Rocky Mountain Navy Association Newsletter May 2017 by James Garrett

Rocky Mountain Navy Association

News The Rocky Mountain Navy Association (RMNA) is a not-for-profit, organization to promote the United States Navy and the Naval Reserve in the local community. Specific out reach efforts have been extended to civic organizations, educational institutions, and the business community. RMNA also provides mission support to the local recruiting command and offers a wide variety of professional development assistance programs to the naval reserve community. Newsletter Contact: James Garrett, CAPT, USNR (Ret.), garrettj3745@yahoo.com This is an interactive newsletter so Click on underlined inks or photos for websites for more information Vol. 2 Issue 5

May 2017

This newsletter is posted online to our website at (www.navrescolorado.org) and Facebook page at (https://www.facebook.com/RockyMountainNavyAssociation/)

RMNA Interests and Activities Denver Council of Navy League https://www.facebook.com/Denver-Navy-League-295522804808/ Colorado ESGR

https://www.facebook.com/colorado.esgr.1

Navy Recruiting District Denver http://www.cnrc.navy.mil/Denver/ Navy Reserve Officers Training Corps (NROTC) http://www.nrotc.navy.mil/ U. S. Naval Academy Blue and Gold http://www.usna.edu/Admissions/BGO/ USS Colorado (SSN 788) Commissioning Committee http://usscoloradocommittee.org/ Members Annual Golf Tournament Do you have an idea or a success story to share? Maybe you’ve heard of an upcoming event that we should all support. Send me your ideas @ garrettj3745@yahoo.com. There are so many interesting experiences and opportunities to learn and our newsletter is just one way that information can be shared.

“You can always count on Americans to do the right thing - after they've Video…. tried everything else.”- Winston Churchill (Died: January 24, 1965, age 90) Click on links or photos for websites for more information

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Reminding you of next monthly RMNA Luncheon at the American Legion Post, 5400 East Yale, Denver (southeast corner of I-25 and Yale), on Wednesday, June 7th, gathering around 11:30 a.m. Guest speaker will be author, Dennis Koller (See page 2 for more info.)

Guest Speaker I was born and raised in San Francisco. My father was in the Navy, so I grew up on naval folklore. I graduated from St. Mary's College of California with a degree in Philosophy. I was married and teaching in college during Vietnam (peaceful ones, thank God). Since I was teaching, I qualified for a deferment, and then never won (or lost as the case may be) the draft lottery. I spent most of my career in collegiate administration. I also spent five years as the Executive Director of the SS Jeremiah O'Brien, a WWII Liberty Ship berthed at Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco. It was my great fortune to meet many Navy folk in that job and was invited to join the Naval Order and the Navy League. (The Oath, by the way, was on the "Recommended Read" page of the Naval Order of the United States web-site.). I wrote and electronically published The Oath in 2014, with the paperback edition published in 2016. The Oath just won the prestigious 2016 BAIPA Book Award for Best Fiction. I have two other novels published: Kissed By The Snow and The Custer Conspiracy. I hope to have my newest mystery-thriller (as of yet untitled) ready for publication in the late fall.

Biography - (Amazon.com) After many years as a senior level marketing administrator at California colleges and universities, Dennis Koller began his career as a full-time writer in 2013. He published his mystery-thriller "Kissed Bio... By The Snow" in the fall of 2014. In May of 2016, his political mystery-thriller, "The Oath", was released in hard-copy. "The Oath" was honored to win the prestigious 2016 BAIPA Book Award for Fiction. Koller's newest political mystery-thriller, "The Custer Conspiracy", was published in October of 2016. In January of 2017, it received the great honor of being reviewed by Publishers Weekly. Mr. Koller holds a undergraduate degree in Philosophy and a graduate degree in Business Administration, both from Saint Mary's College of California. He is published by Pen Books and lives in the San Francisco Bay Area. www.denniskoller.com

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Lest We Forget To the Brink of Armageddon— Proceedings Magazine, May 2017, Vol 143/5/1371 Seeking something less than overt combat actions—which were being pressed by many of his advisors—that nonetheless would send a strong message of resolve, Kennedy opted for a combination of limited power projection and deterrence. Foremost in this strategy was the implementation of a naval blockade (calling it a “quarantine” in a semantic maneuver to make it less an “act of war” in diplomatic parlance). Designated Task Force 136, 12 destroyers were fanned out along a great arc that provided the initial “trip wire” of the quarantine. This picket line was backed by the carrier USS Essex (CV-9) and five more destroyers. More than 30 additional ships—including several attack carriers—formed a strike group, designated Task Force 135, that would go into action if needed. The rules of engagement called for an intercepting destroyer to take up a position close aboard an approaching ship, and to hoist international signals meaning “heave to immediately” while also attempting to communicate by radio and loudspeaker. Each destroyer had a Russian linguist embarked to facilitate the process. If the intercepted ship failed to stop, the destroyer was authorized to fire warning shots across her bow. If she still refused to stop, the destroyer was to attempt to disable her with minimal damage—i.e., attempt to shoot out her rudder. If attempts to board were resisted, the destroyer was to destroy the ship. If a Soviet submarine were detected, it was to be forced to the surface, using practice depth charges if necessary. To say that the potential for disaster loomed large is a bit of an understatement. Fortunately, both sides seemed acutely aware of the potential danger, and for the most part, level heads Bio... prevailed. While tension was constant throughout the crisis, one of the most dangerous moments occurred when a Soviet submarine captain came close to bringing on the dreaded World War III. Detected and “hounded” by U.S. destroyers, Captain 2nd Rank Valentin Savitsky’s diesel submarine B-59 was running out of air and her batteries were running out of charge. Unable to communicate with Moscow, and with members of his crew passing out one after another, Savitsky began to lose his composure. Unknown to the Americans at the time, Soviet submarines were equipped with a nuclear torpedo, and the harried captain ordered the weapon to be prepared for firing. With the nuclear torpedo loaded into a launch tube and armed to fire, Savitsky ranted, “Maybe the war has already started up there,” adding, “We’re going to blast them now! We will die, but we will sink them all.” Fortunately for Savitsky—and the world—the stressed captain calmed down and opted to peacefully surface his boat. As they emerged from the depths, the Russians found a jazz band playing on deck on one of the destroyers, which likely eased some of the tension. What became known as the Cuban Missile Crisis ended when the Soviets agreed to remove the missiles from Cuba. While many factors contributed to the successful outcome of the crisis, a key element was the President’s ability to ante up a credible naval force that could serve on the front line, combining strength with restraint as two superpowers went to “the brink” and back. Lieutenant Commander Cutler is the author of several Naval Institute Press books, including A Sailor’s History of the U.S. Navy and The Battle of Leyte Gulf, and is the U.S. Naval Institute Gordon England Chair of Professional Naval Literature.

VIDEO: China Launches First Domestic Aircraft Carrier By: Sam LaGrone April 26, 2017 7:26 AM • Updated: April 26, 2017 12:28 PM

China has launched its first domestically built aircraft carrier in a ceremony at a northern Chinese shipyard on Wednesday. The 50,000-ton Type-001A carrier was launched in a flurry of ticker tape and confetti from its dry dock at the Dalian Shipyard just after 9 A.M. local time on Wednesday (9 P.M. EDT, Tuesday). “A bottle of champagne was broken on the aircraft carrier as a customary way of blessing the ship,” read a statement f ro m the C h i n e se Na t io n a l Ministry of Defense. “After that, the new aircraft carrier was slowly towed out of the dockyard and transferred to the wharf.” The Type-001A is based on the Kuznetsov-class Russian carrier Liaoning, the incomplete aircraft carrier Beijing bought in 1998, refurbished and commissioned in 2012. Merchandise……..

Read More…... May 9th, 2017

“In 1984, as the Cold War raged on the oceans of the world, the U.S. Naval Institute published Tom Clancy’s first and best novel, The Hunt for Red October . While the plot was fanciful (a defecting Soviet nuclear submarine), the backdrop was deadly serious. At that point in history, the massive battle fleets of the United States and its NATO allies were in daily aggressive contact with the warships of the Soviet Union and its Warsaw Pact. Cut to today: U.S.–Russian relations are worse than at any point since the end of the Cold War, fueled by profound and seemingly intractable differences over cyber intrusion in the U.S. election, Russian support for the war criminal Bashar al-Assad in Syria, and above all, by the invasion of Ukraine and annexation of Crimea by Vladimir Putin. While we are not quite yet in a full blown “Cold War,” the outlines of one are emerging, and an important scenario will be at sea. We have seen repeated Russian aggression against U.S. and NATO warships and aircraft operating on, under, and above international waters. This is particularly pronounced in the Baltic, Black, and the eastern Mediterranean seas. Bio... There have been dozens of close encounters over the past two years, and as tensions rise over Syria and the use of chemical weapons by Assad, Russia has been quick to use its naval forces to challenge the United States and its allies. How will a new Cold War play out at sea, and what should we do to prepare? …….”

Colorado Legislative Report from Mile High MOAA

To All: It is with great disappointment that I must let you know SB17-075, Military Retirement Benefits Income Tax Exemption, "died" in the House just before the end of the 2017 General Assembly session. The bill passed the House Finance Committee about 10 days back. The Finance Committee amended the bill (with a $20,000 cap and available to military retirees younger than age 55 with a three year phase in), and then referred the bill to House Appropriations. House Appropriations "killed" the bill by not scheduling it for a vote before the end of the session. According to the UVC lobbyists, the concern from House Democrat leadership (caucus) was the out-year fiscal note - estimated to be about $8M a year (less General Fund revenue) when fully phased-in...and that in a $27B annual state budget! The UVC may consider finding sponsors to re-introduce the bill next session. Thank you to each and everyone who responded to our "calls to action" and requests to provide testimony before both the Senate and House Finance Committees. Your efforts really did make a difference in carrying the bill even farther than it went last year. I also want to recognize and thank Sen. Larry Crowder, Rep. Lois Landgraf and Speaker Pro Tem Jessie Danielson for introducing and sponsoring the bill. Should you have any contact with them, please let them know how much their sponsorship and support is appreciated. On the positive side-the bill to allow college credit for military/training passed the conference committee today and will likely be passed by both the Senate and House tomorrow - last day of the 2017 General Session. The same is true for the bill to sell 55 acres of adjacent state land to the VA for expansion of Fort Logan National Cemetery. Again, thank you for all your support and encouragement as we worked on SB17-075. Regards, Shelly Kalkowski, Lt Col (ret), USAF Immediate Past President, Colorado Council MOAA

http://mh-moaa.org/Legislative.html http://mh-moaa.org/index.html