SSN 680 FAMILYGRAM: 26 FEB 2019
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SSN-680 familygram: 26 FEB 2019 |
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| THe uss William h. Bates (SSN 680) Association | ||
REGROUPEX 20 Planning Survey UpdateVisitor , ÂThe REGROUPEX 20 Planning Survey has been active for over two weeks, and already we have had over 50 of you chime in with your opinions and wishes for the next reunion. For those of you that have submitted your responses, Bravo Zulu, and I thank you. Making decisions in a vacuum is a challenge, so I appreciate that you have taken the time to share your thoughts. For those of you that have not yet taken the survey, I again ask you to set aside about 15 minutes, log into the website using the link below, and offer your input. This task is hard enough without trying to guess at what you want to see in your next reunion. The time you invest to take the survey goes a long way in influencing our next three or four reunions, so if you want your voice to count, this is your chance! Â
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 They Have Gone Before UsIt has been a busy few months, and I have been remiss in keeping you up to date on the news that comes our way.It's hard enough keeping up with the good news, let alone getting lost in thought about shipmates from a long time ago that have crossed the bar and are no longer with us. Every shipmate that rests his oar reminds each of us that our days our numbered, and, like getting underway, there’s not a moment to lose. It is my duty to report the passing of CDR(SS) Kurt M. Trautman 1945 – 2018 and SDC(SS) Manuel (Manny) C. Chavez 1938 – 2018. CDR Trautman first reported on board on 17 August 1973 as an Ensign who served as MPA and ultimately the Weapons Officer before he left on 20 January 1976. Over nine years later, he would return in August of 1985, about a month before I left for Separations, relieving CDR Leon Uplinger as Commanding Officer. His Honors page and obituary can be found here: Â
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MEWE WHBA Group InvitationAs I’m sure you have heard, or at least wondered about, privacy concerns and commercial use of personal data are becoming a big concern on Facebook. Some of us have known about the vulnerabilities for many years, which is one of the reasons that none of the ‘good stuff’ regarding the USS William H. Bates (SSN 680) and her crew gets posted on Facebook.While we are always alert to security and classified information issues that could compromise today’s submariners, (not today, ISIS!) not to mention the promises we made back in the day, there are lots of photos and stories that are best not made public for the sake of our spouses, family, and friends, not to mention our own personal and business reputations. This, as you can surely imagine, is the primary reason we take security on the www.ssn-680.org website so seriously. Â
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SternshotI'm not usually given to displays of emotion,  at least publicly. So it is without much fanfare that I say thank you. A heart-felt thanks to each and everyone of you that have been a part of this experience - the SSN-680 website, the emerging USS William H. Bates (SSN 680) Association, REGROUPEX 09 and REGROUPEX 17, and each and every brother that served on-board the Bates herself.Some of you I served with, some of you have been instrumental in bringing the reunions, the website, and the Association into existence. Some of you became friends back in the day, many of you became friends in the years since, and all of you I'm honored to call "Shipmate". Thank you for your support and encouragement - there is not a day that goes by that I am not affected by this grand adventure that we know as the USS William H. Bates (SSN 680) community. Thanks for being a part of it! |
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 The USS William H. Bates (SSN 680) Association exists in service to former crew-members of the Sturgeon class nuclear powered fast-attack submarine, the USS William H. Bates (SSN 680), their families, friends, and associates.  © 2019 USS William H. Bates (SSN 680) Association
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