Chief of Operation Sea Rescue - South China Sea

 

•    Onboard chief of operations for the rescue ship the "Seasweep" with World Vision International. 

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•    With 2 doctors, 9 nurses and ship crew, we rescued 146 men, women and children fleeing Vietnam.  This is covered in books “Sea of Heartbreak” by Dr. Stanley Mooneyham and “Where the Wind Leads” by Dr. Vinh Chung.  Dr. Chung was a three and a half year-old boy rescued on the first boat.   BBC documentary “Desperate Voyage” (Click here to view) was also produced.  All were kind enough to mention my role.   

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•    Team also vaccinated over 30,000 refugees in the islands of Indonesia; 9,497 in one day in the open air.  (Automated jet injector technology used.)  Received a UN commendation.  

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•    Other references are; an excerpt from "Where the Wind Leads", an  Associated Press article (Click here for Associated Press article in more readable format.)  ,  a Montreal Gazette article. ( Click here for Montreal Gazette article retyped for ease of reading. )  and a Michigan Daily - University of Michigan Article

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"Killing Fields" - Cambodia

 

•    One of the first few international foreign relief personnel to fly relief supplies into Cambodia from Singapore.  This was just after the “killing fields” era where up to 2,000,000 men, women and children were systematically killed under the orders of the leader Pol Pot.  Yale University estimates that this was 21% of the country's population.  This would be equivalent percentage in the US population of the states of California and Texas combined.  Click here for background

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Provincial Development - Sultanate of Oman

 

•    Chief of Administration for development of the Musandam Province, Sultanate of Oman.  (Lois Critchfield was kind enough to mention me in her book "Oman Emerges") Click here for photos and additional information.

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Owner - Operator Tugboat and Barge Fleet - Vietnam

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•    With two partners, built and operated a fleet of six tugboats and 33 barges for use in the Mekong delta and Don Ha; located just north of the old imperial capital of Hue. 

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•    This maritime and Vietnam experience was later employed in sea rescue of Vietnamese refugees. 

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•    Total experience in Vietnam during the war – 6 years.   Both my brothers, and for a time our mother, lived in Vietnam during the same period. 

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Submarine Pilot - Atlantic Ocean + Red , Mediterranean & Adriatic Seas

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•    As a research submarine pilot dived to depths of over 8-tenths of a mile.  This was for a French submarine (MOB 1000) and a Canadian submarine (Pisces VI) in the Atlantic Ocean off Ivory Coast, Congo, as well as in the Red,  Mediterranean and Adriatic Seas.  An article about “Pisces VI” can be found in the November 1986 issue of "National Geographic". (Approximately 80 individuals, out of 7.6 billion on planet earth, were given the rare opportunity to travel to an ocean depth of greater than 8-tenths of a mile.)
  (Click here for photos and additional information.)

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Human-Equivalent Robot for NASA 

 

•    Introduced and provided human-equivalent, tele-presence manipulator technology to NASA Johnson and Goddard Space Flight Centers. Grips Manipulator and  Kraft Telerobotics/NASA   Produced documentary production on robotics.  Click here to view.

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1,000 Hours of Interviews with Top Leaders

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•    An outside, independent competence assessor of 109 top & second-level leaders.  This service was for the offshore petroleum production division of British Petroleum USA.   Each interview was for a total of nine hours divided into two segments three months apart. 

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•    These leaders have a high level of responsibility and knowledge of billion-dollar assets.  You can't have a 1,000 hours of conversation with leaders at this level and not become more competent yourself.

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Long-distance Phone Center Installation Supervisor
     - Thailand

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•    With a team of forty Thai, Vietnamese, Korean, Filipino and American technicians, installed four long-distance phone centers in Thailand and Vietnam.  Click here for photos and additional information.

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Robotic Design Team Member
- Houston, Texas

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•    Member of 5-man design and manufacturing team for deep-sea robotic Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV).   The vehicle "Challenger"  was used as a template
  for the design of other ROVs in the industry. 

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Patent Holder

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•    Co-holder of patent for a 5,000 psi sub sea hydraulic connector used by deep-sea robots.   Patent No. US4682913 A

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Electronics Instructor

- Robins Air Force Base, Georgia

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•    Enlisted  in the US Air Force at the age of seventeen. 

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•    After 38 weeks of electronics school was assigned to the repair depot in Georgia.  This depot supported the repair of equipment sent in from seven southern states as well the countries of Brazil and Puerto Rico.   This depot also had a refresher training course electronic theory and application for technicians from these bases. 

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•    After only six months working as a technician was chosen to replace the instructor who held these courses.  It was a challenge instructing individuals who had years more experience as technicians, who were older and who out-ranked me.  One of the best life experiences for growth and for extensive experience in methodical analysis.  Served four years; two and a half years as instructor.

 

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Mistakes

 

•   You ask, who would list their mistakes?  My mistakes are too many to list.  We all have them.

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•   Perfection is boring.  It is the imperfections that make life interesting.

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•   With this being so, the imperfect life is perfect.   All we can do is our imperfect best. 

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• "The person who makes no mistakes does not usually make anything."

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• Mistakes are tuition we invest in learning.

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• "All knowledge comes from experience." - Albert Einstein