VALKYRIE’S LOG – Winter 2014-5

A Brief History of the USS Valkyrie

STARFLEET International has been an organization of and for Star Trek fans for four decades. It currently has more than 4,700 members in almost 250 chapters worldwide.

The USS Valkyrie got started as a correspondence chapter in July of 2013. Its Commanding Officer (CO) was located in Michigan, and so it had to be a part of Region Thirteen. Jeffrey Redmond had been the Executive Officer (XO) of the USS Drakonia chapter in Region One. He was promoted from Commander to Captain, and got a dozen SFI members to transfer from Drakonia to his new Valkyrie chapter.

In order for a chapter to become official in STARFLEET, it must have at least ten SFI members. Valkyrie quickly doubled in size in just a few months. The XO was promoted to Commander. He was Stephen Halkovic in California, and others joined from several other states. When a chapter is new it is termed as being in Shakedown. It requires a support ship, and Valkyrie was fortunate to have the Drakonia as such. Its CO was Fleet Captain Samuel “Scott” Osborne, who provided excellent advice, encouragement, and assistance.

Region One provides many awards and promotion opportunities, but Region Thirteen does not. There were delays and difficulties between the chapter and region, though Captain Redmond gave as many incentives and rewards to his crew members as was possible. Admiral Alex Rosenzweig was very helpful in getting Valkyrie initially organized with STARFLEET, and Commander Halkovic is now keeping it sustained in Region Four. Valkyrie is not a Meeting chapter. This means it can recruit people from all over the planet, instead of just having members concentrated in a local area.

A normal shakedown time seems to be as many as ten months. Once this is completed a chapter is officially certified with STARFLEET. It remains as such as long as there are a minimum of ten SFI members. There must also be two officers who have passed both STARFLEET Academy exams. Bylaws, a regular chapter publication, a chapter website, and other requirements are also necessary. Valkyrie has achieved all of these, and is well on its way to successfully completing the Shakedown. CAPT Redmond was one of the very few chapter COs to have completed the BOCP Commanding Officer Certification program.

All two dozen crew members have renewed their memberships for another year. We have twelve male, eleven female, and one transgender in Valkyrie. All six officers have passed both the OTS and OCC exams. They are 25% of the total crew, one of the highest rates in the entire fleet, and all have been assigned important duties. Both CDR Halkovic (CO) and CAPT Redmond (XO) continue to put others in for promotions and Order of Merit awards. Each and every crew member will always be encouraged to continue taking Academy courses.

It is a source of pride for Valkyrie to have a crew composed of more equal numbers of men and women, and to be from different states and backgrounds. This is another rarity in STARFLEET. There’s always strength, unity, and harmony in diversity, and this was the original vision of Gene Roddenberry, who founded Star Trek in the 1960’s. All crew members are invited to post their awards certificates on the USS Valkyrie Facebook page. Our thanks to the new Communications Officer, Lieutenant junior grade Kristopher Zasadil, for all his time and effort with this production.

The Valkyrie is most fortunate to have three valkyries who are not large – but always in charge: Lieutenant Marie Casalaspro is our new Operations Officer, Lieutenant Commander Karen Crumley has been our Chief Medical Officer, and Lieutenant Connie Hartsfield has been the Security Officer. Amazing that these lovely lively ladies are all under 39 years of age. We also have members with disabilities, who are always able to overcome and persevere. This will always be a vital aspect of both STARFLEET and our chapter.

Thank you all for helping to make this such a wondrous and rewarding experience. Thanks for being my friend, for teasing and joking with me, and for always keeping this such a fun and interesting experience. Valkyrie may not yet be the biggest, but it will always be the best chapter, in all of STARFLEET. Ad Astra!
Jeff Redmond
SCC # 66429
January 2015

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A Letter from Wesley Kawato

Greetings to all of you aboard the USS Valkyrie.

My name is Wesley Kawato. I live in Chino Hills, CA. I got to know your commander, Jeff Redmond, through my involvement in the National Fantasy Fan Federation (N3F). Jeff recently helped me get a one year membership in SFI, even though I’m only a marginal Star Trek fan.

I’m writing this open letter so the rest of you can get to know me. I’m not sure when I’ll get to visit with any of you, if ever. I grew up watching NASA space launches. I saw my first Star Trek rerun during the Summer of 1974, while I was home from college. My favorite episodes are:

1) The Squire of Gothos, 2) The Trouble With Tribbles, and 3) The Devil in the Dark

I’ve also watched “Next Generation” and all of the other spin offs. I’ve also seen all the Star Trek movies.

More recently, I worked as a reporter for Asian Week Newspaper. I covered shuttle missions for them back when I was one of their Los Angeles correspondents. I’ll always remember the time I got to interview astronaut Ellison Onizuka, while he was preparing for his second shuttle mission. Six months later he would get blown to bits aboard Challenger.

I also publish NOVA Science Fiction Magazine. Your commander, Jeff Redmond, will have another of his stories in my latest issue (#31). I’ve been publishing this magazine since 1999, and it’s a miracle it has lasted this long.

One of my friends, a guy named Dick, went to high school and college with George Takei, who later played Mr. Sulu. Another member of that circle of friends was Dustin Hoffman. I bet you didn’t know George Takei and Dustin Hoffman were high school classmates.

Dick told a lot of interesting stories about George and “Dusty.” George Takei’s first movie was a student film at UCLA, and my friend Dick was the director. Dick showed me the film on an old reel to reel projector. Dick also offered “Dusty” a part, but he decided to take a role in someone else’s student film. I don’t get to see my friend Dick that much anymore, because he’s now living in Hawaii.

Although I sort of like Star Trek, I’m a much bigger fan of another science fiction TV series, which will remain unnamed. Let’s just say it’s a British import produced by the BBC, one that’s been around for 50 years.

Yours truly,
Wesley Kawato
SCC # 72838
USS Valkyrie

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Grand Rapids Comic-Con 2014

I wasn’t yet in existence when Star Trek: The Original Series was on the air. I never saw its first run or its first forage into syndication. Instead, I grew up perched next to my mother on the couch watching Voyager, enraptured by aliens and speculative technology. I’ll be honest, at the time, the storylines of the show went well over my juvenile head and I can remember almost nothing about the show now. But something about the core beauty of Star Trek struck around with me.

Seeing Nichelle Nicols and hearing her voice in person— being close enough to touch her— was like a powerful link to a past I’m now proud to be a part of. I started watching The Original Series when I went to college and it exploded into my awareness. This show, that had been created nearly 50 years prior to my watching it, still had relevance to the modern world and to my own life. Every character, though campy as all get out, was larger than life.

Going to the Grand Rapids Comic Con felt like a pilgrimage. I stood in a long line of other seekers dressed in the ceremonial Starfleet uniforms, hearing their excited babble wash over me. We were going to be able to hear and speak to a legend. One of the founding mothers of the Temple of Trek. We were going to see someone who had a profound impact on science fiction and on the Civil Rights movement. It was she, the wonderfully talented Nichelle Nicols, who was a driving force behind getting women and people of color into NASA. And she was doing all this— fighting for representation and for the goals of Star Trek and the Vulcan IDIC— before I was even born.

It was a humbling experience to see her in the flesh. To be surrounded by my fellows who were just as eager as I was to feel like a part of history. It made the long line and wait time mean nothing. When I saw her raise up the ta’al over all our heads, it wasn’t an empty gesture to any of us.

It was a powerful commandment.

Kris Zasadil
SCC #71421
USS Valkyrie

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Pottster Zig

USS Valkyrie has one of the most impressive chapter logos in all of STARFLEET International. We are fortunate to have such a dedicated and creative graphics designer in Anni “Zig” Potts. She is a 39 year old Commander and XO of the USS Stargazer NCC-7991 (which is also a correspondence chapter).

“The Zig” joined STARFLEET in July 2012 as SCC # 69550, and is the Chief of Communications of Region Twenty. This covers the United Kingdom of Great Britain, which includes England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. The Republic of Ireland (minus most of Ulster) is also a part of that region, at least as far as STARFLEET goes.

Despite being all the way on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean, R 20 has over 200 members in seven chapters. Among the most prominent of them is LTCDR Potts, who also set up the Valkyrie Facebook account and page. Thanks for all your time and hard work, making and getting our logo so close to perfect, Anni. You will always be our favorite Zig, especially at tea time.

Jolly good show, old chap!
“Geoffrey”

CAPT Jeffrey Redmond
SCC # 66429
[Special Note: In British English, lieutenant is pronounced as “left tenant”, and Anni is pronounced as “ahn eeh.” Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II would certainly agree.]

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Lead Editor: Lieutenant Kris Zasadil is the Head of the Communications on the USS Valkyrie

Contributing Editor: Captain Jeffrey Redmond is the XO on the USS Valkyrie

Editor and Cheif (web master): Commander Stephen Halkovic is the CO on the USS Valkyrie

The Valkyrie Log is always accepting submissions! Send in your own thoughts on Star Trek, STARFLEET, or science fiction! You can even send in brief fanfiction or artwork!
Send your work to: ussvalkyrieship@gmail.com