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Circa 1999

HistoryA BIT OF HISTORY:

VX-6/VXE-6 DISESTABLISHMENT AND REUNION UPDATE #3


Who: All present and former squadron personnel, friends of the squadron, and everyone else that would like to join us in celebrating the squadron's 44 years of Antarctic service.

What: Formal Disestablishment Ceremony followed by a Reunion Picnic

Where: NAS Point Mugu, California (Oxnard, CA)

When: 27 March 1999 - 1100-1215 Ceremony - 1215-Dark Picnic/Reunion

Come one, come all!

This is the third update to the previously announced disestablishement ceremony and reunion to appropriately mark the end of VX-6/VXE-6's 44 years of incredible service in Antarctica. Please forward this email to all alumni and friends of the squadron who may not have already heard of the event or our OAE directory. It looks to be a huge event; everybody is invited.

Our web page [http://www.navy.mil/homepages/vxe6] has an interesting and impressive list of Old Antarctic Explorers in the OAE Directory. If you haven't yet visited the page to view the list (only the last 250 remain on display) and enter your name, please do so. If you don't think you'll come and/or don't want your name made public, just annotate this in your entry. We hope to publish the directory once complete.

As previously announced, the formal disestablishment ceremony will be held on Saturday the 27th of March, 1999. It will be at 1100 in our hangar here at NAS Pt. Mugu, CA. The squadron will disestablish on Wednesday the 31st, but we're observing the occasion a few days prior so all those not currently in the squadron can join us and meet with old friends on a Saturday. It should be most impressive...with attendees from all of the squadron's great moments.

Following the ceremony, there will be a luncheon picnic/reunion at our pavilion on base. While the disestablishment ceremony is an official event, the subsequent reunion is in no way endorsed or supported by the U.S. Navy. The reunion picnic will be professionally catered, which necessitates collecting a $20/person fee ($9 for children 11 and under) from everyone who wishes to partake in the feast. This will cover the cost of a full Santa Maria Barbecue and provide the additional funds necessary to provide complementary meals to the Navy band who will play at the reunion (following their official duties at the ceremony) and the cost of tenting should it rain on the festivities. A no-host beer and wine bar will be available. Please make checks payable to: VXE-6 Reunion Association and send to: 677 11th Street, NAS Pt. Mugu, CA 93042-5014.

Please write your email address on the check or enclose a stamped, self-addressed post card for receipt confirmation. Please do this as soon as you're fairly certain you will come, it'll help us a great deal in our planning and, with adequate warning, we'll be able to provide refunds for those that need to change their plans.

We hope to have lots of memorabilia on the history of the squadron on display...and we're asking for alumni help with this. We are trying to get Huey Buno 158288 flown in for a static display. We will make every effort to keep an LC-130, maybe XD-03 (148321), till the disestablishment for display also. We are seeing if any private owners of aircraft formerly flown in the squadron may be interested in providing additional static displays. The display aircraft will be open for viewing prior to the ceremony.

In order to keep things manageable during the squadron's last couple days, we are not sponsoring any Saturday night or Sunday activities. We anticipate most everybody will wish to congregate at the hotels or catch up with specific friends. However, we will be happy to assist any alumni groups should any ex-sixers wish to arrange additional festivities.

United Airlines has offered discounted tickets for all those who attend the event. If you call their special convention number (1-800-521-4041) and provide the meeting ID code of 526ZF, they will provide 5% off the lowest applicable fare or 10% off of the unrestricted coach fare. An additional 5% discount will apply if you purchase your tickets at least 60 days in advance of the reunion. They can also help you obtain a 10% discount on rental cars. United flies into Los Angeles and also provides the most frequent service to Oxnard. The LA airport is about a 1 hour drive to base when traffic is light, which isn't often. The Oxnard airport is about 5 miles from the base and local lodging, but airfare may be slightly higher.

We do not endorse any lodging, but to simplify the large number of reservations we expect, we've arranged block reservations with discounts at two local hotels for those who'll need a place to stay. You'll have to reserve your room with your own credit card. Reservations can later be canceled, but verify this when you call. Both hotels are large, fairly close to base and not too far from each other as well. The premium location is the Embassy Suites Mandalay Beach Resort in Oxnard [(805) 984-2500]. The daily rate is $149-$189+tax depending on the view. Mention the "VXE-6 Reunion." The 2nd hotel is the Country Inn [(805) 986-5353/(800) 447-3529] in Port Hueneme. It's also nice and a little closer to Pt. Mugu. Its daily rate is $79.00+tax. Mention group number #G2066. The hotels are within 3 miles or so of each other for those who'll want to get together with folks who may be staying in the other hotel. For those with RVs, our on-base RV Park information/reservation number is (805) 989-8407. However, they are unable to take reservations more than 30 days in advance for non-active duty personnel.

Those who wish to order ball caps, disestablishment patches, etc. should email our 1st Lieutenant, LTJG Chris Bryant, at PUKRDPETE@AOL.COM Please do so right away, as he needs to get in his last orders in order to ensure delivery prior to our disestablishment.

Hope this information helps you with your reunion planning. LCDR Frank Bugelli will be the local disestablishment point of contact as I prepare to separate from the Navy. Please let him know if you have any questions or suggestions. We still have a very long way to go in getting the word out to everybody who has been in, and associated with, the squadron. So, PLEASE pass the word and forward this email to everyone you've kept in touch with. Enter yourself on our web page as soon as you're able. If you know someone without internet access, please coordinate with them and enter them on the web page also. Send us your payment as soon as you've decided you'd like to join us. Our preferred means of contact is our email address of VXE6DECOM@AOL.COM, or give us a call at (805) 989-8199. This is shaping up to be a really great event! See ya there.

Many thanks, Mike Neckerman [05OCT98]

UPDATE
Come one, come all!


This is the second update to the previously announced disestablishement ceremony and reunion marking the end of VXE-6's 44 years of incredible service in Antarctica. PLEASE forward this email to all VX-6/VXE-6 alumni and friends of the squadron.

Our web page [http://www.navy.mil/homepages/vxe6] has an interesting and impressive list of Old Antarctic Explorers in the OAE Directory. If you haven't yet visited the page to view the list and enter your name, please do so now as opposed to later! We really need to make arrangements for the reunion and it's our master list of those who think they may come. If you don't think you'll come and/or don't want your name made public, just annotate this in your entry. Go ahead and disregard the "30 character limit" in the 3rd to last entry, but please keep it short. If enough folks enter the directory, we'll figure out a way of publishing it as a unique and useful "Directory of OAEs." A small fee to cover the cost of printing would probably be required.

As previously announced, the formal disestablishment ceremony will be held on Saturday the 27th of March, 1999. It will be at 1100 in our hangar here at NAWS Pt. Mugu, CA. The squadron will disestablish on Wednesday the 31st, but we're observing the occasion a few days prior so all those not currently in the squadron can join us and meet with old friends on a Saturday. It should be most impressive...with attendees from all of the squadron's great moments.

We do not endorse any lodging, but to simplify the large number of reservations we expect, we've arranged block reservations with discounts at two local hotels for those who'll need a place to stay. You'll have to reserve your room with your own credit card. Reservations can later be canceled, but verify this when you call. Both hotels are large, fairly close to base and not too far from each other as well. The premium location is the Embassy Suites Mandalay Beach Resort in Oxnard [(805) 984-2500]. The daily rate is $149-$189+tax depending on the view. Mention the "VXE-6 Reunion." The 2nd hotel is the Country Inn [(805) 986-5353] in Port Hueneme. It's also nice and a little closer to Pt. Mugu. Its daily rate is $79.00+tax. Mention group number #G2066. The hotels are within 3 miles or so of each other for those who'll want to get together with folks who may be staying in the other hotel. We're also looking into the feasibility of setting up a group discount with a major airline.

Following the ceremony, there will be a full-blown luncheon picnic/reunion at our pavilion on base. While the disestablishment ceremony is an official event, the subsequent reunion is in no way endorsed or supported by the U.S. Navy. The reunion picnic will be professionally catered, which will necessitate collecting a fee from everyone who wishes to partake in the feast. We haven't determined the cost or means of collection yet, but will advise after we've received some more quotes from local caterers. We hope to have lots of memorabilia on the history of the squadron and its aircraft on display...and we'll ask for alumni help with this. We think Huey Buno 158288 may be flown in for a static display; it's still bright orange. Anybody who wishes to attend is invited to both the ceremony and the luncheon/reunion. We're working on finding a way of ensuring ball caps, patches, etc. are available for all those that have requested such.

Hope this information helps you with your reunion planning. We still have a very long way to go in getting the word out to everybody who has been in, and associated with, the squadron. So, PLEASE pass the word and forward this email to everyone you've kept in touch with. Enter yourself on our web page as soon as you're able. If you know someone without internet access, please coordinate with them and enter them on the web page also. Please email us at our new email address (VXE6DECOM@AOL.COM) if you have email addresses we can add to our list, you're able to assist in getting the word published in newsletters/magazines or you have any questions/suggestions. This is shaping up to be a really great event! See ya there.

Many thanks, Mike Neckerman (805) 989-8199 [29AUG98]

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