A letter from the SCOTT's first C.O.
Subject: USS SCOTT: Charlie Oscar Sez
I was delighted to receive your letter and to find out
that you've kept the
tradition alive! I looked at the web site - it brought back
many of my most
cherished memories of the best tour I ever had in the Navy.
Very much
enjoyed looking at the PODs and especially the cartoon -
I remember it well.
I had heard that SCOTT was being sold to Taiwan and that
she was being
fitted out in Charleston. I agree that it would be fitting
for many of us
to bid her farewell before she heads for the Pacific. I
would like to stand
on the bridge and feel that sense of communion I always
had with the ship -
like we understood each other and I could make her dance.
That started the
first day I arrived in Pascagoula, a Sunday, and talked
my way into the yard
and onboard the ship. When I got to the bridge I felt a
distinct sensation
of SCOTT's presence - not just steel but an entity. That
stayed with me the
entire time I served in SCOTT.
After I commanded CONOLLY, I went to the War College in
Newport, Rhode
Island. Then to the Pentagon where I worked in research
and development.
After that, I was assigned as Program Manager for a missile
system concept
exploration. Next I managed the transition of the missile
portion of the
concept exploration into what is now flying around as the
Evolved Seasparrow
Missile (ESSM). I retired in 1995, went down to South Carolina
and built a
log home on a large lake. But I couldn't handle the inactivity.
Ended up
back in Washington working on EW for PRB Systems (EA-6B
mission software and
the SLQ-32). Now I'm with Systems Planning and Analysis
(SPA) as a program
manager for international work in missile defense. My wife
passed away four
years ago. I remarried this year to a wonderful Nurse Practitioner
who has
taken on the challenge of keeping me around. So far, she
has succeeded.
Roy Wood, SCOTT's first DCA, is a retired Commander who
works with me in
SPA. Captain Bill Luebke is here in Washington about ready
to retire. I
will pass a copy of your letter on to both of them.
My locating info is:
Email: hmaixner@spa.com
I would very much like to participate in any reunion or
ceremony that can be
arranged. Please keep me in the loop.
Harry
Harry Maixner
Systems Planning and Analysis, Inc.
(P) 703-824-4550
(F) 703-578-6360
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