July – August 2017 Dolphin Brotherhood Posted

The July – August 2017 issue of the Dolphin Brotherhood has been posted to the Seattle Base website.

Seattle Base SubVets at the 2016 Kirkland Independence Day Parade

This issue has information on the upcoming Kirkland Independence Day parade, pictures from the Cabela’s and Smokey Point Rest Stop events, and the usual submarine related articles.

Hardcopies will be mailed out later this week. I hope you all enjoy the newsletter.

Remember to check back here for base updates and other articles of interest. Please note that the Dolphin Brotherhood archives link is no longer working and the link on the blog doesn’t go anywhere right now. I’ll be shifting the archives to a new location soon.

Dave Schueler
Seattle USSVI Base Newsletter Editor

June 2017 Meeting Notes

The June meeting started with Tolling the Boats lost in June, followed by birthday wishes for our members, introductions, and then the usual officer reports.

Old and New Business: 
May Event Recaps – We had some quick reports on what happened at the Cabela’s meet and greet, Memorial Day events, and Cruzin to Colby. We met a few submariners at Cabela’s and we hope to see them at a future meeting. Overall, we took over $800 in donations during the month from those events. Thanks to everyone that attended and helped with all the events.

Smokey Point Rest Stop Event – The Smokey Point event had wrapped up earlier in the day. Steve Shelton was at the meeting to let us know how things went. Because we weren’t required to man the coffee booth overnight, it was a lot easier to cover shifts. But we still had a few holes in coverage. It looks like we will end up with around $350 in donations from the event. Thanks to Steve and everyone that stood a watch (or two).

Kirkland Independence Day Parade – We are planning on participating in the Kirkland parade on the 4th of July. Event plans are like previous years. We will meet near Kirkland’s Heritage Hall in the morning. The Kirkland Police will begin blocking roads near the parade route around 9:30, so you will need to be there early or come in from the north. Lunch will be served around 11:00 and the parade will start at Noon. Check the blog and newsletter for more details. We hope to see you there.

Bonney Lake Salute to Armed Forces Concert – We have been invited to man a booth at this concert event on July 26. We will be looking into what is needed for this and let everyone know if we will participate.

2017 Holiday Luncheon – Dick Gonzales met with the staff at the Meydenbauer Yacht Club and it looks like we have a tentative agreement for the event on Saturday, December 2. We will let you know the full details soon, but we expect it to be similar to last year’s event.

Seattle Base Float Home – We are still looking for a new home for the Seattle Base float. If you know of a place or have some storage ideas, please contact one of the Base Officers. We really need to find a place to put the float or we might have to think about giving it up.

Jim DeMott at the June meeting

Jim DeMott, previous Bremerton Base Commander, stopped off to talk with us about Bremerton Base’s recent trip to Yakima to bring the District 4 Traveling Dolphins back to Bremerton. He also invited us over to the Bremerton Base events this summer. Finally, Jim wanted to let us know that he will be running for Western District 4 Commander position in this year’s elections. He wanted to encourage us all to vote in the USSVI local, district, and national elections.

June Program:

Postcard picture of USS E-2, one of the submarines discussed in the June program

Our program for June was by Ric Hedman on a near mutiny in the US Submarine service. The event, as reported by local newspapers, occurred in 1912 in the 2nd Submarine Flotilla at Cape Cod and Newport. The newspaper reports talked about abuses of the crew by the submarine officers and the sabotage of the engines on one of the Flotilla’s submarines. Letters were written asking Congress to investigate and charges were filed against some crewmen, but the outcome of these has not yet been discovered. Ric is still researching the information and provide updates as he learns more.

Good of the Order:
The Navy Exchange has posted more information about the Veteran Online Shopping Benefit (VOSB) on their website. The benefits start on November 11, 2017, but you need to register before you can use the benefit. You can check your eligibility through a website called VetVerify.org. To use the website, your records must have been digitized by the DoD. If your records have not been digitized or you don't want to register online, you can call 1-844-868-8672 to get information on what you need to do. Be sure to check the information and Frequently Asked Questions on the Navy Exchange site. If you have questions that aren't covered on the site, you can contact the Navy Exchange program at email: VOSB@nexweb.org or phone 888-343-8672.

Eternal Patrol: David Glassman

Seattle Base member David W. Glassman departed on eternal patrol unexpectedly on June 12, 2017 in Bellingham, WA.

Dave was born in Anacortes, WA on November 1, 1963 to Karen (Aschim) Bishop and Everett Bishop. His sister, Dawna, was born in 1968. Years later when their mother remarried, they were adopted by William Glassman.

Dave graduated from Anacortes High School in 1982 and then went to study electronics at Phoenix Institute of Technology. After graduating from PIT, Dave enlisted in the Navy, beginning his adventure on August 7, 1984. After completing basic training and submarine school, he was transferred to Bangor, WA and was assigned to USS Michigan (SSBN 727 Gold) where he served as a navigational electronics technician until he was discharged on August 6, 1990.

After leaving the Navy, Dave began working in the continually changing field of computers. From computer repair to CAD, and on through the other tasks such as maintaining server and network operations, domain management, cloud hosting, etc. He strived to excel at what he did and help others to also excel.

On August 16, 1986 Dave married Carla Dite (also from Anacortes) and they lived in the Belfair area until 2001. While living in the Belfair area of Hood Canal, Dave spent his free time studying Butokukan Karate, learning Flint knapping and primitive skills, and being an awesome dad to his two young daughters, Katherine and Alestra.

In 2001, Dave, Carla, and the girls moved to rural Sedro-Woolley. After some time, Dave was inspired to become a ham radio operator. Once that was done, KF7LQQ directed his focus on ensuring his wife and daughters also became hams. Succeeding in this, he moved on to the next adventure, aquaponics. In Feb. of 2015, the first aquaponics system was started, but it was only the first. Three more followed and who knew where it would have ended had not he been called home by our Father in heaven where he will dwell in the port of his God forever.

Dave is survived by his wife, Carla; daughters, Katherine and Alestra; mother, Karen Glassman; father, Everett Bishop; sister, Dawna Bennett; half-sister, Lin Stephens; half-brother, Earl Bishop; and numerous aunts, uncles, cousins, nephews, nieces, and friends.

A small family reception was held at Little Brown Chapel on Saturday, June 17th.

Sailor, Rest Your Oar

June 2017 Meeting Reminder

The next Seattle Base meeting is this coming Wednesday, June 21, 2017. We will meet at VFW Post #2995 (4330 148th Ave N.E., Redmond WA 98052). Social hour starts at 6PM with business meeting at 7PM.

The VFW is still re-furbishing the main meeting room. So, we will be meeting in the upstairs area on Wednesday.

We’ll get a recap of the Smokey Point Event and have an opportunity to discuss upcoming events and activities. Our speaker for the evening had to cancel and we’re currently looking for a replacement. But there will always be good sea stories and comradeship.

We hope to see you there!

Update on Smokey Point Event and Online Exchange Shopping for Veterans

The Smokey Point Rest Stop event is set for next Monday through Wednesday (June 19 - 21) and the list of volunteers for event can be found here. As you can see, there are still some empty slots for the event. If you have some time and can fill in a slot, we could really use the help. Please contact Steve Shelton (his contact information is on the list) if you can help out.

Online Exchange Shopping for Veterans Update
In March we posted a story about the Department of Defense (DoD) planning to open online shopping at the exchanges to veterans.

The Navy Exchange has posted more information about the Veteran Online Shopping Benefit (VOSB) on their website. The benefits start on November 11, 2017, but you need to register before you can use the benefit.

You can check your eligibility through a website called VetVerify.org. You will need to provide your name, date of birth, SSN last four, the last branch you served in, and an email contact. To use the website, your records must have been digitized by the DoD. If your records have not been digitized or you don't want to register online, you can call 1-844-868-8672  to get information on what you need to do.

Be sure to check the information and Frequently Asked Questions on the Navy Exchange site. If you have questions that aren't covered on the site, you can contact the Navy Exchange program at email: VOSB@nexweb.org or phone 888-343-8672.

Smokey Point Reminder and Event Photos

We have a few photos to share from a couple of the May events.

But first, we want to remind you that the Seattle Base is manning the coffee booth at the north-bound Smokey Point rest stop on June 19, 20, and 21 (Monday through Wednesday). We can still use more volunteers and donations of goodies. Be sure to contact Steve Shelton if you have any questions, want to volunteer, or provide some donations. The people manning the booth would also appreciate it if you stopped by to say hi.

Now for the pictures. Thanks to Seattle Base member Patti Lynn for sending some pictures from the Cabela's event. The Seattle Base float was set-up at the store entrance, and we had plenty of people stopping off to talk and ask questions. Thanks to everyone that showed up to help out.

  

We also have some pictures from the 69th Bremerton Armed Forces Day parade. Thanks to John Mansfield for forwarding them. 

Thanks again to everyone that made it out to the events. Don't forget to mark your calendars for the Kirkland Independence Day parade on July 4 and the Tolling the Boats ceremony on August 19.