News From Fort Schuyler

March 30, 2009 - Volume 9, No. 16

FAREWELL - In May 2009, CAPT. EDWARD "ANDY' YEASTE '84 takes command of the Military Sealift Office in Kuwait. He writes: "This will be a challenging tour for me. Besides having command of my unit [Expeditionary Port Unit 102 aka 'The Bronx Crew'], I will also be the Senior Naval Officer in Kuwait and have administrative command of all Navy personnel within Kuwait (except the Embassy folks). About 3,500 folks all together, to include Port Security Units, Mobile Security Squadrons, Cargo Handling Battalions, Customs Inspection Companies, working with Army Transportation Companies and Battalions, Aviation Support Squadrons and Battalions, Marine Combat Logistics Companies and Battalions, and a few other units and government agencies that all help get the job done. We do all that one needs to do to get a M1 tank, CH-47 helicopter, Mine Resistant Armored Personnel (MRAP) vehicles, beans, and bullets, etc. from anywhere in the world by ship to Iraq or Afghanistan. More than 94% of the 'stuff' that is used in Iraq or Afghanistan comes by ship and we get the ships there safely, unload them and get the stuff 'to whoever needs it, wherever they need it, whenever they need it.'" Wishing Andy a safe and adventurous tour. (Thanks to DENNIS BOYE '85 for the heads up.)

HELLO - Our newest subscriber is also our most senior subscriber. Welcome aboard to GEORGE M. MORTENSEN '38. George writes that although he and his classmates attended classes at Fort Schuyler prior to its official dedication in May 1938, their February 1938 graduation ceremony was held at the Maritime Exchange in Manhattan. BTW - George served as President of the Alumni Association in 1959 - 50 years ago. How time flies.

BLOWING TUBES - "On reading Rick Bagshaw's note about a tanker 'blowing tubes' (NFFS 9:14) TOM HANCOCK '58 sent this note "..on behalf of every Deckie who sailed on the EMPIRE STATE II AND III. My recollection has it that all deck mugs at one time or another got woken rather early several times a cruise for early cleanup. One of the chores was to wash down the ship with salt water to get rid of all the tiny particles of carbon (?) that covered the teak decks after the engineers 'blew tubes' early each morning while we were under way at sea."

"This was not a difficult job, but what I remember most as a mug was that the second classman manning the hoses took great delight in directing the stream of water right off the front of our brushes so that by the time we got finished, we mugs were soaked to the skin. Seems to me that I took it out on the mugs myself when I moved up to second classman, so not complaining, but surely another lore of sea on training ships which has passed with the new generation of power plants."

SAVANNAH CREWING - Another sort of power plant, nuclear, attracted a number of Fort Schuyler graduates to the N/S SAVANNAH. The retired President of the Maritime College, ADM. FLOYD 'HOSS' MILLER '53 forwarded this note from his classmate, DOUG GRAHAM: "I was in the 3rd SAVANNAH Training Program and licensed by the Atomic Energy Commission and the Coast Guard as a Reactor Operator for that vessel. I originally joined the SAVANNAH in Yorktown, Virginia, before it had been delivered to States Marine Corporation, the operating agent for the government. I made a trip on the SAVANNAH through the Panama Canal to Hawaii. Also, we were featured at the opening of the Seattle World's Fair. My last employment aboard the SAVANNAH was at Galveston, Texas, during extensive alterations and political problems."

PAUL HOPSON '70 added RICH RUCK '68 and BOB SADLER '68 to the crew roster and was able to confirm from a friend from Maine Maritime that one of the Masters of the SAVANNAH was Captain ARNOLD "PETE" BLOCK '43. "He was not the first Captain. He came after it was changed from States Marine to First Atomic Ship Transport (FAST) the AIEL subsidiary that operated her." Paul also recalled that his classmate, KEN WARREN "...served as cadet on board for about two weeks over one Christmas." And then there is HERMAN STONE '70. Paul remembers that Herman "...was chosen for SAVANNAH at graduation, but they laid the ship up about four months later, so of course they canceled his training class. He left the SS EXFORD to go to the class with everyone wishing him 'Good Luck' on the SAVANNAH and he came back to the same ship at the end of their coastwise voyage with the news that the USA's Nuclear Merchant Ship had been terminated." Herman Stone writes that he "...left sailing in 1980 after getting my Chief's license and never look back. I went to work for my college roommate, Ken Warren doing training, procedures and engineering service to the power industry and formed my own company, Fossil Consulting, with two partners in 1995. (www.fossilconsulting.com) Herman concludes, "I often wonder what life would have been like if I actually went on the SAVANNAH."

Finally, Capt. Sadler remembered that GEORGE MANZ '64 "...was an engineer on board (and who happened to be one of my instructors when I trained for duty of the vessel in 1969.)"

SAIL TRAINING - Wind, of course, was the power source for the school's first training ship, the USS ST MARY'S, which served as the New York Nautical School from 1874 to 1908. Currently, STEVEN HERTZ '57 is working as 'an interested citizen' with MARAD, the Coast Guard, the American Sail Training Association and the maritime colleges, to create a provisional windjammer sail training program that will be available to current and future American mariners. Steve notes in a report titled 'Windjammer Training for American Merchant Mariners' that windjammer training for merchant mariners ended with World War II"...because it was no longer viewed as necessary to running large power-driven commercial ships and that has not changed." Steve contends, however, that "....sail training remains a concentrated seamanship, leadership and situational awareness tool for seamen that cannot be duplicated within other officer training programs. Windjammer training shares this enrichment niche with other simulation devices which have become unquestioned parts of modern training." He reports that a provisional sail training now"...operates within the scope and at the pleasure of the [USCG Barque] EAGLE's Guest Program, a longstanding secondary mission consonant with the needs of the service and at the pleasure of its commanding officer." Steve hopes to expand and regularize this program and integrate it into the nautical training programs of the maritime school and/or make it available to graduates after licensure and graduation. You can call Steve at (508) 255-5265 for more information and followups.

EBB TIDE - The death of ROBERT M. OWEN '41, age 89, on March 5, 2009 was reported in Newsday. According to the newspaper's death notice, Robert, a World War II veteran and retired merchant marine captain, is survived by two sons. He was buried at Calverton National Cemetery on 9 March. R&R - No NFFS next week. The Corsons are taking a short vacation in (we hope) the sun.