Navy: First Line of Defense

After discussion of the U.S. Navy post-WWI fleet and the innovations creatively applied by the Navy to develop a "Navy Second to None" despite (or because of) treaty limitations on Midrats: The General Board - here's a look at the 1935 Navy . . . among them a "floating nest of fighting eagles."

Only a couple of more days to donate to Valour IT:
Team Navy

Navy Training

Some people's boot camp went better than others.




Now will you drop a couple of bucks in the direction of Valour IT?

Team Navy

Old Navigator Pron: Star Identification

Back in the days before Satnav, Omega, Loran - it was the navigation team's job to pick out the stars and get a good celestial fix so the ship's position could be determined and bad things like reefs and islands avoided.

Somewhere I hope QM2 Sprague and my old navigation gang are enjoying the lifetime worth of beers they earned as we naviguessed our way about the Western Pacific and those other waters as we found Fiji and New Zealand right where they were supposed to be. No navigator ever had a better set of QMs and I hope I told them that at the time.

Now, my dad was an Air Force navigator who was curious about the "Navy Way" of navigation and was surprised to learn we didn't use bubble sextants and only shot stars at dawn and dusk (except for sun lines, of course). I told him our ships didn't go fast enough for more frequent fixes to make much difference, unlike his aircraft.



Now for the bad pun - it's your chance to be a star and shine by donating to Valour IT and helping wounded soldiers, sailors and Marines (see here).

Team Navy

Gun Pron: Big Gun Training

Well, if it takes gun pron, it takes gun pron:

Now will you drop a couple of bucks in the direction of Valour IT?

Team Navy

Thanks!

"Destroyermen" - 1970's style

Please donate to Valour-IT. See here.
Team Navy

Look out, I may be forced to show the exciting film, "The Kingsbury Thrust Bearing" down the road.

UPDATE: I should note that the film above represents a very different Navy than the one those of us who participated in the Gulf of Tonkin Yacht Club knew.

Voice Activated Laptops for Our Wounded Warriors

It is vitrual certainty that you are reading this on a computer or other electronic device. In order to get to this blog and to this post, most of you had to do something with your hands, whether it was clicking a mouse button or typing a few letters. Most of you send and receive email, tweets or IMs or make calls on your computer during the course of the day, Many of you play games on your computer or on other devices. Many of you track the news, listen to music, watch videos - all on computers. All using while using fingers and hands to click and keyboard.

Now, imagine that you have lost the use of your hands. Or your eyes.  Imagine that all the electronic connectedness that you have grown used to - well, it's still there, but your ability to tap into is suddenly gone.

No emails from family, no exchange of tweets with friends, no - well - nothing like life used to be. No easy internet searches, no fast shifts of music or videos.

Would that have much impact on your life?

A couple of weeks ago I met the parents of a college kid who were happy that their son was back in school and doing well. It seems that while on a trip some place he dove into water that was shallower than he thought and had done severe damage to his spinal cord. Basically paralyzed him except that he was breathing and thinking and trapped in a body that no longer served him as it once did. His parents say that before the accident he was quite the athlete with an academic scholarship to some fine school. Months of recovery have brought him some relief, some hope. But the biggest boost to this young man was that he gained the ability to use a computer by voice control. Now he takes on line college classes and he is back in the world around him - not totally dependent on someone else. It's a little freedom and a little victory for which he and his parents are immensely thankful.

I mentioned to them that some people were actively engaged in trying to do for our injured Soldiers, Marines and Sailors what they had been able to provide for their son - provide voice activated laptops to allow them to rejoin the electronic world - Project Valour-IT is path through which you and I can help some wounded warriors get back a little of the world they were temporarily missing.

Here are some facts about the program (if you want more information about Soldiers' Angels, go here and for more info on Project Valour-IT, go here):

As the number of American Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines suffering battlefield wounds continues to grow, today’s economic challenges continue to squeeze military support nonprofits. Project Valour-IT—which has supplied over 6,000 severely wounded Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines with adaptive laptops and other devices to aid their recovery and reintegration—is addressing that squeeze with a fundraising technique it pioneered: online competition.

Held July 1-14, the Valour-IT fundraising competition will draw on blogging, Facebook, Twitter and other social media to raise money and awareness for the needs of wounded troops. Divided among four “virtual teams” named in honor of U.S. military service branches, participants will also use flyers, word-of-mouth and traditional media outlets to spread the word. The goal is to raise at least $100,000, which will meet increased demand for Valour-IT services through October 2011.

“Project Valour-IT changes lives,” says Soldiers’ Angels founder Patti Patton-Bader. “Wounded heroes report that being able to use a laptop helps them feel whole again. Physical therapists are actually designing therapy sessions around Wii Sports! And something as normal as a handheld GPS reduces stress and helps a hero cope. It’s just amazing what this project does!”

Each of the devices Valour-IT supplies helps restore confidence and independence for a wounded hero. Voice-activated laptops reconnect the wounded with the world and develop self-confidence by showing soldiers they can continue to be engaged and productive despite their injuries. Servicemembers also use the laptops to research their medical care or prepare for a post-military career. Physical therapists report Wii Sports is extremely motivational and beneficial when used in physical therapy settings, and wounded personnel with short-term memory loss due to TBI (Traumatic Brain Injury) and severe PTSD use GPS systems to keep from getting lost or disoriented when they move on to more independent living.

So, there's the pitch. Over the next couple of weeks the goal is to raise $100,000 and allow Valour-IT to do more of what it has been doing. You can help - just click on the link below and donate a little money to this worthy cause. It may be tax deductible and all that the best part is that you will know that you did a little something for those young men and women who have given something of themselves.

Now, you may notice that I am a member of Team Navy (which this year also includes the Coast Guard) which part of a friendly inter-service competition. There are other teams that you can give to, and you find them linked even at the site below:

Team Navy

Got a maritime oriented business? What better way to say "thanks" to those who are keeping the sea lanes open then making a donation to this cause?

Thanks!

Laptops for Wounded Servicemen and Women

Over there on the right is one of those thermometers that scores donations made to Project VALOUR-IT which has a mission:

Project Valour-IT, in memory of SFC William V. Ziegenfuss, helps provide voice-controlled/adaptive laptop computers and other technology to support Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines recovering from hand wounds and other severe injuries. Technology supplied includes:

•  Voice-controlled Laptops - Operated by speaking into a microphone or using other adaptive technologies, they allow the wounded to maintain connections with the rest of the world during recovery.

• Wii Video Game Systems - Whole-body game systems increase motivation and speed recovery when used under the guidance of physical therapists in therapy sessions (donated only to medical facilities).

• Personal GPS - Handheld GPS devices build self-confidence and independence by compensating for short-term memory loss and organizational challenges related to severe TBI and severe PTSD.

 

 I know these are some tough times, but it's even tougher if you've wounded and are trying to find a way to enjoy that which you used to take for granted. Please make a donation to this cause.

If you choose to support the "Navy Team," great, but that's a friendly competition - the key thing is to support your troops who have been out there laying it all on the line in your name.

Thank you!



Sticky - new posts below

Valour-IT

Donate to Valour-IT.




UPDATE: Auction on eBay for all sorts of goodies to benefit Valour-IT here for all of you who want some choice items.

Project Valour-IT: Join the Navy!

Hey, this is a commercial.

No, not for me.

For something way bigger than me - something to help wounded Sailors, Marines, Soldiers and Airmen. It's just a request for donations to help provide our wounded with a means of communications - a way to join in the conversation through the use of laptop computers with programs that let them surf the web, send emails to loved ones . . .

Yes, we're talking about -

Project Valour-IT

In memory of SFC William V. Ziegenfuss

It was the first time I felt whole since I’d woken up wounded in Landstuhl.
–Major Charles "Chuck" Ziegenfuss, on using a voice-controlled laptop

Every cent raised for Project Valour-IT goes directly to the purchase and shipment of laptops and other technology for severely wounded service members. As of October 2009, Valour-IT has distributed over 4100 laptops to severely wounded Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines across the country, and is now expanding its mission to include other technology that supports physical and psychological recovery.

Valour-IT accepts donations in any amount to support our mission, but also offers a sponsorship option for laptops. An individual or organization may sponsor a wounded soldier by completely funding the cost of a laptop and continuing to provide that soldier with personal support and encouragement throughout recovery. This has proved to be an excellent project for churches, groups of coworkers or friends, and members of community organizations such Boy Scouts.

Originally Valour-IT provided the voice-controlled software that accompanies the laptops, but now works closely with the Department of Defense Computer/electronic Accommodations Program (CAP): CAP supplies the adaptive software and Valour-IT provides the laptop. In addition, DoD caseworkers serve as Valour-IT’s “eyes and ears” at several medical centers, identifying patients in need of laptops and other technological support for their recovery. Wounded military personnel can also directly request a laptop through the sign-up form or through the Valour-IT/Soldiers' Angels representatives at the following medical centers, and other veterans health care facilities across the country:

* Balboa Naval Hospital

* Brooke Army Medical Center

* Madigan Regional Medical Center

* National Naval Medical Center (Bethesda Naval Hospital)

* Naval Hospital, Camp Pendleton

* Robert E. Bush Naval Hospital (29 Palms)

* Walter Reed Army Medical Center

I'm not much of a techie, but I do know that you can make a contribution to Project Valour-IT by going over to the Valour-IT "thermometer" thingie on the right and click on it to make a credit card donation. If you'd rather cut a check, then here's Boston Maggie's advice:

So you've looked at everything above and you've decided that you are not comfortable with clicking through to donate online.....no problem, here's the mailing info
Soldiers Angels
1792 E. Washington Blvd
Pasadena, CA 91104
I would simply request that you mark your check as being for #TeamNavy.

Got a blog? Join the Navy Team in this cause here. See also here.

Thank you!