Vol. 8, No. 6 June 2012N e w s l e t t e r o f C h a r l e s t o n B a s e , U n i t e d S t a t e s S u b m a r i n e V e t e r a n s , I n c .

USSVI Creed�To perpetuate the memory of our shipmates who gave their lives inthe pursuit of their duties while serving their country. That theirdedication, deeds, and supreme sacrifice be a constant source ofmotivation toward greater accomplishments. Pledge loyalty andpatriotism to the United States of America and its Constitution�

Base Meeting:June 14, 2012 Social hour 1800, General Meeting 1900

Location:Fleet Reserve Association Branch 269Low Country Home99 Wisteria Rd.Goose Creek, South Carolina. Phone 843-569-2962

Base Officers Phone Number

Commander Carl Chinn 843-875-3098

Vice Commander Jerry Stout 843-871-9533

Secretary Theron Irving 843-817-5118

Treasurer Terry Trump 843-873-9563

Special Officers Phone NumberChief of the Boat Rick Sparger 843-553-5594

Public Affairs Larry Starland 843-863-8474

Veterans Affairs Jim Morrison 843-832-9716

Chaplain John Nichols 843-452-3189

Membership Carl Chinn 843-875-3098

Holland Club John Lookabill 843-797-2991

Scholarship Julian Villegas 843-871-6135

Newsletter Carl Chinn 843-875-3098

Storekeeper Ken Hutchison 843-553-0935

Webmaster Nick Nichols 843-452-3189

Historian George Scharf 843 873-3318

Minutes of the May 2012 meeting

Attendance for the May 10, 2012 meeting was 101

Opening Ceremony: Base Vice Commander MartySessler called meeting to order. A Quorum was presentand the meeting commenced at 1900.

Introductions: New people introduced. Brian Turley,Groton Base; Lamar Serer, Mickey Davidson, GrotonBase; Don Ort. Welcome aboard.

Secretary: Secretary asked for a motion to approve themeeting minutes from last month. A motion was madeand seconded. Minutes approved.

Treasurer: Terry Trump gave a Base financial reportfor April 2012.

Vice Commander: No report

Storekeeper: No report

Chaplain: Nick Nichols presented the May report.Tom Lufkin and Trudy Glass were married on April20th. I know that we all wish them the very best in theirlife together.Pauline Stank, Ed�s wife, is finally in a regular room,showing some signs of getting stronger, but this isgoing to be a long process. She�s still on the ventilatorand can�t speak but Ed can talk for her.

Tom Skorepa is recovering well from his surgery inlate March. Tom is here tonight.Gary Semler is now on a new chemo regimen. He isnow at home but due to his current immune systemsituation visitors must call before going to visit. Alsono physical contact (shaking hands) can be allowed.Elsie Wilson, Rex Wilson�s wife, passed away onApril 22nd from cancer. A celebration of life servicewas held on Saturday, April 28th. I did not receive infoon the service in time to let everyone know about it.Ernie Barwick was involved in a care wreck at theend of April when he was hit with a carjacked vehicle.He was checked out OK but later taken to the hospitalwith a possible stroke. It was determined he had awhiplash, neck and head pain. On May 3rd heunderwent surgery to relieve the pressure on his brain.He is now at home making a great recovery.Steve Everett is still recovering from his heart attackand was hospitalized the last weekend in April withangina. He is here tonight and doing well.Bill Roberts had some minor surgery the last week ofApril. He recovering well.Jim Kimbrell is still having problems with his backand can�t make the meeting. He hopes to be able to beout and about and at the meeting next month.Greg Czech, member of Denizens of the Deep, is inthe VA hospital in Augusta. He had spinal surgery onApril 13th and afterward could not move his legs.Another surgery conducted on April 14th may havecorrected some of the problem but he will have manyweeks of rehab.Barry Wilson had a CT scan a couple weeks ago andno cancer showed up; still taking Chemo treatmentsbut great to be cancer free at last. He told us that thedoctor thinks his fast recovery is due to the fact thathe�s a real Torpedoman.Lee Allison will be having a hip operation on June 4th.Rick Alkire has been diagnosed with maculardegeneration. He�s being treated at the VA.Dave Saari was at the meeting. He told me after themeeting that his doctor has given him a clean bill ofhealth. His cancer, which was stage IV, is in fullremission.I sent an email out on Brian Williams, USAF, a weekor so ago. Brian is a brother-in-arms with MartySessler�s son. He was seriously wounded when hestepped on a landmine. He was a handler of anexplosive sniffing dog and the dog missed the mine.He has lost one leg, possibly will lose the other, lostboth arms, received shrapnel in the face and lost muchof his vision. Everyone is being asked to rememberthis young man in your prayers as he fights for his lifeat Walter Reed Medical Center.Marty gave an update on Brian: Brian did not looseboth arms; he had severe damage to both. He has

received a muscle graft from his back to one of hisarms with the hopes he will be able to use that armfully in the future.As reported last meeting, TM2 (SS) Richard �Fox�Binkley, US Navy Retired, departed on EP on March19th in Florence SC. He was a member of Swamp FoxChapter WWII Submarine Veterans and of theCharleston Base SUBVETS. There will be a privatememorial service will be held sometime in May whenhis ashes will be spread on the Charleston Harbor bythe family with a small detachment of the CharlestonBase conducting the Bell Tolling. If anyone would liketo donate to pay for fuel for the boat you will have achance when the hat is passed at the end of themeeting.The hat was passed the end of the meeting. Anoverwhelming response raised $278 to assist thefamily.

Several follow-ups were made on those who�ve hadsurgery or illnesses in the last couple of months alongwith the base sending additional cards.

If you know of shipmates or spouses from other baseswho are having a difficult time, had surgery, etc. andwould like for USSVI Charleston Base to send them acard please send their name and address to the Chaplainvia email or phone call.

Public Affairs: Photos have been sent to the Post &Courier touting our mission for printing in their Saturdaylocal photo page. Kaps for Kids photos were also sent.

Scholarship: 4 applications received. Committee willmeet this month and awards will be presented nextmeeting. 1 male applicant this time.

Veteran�s Affairs: No report

Newsletter: New Editor needed. Please let us know ifanyone is interested.

Membership: No report

Little David: Letter of appreciation has been receivedfrom the Berkley County Museum. Bravo Zulu topersonnel who have participated.

Holland Club: Tom Skropa and William �Buck� Owenswere inducted into the Holland Club. Congratulations.

SUBVETS WWII: Next meeting will be in June, ThirdThursday.

Historian: No report

Recreation Committee: The base picnic will beSaturday 21 May at Buddha�s, eating starts at 1300.Need volunteers to flip hamburgers and roll hotdogs.

District Commander: National Elections are comingup. Candidates will be listed in upcoming AmericanSubmariner; 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 asbeing Northern Florida.

Base Commander: (Vice Commander stand-in): Boatsponsorship program in the American Submariner:Motion made for CB to participate and seconded.Discussion: Active duty commands to receive the hardcopy magazine are as follows: NPTU, Both Prototypesand the USS Nevada Blue and Gold Crews. Motioncarried. Newsletter will be sent out electronically andposted on the Web site by Executive Board direction.

Nov 2-6, 2011 WWII Memorial Service events at KingsBay. Applications on the web.

Nuclear Historian: Seems that our stalwart historianhas had a run in with the Wal-Mart commando�s. AVietnam Vet hat was involved. A little mix up on thedate�s was observed i.e.; War of 1812 and 1936, It seemsthat some black ops were discussed with a reference tothe commando�s family and their safety as related to thesecretive operations. Home land security will be thenext exciting chapter at the local Wal-Mart.

Fleet Reserve: Yard/Bake sale will be held on the 19th

of May 0900 to 1200 on the FRA grounds. MoncksCorner Memorial Service on the 28th of May.

Chief of the Boat: Bravo Zulu on the Base Picnic.Everyone had a good time. Memorial Day service willbe on the 28th of May. Muster time will be 1000 at Parkcemetery in Summerville.

Old Business: None

New Business: Base Secretary and Vice Commander,Secretary: Theron Irving (only candidate); ViceCommander: Marty Sessler and Jerry Stout; Winner:Jerry Stout, Total of 96 ballots cast.

Good Of The Order: Submarine Birthday Ball a hugesuccess. GW and Chief Opie gave BZ�s with attendingWW II SubVets getting the accolades that were richlydeserved with standing ovations of the 500 people inattendance and the admiration of Senior Officers present.Doc gave a good sea story about a bent periscope and thefollowing liberty port. Mini Hog roast at the AfterBattery this Saturday the 19th.

Depth charge drawing; Winning number 207216$345.00 to the winner. Jerry Stout.

Meeting Adjourned: The Vice Commander adjournedthe meeting at 2010.

"Don't tell mom I'm a submariner, shethinks I play piano in a whorehouse."

Becker Brown, A. Burton Fitzpatrick

Grabowski Graham Hance HeinleKirtley Kratz Loveday LoweMcDonald, B. Morris Murphy ReinSaari Sabo Schaffer Smith, P.M.Suddeth Williams, J Yates

June Submarines Lost:

USS S 27 SS 132 June 19, 1942USS R 12 SS 89 June 12, 1943USS Herring SS 233 June 1, 1944USS Gudgeon SS 211 June 7, 1944USS Golet SS 361 June 14, 1944USS Bonefish SS 223 June 18, 1945USS O-9 SS 70 June 19, 1941

There is a port of no return, where shipsMay ride at anchor for a little spaceAnd then, some starless night, the cable slips,Leaving an eddy at the mooring place . . .Gulls, veer no longer. Sailor, rest your oar.No tangled wreckage will be washed ashore.

June Happenings

June 14� Monthly meeting

June 14 � Flag Day

The History Of Flag Day

The Fourth of July was traditionally celebrated asAmerica's birthday, but the idea of an annual dayspecifically celebrating the Flag is believed to have firstoriginated in 1885. BJ Cigrand, a schoolteacher,arranged for the pupils in the Fredonia, WisconsinPublic School, District 6, to observe June 14 (the 108thanniversary of the official adoption of The Stars andStripes) as 'Flag Birthday'. In numerous magazines andnewspaper articles and public addresses over thefollowing years, Cigrand continued to enthusiasticallyadvocate the observance of June 14 as 'Flag Birthday', or'Flag Day'.On June 14, 1889, George Balch, a kindergarten teacherin New York City, planned appropriate ceremonies forthe children of his school, and his idea of observing FlagDay was later adopted by the State Board of Educationof New York. On June 14, 1891, the Betsy Ross Housein Philadelphia held a Flag Day celebration, and on June14 of the following year, the New York Society of theSons of the Revolution, celebrated Flag Day.Following the suggestion of Colonel J Granville Leach(at the time historian of the Pennsylvania Society of theSons of the Revolution), the Pennsylvania Society ofColonial Dames of America on April 25, 1893 adopted aresolution requesting the mayor of Philadelphia and allothers in authority and all private citizens to display theFlag on June 14th. Leach went on to recommend thatthereafter the day be known as 'Flag Day', and on thatday, school children be assembled for appropriateexercises, with each child being given a small Flag.Two weeks later on May 8th, the Board of Managers ofthe Pennsylvania Society of Sons of the Revolutionunanimously endorsed the action of the PennsylvaniaSociety of Colonial Dames. As a result of the resolution,Dr. Edward Brooks, then Superintendent of PublicSchools of Philadelphia, directed that Flag Day exercisesbe held on June 14, 1893 in Independence Square.School children were assembled, each carrying a small

Flag, and patriotic songs were sung and addressesdelivered.In 1894, the governor of New York directed that on June14 the Flag be displayed on all public buildings. With BJCigrand and Leroy Van Horn as the moving spirits, theIllinois organization, known as the American Flag DayAssociation, was organized for the purpose of promotingthe holding of Flag Day exercises. On June 14th, 1894,under the auspices of this association, the first generalpublic school children's celebration of Flag Day inChicago was held in Douglas, Garfield, Humboldt,Lincoln, and Washington Parks, with more than 300,000children participating.Adults, too, participated in patriotic programs. FranklinK. Lane, Secretary of the Interior, delivered a 1914 FlagDay address in which he repeated words he said the flaghad spoken to him that morning: "I am what you makeme; nothing more. I swing before your eyes as a brightgleam of color, a symbol of yourself."Inspired by these three decades of state and localcelebrations, Flag Day - the anniversary of the FlagResolution of 1777 - was officially established by theProclamation of President Woodrow Wilson on May30th, 1916. While Flag Day was celebrated in variouscommunities for years after Wilson's proclamation, itwas not until August 3rd, 1949, that President Trumansigned an Act of Congress designating June 14th of eachyear as National Flag Day.

When God Created a Submariner15 May 2012When the good Lord created a Submariner, it was almost2300 on the sixth day. An angel appeared and said,"You're having a lot of trouble with this one. What'swrong with the standard model?"And the Lord replied, "Have you seen the specs on thisorder? It has to be able to think independently, yet beable to take orders; have the qualities of both a scientificmind and a compassionate heart; be able to mentorjuniors and learn from seniors; run on black coffee;handle emergencies without a Damage Control Manual,respond competently to critical incidents, deciphercryptographic codes, understand pneumatics, hydraulicsand sonar, have the patience of a saint and six pairs ofhands, not to mention the strength of three its size."The angel shook its head slowly and said, "Six pairs ofhands - - No way!"And the Lord answered, "Don't worry, we'll make otherSubmariners to help. Besides it's not the hands which arecausing the problem. It's the heart. It must swell withpride when a Shipmate earns his Dolphins - which aboveall else signifies the crew members trust it with theirlives, sustain the incredible hardship of life at sea in asteel tube, beat on soundly when it's too tired to do so,

and be strong enough to continue to carry on when it'sgiven all it had.""Lord," said the angel touching the Lord's sleeve gently,"Stop! It's almost midnight!""I can't," said the Lord. "I'm so close to creatingsomething unique. Already I have one whose handsblend knowledge with skill to perform the most intricateprocedures, yet are strong enough to patch a rupturedseawater pipe; whose ears can discern the sonar soundsof a myriad of ocean life, yet detect the slightest shift inventilation; whose mind can practice the science ofnuclear submarining, yet not lose sight of the art ofteamwork; and whose eyes can peer through a periscopeto identify a hull down ship, yet search within toembrace and personify honor, courage andcommitment."The angel circled the model of the Submariner veryslowly. "It's too serious," the angel sighed."But tough," said the Lord excitedly. "You cannotimagine what this Submariner can do or endure.""Can it feel?" asked the angel."Can it feel! It loves Ship, Shipmates and Country likeno other!"Finally the angel bent over and ran a finger across theSubmariner's cheek. "There's a leak," pronounced theangel. "I told you you're trying to put too much into thismodel.""That's not a leak," said the Lord. "It's a tear.""What's it for?" asked the angel."It's for joy, sadness, disappointment, pain, frustrationand pride!""You're a genius!" exclaimed the angel.The Lord looked pleased and replied, "I didn't put itthere."Filled with pride, the Lord continued, "Great things areplanned for this Submariner. It will be one of many andtogether they will lead a legacy of excellence like nonehas known before."And with that the Lord rested. It was the seventh day.CAPT Jane F. VieiraChaplain Corps , United States Navy

Navy to expand nuclear training school in GooseCreekBo Petersen; Friday, March 23, 2012 9:17 p.m.GOOSE CREEK -- The nuclear power training school --one of the lowest-profile operations at the NavalWeapons Station -- is in line to get a majorimprovement.The closely guarded facility, which teaches sailors aboutnuclear propulsion and how to operate nuclear reactors,will get:Upgrading the school will ripple through the areaeconomy.

"I think it's another example of Charleston being able tosupport the (military) mission and being able to expandthe mission," said Mary Graham, Charleston MetroChamber of Commerce senior vice president.Staff salaries will create "a little bit of a bump" in localpayroll and spending; the construction itself will create anumber of temporary jobs, she said.Because the students and staff annually take part in theUnited Way's Day of Caring volunteer effort, it alsomeans hundreds more volunteers, she said.The facility is one of two Navy Nuclear Power TrainingUnits; the other is outside Saratoga Springs, N.Y.Each school trains 1,200 students per year. By 2022, theCharleston facility would handle 1,800 students.In the interim, it would handle 2,800 while theoperations are refueled at the New York school,according to the draft environmental assessment.Over the 10-year span, the USS Daniel Webster and theUSS Sam Rayburn, both built in the early 1960s, wouldbe replaced one by one with the 1970s-era USS La Jollaand the USS San Francisco.The two newer subs are somewhat notorious.The San Francisco might be best known for a 2005 crashinto an undersea mountain in the Pacific Ocean. The LaJolla in 1982 collided with another submarine and in1998 struck and sank a Korean fishing trawler.The La Jolla also was the first submarine to successfullytest-fire a Tomahawk cruise missile while submerged,and the San Francisco was honored for tacticaloperations.The two newer submarines have reactors capable ofproducing double the thermal wattage, or power, for theelectric generator.The assessment of the project has been made availablefor public comment. It calls for periodic monitoring ofthe river, air and ground for radioactivity but notes thesafety features and record of the current operation.It says radioactivity from the training has not beendetected in the water, and found in its air emissions "asmaller amount of radioactivity than was present in theambient air outside the facilities."Staff with the environmental advocate CoastalConservation League had no comment on the project.The training school was built in 1996. In the mid-1980s,the Charleston Naval Base and the Charleston NavalWeapons Station were home ports to more submarinesthan any other base in the free world.Expansion plansRenovate X-Ray piers to hold two larger submarinesReplace the USS Daniel Webster and USS Sam Rayburnwith the USS La Jolla and USS San FranciscoRemove older office, classroom and storage barges,replace with shoreside buildingsNew gate, fencing and other security improvementsNearly double parking to 1,900 spacesTraining plans

2012 -- 1,200 students per year2015 -- 1,500 per year2022 -- 1,800 per year2020-2022 -- 2,800 per year**Temporary assignments while the school at BallstonSpa, N.Y., is refueledRead moreNaval Nuclear Power Training Unit CharlestonFacilities Expansion Draft EnvironmentalAssessment(http://media.charleston.net/2012/pdf/NPTUfeb2012.pdf)

HASC Says No to TRICARE Fee HikesMay 14, 2012 | Terry Howell

Last week the House Armed Services Committeecompleted the 2013 defense bill mark-up. The HASCbudget proposal will now go to the full house for a vote.The proposal is expected to pass in the House next week.But it stands little chance of passing in the Senate.Although committee chair, Rep. Buck McKeon (R-CA), stated that the fee increases would not make itthrough the HASC, military retirees were relieved to seethat the House version ommitted the tieredTRICARE Prime enrollment fees and newTRICARE Standard and TRICARE for Life enrollmentfees proposed by the President.However, in an effort to control DoD�s drug costs, thecommittee chose to increase co-pays on brand-nameprescriptions filled at retail pharmacies and theTRICARE mail order program and create a five-year pilot program that will force TRICARE for Lifebeneficiaries to get their maintenance drugs through theTRICARE Pharmacy Home Delivery program for atleast one year, with the opportunity opt out afterwards.

Comparison of Proposed Proposed Pharmacy Co-Pays

SourceCurrentCo-Pays

DoDProposal

HASCProposal

RetailGeneric $5 $5 $5Brand Name $12 $26 $17Non-Formulary* $25 N/A $44

Mail-Order � 3 monthfillGeneric $0 $0 $0Brand $9 $26 $13Non-Formulary $25 $51 $43

Military TreatmentFacilities

No Change � Remains $0 Co-Pay

* Non-Formulary pharmaceuticals will have limitedavailability in retail pharmacies

Tom Philpott reports that the committee�s defense billwould also tie annual drug co-payment increases to thecost-of-living adjustments for military retirees, dumpingthe Obama administration�s plan to adjust TRICAREfees and co-pays to keep pace with medical inflation.(Read the Military Update to learn more)According to Military Update, the Senate ArmedServices Committee will mark up its version of thedefense bill in late May. The Senate version is likely toinclude the administration�s TRICARE fee increases.On Thursday Secretary of Defense, Leon Panetta,slammed the HASC for adding billions of dollars toPresident Barack Obama�s defense budget.MilitaryAdvantage.Military.com

Freshwater SubmarinesHugh Pickens writes "As we move into Memorial Dayand Americans remember the men and women who diedwhile serving in the United States Armed Forces, Iwanted to share the story of my Uncle Donald Cressborn in 1922 in Bath Township, Minnesota who servedas a Radioman, Third Class on the USS Ribald, one ofthe US Navy's 'Fresh Water Submarines' because theywere commissioned in the Great Lakes. On the westernshore of Lake Michigan, about 80 miles north ofMilwaukee, lies Manitowoc, Wisconsin, a city whoseshipyards had built car ferries and ore boats since 1902.In 1939 war broke out in Europe and PresidentRoosevelt declared a limited National Emergency andUS Navy shipbuilders were concerned that submarinebuilding capacity was not sufficient to support a longwar. The US Navy asked the Manitowoc ShipbuildingCompany to build submarines, a task far beyond theirexisting capabilities, but assured them that the ElectricBoat Company, with the only shipyard in the countrycapable of building submarines, would provide plans andwhatever assistance they would need. Manitowocshipyard grew from 500 employees to 7,000 employeesat its peak working three shifts around the clock 365days a year and by the end of the war had built 25submarines in time to see action that together sank 132Japanese ships. 'It appears from the results obtained atManitowoc that given a set of good plans, competentengineers and skilled workman can follow them andbuild what is called for even though it might be verymuch more sophisticated than anything they have builtbefore,' writes Rear Admiral William T. Nelson. Butthere was one more thing the shipyard had going for it.After Pearl Harbor the entire community was nowengaged in vital and important war work, sacrifice wasthe order of the day, and each boat was their boat. 'Withthe entire community following the construction withsuch interest and spirit, success was inevitable.'"

Gordon's note:The subs were commissioned at shipyard the crewtrained with new boat in Lake Michigan. . Then the boatwas decommissioned and floated in dry-dock via theIllinois River and Mississippi and re-commissioned inNew Orleans.

USS PETO SS265 launched April 30, 1942(in Wisconsin)

Inside the Navy�s Newest Spy SubThe Navy's newest fast-attack submarine is speedingdown the Florida coast, on its way to its commissioningceremony in its namesake state, at 15 knots. And it'sgetting outraced by dolphins.Hours before the U.S.S. Mississippi dives severalhundred feet beneath the Atlantic, its sail juts proudlyinto the warm, whipping southern air. Submariners allowme to see the highest point on the sub for myself -provided I can keep my balance up three steep levels'worth of ladder and hoist myself out onto a platform thesize of a fancy refrigerator. A harness hooked to an ironbolt on the sail keeps me from falling to my death.There's no land in sight, just blue water turned whitearound the sub's wake, a tall BPS-16 military radarspinning in front of us, and a family of dolphins jumpingout of the surf in front of the 377-foot boat.Apparently it's typical. Where subs travel in the southernAtlantic, dolphins tend to tag along, eager to say hi totheir large, silent playmate. "Dolphins like to sing,"notes Petty Officer Joshua Bardelon, a 32-year old fromPascagoula, the site of the Mississippi's destination, whosupervises the boat's sonar systems.Those systems are part of why Navy Secretary RayMabus is eager to take possession of his newestVirginia-class submarine when it formally joins the fleeton June 2. As much time as it spends listening to dolphinsymphonies, the Mississippi is everything from aweapon to destroy other ships to an electronic-attacksystem to a stealthy transport for Navy commandos.The multiple sonar arrays allow the submarine to detectother ships before it's detected itself. Underway, the boatis dead silent except for the hum of the air conditioning,

an indication of the classified tools that mask theMississippi's acoustic and electronic signatures tomaintain its exceptional stealth. Then comes the boat'selectronic warfare capabilities - which its crew willdiscuss only vaguely."If I'm at periscope depth and I stick my periscope out ofthe water, people who are looking for me will be using aradar system to find me," says the sub's commander,Capt. John McGrath, a 20-year submarine veteran. "ButI will know that that radar is in the area and I will usethat to my advantage."Some of its other weapons are more traditional. Thetorpedo room, down in the deepest level of the boat,hosts 16 intimidating metal tubes, each wider thanbicycle wheels, the bays for its 28-foot torpedoes andTomahawk missiles. The room looks like a machinist'sworkshop, except for the exercise bikes and the rackswhere the torpedomen sleep beside their weapons - theprimary means for the Mississippi to complete its futuremissions: hunting and destroying enemy ships and subs."There are two types of ships in the Navy," explainsChief Nathan Holmes. "We have submarines, and wehave targets."Even though the Mississippi isn't on a combat mission -which is why the Navy allows me to tag along on a boatoverflowing with classified systems - McGrath is eagerto demonstrate that his boat is a predator, not prey. AfterI climb down from the sail, he orders the boat's pilot todive to 155 feet, a way-station depth that's far enoughunderwater to avoid sea traffic but shallow enough so hecan get surface rapidly should something go wrong.When nothing does, McGrath orders the pilots tocontinue on to a depth of 400 feet. The faster the captainwants to go, the deeper he dives.The dive is surprisingly imperceptible. Even thoughwe've just dropped 400 feet in a minute, I barely leanforward. If I had been drinking anything, it wouldn'thave spilled.That's the case during my entire four-day stint on theboat. With the exception of a 20-minute exercise indipping the Mississippi up and down - a queasy affairnicknamed "Angles and Dangles" - I've had rockier tripsaboard surface ships. The fast-attack submarine isdownright placid, even at 20 knots.The steadiness will be an asset for one of theMississippi's other missions: aiding Navy SEALs.There's a special bay, called a lockout trunk, that allowsa tinier sub to dock and deposit a small number ofSEALs onboard. Once they're aboard, the Mississippiwill become a Navy special warfare platform - as aremany subs that don't carry nuclear missiles - performingreconnaissance missions and getting SEALs stealthily inand out of where they need to go. The Virginia class'smaller size allows the sub to "be more maneuverable ina littoral," says Master Chief Bill Stoiber, the chief of theboat, or senior enlisted man aboard, making it

particularly useful for SEAL insertion missions. Afterthe summer, the Mississippi will head for southernFlorida to test its special-warfare skills.As much as the Mississippi is the newest in new forNavy subs, not everything aboard is super-advanced.Satellite connectivity is limited. Submariners like to stayautonomous when they're below the waves, but thatmeans that information aboard the sub largely stays onthe sub, and outside information doesn't always reach theboat quickly. The Mississippi rises to periscope depth -that is, shallower than 60 feet below, so its periscope canstick its neck out of the water - in order to fire off e-mails or receive communications through classified andunclassified-but-secured networks. Even so, submarinersroll their eyes at how slow their connection speeds are.(Think dial-up. In the late '90s.)When the sub needs it, it can request extra satellitebandwidth from the Navy - often to send off a video orlarger data file. But that "spot beam" is only for specialoccasions, and it's a one-off event. Persistent, availableundersea bandwidth is a challenge the Navy hasn't yetfigured out how to solve.Then there are the traditional joys of life aboard asubmarine. The Mississippi is home to 138 men, whohave to get very comfortable with each other, sincethere's nowhere to go for privacy. The halls are barelywide enough for two people hugging the walls totraverse. Submariners are billeted up to 47 per room,stacked up in threes on narrow racks. A typicaldeployment entails six months of living in these crampedconditions, and the Mississippi is capable of stayingunderwater for 90 days at a stretch.Still, the ship makes a virtue out of solitude. The food isunexpectedly excellent. It's difficult to store breadunderneath the sea without it molding or going stale -and there's no place to buy more - so the kitchen bakes itfresh every day. It's tempting to forego a lunchtime hotdog just to eat a delicious empty roll an hour old.The most striking demonstration of the crew's tightnesscomes in the control room. Unlike older subs, theVirginia class doesn't hive away its sonar stations. Thedark room, illuminated by dozens of screens displayingtorrents of highly classified data, joins up the pilots,navigators, weapons experts and sonar technicians. Fivesonar techs stare at screens filled with greenrepresentations of the sounds of the ocean while theylisten through headphones. Should they hear an enemyship they're hunting, they can holler at the fire controlstation on the other side of the control room that it's timeto attack.For now, one of those techs passes me his cans. When Iput them on, all I hear is a high-pitched squeak thatsounds a little like a squeal of glee. Dolphins.

Women On Submarines "Very Successful"

Navy close to recommendation on integrating all subsBy Jeanette Steele, UtsSanDiego.com, May 24, 2012The commander of U.S. Navy submarine forces said theintegration of women into the formerly all-maleundersea world is �very successful� and signaled that heis getting close to a recommendation on whether allsubmarines will be opened to women, including thesmall, tight-quarters attack subs in San Diego.So far 24 female officers have reported for submarineduty since the Navy in 2010 announced it would acceptwomen on the largest of U.S. subs.Another 10 will graduate from the submarine officerbasic course this year, and in the following years theNavy expects to see about 20 women reporting to subsannually, Vice Admiral John Richardson said, in aconference call with reporters Thursday.After women began serving on U.S. warships in the mid1990s, the only Navy jobs closed to them weresubmarines and SEAL units. Secretary of the Navy RayMabus has said he wants to see all naval roles open towomen, though he has suggested that the physicaldemands of elite Sea-Air-Land training might make itunfeasible for females.The 360-foot fast-attack submarines in San Diego atPoint Loma Naval Base are significantly smaller than theballistic-missile and guided-missile subs, both measuring560 feet, on which women now serve.The cost of retrofitting the smaller vessels for womenhas been the reason given for not opening them tofemales.Richardson said he plans to move �as briskly as we can�to assess how the change has worked so far, in order tomake a recommendation on future integration. Male-and-female crews are only recently back from their firstsix months of deployments, he said.�I think it won�t be too long before we have at least thefull situation mapped out, all the elements of thediscussion, and at that point we can come forward andmake a recommendation to the Chief of NavalOperations regarding expansion of the program,�Richardson said.The things he said he must weigh are how to manage thesubmarine community and how to configure the smallervessels to accommodate women. The Navy initially saidthat the big subs are large enough that female officerscan have their own rooms. As for bathrooms, thesolution has been to hang a sign on the door lettingpeople know if males or females are inside.�We want to open this opportunity as widely as we can,but we want to make sure it's sustainable,� Richardsonsaid.As for adding enlisted women to submarine crews, hesaid the considerations are the same.

At least one female submarine officer who participatedin a press conference Thursday said she would beinterested in serving on the smaller subs. She said theirmission, which includes hunting enemy subs and ships,is attractive to her.�All of the history and lore of the submarine communityreally comes back to those really awesome missions thatfast attacks do. If it were to be opened, I think there aresome of us who probably would be willing to serve onthem despite the tight quarters,� said Lt. j.g. VanessaEsch, now serving on the submarine Ohio in Bangor,Wash."A big reason why I think a lot of us joined the subcommunity was to go out there and do that work.�Other female submariners reported that social hurdleshave been minor.�It took a little bit for the crew to get used to coming toknock on our door,� Lt. j.g. Tabitha Strobel, who serveson the submarine Georgia in Kings Bay, Ga.�Sometimes we'd leave our room and we'd see someonestanding there waiting to talk to us, instead of justknocking.�Submariners get extra pay for good reason: It's a toughjob. Submarines deploy more frequently than many otherkinds of Navy vessels and often stay below the surfacefor weeks at a time. As a result, the submarinecommunity is extremely tight-knit.It probably didn't help matters that two females assignedto submarines were found guilty earlier this month offalsifying travel claims, according to news reports.Women submarine officers described the job asextremely demanding during Thursday's pressconference. But they also talked about the joys of thecalling.�When you hear the klaxon go off -- that's the alarm yousound before you dive the ship -- and then you dive,�said Lt. Britta Christianson, assigned to the Ohio. �That'sthe time you think, 'Oh my God, I'm on a submarine.This is so cool.'�

Admiral Osborne Scholarship FundHow about helping out the scholarship fund? We areoffering a Charleston Base Challenge Coin for sale.ALL proceeds go into the scholarship fund. Coins onlycost $7 each. Available for an additional $1 is aprotective plastic capsule. Buy several for great gifts!To get your coin(s) see Julian Villegas or Carl Chinn.Make sure you have one for �when you get challenged�!

A WWII Skipper Who �Went Down Swinging�By John Lindblom, napavalleyregister.com, May 17,2012

Navy Commander Frank DeVere Latta�s is among thebravest hearts asleemile and engaging eyes under hissenior Naval officer�p in the deep.�He went down swinging,� said Jeff Latta, the grandsonof the courageous skipper of the U.S. submarineLagarto, sunk by a depth charge fewer than 100 daysbefore the Japanese surrender ended World War II.Eighty-five shipmates perished with Latta.The discovery of the Lagarto in the Gulf of Thailandeight years ago by a group of sea divers would bear thisout. One of 52 American subs sunk during WWII, theLagarto was resting upright and appeared almost intactat a depth of 230 feet.�Its torpedo tubes were empty,� said Jeff, a race cardriver who lives in Petaluma. �The rudder was full tilt,the diving planes were straight down. It was making anevasive maneuver to avoid being hit. There�s no way totell, but I would say he got nailed before he got to thebottom. If they were trapped down there no one knows,but I would like to think they died quickly.�Latta, among America�s greatest U.S. Naval heroesduring World War II, listed St. Helena as his hometownat the time of his death. His wife, Holly, and twochildren lived on Vineyard Avenue.His courage will be locally celebrated at an annualAmerican Legion Post 199 Memorial Day ceremony atSt. Helena Cemetery and his name engraved on a blackmarble monument bearing the names of 27 other St.Helenans, who fought and died in World Wars I and II,Korea, Vietnam and Afghanistan.St. Helena historian Mariam Hansen discovered Latta�sstory while scanning a list of names of local individualswho served in the military in 1944-45 for the AmericanLegion memorial. She was drawn to the Latta storywhen her study of St. Helena Star archives turned up aheadline of that period that read �Commander Lattaoverdue.��The more I found out, the more fascinating it became,�Hansen said. �It was one of the great, tragic stories ofWorld War II.�With additional research, Hansen was able to locateseveral surviving members of Frank Latta�s family.Ultimately, the trail led to his grandson, who is inpossession of his grandfather�s numerous medals,photographs and other items.First to fire on JapanAs captain of the USS Narwhal in April 1943, Lattaparticipated in action to recapture the Aleutian Islandsand was among the first Americans to fire uponJapanese-held soil. He was a veteran of nine war patrols,sunk two Japanese ships, and � as executive officer ofthe Narwhal � was awarded the Silver Star. Later, as

skipper of the Narwhal, he was awarded the Navy Cross,the Navy�s second-highest honor. Posthumously, he wasawarded the Legion of Merit with Combat V, thePhilippine Medal of Honor and the Purple Heart.Bill Savidge, an American Legion member, St. HelenaHistorical Society writer and fighter pilot in the Koreanand Vietnam wars, was able to construct a more intimateprofile of Latta, who was born in Indianapolis in 1910,graduated from the Naval Academy and became asubmariner in 1932.�Photos of Frank Latta show him smoking a pipe, amischievous ss hat, its scrambled-egg bill set at a jauntyangle, suggesting a confident, relaxed personality,�Savidge wrote. �Against Navy policy, Latta would bringhis Harley-Davidson motorcycle aboard ship with himand disassemble it to fit in a hidden corner. In port, hewould put it back together on the dock and enjoy ridingaround town.�Latta took command of the Lagarto (the only ship in theNavy named after a lizard fish) in New Orleans inOctober �44. �Latta�s Lancers� (Task Group 17.13)formed column-Lagarto, Haddock, and Sennet andheaded for the Bonin Islands to destroy �picket boats� inadvance of planned carrier strikes.Found in 2005In May of 1945, Latta�s ship and another submarine, theUSS Baya, were operating in the Gulf of Siam (nowThailand) and were in contact with a Japanese convoy.On May 3, the two submarines rendezvoused to plan anattack. The plan was that at 1400 that afternoon, Lagartowould dive on the convoy. After taking its position forthe attack, the Baya reported enemy contact. Ominously,there was no response from the Lagarto. When theLagarto failed to show up as planned in Australia, it wasreported missing in action. It was not seen again until itwas found at the bottom in 2005.But there was no doubt that the Japanese ship that firedthe depth charge that sunk Lagarto was the Japaneseminelayer Hatsutaka. Almost as a postscript, the captainof another American submarine, the USS Hawkbill, aclose friend of Latta�s, received permission to divertfrom its regular patrol to hunt down the Lagarto�sdestroyer. Twelve days later, the Hawkbill found andsunk the Hatsutaka.Jeff Latta said his father served in the Marine Corps inthe time after Korea and before Vietnam, �but Dad neverliked to talk about [Frank Latta�s] naval career and whata warrior he was,� Jeff said.Jeff Latta never entered the service, despite theappointment to Annapolis dangled before him and then-President Ronald Reagan�s personal letter encouraginghim to accept it.�Navy life wasn�t for me,� he said. �I wanted to go intorace cars, and that�s what I did.�

WiFi For The WarfighterWith MUOS satellite launch, Navy sees future of betterconnectivityBy Daniel P. Taylor, Seapower Magazine, May 2012After blasting off from Cape Canaveral Air ForceStation in Florida earlier this year, the U.S. Navy's next-generation satellite � meant to provide communicationsto warfighters all over the world � is finally circlingEarth.The Lockheed Martin Space Systems-built Mobile UserObjective System (MUOS) satellite will be a criticalasset to the Navy as it seeks to replace a legacyconstellation of Ultra-High Frequency Follow-On (UFO)satellites that are dwindling in capability as they age.Still, it will be a while until the sea service can retirethose satellites completely.The launch of MUOS-1 on Feb. 24 is the first of whatwill be five launches until the Navy has a fullconstellation of four working satellites providingconnectivity to the ground, with one on-orbit spare.According to Lockheed, the new satellites will feature awideband multiple-access payload � technology thatwill provide a 16-fold increase in transmissionthroughput over the current UFO satellites. To put itsimply: just one MUOS satellite will have four times thecapacity of the 10-satellite UFO constellation.Lockheed beat out a team led by Raytheon in 2004 for aprogram initially valued at $3.2 billion with all optionsexercised. Lockheed received an award of $339.6million to build the fifth and last satellite last year. TheNavy's fiscal 2013 budget proposal calls for $167million for the MUOS program, which will be used forpreparation for the launch of MUOS-2 next year.The MUOS program has experienced its share ofsetbacks. The initial launch was supposed to take placein 2010, when the contract was first awarded.The Navy is pressing ahead to get the program on track,according to a statement from the program office inresponse to questions from Seapower.Since the Feb. 24 launch, the program office has beenchecking out the spacecraft's health and performance,testing payloads and preparing for a full evaluation ofthe satellite, according to the statement."Initial operational capability for MUOS will occurwhen the first satellite is on orbit, the program managerhas verified nominal operational performance, therequired satellite control and network managementequipment are operational, support personnel are trainedand in position, logistics support capability is in place �and Multi-Service Operational Test and Evaluation-1 hasbeen successfully completed," the program office said,adding that all of that should wrap up this summer.The program will achieve full operational capabilityonce all satellites and the spare are in orbit and all of theabove parameters are met, which should happen aboutfour years later.

To support the transition from the legacy satellites to thenew ones, the MUOS satellites have two payloads �one legacy UFO-like payload and one Wideband CodeDivision Multiple Access (WCDMA) payload, whichsupports the new MUOS capability. After on-orbitcheckout of MUOS-1, which should take about sixmonths, operational forces will be able to use the legacypayload.WCDMA "will also undergo a limited checkout, but willnot be made operational until the MUOS ground stationis completely deployed and the second MUOS satellitecompletes its on-orbit checkout in accordance with theestablished MUOS fielding plan," the program officestated.Capt. Paul Ghyzel, Navy communications satelliteprogram manager, said in a statement that warfighterswill see a big difference once they have full access toMUOS."Right now � users have to be sitting in one place,stationary, with an antenna pointing straight at a satelliteto be able to use narrowband SATCOM [satellitecommunications]," he said. "As we bring MUOS online,we'll bring capability that allows them to move aroundthe battlespace and be able to continue to communicatebeyond the line of sight."A MUOS terminal would allow a user to place atelephone call or send data at 10 times the capacity oftoday's systems."Whether it's in vehicles, on ships, in submarines, inaircraft or simply carried by service members who aredismounted from vehicles and on the move, this systemwas designed to bring them voice and datacommunication services, both in point-to-point modeand through netted communications," Ghyzel said."Those capabilities have not existed with previousprograms."Warfighters will be connected to the MUOS satellitesthrough ground control facilities. Besides satellitecontrol facilities at Naval Satellite Operations Center inPoint Mugu, Calif., and Schriever Air Force Base, Colo.,the Navy has four more ground sites in Hawaii, WesternAustralia, Italy and Chesapeake, Va."Those are the stations where the traffic from the userterminals, as it comes down from the satellite, getsrouted to and processed to complete the calls, dependingon the nature of the traffic," Ghyzel said. "They willhandle voice calls, data calls and they'll connect theusers in the field to the Global Information Grid."The power of the MUOS system lies in its ability tosimply handle higher traffic volume due to more lines ofaccess, Mark Pasquale, MUOS program manager forLockheed Martin, said in a recent interview."Four MUOS satellites provide 16,000 accesses to thewarfighter worldwide," he said. "The current UFOsystem with the Navy provides about 1,000 accesses."

Pasquale compared the legacy system to a phone line.Even when the phone is not in use, it's still dedicated tojust one particular person. MUOS assigns those accesslines to different places and people depending on theneed."We also have a priority-based system, so if we do reachcapacity, those most important users, as defined by [theDefense Department], will get the priority to get accessand bump those lower-priority users," he said. "I reallylook at it as if you're going from a land-line phone to acomputer-based Internet system."And the fact that warfighters can use MUOS just aboutanywhere � and even when they are moving � meansthey do not have to put themselves in harm's way tocommunicate, Pasquale said."It provides beyond-line-of-sight communications forthe warfighter so they don't have to be in direct-sightview," he said. "We have communications on the move,so they're able to communicate while in transit, and theydon't have to sop and get to an open area in order tomake the call."

Denizens of the Deep CaucusThe Caucus will probably begin around noon or after.Our meal (hamburgers and hotdogs) will begin at 1:00PM. The Post will have an open-bar and the Base willhave a keg cold and ready and another in reserve.

The VFW Post doe s not have a scheduled activity so wecan stay as late as we like.

Denizens of the Deep working party will be at the VFWPost 5877 at 11:00 am to start setting up and getting thePost Party Room ready.

RSVP by 18 June 2012 to adamsfamily70@gmail.comand Mike Adams know how many will be attending.

Looking forward to seeing all of you here on the 23th.

Wayne E. PhillipsBase Secretary dotdsecretary@bellsouth.net

The Denizens of the Deep SubVet Base is raffeling aCertificate of Entitlement for a 2 night stayaccomodations at the Lodge Alley Inn in Charleston, SC(details attached). The drawing will be held at ourannual GA/SC SubVets Caucus on the 23 of June 2012.We are providing tickets at $10.00 for each chance onthis special Certificate. Ticket holders do not have to bepresent.

I have been asked to mail each GA/SC SubVet BaseCommander 10 tickets (and more can be requested) tooffer to your Base membership. The ticket stubs (withname, address, telephone number and money ($10.00))needs to be returned our Base Raffel Contact LewisFierke (102 Inwood Drive, Aiken, SC 29803) or brought

to the Caucus. Ticket Stups and $ must reach Lewbefore the Caucus begins to be available for the drawing.Tickets will also be available at the Caucus.

If there are members that wish purchase tickets and noneare available, you may have them print their name,address and telephone number on a card (3x5 or businesscard) and attach a check . Checks should be made toDenizens of the Deep SubVet Base.

If you need additional information or more tickets,please contact me by email or telephone (803-257-6048).

Eternal Patrol � MMCM(SS) Gary Semler

SUMMERVILLE - Gary Eugene Semler, MMCM (SS)USN-Ret., 70, of Summerville, South Carolina, husbandof Ann Semler, died on May 19, 2012, after a long andcourageous battle with Multiple Myeloma. Gary wasborn December 2, 1941, in Sharpsburg, Maryland, son ofthe late Harry Hyde Semler Jr. and Catherine VirginiaHessong Semler. Gary was a 1959 graduate ofBoonsboro Senior High, Boonsboro, Maryland. Heproudly served and retired from the United States Navy,followed by service as a nuclear test engineer in theCharleston Naval Shipyard where he retired in 1995.Gary was an active member of the United StatesSubmarine Veterans Charleston Base (USSVICB). Heenjoyed spending time with his family and friends,traveling, relaxing days at his lake house, boating,fishing, or riding jet skis, as well as anything he did withhis grandson, who was a great joy for him. In addition tohis wife of 49 years, Gary is survived by daughtersAndrea J. Semler (Michael Sheppard and their BoykinSpaniels) and Wendy L. Miller (Todd Miller), as well ashis beloved grandson, Graham Miller, all ofSummerville; brother Charles E. Semler and sisters, IdaMae Valentine and Nina Kearns, many aunts, uncles andcousins in and around Sharpsburg, Maryland; andnumerous life-long friends both near and far who havesupported him through this journey. The family wouldlike to graciously thank Matthew A. Beldner, MD andthe staff of Low Country Hematalogy Oncology for theircompassionate care. Gary will be fondly rememberedand will remain forever in the hearts of all his family andfriends. Fair winds and following seas... In lieu offlowers, please make donations to the Multiple MyelomaResearch Foundation at 383 Main Avenue, 5th Floor,Norwalk, CT, 06851; the USSVICB Scholarship Fund at106 Birchwood Drive, Summerville SC 29483 (c/oJulian Villegas, Scholarship Chairman); or the BoykinSpaniel Foundation, c/o Boykin Spaniel Society, POBox 2047, Camden, SC 29020. A private memorialservice will follow at a later date. Arrangemen ts byTRI-County Cremation Center, 11000 Dorchester Road,Summerville, SC (843) 821-4888. Visit our guestbook atVisit Guest Book

USS North Dakota Submarine To Be World�s MostAdvancedFARGO � When the USS North Dakota deploys in 2014, itwill be the most advanced submarine in the world, itsexecutive officer says.�We own the seas. And she is certainly the most capablesubmarine in the world. Nobody can match her,� Lt. Cmdr.Jeremiah Minner said.Minner gave a presentation on the capabilities of theVirginia-class nuclear attack submarine Wednesday at theRamada conference center. The event was sponsored by theFargo Moorhead West Fargo Chamber of Commerce.Minner has taken part in exercises on older attacksubmarines and Virginia-class submarines, �and theVirginia, hands down, is unmatched,� he said.It will be the replacement for the aging Los Angeles classattack submarines, he said, which have been the workhorseof the U.S. fleet.Minner said the commanding officer and the chief of boathave visited North Dakota, and he expects more of thesub�s 134 crewmen will visit here.Minner has served on an Ohio-class ballistic missilesubmarine and two other Virginia-class boats, the USSTexas and the USS Mississippi.He grew up in Denver, Colo., but now he and his wife andtwo children live in Groton, Conn. It�s there that he andsome of the crew are working with the engineers,technicians and tradesmen of General Dynamics ElectricBoat to inspect and test the boat�s systems as it�s built.He said the 377-foot boat is more than 50 percentcompleted and will be put together in four �supermodules,� sections weighing 2,000 tons apiece.Currently, the sub is designated PCU North Dakota,meaning pre-commissioning unit, he said.Part of the boat is being built in Quonset Point, R.I., part inNorfolk, Va., and part in Groton. The workload is heavy forthe 63 crew members already with the boat, he said.�That�s something we were very, very upfront with thecrew about,� he said. �We spend a lot of hours on theboat.�Unlike their predecessors, Virginia-class submarines are asstealthy and highly capable in shallow water as in deepwater, Minner said. They also can easily move from arcticwaters to the tropics.He said the three primary missions of the submarine will besurveillance and reconnaissance, anti-ship warfare, andanti-submarine warfare. But the submarine is also designedto carry out special operations missions, laying mines andattacking land-based targets, he said.This is the second Navy vessel to carry the state�s name.The first USS North Dakota (BB-29), was a 20,000-tonDelaware-class battleship that served from 1910 to 1923.Virginia-class submarines displace 7,800 tons. They canoperate at more than 25 knots submerged, which is about29 mph

The 25 Best Quotes From the American Military

25) "Don't fire until you see the whites of their eyes!" --William Prescott at the Battle Of Bunker Hill

24) "To be prepared for war is one of the most effectivemeans of preserving peace." -- George Washington

23) "When this war is over, the Japanese language willbe spoken only in hell!" -- Admiral Bill Halsey onDecember 7, 1941

22) "Nuts." -- The response of General AnthonyMacAuliffe, when asked to surrender during the Battleof the Bulge, 1944

21) "I tremble for my country when I hear of confidenceexpressed in me. I know too well my weakness, that ouronly hope is in God." -- Robert E. Lee

20) "War is cruelty. There is no use trying to reform it.The crueler it is, the sooner it will be over." -- GenWilliam T. Sherman

19) "Of the Marines on Iwo Jima, uncommon valor wasa common virtue." -- Chester W. Nimitz

18) "They've got us surrounded again, the poorbastards." -- Creighton W. Abrams, Battle of the Bulge

17) "Don't fire unless fired upon, but if they mean tohave a war, let it begin here" -- Captain John Parker,1775

16) "We have gone forth from our shores repeatedlyover the last hundred years and we�ve done this asrecently as the last year in Afghanistan and putwonderful young men and women at risk, many ofwhom have lost their lives, and we have asked fornothing except enough ground to bury them in, andotherwise we have returned home to seek our own livesin peace." -- Colin Powell

15) "We have met the enemy and they are ours!" --Oliver Hazard Perry

14) "It is the soldier, not the reporter, who has given usfreedom of the press. It is the soldier, not the poet, whohas given us freedom of speech. It is the soldier, not thecampus organizer, who has given us the freedom todemonstrate. It is the soldier, who salutes the flag, whoserves beneath the flag, and whose coffin is draped bythe flag, who allows the protester to burn the flag." --Father Dennis Edward O'Brien, USMC

13) "I wish to have no connection with any ship thatdoes not sail fast; for I intend to go in harm's way." --John Paul Jones

12) "Damn the torpedoes, Full speed ahead!" -- AdmiralDavid Glasgow Farragut

11) "I have only two men out of my company and 20 outof some other company. We need support, but it isalmost suicide to try to get it here as we are swept bymachine gun fire and a constant barrage is on us. I haveno one on my left and only a few on my right. I willhold." -- Clifton B. Cates, Belleau Wood, July 1918

10) "Yonder are the Hessians. They were bought forseven pounds and tenpence a man. Are you worth more?Prove it. Tonight the American flag floats from yonderhill or Molly Stark sleeps a widow!" -- John Stark at theBattle of Bennington in 1777

9) "Goddam it, you'll never get the Purple Heart hidingin a foxhole! Follow me!" -- Henry P. Crowe

8) "Victory was never in doubt. Its cost was...What wasin doubt, in all our minds, was whether there would beany of us left to dedicate our cemetery at the end, orwhether the last Marine would die knocking out the lastJapanese gun and gunner." -- Major General Graves B.Erskin in reference to the Battle Of Iwo Jima

7) "Come on, you sons of b!tches! Do you want to liveforever?" -- Dan Daly, WWI

6) "Don't you forget that you're First Marines! Not allthe communists in Hell can overrun you!" -- LieutenantGeneral Lewis "Chesty" Puller when surrounded byeight enemy divisions

5) "Get there first with the most." -- Nathan BedfordForrest

4) "It is fatal to enter a war without the will to win it." --Douglas MacArthur

3) "I am besieged by a thousand or more of theMexicans under Santa Anna. I have sustained acontinued bombardment for twenty-four hours and havenot lost a man. The enemy have demanded a surrender...otherwise the garrison is to be put to the sword if theplace is taken. I have answered the summons with acannon shot, and our flag still waves proudly from thewalls. I shall never surrender or retreat." -- William B.Travis, Alamo

2) �If you kill enough of them, they stop fighting.� --Curtis LeMay

1) "No bastard ever won a war by dying for his country.He won it by making the other poor dumb b@stard diefor his country." -- George Patton

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.