Tim Brown, Commanding Officer
Well, the good news is that we are continuing our efforts to honor those deserving Sailors at NWSSB and NMC who have been selected as Sailor of the Quarter or Sailor of the Year. We are also able to continue to get excellent speakers from the Navy, Marine Corps, industry and authors of aviation-related subjects. All of this is the result of having an active, attentive, interested membership. Of course, none of our activities would be possible without the efforts of the Staff Officers of GRAMPS and those of you (“Great Guys”) who donate to Gramps every month. Thank you to your Staff for remaining attentive to the needs of the Squadron.
This month we are honored to have Mike Ciminera as our speaker. I have a personal stake in the presentation since my father flew the F6F, F8F, and other Grumman products. It should be an interesting and educational presentation. At our meeting in May, Major General Steve Busby, USMC, the CG of 3d Marine Air Wing, will be our speaker. I hope that we will have a very large contingent of Marines for the briefing. In April we will have another author but this time it will be on a subject that is a little bit off the Naval Aviation track. Michelle Evans has written a book about the development of the X-15. Remember that aircraft? What an exciting time in the development of aircraft and rockets!
Vince van den Brink has arranged a trip to Boeing Long Beach to tour the C-17 manufacturing plant. You should have received a flyer in this issue of the OpPlan, and if you receive emails from Gramps you should have received a flyer last month. Please sign up early. There is limited space. Some of our members went down to El Centro and joined the Imperial Valley Council of the Navy League for a great dinner on a Friday night and then watched two practice “shows” on Saturday put on by the Blue Angeles. El Centro is where the Blues go to do their winter practice flying and also to get away from the Florida weather. The Blues are back flying shows… they have already performed in our area: El Centro and Los Angeles, up by Edwards AFB.
That’s it for now. I am sure that I missed covering some big issue but that is just the sign of the times. Please continue to attend our luncheons and participate in our trips. And, looking at the big picture, work your representatives in Congress to keep Naval Aviation, including 11 carriers, strong and vibrant.
