Service Officer: Chuck Weber

Gray Dragon: John Cummings

President’s Message

Greetings fellow Dragon Keepers;

As we slide into yet another new year, my family and I hope that you and yours had a special Christmas holiday season. I know that the weather has been rather extreme this year, hopefully it did not hinder your celebration attempts.

Our 2014 Reno, NV reunion was a resounding success. The efforts of our hosts Diana and Dennis Ballard resulted in a remarkable job. Especially when you consider that most everything had to be done from long distance drives or on the phone. The feedback I received on the scheduled events was very favorable and it appears that a good time was had by all. It provided a great opportunity to catch up with some old shipmates and meet many members we had not met before.

 A special event this year was a well received and most interesting and informative presentation given by Mike Snyder on the history of the Navy Nuclear Weapons Program.

The reunion attendance this year was 126 members and guests. Included in this number were 14 first time attendees.

We seated a new Board of Directors in October. We had two members who stepped down. Mike Snyder left the board after 15 years of dedicated service. Mike served as our Historian for 13 years and as President for 2 years. Mike, thank you for your dedication to the Association. Ed Krenck stepped down after 3 years on the board. Ed served as a Director for 1 year and 2 years as our Chaplain. Ed, thank you for your service. We also welcomed 3 new board members, Dwight Chipperfield, Cameron Shearon and Randy Scallan. Your 2015 board is as listed in the heading of this bulletin. Additionally, the Service Officer is Chuck Weber. Feel free to contact any of them with your questions or concerns.

We currently have our 2015 Reunion location area identified. Liz and Randy Scallan have graciously volunteered to host our reunion in the San Antonio TX area. Our charter sets our recommended reunion timeframe is between mid-September and mid-October and notifications will be sent out as details become firm.

For quite some time the Board of Directors have discussed involving the ladies in the functions of the association. During our Reno reunion two of the wives, Bethany Gray and Regenia Clemons, stepped forward and offered to work on setting this idea into motion. I guess they were tired of hearing the same sea stories every year. As we get closer to the San Antonio reunion additional details will be made known.

Membership in a last man standing group is always a problem, since we aren’t growing our own anymore. Realizing this, Dwight Chipperfield has stepped up and volunteered to head up the membership committee. This committee is just getting put in place so we will see the fruits of their labor in the future. While Dwight is heading up the committee we are all a part of bringing new members into the association.

Tom Salisbury

NNWA President

P.S. For those of you that collect hat and lapel pins you might want to check out the following website to collect a Cold War Patriot National Day of Remembrance Pin - It is Free!!!

http://www.coldwarpatriots.org/about/national-day-of-rememberance-pin/

If you join the Cold War Patriots, a community of former nuclear and uranium workers, which is free you get a coin:

http://www.coldwarpatriots.org/ppc-coin

Vice-President’s Message

I welcome all new and returning members to the NNWA. Please feel free to contact me any time if there is any way I can be of help to you.  My number is listed above. My email is:  

      frankcantrell@msn.com

I urge all hands to review the NNWA By-Laws and the SOP/PDL, which are currently being updated, for any input you may have.

I am looking forward to seeing you all in San Antonio, TX in October.

Frank

Secretary’s Message

Fellow Nuclear Weaponsmen,

 The association’s annual reunion was held at the Ramada Inn Hotel in Reno, NV from 5- 10 OCT 2014. It was hosted by Diana Ballard. She organized numerous interesting tours of the local area and ensured all events ran as smoothly as possible. Member pictures taken during the reunion are posted on the NNWA website.

 The Annual Business Meeting was held on 10 October during the reunion. Commencing with this issue the Annual Business Meeting Minutes will not be published in the bulletin. However, they are available in the members section of the NNWA website. Our membership list and other items are also posted on the website in the “Members Only” area. This part of the website requires a password. If you do not have it please email myself or any other board member and we will send it to you. Members are encouraged to read the minutes to stay abreast of what your association is doing.

 Probably the biggest item of interest is that in 2015 the 30th reunion of the NNWA will be held in:

             Region:            Central US

            Location:         San Antonio, Texas

            Host:               Randall and Liz Scallan

 Additionally, in 2016 the 31st reunion will be held in:

             Region:            Eastern US

            Location:         Indianapolis, Indiana

            Host:               Guy and Regenia Clemons

I am new in the secretary position so I have a lot of OJT to do. If you feel I am missing or not doing something that the position requires, please send me an email telling me what it is, no page, paragraph, or reference of my deficiency is required. 

 Lastly, I want to thank Tom Salisbury for his service as the association’s secretary over the last year. The association will be well served by having him as president for well into the future.

 All the Best,

John

Treasurer’s Message

As the Treasurer and the keeper of the roster let me welcome the new and reinstated members since our last newsletter. We have (26) new members and (35) reinstated members for 2014, the best for several years.

Crawford, William D.      Ooten, William H.      McDonald, Bruce E.        Larson, Dean R.

Mattero, Francis P.          Clark, Brian R.             Jolly, Gayle F.                 Vechil, John “Jack” M.

Erwin, Phillip P.              Adams, Michael S.      McClure, David R.          Davis, John L.

Clairmont, Donald J.       Donley, Arthur J.         Gillip, Raymond R.         McDowell, Gary S.

Hill, Bruce C.                  Blevins, Kenneth W.   Spaulding, Ronald W.     Eltringham, Norman S.

Mallery, James R.           Simpson, John R.         Malir, Larry D.                Prater, Daniel E.

Sprague, Michael J.         Young, Mike D.            Lynch, Patrick T              Wright, Lester H.

Andrijeski, Arnold H.

 We now have 751 members listed on the membership roster, 351 members in good standing, 50 life members (spouses of deceased members), 250 past members (members with unpaid dues for more than three years), 98 members with dues in arrears, 1 honorary member (NAAV) and1 Gray Dragon who is relieved of annual dues.

 Past members do not receive news letters or reunion information until their dues are brought up to date. Membership is $10.00 per year. Past members can be reinstated by sending $10.00 reinstatement fee plus $10.00 for each year they wish to pay their dues. This is an effective policy due to the cost of mailing newsletters and reunion information.

 If you are unsure whether your dues are up to date and receive your newsletter by mail. The date in the upper right corner of the mailing shows the month and year to which your dues are paid. If you receive your newsletter electronically and wish to know your dues date, log onto our website (www.navynucweps.com). You must have a password provided by our web master or any member of the board. The dues date will be listed in the date column on the right of your name on the membership roster. Some members find it convenient to pay their dues several years in advance. This can save you postage and the Treasurer, Secretary, and Web Master a considerable amount of time in processing payment.

 The following members have now been listed as past members because their dues being in the arrears for more than three years:

 Allen, James D.               Hardt, Hugo A.              McNalis, James J.         Obley, Jeffery B

Ruff, David D.                 Whitfield, George C.     Bradford, Anthony           Lancaster, Anthony E.

Moore, Jr. Anthony E.     Read, Travis                    Rutledge, Michael B.       Yuhas, Barry J.

Gramando, Joseph A.       McGee, James W.         Nixon, Gary C.              Reinertsen, Jr. Frank B.

Walls, Larry W.                Zeoll, George

If you know the status of any of these members please notify the Treasurer or any member of the board and encourage them to bring their dues up to date.

The current membership roster is posted on our website. Members not on line can request a hard copy by calling or writing me at:

             Frank M. Kelly

            1087 Frank Kelly Rd.

            Society, Hill S.C. 29593

Phone: 843-378-4026 or cell: 843-307-1611

Again for the survival it is imperative that we keep our roster up to date. Some members have indicated that they are not receiving our newsletters. If not then e-mail, write, or call, our Secretary John Gray a note and he will ensure that one is provided. Please review the roster and notify the Treasurer or the Webmaster of any changes to your status.

We now have $21,942.51 on account with Wells Fargo with no outstanding debts.

Frank M. Kelly

Treasurer and Keeper of the Roster

Chaplain’s Message

Greetings shipmates from your chaplain, Rev. Randy Scallan.  It is my honor to serve our members. I am ordained and licensed in the state of Texas. The primary responsibility of this position is ministering to our shipmates that are dealing with illness or other life events where our fellow members might be of spiritual support for one another. If you are aware of anyone who should be contacted, please send a message to me or to any other board member and they will pass it to me. Another duty is to assist in maintaining a list of any shipmates/members who have passed away since our last reunion. Again, we ask your to help in this matter by sending a note in the same manner when you learn of someone’s passing.  I am also available to perform weddings or restatement of vows during our events as some have expressed possible interest. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all!

Historian’s Message

B43 nuclear bomb

The B43 was a United States air-dropped variable yield nuclear weapon used by a wide variety of fighter bomber and bomber aircraft.

The B43 was developed from 1956 by Los Alamos National Laboratory, entering production in 1959. It entered service in April 1961. Total production was 2,000 weapons, ending in 1965. Some variants were parachute-retarded and featured a ribbon parachute.

The B43 was built in two variants, Mod 1 and Mod 2. Depending on version, the B43 was 18 inches (45 cm) in diameter, and length was between 12 ft 6 in and 13 ft 8 in (3.81 m and 4.15 m). The various versions weighed between 2,060 lb and 2,125 lb (935 kg to 960 kg). It could be delivered at altitudes as low as 300 ft (90 m), with fusing options for airburst, ground burst, free fall, contact, or laydown delivery.

Delivery systems:

Carrier aircraft included most USAF, USN and USMC fighters, bombers and attack aircraft, including the A-3 Sky warrior, A-4 Skyhawk, A-5 Vigilante, A-6 Intruder, A-7 Corsair II, B-47 Strat jet, B-52 Strat fortress, F-100 Super Sabre, F-105 Thunder chief, F-4 Phantom II, F-104 Starfighter, FB-111A strategic bomber variant, F-15E Strike Eagle, F-16 Fighting Falcon and the F/A-18 Hornet. The B-1B Lancer was also intended to carry the B43, though it remains unclear whether this particular aircraft was ever type-approved to carry the B43 prior to the B-1's reassignment to conventional strike roles.

Service Officer’s Message

Chuck Weber serves as the NNWA Service Officer. He regularly posts information regarding veteran’s benefits on the NNWA website. Chuck encourages members to contact him with questions and concerns regarding their service related benefits. His email is:

serviceofficer@navynucweps.com

Membership Committee

As mentioned in the Presidents message, if we are to keep this organization alive we need to add new members. I have volunteered to chair the membership committee. Richard Gurule has also offered his assistance. I would like to add two more members to this committee. If you are interested in serving with us please contact me. Also if anyone has any ideas that might help us I would like to hear them.

I believe one of the best ways to increase our membership is through personal invitation. We all probably have contact with a few of our past shipmates. Please tell them about the NNWA and your experiences at the reunions. Ask them to join and invite them to an upcoming reunion. Maybe send them an e mail with a link to the web site.

Thank you,

Dwight Chipperfield

Ladies Axillary

Ladies,

This year the president has asked us to see if there is any interest in having an organized ladies group. For the time being we are calling it the "Ladies Axillary" for the lack of a better name even though we will not be an officially sanctioned component of the NNWA.

The purpose of the group would be to help with activities at the annual NNWA reunion, such as aiding with the dinner-dance raffle ticket sales. We could also organize various activities to keep us entertained while the men reminisce about their military service. Possible ideas are to play some games such as euchre, rummy, Rummy Cube, acey-deucy, or dominoes. Maybe we could organize small tournaments if there is enough interest. Other possible ideas are to work with the host for the upcoming reunion to help select tours that may be of interest to the ladies. We might help the reunion host in food preparation in the hospitality room. If there is enough interest we could set up activities or side excursions separate from the men.

These are all just ideas to help the wives have a more interesting and entertaining experience at our annual get-togethers. If you have feedback on the ideas listed above or have any other suggestions we would like to hear them. Please email us directly, our contact information is:

Bethany Gray:           Bethany.a.gray@wavecable.com

Regenia Clemons:      askthechiefswife90@yahoo.com         

Upcoming Reunion Information

While not yet set in stone, the following information on the 2015 reunion has been provided by the reunion coordinator to show what is being considered. Proposed tours include:

-          San Antonio City tour visiting the Spanish Governor’s Palace, San Fernando Cathedral and the Mexican Market.

-          Fredericksburg, Texas; a town settled by German immigrants in the early 1800’s. It is rich with heritage. There are numerous historical buildings, shops, and restaurants along the main streets.

-          The missions and river of San Antonio, visiting the Mission San Jose to tour the Indians’ quarters that were located within the walls as well as the Spanish soldiers’ quarters. Back in the main part of downtown, we will take our boat ride in the main loop of the river.  This 45 minute boat ride lets you see the city from a totally new perspective.

The proposed hotel is the La Quinta Inn and Suites Conference Center which is situated in San Antonio off of exit I-10 and only ten minutes from the San Antonio International Airport. The hotel is close to several major highways and an abundance of nearby attractions, shopping and activities. It is only a 10 minute drive from downtown San Antonio’s Riverwalk.

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