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SOUTH POTOMAC PILOTSOUTH POTOMAC PILOTOctober 18, 2013

NEWS AND INFORMATION FOR THE NAVAL SUPPORT ACTIVITY SOUTH POTOMAC DEFENSE COMMUNITY

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WAVES OfficerRemembersDahlgrenPage 2

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By Andrew RevelosStaff Writer

Dahlgren’s 95 years ofachievement has providedinvaluable, hard-won les-sons for the Navy, sheddinglight on its past and illumi-nating its future. Some as-pects of Dahlgren’s history-the massive naval guns stillfound across the installationcome to mind-are figura-tively and literally colossal.But those unmistakable rel-ics of a bygone era do notexplain the real reason forDahlgren’s continued ex-cellence. That distinctionbelongs to the military andscientific minds at Dahl-gren, who for generationscollaborated to provide theNavy with the tools it needsto win wars.

More specifically, it is theDahlgren Way. The processof aligning military goalswith scientific reality is al-ways changing, always chal-lenging and almost alwaysimperfect. But military andcivilian leaders at Dahlgrenfound a way to consistentlyachieve success by givingrank-and-file scientists cre-

ative space to solve mili-tary problems. Preservingthe lessons learned fromDahlgren’s more than ninedecades of naval problem-solving has, regrettably,been less successful than theprograms themselves.

For years, scientists, en-gineers and managers sim-ply saved whatever historicmaterial they deemed im-portant. A small museumwas established by Dahl-gren employee Robert Zinkin Building 183 in the 1960s,

but its displays were laterboxed in 1983 to accommo-date Naval Space Command.Historic documents, photosand scientific devices weresent back to the depart-ments at the Naval SurfaceWarfare Center DahlgrenDivision or left forgotten inoffices and closets across thebase.

In the early 2000s,Wayne Harman, a long-time NSWCDD employee,

Dahlgren History Project preserves lessons learned

Wayne Harman, historian at the Dahlgren HistoryProject, examines a pristine example of Thatch-er’s Calculating Instrument, an “ultimate sliderule” patented in 1881.

U. S. Navy photos by Andrew Revelos

Sara Krechel, historian at the Dahlgren HistoryProject, is reflected by the mirror of a device usedto inspect the inside of naval guns barrels.

See History, Page 9


The Dahlgren 95th An-niversary Speaker Seriesconcluded Oct. 7 at Gray’sLanding on the Potomacwith a discussion about lifeonboard the installation inthe 1960s, a time when thebase was populated mainlyby civilians. On the guestlist was Margie Stevens andLana Atwell, who grew upand eventually made theircareers at Dahlgren. Helenand Jane Gray, the motherand sister of Gray’s Landingon the Potomac namesake,Capt. Douglas “Dougie”Gray III, spoke about hislife and sacrifice. Gray wasa fixture of the Dahlgrencommunity, growing up justoutside the fence line andworking as a lifeguard at thebase pool. He was killed inaction in 1969 while serving

in Vietnam.The discussion was mod-

erated by Ed Jones, whogrew up at Dahlgren andlike everyone on base at thetime, knew and admiredGray. “We all knew Doug ashe was growing up here atDahlgren,” said Jones, “ashe was the first King Georgeresident to attend the U.S.Military Academy, so we’reparticularly honored to havewith us this morning Doug’smother Helen Gray and sis-ter Jane Gray. Having themhere in this location at thistime, when we’re enteringthe 95th anniversary activi-ties, is a particularly specialcircumstance.”

The Gray’s family house,located just off base, is itselfconnected to the Navy andits establishment of Dahl-gren in 1918 as the LowerStation of the Naval ProvingGrounds in Indian Head.“Many years ago, in 1948,

my husband was working onthe base,” said Helen Gray.“He had just retired fromthe Army. He had an oppor-tunity to get this house fromIndian Head. They were giv-ing them away if you coulddismantle them and recon-struct them. So we did that.”

The Grays successfullymoved the house from In-dian Head and relocatedit to a spot alongside Wil-liams Creek, where it standstoday. Many of the housesinside the Dahlgren fenceline made a similar journey,barged down the river fromIndian Head.

Jane Gray, who attend-ed Dahlgren School for ashort time like her brother,described how she andDoug frequented Dahl-gren. “Growing up outsidethe base-although I always

The story of Gray’s Landing

U.S. Navy photo by Andrew Revelos

Helen Gray, mother of the late Capt. DouglasGray, cuts a cake baked in her family’s honorafter the Dahlgren 95th Anniversary SpeakerSeries at Gray’s Landing on Oct. 10. Young DougGray was a well-known personality at Dahlgren inthe 1960s before his passing in Vietnam in 1969;Gray’s Landing on the Potomac was dedicated inhis memory. See Gray’s, Page 8

95th Anniversary Speaker Series

FREE CLASSIFIED ADS FOR MILITARY AND GOVERNMENT CIVILIAN EMPLOYEES E-mail [email protected] or Call (540) 653-8153

2 Friday, October 18, 2013The South Potomac Pilot


The outcome of WorldWar II still hung in the bal-ance when Ensign Gen-evieve Parker checked intoher first duty station at theDahlgren Naval ProvingGrounds in 1944. One ofthe first WAVES officers toserve at Dahlgren, Parkerstill fondly remembers ex-citement, the dizzying paceof work and camaraderieduring the war. Her year inDahlgren was an eventfulone: she met her husbandEdelen and would spend thenext few decades of her lifeas a Navy spouse. At 95 yearsyoung, Parker recounts hermemories with sharpness,clarity and humor.

Thousands of youngwomen served in the Navyas Women Accepted for Vol-unteer Emergency Serviceprogram, better known asWAVES, during World WarII. Unlike the women whoserved during World War I,WAVES were led by womanofficers. Parker was a teach-er when the U.S. joined thewar and called for womanvolunteers.

“I’m from the middle-west, in Wisconsin,” saidParker. “The war had justbegun and they were tak-ing all the men. You didn’thave to volunteer in thosedays; they just took you.They took all the men. I saidshoot, this is no fun. I’m go-ing where the guys are. An-other teacher and myself,we made the decision. Wewent to Milwaukee, foundthe Navy recruitment officeand signed up.”

Parker completedWAVESofficer training at Smith Col-lege, in Northampton, Mass.“We all got our orders,” shesaid. “The girls were stand-ing around [saying] ‘oh, I’mgoing to New York’ or ‘oh,I’m going to Philadelphia.’And I looked at [my orders]and said ‘did anybody everhear of Dahlgren?’ Nobodyhad and nobody else got or-ders to Dahlgren.”

Parker took a train fromBoston to Baltimore andthen caught a bus to thethen-remote Dahlgren Prov-ing Grounds. “When we gotclose I went to the driver andasked if there was a hotel inthis area and everybody-because they were lookingat this WAVES officer-every-body broke out laughing.”

Parker was “saved” byfellow WAVES when she fi-nally arrived at the base.“Those were the days,” sherecalled with a grin.

The flurry of work under-taken at Dahlgren duringthe war impressed Parker.“It was a pretty lively, goingthing, Dahlgren,” she said.

“They were testing these bigguns, all the way from the3-inch, the 5-inch, whatev-er, all the way up to the 16-inch guns.”

The first task was get-ting used to the very noisytesting that echoed acrossthe base. “You ever seenthat 16-inch gun fire?” sheasked. “When they used totest those guns at the prov-ing ground, it would blowthe pictures off the wall andthe furniture would shakeand rattle. It was really fun.”

Parker’s primary job wasto create range tables thathelped Navy gunners hittheir targets. In the daysbefore computers, this wasno small task and the list ofwartime ordnance requiringnew range tables was grow-ing. “In those days, theyhad a formula,” she said.“You had to put in the speedof the bullet, the weatherplayed a part-the wind, thetemperature-it was a formu-la that incorporated all these

things. This was a rangetable. When you shoot thegun, where does it go? Whatis the angle? You had to putall this into your formula soyou could find out if you’dhit your target or not. Youhad to figure it out for everyangle. And [the formulas]were huge. No calculators.you had to do it all with pa-per and pencil.”

Though that particularjob took place behind thegun line at Dahlgren, theWAVES occasionally got afront-row seat to the test-ing. “All the women got outthere to watch them firethe guns,” said Parker. “Itwas neat because they fireddown the Potomac River andyou could see the projectileif you stood right behind[the gun].”

While Parker calculatedrange tables with pencil andpaper, she witnessed oneof the Navy’s most impor-tant transformations. Theincredible amount of work

that needed to be done atDahlgren led Navy leaders,including base commanderCapt. David Hedrick, to seekout more efficient means ofcompleting new range ta-bles. Hedrick ordered moredesk calculators and com-missioned the project thatcreated the Harvard MarkII relay calculator, deliveredto Dahlgren in 1947. Earliertypes of computers had al-ready made their way to thebase just as Parker was leav-ing.

“It was just starting,” shesaid. “A computer filled awhole room. I was just get-ting ready to leave whenthey got this computer. Allthe bigwigs. they were so ex-cited about his computer.”

Parker was later taskedwith compiling reports andscheduling appointmentsfor two captains in one ofthe range offices. As one ofonly a few WAVES officers,Parker was also chargedwith leading the enlisted

WAVES. “They lived rightwith the enlisted Sailors,”said Parker of the enlistedWAVES. “They had a sepa-rate hallway or something.One of us [officers] hadduty every night. We had goover there and sleep in thebarracks with the enlistedWAVES so they didn’t getinto any trouble.”

That responsibility con-tinued when the enlistedWAVES went on liberty inFredericksburg or ColonialBeach, where Parker pa-trolled the boardwalk. “Wehad to watch out for theWAVES and make sure theydidn’t get into any trouble,”said Parker. “We had to walkup and down that board-walk and watch the enlistedWAVES. They were just likeus and probably some ofthem were just as well-edu-cated.”

If that weren’t enoughresponsibilities, Parker alsohad one more collateralduty selling war bonds. “Ev-erybody bought them,” shesaid.

Despite the frantic wareffort that affected every fac-et of base life, Parker and herfellow WAVES found time torelax. She still seems to be alittle surprised by all the at-tention the WAVES officersreceived. “We had a goodtime,” she said. “We wereonly three WAVE officers, soeven the captains and ad-mirals invited us to all theparties. We were a phenom-enon, I guess.”

The WAVES officers saw

their male counterparts atmeals and the group enjoyedmovies, cards, golf outingsand ping pong together.“We saw them three timesa day,” said Parker of themale officers. “Every onceand awhile they’d a have alittle party or serve drinksbefore dinner. My husbandcame over a couple of timesand we’d walk over to dinnertogether; that’s where I methim.”

Then-Lt. Edelen Parkerhad already spent severalyears in the Navy, earn-ing his wings in 1937. Thedashing young officer wasquickly promoted as the warprogressed. “My husbandwas a dive bomber pilot test-ing bomb sights,” said Park-er. “He said they droppedbombs and missiles all overthe Potomac River and theChesapeake Bay. Once, theydropped one in a woman’sback yard and boy did theyhear about it.”

According to family leg-end, Edelen Parker onceflew his plane underneaththe Harry Nice Bridge, thencalled the Potomac RiverBridge. He clearly made animpression on the young en-sign. “I thought that was thebest year of my life,” Parkersaid.

Edelen Parker stayed inthe Navy after the end ofWorld War II, reaching therank of rear admiral and re-tiring in 1972. He shared hisown recollections of Dahl-gren with his wife and chil-dren before he passed away

Love and war: a WAVES officer remembers Dahlgren


Genevieve Parker in her Clinton, Md. home.

Courtesy photo

Lt. Cmdr. Edelen Parker and Genevieve Parker.

Friday, October 18, 2013 3The South Potomac Pilot

CARPOOL/VANPOOL WANTED

Riders Needed for Vanpool from commuterlot at the corner of Houser Dr. and Rt. 208 inSpotsylvania. Depart 6 a.m., arrive on base7 a.m. Depart base at 4 p.m. Mon. - Thurs.,3 p.m. on Fri. Drops at both sides of thebase. Contact Nick Sunshine, 540-653-3816.

Rider wanted for 7-passenger vanpool.Departs F’burg/Gordon Rd Commuter lotat 7AM. Departs NSWCDD/Dahlgren at4:30PM. Transportation Incentive ProgramSystem (TIPS) qualified van. Contact Anto-nio at (540) 653-1512

Rider seeks rideshare from La Plata to In-dian Head. Call Louie, 276-971-9837

Employee moving to either Fredericksburg,Va. or Maryland is in need of commute toNSF Dahlgren. Ideal commuting arrange-ment would be transportation that couldpick-up and drop-off at or close to place ofresidence. Please call for more informa-tion, Sheila 214-529-3690.

Starting a Van Pool, 7-passenger van,departs NLT at 6:35 a.m. from Fieldhouse/Courthouse Rd. commuter lot to Dahlgren,Mon-Thurs 7:15 a.m. to 3:45p.m.; Friday7:15 a.m. to 3:15p.m. Call Cheng at 540-653-5909. A-Gate commuter wanted only.

Van/carpool desired from any rideshareparking area or Reston Town Center. De-part between 6 to 7a.m., return from IndianHead between 4 to 5 p.m. Call Moses,301-743-4180.

Van or Car pool desired from Fredericks-burg or King George to Indian Head, Mon-day thru Friday with one RDO, prefer 7a.m.to 4:30p.m., but hours can be negotiated.703-909-3380.

Want to start a carpool? Need riders?

“Commuter Clearinghouse” is a source forinformation on carpools or vanpools that al-ready exist and need passengers, as well asa place for employees to advertise to starta carpool or vanpool. Whether you alreadyoperate a carpool or vanpool and are opento accepting new riders or need drivers, orif you are looking for a carpool or vanpool,provide us with information that might helpyou find or start a commuter opportunity,such as, where you will need to commutefrom and to, preferred schedule and contactinformation. You can send your informationvia e-mail to nsasp_pao_dlgr@ navy.mil orcontact our office toll free at 866-359-5540,or DSN 249-8153, or 540-653-8153.

FREDERICKSBURG RIDESHARING

GWRideConnect is a free ridesharing ser-vice that assists persons who are seekingdaily transportation from Fredericksburg,Stafford, Spotsylvania, Caroline and KingGeorge counties to employment locationsin Dahlgren among other employment sites.www.gwregion.org/gwride connect.html.

Naval Surface Warfare Center Dahl-gren Division (NSWCDD) hosted an In-house Laboratory Independent Research(ILIR) and Independent Applied Research(IAR) End of Year Review at the Universityof Mary Washington (UMW) DahlgrenCampus Oct. 3.

Navy scientists and engineers pre-sented 21 research projects designed tocounter emerging threats during the an-nual program review.

“Our annual event was well attendedwith representatives from Dahlgren, oth-er government agencies, and academia,”said Dr. Jeff Solka, NSWCDD ILIR/IARProgram Director who announced theILIR and IAR projects of the year and theirNSWCDD researchers: “Exploring thechemistry and physics of stress-growncarbon nanotubes,” researched by Dr.Michael Lowry; and “Adaptive Fire Con-trol using a Visual Targeting Algorithm,”researched by Dr. Chris Weiland.

The Office of Naval Research spon-sored program fosters basic and ap-plied research at the Naval Sea SystemsCommand (NAVSEA) Warfare Centersto counter emerging threats. The pro-gram helps to ensure a next generationof technically competent scientists bysupporting masters and doctoral disser-tation research, and research in the areasthat are essential to the future mission ofNSWCDD.

ONR’s website describes the ILIR andIAR process as a means “to develop thenext generation of Navy scientists andengineers capable of addressing keywarfighter challenges to ensure the Navymaintains a leading edge in science fornational defense.”

Many of the projects presented at theILIR and IAR event have the potential toresult in Cooperative Research and De-velopment Agreements (CRADAs). This isa legal agreement that provides a meansfor NSWCDD and a private sector partnerto cooperatively conduct research anddevelopment in a given technical areaand share in the technical results.

The NAVSEA Warfare Centers supplythe technical operations, people, tech-nology, engineering services and prod-ucts needed to equip and support thefleet andmeet the warfighters’ needs. Thewarfare centers are the Navy’s principalresearch, development, test and evalua-tion assessment activity for surface shipand submarine systems and subsystems.

NSWCDD research featured at annual event

U. S. Navy photo by Patrick Dunn

Lorena De Los Santos, scientist, and Patrick Mead, human systemsengineer, from Naval Surface Warfare Center Dahlgren Division(NSWCDD), answer questions about their project during the during theIn-house Laboratory Independent Research and Independent AppliedResearch End of Year Review. Their project, “Understanding the Corre-lation between Warfighter Performance and Genetic Polymorphisms,”involves understanding the relationship between genetic markers andwarfighter performance.

The 614th Air and Space OperationsCenter, Detachment 1 was activatedon April 30, 2010. 614 AOC, Det 1 is re-sponsible for providing space commandand control, as well as space situationalawareness for government and civiliancustomers. The unit mission is to main-tain space command and control and en-hanced space capabilities to provide CDRJFCC SPACE timely global space effectsto protect DoD air, land, sea and spaceforces.

When the Soviet Union launchedSputnik I on October 1957, the space racebegan. The United States didn’t have thecapability to detect satellites. The NavalResearch Lab’s innovative design madethis a reality in February 1961, developinga radar called the Naval Space Surveil-lance System, more commonly knownas the Fence. From 1971-84, AlternativeSpace Command and Control (ASCC) du-ties were assigned to Eglin AFB, FL, whileDahlgren served as computational back-up. In 1987, ASCC transitioned to Dahl-

gren, under Naval Space SurveillanceCommand and operated under the sameuntil 1993. From 1993-2002, ASCC oper-ated under Naval Space Command, thenfrom 2002-2004 under Naval Network &Space Surveillance Command. In 2004operational control of both the Fenceand ASCC missions passed to the UnitedStates Air Force under 20th Space ControlSquadron, Detachment 1. The Fence wasrenamed Air Force Space SurveillanceSystem (AFSSS).

At its time of activation, 614 AOC, Det.1 assumed control of the AFSSS and ASCCmissions. ASCC became DistributiveSpace Command and Control-Dahlgren(DSC2-D). DSC2-D serves as an alternatecommand and control node for the JointSpace Operations Center Space Situ-ational Awareness Cell located at Van-denberg Air Force Base, CA and providestasking to the space surveillance net-work, a worldwide network of 31 spacesurveillance sensors (radar and opticaltelescopes, both military and civilian) on

high-priority satellites, processes spaceevents (launches, re-entries, de-orbits,breakups, maneuvers, etc.) and worksdirectly with NASA to ensure the safetyof the International Space Station crews.They also work Laser Clearinghouse re-quests to ensure Laser test fires do notinterfere with on orbit assets. Collocatedand working hand-in-hand with NavalNetwork Warfare Command Space Op-erations, DSC2-D enhances the Depart-ment of the Navy Satellite VulnerabilityProgram by providing near real-time no-tification to the Naval Fleet of potentialhostile Space-Based ReconnaissanceSystems and provides space situationalawareness products and services in sup-port of United States Strategic Command.

Effective October 1, 2013, the AFSSSmission was deactivated along with theinactivation of 20 SPCS, Det 1. 614 AOC,Det 1 continues to operate the DSC2-Dmission at NSF, Dahlgren.

614th AOC - Air Force Operations at Dahlgren

The Naval Branch Health Clinic Dahlgren is open to all patients enrolled tothis clinic for influenza vaccinations. Vaccinations will be available on a walk-in(no appointment necessary) basis on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons from1 - 3:30 p.m. beginning on October 8. Vaccines will be available until supply isexhausted.

The Naval Branch Health Clinic Indian Head is open to all patients enrolledto the clinic for influenza vaccinations. Vaccinations will be available on a walk-in (no appointment necessary) basis 8 - 11 a.m. and 1 - 3 p.m. Mondays throughThursdays, and 8 - 11 a.m. on Fridays. Vaccines will be available until supply isexhausted.

Flu shots for Dahlgren Clinic patrons CorrectionIn the article “Excellence

- A Brief History of DahlgrenSchool” that ran in the Oct.11 issue of the South PotomacPilot, Margie Stevens was in-correctly identified as theCorporate CommunicationsOfficer. Stevens is in fact acontractor in the CorporateCommunications Office.


TheSouthPotomacPilotNewspaper ispublishedweeklybySouthernMaryland Newspapers and Printing, 7 Industrial Park Drive, Waldorf, Md.20602, a private company in no way connected with the U.S. Navy, underexclusive written contract with Naval District Washington.

This commercial enterprise newspaper is an authorized publicationformembersof themilitary services.Contents of TheSouthPotomacPilotare not necessarily the official views of, nor endorsed by the U.S. Gov-ernment, the Department of Defense, or the Department of the Navy. Theappearance of advertising in this publication, including inserts or supple-

ments, doesnot constitute endorsement by theDepartment ofDefenseorSouthernMaryland Newspapers and Printing of the products or servicesadvertised.

Everything advertised in this publication shall be made available forpurchase, use, or patronage without regard to race, color, religion, sex,national origin, age,marital status, physical handicap, political affiliation, orany other non-merit factor of the purchaser, user, or patron. If a violation orrejection of this equal opportunity policy by an advertiser is confirmed, thepublisher shall refuse toprint advertising from that sourceuntil the violation

is corrected.Editorial content is edited, prepared, andprovidedby thePublicAffairs

Office, NSA South Potomac. News copy should be submitted by noon onFriday to be considered for the following week’s edition. All material is ed-ited for accuracy, brevity, clarity, and conformity to regulations. To inquireabout news copy, call 540-653-8153 or fax The South Potomac Pilot at540-653-4269. Commercial advertising may be placed with the publisherby calling 301-645-9480.

Capt. Peter NetteCommandingOfficer, NSA South Potomac

Gary R. WagnerPublic Affairs Officer, NSA South Potomac

Jeron HayesNSASouth PotomacManaging Editor

Andrew RevelosStaff Reporter

Breton Helsel andDeirdre Parry

Copy/layout editors, The Gazette/Comprint Military Publications

www.dcmilitary.com/dahlgrenNSA South Potomac • Office: 540-653-8153 • 540-284-0129

Dahlgren & Indian Head

Energy fairs at NSF Dahlgren andNSF Indian Head

The NSF Indian Head Energy Fair will be heldOct. 22 from 10 a.m. - 1 p.m. at Autumn Fest Park.NSF Dahlgren Energy Fair will be held Oct. 23 from10 a.m. - 1 p.m. at the Parade Field Pavilion.

DahlgrenChild Find at Dahlgren School

Children that reside in base housing at NSF Dahl-gren are eligible for the Child Find program, spon-sored by Dahlgren School. The program is open tochildren birth to 5 years (60 months) on Thursday,October 24 from 10 a.m. - 2 p.m. Program includesscreenings for hearing/vision, speech/language, so-cial skills, adaptation to the environment and grossand fine motor skills. Please call for a reservation at(540) 653-0197

Second Tour Thrift Store OpenStarting in October, the Second Tour Thrift Store

will be open from 12:30 - 3 p.m. every Thursday. Thestore currently has some great Halloween costumesand lots of fall and winter items available. SecondTour accepts donations of gently used items at theirstore on Sampson Road next to the USO. All pro-ceeds from sales at Second Tour are donated to char-ities in the Dahlgren/King George and surroundingcommunities, and provide scholarship funds to de-pendents of military personnel that are or were sta-tioned on Dahlgren. Uniforms on the porch are freeand available 24/7!

Indian HeadIH Spouses’ Club “Treasures” Thrift StoreNeeds Your Donations!

The Indian Head Thrift Store “Treasures” is nowopen on Tuesdays from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. We’re sureyou’ll love all the treasures you’ll find. Open to ev-eryone - military and civilian! Come by and checkus out. The store is located at 12 Strauss Ave. nextdoor to the USO. Donations of gently used items arecurrently being accepted. Want to earn up to $5 infree items from the thrift store every month? Volun-teer! Stop by the thrift store during operating hoursor email [email protected] for information.

To publish information on your event or programunder “Base Happenings,” contact NSASP Public Af-fairs at 540-653-8153 or email [email protected].

Base Happenings

The King George Relay For Life planning committeehas three key positions that need to be filled. Volunteersmake this event successful each year in raising funds forthe American Cancer Society. Interested volunteers shouldcontact Jessica Delgado, [email protected].

Positions to be filled include:Team Retention & Mentoring

Retain and recruit committee volunteers to help withteam retention and mentoring (sub-committee members)

Collaborate with Chair(s) to plan and set goals for teamretention/mentoring

Employ year round strategies and to retain and mentorteams

Be an expert on team retention and mentoring mate-rial/resources

Communicate frequently with team captions aboutteam member recruitment, fundraising opportunities, So-ciety accomplishments, advocacy, logistics, etc.

Host educational and inspiring kick-offs, team meet-ings/rallies, fundraising workshops, bank nights wrap-ups(with the help/support of other committee members and

Society staff)Develop relationships with National Corporate Team

Partner teams i.e. Wal-Mart, BAE, Booz-Allen-Hamilton etc.Ensure that all other committee volunteers are consid-

ering team retention/mentoring in their plans (it’s every-one’s job)

Ensure that all team retention and mentoring volun-teers/contacts know how much they are appreciated.

Team RecruitmentRetain and recruit committee volunteers that represent

the entire community to help with new team recruitment(sub-committee members)

Collaborate with Chair(s) to plan and set goals for newteam recruitment

Employ year round strategies to recruit new teams thatrepresent the entire Relay community

Be an expert on team recruitment material/resourcesLeverage kick-offs, team meetings/rallies, fundraising

workshops, bank nights, event days and wrap-ups as oppor-tunities to enlist team captains, team members, survivors,

King George Relay For Lifecommittee needs volunteers

See Volunteers, Page 5

Halloween EventsDoor Decorating Contest

Departments and Housing residents are all invited tocompete for the best Halloween Themed door during themonth of October. Prizes will be awarded in both office andhousing categories. Send an email to [email protected] to register or for contest information.

MWR Halloween SpooktakularSaturday, October 26 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Mix

House.Join us for face painting, a pumpkin patch, arts & crafts,

haunted house, hayride, music and more! This event isFREE and open to all eligible patrons.

Weight House Fitness CenterWHFC Personal Training

Need a little help fine tuning your workout? Check outour personal trainers Call the WHFC front desk at 301-744-4661 to schedule your session. $10 per session for Mili-tary/$15 per session for all other eligible patrons. First twosessions are free for Military.

Youth CenterTeen Center Open Rec

Looking for something to do on Friday? The Teen Centerwill be open every Friday from 6 - 9 p.m. and is FREE for alleligible teens. This program is open to all teens age 11 andin 6th grade through 18 and not yet graduated.

Mix HouseSeason Closing of the Tiki Bar

Friday, October 18. Doors open at 3:30 p.m., party startsat 6 p.m. Come by and enjoy great views, great music andlots of fun as we celebrate the end of another fantastic sea-son!

Auto Skills CenterRecreational Gear Rentals

The MWR Auto Hobby Shop rents an extensive selectionof equipment for your recreational needs. Available itemsinclude tents, canoes, tarps, picnic tents, tables, chairs,moon bounce, grills, lanterns, sporting equipment andmore! Rentals are available on a daily, weekly or weekendbasis. Call the Hobby Shop at 301-744-6314 for more infor-mation or stop by and see what we have to offer.

Campers Available15’ Cozy Traveler Recreational Trailer (sleeps up to 6)$55.00 per day$100.00 per weekend$245.00 for a weekCall 301-744-6314 for more information.

Liberty Center540-653-7277

Wicked Woods Haunted House TripOctober 19, 5:30 p.m.Eligible patrons: E1-E6 single/unaccompanied active

duty Military onlyCost: $25.15/personWicked Woods is Virginia’s premier outdoor haunted

Halloween attraction that takes victims through three hor-rifying attractions including a haunted manor, an insaneasylum and over a quarter mile trail into the deep woods.For more information, please contact the Liberty Center at540-653-7277.

Bowling Center540-653-7327

9-Pin No Tap Bowling TournamentOctober 19, 6 p.m.Eligible patrons include all with base access.The cost is $15 per person, which includes shoes and

game. Prizes will be awarded. Eligible patrons include allwith base access. For more information, please contactCannonball Lanes at 540-653-7327.

Costume Bowl BallOctober 30, 5 p.m.Eligible patrons include all with base access.

Cannonball Lanes will be hosting a costume ball for$8.50 per person. Cost includes three games and shoes perperson. Please participate in a family friendly costume! Formore information, please contact Cannonball Lanes at 540-653-7327.


540-653-7336Friday and Saturday: 7 p.m. ShowingsPrice of ShowsCivilians - $5AD, Retired, Reserve, Family Members (E7 -above) $4AD, Reserve, Family Members (E6 - below) - $2.50Child (6-11) - $2; Child (5 and under) - FreeTickets for a movie shown in 3-D are an addi-tional $1

Friday, October 18th7 p.m., Riddick, R

Saturday, October 19th7 p.m., The World’s End, R

Friday, October 25th7 p.m., Insidious Chapter 2, PG-13

Saturday, October 26th2 p.m., Hotel Transylvania*, PG

Saturday, October 26th4 p.m., Monsters vs. Aliens*, PG

Saturday, October 26th6 p.m., Frankenweenie*, PG

Saturday, October 26th8 p.m., Evil Dead*, R

Saturday, October 26th10 p.m., Nightmare on ElmStreet 2010*, R

Saturday, October 26t11:50 p.m., Poltergeist*, R

*The theater wants to get you in the Halloweenspirit and to do that; all movies being played onSaturday, October 26th will be FREE!

MovieTheater

MWR Highlights

The volunteer tutoring program continues for the2013-2014 school year at King George High School.This opportunity is available for people with strongskills or background in algebra, geometry, trig, statis-tics, calculus, and/ or physics. Volunteers would tu-tor in one-on-one sessions held at the high school fora few hours each week either after school or duringflex-time (lunch time). This is an excellent opportuni-ty for interested employees to work with high schoolstudents needing help negotiating math and scienceclasses on a volunteer basis.

If you would like to serve as a tutor, pleasecontact Ms. Shawna McElroy at 301-848-1024, s_mcelroy2001(at)yahoo.com.

Tutors needed forKGHS students and other Relayers to help with new team recruitment (with

the help/support of other committee members and Societystaff

Ensure that all other committee volunteers are consid-ering team recruitment in their plans

Ensure that all team retention and mentoring volun-teers/contacts know how much they are appreciated.

LogisticsRetain and recruit committee volunteers to help with

logistics and hospitality (sub-committee members)Collaborate with Chair(s) to plan and set goals for lo-

gistics and hospitalityBe an expert on logistics and hospitality materials/re-

sourcesCreate a master plan for the site selection, overall event

schedule, track layout, campsite layout, signage, A/V, elec-

trical, restroom, trash/recycling, tents, safety, risk manage-ment, contingency location, security, medical support, set-up and clean-up needs

Recruit and train day-of-event volunteers to help cre-ate a seamless experience for all participants (e.g. set-up,site maintenance, clean-up, information tenet, event greet-ers, etc.)

Ensure that food/beverage is available during the event(may be vendor or team-driven food/beverage sales as ap-propriate depending on local health department code)

Leverage kick-offs, team meetings/rallies, fundraisingworkshops, bank nights, and wrap-ups as opportunities toeducate volunteers and answer questions about event logis-tics and risk management

Ensure that all other committee volunteers are com-municating logistics needs (e.g. staging, sound,, tables,tents, power etc.)

Ensure that all logistics and hospitality volunteers/contacts know how much they are appreciated.

Volunteers: King George Relay For LifeContinued from page 4

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The U.S. Naval Sea Cadets Corps Penta-gon Division pitted their military skills, en-durance and spirit against the Fredericks-burg-based Lance Cpl. Caleb Powers YoungMarines in a Sept. 21 competition on theparade field at Naval Support Facility Dahl-gren. Sea Cadets and Young Marines passedthrough obstacles, played dodge ball andtug-of-war, ran a relay challenge and test-ed their knowledge in a military version of“Jeopardy.”

Both sides put on an impressive showand Capt. Pete Nette, commanding officerof Naval Support Activity South Potomacpraised the young people for their dedica-tion.

For the obstacle course part of the vent,Sea Cadets and Young Marines competed infour-person teams. “As a team, they scram-bled over a hay bale wall and across balancebeams, low-crawled under netting, carriedlogs as a team around the cannon, made itthrough pushup and sit-up stations, linkedup for a 3-legged race, hopped throughtire “hopscotch,” dodged water balloonlandmines, and wove through traffic conesdoing the fireman carry,” said Airman 1stClass Mary Grace Balaban, assigned to the614th Air and Space Operations Center De-tachment One at Dahlgren and a volunteerphysical fitness coordinator for PentagonDivision. “Sea Cadets won three of thosefour heats.”

Pentagon Division also bested the YoungMarines in the relay competition, but the

Young Marines came out on top in military“Jeopardy.”

“Young Marines were also quicker andmore accurate in the dodge ball tourna-

ment,” said Balaban, “but Sea Cadets hadthe strength and numbers to take the tug-of-war competition.”

Balaban said she was very impressed

with the performance and spirit of theYoung Marines. “It is noteworthy that whileour average cadet was probably 14 years old,theirs was 10 or 11,” she said. “The YoungMarines put up quite a fight and provedoutstanding in sportsmanship and cama-raderie. I loved watching every one of themcheering on their teammate as excitedly as ifthey were competing themselves.”

The friendly competition didn’t end withthe conclusion of the official contest; SeaCadets and Young Marines continued withfootball, Frisbee and soccer bouts. Leadersof both organizations provided laughs whenthey hoisted themselves atop a dunk tankand fell victim to the Sea Cadets and YoungMarines’ accurate throws.

Sea Cadets compete with Young Marines at Dahlgren

Photos courtesy of Teresa Crater

Lance Cpl. Caleb Powers YoungMarines and The U.S. Naval Sea Ca-dets Corps Pentagon Division armwrestle at a friendly competition atNaval Support Facility Dahlgren onSept. 21.

Capt. Pete Nette, commanding officer of Naval Support Activity South Po-tomac, addresses Lance Cpl. Caleb Powers Young Marines and The U.S.Naval Sea Cadets Corps Pentagon Division on the parade field at NavalSupport Facility Dahlgren on Sept. 21.

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238th Navy Birthday Celebrated

U.S. Navy photo by Gary Wagner

About 35 military members and civilian personnelfrom various commands at Naval Support Facil-ity Dahlgren gathered on Oct. 11 for a ceremonyto celebrate Navy’s 238th birthday. The event in-cluded a bell ceremony to mark the start of a newNavy year, along with the reading of Navy birth-day messages from the Secretary of the Navyand Chief of Naval Operations. Per Navy tradition,a Navy birthday cake cutting was performed bythe eldest Navy member present, in this case,Capt. Peter Nette (r.), NSASP commanding of-ficer, and the youngest Sailor present, Yeoman2nd Class Jordan Smith, NSASP command staff.


Cmdr. David Bachand (l. to r.), assigned to theChemical Biological Incident Response Force,HN Alex Rink, assigned to the Naval BranchHealth Clinic Indian Head, and Capt. Pete Nette,NSASP commanding officer, cut the cake at theceremony celebrating the Navy’s 238th birthdayOct. 10 at Naval Support Facility Indian Head.Bachand and Rink were the oldest and youngestSailors present, respectively. The cake-cuttingkicked off a fitting birthday feast prepared bythe Sailors and staff of the Indian Head Galley. Apacked house of revelers enjoyed steak, lobsterand shrimp, to name only a few of the birthdaydelicacies. Happy birthday Navy!

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knew we were off the base-I spent a good deal of mytime, especially in summertime, on the base,” she said.“We would just hop on ourbikes and ride over hereand go to the pool, hangout. I had lots of friendsover here.”

She still recalls being onthe receiving end of somebrotherly teasing. “Mybrother was ten years olderthan I, so my memories ofhim are a lot different thanother [people],” said Jane,grinning. “I was the littlesister. his nickname for mewas brat.”

Many of Jane’s memo-ries of her brother cen-tered on the water: boating,swimming, barefoot waterskiing and above all, fun.Jones seconded those fondmemories of Doug. “He re-ally was a golden boy hereat Dahlgren,” Jones said.“He was representative ofso much of the Dahlgrenspirit, people who are inservice to their country.People who were part of areally close-knit and sup-

portive community. A lotof that is wrapped up in hisstory.”

Helen Gray expressed amother’s pride in her sonwhen she described Doug.“He was a wonderful kidand what else can you say?”she said. “He was alwaysa good boy and I was veryproud of him and still amvery proud of him.”

Stevens, a contractorassigned to the CorporateCommunications Office atthe Naval Surface WarfareCenter Dahlgren Division,described growing up inbase housing. “We lived inone of these little bunga-lows and there were fourgirls in one bathroom,” shesaid. “Nobody would everdream of having that livingsituation today.”

Though Stevens’ child-hood home on Hall Roadis no longer standing, herfond memories of Dahlgrenare still vivid. “It was won-derful growing up and beingable to walk to school andhaving the security. know-ing you could play, run andgo to the swimming pool.As Jane said, [the pool] was

the hub of activity in thesummertime, especially ifDoug Gray was lifeguard-ing. Whether you were hisage or much younger, youwere still just enamored byGray.”

Secur i ty measuresaround Dahlgren havechanged significantly in re-cent years, but in the 1960s,locals could access the basewith relative ease. “Peoplefrom off the base were. apart of us,” said Stevens.“We played them in sports,we went to the pool togeth-er, so it was quite a commu-nity outreach, which helpedus later as we [DahlgrenSchool graduates] wenton to King George HighSchool.”

Atwell’s father workedat Dahlgren and she laterspent some of her own ca-reer working on base, start-ing off as a secretary andtaking advantage of an up-ward mobility program thatpaid many of her collegeexpenses. She shared herown happy memories of herchildhood in Dahlgren. “Itwas a wonderful environ-ment,” she said. “We didn’t

realize it at the time, but itwas a perfect childhood.”

Even as young as 10or 11 years old, Atwell re-members paling aroundbase with relative freedom,bowling, going to the mov-ies, water skiing, catchingcrabs from a rowboat, sled-ding, roller skating and iceskating on frozen pondsduring the winter. “In win-ter, the cooling pond would

freeze and we would playchicken to see who wouldbe the first one across thepond. How we didn’t die, Ihave no idea. God was look-ing out for us, that’s all Ican say. We ice skated fromDecember, January, until itthawed.”

Atwell said she oftenenjoyed visiting the homeof Stevens, whose motherwould play the piano for

children and feed themplenty of “goodies” forgood measure. The family-friendly atmosphere wentwell beyond the Stevens’home and was embracedby just about every familyat Dahlgren.

“We were porky,” said agrinning Atwell. “We exer-cised a lot, but we ate good.Everybody was our mother.Everybody was our dad.”

Gray’s: Reflecting on the Dahlgren spiritContinued from page 1


The Dahlgren 95th Anniversary Speaker Series at Gray’s Landing on Oct.10. From left to right, Ed Jones, Helen Gray, Jane Gray, Margie Stevens andLana Atwell.

DahlgrenGreat Night Out

The Rotary Club of King George-Dahlgren presents aGreat Night Out with the famous dueling pianos as seen atBobby McKey’s at National Harbor on Sat., Nov. 16 from6 p.m. - midnight at the Riverboat on the Potomac in Co-lonial Beach. Tickets are $40 each and include dinner andthe show. Event will also include a silent auction featur-ing items such as sporting event tickets, restaurant certifi-cates, YMCA memberships, vacations and more. Ticketsare available by contacting [email protected] calling Deanna Kroner, (540) 226-1252.

Indian HeadCSM Children’s Theater

The College of Southern Maryland Children’s Theatrebrings family-friendly adventure, action and love to thestage with its production of “The Clumsy Custard HorrorShow” at 10:30 a.m. and 7 p.m. Oct. 18 and 2 p.m. and 7p.m. Oct. 19 in the Fine Arts Center on the La Plata Campus.

Audience participation is encouraged in this hilariousinterpretation of an age-old love story. King Dumb is readyfor his daughter to select a husband, and all the Knights ofthe Realm are anxious to claim her hand. But, the sweetPrincess Prince has fallen for a gentle yet courageous ladshe assumes to be a pauper.

A Children’s Theatre Combo Ticket is available forthose who wish to attend all three CSM Children’s Theatreproductions of the season, with the cost for four seats toevery Children’s Theatre $60. Otherwise, individual tick-ets are $7 for adults/seniors, $5 for youth (high school andyounger).

For other season ticket or ensemble combination ticketinformation, visit www.csmd.edu/arts or call the Box Of-fice at 301-934-7828.

Chamber of Commerce Veterans FairThe Charles County Chamber of Commerce is pleased

to announce its first Opportunity Fair for retired and ac-tive duty veterans will take place on Saturday, Oct. 19, atthe Waldorf West Library in St. Charles, from 9 a.m. to 1p.m. The veterans fair will have information for the lo-cal military community about health, medical, housing,education, and employment benefits available veteransand their families. This event will be much more. It is be-ing held in conjunction with our St. Charles Fall Festival,which will feature a concert by the USAF band Max Impact;free pumpkins (while supplies last) for children; restaurantvendors like Chick- Fil-A and Boston’s the Gourmet Pizza;an artist’s market; and farmer’s market. The Waldorf Ro-tary Club will be hosting a 60-mile bike ride that will beginand end at O’Donnell Lake in St. Charles.

Cycle for Food, Farms, and Fun at the Crop HopRegister today for the 2013 Crop Hop - a cycling tour of

Southern Maryland farms, to be held Sat., Oct. 19 in his-toric and picturesque Charles County. This event is hostedby the Southern Maryland Agricultural Development Com-mission and the Charles County Board of Commissioners.The Crop Hop highlights the connection between localfarms, fresh food, and good nutrition while raising moneyfor the Southern Maryland Food Bank. All rides begin andend at Gilbert Run Park (13140 Charles Street, CharlotteHall). Riders cycle to local farm stops to experience farmtours, interact with farmers, and enjoy locally-sourcedsnacks.

This year’s routes include: the Silo Century (62 miles)for serious riders, the Harvest Hop (33 miles), the Barn-stormer (15 miles), the Barnstormer Lite (for those less in-clined to ride the hilly terrain), and the Sprout Route (anin-park family ride). Farm stops include turkeys, cattle,horses, goats, produce, agritourism, and more. The SproutRoute features a three-mile in-park walk and ride withstops highlighting rabbits, goats, dogs, seed planting, andexercise.

After the ride, cyclists will enjoy a locally-sourced picniclunch at Gilbert Run Park, complete with entertainmentand educational opportunities including farm animaldemonstrations, Cornelia and Couch Potato skits, fitness

activities, and other fun, educational activities. The costper rider ranges from $20-$60. Riders registering beforeMonday, Sept. 30 are guaranteed a complementary lunchand event T-shirt.

Non-cyclists and community members are welcome tojoin the festivities at Gilbert Run Park. Join us for the pic-nic lunch from 11:30 a.m. - 2 p.m. Cost for lunch is $10 peradult and $5 per child (aged six and under). Profits fromthis event will go to the Southern Maryland Food Bank topurchase fresh food for hungry families.

More information and registration opportunities for theevent can be found at www.CropHop.com.

Town of Indian Head Children’s Halloween Party/Trunk or Treat

The Town of Indian Head will host a Children’s Hal-loween Party on Oct. 20 from 2 - 4 p.m. at the IH VillageGreen Pavilion. Children 12 years & under with adult wel-come. Hayrides to the Pumpkin Patch, pumpkins for first100 children. Open to children 1 - 12 yrs. Costume Paradew/goodie bag, fun carnival games & prizes, hot dogs, chips& drinks, DJ music and door prizes. Admission is $2 perperson at the door. Children under 1 are free. Meet FrancisHayes-Children’s Author of “Spencer The Spider.” Be sureto join us for Trunk to Trunk Trick or Treating on

Thursday, Oct. 31 on the Village Green from 6 - 8 p.m.along with traditional door-to-door trick or treatingthroughout town streets. All children MUST have an adultwith them to trick or treat!!!! For more information & tosign up as trunk to trunk participant for Oct. 31 (compli-mentary dinner served to vehicle participants), call 240-375-4061 or [email protected].

Charles County FallFest ExhibitorOpportunities Available

Celebrate Charles: FallFest is taking place on Saturday,Oct. 26 from 2 - 6:30 p.m. at Regency Furniture Stadium,11765 St. Linus Drive, Waldorf. Local artisans and craftersare invited to participate at FallFest to sell goods and show-

Community Notes

See Community Notes, Page 10


chaired the Dahlgren Science andTechnology Council and helpeddocument Dahlgren’s contribu-tions to the national defense inpreparation for what would be-come the Base Realignment andClosure Act of 2005. “[NSWCDDleaders] wanted us to find outwhat we’d done and where didit go,” said Harman. “They weretrying to figure out, after all theseyears, what the base had done.”

Harman was joined in the effortby another longtime NSWCDDemployee, Robin Staton. “I discov-ered that Robin had been stashingstuff away for years in CONEXboxes,” said Harman. “[The effort]kind of got us started doing this. Itgave us a cause.”

Around the same time, theFredericksburg Area Museum andCultural Center sought help fromthe base to create an exhibit aboutDahlgren. “They wanted us to re-construct stories about the base’saccomplishments and projects,”said Staton. “It turns out, that wasnot easy.”

Harman and Staton receivedsupport from NSWCDD leader-ship and began the process of col-lecting historical items. A broken8,300 pound Dahlgren cannonthat served onboard the USS Mer-rimack and CSS Virginia duringthe Civil War was loaned to themuseum for five years, but the ef-fort fizzled when the project ranlow on funding and the gun wasreturned to the Navy.

That situation remained un-changed until 2008 when Harman,who retired in 2007, returned toDahlgren on a part-time basiswith the task of organizing andpreserving Dahlgren’s history.Harman was hired by Kratos andcontracted to support NSWCDD’shistory mission, a path followedby all current Dahlgren HistoryProject employees. One of his firstprojects was organizing the 200thbirthday celebration of Dahlgren’snamesake and the father of mod-ern ordnance and gunnery, RearAdm. Adolphus Dahlgren.

Harman and Pete Kolakowski,operations department head for

NSWCDD, met with Rear Adm. JayDeloach, director of Naval Historyand Heritage Command, in 2009with the goal of re-establishing aDahlgren museum. Deloach in-formed Harman that the Navywas changing the way it managedits museums; from that pointon, museums would be privatelyfunded and operated, but followNavy protocol and policy.

Deloach sent Dr. Jay Thomas,assistant director for collectionsmanagement, to Dahlgren in 2010to evaluate the situation “[Thom-as] was very encouraging,” saidHarman. “He decided on the spot.He said the Navy was doing a newmuseum structure and maybe youall could be the prototype for thisnew idea. We took him around thebase and he was like a kid, takingpictures of all the guns. That got itkicked off in a formal sense.”

The Dahlgren History Projectwould preserve the lessons of thepast for the current workforcewhile supporting a Dahlgren mu-seum if a private, organized ef-fort to establish one arose. “Thepurpose of the history project isknowledge preservation, manage-ment and transfer,” said Staton,who became Dahlgren HistoryProject employee after he retiredfrom NSWCDD in 2012. “We serveas a repository for the historicalinformation, to keep it organizedand be able to respond to datacalls. A major part of our role is torespond internal and public inqui-ries. Another part of what we do ispreserving corporate knowledgeand lessons learned.”

The private Dahlgren HeritageFoundation was incorporated in2011 to create a Dahlgren mu-seum, the model program for theNavy’s new museum framework.The foundation received non-profit designation and a tempo-rary site for the museum at theformer Virginia Welcome Centerin 2011.

Now, the long-neglected job ofcollecting and organizing Dahl-gren’s history began in earnest.

Karen Farley joined the Dahl-gren History Project as its firstfull-time employee even as Har-man’s own hours grew to a fullworkweek. When Farley depart-

ed, a series of interns from theUniversity of Mary Washington’sprestigious historic preservationdegree program lent their talentsto the monumental task at hand.

One of those interns, SaraKrechel, returned to the DahlgrenHistory Project as a full-time em-ployee after graduation. Krechelestimates that the project hasthus far cataloged and invento-ried more than 1,000 historic ob-jects and 2,000 documents, a tinyfraction of the historic items in theDahlgren History Project’s posses-sion.

“There are so many items,” saidKrechel. “You have to go throughit box by box.”

That mission only becamemore challenging after floods in2011 forced the team to hastilyrelocate thousands of items fromtheir shop in Building 492, throw-ing a wrench into the painstakingorganization. Newspapers werestrung along clotheslines in thefacility in the flood’s aftermath inan effort literally to save history.Throughout it all, the list of itemsthat need to be cataloged grew.But the study of history is not forthe impatient. “We spent literallyyears [investigating] some things,”said Staton.

One of Dahlgren’s lesser-knownitems is a statue of a warrior Bud-dha, now located behind PublicWorks. A Navy officer received thestatue from an Army command inKorea in the 1940s, according tothe plaque. “The question is, whyis this here?” said Staton. “What’sthe story behind it?”

For two years, the teamsearched for the facts. “We figuredout that it was given to the com-mander of the 7th Fleet, an admi-ral, and apparently his buddy wasAdmiral Turner Joy, who we arepretty sure brought it here whenhe became Dahlgren’s [com-manding officer] in 1947,” saidStaton. “There is a story like thatfor almost everything that’s here.”

Office moves are the kind ofevents that gets the team excitedsince they often produce surprisefinds. “We’re trying to minimizethe amount of information that’slost,” said Staton. “Most of thetime it’s lost forever.”

Boxed items from the old mu-seum in Building 183, for exam-ple, were recently re-discoveredat Public Works. “You never knowwhat’s historical until you knowwhat’s historical,” said Harman,who cringes at the idea of losingpotentially historic items.

The team strongly encouragedany employee or service memberat Dahlgren to contact them ifthey find any document, photo oritem that could be historic.

While the work continues, un-covering history is a rewarding task.“This is great fun,” said Harman.

“Every day is a day of discovery.”What are some of the lessons

those discoveries can offer to-day’s workforce? “The knowledgethat this base learned about howto develop computer programs forships, these weapons systems thatare so critical. They have to work,”said Harman. “To me, that is a bigcontribution this base has made.”

“I think this base has done apretty good job to not only discov-er, but to document and tell thestory of how you run a successfulscience, technology and engineer-ing organization,” added Staton.

History: Uncovering the past is a rewarding taskContinued from page 1


Robin Staton inspects an item at the Dahlgren History Proj-ect with a tragic history: the 16-inch shell that was jammedinto a barrel of the number two gun turret on the USS Iowawhen an explosion occurred in 1989, killing 47 Sailors. Pre-serving lessons learned is one of the primary tasks of theDahlgren History Project.

in 1993. One of the most striking,and one that still affects base op-erations today, were the Parkers’thoughts about working with civil-ian scientists. The perpetual cul-ture clash between military lead-ership and the sometimes idiosyn-cratic scientists came to a head atDahlgren during the 1940s.

“There were a lot of civilianPhDs [in Dahlgren] that werepart of the development of bombsights and he would always kindof chuckle because they were in adifferent world,” said Rhoderick,the Parkers’ oldest son.

“He said [Dahlgren] was full ofa bunch of PhDs who didn’t know

how to tie their shoes,” addedChris, the Parkers’ other son.

Some of those scientists werebrought directly into the uni-formed ranks, a move that eitherhelped or hurt the situation de-pending on one’s loyalties. “Theybrought these professors, thesePhDs, and gave them a rank,” saidParker. “They didn’t know any-thing about the Navy.”

Though the tension betweenthe military and scientific com-munities persisted at Dahlgrenafter the end of the war, the brainsand the brass always seemed tofind a way to accomplish the mis-sion at hand.

One such officer-scientist, Dr.Allen Hershey, stayed on at Dahl-

gren as a civilian after the war andeventually became senior memberof the Warfare Analysis Depart-ment. He was highly-regarded byhis peers, though his professo-rial mannerisms seemed a little“weird” to military service mem-bers. Hershey married Parker’sfriend, a fellow WAVES officer. “Hewas a typical scientist-professor,”she said. “It was a good match.”

Neither love nor friendshipcould overshadow the war andthe transience it produced, how-ever. Edelen Parker was promotedto lieutenant commander andsoon received orders to San Di-ego, where he would be assignedto USS Manila Bay. Parker marriedEdelen and left the service, though

the required bureaucratic maneu-vering was not without its compli-cations. “I had everybody workingon it, even the head of the WAVESunit in Washington,” she said. “SoI was able to get out then.”

For the Parkers, World War IIended some months after VJ Day,when USS Manila Bay returnedto San Francisco in 1945. In themany years since Parker left Dahl-gren, she still remembers the mainfeatures of the base. “I can pictureit pretty well,” she said.

Parker’s fondest memories,however, are of her husband.Edelen, it seems, including lotspranks in his courtship of Parker.“He’d push the doorbell and thenrun off and leave me standingthere by myself,” she said, smiling.

The Parkers’ descendants cur-rently manage Parker Farms, abusiness that began when Edelen

retired from the Navy and begangrowing berries at his parents’Clinton, Md. farm. With the helpof the Parkers’ sons, the businessgrew and the family now managesagricultural operations in sevenstates. The origins of the familyand family business, however, arethe product of a wartime romanceat Dahlgren.

Parker smiles sublimely as sheremembers the days she spentwith her groom at Dahlgren. “Wegot this canoe and we were outthere in our uniforms on the wa-ter, so what does he do? He tipsover the canoe. My hat went float-ing down the river. We finally gotback into the canoe and he did itagain. He was a real joker.”

She doesn’t hesitate whenasked whether or not she avengedthe prank. “I married him,” shesaid, laughing. “That fixed him.”

WAVES: Wartime romance at DahlgrenContinued from page 2


We first set aside a time to remind us about saving en-ergy in 1981 with American Energy Week. On September 13,1991, President George Bush proclaimed October as EnergyAwareness Month. The Department of the Navy has longbeen conducting energy awareness campaigns that pro-mote the wise and efficient use of energy.

Our nation can benefit from the wise use of energy. Asthe single largest domestic user of energy, the federal gov-ernment spends more than $9 billion to power its vehicles,operations, and approximately 500,000 facilities throughoutthe United States.

Efficient energy management at federal facilities:. Saves taxpayer dollars. Reduces greenhouse gas emissions. Protects the environment and natural resources. Contributes to our national security

The Energy Vision involves five (5) Energy Pillars thatoperate independently, but together create NDW/NAVFACWashington’s comprehensive Energy Program. The firstweek of Energy Awareness Month discussed our EnergyCulture. As we enter the second week of Energy AwarenessMonth, the next Energy Pillar is Energy Information...

I. Energy Culture: Our Energy Culture is a shared visionserving as the foundation of our comprehensive energyprogram focused on efficient use of energy resources toensure optimal mission readiness. All employees bear theresponsibility for being good energy stewards that value re-sponsible use of resources aligned with energy governance.The objectives include: integrating energy planning into allinstallation master plans; creating energy teams throughoutall supported/tenant commands and raising awareness andcommitment to energy excellence.

II. Energy Information: Our Energy Information systemswill interconnect technologies and processes to provideactionable information based on “real-time” and accuratedata. All leaders will use this information to optimize oppor-tunities to reduce consumption, integrate renewable energyand alternative fuels and enhance security. Each installa-tion will integrate Building Control Systems (BCS) and Util-ity Control Systems (UCS), which includes Advanced Meter-ing Infrastructure (AMI) and Supervisory Control and DataAcquisition (SCADA). NDW data management systems willcollect, monitor, analyze and provide energy performancefeedback to all end users over a secure network helpingdrive behavioral and cultural change.

Follow us next week to learn about the third Energy Pillarwhich is Energy Efficiency.

During Energy Awareness Month, and throughout theyear, we must all remember that saving energy is an individ-ual priority and focus, and that we can safeguard our energyinfrastructure in all that we do through simple choices andattention to energy efficiency. Please refer to the attachedchecklist to see how you can begin making a difference!

To learn more about Energy Awareness, visit energy fairsplanned for Dahlgren and Indian Head. The NSF IndianHead Energy Fair will be held Oct. 22 from 10 a.m. - 1 p.m.at Autumn Fest Park. NSF Dahlgren Energy Fair will be heldOct. 23 from 10 a.m. - 1 p.m. at the Parade Field Pavilion.

If you have questions please contact the Installation En-ergy Manager, Jeff Creasey at (540) 653-0472 or via email [email protected]

October is Energy Awareness Month

case their talents. Spaces are available for $10. Register to-day to secure a spot at this family-friendly event. Registra-tion is available online at www.CharlesCountyMD.gov.

National Memory Screening Day Event Nov. 20Do you worry about memory loss? Participate in the

National Memory Screening Day on Wednesday, Nov. 20from 10 a.m. to noon at the Waldorf Senior Center (3092Crain Highway, Waldorf). This free event offers confiden-tial memory screenings and information about successfulaging. Memory screenings provide knowledge about prop-er diagnosis and treatment, if needed, as well as healthylifestyle choices for successful aging. National MemoryScreening Day is an initiative of the Alzheimer’s Founda-

tion of America. The Alzheimer’s Foundation of Americaworks to provide quality care and service to individualswith Alzheimer’s disease and related illnesses, includingtheir caregivers and families. For more information aboutAlzheimer’s disease, visit the Alzheimer’s Foundation ofAmerica’s website at www.alzfdn.org/index.htm.

SMHEC Open HouseAchieve Greater Future Success at the Southern Mary-

land Higher Educations Center open house on Thursday,November 7, 4-7 p.m. Students can meet with represen-tatives of over 90 degree programs including 12 bachelordegrees, five doctorates and 52 Masters degrees, that arepresented at the Southern Maryland Higher EducationCenter by 13 universities. The SMHEC campus is locatedat 44219 Airport Road, in California, Md. All of the classesfor the academic programs are presented at the Center.Now is the time to look into the new MSW and BASW de-

grees from Salisbury University and the Nursing Mastersdegrees for Nurse Practitioner and Nurse Educator fromBowie State University. SMHEC has welcomed studentsenrolling over 4,400 times in Bachelor’s upper divisioncourses and has had over 37,000 enrollments to date in allprograms. Degree graduates number almost 2,000 to date.There are 52 masters’ degrees at SMHEC in engineering,management, education, human resources management,and an MSW. There are 12 bachelor’s degrees in Crimi-nal Justice, Social Work, electrical engineering, electronicengineering technology, mechanical and electrical engi-neering, management, business and information systemsmanagement and now criminal justice.

Classes at SMHEC are offered during evening hoursand Saturdays. Take all classes right here in SouthernMaryland and get a degree from a world-class universityat SMHEC. Attend the SMHEC OPEN HOUSE, Thursday,November 7, from 4-7 p.m. Call SMHEC at 301-737-2500,or visit the website at www.smhec.org.

Community Notes:Continued from page 8

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T H E S O U T H P O T O M A C O C T O B E R 1 8 , 2 0 1 3

PilotClassifiedsServing Our Military and Civilian Personnel

The Publisher reserves the right to censor, reclassify, revise, edit or reject any classifiedadvertisement not meeting the standards of acceptance of Southern Maryland Newspapers. Allads accepted are subject to credit approval.Check your ad the first day it appears and, if you find a mistake, call our office so we may correctthe error, immediately.We will only be responsible for the 1st day of publication. Please be sure toread your ad carefully.

The South Potomac Pilot shall not be held responsible for any omitted adsfor any reason.

Placing An Ad

BUSINESS HOURS: MON. thru FRI. 8:15AM - 5:15PM

Advertising DeadlineTuesday 4pm - Friday Paper.

LINER Ads -All copy ads containing no special type or artwork. Ads are billed by the line with a 4 -line minimum.SEMI-DISPLAY Ads -Ads that are typeset in a 1 or 2 column format. These ads may contain limited special type, logos orlimited special borders. They are billed by the inch with a 2-inch minimum.DISPLAY Ads -Ads contain logos, artwork and special borders. Ads are billed by the inch with a 2-inch minimum.Classified and Recruitment rates apply. All Private Parties Ads must be pre-paidBase personnel can run Free classified ads

Important InformationPublication Day: Friday

Southern Maryland/Dahlgren 1-888-406-7663 • 1-800-843-3357 • website: http://www.somdnews.com

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615340

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ADOPTION:Nurturing Family Awaits 1st Baby.

Fashion Designer, Unconditional LOVEFinancial Security. Expenses Paid.

Claudine

1-800-989-8921

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T6614080A

CALL FOR AN INITIAL CONSULTATIONWWW.BURCHLAWFIRMLLC.COM

The Burch Law Firm, LLC

“Helping the People who Serve and their Families.”

* Military Law* Security Clearance* Family Law* ChildCustody/Support* Auto Accidents

301-474-4468

MILITARYDISCOUNT

Larry Burch former Navy Jag

This ad is a public service of this newspaper.

This ad is a public service of this newspaper. This ad is a public service of this newspaper.

Small collector paysCASH for Coins / Collec-tions / Gold. Will come toyou. Al 301-807-3266

Wildewoodsub divison:MUST SEE! Colonial,4bd, 2.5ba, gar, screenporch. NP Call: 301-843-8866

GREAT MILLS:1br apt,full furnished or unfurnish-ed, utilites included, long/short term lease. 3 miN.of NAS PAX riv. NS NPNo SEC 8. 301-904-2857

PORT TOBACCO: 1 bd,ba, kit, din rm, liv rm, di-rect tv, NP, NS. $800/mo.Cred chk 301-934-4254

Security OfficersNorthern Virginia

HIRING for unarmed security officers with a DOD TSor SECRET SECURITY CLEARANCE. Some

additional positions do not require a security clearance.FT & PT-weekend positions are available. Prior security,

military or law enforcement experience is desirable.For employment one must be a US citizen, English

proficient w/ good computer skills, 21 years or older w/HS diploma/GED & drug free with no criminal record.We provide weekly pay and uniforms at no cost.

Benefits are available for full time employees.

APPLY IN PERSON - NO Phone CallsMon - Thurs, 10am-4pm

Guardsmark, LLC14120 Parke-Long Ct, #201

Chantilly, VA 20151VA Lic 11-1195 / EOE

S522818

The South Potomac Pilot 11Friday, October 18, 2013

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