ROBERT'S MESSAGES FROM ACTIVE DUTY December 19, 2005 Hi everyone. I hope you and yours are doing well this holiday season. I sure do miss home and can't wait for my mid-tour R&R when the Army will fly me back home for a couple of weeks. In the meantime, I now have the opportunity, during off-duty hours, to publish the CNUSA update from Africa starting with this one. Joyce and I are in constant contact and she keeps me posted on all things business. I am able to keep up with all the new things in the collectibles world now! Speaking of new stuff here in my world, during a day I spent in Baghdad I snapped pics of some of Saddam Hussein's palaces. The one in the background pictured here is called "The Victory Over America Palace." It was built by the Saddam Hussein regime as a memorial to what Hussein claimed was Iraq's victory over the U.S. during Operation Desert Storm. Take notice of the construction cranes on the backside of the palace. Only the side you see was constructed; the other side is an empty shell. The U.S. is leaving the Palace as it stands half-constructed and unoccupied. Inset, you'll find a picture of me sitting in Saddam Hussein's royal throne. Who would've imagined that. January 6, 2006 Hi everyone. The holiday season went by pretty fast here in Djibouti. The Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marines all worked together to put out special Christmas and New Years dinners that were probably the best military-made meals I've eaten in 20 years of service. The dining halls were all decked out as were all the servers and cooks. Even the French and the Djiboutians pitched in. Off in the cliffs the French shot off fireworks and the Djiboutians put Santa on the back of truck and paraded through the camp. January 20, 2006 Our work here in Africa often requires us to get out into the bush in isolated areas of the continent. Sometimes, it can be just like a safari with wild animals all around. Some Europeans vacation here just for that experience. While on a recent road trip, we caught a glimpse of two vacationers doing just that...riding camels in the bush being lead by local guide. In fact, many of the sites here are breath-taking, like standing at the base of Mt. Kilamanjaro. I'll put up more interesting pics as they become available. January 25, 2006 The plane you see pictured is the Hercules C-130. This airplane is the most flown cargo airplane in the world and has been in service since 1962. It flies and lands just about everywhere. Known for its abilities to carry and drop heavy loads and for landing and taking off on short runways, the C-130 it is the Army's workhorse, even though its belongs to the Air Force. Back in 1987 I earned my parachute wings jumping out of these planes. I am still flying around in them almost 20 years later. It's really thrilling to sit in the cockpit while the plane is landing. Just recently, I flow over Riyadh, Saudia Arabia and the Red Sea. January 29, 2006 Pictured here is a soldier from our Force Protection Company providing security for our Marines at a landing zone near us. This Sea Stallion helicopter is big and loud. Several of them are parked beside our camp. They also hover around us constantly at all times of the day. Between the French jets and the Marine helicopters it's often hard to think, speak or be heard. February 8, 2006 Last week, I drove into downtown Djibouti for some pizza and beer with some friends. You can see me in the red shirt on the left. The food was good, but the drive to the restaurant from camp and back was the most fun of all. It was pitch black, there were no road signs, and the traffic was two-way with no lane dividers. And, no slowing down was allowed! It was practically a race to and from the camp. I was speeding along in my Toyota Hilux when out of no where came three camels right at me from the side of the road. I just barely missed them. When you get outside the camp's outer perimeter it doesn't take long to realize that you really are in Africa. Next week, I am scheduled to fly into Nairobi, Kenya. I'll be there for a little while and I plan to get some great pictures. March 3, 2006 Check out my latest ride! The Army calls it a M114 Up-Armored HMMWV. We just call it a Hummer. Hummers just like this one are used by U.S. Forces throughout the Middle East, South West Asia and Africa in convoys, security patrols, and other troop movements. Unlike the Hummers back at home, air-conditioning is installed on all these Hummers to combat the severe heat that soldiers endure while wearing heavy protective vests and other combat gear.  The Hummers are like hot metal boxes because the doors and windows are very thick.  These Hummers are nothing like the civilian models seen occasionally on the roads back home. My next travel stop is Baharain.  I'll try to get some pictures while I am there to send back home.   March 7, 2006 Welcome to Camp LeMonier. This is where I live and work. Yep, in those tents on the left in the foreground. The Camp itself is a former French Legioner base that we are leasing from Djibouti. It wasn't much of anything when we got here, but we've built it up to American military standards. Further back in the left pic, you can see the tail sections of some of our airplanes. To the right you can can see the on-ramp to the main flight line where the planes and helicopters pass by us constantly. We call the airplanes "Mother Jaws" because all we can see when they pass by is the top of the tail sections like a shark's fin in the water. In the far background just beyond the horizon is Somalia. Follow the airplane on-ramp to the right picture and you can see where it then leads beside one of our guard towers manned by the Marines who protect our camp and secure the airfield. The Marines guarding the towers are very motivated young men - some right out of high school. I am looking down at the guard tower from the top of our Shoot House. We use the Shoot House to hone our close quarter combat skills (house-to-house combat). So long from Africa and thank you for your continued patronage. March 19, 2006 I took this picture during one of my days traveling in Baghdad. Here you can see trail vehicles in our convoy passing by one of the many checkpoints enroute to an Army headquarters. It was a typical hot dirty muggy day. The dirt in Baghdad is like a fine powder that gets on everything. A wind storm came in soon after taking this picture rose up so much dirt that it blocked out the entire blue sky. A pinkish haze was all that you could see around you. When the wind stops the dirt settles in big mounds all around. One time, I had to wait 4 hours besides a military airfield to catch a plane out because no airplanes could fly due to the dust storms. It was one of these days amongst so many others that continue to make me appreciate home. So long from Africa and thank you for your continued patronage. March 31, 2006 I just returned from a week-long business trip to the U.S. 5th Fleet Central Command Headquarters at the Navy base in Bahrain As you can see, the Navy knows how to live. The pictures speak for themselves. I took these pics standing in the middle of the visitors' barracks courtyard. My "suite" was a far cry from my tent in Africa. The Navy Seals with whom I worked were a very professional bunch. The hospitality they extended to me during my trip was awesome. So long from Africa and thank you for your continued patronage. April 8, 2006 A traditional mission of the U.S Army Special Operations Forces is to train military forces of partner nations to carry the fight to the enemy themselves, thus, preventing our forces from getting directly involved later. Recently, we held fairwell ceremonies for groups of foreign soldiers who completed one of the training cycles we provided them. In honor and celebration of these events, the soldiers treated us with traditional warrior dances and commemorative gifts. Pictured here is a group of the foreign soldiers in semi-traditional outfits, dancing before us with their rifles over their shoulders and swinging ceremonial daggers in the air. So long from Africa and thank you for your continued patronage. April 27, 2006 Today, I am going back to the Middle East after spending two wonderful weeks of R&R with my family at home in Arlington, Texas. While home, I ate at my favorite restaurants, played video games with the kids, tinkered with our race car, watched cool movies like Ice Age 2 - The Meltdown, and accomplished most of the honey-do list items (the big list). I really miss being away from the heart of the business because it can be so much fun. I can't wait to get back later this year. I also took the opportunity to take a fresh look at the business after doing some Spring warehouse cleaning with the staff. I decided that we are going to get back to the basics like busting open more cases and selling more individual cars from all the brands we carry, especially Johnny Lightning and Hot Wheels. Moreover, we will be expanding lines like slot cars and Franklin Mint while decreasing our offerings of other non-car related lines. We now have Hot Wheels Monster Jam trucks available and many new Franklin Mint models just arrived with many more new ones to come. We will also be prioritizing the Collector's News and Product Review web pages to keep them posted with current information about what's coming and what people think about it. So long from Africa and thank you for your continued patronage. May 5, 2006 Well, I am back in Africa and it took me three full days to get here...yuck! What a trip. From Dallas I flew to Hungary, Kuwait, Dubai, Ethiopia, and then finally on to Djibouti. I can't say I am glad to be back, but I am glad to be on the ground. When we came home to Texas we were treated like heroes. As our jet (the Freedom Bird) came to the gate at DFW, the airport fire engines showered our jet with an arching water display. Throngs of people lined up beyond U.S. Customs to welcome us home. Men of all ages and grades were busting out in tears with their families. The greetings, thanks and well wishes continued wherever I went. The generosity and graciousness extend by everyone to me and my family continues to keep us motivated. I'll always remember the look of surprise on my kids' faces when I picked them up from school the day I arrived. So long from Africa and thank you for your continued patronage. May 12, 2006 Here's a pic of my non commissioned officers inspecting a shipment of Spanish Humvees that we received this week. Yes, Spanish hummers. Not only do they look different than our hummers, but all the guages are in Spanish, they have adjustable highback bucket seats and they have airbrakes like the type that come on big trucks. These hummers are manufactured with extra armor for protection so I suspect the airbrakes were installed to compensate for the added weight. Each of the vehicles weighs 5 tons. Of course these babies arrived without any technical manuals so it's going to be difficult for us to make them fully operational for coming operations. Nevertheless, we'll get it done because that's the nature of our business here. So long from Africa and thank you for your continued patronage. May 19, 2006 In response to our weekly updates, I regularly receive notes of thanks and encouragement from customers across the country. I also receive occasional messages from brother-in-arms who also happen to be customers. Last week, I received an encouraging note from a brother in the Air Force, Lieutentant Colonel Jeff Zillinger. Jeff is the Commander of the 117th Air Refueling Squadron. He and his airmen fly high above us in their KC-135s refueling our tactical fighters of which many are flown here straight from home and back without landing. The picture here shows one of Jeff's planes refueling a B2 Bomber. Jeff flies part time for the Air Force and part time for American Airlines. Many people would be surprised to know that the Air Force itself has been at war since the first Iraq War (Desert Storm). Speaking of airmen, Jeff's daughter is a crew chief for one of his KC-135s and a college student. Now that's for keeping it in the family! Thanks for the kind note Jeff. Be safe. The beer is still on me. So long from Africa and thank you for your continued patronage. May 26, 2006 As a Memorial Day tribute to our fallen comrades, I took this shot of two of our Marine Heavy Helicopters to symbolize the sacrifices we make everyday in this war effort. We dove deep into the Red Sea and brought them all back. The incident and the loss we felt changed us forever. We paid a solemn tribute to the fallen while in their flag-draped caskets they were placed onto the plane for the long trip home. These heroes paid the ultimate sacrifice as many others have to preserve our way of life and to protect the freedoms we enjoy in the United States of America. Please remember them along with all the others during the national time of observence 3:00 pm Memorial Day. So long from Africa and thank you for your continued patronage.

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