The Virginian-Pilot
                             THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT 
              Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: Wednesday, August 14, 1996            TAG: 9608140371
SECTION: MILITARY NEWS           PAGE: A10  EDITION: FINAL 
SOURCE: Staff report
                                            LENGTH:   70 lines

WEEKLY BRIEFING

COMMISSARY HOURS REALIGNED: Operating hours at four Hampton Roads commissaries will be changed Sept. 15. All will be open on Saturdays and Sundays. The Little Creek commissary will be closed on Wednesdays; Norfolk will be closed on Monday; Oceana on Tuesday; and Portsmouth on Monday.

ARMED FORCES VOTING: Voting assistance officers will be at the Norfolk Navy Exchange from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily Aug. 25 through 31. They'll offer assistance in voting by absentee ballot and registering for the November election. Prospective voters must be U.S. citizens and 18 years old on or before Nov. 5. For more information call 444-7371.

NAVAL SHIPYARD FESTIVAL: Norfolk Naval Shipyard in Portsmouth will hold a free Community Festival from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday at Trophy Park, with music, food, dance and children's events. Visitors should enter through Gate 3 off First Street along the Elizabeth River. For more information call 396-7321.

CANNON TO ROAR AT MONROE: The Continental Army Band will present Tchaikovsky's ``1812 Overture'' at 7:30 p.m. Aug. 22 at Fort Monroe, ending the piece with the roar of the Salute Battery's cannon. The concert, which is free and open to the public, will also feature vocalists Agnes Mobley-Fuller and John McKay singing selections from ``Phantom of the Opera.'' Lawn chairs and blankets are encouraged in case bleachers are full.

PURPLE HEART CONVENTION: More than 400 recipients of the Purple Heart have gathered at the Omni Waterside Hotel for their 64th annual convention, which lasts through Saturday. Among the reunion's public events is a book signing by Lt. Col. Edwin Ramsey, co-author of ``Lieutenant Ramsey's War: From Horse Soldier to Guerrilla Commander,'' at the MacArthur Memorial gift shop from 2 to 5 p.m. Friday. The Continental Army Band will perform nearby at 5:30 p.m., and a memorial service and wreath laying will follow at 6 p.m.

SUNDAY WITH SHAKESPEARE: The Norfolk Naval Station Morale, Welfare and Recreation department will host a free performance of Shakespeare's ``A Midsummer Night's Dream'' at 3 p.m. Sunday in the theater, Bldg. C-9. The play will be performed by Summer Shakes, a local theatrical production company. For information call 444-4033.

ON BALANCE, AN ASSET: The Coast Guard Finance Center in Chesapeake received the Commandant's Quality Award Tuesday, recognizing it for customer satisfaction and continuous quality improvement. It was presented by Vice Adm. Richard D. Herr, vice commandant.

WITH DEWEY AT MANILA: Mark Greenough, from the Richmond-based Living History Associates, will play a fictional newspaper reporter discussing the 1898 Spanish-American War, including the principal naval battles of Manila and Santiago Harbor, in a free program tonight at 7:30 p.m. The event will be held in the Nauticus theater.

EQUALITY DAY LUNCHEON: Alveta Ewell, a news co-anchor at WAVY-TV, will address a Fort Monroe luncheon at 11:30 a.m. Aug. 20. The public is invited. Tickets are $5.75. For details, call 728-5421 or 727-3500.

COMINGS AND GOINGS

DEPARTING

The replenishment oiler Kalamazoo will retire at 10 a.m. Friday at Pier 12 of the Norfolk Naval Station. Retired Pacific Fleet Command Master Chief George Ingram will be guest speaker. Commanded by Capt. Joseph P. Avveduti Jr., the ship has a crew of 22 officers and 398 enlisted. It will be mothballed in Philadelphia.

CHANGE OF COMMAND

Cmdr. Terrance A. Cush will relieve Cmdr. William J. Culbertson as commanding officer of Tactical Air Control Squadron 21 at 10 a.m. Sept. 4 at the Little Creek Naval Amphibious Base Meeting House. Culbertson's next assignment is aboard the carrier Eisenhower as ``Mini-Boss.''

Cmdr. Michala Smith relieves Cmdr. Suzanne Hirsch as commanding officer of Atlantic Fleet Headquarters Support Activity at 10 a.m. Aug. 15. Smith previously was assigned to the logistics directorate/division of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in Washington. Hirsch will report to the commander in chief of the Atlantic Fleet, in Norfolk. by CNB