CNO's 2015 Navy Birthday Message

Whom is the Navy Birthday intended to honor?

We have Navy Day later in October, as well as Navy Weeks, Fleet Weeks. They're fun, informative and patriotic, for sure, but those are public relations events.

So, then, is today's Navy Birthday a private party for those on active duty? I took off my uniform long ago. I'm not even retired. Do I get to celebrate?

I find my answer in the CNO's 2015 Navy Birthday Message to the Fleet. ADM J.M. Richardson says, in part:  

... our ships, submarines and aircraft form the muscle and bones of the Navy, but the heart and soul of our Navy is you, our people.

Who is this "you"? Who are "our people"?

I find the answer in the admiral's conclusion:

To all our Sailors, Navy civilians, proud families and Veterans around the globe, Happy Birthday and thank you for your service.

The Navy Birthday is for all of us. It's for all who serve, for those who have served and for those who have supported us. It's for all of us.

Happy Birthday to us!

MWNBV: Most-watched Navy Band Video

What Navy band video do you think is the most popular on YouTube? A U.S Navy Band concert band performance on the Capitol Steps? A swinging performance by the Commodores?

Nope. The Most-watched Navy Band Video award goes to Seventh Fleet Band. Their rendition of "When the Saints Go Marching In" has scored nearly 200,000 views.

Granted, the video's been attracting viewers for five years. But even the Commodores's most popular video, "Sing, Sing, Sing," has logged only 25,000 views in eight years.

So, in my opinion: Hail to the fleet!

Verbatim: "Trouble"

Truman Capote claimed he didn't take notes during interviews because he had nearly absolute recall of conversations.

I will make a lesser claim. I can accurately recreate conversations if I make notes soon after and transcribe the conversation in full within a few hours. As a newspaper columnist, I often have to do this. The results are "verbatims," accurately recorded conversations that have been only barely edited for clarity.

Having said that...

---

"Trouble"

a Verbatim 

transcribed by Frank Mullen

Frank is sitting in the passenger seat of the Holiday Inn van on the way to the airport after the 2015 NMA reunion when the driver asks a question.

Driver: So, you were with those Navy guys?

Frank: Yes. We had a great time.

Driver: I thought so. There was this guy smoking a cigar out front of the hotel; coupla the other guys told me he was trouble.

Frank: Lots of those old guys are trouble.

Driver: They said you musician guys aren’t having fun unless the shore patrol has to come and break it up. Said that guy with the cigar was the ringleader.

Frank: The guy with the cigar—was he a big guy?

Driver: Real big. Wish I could remember his name; Jerry, something like that.

Frank: Terry?

Driver: That’s the guy! Wooeee, he’s big. Bet he’d cause a lot of trouble.

--The End--

Taps 2015

Taps. Taps. Lights out. All hands return to their racks and maintain silence about the decks.

Taps.

Temporary Authorized Absence

This is my last night in Virginia Beach. I'll fly home tomorrow, taking with me a seabag full of memories.

What this means is I won't be online for a few days. I'll hope to post more pix and maybe some video over the next week or so. But you know how post-reunion life really is: all your regular responsibilities jump out of the bushes and demand your attention.

This reunion will stay in the mind and heart for a while; see you in a few days.

Concert Band: A Slippery Slope

The NMA is not the old School of Music. Players don't ascend through "A," "B" or "C" bands. All are welcome to play in all our ensembles.

But, just because you can play doesn't mean you should. This solid reasoning has kept NMA President Terry Chesson out of the concert band since our organization's founding. This, it bears repeating, is due to constant vigilance and observance of the Prime Directive of the Concert Band:

Many members are concerned about the possible repercussions of Terry's performance with the concert band this year. In rehearsal and in concert, Terry played in an exciting, contemporary arrangement of "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot" that required improvisation on the alto saxophone.

Their worries are based on the typical "slippery slope" argument, which goes like this: Let someone play a little sax jazz solo with the concert band and the next thing you know, he'll be flitting into rehearsal in a sequined jumpsuit carrying a B-flat clarinet, demanding to be featured in an arrangement of "Stranger on the Shore" with glitter shooting out of the bell of his Selmer.

Friends, you need not worry. Concert band conductor Wilbur Smith assures us that Terry's performance was a needs-based exception. He was granted a one-timem non-renewable "Provisional Concert Band Membership" that expired Friday night immediately upon the conclusion of "Armed Forces Salute."

I trust Wilbur and won't lose any sleep over this. If you're the worrisome sort, there's nothing I can do about that.