Hello again! This must be the season for conventions and reunions. Both Naval Helicopter Association (NHA) and Marine Corps Aviation Association (MCAA) had their Conventions/Symposia in the middle of May in San Diego. I attended NHA this year because I had never been to their event; I need to continue to look for speakers for our luncheons; and Marc Liebman was on a writer’s panel. I did pick up the names of a couple of potential speakers and I did attend the panel.
Besides Marc, the panel consisted of George Galdorisi (the moderator), Barbara Marriott and Matt Vernon, all published authors. I already have books by George (who was featured on page 49 of Spring 2019 issue of WOG) and Marc but I did order Barbara’s “Fleet Angels” (the history of Naval Helicopters) and Matt’s “Eyes Over Afghanistan”. As the Amazon summary says, “Join Navy Lieutenant Matt Vernon, the first US embedded aviation advisor to fly with the Afghan National Army Air Corps’ Combat Helicopter Squadron, as he embarks on a unique and daunting mission to train Afghan pilots and not get killed in the process.”
As you who attended last month’s luncheon learned, we had to postpone the SOQ ceremony because of the “needs of the military”. This happens. We will do it this month, assuming that the Navy lets the Sailors attend. Please try to get there yourself and visit with these outstanding individuals.
As I mentioned last column, Chris Kretsinger and Bill Thompson are going to be leaving their posts as Assistant Treasurer and SOQ Awards Officer, respectively. Bill will continue as our Chaplain. GPS needs to fill these positions in order to continue operating on the same professional level. Please consider volunteering to help fill the voids left by these outstanding volunteers. Do it now while Chris and Bill are available to you to “job shadow”.
