NOW HEAR THIS!

NOW HEAR THIS!
Navy League of the United States
Jacksonville Council
5000 US Highway 17
Suite 18, #426
Fleming Island, FL 32003-8230
A PUBLICATION OF THE NAVY LEAGUE OF THE UNITED STATES, JACKSONVILLE COUNCIL
Non-Profit Org.
U.S. Postage
PAID
Jacksonville, FL
Permit No. 4022
SEPTEMBER 2014
WELCOME AMPHIBIOUS READY GROUP!
September ‘Meet the Fleet’ Mixer, ‘Hands-on’ Tour to Spotlight
Recently arrived USS Iwo Jima, USS Ft. McHenry, USS New York
The transfer of two large amphibious ships to Naval Station Mayport in August ranks
as perhaps the biggest Jacksonville Navy story of 2014. The USS Iwo Jima (LHD 7) and
USS Ft. McHenry (LSD 43) arrived at Mayport Aug. 17 after a three-day transit from their
previous home ports of Naval Station Norfolk and Naval Amphibious Base Little Creek,
Va., respectively. Several Navy League members were guests aboard the Iwo Jima for
all or a part of the voyage. The ships join the USS New York (LPD 21), which arrived in
December, to fill out Amphibious Ready Group Mayport.
JaxCouncil Navy League members and their guests will share in this noteworthy
development with two special events during September:
3 Sept. 18 – Mixer: The mission and components of the Mayport’s new Amphibious Ready Group will be spotlighted at the September “Meet the Fleet” Mixer, beginning
at 5 p.m. at the recently opened Veterans United Craft Brewery, 8999 Western Way,
near the I-95 Southside Blvd. exit (see directions on reverse panel). Cost for members:
$5, guests free. Bring a friend or two and sample Jacksonville’s newest brews!
3 Sept. 27 – “Hands-on” tour of the helicopter landing ship USS Iwo Jima at her
berth in Mayport. This event will begin at 10 a.m. at the ship and last approximately 90
minutes. See reverse panel for more information.
USS New York (left), a landing platform dock (LPD) commissioned in 2009 in New Orleans, arrived
in December as the first component of Amphibious Ready Group Mayport. LPD 21 carries a complement of 28 officers and 332 enlisted personnel and an embarked landing force of nearly 700 Marines.
USS Fort McHenry (right), a landing ship dock (LSD) commissioned in 1987 in Seattle, carries a
complement of 22 officers and nearly 400 enlisted and embarks a detachment of 400 Marines.
‘Meet the Fleet’
Mixer
Thursday, Sept. 18
5:00–6:30 p.m.
Veterans United Craft Brewery
8999 Western Way, #104 32256
Veterans United, Jacksonville’s
newest craft brewery, opened Aug.
23. Founder and brewmaster Ron
Gamble, a former naval flight officer,
recruited other military veterans,
including JaxCouncil members Bob
Buehn and Stephen Jorgensen, to
help create the south side brewery
two miles north of The Avenues Mall.
Directions: A map is available at
www.vubrew.com/contact
or scan the adjacent QR
code with your smartphone.
SEPT. 27 HANDS-ON: USS IWO JIMA
Join JaxCouncil for a special Saturday tour of NS Mayport’s
newest resident ship. Carpools from westside to be offered.
Navy League members and their guests will have a unique opportunity to experience the amphibious assault ship USS Iwo Jima (LHD-7) up close and personal
beginning at 10 a.m., Sept. 27 at Naval Station Mayport.
Attendees should arrive at the NS Mayport main gate by 9:30 a.m. Car pools
from the west side will leave from the south Belk parking lot at Roosevelt Square
shopping center at 8:30 a.m.
All tour attendees must RSVP for the tour no later than Sept. 22 via the council
website, www.jaxnlus.org, as follows:
3 Click on Contact Us on the left menu on
the Home page.
3 Fill in full name, phone number and
e-mail address.
3 In the Message box, fill in date of birth
and the last four digits of your social security
number.
3 If you wish to carpool to Mayport, add
Carpool. If you have room in your car for others, add I can drive.
3 Submit a Contact Us message for each
person attending.
Navy League Jacksonville Council
5000 US Highway 17
Suite 18, #426
Fleming Island, FL 32003-8230
2014 Calendar
Sept. 9: Board of Directors
meeting; 7:30 a.m., Whiteway
Deli
Sept. 18: “Meet the Fleet”
Mixer; 5 p.m., Veterans Craft
United Brewery, 8999 Western
Way, #104
Sept. 27: Hands-on Tour,
USS Iwo Jima; 10 a.m., Naval
Station Mayport
Oct. 25-26: Blue Angels
Air Show; NAS Jacksonville
Nov. 4: Board of Directors
meeting; 7:30 a.m., Whiteway
Deli
Nov. 11: City of Jacksonville
Veterans Day Parade; 11 a.m.
USS Iwo Jima is a landing helicopter dock
(LHD) commissioned in 2001 in Pensacola.
The ship carries a crew of 66 officers and 1000
enlisted personnel and embarks a detachment
of nearly 1700 Marines.
President: Bob Buehn
VP Membership: Logan Johnson
VP Programs: J. B. Renninger
Editor: Bob Kidd
Dec 4: WWII Commemorative Luncheon; 11:30 a.m.,
River Club
ONLINE INFORMATION
Navy League Jacksonville Council: www.jaxnlus.org
Navy League national website: www.navyleague.org
Membership: www.navyleague.org/membership