President – John Stewart National Headquarters
Vice President – Stephen Tyde 2300 Wilson Avenue
Sec/Treasurer – Dave Echevarria Arlington, VA 22201
Judge Advocate – Gil Burnett (703) 528 1775
Chaplain – Dick Leisenring
Education/Awards – Dick Eisenman Board of Directors
Newsletter – John Stewart Harry Otterbein
Public Affairs – Dave Spetrino Frank Boushee
Programs - Jerry Sullivan Tom Durant
Recruiting/Retention –– Emmett Tedesco Henry Helgesen
Special Events – Harry Otterbein John Hicks
Bobby Seitter
Deese Thompson
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NAVY
LEAGUE OF THE UNITED STATES Serving the Sea Services Since 1902
Post Office Box 813
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October 2008 Newsletter
Comments from the President
The annual Navy League BBQ on the battleship was held on the 17th of September after we had to reschedule the original date of the 6th because of hurricane Hanna. We had to worry about the weather again on the 17th with predictions of thunderstorms all week. But, fortunately, the weather was great and the venue was, as always, the best for a Navy event. We wish to thank Captain Schue and his staff for their help to make the event successful. It was our pleasure to again welcome the Oak Island Coast Guard station group and thank them for their help in making the transit trips on the Diligence successful. The transits are not possible without them. The Diligence was represented by Katie Fears, wife of the CO of the Diligence, Doug Fears and by LCDR Derek Dostie, the XO of the Marine Safety Unit Wilmington. We were also glad to visit with Bill Culler, the North Carolina Navy League State President. New members at the BBQ were CDR and Mrs. Darryl Smith and Mr and Mrs Tom Quartrton. CDR Smith was one of the people who rode the USS North Carolina BB55 up the river to the current slip and told his story about being one of the few people who were involved in a collision between a battleship and a restaurant.
The Navy will send the USS Squall to be part of the Riverfest festivities in Wilmington over the 3rd thru the 5th of October. The visit of the Squall will be a follow on after the commissioning of the USS North Carolina to add one more incident to connect the Navy to the city of Wilmington. Part of the announcement describes the Squall as :
“The USS Squall is the seventh cyclone class patrol ship. She was commissioned by the United States Navy on July 4, 1994. Her armament includes 2 Mk 38 chain guns, 2 Mk19 grenade launchers. 2 .50 machine guns and 6 stinger missiles. Most recently, several ships in this class have been deployed to Bahrain and are responsible for maritime interception in the Persian Gulf”
This is another indication of the close relationship between the Navy and the community.
The USS Squall has a crew of about 28. The Navy League will host a BBQ for the crew on the 4th of October from 4PM to 5:30 PM at the home of Harry Otterbein, 8924 Shipwatch Drive. All Navy League members are invited and are asked to advise Harry via e-mail at harryott@aol.com or call him at 910 799 8381. This is an event we are arranging quickly, hope several members are able to attend the BBQ and to introduce the crew of the USS Squall to Wilmington and give us an opportunity to thank them for their service.
Chaplains Corner
Does God have a sense of humor? I’ve always hoped so. Anyway, as a bit of light side “religion”, before we get back to basics, the story goes like this:
A priest and a rabbi were sitting next to each other on an airplane. After a while, the priest turned to the rabbi and asked, “Is it still a requirement of your faith that you not eat pork?” The rabbi responded,
“Yes, that is still one of our laws.” The priest then asked, “Have you ever eaten pork?” To which the rabbi replied, “Yes, on one occasion I did succumb to temptation and tasted a ham sandwich.” The priest nodded
in understanding and went on with his reading. A while later, the rabbi spoke up and asked the priest, “Father, is it still a requirement of your church that you remain celibate?” The priest replied, “Yes, that is
still very much a part of our faith.” The rabbi then asked him, “Father, have you ever fallen to the temptations of the flesh?” The priest replied, “Yes, rabbi, on one occasion I was weak and broke with my
faith.” The rabbi nodded understandingly and remained silent, thinking, for about five minutes.
Finally, the rabbi said, “Beats the hell out of a ham sandwich, doesn’t it?”
God Bless.
Upcoming Events
The next event for the council is the BBQ for the USS Squall as we mentioned earlier on the 4th of October.
Our next meeting will be on the 10th of October at 1230 at the Cape Fear Club. John Hicks will get in touch with the members with the menu choices as well as give a “heads up” on the meeting
The Christmas party will be on the Tuesday, the 9th of December, 2008 at the Holiday Inn Sun Spree on Wrightsville Beach. We will have more information on this later. Put the date on your calendar..
Final Comments
If anyone needs a nametag or Navy League membership certificate contact Tom Durant. Nametags are $5.00 and certificates are free. Tom’s telephone number is 762-8557.
Remember to hold on to your copies of SEAPOWER after you read them. We will collect them and use them as give away items at events or at schools.
If you are receiving this by US Postal Service and have an e-mail address, please let me know your address via e-mail at johnandmelindas@aol.com or call me at 910 452 1616. We have had several e-mail messages returned due to incorrect addresses and I am certain that a few of the recipients of the mailed copies have e-mail addresses as well. It costs the council around $.50 per person to mail the newsletter and this money could be better used in our support programs for the sea services.