THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, October 26, 1994 TAG: 9410260507
SECTION: MILITARY NEWS PAGE: A14 EDITION: FINAL
LENGTH: Medium: 67 lines
KOREA REUNION: An Army veteran from Virginia Beach is making headway in his effort to stage what may be the first-ever convention open to all veterans of the Korean War. Richard Gallmeyer, who served in Korea with the 3rd Infantry Division, said a committee including Virginia Beach convention officials is planning 10,000 people attending. The tentative date is Oct. 19-21, 1995. ``Every vet I see from then says, `I want to see all these guys once before I go,' so that's what we're trying to do.'' For more information, call Gallmeyer 467-1233.
LOCAL RETIREE HONORED: Retired Lt. Cmdr. Dale A. Boeckman of Virginia Beach won a lifetime membership from the Retired Officers Association for becoming the group's 400,000th member. Boeckman, a submariner, was honored during a convention in Cincinnati. His most recent assignment was Total Quality Management instructor and coordinator at the Navy's Fleet Combat Training Center at Dam Neck.
- Staff report
FAMILY SERVICES
ROLLING OUT RED CARPET: Little Creek Navy Family Services is holding a program called Welcome to Hampton Roads that is designed to help military families acclimate themselves to the area. Representatives from various agencies will attend, including the Red Cross, the Navy and Marine Corps Relief Society and Champus/Tricare. The program is from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Nov. 16, and registration is required before Nov. 14. Call 464-8101.
COMINGS & GOINGS HOME FROM DEPLOYMENTS: The Norfolk-based oiler Merrimack and its 230-member crew returned home Tuesday from a six-month deployment to the Middle East Force, where it serviced 25 ships and also participated in boarding merchant ships in the Red Sea while enforcing U.S. sanctions against Iraq.
The detroyer Conolly returned to Norfolk Tuesday following a five-month deployment with the George Washington joint task group. It steamed nearly 30,000 miles, from near the Arctic Circle to Africa.
The Little Creek-based dock landing ship Ashland and its crew of 364 returned home Tuesday after operating off the coast of Haiti for the past two months where it supported Marine troops that went ashore.
CHANGE OF COMMAND:
Cmdr. Christopher L. Stathos will assume command Friday of the Norfolk-based attack submarine Cincinnati from Cmdr. Jeffrey W. Baker, who is being transferred to Dam Neck's Tacticalk Training Group. Stathos comes from Omaha, Neb., where he served in the Operations and Logistics Directorate as chief of current operations missile branch for the U.S. Strategic Command.
BY THE NUMBERS
SAFEGUARDING THE ENVIRONMENT FROM SUNKEN SUBS: The Navy has lost two nuclear-powered submarines, the Thresher in 1963 and the Scorpion in 1968. The reactors of these ships, however, have not significantly damaged the surrounding waters because the Navy takes the following precautions:
- Reactor cores have been built so that it is physically impossible for them to explode.
- Reactor fuel elements are made from anti-corrosive materials that corrode only a few millionths of an inch each year.
- Sunken vessels are examined and tested periodically for radioactive leaks. SOURCE: NAVPALIB by CNB