EMAIL PRESS READY JAN FEB 2014 COMPASS POINTS ISSUE

VOL. 12
JANUARY - FEBRUARY 2014
ISSUE 1
AN INSIDE VIEW OF A TRIDENT NUCLEAR SUBMARINE
Economic Impact of River Transportation in this Area
PRESIDENT’S
MESSAGE
Dan Saieed
Greetings,
Our December dinner meeting was such a success! We
had a great time at the ChooChoo with a really fun icebreaker organized by VicePresident Patty Parks. Many
attendees left with memories
of a great time and a gift.
Thanks Patty and Mark (her
better half) for all the work
putting this great social time
together.
Our next meeting will be at
the Mountain City Club at
6:00 pm on February 20th.
Please see information about
our speaker and the program
elsewhere in this edition of
Compass Points.
We will
also install the officers and
directors elected at the December meeting.
The highlight of January was
the visit by our Council to the
USS TENNESSEE (SSBN734). You will read more
about that in this Compass
Points from Ron Galante. I
can’t say enough as to how
fortunate we are to have
someone of Ron’s organizational ability to organize the
visit. From initial communication with the Blue Crew Chief
of the Boat (COB) to the bus
trip down to Kings Bay, Ron
did a superb job organizing
the trip. A great dinner for all
participants, including the
CO, crew, and families was
very successful. A proclamation by County Mayor Jim
Coppinger was presented to
the CO proclaiming the week
of January 12 to 18, 2014 as
USS TENNESSEE Week in
Hamilton County. The CO
indicated that he would
come to Chattanooga at
some future point to speak to
us as to what is happening
with the USS TENNESSEE.
I look forward to seeing everyone at the February 20th
meeting.
~ Dan Saieed
Two Guest Speakers
Featured for
Dinner Meeting on
February 20, 2014, at
the Mountain City Club
We will hold our next Council dinner meeting on Thursday, February 20, 2014 in the Crystal Room of the Mountain City Club at
725 Chestnut St, Chattanooga, TN. Our Speakers will be Nikki
Berger, P.E., who is the Navigation Program Manager for TVA,
and Chris Dager, who is an economist for the University of Tennessee Center for Transportation Research; Mr. Dager formerly
served as TVA’s Navigation Economist. Ms. Berger will address
navigation relating to operation of TVA’s multipurpose reservoir
system. Mr. Dager will discuss the economic impact of river
transportation in the Chattanooga area as well as security
measures of the m a r i t i m e transportation industry. Ms. Berger’s
biography is in this edition of Compass Points.
We will also install our 2014 Officers and Board Members whom
you elected at the December dinner meeting. The Signal Mountain Division of the Naval Sea Cadet Corps will provide our color
guard.
The evening’s program, registration form, and address and phone
number for making reservations are located on the last page. The
deadline for reservations is February 17, 2014. Bill Leonard will
coordinate the dinner reservations for this meeting. You may mail
or phone in your reservations to Bill. The charge for the dinner is
$30 in advance or $35 at the door. If you phone in your reservations, mail your check in time to reach Bill before February 20th
to ensure you get the advance reservation rate.
The Mountain City Club has its own parking lot. As you approach
the gate, it will open. If the lot is full, parking is available on the
street.
2
TVA’s Navigation Program Manager
in River Scheduling, Nikki Berger, P.E., to
Speak at February 20th Dinner Meeting
Nikki Berger has worked in the Tennessee Valley Authority River Scheduling
group for 15 years. She was a part of the River Forecast Center as a senior
engineer before progressing to a Lead Engineer in 2008. As a Lead Engineer, she was responsible for preparing and directing the multi-day operating
plans for the reservoir system to ensure optimum use of available water resources consistent with short and long-term operating objectives and constraints while balancing the multiple demands of the Tennessee Valley. She
participated in the 2010 hydrothermal team that won the 2010 Environmental
Excellence Award.
As you read the article and view the photos of our trip to the USS TENNESSEE,
several of the terms and jargon may confuse some of you. For the landlubbers
and those who did not serve in the Navy,
the following definitions and terms may
help:
•
She is now the Navigation Program Manager in River Scheduling, responsible
for managing the navigation operations and maintenance pieces to protect
TVA’s navigation assets. She also coordinates with several other agencies
and groups to improve the navigability of the Tennessee River.
•
Nikki is a registered Professional Engineer, licensed in the state of Tennessee.
•
•
Military
•
Trivia
•
Last Question: Which major weapon of war was used for the first time in 1916?
•
Answer: The British Mark I, the world’s first combat tank, was first used in 1916 during World War I.
•
NATIONAL DUES TO INCREASE
National Dues will increase effective April 1, 2014. Annual dues will be $65
for individual and $117 for couples. You may want to renew early if your renewal date is after April 1. You may view the entire new rate structure at
http://navyleague.org/membership/life-member-sale.html.
•
Boat – submarine, all submarines are
referred to as “boats”.
SSBN – nuclear powered submarine
capable of delivering ballistic missiles;
SS: submarine, B: ballistic missile
capable, N: nuclear powered.
Blue Crew/Gold Crew - two complete, but separate, crews are assigned to SSBNs; they rotate approximately every three months.
CO – Commanding Officer, most senior individual on the boat, responsible for anything and everything that
happens on the boat.
XO – Executive Officer, second in
command on the boat.
COB - Chief of the Boat, the most
senior of the Chief Petty Officers on
the boat; normally a Master Chief or
Senior Chief; a very exalted position
of critical importance on the boat.
STSCS – Senior Chief Sonar Technician (Submarine Warfare qualified);
ST: Sonar Technician, S: Submarine
Warfare qualified, CS: Senior Chief.
STSCM – Master Chief Sonar Technician (Submarine Warfare qualified);
ST: Sonar Technician, S: Submarine
Warfare qualified, CM: Master Chief.
VADM – Vice Admiral; a three-star
Admiral.
3
The USS Tennessee SSBN-734 Visit
Submitted By: Ron Galante
The USS Tennessee (SSBN 734) logo, left, pays tribute to the
previous Naval vessel bearing
the name Tennessee - The Battleship USS Tennessee (BB-43).
On January 10, twenty-nine people (consisting of members of our
Council, the Nashville (TN)
Council, and guests) traveled via
chartered bus to the Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay, near St.
Marys, GA. After checking into
our hotel, we had dinner at a local
restaurant with the USS TENNESSEE (SSBN - 734) “Blue
Crew” Commanding Officer (CO),
Executive Officer (XO) and wife,
Chief of the Boat (COB) and wife,
and the “Gold Crew” COB. After
dinner, the CO presented us with
a USS TENNESSEE Plaque and
a framed print of the current USS
TENNESSEE (SSBN - 734) with
the WWII-era USS TENNESSEE
(BB - 43) in the background. To
reciprocate, we presented a
plaque to the CO, as well as
framed photos of the Chattanooga waterfront to the CO and the
XO. Ron Galante presented a
coffee table book to the Blue
Crew COB on submarine warfare.
Our President, Dan Saieed, who
is also the Director of Develop-
Trident Training facility (right),
located in the Naval Submarine
Base Kings Bay, near St. Marys,
GA, is one of the largest government buildings in the country.
ment for Hamilton County, TN arranged for the presentation of a proclamation from
Hamilton County
Mayor, Jim Coppinger, declaring the
week of January 12 – 18, 2014, as
USS TENNESSEE week in Hamilton
County. One of our Past Presidents,
VADM Ron Eytchison, USN (Ret), a
former nuclear submariner, also presented his memoirs of his 33 year Naval Career to the CO for display in the
Wardroom or Crews’ Mess.
The next morning, after transiting
three security checkpoints, we finally
boarded the USS TENNESSEE, where
we were broken into several small
groups for our tour. While Petty Officers conducted our tour, the CO and XO
continuously
circulated
between
groups to answer questions and add
Featured left
is the USS
TENNESSEE
(SSBN-734)
decked out for
the Change of
Command
Ceremony,
held at Naval
Submarine
Base
Kings
Bay, Georgia,
on March 20,
2013.
comments. The tour lasted about three
hours and included the missile compartment,
torpedo room, control room, officers’ mess,
and several other compartments.
After lunch we toured the Trident Training
facility, which is one of the largest government buildings in the country. The facility's
mission is to build officer and enlisted competence and proficiency in operating and
maintaining the Trident submarine and all
associated systems; to train Trident submarine crew members and submarine support
personnel in order to increase and maintain
knowledge and proficiency in specific skills;
and to provide specialized training as directed by higher authority.
After the tour we returned to Chattanooga. I
would like to thank Dan Saieed, Sandy
McMillan and Dick Lewallen for their help in
pulling this visit and tour together. Not
many people in the world will ever get to visit
an active Trident SSBN, like the USS TENNESSEE, which is the most powerful warship in the world and America’s largest and
most powerful submarine ever developed; 29
more people have now had this incredible
opportunity.
For security reasons we were not permitted
to take photos. The unclassified photos
appearing in this newsletter were provided by
a USS TENNESSEE crewman.
4
NEWS - ALERTS
O P P O R T U N I T I E S FOR BLIND VETS. If you are a
blind vet or know a blind vet, contact Ed O’Brien about
opportunities available for blind vets. Ed’s phone number is (423) 842-5470.
NEW PROCEDURE FOR COMPASS POINTS DELIVERY. In an effort to conserve funds and balance our
annual budget, your board has decided all future editions
of Compass Points, which are mailed via the U.S. Post
Office, will be printed using desktop technology. The
newsletter will be printed in black ink only, using 8-1/2” x
11” copier-grade paper. A color version of the official
newsletter, which is emailed to the majority of our members, will also be posted to our Council website. You
may
access
the
website
at
www.chattanooganavyleague.org. This new procedure will save our Council $360 in the annual budget.
LOCAL DUES ARE DUE. Our annual local dues were
due as of January 1, 2014. These dues are in addition
to your national membership dues. All members,
including life members, are liable for local dues. The
rate is $15 annually for individuals and $20 annually for
couples. We depend on these dues to fund the printing
and mailing of our bi-monthly newsletter and other correspondence with our members; to defray the cost of
awards and incidentals; to support our adopted ship, the
USS TENNESSEE (SSBN 734); and to support our
youth programs which include two US Naval Sea Cadet
Divisions and the NJROTC Unit at Howard School.
Write your check to “Chattanooga Navy League” and
forward it to our Treasurer, Dick Lewallen at 2600 Wilson
Rd., Signal Mountain, TN 37377. Members who do not
respond to this message will receive a notice via the
U.S. Post Office. A Council-wide mailing costs over $50
in postage. Please help us conserve funds by mailing
in your local dues ASAP. Thank you.
SIGNAL MOUNTAIN SEA CADET DIVISION LOOKING FOR A NEW EXECUTIVE OFFICER (XO). The
ideal candidate for this position is an adult male with military experience and, preferably, sea service experience.
The current XO will assume duties as the Division Training & Finance Officer and will be available to train and
advise the new XO during the break-in period. For additional information, email the Division Commanding Officer, LT. Stacy Kehoe, slkseacadets@gmail.com.
Our dinner guests for our visit to the USS TENNESSEE included Hannah Hammann and her
husband, STSCS Stacy Hammann, COB (Blue);
CDR John Howrey, CO (Blue); STSCM Dan
Smith, COB (Gold); and LCDR Chimi Zacot,
XO (Blue), and his wife, Jill.
VADM Ron Eytchison, USN (Ret) and Sandy
McMillan present CDR John Howrey, Commanding Officer, USS TENNESSEE (Blue
Crew) with a Council Plaque.
VADM Ron Eytchison, USN (Ret), and Ron
Galante receive a framed print and plaque from
the USS TENNESSEE (Blue Crew). Pictured (l
to r): STSCS Stacy Hammann, Chief of the Boat
(COB); LCDR Chimi Zacot, Executive Officer
(XO); VADM Eytchison; CDR John Howrey,
Commanding Officer (CO); and Ron Galante.
5
Sandy McMillan, Dick Lewallen, and others hear details about the boat from a crew
member.
Twenty-nine members and guests took advantage of the opportunity to visit the USS
TENNESSEE (SSBN-734) January 11.
Ron Galante points out a local pub for the
evening’s navigational exercise to VADM
Ron Eytchison, USN (Ret).
George Davenport (l), John Beard (r), and
others are a little awestruck by the USS
TENNESSEE, while Pat Eytchison (c), wife
of a retired nuclear submariner, looks right
at home.
Harvey Templeton, Alden Perry, Pete Rittenberry, and Jim Wade listen intently to
their escort.
Submarine Warfare Vice Admiral Ron
Eytchison, USN (Ret), shows Surface Warfare Captain Billy Hewitt, USN (Ret), the
finer points of using a periscope.
Jim Wade, an Army vet, questions the sanity of anyone who would serve aboard a
Naval vessel, let alone a submarine.
As usual, Bill Leonard is the center of attention.
While the space looks cramped, it is actually
one of the most spacious compartments on
the boat.
GREATER CHATTANOOGA
AREA/JOHN J. SPITTLER
COUNCIL
P. O. Box 151
Signal Mountain, TN 37377
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Compass Points is the bimonthly publication of the Navy
League of the United States
Area/John J. Spittler Council.
Greater
Chattanooga
Editor • Sandy McMillan
Publisher • Mary B. Dall
Photographer • Patty Parks
WINTER DINNER MEETING PROGRAM
Thursday, February 20, 2014
Mountain City Club - Crystal Room
729 Chestnut Street
Chattanooga, Tennessee 37402
(423) 756-5584
FEBRUARY 20, 2014
DINNER RESERVATION FORM
Mountain City Club - Crystal Room
729 Chestnut Street,
Chattanooga, TN 37402
Buffet featuring Pot Roast, Chicken Florentine, sides, rolls,
desserts, coffee and tea.
6:00 PM
6:30 PM
6:35 PM
7:30 PM
8:30 PM
Social Time (Cash Bar in adjacent lounge)
Colors and Welcome (Members and Guests
please take seats)
Buffet Dinner
Guest Speakers - Nikki Berger, P.E., Navigation Program Manager, Tennessee Valley Authority, and Chris Dager, Economist, University of Tennessee for Transportation Research
Announcements
________ x $ 30.00
=
$
.00
Please PRINT the names of all guests and members:
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
Reservations should reach us NO LATER THAN MONDAY,
FEBRUARY 17, 2014. Mail reservations and your check to:
DINNER RESERVATION FORM
Please complete and return the dinner reservation f o r m, at
right, for the February 20th Winter Dinner Meeting of the Greater Chattanooga Area/John J. Spittler Council.
Reservations may be phoned in to Bill Leonard: (H) 423-8862117, no later than Monday, February 17, 2014!
BILL LEONARD
2013 EAST BROW ROAD
SIGNAL MOUNTAIN, TN 37377-3393
NOTE: Pay-at-the-door RESERVATIONS are $35.00 per
person. REGRETTABLY, no-shows will be charged the full
amount for dinner.