Fleet Plan of the Day
- Details
- Brad Williamson
- REGROUPEX 17 - 680
Just a quick tease for all of you registering for REGROUPEX 17! The ball caps are in, thanks to Donna and Miles Bradley, Scott Elder, and Ron Squiers. Donna did all the heavy lifting with the vendor, with Miles, Scott, and Ron providing ‘supervisory oversight’, as well as the financial support.
These four are your generous sponsors contributing the ball caps to every shipmate attending REGROUPEX 17 in Orlando, FL, this September 1-4 at the Rosen Shingle Creek Resort.
They look similar to the ones we had for REGROUPEX 09, with gold stitching on a solid blue, heavy duty ball cap. We did have the foresight to order both silver and gold dolphins to correspond with the dishes you ate off of on the boat so nobody feels left out!
If you haven’t yet registered, get hot, and go to the www.ssn-680.org website, and register using the appropriate button in the right hand column of the website.
If you are not able to attend, but still want a snazzy Bates ball cap, or you are attending, and just want an extra one, let me know directly, or you can wait a few days and I’ll have an order form up for you in the ship’s store.
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- Details
- Brad Williamson
- POD - SSN 680
Independence Day, 2017
Lost in a day of celebration, tailgate parties, horseshoes and bean-bag toss, sparklers and fireworks, and a thousand other enjoyable and well-earned distractions, is the underlying truth that our foundling nation’s freedom from an oppressive monarchy, now our staunchest ally, came at great cost for those that made the decision that those simple colonies, now these United States, strike out on their own.
These men, and the women that stood with them, pledged much more than allegiance. They staked their fortunes, their sacred honor, and their very lives on the slim chance that success at independence might make the world a better place, at least for those who occupied this small fraction of the North American continent.
How it pains me, that while many lived to see their new-found freedom celebrated in the streets of places like Boston, Philadelphia, New York, these new American patriots did not live to see what a simple, honest, commitment to the rights of man, and an unrelenting pursuit of these freedoms, even unto death, would do to change an entire world.
- Details
- Brad Williamson
- REGROUPEX 17 - 680
It’s time! REGROUPEX 17 is now officially less than two months away, so it’s time to step up and put your money where your mouth is. You guessed it! Registration time!
It’s not enough to say you want to be there, it’s now time to commit.
The way you commit is easy. Simply visit the www.ssn-680.org website. On every page, that’s right, you don’t even have to log in, but on every page you’ll see a series of four or five modules (like those shown above) in the right hand column that start with the words “REGROUPEX 17.
Choose the desired module, and click REGISTER. You will be taken off-site to the secure “SSN 680” Paypal page where you can pay your registration fee with Paypal if you have an account, or with any credit or debit card if you don’t. Couldn’t be easier.
- Details
- Brad Williamson
- POD - SSN 680
Welcome to Message Traffic!
The new landing page will appear when you log in or select Quarters >> Message Traffic. It contains short news updates, and links to everything recent! The great news is that all Message Traffic is tweeted, as well as posted on the website.
Twitter users can follow @ssn680org!
If you’re not using Twitter, signing up might be a good idea - it will help us stay connected if you change your email address without updating the site!
- Details
- Brad Williamson
- REGROUPEX 17 - 680
01JUN17
FM REGROUPEX 17 TIGER TEAM
TO SSN-680.ORG
ALL REGISTERED
ALL CONTACTED
ALL MISSING
UNCLAS
REGROUPEX 17 SITREP
1. REGROUPEX 17 - 01-04 SEP 2017, SHINGLE CREEK RESORT, ORLANDO, FLORIDA
2. AT 211500Z TIME REMAINING TO REGROUPEX 17 KICKOFF THREE MONTHS ONE HOURS.
3. FORMER BATES CREW MEMBERS REPORTED PLANNING TO ATTEND EQUALS THIRTY ONE OFFICERS AND CREW INCLUDING PLANKOWNERS.
4. IN ADDITION SIX SPOUSES/SIGNIFICANT OTHERS ATTENDING.
- Details
- Brad Williamson
- POD - SSN 680
Memorial Day, 2017.
It means a great deal to me, and many of my brothers in arms, that you recognize what we gave up for you and our country in the service of our armed forces. As much as we appreciate those who would say "Thanks for your service!” we are reminded that while every veteran served at great cost, the sacrifice of those of us that came back pales in contrast to those who gave their lives, their bodies, or their minds in the service of our country.
All gave some, some gave all, it is said of those of us who served, and it is a simple reminder that the highest honor be accorded to those that gave, as Abraham Lincoln so eloquently said at Gettysburg, “the last full measure of devotion”.
The veterans you see this Memorial Day, with ball caps and patches silently proclaiming their unit or service affiliation, standing straight with a hand salute, or kneeling in quiet tearful memory at a solemn grave marker, know this more painfully than you can imagine and we would not have you diminish the memory of those that ‘gave all’ by diverting your attention to those of us that ‘gave some’.
- Details
- Brad Williamson
- POD - SSN 680
Does this look familiar? It’s a Familygram, and the primary mechanism by which we communicate with all of our shipmates through the website. This year, Familygrams have been sent on 4 JAN, 16 MAR, and 7 APR.
If you are seeing these in your email, then all is good. If not, and our mailer suggests that as many as 2/3s of you are not, then there are a few things that you need to do.
First, keep your email address current by updating your profile on the website. If your address is not current, we can’t email you. Complicated, right?
Second, check your junk/spam folder. Your email program may be dumping these for one reason or another, but it’s the next thing to check.
Finally, add “*ssn-680.org” and “*ssn680.org” to your White List. Note the asterisks - this makes sure that any email from the site is automatically kept in your inbox regardless of other filters.
