Survivor: The Tidewater Industrial Tiger

Recently, bloggers and meme-makers around the world were saddened by the loss of an Indonesian tiger who served as the mascot of Subdistrict Military Command (Koramil) 1123 under the Siliwangi Military Command in West Java. It can be said that an army fears ridicule just as much if not more than an actual attack, and this case was no exception. Because the tiger elicited so much more laughter than the reverance or even fear that he was intended to inspire, the order was given to destroy him.

Maj. Gen. Herindra of the Siliwangi Military Command told the BBC that other similar mascots would be inspected to determine whether they are, in his words, “consistent with the original [military] emblem.”

Lest I lead you to believe that real animals are being destroyed during this army purge, I should clarify that these are statues; three-dimensional representations of unit emblems. It is with this in mind that I introduce you to the "Tidewater Industrial Tiger," who wrapped up a successful career as Naval Aviation Depot (NADEP) Norfolk’s mascot at Naval Air Station Norfolk over 20 years ago.  

Although the facility has long been closed, its mascot lives on.

Once the largest single employer in Norfolk, Virginia, Naval Air Rework Facility (NARF) Norfolk's name was changed to Naval Aviation Depot (NADEP) Norfolk in 1987.  In 1993, the Base Realignment and Colsure Commission (BRAC) voted to close the facliity, which was carried out in 1996. (Hampton Roads Naval Museum)

His three-dimensional counterpart played a prominent role, in two-dimensional form, within a recent commemorative exhibit at the Hampton Roads Naval Museum about the closing of NADEP Norfolk in 1996.  

The exhibit, "Without Us, They Don't Fly: The Story of NADEP Norfolk," ran from September 2016 to March 2017. (Photograph by M.C. Farrington)

The Tidewater Industrial Tiger, on display at a public event sometime during the 1980s. (Hampton Roads Naval Museum file photo)

Similar to his ill-fated Indonesian cousin, the wooden statue, created by workers at the facility that overhauled and repaired naval aircraft for most of the 20th century, was not the spitting image of its namesake emblem.  Nevertheless for thousands of attendees of airshows, parades, and open houses over the years, he was the embodiment of the facility. The tiger's image actially started out 50 years ago as a hand-painted sign at the entrance to Naval Air Rework Facility (NARF) Norfolk, as it was known at the time.  

The entrance to the Naval Air Rework Facility (NARF) Norfolk, which gained that name in 1967, featured an early version of The Tidewater Industrial Tiger. (Hampton Roads Naval Museum file photo)  

Although he was never accessioned into the collection of the Hampton Roads Naval Museum, the former Tidewater Industrial Tiger is safe from harm, and, at least until the writing of this post, has never appeared in a meme.  He currently serves as the mascot of a high school in Southeast Virginia.  

The former Tidewater Industrial Tiger as he appears today, sans globe, at Oscar Smith High School in Chesapeake, Virginia, home to one of the top ten high school football teams in the state. (Photograph by M.C. Farrington) 

Twenty Years Ago: Naval Aviation Depot (NADEP) Norfolk Closes

On September 20, 2016, visitors to National Maritime Center Nauticus get an advance look at a portion of the new Naval Aviation Depot (NADEP) Norfolk exhibit, "Without Us, They Don't Fly" just outside the Hampton Roads Naval Museum (HRNM).  The completed exhibit, featuring many of the NADEP artifacts maintained by HRNM, opened the following day. (Photograph by M.C. Farrington)

On September 25, 1996, the largest employer in Hampton Roads officially closed its doors. The Defense Base Realignment and Closure Commission (BRAC) had voted on June 26, 1993, to close Naval Aviation Depot, Norfolk. It became one of 32 major closure and realignment recommendations submitted to President Bill Clinton on July 1. That September, the commission’s recommendations became law, and NADEP Norfolk was tasked with closing within three years.

This would prove to be a formidable task on many different levels.  NADEP Norfolk had in one form or another served the Navy’s aviation community since 17 mechanics belonging to Naval Air Detachment Curtiss Field in Newport News first arrived at the newly-established Naval Operating Base at Sewells Point in October, 1917. Over the next seven decades, through two world wars as well as the wars in Korea and Vietnam, the facility had grown to employ 4,300 civilian mechanics, engineers, and support staff.  By 1976, the facility covered 174 acres and included 175 buildings.  From the 1970s to the 1990s, its workers restored or repaired F-8 Crusaders, A-6 Intruders and F-14 Tomcats, among other aircraft. 

The one war that NADEP Norfolk could not survive without, however, was the Cold War. The general conception among Pentagon analysts that the dissolution of the Soviet Union rendered many of our military installations unnecessary spawned five different BRAC rounds over a 17-year period, resulting in the closing of more than 350 military installations.

Two of the three commanding officers who led NADEP through a process that they called “Closing with Class” during that three-year period, Capt. Bruce Pieper, USN (Ret.) and Capt. Ted Morandi, USN (Ret.), will be speaking during a special event at the Hampton Roads Naval Museum being held at 6 pm on Thursday, September 22.  Dr. William Whitehurst, who as a member of Congress also had a front-row seat to the decommissioning process, will also be speaking.
 
For almost 80 years, the mechanics and engineers of the Naval Aviation Depot kept naval aviators flying with confidence.   Workers here set the standards for aircraft overhaul and repair, aircraft modification, and the manufacture of aeronautical parts.  In 1917, NADEP originated as the Construction and Repair Department of a military detachment at the Norfolk Navy Operating Base. Its first mission was supporting seaplane and dirigible operations during World War I.  The facility became the Assembly and Repair Department in 1922.  Among other duties, the Sailors constructed unassembled aircraft received from manufacturers.  The first civilians, 50 workers from the Norfolk Navy Yard, arrived in 1930.

A functional diagram of the Construction and Repair Department of Naval Air Station Norfolk during the 1940s. (HRNM Collection)

During World War II, the department grew to over 8,000 workers operating seven days a week. In an average month they would process over 300 aircraft, 400 engines, 500 propeller blades, 8,000 instruments, and more than 11,000 accessories.  In 1948, the facility was renamed the Overhaul and Repair (O and R) Department and received the Navy’s first jet aircraft for repair.

As the Korean War heated up in the early-1950s, the Engine Overhaul Division became the Navy’s largest. It performed production prototyping for aircraft modernization, manufactured aircraft parts, and accomplished large emergency repairs.

In 1961, during the Cold War, O and R became the East Coast repair center for the infrared, heat-seeking AIM-9 “Sidewinder” air-to-air missile. To help with military readiness, the workers supported “Operation Compression” with the motto, “Back to the Fleet in 23 Work Days.” 

A-6 Intruders undergo depot-level maintenance at Naval Aviation Depot, Norfolk during the 1980s. (HRNM Collection)

In 1967, O and R became the Naval Air Rework Facility (NARF) Norfolk. During the Vietnam War, NARF kept the A-6 Intruders, F-8 Crusaders, P-2 Neptunes, and P-3 Orions in top shape. Unfortunately, the first A-6 reworked by NARF was lost in combat. Its crew is commemorated on the A-6 displayed at Ely Park near Gate Four on Naval Station Norfolk.

NARF’s first chance to work on an F-14 Tomcat came in 1973 when NAS Patuxent River, Maryland, delivered a damaged Tomcat by barge. By 1980, NARF was the designated overhaul point for the F-14 Tomcat, the A-6 Intruder, and the EA6-B Prowler.


Naval Air Station Norfolk's Naval Air Rework Facility (NARF) during the mid-1980s. (HRNM Collection)

By 1980, with 4,200 employees, NARF was the largest employer in Norfolk. In addition to onsite work, NARF sent field modification teams to aircraft carriers in every ocean and to sites in North Africa, Europe, Scandinavia, and the Far East. The Naval Air Systems Command also sent NARF’s industrial engineers to installations stateside and to foreign countries to assist in modernization.
In 1987, NARF became Naval Aviation Depot (NADEP), Norfolk. NADEP’s workers, skilled in over 80 trades, became known for award-winning excellence. Among their many accolades were the U.S. Senate Productivity Award, the Secretary of Defense Productivity Excellence Award, and the Action Plus Excellence Award for Quality and Productivity.

During the 1991 Gulf War, many NADEP workers served in the conflict with their reserve military units. At home, they completed 85 Sidewinder missiles in six weeks. Meanwhile the Depot’s voyage repair “Tiger Teams” worked around the clock on aircraft carriers in the Persian Gulf to keep catapult and arresting gear running.

In 1992, NADEP opened its 90,000 square-foot Materials and Standards laboratory, the most modern and complete engineering laboratory on the East Coast. The lab is now part of the Mid-Atlantic Regional Maintenance Center.

After the 1993 Base Realignment and Closure Commission voted to decommission NADEP Norfolk, the employees set about “Closing with Class.” They continued to win awards and completed the F-14D(R) conversion program. In January 1996, they rolled out the first F-14 to complete the F-14 A/B Upgrade Program. This was the first acquisition and design program totally accomplished by Navy field activities.

Although NADEP Norfolk officially decommissioned on September 25, 1996, its legacy has lived on. Its former personnel have continued using their talents at other Navy facilities, and some of the aircraft once maintained by NADEP, such as the EA6-B Prowler, continued to take to the skies until 2015.  

      

CPO Heritage Days 2016

Over 750 new chief petty officer selectees from as far away as Pennsylvania converged on the Hampton Roads Naval Museum in downtown Norfolk before dawn on August 15 to begin the 16th annual CPO Heritage Days. The three-day event, hosted at Nauticus and aboard the battleship Wisconsin (BB-64), gives prospective chiefs the opportunity to learn more about their history, their heritage, and what their new roles and responsibilities in fulfilling the Navy's mission will be. 

Led by a current chief petty officer (CPO), CPO selectees are led as a unit from their muster point at Town Point Park before dawn. (Photograph by M.C. Farrington) 

One of the chief petty officers leading the event gives instructions to the assembled selectees before moving from Town Point Park to the battleship Wisconsin. (Photograph by M.C. Farrington) 

Several hundred chief petty officer selectees as well as the current chief petty officers guiding them line up in front of the national maritime center Nauticus (also home to the Hampton Roads Naval Museum), waiting to board the museum ship USS Wisconsin (BB-64). (Photograph by M.C. Farrington) 

In front of the Hampton Roads Naval Museum in downtown Norfolk, Virginia, chief petty officer selectees for fiscal year 2017 await word to board USS Wisconsin (BB-64) to begin their training as the chief petty officer leading them looks on.  (Photograph by M.C. Farrington) 



Led by chief petty officers from regional Navy commands, CPO selectees approach the museum ship USS Wisconsin (BB-64), where the instructional portion of their day is to begin. (Photograph by M.C. Farrington)  



CPO selectees approach the museum ship USS Wisconsin (BB-64), where the instructional portion of their day is to begin. (Photograph by M.C. Farrington)  

Hampton Roads Naval Museum Deputy Education Director Laura Orr discusses the significance of the 1942 Battle of Midway with chief petty officer selectees aboard USS Wisconsin (BB-64).  (Photograph by M.C. Farrington)

Opening a classroom session for chief petty officer selectees aboard USS Wisconsin (BB-64), Hampton Roads Naval Museum Volunteer Coordinator Tom Dandes, who is also a retired senior chief boiler technician, describes the significance of winning the CPO Heritage Trophy.  (Photograph by M.C. Farrington)



Wearing the type of uniform a chief petty officer would have worn in a battleship's engineering spaces during World War II, Hampton Roads Naval Museum Volunteer Coordinator Tom Dandes, who is also a retired senior chief boiler technician, shares the story of the selfless dedication shown by Chief Water Tender Peter Tomich during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on December 7, 1941, for which Tomich was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor.  Although the classroom instruction took place in the battleship Wisconsin's CPO Mess, the high temperatures below decks added a visceral touch.  (Photograph by M.C. Farrington)     

In the battleship Wisconsin's wardroom, Duane R. Bushey, the seventh Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy (MCPON), discusses the vast differences between the ways chief petty officer selectees were initiated two decades ago and the way the rite of passage is handled now, particularly the emphasis given towards learning the heritage and history of the chief petty officer rating.   (Photograph by M.C. Farrington)  

Retired Senior Chief Cryptologic Technician (Administrative) and Hampton Roads Naval Museum volunteer April Maletz shows Navy uniform items once mandated for wear by females, explaining that for decades, skirts were mandatory until the reality of sea duty forced the authorization of pants.  (Photograph by M.C. Farrington)  



Master Chief Operations Specialist John Lindsay, III, discusses his experiences as an operations specialist second class during Operation Desert Storm in 1991, from his post within USS Wisconsin's Combat Engagement Center, just feet from where he is standing.  He also told the CPO selectees some of the important lessons on leadership and communication he has learned in the quarter-century since.  (Photograph by M.C. Farrington)  

On the fantail of the museum ship USS Wisconsin (BB-64), Senior Chief Sonar Technician (Surface) Don Moore instructs chief petty officer selectees on the rest of the day's schedule before they transition from the classroom portion of the day's CPO Heritage Days events aboard the battleship, moving down the aft gangway to the adjoining museum Nauticus, where the competitions between commands would begin.  (Photograph by M.C. Farrington) 

Bearing the guidon used by the chief petty officer selectees of his command, a selectee departs the museum ship Wisconsin (BB-64) after attending the classroom portion of the day's CPO Heritage Days events aboard the battleship. (Photograph by M.C. Farrington) 

A chief petty officer selectee "presents the colors" of the Norfolk-based cruiser Vella Gulf (CG-72) to a Hampton Roads Naval Museum panel composed of Deputy Education Director Laura Orr, Exhibits Specialist Don Darcy, museum volunteer (and retired senior chief) April Maletz, and Volunteer Coordinator Tom Dandes.  (Photograph by M.C. Farrington) 

Hampton Roads Naval Museum Volunteer Coordinator Tom Dandes asks a chief petty officer selectee a naval history question while her unit is being inspected during the competitive phase of CPO Heritage Days. (Photograph by M.C. Farrington)



On Monday, August 15, 2016, Hampton Roads Naval Museum Deputy Education Director Laura Orr helps a panel of judges from the museum evaluate the unit "colors" of a group of chief petty officer selectees as an audience of current chief petty officers observes the proceedings.  (Photograph by M.C. Farrington)

At National Maritime Center Nauticus in downtown Norfolk, Virginia, CPO selectees from Pre-Commissioning Unit Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78) join together as a unit to compete for the CPO Heritage Trophy, which is given by the Hampton Roads Naval Museum. (Photograph by M.C. Farrington)

Hampton Roads Naval Museum Volunteer Coordinator Tom Dandes prepares to present the CPO Heritage Trophy to the day's winning unit as master of ceremonies Senior Chief Don Moore looks on. (Photograph by M.C. Farrington)

Hampton Roads Naval Museum Volunteer Coordinator Tom Dandes presents the CPO Heritage Trophy to the CPO selectees of Naval Support Activity Hampton Roads for the best chief selectee mess among the competitors on August 17, 2016.  (Photograph by M.C. Farrington)

Chief petty officers and selectees of Naval Support Activity Hampton Roads pause after being awarded the Hampton Roads Naval Museum's CPO Heritage Trophy for the best chief selectee mess on August 17, 2016. (Photograph by M.C. Farrington)  

Brick-By-Brick 2016: The Winners

The entrants' creations for this year's contest were no less varied than those of real vessels taking to the sea from Hampton Roads.  For example, the cruise ship passengers (left) lining the rails of  Jett Starcher's entry could have appeared at the Half Moone Cruise and Celebration Center in downtown Norfolk (coincidentally where the event was held), while the two Sailors (right) aboard their MK V Special Operations Craft by Joseph Joiner are an everyday sight at Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek-Fort Story. (Photo by M.C. Farrington)

On Saturday, 2,081 visitors attended Hampton Roads Naval Museum's Fifth Annual "Brick by Brick: LEGO Shipbuilding" event at the Half Moone Cruise and Celebration Center in Downtown Norfolk.  Over 100 of them entered their ships into the event's shipbuilding contest, which was divided by age classes and by where the models were created.  If the models were made outside the museum using parts provided by the builder, they were judged in the "Home Built" section, while models made between 10 am and 2 pm (the judging deadline) at the event with parts provided by the museum were judged in the "Museum-Made" section.

Category: Home Built

Fan Favorite:

"Brick of the Sea" by Jett Starcher.

After the judging on Saturday, February 6, Jett Starcher begins preparing his entry, dubbed Brick of the Sea, for transport.  According to Starcher, about 200 hours of work went into the model cruise ship, which was constructed not only with a fully detailed bridge and pool deck, but also with ten interior compartments, including a galley and dining room, gym, movie theater, several staterooms, and an engine room. (Photo by M.C. Farrington).  

Ages 4-6:

Rex and Geoffrey K's model of RMS Titanic looms over the works of other entrants in the four to six year-olds division of the shipbuilding contest (Photo by M.C. Farrington)

                1^st place: "Titanic," by Rex & Geoffrey K.

                2^nd place: "SS Aurora," by Edward B.



As HRNM Volunteer Coordinator Tom Dandes (left) assists William Bassett in preparing the Lego ship Aurora for transport home, his son Edward reacts to his win. (Photo by M.C. Farrington).  

Ages 7-9:

"Noah's Ark" by William S. (Photo by M.C. Farrington).  

                1^st place: "Noah's Ark," by William S.

                2^nd place: "USS Enterprise," by Keith S.


Ages 10-12:

"Blue Mist" by Luke L. (Photo by M.C. Farrington).  

                1^st place: "Blue Mist," by Luke L.

                2^nd place: "Tonto," by Bow C.

Ages 13-16:

A highly-detailed scale Vietnam-era riverine Command and Communications Boat (CCB) took first place for the 13-16 year-old division. (Photo by M.C. Farrington).  

                1^st place: "CCB Monitor," by Jack K.

                2^nd place: "Skidbadnir," by Nathan C.

Ages 17+:

Another highly-detailed historical model rendered with Legos was this winning Civil War-era diorama by Mark Anderson. (Photo by Diana Gordon)



                1^st place: "Merrimac at Gosport Navy Yard," by Mark Anderson.

                2^nd place: "HM Brig Sophie," by Jack Beute

Category: Museum-Made

Fan Favorite:

"Fisherman's Speed Boat"

Ages 4-6:

                1^st place: "Puller Ship," by Conner B.

                2^nd place: "USA Battleship," by Zac O.

Ages 7-9:

                1^st place: "USS Strouss," by Tristan S.

                2^nd place: "USS Emerson," by Emerson D.

Ages 10-12:

                1^st place: "JC Coast Guard," by Caroline P.

                2^nd place: "USS Virginia 2060"

 Ages 13-16:

                1^st place: "Voyage," by Hode.

                2^nd place: "USS Massachusetts," by Scott E.



Ages 17+:

                1^st place: "USS Dove," by Grace A.
                2^nd place: "Underwater Drone," by Cardell A.

CONGRATULATIONS to all the winners! 

If there are any questions about them or for any other questions relating to the contest, please call Special Events Coordinator Don Darcy at (757) 322-3168.

The 5th Annual Brick by Brick: LEGO Shipbuilding Event

Visitors at the 2015 LEGO Shipbuilding event work on building a ship for the contest. (Photo by HRNM Educator Diana Gordon.)

The Hampton Roads Naval Museum is proud to announce that the fifth annual Brick by Brick: LEGO Shipbuilding event will be held from 10 am to 5 pm on Saturday, February 6, at the Half Moone Cruise and Celebration Center, right next to Nauticus at One Waterside Drive in Norfolk. This year's “blockbuster” LEGO Shipbuilding event promises to be the biggest one ever because it will take place in a venue that provides three times the space than in years past. This FREE program invites LEGO shipbuilders of all ages to share their creations with fellow enthusiasts on one exciting day – and compete for fabulous prizes!

This popular signature event is presented in partnership with the Hampton Roads Naval Historical Foundation, the Historic Naval Ships Association, the Naval Historical Foundation, and Nauticus. Children and adults alike can bring their pre-constructed LEGO ships to display and enter in the contest prior to 2 pm on February 6th. There are two separate contests: one for those who make ships at HRNM, and one for those who build their ships at home. HRNM will award prizes for five winning age categories in each competition, along with our fan favorite, voted on by YOU!

HRNM educators will be on hand to share the science behind building ships. In addition, visitors can create historic naval ships from HRNM’s own diagrams. Each year, staff members add new ships to the on-site brick fleet. New ships this year include USS Maine, USS Seawolf, USS Liberty, USS Monitor, and CSS Virginia.

USS Maine in a historic image and in the LEGO version.

This year, we will also be offering STEM activities for elementary and middle school children. First Lego League of Virginia will be on-deck for a LEGO robotics demonstration, to include some hands-on programing, and Engineering for Kids will be providing hands-on LEGO robotics activities as well. Finally, SeaPerch will have a demonstration table for their remotely operated underwater vehicle competitions.

Several LEGO-related activities will accompany the event, so be sure to bring your creativity to the Hampton Roads Naval Museum. We have activities available for all age ranges--from toddlers to adults. Crafts, free-play areas, and more will be open from 10 am to 5 pm on the 6th.

Advance registration is available on Eventbrite. You can also purchase t-shirts to support this and future LEGO Shipbuilding events. Contact 757-322-3168 or donald.darcy@navy.mil with any questions. We'll see you here on February 6th!

A Special Message from the Director

By Elizabeth Poulliot
HRNM Director

Another successful year is closing at the Hampton Roads Naval Museum. Readers of this blog can look back and see the myriad of interests that we pursue from our home in downtown Norfolk: the history of the Naval Station; maritime art & artists; the Civil War; local history; naval technology and even the weather. I want to give a year-end nod to the talented staff that takes our shared history and makes it new. I also want to thank you, our readers, visitors, members, friends and fans for supporting the museum and the Navy.

The good news is that another successful year is beginning! Make your 2016 special by joining us at the following events that we are calling The Year of the Spy:

• May 19, 2016. Robert Hunter & Richard Haver lived history as they confronted master spy John Walker and brought an end to what many top officials call the most damaging espionage ring in U.S. history.

• June 23, 2016. Professor David Fidler from Indiana University specializes in international law. He will discuss former NSA contractor Eric Snowden's disclosures and their aftermath.

• July 14, 2016. Mr. Alexander Rose, the producer and writer for the AMC Drama series, Turn: Washington Spies will connect espionage and our nation's beginning.  

In September 2016, we will feature a special commemoration for the 20th anniversary of the closing of the Naval Aviation Depot (NADEP). And, as always, Brick by Brick: LEGO Shipbuilding comes around February 6, and Family Fun activities take place in our museum gallery throughout the year.     
                                      
Don't forget you can become a museum friend by joining the Hampton Roads Naval Historical Foundation. Go to www.hrnhf.org to enlist! In addition to receiving The Daybook quarterly, members have a chance to attend special Behind the Scenes Tours. The Foundation offers discounts for all members at its gift shop, located near Naval Station Norfolk.


Happy New Year to all! See you at an upcoming event.

U.S. Fleet Forces brass band performs at the Hampton Roads Naval Museum