THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, December 20, 1995 TAG: 9512200456
SECTION: MILITARY NEWS PAGE: A10 EDITION: FINAL
LENGTH: Medium: 74 lines
VETS INSURANCE HOAX: A false and misleading rumor sweeping the nation concerning a GI insurance dividend Congress suposedly passed is plaguing the Department of Veterans Affairs. Congress did not pass any new laws giving veterans such a dividend. There have never been any dividends, rebates or refunds due to surplus funds in the Servicemen's Group Life Insurance program. Questions about government life insurance may be addressed by calling 1-800-669-8477, or by calling the Virginia Department of Vetweans Affairs at (804) 455-0814.
LANGLEY HELICOPTERS LEAVE: The 72nd Helicopter Squadron at Langley Air Force Base in Hampton has been inactivated as a result of Air Force downsizing. The last of the squadron's UH-1N ``Huey'' helicopters left Dec. 5, and most of the 50 squadron members have been reassigned. In existence since 1943, the squadron became part of the 1st Fighter Wing in 1991, providing transport, search and rescue, and support for the Dare County, N.C., bombing range.
AMERICA PLANK OWNERS: The commanding officer of the 30-year-old Norfolk-based carrier America is searching for the ship's plank owners, or original crew members, who were assigned when the ship was commissioned Feb. 23, 1965. Former department heads and executive officers also are being sought in anticipation of the carrier's decommissioning in August. Currently on its 19th deployment, it is expected to return to Norfolk in late February. Former crew members wishing to join the USS America Reunion Association should write: Retired Chief Elliott Pearson, president USS America (CV-66) Reunion Association, 832 River Road, Sequim, Wash., 98382; or William P. Golden, vice president, USS America, (CV-66) Reunion Association, 24 Apache Road, Bellingham, Md., 02019.
RED CEDAR'S 25th: The Portsmouth-based Coast Guard buoy tender Red Cedar celebrated its 25th year of service on Friday with a visit by former Rep. Thomas N. Downing, whose wife christened the ship. The 157-foot tender annually services about 330 aids to navigation in the Chesapeake Bay and adjoining rivers. It also works offshore from Great Machipongo Inlet, Va., to Oregon Inlet, N.C., and breaks ice up to 18 inches thick to free the shipping lanes in the winter.
COMINGS AND GOINGS
RETURNING:
The Little Creek-based dock landing ship Ashland returned home Tuesday from the annual UNITAS exercise, a six-month long circumnavigation of South America during which it worked with various South American maritime forces. Commanded by Cmdr. Michael G. Hlywiak, the Ashland has a crew of 420. The UNITAS cruise originated in 1959 and has been conducted annually since.
The 270-foot Coast Guard cutter Legare returned home to Portsmouth Dec. 14 following a six-week fisheries patrol in the Gulf of Mexico, where its crew boarded 16 Mexican fishing vessels that resulted in 15 violations, eight written warnings and one catch seizure. The cutter also assisted the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration in recovering weather buoys. During a port call in New Orleans, Legare crew members marched in a Veterans Day parade and also hosted a breakfast for the owner of the New Orleans Saints football team.
The Coast Guard cutter Northland also returned to Portsmouth Tuesday following a patrol in the Caribbean in which the ship's crew of 100 helped rescue 1,102 Haitian migrants. Northland left Portsmouth Nov. 16 and steamed more than 4,000 miles, as far south as Belize and as far east as Haiti. On Nov. 20 and 27, Northland was involved in two of the largest Haitian rescue cases in Coast Guard history. Two 75-foot wooden freighters were crammed with more than 500 Haitians each, many suffering from dehydration. All were safely returned to Haiti.
CHANGE OF COMMAND:
Capt. Paul D. Danks, relieves Capt. William H. Saddler III as commander of Destroyer Squadron 20 in ceremonies aboard the destroyer Brisco in Norfolk. Danks comes from the Bureau of Naval Personnel in Washington, where he headed the surface warfare, junior officer assignment branch. Saddler is being reassigned as commanding officer of the Regional Support Group Norfolk. by CNB