View From The Bridge.

The Cadets of the Spruance Division and Radford Training Ship began the New Year with a Bang! Rested and refreshed after a much needed Holiday Break, we had several new prospects attending our first drill of 2010. Cadet Pina returned from the frozen north after attending the Winter Petty Officer Leadership Training with a new appreciation for our warm south Florida weather. We endured a record breaking cold snap and had to cancel scheduled training at the Resolve Fire Academy, but we were able to quickly reschedule and not disappoint our Cadets. The Resolve Fire Academy training was AWSOME! The Cadets had to find their way out of a dark, smoke filled compartment on their hands and knees, practice Damage Control in a closed compartment with a broken pipe, and control flooding. (This was closely supervised, especially for our little League Cadets.) They manned several high pressure hose lines, and watched as the Resolve Staff controlled and put out an oil fire on a Helo. We continued to conduct training at the Fort Lauderdale Coast Guard Station in preparations for our Annual Flagship Competition, scheduled for April 10th, and our Annual Personnel Inspection, scheduled for Feb. 20th. The Cadets enjoyed PT on the Beach with the Health Colonel, in front of the Fort Lauderdale Marriott Harbor Beach. We had to go through a security check as this is the hotel that the NFL Players for the Pro Bowl were staying.  Our Color Guard was very active this month participating in the installation of officers of the Broward County Navy League Council, on board the Carnival Cruise ship Freedom, and the installation of one of our Parents, Nelson Rose, as the Master of the Coral Springs Lodge of the Masons. The Color Guard participated with the American Legion of the annual commemoration of the 4 Chaplains Service, honoring the 4 Army Chaplains who gave up their Life Vests to 4 soldiers as the Troop Ship Dorchester was sinking following a deadly Nazi submarine torpedo attack off the coast of Greenland.  The highlight of the month was the Fort Lauderdale Navy League Council Seven Seas Gala, celebrating the Sea Services. Our Color Guard and Drill team practiced for weeks to display their professionalism and pride in the Uniform for the honored guest, Admiral Gary Roughead, the Chief of Naval Operations. Unfortunately the CNO was unable to attend and fly out of Washington D.C. due to a terrible winter snow storm. The Drill Team under the direction of PO2 “P3” Orion Rollins performed magnificently, and Vice Admiral Diego Hernandez USN Ret. Accepted the Honors. The Cadets acted as Side Boys as the Official Party was announced, representing all of the Navy and Coast Guard area Commands, and several retired Admirals. The gifts painstakingly prepared by Ensign Don Mckinney to present to the CNO were displayed by two of our Sea Cadets and two of our League Cadets. Ensign McKinney found originally signed pictures of the only four five star Fleet Admirals of World War II, mounted on Teakwood from the Battleships Missouri, and New Jersey. We hope to present them to the CNO when he will be here for Fleet Week in April. The National President of the Navy League, Dan Branch was the guest speaker and had high praise for our Cadets and their dedication to our Sea Cadet program. LCDR Starr was honored by receiving a Letter of Appreciation from the Dean of the US Naval Academy for the 8 Spruance Division Cadets who attended the Naval Academy. Special appreciation for Dr. Lynn Drucker, our Treasurer and leader of our Parents Association, who was one of the Chairpersons for the event, and put her heart into making this a “Night to Remember”, and all of the parents and Cadets who attended the Gala.

Respectfully submitted,

LCDR Alan Starr, NSCC