C.O. Briefing – August 2017

0

This month we are honoring the Sailors of the Quarter from NWSSB and NMC. There will be award recognition for Blue Jacket of the Quarter, Junior SOQ and Senior SOQ. Please join us at lunch to recognize these outstanding sailors. Our speaker will be the Commanding Officer of NWSSB, CAPT Noel “Tink” Dahlke, USN. The description of Captain Dahlke’s brief is presented elsewhere in the OpPlan.

Grampaw Pettibone Squadron publically recognizes the SOQs at our luncheons. We try to make it a memorable and rewarding experience for the sailors and their guests. On many occasions we have had family members as guests at our meetings. This allows, you, our members, to interact with active duty personnel. It also allows you to determine for yourself how well the U.S. Navy is doing and judge the quality of the men and women who are serving today. For me, each of these meetings reminds me of how lucky we are to have these sailors protecting and serving.

The award program does not just happen by itself. It takes time to arrange for the program, obtain the gift certificates and get the SOQs signed up for a free one-year membership in ANA, AUSN or USNI. Currently there are two members who do the behind-the-scenes work to create and execute the program: COL Bill Thompson, USA (Ret), and CAPT Sel Ramsay, USN (Ret). Before I describe their duties let me just say that they can always use help. If you live or work in or around Seal Beach and you have a favorite restaurant, coordinate with Bill and maybe you can pick up the certificates.

The gift certificates are given by local restaurants as a show of appreciation. Your Chaplain, COL Bill Thompson, goes to each restaurant and asks for the certificates and sorts through them to make appropriate awards evenly amongst the honorees. He also coordinates with the senior enlisted personnel at NWSSB and NMC to get the names of the SOQs so that we can also give them a Recognition Certificate from GPS. In addition to restaurants in SB, The Crab Cooker Restaurant (Tustin) provides gift certificates thanks to Jim Wasko a longtime member whose offspring are also Navy. USAA has been a supporter for many years too, giving plaques and commemorative coins in recognition of the superior performances of the SOQs. Thanks Bill for a great job and maybe you will get some help soon.

Sel Ramsay is your Membership Officer. He has one tough job… how to grow our membership. He continues to rack his brain, ask questions and work with other organizations to get our numbers up. It is a difficult time for all volunteer organizations, whether it is ANA, VFW, American Legion, or Tailhook. Younger folks just don’t seem to want to join. That is where you come into the picture. Start asking your friends and/or relatives whether they want to attend one of our luncheons. Once they try, they might want to join. Joining ANA only costs $40 a year, or you can go for the Life Membership. Either way, we need new members and we need to have people at our luncheons. Please give Sel a hand and work on your friends. You like the comradery, so might they! And Sel, thank you for a difficult job well done. See you all on 10 August.

Share.

About Author

Comments are closed.