Your Tailhook Association board of directors is working hard to represent the membership and move our organization closer to the mainstream of Naval Aviation.
The great success of our annual reunion and growth of the Association over the past decade is due in large part to the dedication of the directors in implementing the voice of the active-duty constituency. No one better exemplifies this than our past chairman of the board, RADM “Bad” Fred Lewis, USN(Ret). We thank him for his sacrifice of time and his steady hand in helping guide the decisions that have restored the Tailhook Association to its rightful status as a thriving, member-oriented voice for Navy carrier aviation.
In my first report as chairman, I’d like to highlight the initiatives in progress and the board’s view of our very bright future.
Driscoll Relieves Foster as Association Secretary
The first order of business, though, is to recognize the transition of one of our key Association officers as CAPT Wynn Foster turns over his responsibilities as secretary to Willy Driscoll. “CAPT Hook” took on the job of secretary after his term as a director expired in 1992, and since then has steered us through the turbulence of the ’90s into the promising environment we see before us. His dedication to the Tailhook Association is unrivaled, and we’ll continue to depend on Wynn to help us maintain airspeed and altitude on our steady course to the future.
Likewise, we welcome Willy Driscoll, a Naval Aviation Vietnam fighter ace and San Diego-area business leader, who now takes on an active role with the organization to help us reach our goals. Congratulations to both.
Directors to Meet at Naval Air Station Near You
Your board of directors recently concluded its winter gathering in San Diego and soon will convene for the spring meeting at NAS Oceana. Because it’s important for our membership to interact with the Association’s leadership, the directors move their meetings twice each year to varied locations to give different communities of Naval Aviators an opportunity to engage the board 1-v-1.
Last summer’s hurricanes and tropical storms forced the board to reschedule planned fall and spring meetings in NAS Pensacola, but we look forward to making that trip at the end of this year. In the past three years we have gathered at Whidbey Island, Lemoore, Tidewater (Oceana/Norfolk) and Pensacola. Of course, we make the short trip from Sparks/Reno to NAS Fallon every year while at the reunion. Stand by for a visit to your community in the near future.
Ready Rooms, Strike Force Help Tailhook Grow
One of the key initiatives of Tailhook is to provide inspiration and support to ready room branches around the country. The recent activation of the San Diego Ready Room complements the 2004 stand-up of the Oceana Ready Room headquartered at the LSO school. The Bay Area and D.C.-Area Ready Rooms, each of which is quite active, are great venues for local members to meet and keep alive the traditions of our carrier aviation community.
Complementing our ready rooms is the newly established Tailhook Association Strike Force of Volunteer active-duty junior officers. These folks provide direct contact with aircrew and maintenance personnel who do the day-by-day hard work. This effort is expected to help keep our membership healthy and growing.
The Strike Force is a great sounding board for critical issues, and we are grateful for the efforts of all our Strike Force volunteers. Plankowners in this new program who were recognized in our meeting last spring at NAS Whidbey include LCDR Mike Tasch, LT Chris Sullivan, LT Ben Stone, LCDR Jim Bell and LT Charles Garrett.
We are pleased to report that a Letter of Agreement has been signed between the Tailhook Association and the San Diego Aircraft Carrier Museum on board ex-USS Midway (CV-41). Working together, we foresee a lasting relationship to foster public education for Naval Aviation and to provide benefit for both organizations. We held our fall board meeting on board, and our directors were clearly excited about the potential of this opportunity.
Strategic Plan Establishes Association Goals
Summarizing our vision for the future is the latest edition of the Tailhook Association Strategic Plan, 2005. It soon will be published following much hard work by one of our directors, CAPT Sterling Gilliam, and our president, CAPT Roy Rogers. Among the key elements of the plan is our intention to expand the organization to 13,500 members before 2009 and to contact those who have let their membership lapse in recent years. Other highlights include expanding the Tailhook Educational Foundation, enhancing the Tailhook image nationwide, maintaining our strong Department of the Navy support and preserving the outstanding quality of the symposium. We hope each of you will join the directors to help achieve these goals.
As a final point, Regular Members will find their 2005 ballot for the election of members of the board of directors in this issue. We have great incumbents and new nominees on the ballot. I ask you to consider their qualifications and take an active part in your Association by voting. We will announce the winners at the annual membership meeting in Reno, 8–11 September.
Keep your knots up!