Checkers in the US Military

[vhabgood]

Today I spoke with the liberty coordinator for MWR (Modern Wellness and Recreation) for the US Navy. They are interested in allowing us to possibly set up a tournament here as well as possibly (still waiting on approval) allowing Alex Moiseyev to participate in exhibitions overseas (such as Bahrain, Kuwait, Italy, Guam, Japan, and Hawaii). What they are looking for is what can we bring to the military also. I am looking for people who are interested in donations either with books, boards, pieces, or anything that could help make this more attractive. Chess did something like this for the US Marine Corps 2 years ago and was very successful. I plan on donating 200$ and several books I have already read. Also I would like to know who could possibly attend a tournament in Norfolk, Virginia around late August/early September if the Navy and the ACF agree to it. I think it would be a good thing to make it free for the military and I plan on putting up a donation for this to make it possible as well as coordinating all the arrangements (should be free if on a base). We will definitely get advertisement in the Navy Times, Army Times, Marine Corps Times, and the Air Force Times as there are six major military bases within 20 miles of each other here. This could be a very large tournament if promoted correctly and if supported. Let me know what you guys/girls think. Thanks!
---Vic

[JR Smith]

I think NC and VA would respond to this idea and definitely attend your tournament. You should expect about 10 core players who usually attend VA Open and possibly more it we get the interest up and word out...

[Jay H]

Sounds like a GREAT idea !!!!
I can dig out a book or two I would donate, you could use for prizes......If interested,PM me your address, I will send them to you !!



Regards

Jay H

From Ryan's American Checkerist

[Pedro Saavedra]

Some of you may recall that I posted (on another section of this board) an account of one of Tommy Wiswell's exhibitions at a military base. The account was by a religious writer who attributed his draw with Wiswell (and a later victory in an informal game) to prayer. I would not touch that claim with a ten-foot pole, other than to report that at least one soldier considered that exhibition a memorable event in his life.

These days I only play turn-based checkers on the net, and it occurs to me (though I do not have details clear in my mind) that an internet follow-up for any soldiers who develop an interest in checkers might be a good idea. Perhaps a novice tournament with an extended time limit so soldiers who cannot get on-line that often can participate and with ACF members offering to go over their games after the fact.

Pedro

[Patrick Parker]

very nice vic

I think you have one of the most interesting ideas going right now

I think if you are interested in books printing out the ones for free from checker maven
by Richard Pask might be a good idea

Especially the one about endings....

Will this be located on a military base? I assume so? Will people need special access?

[vhabgood]

today i was very dissappointed to get an email back saying "we can not facilitate this request at this time." no reason or suggestions were given. i went ahead an responded to it and asked what else we can do to get some support from the military but basically they have blown me off up to this point. i am thinking about doing something on my own and just going around to all the bases here and posting flyers and hosting a tournament on one of the bases here. thanks everyone for your support so far and i know you are all disspointed so far like me.

[Bernard Coll]

Could the Military's reluctance to allow personnell to participate in checkers possibly mean that thinking individuals would be of no use to their agendas; ie, killing people without a second thought.

[Mac Banks]

When I was in the military , I got great support from the military. I was given tad travel instead of personnel leave to attend checker tournaments. When I was on a ship for 19 days sailing from Port Hueneme to Quam, the Navy allowed me to set up a checker tourney that I won easily as there were no ACF players on the ship other than me. Also, the military allowed me to defend my checker abilities against the best that the Marines, Army and Air Force could come up with. Actually, the support you will get from the military depends on your Commanding Officer. Also, the type of mission a command has depends on whether they will support checkers. As far as base support, I found out that it was better for me to have my personal command behind me before I attempted to hold a tourney on a military base. It is much more difficult to get anyone in the military interested in supporting checkers at their bases during a period when our country is in a war. I would suggest you try to just hold a military checker tourney only in the beginning which will establish your dominance over the other players and it might get the ball rolling for me. I too, was turned down many times during my military career but never stop trying to promote checkers for one day you may be on the right base with the right base commander and right commanding officer and their attitude might be positive for a checker tourney. Now, because of tighter base security, it will be much tougher to allow outsiders on a base or post because most CO's don't want to put their necks on the line.

[vhabgood]

Unfortunately times have changed since you were in Mac. Now all MWR programs are controlled by civilians who the military has outsourced in order to maintain budget requirements. As the electrical officer onboard USS Thunderbolt (PC-12), I can pretty much get support from any squadron that is military. Again all the funding is controlled by the civilians so unfortunately if it was not allocated to them by Congress, they do not add anything to the list for the year. I have held tournaments within my command but it is quite small. Alex Moiseyev had requested to donate his time and effort in order to do something for the military and benefit the game, but so far they are not interested in accepting our offers. I can get a tournament together just to stimulate interest, and by doing so might spark some interest in the MWR community to help sponsorship for future attempts. Also I am fairly sure they will cover this in the Navy Times which is a newspaper that goes all over the world and that could be very beneficial also. So there is still some light but we will just have to see how much everyone is willing to do to help it grow.

[john reade]

MWR = ?

[Michael Holmes]

Military Welfare and Recreation