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Month: September 2026

SFI News
Dave Mason

USS Wessex, USS Angeles win awards

By Commodore Dave Mason

The USS Wessex has been named Chapter of the Year by STARFLEET’s Region 4.

That award and others were presented to the USS Wessex and the USS Angeles during a recent virtual meeting of the region’s commanding officers and first officers. Regional Coordinator David Nottage announced the winners.

The USS Wessex is based in Oceanside in Southern California. Members have gone everywhere from nearby San Diego to Ventura for their activities, and the ship is known for its commitment to community service and pursuit of sci-fi. In addition, the USS Wessex served as the mothership for the USS Chumash, the Nipomo-based ship that achieved full ship status under the Wessex’s guidance. Earlier this year, members of the Chumash, the Wessex and the Angeles gathered at Sunstone Winery in Santa Ynez, the California filming site for Chateau Picard on “Star Trek: Picard.”

During the recent awards ceremony, Wessex’s commanding officer, Rear Adm. Ronald Coleman, was named Region 4’s Commanding Officer of the Year. The USS Wessex’s first officer and chief of operations, Fleet Capt. Jennifer Coleman, won Flag Officer of the Year. Both are known for their leadership, and Ron wears a second hat as STARFLEET’s chief of operations. 

Also honored was the Region 4 website, which is produced by Webmaster Christopher Mulrooney and myself as the content editor. It won for best website in the region, and David Nottage praised it for its influx of new content.

And the USS Angeles received the award for the region’s best newsletter: Angels Flight. The award honored the work of Executive Editor Dave Mason, Managing Editors Janice Sobien and Lisa Sobien, columnist Jeremy Kranz and Print Edition Producer Christopher Mulrooney, as well as other contributors.

Congratulations to everyone for the awards!

Rear Adm. Ron Coleman, who leads the USS Wessex, has been named Commanding Officer of the Year by Region 4. (Photo courtesy Ron Coleman)

Three STARFLEET commanding officers gather at Sunstone Winery in Santa Ynez: from left, Dave Mason of the USS Angeles, Rose Kaye of the USS Chumash and Ron Coleman of the USS Wessex. Ron’s chapter served as the mothership for the Chumash, which gained full-fledged status as a STARFLEET ship. (Photo by Christopher Mulrooney / Region 4 / USS Angeles)

The Region 4 website received Website of the Year from the region during its recent virtual awards ceremony. The website is produced by Webmaster Christopher Mulrooney and Content Editor Dave Mason.

Angels Flight, the newsletter of the USS Angeles, won Newsletter of the Year from Region 4. From left in the photo above are Managing Editors Janice Sobien and Lisa Sobien and columnist Jeremy Kranz, standing at Christ Cathedral, a Garden Grove, Calif. filming site for Starfleet in “Star Trek Into Darkness.” The executive editor is Dave Mason.

SFI News
Dave Mason

USS Longbow is one of a kind

By Adm. Denise Rush, Commanding Officer of the USS Longbow

The USS Longbow, NCC-87556, is a community-service-based “Star Trek” chapter of STARFLEET International. 

Our primary function is to better humankind through the ideals created by Gene Roddenberry, the man behind the history of “Star Trek.”

The Longbow, which is based in Mesa, Arizona, is STARFLEET’s first and only Thunder Class Multi-Environmental Interceptor and is registered as the only Special Operations Vessel in the fleet. Our NCC number is also unique in itself and is a compilation of the birth years of the original crew.

We started our first year of the voyage on Oct. 10, 2014, with a crew of 10 and have grown to a steady 30 members over the past 12 years. We commissioned on July 4, 2015, and haven’t stopped working together to make our ship the best that she can be. Our crew is very diversified, with members from Australia to England and across the U.S. and the American territory of Puerto Rico.

On Jan 16, 2016, we became certified in all 16 categories of STARFLEET’s VRP (Vessel Readiness Program). At that time, we were one of only nine ships in STARFLEET International that had accomplished this task.

Our Marine Unit, the 626th, under the command of BGN Cynthia Cook, obtained its MURP (Marine Strike Group Readiness) certification on Aug. 13, 2026, which makes the Longbow certified in all things STARFLEET. 

We aspire to live up to the ideals that are a part of “Star Trek”: the elimination of poverty, the hope of a better future and a society where everyone lives in peace.

Region 4 welcomes stories from its ships. Please email them and photos (which are at least 1,200 pixels wide, please) to Chief of Communications Dave Mason, davemason1701@gmail.com.

The USS Longbow, NCC 87555, is STARFLEET’s first and only Thunder Class Multi-Environmental Interceptor. (Photos courtesy Denise Rush / Region 4 / USS Longbow)

Vice Admiral Denise Rush is the commanding officer of the USS Longbow and vice regional coordinator of STARFLEET’s Region 4.