20 Jan AA&F Morning Paper

Monday, January 20, 2025

1968 -The second battle for Khe Sanh began when Marines from the 3d Battalion, 26th Marines attacked a North Vietnamese battalion between Hill 881 South and Hill 881 North. More than 100 of the enemy were killed.

 

1914 - The Navy's modest aviation force, which consists of nine officers, 23 enlisted personnel, and seven aircraft, arrives at Pensacola, Florida, to establish the first aeronautic station.

1989 - LT William Bartram '82, USN was lost when the US-3A Viking jet he was piloting crashed in the Philippines. He was flying for a detachment of Fleet Logistics Support Squadron (VRC) 50, which was operating from USS Midway (CV 41) at the time.

ACADEMY & GRADUATE HAPPENINGS

The Athletic and Scholarships Program (A&SP) is a division of the United States Naval Academy Foundation that encourages and supports the Physical Mission of the Naval Academy. A&SP provides leadership, need-based funding, guidance and mentoring to all Foundation Preparatory students; as well as needed private funding to all the Naval Academy varsity, club, and intramural sports teams through The Fund for Athletic Excellence. The program is responsible for grants and awards that recognize superiority in athletics and a comprehensive scholarship program to ensure the Naval Academy has the best scholar-athletes in the nation.

Elizabeth Nashold '91 joined Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) as Executive Director for the Industrial Operations Directorate (NAVSEA 04), Jan. 6. In this role, Nashold will provide executive leadership for the more than 37,000 civilian and military personnel executing the critical depot-level repair, maintenance and modernization efforts of the Navy's submarines, aircraft carriers, and supporting surface ships. With direct oversight of the Nation's four naval shipyards: Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Kittery, Maine; Norfolk Naval Shipyard in Portsmouth, Virginia; Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility in Bremerton, Washington; and Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Facility in Hawaii, Nashold's appointment comes at a critical time. A former active-duty civil engineer corps officer, Nashold graduated with distinction from the U.S. Naval Academy with a Bachelor of Science degree in systems engineering and holds a Master of Engineering degree in environmental engineering from the University of Florida with a sub-specialty in hydrologic sciences.

Capt. Chris Purcell, the 27th commanding officer of the amphibious assault ship USS Wasp (LHD 1), was relieved by Capt. Paul O'Brien during a change of command ceremony held in the ship's hangar bay, Jan. 15, 2024. Purcell assumed command aboard Wasp in September 2023. Under Purcell's command Wasp completed a successful seven-month deployment while operating in the 6th Fleet area of operations. Additionally, Purcell oversaw Wasp's completion of Composite Training Unit Exercise (COMPTUEX) prior to deployment. Purcell, a St. Louis native, commissioned into the Navy in 2000 and graduated from the United States Naval Academy. Prior to Wasp, Purcell was assigned to the “War Eagles” of Patrol Squadron 16 (VP-16). After departing Wasp, Purcell's naval career will continue as Joint Staff J7, Hampton Roads.

GOVERNMENT & MILITARY NEWS

The Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) announces the 2025 CNO Naval History Essay Contest commemorating the Navy's 250th anniversary. Participants are invited to submit their essays no later than 30 April 2025. This contest represents an excellent opportunity to engage in the rich legacy of naval history. The Naval History and Heritage Command (NHHC) is the lead for the contest and the U.S. Naval Institute is supporting it. The Chief of Naval Operations invites essay submissions that draw on insights from naval history to address the serious challenges confronting today's Navy. In a globalized world where 90% of international trade by volume and a significant proportion of global communications rely on the seas and undersea cables, the importance of navies, sea control, and strategic partnerships with allies and partners has increased, underscoring the critical role of maritime power in maintaining global economic stability and security.

Vice Adm. Brendan McLane, commander, Naval Surface Force, emphasized the Competitive Edge 2.0 strategy and 250 years of our Navy's ability to fight and win during his keynote remarks at the 37th Annual Surface Navy Association (SNA) National Symposium in Arlington, Va., Jan. 14. McLane outlined his vision for the Surface Force centered on the new Competitive Edge 2.0 strategy and alignment of his efforts with the Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Lisa Franchetti's NAVPLAN initiatives to achieve 80% combat surge ready warships. “CNO, in her NAVPLAN, charged us to ensure 80% of our Force is combat surge ready by 2027,” said McLane. “Combat surge ready is defined as a ship that's complete with Surface Warfare Advanced Tactical Training, or 'SWATT,' and is ready to go.”

LOCAL, EDUCATION & OTHER ACADEMY NEWS

The Army West Point Black Knights are launching a new app to keep fans connected to the athletic teams. Following so many athletic teams can be a challenge for fans since there are games on an almost nightly basis. Keeping up can be difficult, but there is now an easy way for people to stay connected to all of their favorite teams. In conjunction with SIDEARM Sports, a new Army Athletics app is being released for the Army West Point Athletics Department. The app, which is going to be free, will be available on iOS and Android devices in the App Store and Google Play. It will feature up-to-date news alerts, schedules for all of the teams and details on gameday and results. Social media feeds for each team, video and audio streams of events live and in-game stats will be available as well.

In 1894, the inaugural issue of the Lucky Bag was produced by an editorial board of five midshipmen and quickly developed into the annual yearbook of the United States Naval Academy that's published by the First Class of each succeeding class of midshipmen. The Lucky Bag, from its first issue through the 1970 issue has been digitized as part of a partnership with the Naval Postgraduate School, the Naval War College, and the Internet Archive.

The first year of the newly expanded 12-team College Football Playoff has been a success for the most part, and with a national championship game between the Ohio State Buckeyes and Notre Dame Fighting Irish on Monday night, we are about to get some finality to the season. While the playoff was entertaining, there are clearly somethings that need to be changed. If you were to ask ESPN's Paul Finebaum of his opinion on the matter, that's just something fans will have to deal with. Finebaum isn't calling for the Army-Navy game to be ended, of course, but rather to have it moved to a different week. As it stands now, Army vs. Navy is the stand-alone game in the week after conference championships, but Finebaum thinks that is a "wasted Saturday" when the first round of the playoff could be played.  "We're wasting a week, I know I'm going to upset somebody, but the week of the Army-Navy game needs to be the playoffs,” Finebaum said on The Matt Barrie Show. “That is a wasted Saturday. What do we have? We have the Army-Navy game and the Heisman. We can't figure that out some other time?”

NAVAL ACADEMY ATHLETICS NEWS & RESULTS

Weekend Results

Men's Tennis at Penn - L 6-1

Men's Squash vs Connecticut College - W 8-1

Wrestling v No. 21 Lehigh - W 21 - 15

 

Men's Tennis v St. Bonaventure - W 7-0

Rifle at West Virginia - L 4720 - 4754

Men's Squash at Wesleyan - W 9-0

Women's Tennis v St. Bonaventure - W 6-1

Women's Basketball v Bucknell - W 49 - 47

Men's Gymnastics v Navy Open - 3rd Place

Women's Tennis v Saint Francis - W 7-0

Men's Basketball at Bucknell - L 69 - 73

Wrestling v Harvard - W 32-9

Men's Tennis v Saint Francis U. - W 7-0

USNA AND AA&F EVENTS

JANUARY

23 Jan - AA&F Women's Health Webinar - Zoom - 7 p.m. EST

 

FEBRUARY

6 Feb - USNA Ship Selection

15 Feb - Commissioning Week 101, Fluegel

21 Feb - 85th Brigade Boxing Finals

21 Feb - Louisville Chapter + NAPC of Kentucky Roadshow – Louisville, KY (**in support of Navy Men's Gymnastics competing at the Winter Cup Feb 21-23)

22 Feb - Indianapolis Chapter + NAPC of Indiana Roadshow – Fishers, IN)

23 Feb  Cincinnati Chapter + NAPC of Greater Cincinnati Roadshow – West Chester, OH

24 Feb  Columbus Chapter + NAPC of Central Ohio Roadshow – Dublin, OH

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 - Council of Class Presidents Spring Meeting, Fluegel, TBD

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