April 8, 1993
President William J. Clinton
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue
Washington, DC 00000
Dear Mr. President:
I recently had the opportunity, as a guest of the United States Navy, to make a half-day cruise aboard the Trident missile submarine USS FLORIDA (SSBN 728)(BLUE). I was so favorably impressed by the captain and crew of the FLORIDA that I feel compelled to write to you, their Commander in Chief.
Without question, the technology of the Ohio Class ballistic missile submarine is impressive. However, it was the crew of the FLORIDA that I found to be particularly extraordinary. As one might anticipate, they were extremely polite and professional in their interactions with the visitors aboard that day. What was unexpected, to me at least, was the intellectual capability of the sailors with whom I spoke. Each one, officer and enlisted man, was able to succinctly describe their job or duty, and each was extremely articulate in responding to questions.
It is clear that the blue crew of the FLORIDA is especially excellent based on their efficiency evaluations. However, I am told by a colleague, Dr. John Scott who served as an enlisted man aboard a missile submarine in the 1960s and who arranged our trip, that nuclear submarine crews are, in general, comprised of unusually bright and capable people. I am a university professor by profession, and I don’t mind admitting that I was a bit envious of the FLORIDA’s captain. I would that the average university student were as mature and intelligent as the young men I encountered on that boat.
In closing, I’ll be frank in admitting to you that the military doctrine of Mutually Assured Destruction scares me terribly, in spite of the fact that it seems to have worked over the last 40 or so years. I have two young children, and for them and all of the children of the world, I dream of a day when weapons of mass destruction will no longer exist. In the interim, I honestly sleep a little sounder as a result of my trip aboard the FLORIDA. It is clear to me that Armageddon is not likely to start as a result of human error or evil intent on one of our missile submarines. I know that you are exceptionally busy, but should you ever feel that you have the time, I would encourage you to schedule a visit to one of our submarine bases. I predict that you will be most impressed by what you find. Thank you, Mr. President, for your time.
Leon E. Hallacher, Ph.D.
Professor of Marine Biology and Ecology
University of Hawaii at Hilo
DOLPHIN SCHOLARSHIP FOUNDATION
Dear Members of the Naval Submarine League:
As Hank and I prepare to leave Norfolk I want to update you on the Dolphin Scholarship Foundation. We welcome George and Pat Emery.
When we came in December 1990 the Foundation had just been incorporated. At the present time the Foundation has seven member clubs. Dolphin Scholarship hired the company of Craver and green to audit our books and make recommendations. As a result, we bought a computer financial program to keep our records and to write the tuition checks sent to the colleges each semester. Barbara Maas, our wonderful former bookkeeper, was instrumental in accomplishing their recommendations. Regan Jennings, our new bookkeeper, is a highly qualified and talented submarine wife who truly understands computers. As a result Regan is doing a study for the Board of Directors that will track where the scholarships are going, what areas are growing in fund raising and other trends. This study was requested as a result of concern by the Board for the military downsizing. Our financial situation continues to be healthy.
Two years ago we began a program to honor larger donations received in Memorium. If more than $1,000.00 is donated in memory of an individual, we create a scholarship in that person’s name for the following year. We ask all our special scholars to correspond with the family of the deceased, and they have done so.
The transfer of management of the U.S. Submarine Veterans of World War II Scholarship to the Dolphin Scholarship Founda-tion was completed this spring. They will continue to monitor the program until there are no more eligible candidates and at that time their funds will be used to create new scholarships honoring Submarine Veterans of World War II.
Requests for our application have gone up tremendously. We received approximately 2000 requests last year. This is a direct result of the computer age and the proliferation of programs to help people search for scholarship aid. The numbers of actual completed applications have stayed about the same; an average of 230 for the approximately 25 places created yearly by graduating students. Our newly installed FAX machine is popular for last minute application bits that are needed to beat the deadline. (One family even FAXed us three applications on deadline day for their triplets.)
We are revising the application this summer to be effective next fall.
I hope you are all familiar with the cartoon book, Thirty Years of Submarine Humor 1963-1993, created for the 30th anniversary of the Dolphin Cartoon Calendars. They are great gifts!
Pat Emery will relieve me as a Director of Dolphin Scholarship Foundation. I know you will all give her the same wonderful support you have given me. It has been most rewarding for me to work with the students and the volunteers in the Submarine Community that make it all happen.
Respectfully submitted,
Koty Chiles
Dolphin Scholarship Foundation
405 Dillingham Boulevard
Norfolk Naval Station
Norfolk, VA 23511
