Newsletter of the 210th Marine Expeditionary Unit, STARFLEET Marine Corps

Black Rogues Participate in Fund Raising

SPRING 2007 ISSUE
CONTENTS
From the Officer in Charge

Review of
STAR TREK: Hidden Frontier

David Niven

What SFMC Means To Me

Calendar

Radio Check from Down Under

Photos from 2007 Polar Bear Plunge

Jenn Hoover (USS Hellfire & Brimstone), Mark Webb (210 MEU), and Wade Hoover
210th MEU Officers (USS Hellfire & Brimstone) at the 2007 Polar Bear Plunge Lake Shawnee, Kansas

Officer in Charge:
J.D. Clancy, 1LT From the Officer in Charge
clanc2@flinthills.com
Here in April, Headquarters will be recognizing my 3 years long
Deputy Officer in Charge: service in the SFMC. A lot of people on the mailing lists moan
Mark Webb, 1LT about their problems in STARFLEET or the SFMC. I’m sure if
webbmaw@cox.net complaining is just their way, they’re looking for sympathy.
Some folks have legitimate gripes about the organization, and
they should be free to pursue a resolution in a productive man-
ner. But, there’s always a certain element of the population that
thrives on conflict, and if there isn’t any, they start some. This
is a fan club: when I stop having fun; I’ll quit.
210th MEU WEB SITE
We teamed up for the 2007 Polar Bear Plunge/Polar Bear Strut with members of the USS
http://fedchaplain.tripod.com/210meu.htm Hellfire and Brimstone. Congratulations to Mark Webb! Mark won a gift certificate for a
free car wash at the event!

Reminder for all personnel participating in Operation Leghorn (IC 2007) that the Friday night SFMC dining in AND the Saturday
night STARLFEET banquet are not included in the general admission cost for the event. If you want to attend the banquet and/or
Mess Night, they can be purchased separately on the IC 2007 Web Site.

On May 26, we’ll be participating in Operation: Natzweiler at Homeland Paintball. As this is a World War II theme event, we may
again be role playing as 9 Fallschirmjaëger Regiment. There is a British presence in this scenario, and depending on the participation
level, we could very well assume the unit identity of No. 9 Royal Marine Commandos.

DISCLAIMERS: Paramount Pictures and its licensees have the sole authority to generate profit from Star Trek trademarks, and this publication in no
way intends to infringe upon copyrights held by Paramount Pictures, Viacom, or any other Star Trek copyholders. The opinions expressed in this
publication are not necessarily those of STARFLEET, The International Star Trek Fan Association, Inc. or the STARFLEET Marine Corps.
Lieutenant Colonel David Niven
By J.D. Clancy

If you like old movies, you probably have your own memory of some David Niven char-
acter. The rascally thief Raffles, Phileas Phog in Around the World in 80 Days, or burnt
out explosives expert Miller from The Guns of Navarone.

David Niven had a long career as an actor, spanning the 1930’s into the 80’s. He did not
start his adult life as an actor, but an Army officer. A graduate of the Royal Military
College, Sandhurst, David Niven served on active duty in the British Army for 4 years
before coming to Hollywood in 1934.

During World War II, he served for six years, becoming a Lieutenant Colonel. His units
included the Rifle Brigade, British 2nd Army, and a try-out for the Royal Marine Com-
mandos. LTC Niven also acted as a Liaison Officer between the British and Americans
during the D-Day landings.

My favorite David Niven movie was one of the two propaganda movies he made during
the war. It was shown in the United States under the name The Immortal Battalion, but
in Britain as The Way Ahead. Being in the United States, I hadn’t been exposed to any
examples of the classic English military officer.

One memorable scene in The Immortal Battalion was of David Niven, the dutiful Lieu-
tenant, having a ‘come to Jesus’ speech with his unmotivated platoon. Niven is emo-
tionally cool; he doesn’t raise his voice, curse, or strike any of the men.

This Lieutenant Perry character was one of my role models on becoming a supervisor at my job. I’ve found being rational, speak-
ing clearly in language the person comprehends, and making sure people understand you are three good communication traits when
being a leader.

What SFMC Means To Me

By 1LT Mark Webb

As I’ve spent time thinking about what SFMC really does mean to me, I find that I come up with as many questions as I have
thoughts and feelings about it. I was recruited by my CO, 1LT JD Clancy, several years ago, and was very excited about joining
STARFLEET and the SFMC. I have been a Trek lover for more than 30 of its 40 years and have never been involved in an active
fan association before. I liked the military feel of the SFMC and was impressed by the contents of both the STARFLEET and SFMC
websites. I realized that over the years, a lot of hands and hearts had gone into making those sites and the organizations they repre-
sent, institutions that have formed a lot of traditions over the years and that more and greater things can be expected in the future. I
saw the amazing number of courses in the academies and I not only saw a wonderful opportunity for self-improvement, but I also
knew that this organization had staying power and the chance to be a real part of history. I wanted to be a part of that.

Once I had joined and begun to become familiar with the organization and its goings-on, I then began to see questions in my mind’s
(Continued on page 4)

Calendar
May 4,5,6 2007; 2007 Region 12 Summit (Shaken, Not Stirred) Location: Urbana, IL Web Site: http://summit007.ussbortas.net/

May 26, 2007; Operation: Natzweiler, Location: Homeland Paintball, Quenemo, KS Web Site: http://www.homelandpaintball.net

June 4-10, 2007; Oklahoma D-Day Location: Wyandotte, OK Web Site: http://www.oklahomadday.com/

August 10-12 2007; Denver, CO - 2007 International Conference. Web Site: http://www.ic2007.org/

The Black List—Spring 2007—Page 2

STAR TREK: Hidden Frontier played by Will Wheaton, who has returned from his adventures
with the Traveler. We also see Commander Shelby of the Borg
A Review stories, who again is not portrayed by her original actor, but who
takes her place as the station commanders XO and eventually as
By Mark Webb
Captain of the Galaxy class Starship assigned to be the primary
The phenomena of fan fiction are not new. Fans of various tele- patrol vessel for the area.
vision and movie genre have made their own productions of
them for decades. It is god to know that this form of devotion The story line seeks to follow some of the patterns laid out in
Star Trek Deep Space Nine in terms of contact of new species,
extends to Star Trek as well. There are a number of projects
and centering the action around the station, but they also seek to
under way now as well as others that have long since been com-
pleted. The effort being examined by this reporter is an epic explore a number of socially significant issues. Not the lease of
project called Star Trek Hidden Frontier. these is the area of relationships. In particular, the cast and pro-
ducers spend a great deal of time examining homosexual rela-
This series is in its seventh season and is expected to end its run tionships. A number of the more important characters in the
series are gay and carry on as much of their relationships on
this year. It is available from the Internet and is free of charge
camera, as they would if the series were televised on the open
for viewing on its host site, or by downloading. The episodes
vary in length and are created in Apple Quicktime movie networks. By the frequency of these occurrences, it would seem
(MOV) format. that individuals involved in the series feel that gay relationships
have been given short shrift in the regular media, and that this
It takes place after the events in the feature motion picture Star must be remedied within the context of this particular story line.
Trek IX Insurrection. In the energetically charged plasma
This reporter would hesitate to criticize the acting or the per-
clouds which fill the area of space around the subject planet in
insurrection, the United Federation of Planets decide to build a formance of anyone involved of this series. Certainly some of
space station called Deep Space Twelve in the area in order to them may be professionals, but all of them, and this shows.
establish a Federation and Star Fleet presence in the area. This Certainly, the post production efforts are first rate, with a great
deal of attention being given to special effects and to keeping a
effort is complicated by the appearance of a hitherto unknown
high degree of fidelity to the Next Generation, Deep Space
race known as the Grays who, with the use of mind control tech-
Nine, and voyager contributions to the Star Trek franchise.
niques, advanced technology and eventually, the harnessing of
omega particles post a serious threat to the Federation.
This reporter believes that anyone who considers themselves an
As the story unfolds of the 40 plus episodes, we also meet repre- avid Star Trek fan or a Trekker, should watch this series, and
decide for themselves. It is recommended that you have an
sentatives of a number of races ranging from the Cardassians to
open mind when watching. After all the concept of infinite di-
the Tholeans which also want to be involved in that area of
space. We also meet a number of new characters, including the versity in infinite combinations is an inextricable part of the Star
station’s chief surgeon, who is an elderly, bad-tempered Trek reality and the diversity of this show is a strong testimonial
Tellerite and a new station commander with a complicated past. to that reality. You the reader and Star Trek lover will have to
make up your own mind as to whether or not Star Trek Hidden
Frontier is a worthy addition to the franchise or not. This re-
Along with that, we see a number of characters from the Next
view gives the series one thumb up. The series can be found at
Generation, including mission specialist Robin Lefler, not
played by Ashley Judd. We see young Wesley Crusher, not http://www.hiddenfrontier.org/episodes/index.php .

Radio Check From Down Under

LTC Bruce O’Brien of the 377th MEU/USS Southern Cross wrote:

Just saw your newsletter and want to tell you how I enjoyed the read...Also loved the chili recipe and wanted to pass on a
few comments of my own. I make chili that is almost the same except I don't use ground meat (we call that minced meat
here). Instead I cube my meat really, really small (it takes a little longer but I figure it is worth it) and get it good and
brown in the pan before adding the other ingredients (no chili beans or my wife and family won't eat it!) Lastly, about 20
minutes before end of cooking time, I add a teaspoon of Cumin - adds a whole new flavour to the dish. And, I NEVER eat it
until it's at at least 24/48 hours - cos you are so darn right! It just doesn't have "that" flavour !!

Editor’s Note: Congratulations to Bruce on his appointment as 11th Brigade Commander!

The Black List—Spring 2007—Page 3

(Continued from page 2)
eye that I feel we all need to examine as marines and as re-
sponsible members of STARFLEET. I believe that the an-
swers we find within ourselves will affect our own growth
and the future growth of our organization. We owe it to our-
selves, as well as those who have come before us and those
who will come after, to always keep our minds open to the
future and to work together for that future with imagination,
innovation, and dedication.
The first thing I wondered is what’s the deal with all the po-
litical maneuvering that seems to go on in the organization?
How does this promote the growth of individuals or of
STARFLEET as a whole? Why can’t we all just enjoy our
love of Trek and live in the peaceful civilized way that this
future promises?
I had a chance to read the STARFLEET and SFMC manuals,
which I did from cover to cover. I’m not one of those who
could point to a specific regulation and spout off chapter, sec-
tion, and paragraph but I could see the tremendous work that
went into creating those documents. Yet they seem to be fol-
lowed only in terms of the formal organization of the fleet
and the corps. None of the finer points of military conduct
are observed, at least not on the levels I’ve seen and partici-
pated in. When I asked about this, I was told that STAR-
FLEET Command is very concerned that we not be perceived
in any way, shape, or form, as a military or paramilitary or-
ganization. We do not want all the negative connotations that
go along with that in these troubled times, and we do not want
a lot of government scrutiny. My question about this is, do
they really believe that the powers that be are not aware of us,
of who we are, what we do, and what we are all about? Do
they really believe that we have not already been examined by
Homeland Security and any other interested government
agencies so they could create a file on us and classify us in
their collective minds? Do they believe there are not mem-
bers of these agencies who are also fleet members or marines
who can apprise them from within of our
activities if there is anything noteworthy to
report?
Our manuals describe every part of our fleet
existence from our uniforms to codes of
military conduct and our conduct towards
each other. One example states that we
should always salute an individual who
holds the Gold Nebula commendation. The
recipients of this award are indeed worthy of
our respect, so does anyone actually do this?
It is true that the democratic aspects of our
organization preclude us from exacting mili-
tary discipline or holding courts marshal, but
does that mean we cannot act with military
courtesy towards each other and those with
ranks superior to ours?
J.D. Clancy and Mark Webb show their prizes from the 2007 Polar Bear Strut
The Black List—Spring 2007—Page 4
Am I making too much out of this? Should I just go with the
flow and let things be as they apparently are rather than how I
would have them be? Should we wait until the world has
come into a more peaceful time before we can seriously ad-
dress these aspects of our organization’s traditions? I do not
come up with these questions because I want to reform our
organization. I am not a troublemaker or a rabble-rouser. I
do not carry a soap box around on which I can rant and rave
at the problems I see without also offering a solution. The
fact is, I don’t see any of these things as being real problems.
I see them as being things we need to look at and keep in
mind. I think we need to always look toward building the
best organization we can, for the sake of the potential future
of Star Trek and for our own sakes as those who write a chap-
ter in the building of that future. I picture a time when our
descendants will stand on the decks of their starships, or
sweat under those alien suns, and the traditions and training
they take with them could strictly be a product of human mili-
tary history, or it could also contain elements of the imagina-
tion, creativity, and adventurousness which we could add to
the mix. We could either be a part of that future or just a
footnote in it, but we will not have that chance if our organi-
zation does not make up its mind whether we are just a bunch
of Trek loving party animals, or a group who wants to see that
future come true and to be partly responsible for making it
happen. In short, the SFMC and STARFLEET represent a
chance for me to be part of something that is bigger than I am,
something that celebrates Star Trek and all that has come
from it, and something that could help shape the future as we
know it. We may not build the first warp drive, the first
transporter, or the first phaser, but our existence and the part
we play could make a meaningful difference in the way
things turn out, and could go a long way toward assuring that
Gene Roddenberry’s dream is part of that reality. That’s what
the SFMC means to me.