

CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND, Round 7: Teams compete with their best line-up

  • Jack Wins! SOG…Son Ofa Gun!
  • Losers, 18 Burpees (both teams)

Great competition, great fun! We all got stronger, so yep, it looks like everyone actually did win. Hmm…

3rd F Breather: YHC shared a rinse and repeat of a 3rd Word he shared from a life experience which really drove home the Word of God:

Exodus 33:13-15. Moses said to the Lord, “You have been telling me, ‘Lead these people,’ but You have not let me know whom you will send with me. you have said, ‘I know you by name and you have found favor with Me.’ If you are pleased with me, teach me Your ways so I may know You and continue to find favor with You. Remember that this nation is Your people.” The Lord replied, “My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest. Verse 15 reads: Then Moses said to Him, “If your Presence does not go with us, do not lead us up [to the Promised Land] from here.“

  1. As leaders, what’s one thing we CANNOT do without? God’s presence!
  2. Earlier in verse 2 it says that an angel would go with them, but NOT God’s presence.
  3. In verse 3, going into the Promised Land, victory was promised
  4. BUT…God’s presence WOULD NOT go with them. Before Moses pleaded with God later in the chapter, we read that God had planned to withhold His presence from His people.

Have you ever thought about why? This used to confound me until I was walking a trail in the woods across the parking lot from my church years ago, with 2 of my 3 boys. After playing with every stick (guns/swords) and every rock (grenades) it was time to start heading down through the woods, across the field and parking lot toward home. But the boys would not stay with me! After repeated urgings for them to stay with me, without their corresponding response to do so, I, slightly ahead of them on the trail just simply stepped behind a large tree. I literally hid or withheld my presence. I’m their father, so I didn’t do it to be mean or even to make them suffer. I didn’t go home and cruelly leave them in the woods to fend for their 2-yr-old and 3-yr-old selves. I stepped behind the tree to hide my presence for one reason: To hear the words “Daddy, where are you?” They cried out almost immediately and I responded almost immediately. That’s when it hit me! When God hides His presence from us it’s not because He’s mean, wants us to suffer, and it’s not that He is cruel. He simply wants us to recognize His absence and to call out to Him and say, Daddy, where are you? I need your presence in my life, my leadership! I need you God. That’s what Moses cried out on behalf of himself and the nation. And God answered and said, “My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.”

As men, husbands, fathers, and leaders what’s one thing we cannot do without in order to be HIM? God’s presence! When you notice His absence, repent (turn) and cry out to Him.

The Thang 2:

  • 10 Swerkins, run (kinda) across field – 20 Carolina Drydocks
  • 10 Swerkins, run (kinda) across field – 15 Split Jacks (15 each leg)
  • 10 Swerkins, run (kinda) across field – 10 Mtn. Man Poopers
  • 10 Swerkins, run (kinda) across field – 05 Nipple Scraper Merkins

Mosey back to AO for a 10 mins of Mary:

  • 15 Climb da Ladder -Compliments of Vanilla
  • 20 4-Count Freddies – Compliments of Hideous
  • 25 Reverse Crunch – Compliments of Nugget
  • 15 Big Boys – Compliments of Bovine
  • 20 Flutter Kicks – Compliments of Ying Ying (great cadence bro!)
  • 20 Groiners – Compliments of Doubtfire (some serious sucktology!)
  • 15 Burpees – Compliments of Cousin Eddie, Gecko from JAX, FL.
  • Great recall Nugget!

YHC heard the bells ringing; time to circle up.

  • Announcements: Get your shirts now, order window closes in few days and won’t open again for 6 or 8 months. order try this link:
F3 First State Semper Anticus Pre-Order October 2022
  • Prayers: Chappie’s teens; Gecko’s teens; Chattahoochee; etc. Thanx for taking the hand-off Vanilla!

Thanks for the opportunity to lead HIM! Thanks for your ear at Coffeeteria, Gecko. What are the odds that you show up in DE and post at exactly the same time we’re working through almost identical issues with sons? Perhaps Soul-Q might’ve had a hand in our schedules.

Chappie, out!

Blame it on the Milkshake

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Date: 07/04/19

AO: CHOP, Milton, De.

QIC: Fireplex

Warm up

SSH – 20 IC

Plank Jacks – 20 IC

Cherry Pickers – 20 IC

Ballerina Toe Squats – 20 IC

Mountain Climbers – 20 IC

Windmills – 20 IC

The Thang

Patriot run .5 miles to “Oh Hill No”. 

PAX partnered up for B.O.M.B.’s on the Hill.  One PAX Soldier Crawls (Spiderman Crawl) up the hill and mosey’s back down while his partner completes a series of exercises.  Each team completed a total of 50 burpees, 100 Overhead Claps completed as SSH’s, 150 Merkins, 200 Big Boy Situp’s, and 250 Squats.  However, Q had each PAX carry his own weight and complete half of that total exercise amount before moving on to the next exercise….25 Burpees, 50 Overhead Claps completed as SSH’s, 75 Merkins, 100 Big Boy Situp’s, 125 squats.  A little chatter in regards to the pain station prompted a response by Q to blame it on the milkshake he indulged at the fireworks display last night.

F3 Message – See below

Mosey .5 miles back to CHOP by way of the Patriot Run.

Count-O-Rama, Name-O-Rama, and the Circle of Trust.  Please keep all our HIM in your thoughts and prayer.  Save travels and a shout out to Bovine and Chappie as they were completing a 17.76 mile Ruck during this morning’s beat down. 

F3 Message 07/04/19 – Excerpts were utilized by Q from the re-post below from Christianity Daily as well as Billy Graham Evangelistic Association.

Happy Independence Day 2017: Bible Verses and Quotes To Reflect On What Freedom Means In America

JUL 02, 2017 07:26 PM EDT

From Christianity Daily.com

Fourth of July marks the moment in history when representatives of a new government uprising signed the Declaration of Independence in the United States on July 4, 1776. The document listed grievances suffered by the U.S. colonies under British monarchy and justified a desire for liberty. It was penned by Thomas Jefferson. Also known as Independence Day, it is an annual holiday that symbolizes freedom. It is celebrated nationwide in 2017 on Tuesday, July 4.

Although declared in 1776, Americans were not delivered from bondage until 1783. The high cost of freedom was paid for in blood, in what historians estimate to be the death of 25,000 American Patriots. It took eight years, four months, and fifteen days of war between America and Great Britain during the American Revolution to be fully attained.

The Oxford dictionary defines freedom as “the power or right to act, speak, or think as one wants without hindrance or restraint.” It is also defined as the “absence of subjection to foreign domination or despotic government,” and “the state of not being imprisoned or enslaved.” Christianity Daily compiled a list of Bible verses and quotes that shed light on the true meaning of freedom.

4 Things the Bible Says About Freedom

By BGEA   •   July 1, 2019   •   Topics: Holidays, Lifestyle

By Billy Graham Evangelistic Association

As the United States of America celebrates Independence Day on July 4, it’s worth noting the nation was founded upon the idea that God created human beings to be free. The Declaration of Independence states that people “are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”

But what is “liberty,” exactly? Is freedom based upon the country where you live, or can it have a deeper meaning?

Here are some key ideas from the Bible about freedom—including how to find true freedom in your life.

1. People have been searching for it for thousands of years.

The quest for freedom is a theme found throughout the Bible, from Genesis to Revelation. Just three chapters into the story of God’s creation, humanity gave up its freedom by choosing to rebel against God. From that time forward, the perfect freedom God created in the Garden of Eden was gone, and the long-term effects were both physical and spiritual.

The Old Testament of the Bible records how God’s people lost their physical freedom time and again as various empires overtook them (most notably the Egyptians, as recorded in the book of Exodus).

The loss of physical freedom was often tied to spiritual disobedience like worshiping false gods. But time and again, the one true God forgave His people and rescued them. When God freed the Israelites from slavery in Egypt, He was foreshadowing the arrival of Jesus Christ, who came to free humanity from sin—the spiritual slavery that leads to death.

Today, many people are living in spiritual slavery without realizing it. They chase false gods of money, success, personal comfort and romantic love—only to realize they still have an emptiness that can’t be filled by any of those things.

>> Everyone worships something. Read Billy Graham’s short answer about the definition of an idol.

2. God’s answer to our loss of freedom has always been Jesus Christ.

When Jesus began his short period of ministry on the earth, He announced He was the One that God’s people had been waiting for since the fall of humanity. He did this by reading a particular passage from the book of Isaiah—a passage his listeners knew was referring to the Messiah, or the Savior of the world.

The words had been written hundreds of years earlier and spoke of a new freedom that was coming in the future. When Jesus stood up to read, He was saying the future had arrived. Liberty would come through Him.

“And the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written,

‘The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because he has anointed me
to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives
and recovering of sight to the blind,
to set at liberty those who are oppressed,
 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.’

And he rolled up the scroll and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. And he began to say to them, ‘Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing’” (Luke 4:17-21, emphasis added).

>> Read Billy Graham’s short devotion, “Truth Brings Freedom.”

3. Jesus came to free us from death, sin and anything that enslaves us.

The core message of the Christian faith—the Gospel—is that Jesus Christ rescues us from the slavery of sin and offers true freedom in this life and beyond. This is what Jesus said:

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16).

The Good News—the best news ever—is that faith in Jesus frees us from the death we deserve for sinning against God. It frees us from the punishment that would be inflicted upon us at the end of our lives for the evil things we’ve thought and done.

While Christ followers still battle with sin, they are no longer slaves to it. Through the power of Christ, His people can be set free from the bondage of greed, vanity, pride, pornography, addiction, abusive behavior, gluttony, selfishness—and any other sin under the sun. Here’s what Jesus said about the freedom He offers:

“If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8:31-32). 

“Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin. The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son remains forever. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed” (John 8:34-36).

>> Watch Billy Graham’s powerful message, “Truth and Freedom,” from his 1969 New York City Crusade.

4. God gives us freedom to choose our own path.

God created human beings, not robots. We don’t have to accept the freedom He offers us through Jesus Christ. He gives each person the free will to accept or reject His salvation. But the Bible warns that hell is a real place where real people end up when they knowingly reject the truth.

Likewise, those who choose Christ are not forced to obey Him at every turn. But God makes it clear: the best life is one that’s devoted to honoring Him. As the Apostle Paul explained to some of the first Christians:

“’All things are lawful for me,’” but not all things are helpful. ‘All things are lawful for me,’ but I will not be dominated by anything” (1 Corinthians 6:12).

“For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another” (Galatians 5:13).

>> What is “the judgment,” and why did Jesus have to die for our sins? Listen to Billy Graham’s message.

Final thoughts on freedom

From cover to cover, God’s Word points to freedom in Christ. And God doesn’t leave us wondering how to grab hold of the freedom He offers. It starts with acknowledging our brokenness—and admitting we are slaves to sin. And it ends with choosing Jesus and following Him daily. Only He can break the bonds of slavery and lead us to true freedom, now and forever.

Choose Jesus today, and find out what true freedom feels like.

Respectfully Submitted,

Fireplex

New Beginnings

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Warmup:

Milton Mustard Seed welcomes our brother from Charleston, SC today.
  • Side Straddle Hop 20 IC
  • Seal Jacks 20 IC
  • Smurf Jacks 20 IC
  • Plank Jacks 20 IC
  • Hairy Rockets 15 IC
  • Mountain Man Poopers 15 IC
  • Cherry Pickers 15 IC

The Thang

Caterpillar Snake Run with 12 pound medicine ball to 4 locations with exercises at each location.

First stop H&R Block

  • Merkins 20 IC
  • Air Drama Squats 25 OYO
  • Flutter Kicks 25 IC

Second stop Adkins Law Firm

  • Diamond Merkins 15 IC
  • Ballerinas Toe Squats 25 OYO
  • American Hammers 25 IC

Third stop field behind apartments

  • Hand Release Merkins 20 OYO
  • Bobby Hurley 20 OYO
  • Absolution 10 IC

Final Stop field behind AO

  • Walking lunges across field passing medicine ball
  • Burpees 10 OYO
  • Toy Soldier Set 40/20/10

F3 Message: New Beginnings bud around you and within you every day. You don’t need a clean slate. God is in the business of making all things new.

2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has come the new is here.

Peter 1:3 Praise be to theGod and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In His great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.

Jeremiah 29:12 For I know the plans I have for you declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

Seal Jacks Smurf Jacks 20 IC

Texas Hold’em

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Waterfall was the dealer (on Q)

Warm Up: 20IC side strattle hop, 20IC Moroccan night club, 20IC Windmills, 20IC seal jacks

The Thang: Poker with 2 decks of cards and the ball of suck (a die with different exercises on each face). We did this with 11s with dips on one side of the parking lot and squats on the other side. The cards and ball of suck were in the middle. Paired up into teams of two. Each team started with 2 cards face down. To get a card, as you went by, you had to roll the ball of suck and do the exercise to get a card. If you didn’t want a card, you could pass and keep doing your 11s. The team with the best hand at the end of the workout won.

The Message: Romans 12:1-2 Offer your bodies as a living sacrifice and do not be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. I talked about not getting sucked into the us vs. them mentality in our culture. Instead be conformed to the Bible.

Count-A-Rama, Name-A-Rama, COT

Winning hand was 5 Kings!

Wheelbarrows and 45’s

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QIC Semi


Warm-a-Rama
All i/c
20 seal jacks
20 Windmills
20 seal waves
20 Cherry pickers
20 mountain man pooper

The Thang

Mosey to new HOB entrance

Pax pair off

Big boy 45’s.
Wheelbarrow to light pole
Sumo squat 45’s I/c
Wheelbarrow to light pole
Leg lift 45’s.
Wheelbarrow to light pole
Legs 6″ squats. I/c
Wheelbarrow to light pole


3rd F
All in
Talked about how Abraham was all in sacrificing his son Issac for the Lord.
Genesis 22

Mosey back to CHOP

13 HIM showed – semi, Ruxpin, leatherman, Vanilla, Chappie, Wildwing, Chairman, toy soldier, Waterfall, doubtfire, Fireplex, nugget, FNG gump

Number Rama

Name Rama

COT

Lucky # 7 on the ball field

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6/22/19

Nugget on Q 


Warm up. 25 SSH. 15 cherry pickers. 15 windmills. 15 mt climbers. 


Mosey to baseball field. 


Bearcrawl 1-2-3. Partner. Pax 1 bear craws then crawl bears while partner to is doing exercises. Both must complete 100 merkins. 200 lbcs. 300 squats. 


7 of diamonds. Rep increases by 7 each time around bases. 7 burpees. 14 4ct flutter kicks. 21 merkins. 


3rd F. Message on genealogy of Jesus. How he came from a lineage of people with some skeletons in their closet. But he uses everyone from all walks of life. 


Blue Falcon. Split into teams. Each team has 30 seconds to come up with a 2 minute workout. They tell each other their workouts. Then hey do theirs and switch and do the other teams workout. First team to complete both workouts win!


Mosey to circle. 

Stations of Pain @CHOP and sweat…many stations of sweat.

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June 18 2019

QIC – Summit 

AO- CHOP

Warmup- 

SSH- 15 

Imperial Walker – 15

Mountain Climber- 15 

Arm circles – 15

Reverse arm circles – 15 

Bolt 45s 

Mosey around block back to AO

The Thang- 

Each PAX Pick a station to start

Stations- 

  1. Burpees
  2. Squats with 50lb sandbag
  3. Merkins
  4. LBC’s
  5. Hair Burners – with Cindy 
  6. Squat – Overhead Press w/cindy
  7. Dips on bench 
  8. American Hammer
  9. Burpjacks
  10. Plank

Work Each station for 60 seconds , Q calls next and move to next station for 60 sec. 

10PAX 10 stations. 

After 3 stations complete , all Pax go for Mosey around block. Return for 3 stations, mosey , last 4 stations then Mosey.

Meet in middle for –

3rd F – https://www.success.com/rohn-4-tips-for-setting-powerful-goals/

Rinse and repeat for 30 seconds with no mosey in-between.   Go until time. 

Woof.     God work men.  ????

Name-a-Rama

COT 

VQ2 Rain of Pain

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NAME O RAMA

GLOOM FACTOR: 05:15 66° and raining

10 Pax showed for a rainy morning beatdown at the hands of Doubtfire

WARMARAMA:

20 SSH IC

20 Windmills IC

20 Cherry Pickers

20 Smurf Jacks IC

THE THANG:

Mosey to Food Lion, Bear Crawl from light pole to light pole and do 25 Burpees, Crawl Bear back to opposite light pole and do a 60/30/15 Toy Soldier set

Mosey to Car Wash via Morris Ave.

3rd F: PRAYER

Prayer is much more than bringing to God your list of wants, desires, and needs. It is a radical act of worship that reminds you of who you are, who God is, and what life is all about. Prayer is surrender:

  1. Prayer is surrender to the reality that there is someone more ultimate than you.
  2. Prayer is surrender to the reality that life isn’t just about you.
  3. Prayer is surrender to the reality that you need help.
  4. Prayer is surrender to the reality that there is wisdom greater than ours.
  5. Prayer is surrender of your right to live as you choose.
  6. Prayer is surrender of your hopes to God’s grace.

PAX were encouraged to step up their prayer life and to make it a daily habit to be prayer warriors and to consistently lift our M’s, 2.0’s, careers, and community to our heavenly Father.

THE THANG continues at the carwash:

Crab Walk to end of Island and do 25 Groiners

Walk Crab back and do 20 Merkins

Mosey back to AO

MARY:

6″ leg lift – 30 count

6″ leg lift – 30 count (thanks Fireplex)

Dolly’s – 10 IC

Big Boyz – 15 OYO

Elbow Plank – 10 count by 10 PAX (total 100 count)

COT

Normandy 75th Ruck Q

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More great numbers for a Saturday, 11 PAX posted for a beatdown at the Aegis–including 1 FNG. Welcome shout out to Ox! Again, brother, remember it doesn’t get easier but you get better/stronger/faster. Keep posting. A few PAX got in some pre-ruck action: Shout out to Ruxpin, Leatherman, & Summit (bought a ruck, so he’s neck-deep now! 😉 )

Most of what was done and most of what YHC shared was captured in screenshots, so after the warmup info, those items will simply be posted. So here goes…

Warm-O-Rama:

  • SSH – 30 IC
  • Seal Jacks – 30 IC
  • Crab Flippers – 30 IC (a.k.a. Cherry Pickers)
  • Windmill – 15 IC
  • Sebif – 15 IC (Something Else But I Forgot)

All warmup repetitions were either 30-count or combined to be a 30-count, as esplained by YHC in recognition of his grandfather’s unit — the 508th PIR — which jumped into Normandy and subsequently fought for the next 33 days til getting a reprieve and being sent back to England to prep for their next mission. This day marked day 3 since jumping in…so the countdown was on at 30 reps.

508th PIR – “Red Devils”

PAX were informed through commo channels to bring a ruck if they owned one. A few extras were on hand, but 40# sandbags sufficed otherwise. The Thang, courtesy of GORUCK, would commence at Georgetown’s WWII Memorial since this past Thursday was the 75th Anniversary of D-Day.

The Skinny:

Ruck Q courtesy of GORUCK

PAX rucked 1 Mile to the field at the corner of W. North & Pleasant Streets, completed the above workout following YHC’s 3rdF, then rucked 1 Mile to return to the WWII Memorial at the Georgetown Circle. The excellent pace was set by the PAX doing a 30-steps shuffle during the ruck to and fro.

1 mile 2x

Here’s the 3rdF shared for a breather:

YHC took the PAX into a little OT, but no one’s feelings were hurt…at least he doesn’t think so.

Number-Rama: 11!

Name-O-Rama: Not sure what happened but Bovine got really confused; he thought he was Doubtfire! 🙂 FNG named Ox. Welcome to the tribe!

COT/BOM:

  • Announcements/Prayers
  • A few met up for coffeeteria at what America runs on, and had some great 2ndF.

Grateful for the opportunity to Q at the Aegis…more grateful for the opportunity to share about my Pappap and the 508th…and ever grateful for that greatest generation! Aye! Thanks for your ear, men! Awesome push by all.

Chappie, out!

Toy Soldier’s D-Day Beatdown

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Date: 6/6/19

QIC: Toy Soldier

Warm-up: SSH, Sun Goddess, Smurf Jacks, Hairy Rockets, Mountain Man Poopers.

The Thang

Mosey to HO Brittingham Elementary School. Share 10 facts about D-Day throughout the workout.

  • High Knee run from 1st light post to 2nd
  • Lt. Dan from 2nd post to 3rd
  • walking lung 3rd post to 4th
  • bear crawl 4th to 5th post
  • merkin crawl (merkin and move laterally and merkin until arrows on road)
  • 30 Burpees
  • 30 Bigboys
  • Mosey around parking lot
  • 20 Bobby Hurleys
  • 20 Flutter Kicks
  • Mosey around parking lot
  • 10 Iron Mikes IC
  • 10 Outlaws
  • Mosey to AO

On 6 June 1944, British, US and Canadian forces invaded the coast of Normandy in northern France.The landings were the first stage of Operation Overlord – the invasion of Nazi-occupied Europe – and aimed to bring an end to World War Two. By night-time, around 156,000 Allied troops had arrived in Normandy, despite challenging weather and fierce German defences. At the end of D-Day, the Allies had established a foothold in France and within 11 months Nazi Germany was defeated and the war was over.

Here are 10 things you may not have known about the operation:

1. Photography appeal

As early as 1942, the BBC launched a bogus appeal for photographs and postcards from the coast of Europe, from Norway to the Pyrenees. It was actually a way of gathering intelligence on suitable landing beaches and Normandy was settled on. Millions of photos ended up being sent to the War Office and, with the help of the French Resistance and air reconnaissance, military bosses were able to target the best landing spots for D-Day.

2. Phantom army

The Allies put a lot of effort into trying to convince the Germans that the invasion was going to be near Calais, not Normandy. They invented phantom field armies based in Kent as part of their D-Day deception plan, named Operation Fortitude. They built dummy equipment – including inflatable tanks – parachuted dummies, used double agents and released controlled leaks of misinformation which led the Germans to believe the Allies were going to invade via the Pas-de-Calais and Norway. The Germans took the bait so much that even after D-Day they held many of their best troops in the Calais area expecting a second invasion.

3. Two million troops

By 1944 more than two million troops from more than 12 countries were in Britain preparing for the invasion. On D-Day, Allied forces consisted primarily of US, British and Canadian troops but also included Australian, Belgian, Czech, Dutch, French, Greek, New Zealand, Norwegian, Rhodesian [present-day Zimbabwe] and Polish naval, air and ground support.

4. Weather watching

The officers organising the operation were very particular about the timing of D-Day. They wanted a full moon with a spring tide so they could land at dawn when the tide was about half way in – but those kind of conditions meant there were only a few days that could work. They chose to invade on 5 June, but ended up delaying by 24 hours because of bad weather. It was Group Captain James Martin Stagg who made the vital forecast and persuaded General Eisenhower to change the date.

5. Rommel’s shoes

In fact, the forecast was so bad that the German commander in Normandy, Erwin Rommel, felt so sure there wouldn’t be an invasion he went home to give his wife a pair of shoes for her 50th birthday. He was in Germany when the news came of the invasion.

6. Sleeping Hitler

When the D-Day forces landed, Nazi leader Adolf Hitler was asleep. None of his generals dared order reinforcements without his permission, and no-one dared wake him.Crucial hours were lost in the battle to hold Normandy. When Hitler did finally wake up, at around 10am, he was excited at news of the invasion – he thought Germany would easily defeat the Allies.

7. Commonwealth strength

While America formed the biggest national contingent, the combined force of Commonwealth service personnel – mostly British and Canadian – was greater. Of the 156,000 men who landed in France on 6 June, 73,000 were American, and 83,000 British or Canadian. The Commonwealth naval contingent was twice that of the Americans.

8. Bloody Omaha

There were five beaches that were chosen for the operation, codenamed, from east to west, Sword, Juno, Gold, Omaha, Utah. Casualties varied widely – on “Bloody Omaha”, where around 4,000 men were killed or wounded, one US unit landing in the first wave lost 90% of its men.On Gold Beach, by contrast, casualty rates were around 80% lower. The fighting during the Battle of Normandy, which followed D-Day, was as bloody as it had been in the trenches of World War One. Casualty rates were slightly higher than they were during a typical day during the Battle of the Somme in 1916.

9. Smashed toilets

The vibration of HMS Belfast’s guns firing during D-Day was so powerful it actually cracked the crew’s toilets.

10. Pub test

Having been given his top-secret mission to attack the Merville battery on D-Day, Terence Otway had to be certain his men wouldn’t spill the beans ahead of 6 June 1944. He sent 30 of the prettiest members of the Women’s Auxiliary Air Force, dressed in civilian clothes, into village pubs near where his soldiers were training.

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