Following up on the recent launch of my Go Navy Web site, I want to continue to communicate exciting news I see and hear from the press as well as from the many Navy friends I’ve made.
USS Eisenhower Rescue
A recent inspirational news item didn’t receive as much popular press as I thought it deserved. As its first 2010 deployment, the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (“Ike”) aircraft carrier assisted the U.S. Coast Guard in rescuing a stranded mariner whose sailboat was sinking fast off the coast of North Carolina, in “some of the biggest waves we’d ever seen,” according to helicopter aircraft Lt. Cmdr. Scott Pichette. The photo at right depicts the “Nightdippers” landing on Ike following their successful rescue mission.
I heard an interesting comment recently from a new acquaintance I’ve made through my Navy networking. “Fig” is a retired Sailor who now supports the installation of networking systems used onboard Navy ships. (Exciting stuff!) He commented: “One thing to remember, the warships do NOT belong to the Navy, the warships belong to YOU, Mr. and Mrs. Tax Payer. No kidding, this is very important.”
In other words, we’re all in this together. Whether it’s deploying a ship of 6,000 professionals to rescue one U.S. citizen, or sending the USS Carl Vinson to Haiti to support humanitarian operations, maybe that’s why our Sailors never seem to hesitate to put their own lives at risk to safeguard those of others.
Good work, my friends!
Tom Posey