MIX AND MINGLE AT VANGUARD
Thank you to everyone that was able to join us for our mix and mingle! The Virginia Peninsula Post hosted a social at the Vanguard Brewery, in Hampton, 
down King Street from Langley AFB. VPP provided appetizers of boneless chicken, each with a different dipping sauce. A few took advantage of the brewery’s tasty beverages but don’t worry, nobody needed an Uber to get home. A good time was had by all.
LEGO ROBOTIC TEAM!!
Thank you to the Grafton Bethel Elementary School Lego Robotics Team for joining us in January! The 
SAME VPP is proud to be a sponsor. This school year, the Lego theme was "challenges astronauts face in space". They designed a material that can be used to build a habitat on Mars called “legolith” made from plastic and regolith pressed into the shape of Legos. It has properties that will block radiation and is easy to build with. The robot team briefly explain what they learned, and demonstrated their robot on a 4 by 8 ft “mission mat” layout.
RECAP OF BUSH TOUR
On Monday, December 17, 2018 several SAME members enjoyed a tour of the USS George H.W. Bush (CVN 77). They toured the hanger bay, flight deck, bridge, and the George H.W. Bush ship’s museum. The ship is a Nimitz Class nuclear aircraft carrier built by the Newport News Shipbuilding Company and was commissioned on January 10, 2009. 47,000 tons of structural steel and about a million pounds of aluminum make up this behemoth. The top speed exceeds 30 knots (34.5 mph) using four 21-feet diameter bronze screws (propellers) powered by two nuclear reactors. The ship carries over 80 combat aircraft and approximately 6,000 personnel. The ship towers 20 stories above the waterline with a 4.5-acre flight deck. Being 1,092 feet long, the ship is nearly as long as the Empire State Building is tall. The USS George H.W. Bush is named after the 41st President of the United States, who was also a naval aviator during World War II. She cost $6.2 billion.
STEM Engineering & Construction Camps
SAME, in collaboration with the military services, offers a series of week long, STEM Engineering & Construction (E&C) Camps designed for High School students who excel in math, science and technology courses and are interested in pursuing engineering, architecture, or related fields in college. Each camp has a unique curriculum, with the common threads being: challenging environment, all activities are hands-on, young engineer mentors assigned to the teams and providing long term resources for alumni.
You can find more information about the camps and the application process at http://www.same.org/STEMCAMPS or contact the VPP Summer Camp POC, Mr. Paul Burgener at paul.burgener@us.af.mil or 757-775-7172.
Let's work together!
We have several vacant chair and co-chair positions available. So grab your friend and help us fill the Readiness, Individual and Sustaining Members, and Youth Program Chair. You'll meet wonderful people and help spread the SAME mission. Rick Dwyer has all the information and can get you started today!
VMI Student Chapter
We had a tremendous turn out at VMI's Student Chapter meeting!! It was very informative and 62 cadets are interested in learning more about SAME and what we offer. During our SAME meeting with the students, Jamie Weist, PE (with Kimley-Horn and VMI alum) discussed the benefits of SAME to the students, helped them register for SAME, and elected their officers. This meeting, they had officers from each branch of the military (Army, Navy, Air Force) give presentations on what it means to be an officer and engineer. Following the presentations, they enjoyed pizza and networking with the cadets.