Jacqueline Klimas

First all-female sub faux pas

By Jacqueline Klimas on May 29, 2012 Navy, Submarines, Women in the Navy

It sounds too far-fetched to be true, and it is. Despite rumors reported by My Fox DC and The Hill on Monday, the Navy is not staffing Virginia-class submarine Illinois with the first-ever all female submarine crew. This rumor is impossible, since the Navy is just now beginning to place woman on ballistic and guided missile submarines. There are no current plans for enlisted women to serve on subs or for women to serve on Virginia class subs. Cmdr. Monica Rousselow, a public affairs officer for submarine forces Atlantic, posted a comment on The Hill’s article, correcting the error. “Hello,…

Memorial Day at the Navy Memorial

By Jacqueline Klimas on May 29, 2012 Navy

The Navy was well represented in Washington on Memorial Day. On the afternoon of May 28, there was a Naval District Washington wreath laying at the Navy Memorial. Veterans watched as leaders in the local Navy community spoke about the importance of recognizing PTSD and getting help to those who need it. Later, sailors marched in the National Memorial Day Parade down Constitution Avenue –and had some fun beforehand.

Sights from the annual Herndon Monument climb

By Jacqueline Klimas on May 22, 2012 Navy

Here are some images from Tuesday’s Herndon climb. Midshipman 4th Class Andrew Craig, 19, of Tulsa, Okla., was this year’s top plebe.

USNA official says "Indian Run" offensive

By Jacqueline Klimas on May 17, 2012 Navy

Is the term “Indian run” offensive? Master Chief Engineman (SW) Christopher Gary, an equal opportunity adviser at the Naval Academy, thinks so and he’s sent an email urging officers and chiefs at the academy to consider changing the name of the exercise, The Washington Free Beacon reported. An Indian run involves midshipmen running in a single file line while the last person in line sprints to the front, which is repeated for the duration of the exercise. “The term ‘Indian Run’ is used … at various levels here at the Academy, and it is widely used among the public,” Gary…

Gay Navy veteran proposes to Marine boyfriend…and he says yes!

By Jacqueline Klimas on May 9, 2012 Navy

Cory Huston liked it so he put it a ring on it. Huston, a Navy veteran who was other-than-honorably discharged in 2006 after a chief found out he was gay, proposed to his boyfriend Avarice Guerrero, a Marine who just returned from Afghanistan, at Camp Pendleton according to San Diego LGBT Weekly. It was the first public proposal between two men on a military base. “I realized we made it through [this deployment], and I just wanted to show him how much I loved him and that he was the only one I wanted to be with,” Huston told HLN…

NFL hopeful shows creative side

By Jacqueline Klimas on April 26, 2012 Football, Naval Academy, Navy

Lt. j.g. Eric Kettani’s release from the Navy was approved so he could go follow his dream to play in the NFL with the Patriots. However, the former Naval Academy running back seems to have another passion: painting. The NFL hopeful tweeted that he just shipped one of his paintings, “Limitless,” to the American Heart Association Fundraiser to be auctioned off with a starting bid of $15,000. His website, www.erickettani.com, says that Kettani is a “self taught artist who has always had a great appreciation for the arts.” His paintings are on wood panels and finished with an apoxy resin…

LGBT leaders push for next ship to be named Harvey Milk

By Jacqueline Klimas on April 24, 2012 Don't ask, don't tell, Navy, Navy secretary

An upcoming addition to the Navy’s fleet may be the USS Harvey Milk if Rep. Bob Filner, D-Calif., and other San Diego gay rights leaders have their way about it. The GLBT Historic Task Force of San Diego County and Filner sent letters to Navy Secretary Ray Mabus and Defense Secretary Leon Panetta last week asking for Harvey Milk to be considered as a name for a submarine, carrier or other appropriate vessel, according to a PR Newswire press release. Milk, a late civil rights icon, was a Navy veteran who served aboard the submarine rescue ship Kittiwake as a…

Training video got Navy vet Bob Barker's goat

By Jacqueline Klimas on April 24, 2012 Coast Guard, Ethics, Medical, Navy, Training

For Navy veteran Bob Barker, the price is never right when it comes to using goats to train Navy and Coast Guard medical personnel. He’s written a letter to both Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano urging them to replace training on live animals with lifelike human simulators. Barker’s letter comes just a week after the release of a video showing a live goat that appeared to be conscious while its legs were sawed off with tree trimmers during a Coast Guard training session. According to a PETA press release, veterinarians watching the video said the…

Katy Perry kisses a mid

By Jacqueline Klimas on April 23, 2012 Entertainment, Naval Academy, Navy

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rbz-m7Y5kig&feature=player_embedded[/youtube]Pop star Katy Perry portrayed a Marine in her newest video, but when she performed at the Naval Academy last Friday night, it was all about playing sailor. Perry, who said she was fighting a fever, performed in a sailor get-up. In this YouTube video she proceeds to recreate the iconic World War II-era image of a sailor kissing a nurse in Times Square. A lucky Midshipman 3rd Class named Tanner Beasley plays the coveted role of sailor and promptly plants one on Perry’s kisser. The crowd, of course, goes bananas. ABC News offers more details.

Vote now on Battleship advanced screenings

By Jacqueline Klimas on April 23, 2012 Entertainment, Movies, Navy

Want to see Battleship on a big screen at your base? Eventful Inc., is holding a “Battle of the Bases” campaign to bring sneak previews of the movie Battleship to 10 military bases across the country before the film opens everywhere May 18. Family, friends and servicemembers can vote online at http://eventful.com/battleship. The 10 military bases with the most votes by May 8 will get an advanced screening of Battleship at a theater near the base between May 15 and May 17. The action-adventure movie, which includes real sailors as extras, is about Earth fighting for survival against aliens. It…

Author Jacqueline Klimas