THE ANCHOR THE GREATER CENTRAL TEXAS COUNCIL NAVY LEAGUE OF THE UNITED STATES NOVEMNBER DECEMBER 2006 CITIZENS IN SUPPORT OF THE SEA SERVICES WWW.CENTEXNAVYLEAGUE.ORG OFFICERS Max Miller President Jim Brotherton President elect Steve Smith Past President Lee Hagan VP Administration Jim Brotherton VP Operations Ned Ash VP Education Jeanie Coffey VP Public Affairs Marvin Morgenroth Secretary George Haley Treasurer Michael Murray Judge Advocate National Directors Jack Ritter Glenn Looney Max Miller Board Of Directors Glenn Looney Chairman Tom Griffy Horace Johnson Tom Lasseter Jack Mayo Max Miller Randy Patterson Jack Ritter Steve Smith Tom Uhl David Wells Liaisons Joe Cruz Military Coalition Tom Uhl Navy Reserve Steve Smith Marine Corps Nital Wathen Fleet Reserve Jack Ritter UT NROTC CAPT Gabe Salazar CO UT NROTC CDR Dan Starling CO N&MCRTC Jim Brotherton JN&JMROTC Glenn Looney USS Austin (LPD4) Jack Mayo USS Texas (SSN775) NOTICE OF PROGRAM: THURSDAY 7 DECEMBER 2006 The GREATER CENTERAL TEXAS COUNCIL of the NAVY LEAGUE of the UNITED STATES will hold its next program Thursday 7 December at the AUSTIN WOMAN S CLUB ( CHATEAU BELLEVUE ) located at the corner of San Antonio Street and 8th Street. Access to the entrance and parking area is off San Antonio Street or from the rear on Nueces Street between 7th and 8th Streets. SOCIAL HOUR: 1815 DINNER: 1915 PROGRAM: 2015 ADJOURN: 2115 All Navy League meetings are open to the public, military or civilians. No prior military service is required for membership. Extend this invitation to your associates. Your family and guests are welcome. RESERVATIONS ARE REQUIRED BY 2000 Tuesday 5 December 2006 CALL GLENN LOONEY: (512) 327-7413 (rglennl@alumni.utexas.net) The Greater Central Texas Council presents: James D. Hornfischer Acclaimed Author and Naval Historian (The Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors) Topic: The Story of USS Houston SHIP OF GHOSTS The Story of the USS Houston, FDR s Legendary Lost Cruiser, and the Epic Saga of Her Survivors http://jameshornfischer.com/home NATIONAL MUSEUM OF THE MARINE CORPS OPENS Open to the public on 13 November 2006, the National Museum of the Marine Corps is a lasting tribute to U.S. Marines past, present, and future. Situated on a 135-acre site adjacent to the Marine Corps base in Quantico, Virginia, the Museum s soaring design evokes the image of the flag-raisers of Iwo Jima and beckons visitors to its 118,000-squarefoot structure. World-class interactive exhibits using the most innovative technology will surround visitors with irreplaceable artifacts and immerse them in the sights and sounds of Marines in action. http://www.usmcmuseum.org/
PAGE 2 www.centexnavyleague.org The ANCHOR PRESIDENTS MESSAGE: MAX MILLER As we approach the last meeting of 2006 and my last meeting as your President, I thank each member of the Greater Central Texas Council of the Navy League of the United States for making the past two years one of the highlights in my life. It has been with pleasure that I served you in this capacity. It took lot s of help from everyone; and I thank you all very much for your cooperation, help, and support. The Navy League is not a one person job. It takes an All Hands effort to make it happen. Some of the events that have happened are included below. All of our accomplishments were a group effort. During the past two years we have seen the commissioning of the USS San Antonio (LPD-17) and the USS Texas (SSN 775) and the decommissioning of the USS Austin (LPD-4). We added Brenham High School as a sponsored MC JROTC program. And we have visited all our surrounding US Congressmen and will shortly have visited with our two Texas US Senators as a part of the Navy League of the United States Grassroots Program. Our Jones Scholarship Fund has grown to over $11,000.00. Our Navy League Council reorganized our Corporate By-Laws so that we now operate under a Board of Directors and we have made sure we are organized correctly under the laws of the State of Texas and are in compliance with the Internal Revenue Service rules. James Hornfischer was the first Distinguished Speaker after I took office and now it seems appropriate for him to be the last Distinguished Speaker during my Presidency. I hope he keeps writing these good books and comes back to speak again and again. By the way, he will sell and autograph his newest one, Ship of Ghosts at our 7 December meeting. It is very good and I highly recommend it for reading. We have already lined up an outstanding group of speakers for next year. You may check them out on web site: http://www.centexnavyleague.org/. Even as I paint a good picture, our Council needs your help now. We need money to continue our Distinguished Speaker Program, to award scholarships and medals to our sponsored Sea Cadet, NROTC, and JNROTC programs. Find a way to help the Greater Central Texas Council grow and become even better. Involvement by all, either monetary or with action, is necessary to make OUR council one of the best. Besides, I just think Personal Involvement is the Right Thing to Do. In closing, I wish each of you Fair Winds and Following Seas. Chairman of the Board/National Director: Glenn Looney The Board of Directors, acting in its capacity as the Nominating Committee, recommends the following slate of Council officers and directors for election to the indicated offices. Council officers serve for one year terms, while directors are elected to staggered three year terms. Peggy Jones is nominated to complete the unexpired two years of a vacated position on the Board of Directors. This slate will be presented to the General Membership during a business meeting on 7 December 2007 during the election process at which time nominations may also Officers - Terms 1 January - 31 December 2007 President Jim Brotherton President-Elect Bruce Byron Vice President - Operations Lee Hagan Vice President - Administration Tim Hunsberger Vice President - Education Ned Ash Vice President - Legislative Affairs Jeannie Coffey Secretary -Jack Mayo Alternate Secretary -Nancy Brotherton Chaplain -Jim Lindley Treasurer -George Haley Judge Advocate- Michael Murray Director - Term While Serving as Council President Jim Brotherton Directors - Terms Ending 31 December 2009 Continuing Directors - Terms Ending 31 December 2007 Glenn Looney Max Miller Jack Ritter Tom Uhl Continuing Directors - Terms Ending 31 December 2008 Jack Mayo David Wells Peggy Jones Check out the new Navy League Ship's Store: A great selection of quality Navy League-logo apparel, gifts and other merchandise is available at reasonable prices. Go to the store here: http://www.onlinegearstore.com/nlss/ Kathy Pillmore Randy Patterson Steve Smith
The ANCHOR www.centexnavyleague.org PAGE 3 USS AUSTIN, LPD-4 DECOMMISSIONED Austin Class Amphibious Transport Dock: Laid down, 4 February 1963, at New York Naval Shipyard, Brooklyn, N.Y: Launched, 26 June 1964; Commissioned USS Austin (LPD-4), 6 February 1965. Austin was the lead ship of her class and varies from the rest in that she has no hanger. The Austin class LPDs are based on the design of the earlier Raleigh class LPDs. Decommissioned 27 September. The Council is working with the City of Austin to obtain mementos from the ship for display in the City. (L) Jack Mayo is shown accepting a plaque from USS Austin s Captain, Commander Kevin Flanagan, thanking the Greater Central Texas Council of the Navy League for supporting the ship throughout its lifespan. The plaque was delivered to Council President Max Miller during our October 12 dinner meeting. The Commissioning Pennant flown during USS Austin s final deployment was presented to the Command Master Chief. Austin returned from the Persian Gulf to her homeport of Norfolk this past year. Partly visible to the right of the American flag is a large Texas flag flown aboard USS AUSTIN (LPD-4) for the last time during its decommissioning ceremony 27 September. For the past 41 years AUSTIN has been referred to as the flagship of the Texas Navy. (Left to Right) USS AUSTIN (LPD-4) has been replaced by USS SAN ANTO- NIO (LPD-17). They were moored directly across Norfolk s Pier One during USS AUSTIN s 27 September decommissioning ceremony. (L) City Planning Director Betty Baker represented Austin Mayor Will Wynn. She read a city Proclamation making September 27, 2006, USS Austin Day in the City of Austin. Betty is making preparations at City Hall while Navy League Council Officers work with the Navy Historical Center to bring the ship s bell and other special artifacts here for display in City Hall and at Bergstrom Airport. Crewmembers board USS Austin for their last day, September 27, 2006. Support your Council
PAGE 4 www.centexnavyleague.org The ANCHOR UPCOMING CALENDAR OF EVENTS Program: Jim Hornfischer, author, Ship of Ghosts: the Story of USS Houston Election of Council Officers and Directors Program: Professor H.W. Brands: Andrew Jackson and Theodore Roosevelt: Two Heroes for Their Ages. 7 December 2006 7 December 2006 15 February 2007 National Director: Jack Ritter 2006 Report on YOUR Grass Roots Program It is time for the National Navy League Grass Roots Legislative Affairs Program to evaluate the 2007 Ship Building Budget. Let s review the recent authorization by Congress. Eight (8) ships are in the new 2007 Ship Building Budget. These include the seven (7) ships the Navy asked for and a new Research Ship added by the U S Senate. The new ship list includes two (2) DDG 1000, two (2) LCS, one (1) Survey ship, one (1) Virginia Class Nuclear Attack Submarine (SSN-774), one (1) Aviation Assault Ship (LHA 6), and one (1) T-AKE Lewis and Clark Class dry cargo ship. Congress also approved a plan for the next three (3) aircraft carriers (CVN-78 is the 1 st ). These carriers will be built over a multi-year period. Congress affirmed its support for a forty eight (48) Attack Submarine force, as part of a long-term plan. These submarines are expected by Congress to be built at the rate of two new Boats each year. The new authorization included six (6) short take-off and vertical landing versions of the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II aircraft. A multiyear procurement strategy for the Bell-Boeing V-22 Osprey tilt rotor aircraft was approved. The Navy acting for the Air Force and Special Operations command is authorized, beginning in 2008, to obtain 211 V-22 aircraft, 185 MV 22 cargo versions. From these numbers, we can be more confident that the US Maritime Services have been given renewed support by the U S Congress. The Navy League Grass Roots Legislative Liaison Program will continue to carry out our mission of informing the public and visiting with our Members of Congress. Max Miller, Jeanie Coffee, and Jack Ritter, along with CAPT Gabe Salazar, Professor of Naval Science and Commanding Officer of the University of Texas NROTC unit visited Senator John Cornyn on November 20, 2006. They thanked the Senator for his support and discussed the Greater Central Texas Council of the Navy League and how we support the Sea Services. CAPT Salazar discussed the UT NROTC and Max Miller presented Senator Cornyn with a copy of Navy League of the United States, a newly published history of the Navy League. Pictured left to right: Max Miller, CAPT Gabe Salazar, Senator John Cornyn, Jeanie Coffey, and Jack Ritter On October 13, 2007 Jack Ritter and Max Miller visited Congressman John Carter in his Round Rock office. They discussed the Navy League with Congressman Carter and invited him to join. He signed up with the Greater Central Texas Council.
The ANCHOR www.centexnavyleague.org PAGE 5 MEMORIES OF THE OUR PROGRAM ON 12 OCTOBER AND OUR GUEST, LT GENERAL JEFFERSON D. BEAK HOWELL, JR., USMC (RET)
PAGE 6 www.centexnavyleague.org The ANCHOR I ll Bet You Didn t Know By Ned Ash, VP Education VICE PRESIDENT EDUCATION: NED ASH I often read in local newspapers about large companies in the central Texas region supporting our military. One example is the announcement that Dell won a contract worth up to five billion dollars to supply computers and peripherals to the Army over the next three years. I was pleased to read in the latest edition of Seapower magazine that Applied Materials, Inc. is contributing technological solutions to our sea services. The Austin facility focuses on sophisticated research, development and manufacturing. The company invented a new longer lasting version of non-skid which keeps aircraft and personnel from slipping on wet weather decks. These articles made me wonder what other Austin companies are supporting the military. Using defense contract sources, I discovered that several companies have recently been awarded contracts to provide a host of products and services. JIM AND NANCY BROTHERTON AFTER JIM RECEIVED THE USNA BLUE AND GOLD DIRECTOR S AWARD FOR SUPERIOR PERFORMANCE IN THE USNA INTERVIEW PROGRAM For instance, a small business in Austin called SYMTX, Inc was awarded a five million dollar modification to a contract for seven engine test instrumentation units and associated technical documentation for the T-6 Texan, T-10 and T-36 naval training aircraft. The work will be performed in Austin through the year 2010 for the Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division located in Lakehurst, New Jersey. SYMTX previously completed jet engine test systems for the F-14 and F/A-18 naval aircraft. Another Austin company called Lear Siegler Service, Inc. was awarded a twentynine million dollar contract this month to provide aircraft maintenance and services for the T-37, T-38A and T-38C training aircraft to support the USAF s Euro-NATO Joint Jet Pilot Training conducted in Wichita Falls. The Air Education and Training Command is the contracting activity and the work will be completed this time next year. Lear Siegler (LSI) specializes in aircraft maintenance and training services to military and commercial customers throughout the world. Last month, Phoenix Management, Inc. (PMI), won a nineteen million dollar contract to provide logistics support to several USAF bases in Colorado, California, Montana and Wyoming. The company will supply Mobility Bags, Individual Body Armor management, Hazardous Material services, Fuels services and Missile Material control through 2007. I ll bet you didn t know that three Austin based companies, The McCarty Corporation, Hensel Phelps Construction Company and J. D. Abrams, L.L.P. were recently awarded a combined one billion dollars in construction contracts for Army bases in South Carolina and Texas. For more details on their progress, check out the Austin Business Journal. MAX CONVERSES WITH REAR ADMIRAL NEVIN P. CARR, JR. (DEPUTY FOR SURFACE COMBAT SYSTEMS IN OFFICE OF THE CNO) Don t forget to include a contribution to the Council s operations fund. Send your donations to George Haley, 5616 Gorham Glen Lane, Austin Texas 78739-1741 or better yet, bring it to the next program. See you there. VICE PRESIDENT ADMINISTRATION: LEE HAGAN The Council membership is at 268. Our annual retention is at 73.3%. We encourage all of you to recruit new members. There are no dues other than the annual membership to the National Organization for which members receive the latest news, magazines and other information relative to the state of the Sea Services. For those of you who need to renew your membership, please do so early and for multiple years. NEW MEMBERS NOVEMBER 2006 Mr. Edward W. Finnegan Ms. Laura S. Fowler Mr. Walter R. Little Mr John C. Vise NEW MEMBER OCTOBER 2006 The Honorable John R. Carter Mr. John T. Engstrom Mr. Bruce M. Hamilton NEW MEMBERS SEPTEMBER 2006 Mr. Robert W. Jennings
The ANCHOR www.centexnavyleague.org PAGE 7 Navy League Name Tags We will order name tags from the new Navy League vendor of choice after the 7 December meeting. These name tags will have the following information: Name, Navy League of the United States, and Greater Central Texas Council on 3 separate lines. The lettering will be of sufficient size to be read at reasonable distances. The name tags have a small hole for attaching a Navy League pin. An example is shown. (See PDF attachment.) Orders will be taken at our next meeting. Cost is $10.00 each. All-New Directory Helps Navy League Members Connect The Navy League of the United States is working on a new publication designed to help bring our members together. This upcoming directory will include comprehensive biographical listings with contact information, career highlights and family details on our more than 65,000 members. To make sure this directory is as up-to-date as possible our publisher, Harris Connect, will begin contacting members in September by mail to verify that the information we have on file is accurate and complete. At this time, Harris Connect will also let you know how you can update your listing so that it is as complete and accurate as possible. Help for Jasmine Jasmine Subia is an 11 year old girl that plays for Lonestar Soccer Club and is now courageously trying to beat bone cancer. We can all help out. We probably all have a used cell phone sitting in a drawer somewhere after having traded in for a newer model. Ecophones will recycle the phone and donate proceeds to Jasmine Subia's Cancer Fund. By simply donating your used cell phone you can help a child fight cancer, help the environment and possibly receive a tax deduction for your donation. Ecophones accepts both working and non working phones. Randy Patterson will collect the phones and make sure they are given to Ecophones. CHAPLAIN S MESSAGE: TOM GRIFFY The December meeting of the Council will be the annual business meeting where new officers are elected, including a new chaplain. Consequently this will be my last contribution to the newsletter in that role. The change in Council chaplain is a small and perhaps insignificant transition, particularly when compared to the transition in our national governance brought about by the recent election. There have also been significant changes in the church over the past two to three decades, changes applauded by some and discouraging to others. In one of the Bible s most familiar passages we are told that change is inevitable: For everything there is a season and a time for every matter under heaven: (Ecclesiastes 3:1) Ecclesiastes is one of my favorite books in the Bible. Tradition says that it was written by Solomon in his old age. Whether or not that is true, it is certainly the work of an older man who has become somewhat cynical: I have seen everything that is done under the sun; and behold, all is vanity and a striving after wind. (Eccl 1:14) For in much wisdom is much vexation, and he who increases knowledge increases sorrow. (Eccl 1:18) I believe many of us (being much the same age as the writer!) can easily identify with these sentiments. In particular, when we survey the national and international situation it is easy to be disappointed and cynical; to wish for a return to former times. The author of Ecclesiastes is realistic. He calls them as he sees them and sometimes what he sees is discouraging. Nevertheless, he does not suggest giving up: There is nothing better for a man than that he should eat and drink, and find enjoyment in his toil. (Eccl 2:24) The biblical writers, including Ecclesiastes, understood that life is full of disappointments. Things do not always turn out as we might have wished. Nevertheless we can still find some measure of fulfillment simply making the effort, finding enjoyment in our toil.
PAGE 8 www.centexnavyleague.org The ANCHOR THE ANCHOR DAVID WELLS, EDITOR 4115 LORD BYRON COVE ROUND ROCK TEXAS 78664 EMAIL: DWELLS04@EARTHLINK.NET FIRST CLASS MAIL RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED THE ANCHOR is the official newsletter of the Greater Central Texas Council of the Navy League of the United States. It is published semi-monthly and distributed free of charge to all its members and to other interested parties. The Greater Central Texas Council is exempt from the Limited Sales, Excise, and Use Taxes as an organization exempt under Section 501 (3) of the Internal Revenue Code. OSBOURNE & HELMAN, LLP Texas Research International, Inc. Overwatch Systems CORPORATE SPONSORS COMMUNITY AFFILIATES HELP US BUILD OUR MEMBERSHIP Use the form below and sign up a new member. Bring it and your new member to our next Council meeting, or mail the form, together with the fee (check or money order payable to NLUS), to David Wells 4115 Lord Byron Cove, Round Rock Texas 78664 or Glenn Looney, 14 Chapin Lane, Austin, TX 78746-2542. This will immediately get your new member on our mailing list.