Vol. 8, No. 6 June 2012 Newsletter of Charleston Base, Unit ed States Submarine Veterans, Inc.

USSVI Creed “To perpetuate the memory of our shipmates who gave their lives in the pursuit of their duties while serving their country. That their dedication, deeds, and supreme sacrifice be a constant source of motivation toward greater accomplishments. Pledge loyalty and patriotism to the United States of America and its Constitution”

Base Meeting: Special Officers Phone Number June 14, 2012 Social hour 1800, General Meeting 1900 Chief of the Boat Rick Sparger 843-553-5594

Location: Public Affairs Larry Starland 843-863-8474 Fleet Reserve Association Branch 269 Veterans Affairs Jim Morrison 843-832-9716 Low Country Home 99 Wisteria Rd. Chaplain John Nichols 843-452-3189 Goose Creek, South Carolina. Phone 843-569-2962 Membership Carl Chinn 843-875-3098 Holland Club John Lookabill 843-797-2991 Base Officers Phone Number Scholarship Julian Villegas 843-871-6135 Commander Carl Chinn 843-875-3098 Newsletter Carl Chinn 843-875-3098 Vice Commander Jerry Stout 843-871-9533 Storekeeper Ken Hutchison 843-553-0935 Secretary Theron Irving 843-817-5118 Webmaster Nick Nichols 843-452-3189 Treasurer Terry Trump 843-873-9563 Historian George Scharf 843 873-3318

Minutes of the May 2012 meeting Treasurer: Terry Trump gave a Base financial report for April 2012. Attendance for the May 10, 2012 meeting was 101 Vice Commander: No report Opening Ceremony: Base Vice Commander Marty Storekeeper: No report Sessler called meeting to order. A Quorum was present and the meeting commenced at 1900. Chaplain: Nick Nichols presented the May report. Tom Lufkin and Trudy Glass were married on April Introductions: New people introduced. Brian Turley, th Groton Base; Lamar Serer, Mickey Davidson, Groton 20 . I know that we all wish them the very best in their Base; Don Ort. Welcome aboard. life together. Pauline Stank, Ed’s wife, is finally in a regular room, Secretary: Secretary asked for a motion to approve the showing some signs of getting stronger, but this is meeting minutes from last month. A motion was made going to be a long process. She’s still on the ventilator and seconded. Minutes approved. and can’t speak but Ed can talk for her. Tom Skorepa is recovering well from his surgery in received a muscle graft from his back to one of his late March. Tom is here tonight. arms with the hopes he will be able to use that arm Gary Semler is now on a new chemo regimen. He is fully in the future. now at home but due to his current immune system As reported last meeting, TM2 (SS) Richard ‘Fox’ situation visitors must call before going to visit. Also Binkley, US Navy Retired, departed on EP on March no physical contact (shaking hands) can be allowed. 19th in Florence SC. He was a member of Swamp Fox Elsie Wilson, Rex Wilson’s wife, passed away on Chapter WWII Submarine Veterans and of the April 22nd from cancer. A celebration of life service Charleston Base SUBVETS. There will be a private was held on Saturday, April 28th. I did not receive info memorial service will be held sometime in May when on the service in time to let everyone know about it. his ashes will be spread on the Charleston Harbor by Ernie Barwick was involved in a care wreck at the the family with a small detachment of the Charleston end of April when he was hit with a carjacked vehicle. Base conducting the Bell Tolling. If anyone would like He was checked out OK but later taken to the hospital to donate to pay for fuel for the boat you will have a with a possible stroke. It was determined he had a chance when the hat is passed at the end of the whiplash, neck and head pain. On May 3rd he meeting. underwent surgery to relieve the pressure on his brain. The hat was passed the end of the meeting. An He is now at home making a great recovery. overwhelming response raised $278 to assist the Steve Everett is still recovering from his heart attack family. and was hospitalized the last weekend in April with Several follow-ups were made on those who’ve had angina. He is here tonight and doing well. surgery or illnesses in the last couple of months along Bill Roberts had some minor surgery the last week of with the base sending additional cards. April. He recovering well. If you know of shipmates or spouses from other bases Jim Kimbrell is still having problems with his back who are having a difficult time, had surgery, etc. and and can’t make the meeting. He hopes to be able to be would like for USSVI Charleston Base to send them a out and about and at the meeting next month. card please send their name and address to the Chaplain Greg Czech, member of Denizens of the Deep, is in via email or phone call. the VA hospital in Augusta. He had spinal surgery on April 13th and afterward could not move his legs. Public Affairs: Photos have been sent to the Post & Another surgery conducted on April 14th may have Courier touting our mission for printing in their Saturday corrected some of the problem but he will have many local photo page. Kaps for Kids photos were also sent. weeks of rehab. Scholarship: 4 applications received. Committee will Barry Wilson had a CT scan a couple weeks ago and meet this month and awards will be presented next no cancer showed up; still taking Chemo treatments meeting. 1 male applicant this time. but great to be cancer free at last. He told us that the Veteran’s Affairs: No report doctor thinks his fast recovery is due to the fact that he’s a real Torpedoman. Newsletter: New Editor needed. Please let us know if Lee Allison will be having a hip operation on June 4th. anyone is interested. Rick Alkire has been diagnosed with macular Membership: No report degeneration. He’s being treated at the VA. Dave Saari was at the meeting. He told me after the Little David: Letter of appreciation has been received meeting that his doctor has given him a clean bill of from the Berkley County Museum. Bravo Zulu to health. His cancer, which was stage IV, is in full personnel who have participated. remission. Holland Club: Tom Skropa and William “Buck” Owens I sent an email out on Brian Williams, USAF, a week were inducted into the Holland Club. Congratulations. or so ago. Brian is a brother-in-arms with Marty Sessler’s son. He was seriously wounded when he SUBVETS WWII: Next meeting will be in June, Third stepped on a landmine. He was a handler of an Thursday. explosive sniffing dog and the dog missed the mine. Historian: No report He has lost one leg, possibly will lose the other, lost Recreation Committee: The base picnic will be both arms, received shrapnel in the face and lost much Saturday 21 May at Buddha’s, eating starts at 1300. of his vision. Everyone is being asked to remember Need volunteers to flip hamburgers and roll hotdogs. this young man in your prayers as he fights for his life at Walter Reed Medical Center. District Commander: National Elections are coming Marty gave an update on Brian: Brian did not loose up. Candidates will be listed in upcoming American both arms; he had severe damage to both. He has Submariner; Aiken Base will be having their annual get together on the 23rd of June. RSVP by NLT 18 June. Next years SE Convention site is being looked at as being Northern Florida. Base Commander: (Vice Commander stand-in): Boat sponsorship program in the American Submariner: Motion made for CB to participate and seconded. Discussion: Active duty commands to receive the hard copy magazine are as follows: NPTU, Both Prototypes and the USS Nevada Blue and Gold Crews. Motion carried. Newsletter will be sent out electronically and posted on the Web site by Executive Board direction. Nov 2-6, 2011 WWII Memorial Service events at Kings "Don't tell mom I'm a submariner, she Bay. Applications on the web. thinks I play piano in a whorehouse." Nuclear Historian: Seems that our stalwart historian has had a run in with the Wal-Mart commando’s. A Vietnam Vet hat was involved. A little mix up on the date’s was observed i.e.; War of 1812 and 1936, It seems that some black ops were discussed with a reference to the commando’s family and their safety as related to the secretive operations. Home land security will be the next exciting chapter at the local Wal-Mart. Becker Brown, A. Burton Fitzpatrick th Fleet Reserve: Yard/Bake sale will be held on the 19 Grabowski Graham Hance Heinle of May 0900 to 1200 on the FRA grounds. Moncks Kirtley Kratz Loveday Lowe th Corner Memorial Service on the 28 of May. McDonald, B. Morris Murphy Rein Chief of the Boat: Bravo Zulu on the Base Picnic. Saari Sabo Schaffer Smith, P.M. Everyone had a good time. Memorial Day service will Suddeth Williams, J Yates be on the 28th of May. Muster time will be 1000 at Park cemetery in Summerville. Old Business: None June Submarines Lost: New Business: Base Secretary and Vice Commander, Secretary: Theron Irving (only candidate); Vice USS S 27 SS 132 June 19, 1942 Commander: Marty Sessler and Jerry Stout; Winner: USS R 12 SS 89 June 12, 1943 Jerry Stout, Total of 96 ballots cast. USS Herring SS 233 June 1, 1944 Good Of The Order: Submarine Birthday Ball a huge USS Gudgeon SS 211 June 7, 1944 success. GW and Chief Opie gave BZ’s with attending USS Golet SS 361 June 14, 1944 WW II SubVets getting the accolades that were richly USS Bonefish SS 223 June 18, 1945 deserved with standing ovations of the 500 people in USS O-9 SS 70 June 19, 1941 attendance and the admiration of Senior Officers present. Doc gave a good sea story about a bent periscope and the There is a port of no return, where ships following liberty port. Mini Hog roast at the After May ride at anchor for a little space th Battery this Saturday the 19 . And then, some starless night, the cable slips, Depth charge drawing; Winning number 207216 Leaving an eddy at the mooring place . . . $345.00 to the winner. Jerry Stout. Gulls, veer no longer. Sailor, rest your oar. No tangled wreckage will be washed ashore. Meeting Adjourned: The Vice Commander adjourned the meeting at 2010. June Happenings June 14– Monthly meeting June 14 – Flag Day Flag, and patriotic songs were sung and addresses delivered. In 1894, the governor of New York directed that on June 14 the Flag be displayed on all public buildings. With BJ Cigrand and Leroy Van Horn as the moving spirits, the Illinois organization, known as the American Flag Day Association, was organized for the purpose of promoting the holding of Flag Day exercises. On June 14th, 1894, under the auspices of this association, the first general public school children's celebration of Flag Day in Chicago was held in Douglas, Garfield, Humboldt, Lincoln, and Washington Parks, with more than 300,000 children participating. Adults, too, participated in patriotic programs. Franklin K. Lane, Secretary of the Interior, delivered a 1914 Flag The History Of Flag Day Day address in which he repeated words he said the flag The Fourth of July was traditionally celebrated as had spoken to him that morning: "I am what you make America's birthday, but the idea of an annual day me; nothing more. I swing before your eyes as a bright specifically celebrating the Flag is believed to have first gleam of color, a symbol of yourself." originated in 1885. BJ Cigrand, a schoolteacher, Inspired by these three decades of state and local arranged for the pupils in the Fredonia, Wisconsin celebrations, Flag Day - the anniversary of the Flag Public School, District 6, to observe June 14 (the 108th Resolution of 1777 - was officially established by the anniversary of the official adoption of The Stars and Proclamation of President Woodrow Wilson on May Stripes) as 'Flag Birthday'. In numerous magazines and 30th, 1916. While Flag Day was celebrated in various newspaper articles and public addresses over the communities for years after Wilson's proclamation, it following years, Cigrand continued to enthusiastically was not until August 3rd, 1949, that President Truman advocate the observance of June 14 as 'Flag Birthday', or signed an Act of Congress designating June 14th of each 'Flag Day'. year as National Flag Day. On June 14, 1889, George Balch, a kindergarten teacher in New York City, planned appropriate ceremonies for When God Created a Submariner the children of his school, and his idea of observing Flag 15 May 2012 Day was later adopted by the State Board of Education When the good Lord created a Submariner, it was almost of New York. On June 14, 1891, the Betsy Ross House 2300 on the sixth day. An angel appeared and said, in Philadelphia held a Flag Day celebration, and on June "You're having a lot of trouble with this one. What's 14 of the following year, the New York Society of the wrong with the standard model?" Sons of the Revolution, celebrated Flag Day. And the Lord replied, "Have you seen the specs on this Following the suggestion of Colonel J Granville Leach order? It has to be able to think independently, yet be (at the time historian of the Pennsylvania Society of the able to take orders; have the qualities of both a scientific Sons of the Revolution), the Pennsylvania Society of mind and a compassionate heart; be able to mentor Colonial Dames of America on April 25, 1893 adopted a juniors and learn from seniors; run on black coffee; resolution requesting the mayor of Philadelphia and all handle emergencies without a Damage Control Manual, others in authority and all private citizens to display the respond competently to critical incidents, decipher Flag on June 14th. Leach went on to recommend that cryptographic codes, understand pneumatics, hydraulics thereafter the day be known as 'Flag Day', and on that and sonar, have the patience of a saint and six pairs of day, school children be assembled for appropriate hands, not to mention the strength of three its size." exercises, with each child being given a small Flag. The angel shook its head slowly and said, "Six pairs of Two weeks later on May 8th, the Board of Managers of hands - - No way!" the Pennsylvania Society of Sons of the Revolution And the Lord answered, "Don't worry, we'll make other unanimously endorsed the action of the Pennsylvania Submariners to help. Besides it's not the hands which are Society of Colonial Dames. As a result of the resolution, causing the problem. It's the heart. It must swell with Dr. Edward Brooks, then Superintendent of Public pride when a Shipmate earns his Dolphins - which above Schools of Philadelphia, directed that Flag Day exercises all else signifies the crew members trust it with their be held on June 14, 1893 in Independence Square. lives, sustain the incredible hardship of life at sea in a School children were assembled, each carrying a small steel tube, beat on soundly when it's too tired to do so, and be strong enough to continue to carry on when it's "I think it's another example of Charleston being able to given all it had." support the (military) mission and being able to expand "Lord," said the angel touching the Lord's sleeve gently, the mission," said Mary Graham, Charleston Metro "Stop! It's almost midnight!" Chamber of Commerce senior vice president. "I can't," said the Lord. "I'm so close to creating Staff salaries will create "a little bit of a bump" in local something unique. Already I have one whose hands payroll and spending; the construction itself will create a blend knowledge with skill to perform the most intricate number of temporary jobs, she said. procedures, yet are strong enough to patch a ruptured Because the students and staff annually take part in the seawater pipe; whose ears can discern the sonar sounds United Way's Day of Caring volunteer effort, it also of a myriad of ocean life, yet detect the slightest shift in means hundreds more volunteers, she said. ventilation; whose mind can practice the science of The facility is one of two Navy Nuclear Power Training nuclear submarining, yet not lose sight of the art of Units; the other is outside Saratoga Springs, N.Y. teamwork; and whose eyes can peer through a periscope Each school trains 1,200 students per year. By 2022, the to identify a hull down ship, yet search within to Charleston facility would handle 1,800 students. embrace and personify honor, courage and In the interim, it would handle 2,800 while the commitment." operations are refueled at the New York school, The angel circled the model of the Submariner very according to the draft environmental assessment. slowly. "It's too serious," the angel sighed. Over the 10-year span, the USS Daniel Webster and the "But tough," said the Lord excitedly. "You cannot USS Sam Rayburn, both built in the early 1960s, would imagine what this Submariner can do or endure." be replaced one by one with the 1970s-era USS La Jolla "Can it feel?" asked the angel. and the USS San Francisco. "Can it feel! It loves Ship, Shipmates and Country like The two newer subs are somewhat notorious. no other!" The San Francisco might be best known for a 2005 crash Finally the angel bent over and ran a finger across the into an undersea mountain in the Pacific Ocean. The La Submariner's cheek. "There's a leak," pronounced the Jolla in 1982 collided with another submarine and in angel. "I told you you're trying to put too much into this 1998 struck and sank a Korean fishing trawler. model." The La Jolla also was the first submarine to successfully "That's not a leak," said the Lord. "It's a tear." test-fire a Tomahawk cruise missile while submerged, "What's it for?" asked the angel. and the San Francisco was honored for tactical "It's for joy, sadness, disappointment, pain, frustration operations. and pride!" The two newer submarines have reactors capable of "You're a genius!" exclaimed the angel. producing double the thermal wattage, or power, for the The Lord looked pleased and replied, "I didn't put it electric generator. there." The assessment of the project has been made available Filled with pride, the Lord continued, "Great things are for public comment. It calls for periodic monitoring of planned for this Submariner. It will be one of many and the river, air and ground for radioactivity but notes the together they will lead a legacy of excellence like none safety features and record of the current operation. has known before." It says radioactivity from the training has not been And with that the Lord rested. It was the seventh day. detected in the water, and found in its air emissions "a CAPT Jane F. Vieira smaller amount of radioactivity than was present in the Chaplain Corps , United States Navy ambient air outside the facilities." Staff with the environmental advocate Coastal Conservation League had no comment on the project. Navy to expand nuclear training school in Goose The training school was built in 1996. In the mid-1980s, Creek the Charleston Naval Base and the Charleston Naval Bo Petersen; Friday, March 23, 2012 9:17 p.m. Weapons Station were home ports to more submarines GOOSE CREEK -- The nuclear power training school -- than any other base in the free world. one of the lowest-profile operations at the Naval Expansion plans Weapons Station -- is in line to get a major Renovate X-Ray piers to hold two larger submarines improvement. Replace the USS Daniel Webster and USS Sam Rayburn The closely guarded facility, which teaches sailors about with the USS La Jolla and USS San Francisco nuclear propulsion and how to operate nuclear reactors, Remove older office, classroom and storage barges, will get: replace with shoreside buildings Upgrading the school will ripple through the area New gate, fencing and other security improvements economy. Nearly double parking to 1,900 spaces Training plans 2012 -- 1,200 students per year * Non-Formulary pharmaceuticals will have limited 2015 -- 1,500 per year availability in retail pharmacies 2022 -- 1,800 per year 2020-2022 -- 2,800 per year* Tom Philpott reports that the committee’s defense bill *Temporary assignments while the school at Ballston would also tie annual drug co-payment increases to the Spa, N.Y., is refueled cost-of-living adjustments for military retirees, dumping Read more the Obama administration’s plan to adjust TRICARE Naval Nuclear Power Training Unit Charleston fees and co-pays to keep pace with medical inflation. (Read the Military Update to learn more) Facilities Expansion Draft Environmental According to Military Update, the Senate Armed Assessment Services Committee will mark up its version of the (http://media.charleston.net/2012/pdf/NPTUfeb201 defense bill in late May. The Senate version is likely to 2.pdf) include the administration’s TRICARE fee increases. On Thursday Secretary of Defense, Leon Panetta, HASC Says No to TRICARE Fee Hikes slammed the HASC for adding billions of dollars to May 14, 2012 | Terry Howell President Barack Obama’s defense budget. MilitaryAdvantage.Military.com Last week the House Armed Services Committee completed the 2013 defense bill mark-up. The HASC Freshwater Submarines budget proposal will now go to the full house for a vote. Hugh Pickens writes "As we move into Memorial Day The proposal is expected to pass in the House next week. and Americans remember the men and women who died But it stands little chance of passing in the Senate. while serving in the United States Armed Forces, I Although committee chair, Rep. Buck McKeon (R- wanted to share the story of my Uncle Donald Cress CA), stated that the fee increases would not make it born in 1922 in Bath Township, Minnesota who served through the HASC, military retirees were relieved to see as a Radioman, Third Class on the USS Ribald, one of that the House version ommitted the tiered the US Navy's 'Fresh Water Submarines' because they TRICARE Prime enrollment fees and new were commissioned in the Great Lakes. On the western TRICARE Standard and TRICARE for Life enrollment shore of Lake Michigan, about 80 miles north of fees proposed by the President. Milwaukee, lies Manitowoc, Wisconsin, a city whose However, in an effort to control DoD’s drug costs, the shipyards had built car ferries and ore boats since 1902. committee chose to increase co-pays on brand-name In 1939 war broke out in Europe and President prescriptions filled at retail pharmacies and the Roosevelt declared a limited National Emergency and TRICARE mail order program and create a five- US Navy shipbuilders were concerned that submarine year pilot program that will force TRICARE for Life building capacity was not sufficient to support a long beneficiaries to get their maintenance drugs through the war. The US Navy asked the Manitowoc Shipbuilding TRICARE Pharmacy Home Delivery program for at Company to build submarines, a task far beyond their least one year, with the opportunity opt out afterwards. existing capabilities, but assured them that the Electric Boat Company, with the only shipyard in the country Comparison of Proposed Proposed Pharmacy Co-Pays capable of building submarines, would provide plans and Current DoD HASC whatever assistance they would need. Manitowoc Source Co-Pays Proposal Proposal shipyard grew from 500 employees to 7,000 employees Retail at its peak working three shifts around the clock 365 Generic $5 $5 $5 days a year and by the end of the war had built 25 Brand Name $12 $26 $17 submarines in time to see action that together sank 132 Non-Formulary* $25 N/A $44 Japanese ships. 'It appears from the results obtained at Manitowoc that given a set of good plans, competent Mail-Order – 3 month engineers and skilled workman can follow them and fill build what is called for even though it might be very much more sophisticated than anything they have built Generic $0 $0 $0 before,' writes Rear Admiral William T. Nelson. But Brand $9 $26 $13 there was one more thing the shipyard had going for it. Non-Formulary $25 $51 $43 After Pearl Harbor the entire community was now engaged in vital and important war work, sacrifice was Military Treatment No Change – Remains $0 Co- the order of the day, and each boat was their boat. 'With Facilities Pay the entire community following the construction with such interest and spirit, success was inevitable.'" Gordon's note: an indication of the classified tools that mask the The subs were commissioned at shipyard the crew Mississippi's acoustic and electronic signatures to trained with new boat in Lake Michigan. . Then the boat maintain its exceptional stealth. Then comes the boat's was decommissioned and floated in dry-dock via the electronic warfare capabilities - which its crew will Illinois River and Mississippi and re-commissioned in discuss only vaguely. New Orleans. "If I'm at periscope depth and I stick my periscope out of the water, people who are looking for me will be using a radar system to find me," says the sub's commander, Capt. John McGrath, a 20-year submarine veteran. "But I will know that that radar is in the area and I will use that to my advantage." Some of its other weapons are more traditional. The torpedo room, down in the deepest level of the boat, hosts 16 intimidating metal tubes, each wider than bicycle wheels, the bays for its 28-foot torpedoes and Tomahawk missiles. The room looks like a machinist's workshop, except for the exercise bikes and the racks where the torpedomen sleep beside their weapons - the primary means for the Mississippi to complete its future USS PETO SS265 launched April 30, 1942 missions: hunting and destroying enemy ships and subs. (in Wisconsin) "There are two types of ships in the Navy," explains Chief Nathan Holmes. "We have submarines, and we have targets." Inside the Navy’s Newest Spy Sub Even though the Mississippi isn't on a combat mission - The Navy's newest fast-attack submarine is speeding which is why the Navy allows me to tag along on a boat down the Florida coast, on its way to its commissioning overflowing with classified systems - McGrath is eager ceremony in its namesake state, at 15 knots. And it's to demonstrate that his boat is a predator, not prey. After getting outraced by dolphins. I climb down from the sail, he orders the boat's pilot to Hours before the U.S.S. Mississippi dives several dive to 155 feet, a way-station depth that's far enough hundred feet beneath the Atlantic, its sail juts proudly underwater to avoid sea traffic but shallow enough so he into the warm, whipping southern air. Submariners allow can get surface rapidly should something go wrong. me to see the highest point on the sub for myself - When nothing does, McGrath orders the pilots to provided I can keep my balance up three steep levels' continue on to a depth of 400 feet. The faster the captain worth of ladder and hoist myself out onto a platform the wants to go, the deeper he dives. size of a fancy refrigerator. A harness hooked to an iron The dive is surprisingly imperceptible. Even though bolt on the sail keeps me from falling to my death. we've just dropped 400 feet in a minute, I barely lean There's no land in sight, just blue water turned white forward. If I had been drinking anything, it wouldn't around the sub's wake, a tall BPS-16 military radar have spilled. spinning in front of us, and a family of dolphins jumping That's the case during my entire four-day stint on the out of the surf in front of the 377-foot boat. boat. With the exception of a 20-minute exercise in Apparently it's typical. Where subs travel in the southern dipping the Mississippi up and down - a queasy affair Atlantic, dolphins tend to tag along, eager to say hi to nicknamed "Angles and Dangles" - I've had rockier trips their large, silent playmate. "Dolphins like to sing," aboard surface ships. The fast-attack submarine is notes Petty Officer Joshua Bardelon, a 32-year old from downright placid, even at 20 knots. Pascagoula, the site of the Mississippi's destination, who The steadiness will be an asset for one of the supervises the boat's sonar systems. Mississippi's other missions: aiding Navy SEALs. Those systems are part of why Navy Secretary Ray There's a special bay, called a lockout trunk, that allows Mabus is eager to take possession of his newest a tinier sub to dock and deposit a small number of Virginia-class submarine when it formally joins the fleet SEALs onboard. Once they're aboard, the Mississippi on June 2. As much time as it spends listening to dolphin will become a Navy special warfare platform - as are symphonies, the Mississippi is everything from a many subs that don't carry nuclear missiles - performing weapon to destroy other ships to an electronic-attack reconnaissance missions and getting SEALs stealthily in system to a stealthy transport for Navy commandos. and out of where they need to go. The Virginia class' The multiple sonar arrays allow the submarine to detect smaller size allows the sub to "be more maneuverable in other ships before it's detected itself. Underway, the boat a littoral," says Master Chief Bill Stoiber, the chief of the is dead silent except for the hum of the air conditioning, boat, or senior enlisted man aboard, making it particularly useful for SEAL insertion missions. After Women On Submarines "Very Successful" the summer, the Mississippi will head for southern Navy close to recommendation on integrating all subs Florida to test its special-warfare skills. By Jeanette Steele, UtsSanDiego.com, May 24, 2012 As much as the Mississippi is the newest in new for The commander of U.S. Navy submarine forces said the Navy subs, not everything aboard is super-advanced. integration of women into the formerly all-male Satellite connectivity is limited. Submariners like to stay undersea world is “very successful” and signaled that he autonomous when they're below the waves, but that is getting close to a recommendation on whether all means that information aboard the sub largely stays on submarines will be opened to women, including the the sub, and outside information doesn't always reach the small, tight-quarters attack subs in San Diego. boat quickly. The Mississippi rises to periscope depth - So far 24 female officers have reported for submarine that is, shallower than 60 feet below, so its periscope can duty since the Navy in 2010 announced it would accept stick its neck out of the water - in order to fire off e- women on the largest of U.S. subs. mails or receive communications through classified and Another 10 will graduate from the submarine officer unclassified-but-secured networks. Even so, submariners basic course this year, and in the following years the roll their eyes at how slow their connection speeds are. Navy expects to see about 20 women reporting to subs (Think dial-up. In the late '90s.) annually, Vice Admiral John Richardson said, in a When the sub needs it, it can request extra satellite conference call with reporters Thursday. bandwidth from the Navy - often to send off a video or After women began serving on U.S. warships in the mid larger data file. But that "spot beam" is only for special 1990s, the only Navy jobs closed to them were occasions, and it's a one-off event. Persistent, available submarines and SEAL units. Secretary of the Navy Ray undersea bandwidth is a challenge the Navy hasn't yet Mabus has said he wants to see all naval roles open to figured out how to solve. women, though he has suggested that the physical Then there are the traditional joys of life aboard a demands of elite Sea-Air-Land training might make it submarine. The Mississippi is home to 138 men, who unfeasible for females. have to get very comfortable with each other, since The 360-foot fast-attack submarines in San Diego at there's nowhere to go for privacy. The halls are barely Point Loma Naval Base are significantly smaller than the wide enough for two people hugging the walls to ballistic-missile and guided-missile subs, both measuring traverse. Submariners are billeted up to 47 per room, 560 feet, on which women now serve. stacked up in threes on narrow racks. A typical The cost of retrofitting the smaller vessels for women deployment entails six months of living in these cramped has been the reason given for not opening them to conditions, and the Mississippi is capable of staying females. underwater for 90 days at a stretch. Richardson said he plans to move “as briskly as we can” Still, the ship makes a virtue out of solitude. The food is to assess how the change has worked so far, in order to unexpectedly excellent. It's difficult to store bread make a recommendation on future integration. Male- underneath the sea without it molding or going stale - and-female crews are only recently back from their first and there's no place to buy more - so the kitchen bakes it six months of deployments, he said. fresh every day. It's tempting to forego a lunchtime hot “I think it won’t be too long before we have at least the dog just to eat a delicious empty roll an hour old. full situation mapped out, all the elements of the The most striking demonstration of the crew's tightness discussion, and at that point we can come forward and comes in the control room. Unlike older subs, the make a recommendation to the Chief of Naval Virginia class doesn't hive away its sonar stations. The Operations regarding expansion of the program,” dark room, illuminated by dozens of screens displaying Richardson said. torrents of highly classified data, joins up the pilots, The things he said he must weigh are how to manage the navigators, weapons experts and sonar technicians. Five submarine community and how to configure the smaller sonar techs stare at screens filled with green vessels to accommodate women. The Navy initially said representations of the sounds of the ocean while they that the big subs are large enough that female officers listen through headphones. Should they hear an enemy can have their own rooms. As for bathrooms, the ship they're hunting, they can holler at the fire control solution has been to hang a sign on the door letting station on the other side of the control room that it's time people know if males or females are inside. to attack. “We want to open this opportunity as widely as we can, For now, one of those techs passes me his cans. When I but we want to make sure it's sustainable,” Richardson put them on, all I hear is a high-pitched squeak that said. sounds a little like a squeal of glee. Dolphins. As for adding enlisted women to submarine crews, he said the considerations are the same. At least one female submarine officer who participated A WWII Skipper Who ‘Went Down Swinging’ in a press conference Thursday said she would be By John Lindblom, napavalleyregister.com, May 17, interested in serving on the smaller subs. She said their 2012 mission, which includes hunting enemy subs and ships, Navy Commander Frank DeVere Latta’s is among the is attractive to her. bravest hearts asleemile and engaging eyes under his “All of the history and lore of the submarine community senior Naval officer’p in the deep. really comes back to those really awesome missions that “He went down swinging,” said Jeff Latta, the grandson fast attacks do. If it were to be opened, I think there are of the courageous skipper of the U.S. submarine some of us who probably would be willing to serve on Lagarto, sunk by a depth charge fewer than 100 days them despite the tight quarters,” said Lt. j.g. Vanessa before the Japanese surrender ended World War II. Esch, now serving on the submarine Ohio in Bangor, Eighty-five shipmates perished with Latta. Wash. The discovery of the Lagarto in the Gulf of Thailand "A big reason why I think a lot of us joined the sub eight years ago by a group of sea divers would bear this community was to go out there and do that work.” out. One of 52 American subs sunk during WWII, the Other female submariners reported that social hurdles Lagarto was resting upright and appeared almost intact have been minor. at a depth of 230 feet. “It took a little bit for the crew to get used to coming to “Its torpedo tubes were empty,” said Jeff, a race car knock on our door,” Lt. j.g. Tabitha Strobel, who serves driver who lives in Petaluma. “The rudder was full tilt, on the submarine Georgia in Kings Bay, Ga. the diving planes were straight down. It was making an “Sometimes we'd leave our room and we'd see someone evasive maneuver to avoid being hit. There’s no way to standing there waiting to talk to us, instead of just tell, but I would say he got nailed before he got to the knocking.” bottom. If they were trapped down there no one knows, Submariners get extra pay for good reason: It's a tough but I would like to think they died quickly.” job. Submarines deploy more frequently than many other Latta, among America’s greatest U.S. Naval heroes kinds of Navy vessels and often stay below the surface during World War II, listed St. Helena as his hometown for weeks at a time. As a result, the submarine at the time of his death. His wife, Holly, and two community is extremely tight-knit. children lived on Vineyard Avenue. It probably didn't help matters that two females assigned His courage will be locally celebrated at an annual to submarines were found guilty earlier this month of American Legion Post 199 Memorial Day ceremony at falsifying travel claims, according to news reports. St. Helena Cemetery and his name engraved on a black Women submarine officers described the job as marble monument bearing the names of 27 other St. extremely demanding during Thursday's press Helenans, who fought and died in World Wars I and II, conference. But they also talked about the joys of the Korea, Vietnam and Afghanistan. calling. St. Helena historian Mariam Hansen discovered Latta’s “When you hear the klaxon go off -- that's the alarm you story while scanning a list of names of local individuals sound before you dive the ship -- and then you dive,” who served in the military in 1944-45 for the American said Lt. Britta Christianson, assigned to the Ohio. “That's Legion memorial. She was drawn to the Latta story the time you think, 'Oh my God, I'm on a submarine. when her study of St. Helena Star archives turned up a This is so cool.'” headline of that period that read “Commander Latta overdue.” Admiral Osborne Scholarship Fund “The more I found out, the more fascinating it became,” How about helping out the scholarship fund? We are Hansen said. “It was one of the great, tragic stories of offering a Charleston Base Challenge Coin for sale. World War II.” ALL proceeds go into the scholarship fund. Coins only With additional research, Hansen was able to locate cost $7 each. Available for an additional $1 is a several surviving members of Frank Latta’s family. protective plastic capsule. Buy several for great gifts! Ultimately, the trail led to his grandson, who is in To get your coin(s) see Julian Villegas or Carl Chinn. possession of his grandfather’s numerous medals, Make sure you have one for “when you get challenged”! photographs and other items. First to fire on Japan As captain of the USS Narwhal in April 1943, Latta participated in action to recapture the Aleutian Islands and was among the first Americans to fire upon Japanese-held soil. He was a veteran of nine war patrols, sunk two Japanese ships, and — as executive officer of the Narwhal — was awarded the Silver Star. Later, as skipper of the Narwhal, he was awarded the Navy Cross, WiFi For The Warfighter the Navy’s second-highest honor. Posthumously, he was With MUOS satellite launch, Navy sees future of better awarded the Legion of Merit with Combat V, the connectivity Philippine Medal of Honor and the Purple Heart. By Daniel P. Taylor, Seapower Magazine, May 2012 Bill Savidge, an American Legion member, St. Helena After blasting off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Historical Society writer and fighter pilot in the Korean Station in Florida earlier this year, the U.S. Navy's next- and Vietnam wars, was able to construct a more intimate generation satellite — meant to provide communications profile of Latta, who was born in Indianapolis in 1910, to warfighters all over the world — is finally circling graduated from the Naval Academy and became a Earth. submariner in 1932. The Lockheed Martin Space Systems-built Mobile User “Photos of Frank Latta show him smoking a pipe, a Objective System (MUOS) satellite will be a critical mischievous ss hat, its scrambled-egg bill set at a jaunty asset to the Navy as it seeks to replace a legacy angle, suggesting a confident, relaxed personality,” constellation of Ultra-High Frequency Follow-On (UFO) Savidge wrote. “Against Navy policy, Latta would bring satellites that are dwindling in capability as they age. his Harley-Davidson motorcycle aboard ship with him Still, it will be a while until the sea service can retire and disassemble it to fit in a hidden corner. In port, he those satellites completely. would put it back together on the dock and enjoy riding The launch of MUOS-1 on Feb. 24 is the first of what around town.” will be five launches until the Navy has a full Latta took command of the Lagarto (the only ship in the constellation of four working satellites providing Navy named after a lizard fish) in New Orleans in connectivity to the ground, with one on-orbit spare. October ’44. “Latta’s Lancers” (Task Group 17.13) According to Lockheed, the new satellites will feature a formed column-Lagarto, Haddock, and Sennet and wideband multiple-access payload — technology that headed for the Bonin Islands to destroy “picket boats” in will provide a 16-fold increase in transmission advance of planned carrier strikes. throughput over the current UFO satellites. To put it Found in 2005 simply: just one MUOS satellite will have four times the In May of 1945, Latta’s ship and another submarine, the capacity of the 10-satellite UFO constellation. USS Baya, were operating in the Gulf of Siam (now Lockheed beat out a team led by Raytheon in 2004 for a Thailand) and were in contact with a Japanese convoy. program initially valued at $3.2 billion with all options On May 3, the two submarines rendezvoused to plan an exercised. Lockheed received an award of $339.6 attack. The plan was that at 1400 that afternoon, Lagarto million to build the fifth and last satellite last year. The would dive on the convoy. After taking its position for Navy's fiscal 2013 budget proposal calls for $167 the attack, the Baya reported enemy contact. Ominously, million for the MUOS program, which will be used for there was no response from the Lagarto. When the preparation for the launch of MUOS-2 next year. Lagarto failed to show up as planned in Australia, it was The MUOS program has experienced its share of reported missing in action. It was not seen again until it setbacks. The initial launch was supposed to take place was found at the bottom in 2005. in 2010, when the contract was first awarded. But there was no doubt that the Japanese ship that fired The Navy is pressing ahead to get the program on track, the depth charge that sunk Lagarto was the Japanese according to a statement from the program office in minelayer Hatsutaka. Almost as a postscript, the captain response to questions from Seapower. of another American submarine, the USS Hawkbill, a Since the Feb. 24 launch, the program office has been close friend of Latta’s, received permission to divert checking out the spacecraft's health and performance, from its regular patrol to hunt down the Lagarto’s testing payloads and preparing for a full evaluation of destroyer. Twelve days later, the Hawkbill found and the satellite, according to the statement. sunk the Hatsutaka. "Initial operational capability for MUOS will occur Jeff Latta said his father served in the Marine Corps in when the first satellite is on orbit, the program manager the time after Korea and before Vietnam, “but Dad never has verified nominal operational performance, the liked to talk about [Frank Latta’s] naval career and what required satellite control and network management a warrior he was,” Jeff said. equipment are operational, support personnel are trained Jeff Latta never entered the service, despite the and in position, logistics support capability is in place appointment to Annapolis dangled before him and then- and Multi-Service Operational Test and Evaluation-1 has President Ronald Reagan’s personal letter encouraging been successfully completed," the program office said, him to accept it. adding that all of that should wrap up this summer. “Navy life wasn’t for me,” he said. “I wanted to go into The program will achieve full operational capability race cars, and that’s what I did.” once all satellites and the spare are in orbit and all of the above parameters are met, which should happen about four years later. To support the transition from the legacy satellites to the Pasquale compared the legacy system to a phone line. new ones, the MUOS satellites have two payloads — Even when the phone is not in use, it's still dedicated to one legacy UFO-like payload and one Wideband Code just one particular person. MUOS assigns those access Division Multiple Access (WCDMA) payload, which lines to different places and people depending on the supports the new MUOS capability. After on-orbit need. checkout of MUOS-1, which should take about six "We also have a priority-based system, so if we do reach months, operational forces will be able to use the legacy capacity, those most important users, as defined by [the payload. Defense Department], will get the priority to get access WCDMA "will also undergo a limited checkout, but will and bump those lower-priority users," he said. "I really not be made operational until the MUOS ground station look at it as if you're going from a land-line phone to a is completely deployed and the second MUOS satellite computer-based Internet system." completes its on-orbit checkout in accordance with the And the fact that warfighters can use MUOS just about established MUOS fielding plan," the program office anywhere — and even when they are moving — means stated. they do not have to put themselves in harm's way to Capt. Paul Ghyzel, Navy communications satellite communicate, Pasquale said. program manager, said in a statement that warfighters "It provides beyond-line-of-sight communications for will see a big difference once they have full access to the warfighter so they don't have to be in direct-sight MUOS. view," he said. "We have communications on the move, "Right now users have to be sitting in one place, so they're able to communicate while in transit, and they stationary, with an antenna pointing straight at a satellite don't have to sop and get to an open area in order to to be able to use narrowband SATCOM [satellite make the call." communications]," he said. "As we bring MUOS online, we'll bring capability that allows them to move around the battlespace and be able to continue to communicate Denizens of the Deep Caucus beyond the line of sight." The Caucus will probably begin around noon or after. A MUOS terminal would allow a user to place a Our meal (hamburgers and hotdogs) will begin at 1:00 telephone call or send data at 10 times the capacity of PM. The Post will have an open-bar and the Base will today's systems. have a keg cold and ready and another in reserve. "Whether it's in vehicles, on ships, in submarines, in The VFW Post doe s not have a scheduled activity so we aircraft or simply carried by service members who are can stay as late as we like. dismounted from vehicles and on the move, this system was designed to bring them voice and data Denizens of the Deep working party will be at the VFW communication services, both in point-to-point mode Post 5877 at 11:00 am to start setting up and getting the and through netted communications," Ghyzel said. Post Party Room ready. "Those capabilities have not existed with previous RSVP by 18 June 2012 to [email protected] programs." and Mike Adams know how many will be attending. Warfighters will be connected to the MUOS satellites Looking forward to seeing all of you here on the 23th. through ground control facilities. Besides satellite control facilities at Naval Satellite Operations Center in Wayne E. Phillips Point Mugu, Calif., and Schriever Air Force Base, Colo., Base Secretary [email protected] the Navy has four more ground sites in Hawaii, Western Australia, Italy and Chesapeake, Va. The Denizens of the Deep SubVet Base is raffeling a "Those are the stations where the traffic from the user Certificate of Entitlement for a 2 night stay terminals, as it comes down from the satellite, gets accomodations at the Lodge Alley Inn in Charleston, SC routed to and processed to complete the calls, depending (details attached). The drawing will be held at our on the nature of the traffic," Ghyzel said. "They will annual GA/SC SubVets Caucus on the 23 of June 2012. handle voice calls, data calls and they'll connect the We are providing tickets at $10.00 for each chance on users in the field to the Global Information Grid." this special Certificate. Ticket holders do not have to be The power of the MUOS system lies in its ability to present. simply handle higher traffic volume due to more lines of I have been asked to mail each GA/SC SubVet Base access, Mark Pasquale, MUOS program manager for Commander 10 tickets (and more can be requested) to Lockheed Martin, said in a recent interview. offer to your Base membership. The ticket stubs (with "Four MUOS satellites provide 16,000 accesses to the name, address, telephone number and money ($10.00)) warfighter worldwide," he said. "The current UFO needs to be returned our Base Raffel Contact Lewis system with the Navy provides about 1,000 accesses." Fierke (102 Inwood Drive, Aiken, SC 29803) or brought to the Caucus. Ticket Stups and $ must reach Lew USS North Dakota Submarine To Be World’s Most before the Caucus begins to be available for the drawing. Advanced Tickets will also be available at the Caucus. FARGO – When the USS North Dakota deploys in 2014, it will be the most advanced submarine in the world, its If there are members that wish purchase tickets and none executive officer says. are available, you may have them print their name, “We own the seas. And she is certainly the most capable address and telephone number on a card (3x5 or business submarine in the world. Nobody can match her,” Lt. Cmdr. card) and attach a check . Checks should be made to Jeremiah Minner said. Denizens of the Deep SubVet Base. Minner gave a presentation on the capabilities of the If you need additional information or more tickets, Virginia-class nuclear attack submarine Wednesday at the please contact me by email or telephone (803-257-6048). Ramada conference center. The event was sponsored by the Fargo Moorhead West Fargo Chamber of Commerce. Minner has taken part in exercises on older attack Eternal Patrol – MMCM(SS) Gary Semler submarines and Virginia-class submarines, “and the Virginia, hands down, is unmatched,” he said. SUMMERVILLE - Gary Eugene Semler, MMCM (SS) It will be the replacement for the aging Los Angeles class USN-Ret., 70, of Summerville, South Carolina, husband attack submarines, he said, which have been the workhorse of Ann Semler, died on May 19, 2012, after a long and of the U.S. fleet. courageous battle with Multiple Myeloma. Gary was Minner said the commanding officer and the chief of boat born December 2, 1941, in Sharpsburg, Maryland, son of have visited North Dakota, and he expects more of the the late Harry Hyde Semler Jr. and Catherine Virginia sub’s 134 crewmen will visit here. Hessong Semler. Gary was a 1959 graduate of Minner has served on an Ohio-class ballistic missile Boonsboro Senior High, Boonsboro, Maryland. He submarine and two other Virginia-class boats, the USS proudly served and retired from the United States Navy, Texas and the USS Mississippi. followed by service as a nuclear test engineer in the He grew up in Denver, Colo., but now he and his wife and Charleston Naval Shipyard where he retired in 1995. two children live in Groton, Conn. It’s there that he and Gary was an active member of the United States some of the crew are working with the engineers, Submarine Veterans Charleston Base (USSVICB). He technicians and tradesmen of General Dynamics Electric enjoyed spending time with his family and friends, Boat to inspect and test the boat’s systems as it’s built. traveling, relaxing days at his lake house, boating, He said the 377-foot boat is more than 50 percent fishing, or riding jet skis, as well as anything he did with completed and will be put together in four “super his grandson, who was a great joy for him. In addition to modules,” sections weighing 2,000 tons apiece. Currently, the sub is designated PCU North Dakota, his wife of 49 years, Gary is survived by daughters meaning pre-commissioning unit, he said. Andrea J. Semler (Michael Sheppard and their Boykin Part of the boat is being built in Quonset Point, R.I., part in Spaniels) and Wendy L. Miller (Todd Miller), as well as Norfolk, Va., and part in Groton. The workload is heavy for his beloved grandson, Graham Miller, all of the 63 crew members already with the boat, he said. Summerville; brother Charles E. Semler and sisters, Ida “That’s something we were very, very upfront with the Mae Valentine and Nina Kearns, many aunts, uncles and crew about,” he said. “We spend a lot of hours on the cousins in and around Sharpsburg, Maryland; and boat.” numerous life-long friends both near and far who have Unlike their predecessors, Virginia-class submarines are as supported him through this journey. The family would stealthy and highly capable in shallow water as in deep like to graciously thank Matthew A. Beldner, MD and water, Minner said. They also can easily move from arctic the staff of Low Country Hematalogy Oncology for their waters to the tropics. compassionate care. Gary will be fondly remembered He said the three primary missions of the submarine will be and will remain forever in the hearts of all his family and surveillance and reconnaissance, anti-ship warfare, and friends. Fair winds and following seas... In lieu of anti-submarine warfare. But the submarine is also designed flowers, please make donations to the Multiple Myeloma to carry out special operations missions, laying mines and Research Foundation at 383 Main Avenue, 5th Floor, attacking land-based targets, he said. Norwalk, CT, 06851; the USSVICB Scholarship Fund at This is the second Navy vessel to carry the state’s name. 106 Birchwood Drive, Summerville SC 29483 (c/o The first USS North Dakota (BB-29), was a 20,000-ton Julian Villegas, Scholarship Chairman); or the Boykin Delaware-class battleship that served from 1910 to 1923. Spaniel Foundation, c/o Boykin Spaniel Society, PO Virginia-class submarines displace 7,800 tons. They can Box 2047, Camden, SC 29020. A private memorial operate at more than 25 knots submerged, which is about 29 mph service will follow at a later date. Arrangemen ts by TRI-County Cremation Center, 11000 Dorchester Road, Summerville, SC (843) 821-4888. Visit our guestbook at Visit Guest Book The 25 Best Quotes From the American Military 11) "I have only two men out of my company and 20 out of some other company. We need support, but it is 25) "Don't fire until you see the whites of their eyes!" -- almost suicide to try to get it here as we are swept by William Prescott at the Battle Of Bunker Hill machine gun fire and a constant barrage is on us. I have 24) "To be prepared for war is one of the most effective no one on my left and only a few on my right. I will means of preserving peace." -- George Washington hold." -- Clifton B. Cates, Belleau Wood, July 1918 23) "When this war is over, the Japanese language will 10) "Yonder are the Hessians. They were bought for be spoken only in hell!" -- Admiral Bill Halsey on seven pounds and tenpence a man. Are you worth more? December 7, 1941 Prove it. Tonight the American flag floats from yonder 22) "Nuts." -- The response of General Anthony hill or Molly Stark sleeps a widow!" -- John Stark at the MacAuliffe, when asked to surrender during the Battle Battle of Bennington in 1777 of the Bulge, 1944 9) "Goddam it, you'll never get the Purple Heart hiding 21) "I tremble for my country when I hear of confidence in a foxhole! Follow me!" -- Henry P. Crowe expressed in me. I know too well my weakness, that our 8) "Victory was never in doubt. Its cost was...What was only hope is in God." -- Robert E. Lee in doubt, in all our minds, was whether there would be 20) "War is cruelty. There is no use trying to reform it. any of us left to dedicate our cemetery at the end, or The crueler it is, the sooner it will be over." -- Gen whether the last Marine would die knocking out the last William T. Sherman Japanese gun and gunner." -- Major General Graves B. Erskin in reference to the Battle Of Iwo Jima 19) "Of the Marines on Iwo Jima, uncommon valor was a common virtue." -- Chester W. Nimitz 7) "Come on, you sons of b!tches! Do you want to live forever?" -- Dan Daly, WWI 18) "They've got us surrounded again, the poor bastards." -- Creighton W. Abrams, Battle of the Bulge 6) "Don't you forget that you're First Marines! Not all the communists in Hell can overrun you!" -- Lieutenant 17) "Don't fire unless fired upon, but if they mean to General Lewis "Chesty" Puller when surrounded by have a war, let it begin here" -- Captain John Parker, eight enemy divisions 1775 5) "Get there first with the most." -- Nathan Bedford 16) "We have gone forth from our shores repeatedly Forrest over the last hundred years and we’ve done this as recently as the last year in Afghanistan and put 4) "It is fatal to enter a war without the will to win it." -- wonderful young men and women at risk, many of Douglas MacArthur whom have lost their lives, and we have asked for 3) "I am besieged by a thousand or more of the nothing except enough ground to bury them in, and Mexicans under Santa Anna. I have sustained a otherwise we have returned home to seek our own lives continued bombardment for twenty-four hours and have in peace." -- Colin Powell not lost a man. The enemy have demanded a surrender... 15) "We have met the enemy and they are ours!" -- otherwise the garrison is to be put to the sword if the Oliver Hazard Perry place is taken. I have answered the summons with a cannon shot, and our flag still waves proudly from the 14) "It is the soldier, not the reporter, who has given us walls. I shall never surrender or retreat." -- William B. freedom of the press. It is the soldier, not the poet, who Travis, Alamo has given us freedom of speech. It is the soldier, not the campus organizer, who has given us the freedom to 2) “If you kill enough of them, they stop fighting.” -- demonstrate. It is the soldier, who salutes the flag, who Curtis LeMay serves beneath the flag, and whose coffin is draped by 1) "No bastard ever won a war by dying for his country. the flag, who allows the protester to burn the flag." -- He won it by making the other poor dumb b@stard die Father Dennis Edward O'Brien, USMC for his country." -- George Patton 13) "I wish to have no connection with any ship that does not sail fast; for I intend to go in harm's way." -- John Paul Jones 12) "Damn the torpedoes, Full speed ahead!" -- Admiral David Glasgow Farragut Here is a collector’s item - a recent photo of a group of Midshipmen taken at the USNA 2012 Ring Dance. The third couple from the left makes it a historic photo.