THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, December 6, 1995 TAG: 9512060481
SECTION: MILITARY NEWS PAGE: A6 EDITION: FINAL
LENGTH: Medium: 67 lines
SHIPS DECORATED: The holiday lighting of Norfolk-based ships begins tonight with the public invited to the event between 6 and 9 p.m. through Jan. 3 at Norfolk Naval Station. More than a dozen ships are participating. Visitors should enter through Gate Two at the north end of Hampotn Boulevard to receive a map showing the tour route.
ANCIENT ALBATROSS'' CHANGES: The Coast Guard's Ancient Albatross, the title of the most senior enlisted member in the aviation field, has been passed from Master Chief Petty Officer James T. Woltz, with more than 42 years of service. In a retirement ceremony at the Coast Guard's Air Station in Elizabeth City, N.C., on Friday, Woltz handed over his ceremonial flying goggles, helmet, gloves and boots to Master Chief Petty Officer Rick Trent, the service's top enlisted member, who has more than 32 years of service. Trent, 50 will hold the title until his retirement. Woltz had been the only recipient of the title, which was established in 1988. A similar title for the Officer Ancient Albatross was established in 1966.
JOINT EXERCISE UNDER WAY: More than 16,000 military members are participating in Joint Task Force Exercise 96-1, involving 2 1/2 weeks of maneuvers along the East Coast from Virginia to Georgia that will end Dec. 16. Directed by Marine Corps Gen. John J. Sheehan, commander U.S. Atlantic Command and executed by Vice Adm. Jay L. Johnson, 2nd Fleet commander, the exercise is one of a series designed to test various units in their ability to deploy rapidly and conduct joint operations during a crisis. Participating are the carrier George Washington battle group and amphibious assault ship Guam and its ready group, along with elements of the Army's 18th Airborne Corps and 18th Aviation Brigade, plus the Air Force's Air Combat Command and Air Mobility Command.
HOUSING STARTS: The Navy on Friday unveiled the new model homes at Ben Moreell housing complex on Hampton Boulevard. Adm. William J. Flanagan, Jr., commander of the Atlantic Fleet, was on hand to cut the ribbon signaling the beginning of a new era in Navy housing. The Navy expects to build 388 modern homes on the site, replacing units that had been built during World War II.
LOVE LETTERS: The Hampton Roads Naval Museum will host a Christmas presentation of ``Love Letters,'' a drama chronicling the relationship of a Union petty officer and his wife during the winter of 1862. The sailor was assigned to blockade duty in Hampton Roads at the time while his wife was living with relatives in Philadelphia. Their letters will be shared during a Dec. 13 presentation in the Living Sea Theater inside Nauticus. The show starts at 7:30 p.m. and is free to the public. Call 444-8971 for more information.
MEMORIAL SERVICE: A memorial service for retired Gen. Maxwell R. Thurman, former commander of the Army's Training and Doctrine Command, will be held at Fort Monroe's Chapel of the Centurion today at 1 p.m. The public is invited. Thurman died Friday at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington. He had been battling leukemia since 1990.
COMINGS & GOINGS
RETURNING:
About 70 members of the 1st Fighter Wing's 74th Air Control Squadron returned home Sunday from Kuwait following five months of deployment in support of Operation Vigilant Sentinel. Returning were about 40 airmen from other air control squadrons in the United States. While in Kuwait, the Air Force units operated the Ground Theater Air Control System, an early-warning system to detect and monitor hostile air movements. The 607th Air Control Squadron from Luke Air Force Base, Ariz., replaced the 74th.
- staff report by CNB