SSN 680 Plan of the Day
- Brad Williamson
Chris Pipkin, ET2(SS), Nav ET - Operations/Electronics, served with us on the Bates from 79-83. I was just informed by his step-son, Christopher Radke, that Chris passed away on the evening of September 22, succumbing to injuries sustained in a motorcycle accident earlier that morning.
Fair winds and following seas, Chris. You were our brother. You will be missed.
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I will post funeral service information for those of you in SoCal that might want to attend, and Chris’ Honors page will go up shortly.
If you have photos or or information that we can use, please email them directly to me at
More to follow…
- Brad Williamson
Last night many of you received the first text message sent from the www.ssn-680.org website and the USS WILLIAM H. BATES (SSN 680) Association.
This feature works hand-in-hand with our Familygram newsletter emailing system, and creates a new way to stay connected with you, especially in the case where your email address or mailing address has not been updated.
What do I need to know, you ask?
First, we protect your privacy. You will not receive advertising or nuisance texts. The system can only be used by administrators of the website, and for now, that means me!
Second, all texts will come to you through this phone number: 269.234.1751. This is the text phone number for the USS WILLIAM H. BATES (SSN 680) Association, so create a contact on your phone with this number, and then you will see who the text is from immediately.
- Brad Williamson
I know I keep ragging on you to keep your profiles on the website up-to-date, but there is method to my madness. Your profile is the mechanism by which the USS WILLIAM H. BATES (SSN 680) Association keeps you informed using the Familygram newsletter, and now, by text message.
We have just upgraded the website to allow us to send you periodic SMS text messages for notifications of major events or to track you down when your email no longer works.
Don’t expect many - it does cost us about 3/4 of a cent for each message that goes out, so don’t expect more than one or two a month.
Once everybody has a few days to update their profiles, I’ll send a couple of texts. One will allow you to opt out, if you desire to not be bothered, but I’d encourage you to stay with it and let me use texts to keep you in the loop. After that, they’ll be relatively infrequent, unless your Familygram bounces, and of course, your phone numbers, like your street address, are never revealed to anyone without your permission.
All this means that it is more important than ever to keep your profile information up-to-date. So get hot, or get dink, and watch your phone for text messages from the USS WILLIAM H. BATES (SSN 680) Association.
- Brad Williamson
Robert Burns, Scottish poet and lyricist, may have known something when he wrote those oft quoted words, “The best laid plans of mice and men, often go awry!”. Those of us that served in the boats were more than aware that “no plan survives first contact with the enemy.”
So it should come as no surprise to you when I tell you we have to change the dates of REGROUPEX 20.
What!!! I can hear it now. I hope that nobody has purchased plane tickets that can’t be rescheduled, because believe me, if there was any other way to deal with this, I’d take it. But there’s not, or so it seems, so here we are.
It turns out that today’s Navy is not the Navy we left years ago. Today’s Navy doesn’t work weekends, at least when it comes to providing tours of in-port submarines. I recently got off the phone with the Kitsap Naval Base Public Affairs Office, and they politely reminded me that boat tours at Kitsap are only scheduled on Tuesdays and Thursdays! I understand the scheduling concerns, but I’m highly suspicious that the Saturday and Sunday duty sections just want to sleep in!
So, that means we have to adjust. To improvise, to adapt, to overcome.
- Brad Williamson
One year out from REGROUPEX 20, and there already isn’t a moment to lose!
A reunion is only as successful as the efforts of volunteers make it. Without your effort, REGROUPEX 09 and REGROUPEX 17 would not have been possible. REGROUPEX 20 depends on those of you that can step forward and pick up the load.
This is our first call for the volunteers that will form the REGROUPEX 20 Tiger Team. I have attached a list of responsibilities that we will need to address in order to successfully pull off REGROUPEX 20. Somebody, either me or you, has to take on these activities for others to enjoy the privilege of sitting around trading sea stories, memories, and bad jokes with shipmates from decades past, which, interestingly enough, turns out to be a lot of fun!
These positions/responsibilities form the REGROUPEX 20 Tiger Team. If you want to have some input into REGROUPEX 20, taking on one or more of these responsibilities guarantees it!