My time as your CO is fast coming to an end. Soon you will have a new chain-of-command. Some current officers are going to serve another year. I thank them for the service they have given while I was the CO. They are so important to the efficient running of the squadron. For many their service to the squadron is behind the scenes. Again, I thank them.

The slate of Squadron officer nominees is listed elsewhere in this OP-Plan. Please review it. You will be asked vote for them at the November meeting. Now, I want to thank all of our Squadron members who have volunteer to fill many vacated positions. These individuals have stepped forward and have agreed to take on the burden of critical positions that are absolutely necessary for your Squadron to operate as you, the members, know it.

I hope to see all of you at the October luncheon meeting. The speaker, Commander Michael USN, has an interesting and informative presentation on the U.S. Navy’s Pacific Ocean tsunami relief effort. He gave this presentation at the ANA Reunion/Meeting and all who attended found it very inspiring.

The field trip to the Ronald Reagan Library originally scheduled for Wednesday, Oct 26 has been postponed until Wednesday, Jan 11. The new Air Force One Pavilion opening has been delayed until Oct 24 due to construction problems. The earliest a group our size could be accommodated was a few days before Christmas. Jim Menees and I decided that we should steer clear of the holidays and accordingly I have scheduled us for a tour on Wednesday, Jan 11.

I have not cashed any of the checks. Please let me know if you still want to go on Jan 11 and if you do, I will hang on to the checks. If you cannot make Jan 11, let me know what you want done with the checks. It would be easiest for me to rip them up but I would gladly return them should you desire.

All the trip plans remain the same, i.e. leave the Elks Lodge at 0900 and return at 2000. Bus and dinner reservations have been changed. Since there has been such an interest in this trip (67 to date), I have arranged for a second bus so those of you that have asked about bringing friends, please do. Our private dinner room can accommodate up to 100.

Since we have a private dining room at the Odyssey and time for a leisurely cocktail and dinner, I will have a microphone available so that you can pass on a 3 minute SEA STORY to the group. I have heard so many good short punchy ones at the luncheons that I thought a wider audience should enjoy!!!

Our speaker for December is LtCol Joe Ruthenberg, USMC, who is currently the Commanding Officer of the Marine Junior ROTC Unit at Orange High School. Joe’s flying career was in helicopters and for a period he was assigned to fly Marine One in which he had the privilege of flying President Ronald Reagan. It will be interesting to learn what precautions and what potential evasive actions are required when transporting a president.

Guest Speaker - CDR Frank J. Michael III, Helo Tsunami

By Dr. Dick Fields, Public Affairs Officer

Grampaw Pettibone was honored to have two special guests, our speaker CDR Frank J. Michael III and his son John, a tenth grade student who ran the slide show for his dad. CDR Michael is a Navy helicopter pilot and the commanding officer of HSL-47 (Helicopter Antisubmarine Squadron Light), the Saberhawks based at North Island. His unit was aboard the U.S.S. Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) that was docked at Hong Kong when the tsunami hit Indonesia. His ship was immediately dispatched to the stricken area of Sumatra and arrived in record (classified) time. They surveyed the devastation and supplied the survivors with food, water and other necessities. Although there was a tremendous death toll, most victims were either dead or only slightly injured. There was little in between. Although a few victims were medevac-ed out, supply was the overwhelming part of their duties. The nuclear powerplant of the carrier provided fresh water which was used to fill large plastic containers that were taken to the victims by helicopter along with food supplies.

The road that connected the cities along the coast was useless since most of the bridges were destroyed and air was the only route into the disaster area. The pictures of the devastation were stunning. There was nothing left except for mosques! All homes and business buildings were destroyed all the way back to high terrain. His team flew 100 hours per month, alternating flying 12 hour per day with one day off.
The reaction of the victims was fascinating --- some were orderly, while others mobbed the rescuers. At some locations supplies were off-loaded at a hover because of the crowds. All seemed grateful and friendly to our troops for their efforts, however. Reports that our troops were turned away by local military were not experienced by his team. The victims even fabricated welcome signs and American Flags to wave at our troops! CDR Michael stated that polls taken before and after the tsunami revealed that before the event 80% of the Indonesians supported bin Laden, while afterwards the numbers had reversed and 80% supported the United States position against bin Laden.

The second part of the presentation covered the response of the Navy helicopters to the Katrina disaster in New Orleans. His team recovered about 1000 stranded victims from rooftops and windows. His pictures showed the tremendous inundation that had buildings immersed up to their rooftops. 80% of the city was under water. Many homes had been floated off their foundations and had been washed to new locations. The entire delta fishing fleet was destroyed, with boats washed up and broken on land after the water receded. Many of these people had their entire lives wrapped up in their fishing business. The media reported gunfire from looters was real --- they were under orders to leave when gunfire was detected and did so. It was of interest that the appreciation of the victims who were rescued was not mentioned in the case of New Orleans.

Son John had the opportunity to meet and talk with many of our members and was a big help to his dad. I hope he enjoyed our company as much as we enjoyed his. We thank CDR Michael for his excellent presentation that gave us insight into the reality of both these operations.

Membership:

 by: Fran Pieri, Membership Officer

I want to thank those of you who brought a new guest to the GRAMPS luncheon. I hope they were impressed with the camaraderie of everyone in the squadron. If they were, see if they liked our speaker and his experience in the Navy's participation in the tsunami rescue.

How about the lunch? I don't know of anyone who has gotten a bad meal there. If so; then sign-em-up. Always give them an Op-Plan and be sure to do follow up. I always have extra issues and will be glad to mail one to them.

Those of you who have brought a guest in the past few months, check with them again and see if they are still interested. There is always an ANA membership application in every Op-Plan. Remember; no one has to have had previous military service to join the GRAMPS squadron. Happy Halloween to all and keep the blue side up!

Election of Officers:

  Time for Election of the 2006 Squadron Officers     The slate of 2006 Squadron officer nominees was listed in the October OP-Plan. Be prepared to vote on 2006 Squadron officer nominees at the November meeting. The nominees are as follows:  

• Commanding Officer   Melvin E. (Mel) Locke  
• Executive Officer   Joseph L. (Bud) Kretsinger  
• Operations Officer   Dr. John J. (Jack) Baird  
• Asst. OPS Officer   Earl F. Skinner  
• Membership Officer   Francis P. (Fran) Pieri  
• Asst. Membership, Recruiting   Timothy D. (Tim) Brown  
• Treasurer   Charles J. (Andy) Andresen
• Asst. Treasurer   Dolores M. Hardy  
• Public Affairs Officer   Dr. Richard S. (Dick) Fields  
• Asst. Public Affairs   Ray E. LeCompte  
• Admin & OP-Plan Editor   Robert (Bob) Fornesi  
• Personnel & OP-Plan   Peri Tooker  
• OP-Plan Distribution   Lorraine C. Dadamo  
• Quarter Deck Officer   Lorin R. (Larry) Lammers  
• Flight Surgeon   Dr. Robert N. (Bob) Helton
• Special Projects Officer   Andrew S, (Andy) Gilcrest  

Flight test research will be the subject of the monthly special event at The Air Museum, "Planes of Fame" on the Chino Airport on Saturday, November 5th, 2005. Historic and rare aircraft, like the N9MB Flying Wing, will be in action over the Chino Airport, during the event. The event begins at 10:00 a.m. with a seminar and conclude with a Warbird flight demonstration. For more INFO about the museum, call (909) 597 3722 or the website at www.planesoffame.org . Hope to see you there .