NOVEMBER - DECEMBER ‘08 VOLUME 17, NO. 6

THE NEWSLETTER FOR REGION THREE

F L E E TCHANNELS

INSIDE RC REPORT STAFF REPORTS VESSEL REPORTS FLEET & REGIONAL NEWS TREK NEWS WITH IMAGES

FROM STAR TREK ELEVEN NASA NEWS

F L E E TCHANNELS

CHRIS PINE AS JAMES T. KIRK

HAPPY HOLIDAYS

FLEET CHANNELS2

DISCLAIMER

CONTACT LIST / DISCLAIMER

REGIONAL COORDINATOR

ADM Michelle Fanelli ........................................ rc@region3.org

VICE-REGIONAL COORDINATORS

VRC (North): RADM Robyn Winans .................. vrcn@region3.orgVRC (South): OPEN AT THIS TIME .................. vrcs@region3.orgVRC (West): COL John Johnston ..................... vrcw@region3.org

REGIONAL EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

Chief of Staff: ADM Mark A. Vinson .................... cos@region3.orgDeputy Chief of Staff: OPEN AT THIS TIME ...... dcos@region3.orgOperations: RADM Stephanie Izard .................... ops@region3.orgCommunications: ADM Mark A. Vinson .............. comm@region3.orgShuttle Operations: FCPT Beau Thacker ............ shoc@region3.orgComputer Operations: LGN Aaron Murphy ......... compops@region3.orgSenior Enlisted Advisor: OPEN AT THIS TIME .... sea@region3.org

REGIONAL SUPPORT STAFF

Awards Coordinator: RADM Billie Clifton ............ awards@region3.orgCounselor: COMM Kat Sweeney-Richards ......... counsel@region3.orgFinancial Officer: OPEN AT THIS TIME .............. finance@region3.orgJudge Adv. General: OPEN AT THIS TIME ........... jag@region3.orgQuartermaster: CAPT Reed Bates ..................... qm@region3.orgSpecial Forces Officer: BDR Jeff Schnoor .......... specialforces@region3.orgSpecial Projects Officer: OPEN AT THIS TIME ... specialprojects@region3.orgYouth Services Director: COMM Robert Ybarra .. cadetcorps@region3.org

REGIONAL DEPARTMENT CHIEFS

Operations: OPEN AT THIS TIME ...................... vops@region3.orgEngineering: VADM Bill A. "Mac" Schwab ........... engineering@region3.orgCommunications: FCPT Evan Richards ............. vcomm@region3.orgSecurity: FCPT Beau Thacker ............................ security@region3.orgScience: FCPT Bill Downs .................................. science@region3.orgMedical: LT Terrie Thomas .................................. medical@region3.org

REGIONAL E-MAIL ADDRESSES

Monthly Status Reports ...................................... msr@region3.orgShakedown Status Reports ................................ smsr@region3.orgPromotions Requests ........................................ promotions@region3.orgFleet Channels .................................................. fleetchannels@region3.org

REGIONAL MAILING LISTS

There are currently two mailing lists: r3list@lists.region3.org, the general informa-tion list for Region Three and shoclist@lists.region3.org, for all prospective andcurrent vessels taking part in STARFLEET's Shakedown Operations. To subscribe,send e-mail to majordomo@region3.org with "subscribe <maillist>" in the body ofthe message (where <maillist> is the list to be joined). More information can befound at the Region Three Web Page (http://www.region3.org).

REGIONAL MERCHANDISE

http://www.cafepress.com/region3http://home.grandecom.net/~razcer/index_files/page0008.htm

Fleet Channels is the official electronicbi-monthly publication of Region Three.This newsletter is written solely for theentertainment of the Regional staff, themembers of Regional Three and assortedfriends. This publication is not intendedto infringe on the copyrights or trade-marks of Star TrekTM, as held by Para-mount Pictures Corporation. Fleet Chan-nels is copyrighted as an original pro-duction. Permission is hereby grantedto anyone who wishes to reproduce theoriginal material herein, provided that thesource of the material is included. Allother copyrighted material, trademarks,and/or service marks cited herein are reg-istered to their respective owners.

Certain uncredited material may be writ-ten by the editor. The opinions presentedin this newsletter are not necessarilythose of Region Three or STARFLEET:The International Star Trek Fan Associa-tion.

Address corrections, Letters to the Edi-tor, articles and/or artwork are stronglyencouraged and respectfully requested.Please submit written material in the formof an ASCII Text file, Windows WordPador Word document. Written submissionsneed to be 500 words or less. Pleasesend graphics in the *.JPG or *.TIF for-mat and in at least 300 DPI. All submis-sions are requested to be sent via e-mailto FleetChannels@region3.org.

If you cannot e-mail the file then send itto Mark A. Vinson, 1047 Cottonwood Trl.,Benbrook, TX. 76126 on a Compact Discor carefully typed on white paper with atleast one and one-half spaces betweenthe lines in a san-serif font (i.e.: Arial). Ifyou cannot type then carefully hand print-- incursive will not be accepted under anycircumstances!

Published items become the property ofFleet Channels and Region Three.

FLEET CHANNELS 3

RC REPORTS

Confessionsof an RC

by: ADM Michelle Fanelli, Regional CoordinatorRegional Coordinator@region3.org

Howdy All:

At summit we discussed doing Summit2009 at FenCon. We had quite a fewnegotiations with them with and a draftcontract was submitted for our approval.The REC voted on it, with a deadlock of4 to 4, so the motion did not pass. Themajor concern was the cost of bringingin a Trek guest and whether or not wewanted to commit that much money. Wenow know what needs to be in placeshould the REC or a chapter decide tolook at the Summit at a Condown the road. Under dif-ferent conditions it mightbe a wonderful idea.My thanks to RobynWinans for her hardwork with the re-search.

Our idea/theme forSummit 2009 will be aRegion Three Vaca-tion. Ok the Griswolds andthe song Holiday Road on standby. This way we will have morecontrol over funds and we will nothave to guarantee attendancenumbers. Mark Vinson has looked atgetting his father’s Elk lodge for reason-able meeting space on Sunday for a CO/XO breakfast and Congress meeting, sowe can combo a nice trip to Six Flags inthe Arlington area in June. Mark hasfound us a fun pizza place to meet Fri-day night comers and the area offersother things to explore if you don’t wantSix Flags.

For Retreat, we will return to our roots ofAggie Con for a spring outing. I have got-ten a list from Jim Wilson for restaurantsand meeting areas in College Station.The con is March 26th-29th, 2009 and

you check it out at http://aggiecon.tamu.edu/.

When you are traveling you can useFleet’s program with Choice Hotels. Youcan use their ID: 00711585 to get a dis-count. Their total free number is - 800-258-2847 (SENIORS - 800-424-6423)

The handbook committee is working wellhunting down corrections and improve-ments. I did e-mail John some of the sug-gestions folks have been batting about.

I love the idea of using RegionalSpecial Projects for recruit-

ing. John is doing a finejob managing thisproject.

Speaking of recruiting,I have Alvina Bryant ofthe Victory, making alist of places andwebsites to hit for re-gional. I thank her for

volunteering to be our legperson.

We are also using the Congresslist to gather opinions on the

pressing issues of the Admiralty Board.We did this for the Academy cheatingpolicy and the moderator rules for Fleet’sofficial list. I am trying to do this as muchas possible. I really thank the chaptersfor giving their views on the various sub-jects.

Summit 2010 bids will coming in Novem-ber 30. I have heard from a few who arelooking at hosting one, if not for 2010,down the road. The biggest issue fallsinto the category of manpower. Yourgroup does not have to do it alone. Youcan see if other chapters are willing toteam up and regional helps where we

can. We also are not looking for these tobe as big as they were in the past. Scal-ing down due to cost and manpower isthe game plan for the future.

Also think about the small things, gettingthe word out to attend a con or a meet-ing. It does not have to be huge; we aregetting together for the friendship.

My thanks to Mark, Robyn, Aaron, andBrad for being social when The Catt andI were up in Dallas. After Ike, it was sogood for us just to have some fun. I amhappy to say Brad finally received his re-tirement gifts. Thanks to donations, Re-gion Three gave him a watch, engravedglass with the regional logo, and crossstitch signed by the membership. Bradsays a big thank you to everyone.

We had Clint Hill retire from the Enlistedslot for the region in the fall. I thank himfor the hard work and wish him the best.We have several slots open in the regionand if you wish to help out, this is yourchance.

Congratulations to the new commandteam of the Ark Angel Aaron Murphy andDixie Hill. USS Azrael recently moved toSector Two due to Beau Thacker’s move.Also need to send well wishes to the Joanof Arc’s CO Robin Van Cleave. We hopeshe is on the mend.

Yes the holidays are upon us. I know weall have our pet projects for charity thistime of year. I love to see all of the differ-ent avenues our members choose to giveto. My personals favorites are Toys forTots (I am still waiting for my free Ma-rine) and the Kettle. This year with theeconomy and the storms, it will reallymake a difference.

I hope that everyone has a great and safeholiday. May the season be filled withpeace and joy, plus a few special gifts.We will see you in 2009.

And may the good news be yours.

Admiral Michelle FanelliRegional Coordinator

FLEET CHANNELS4

Chiefly Yours...Chief-of-Staff Report

by: ADM Mark A. VInsoncos@region3.org

VRC REPORTS

ShaKEDOWN OperationsRegional ShOC Reportby: FCPT Beau Thacker

ShuttleOperations@region3.org

S.C.O.P.E.NorthernLights

Senior Vice-Regional CoordinatorVice-Regional Coordinator, North

by: RADM Robyn Winansvrcn@region3.org

Well it’s been an-other year and 2009is just around thecorner. I hope thateveryone has had agood Thanksgiving.The Region thanksyou for your volun-teer services. Weare thankful that so

many of our members serve all year long.

Thank you for your help during thehurricane’s, the floods, for volunteeringfor many charity organizations that justneed a helping hand thorough out theyear. Thank you all for your extra givingduring the holiday seasons. Many orga-nizations are feeling the strain this sea-son due to all the good work they’ve doneall year and will appreciate your help.

Here in the north we are gearing up for2009. There will be Regional events, con-ventions to attend, anniversaries to cel-ebrate and many other activities includ-ing a new Star Trek Movie set for May.

Happy holidays and keep those feet onthe ground while reaching for the stars.

Robyn

Currently the USS Se-renity is our onlystarship-in-trainingand they will commis-sion in the upcomingmonths leaving us witha void. Why a void yousay? Because, thereare others out thereand we all need to

boldly go and seek them out.

Polish the brass, iron the uniform and getready to explode into Trek sensation in2009. I already know the Louisiana shipsare planning on attending a last minuteconvention in New Orleans with ChaseMatterson and also there are a few con-ventions in Dallas before the new moviecomes out. I think we, as a region, canreally make a difference if we plan somereally creative recruiting. There are someaway teams still trying to form in Louisi-ana. I’m hoping to see several new chap-ters or members join the region. Withthe new movie — which looks promisingfrom the trailer — we need to use this asan important recruiting tool.

Speaking of recruiting and regional ships,we have four chapters that are low onmembers and need there Sector Leader’shelp, there friend’s help, there enemy’shelp to get back to speed. A starship/chapter runs with a crew, and one thatdoesn’t have enough members can’t runeffectively. Recruiting is not easy, but itmust be done. Mr. Scott did not rewireships like the Enterprise by himself anda chimpanzee and two recruits can’t runit by themselves.

FCPT Beau Thacker,Shakedown Operations Chief

Merry Christmas Fel-low Trekkers!

Well, here it is the lastissue of 2008: Downand dirty and quicklyput together -- sorryabout that -- "RetailHell" is no fun.

We are still looking for a Regional FinanceOfficer, Communications Officer, JAG,Senior Enlisted Advisor and a SpecialOperations Officer. CO's please canvasyour members and encourage them toapply for these positions. It is a greatway to advance their career while help-ing out the Region.

We are going to try something differentfor Summit in 2009. The weekend ofJune 5th - 7th we will have our first "Re-gion Three Vacation!" Depending on ournumbers we will meet for dinner at a lo-cal Gourmet Pizza house in Fort Worth,Mama's Pizza, or we will invade my fa-vorite Beer and Bar-B-Que joint, Angelo's.Either place is good for kids and both aregreat to gather and just be ourselves.

Saturday morning we will gather at SixFlags Over Texas in Arlington and pre-tend we are all kids again (we will try toget discounted tickets)! If you are too oldor stuck in the mud Fort Worth does of-fer some wonderful museums and, ofcourse, there is the new Dallas Cowboys'stadium so you can take a tour. Thereare also several malls to shop 'til youdrop!

At lunch time we will meet in the picnicarea of the park and give out our YearlyAwards and Promotions then go back inthe park and enjoy the rest of the day!

On Sunday morning we will meet at myFather's Elk's lodge for a traditional ba-

continued on next page

FLEET CHANNELS 5

STAFF REPORTS

REED'S SHOP Onthe PROMENADERegional Quartermaster Report

by: CAPT Reed L. Bates

Other than, an attempt to steal a shuttlefor his own fun, all security concerns inRegion Three are normal, no fatalitiesalthough the RC, I think, has shuttle lag.

On a serious note the holidays are hereand even today I saw a bad accident onthe freeway from a person falling asleepat the wheel. Remember to keep yourminds in the game, be safe and have agreat holiday

FCPT Beau Thacker,Security Chief Region Three

I’m writing from theTrenches, literally,the gardentrenches Lloyd andI have been dig-ging over the lasttwo weeks. My fin-gers and handhave healed,

mostly, and no longer numb and tingly,so we had to get our front beds in orderand mulched. We did it just in time to geta letter from our bleeping bleep bleephomeowners’ association and they weregoing to start fining us $100 per day be-cause we had a few weeds in our beds.Oh horror of horrors, we have someweeds. Geesh! You’d think we had heldsomeone hostage by the way we aretreated. I seriously, we really didn’t havethat many weeds. It’s cold outside andmost of anything are dead anyway. Whatwe did have was grass and lot’s of it. But,we got it done today, the last day of No-vember. Our front beds and yard nowlook terrific and I’m sure our HOA willagree. Plus, we shouldn’t have to worryabout weeds for quite some time. Weused landscape fabric as well as piles ofmulch so the weeds will not have achance to revive themselves.

Enough about me. Back to the duties ofmy office. I may put in an extra order forsummit shirts, if we have enough inter-est. Hopefully, by the time this has beenprinted, we should be in full swing of thatprocess. The only draw back is havingto charge for postage, but since we ap-parently won’t be getting together anytime soon, that’s just going to have to bethe way it is. Although, with the price ofgas being so low, I make try to make atrip to some meetings, maybe as far awayas Lubbock. Yes, I said Lubbock. Myson, Matthew “Zuul” Wabindato, movedthere recently so I might have to make atrip to make sure he’s alright. Thinkingabout doing that right after Christmas, but

that’s still up in the air. Don’t know yet.

Again, I have swayed off the report andgoing into more about myself and myfamily. But, the point is that we can fig-ure out a way to get the merchandise toyou even if we do not meet in person.We made some money, a bit, at Summitand sold quite a few items. We still haveplenty of items in stock though, so buyRegion Three Merchandise. Tell all yourfriends. <smile>

Summit Shirt Sales were $294.44 with$22.44 being paid as state sales tax andless the cost of the shirts of $227.20, theRegion made a profit of $44.80 on thespecially designed shirts for this event.For the rest of the Region Three Mer-chandise, we sold $235.33 in sales with$17.94 being paid as state sales tax.We’re not too clear what the costs of theitems were, so we can only count that$217.39 of the total sales is for theRegion’s account. The total Sales Taxfor the event is $40.38. Our illustriousRegional Coordinator has paid that to thestate of Texas.

Does anyone really care about the job ofQuartermaster? I hope so, but during thistime of the Region’s history, it seems thatno one wants to get together, no one canget together (financially/time wise), orwe’re just not getting along. Something.We need to do something soon, to getthis group back together. That’s my opin-ion though. Maybe we had too much to-getherness and we need this break?What do you all think? I love going toSummits. Don’t know if we really needRetreat. I love the other times of the yearwe got together—Game Day, Pool &Darts, NASA, Fort Worth Zoo—and someothers that I hadn’t yet participated buthad planned on doing so some day, likethe RenFest. But, were we doing toomuch? These are all questions to thinkabout, for sure. I do know that I have funat these events and love seeing all youwhacky, interesting, and fun people.

Can the Quartermaster continue to thejob if we do not meet? Only time will tell.Please visit the Quartermaster ’swebsite—there’s a link on the R3 site to

it as well—and see if there’s not some-thing you’d like to order. Some items wehave in stock now and I can ship for areasonable amount of change. Some likeShirts, hats and Polos, we are not goingto keep in stock, but we can order as longas I have 4 of an item or combination ofitems. We can also do medical appareland briefcases. So, pay attention to theR3 General Discussion List because Imay start sending emails when an itemfrom our source is on sale. We’d have toact fast in those situations. Or, just checkmy website. Starting soon, I plan on modi-fying it weekly, so maybe check it everyMonday for any updates or specials.

Captain Reed L. BatesR3 QuartermasterSS Freedom III

Security Alert!Regional Security Department Report

by: FCPT Beau Thackersecurity@region3.org

con and egg breakfast (for $7 a head)then we will have our Congress meetingand planning sessions. After that every-one will be free to go home, hopefullyrefreshed and happy to have played withtheir friends. More information (specifictimes and a list of hotels) to follow.

Happy New Year!

ADM Mark A. VinsonRegion Three Chief-of-Staff

CoS -- continued from previous page

FLEET CHANNELS6

VESSEL REPORTS

USS Aurora Vulcanus, NCC-1888Fleetwide Correspondence Vessel

CO -- ADM Michelle Fanelliauroravulcanus@region3.org

XO -- CAPT Catt FanelliCommissioning Date: July 4, 1983

Motto: "Creatively Sailing inExploration of the Imagination"

USS Ark Angel, NCC-1889Sector 5 -- Round Rock, TX.CO -- RADM Aaron Murphy

arkangel@region3.orgXO -- LCDR Dixie Hill

Commissioning Date: January 1, 2001Motto: "The Price of Freedom

is Eternal Vigilance"-- JFK

USS Joan of Arc, NCC-73289Sector 6 -- Corpus Christi, TX.CO -- FCPTRobin Van Cleave

joanofarc@region3.orgXO -- LCDR Tahnya Abbott

Commissioning Date: January 6, 1994Motto: "Legends Endure"

November has been a busy month for theUSS Ark Angel. After coming out of ourannual elections and enjoying the PlanoComic Con in October, we spent a week-end doing what we love best (gaming) atMillennium Con here in Round Rock. Wewere introduced to 4th edition Dungeonsand Dragons, which anyone who playsfantasy computers games will enjoy. Wetook up the challenge of a Battletech tour-nament, painted miniatures, and piloteda chariot for Circus Maximus.

On November 20th, we had our officialChange of Command at El Matador. Thefood was good and the company better.Before dinner, we engaged in a Battletechgame and played Rock Band 2. At din-ner, the incoming and outgoing staff pre-sented Jeff and Mary Webb with a giftcertificate for their unwavering support ofthe chapter, including letting us invadetheir home several times a month. Mat-thew Hill reminded us that it was the 4thanniversary of his stroke and thanked ev-eryone for their support and announcedthat he would be driving soon. We de-cided to have a joint Christmas party withthe USS Rhyanna in December. Severalmembers brought toys for Toys for Tots,a charity we enjoy supporting.

LCDR Dixie Hill, Executive OfficerUSS Ark Angel

Members worked and attended theWings over Houston air show. They re-port the Thunderbirds were awesome.During the fall several away teams jour-neyed to the Texas RenFest. XO reportsHalloween weekend had several Elvissightings. Well, he was The King.

Our Rabbi, Foster Kawaler was an extrain a major motion picture “Leaves ofGrass.” Yes, a star is born.

Coupon clipping continues with a total sofar of $7,332.24. They are working on abig mailing over the holiday season.

AG went out as our Ike Addition. Hurri-cane logo on the cover page, updates onmembers’ adventures and hurricane hu-mor. The highlight was the Catt’s reviewof MREs. We are playing with the layoutagain. Holiday issue is being worked onfor a Christmas Eve mailing.

Major Jared Fielder is the 2nd BattalionOIC for the Third 3rd Brigade. The VCSFleet Resource Center announced theirAlternate Universe Coordinator, as Cap-tain Lee Vitasek is now the director of theAndorian College. Congratulations toboth.

Our members have been taking manycourses with the Academy. So far be-tween Bill Downs, Jared Fielder, JoyceFink, Sabino Pintor, Douglas Smith, andLee Vitasek, they racked up 138. Way togo gang.

October also began as a calm month witha meeting and event scheduled. In mid-October the club held a two day garagesale on Robin’s front yard. There wereall manner of items available. Funds fromthe sale were used to finance a thank youBar-B-Que also held at the Van Cleavesin early-November. Most of the club cel-ebrated Halloween at different places.

The Joan now has a reformatted andprinted news letter, which can be handedout for membership promotion. It givesthe club more visibility plus serving as areminder of upcoming events. This sameschedule can be seen atwww.ussjoanofarc.org.

We had been considering a change ofmeeting location for several reasons sothe November meeting at IHOP was thefinal one. We will begin meeting at CJ’sDinner on December 6th, more on thatlater. Plans for both the Christmas andthe Anniversary Parties. Suggestions forevents in the first three months of 2009were purposed, discussed and voted on.The New Year promises to be full of op-portunities for club membership growthand fun. Come explore this New Yearwith us!!

Next edition will have an update on bothremaining ’08 events. See you then.

FCPT Kris DobieRVA, USS Joan of Arc, NCC-73289.

continued on page 7

FLEET CHANNELS 7

VESSEL REPORTS

USS Regulator, NCC-73337Sector 1 -- Fort Worth, TX.

CO -- BDR Mark Westregulators@region3.orgXO -- LTC Kyle Schugart

Commissioning Date: October 1, 1992Motto: “Defending the Final Frontier”

USS Rhyanna, NCC-1892Sector 5 -- Austin, TX.

CO -- RADM Heather Fordrhyanna@region3.org

XO -- FCPT Kathy HenchCommissioning Date:September 24, 1991

Motto: "If we don't know it or we don'thave it, we'll learn it or find it!"MERRY CHRISTMAS!!! We have had an

interesting year and as this one comesto a close, the next looks even more in-teresting with the way the country is go-ing. From what I am told, we had a prettygood turn out at the Halloween /PirateParty and fun was had by all. We will behaving a Christmas/New Year’s Eve partythe end of December for the ship and theSector 1 ships. The various crews will benotified after the first of the month as towhere the celebrations will be held.

We’ve had some ups and downs thisyear. The Captain has been ill and un-able to work but is now coming alongnicely. Several other crew membersstruggled through illness and surgeriesbut are all on the mend as of this writing.Our own Don Williams has worked hardand looks to complete his college courseson time. The junior crew members areall reporting high marks in their variousschool courses and we are proud of allof them.

So as this year comes to a close, we ofthe USS Regulator want to wish all theships of Region Three a MERRYCHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEARto all and may the New Year be betterthan the last.

FCPT Liz Goulet,USS Regulator Communications Officer

There have only been a few items ofinterest happening on our ship. Ofcourse, both items are incrediblyanticipated and bringing a lot ofmerriment and joy. I refer, of course, toour CO’s pregnancy. Twins, both a boyand a girl (they think) and are we havingfun teasing Heather about it! The newscaught everyone by surprise but luckilyGrace is ready for the role of big sister.She may be the only family member thatis ready, but there is still time before thebirth in April. Heather will need more timeoff than usual, both at the end of thepregnancy and for recovery, but KathyHench is ready as XO to step in and help.

Other than that things have been quieton board. We are scheduled to have ourChristmas festivities December 13 andjust recently the Ark Angel command staffand crew decided to join us. We arelooking forward to a LARGE party withlots of good food and a fun round-robingift exchange.

I usually host the party but decided totake a year off because I will beaccompanying the Grisham MiddleSchool Band to Chicago from the 17thto the 21st. My son, Chris, and his bandwere selected to play at the MidwestConference and Clinic as one of threemiddle school bands. They have beenworking very hard since this summer onseven selections. We have had to pay alot of money for our individual accountsand help the band raise more money forthe common expenses. Tubas don’t fit

under the plane seats and neither dotympani drums, so one big expense isthe rental truck that will have to drive upthe week before with all the really biginstruments. But we are almost readyand really looking forward to it. I will bewith the band as an adult chaperon,which just thrilled Chris no end! If youwant more information on the event, theirweb page is at MidwestClinic.com.

So who will host the annual party? Why,Mama Ford of course!! We made theplans before she discovered she waspregnant and she insists that she is stillup to it. We all hope! Meanwhile, wehere in Austin wish everyone a happyholiday season and hope everyone stayssafe.

Merry Christmas,

Gigi Jacobson, USS Rhyanna

Chapter is looking at getting involved withthe book reviews for the Thirty Dayproject. We are always hunting for waysto help the troops and generate materialfor the newsletter.

The crew sends out well wishes to JoyceFink and her family. Her brother had astroke in the fall and is trying to recover.

The Old AV is planning to enjoy the holi-day season and sends out best wishesto all. We will see you in the New Year.

Until Next Time,Major Jared K. Fielder(PS: Santa, if you read this do you thinkyou could help us out on a “white Christ-mas?”)

Aurora Vulcanus -- continuedfrom page 6

FLEET CHANNELS8

F L E E TF A C T S

FLEET AND REGIONAL NEWS

Appointment ofComputer Opertions Chief

by: FADM Sal Lizard12-03-08

I began this administration with full confi-dence in all the team members who cameaboard at the Executive Committee level.Computer Operations began the year un-der Matt Moyer’s guidance. Matt broughta fresh set of eyes and great enthusiasmto CompOps and to the EC. He put forthsome good ideas and programs that arestill coming to fruition.

VCS Selectionby: FADM Sal Lizard

10-09 & 10-28-08

A process was started a few weeks agowhen Vice Commander, STARFLEETVADM Garrick Halverson announced hisnew real-life job and that it would be tak-ing much more time than he would haveliked and is being forced to step down asa member of this administration. And,as much as I hate to lose Gary, I wishhim well in his professional endeavors.

But, as one door closes, another opens.

I put a call out for applications for thosewho might be interested in stepping upto the plate and taking on the dauntingtask of becoming the next Vice Com-mander, STARFLEET.

Eleven answered the call.

Two withdrew their applications for per-sonal reasons.

Two could not participate consistently withthe process we had established.

Seven were interviewed.

The field was narrowed.

I want to express my deepest personalappreciation for all eleven members whowillingly put themselves out there and onthe line by applying for this position.

But, as we all know, there can be onlyone.

As such, after some difficult deliberation,I have made my decision. And, it wasn’tan easy one, to say the least.

I’m proud and honored to present my

choice for the next Vice Commander,STARFLEET: Vice Admiral Dave Blaser

I look forward to the Admiralty Board’squick confirmation of Vice Admiral Blaserso that Dave can start while Gary’s stillavailable for the turnover.

As of 28 October, 2008, I have receivedword from the interim Inspector General,STARFLEET Lt General Wade Hooverthat, in the matter of the my selection ofVice-Admiral Dave Blaser as the nextVice Commander STARFLEET, the Ad-miralty Board has confirmed his selec-tion.

So, in accordance with STARFLEETrules, Vice-Admiral Blaser is hereby rec-ognized as the incoming VCS upon theresignation of current VCS Vice-AdmiralGarrick Halverson and the termination ofhis position as the Regional Coordinatorof Region 13.

I look forward to working with Dave forthe betterment of STARFLEET and hiscouncil and ideas to improve on our ser-vice to you. I also wish to thank Gary forhis service to STARFLEET as the VCS.Good luck in your future endeavors, myfriend. And welcome to the EC, Dave!

However, over the course of the pastcouple of months, Matt’s experiencedwhat I warned my team about from thebeginning. He experienced a major up-swing in real-life job requirements and hedidn’t have the staff in CompOps to holdup the department while he was requiredto be away. Add to that his personal familytragedy a few weeks ago and a problem-atic situation quickly escalates into onethat can completely overwhelm.

As many know, Matt moyer has been agood friend but that friendship is second-ary to the needs of STARFLEET and it iswith heavy heart that I announce that Iam relieving Matt Moyer of his duties asChief of Computer Operations effectiveimmediately.

I am appointing John Halliday, servingaboard the USS Ark Angel in RegionThree, as the new Chief of Computer Op-erations. John has presented some goodideas and is ready to jump into the fray toturn CompOps around and clear up someof those issues that Matt hasn’t been ableto address.

Welcome aboard, John. I look forward toyour participation in the Executive Com-mittee.

FLEET CHANNELS 9

FLEET AND REGIONAL NEWS

Money Mattersby: ADM Michelle Fanelli, R3RC

Quartermaster Reed Bates was busy re-porting summit activities. We sold sixteenSummit shirts and took in $294.44. Thecost of the shirts was $272.00 and salestax collected for the state was $22.44.The profit for the region was $44.80. Reedwas nice enough to write a check to theT- shirt company, which Regional reim-bursed her with check #2006 for $227.20.

She also sold some other items at sum-mit. $235.33 was on-site sales. $217.39with $17.94 in tax. I really thank her forthe break down. It is going to make thingseasier when we file the sales taxes inJanuary. Yes, they have already sent methe forms.

We also paid the server for another threeyears. We got a great deal withDreamhost for $281.49. Aaron Murphydid his homework, and then I got the opin-ion of Robyn Winans and Mark Vinson.All agreed the expense was worth it. Thatdebit charge was processed in Novem-ber.

The charity for Summit 2008, Child’s Playwas taken care of. They cashed the checkfor $1225.80 in November. This is ahigher total than was first reported. Niceto say. Big thank you for the generousgiving’s at summit.

We also now have PayPal in my name. Ittook us two rounds with them to get thecontact person from Brad Pense to me. Iam in the process of checking the ac-count to make sure everything is pluggedin. For someone who never saw a PayPalaccount before this year, I have learnedmuch. And no I still don’t have a personalone.

We did experience some fees with thesavings account for low balance, whichwas covered with some of the PayPal in-terest. The savings is now at the level ofno charges.

With the handbook discussions, it was

pointed out we needed more checks andbalances with the money. Brad did havea system in place for larger expenses toget the approval of two other REC mem-bers. I have been following this examplewith both the Ark Angel/Rhyanna sum-mit space waiver and the server decision.When we get a Regional Financial Of-ficer, they will be part of the call with oneother REC member. I hope we can codifythe procedure and use it for $150 andover.

The end of November balances stand atChecking $1,169.39, Saving $1,213.40,and PayPal $52.38.

Reports fromRegion Three

by: ADM Michelle Fanelli, R3RC

September 2008

Ark Angel, Aurora Vulcanus, Azrael,Bexar, Corsair, Firebird, Freedom III,Gunslinger, Joan of Arc, Maverick, LoneStar, Regulator, Rhyanna, Serenity,SpiritWolf, Palo Duro, Tejas, Thunderwolfand Victory

October 2008

Ark Angel, Aurora Vulcanus, Azrael,Bexar, Corsair, Firebird, Freedom III,Gunslinger, Lone Star, Maverick,Rhyanna, Serenity, SpiritWolf, Tejas,Thunderwolf and Victory

My thanks to the groups that continuereporting in. Our track record has beenup and down the last two cycles. Someof it is because of late reporting. If youwant to being considered as reporting ontime, Operations needs your MSR by the5th of each month. Should you reportafter the 10th it might count for the nextreporting cycle (as a few did when Opswas changing staff).

Also the database continues to send outMSR’s by the hit and miss method. Sev-eral have asked about not getting a copyafter they have reported in. If you need acopy, you will have to export your MSR

and save it into your machine.

If you cannot report in, please designatesomeone as a back up. This way youstill check in and we know if there areproblems.

Again my thanks for reporting and keepit up.

The crew of the USS Gunslinger hasbeen invited to a truely rare opportunity.The El Paso Lions Club and Western Re-finery has assembled a Star Trek themedfloat for the Sun Bowl Parade, Thanks-giving Day at 11AM Central, to honor fa-mous El Pasoan, Gene Roddenberry.Through contact with the GeneRoddenberry Planetarium, the USS Gun-slinger has been asked to ride on the floatin full uniform! Here is an article from theEl Paso Times, with a picture of the floatas it is being constructed:

TREKKIES ON PARADE.....by: John Johnston

Fleet Channels2009 Deadlines

Jan./Feb. Issue -- Jan. 26, 2009Mar./Apr. Issue -- Mar. 30, 2009May/June Issue -- June 1, 2009July/Aug Issue -- July 27, 2009Sep./Oct. Issue -- Sep. 28, 2009Nov./Dec. Issue -- Nov. 30, 2009

ALL e-mail submissions should besent to: fleetchannels@region3.org.Reminders of approaching deadlineswill be posted on the R3 list.

FLEET CHANNELS10

DAT E L I N E :S TA R F L E E T

NEWS FROM THE WORLD OF TREK

Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman andNeonopolis developer Rohit Joshi say thedefunct Star Trek: The Experience attrac-tion at the Hilton is moving downtown.

If it works it would be the biggest resur-rection since the Enterprise crew foundMr. Spock’s coffin on the Genesis planet— both for the Experience show and thetroubled Neonopolis development.

Goodman let the news slip Thursdaymorning during a chat with reporters atCity Hall.

Later Joshi, developer for the strugglingNeonopolis mall on Fremont Street, con-firmed a deal was close.

But he clearly wasn’t prepared for thenews to leak.

“You kind of shocked me,” Joshi saidwhen asked about the potential deal. “Idon’t know how to respond to that.”

He continued: “We are in very seriousnegotiations. We think it would be a fan-tastic addition to downtown.”

Joshi also produced a bound agreementwith CBS Consumer Products, the licens-ing division of the media giant that ownsthe rights to the Star Trek name, datedMonday.

Leslie Ryan of CBS said the company had

no statement on the potential move.

CBS owns the costumes, rides and otherhardware and intellectual property thatmake up The Experience.

It licensed the material to Cedar Fair En-tertainment Co., to operate the Experi-ence at Las Vegas Hilton. But that agree-ment ended when the show closed at theHilton, leaving CBS free to license thematerial to someone else.

Cedar Fair spokeswoman Stacy Frolesaid the company had no involvementwith the move downtown.

If Joshi is able to revive it downtown hewill be operating an attraction that luredmillions of people to Las Vegas for StarTrek rides, themed food, a museum andeven weddings.

“We don’t have volcanos, we don’t havefountains, we have got to create attrac-tions,” Joshi said.

Reviving the attraction won’t be easy,though.

In addition to retrofitting space on the firstfloor of the mall to accommodate therides, restaurant, museum and othershow elements, Joshi would need to bringback the audience.

Even hard-core Star Trek fans say thatby the end of its run at the Hilton the at-traction was getting stale and needed anupdate.

And a new Star Trek movie scheduled forrelease in May would make the old propslook even more dated by comparison.

“I think it is a mistake to take what wasthere and recreate it,” said AnthonyPascale, editor of the Web siteTrekMovie.com. “It was getting a little

long-in-the-tooth.”

Pascale said the version at the Hilton wasaimed at a generation of Star Trek fanstuned into the series Star Trek: The NextGeneration.

“That is just part of Star Trek, not all ofStar Trek,” Pascale said.

He suggested a revived Experiencewould need to incorporate the new movieand more of the original 1960s televisionseries which later spawned several mov-ies including The Search For Spock, afilm that included the resurrection of Mr.Spock, perhaps the most renown StarTrek character in popular culture.

No matter how a new Experience unfolds,Goodman was clearly excited by the pros-pect of Neonopolis living up to its prom-ise to attract new blood downtown, evenif it becomes Nerdopolis in the process.

Neonopolis has long been viewed as ablack hole in terms of development down-town.

The complex is between the east end ofthe Fremont Street Experience canopyand the west end of Fremont East, a barand entertainment district that includesthe El Cortez hotel-casino.

The mall has struggled to attract tenantsand its lack of life has been blamed forreducing foot traffic between the canopyand Fremont East.

“It would be ironic,” Goodman said of thepotential for landing Star Trek. “Perhapsthe most successful place downtowncould be Neonopolis, even though it hasbeen an albatross around my neck allthese years.”

STAR TREK ATTRACTION

MAY FIND NEW HOME

AT NEONOPOLISby: Benjamin Spillman, Las Vegas

Review-JournalOctober 16, 2008

FLEET CHANNELS 11

IMAGES FROM STAR TREK ELEVEN

Scientists sayCopernicus’ remains

foundAP 11-20-08

W A R S A W ,Poland – Re-searchers be-lieve theyhave identi-fied the re-mains ofN i c o l a u sCopernicusby comparingDNA from askeleton theyhave foundwith that ofhair retrievedfrom one ofthe 16th-cen-

tury astronomer’s books.

Jerzy Gassowski, an academic at an ar-chaeology school in Poland, also saysfacial reconstruction of the skull his teamfound buried in a cathedral in Polandclosely resembles existing portraits ofCopernicus, whose theories identified theSun, not the Earth, as the center of theuniverse.

Gassowski and Marie Allen, a SwedishDNA expert, told reporters about theirfindings in Warsaw on Thursday.

Allen said DNA from the bones and teethmatches that of hair found in a book thePolish astronomer owned. It is in a libraryat Sweden’s Uppsala University.

In Rememberance ofThose We Have Lost

in the Past Year

FROM THE WORLD OFSTAR TREK

Alexander CourageComposer, TOS Theme

Oliver CrawfordWriter, TOS episodes, including

“The Galileo Seven”

Robert H JustmanSupervising Producer, STNG

Associate Producer, TOS

Stanley KamelGuest Star, STNG,

“Where No One Has Gone Before”

Perry LopezGuest Star on TOS

Joseph PevneyDirector of TOS episodes, including

“The Trouble with Tribbles”

Leonard RosenmanComposer, Musical Soundtrack,

“Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home”

Jud TaylorDirector, five TOS episodes, including

“Let This Be Your Last Battlefield”

Joan WinstonOne of the founders of the first

Star Trek Convention

FROM THE WORLD OFGENERAL SCIENCE FICTION

Forrest J. AckermanWriter-editor Who Coined "Sci-fi"

Bernie BrillsteinExecutive Producer, “Ghostbusters”

Ben ChapmanActor, Gill Man,

“The Creature From the Black Lagoon”

Sir Arthur C ClarkeWriter, “2001”, “2010”, and many others

Don S DavisActor, played General Hammond in

both Stargate series

Robert DoQuiActor, all three Robocop movies

Neal HeftiComposer, 1960’s Batman series

Charlton HestonActor, Former President, NRA

“Planet of the Apes”, “Soylent Green”

John Phillip LawActor,

“Barbarella"

Heath LedgerActor, Joker in

“The Dark Knight”

Barry MorseActor,

“Space 1999”

Maila Numi“Vampira”

Roy ScheiderActor,

“Jaws”, “2010” "Seaquest DSV"

Stan WinstonSpecial Effects Master

FLEET CHANNELS12

IMAGES FROM STAR TREK ELEVEN

FLEET CHANNELS 13

IMAGES FROM STAR TREK ELEVEN

FLEET CHANNELS14

IMAGES FROM STAR TREK ELEVEN

FLEET CHANNELS 15

IMAGES FROM STAR TREK ELEVEN

FLEET CHANNELS16

IMAGES FROM STAR TREK ELEVEN

FLEET CHANNELS 17

IMAGES FROM STAR TREK ELEVEN

FLEET CHANNELS18

N A S AN E W S

NEWS FROM THE WORLD OF SPACE TRAVEL

NASA says its Phoenix Lander on thesurface of Mars has gone silent and isalmost certainly dead.

Engineers have not heard from the craftsince Sunday, November 2nd when itmade a brief communication with Earth.

Phoenix, which landed on the planet’snorthern plains in May, had been strug-gling in the increasing cold and dark ofan advancing winter.

The US space agency says it will con-tinue to try to contact the craft but doesnot expect to hear from it.

“We are actually ceasing operations, de-claring an end to operations at this point,”Phoenix mission project manager BarryGoldstein said at NASA’s Jet PropulsionLaboratory in Pasadena, California.

“However, since we’ve been surprised bythe robustness of this vehicle, we’re go-ing to keep listening. As the orbiters flyoverhead every two hours, we’ll con-stantly turn on the radio and try to hailPhoenix to see if it is alive.”

Fiery plunge

Launched from Earth in August 2007, therobot arrived on Mars on 25 May, landingfurther north than any previous missionto the Martian surface.

To make it down, the probe had to sur-vive a fiery plunge through the RedPlanet’s thin atmosphere, releasing aparachute and using thrusters to controlits descent.

The mission was scheduled to last justthree months on the surface, but contin-ued to work for more than five months.

During its ground operations, the robotdug, scooped, baked, sniffed and tastedthe Martian soil to test whether it has everbeen capable of supporting life.

Phoenix’s major achievement was in be-coming the first mission to Mars to “touchwater” in the form of the water-ice it foundjust centimeters below the topsoil.Chunks of ice were seen to vaporize be-fore the Lander’s cameras.

“This was quite a thrill for everybody andit has been the study of that ice that haskept us busy for the last five months,” saidPhoenix principal investigator Peter Smithof the University of Arizona in Tucson.

“We’ve excavated that ice, we know itsdepth, we know how it changes over thesurface; we’ve seen different types of ice.”

The spacecraft found the Martian soil tobe mildly alkaline, quite different from theacidic soils seen by previous missions toother parts of the planet.

Other key results included the identifica-tion in the soil of calcium carbonate, whichon Earth is a chief component of lime-stone rock.

Phoenix also detected sheet-like par-ticles, which were probably clays of somekind.

The significance of both minerals is thatthey form only in the presence of liquidwater - which could have supported life.

The Lander also detected perchlorate (anion containing chlorine and oxygen) whichis an oxidizing chemical and, on Earth,can sustain some microbes.

Phoenix even recorded snowfall; andtook more than 25,000 pictures, from thepanoramas of its Arctic landing site to theatomic scale images of dust grains deliv-ered to its microscope.

“Right now at this epoch in Martian his-tory it is certainly too cold for organismsto be alive, certainly in the sense of Earthorganisms,” said Peter Smith.

“But we do think that over time as theMars climate changes that it can getwarm enough that, perhaps, we are get-ting at least films of liquid water or damp-ness in the soil; and that could create anenvironment where life could exist. Thatwould be in the last few million years; veryrecent in Mars history.”

The Phoenix mission scientists have amass of data that will keep them busy fordecades. They have not yet given uphope of seeing a signature in the data fororganics, the carbon-rich molecules thatcan be considered the “feedstock” of bio-chemistry.

One disappointment, however, from thefinal days of the mission was the failureto get a microphone on the Lander towork. This would have returned the firstsounds of Mars.

Overall, though, the US space agency isdelighted with the achievements of themission.

“This is an Irish wake rather than a fu-neral,” commented Doug McCuistion, di-rector of the Mars exploration programmat NASA Headquarters in WashingtonDC.

“We should celebrate what Phoenix andthe Phoenix team has done and where itis going to take us in the future. [There

Probe endshistoric Mars

missionby: Jonathan Amos, BBC News

continued on next page

FLEET CHANNELS 19

NASA NEWS

were] a lot oflessons learnedin this missionfor us that willfeed forward tofuture missions.We learned a lotabout handlingof soils, soilcons is tency,and how difficultit can be.”

Cracking up

Phoenix was never expected to be a longmission. At its high latitude (68 degreesNorth), it was always destined to bestarved of light as the Arctic winter deep-ened.

In the end, though, the demise of Phoe-nix was hastened by a dust storm whichobscured the Sun’s precious rays still fur-ther.

With so little energy getting into its solarpanels, the batteries on Phoenix wereregularly going flat, preventing the robotfrom heating its systems in temperaturesthat were heading down to minus 100C.

Nevertheless, NASA says its Mars Re-connaissance and Odyssey satellites willcontinue to listen for Phoenix for a fur-ther three weeks, until Solar Conjunction,when Mars moves behind the Sun asviewed from Earth.

As winter progresses, Phoenix will becovered in a thick layer of carbon dioxidefrost. As the ice builds up on the solararrays, they are likely to crack and falloff. The electronics will also break up inthe cold that could see temperatures godown to minus 180C.

Phoenix had risen from the ashes of twoprevious failures.

In September 1999, the Mars ClimateOrbiter spacecraft crashed into the RedPlanet following a navigation error causedwhen technicians mixed up “English” (im-

NASA unveiled a new lunar rover on Fri-day which aims to transform space ex-ploration by allowing astronauts to roamlarge distances without cumbersomespacesuits when they return to the moonby 2020.

A team of scientists is testing the SmallPressurized Rover Concept vehicle —which resembles a small, futuristic rec-reational vehicle mounted on six sets ofwheels — 12 in all — in trials in a rocky,barren corner of northern Arizona, se-lected for its similarities to the surface ofthe moon.

“This is the next generation of lunar ex-ploration,” said Doug Craig, NASAprogram’s manager, as an astronaut tookthe vehicle for a spin over a broad lavafield framed by craggy mountains.

The battery powered rover travels atspeeds of up to 6 mph. It is part of a rangeof systems and equipment being devel-oped by the space agency for its plannedreturn to the moon over the next decade.

NASA hopes to build a permanentmanned base on the moon’s surface asa prelude to subsequent exploration mis-sions to Mars.

The new pressurized rover follows onfrom vehicles used by the Apollo seriesof moon shots in the early 1970s, whenastronauts in spacesuits used rovers thatlooked like stripped-down jeeps to makeshort forays to gather rocks.

The new prototype has a pressurized caband is fitted out with leather seats andbunks. It would allow a crew of two as-tronauts to take extended exploration tripsfor up to two weeks at a time, coveringdistances of up to 625 miles, Craig said.

The crew would not wear spacesuits whilein the vehicle, which is fitted with largewindows offering extensive views of theterrain, but to step outside, they wouldslip into spacesuits mounted on the out-side of the vehicle through specialhatches in the rover, officials said.

“You are only in a spacesuit when youneed to be on the surface picking uprocks,” said astronaut Mike Gernhardt, aveteran of four shuttle missions and a pio-neering spacewalk, as he took reportersfor a spin in the rover.

“So all the time that you are doing obser-vations ... you can be inside the pressur-ized environment in a comfortable warmshirt-sleeve environment instead of in aspacesuit,” he added.

Aside from its increased range, Gernhardtsaid the vehicle is much safer and morecomfortable than earlier rovers taken tothe moon with the Apollo series.

“It really enables much more exploration,much more productivity, and frankly (it’s)a lot safer than we had when we went onthe Apollo program.” he said. “This is thefuture.”

NASA unveils newlunar rover

built for enduranceby: Tim Gaynor, Reuters

Black Point, Arizona - Oct 24, 2008

perial) and metric units.

A few months later, another NASA space-craft, the Mars Polar Lander (MPL), waslost near the planet’s South Pole.

Phoenix used hardware from an identi-cal twin of MPL, the Mars Surveyor 2001Lander, which was cancelled following thetwo consecutive failures.

NASA’s robot rovers, Opportunity andSpirit, continue to work at their equatoriallanding sites five years after arriving atthe planet.

The next mission to the surface of Marsis due to leave Earth next year. The MarsScience Laboratory is a “smart” rover thatwill be dropped on to the surface of theRed Planet by a rocket-powered“skycrane”.

At almost three meters in length andweighing 850kg, MSL is considerably big-ger than the current rovers.

Probe -- continued fromprevious page

deadline for thejanuary/february issue

is january 26, 2009ZACHARY QUINTO AS SPOCK