Rotations April 22, 2014

President Susan crawled out of her foxhole and amidst the sharp crackle of conversation and the sound of distant bagpipes, she rang the bell to begin the meeting.

The time was confirmed by the officer team as 12:35. The fog of war enveloped the crowd as Eleanor Schoonover led the troops, without music books, in a lively, if not off-key version of “You are my Sunshine”, “Rotary” and “You’re a Grand Old Flag”. Irv Wells prayed for our troops, for a favorable draw in the raffle (see below) and for guidance as we braced for another onslaught of Rotary spirit.

Colonial Davis (ret), out of uniform, appeared to remind the Club of its long standing commitment to the military community. Among the highlights were events for the armed services’ communities in 1918 that attracted 4,000 participants, the Club’s efforts in the Liberty Loan program that raised $200,000 for the war effort and the Armed Services luncheon that the Club organized for over 30 years.

Matt Shriver reminded the Club of our convalescing troops. Tom Richards and Ken Weeks continue to recover and would welcome calls and visits. Al Carmichael welcomed visitors who had arrived at our headquarters for R&R and other business. Al noted that some of the visitors found a security breach and had not properly registered with the posted sentinels. President Susan released them from the brig and invited them to join the Club for lunch. The visitors included Judge Jerry Friedman, Norm Maas’ favorite daughter Allie Maas and Donna Overstreet. The South African troops participated in the Club meeting by sending Rotarian Susan Perkins from the Rotary Club of Polokwane, South Africa.

Chuck Spence had the ROW duties and provided an overview of Rotarian Tim Lawrence. Tim has been a member of the Club for 29 years. Tim graduated from the USCG Academy and retired as a Captain in the Coast Guard after 30 years of service. He continued his public service as a Vice President of the United Way of South Hampton Roads. He desires to learn how to cook, to stay healthy and to put one foot in front of the other-some of the same goals to which Rick Coradi aspires.

Marty Raiss rallied the troops by updating them on the Centennial Gala and advising the Club that for some unknown reason Cynthia Perry was very interested in securing a hotel room in downtown Norfolk, having purchased 5 raffle tickets. Dean Thomasson urged the troops forward with the cry of EREY and some inspiring words from Arch Klumph.

President Susan pinned medals on Tom McLaughlin and Wayne Shank for contributions to the Rotary Foundation above and beyond the call of duty. Lisa Chandler urged everyone to clean out their attics of old war relics, love letters and objects that could be sold at the Antique and Flea Market that would take place in June. President Susan spoke fondly of a Rumble in Great Bridge that would involve motorcycles and children.

President Susan assessed fines and penalties. Dan Peterson was awol. President Susan assured the Club that he would pay a titanic fine for antics at a recent masquerade ball. Marty Raiss was fined for providing aid and comfort to an Iraqi translator who was learning how to peddle out of the Raiss home. Marty shared some other details that were lost in the translation. Adam Kahrl paid a fine to promote a special event at the YMCA. Not to be outdone, Brett Meredith announced that the Salvation Army would open a 92,000 square foot facility at a cost of $80 million that apparently was not a bunch of kroc. Brett’s fine was paid by Dean Thomasson who secured the funds from a red kettle over the holidays. John Chittick advised that he was presenting a research paper at the 20th International AIDS Conference in Melbourne.

The naval forces appeared and took over the ROD responsibilities. Rear Admiral Kavanaugh (ret.) rowed his boat to the podium and provided a summary of the 2014 Norfolk Nato Festival. Admiral Jack then introduced Vice Admiral Bruce Grooms, who is the Deputy Chief of Staff for Capability Development at Allied Command Transformation (“ACT”). Out of breath from merely reciting Admiral Groom’s title, Jack ceded the podium to a real admiral not a rear admiral like himself. Admiral Groom played varsity basketball for the Naval Academy and has been awarded the Defense Superior Service Medal, the Legion of Merit, the Meritorious Service Medal and various campaign and unit awards. Admiral Groom provided an overview of the mission and structure of ACT. ACT promotes and leads many initiatives designed to transform NATO's military structure, its forces, capabilities and doctrine. SACT's main responsibilities include education, training and exercises, as well as conducting experiments to assess new concepts, and promote interoperability throughout the Alliance. ACT is one of two Strategic Commands (SCs) in NATO, the other being Allied Command Operations (ACO). The primary function of the NATO Command Structure (NCS) is first and foremost to provide the command and control needed to contribute to the deterrence of aggression and the preservation of peace, security and the territorial integrity of the Alliance. Ultimately, the NCS plays an essential role in preserving cohesion and solidarity within the Alliance. It helps maintain and strengthen the vital transatlantic link between Europe and North America and promotes the principle of equitable sharing of roles, risks and responsibilities among the Allies, as well as the sharing of collective defense benefits. Headquarters Supreme Allied Commander Transformation (HQ SACT), located in Norfolk, Virginia (USA) is the only permanent NATO Headquarters outside of Europe and sole NATO Headquarters in North America. It directs ACT's various subordinate commands: Joint Warfare Centre (JWC) in Norway, Joint Forces Training Centre (JFTC) in Poland, Joint Analysis & Lessons Learned Centre (JALLC) in Portugal. It also has strong links with the Pentagon and other US military entities, national headquarters and NATO-accredited Centers of Excellence, Academia and 'Think Tanks' as well as the NATO Force Structure in general. Admiral Groom fielded several questions relating to the structure and role of SACT and NATO and the role it was playing in the current international crisis.

As the fog of war started to disappear, a cannon shot was fired and President Susan returned to the podium and dedicated a book in Admiral Groom’s honor to Tidewater Park Elementary School. Irv Wells won the raffle, his prayers being answered. Irv failed to cash in on the big prize. Susan had the bugle play recall and dismissed the Club with a ring of the bell at 1:30 p.m.