USMMA Wisconsin Parents News

Ladies and Gentlemen,

                For those of you who are not aware Basic Under -water Demolition School / Seals (BUD/s) Class 270 Has just finished Hell Week, what is known to be the most challenging portion of BUD/s. This include 5.5 days of intense physical training with less than 5 hours of sleep. Class 270 entered Indoctrination With approximately 250 SEAL Candidates, when they began Phase of BUD/s  they had 190 Candidate. Going into Hell Week there were 84 candidates and when Hell Week was finally secured on Friday only 36 remained. Of these 36 was ENS Tyler Marshburn, USN a USMMA 2007 graduate. As further testament to his success, ENS Marshburn was ranked number 2 by peer evaluations. If any of you are interested in calling ENS Marshburn and congratulating him ,and find out about what Hell Week is really like you can reach him at 330-917-7317. Our Region SEAL Recruiting District Assistance Council (RDAC), lead By CAPT Bisset, USN who trained Marshburn prior to BUD/s,  also had 2 other members in class 270 one dropped on request during Hell Week and the Other who was the class Leading Petty Officer was injured and rolled to class 272.

Very Respectfully,

Midshipman David Schwartz 4/c

United States Merchant Marine Academy

Fourth Company

The Candidate luncheon was held March 8 in Chicago for the prospective candidates , family, current members and the midshipman to help them learn more about academy life. I would like to thank the Lake MIchigan Parent association for hosting and Jules Traut Class of 61, it was held at the Columbia Yacht Club. There were many candidates that came from Iowa, Michigan, Illinois and Wisconsin. Thank you to Nicholas Mann(WI) 2011 and Nick Swanson (IL) 2011 for attending and speaking about their current experiences. Tim McDonald 2010, called into the event and spoke about his first Sea project, just returning to land and school on March 6th. Looking forward to having several students from Wisconsin attending the USMMA, and representing Wisconsin. Best of luck asthe process continues. Feel free to contact us and if needed we can get you in contact with a current midshipman to answer any questions. usmma@wi.rr.com

Wisconsin Parents!!

 
Hello Everyone,

This past week I have been on a mission to Guam. I
left on the 1st of February and barely got out of
Milwaukee. It had snowed all morning and we had to
wait for the runways to be cleared before we could
take off. Our plane was also covered in snow and had
to be de-iced. Once off the ground, everything went
smoothly.
We spent a night in Hawaii on the way out. Just the
temperature was enough to make us all happy. Our crew
stayed at the Outrigger Waikiki right above Dukes
restaurant. My friend, Kurt, from high school had
dinner with us there.
While in Guam, we flew missions with the B-2’s
stationed there. They needed to do some training and
we flew with them every day besides Monday. We were
16 hours ahead of Milwaukee time, so it was Superbowl
Monday for us. The guys were definitely happy to have
that day off. Amanda (a boom operator) and I were not
as interested and we did a little shopping and just
watched the last quarter of the game. That was
apparently the best part anyways.
The B-2’s are really cool looking jets. I had a lot
of fun flying with them. Our missions were fairly
short each day. We went straight up to the refueling
track, gave them their gas and headed right back down.
From going in to work till heading back to the hotel
was only about 5-6 hours. We usually went to the
beach or did a little snorkeling in the morning before
work and then had time to go out to a restaurant in
the evenings. Our hotel was right in the middle of
all the action in Tumon Bay. The beach was right
behind the hotel and all the shopping and restaurants
were in front of it.
On the way back through Hawaii, we were able to stay
two nights. This time we were at the Outrigger Reef.
They have remodeled their rooms. My room was on the
2nd floor overlooking the beach. I almost didn’t have
to leave my porch, but I did take a walk down the
beach eventually. After finally dragging myself away
from my room, we went to Hanauma Bay. The view of the
Bay from above is breathtaking. The water is clear so
you can see the reef structure and white sand under
the turquoise water. This time of year the water is a
little chilly though. Even so, Matt (the other pilot
and Kings Point Alumnus) and I managed to get in and
do some snorkeling. It is lucky we did because we
spotted a sea turtle! We followed the turtle around
for 30-45 minutes while it swam around and stopped
here and there to eat some of the coral. I have never
been able to hang around a turtle for that long. I am
sure it is very used to all the other tourists. I was
in heaven.
For dinner we went to the Chart House. That place is
now on the top of my list for Hawaii restaurants. It
is a steak and seafood place right in front of a
marina to the West of Waikiki. The service was
amazing and everyone’s food was delicious. I had a
tuna steak that was just perfect.
The last leg of our flight was the most challenging.
We started to get turbulence after passing Utah. The
weather into Milwaukee was fore-casted to be gusting
winds, low visibility and blowing snow. When we were
finally in the Madison airspace, we had to hold over
Madison while the runway was being cleared in
Milwaukee. Luckily the cloud deck had lifted and the
visibility was good. Matt made a very nice crosswind
approach and landing into Milwaukee and we were all
happy that we didn’t have to divert to another
airport. Then it was time to get out the coats, hats
and gloves and face the February weather again.
Take care.

Brigitt
 

2/5/2008 - On January 29, Newsday, Long Island’s major daily newspaper, commended the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy for its cooperation with the American Red Cross.

Newsday’s comments, in its editorial section, referred to training that the Red Cross’s New York area chapters recently provided to all 700 midshipmen in residence at the Academy to work at relief shelters in the event of a disaster on Long Island.

The Newsday editorial said: “The U.S. Merchant Marine Academy at Kings Point, the federal service college tucked away in western Nassau, has a low profile, but now the midshipmen will be ready to help if Long Island needs them. Taking advantage of 700 fit and disciplined students in our midst, the Red Cross has begun training them for disaster response, specifically to secure and staff 50 shelters. Smart planning by the Red Cross and a fine gesture from the academy.”

During a two-hour training session at the Academy on Saturday, January 26, Red Cross instructors lectured the USMMA’s Regiment of Midshipmen on the basics of disaster shelters – how to keep people safe, fed and informed around the clock.

“These are able-bodied young men and women who will be filling a huge hole for us,” said Frank Cassano, chief executive of the Red Cross’s Nassau County chapter. “They understand command structures and have an esprit de corps that we’re looking for.”

From the Academy’s viewpoint, the training made sense. “Instilling the important sense of service in out midshipmen is one of the key goals of the Academy,” said the federal school’s Superintendent, VADM Joseph D. Stewart. “We emphasize service to fellow students, service to the community and service to the Nation. Assisting the Red Cross fits in well with both our program and our educational philosophy.”

The Red Cross indicated that they would be willing to repeat the training every year, as a new crew of midshipmen reports to Kings Point.

Academy midshipmen quickly recognized the importance of their new responsibilities. “We don’t panic, we don’t cower,” said Midshipmen Jake Querne, a junior (second classman) from Minnesota. We’re taught to always be ready.”
 

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