Due to unforeseen circumstances and the capability to add a "field trip" to the venue in order to show off the CSS Hunley cutaway model of Mr. Kiergarten, the AETHER SALON set for Sunday at 2PM, SLT, at the New Babbage Palisades has relocated to The Auditorium at Artificial Isle (click for SLURL). The Program will commence with a demonstration of Mr. Jasper Kiergarten's cutaway C.S.S. HUNLEY model, and a description of the build itself (roughly ten minutes). This presentation will be followed by Commodore Hotspur O'Toole of the Fleet of Wrath Exiles. He will lead a general discussion of the development of Submersibles up until the time of the American Civil War, the use of submersibles as weapons of war, and the technology challenges faced by the pioneers of undersea warfare. (roughly twenty minutes) The program will end with general questions and comments from the audience. The Aether Salon is a program of volunteer lectures of general interest to the Steamland community of Second Life.

The Fleet will be holding an OPEN HOUSE/HOUSEWARMING PARTY in Roatan on March 8, 7-9 PM SLT.  DJ: Therese
Dress is eclectic, the theme will be "It's a TIME WARP!"  See the Consolidated Calendar page for the information and SLURL

There will be a STORYTELLING EVENT FOR RELAY FOR LIFE date TBD, sometime in April.  At the Council Oak

We are working on getting a battle going either with Steeltopia or Steelhead's new navies.  Have to build a new ironclad for Steelhead first.

In May, we will be hosting a RFL paddleboat battle and fundraiser.  Not sure where, possibly Roatan, possibly Steelhead.  Date not firm yet

We have postponed a battle with Antiquity, possible a SPD versus ICS matchup, as the HQ building was being built.  We are readdressing that.

The fleet DINING IN did occur on 14 December 2008, as predicted in the previous news article

An informal AAR report is posted to Hibernia, no need to repost it here.

THE EMPIRE OF STEELTOPIA has recently inaugurated a new FLEET.  

The Steeltopian Naval Jack is displayed below.  Captains, make notes for your signal books.


Intelligence: the Steeltopians have contracted with Murakami Steamworks for custom hulls for the Steeltopian Empire fleet.

Rumor has it the design will be based upon the old Lavanco, which was a hard hitter indeed.  More as it  develops.

THE INDEPENDENT CITY OF STEELHEAD has also commenced a fleet project, under the guidance of Commodore Peterman, assisted
by Commodore O'Toole (Wrath Fleet).  They are in the important "Planning the snazzy uniform" stage, but appear to be eager to commence normal
fleet activities.


 

 On December 14, 2008, the Fleet of Wrath Exiles will host a formal DINING IN ceremony for members of Second Life military organizations; dress is formal uniform if at all possible, formal civilian if possible. There will be music, toasts and dancing after the presentation of the beef and salutary remarks by the Mess President. Location is Artificial Isle, United Sailing Sims. Our host, Mr. Zatzai Asturias, will be granting us his kind permission and access to his facilities for the event. Pursuant to the Mess President's remarks there will be a short presentation by Mr. Vice, where he will be encouraging toasts and salutations of the
company assembled. This is an official GUEST NIGHT, so attendees are invited from outside the military establishment and thus are expected to be good sports about being "targets" of Mister Vice. The evening's theme will be Winter Holidays. The underlying reasons for this event are obviously social, yet should also be viewed as a positive statement about Second Life communities banding together at a time when their very foundations are imperiled in Second Life. Please consider attending if you are from a Steampunk, Victorian, or 19th Century Historically themed Community or a historical military organization in world. Contact Hotspur OToole (without the apostrophe) or Eva Bellambi in world for particulars about toasting, dress, and the program.


 A word about the tradition of Dining In and Dining Out: this is a tradition that comes down to us from the English. "Mess Suppers", "Victory Feasts", or Dining-Ins are as old as there are military establishments. The British army and navy, however, created a source of ritual fellowship around the evening that has been handed down to other nations-- former colonies and commonwealth nations especially. '

From the UNITED STATES NAVAL HISTORY SOCIETY webpage:

A British Tradition Until 1776, America was a British colony. Accordingly, early American customs and traditions were British in origin; the military was no exception. British Army and Navy units deployed to the wilderness of America, brought with them the social customs and traditions of their services including the formal military dinner referred to as guest night. The purpose of which was to gather "for an evening of good food, drinking, fellowship, and honoring the feats of individuals and organizations." In establishing an independent nation, including social borrowed much of the military structure of their adversary America's founders customs. The popularity and growth of the tradition in the United States parallels its popularity and growth in Great Britain and the Commonwealth nations.

Growth of the Dining-in Tradition British Naval, land and air units are still active enthusiasts of the dining-in. In fact, many units reportedly hold at least one such function monthly. Some British messes still call the occasion guest night while others refer to it as dining-in night or band night. Regardless of what the present day custom may be called, the ceremony and protocol which have evolved have remained remarkably similar throughout the British armed forces. Today, the British dining-in rules and customs are also closely observed by the armed forces of the Commonwealth countries, particularly Canada and Australia. As previously mentioned, the United States dining-in tradition was borrowed from the English by George Washington's continentals. Despite the colonists aversion to anything suggesting Redcoat, continental naval and army officers must have fully realized the value of these occasions in the promotion of pride of service, high morale, and loyalty. Over the past 200 years, the dining-in tradition was relatively slow in becoming widely accepted by United States military officers. Nevertheless, it is a popular tradition today, though it goes by several names. Both the United States Navy and Air Force call this social affair the dining-in. The Marine Corps and the Coast Guard refer to it as mess night and the Army calls it regimental dinner.

Roots of the United States Navy Tradition Formal dinners in wardrooms afloat and messes are among the finest traditions of military institutions. The history of the Navy and Marine Corps is replete with examples of such occasions. The tradition of formal dinners in the Navy and Marine Corps differs slightly. The Corps' most notable early mess nights were held in Washington, D.C., while the Navy functions were in wardrooms of ships anchored in foreign ports. The Navy Department Historian, Gordon Bowen-Hassell, suggests that due to the arduous nature and length of the cruises during the 1800's, the crews virtually disbanded upon final arrival in the United States. This, coupled with the fact that the officer corps didn't socialize as we do today, helped confine the formal dinners to the wardrooms of deployed vessels. The practice of formal dining-ins in ships was usually reserved for entertaining foreign officers and officials during port calls. In 1820, while conducting joint operations with some British ships, the officers of the USS Cyane had many exchanges of on-board dinners with their British counterparts. Clearly, the British introduced the formal ritualistic tradition of guest night to American Naval officers during such occasions. In 1853, Commodore Perry entertained dignitaries from the Lew Chew Islands aboard his flagship, Susquehanna. The evening may not have been the formal dining-in style we know today but full military courtesies were rendered to the guests including Marine escorts and a three gun salute. These famous dinner parties were enhanced by tie musical talents of the Marine Corps band. Admiral "Fighting" Bob Evans, in his autobiography, tells a story of a series of formal dinners in 1867, with the British in Hong Kong. Again, we can speculate that the ritualistic guest night procedure was followed by the British and the United States Naval officers reciprocated with an equally structured formal dinner. In all instances of on-board entertaining, toasting with wine was very much a part of the formal dinner. Dr. John T. Bonner [Jr.] in an article ["Sober Reflections on a Mess Night,"] for [US Naval Institute] Proceedings [vol. 99, no.11 (Nov. 1973): 51-55], states that "toasting, which forms an integral part of mess nights, traces its antecedents back for probably half a millennium." The loyal toast or the royal toast was the British custom of drinking to the reigning monarch.

Since its inception in the days of Elizabeth I, the loyal toast has always been drunk in British messes ashore and afloat. Americans transposed King to President and, until 1914, when Navy Secretary Josephus Daniels banned alcohol in United States Navy vessels, U.S. Naval officers practiced loyal toasting both ashore and afloat. The days of the wine mess in the wardroom abruptly ended and with it the formal on-board dinners in the guest night tradition. The center of Naval social life shifted from the wardroom to the officers' club. Since 1914, the dining-in tradition has been kept alive in officers messes ashore. The Marine Corps has served as the keeper of custom during the post-Daniels years. While not deployed in ships, the United States Marine Corps officers kept the mess night tradition alive. One author suggests that had the Marine Corps not had "foreign service on land, the mess night, or formal dinner might have disappeared for the Marines as well." Despite attempts to keep it alive at sea, without wine the tradition became dormant in the Navy. We, in the Naval service, can thank the Marines for preserving the time-honored custom of dining-in. As the Naval officers afloat were privileged to share guest night functions with the British, the deployed Marine forces of this century were entertained by the Royal Marines. These exchanges of custom and tradition most certainly enhanced the traditional Marine Corps mess night. In 1927, in Shanghai, Marines dined with the 2nd Battalion Scots Guards, in 1930 with the Royal Ulster Rifles, in 1946 with the Royal Marines in Portsmouth. As anyone who has had the pleasure to serve with the British knows, they are most anxious to entertain and are unquestion ably most hospitable hosts. Today, the Marine Corps has a very structured British style mess night. Fortunately, the Navy shares most of that Marine Corps tradition. Despite the obstacles of the twentieth century, the tradition of dining-in has not died out. Veterans of old days remember and revive the tradition at every opportunity. They recognize the important role these occasions play in preserving the traditions of Naval service.

Indeed, the evening's festivities will be based in part on the United States' Navy's formal Dining-In/Dining-Out instruction, not out of any cultural preference but because the information was easily obtained. Miss Bellambi's RL persona had some interesting reference materials at hand which were extremely helpful in developing the evening's ritual.

The Evening's Particulars: Most of the Dining-In ceremony was adapted from the Department of the Navy Social Usage and Protocol Handbook, chapter 8. There will be a President of the Mess nominated to be the head of the table. The president gives welcoming remarks and generally acts as the enforcer of protocol for the evening. The president will lead the toasting and perhaps make a few remarks welcoming the crowd assembled, as well as having "the Beef" presented to him. The Mess President for this event will be Duke AngusGraham Ceawlin of Antiquity. The Commodore graciously yields host duty to the Duke in order to take on the role of Mr. Vice, which will lead the rounds of toasting. This is a short speech, perhaps gently poking fun at an individual in the crowd, who will come forward to "Drink Grog" (the cup and pose have been created, courtesy of Vicerine Kamilah Hauptmann) in response. If you have a "target" for Mr. Vice in mind, please remember these guidelines in advance. This portion of the festivities is not meant to be vicious or insulting, it is more in the nature of a "roast". Please consider contacting Mr. Hotspur Otoole in world with your target in advance, and we shall work out the verbiage together. In brief, I hope to see you all at the location of this event, ARTIFICIAL ISLE in the United Sailing Sims (USS). The time will be 7PM SLT, please try to be on time as there are many items on the schedule for the evening, including dancing.

Members of Second Life Military Organizations (and friends and guests) are invited to the Military Winter Holiday Celebration.

This is a classic Dining In event, with a Mess President (Duke AngusGraham Ceawlin from Antiquity),
Mr. Vice (Commodore Hotspur O'Toole, Fleet of Wrath Exiles),
Head of Table (Duchess Eva Bellambi, Caledon Loch Avie)

Dress: Uniform if possible. Formal if not.

SLURL

Burning Life 2008

Until Next Year!

Some very NICE PRESS given to our build in Burning Life by Miss Bettina Tizzy at the Not Possible in Real Life blog