Congratulations to the 5 Members having a birthday during February:
Donald (Don) Cheney, Ralph Emerson, Carnett Falconbury, David Hancock, Ed Martinez

An item that was discussed during the January Detachment meeting was the opportunity to once again provide a security detail for the Vancouver Elks’ fireworks tent. The Detachment took on this task last year and the Elks provided a donation to the Detachment for our services. Marine Rex Hopper has once again volunteered his services to coordinate this activity. Marine Hopper needs your support to make this a success and I hope that you will find the time to commit to standing a watch. The Detachment will provide security for the fireworks tent during the following times:
a) June 27th 1700 until 0900 June 28th (16 hours)
b) June 28th 2300 until 0900 June 29th (10 hours)
c) June 29th 2300 until 0900 June 30th (10 hours)
d) June 30th 2300 until 0900 July 1st (10 hours)
e) July 1st 2300 until 0900 July 2nd (10 hours)
f) July 2nd 2300 until 0900 July 3rd (10 hours)
g) July 3rd 2300 until 0900 July 4th (10 hours)
h) July 4th 2300 until 0900 July 5th (10 hours)
Marine Hopper needs members of the Detachment to volunteer to stand these watches. Please contact Rex at 360-254-6238 or e-mail grumpahopp@aol.com.

Our Junior Vice-Commandant, Marine Lou Basté, is still in need of your input for recognition awards. Many of our members are active in a wide variety of community and civic activities and we are not aware of these contributions to our community. If you know of a deserving member, please take the time to let Lou know.

Additionally, Marine Phil Ruhmshottel (360-892-2806 pimarine59@comcast.net ) needs nominations for Detachment Marine of the Year. The procedures and process for this nomination can be found on the Detachment web site on the announcement web page.

The recent earthquake event in Haiti reminds us all of how vulnerable we are to not only manmade disasters but also those of nature. As an advocate of bringing the USS Ranger to Portland, I received the following from a friend of mine, Ret. Capt. Tim Myer, USN, and I wanted to share it with you:

Lessons Learned From Haiti and Indonesia
The recent earthquake in Haiti brings back the terrible memories of the Indonesia earthquake and tsunami. A common thread links these two, and many other disasters together. As the USS Carl Vinson, a Navy aircraft carrier arrives in the waters off Haiti, we think back to Indonesia, where the USS Abraham Lincoln and its Air Wing, was one of the first ships to arrive on the scene. The tremendous capability of an aircraft carrier to provide rooms, water, food, hospital and operating rooms, a dental clinic, a communications platform, a Command and Control platform, and of course, an airfield to launch and recover helicopters, makes it a VERY valuable relief vessel. The USS Ranger Foundation (www.ussranger.org) has discussed bringing the decommissioned aircraft carrier to Portland as a (1) tourist attraction, (2) school house and (3) a survival platform to assist during both natural and man-made disasters. Ranger is approximately the same size as Vinson and Lincoln, and despite the fact that it is a decommissioned ship, it possesses many of the same survival attributes. It is easy to say, “That will never happen to us” or ”We are so much better prepared for an earthquake”, but the fact remains, the addition of Ranger would offer so much to the Portland economy and its disaster planning.

Semper Fidelis,

Michael Wilson
"The legitimate powers of government extend to such acts only as are injurious to others. But it does me no injury for my neighbor to say there are twenty gods, or no god. It neither picks my pocket nor breaks my leg." ~ Thomas Jefferson