Captain’s Blog, Stardate 11708.18
The Captain’s Gig, with Commodore Tank Clark and Commander Tracy Clark onboard, departed Hanger Bay One on Thursday morning and proceeded to Baton Rouge, with brief stops along the way. The hotel at which we stayed, the Belle of Baton Rouge, was NOT the worst hotel I’ve stayed at, but was certainly sub-par. No complementary anything – except for parking and TV; the hotel staff -- who epitomized the term "no sense of urgency" -- didn’t give a flying monkey about anything, restaurant was closed for dinner and poor for breakfast (and EXPENSIVE). Nice looking and clean, but not pleasant. After interrogating the staff at the front desk, we finally discovered that, yes, there was a place nearby to which we could walk and eat dinner. The food at said establishment (“Pastimes”) was okay – not great, but not bad. The décor was awesome, if you’re a Louisiana State University Tigers fan. The service was – odd. You walk in, write down on a pad of paper what you want to eat and give it to a counter person. She hands you a couple of glasses for your drinks – which you fill and take to your table. When your food is ready, you pay for it, and then carry it to your table. Want napkins, condiments, silverware? Go find it. Basically, the wait staff just cleaned tables and carried your order into the kitchen. Meh. On Friday morning, we met up with MGN Ed Tunis and RADM Trisha Tunis. Toured USS Kidd (and had quite a bit of fun!); then went to a store called “Tiger Mania”, at which we spent too much money on LSU Tiger paraphernalia. Lunch at Red Robin, then on the road to IC. IC Hotel was nice, but again, no complimentary breakfast. As happens all too often, scheduling was off. Honor guard was supposed to meet at 1730 for a run-through before Opening Ceremonies at 1800… Ed and I were the only ones there for it, with Trish ready as backup. Opening was cancelled, as the food was ready too early for the Marine Mess (that was supposed to start at 1900, moved up because of the food issue.) Marine Mess was awesome, one of the better ones I’ve been to (and one of the few that I wasn’t an Officer of the Mess.) Brian Allen was a great Mr. Vice. Several fun toasts, some other great entertainments, just an overall blast. After the festivities were concluded, we enjoyed an adult beverage at the Canteen, and then off to our quarters for some much-needed rest. Stardate 11708.19 Saturday morning was Opening Ceremonies followed by the General Session. The honor guard made me upset – only three, the riflemen didn’t know how to hold the rifles… bleah. I know the SFMC has a drill manual – it would be ideal if persons performing Honor Guard duties would be knowledgeable in armed and unarmed drill. (At Region 3 events, they are… but, despite being held in R3, the IC Chair seemingly did not ask for the resources available to him.) General Session was fun-ish. Tracy and I sat next to a very excited Admiral from USS Dark Phoenix, Region 12, and her husband. Ed Tunis was promoted to Lieutenant General; Trish was promoted seconds later to Vice Admiral (so, as she pointed out, he has time-in-grade on her.) SFMC Muster was interesting. I haven’t seen so many of the General Staff in one room, although unfortunately the DANT and the DEPDANT weren’t there. COFORCECOM (newly promoted BDR Brian Allen) ran the meeting, and kept it interesting. SFSO also had a muster, run by Commander TacOps De Rush (who is Acting Deputy Director Operations, as both Michael Denman (DDO) and Ryan Pernelli, the former ADDO, have stepped down.) There were a lot of good questions asked, and good conversations had. A very enjoyable, if a bit rushed, time. The Saturday night dinner, (the “Admiral’s Dinner”) was neither as tasty as Friday night’s Mess, nor as fun. I find the lack of formality and organization at the Saturday dinner as compared to the Marine Mess detracted from my enjoyment, as did the overcrowded tables. (At the Mess, there were no more than 7 at a table; at the Dinner, there were 10. As STARFLEET tends to the large person… well, there you go.) Stardate 11708.20 We had a long drive ahead of us, so we did not stay for Closing (which was scheduled to start at 1000), but checked out, loaded up, got breakfast at a place called “Dot’s Diner”, and – following a brief stop at a Wal-Mart for more LSU stuff – proceeded on homeward. We stopped again in Alexandria for lunch (“Copeland’s of New Orleans,” at which the buffet was $22 EACH) and then again for a “gas & go,” arriving home after dark, and reporting for duty in the morning. A good, fun trip.
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Commodore Tank ClarkCaptain of USS Regulator from May 2017 (Stardate 11705.27) to Apr 2019 (Stardate 11904.27
Captain Michael G. CrossCaptain of USS Regulator from May 2015 (Stardate 11505.09) to May 2017 (Stardate 11705.27.) Commodore Tank ClarkCaptain of USS Regulator from May 2011 (Stardate 11105.18) to May 2015 (Stardate 11505.09) Archives
August 2017
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