10 Jan AA&F Morning Paper

Friday, January 10, 2025

1956 - The Navy establishes its first nuclear power school at the submarine base at New London, Connecticut.

 

1980 - Serving in the submarine tender Dixon (AS-37), Ensign Roberta McIntyre becomes the first female to qualify as a surface warfare officer.

 

1994 - LT Michael Tanner '88, USN and LT Edward O'Neill '89, USN were lost when the HH-46 Sea Knight helicopter they were piloting crashed in the Atlantic Ocean about 500 miles northeast of Bermuda. They were operating from USS Incheon (LPD 14), which had left Norfolk for a Mediterranean Sea deployment five days earlier.

1995 - The Pentagon announced that 2,600 U.S. Marines would be deployed to Somalia for Operation United Shield to assist in the final withdrawal of UN peacekeeping troops from Somalia. The decision came in response to a UN request for American protection of its peacekeeping forces serving in the war-torn African nation.

ACADEMY & GRADUATE HAPPENINGS

Welcome to another great episode of the Sing Second podcast. We bring you the stories and happenings at the Naval Academy and the Naval Academy Alumni Association and Foundation (AA&F). We're back from our holiday hiatus with a discussion about the passing of Jimmy Carter '47. We talk about his legacy and how the only U.S. President (so far) to attend the Naval Academy will be remembered. Chris and John also talk about the football team's big win over Oklahoma over the winter break. Is the future bright for Navy Football? We discuss. Our feature interviews ironically feature two '88 alums. It wasn't planned, but we chat with Jim Schwab about his role as a Trustee for the Alumni Association and Athletic & Scholarship programs, as well as his perspective as a class president. And next week is the annual Surface Navy Association (SNA) Symposium. So we chat with the SNA Executive Director, Chris Bushnell '88, about what news will be made with all those SWO pins in one room.  Beat Army...always.

USNA sports events coming to Boston

Are you an alum in the Boston area? Would you like to know when Naval Academy sports teams are coming to town so you can support the Mids? Below is a listing of the athletic competitions happening in the Boston area this winter and spring. Through the new USNA Letterwinners Association and director Rob Friedrich, we'll be publishing - here in the paper and on the Letterwinners site - a listing of away competitions across the country.  Below summarizes Boston. Tune in each day next week for other geographic locations.

January 22: Women's Basketball at Boston University

February 5: Men's Basketball at Boston University

February 22: Women's Basketball at Holy Cross

March 22, Men's Lacrosse at Holy Cross

March 23: Men's Tennis at Boston University

March 29: Women's Lacrosse at Boston University

March 29-30: Intercollegiate Sailing at Marchiando Team Race (Boston, Mass.)

March 30: Baseball at Holy Cross (Doubleheader)

April 6: Men's Tennis at Holy Cross

April 26: Men's Heavyweight Rowing at Harvard (with Penn)

May 2-3: Men's Track & Field at Patriot League Championship (Worcester, Mass.)

May 2-3: Women's Track & Field at Patriot League Championship (Worcester, Mass.)

May 18: Men's Heavyweight Rowing at EARC Championship (Worcester, Mass.)

May 18: Men's Lightweight Rowing at EARC Championship (Worcester, Mass.)

GOVERNMENT & MILITARY NEWS

A historic Marine infantry battalion, whose regimental colors were burned prior to their capture during World War II and was then reforged from one of the Corps' first Marine Raider units, will be remade again as part of the Marine Corps' force structure changes that focus on China and the Pacific. On Friday, 1st Battalion, 4th Marines will hold a redesignation ceremony at Camp Pendleton, California, so that the unit can become part of the 12th Littoral Combat Team, said Capt. Kristine Doan, a spokesperson with the 1st Marine Division. The term “redesignating” means that the battalion is becoming a new unit, not deactivating, Doan told Task & Purpose. The littoral combat team will eventually move to Okinawa, Japan.

The Defense Department is sending 10 Navy helicopters to help fight wildfires in California, U.S. officials said Wednesday. The helicopters will be equipped with water-delivery buckets, the White House and the Defense Department said in separate announcements. The Pentagon was unable to say from which installations the helicopters would be deployed or when they would arrive in the area. “Right now, we can't even get assets up in the air because the fires are so bad and because the winds are so bad,” said Sabrina Singh, deputy press secretary for the Pentagon.

U.S. Central Command forces launched the first strikes of 2025 against the Houthis on Wednesday. The forces, which were not identified, struck two Houthi underground Advanced Conventional Weapon storage facilities in Yemen, according to the Wednesday news release. The strikes come eight days into the new year and are the first strikes since Dec. 31. They also come two days after Houthi spokesman Brig. Gen. Yahya Sare'e posted on X that the Houthis attacked USS Harry S. Truman (CVN-75), preventing the carrier and its aircraft from attacking Yemen on Jan. 6. Central Command did not acknowledge the Houthi claims, although it did post pictures of flight operations aboard Truman on Jan. 7.

LOCAL, EDUCATION & OTHER ACADEMY NEWS

We put the spotlight on Navy gymnastics, which opens the season this weekend at the West Point Open, an important meet featuring many top programs. The Navy Classic will be held at Halsey Field House the following weekend. We interview Navy gymnastics coach Kip Simons to preview the season. We also talk Navy basketball with play-by-play announcer Matt Sabados, who has been filling in for Pete Medhurst on Navy Athletics broadcast. Lastly, we present a great discussion between Navy quarterback Blake Horvath and former Navy football legend John Sai. Horvath's 95-yard touchdown run in the Armed Forces Bowl broke Sai's long-standing record, which was set way back in 1963.

The US Military Academy at West Point will honor the late former President Jimmy Carter today (Thursday), the National Day of Mourning for the former commander-in-chief who passed away last Sunday at 100 years of age. A 21-gun salute will be fired with cannons at 12 noon followed by Taps. The tribute to the 39th president of the United States will take place at Trophy Point.

NAVAL ACADEMY ATHLETICS NEWS & RESULTS

Weekend Matchups

 

Wrestling vs Franklin & Marshall Open - Lancaster, Pa. - 9 a.m.

Men's Swimming & Diving vs Kenyon - Princeton, N.J. - 5 p.m.

Women's Swimming & Diving vs Kenyon - Princeton, N.J. - 5 p.m.

Men's Swimming & Diving at Princeton - Princeton, N.J. - 5 p.m.

Women's Swimming & Diving at Princeton - Princeton, N.J. - 5 p.m.

Men's Squash v Amherst - Annapolis, Md. - 3:30 p.m.

Men's Gymnastics at West Point Open - Team/A-A - West Point, N.Y. - 7 p.m.

 

 

Women's Swimming & Diving at Princeton - Princeton, N.J. - 11 a.m.

Men's Swimming & Diving at Princeton - Princeton, N.J. - 11 a.m.

Men's Track & Field v Princeton - Annapolis, Md. - 11 a.m.

Women's Swimming & Diving - vs Kenyon - Princeton, N.J. - 11 a.m.

Men's Swimming & Diving vs Kenyon - Princeton, N.J. - 11 a.m.

Women's Basketball v Loyola - Annapolis, Md. - 1 p.m.

Women's Track & Field v Princeton - Annapolis, Md. - 2:30 p.m.

Men's Squash v Middlebury - Annapolis, Md. - 4 p.m.

Men's Basketball at Loyola, Maryland - Baltimore, Md. - 5 p.m.

Men's Gymnastics at West Point Open - Event Finals - West Point, N.Y. - 7 p.m.

 

 

Men's Squash v Williams - Annapolis, Md. - 12 p.m.

USNA AND AA&F EVENTS

JANUARY

11 Jan - Recent Grad Social - Pensacola, FL

11 Jan - Pensacola Chapter roadshow – Pensacola, FL

12 Jan - So. Alabama Chapter & NAPC of Alabama roadshow - Spanish Fort, AL

13 Jan - So. Mississippi Chapter & NAPC of Mississippi roadshow - Biloxi, MS

14 Jan - Louisiana Chapter & NAPC of Louisiana roadshow - Metairie, LA

15 Jan - Atlanta Chapter & NAPC of Georgia roadshow - Atlanta, GA

 

FEBRUARY

6 Feb - USNA Ship Selection

15 Feb - Commissioning Week 101, Fluegel

21 Feb - 85th Brigade Boxing Finals

27 Feb - Naval Academy Entrepreneurs event, Fluegel, 5 - 9 p.m.

27 Feb - Astronaut Convocation, USNA

 

MARCH

7-16 Mar - USNA Spring Break

12-13 Mar - SACC Atlanta

21 Mar - Distinguished Graduate Award Ceremony and Dinner, USNA (T)

22 Mar - Distinguished Graduate Leadership Panel, Mahan, USNA

27-29 Mar - Naval Academy Minority Association, (NAMA) Leadership Forum

30-31 Mar - Volunteer Leader Summit

 

APRIL

5 Apr - Annapolis Cup - USNA v St. John's Croquet Match

10-12 Apr - Class of 1955 - 70th Reunion

11 Apr - Athletic & Scholarship Programs Spring Meeting - Fluegel Alumni Center

24 Apr - AA&F Vietnam Legacy of Valor Series Speaker Event - FAC

24-27 Apr - Class of 1970 - 55th Reunion

25 Apr - USNA Dedication Parade, Worden Field

30 Apr - USNA Capstone Day

30 Apr - USNA Foundation Spring Board of Directors Welcome Reception

 

MAY

1 May - USNA Foundation Spring Board of Directors Meeting, Fluegel

6-8 May - Class of 1957 - 70th Reunion

7-9 May - USNA Alumni Association Spring Board of Trustees Meeting, Fluegel

8-9 May - SACC Washington DC

14 May - Class of 2028 Herndon Climb

21 May - Blue Angels CFR Event - Hospital Point, USNA

22 May - Color Parade, Worden Field

22 May - USNA Prizes & Awards, Alumni Hall, 2 p.m.

23 May - Class of 2025 Graduation and Commissioning Ceremony, NMCMS

 

25 Jun - Athletic & Scholarship Program Pre-I Day Reception, Fluegel

26 Jun - USNA Induction Day, Class of 2029