Military Divorce

When I was in the Navy there was an extreme divorce rate. Luckily my part-time girlfriend at the time became an anti-nuke protester and she moved to Colorado... about as far as you could get from a submarine base. But for many fortunate or unfortunate squids and bubble heads their destiny was to tie the knot. That knot has about a thousand ways to unravel in the military.

In my travels as a web designer and search engine optimization guy for many years after active duty, I ran into an attorney that I consider the best in his trade. His specialty is military divorce lawyer and in particular, he takes care of the over 20's crowd. A retired nuke Master Chief can have a retirement package running into the millions now if he lives long enough. That's big stakes and it takes a lawyer with a lot of experience, finesse, and knowledge to help divide those assets.

Anyway, I hope you do have a happy marriage - if not, call my friend Michael Kevin Murphy in Fairfax Virginia no matter where you are on the planet. He can help with your family law issues if you're a senior military or government employee looking to get divorced.
http://mkmurphylaw.com

Back in Black

I'm going to start posting again... looking for someone to run the Alumni Association so we can get a few more events in. It's going to take some work... I have been paying 15 bucks a month to maintain that Constant Contact mailing list and I want to get some use out of it. Anyone who was onboard the 10 Boat want to run a group of 800 radiated former submarine sailors ??

Cheers everyone !

Mal

Submarine Memorial: USS Augusta

Image via WikipediaThere are about 40 to 50 unique visitors to this site every week. That's a lot of fun but not much in terms of impact. So I'm probably going to shift gears soon.

I started the Alumni Association for the USS Augusta several years ago when I read on a German site that the "10 Boat" was getting de-commissioned. We had a great party in Groton before the Decomm. Then the boat got de-commissioned. And now I want to make a Submarine Memorial for the boat. in 2015 NAVSEA will make the sail available to an organization that demonstrates financial capacity and the desire to do this.

I have this blog on blogger and a static website at USS-Augusta.com. So I am going to start an NPO and revamp both sites and start building again. For the time being I am going to stop posting to this site becasue it is actually taking valuable time that I could be spending working on getting a memorial for the boat. If anyone wants to help with suggestions please contact me.

My next goals are:
1. Get a lawyer that is willing to help create the NPO for this.
2. Create a Non-Profit Organization: the USS Augusta Memorial Foundation.
3. Start a new blog / website and retire the old blogs and website.
4. Try to gather around $500,000 to setup the Foundation for a permanent memorial.

Cheers all - happy sailing - Mahalo Aloha - Mal

Thanks everyone - more in 2009.

Mal Milligan
Founder - USS Augusta Alumni Association
Plankowner SSN-710
Former QM2(SS), Primary Navigational Plotter and Deck Division LPO

Coasties snag doper submarine !!

Image by Getty Images via Daylife

The Coast Guard has been getting tons of great headlines lately with rescue ops all over the place. They are majorly bagging hi-end dopers too and here is one bust that we can all relate to. When the dopers with submarines start shooting old Harpoons (the US Navy kind), then US Subs will get to play. Until then ... go Coast Guard ... Nice catch boys !!!

U.S. captures $187 million drug haul in submarine

By John McPhaul Tue Sep 16, 11:48 PM ET

SAN JOSE, Costa Rica (Reuters) - The U.S. coast guard captured a submarine-like vessel equipped with sophisticated navigation equipment and stuffed with seven tonnes of cocaine, Costa Rican authorities said on Tuesday.

In a difficult nighttime operation during the weekend, U.S. officials arrested four Colombian smugglers on board the 59-foot (18-meter) steel and fiberglass vessel in international waters

before they could sink it.

"The boat was partially submerged but you can't call it amateurish. The drug traffickers are not amateurs," Jose Pastor, a spokesman for Costa Rica's public security ministry told Reuters.

Several makeshift submarines toting drugs have been captured recently on the high seas. In July, the Mexican special forces captured a similar submarine carrying 200 tightly wrapped packages of cocaine.

On Saturday, the U.S. Coast Guard sent a team of special agents on small boats to surprise the smugglers after a U.S. Navy airplane spotted the sub. When the traffickers realized the agents were on their deck they shifted the boat violently in an attempt to throw the officers into the sea.

After that failed, they complied with orders not to open hatches designed to sink the craft, said the Coast Guard.

"This was the most dangerous operation of my career," Todd Bagetis, the lieutenant in charge of the Coast Guard team, said in a statement.

Official photos showed the craft packed full of 37 bales of cocaine with a street value of $187 million.

The vessel was likely capable of traveling from South America to the U.S. coast without stopping for fuel or supplies, said the Coast Guard.

The U.S. ship that nabbed the traffickers was set to arrive to the Costa Rican port of Caldera on Wednesday with the drug boat in tow, Pastor said.

(Additional reporting by Mica Rosenberg, editing by Patricia Zengerle)

Navy Thinking

This was sent in by Navy Veteran Don Schultz. Thanks Mr. Schultz !!

Think about this the way you were taught to think in the US Navy. Use only logic and not emotion.


If you vote for Obama


You get this:


If you vote for McCain


You get this:

David Ellis is voting for Bill Cosby in 2008 !!

I am fortunate to be on several mailing lists from former USS Augusta sailors. Dave Ellis sent me one I have to repost on the blog. Thanks Dave !! Cheers everyone...

I HAVE DECIDED TO BECOME A WRITE-IN CANDIDATE.

HERE IS MY PLATFORM:

(1) "Press 1 for English" is immediately banned. English is the official language; speak it or wait at the border until you can.

(2) We will immediately go into a two year isolationist posture to straighten out the country's attitude. NO imports, no exports.
We will use the 'Wal-Mart's policy, 'If we ain't got it, you don't need it.'

(3) When imports are allowed, there will be a 100% import tax on it.

(4) All retired military personnel will be required to man one of our many observation towers on the southern border. (six month tour) They will be under strict orders not to fire on SOUTHBOUND aliens

(5) Social security will immediately return to its original state. If you didn't put nuttin in, you ain't gettin nuttin out. The president nor any other politician will not be able to touch it.

(6) Welfare - Checks will be handed out on Fridays at the end of the 40 hour school week and the successful completion of urinalysis and a passing grade.

(7) Professional Athletes --Steroids - The FIRST time you check positive you're banned for life.

(8) Crime - We will adopt the Turkish method, the first time you steal, you lose your right hand. There is no more life sentences. If convicted, you will be put to death by the same method you chose for your victim; gun, knife, strangulation, etc.

(9) One export will be allowed; Wheat, The world needs to eat. A bushel of wheat will be the exact price of abarrel of oil.

(10) All foreign aid using American taxpayer money will immediately cease, and the saved money will pay off the national debt and ultimately lower taxes. When disasters occur around the world, we'll ask the American people if they want to donate to a disaster fund, and each citizen can make the decision whether it's a worthy cause.

(11) The Pledge of Allegiance will be said every day at school and every day in Congress.

(12) The National Anthem will be played at all appropriate ceremonies, sporting events, outings, etc.

Sorry if I stepped on anyone's toes but a vote for me will get you better than what you have, and better than what you're gonna get. Thanks for listening, and remember to write in my name on the ballot in November.
God Bless America !!!!!!!!!!!

Bill Cosby!!!!!!!!

Life is neither a spectator sport, nor a dress rehearsal.

Grace to you.

A Pineapple in Kennebunkport

Sometimes working for the USS Augusta Alumni Association is FUN. Actually, most of the time it's fun. But during my recent fact finding trip to Maine my kids and I went sailing together for the first time. THANKS AUNT PAT!!! (for everything... including sponsoring this vacation).

We went for a 2 hour cruise on the Pineapple which is a 2 masted sailboat registered in Kennebunkport ME. If you have never had the pleasure of cruising on wind power - do it before you die. The sounds of the water banging on the hull and the rigging banging against the mast will never leave you. With my time in the Navy and time as a commercial fisherman in Alaska I spent over a year of my life at sea. It was nice to feel the waves again - this time in almost total silence at times.

The USS Augusta Lobster Emblem

When the PCU Augusta was looking for a ships emblem in 1983 one of the final entries some kid submitted was a lobster. That was the one I voted for. I was one of the first Coners to report to the PCU and I think it was mostly a nuclear vote for the ship's emblem. The crew picked the old Maine Fort and "Protecting the Frontier since 1754".

I almost went to a lobster boat after the Navy but in between Wall Street jobs I was a commercial fisherman in Alaska. Not on a crabber like the Discovery Channel show, I was on a catcher / processor called the America #1. But I got to go on a working lobster boat "The Rugosa" last week in Kennebunkport with my kids and we all had a blast. There are probably millions of lobster pots on the coast of Maine in the summer when the little beasts go to shallow water to molt and hang out.

Rockport Maine

Another beautiful location on the Maine coastline is the town Rockport. The Harbor Master building overlooks a picturesque harbor with the typical mix of commercial fishermen and pleasure craft. There is a small beach and a number of public boat ramps and parking for around 10 cars.

I'd have to say this is simply a beautiful place and it is bound to stay that way because there will never be bus loads of people stopping here for the view. I don't think there was enough room for a bus to turn around at the bottom of the hill to get to the harbor. There did not appear to be any stores or places to eat or places to stay that I could see from the waterfront. Maybe there are a few places but they blend in well with the background.

USS Augusta Lobster Night

Do you remember the 5 cases of live Maine Lobster we got onboard the USS Augusta during the week we were commissioned? I wonder now if they were from the City of Augusta or the Kennebec Chamber of Commerce which covers more than 10 times the people. Anyway on my recent fact finding trip to Maine I only got to eat lobster once and it was a Lobster Omlet for breakfast on my last day and it was absolutely fantastic.