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November 2001 Hey great '98! Happy Thanksgiving to all! Obviously I am back from my WestPac deployment. Brian Guise and I had some interesting times underway, but pulling back into Pearl on a warm and sunny day, knowing that you'll be home in just a few more hours, is undoubtedly the highlight of the deployment. I was only there for the last three months, and I was lucky enough to catch the liberty in Perth, Australia. The Aussies are something else, I strongly recommend a trip to Australia if you ever get the chance. Now, to get to our two letters for this month: The first is from Matt Bonzella: Thought you may be interested that I am the first one back at USNA, as Bancroft 1st lieutenant. I spent two years at sea out of San Diego and just finished transferring to the CEC. Now I work directly for the Admiral and get involved in everything that happens in and around Mother B. Crazy job, but cool to be back so soon and one of the only JGs around. Lived with Kevin Coughlin and Angelo Fontannazza in San Diego, and now they are both in Norfolk on Carriers. We all still "hate" the Navy, but getting by. Malcolm Rumph runs his own "Shipmate," sending a monthly newsletter to about 40 people in '98, '99, and '00. Lots of cool stories about everyone. Thanks for the letter, Matt. Hope your second tour at USNA treats you better than the first... The next letter is from Jim Day, who always does a good job of keeping me informed of his whereabouts: I am slated to receive orders to MACINERNY (FFG-8) here in Mayport for my second Division Officer tour. MACINERNY is a guided missile frigate primarily responsible for intercepting drug runners. I will be the Ordinance Officer, meaning my division will be responsible for the missile launcher, 76mm gun and a point-defense gun system known as CIWS. I also just had the pleasure of playing for the U.S. in an international military golf competition in Toronto with the Canadians and South Africans. The U.S. team took the gold in the four-day Ryder Cup format winning nearly all its matches. Great letter, Jim. Good to know you are still playing golf and still kicking butt. Best of luck on your new ship. And that's all for this month. Not sure if last month's article made it in, and if not, I apologize. Communications problems. Keep the letters and emails coming, and I'll keep sending them in so you'll have something to read when the magazine comes. Hope all is well with everyone. I'll start planning for your reunion here in a couple of weeks, so check back here and on our Web site at www.usna98.org for more details. Fair winds... -DSF