Fleet Plan of the Day
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- Brad Williamson
- POD - SSN 680
While we currently have 278 registered members on board the site, Ernesto Maisonet, Yeoman First Class, on board from 1988 to 1991, is our 250th former shipmate to join the site.
That means we only have about 1000 more crew members to locate before we can take a breather.
So, if you remember 'Ernie' from back in the days, shout him out, and let him know he is welcome.
Regarding locating all our other missing shipmates, you're dink - get hot!
No comments- Details
- Brad Williamson
- POD - SSN 680
Roger Loesch, step-brother of Donald M. Pfannenstiel, reported back in April that Don, or "Puff" as some called him, had been hospitalized with back problems in Wichita, Kansas.
Don served on the Bates from about 1972 to 1975 according to his Classmates.com information.
Roger sent this update a few weeks back and I'm just getting around to updating the site. So, with apologies to Roger and Don...
...About Don, this is all the information I know:
He has recently returned home from Wichita where our sister Karen was caring for him. He had a couple surgeries on his back, plus for some reason he had a lot of fluid in his abdominal cavity. He ended up where he is paralyzed in his right leg and has been under going therapy to get him walking again...
- Details
- Brad Williamson
- POD - SSN 680
Most of you have heard about the Maersk Alabama, the merchant ship seized by Somalian pirates back in April. The one where the Navy stepped in, popped a few caps, and reduced the net inventory of Somalian pirates by four, three of them permanently. The one where we all collectively sighed and said, "Finally, somebody is willing to send the message that we just aren't going to put up with this anymore!"
What you may not know is that the Chief Engineer on the Maersk Alabama is Mike Perry, brother of Steven Perry.
Steve was a shipmate of ours back in the 80's, a QM, who, despite all the abuse we gave him on the boat, turned out to be an pretty decent guy! Steve works up in the San Francisco Bay area in ship traffic control, and has recently joined the site here and has already contributed to our growing list of Sea Stories.
- Details
- Brad Williamson
- POD - SSN 680
Memorial Day.
Winding down now, a great weekend relaxing at the cabin. A three hour drive home, and it's time to start getting back in the groove for tomorrow. Check the email, check the websites, and start getting the to-do list organized. Three days away from my desk and there's a lot of catching up to do.
Got a phone call from a friend of my daughter. Not much to communicate, but it turns out he wanted to say thanks. Thanks for putting in the time, thanks for carrying the flag, thanks for standing in the gap. Thanks for serving.
We're vets, you see, and though we may not yet see ourselves as the 'old guys' in the parade, we served.
Been there, done that.
There are people out there, seems like precious few, but people out there none-the-less that are grateful for our service. Grateful there are 'veterans' who have laid it on the line, done a job that few know how to do, fewer still have the courage to do, and even fewer truly want to do.
But someone had to do it, and those someones were you and me. It may not have seemed like much at the time. Another day at sea, another Christmas away from home, another long walk down an empty pier, another watch stood, another log entry made.
- Details
- Brad Williamson
- POD - SSN 680
If you haven't been on the site for a while, you may not have noticed the addition of the Tracking Party.
Quarters >> Tracking Party is simply a map based system for locating shipmates that are geographically close to you.
Ever wonder which of your shipmates lived close by? Ever wonder who might be close enough to arrange small get-togethers, see a ball game, have lunch, raise a glass together? The Tracking Party is intended to make that easier.
To use the Tracking Party.
Mouse over the marker to see the name of the shipmate at that location. Click the marker to see their photo, city and state, and to get driving directions.
If your marker is not on the map, there is something you need to do. ACTION IS REQUIRED!
1. Go to your User Profile by clicking on your name in Current Watchsection.
2. Choose Edit >> Update Profile.
- Details
- Brad Williamson
- POD - SSN 680
Things have been pretty calm around SSN-680.org the last couple of weeks. Not much activity and no substantial changes to the website. A few new members. A few people registering for REGROUPEX 09.
So...
Get recruiting - each of you knows at least one or two people that haven't registered on the site. Track them down, call them up, and tell them to "Get hot, you dink non-qual!" If each of you finds just one former shipmate, we double the sailing list to 500. And it gets you out of port and starboard, or in the case of our staff, port and re-port. So commit yourself to the effort, and spend an hour on Saturday or Sunday tracking down one old shipmate that you haven't seen registered. When you find him, update the Master Sailing List with your activity and information so we can update our records, and get him on the mailing list.
