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2 125TH ANNIVERSARY OF NAVAL SUPPORT FACILITY INDIAN HEAD

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125TH ANNIVERSARY OF NAVAL SUPPORT FACILITY INDIAN HEAD 3

n Many incommunity built livesaround base careers

By REBECCA J. BARNABIStaff writer

In 1890, a parcel of land betweenthe Potomac River and Mattawom-an Creek was selected as “an ideallocation” for the U.S. Navy to relo-cate its proving grounds from thebanks of the Severn River near theU.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis.

The site would be known as theNaval Proving Ground until 1923,but Naval Support Facility IndianHead was born. The town of Indi-an Head would be incorporated in1920.

NSF Indian Head will celebrateits 125th anniversary Sept. 26 with adaylong event from noon to 6 p.m.at the town’s Village Green Pavilion.

Including the town folkVince Hungerford came to work

as a physicist at NSF Indian Head in1960, and before he retired in 1990served in several positions, includ-ing acting technical director.

Hungerford, who grew up in Bry-ans Road but has lived in IndianHead since serving in the U.S. AirForce in the mid-1950s, said heattended second to fifth grades onthe base and graduated fromHenryE. LackeyHigh School.

“Well, No. 1, it was a short com-mute,” Hungerford said of what heremembers most about working atthe naval base. He said he couldhave advanced farther had he takena job in Washington, D.C., but thecommute would not have beenworth sacrificing his quality of life.

The naval base at Indian Headprovided himwith people and chal-lenges that were outstanding, hesaid.

“I never had to kick myself inthe [rear] to get out of bed and goto work,” Hungerford said. Everyweekday at 5 a.m., Hungerfordentered the gate to the base andalways had the best equipment towork with, he said.

For the 75th anniversary, Hun-gerford was part of the board thatplanned the celebration, whichincluded a band and company pic-nic.

“It was a unique celebration forus,” Hungerford said of that anni-versary.

In the 1980s, Hungerford saidcompany picnics were a regularevent that included town residents.They and base employees weretreated to a band and large barrelsof chili. The base’s 100th anniver-sary included a similar atmosphere,Hungerford said.

“It was a community thing,”

Base workers recall getting startin life, finding friends on site

See Workers, Page 4

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Hungerford said of the company pic-nics. “It wasn’t just base stuff. Bringthe community on board, and we didthat.”

Hungerford retired in July 1990, butbefore the 100th anniversary celebra-tion that September, he accompaniedRodney Carlisle, author of “PowderandPropellants,” abookabout thehis-tory of the base, in Miami for a coupleof days to interview a former technicaldirector of NSF IndianHead.

Fitting inWhen Sal Kasubick graduated high

school in a Pennsylvania coal miningtown in 1962, he said in a telephoneinterviewthathis father toldhimnot togo into coal mining. But, as a miner’sson, college was not affordable. Thenhe saw a flier in his hometown’s postoffice for the Naval Propellant Plant,which offered a four-year apprentice-ship and an associate’s degree at thelocal community college.

Kasubick, who now lives in LaPlata, said he came to Indian Head

for the eight-hour entrance exam. Inthe morning, 22 began the exam, butonly Kasubick and one other did wellenough to take the afternoon part ofthe exam.Twoweeks later, he receiveda call and accepted an apprenticeshipas amachinist.

Forayear,Kasubicksaidherentedaroom in IndianHeaduntil heobtainedhousing on the base. He met his wife,Joyce, who was born and raised in thetown. Their first date was to the navalbase’s 75th anniversary celebration.

“So it’s almost like an anniversarything for Joyce and I,” Kasubick said.

The couple alsoattended the base’s100th anniversaryin 1990. “And we’regoing to be at the125th.”

Kasubick saidhe retired in 1995as division direc-tor. His wife retiredin 2005 as a civil-ian personnel offi-cer for Naval SeaLogistics Center.The couple has onedaughter and twogranddaughterswho live in Char-lotte Hall.

“I tell people Indian Head, theNaval Surface Warfare Center, madeus what we are today,” Kasubick said.

Kasubick said he has wonder-ful memories of working at the navalbase, including how apprenticeshipsthrough the 1970s seemed like frater-nities and the apprentices played onsoftball teams together.

Memories also include CharlesCounty, such as how Kasubickwatched the community college growin the 1960s when it was called theCharles County Community College,and where he earned an associate

degree.“[NSF IndianHead is] a great place.

It’s one of the best kept secrets,” Kasu-bick said.

Capt. Mary Feinberg, commandingofficer of Naval Support Activity SouthPotomac, wrote in an email she inviteseveryone to join in celebrating “anamazingmilestone, the 125th anniver-sary of the U.S. Navy at IndianHead.”

“We truly appreciate the supportour community neighbors outside thefence linehavegivenus formanyyearsand we are looking forward to beingtogether on Sept. 26 for a great fam-ily event,” Feinberg wrote. “Those inattendance will enjoy entertainmentand fun, and have an opportunity tolearn more about the storied historyof the base in addition to the currentprograms being pursued on the base.Bring your family and help us enjoythe day.”

Community spiritNaval Surface Warfare Center Indi-

an Head Explosive Ordnance DisposalTechnology Division CommandingOfficer Capt. Vincent Martinez wrotein an email his first introduction to the

WorkersContinued from Page 3

See Workers, Page 14

1962803



Editor’s note: This report was origi-nally published in 2010.

By SARA POYNORStaff writer

In the late 1930s, the rapidly devel-oping global cataclysm that wouldbecome World War II infiltrated nearlyevery corner of the earth — even asleepy littleCharlesCounty townon thePotomac River.

The war jump-started the town ofIndian Head and the neighboring basenow known as Naval Support FacilityIndianHead.

Leading up to the first and secondworld wars, the Naval Powder Factorythrived as base personnel stepped upproduction of smokeless powder, justin case the U.S. entered the conflict,according to a Sept. 16, 2010 story in theSouth Potomac Pilot.

“The proving ground began to testlarger guns, the base expanded withthe Navy’s purchase of a piece of acre-age known as Mason’s Enlargement …as a matter of precaution and with aneye toward wartime expansion,” thearticle states, referencing what is nowknown as NSF Indian Head’s StumpNeck Annex.

When there wasn’t enough hous-ing for wartime employees, the Navyturned to U.S. Housing Corp. to build anew town.

The townwas incorporated in 1920.Robert Gates, former Indian Head

Division, Naval Surface Warfare Centertechnicaldirector, said thatduringWWIthe installation produced more than 1million pounds of smokeless powder.

“When the war heated up, the NavalOrdnance Station heated up,” formerstate legislator John Thomas Parran Jr.said in a 1985 article from the Times-Crescent. “Many residents rememberIndian Head as ‘the’ booming town inthe county duringWorldWar II.”

Frank Bernard, 100, of Waldorf firstcame to work at the Naval Powder Fac-tory in 1934 when he was 26. Bernardworked in the Explosive D plant as anoperator for about six years, beforebecoming a “leading man” where hesupervised about 20men, he said.

Bernard said from1939 to1945wasavery busy time on base.

“There wasn’t any transportation forpeople to get there, so what they didwas [provide] buses and they wouldgo down in the county and pick up thepeopleandbring themtowork indiffer-ent shifts,” he said.

Indian Head resident John Bloom,a member of the Indian Head DefenseAlliance, lived on base from 1941 until1950.

Back in July when the folks at NSFIndian Head were seeking memoirs,Bloom told a reporter that “there wereall kindsof things todo in town, noneofwhich exist anymore,” referring to threeautomobile dealerships — Plymouth,Ford and Packard — three to four gro-cery stores, about five gas stations, twomovie theaters and a swimming pool.

“Praising the Bridge That BroughtMe Over,” a locally-produced oral his-tory, states thatby1945more than5,217civilian and military personnel workedat the Indian Head installation—mak-ing smokeless powder, testing rocketfuel and experimenting with mines— and that the ’40s “brought moreemployment opportunities to womenand the first tentative steps towardsracial integration in theNavy.”

Pomonkey resident William Thom-as, 88, said he worked for DuPont con-struction building magazines on thebase to hold explosives around 1940.When construction ended, he appliedfor a job in the explosives departmentin 1941. Hewas 19.

They just were starting to hire Afri-can-Americans, he said.

Thomas worked in the packinghouse and would prepare smokelesspowder for shipment, he said, beforemoving to the powder linewherework-ersmade the explosive using a press.

Thomas stayed at Indian Head fromNovember 1941 until 1943 when heentered the U.S. Army Air Corps. Afterthree years of service, he returned tothe base in 1946. He spent a year inthe packing plant before moving to theExplosiveD plant.

“It turned my fingernails and handsyellow until I left that place,” he said,addingthataround1950,hewasclearedto carry confidential mail and explosivesamples. He started making nitroglyc-erin in 1952, which was made fromscratch and used inmost explosives.

“At the plant oneday, I carried the mixto the plant so theycould make explosiveson the 4-to-12 shift,”Thomas said. “On thisday, the plant blew upandkilledfiveemploy-ees. The [Washington]Post people camedown to interviewfive of us and peo-ple were calling myhouse after they readit in the paper.”

He continued to supervise the lowerend of the powder plant until he retiredin 1974 at age 52.

When asked if he enjoyed his time atIndian Head, he responded, “Oh, yeah,I liked it. Itwasa job, especiallyonewiththe government.”

In a story in the Maryland Indepen-dent dated Aug. 3, 1994, Dorothy Artessaid she remembered playing cardswith her husband and another coupleon New Year’s Eve in the late ’40s orearly ’50s, when there was an explosionon the basewith a few casualties.

In the same article, another IndianHead resident, Richard Tubman, saidhe witnessed an explosion that hap-pened in the ’30s at the propellant fac-tory“wherepowder for thebiggunswaskept—powder used on battleships.”

According to a separate story runin the same edition of the Indepen-dent, another explosion occurred Aug.1, 1994.Thebuilding, knownasamaga-zine, “housed standard materials usedin the manufacture of air crew escapesystems,” said JenniferMcGraw, formerspokeswoman for IHDIV, NSWC. Noonewas hurt in the explosion.

McGraw cited two other accidentson base: one in the 1970s involving themixing of propellant for a Polaris mis-sile and anothermagazine in the ’50s.

Elaine Reutenik, a member of theWomen Accepted for Volunteer Emer-gency Service with the U.S. Navy, wasstationed at the Naval Powder Factoryfrom 1944 to 1945.

In a letter to her family inWisconsin,then 20-year-old Reutenik explainedmaking smokeless powder.

“Sailors press it into shape and theWaves check it and test it,” she wrote.

“A month after we’vechecked it, it is beingfired on the enemy sowe are almost in thefront line.”

In July, Reutenik’sdaughters visited theIndian Head installa-tion and provided cop-ies of their mother’sletters that were sent toher parents in the mid-1940s.

In more recent years,a large team of Depart-

ment of Defense and support contrac-tor engineers and scientists with theIHDIV, NSWC, developed the firstthermobaric bomb following Sept. 11,which was used in caves in Afghani-stan in2002duringOperationEnduringFreedom, said Mike Welding, publicaffairs officer for thewarfare center.

Doug Elstrodt was the senior com-posite propellant and explosives scale-up engineer at the time.

In summer 2001, the U.S. Air Forceidentifiedaneed for thermobaricweap-ons, he said. It developed a three-yearplan for an alternative to the Mark 84bomb; however, when Sept. 11 hit,plans changed.

The Air Force “quickly identified theculprits and where they thought theywere,” Elstrodt said, and requested thebombs to be completedwithin 60 days.

Thermobarics have an “enhancedblast effective at neutralizing targets inenclosed spaces,”Welding said.

Instead of brisance, or sharp deto-nation, they have much less of a blast.The project was a “single purpose try”where 10 bombs weremade along withthree test units.

Capt. Andy Buduo III, then-com-mander of the NSWC IHDIV, said thatIHDIV team fielded the bomb in 67days.

“It shows our ability to capitalize onresearch in urgent times,” he said in aprevious interview.

Two other programs developedat IHDIV as a result of the project: ashoulder-fired multipurpose weaponand hand grenades. The grenades wereinitially developed for special opera-tions forces and still areproducedat theinstallation.

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n Unit’s labsgather intelligenceon roadside bombs

By JOEL DAVISStaff writer

Modern military ordnance disposaland exploitation is a high-tech affair,with modern science joining bravetroops to perform a lifesaving mission.

“They drop the [bomb] off to usat our labs,” said U.S. Navy SeniorChief Petty Officer Bill Weber with theIndian Head Explosive Ordnance Dis-

posal Technology Division during aninterview recently at the Navy’s StumpNeckAnnexbase inNanjemoy. “Whenthey bring us something, we beginto process it. Someone there will pullfingerprints. Someone will pull DNA.Someone will evaluate the electronics,evaluate explosives.”

There are now rigorous safety pro-cedures and hardened buildings toprotect the EOD crews.

But Stump Neck was a bit differentwhen disposal and exploitation weredeveloping at the base. During WorldWar II, there were just two techniciansin charge of evaluating and disposingof tons of captured Japanese and Nazi

German munitions, and things werehandled a bit differently.

“Being 50 yards from a 10,000-lb.blast was quite an experience,” JosephChillino wrote in a memoir, “StumpNeck As I Remember It.” “From thevacuum caused by the explosion, wefelt our bodies being sucked out. Wecould hear shrapnel whistle and flutterby us. Then followed the implosion,then dead silence.”

Contrast that open-air approach,with shrapnel whistling and flutteringby,withMasterChief PettyOfficerBobZimmerman’s take on his job.

“Did you ever watch ‘CSI’?” Zim-merman asked at Stump Neck. “Well,we perform the CSI function on IEDsin a combat environment.”

IEDs — improvised explosivedevices, the military term for road-side bombs — were the weapon ofchoice of anti-U.S. fighters in Iraq andAfghanistan, and the current setupfor IED exploitation and disposal is aresult of that deadly reality.

“What we did,” Zimmerman said ofthe early days in Afghanistan and Iraq,“is find the IED, render it safe, and goon to thenextone.Wewerenot gettingahead of the ballgame.”

So military leaders decided toaddress the proliferation of the bombswitha special detachmentofordnance

disposal techs from all branches ofU.S. military service to study the IEDsthey captured, learn the techniquesused to build them, and trace wherethey were made.

Chillino and his colleagues dur-ing WWII were pretty sure where themunitions they were studying camefrom, since they were marked withGerman and Japanese labels, but theywere trying to do roughly the samething: study weapons used againstU.S. soldiers to figure out ways to saveU.S. troops’ lives.

“One of the functions of the labsis if anything comes in that’s new, wecanput it in the emerging threat reportthat has a low enough level of classi-fication for [combat troops] to accessit,” Weber said. They can then knowwhat to look for, and, it is hoped, avoidan explosion.

By now, after more than 10 years ofwar, the techs have a huge amount ofinformation.

“Some areas … an IED comes inand we have people who can imme-diately tell where it came from with-out knowing the location. They geta little deeper into it, maybe look atthe electronics board, they can tell bywhom it was put together, and the

Ordnance disposalpersonnel handle

high-tech,high-risk duty

See High-risk, Page 8

1963241 1951549

Congratulations to the Indian Head Naval Support Facilityon your 125th Anniversary

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[individual or group]who made it,” Zimmer-man said. “When an IEDis constructed, it’s notjust some guy out backon a farm somewhere.There are industriallyproduced components… multiuse pieces ofelectronic equipmentlike cellphones, radios,garage door openers…”

Part of the exploita-tion of the devices —the military term of artfor using captured warmaterial to gather intel-ligenceagainst theweap-ons being used — is tofigure out what they cando.

“The capability ofthis base goes into thetechnology of armor onvehicles,” Zimmermansaid. “When we do ourexploitation, we can tellthe capabilities of the

device. When a devicein Iraq could penetrateinches of armor, that isimportant informationfor [combat troops].”

One goal of the EODoperation speaks tothis crucial part of theirduties. EOD techs striveto “Keep them off theWall.”

EOD civilian spokes-man Gideon Rogersexplained during theinterview at Stump Neckthat at the EOD schoolin Florida, there is a wallwith the names of all theEOD techs who havediedonthe jobsinceord-nance disposal was firstorganized. Those attend-ing the school see it everyday, and it becomes animportant symbol of thejob.

“EOD guys are goingtoward it while otherguys are getting away,”Weber said, risking theirlives so others can besafe.

High-riskContinued from Page 7

To celebrate its 125th anniversary, Naval Support FacilityIndianHeadwill host a free, family-friendly event from 12-6p.m. Sept. 26 at the Village Green Pavilion in IndianHead.

Enjoy livemusic fromNavy Band Country Current andSamGrow, plus a performance from theNaval DistrictWashington Ceremonial Drill Team.

See NavyDivers, participate in children’s games andactivities and viewmilitary exhibits including EOD robot-ics.

The 25-year-old time capsule, buried as part of thecommemoration of the base’s 100th anniversary, will alsobe opened.

On-base parking will be available with DOD ID. No alco-hol or coolers permitted.

Formore information, email [email protected].

Free, family-friendly celebration tobe held Sept. 26 on Village Green

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By REBECCA J. BARNABIStaff Writer

At the ceremony to dedicate a build-ing in honor of her son, the late U.S.Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Terry “T.J.”EdwardHoneycutt Jr., atNaval SupportFacility Indian Head Aug. 7, ChristineHoneycutt asked that her son not beforgotten.

Christine Honeycutt said that whenyou lose a child, you want your childback but you know that can’t hap-pen, so you settle for your child to beremembered in someway.

“If I can’t have my son, to have himhonored like this is really great,” Chris-tine Honeycutt said.

T.J. Honeycutt was injured by aroadside bomb in Helmand Province,Afghanistan, and diedOct. 27, 2010. Hewas 19. He enlisted in the Marines andleft the day he graduated from NorthPoint High School in 2009.

The Explosives Development Facili-ty Administration Building andChangeHouse, also known as Building 3137,was dedicated in honor of T.J. Hon-eycutt. The building, built in 2009, isused by Naval Surface Warfare CenterIndian Head Explosive Ordnance Dis-posal Technology Division. A bronzeplaque hanging outside by the frontdoor describes T.J. Honeycutt’s serviceto his country.

Christine Honeycutt told the audi-ence that her son “would just wonderwhat everybody was making a big fussover.”

She said he knew at an early agewhat he wanted to do with his life.Becoming a Marine was not a job forhim, itwas “awayof life,” andhebegan

preparing for that way of life even asa child when he and his sister, Dawn,would play with toy soldiers.

Later, Christine Honeycutt said,her son practiced his skills with a BBgun and military video games, whileincreasing his knowledge of wars sinceWorld War I. He spent summers in aleadership program with Junior ROTCinstead of joining his friends at thebeach. It was a taste of boot camp forT.J. Honeycutt, hismother said.

“I don’t thinkhewas afraid todie if itwas inanhonorablemanner, and that’swhat happened,” Christine Honeycuttsaid.Her sonchosehis fate anddiedhisway, she said.

The dedication of the building, shesaid, brings her family comfort.

“Please don’t forget my child,”ChristineHoneycutt said. “Please don’tforget he existed.” The audience ofT.J. Honeycutt’s fellow unit members,Honeycutt family and friends, and NSFIndian Head officials gave her a stand-ing ovation.

Dennis McLaughlin, technicaldirector at NSWC IHEODTD, said thedivision has a long history in CharlesCounty and that it was important todedicate the building to someone whowas local. Several names were consid-ered,McLaughlin said, butHoneycutt’sname “quickly rose to the top” andwasapproved earlier this year.

U.S. Navy Capt. Thomas Smith II,commanding officer at NSWC IHEOD-TD, said the building “will bear hisname and carry the legacy of his sac-rifice.” Smith added that although T.J.Honeycutt’s death could not be pre-vented, work done in the Lance Cpl.Honeycutt buildingwill help to prevent

deaths in the future.“T.J. accomplishedmore in his short

days on this earth than most peopleaccomplish in decades,” said U.S.Marine Lt. Col. Jim Fullwood, Honeyc-utt’s commandingofficer in theSecondBattalion, 9th Marine Regiment beforedeployment.

Fullwood said that T.J. Honeycuttwould crack a joke and lighten themood in the worst of times. Because ofMarines like him, children now attendschool in Afghanistan where they didnot before.

“T.J. brought the first rays of light toa very dark part of theworld, and again,he ran to the sounds of the guns,” Full-wood said.

A human being experiences twodeaths, Fullwood said. A physical deathand, when a person is no longer men-tioned among the living, a seconddeath.With the dedication of the build-ing, T.J. Honeycutt will live on in heartsandminds forever, he said.

“HewasaMarineandhe isaMarine,and he watches over us still,” Fullwoodsaid in closing.

Sue Kullen, field representative forSouthern Maryland, presented NSWCIHEODTD with a citation from theoffice of U.S. Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.).U.S. Navy Cmdr. Ken Conley, a seniorintelligence officer, read a letter fromthe office of U.S. Sen. Barbara Mikul-ski (D-Md.) expressing her regrets forbeing unable to attend the ceremony.

Cpl. Eamon Turnbull, 24, was T.J.Honeycutt’s team leader during train-ing before Honeycutt deployed. Turn-bull said he and Honeycutt had a lotin common. Once the Marines weredeployed, Turnbull was no longer

his team leader. An injury to his legbrought Turnbull back to the U.S. justdays before hearing from a fellow unitmember on Facebook that Honeycutthad been killed.

“I mean, I trained him up until theday we deployed, and he gets killed theday I’m sitting in a hospital bed,” Turn-bull said before the ceremony.

Turnbull said that some team lead-ers had to yell at new unit members,but he never had to yell at Honeycutt.

“T.J. — he was a fast learner,” saidTurnbull,whoadded thathewashappyto have Honeycutt as a machine gun-ner.

The typeofbuildingdedicated toT.J.Honeycutt is significant, Turnbull said,because work in that building will savethe lives ofMarines like Honeycutt.

“Iwish I could see stuff like thismoreoften,” Turnbull said. “It’s very fitting.”

Dawn Clarke, T.J. Honeycutt’s sis-ter, named her second daughter, Terra,after him. Terra, 2, was born after heruncle’sdeath.Clarke said she foundoutshe was pregnant with Terra aroundthe time her family was laying herbrother to rest.

“It’s just an honor for people to beremembering him,” said Clarke, wholives in South Carolina. “Like my momsaid, he wanted to make a difference,and that’s what he’s doing.”

T.J.Honeycuttwas awarded thePur-pleHeart,MarineCorpsGoodConductMedal, NationalDefense ServiceMedaland Global War on Terrorism ServiceMedal, among other decorations. He isburied in ArlingtonNational Cemetery.

Navy dedicates building for local hero

U.S. Marine CorpsLance Cpl. Terry “T.J.”Edward Honeycutt Jr.

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n Historian gives quirkytour of less well-knownevents

By JOEL DAVISStaff writer

Scientists, sailors and support staffat the U.S. Navy base in Indian Headhave worked for 125 years to improvethe country’s defense capabilities. Theway Rodney P. Carlisle, a historianof the base and an emeritus history

professor at Rutgers University, tells it,they have also shot a house and nearlyhit PresidentWoodrowWilson’s yacht,theMayflower.

Carlisle gave a presentation on thebase’s origins and major milestonesbased on his book “Powder and Pro-pellants: Energetic Materials at IndianHead, Maryland, 1890-2001” Sept. 9 atthe Black Box Theatre in Indian Head.His slide showhadaphotoof theafter-math of the incident where an errantshell hit the porch of a home, the shell,thedamagedporchand somechildrenfeatured in the frame. Carlisle said he

didn’t know much more informationabout the incident, but that, when theofficials in charge of vetting the book,which had been commissioned bybase leadership, saw the photo, “Theydid not want this in the book,” Carlislejoked. “It’s not good publicity to shellcivilians.”

The official Indian Head ExplosiveOrdnance Disposal Technology Divi-sion’s commemorative publication forthe 125th anniversary has the story onthe near mishap with the president’syacht.

“1913-Pres. Woodrow Wilson’s

yacht Mayflower is nearly struck by ashell fired from a 14-inch gun by Lt.Garret L. Schuyler at theNaval ProvingGround. ‘It would be a good plan todo awaywith the testing of guns there,selecting somespotwhere therewouldbe no danger to passing ships,’ Wilsonlater remarked.

“The incident added to the argu-ment that the Navy’s proving groundshould be moved to a more strategicarea with less boat traffic.”

At the Sept. 9 presentation, Carl-

Base history not always so serious

See History, Page 12

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son’s isolationism at the time, repliedthat thenear-misswas the result of “anexcess of zeal” by the young lieuten-ant, Carlisle said.

On July 21, 1921, the Indian Headbase fired its last live round, and theDahlgren, Va., base took over, part-ly, Carlisle said, because there was amiles-long, unimpeded line of sightfrom the base to the Chesapeake Bay.

Carlisle noted that several veryfamous people have a connection tothe base, including Franklin DelanoRoosevelt, America’s longest-servingpresident, who visited the base as Sec-retary to the Navy in the 1920s. Car-lisle showed a photo of FDR at thebase, and noted it is a rare instanceof a photo taken of Roosevelt beforehe contracted polio, without a wheel-chair, leg braces or assistants helpinghim stand andwalk.

A luminary of U.S. rocketry andspace science also had a brief career atthe base. The IHEODTD commemo-rative booklet notes that “Dr. RobertGoddard, knownas the fatherofAmer-ican rocketry, came to Indian Head

in the early 1920s to initiate researchon rocket ordnance and served as apart-time consultant until his depar-ture in 1923. Indian Head later builtthe Goddard Power Plant in his name.The coal-fired power plant was builtin 1957 to supply Indian Head withsteam, compressed air and the major-ity of its electric power. The GoddardPower Plant closed its doors in latesummer 2015 following the openingof a $68 million combination naturalgas turbine and heat recovery steamgenerator.”

Carlisle said the base was instru-

mental in evaluating World War Inaval operations, and was anxious todraw useful lessons from the war’sbattles. The Battle of Jutland, fought atnight in early summer 1916 off Den-mark, pitted German and British shipsagainst each other. There was no clearwinner of the battle, though most his-torians agree the British earned a tac-tical advantage from the affair. Forthe Navy researchers at Indian Headafter the war, the outcome was not asimportant as some technical aspects.

“The Germans had better flaresand star shells [to illuminate areas at

night],” Carlisle said. “Also, a ship blewup when a shell went straight downthe elevator [carrying munitions tothe deck] into the magazine. It wasthought better to have the magazineoff to the side a little bit, rather than astraight shot from the deck.”

The battle also pointed out target-ing problems, as four or five ships fir-ing at the same time had noway to tellif theirs were the ones hitting the tar-get or not. Carlisle said base employ-ees worked on making shells producedifferent colored smoke, an idea thatnever really got off the ground.

Smoke was a big preoccupation ofarmies and navies before the smoke-less powder era. Carlisle said the pre-vious powder, black powder, made somuch smoke that people firing gunswould have to wait for the smoke toclear. Scientists at IndianHeadworkedto produce a usable smokeless pow-der, and did so in the Mark IV com-position.

Big companies were makingsmokeless powder and charging a ratethat Navy officials found excessive, sothey did some research and found thatIndian Head could produce it for farless. The base acted as a factory pro-ducing powder until afterWWII.

HistoryContinued from Page 11

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communities of Indian Head and EODwas when he attended EOD school.

“The lessons I learned, the tools Iused, and the publications that guidedme came from the men and womenof the EOD and the Indian Head com-munities,” Martinez wrote. “There arevery fewprofessions thatdemandsuchinternal courage to defy fear and makethat ‘Lonely Walk’ into the unknown,and Indian Head is where the Navytaught me the fortitude to render safeexplosives.”

Second time aroundNSWC IHEODTD Technical Direc-

tor Ashley Johnson was employed asan engineer at NSF Indian Head inthe late 1980s and returned to serve astechnical director in 2014.

“When you visit towns that haveNavy shipyards, you feel a real sense ofcommunity pride and ownership. I’vealwaysbeen impressedwithhowpow-erful that relationship is and the waythat partnership can overcome chal-lenges,” Johnson wrote in an email.“Our command is Indian Head’s

‘shipyard.’ Although we don’t buildNavy ships or aircraft, the work we doon energetic material systems is theforce that allows them to fly farther, hitharder and save lives.”

Johnson said the command atNSWC IHEODTD is “very proud ofthat mission and for more than 125years, this command, the base andlocal community have been support-ing America’s warfighter. I’m lookingforward to celebrating this significantmilestone with the community and Iinvite you to come out Saturday after-noon and join us.”

Many in Charles County recognizethe base’s importance to the localeconomy; annual economic impactreports from the U.S. Navy confirmits importance. According to the mostrecent report from fiscal 2014, of NSFIndian Head’s 2,976 federal employ-ees, service members and contractors,63 percent live in Charles County.

Earlier this year, the Charles Coun-ty Chamber of Commerce created itsMilitary Alliance Council to serve asliaison between the base and countycommunity.

Forming friendshipsWarren Bowie of Indian Head, a

1957 graduate of Henry E. Lackey High

School, started at the Naval OrdnanceStation in 1959 as a powder and explo-sives worker. He began serving thetown in the late 1980s as a member oftown council, then a member of thetown’s planning commission.

Bowie said in a telephone interviewhe remembers starting at NOS making$1.89anhourononeof three shifts.Henever got used to working the grave-yard shift from midnight to 7:30 a.m.,he said.

“I met a lot of good people,” Bowiesaid. “Made a lot of good friends.”

A group of friends included Bowieand about five other bachelors who allworked overnights and got off work by7:30 a.m. Bowie said the men wouldthen spend the day water skiing beforegetting a few hours of sleep and goingback to work.

Bowie said his favorite part of work-ing at the base was the friendships hemade. He met good civilian and mili-tary employees.

One night while working in the castplant, Bowie said a Talos, a missilebuilt for U.S. Navy ships, caught onfire.

“It sounded like theworldwas com-ing to an end,” Bowie said.

Another night, while working inthe comptroller’s office, the build-ing caught on fire and burned to the

ground, Bowie said. He lost severalfriends in an explosion another nightthat happened during the 4 p.m. tomidnight shift.

Bowie was mayor of Indian Headwhen the base celebrated its 100thanniversary in 1990. Two years before,the town had begun building the Vil-lage Green Pavilion. As part of thebase’s celebration, the town buried atime capsule on the village green.

“That was a big day for the town,”Bowie said. On Sept. 26, the town willopen the time capsule as part of thenaval base’s 125th anniversary cele-bration.

Bowie said he remembers the com-pany picnics that included the town asAutumn Festival Day. Big pots of chiliwere cooked up, and the communitywas invited to enjoy food, dancing,tennis and other activities.

Bowie retired fromNOS in1993 as afinancial officer and deputy comptrol-ler. While working at NOS, he earnedan associate of arts in business admin-istration from Charles County Com-munity College in 1970. Bowie and hiswife, Jeanne, raised a daughter and ason in Indian Head.

“But for34years, [NSFIndianHead]provided me with a good income,”Bowie said.

WorkersContinued from Page 4

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