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MOBOAT NEWS 04 MAR 07
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Bob Behm
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Mar 04, 2007 20:29 PST
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MOBOAT NEWS - VOL. 4 NO. 3
A newsletter for veterans of the “USS Monticello LSD 35"
Our website has had over 13,000 visitors since it was launched.
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Inside This Issue:
04 Mar 07
1: WHAT'S NEW?
2: REUNION
3: USS OGDEN
4: DRAWING
5: WEBSITE OF THE MONTH
6: SISTERS
7: NATIONAL ARCHIVES
8. VETERANS AFFAIRS
9. TRIVIA
10. REUNION REGISTRATIONS
11. NEW AMPHIBIOUS VEHICLE
12. SMILE
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1: WHAT'S NEW?
At last count, 416 crew members signed into the online Deck Log.
31 Officers
4 Skippers
35 Plank owners
365 Enlisted
90 Life Members
5 Annual Members
25 Chiefs
13 Marines
1 Attached (Australian)
1 Midshipman
Keep spreading the word. If you know someone who served on the
MoBoat, and they're not listed on the Deck Log, please forward this
newsletter to them.
ERRORS... If you have logged-in and can't find your entry in the deck
Log or the "Member's List" please let me know and I will correct the
deficiency ASAP.
The monthly drawing for a MoBoat item began in November.
To be eligible for the drawing, you must have your member's dues
current and your reunion registration sent in by the date of the
drawing.
Monthly Winners will be drawn from a list of those that have submitted
their completed Branson reunion registration forms.
Our last drawing will take place July 1st, 2007.
Our third item to be given away this month is a MoBoat ballcap.
So, get those reunion registration forms in right away and be eligible
for the next monthly drawing.
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2: 2007 REUNION
Please get those registrations in ASAP! The more accurate our nembers
are, the better our negotiating powers become!
The dealine for reunion registrations is May 30, 2007. Those wishing to
register after that date will be subject to a $50 late registration fee.
The dates of the reunion are 1 - 5 August 2007 at the Grand Plaza Hotel
in Branson, MO.
The reunion registration forms are available online in PDF format at:
http://www.ussmonticello.com/reunion_update.htm
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3: USS OGDEN
Navy Decommissions USS Ogden
Navy News | PO3 Patrick M. Kearney | February 26, 2007
San Diego, CA. -- The San Diego-based Austin-class amphibious transport
dock USS Ogden (LDP 5) was decommissioned during a ceremony Feb. 21 at
Naval Base San Diego.
Speakers for the decommissioning ceremony included Cmdr. James Hruska,
Ogden’s current commanding officer and Capt. Pete Moreford, commodore,
Amphibious Group 3. Guest speaker John Patterson, deputy mayor of Ogden,
Utah declared February 21, 2007 as USS Ogden Day.
“USS Ogden is a great representative of our city,” said Patterson. “It
was an honor to be a part of today’s ceremony.”
Ogden’s keel was laid down February 4, 1963 by the New York Naval
Shipyard. She was launched June 27, 1964 and received her commission at
New York City June 19, 1965.
Information Technician 3rd Class Nathaniel Rees, a resident of Ogden,
Utah, served on the Ogden as part of its final crew.
“Being on board was a really good experience,” said Rees. “Seeing a lot
of the old crew members coming back for the ceremony was very exciting.”
While under the command of Cmdr. James Hruska, Ogden deployed for the
last time February 14, 2006, as part of Expeditionary Strike Group 3.
While deployed, Ogden performed maritime security operations in the
Persian Gulf as well as provided training to the Iraqi navy.
Ogden’s inactivation began shortly after their return from deployment.
“It is a bittersweet day for me,” said Hruska. “Every officer aims to
command, and today is the end of Ogden. Being a part of Ogden’s 41 year
tradition of greatness and knowing you’re the final crew to carry that
tradition to the end made serving on her special.”
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4. DRAWING
Each month until the reuinon will be having a drawing from those that
have sent in their reunion registration.
This month's winner will receive a emboidered MoBoat windbreaker
And the lucky winner pulled from the official "MoBoat" ballcap by my
lovely wife, Maria, is:
Plankowner Jim West
Congratulations Jim! We'll get that jacket off to you ASAP.
If you are planning to attend the reunion in Branson in August '07,
be sure to get those reunion registrations in early to be eligible for
all the monthly drawings preceding the reunion.
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5. WEBSITE OF THE MONTH
http://www.usnavyphotos.com/
The photo of the MONTICELLO that is on our home page has been doated
by Larry Blumenthal of USNAVYPHOTO.com. Larry was concerned that web
surfers could easily "steal" the photo. So, I disabled the right-click
function so that the "Save Photo AS" option doesn't show.
A BIG thanks to Larry for sharing with us!
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6. SISTERS
Sisters Beverly Borneman, Jefferson Hills, Pennsyvania and Brenda Sobat,
Cranberry Township, Pennsylvannia, closed their business for four days
to take a group of WWII veterans to their 60th reunion. Their father,
William Goerge Mattes, 83, a veteran of the 83rd Infantry, said many of
his fellow Army veterans couldn't go to the reunion in Nashville,
Indiana, because they were unable to drive and bus fares were too
expensive. Seven veterans, three wives and the two sisters made the
eight-hour trip with frquent breaks and stops. Sobat's husband, Steven,
took all the luggage in his car.
From a story by stacey Lee
in the McKeesport Daily News,
McKeesport, Pennsylvania
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7. NATIONAL ARCHIVES
As I mentioned in the last newsleter, I recently contacted the National
Archives asking about the muster rolls of the USS MONTICELLO LSD 35 from
1957 to 1985.They said it will take eight to ten weeks for them to get
here.
I would like to thank Rich Finkle and Robert Campbell for their
donations to purchase these lists. I sent a check for the following
year's crew lists.
1959
1961
1962
1963
1964
1966
1968
1970
I want to mention by name the crewmember that donated the microfiche
reader GMG2 John Krasniewicz, 1970-1972. Thanks very much John!
The lists are still about six weeks out. Can't wait to see what they
look like.
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8. VETERANS AFFAIRS
Secretary of Verterans Affairs Jim Nicholson recently urged veterans to
show their pride in thier service by wearing your medals on Veterans
Day, Memorial Day, the Fourth of July and other patriotic
observances.This includes formal occasions of ceremony and social
functions of a military nature. Veterans may wear full-size or minature
medals.
Personnel who wear medals on civilian clothes should place the medalson
the clothing in approximately the same location and in the same manner
as on the military uniform, so they look similar to medals worn on the
military uniform.
Looks like our reunion banquet "qualifies" for "social Function of a
military nature."
I hope to see a few medals worn at our banquet.
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9. TRIVIA
Eagle on Crows/Devices?
For many years the United States used the Napoleonic
Eagle in the devices and insignia used to distinguish the various ranks
and ratings of enlisted men and officers. This eagle was usually cast,
stamped or embroidered facing left and the same practice was used by the
Navy. Why the Napoleonic eagle faced left is unknown. In 1941, the Navy
changed the eagle's facing direction to follow the heraldic rules which
faces the right toward the
wearer's sword arm. This rule continues to apply and the eagle now faces
to the front or the wearer's right. Another bit of naval trivia.
MMCM(SS) Greg Peterman USN Retired
Sent in by BM3 John Huard
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10. REUNION REGISTRATIONS
Here is the ever growing list of those that are now registered for the
upcoming reunion in Branson, MO. Thanks for registering so promptly!
1. John F. and Lori Barry, MM2 1961-1964
2. Michael & Cathy Battisti, BM3 1965-1969
3. Robert & Maria Behm, BM3 1969-1971
4. Lawrence M. Braun, EM2 1980-1984
5. James and Frances Campbell, MM3 1961-1964
6. Wayne & Lenora Chapman, CS3 1962-1964
7. David and Betty Clifford, BT2 1957
8. Jack & Lydia Dover, SN 1957-1958
9. William (Sonny) & Cathy Gaines, EMFN 1966-1967
10. Keith & Debbie Kaighen, BT2 1973-1977
11. Samuel & Nilda Kinne, IC2 1974-1978
12. Paul Lindauer & Bonnie Armes, ME3 1957-1959
13. Larry D. Lynch, EM3 1958-1960
14. Jerry M. and Karen A. West, BM3 1958-1960
15. Charles R. Wood, HMC 1977-1979
I will post this list monthly until the reunion.
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11. NEW AMPHIBIOUS VEHICLE
Amphibious Vehicle Leaks Cash
"After 10 years and $1.7 billion, this is what the Marines Corps got for
its investment in a new amphibious vehicle: A craft that breaks down
about an average of once every 4 1/2 hours, leaks and sometimes veers
off course. And for that, the contractor, General Dynamics of Falls
Church, received $80 million in bonuses," the Washington Post's Renae
Merle reports in a brutal front page story.
The amphibious vehicle, which can be launched from a ship and then
driven on land, is so unreliable that the Pentagon is ditching plans to
begin building the first of more than 1,000 and wants to start over with
seven new prototypes, which will take nearly two years to deliver, at a
cost of $22 million each.
The Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle is one of the Pentagon's largest
weapons programs and exemplifies the agency's struggle to afford a cadre
of new mega-systems that are larger and more complex, but also more
trouble, than their predecessors.
Despite reforms meant to rein in costs, it is not unusual for weapons
programs to go 20 to 50 percent over budget, the Government
Accountability Office recently found. Among the offenders is the Army's
sprawling modernization program, which aims to update everything from
tanks to drones and is now expected to cost $160 billion [or much more
-- ed.], up from $90 billion, and a Lockheed Martin missile-warning
satellite program, which is projected to cost more than $10 billion, up
from $4 billion...
The overruns are eating away at the Pentagon's buying power but not its
appetite. The amount the Pentagon plans to spend on major weapons
systems has doubled in the past five years, to $1.4 trillion from $700
billion, according to the GAO...
When it was launched in 1996, the Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle was
promoted as an example of acquisition reform... But the program has
struggled with repeated delays, cost increases, budget cuts and dashed
expectations, according to military officials and government reports.
Problems range from leaks in hydraulics systems to software glitches,
according to the reports. Last year, the vehicles completed just two of
14 planned tests.
"They started out really well, and I was really pleased," said Philip
Coyle, the Defense Department's former director of operational test and
evaluation. "But gradually the complexity of the program has overcome
the contractor, so they are years behind schedule."
General Dynamics defends its progress, noting that the vehicle has met
many goals, including being able to reach speeds of 30 knots on the
water. The vehicle is fast enough to keep up with the Abrams tank on
land, it can carry 17 Marines, and its systems can communicate with
other ships and tanks, all key performance criteria, the company says...
An independent review released in December by the Navy's acquisition
office questioned the company's commitment to solving the development
problems that plagued the vehicle. The report said General Dynamics
appeared more interested in starting production than trouble-shooting
and didn't manage the groups making many of the decisions. The
production phase is typically more profitable for a contractor and often
marks a point at which a program becomes more difficult to cancel.
General Dynamics "seems to be focused on production rather than on
solving significant design and engineering problems," the Navy report
said. "This must be changed if the Program is to move ahead
successfully."
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12. SMILE
The Chaplain had been assigned to the ship and he noticed how much grief
the cooks (Mess Specialists) caught from the crew and how they gave back
as much as they got. He talked to the Food Service Officer and decided
to talk to the cooks and get them to be more cheerful when they served
the meals to the sailors coming down the line. A smile and a cheerful
comment, a willingness to serve them will reap great benefits he told
them.
After his pep talk the Food Service Officer and the Chaplain stood back
and watched the food being served.
A new sailor aboard walked down the line but he didn't like anything he
saw so he just carried his tray down the line till he got to the desert
section. He picked up a saucer containing a large piece of chocolate
cake.
The Mess Specialist looked at him, "Is that all you're gonna eat?" he
asked.
The sailor said, "Yeah, the rest of it don't look too appetizing."
The Mess Specialist smiled and said, "Well, in that case would you like
two pieces of cake?"
The Chaplain smiled and nudged the Food Service Officer in the ribs, "I
told you my talk did them some good."
The kid said, "Yeah, man, I'd appreciate it."
The cook leaned over and cut the piece of cake on the tray in half.
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Well... that's all for this Issue of the MoBoat News.
Continue spreading the word about ussmonticello.com. Feel free to
forward this Newsletter to anybody you think will find it interesting.
If this Newsletter was forwarded to you and you'd like to subscribe,
just visit http://ussmonticello.com/newsletter.htm. All back issues of
the MoBoat News are also available there as well.
So long for now,
Bob Behm (Beamer)
USSMonticello.com Webmaster
Former BM3
USS Monticello LSD 35 '69-'71
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