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News & Events

News, Events & More


Wreaths Across America
Posted: 9/30/2024

As we approach the holiday season, we are preparing to once again honor our fallen heroes through the Wreaths Across America initiative at the Unites States Naval Academy on Friday, 13 December 2024.

Wreaths Across America is a national effort to remember and pay tribute to the men and women who have served and sacrificed for our country. By laying wreaths on the graves of our nation’s veterans, we remind their families and the world that we will never forget their service and sacrifice. At the Naval Academy, we take immense pride in being a part of this heartfelt tradition.

To make this event possible, we rely on the generosity of individuals like you to sponsor wreaths. Your donation ensures that each veteran laid to rest at the Academy is honored with a wreath. Every donation, large or small makes a significant difference in helping us achieve this goal.

Wreaths are $17 each
To Donate, click on this link:  www.wreathsacrossamerica.org/md0011

All are welcome to the wreath laying on Friday December 13, 2024 at 0900. You may sign up to volunteer for this event on that same link, by doing so you will get the latest information as to the time and parking.

Or mail check to:  Wreaths Across America
PO Box 249
Columbia Falls, ME 04623
Write MD0011 on the memo line of your check for USNA to get credit.

Thank you for your help, we cannot accomplish this without your donations.

Carol and Bob “Bubba” Turman ’81
Coordinators, Wreaths Across America USNA
2430 Kemper Rd
Crofton, MD 21114
c-443-336-6541 (Carol)
h-410-451-4490


’66 Wives/Widows Invited to VA Q&A
Posted: 9/13/2024

Wednesday, September 18 at 2 pm ET

The Class of 1966 Wives and Widows are invited to a special Zoom meeting on Wednesday, September 18 at 2 pm East Coast time. It will be a question & answer session about the Veterans Administration (not a presentation) for wives/widows associated with the Classes of ’65 and ’66.

  • To participate, contact Mitch Henderson (Class of 1965) at dace222607@gmail.com. Mitch will be hosting the informative discussion. He will send the zoom link.
  • Please send any questions in advance to Mitch.

NOTE: these images are of the new League of Wives Memorial at Star Park, Coronado, CA. This memorial is the first public monument in the country to honor military spouses. For more information, Click HERE.


Columbarium Closed for 18 Months
Posted: 9/3/2024

The USNA Naval Academy leadership, in coordination with Navy Facilities has determined that immediate repairs to Ramsay Road and installation of a seawall are required to protect against future flooding. To allow for repairs, the Columbarium and the surrounding area will be closed beginning 30 August for approximately 18 months. During the construction, Ramsay Road will be closed to all foot and vehicular traffic; however, we are looking at options to provide a safe walking path for visitors to access the niches.  For planning purposes, due to the construction footprint and limited space, the walking path may not meet ADA requirements. Watch the video announcement here.


Suicide Prevention & Mental Health Webinar

Tuesday, 17 September at 7 pm ET on Zoom

Dr. Matthew Miller, executive director for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Suicide Prevention, The Honorable Jim Gfrerer ’87, former VA executive, and retired Marine Corps officer and Heather O’Beirne Kelly, Ph.D., director of Wellness and Prevention, USNA will review current suicide trends and potential mitigation strategies. Register for this webinar.


Letter from new Class President, Jim Long
Posted: 8/22/2024

August 2024

Greetings Classmates!

It was to my surprise and great honor to be nominated and elected President of our Class. Living in Annapolis for the last 40 years has allowed me to see frequently many of you whether at football game tailgates, reunions or all too often lately, funerals. Also being elected to serve a 5-year term was a bit sobering but also a welcome challenge in these later years to help do something worthwhile.

Our Class has faced many tough challenges starting with Viet Nam but I am proud to say that I believe we handled them all well. So, let’s continue the 66 mode of operation and launch into these next 5 years with that same spirit, drive and zest. We must continue what Carl Fulford and Scott Redd demonstrated over their many years serving our Class and a sincere BZ to both.

I commit to focus and work hard with each of you, our very special widows and the Academy to make these years special, and worthy of the commitment all have made to each other, our Class, the Academy and our Nation. Enough for now and I look forward to seeing all of you in the future!

Cheers!

Jim
James A. Long, III
President, USNA 66 2024-2029


Interesting Class Lunch on 12 August
Posted: 8/19/2024

On Monday, 12 August 2024, The Class held its quarterly luncheon at the Fleet Reserve Club, Annapolis, MD. Click HERE for a write-up on the speaker and topics covered.


2024 Leadership Awards Ceremony Announced
Posted: 8/8/2024

USNA 66 Class Treasurer, Chuck Grutzius, announced that the 2024 Leadership Awards will be presented on board USS GONZALEZ on Wednesday, 23 October, at 1000. Current Class President, Jim Long, and former President, Scott Redd, will present the awards.

Further details will be provided as we get closer to 23 October. The awards will be presented on board GONZALEZ pierside at Naval Station Norfolk.

Please mark your calendars and seriously consider attending the ceremony. We routinely have 7 to 8 Classmates attending, but always have room for more. 

The CO – CDR Kate Stegner, USN – previously the XO, is a terrific host and welcomes The Class of 1966 with wonderful hospitality.


Tuesday, 23 July Zoom on Navigating Funerals
Posted: 7/18/2024

Funerals are a subject once taboo. We all must face our eventual exit and Phil Bozzelli, head of the Class Wellness initiative, has invited a nationally respected funeral director, Greg Rollins, to discuss this topic. Please plan to join the Class Zoom meeting at 1400 ET on Tuesday, 23 July for ’66 Classmates, Wives and Widows to understand traditional and new options, costs to consider and the changing landscape of how people are now approaching this aspect of the cycle of life. Click HERE for connection details.

Greg Rollins is Chairman of the Board of Rollins Funeral Service. Greg has been a licensed funeral director/embalmer since 1984. While operating a family firm, Greg was named “Young Funeral Director of The Year” by the state of California in 1992. He went on to manage the operations of more than 400 funeral home locations. In 2001, Greg and his wife, Debbie, returned to their roots and founded Rollings Funeral Service to provide funeral home owners with a family values approach.


August Class Luncheon Speaker Announced
Posted: 7/11/2024

Mr. Jeff Webb, ‘95, President and CEO of the U.S. Naval Academy Alumni Association & Foundation, will be our Guest Speaker on Monday, 12 August, at the Fleet Reserve Club in Annapolis. 

PLEASE NOTE: Our luncheon is Monday, 12 August, in Annapolis in lieu of our usual August luncheon on Wednesday at ANCC in Arlington.

Jeff has quite an interesting background as a Special Warfare Officer, having served in Europe, the Middle East, and Latin America. After his Naval Service, he spent 15 years in the wealth management industry before joining the USNA Association & Foundation as President and CEO.  Click HERE for Jeff’s Bio.

As usual, the Luncheon will begin about 1130, buffet lunch at 1200, and our Guest Speaker at about 1230. Cost of the luncheon will be $45 per person. Wives, Widows and Guests are most Welcome to join us.

Classmates are encouraged to attend this Luncheon to see what’s going on at our Association and Foundation.


Redd’s Final Letter as President
Posted: 6/26/2024

Shipmates and family of the U. S. Naval Academy Class of 1966,


As Jim Long takes over as Class President, I wanted to close out my third “term” with a note of
thanks and, hopefully, encouragement. I was privileged to work with Jim after government
retirement and am confident he will take us up a notch. It’s also been a blessing to work again
with the Executive Committee, ’66 wives and widows, and many others who have ministered to
us all. Special thanks to Phil Bozzelli for establishing the “wellness initiative” and to those
Classmates who contributed to it.

On a longer view, in many ways, the recent passing of our Classmate and former POW, Joe
Mobley, is a fitting capstone of our corporate voyage through history. You will be familiar
with the broad story line of that voyage but – also like many of us – may need more to be
reminded than to be informed.

‘66 came of age at the peak of the Viet Nam war. We fought on the land, the rivers, the offshore
waters and in the skies over that divided country. We paid a high price. Our class lost more
killed in action (KIA) than any Naval Academy class since WW-II. Many of our class suffered –
and still suffer – from both the seen and unforeseen effects of that war (especially Agent
Orange). Sadly, but appropriately, our class had the highest representation at last year’s Honor
our Fallen Heroes (HOFH) ceremony in Memorial Hall. Joe was the last POW to leave active
duty.

Viet Nam was the first, but not the last of our combat rodeos. Raised in the shadow of the Cold
War, we manned the ships, planes and submarines that hunted and parried the Red Fleet in the
icebox – the cold and barren northern waters of the planet. We helped develop and execute the
strategy and tactics which convinced the Soviet Union they could not prevail. In the end,
America won the cold war and ’66 was present and accounted for in a major way.

When the world changed in 1989 with the fall of the Iron Curtain, our country pivoted to the hot
sandbox of the Middle East. We fought as senior leaders in the first Gulf War – Operation Desert
Storm – dropping bombs, firing missiles and protecting the fleet in unfamiliar waters. One
classmate commanded the Marine Task Force which began the war with offensive operations in
Kuwait. Another commanded a battleship which fired the last 16-inch rounds in anger – in
history. Yet another went on to establish and command a new fleet, the Navy’s first since World
War II. The flag of that new fleet – the FIFTH Fleet – was broken at sea for the first time in five
decades on USS Abraham Lincoln, the flagship of another ’66 classmate. Today, shipping in that
theater in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden is defended by Navy combatants armed with weapons
developed with a strong ’66 involvement – a continuing reminder of the lasting value of our
service in so many ways.

As the new millennium dawned, most of us had transitioned to the citizenship category. We put
our leadership and other skills to work in the broader society, serving as leaders and
professionals in the private and public sectors and continuing to strengthen our country.
Then, on a September morning in 2001, the world changed again. Some of us were called into
service again in a new and different war – the global war on terror (GWOT). Several Classmates
were deeply involved at the highest levels of government. Another classmate served as USNA
Superintendent, training the next generation of warriors.

Looking back over history, our sacrifice in the name of freedom was historic. Probably more so
than most of us realize.

Today, our tribe is thinning. We are old now – those of us who remain – well past our biblically
allotted three score and ten. Our heads are graying. Our steps are slower. We are fading away.
But one thing hasn’t changed. Our SPIRIT IS STRONG. Our class rings may be worn smooth
with time, but we have not forgotten the motto engraved on them almost six decades past:

“Non Sibi Sed Patriae”
Not for self, but for country.


Blessings,
Scott

John Scott Redd
Vice Admiral, U. S. Navy (Ret.)
President, U. S. Naval Academy Class of 1966
usna66@gmail.com


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