US Naval Sea Cadet Corps / US Navy League Cadet Corps

Title: June Drill weekend
Location: Andrews AFB
Description: Uniforms – No uniforms will be issued outside drill.
Start Date: 2012-06-23
End Date: 2012-06-24

Title: April Drill weekend
Location: Andrews AFB
Description: USS Barry, Swim qualifications
Start Date: 2012-04-14
End Date: 2012-04-15

Title: Andrews Joint Service Open House/Air Show 2012
Location: Andrews AFB
Link out: Click here
Description: Times: 0800-1700

Department of Defense card holders and school-sponsored children invited to join us on Friday, May 18th.

Join us Saturday May 19th and Sunday May 20th, open to the general public.

Unauthorized vehicles are prohibited from Joint Base Andrews.
Shuttle bus transportation provided from FedExField parking and Branch Ave Metro Station.
In-bound buses to the event will stop running at 1PM on Sat and Sun.

Inclement weather? Call the information line at 301-981-4600 to check on delays and cancellations.
Start Date: 2012-05-18
End Date: 2012-05-20

Sunday January 29th, 2012 the Central Maryland Corsairs visited the National Museum of the U.S. Navy located at the Washington Navy Yard. The National Museum of the U.S. Navy is the only naval museum to chronicle the history of the U.S. Navy from its creation to the present day. Artifacts like USS Constitution’s fighting top, the world’s deepest diving submersible, Trieste, and the khaki uniform of former Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz make The Navy Museum’s collection second to none.
During the visit the Cadets participated in a reenactment of loading the 24-pounder (11 kg) cannons carried on the gun deck of Old Ironsides. Firing naval cannons required a great amount of labor and manpower. The propellant was gunpowder, whose bulk had to be kept in a special storage area below deck for safety. Powder Boys, typically 10-14 year old children (the same age as many of our cadets), were enlisted to run powder from the armory up to the gun decks of a vessel as required.
The firing procedure for the cannon was as follows: A wet swab was used to mop out the interior of the barrel, extinguishing any embers from a previous firing which might cause the next charge of gunpowder to go off prematurely. Gunpowder, either loose or in a cloth or parchment cartridge (in which case it would have a hole made in it with a metal ‘pricker’ through the touch hole), was placed in the barrel, followed by a cloth wad (typically made from canvas and old rope), and rammed home with a rammer. Next the shot was rammed in, followed by another wad (to prevent the cannon ball from rolling out of the barrel if the muzzle was depressed.) The gun in its carriage was then ‘run out’ — cadets heaved on the gun tackles (which was a great illustration of mechanical advantage for our cadets) until the front of the gun carriage was hard up against the ship’s bulwark, and the barrel protruding out of the gun port. This took the majority of the manpower as the total weight of the large cannon in its carriage could reach over two tons, and the ship would probably be rolling. The touch hole in the rear (‘breech’) of the cannon was filled with finer gunpowder (‘priming powder’), or a ‘quill’ (literally the quill from an animal such as a porcupine, or the skin-end of a feather, pre-filled with priming powder; using these obviated the need to separately pierce the cartridge by pricking) and ignited. The National Museum of the U.S. Navy is part of the Naval History & Heritage Command which includes a library, archives, and photographic and other research facilities.

The Central Maryland Corsairs visited the National Cryptologic Museum at the National Security Agency. The museum contains many great exhibits and we had a very knowledgeable tour guide. The Corsairs enjoyed all of the exhibits with the Enigma Exhibit being the favorite among the younger Cadets. The German Enigma is the most well-known of all cipher machines. It became the workhorse of the German military services, used to encrypt tens of thousands of tactical messages throughout World War II. Allied forces were able to read most of the Enigma encrypted messages throughout most of the war as a result of the tireless effort of many Allied cryptologists. The cadets wrote code and deciphered it on an Enigma machine. The Cray Supercomputers, Hobo Communication Exhibit, the Zimmermann Telegram Exhibit and the U.S. Navy Cryptanalytic Bombe Exhibit were also enjoyed by all of the Cadets. The Central Maryland Corsairs would like to express our gratitude to all the Museum personnel that made this a very educational and rewarding visit.

Seaman Palmer – Promoted to Petty Officer Third Class
Airman Recruit Wardell – Promoted to Airman Apprenctice
Airman Apprentice Betito Awarded Fourth Year Service Ribbon
Apprentice Cadet Gilmore Awarded Second Year Ribbon

The Central Maryland Corsairs visited the White House complex in Washington DC. After passing through the security screening room, they walked upstairs to the first floor and through the East, Green, Blue, Red, and State Dining rooms. The tour was expanded this year to the second floor where the Corsairs visited the Lincoln Bedroom, the Queen’s Bedroom, and President Obama’s Master Bedroom.

After the White house tour the Corsairs visited the U.S. National World War II Memorial dedicated to Americans who served in the armed forces and as civilians during World War II. The Corsairs visited the Korean War Veterans Memorial which commemorates those who served in the Korean War. Next the Corsairs visited the Vietnam Veterans Memorial which honors U.S. service members of the U.S. armed forces who fought in the Vietnam War, service members who died in service in Vietnam/South East Asia, and those service members who were unaccounted for (Missing In Action) during the War.

After Chow the Corsairs visited Arlington National Cemetery. While there the Corsairs walked to the Tomb of the Unknowns which stands on top of a hill overlooking Washington, D.C. Interred in the Tomb of the Unknowns are Unknown Soldier of World War I, interred November 11, 1921. Unknown Soldier of World War II, interred May 30, 1958. Unknown Soldier of the Korean War, also interred May 30, 1958. Unknown Soldier of the Vietnam War, interred May 28, 1984.The remains of the Vietnam Unknown were disinterred, under the authority of President Bill Clinton, on May 14, 1998, and were identified as those of Air Force 1st Lt. Michael J. Blassie, whose family had him re interred near their home in St. Louis, Missouri. It has been determined that the crypt at the Tomb of the Unknowns that contained the remains of the Vietnam Unknown will remain empty. The Tomb of the Unknowns has been perpetually guarded since July 2, 1937, by the U.S. Army. The 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment began guarding the Tomb April 6, 1948.

The Corsairs visited the John F. Kennedy Eternal Flame is a presidential memorial at the gravesite of U.S. President John F. Kennedy. The permanent site replaced a temporary grave and eternal flame used during President Kennedy’s funeral on November 25, 1963.