COLD WAR BOATS FLEET SITREP: 17 JUL 2022

USS WILLIAM H. BATES (SSN 680), Diego Garcia, 1983

It is the fourth of July, and it seems both fitting and proper to remind you of what we do at Cold War Boats to honor the memory of those who gave so much to preserve the freedoms on which this country was founded and that have so long endured.

The Cold War Boats Association exists in service to the men who served on the submarines of the United States Navy Submarine Service during the forty-six years of the Cold War, those sailors that supported them, their families, friends, and associates.

The three-fold mission of the Association is:

• Assisting shipmates from years ago in reconnecting, simply, easily, and without compromising their privacy,
• Preserving the unclassified history of Cold War submarine crews and their boats in the form of photographs, stories, artifacts, and audio or video recordings, and
• Honoring the sailors and families who sacrificed so much to help bring an end to the Cold War.

Everything we do is aligned to these three precepts,

from the daily development of a complex, secure, and private website, to building an organization that can sustain these functions after those of us who served have finally shipped our oars.

If you served on a Cold War boat, the Cold War Boats Association exists for you!

If you were a spouse or family member of a Cold War submarine veteran, then the Association is for you as well.

If you supported Cold War submarines in deep submergence research, rescue, tenders, or the training pipeline, we couldn't have done it without you. You are welcome here.

As a friend or associate of a Cold War submarine veteran, what we did, we did for you, and those like you. You are also welcome here.

The Cold War Boats Association cannot function without your support. Your photographs, your sea stories, your artifacts, your financial contributions, your volunteer hours in tracking down missing shipmates or administering the hundreds of boats represented here are required for the Cold War Boats Association to pursue our mission.

Please forward this to a friend. If you received this from a friend, please register, and consider a becoming a Patron, Sponsor, or Contributor, or a volunteer to help us build the Cold War Boats Association.

Every hand helps, and remember, we are doing this for you!

USS RICHARD B. RUSSELL (SSN 687) departs Mare Island Naval Shipyard

• Date: 04JUL22
• From: Brad Williamson, Lead Administrator
• RE: Current activity on the coldwarboats.org website.
• •Eleven fully functional sites, including the USS WILLIAM H. BATES (SSN 680). (Located by menu items shaded light orange):
  • USS GRENADIER (SS 525)
  • USS NAUTILUS (SSN 571)
  • USS THEODORE ROOSEVELT (SSBN 600)
  • USS LAFAYETTE (SSBN 616)
  • USS STURGEON (SSN 637)
  • USS ASPRO (SSN 648)
  • USS FLYING FISH (SSN 673)
  • USS RICHARD B. RUSSELL (SSN 687)
  • USS BIRMINGHAM (SSN 695)
  • USSVI - USS HADDO Base (Cleveland, TN)

• Eleven sites currently under development. (Located by menu items shaded light yellow):
  • USS ATULE (SS 403)
  • USS BASS (SS 551)
  • USS HALIBUT (SSN 587)
  • USS HADDO (SSN 604)
  • USS PARGO (SSN 650)
  • USS PUFFER (SSN 652)
  • USS LEWIS AND CLARK (SSBN 644)
  • USS GEORGE C. MARSHALL (SSBN 654)
  • DSV3 TURTLE ⁃ USS BUSHNELL (AS 15)
  • SUBMARINE SCHOOL NEW LONDON CT
  • NPTU BALLSTON SPA NY
• Features added:
  • File upload capability added for 600, 616, 673, 687 for images and documents. Found at the bottom of each of the four boat menus - The Boat, The Men, The Logroom, The Reunions.
  • Historical timelines for 600, 616, 673, and 687 under The Logroom >> History.
• Shipmates Added:
  • None
• Deck Logs Added:
  • None
• Personnel Reports Added:
  • None
• Staff Added:
  • Doug Haynes - Site Lead USS FLYING FISH (SSN 673)
  • Gene Straw - Site Lead USS LEWIS AND CLARK (SSBN 644)
  • Gary Wing - Site Lead USS RICHARD B. RUSSELL (SSN 687)
  • Michael Schulte - Site Lead USS RICHARD B. RUSSELL (SSN 687)
  • Michael Kimball - Legal Counsel
• Staff Needed:
  • USS NAUTILUS (SSN 571) - Site Lead
  • USS THEODORE ROOSEVELT (SSBN 600) - Site Lead
  • USS LAFAYETTE (SSBN 616) - Site Lead
  • Plus every other boat not mentioned!
• Next near-term action items:
  • Incorporation of the Cold War Boats Association
  • Add file upload capacity for USSVI - USS HADDO Base
  • Complete tools for receiving financial donations & subscriptions
  • Complete basic site menus for TENCH class smoke boats.
• On-going action items:
  • Continue data-entry on shipmates from 571, 525, 600, 616.
  • Acquire personnel reports for boats commissioned after 1963 from the National Archives.
• Contact Brad Williamson, Lead Administrator, or active Site Leads if you have questions, would like to volunteer, or wish to support us financially, at any level.
• End of Message

We pulled into Perth in early December 1983, as I recall. The surface transit was across the swell, so we were rocking and rolling like some cheap carnival ride. Seasickness was running rampant. Everybody in maneuvering was green and recycling breakfast. It was the only time I ever remember boxes of crackers being passed around back aft as we all tried to keep vertical enough to stand the watch.

We finally got out of the swells, and transferred a pilot onboard by helo. Everybody below is hustling around getting the helo transfer gear together, and doing the safety briefing in preparation for the big evolution, when the helo zips up, drops the pilot on deck, disconnects, and the pilot bops up the sail ladder with a fine "g-day, mates" leaving the helo transfer party still below wondering what the heck just happened.

On into the Australian Navy Base at Rockingham for a glorious five days in Perth. Who can forget aussie hospitality, fish and chips, driving on the left side of the road, roo-bars on vehicles, and of course, Dial-a-Sailor!

~ Click on images to view full-screen slideshow! ~

USS RICHARD B. RUSSELL (SSN 687) outbound from Mare Island, date unknown.

Cold War Boats Association needs your help!

PHOTOGRAPHS: We need photos of your boat and crew. Photos of the boat specifically, in port or at sea, inside or out, with or without crew members. 

Images should be: 

• • Original (you took the photo, or public domain)
  • Digital - if prints or slides, contact the Ship's Photographer - we will scan them and return them unharmed, and pay for shipping both ways.
  • High resolution - 2000 x 1100 minimum for slideshows
  • Uncorrected - we will color-correct and eliminate dust and scratches using our photo editors.

SITE LEADS: No experience necessary - you are not responsible for the website template and coding, no knowledge of computer programming required.

Responsibilities include:

• • Managing content - articles, photo galleries, soliciting and uploading sea stories, etc.
  • Registering shipmates, vetting registrations, locating missing shipmates
  • Posting reunion information
  • Preparing your ship's newsletter

Please contact the Chief Archivist at chiefarchivist@coldwarboats.org if you have photographs to submit or the Fleet Detailer at detailer@coldwarboats.org if you would like to learn more about the responsibilities of the Site Lead for your specific boat.