CAPT Chuck Vaughan presents the Certificate of Appreciation to CAPT George Kalman.
LT William Myers, CEC USN Former
The Catalina Mountain Satellite Chapter (CMSC) of the Military Officers Association of America (MOAA) held its meeting on Feb. 19 in the Grill’s Boardroom at SaddleBrooke Ranch. The meeting began with a business session presided over by CAPT Chuck Vaughan, president, during which members were updated on the chapter’s current and future activities.
The speaker was CMSC member CAPT George Kalman, USN Retired. He made an impactful presentation describing, with color graphics of the nuclear reactor compartment, what initiated the accidents at Three Mile Island (TMI) near Harrisburg, Pa., Chernobyl in northern Ukraine, and the Fukushima nuclear station in Japan.
CAPT Kalman has personal knowledge of the TMI accident because he was the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s onsite representative overseeing the recovery at TMI. Subsequently, he was the supervisor of the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory support contingent at the Chernobyl accident.
CAPT Kalman described how each accident then progressed and destroyed the reactor. The presentation also included pictures of what the reactors and containment facilities looked like after the accidents.
The next regular CMSC meeting will be held at 11:30 a.m. on Saturday, March 19, in the Boardroom of the Grill at SaddleBrooke Ranch. Lunch will be available to order during the meeting.
The speaker will be SaddleBrooke resident John Reingruber. John spent his entire 35-year career as a civilian in the Department of Defense. John is also the husband of CMSC Member LTC Tracy Reingruber, USAF Retired.
Mr. Reingruber’s presentation will include his early pre-Pentagon career, which featured a tour with the Navy Foreign Material Program. He will recount setting up and running a special field activity for the Secretary of Defense. The presentation will concentrate on his experiences in conducting research and development for “Charlie Wilson’s War” in Afghanistan. Congressman Wilson influenced the level of United States government support for the Afghan Mujahideen against the Russian Military.
There will also be a special CMSC dinner meeting on Wednesday, March 23, at 6:30 p.m. in the east dining room of the Bistro Restaurant, located at the MountainView Clubhouse in SaddleBrooke. This meeting will feature a presentation by CAPT Erin Stone, JAGC USN Retired, from MOAA National. As a senior director of MOAA, she is responsible for council and chapter affairs across the country.
CAPT Stone will discuss how CMSC fits into the overall structure of MOAA, as well as how CMSC could transition to a full-fledged chapter.
Potential members interested in joining our organization and attending any of these meetings, contact Membership Chair LTJG David Bull by email at [email protected] or by telephone at 520-825-0604.
The Military Officers Association of America (MOAA) is a non-profit veteran’s association dedicated to maintaining a strong national defense and preserving the earned entitlements of members of the uniformed services, their families, and survivors.
The Catalina Mountains Satellite Chapter is part of Tucson Chapter of MOAA and encompasses Northwest Tucson, including Catalina, Oracle, parts of Oro Valley and Marana, SaddleBrooke, SaddleBrooke Ranch, and Sun City. For additional information, please visit our website at www.tucsonmoaa.org.