Capt. Chuck Vaughan presents a Certificate of Appreciation to Capt. George Kalman.
Lt. William Myers, Civil Engineer Corps, USN Former
The Catalina Mountain Satellite Chapter (CMSC) of the Military Officers Association of America (MOAA) held its meeting on Saturday, Feb. 19, in the Grill Boardroom at SaddleBrooke Ranch. The meeting began with a business session presided over by Capt. Chuck Vaughan, president, during which members were updated on the chapter’s current and future activities.
The speaker was CMSC member Capt. George Kalman, USN Retired. He made an impactful presentation, describing with color graphics of the nuclear reactor compartment what initiated the accidents at Three Mile Island (TMI) near Harrisburg, Penn.; Chernobyl in northern Ukraine; and the Fukushima nuclear station in Japan.
Capt. Kalman has personal knowledge of the TMI accident because he was the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission onsite representative overseeing the recovery at TMI. Subsequently, he was the supervisor of the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory support contingent at the Chernobyl accident.
Capt. Kalman described how each accident then progressed and destroyed the reactor. The presentation also included pictures of what the reactors and containment facilities looked like after the accidents.
The next regular CMSC meeting was scheduled for Saturday, March 19, with SaddleBrooke resident John Reingruber as the speaker. John spent his entire 35-year career as a civilian in the Department of Defense. John is also the husband of CMSC member LTC Tracy Reingruber, USAF Retired.
A special CMSC dinner meeting on Wednesday, March 23, was also scheduled as of this writing. This meeting planned to feature a presentation by Capt. Erin Stone, Judge Advocate General’s Corps, USN Retired, from MOAA National. As a senior director of MOAA she is responsible for council and chapter affairs across the country.
Potential members interested in joining our organization and attending meetings can contact Membership Chair, LTJG David Bull by email at [email protected] or by telephone at 520-825-0604.
MOAA is a nonprofit veterans association dedicated to maintaining a strong national defense and preserving the earned entitlements of members of the uniformed services, their families, and survivors.
The Catalina Mountains Satellite Chapter is part of Tucson Chapter of MOAA, and encompasses Northwest Tucson including Catalina, Oracle, parts of Oro Valley and Marana, SaddleBrooke, SaddleBrooke Ranch, and Sun City. For additional information, visit our website at www.tucsonmoaa.org.