THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, January 25, 1995 TAG: 9501250488
SECTION: MILITARY NEWS PAGE: A12 EDITION: FINAL
LENGTH: Medium: 76 lines
WEEKLY BRIEFING
COAST GUARD RESCUE: Dramatic rescues at sea like one Tuesday off the Georgia coast (see related story, B1) are becoming commonplace for Coast Guard rescue crews from Elizabeth City, N.C.
At least two others in the past two months have earned the rescuers fame. A Coast Guard petty officer will be honored Thursday for heroism for his part in the rescue of four people - one a 4-month-old boy - from the sinking sailboat Marie Flower, on Nov. 17.
Rescue swimmer Mario Vittone, who also took part in Tuesday's rescue, will be honored by the Italian-American community at 11:30 a.m. at the Greenwich Road Holiday Inn in Virginia Beach.
Vittone braved 20-foot seas and 50-knot winds to assist the four, whose sailboat was sinking 400 miles off the coast.
Another Coast Guard helicopter crew from Elizabeth City, which rescued three people from a sinking sailboat off Cape Hatteras Dec. 5, has been selected as winner of the 1994 Igor T. Sikorsky Award for Humanitarian Service.
Crew members Lt. Cmdr. Bruce Jones, pilot; Lt. j.g. Mark Collier, co-pilot; Petty Officer 3rd Class Thomas Parker, flight mechanic; Petty Officer 2nd Class Scott Adlon, rescue swimmer; and Petty Officer 2nd Class Matthew Moyer, air crewman, will be honored Jan. 31 in a ceremony at the Las Vegas Hilton Hotel.
The award is given annually by the Helicopter Association International and is presented to those who best demonstrate the value of rotor craft through saving lives.
The helicopter crew braved 60-knot winds and 25-foot seas at night to rescue the victims from the 52-foot sailing vessel Dutchess, 170 miles east of Cape Hatteras. LANGLEY ON TV: Producers of a Learning Channel documentary on the world of computing have filmed a segment of the series at Langley Air Force Base in Hampton, where computers are used to train F-15 pilots and to operate the fighter planes. The series, ``Understanding,'' is hosted by Candice Bergen and produced by a company owned in part by veteran newsman Walter Cronkite. It is set to air this fall. SUPPLY CELEBRATION: Marine Gen. John J. Sheehan, commander in chief of the U.S. Atlantic Command, will speak at the Hampton Roads Supply Corps Bicentennial Ball Feb. 11 at the Holiday Inn Executive Center in Virginia Beach. The corps was formed in 1795 for ``procuring and providing'' of the Navy's stores. For information, call 444-5825.
- Staff report
COMINGS & GOINGS
RELOCATION:
The guided-missile frigate Nicholas is relocating to Norfolk from Charleston Naval Station as a result of action by the 1993 Defense Base Closure and Realignment Commission. The ship, which arrives Thursday afternoon, has a crew of 215.
DECOMMISSIONING:
The Coast Guard cutter Point Arena, based at Little Creek, is scheduled for decommissioning in March as part of the post-Cold War drawdown. The ship was commissioned in 1967. It will be replaced by the New York-based Point Bonita. ILLUSTRATION: Staff Graphic
BY THE NUMBERS
[Naval Base traffic
Norfolk Naval Base traffic averages 40,000 cars a day. Not all of it
flowed smoothly in 1994:
Tickets issued: 8,355
On-Base Summonses': 7,027
City Summonses': 1,328
Total number reported accidents: 1,016]
by CNB