I have recently been invited to join this iste and after having done so I would recommend it to every sailor either serving or not. site currently has over 300,000 members and is another way to connect to lost shipmates, etc.

navy.togetherweserved.com

Thanks for the good advice, Ken. Sure good to hear from the land where they know about winter! Hope all is well at yalls house, and the R/R is running on time-
mt

Well we do have winter but got out of running a railroad operation, just do Private railcar charters now and do some consulting for freight car repair shops.
Hope ya'll have a good christmas and new years
KK

Thanks for tip, Ken. Will pass it on to my Local Portland guru for the USS Lynde McCormick (DDG-. He was the "kid" in the OE division when I rode her. Maybe my contemporary Army friends might benefit from the expansion of this thing to include them. They always wonder what the mystique of the Navy is all about--Why do ex-sailors wear hats with their ship's name? I wear a McCormick hat-it was easier come by-from time to time. Always get a smile or two and maybe a comment from passersby.

<u>What do the members of this here forum think? Why do ex-swabbies reminisce and value their experiences seemingly more than ground pounders?</u> I'd sure like to hear any thoughts...

Life good here in gray, rainy Portland. Son Alex is home from the Wars for a long month of leave. Am wondering what changes Iraq wrought? Will soon find out.

Merry Holidays to all.

HEY GUYS THAT SITE WWW.NAVY.TOGETHER WE SERVED.COM IS GREAT...YOU CAN PUT YOUR ENTIRE CAREER ON IT...I MEAN ALL YOUR COMMANDS, THE YEARS YOU WERE THERE, YOUR RANK WHEN THERE ALL THE WAY BACK TO BOOT CAMP. THE GREAT THING ABOUT IT IS, IT WILL PUT YOUR COMMAND PATCH ON IT AND ANY ONE THAT WAS AT THAT COMMAND THATS IN THE SYSTEM WILL SHOW, ALSO THERE. YOU CAN SET UP YOUR RIBBONS AND EVERYTHING AND YOU CAN ALSO PUT AS MANY PIC'S AS YOU WANT ON IT. YOU CAN ALSO SET UP MUSIC SO WHEN SOMEONE GOES ON YOUR SITE, THEY WILL HEAR THE MUSIC YOU WANT THEM TO HERE WHILE VISITING YOUR SITE. IT ALSO HAS A SEARCH MODE TO FIND SHIPMATE THAT YOU MAY NOT HAVE BEEN STATIONED WITH ALSO. THE ONLY THING IS, YOU NEED AN INVITATION TO JOIN, AND THE FIRST 30 DAYS ARE FREE, NO CREDIT CARD NEEDED..AFTER THAT IT'S A SMALL FEE TO BECOME A FULL MEMBER...IT WILL GIVE YOU THE DETAILS. IF YOU WANT TO TRY IT OUT FREE OF CHARGE SEND ME AN EMAIL AT This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. WITH YOUR RANK AND FULL NAME AND I WILL SEND YOU AN INVITATION LETTER AND YOU WILL BE OFF AND RUNNING. ONCE YOU PLAY AROUND ON THIS SITE, YOU WILL JOIN...I THINK IT'S ABOUT $20 A YEAR...I FORGET THE AMOUNT FOR A LIFETIME MEMBERSHIP..BUT THE SITE WILL GIVE YOU THAT INFO..THERE ARE OVER A HALF MILLION OF YOUR SHIPMATE LISTED. I HAVE LOCATED MY FIRST LPO,MY FIRST DIVO, AND A SLEW OF MY SHIPMATES THAT I THOUGHT I WOULD NEVER HEAR FROM AGAIN...WELL LIKE I SAID, I WILL BE GLAD TO SEND YOU A LETTER TO JOIN SO, SEND THOSE EMAILS ASAP.

Yes I recommend this site to anyone who has ever served in the Navy. Have been a member for quite a while now, and I visit the site a few times a week. Another great feature of this site is there's a message center for your profile. So if any of your ex-shipmates view your profile, and leave you a message. You will be sent an e-mail notifying you that you have a message. I have contacted quite a few of my old friends and shipmates, and been contacted by some through this site. There is also another site for any of you who might know any ex or currently serving U.S. Marines. Believe it is marines.togetherweserved.com. Anyways, check it out I'm sure that you will like this site as much as the rest of us have!

Michael Gray HTC USN Ret.
U.S.S. Cochrane HT3 1977-1979