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SFC Joe S. Davis Jr., MSM, DSL
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PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
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Maj Marty Hogan SFC Joe S. Davis Jr., MSM, DSL Nice Biography of Robert Ballard. Submarine Commander, Oceanographer, Scientist, Ocean Geologist, Spook/Spy. Pretty Impressive Fellow.
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LTC Stephen F.
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Thank you, my friend Maj Marty Hogan for making us aware that June 30 is the anniversary of the birth retired United States Navy officer and a professor of oceanography at the University of Rhode Island Robert Duane Ballard who is most noted for his work in underwater archaeology: maritime archaeology and archaeology of shipwrecks.

Robert Ballard: Restore the Titanic | Nat Geo Live
"Dr. Robert Ballard explores the haunting wreckage of the Titanic strewn over 1,000 acres of seabed."
https://youtu.be/l25QT9YFQFM?t=30

Background from oceanexplorationtrust.org/our-founder
"Dr. Robert Ballard
Best known for his 1985 discovery of the RMS Titanic, Dr. Robert Ballard has succeeded in tracking down numerous other significant shipwrecks, including the German battleship Bismarck, the lost fleet of Guadalcanal, the U.S. aircraft carrier Yorktown (sunk in the World War II Battle of Midway), and John F. Kennedy’s boat, PT-109.

While those discoveries have captured the imagination of the public, Dr. Ballard believes his most important discoveries were of hydrothermal vents and “black smokers” in the Galapagos Rift and East Pacific Rise in 1977 and 1979 along with their exotic life forms living off the energy of the Earth through a process now called chemosynthesis.

In 2008, Dr. Ballard founded the Ocean Exploration Trust and acquired his present ship of exploration, EV Nautilus, which will begin a voyage around the world in 2013 with his Corps of Exploration. In addition, Dr. Ballard is a National Geographic Society Explorer-In-Residence and a commissioner on the U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy. He is also a Senior Scientist Emeritus in the Department of Applied Ocean Physics and Engineering at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.

“I grew up wanting to be Captain Nemo from 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea.”​​​​​​​​​​
- Robert Ballard

Dr. Ballard was born June 30, 1942, in Wichita, KS but moved to California at a very young age and grew up exploring the shore in San Diego. Dr. Ballard has a Ph.D. in marine geology and geophysics from the University of Rhode Island. He spent 30 years at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, where he helped develop telecommunications technology to create “tele-presence” for his JASON Project, which allows hundreds of thousands of schoolchildren to accompany him from afar on undersea explorations around the globe each year. In 2001, he returned to the Graduate School of Oceanography at the University of Rhode Island where he is presently a tenured Professor of Oceanography and Director of the Center for Ocean Exploration and Archaeological Oceanography.

Dr. Ballard has 21 honorary degrees and six military awards. He was also a Commander in the U.S. Naval Reserve, serving in the Navy from 1967 to 1997. He received the National Geographic Society’s prestigious Hubbard Medal in 1996 for “extraordinary accomplishments in coaxing secrets from the world’s oceans and engaging students in the wonder of science.”

His discoveries also include sunken remains of ships along ancient trade routes in the Mediterranean Sea; two ancient Phoenician ships off Israel, the oldest shipwrecks ever found in deep water; and four 1,500-year-old wooden ships, one almost perfectly preserved in the Black Sea. Dr. Ballard’s ongoing Black Sea project seeks evidence of a great flood that may have struck the region thousands of years ago.

Dr. Ballard has published numerous books, scientific papers, and a dozen articles in National Geographic magazine. He has also been featured in several National Geographic television programs, including the record-breaking “Secrets of the Titanic” and a more recent 5-part mini-series, “Alien Deep with Bob Ballard.” His 1997 best-selling book, Lost Liners, tells the story of the great transatlantic liners through memorable wrecks he has visited. Dr. Ballard was also a special advisor on Steven Spielberg’s futuristic Sea Quest, DSV television show.

An explorer, discoverer and historian, Dr. Ballard’s fascinating journeys can teach us a great deal about our past, and they have encouraged others to take tremendous strides in the survey of the undiscovered mysteries of the deep sea."

FYI LTC Wayne Brandon LTC (Join to see) Lt Col John (Jack) Christensen Maj Bill Smith, Ph.D. Maj Robert Thornton CPT Scott Sharon SSG William Jones SSG Donald H "Don" Bates PO3 William Hetrick PO3 Lynn Spalding SPC Mark Huddleston SGT Rick Colburn CPL Dave Hoover SPC Margaret Higgins SSgt Brian Brakke SP5 Jeannie Carle Maj Marty Hogan SCPO Morris Ramsey Sgt Albert Castro
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CW5 Jack Cardwell
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Great birthday post. @martymq8:Capt Marty Hogan] m
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