Progress Energy is a power company that generates electricity for hundreds of thousands of homes in Florida and beyond. I want to discuss the effects Cap and Trade may have on Progress Energy, specifically the power plants located at Crystal River.

Crystal River Units 1&2 are two of the oldest and dirtiest coal burning plants in the southeast. They are the type of plants the Cap and Trade legislation would force companies like Progress Energy to upgrade or replace altogether. Not a bad plan, clean up the air and reduce the CO2 emissions. Win Win, ummm, lose.

The big problem is Progress Energy wants nothing more than to replace Crystal River’s Units 1&2 – they would like to do it at the soonest. The company cannot just shut the plants off, Florida is a big state with lots of electricity hungry residents – other plants must be built and online before shut down can commence.

The “tax” Cap and Trade will be levied on the company will be passed on to the customers. So not only will Florida take the major hit from the current recession it will also pay even more for electricity for the foreseeable future after Cap and Trade takes effect. The soonest those dirty plants can be turned off is projected to be late 2016, and that is only if everything goes smoothly from here.

Progress energy has applied to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) for permits to build nuclear power plants about 10 north of the Crystal River power plant’s site. It will take a minimum of about TWO years for approval of the permits putting ground breaking at the earliest mid to late 2011.

My suggestions to the Senate – if you must pass this legislation please figure out a way to speed up the approval process for beginning construction of nuclear power plants across our country! A minimum of two years to test the soil and clear the paperwork is about a year and a half too long. Use the stimulus money you have left over and increase the NRC staff to get this done – I know those in Florida would appreciate it. OR, kill the bill altogether, yea lets go with that choice – makes more sense anyway – Floridians can’t afford it until 2017 at the earliest.

2009 Military Pay Chart
2010 Military Pay Chart

Service members eligible to transfer Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits are those who, at the time of approval of the request to transfer entitlement is first of all eligible for the benefit and

• (1) Has at least 6 years of service in the Armed Forces (active duty and/or Selected Reserve) on the date of election, or
• (2) Has at least 10 years of service in the Armed Forces (active duty and/or Selected Reserve) on the date of election, is precluded by either standard policy (Service or DOD) or statute from committing to 4 additional years, agrees to serve for the maximum amount of time allowed by such policy or statute, or
• (3) Is or becomes retirement eligible during the period from August 1, 2009, through August 1, 2013, and agrees to serve the additional period, if any, specified below in paragraphs 3.a. through 3.e. A Service Member is considered to be retirement eligible if he or she has completed 20 years of active Federal service or 20 qualifying years as computed under section 12732 of Title 10 U.S. Code.
  • (a) For those individuals eligible for retirement on August 1, 2009, no additional service is required.
  • (b) For those individuals who have an approved retirement date after August 1, 2009, and before July 1, 2010, no additional service is required.
  • (c) For those individuals eligible for retirement after August 1, 2009, and before August 1, 2010, 1 year of additional service is required.
  • (d) For those individuals eligible for retirement on or after August 1, 2010, and before August 1, 2011, 2 years of additional service is required.
  • (e) For those individuals eligible for retirement on or after August 1, 2011, and before August 1, 2012, 3 years of additional service is required.

Members of the family eligible to receive the transferred Post-9/11 GI Bill are

• (a) The individual’s spouse.
• (b) One or more of the individual’s children.
• (c) A combination of the individual’s spouse/children.

A family member must be enrolled in the Defense Eligibility Enrollment reporting System (DEERS) and be eligible for benefits at the time of transfer to receive the transferred educational benefits. See the actual memo for rules governing a child’s subsequent marriage or a spouse’s divorce.

The benefit must be transferred in whole months. The SECDEF may limit the months of entitlement to no less than 18 months. The number of months of benefits transferred by an individual under this section may not exceed the lessor of the months of unused benefits available under the Post-9/11 GI Bill, or 36 months, or the number of months specified by SECDEF.

To request the transfer of your Post-9/11 GI Bill benefit use https://www.dmdc.osd.mil/TEB/ It will be accessible using a common access card, Defense Department self-service user identification or a Defense Finance and Accounting Service personal identification number.

2009 Military Pay Chart
2010 Military Pay Chart

You should read the entire memo yourself but I took the liberty to take out some initial areas of interest for ease. I will be making additional posts about the transferring of the GI Bill benefit and other issues in later posts;

For Service Academy grads;

Advise all officers without earlier established eligibility, following commissioning through Service Academies, with the exception of the Coast Guard Academy, or Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) Scholarship Programs, that their eligibility period of active duty for Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits does not begin until they have completed their statutory obligated active service. Any active duty service after that obligated period of service may qualify as active duty service for Post-9/11 GI Bill eligibility.

Those who used student loan repayment program;

Advise all Service members participating in the student loan repayment program under chapter 109 of Reference (b) (Title 10 U.S. Code) that their service counted under chapter 109 does not count as qualifying active duty service for the Post-9/11 GI Bill Program. Any service after that obligated period of service may qualify as active duty service for Post-9/11 GI Bill eligibility.

Need a tutor?

Individuals may receive certian tutorial assistance (up to $100 per month for 12 months, not to exceed a total of $1,200) and reimbursement of one licensing and certification test (not to exceed a total of $2000).

Those who were eligible for Montgomery GI Bill (MGIB), Montgomery GI Bill-Selective Reserve (MGIB-SR), or Reserve Educational Assistance Program (REAP);

…, individuals who were eligible for Montgomery GI Bill (MGIB), Montgomery GI Bill-Selective Reserve (MGIB-SR), or Reserve Educational Assistance Program (REAP), and elect to use benefits under the Post-9/11 GI Bill will be eligible to receive benefits for programs approved under those provisions that are not authorized for those individuals under the Post-9/11 GI Bill, such as on-the-job training, apprenticeship training, correspondence courses, flight training, preparatory courses, and national exams at the benefit rate for MGIB, MGIB-SR, or REAP, as appropriate.

Getting your MGIB $1,200 Back;

An individual who is described in paragraph 1.e, whose pay was reduced under the provisions of sections 3011(b) or 3012(c) of Reference (b) (Title 10 U.S. Code), will receive a refund of that pay reduction subject to the following:

• (a) A full refund for an individual who used no months of benefit under the MGIB.
• (b) A refund reduced by a proportion calculated by the number of months of MGIB benefits remaining at the time of election divided by 36.
• (c) The refund will be added to the monthly stipend allowance paid in the last month of eligibility under the Post-9/11 GI Bill. Individuals who do not exhaust entitlement under the Post-9/11 GI Bill will not receive a refund of the pay reduction.

2009 Military Pay Chart
2010 Military Pay Chart

The C-SORT, when combined with the PST run and swim (run time and swim time added together) is predictive of success of a candidate in the training pipeline. The band scores (scaled from one to four) are added together. The two band scores added together have to be four or greater to be eligible for SO classification. The candidate still must meet the basic PST requirements and program requirements, in addition to the combined C-SORT/PST band score. If a candidate does not meet all requirements, he should be told “NOT NOW” and encouraged to improve his PST Score. The C-SORT cannot be re-taken. If a candidate does not qualify, he should be considered for classification into one of the other Warrior Challenge ratings.

ASVAB line scores required for SO are GS+MC+EI=165 or VE+MK+MC+CS=220

2009 Military Pay Chart
2010 Military Pay Chart

******************************************

My wife sat down on the couch next to me as I was flipping channels.
She asked, ‘What’s on TV?’

I said, ‘Dust.’

And then the fight started…

******************************************

My wife and I are watching “Who Wants To Be A Millionaire” while we
were in bed. I turned to her and said,
“Do you want to have sex?”
“No,” she answered.
I then said, “Is that your final answer?”
She didn’t even look at me this time, simply saying, “Yes.”
So I said, “Then I’d like to phone a friend.”

And then the fight started….

******************************************

Saturday morning I got up early, quietly dressed, made my lunch, grabbed the dog, and slipped quietly into the garage. I hooked up the boat up to the truck, and proceeded to back out into a torrential downpour. The wind was blowing 50 mph, so I pulled back into the garage, turned on the radio, and discovered that the weather would be bad all day.

I went back into the house, quietly undressed, and slipped back into bed. I cuddled up to my wife’s back, now with a different anticipation, and whispered, “The weather out there is terrible.”

My loving wife of 10 years replied, “Can you believe my stupid husband is out fishing in that?”

And then the fight started…

******************************************

I rear-ended a car this morning. So, there we were alongside the road and slowly the other driver got out of his car. You know how sometimes you just get soooo stressed and little things just seem funny? Yeah, well I couldn’t believe it…. He was a DWARF!!!

He stormed over to my car, looked up at me, and shouted, “I AM NOT HAPPY!!!”

So, I looked down at him and said, “Well, then which one are you?”

And then the fight started……

*****************************************

My wife was hinting about what she wanted for our upcoming anniversary. She said, ‘I want something shiny that goes from 0 to 150 in about 3 seconds.’

I bought her a scale.

And then the fight started…

******************************************

When I got home last night, my wife demanded that I take her someplace
expensive…

so, I took her to a gas station.

And then the fight started…

******************************************

After retiring, I went to the Social Security office to apply for Social Security. The woman behind the counter asked me for my driver’s license to verify my age. I looked in my pockets and realized I had left my wallet at home. I told the woman that I was very sorry, but I would have to go home and come back later.

The woman said, ‘Unbutton your shirt’. So I opened my shirt revealing my curly silver hair. She said, ‘That silver hair on your chest is proof enough for me’ and she processed my Social Security application

When I got home, I excitedly told my wife about my experience at the Social Security office.

She said, ‘You should have dropped your pants. You might have gotten disability, too.’

And then the fight started…

******************************************

My wife and I were sitting at a table at my high school reunion, and I kept staring at a drunken lady swigging her drink as she sat alone at a nearby table.

My wife asked, ‘Do you know her?’

‘Yes,’ I sighed, ‘She’s my old girlfriend. I understand she took to drinking right after we split up those many years ago, and I hear she hasn’t been sober since.’

‘My God!’ says my wife, ‘who would think a person could go on celebrating that long?’

And then the fight started…

******************************************

I took my wife to a restaurant. The waiter, for some reason, took my order first.
“I’ll have the strip steak, medium rare, please.”
He said, “Aren’t you worried about the mad cow?”"
Nah, she can order for herself.”

And then the fight started…

******************************************

A woman is standing nude, looking in the bedroom mirror.
She is not happy with what she sees and says to her husband, ‘I feel
horrible; I look old, fat and ugly.
I really need you to pay me a compliment.’

The husband replies, ‘Your eyesight’s damn near perfect.’

And then the fight started…..

2009 Military Pay Chart
2010 Military Pay Chart

From the NAVADMIN, “Temporarily suspending the SRB program and the acceptance of any new requests for the remainder of this fiscal year. These changes are effective immediately. Those requests which have been received by pers-811 through OPINS prior to 1600 central daylight time, 10 June 2009, will still be processed IAW refs a, b and c.”

Read the NAVADMIN here;

R 102220Z JUN 09
FM CNO WASHINGTON DC//N1//
TO NAVADMIN
INFO CNO WASHINGTON DC//N1//
BT
UNCLAS//N01300//
NAVADMIN 176/09 CORRECTED COPY
MSGID/GENADMIN/CNO WASHINGTON DC/N1/JUN//
SUBJ/SELECTIVE REENLISTMENT BONUS (SRB)//
REF/A/MSG/CNO WASHINGTON DC/120054ZMAR09//
REF//B/MSG/CNO WASHINGTON DC/091648ZJAN09//
REF/C/DOC/OPNAV/30JAN07//
NARR/ REF A IS NAVADMIN 075/09, SRB AWARD LEVELS. REF B IS NAVADMIN 006/09, SRB POLICY CHANGE. REF C IS OPNAVINST 1160.8A, SRB PROGRAM INSTRUCTION.//
RMKS/1. THE NAVY HAS HAD A SUPERB YEAR WITH RESPECT TO INCREASED RETENTION AND REDUCED ATTRITION. ACROSS THE BOARD, LEADERSHIP AT ALL LEVELS IN THE CHAIN OF COMMAND AND OUR PERSONNEL INITIATIVES HAVE PAID DIVIDENDS. AS EXAMPLES, WE HAVE ACHIEVED OUR FISCAL YEAR RETENTION GOALS IN ZONE A NUCLEAR RATINGS FOR THE FIRST TIME IN 38 YEARS, AND OUR
MORE STRESSED EXPEDITIONARY RATINGS AS A WHOLE ARE TRACKING ABOVE THEIR PREDICTED PHASING GOALS.
2. ONE OF THE PERSONNEL TOOLS WE HAVE IS THE SELECTIVE REENLISTMENT BONUS (SRB); A MARKET-BASED INCENTIVE PROGRAM DESIGNED TO HELP RETAIN THOSE SAILORS WHO SERVE IN OUR MOST CRITICAL RATINGS AND NECS. THIS YEAR, THE SRB PROGRAM IN CONJUNCTION WITH OUR OTHER INITIATIVES, HAVE PERFORMED AS DESIGNED AND WE ARE ON TRACK TO MEET OR EXCEED MANY OF OUR
FY-09 RETENTION GOALS, INCLUDING OUR MOST HISTORICALLY HARD TO FILL AREAS.
3. BECAUSE WE HAVE HAD SUCH GREAT SUCCESS THIS FISCAL YEAR, WE ARE NOW AT THE FUNDING LIMITS OF OUR CONGRESSIONAL AUTHORITY FOR SRB. MATCHING SRB’S INTENT AS A FORCE SHAPING TOOL, AND IN LIGHT OF OUR EXCELLENT PROGRESS THIS YEAR, WE CONSEQUENTLY ARE TEMPORARILY SUSPENDING THE SRB PROGRAM AND THE ACCEPTANCE OF ANY NEW REQUESTS FOR THE REMAINDER OF THIS FISCAL YEAR. THESE CHANGES ARE EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY. THOSE REQUESTS WHICH HAVE BEEN RECEIVED BY PERS-811 THROUGH OPINS PRIOR TO 1600 CENTRAL DAYLIGHT TIME, 10 JUNE 2009, WILL STILL BE PROCESSED IAW REFS A, B AND C.
4. WE WILL BEGIN TO ACCEPT NEW SRB REQUESTS IN EARLY FY-10. A SUBSEQUENT NAVADMIN WILL PROVIDE SRB WINDOWS OF OPPORTUNITY FOR THOSE SAILORS WHO QUALIFY, AND WILL ADJUST SPECIFIC RATING AND NEC AWARD LEVELS TO MEET THE CRITICAL NEEDS OF OUR FORCE.
5. AS WE TRANSITION OUR RETENTION FOCUS TOWARDS FY-10, IT IS ESSENTIAL THAT THE SRB PROGRAM REMAINS FLEXIBLE AND AGILE IN ORDER TO RAPIDLY RESPOND TO CHANGING CONDITIONS THAT CHALLENGE OUR ABILITY TO MAINTAIN THE HEALTH OF OUR FORCE. THEREFORE, YOU CAN EXPECT THE PROGRAM WILL CONTINUE TO BE APPLIED IN A DYNAMIC MANNER THROUGHOUT FY-10, AS IT WAS
EXECUTED THIS YEAR.
6. THE SRB PROGRAM IS ONE PIECE OF OUR WORLD-CLASS PAY AND COMPENSATION PACKAGE. WHILE NOT EVERY SAILOR WILL QUALIFY FOR AN SRB, ALL OUR SAILORS ARE VITAL TO THE SUCCESSFUL EXECUTION OF NAVY MISSIONS. WE WILL CONTINUE TO WORK TO MAINTAIN AND IMPROVE THIS OUTSTANDING PAY AND COMPENSATION PACKAGE THAT SUSTAINS OUR NAVY. EACH OF YOU SHOULD BE
PROUD OF THE TREMENDOUS JOB YOU DO EVERY DAY FOR OUR GREAT NATION.
7. FINALLY, I OFFER MY PERSONAL APPRECIATION TO THOSE WHO PROVIDED THE OUTSTANDING MENTORING AND GUIDANCE IN LEADING OUR SAILORS IN CHALLENGING TIMES. YOUR COVENANT LEADERSHIP HAS DIRECTLY CONTRIBUTED ACHIEVING OUR PERSONNEL GOALS, IMPROVING THE HEALTH OF OUR FORCE, AND ENSURING THE NAVY’S ABILITY TO ACCOMPLISH ITS GLOBAL MISSIONS.
8. RELEASED BY VADM MARK FERGUSON, N1.//
BT
#0000
NNNN

2009 Military Pay Chart
2010 Military Pay Chart

Twitter has captured me and has yet to release it’s ransom demands.

Don’t get me wrong, Twitter – namely the people I follow, offer me a trusted portal to current events and pretty good banter. I do take the time to research each prospective person I will follow, I look at a number of things ranging from their bio, twits and web site/blog (if any) the person may have.

I’m sure, as with most things, I will budget my time better to become more productive here on my blog – until that time comes bare with me and if you don’t already, come Twit with me! NavyCS on Twitter

My last 20 Twits (short term resume) just before article publish.

1. @GIJessDC @vicbeck Teens 75 yrs ago today witnessed the birth of Donald Duck! #pavi093 minutes ago from web in reply to GIJessDC

2. RT @CAPTCate Fear & Loathing? Check this out as UNSECNAV Work recommended: http://bit.ly/dpKUQ36 minutes ago from web

3. RT @w1t Awwww I’m a sucker for these critter tidbits: http://bit.ly/x7mYc ~I guess we can “all just get along” about 1 hour ago from web

4. #crapsuperpowers trends with little problem but #militarymon cannot seem to gain traction – we must do better next week!about 2 hours ago from web

5. Happy 75th Birthday to the Disney Sailor, Donald Duck!about 3 hours ago from web

6. RT @PeterSantilli N. Korea Warns of ‘Merciless’ Nuclear Offensive – FOXNews.com http://ff.im/-3Lk4xabout 3 hours ago from web

7. Reading: “Information Dissemination: Pols Speaking Out Against LCS” ( http://bit.ly/1by8NG )about 3 hours ago from twitthat

8. Responding to: “I Want | Neptunus Lex” ( http://bit.ly/cnUC3 )about 12 hours ago from twitthat

9. @johnvallas Today was a great day in #Tennessee! ~~I cannot disagree about 12 hours ago from web in reply to johnvallas

10. @NavyNews I envision starting at NRD Chi, then to an NRS, RTC, NTC – show the entire transition from civ to Sailor.about 12 hours ago from web

11. @NavyNews Battle Stations – A schools – barracks – fire fighting – hat ceremony, so much to see and do.about 12 hours ago from web in reply to NavyNews

12. RT @NavyNews: Navy musicians send 20K RUNNING. No wonder they’re called the Destroyers. http://bit.ly/7HgLF ~The Navy ROCKS!about 12 hours ago from web

13. RT @NavyNews Your Navy from eyes other than ours… http://bit.ly/goeDJ ~~Next Blogger tours NTC/RTC Glakes?about 13 hours ago from web

14. @GeoffBreedwell Your welcome about 13 hours ago from web in reply to GeoffBreedwell

15. Dah dit Di dah Di di di dah Dah di dah dah -Dah dah dah Dah dit -Dah Di dah dah Di dit Dah Dah Dit Di dah dit!! #militarymonabout 13 hours ago from web

16. — —, — — —, • — •, • • •, •, ,— • — •, — — —, — • •, • Morse Code #militarymonabout 13 hours ago from web

17. RT @AHTVGuy Are you prepared for a Hurricane? Didn’t think so – go check out this awesome video! http://bit.ly/14Km9rabout 19 hours ago from web

18. Supreme Court Issues Stay For Chrysler -Fox Businessabout 19 hours ago from web

19. @jbruin and a new compass about 20 hours ago from web in reply to jbruin

20. RT @dixbert great show in Basrah tonight! thanks comics Scott Kennedy, Theo Von and Sam Fedele!!about 20 hours ago from web

2009 Military Pay Chart
2010 Military Pay Chart

2009 Military Pay Chart
2010 Military Pay Chart

Today I had my Navy SMART transcript evaluated to see where I stood. The credits below are to be applied toward an Associate of Applied Science (AAS) in Mid-Management Technology.

SOUTHWEST TENNESSEE COMMUNITY COLLEGE
Business, Career Studies and Technologies
Evaluation of Transfer and Specialty Work Experience Credit

Dept	Course Number	Title	Sem Hrs	Institution / Organization
MGMT	2900	Non-Traditional Schooling	6	US Navy
MGMT	2905	Work Experience	12	US Navy
MGMT	2030	Principles of Management	3	US Navy
MGMT	2000	Project Management	3	US Navy
MGMT	2500	Human Resource Mgmt	3	US Navy
MKTG	2000	Principles of Marketing	3	US Navy
MKTG	2005	Professional Selling	3	US Navy
OFAD	2050	Business Communication	3	US Navy

36 credits total – 12 for work experience is the maximum allowed. 24 more credits to go for the AAS! (should look good on the wall)

A number of the above credits will not directly be applied to a bachelors degree at Memphis. The AAS degree would be earned in relatively short order while competing the Associate of Science (AS) in Business Administration – all the credits from the AS degree are considered parallel courses to the university. Gahh, the things I do to save the extra driving time…

You may be asking yourself why I would not just take classes online. Online schools are accredited and are becoming more respected. The answer is a simple one, currently the 911gibill does not pay the E-5 with dependents BAH rate unless you physically attend a brick and mortar school – in Memphis that is about $1240 a month… no brainer.

I have four weeks to the U of Memphis admissions deadline but if I chose the community college route my next steps are to pay a $10 fee enrollment fee, provide a shot record proving MMR, order original high school/college transcripts (I have a few courses completed already – could have broke it all down but this post is about my Navy credits!) and a placement test. The placement test should be fun (required at both schools) – I’ll have to brush up before I take it, haven’t used algebra since high school for cryin out loud – about 30 years ago, hope it is like riding a bike…

2009 Military Pay Chart
2010 Military Pay Chart

As we navigated one of the local road ways it became quite apparent that I was not going to be able to continue without a pit stop. My bladder felt as if it was going to burst. Luckily relief came into view.

The Silver Saddle Saloon, which we found out, was a bar – upstairs was all country and the basement was all rock and roll. It was the only obvious immediate stop along the roadway.

We pulled into the gravel parking lot and found a spot to park near the back of the property, still in view of the entrance. I quickly got out of the car and made a move to relieve myself at the edge of wooded area of the parking lot until I heard a yell, “HEY!” I turned and saw the bouncer for the club standing at the door and signaling for me to come over. Luther was still in the car, we did not plan on staying.

I approached the club’s bouncer and he asked what I was doing in his parking lot. As I danced in front of him I explained I had to use a bathroom in a bad way. He said they had one inside I could use and using his parking lot was not acceptable. I started to enter the building when he put his hand up to stop me – “What?!, I have got to go!”, I pleaded. He responded, “$5 cover charge.” GAHHHH!

The head was located at the opposite end of the building, just past the dance floor. As I made my way to it I saw a very beautiful woman standing at the bar. I couldn’t stop – I had to go.

Relief.

I started to make my way back to the door, Luther was still waiting in the car, I turned to the bar to see if she was still there. she was. We made eye contact. I stopped, turned and quickly approached her.

Bonnie was wearing a cowboy hat, jeans and one of those leather vests with the thin leather tassels – she was dressed very westernly…

I walked up to her, introduced myself and asked if she knew how to dance to the country music they had playing (I had never seen anyone two step before – heck, this was the first time I had ever been in a C&W bar). She said she did.

May 28, 1983

I grabbed her hand and pulled her toward the dance floor saying, “Good, you’re going to teach me”.

I don’t know how much time passed before I asked, “What are you doing tomorrow?” she said, “I’m going out with you”. I got her phone number and left.

Luther and I later that night stopped at Denny’s for a late night meal. I told him about Bonnie and told him right then, “I am going to marry that girl”, he thought I was nuts.

On May 28, 1983 – 26 years ago today and 5 weeks to the day after I had met her, we were married. Believe in love at first sight? I do.

2009 Military Pay Chart
2010 Military Pay Chart