29 August Daily Shipmate

Friday, Aug 29, 2025

1881 - LCDR Benjamin Edes, Class of 1865, USN and LT Lyman Spalding, Class of 1866, USN were killed in the explosion of a sea mine at Newport, Rhode Island, “due to the mismanagement of an electric switch.” Benjamin had served continuously since graduation; Lyman had left the service for five years after the Civil War.

 

1916 - The cruiser Memphis (ACR-10) is struck by a tidal wave off Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, which wrecks the ship and kills 40 members of its crew and injures 204 others. Among those killed is Chief Machinist's Mate George William Rud, who is seriously burned as he remains at his post in the engine room. He is awarded the Medal of Honor posthumously. During the storm, Lieutenant Claud Ashton Jones, Class of 1907, the ship's senior engineering officer, makes repeated attempts to get the engines and boilers working, and when the boilers explode, he rescues crewmembers from steam-filled fire rooms. Machinist Charles H. Willey remains at his post in the engine room and evacuates personnel from a fire room. For their actions, both are awarded the Medal of Honor.

 

1945 - Landing craft arrive at Omori, the first prisoner of war camp in Japan liberated by the Allies.

Academy & Graduate happenings

Chad Chatlos '92, a former Navy defensive back, has been named the 19th most powerful person in college football by USA Today. Now a managing director at TurneyZRG, the top search firm in college sports, Chatlos has earned his spot through his knack for connecting elite coaches and leaders within major programs. His influence spans high-profile head coaching searches for schools like Texas, Oklahoma, Michigan State, and Ole Miss, as well as key roles in finding the NCAA president and commissioners for the Big Ten, Big 12, and Atlantic Coast Conference. Chatlos, a graduate of the Naval Academy class of 1992, played 22 games as a defensive back, during which he recorded nine interceptions and averaged 7.0 yards per punt return.

Government & Military News

Naval aviators believe they are the best pilots on earth — just ask them — and the primary reason they cite is hard to argue with: they land on aircraft carriers. Whether in calm seas and sunshine or on a deck pitching in a storm at night, the skill to make a carrier landing, or trap, is at the heart of Naval aviation. But in a major change to how the service trains aviators, the Navy and Marine Corps recently revamped their flight training curriculum so that pilots now graduate from flight school and receive their “Wings of Gold” — the Navy's formal name for flight wings — without actually landing on an aircraft carrier. “The final strike carrier landing qualification occurred in March of 2025,” a Navy official told Task & Purpose. “Students in the strike pipeline, those training to fly F/A-18s, F-35s, and EA-18Gs, are no longer required to qualify by landing on a carrier prior to graduation.”

Marine Lt. Gen. Jerry Carter remembers the exact moment he knew his life had to change. In 1985, Carter was working at McDonald's when a customer said she had accidentally thrown out her car keys. So, Carter's manager asked him to look for the keys in the restaurant's dumpster. Carter spent about an hour rummaging through garbage. It was a hot summer day, and he ended up covered in lettuce and reeking of trash. Then his manager came out and apologized because he'd forgotten to tell Carter that the customer had found her keys in her purse. “That was my last day at McDonald's. I said, 'I'm not going to live through another day like that. I'm worth more than that,” Carter recounted. Without bothering to change his clothes, Carter marched straight to his local military recruiter's office. About a month later, he arrived at Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island in South Carolina to begin his four-decade career in the Marines.

Local, Education & other academy news

Army will begin selling alcoholic beverages at football games at Michie Stadium beginning with its game Friday against Tarleton State, athletic director Tom Theodorakis announced Wednesday. Army was the last service academy to not sell alcohol at football games. Air Force began sales in 2017 and Navy in 2021. "The opportunity to purchase alcohol has become common practice at college athletic venues across the country, and we're pleased to introduce it here at West Point as part of our ongoing commitment to enhancing the gameday experience,” Theodorakis said, adding that Army is committed to ensuring a safe and family-friendly environment for fans.

Colorado Springs Gazette

Air Force Academy officials have canceled an upcoming annual lecture after discovering the speaker's online history of disparaging President Donald Trump, prompting serious concern from the donor who supports the series.

 

Academy alumnus David Jannetta started funding the series in 2008 to bring in writers and artists that have contributed to the understanding of war and encourage critical thinking among cadets.

 

When Superintendent Lt. Gen. Tony Bauernfeind called Jannetta on Friday to tell him that the school had decided it was not appropriate for University of Utah professor Paisley Rekdal to speak as scheduled in September because she had made disparaging remarks about Trump, Jannetta said he was disappointed and taken aback. Jannetta said the superintendent told him that while Rekdal had a right to express her opinions, it was not appropriate for her to appear at a military academy. 

 

"I won't support a lecture series, where again, the author has to pass some muster of a litmus test for political reasons," said Jannetta, who planned to discuss his charitable giving further with the academy's Association of Graduates while visiting in September. 

 

Jannetta said he was inspired to start the series after seeing Joseph Heller, the author of "Catch-22," appear at the school while he was a cadet. "Catch-22" is a satire of modern warfare and bureaucracy set during World War II.

 

"It was striking to me ...  how much this institution must have confidence in itself to bring a book like this to the cadets and have them study it," he said. 

 

In the past, a speaker's politics have not played a role in planning the series and, Jannetta said, he won't support the lectures if that's the case going forward. But the academy said Tuesday it was canceling the speech in an effort to remain apolitical. 

 

The academy said in an official statement that it canceled the lecture because of Rekdal's comments about the president. 

 

"While we welcome and will continue to invite speakers who encourage vigorous debate on a variety of subjects, we have chosen not to move forward with this engagement consistent with the U.S. Air Force Academy's non-partisan obligation."

 

The academy went on to say the Jannetta Lecture Series has been a valuable component of the school's offerings by bringing in writers and artists to contribute to the intellectual development of cadets. 

 

"We are currently reviewing our speaker selection process to ensure it is consistent, thorough and aligned with our standards, and we look forward to hosting an iteration of the lecture series at a later date," the statement said. 

 

As part of the speaker series in 2014, the academy hosted Roxana Robinson, the author of "Sparta" who grew up in a Quaker community and questioned whether war was moral, Jannetta said. It was a tough conversation for some cadets. 

 

"The more cadets are challenged, the better leaders they are going to be," said Jannetta, who has attended all the lectures. 

 

Rekdal had planned to discuss how wars are memorialized using portions of her book, "The Broken Country," and her poetry. Some war memorials can simplify the conflict, focusing on the reason for the war. Others, such as the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, a black granite wall listing the names of the fallen in Washington, D.C., ask the visitor to consider how they "stand in relationship to the enduring wounds of war," she explained. 

 

American artist and architect Maya Lin designed the Vietnam Veterans Memorial and listed the names of casualties by their date of death to give visitors a sense of the timeline, Rekdal said.  

 

"She was thinking about the nature of time and grief." 

 

Rekdal's book explores the legacy of the Vietnam War and the psychological wounds it inflicted. It covers the story of a Vietnamese man, Kiet Thanh Ly, who stabbed several people in a grocery store parking lot in 2012, and explores how that crime fits more broadly into the war's trauma, according to the official summary of the book. 

 

Telling the stories of the Vietnamese broadens understanding about those who were our allies and who immigrated to the U.S. to become Americans, she said.  

 

"History is better served when we hear more people's stories," said Rekdal, who comes from a family with many service members. 

 

The academy representative who informed Rekdal her September lecture had been canceled did not give her the official reason, she said.

 

In a public post on social media, Rekdal said she was told by a faculty member that high-ranking military supervisors at the academy Googled her, found something out about her, her book or her poems and ordered the lecture to be canceled.

 

An earlier post on Rekdal's Facebook feed references the president and executive orders: "If you care about free speech at all, Trump's newest EO targeting student protests and—effectively—all international and/or undocumented students is not just unconstitutional but one more move towards authoritarianism."

 

After finding out about the cancelation, Rekdal said in her public post, she was unsurprised by it, noting it is happening to more and more speakers. 

 

The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression tracks attempts to block lectures on college campuses and has found they have been happening more frequently for about a decade, said Sean Stevens, chief research adviser for the group. Attempts to block events dipped in 2020 and 2021 during the pandemic when fewer in-person events were held. 

 

"We are very concerned with the increasing number of attempts and the sheer volume of them — there is roughly one every two to three days a week now on a campus somewhere," Stevens said.

 

The U.S. Naval Academy is among the institutions that have canceled a lecture. The school canceled Ryan Holiday, a best-selling author, because he refused to remove slides from a presentation critiquing the school for removing almost 400 books.  

 

Following the Air Force Academy cancellation, Jannetta said he planned to personally apologize to Rekdal.

Naval Academy Athletics News & Results

Women's Soccer at Maryland - L 1-2

Women's Volleyball v. Boise State - Orem, Utah - Noon ET

Women's Triathlon at ETSU Buccaneer Collegiate Cup - Johnson City, Tenn. - 5 p.m.

Women's Rugby at Queens - Charlotte, N.C. - 7 p.m.

Men's Soccer v. Howard - Annapolis, Md. - 7 p.m.

Men's Water Polo v. #1 UCLA - Coronado, Calif. - 8 p.m.

Women's Volleyball at Utah Valley - Orem, Utah - 9 p.m. ET

 

Offshore Sailing at Annapolis Labor Day Regatta - Annapolis, Md. - All Day

Men's Cross Country at Salisbury Fall Classic - Salisbury, Md. - 9:45 a.m.

Women's Cross Country at Salisbury Fall Classic - Salisbury, Md. - 9:45 a.m.

Men's Water Polo v. #7 Pepperdine - La Jolla, Calif. (Canyonview Pool) - 11 a.m.

Football v. VMI - Annapolis, Md. - Noon

Men's Rugby v. Royal Navy Rugby Union - Annapolis, Md. - Noon

Women's Volleyball v. Montana - Orem, Utah - 2 p.m. ET

Men's Water Polo v. Occidental - La Jolla, Calif. (Canyonview Pool) - 4:20 p.m.

 

Offshore Sailing at J/105 Fleet 3 Women's Regatta - Annapolis, Md. - All Day

Women's Triathlon at Bulldog Super Sprint Kickoff - Wingate, N.C. - 8 a.m.

Men's Water Polo v. #15 UC Santa Barbara - La Jolla, Calif. (Triton Pool) - 11 a.m.

Women's Soccer at Sacred Heart - Fairfield, Conn. - Noon

Men's Water Polo v. #6 Long Beach State - La Jolla, Calif. (Triton Pool) - 4:20 p.m.

USNA and AA&F Events

AUGUST

28 Aug - Navy Football Brotherhood Weekend Kickoff Dinner w/ Football Coaching Staff

28-31 Aug - Class of 2010 15th Reunion

28-31 Aug - Class of 1960 65th Reunion

29 Aug - Navy Football Brotherhood Fallen Brothers Golf Classic & Evening Social

30 Aug - Alumni Association & Foundation Pre-game Social for VMI - (9-11 a.m.)

30 Aug - Navy Football Brotherhood Weekend Tailgater, NMCMS

30 Aug - A&SP/NAAA Trustee Appreciation Pre-Game Breakfast - Navy vs. VMI

30 Aug - Navy vs VMI, NMCMS, Annapolis, MD - 12 p.m.

 

SEPTEMBER

2 Sep - 80th Anniversary of the Japanese surrender aboard USS Missouri

4 Sep - Distinguished Graduate Award (DGA) Medal Ceremony - Alumni Hall, 4:30 p.m.

4-6 Sep - Class of 2000 25th Reunion

6 Sep - Alumni Association & Foundation Pre-game Social for UAB - (Noon-2 p.m.)

6 Sep - Navy Football vs University of Alabama Birmingham, NMCMS, Annapolis, MD

8 Sept - 2 year anniversary of the Fluegel Alumni Center ribbon-cutting.

9 Sept - USNA Entrepreneurs Fall Speaker Series - Army/Navy Country Club - 5pm EST

10 Sep - Greater Southern Maryland Chapter Social & Business Mtg. Brudergarten - 5-6 p.m. @ 22725 Duke St, Leonardtown, MD 20650 - Online event: https://meet.goto.com/326914317

11 Sep - Be Somebody's Hero Golf Tournament - Norfolk VA - hosted by USNA AA Hampton Roads Chapter

11 Sep - OKC Chapter + NAPC of Oklahoma Roadshow - 5:30- 7:30 p.m. - Jones Assembly - 901 W Sheridan Ave, OKC

12 Sep - Tulsa Chapter Event & Roadshow - 6 p.m. - Marshall's Brewery - 1742 E 6th Street, Tulsa

13 Sep - Navy Football vs Tulsa, Tulsa, OK

14 Sep - Annapolis Travis Manion 9/11 Heroes Run

18 Sep - Greater Southern Maryland Chapter Happy Hour - 4-6 p.m. @ Tap House, 1637

423418 Three Notch Rd California, MD 20619

18 Sep - 20th Anniversary of the opening of the Uriah P. Levy Center at USNA

18-19 Sep - McMullen Naval History Symposium - USNA

18-21 Sep - Class of 1985 - 40th Reunion

19 Sep - USNI Dudley Knox Achievement Award Reception

25-27 Sep - Class of 2020 5th Reunion

26 Sep - Class of 2020 Happy Hour - Fluegel Alumni Center

26 Sep - Council of Annual Giving meeting - Fluegel Alumni Center

27 Sep - Navy Football vs Rice, NMCMS, Annapolis, MD

 

OCTOBER

1-22 Oct - Class of '75 Gulf to Goat Charity Bike Ride

2 Oct - President Circle Welcome Reception, Fluegel

2-4 Oct - President Circle Weekend

2-5 Oct - Class of 2015 10th Reunion

2-5 Oct - Class of 1995 30th Reunion

2-5 Oct - Class of 1990 35th Reunion

3 Oct - Rugby banquet

4 Oct - 1958/2008 tailgate for 50 for 50 celebration - Open invitation to A/F and USNA grads and mids to celebrate 50 Years of women - 10 a.m.

4 Oct - Navy Football vs Air Force, NMCMS, Annapolis, MD - 12 p.m.

9-16 Oct - Celebrating The Navy and Marine Corps' 250th Anniversary - Philadelphia

10 Oct - USNA Founder's Day - 180th Birthday of the Naval Academy

10 Oct - Army-Navy Cup XIV - Soccer doubleheader vs Army at Subaru Park, Philadelphia. Women's Match - 4 p.m., Men's Match at 7 p.m.

11 Oct - Navy Football @ Temple, Lincoln Financial Stadium, Philadelphia, PA

13 Oct - U.S. Navy Birthday

13 Oct - Surface Navy Museum Grand Opening - Battleship Iowa - Los Angeles

23-26 Oct - Class of 2005 20th Reunion

23-26 Oct - Class of 1975 50th Reunion

23-26 Oct - Class of 1965 60th Reunion

24 Oct - Anchors Aweigh Open - Alumni Golf Tournament - Naval Academy Golf Course

25 Oct - Navy Football vs Florida Atlantic, NMCMS, Annapolis, MD

25 Oct - United States Naval Academy Homecoming

25 Oct - Welcome Home Event, Fluegel Alumni Center

25-31 Oct - Eugene, Oregon Navy Week

26 Oct - USMC Marathon w/ Run to Honor SIG participating and presenting the Penguin Award to final finisher

30 Oct - Austin Chapter roadshow - 5:30 p.m. - Fast Friends Beer Co, Austin

31 Oct - North Texas Chapter + NAPC of North Texas Roadshow - 4:30 p.m. - Bitter Sisters Brewing Co, Addison

 

NOVEMBER

1 Nov - Navy @ North Texas, DATCU Stadium, Denton TX

5-6 Nov - US Naval Academy Foundation Fall Board of Directors Reception/Meeting

6-9 Nov - Class of 1980 45th Reunion

8 Nov - Navy @ Notre Dame, Notre Dame Stadium, South Bend, IN - 7:30 p.m.

10 Nov - Marine Corps Birthday

10-16  Nov - Santa Fe, New Mexico Navy Week.

14 Nov - Run to Honor's annual pre-Honor Our Fallen Heroes Gathering (FAC) - 6:30 p.m. - Register

14 Nov - US Naval Academy Athletic & Scholarship Program Fall Meeting, NMCMS

15 Nov - Navy vs University of South Florida, NMCMS

15 Nov - Honor Our Fallen Heroes - Location TBD

17 Nov - Council of Class Presidents Fall meeting, Fluegel

18-19 Nov - US Naval Academy Alumni Association Board of Trustee Fall Meeting, Fluegel

19-20 Nov - SACC Chicago

27 Nov - Navy Football @ University of Memphis, Liberty Bowl, Memphis, TN

 

DECEMBER

5/6 Dec - American Conference Football Championship Game, TBD

6 Dec - Distinguished Graduate Selection Committee Meeting, Fluegel, TBD

13 Dec - Army-Navy, M&T Bank Stadium, Baltimore, MD