The Virginian-Pilot 
                             THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT 
              Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: Wednesday, August 31, 1994             TAG: 9408310494
SECTION: MILITARY NEWS            PAGE: A12  EDITION: FINAL 
                                             LENGTH: Medium:   65 lines

WEEKLY BRIEFING

WEEKLY BRIEFING

PAYING WITH PLASTIC: Five defense commissaries begin accepting Visa and MasterCard this November under a pilot program designed for expansion to all the food stores. Cards are ``swiped'' through the same electronic reader now used for bank debit cards at the five stores. The commissary in Norfolk had been scheduled to take part in the program, but construction under way there prevented it. Two of the five commissaries are in Virginia, at the Army base at Fort Belvoir and at Quantico Marine Corps Base. The other three commissaries are at the Marines' Camp Lejeune in North Carolina, Kessler Air Force Base in Mississippi and Miramar Naval Air Station in California.

- Staff report

FAMILY SERVICES

TRANSFERRING OVERSEAS?: If you're headed overseas and worried about the move, Norfolk Navy Family Services is holding an Overseas Transfer Workshop 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sept. 22 at Building SP-64. Attendance is open to active-duty sailors and Marines with overseas orders. Their spouses and any dependents 12 or older are also welcome. Registration deadline is Sept. 16. For information, call 444-2102.

COMINGS & GOINGS

CHANGE OF COMMAND:

Lt. Scott N. Decker relieves Lt. Cmdr. Ross E. Bryant III as commanding officer of the Coast Guard cutter Aquidneck. Decker comes from the Fifth Coast Guard District's Command Center.

Cmdr. Richard W. Goodchild relieves Cmdr. James R. Loew as commander of the Coast Guard cutter Bear. Goodchild comes from the Operational Law Enforcement Division. Loew reports to the Navy Atlantic Fleet Training Command.

Capt. Christopher E. Weaver relieves Capt. Albert T. Church III as commanding officer of Norfolk Naval Station.

Capt. Daniel Pendarvis III relieves Capt. Marvin R. Nordwall as commanding officer of Fitting Out and Supply Support Assistance Center, Norfolk. Pendarvis comes from the staff of the chief of naval operations.

Cmdr. David N. Blake relieves Cmdr. Eric. C. Baar as commanding officer of Beachmaster Unit Two, Little Creek Naval Amphibious Base. Blake comes from the staff of the NATO Supreme Allied Commander, Atlantic. Baar reports to the Surface Warfare Development Group.

Capt. Dale O. Snodgrass relieves Capt. Robert S. Schmidt as commander of the Atlantic Fighter Wing. Snodgrass was with the staff of the chief of naval operations. Schmidt will retire.

DECOMMISSIONING:

The amphibious assault ship Guadalcanal will be decommissioned at 10 a.m. today at Norfolk Naval Station Pier 20. The ship was commissioned in July 1963 and on its last deployment, which ended in February, it took part in operations off Somalia and the former Yugoslavia. BY THE NUMBERS Graphic Who's using the Navy's Harrassment Hot Line Source: Navy Public Affairs Library For copy of graphic, see microfilm. by CNB