The FReeper Foxhole Profiles Army Engineer Divers - July 2nd, 2004

see educational sources

[snippy_about_it]

Lord,

Keep our Troops forever in Your care

Give them victory over the enemy...

Grant them a safe and swift return...

Bless those who mourn the lost.
.

FReepers from the Foxhole join in prayer
for all those serving their country at this time.


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U.S. Military History, Current Events and Veterans Issues

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"The Silent Army: Engineer Divers in the US Army"



Not all Army operations take place on land. Sometimes, repair, construction and patrolling take place beneath the surface. An engineering Diver in the Army performs such tasks as reconnaissance, demolition and salvage, all while being underwater.


"I didn't know the Army had divers!" This is the way most US Army engineer divers are greeted. The Army has had divers for over 60 years. Despite that, Sergeant First Class Patrick Andrews tells us few people in the military, and even fewer in the civilian community, know they exist or what they do for a living. This is their story.

The Army's engineer diver has a totally different training program and mission than the special forces combat diver, whom they are often confused with. The Army has approximately 150 positions for engineer divers. Of these, only about 115 are filled.

A typical Army diver's life usually takes one of two paths. In one situation, a person meets a recruiter and, while reviewing the lists of jobs available, finds out about the engineer diver program. After attending basic training, the new soldier prepares to attend the first phase of Army diver training.

In the other case, a soldier already in the Army decides to change jobs. After attending the first three weeks of training at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, the student will complete the rest of his training at the Naval Diving and Salvage Training Center in Panama City, Florida.



The Army student attends a special class that is similar to the US Navy second-class-diver training course. The student will start by learning scuba diving. He then learns surface-supplied diving using the US Navy MK-21 helmet. The diving student is then trained on underwater hydraulic tools, underwater welding and burning, ships husbandry, hydrographic surveys, and several other skills. Once he has completed the general Navy training, the student then attends six more weeks of Army training that specializes in underwater demolitions, equipment, and leadership skills.

The training lasts 29 grueling weeks, with only one out of every three soldiers that begin the training actually graduating. The successful new diver is sent to one of the active duty diving units in Fort Eustis, Virginia, or Fort Shafter, Hawaii. It is there that the diver really begins to learn how to work and dive.



Career Paths

Unlike the Navy, where diving is often an additional duty that is performed when a need arises, Army divers perform diving duty every day for the rest of their career. Another difference is that instead of being segmented into different diving jobs, such as a Fleet diver, Seabee diver, or an Explosive Ordinance Disposal (EOD) technician, an Army diver may work on a ship one week and a pier the next, or have to perform an underwater demolition mission at another time.

If the Army diver is stationed at Fort Eustis, he may perform work throughout the entire United States, as well as Europe and the Middle East. If the diver is stationed at Fort Shafter, he will work in the Pacific Ocean and the Far East.

In the past three years Army divers have worked for the Coast Guard, the Corps of Engineers, and other military units. Some of their accomplishments include: inspection and repair of four dams in the United States; inspecting and repairing eight ships; quay wall and pier inspection/repair in Kwajalien and Key West, Florida; and training on the Navy Offshore Petroleum Discharge System.



The career progression of an Army diver is considerably different from the Navy and commercial industry. In the Army, a new diver is often the person in the water the most. This is done to train the diver as quickly as possible and help him develop the knowledge and traits necessary to become a diving supervisor.

The soldier must work as a second-class diver for a year and a half before advancing to the rate of salvage diver. After another three years of experience and the completion of three more months of supervisory training, the diver can then become a diving supervisor. It is during this stage that a diver will receive extensive training on emergency and diving casualty management skills.

It will take another three years of experience and an additional month of training before the diver can become a master diver. At this point, the diver is an unlimited supervisor and can take missions anywhere in the world on any type of job. The diver will also receive special incentive pay that increases with his skill level.

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Army Diving 'Belongs' to NCOs, Enlisted



June 2003

Army diving "belongs to the enlisted divers and the NCO divers," the commander of the diving company at Fort Eustis, Va., said.

Capt. Kevin B. Carlson, who spent 10 years as an enlisted engineer, said, "As an officer, we're visitors here."

It's also the Army's only such unit.

What also sets them apart from other engineers is that they are trained both in combat and construction tasks, Carlson said.

He said, "Our divers have a diving rate that corresponds to their rank." E-1s to E-4s are second class divers. E-5s are salvage divers (requires no additional school, but is based on number of divers.)



E-6 is a first class diver who has gone through Basic Noncommissioned Officer Course and advanced training at Panama City, Fla., and for an E-7, there's the Advanced Noncommissioned Officer Course and more training at Panama City.

The divers' basic training and advanced individual training is conducted at Fort Leonard Wood, Mo.

"I was very impressed with the NCOs" who are divers because of the skills that they have and their teaching of soldiers, he said. All Army divers are on active duty, and he expects it to remain that way because of the required dives and courses for promotion.

"Very few had recreational diving experience. It's a lot better to get them with no experience. They're learning military diving," Carlson said. "These guys are tough.

"They are as physically fit as any unit I've seen."

He added that the divers came from all over the country. "Recruiters have picked up on Army diving."

Carlson was particularly interested in what may be shown of Army diving in a future "Army of One" commercial that was being developed this spring.

What is also different about the Army's diving program from other specialties is "we write our own doctrine" because the military occupation specialty is so small. They also use the Navy's dive manual with an Army cover. About doctrine, "We lock ourselves up and get it fixed."



There are heavy and light diving teams in the Army.

Four light and one heavy team are at the southeastern Virginia post. There is a heavy team in Hawaii. That translates into a little more than 100 soldiers at Eustis and about 25 at Fort Shafter, Hawaii.

"They conduct port operations, engineering reconnaissance, salvage, bridge crossing and maintenance underwater," Carlson said.



"We also do security swims. It's a deterrent by having a presence in water at various times," as they did at Sunny Point, N.C., and Concord, Calif., where Military Sealift Command ships were loaded with ammunition and explosives for pre-positioned deployment.

Drawing on his enlisted experience: "We do a lot of demolition."

To help train his soldiers, Carlson said they look for opportunities to work on projects for other agencies from the Corps of Engineers, to the Drug Enforcement Agency and the Customs Service. "It ends up being a paid training opportunity."

He said one recent example of this was a Corps of Engineers project at McMillan Reservoir in Washington. "It covered a 2,000-foot pipeline that we penetrated from both ends. We videotaped every inch" to determine what condition it was in. "That was quite an adventure."

Adding, "Most of the work is dirty - with little visibility."

Because diving requires a great deal of equipment, Carlson said the teams have been moving to making their sets more modular, so they are more easily deployed and used.

At the time of the interview, they were awaiting orders for deployment.

"All my divers are diving medic-trained."

Carlson said the unit's motto is: "Performance under Pressure."

For more information on the Army dive field, visit LINK

By: Sergeant First Class Patrick Andrews - excerpted

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FReeper Foxhole Armed Services Links

[snippy_about_it]

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74th Engineer Dive Team Aids in Returning Soldier to Family



Army Spc. Todd M. Bates
20, of Bellaire, Ohio.

Bates was on a river patrol on the Tigris River south of Baghdad, Iraq, December 10 when his squad leader fell overboard. Bates dived into the water and did not surface. He was originally listed in a duty status whereabouts unknown status. Bates' body was subsequently recovered and his status changed to deceased on December 23. He was assigned to the 135th Military Police Company, Army National Guard, based in Brookpark, Ohio.



By Jayme Loppnow
130th Public Affairs

HANAU, Germany-- Hollywood has depicted the well-known military tenet of “leave no one behind” in movies such as “Black Hawk Down” and “Saving Private Ryan,” with their portrayals of heroes who risk their lives to make sure every Soldier goes home either alive or dead.

Divers from the 74th Engineer Dive Team, currently attached to V Corps’ 130th Engineer Brigade in Iraq, lived that tenet recently, when they spent 13 days searching for a fellow Soldier who had drowned in Iraq’s Tigris River.

The tragedy that brought the 74th to the banks of the Tigris began when Army Reserve Soldiers of the 135th Military Police Company from Brook Park, Ohio were conducting patrols on the river Dec. 10.

Staff Sgt. Aaron Reese, a 31-year-old father of two, stood up in the boat, lost his balance, and fell overboard. Fellow Soldier Spc. Todd Bates immediately removed his gear and dove into the rushing waters to save his comrade. Both men drowned. Iraqi police divers recovered Reese’s body the following day, but Bates was nowhere to be found.

The 74th, from Fort Eustis, Va., was called upon the next day to endure what was to be a grueling, frustrating and tiring two weeks searching for the 20-year-old Soldier.

Alongside the 74th were an Army bridge-building company, Navy divers with a sonar unit, Air Force para-jumpers, Army helicopters, a Bradley Infantry Fighting Vehicle, search dogs and an Army Psychological Operations unit, which distributed Arabic fliers offering a $2,500 reward for the body.

Searching the cold river, the divers encountered zero-visibility conditions, debris from cars, sunken boats, fishing nets and hooks, trees, razor wire, animal carcasses, raw sewage and other garbage.

“The divers faced an environment in which they could not even see their hands three inches from their faces,” said 1st Lt. P.J. Inskeep, the dive team’s leader. “This is very hard to accomplish when you have no idea what is on the bottom. It is as if you are playing hide-and-go-seek in the dark, in a room or environment you know absolutely nothing about. The diver runs into objects, gains his bearing and figures out what (an object) is by sense of touch, much like a blind person would.”

The divers also struggled with a strong six-feet-per-second current, twice as fast as the current allowed by Army diving manual regulations for scuba diving, said Inskeep.

“Sometimes the mission dictates for Soldiers to go above and beyond their jobs, and this was definitely the case," he said.



“To people [out of the water] this may seem like a slight wind you would feel on a summer day,” said diver Sgt. Kyle Dodge. “To a diver in the water, this current feels like a tornado pushing on all parts of your body while you are fighting against it to search the bottom and stay in a certain area.”

“Imagine pushing a football sled constantly for three hours, and you can imagine what these Soldiers were feeling against their bodies,” said Inskeep “When they finished their dives they came out with a full body workout. It was tough for them to walk and lift their arms.”

As tired and frustrated as the divers may have felt after days of searching, they continued to explore the waters, beginning at daybreak and searching until their oxygen tanks were empty or the sun had set.

The 135th was set to redeploy to Ohio Dec. 23, and the divers said their goal was to find Bates so he could leave with his unit.

“When the crew began to wane or start to lose focus, all it would take was the reminder that we were looking for a Soldier that had lost his life in the river,” said Staff Sgt. Mark Lubin.

“It was particularly difficult in the fact that he was a Soldier that we were looking for who wears the same uniform that I put on each day,” said Dodge. “It really hit close to home for me.”

Although body recovery is part of a diver’s mission, and the team was motivated to find a comrade, the bodies they recover are usually trapped inside a vessel, helicopter, or vehicle. Dodge said the divers had to prepare themselves for the shock they expected to feel when they discovered their fellow Soldier.

When efforts seemed to fail after searching for four days, boats dragged two mechanisms devised by a civilian working in the MP’s motor pool over 30 miles of the river. But one of the systems was lost in the debris on the river bottom, and the divers’ doubts began to surface.

“The fear of possibly never finding him was starting to creep into the back of my mind,” said Lubin. “I did not want to quit, and I knew that none of the men wanted to quit searching, so I kept this thought to myself. We all knew that the only way that we would quit was if we were forced to stop searching by higher headquarters -- and even then it would still be difficult.”

The divers didn’t contain their search to the water, either. They also scoured the river’s banks, combing through weeds and grass.

On the 10th day, the divers came under enemy fire. They immediately returned fire, and within seconds MPs and infantry Soldiers with helicopter and Bradley support joined in the firefight. The search resumed once the attack was suppressed, but at the end of the day the divers returned to their camp empty-handed again.

In the evenings, after an exhausting day of searching, Soldiers from Bates’ company would stop by the divers’ living area to see if they needed anything, and questioned them about the search efforts.

“I don’t know how many times I felt guilty when a Soldier from Spc. Bates’ company would ask me, ‘Did you find my buddy today, sergeant?’ and I had to reply with a grim, ‘No.’ It felt even worse when I had people come up and thank me for the hard work we were doing,” said Sgt. Joseph Wulsczynski. “I knew that my team and I were doing our best and going out every day, but I was constantly questioning myself. ‘Did I look around that sunken tree enough? Was there any place I missed? Could I have stayed down longer? Should we re-dredge the entire river?’ I stopped the questions when I finally convinced myself that I did everything humanly possible in my search for Spc. Bates.”

Despite the setbacks, the MPs continued their support for the divers, and even presented each with a company coin to thank them for their continued efforts.

“When Staff Sgt. Lubin and I spoke [after receiving the coin],” said Inskeep, “we both had to fight back tears. We explained how it was the right thing to do, and we would find their Soldier. Little by little this mission was becoming a personal challenge to my men and me. No matter how long it took, we were going to find Spc. Bates.”

Three days later, on Dec. 23, the divers did find Bates, near the initial accident site under a bridge in Baghdad.

“I was overjoyed, in the sense that we had finally located him and that he was now going to be returned to his family so that he could be properly buried,” said Dodge, one of the divers who located Bates. “I was also sad in the fact that we had lost a good Soldier -- a Soldier who gave his life trying to save a fellow Soldier.”

“It was one of the strangest moments in my life, I wanted to cry, but at the same time was overcome with joy, because Spc. Bates was going to go back to Ohio to receive a proper burial and his loved ones would be able to have closure,” said Inskeep.

“I know that what we did on this mission was the right thing to do. I know that when my men were cold and tired and could have quit, they did not. I am proud of them and I am proud to have had the opportunity to serve in this capacity with them,” said Lubin.

“Spc. Bates was a fellow Soldier, fellow American and he was a hero,” said Staff Sgt. Weston Cox, another of the divers who discovered Bates. “Ensuring that his body was found and returned to his family for proper burial with full military honors was our mission and our duty to him and his family.”





130th Engineers

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Today's Educational Sources and suggestions for further reading:

UnderWater Magazine Article reprint: September/October 2001
www.130thengineers.army.mil/news/2004NewsPages/diveteam.htm
www.diveweb.com/commdive/features/015.02.htm

[snippy_about_it]

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Recent Work

US Army Dive Company
Ft Eustis, Virginia

The Dive Company has performed a variety of missions over the past year. They include, but are hardly limited to:

Army Divers performed a change of command ceremony in a typical for them, but unique for the rest of the Army fashion, completely underwater. The unit also completed an inspection and repairs of a fresh water supply system for the city of Washington, DC. The divers had to penetrate a 1000 foot tunnel and inspect it for leaks and repair cracks in the tunnel with underwater epoxy.

Click Here to see the details.

Divers have also performed quality assurance missions at Virginia Beach for the Army Corps of Engineers.

The units have recently received new hydrographic survey and side scan sonar equipment and are training intensely with it so that they can better serve the needs of their commanders.

Members of the unit have been deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. They have participated in the search for Weapons of Mass Destruction and equipment and body recoveries.

Here are some links to their efforts.

544th Engineer Dive Team
This page has a tremendous amount of information on the work this team has accomplished during Operation Iraqi Freedom.



7th Engineer Team (Heavy)
Ft Shafter, Hawaii

The 7th Engineer Dive Team has been busy with a mission to Kwajalien to inspect a pier on the island.

Army divers have also performed deep dive training at some of the local islands in order to keep their skills up to date.

Members of team have also assisted in security swims to support the homeland defense measures.

The 7th Engineer Dive Team was also the winners of the water polo competition. This is the third year they have remained undefeated.

The 7th Engineer Dive Team has done quite a bit of work for the islands on the ports and harbors.

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U.S. Army divers and chemical weapons experts examine a former base of Saddam Hussein cousin Ali Hassan al-Majid, nicknamed 'Chemical Ali', near the city of Basra in southern Iraq, April 9, 2003. British Prime Minister Tony Blair celebrated on Wednesday as jubilant Iraqis danced on a statue of Saddam Hussein toppled by U.S.-led forces in the center of Baghdad, but he cautioned that it was too early to declare military victory in Iraq.

REUTERS/Dan Chung/POOL

[snippy_about_it]

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[snippy_about_it]

Veterans for Constitution Restoration is a non-profit, non-partisan educational and grassroots activist organization.

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Thanks to quietolong for providing this link.

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Iraq Homecoming Tips

~ Thanks to our Veterans still serving, at home and abroad. ~ Freepmail to Ragtime Cowgirl | 2/09/04 | FRiend in the USAF

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UPDATED THROUGH APRIL 2004



The FReeper Foxhole. America's History. America's Soul

Click on Hagar for
"The FReeper Foxhole Compiled List of Daily Threads"

[SAMWolf]

I didn't know the Army had divers!

Army Engineers!!

Good Night Snippy.

[snippy_about_it]

I didn't know either. I like how they mention they use the Navy manual with just an Army cover on it. LOL. Gotta love those engineers. ;-)

Good night Sam.

[Iris7]

Hi, Snip.

Did not know the Army had divers. Figure we will have to make those doggies honorary swabs. A step up in the world for those lads, hey!

[Aeronaut]

Good morning Snippy.

[E.G.C.]

Good morning, Snippy and everyone at the Freeper Foxhole.

[jriemer]

Click on the above picture to link to the Second Annual Viking Kitties Lightning Strike / Free Republic Online Independence Day Fireworks Display. It starts July 1 and continues through July 4th!

[The Mayor]

This is how I am serving coffe from now on.
what do you think? No better way to start the day, coffee and the Word.

July 2, 2004

Love Is Vulnerable

Read: Hosea 11:1-11

How can I give you up, Ephraim? . . . My heart churns within Me; My sympathy is stirred. —Hosea 11:8

Bible In One Year: Job 22-24; Acts 11

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The experience of a heartbroken Christian woman (I’ll call her Mary) illustrates how love makes the lover vulnerable. Mary was a devoted wife who deeply loved her husband, but after 8 years and two children he left her for another woman. Her faith in God and her love for her children kept her going.

Today, her son is living a sinful lifestyle, and her daughter has abandoned her husband and children. Neither of them will have anything to do with their mother.

The prophet Hosea suffered a similar heartbreak because of his adulterous wife Gomer. What he experienced mirrors how God must have felt when His people turned to pagan idolatry and all the wickedness associated with it. God had been a loving husband and father to them, but they had spurned His love. Although His holy character demanded that He chasten them, He also felt deep anguish.

Centuries later, God came to earth in the person of Jesus, who endured the agony of Calvary to bear the sins of the whole world. Yet many people still reject Him.

Yes, love is vulnerable, and there are no guarantees that it will be returned! But God continues to love, and in His strength we can do the same. —Herb Vander Lugt

Your love, O God, would spare no pain
To conquer death and win;
You sent Your only Son to die
To rescue us from sin. —Gustafson

Nothing costs as much as loving—except not loving.

[Soaring Feather]

Morning everyone!

[Valin]

On This Day In History


Birthdates which occurred on July 02:
0419 Valentinian III Roman emperor (425-55)
1489 Thomas Cranmer England, archbishop/reformer/martyr
1810 Robert Augustus Toombs, Secy State (Confederacy), died in 1885
1830 John Bordenave Villepigue, Brig General (Confederate Army)
1865 Lili Braun Prussia, feminist/socialist writer (Im Schatten Titanen)
1877 Hermann Hesse Switzerland, novelist/poet (Steppenwolf, Nobel 1946)
1884 Dr Otto Bohm Prussia, scientist (helped create England Radar)
1894 Walter Brennan Swampscott Mass, actor (Real McCoys)
1905 Jean-Rene Lacoste France, tennis champ/alligator shirt designer
1908 Thurgood Marshall Md, 1st black Supreme Court justice (1967-91)
1916 Barry Gray, [Bernard Yaroslaw], interviewer (started call-in radio)
1916 Ken Curtis Lamar Colo, actor (Ripcord, Festus-Gunsmoke)
1922 Dan Rowan Beggs Okla, comedian (Rowan & Martin's Laugh-in)
1925 Marvin Rainwater Wichita Ks, country singer (Ozark Jubilee)
1925 Patrice Lumumba Zaire, revolutionary/1st premier of Congo

1937 Richard Petty auto race driver (Daytona 500-1979,81)

1939 John Sununu US Secretary of State (1989-91)
1940 Georgi Ivan Ivanov 1st Bulgarian space traveler (Soyuz 33)
1946 Ron Silver NYC, actor (Gary-Rhoda, Dear Detective, Baker's Dozen)
1947 Luci Baines Johnson Nugent Turpin daughter of Pres LBJ
1952 Linda M Godwin Cape Girardeau Missouri, PhD/astronaut (STS 37)
1956 Jerry Hall Mesquite Tx, model/Mrs Mick Jagger
1959 Wendy B Lawrence Jacksonville Fla, USN Lt Commander/astronaut
1964 Jos‚ Canseco Havana Cuba, Oakland As (1986 Rookie Year, 1988 AL MVP)
1967 Debee Ashby Coventry England, topless model

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Deaths which occurred on July 02:
1566 Nostradamus French astrologer/physician/prophet, dies in Salon (Never saw it coming)
1644 William Gascoigne introduced telescopic sights, is killed at 24
1798 John Fitch American inventor, clockmaker, etc, dies
1822 Denmark Vesey & 5 aides hanged at Blake's Landing, Charleston, SC
1850 Robert "Bobbie" Peel, British PM/founder London Police, dies at 62
1863 - Stephen Hinsdale Weed, US Union brig-general, dies in battle at 28
1932 Manoel II, last king of Portugal (1908-10), dies at 43
1935 Alfred Dreyfus, french colonel, dies
1961 Ernest Hemingway shot himself to death in Ketchum Idaho
1964 Glenn "Fireball" Roberts biggest NASCAR money winner, dies in crash
1969 Brian Jones founder of the Rolling Stones, drowns
1973 Betty Grable, US actress (How to Marry a Millionaire), dies at 56
1973 Swede Savage dies from injuries at Indianapolis 500
1977 Vladimir V Nabokov, Russian/US writer (Lolita), dies at 78
1987 Karl Linnas accused Nazi, dies of heart failure in Russia
1987 Michael Bennet Chorus Line director, dies of AIDS at 44
1991 Lee Remick actress, dies at 55 from cancer
1993 Don Drysdale, pitcher (Dodgers), dies of a heart attack at 56
1993 Fred Gwynne, actor (Officer Francis Muldoon, Car 54, where are you, Herman-Munsters), dies of pancreatic cancer at 66
1995 Gail Gordon, actor (Our Miss Brooks, Lucy Show), dies of cancer at 89
1997 Jimmy Stewart, actor (It's a Wonderful Life), dies at 89

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Reported: MISSING in ACTION
1967 KASCH FREDERICK M.---SAN DIEGO CA.
[REMAINS RETURNED 02/22/89]
1967 RAYFORD KING D. JR.---DETROIT MI.
[03/16/73 RELEASED BY PRG]
1967 WILSON WAYNE VASTER---THOMASVILLE NC.
1968 TIPPING HENRY ALBERT---PHILADELPHIA PA.
1969 FRANSEN ALBERT M JR.---LAS VEGAS NV.
1970 HARBER STEPHEN J.---FAIRMONT MN.

POW / MIA Data & Bios supplied by
the P.O.W. NETWORK. Skidmore, MO. USA.

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On this day...
0311 St Militiades begins his reign as Catholic Pope
1214 English king John begins siege around Lille France
1644 Battle of Marston Moor; Parliamentary forces defeat royalists
1681 Earl of Shaftesbury arrested for high-treason
1687 King James II disbands English parliament

1776 Continental Congress resolves "these United Colonies are & of right ought to be Free & Independent States"

1777 Vermont becomes 1st American colony to abolish slavery
1787 de Sade shouts from Bastille that prisoners are being slaughtered

1788 It was announced in Congress that the new Constitution had been ratified by the required nine states, the ninth being New Hampshire on June 21.

1808 Simon Fraser completes his trip down Fraser R, BC, lands at Musqueam
1843 An alligator falls from the sky during a Charleston SC thunderstorm
1847 Envelope bearing the 1st US 10 cent stamps, still exists today
1850 Benjamin Lane patents gas mask with a breathing apparatus
1858 Partial emancipation of Russian serfs
1862 Lincoln signs act granting land for state agricultural colleges
1863 Battle of Gettysburg (2nd day) (little round top)
1864 Gen Early & Confederate forces reach Winchester
1864 Statuary Hall in US Capitol established
1865 William Booth founds Salvation Army (Army of the Salvation)
1867 1st US elevated railroad begins service, NYC
1882 James Garfield 20th President of the United States
assassinated by "job-seeker"
1885 Canada's North-west Insurrection ends with surrender of Big Bear
1890 Sherman Antitrust Act prohibits industrial monopolies
1894 Government obtains injunction against striking Pullman Workers
1900 Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin 1st airship LZ-1, flies
1901 Butch Cassidy and Sundance Kid rob train of $40,000 at Wagner Montana
1902 John J McGraw becomes manager of NY Giants (stays for 30 years)
1906 Yanks win by forfeit, for their 1st time
1921 1st million dollar gate ($1.7m) boxing match (Dempsey KOs Carpentier)

1926 US Army Air Corps created; Distinguish Flying Cross authorized

1932 FDR makes 1st presidential nominating conventional acceptance speech
1937 Amelia Earhart & Fred Noonan disappear over Pacific Ocean
1937 C Jackson discovers asteroids #1429 Pemba & #1456 Saldanha
1940 Lake Washington (Seattle) Floating bridge dedicated
1941 Nazi mass murder in Lvov/Lemberg (7,000 dead)
1941 DiMaggio breaks Willie Keeler's 44 game hitting streak (45th of 56)
1943 Lt Charles Hall, becomes 1st black pilot to shoot down Nazi plane
1949 "Red Barber's Clubhouse" sports show premiers on CBS (later NBC) TV
1955 "Lawrence Welk Show" premiers on ABC
1956 Elvis Presley records "Hound Dog" & "Don't Be Cruel"
1957 1st sub powered by liquid metal cooled reactor completed-The Seawolf
1957 1st submarine designed to fire guided missiles launched, Grayback
1959 "Plan 9 From Outer Space," premieres (A classic of the cinamatic arts)
1961 Maris hits 29th & 30th en route to 61 homers

1964 Pres Johnson signs Civil Rights Act and Voting Rights Act into law

1969 Leslie West & Felix Pappalardi form the rock group Mountain
1976 Formal reunification of North & South Vietnam
1976 Supreme Court ruled death penalty not inherently cruel or unusual
1981 L E Gonzalez discovers asteroid #3495 Colchagua
1982 Larry Walters using lawn chair & 42 helium balloons, rose to 16,000'
1982 Soyuz T-6 returns to Earth
1985 European Space Agency launches Giotto to Halley's Comet
1986 Supreme Court upheld affirmative action in 2 rulings
1988 Steffi Graff beats Martina Navratilova for Wimbeldon crown
1990 Imelda Marcos & Adnan Khashoggi found not guilty of racketeering
1993 Moslem fundamentalists in Sivas Turkey, set hotel on fire, kill 36
2002 After 5 unsuccessful attempts, American Steve Fossett completed a round-the-world solo flight in a balloon, reaching Queensland in the Australian outback to finish a 19,428-mile trip that began June 19 in western Australia.

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Holidays
Note: Some Holidays are only applicable on a given "day of the week"

Italy : Corso de Palio, horse-race
Norway : King's Birthday
Iowa : Independence Sunday (Sunday)
Canada : Dominion Day/Canada Day (1867)(Monday)
Caribbean Common Market : Caribbean Day (1973)(Monday)
Lesotho : Family Day(Monday)
Zambia : Unity Day (Tuesday)
US : Honor America Days (thru 7-4)
National Ice Cream Month

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Religious Observances
Old Catholic : Visitation of Mary

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Religious History
0311 Miltiades was elected 32nd pope of the Catholic Church. During his pontificate,Christianity was finally tolerated by Rome, following the Emperor Constantine's conversionto the Christian faith.
1489 Birth of Thomas Cranmer, first Protestant Archbishop of Canterbury and primaryauthor of the 'Book of Common Prayer' and 'Thirty-Nine Articles' of the Anglican Church.
1752 The first Bible in America printed in English was published in Boston.
1918 Death of Washington Gladden, 82, a popular Congregational theologian of the SocialGospel. He also authored the hymn, 'O Master, Let Me Walk with Thee.'
1930 Pioneer linguistic educator Frank C. Laubach wrote in a letter: '[God has said to me,] If I do not speak to you in words at times, it is because the reality all about you is greater than the imperfect symbols of things which you have in words.'

Source: William D. Blake. ALMANAC OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. Minneapolis: Bethany House, 1987.

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Thought for the day :
"How often we fail to realize our good fortune in living in a country where happiness is more than a lack of tragedy."

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Things To Do If You Ever Became An Evil Overlord...
Keep a special cache of low-tech weapons and train your troops in their use. That way -- even if the heroes manage to neutralize your power generator and/or render the standard-issue energy weapons useless -- your troops will not be overrun by a handful of savages armed with spears and rocks.

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The World's Shortest Books...
Beauty Secrets - by Janet Reno.

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Dumb Laws...
Hartford Connecticut:
You aren't allowed to cross a street while walking on your hands.

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Top ten things you never hear in church...
1. Nothing inspires me and strengthens my commitment like our annual stewardship campaign!

[alfa6]

Well what do you know, it makes sense that the Army Engineers would have a dive program but it is not something you would think about I guess.

Back to the stairs for me, almost done.

The USAF T-birds are in Kansas City this weekend. They are preforming just a couple of miles from my house, YEAH

Unfortunately I am on nights this weekend so I don't know if I will get to see them. Maybe I can sneek a peek one afternoon and skip my nap, yeah thats the ticket ;-)

Regards

alfa6 ;>}

[Professional Engineer]

Good morning ladies. Flag-o-gram.

[Soaring Feather]

Good morning, PE. Love the Flag-o-gram!! LOL

Happy 4th of July to you and the family.

[CholeraJoe]

Thanks snippy. Rock On, Divers!

[Samwise]

Stubborn to a fault virtue.

[Samwise]

LOL!

[SAMWolf]

Gotta love those engineers.

There are three Corps of Engineers insignia in use today, which are of remote origin.

In chronological order of approximate dates of adoption they are: The Essayons Button, first definitely known to have been worn during the War of 1812; The Turreted Castle, believed to have been worn by the Cadets of West Point during the summer of 1839, and approved for use on the uniform of the Corps of Engineers during the same year: and The Corps of Engineers Seal, believed to have been designed and used as early as 1866-1867. (Formally designated as the Official Seal April 6, 1897.)

While we do not know who actually executed the designs of these heraldic devices, the Engineer officers who had the most to do with ordering the execution, adoption, or use of these three insignia for the Corps, were all distinguished for the parts they played in shaping the history of our nation. Each served his country notably; and each reached the top of the Corps by being appointed Chief Engineer of the United States Army. One of the group had the added distinction of being awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for gallantry "beyond the call of duty." And one became Commander-in-Chief of the Army itself.

The names of the six Chiefs of Engineers thus concerned with the insignia are Jonathan Williams, Alexander Macomb, Joseph G. Totten, Richard Delafield, Andrew A. Humphreys, and John Moulton Wilson.