USS Alabama Battleship and USS Drum Submarine- Mobile, AL

Troop 101 on board the USS Drum Submarine

Boy Scout Troop 101 recently took a trip to Mobile, Alabama. While in Alabama we stayed at Meaher State Park, toured the USS Alabama Battleship, and visited Gulf State Park Beach in Mississippi where we were able to swim in the Gulf of Mexico.

This was my second visit to the USS Alabama. I had previously visited the ship as a scout with Troop 103 from Lake Charles, LA.

When we arrived at the park grounds we were surprised to see thousands of people. There was a Blue Star Memorial Day occurring. I was caught a little off guard since when I contacted the park they had not mentioned this activity. We bypassed most of these activities and headed to the USS Drum Submarine first.

The big guns of the USS Alabama

The USS Drum Submarine is a World War II submarine that was launched on May 12, 1941. From the USS Alabama Battleship website: "Of DRUM's 13 war patrols, all save the second, ninth, and last two were designated "successful".  She received a total of 12 battle stars for World War II service. She is credited with sinking 15 ships, a total of 80,580 tons of enemy shipping, eighth highest of all U.S. submarines in total Japanese tonnage sunk."

We walked up onto the deck of the drum and the boys were able to get in behind the deck cannon of the USS Drum. We then went below and were greeted by a submarine vet who gave us some historical information on the USS Drum and answered many of our questions. 

The USS Drum looks big from the outside but when you get into it you find the inside is quite crowded. I found it interesting to learn how these defenders of our liberty lived during the war while aboard this submarine.

Troop 101 at the USS Alabama

After leaving the USS Drum we headed over to the USS Alabama. By contrast the USS Alabama is massive when compared to the USS Drum. The USS Alabama was launched February 16, 1942. From the USS Alabama website: "With a fighting name to live up to, Battleship USS ALABAMA BB-60 commenced her shakedown training on 11 November 1942. This series of trials, exercises, and drills was conducted in the Chesapeake Bay area and the operating area of Casco Bay, Maine. Upon completion of her post shakedown repair period, ALABAMA stood out from Norfolk and made the up-coast run to Casco Bay where she conducted tactical maneuvers in company with the USS SOUTH DAKOTA, her sister ship and namesake of the class."

We boarded the battleship and broke up into several smaller groups. Our group toured many of the guns on the USS Alabama's deck. We then went down below where we saw sleeping quarters, the commissary, the ships laundry room, sewing room, museum and so much more. 

We departed the battleship and headed over to the aircraft hanger where we were able to get up close views of airplanes and jets used in wars from as early as WW I through Iraq Desert Storm.

This was a fun and educational trip for our scout troop. If you are down in the area I would recommend making the trip at least once in your life. 

If you plan to visit the USS Alabama and USS Drum be prepared to do a lot of walking. Also be aware you will be entering confined spaces, climbing ladders, and visiting high area's.

For more information on USS Alabama and the USS Drum visit : Battleship USS Alabama

The Barrels - National Jamboree 2013

Shooting 22 pistols at National Jamboree.

Tanek had chosen The Barrels as his curriculum for National Jamboree. Each scout at the National Jamboree was allowed to choose one curriculum. In essence a curriculum was sort of like a Fast Pass at an amusement park. The curriculum ticket had a scheduled time. Tanek's was from 8 AM to 12 noon on Monday. During that time, at The Barrels, he was moved to the beginning of any lines.

Shooting a 308 rifle at National Jamboree

Monday started like any other day at National Jamboree. We ate breakfast, which was more than likely cereal, milk, some desert bun, and fruit. We cleaned up an started hiking together to his curriculum. We left at 6:50 AM and did not arrive at The Barrels until 9:05 AM. That’s right, it was a 2 hour and 15 minute hike. I think Tanek could have done it in about 1 hour 45 minutes but I was with him and slowed him down. It is a good thing I lost 16 lbs for this trip.

When we arrived at The Barrels we were provided ear and eye protection which we had to wear the entire time while we were in the area. We were then ushered to the front of the line for a safety briefing. We had to wait about 20 minutes for the safety briefing to start and then the briefing took another 20 minutes. 

 

After that safety briefing we had to hike a quarter of a mile up a hill, gaining about 500 feet in elevation, to reach the 22 pistols. We were moved to the front of the line where we had another safety briefing concerning 22 pistols.  This safety briefing was much shorter and only took about 5 minutes. We were briefed while we were waiting in line. All said it took Tanek about 10 minutes to get up to the shooting line.

An NRA shooting instructor was assigned to every person who was shooting. Each NRA Instructor was there to insure safety and to assist the shooter. 

The only weapon Tanek had ever fired prior to this event was a 22 rifle so he was really ready to try this out. The targets were placed approximately 25 feet down range. The order was given and Tanek began shooting. All ten of his rounds hit within the target. I thought it was pretty good for his first time around.

He then decided to head over to the 22 rifles. Another short safety briefing and he was on the range. The targets were placed approximately 25 feet downrange. He was given ten rounds to fire and the order was given to shoot. All ten of his rounds hit the paper but a few were outside of the circle. I have seen him do better but I think his mind was on the gun he was wanting to shoot.

After shooting the 22 rifles we proceeded to the 223 and 308 scoped rifles. The scouts were told only five of the 30 boys coming onto the line would be allowed to shoot the 308's. The catch was the 223 shooters would be given 10 rounds. The 308 shooters would only be given 5 rounds. Tanek's hand shot up real quick for the 308. He had been talking about shooting the 308's months before the jamboree.

He was selected and moved onto the line. The targets were approximately 75 yards down range. All 5 of his rounds hit the target.

After the 308's we took a quick lunch break we the moved to the 9 mm handguns where we learned our curriculum time had expired. We had to wait about 20 minutes to get up on the firing line. I don't know how many rounds Tanek was given but I think it was around nine.

The targets were metal plates which would fall  over when hit. He only hit 1 target out of the 9 but it had been a long day.

Tanek said he really enjoyed it. I asked if he wanted to go and shoot the shotguns. He said that he did not because he was tired of the safety briefing.

I wish someone had told us about the safety briefings before we had arrived. If I had known I would have suggested going on another day just to get the safety briefings out of the way. If we had done this we could have had more time to shoot during Tanek's curriculum. Live and learn I suppose.

I really liked The Barrels. It was a great set up and there were plenty of NRA Instructors there to help. 

 

The Cloud - National Jamboree 2013

The Cloud
They call it the cloud for a reason. It's in the clouds. It took our group 45 minutes to hike to The Cloud from Sub Camp C-4. The last 10 minutes or so felt like we were walking straight up a hill.

The Cloud is where the National Jamboree 2013 decided to place all of the technology activities. This place was interesting to say the least. The Cloud was the home to NASA, NASCAR, CSI, Robots and more.

While at the cloud scouts were able to view the sun using a telescope. The telescopes were powerful enough that a person was able to see solar flares. There were also TV screens where scouts were able to see satellite images of the solar flares.

While at the NASA booth we were informed we had a chance of actually seeing the Aurora Borealis at camp that night. Unfortunately it rained and was cloudy so it was very difficult to know if the Aurora Borealis actually appeared. I did not hear of anyone seeing the Aurora Borealis during camp. Also in the NASA booth all of the scouts were able to take and keep, as a souvenir, a thermal imaging photo of themselves.

In the NASCAR booth scouts were able to learn what goes into building a NASCAR. In addition they actually built a NASCAR piece by piece that will be raced. We were informed that it would be inspected by professionals before the race to insure we tightened all the nuts and bolts. I bet the driver will appreciate that inspection.

Lego had it's booth set up where the boys could battle Lego robots. They were even giving a first ever sneak peak of their upcoming soon to be released Lego robot. There was also a full sized Lego fireman.

In the CSI booth scouts were tasked with solving a made up murder. As you circled thru the booth, scouts would get clues as to who in the booth might have committed the murder. They showed the boys infrared technology, fingerprinting and even a made up murder scene among other fun and interesting CSI type activity's.

There were a number of team games as well as geocaching at The Cloud.

National Jamboree - Scott Summit Center

Scott Summit Center

The Scott Summit Center was one of many places to visit. Located in one of the more central areas, just a 30 minute hike from Sub Camp C-4,  the Scott Summit Center was one of the easier places to reach. The Scott Summit Center was open each day to 2013 National Jamboree participants as well as visitors.

One of the big attractions was two huge zip lines. Unfortunately, due to shortages in qualified staff, only one of the two zip lines in this area was open which lead to bigger lines. Even so, scouts and visitors alike lined up to ride the zip line.

Owl in the West Virginia Exhibit. Photo by Vinson Mouser

All throughout this area there were tents, tents, and more tents. Scouts could work on merit badges like the radio merit badge, where if you were lucky, you could have the opportunity to speak to an astronaut in space. 

One of the many trading posts was located in a huge tent in this area. The trading post was full of t-shirts, belt buckles, belts, patches, uniforms, backpacks, walking sticks, books, all kinds of collectibles and so much more. To enter the trading post you had to check in your backpack or leave it with a friend. Upon entering you were issued a red bucket to put your items in before checking out. Near the trading post was a FedEx Shipping Site so that you could ship your merchandise home.

Near the trading post was an AT&T cellphone charging station and an AT&T area where you could drive a texting and driving simulator car.

Peregrine Falcon at the West Virginia Exhibit. Photo by V. Mouser

Also in this area was a West Virginia exhibit. Inside this exhibit you could see a live owl and Peregrine Falcon. You could brand your hat with a West Virginia Summit brand, see video’s on West Virginia and in general learn about activities in and around West Virginia.

The future permanent home of the Trading Post for this area was still under construction. Many of the scouts used the shaded porch as an area to trade patches and eat lunch.

The Sustainability Tree House was also located in this area. I’ll have more on that in a later post.

National Jamboree - Home Sweet Home

There's no place like home, there's no place like home, there's no place like home. It didn't quite work that way but we made it back.

Lamont & his Limo - A great Coach Driver

We spent the night in the Econo Lodge in Fort Payne, Alabama. We ate a continental breakfast at 6:00 AM and boarded the bus home at 6:45 AM. All went well until the bus stopped working on the side of the interstate. Fortunately for us, we had Lamont as our bus driver and he quickly had the bus up and running. It gave us problems one more time but again Lamont got it up and running.

A scene at all of the homecomings

We stopped in Jackson, Mississippi for a quick lunch at McDonald's.

The trip was uneventful but a few things were noted. Mainly the scouts were rowdier on the way home than going.

Upon arrival in Monroe and then in Alexandria the scouts exited and it was all hugs and smiles. 

There will be one more specific updates on areas at National Jamboree 2013 as well as a few videos to come. 

Leaving the BSA 2013 National Jamboree

We got out of camp at 11:01 am. Since we were scheduled to leave at 11:00 am I think we did pretty good. Breaking down camp started yesterday. We washed and scrubbed all of the pots and pans and then packed them away. We then had our scouts begin packing there gear in their tents. The next morning the boys finished packing up their gear and breaking down their tents. We then had breakfast cereal bars and muffins. Afterwards, we broke down our dining tarps and picnic tables and waited for the bus. When the bus arrived we quickly loaded up the bus and headed out. 

During the first two hours just about everyone slept. We stopped at a truck stop that had a Popeye's and Taco Bell. We spent about an hour eating lunch and then we got back on the road. We stopped at Ryan's steak house for supper and then checked into the Econo Lodge. Most of our scouts have gone swimming in the pool while several just stayed in their rooms. 

 Oh yeah. We have a really good bus driver who all of us like. His name is Lamont. The boys call the bus Lamont's Limo. 

 On a personal note I am so sore from all the hiking. It is going yo be so nice to sleep in an air conditioned hotel room in a bed, but it will be even better to get home to family, my own home, and my own bed. I know everyone here misses someone.

Last day at the Summit

C420's stone at the fire ring

National Jamboree Departure

Just a quick update. We have loaded up and are moving on the bus. We are trying to get out of camp but they keep sending us in circles. At least we are moving.