Former Oak Harbor mayor Jim Slowik presided over his first meeting as president of the Oak Harbor Area Council of the Navy League during the group’s meeting Tuesday at the Officers’ Club on Naval Air Station Whidbey Island.

His first order of business was to thank copresidents Beth Munns and Dick Devlin, who took over following the departure of Navy League president Tom Tack. Members acknowledged their service with a round of applause and a standing ovation.

Special guests

Several members of the Bellingham Area Council were welcomed. According to the group’s president, Chic Murray, the Bellingham Council has about 50 members and focuses locally on the three Coast Guard vessels homeported there.

But the group has taken on a national project. While on a trip to Hawaii, Murray visited the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, or Punchbowl Cemetery, in Honolulu, where more than 33,000 service men and women are buried. While walking along a path, he noticed several memorial markers for various organizations such as Daughters of the American Revolution and Veterans of Foreign Wars. Murray said he checked all the markers, and found none for the Navy League. He thought it was wrong.

“There should be a plaque there and there’s gonna be,” Murray said. “Our  project is to design, procure funds and get the plaque. It has been approved by National (Navy League).

“Our goal is $5,000, which covers the cost of the memorial plaque and the dedication ceremony,” he continued.

The national Navy League meeting will be held in Honolulu in June and Murray’s council would like to do the dedication there. The group was just $300 shy of its goal.

“We didn’t come here to ask you to support our project,” Murray said. “But I thought we should take advantage of the opportunity to tell you about it.”

The Oak Harbor council donated $200 to the project. Another donation of $100 from another member brought the Bellingham group to its goal.

Intelligence briefing

Intelligence Specialist 3rd Class Trent Barkus, from Electronic Attack Squadron (VAQ) 129, provided the intelligence briefing, which centered on Iran’s nuclear capabilities,  the situation in Syria and those countries’ growing relationship with Russia and China.

“Iran has fired a new Safir missile, which the U.S. believes can be used to fire ballistic missiles,” Barkus said.

U.S. officials also believe Iran is close to enriching uranium, which could potentially be used to develop nuclear weapons. In the meantime, Russia and China seem to be strengthening their ties with Iran and Syria. Both countries vetoed a United Nations resolution calling for Syrian president Bashar Assad to step down.

“This was met with great outrage,” said Barkus. “The U.S. has closed its embassy in Syria and several other countries are recalling their ambassadors.”

At the time of the meeting, Barkus said both the foreign minister of Russia and its chief of intelligence were in Syria. While the foreign minister’s visit is not unusual, there was concern over why Russian Intelligence Chief Mikhail Fradkov would be in Syria. Details of his trip were not available.

Guest speaker 

Retired Navy Cmdr. Jeff Lauderdale, guest speaker for the meeting, gave a presentation on the Trident Fleet ballistic missile submarine program.

“This is part of the Navy most people don’t see very much of,” said Lauderdale.

He discussed the Ohio Class SSBN, nine of which are stationed at Naval Base Kitsap-Bangor.

“You sometimes see them in the Sound,” he said. “The nuclear missile versions will have two escorts with them. What’s on board (the escorts) is classified, but they have teeth.”

Lauderdale said submarines aren’t very maneuverable – the Ohio class subs are about 500 feet long and weigh 18,000 tons — but they are hard to detect.

“They are virtually silent,” said Lauderdale. “When you finally do detect them, you’re almost on top of them.”

The submarines carry a crew of about 150 sailors. They are capable of launching ballistic missiles at targets 4- to 7,000 miles away. The guided missile variant, or SSGN, submarines are capable of carrying 154 Tomahawk, or land-attack, missiles.

“That’s more missiles than a whole battle group combined,” said Lauderdale.

But the submarine fleet’s biggest job, said Lauderdale, is to act as a strategic deterrent.

“The U.S. will not tolerate a nuclear strike,” he said, “and we need (other countries) to know it.”

The next meeting of the Oak Harbor Area Council of the Navy League will be Tuesday, March 6 at 11:30 a.m. at the NAS Whidbey Officers’ Club.