Newsletter of the 210th Marine Expeditionary Unit, STARFLEET Marine Corps

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From the OIC
By LTC Mark Webb
The USS Blackheart also has an archive of Starfleet related newsletters, and
The Worst Things I Ever Ate they have made back issues of The Black List available on their site at:
By J.D. Clancy
http://ussblackheart.org/thirtydays/newsletters.html
STARFLEET Survival Challenge
By LTC Mark Webb
From the Officer In Charge
When Things Go Very Wrong By LTC Mark Webb
Hunting and Gathering
I would like to take the opportu-
Section 31 Files, Log 2 nity in this first log entry, to offer my
By LTC Mark Webb deepest thanks and highest testimonial
to a fine STARFLEETER, an excellent
2010 Starfleet Election Notice
Marine, and a hell of a good guy. This
Rogue’s Gazette individual recruited me into STAR-
FLEET and the SFMC in 2004, for although I have been a Star Trek fan
STAFF for most of my life, I have never belonged to a fan organization before.
This individual showed me the ropes of being in STARFLEET. His
Officer In Charge, 210 MEU: mentorship and companionship as I experienced various STARFLEET
Mark Webb, LTC events ranging from ship events to international conferences, was in-
webbmaw@cox.net
valuable to me. It is much more fun to participate in these kinds of ac-
Editor: tivities when doing so with a friend and this individual and I have en-
J.D. Clancy joyed ourselves considerably at various STARFLEET events. I there-
jdclancy@multinatl.org fore express my deepest appreciation to Major J.D. Clancy, whose posi-
tion I am assuming as OIC. J.D. has contributed so much to the 210th,
from his enthusiasm and positive attitude, to his creativity with the 210th
210th MEU WEB SITE website and this newsletter. Major Clancy has graciously offered to stay
http://fedchaplain.tripod.com/210meu.htm on as webmaster and as editor in chief and publisher of The Black List,
and I am grateful to him for that. Next time, I’ll begin laying out my
ideas on how the 210th can continue and how we can grow in to the class of the Brigade that I know we have
the potential of being. Until then, this is Black Rogue 1, standing by...

DISCLAIMERS: Paramount Pictures and its licensees have the sole authority to generate profit from Star Trek trademarks, and this publi-
cation in no way intends to infringe upon copyrights held by Paramount Pictures, Viacom, or any other Star Trek copyholders. The opin-
ions expressed in this publication are not necessarily those of STARFLEET, The International Star Trek Fan Association, Inc. or the STAR-
FLEET Marine Corps.
When Things Go Very Wrong
Hunting and Gathering
By J.D. Clancy

Most people associate hunting and gathering with primitive society. In a long-term survival
situation, it can be necessary to forage the land for something to eat. Tree barks, berries,
roots, cacti, and leaves can be edible. Lizards, fish, some insects, small game, and large
game can be hunted.

Probably the most important part of gathering is knowing

what is safe for humans to eat. This depends a lot on what is
available in your area. The best way to identify what is edible
in you area is to train with an expert on local plants. Libraries
and horticultural clubs may have lectures and field trips about
the local plant life.

Are these berries poison- Have a field guide (with photos) that describes the flora and
ous or tasty? You should fauna in your area. If you’re out walking in the area, bring A simple fishing tackle kit can be
know before you try them! your guide along once in a while and try to identify some of an inexpensive and useful sur-
the plants near where you live. vival item.

Many people have the idea that anything moving is edible game. It is always a good idea to confirm that there are no species
that are dangerous to eat in your area. Some animals have seasons where
they are not safe to eat. Rabbits, for example, can have worms at some
times of the year. You do not want to be infected with worms during a
survival situation.

Active hunting includes being out stalking an animal with a firearm,

bow and arrow, or pointy stick. Passive hunting includes mainly trap-
ping. Passive fishing is also possible. Hang a line into the water from an
overhanging branch is a legitimate technique.

At some point, it may be necessary to consider the unthinkable: eating

vermin and pet animals. It all depends on how desperate your situation
is. Hunting pet animals can be risky in an urban environment. You may
begin to have trouble with your neighbors if they see you feasting on
their pet Fluffy or Rover one evening. If this is necessary, start with
stray animals that you are not familiar with. Commercial folding traps can be useful for catch-
ing small game– and easy to store!
You can use a primitive trap built out of supplies you find in nature.
There are a variety of these traps. Deciding which one to build depends on your skill, the materials available, and the game
you intend to catch. One item that is generally available in most environments is wire. This means you should have every-
thing necessary to build a simple snare trap. A mistake most amateur trappers make is to set one trap and wait for it to catch
something. It is usually necessary to set many traps over a wide area to make it more likely that you catch game on a regular
basis.

‘Fishing’ is simply hunting from the water. You can obtain an inexpensive (and easy to store) kit of fishing tackle as shown
in the photo. Along with a spool of fishing line, you have everything necessary. A professional reel and pole is not necessary
to be successful. A simple stick or pole can be used, or simply dropping a line into the water by hand. As with most skills, if
you have never fished before, there will be a learning curve to developing the technique. Break out your fishing gear and start
practicing early in your survival situation. It is a risk to be at the point of starvation while trying to learn hunting and fishing
skills.

One thing to consider is the scale of your hunting. Especially if you have a firearm, you may be able to kill a lot of game in a
short time. Remember to kill only what you need to eat. If you are hunting for one or two people, shooting a moose may be a
(Continued on page 5)

The Black List— Fall 2010—Page 2

STARFLEET Survival Challenge
By LTC Mark Webb

It is one of the most basic drives in nature to survive. All creatures great and small are driven
to do this and are given a variety of tools and weapons to make that possible. We humans are no excep-
tion. The fact that we rationalize our acts of survival as opposed to simply acting out of instinct only
matters to those who survive. This holds true in not only our physical selves and the continued existence
of humans as individuals, but also as groups, communities, and corporate entities. We take steps every
day to ensure our survival, both in terms of physical needs such as food and shelter, and our emotional
and spiritual needs such as meaningful work, meaningful play and meaningful religious experiences.
We in STARFLEET face the same challenge as a community. The median age of our member-
ship is steadily rising. Fewer and fewer young people are getting involved in our organization, or are
interested in STAR Trek. The ones that still are, can be quite surprisingly fanatical about it, but many of

STARFLEET
those I’ve talked to, look upon Star Trek as some quaint thing from a by-gone era. Even though it has
produced more television series or spin-offs than any other program, had more motion pictures made
about it, been the subject of more novelized episodes and companion volumes than any other modern
form of entertainment or franchise, it is still not as alluring or sexy as some of the new things that are
coming out of our entertainment purveyors’ studios.
The demand for instant gratification and being constantly reminded of the things that should
remain at the forefront of their minds, makes our potential membership base a very fickle and hard-to-
please bunch indeed. Many of the people who have served the longest and hardest in STARFLEET are
no longer interested in carrying the torch of Roddenberry’s dream and would very much like to hand it
off to a younger generation. In many cases, the same individuals have been CO of their respective ships
for many years, with no one else even coming to the meetings on a regular enough basis to take that cen-
ter seat and carry out those duties conscientiously.
All this being the case, the handwriting is definitely on the wall, that foretells the end of STAR-
FLEET and the end of Trek. Am I exaggerating? Am I a harbinger of gloom and doom, without a real
appreciation of the positive things that people are doing to keep the dream alive? Perhaps. After all,
there is an article in another part of this publication that describes the efforts being put forward to keep
Trek alive, by a number of talented amateur actors and producers and fans. There is an on-line gaming
system that is said to be very popular, although it is beyond the budget of this reporter to participate in
that. There are a number of audio and video presentations and episodes out there that are free to
download and enjoy. There is a glossy magazine about all things Trek. There is a 12th movie in the
works that will no doubt have some bearing in people’s enjoyment and appreciation of Trek. There are
still novels and other items being written.
Will this be enough? Will these things together or separately fan the flames in people’s hearts
and souls that will Keep our fandom going into the future? In these uncertain economic times, people
have other things to do with their money than to pay organization dues, or travel to conventions or do
any of the other things we do to celebrate our fandom. With the kind of choices they have to make every
day, will we be able to keep our FLEET from fading into the sands of history? In 10 or 20 years, will
people even remember Star Trek except as other than a phenomenal piece of entertainment history?
If it is our destiny to keep our organization going through these tough times, how do we do
that? What will it take to keep our organization a living, growing community? It is commitment. It is
discipline. It is the simple desire not to let something so special die. Even those of us who are tired and
burned out, and who want to just sit back and enjoy the rank they’ve earned and enjoy the thing they’ve
worked so long and so hard to build., need to maintain their posts and keep doing what they’ve been
doing for so long and so well. We need to continue trying to recruit new members. We need to continue
trying to find new ways to improve our organization. It is through the combined efforts of us as indi-
viduals as well as of us as a team that our organization will continue to live. Even this reporter gets dis-
couraged sometimes. It would sometimes be very nice to just sit around the living room with a small
circle of friends, a bowl of pop-corn and a stack of Trek videos and just have fun, and not worry about
anything else. It is important that we don’t allow ourselves to do that. As soon as one of us does that, or
one chapter does that, it will begin a downhill slide that will spell the end of STARFLEET as we know
it. If we want to keep our fleet alive, we must all commit to pull together, and put our differences aside
and work for the day when someone will finally step up without our having to ask them to do it, slap us
on the shoulder and crisply say, “Relieving you.”

The Black List— Fall 2010—Page 3

Section 31 Files, Log 2
By LTC Mark Webb

The darker side of Trek lives on! The folks at Darker Projects have embarked on a 2nd season or epic of their inter-
esting audio drama “Star Trek, The Section 31 Files. In this new story line, a new race threatens the Federation, intending to
obliterate all who come before them, if they don’t share the same belief system. It’s up to the super-secret spies and crews of
Section 31 to deal with this new threat, before Star Fleet ends up sticking its bumbling nose into things. The Klingon Empire
has already been infiltrated and the chancellor is in hiding. He’s the only thing that can keep the empire from falling at all.
This new offering from Darker Projects Inc. www.darkerprojects.com shows that they are maintaining their com-
mitment to be a creative force in Star Trek lore and this new series should keep them busy for a couple of years. If you’ve
never listened to audio drama before, you should take the opportunity to listen to the wide variety of scy-fy and horror offer-
ings that can be found on the Darker Projects website.
Meanwhile, the folks at Hidden Frontier haven’t been idle. They’ve just released a forth episode in their Henglar
MD series as well as the 1st episode in their next season of Star Trek Oddyssey, their series about a starship being trapped in
the Andromeda Galaxy. This series has been transitioned to an audio format rather than a video one and Henglar has always
been audio. These offerings represent a significant contribution in Star Trek fan productions and demonstrate that there are a
lot of people out there trying to keep Trek alive.
Of course, this article wouldn’t be complete without mentioning Giant gnome productions and their series Star Trek
Outpost. They’ve released 17 episodes of this series now and are still going strong, along with a variety of other scy-fy offer-
ings they have produced. This reporter checks all these websites on a regular basis because they are doing such innovative
things and are offering some great free Trek and Scy-Fy material that are great for IPod listening.
Again, you are urged to try the following websites:
www.darkerprojects.com
www.giantgnome.com
www.hiddenfrontier.com
This reporter urges you to try these. Download them onto your computer and thence onto your portable media
player, or just listen to them on your computer. You will be captivated and as glad as this reporter is to know that there are
people out there keeping it all alive.

The Worst Things I Ever Ate

By J.D. Clancy

My enjoyment of rustic eateries (and thus, distain for chain restaurants) should
be well known by now. But, you don’t always have the time to go out of the way for a
meal. That means you have to give in and eat at the more convenient fast food trough
once in awhile. My stomach forced me to stop at the nearby Hardee’s last week (for
reference, Hardee’s is known as Carl’s Jr. in some parts of the country). Based on the
recommendation of the giant poster in front of the store, I tried the Texas Toast Bacon
Cheese Thickburger.
Just the name of it made me think that if they’d had product placement in the
1950’s, John Wayne would have been eating one on horseback. I’m just as sure that
The Duke would have returned to Hardee’s, horse whipped the staff, and taken his
money back after tasting it. Mine looked (and tasted) like it had been sat on by a sweaty
camel.
Unless you have done research beforehand, you are never really quite sure what is in fast food. The staff sometimes
is not sure what’s in the food they serve. The staff answered my question “what’s in it?” with “bacon, cheese, Texas toast.”
Hardee’s is not a normal hangout of mine, so I was not very familiar with their standard dress (what condiments they put on
the food). I looked at my burger and immediately realized something was not right.
I do not like mayonnaise contaminating my hamburger. I prefer not to have lettuce or tomato on a burger. Lettuce
and tomato are easy to fix– you take off the bun and throw those items in the trash. Mayonnaise is more of a problem. Once it
is on, it is hard to get off. In the poster, the Texas toast looked like a nice, fluffy bread product. Mine looked like it had been
squashed flat, along with the rest of the burger. I was not happy with my dining experience at this point.
I decided not to finish this burger. In pragmatic terms, this meal achieved it’s purpose= I was hungry before I saw it,
and I was not hungry after. In practical terms, I should have been not hungry because I ate a filling meal, which I did not. I
will not be sampling the Texas Toast Bacon Cheese Thickburger again.
NOTE: all opinions expressed are those of the author.

The Black List— Fall 2010—Page 4

Hunting and Gathering (Continued from page 2)
waste unless you immediately trade the meat or give the excess away. You will probably not be
able to freeze or prepare large amounts of meat for future use. Cook and eat what you can.
Anything left over may be dried and eaten over the next few days. If you are in doubt about
whether meat is good: don’t eat it.

After you catch or kill something to eat, dressing and preparing the game will be necessary.
This topic is outside the scope of this article, but a very important step. Needless to say, it is
better to be chewing on burnt meat than to suffer with a food borne illness.

The legalities of hunting and gathering may be a concern. In the wilderness disaster or survival
situation there may be no law enforcement officials around. It may be different in an urban
environment. If food is not available, officials Most types of wire around
should be understanding of your need to sur- your house can be used to
eÉzâxáË Ztéxààx vive. Active hunting with firearms will attract make a snare trap
the most attention from law enforcement.
(Promotions, Awards, Recognition)

Awards:

Advanced Medical Proficiency

J.D. Clancy

2010 STARFLEET Election– For Those About to Vote, We Salute You!

In Starfleet, this is an election year. Several issues need your attention as a responsible member. If you are a member and
have not received your election packet, contact Inspection General Wade Hoover at: ig@sfi.org. Ballots are due by November
15, 2010. (Note: this means they must be RECEIVED by Nov. 15, not postmarked)

Bylaws Change

Included in the election packet is a proposed rewriting of the Starfleet Bylaws. Your vote on this issue should be indicated on
the election postcard. Electronic versions of the changes can be found on the Starfleet website at:

http://www.sfi.org/portal/index.php?option=com_docman&Itemid=493

Communique’ Survey

A letter size page was included in the election packet. It is a survey about the format of the Starfleet Communique’ newslet-
ter. If you have input on the electronic/paper CQ question, complete the survey and mail it to Inspector General Wade Hoover
at:

Starfleet Inspector General Wade Hoover

1730 SW 3rd Street
Topeka, KS 66606

Starfleet CS Election

Two teams are running for office this year. Vote for your selection on the postcard included in your election packet. Remem-
ber to put appropriate postage on your ballot!

Dave Blaser (CS) Bran Stimpson (VCS) Emmett Plant (CS) Alex Rosenzweig (VCS)

Website- http://campaign.blaser.ca/ Website- http://www.fleet2010.org/

The Black List— Fall 2010—Page 5