SGT. SHAFT: Need information about Navy ships and Agent Orange?

Dear Sgt. Shaft:

One of your previous correspondents, Joe R., who requested information regarding Navy ships and Agent Orange, might also like to know that he can put in a request for his own service records by going online to: http://www.archives.gov/veterans/military-service-records/.

Also there is the following information on Archives resources:

If you are looking to do some research yourself in these interesting records, please contact the Archives II Reference Section for logs that are more than 30 years old at: Archives II Reference Section, Textual Archives Services Division, 8601 Adelphi Road, College Park, MD 20740-6001. Phone: 301/837-3510. Email: Archives2reference@nara.gov.

The series is “Logbooks of the U.S. Navy Ships and Stations, 1941-1978″ (ARC Identifier 594258 / HMS Entry Number A1 118). In your request, please include the ship name as well as the month and the year of the particular log you would like to request.

Navy deck logs from 1980 and later are still in the custody of the Navy. The records are held by the Naval History and Heritage Command (NHHC) at the Washington Navy Yard. Requests can be sent to: Naval Historical Center, Ships History Branch, 805 Kidder Breese SE, Washington Navy Yard, Washington, D.C. 20374-3643.

My father became interested in Navy records when he saw names of Japanese sailors who served on the USS Maine memorial and wrote to the Archives to obtain their records. I thought about continuing his research and so became interested in Archive resources dealing with ship logs as a means of finding more information about the experience of Japanese sailors who served in the Spanish American war.

David T.

Dear David T.

Thanks for the info. One can never have too much information.

Shaft notes

• The Sarge dittos the remarks of retired Col. Steve Strobridge, government relations director at Military Officers Association of America (MOAA), who recently was the sole military association witness testifying at a House Armed Services Military Personnel Subcommittee hearing.

Col. Strobridge, who also serves as co-chair of the Military Coalition, a consortium of 34 military and veteran associations, told the subcommittee the Pentagon’s proposals for dramatic fee hikes under the military TRICARE health system constitute a serious breach of faith with the military community.

He contrasted these proposals with senior defense leaders’ earlier commitments not to change the military retirement system for anyone already on active duty.

“If keeping faith means no changes for today’s troops on retirement, then it’s breaking faith to raise their retirement health fees by up to $2,000,” Col. Strobridge said. “That’s no different from a $2,000 retired pay cut.”

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