Newsletter Fall 2019

Fellow Tulane Naval ROTC Alumni,

Let me take this opportunity to update you on some of the activities of our Association. There is a lot going on and, these are exciting days for Tulane Naval ROTC as our members continue to support the Unit and the University.

First is our Vietnam Initiative.  Mike Henry (65) has taken the lead in collecting histories, documentation and photos of our members’ service in Vietnam. This effort has formed the basis for a Vietnam section on the website and will include materials to educate our Midshipmen on this aspect of our history.   We would like to expand this effort to include other time periods in the unit’s history.

We are working with the School of Science and Engineering (SSE) to establish lines of communication with the Navy Unit and the Association in order to raise awareness of the Unit within the school and to help in the effort to revitalize Tulane’s engineering program.  Initial meetings have led to friendly communications with Dean Foster and the faculty, as well as a new understanding of the historical importance of the NROTC program to Tulane and the SSE.

Brian Bourgeois (82) has worked in Tulane’s archives (with great assistance from the Archivist, Ann Case) to uncover the historic details of our unit’s founding. This tells the story of how the unit was created in 1938, and how Navy transformed Tulane to a nationally recognized university.  In addition to inclusion on our website,  we’ve also made a small brochure, for distribution to Midshipmen and others as appropriate, that tells the story of the creation of the Tulane NROTC unit.

We continue to provide support to the Unit.  Earlier this year, the Association, through a generous donation from the Watson family, funded the wardroom upgrade.  Individual members funded Midshipmen participation in the Notre Dame Leadership Weekend.  Others purchased Tulane NROTC workout gear and fresh books for the NROTC library.  We strive to use Association resources in the most efficient and effective manner to aid the Unit in accomplishing its mission.  If you have any ideas on how we can best support the unit, or if you would like to donate to a certain initiative, we would love to hear it.

Your Naval ROTC Alumni Association continues to strive to memorialize and communicate our history to the midshipman, alumni and university. Looking to the future, we are engaging with the university to raise the awareness of Tulane NROTC Alumni outstanding accomplishments and to provide greater educational opportunities for the midshipman.

As a reminder, our annual meeting will be held on Friday, 1 November, 2019, in the Navy Building.  Doors open up at 1500, and the meeting will begin at 1530.   I sincerely hope that you can make the meeting, and I look forward to seeing you there. Also check our website for the start time of Captain Senesky’s Tailgate party in the new wardroom on November 2.

Semper Fi,

Tim Huete (80)