The Official Newsletter of the Greater Austin Council Navy League of the United States May June 2018 Citizens in Support of the Sea Services www.navyleagueaustin.org Adam Samuels is retired U.S. Navy Surface Warfare Officer (SWO), serving 20 years before retiring in 2017 and returning home to Texas. During his 2011-2015 joint assignment at the Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) Cooperative Biological Engagement Program (CBEP) based at Ft. Belvoir (outside Washington DC), Adam was acting section head for Africa Programs, overseeing bio-surveillance, bio-safety, and bio-security engagement in a dozen countries across the continent, including restarting bio-engagement programs with South Africa and implementing the DTRA response to the West Africa Ebola pandemic. He cultivated close interagency working relationships with CDC, USDA, FBI Bio-Countermeasures Unit, and the US Embassy staff, he developed and implemented bio-defense programs designed to improve partner country ability to detect and report highly infectious diseases (Select Agents) before they grew from outbreaks to regional epidemics to global pandemics. With his team of over 25 DTRA civilian experts, he managed programs providing training and equipment to host-country doctors, epidemiologists, Distinguished Speaker Dinner Series THURSDAY June 21, 2018 Featured Speaker LCDR Adam Samuels, USN Ret TOPIC Global Highly Infectious Disease Prevention: One Navy Officer s experience to prevent the next Zombie outbreak laboratory technicians, and research staff. He also served as the DTRA CBEP OCO- NUS training and exercise lead, constructing multi-week field exercises to evaluate program effectiveness of DTRA funded engagement in Ukraine, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Tanzania, and Tbilisi Georgia, providing feedback to DTRA HQ and US Embassy program managers to adjust future program goals and program funding. LCDR Samuels sea duty assignments include shipboard damage control assistant, and various engineering and operations assignments on a submarine midshipman training cruise (USS Omaha SSN692), pre-commissioned destroyer under construction at a shipyard; two operational destroyers (USS Porter DDG78, USS Stethem DDG63); Navy cruiser (USS Monterey CG61), and embarked staff aboard two aircraft carriers (USS Carl Vinson CVN70 and USS Theodore Roosevelt CVN71). He was deployed over 9/11 as the Assistant Operations/Surface Watch Officer assigned to the Sea Combat Commander in the North Arabian Sea (Destroyer Squadron Nine DESRON NINE), tasked to maintain situational awareness and op- Continued on p.3
2018 GREATER AUSTIN COUNCIL BOARD OF DIRECTORS Tim Hunsberger President... 512.970.9299 tahunsberger@earthlink.net Vacant President-Elect... Glenn Looney V.P for Membership... 512.327.7413 navyleagueaustin@austin.rr.com Mary Virginia Pittman-Waller V.P. Dev. & Mktg... 210.212.4500 mvp.texas@yahoo.com Kathy Pillmore V.P. for Comm. & Programs..512.292.1194 kpillmore@icloud.com LuAnn Reyes CFO & Treas... 512.203.4399 luann@luannreyes.com Jim Brotherton V.P. for Military Affairs... 512.632.4206 jdbrotherton@att.net Jeanie Coffey V.P. for Legislative Affairs... 512.431.8573 jeanie.coffey@gmail.com Launtz Rodgers V.P. Youth Programs... 512.545.2920 launtz@outlook.com Adam Samuels Chaplain... 757.818.3641 samuels7995@gmail.com Michael Murray Judge Advocate General... 512.472.5192 ADDITIONAL DIRECTORS Don Jones Tamesha Jumper Max Miller Randy Patterson Mary Ritter NLUS DIRECTORS Max Miller Jeanie Coffey Tim Hunsberger Glenn Looney Max Miller Mary Ritter M.V.Pittman-Waller LIAISONS Open Marine Corps CAPT Brian Teets, USN CO UT NROTC CDR Raul Rios, Jr., USN CO Navy Operations Support Center President s Message Tim Hunsberger President, Greater Austin Council, NLUS We have had a great spring and I am talking about the weather as well as our programs. My last message I talked about serving nachos at the Austin VA Clinics late in January. We served over 300 visitors when we ran out of food. This was a first event of this type for the clinic and it was greatly appreciated by the veterans and the clinics staff. Lisa Sullivan did another outstanding job coordinating the event. Our dinner speaking series have provided great speakers and great reviews. Please do not miss our next dinner June 21st. We just completed presenting the Theodore Roosevelt Youth Medals to outstanding JROTC cadets at 17 Central Texas High Schools. It was not only an honor for our members to present the award, it also reflected the outstanding quality of the students in our area high schools. I know many people worry about our future; however, when you see the integrity and leadership of these individuals you can rest assured our future is in good hands. One of our next initiatives is in supporting our veterans suicide preventions programs. Our returning veterans have one of the highest suicide rates in the country, and it is a tragic loss of such a talented group of men and women. Our August dinner program will be dedicated to addressing this issue and to share some of the resources available to veterans and their families. If you are interested in helping, please put it on your calendar. You can catch updates on our website. NOTE: The Council advises parents that this is a sensitive topic that may not be suitable for young children. On June 5th I will be off to the Navy League National Convention in Portland. They have some excellent programs planned and I will bring home information that we can all use. I will give daily updates and you can catch them on our Facebook page. Also I will give an overview at our next dinner meeting. I hope you all have a great summer and looking forward to seeing you at our June dinner. The Anchor is the official publication of the Greater Austin Council, Navy League of the United States. It is published six times per year, prior to an upcoming Distinguished Speaker Series dinner. Archived copies of past Anchors may be found at www. navyleagueaustin. org. 2010 2014 RESERVE YOUR SEAT AT OUR NEXT DINNER AUSTIN WOMANS CLUB CHATEAU BELLEVUE Free Parking - Entrance on Nueces between 7th and 8th Streets Social 1815 Dinner 1915 Program 2015 Members & Their Guests- $30 Military in Uniform & Their Guests - $20 Cadets & Midshipmen and Their Guests - $15 CALL 512-203-4399 OR EMAIL luann@luannreyes.com ONLINE via PayPal at www.navyleagueaustin.org PLEASE NOTE: WE CANNOT GUARANTEE YOUR MEAL WITHOUT A RESERVATION 2 The Anchor, May June 2018
SPEAKER, cont d from page 1 erational planning for over 60 separate coalition ships and logistics units during the beginning of the Global War on Terrorism. He later served as the department head operations officer on the first operational Ballistic Missile Defense (BMD) AEGIS destroyer forward deployed out of Yokosuka Japan in 2006. Ashore, Adam was the assistant training officer/anti-terrorism force protection officer for commander, Naval Reserve Readiness Command-Pacific Northwest (REDCOM NW) staff in Everett WA, action officer for the Chief of Naval Operations staff (OPNAV 86) at the Pentagonoverseeing the Navy s Chemical Biological Radiological Nuclear Defense (CBRN-D) programs, and foreign disclosure officer for the Navy International Programs Office (NIPO), located at the historic Washington Navy Yard. Adam currently serves as Emergency Management Planning Coordinator (EMPC) for the Texas Military Department (Texas Army National Guard + Air National Guard), located on Camp Mabry in Austin TX. He oversees the all-hazard emergency preparedness for 106 National Guard facilities across the state, including all armories, airfields, training centers, and recruiting storefronts. A native of San Antonio Texas, Adam holds a BS in Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering Technology (MMET) from Texas A&M University, a MA in National Security and Strategic Studies from the United States Naval War College, Newport, Rhode Island. Adam recently completed a fellowship at the University of Texas at Austin McCombs School of Business with the Veterans Accelerated Management Program (VAMP). He lives in Georgetown TX. The Council is facing the same future as are many other civic/service organizations.aging membership, few younger members or members unwilling to step into leadership roles, and dwindling revenues. You ve heard it all before, but now we are facing some critical decisions that will affect the future of the Greater Austin Council. We need your help.seriously! Membership: We must reach younger individuals and get them involved, and bring back former members. How can you help? Bring guests to our dinners, convince them to join. And get involved. Volunteer to help with any of the items listed below. Revenue: Lack of revenue affects the ability of the Council to complete its mission to support the Navy and Marine Corps youth programs in the Central Texas Area. Currently that includes 15 Navy and Marine Corps Junior ROTC programs, the UT Navy ROTC Unit, The Sea Cadets and the Capital Area Young Marines. The Council does not charge local dues. The dues you pay go to the national organization, which provides the Council with a small rebate (around 20%) of the national dues. Other than donations to the council, that is our only source of revenue. How can I help? Make a tax-deductible donation to the Council. (At a dinner meeting or anytime online at http://www.navyleagueaustin.org/paypal.html). Volunteer to help with any of the opportunities listed below. VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES Administration Serve on the board of directors or any committee. Ideas Share with the board any fundraising ideas you may have. Silent Auction Chair or serve on a committee to organize and operate an annual silent auction. Golf Tournament Chair or serve on a committee to organize and operate a golf tournament Online fundraising participate in an Online funding call to replenish the stipend and/or scholarship fund. Donate: At any dinner or online at www. navyleagueaustin.org/paypal.html VA Clinic: Several events throughout the year that just need bodies to organize and help Toys for Tots: Chair the annual collection When someone from the board calls you, step up and pick something that you can help your Council with. It s Now or Never! Throughout the month of May as the school year was wrapping up, Greater Austin Council members traveled far and wide to deliver the Navy League s Theodore Roosevelt Youth Medals to deserving young men and women in the Council s adopted units. Special thanks to Launtz Rodgers for coorindating the presentations. Following are the list of recipients and the Council members who delivered their awards. SCHOOL/UNIT AWARDEE PRESENTER UT NROTC (Officer s Sword) MIDN Ryan Carr Max Miller & Launtz Rodgers Bastrop HS NNDCC Cadet Kayla Simon Mary Virginia Pittman-Waller Belton HS MCJROTC Cadet Jacob Fouke Launtz Rodgers Brenham HS MCJROTC Cadet Kody Province Tim Hunsberger East View HS NJROTC Cadet Emma Martinez Launtz Rodgers Elgin HS NNDCC Cadet Xavier Hernandez Russ Miller Fredericksburg HS NJROTC Cadet(s) Cristal Agular Glenn Looney Fredericksburg HS NJROTC Cadet Yaritza Corona Mary Virginia Pittman-Waller Hays HS MCJROTC Cadet Tyler Zapalac Kathy Pillmore Hendrickson HS MCJROTC Cadet Virginia Montelongo Lisa Sullivan La Vega HS NJROTC Cadet Steven Hernandez Tim Hunsberger Lehman HS NJROTC Cadet Daisy Garcia Kathy Pillmore Midway HS MCJROTC Cadet Glenda Gutierrez Cathleen Gruetzner New Braunfels HS MCJROTC Cadet Jonathan Preuss Mary Virginia Pittman-Waller Round Rock HS MCJROTC Cadet Jaxon Schmeisser Launtz Rodgers Stony Point HS NJROTC Cadet Mahala Wood Launtz Rodgers Travis HS NJROTC Cadet Jorge Rangel III Russ Miller Vista Ridge HS NJROTC Cadet Thomas Landry LuAnn Reyes William B. Travis Division Sea Cadets Cadet Ethan J. Paul Launtz Rodgers www.navyleagueaustin.org The Anchor, May June 2018 3
Snapshots from the April 12, 2018 Distinguished Speaker Series Dinner Photos top row (l - r) - Tim Hunsberger thanks Stephen Slick for his presentation Sr. Science Instructor Chris Fletcher with two of his Bastrop High School NJROTC cadets the busy check-in table Second row - Randy Patterson purchasing one of the few remaining Jerry Yellin books, The Last Fighter Pilot Dr. Georgeta Varga, John & Elaine Burkhardt, Rita & Bill Dewinne Randy Patterson, Tom Griffey and Susan Patterson Bottom row - Phone home ET! Mike Turner, Steve Smith, Glenn Looney, Weldon Koenig 4 The Anchor, May June 2018
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Chaplain s Corner by LCDR Adam Samuels, USN (Ret) One of my favorite memories on my first ship - a new construction Arleigh Burke class destroyer on her shakedown cruise- was our first port visit in a foreign port set for July 4, 1998: American Independence Day... in the former British Colony of Bermuda. (The 2nd Fleet Scheduling Officer must have had a good chuckle with that one). As one of the religious lay leaders for the ship, my rotation to provide the Evening Prayer happened to fall on the night before we pulled in to Bermuda. With only a few weeks at sea under my belt conducting sea trials, I did not have much practice writing evening prayers (or sea legs) yet.. I had to think hard about what the evening prayer was going to be when it was my turn to request permission to enter the darkened bridge and speak into the 1MC to my shipmates. It occurred to me that most of us were ship plankowners, and had been with the ship since her creation over a year and a half before in Pascagoula Mississippi s Ingalls Shipyard. We watched each system - engineering and navigation, combat and weapon - be put together, installed, trained, and tested, to bring the ship to life. I sat down in the ship s classroom after watch and put my black Skillcraft pen to paper in my little green Navy issued wheelbook. I don t have my original wheelbook with the exact wording anymore (worn out from all of the tasking to Ensign Samuels, no doubt) but I remember my peers and shipmates talking about it for days after we were in port so I hope you find it inspirational, too: In the beginning, there was the sea. Now the sea was uniformed and void; and but the Lord hovered over the face of the water and said, Let there be light. And there was light, to forge the steel into shape, to lay flat and become deck, to curve and become bow, to stand strong and become hull. And the Lord touched the steel into shapes, to glow red and then cool, and called the shapes Deck & Bulkhead, Anchor and Mast, Shaft and Flight Deck. And the Lord saw that it was good. Then God said, Let there be firmament in the the midst of the water, And he directed large yellow cranes to lift the sections of deck and hull into the sky and lay them back unto land in perfect harmony; and it was so. The Lord guided the shipyard worker to unite all of the plates together to make them whole; and it was so. And God said: Let the Earth put forth wire and pipe, glass and non-skid; and it was so. And then God said, Let the ship swarm with techs and specialists, engineers and divers to install cabinets and radars, naval guns and engines, pumps and watertight doors, all in their rightful place; and God saw it and it was good. And God said, Let the earth bring forth sailors of every kind to learn my ship and teach each other how she works; let quartermaster learn of the gas turbines, storekeepers study missiles, enginemen know the supply system. Let the petty officer earn ESWS and ensign SWO pins. And the Lord saw that it was good. When all was in place, and sailor understood; the Lord said, Bring my ship to life; and she was commissioned. God saw it and it was good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth Day. And the sailor and ship were finished and all the host of them. And on the seventh day, God finished his work which he had made; and he rested. It is our day to rest, too. We did it, shipmates! Enjoy your break in our first port call overseas. And I released the 1MC. Austin and Texas continue to need our leadership and talent and skills forged by the sea. Find your own inspiration this summer to recharge your spirit, enthusiasm, and motivation alongside family and friends, reflecting on all of the accomplishments since the end of summer last year. It is our day to rest, too. We did it, shipmates! Enjoy your summer break. (Port visit to Bermuda not required.) 6 The Anchor, May June 2018
THANK YOU to our April 12, 2018 Adopters Ed Finnegan - $100 Mary Ritter - $100 Launtz Rogers - $50 Randy and Kaye Patterson - $50 Glenn and Nancy Looney - $40 Tim and Barb Hunsberger - $40 John Burkhardt - $30 Betty Beckworth - $25 Help us keep cadets from Austin and surrounding area JROTC, UTNROTC, Sea Cadet and Young Marine units coming to our dinners. Your adoption of one or more cadets at each dinner helps us to offset the cost of hosting these great young men and women. (The Greater Austin Council is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. You will recieve a tax receipt in the form of an adoption certificate. WHEN YOU MAKE YOUR RESERVATION, LET US KNOW THAT YOU WANT TO ADOPT-A-CADET ($25 PER Cadet) Great Quotes from Great Leaders We in this country, in this generation, are--by destiny rather than choice--the watchmen on the walls of world freedom. We ask, therefore, that we may be worthy of our power and responsibility, that we may exercise our strength with wisdom and restraint, and that we may achieve in our time and for all time the ancient vision of "peace on earth, good will toward men." That must always be our goal, and the righteousness of our cause must always underlie our strength. For as was written long ago: "except the Lord keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain." -John Fitzgerald Kennedy GAC 2018 Calendar June 21 August 16 November 1 December 4 LCDR Adam Samuels, USN Ret. Global Highly Infectious Disease Prevention: One Navy Officer s experience to prevent the next Zombie outbreak. Veterans at Risk Judge Mike Denton, Travis County Veterans Court and Lisa Sullivan, Co- Coordinator of Texas Suicide Prevention Council UT Alumni Week; Speaker TBA Collection for the VA Clinic Holiday Table 1 Holiday Program TBA Collection for Toys for Tots 2 1 Items include underwear, socks, t-shirts, toiletries (nothing containing alcohol) 2 NEW unwrapped toys for girls and boys If you know of a speaker that would be of interest to our members, please let us know. Contact Kathy Pillmore, kpillmore@icloud.com *Dates and/or speakers are subject to change due to unforeseen situations. For calendar updates go to www. navyleagueaustin.org George T. Jones, 1926-2003 U. S. Navy WWII Veteran and Navy League Member George T. Jones Scholarship Fund provides scholarships to graduating seniors in Navy and Marine JROTC and Sea Cadet programs Contribute Now! Send your tax deductible contributions to Greater Austin Council NLUS George T. Jones Scholarship Fund c/o Greater Austin Council NLUS 8650 Spicewood Springs, #145-625 Austin, TX 78728 www.navyleagueaustin.org The Anchor, May June 2018 7
The ANCHOR 10001 Jupiter Hills Dr. Austin, TX 78747 Email: navyleagueaustin@gmail.com The ANCHOR is the official newsletter of the Greater Austin Council of the Navy League of the United States. It is published six times annually and distributed free of charge to all its members and to other interested parties. The Greater Austin Council is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization and as such is exempt from Limited Sales, Excise and Use Taxes per the IRS Code. FIRST CLASS MAIL RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED The Navy League of the United States is a non-profit organization dedicated to educating our citizens about the importance of sea power to U. S. national security, and supporting the men and women of the sea services and their families. SUPPORT OUR COMMUNITY AFFILIATES Ricon Products 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,) Greater Austin Council, 8650 Spicewood Springs, #145-625 Austin, TX 78759. The new member will immediately be added to our mailing list. YES! Name: (Mr., Mrs., Dr., Etc.) Please enroll me as a Navy Leaguer Today I am a U.S. Citizen Address: Number, Street, Name (Apt., Suite, P.O. Box) Your Company s Name Here ask us how I am not a U. S. Citizen First Name, Middle Initial, Last Name Date of Birth City State Zip Code (+4) Home Phone Business Phone Email Greater Austin Council Sponsor s Last Name Sponsor s Membership # New Member s Council Type of Membership (please check one)* 1-Year Premium Membership...$55 2-Year Premium Membership... $100 (Save $10) 3-Year Premium Membership... $130 (Save $35) 4-Year Premium Membership... $180 (Save $40) 5-Year Premium Membership... $225 (Save $50) Life Membership (to age 55)... $1,000 Life Membership (age 56-75)...$750 Life Membership (age 76+...$500 1-Year Electronic Membership...$25 Method of Payment Check enclosed (Make payable to NLUS) or Please charge my Visa MC AMEX Card # Exp. Date Signature Billing Zip Code