From the Executive Director:
What a Great Tailhook Reunion!
by CAPT J.R. Davis, USN(Ret)
by CAPT J.R. Davis, USN(Ret)
If you missed this year’s reunion, you missed a superb Operation Enduring Freedom symposium, an outstanding flag panel and the opportunity to visit with many old friends. Active-duty participation made this reunion the best in recent history, with many newly winged Naval Aviators and Naval Flight Officers discovering the tremendously stimulating atmosphere that is part of Tailhook reunions.
Mark your calendars now for the next Tailhook Reunion, also to be held in Reno, Nevada, from 18–21 September 2003 at John Ascuaga’s Nugget. Remember to make your plans early, for rooms at the Nugget will fill up quickly. If you’re a “seasoned Tailhooker,” you might consider calling your squadron buddies and staging a reunion of your squadron concurrent with the next Tailhook. VF-96, VF-13/-113 and several other reunion groups have already made arrangements to have “piggyback” get-togethers along with the 2003 Reunion. Contact us early at Tailhook headquarters for help with your plans.
You will find a Christmas gift membership certificate enclosed with this issue of The Hook. We ask that you support our organization by giving a one- or three-year membership to a relative or friend. Increased membership will benefit each member and allow us to add content and color coverage of carrier aviation to our quarterly magazine, The Hook.
The award for “Top Hooker,” the member who recruits the most new members, is a life membership. This year there was a tie for the winner, and congratulations and special thanks are in order for CDR Mark S. “Killer” Kinnane and LT Mike Tatsch, each of whom recruited 115 new members.
While you might not be able to sign up 115 members yourself, you certainly are able to recruit one or two of your buddies. If each of our members recruited only one new member, our membership would take a healthy rise — and our Association would become even stronger. Give us a call to pass along the name and address of a potential Tailhooker. We’ll take it from there!
Our Christmas special this year features the mock turtleneck jersey that we’re offering at the reduced price of $10.00, nearly half of the original price. We’re also selling the remaining biplane logo stock at cost. Both special sales items are limited to stock on hand, and the offer will expire at the end of the year.
Our Tailhook logo stock includes a wide variety of shirts with Pilot and NFO “wings and hook” logo. We have golf shirts in Navy blue, Nassau blue, red, black and several tri-color varieties. We also have heavy rugby shirts in teal and burgundy. All these items make fine Christmas gifts for your special Tailhooker.
Our selection of T-shirts continues to grow as we add the F2H Banshee and FJ Fury to our list of specialty shirts. We stock shirts with all fixed-wing tactical aircraft currently in the Navy inventory and many from the past as well. Color choices vary by shirt, but most are available in white, ash, stone-washed blue and black. As we sell out of white, stone-washed blue and black, we will be reducing our color selection in all T-shirts to ash and Navy blue.
We also carry a variety of Marine Corps T-shirts, all of which come in Marine green, ash and black. Remember, it’s easy to view our stock and make a purchase online.
All of the ballots are in and the tally is complete. VADM Mike Bowman, USN(Ret), was elected as our newest member of the board of directors. Returning directors include CDR Sterling Gilliam, USN; CAPT Bud Orr, USN(Ret); CAPT Stephen “Spider” Webb; USN(Ret) and CAPT Rodger Welch, USN. Congratulations to each board member and thank you for your interest in representing our membership as we work to keep the Tailhook Association strong.
Families with college students or high-school seniors should plan now for next year’s application process. The first step is to log onto our Web site and download the application. Return the completed form to the Tailhook Educational Foundation, P.O. Box 26626, San Diego, CA 92196-0626. The 2003–2004 school year applications must be received at the headquarters not later then 15 March 2003.
Remember, you can support the Educational Foundation and its goals by donating a subscription to your favorite high school or college. You can also support the scholarship program by making a tax-deductible donation to the Combined Federal Campaign (CFC designation number 2965) or directly to the Tailhook Educational Foundation.
If you are planning a squadron reunion or a vacation in San Diego, use the headquarters building for an event. We offer an extensive photo and slide archive, a fine Naval Aviation library, many films and videos, catered receptions, and access to the Tailhook ship’s store.