THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, March 6, 1996 TAG: 9603050278
SECTION: MILITARY NEWS PAGE: A8 EDITION: FINAL
LENGTH: Medium: 76 lines
MILITARY ACADEMY DAY AT U.VA: U. S. Rep. Owen Pickett, D-2nd District, has announced that a special day to familiarize students interested in attending U.S. military service academies will be Saturday, March 30, at the University of Virginia, from 9:30 a.m. until 1 p.m. Representatives from each of the service academies will be available to counsel students on the scholastic requirements and qualifications for being considered for admission. For more information, call Pickett's district offices at 486-3710 in Virginia Beach or 583-5892 in Norfolk.
NORTHWEST RECEIVES AWARD: The Northwest Naval Security Group Activity, located in Chesapeake, was one of six groups presented with a 1996 Hampton Roads Volunteer Achievement Award. Personnel stationed at the communications base are involved in a number of volunteer projects, such as Meals on Wheels, Special Olympics, Clean the Bay Day, Paint Your Heart Out and National Night Out Against Crime.
TRAINING SEMINAR PRESENTED: A training seminar on business opportunities with the Department of Defense through electronic data interchange will be held at Fort Eustis on March 20. The seminar will be held in the post theater, from 8:30 a.m. until 1 p.m. For more information, or to register by March 13, call Kim Buresh at (703) 691-1507.
GOLDEN ANCHOR AWARD GIVEN: The 2-year-old multipurpose amphibious assault ship Kearsarge has been presented with the Golden Anchor Award for the second year. Rear Adm. Wirt R. Fladd, commanding officer of Amphibious Group 2, honored the crew for its achievements in the retention of sailors and its command information programs that contribute to the quality of life.
MOCK BATTLE OF THE IRONCLADS: On Saturday, a one-fifth scale, 54-foot-long seaworthy replica of the Confederate ironclad CSS Virginia will depart Norfolk Naval Shipyard in Portsmouth to engage a replica of the USS Monitor off Fort Norfolk. The 9:45 a.m. ceremony is free and open to the public. For more information, call 396-9550. Also Saturday, the Hampton Roads Naval Museum will host a free naval historical interpretation at 2 p.m. in the Living Seas Theater of Nauticus. The Living History Associates of Virginia will revisit the Civil War battle between the ironclads and will consider the long-term impact of the Battle of Hampton Roads.
MEDAL FOR 1896 RESCUE: The seven-man, all-black crew of the Life Saving Station at Pea Island, N.C., was posthumously recognized Tuesday with the Gold Lifesaving Award for a daring rescue of nine people off the North Carolina coast in 1896. The Coast Guard ceremony, which honored the heroic efforts of all the crews who manned the station from 1880 until 1947, was held at the Navy Memorial in Washington, DC.
RETURNING:
The Coast Guard cutter Northland returned Tuesday to its homeport in Portsmouth after a six-week patrol in the Gulf of Mexico. The crew of the 270-foot medium-endurance cutter enforced federal laws, treaties and fisheries regulations, and responded to six search-and-rescue cases. The crew spent its mid-patrol break in New Orleans, taking part in the Big Easy's Mardi Gras celebration. Cmdr. James W. Decker commands the crew of 100 men and women.
CHANGE OF COMMAND:
Command of the U.S. Second Fleet changed hands on Saturday when Vice Adm. Vern E. Clark relieved Vice Adm. John L. Johnson at a ceremony aboard the amphibious command ship Mount Whitney at Norfolk Naval Base. Clark was previously assigned as deputy chief of staff, commander-in-chief, U.S. Atlantic Fleet. His naval career has included a broad range of sea and shore commands; during Desert Shield and Desert Storm he served as director of the Joint Staff Crisis Action Team. His at-sea commands include the patrol gunboat Grand Rapids, the fast frigate McCloy, the destroyer Spruance, and he Destroyer Squadrons 17 and 5. His most recent at-sea command was Cruise-Destroyer Group Three/Carl Vinson Battle Group. Clark, who is a native of Sioux City, Iowa, lives with his wife Connie in Norfolk. Johnson will be promoted to admiral, and he moves to Washington, D.C., where he will be vice chief of naval operations.
- staff report
COMING SUNDAY: Gregory Vistica's ``expose'' of the Navy re-launders a lot of dirty linen. A book review of ``Fall From Glory: The Men Who Sank the U.S. Navy'' will be in Sunday's Commentary section. by CNB