Oct. 11, 2013
Vol. 2 Issue 120
DAILY DIGEST
SAILORS MAINTAIN AND REPAIR AVIATION SUPPORT EQUIPMENT
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he flight deck is abuzz with the rumble of flight operations. From vulture’s row, it looks like a bag of M&Ms was spilled as Sailors in blue, red, yellow and brown shirts all work quickly, spread out across the bow of the ship. The loud buzzing of jet engines sends vibrations across the deck. A group of yellow shirts hook a jet up to a tow bar as a blue shirt drives past in a tow tractor, F/A-18C Hornet in tow. Everything is running smoothly. Suddenly, though, the tow tractor stops right in the middle of the runway. The motor has stalled, and try as he might, the driver simply cannot get the tractor to start up again. Quickly, a call is made on the Radio. It’s Aviation Sup-
Story and photos by MCSN Siobhana R. McEwen
port Equipment Technician (AS) 2nd Class John Ringer who answers. When a piece of support equipment on the flight deck goes down, Ringer is usually the first person called to fix the problem. Ringer is a member of the Aircraft Intermediate Maintenance Department’s (AIMD) Support Equipment (IM-4) Division: he is a Flight Deck Troubleshooter. “Our job is to maintain and repair all support equipment on the flight deck,” said Aviation Support Equipment Technician 2nd Class Jon Blevins, who also works as a flight deck troubleshooter. “We work on P-25 firefighting trucks, tow tractors and the crash crane.” Continued on page 3
Sailor of the Day
Story and photo MCSN Eric Butler
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eoman 3rd Class Tiffany L. Scott, from Youngstown, Ohio, was selected to be Sailor of the Day Oct. 10. “It feels good,” said Scott. “It’s a nice way to start the day.” Newly appointed as the command’s awards coordinator, a billet normally filled by a senior petty officer, she completed more than 400 awards, including 17 Navy and Marine Corps commendation medals, 50 Navy and Marine Corps achievement medals, 210 flag letters of commendation Commanding Officer Capt. Jeff Ruth
and 156 commanding officer letters of commendation. Scott offered advice to anyone who would like to be recognized for their efforts. “Keep up the hard work, regardless if anyone is looking or not,” said Scott. “Eventually someone notices.” In addition, she was responsible for the proper tracking, correction, and presentation of more than 150 items of correspondence to include 30 evaluation and fitness reports and 25 command notices.
Executive Officer Capt. John Cummings
Editor MC2 (SW) Jason Behnke
Command Master Chief CMDCM Teri McIntyre
Public Affairs Officer Lt. Cmdr. Karin Burzynski
Lead Designer MC3 (SW) George J. Penney III
Nimitz News accepts submissions in writing. All submissions are subject to review and screening. ”Nimitz News” is an authorized publication for the members of the military services and their families. Its content does not necessarily reflect the official views of the U.S. Government, the Department of Defense, the Department of the Navy, or the Marine Corps and does not imply endorsement thereby.
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Continued from page 1
“We’ve had instances before where a tow tractor has broken down in the landing area during the middle of flight ops,” said Blevins. “They need us to go out there and get it out of the landing area so they can continue to do what they do.” Typically, when a piece of equipment goes down on the flight deck, Ringer is called to fix the issue. After he is done working, Blevins will review Ringer’s work. “Our work needs a second set of eyes to do an independent check,” said Ringer. “It’s just a quality assurance thing.” “All of our efforts up here wouldn’t be possible without the people down in the hangar bay,” said Blevins. Approximately 30 additional people round out IM-4 Division, working day and night to ensure all support equipment is ready to go at any point in time. “We work on mission critical equipment,” said Aviation Support Equipment Technician 2nd Class Adam Melony. “Without the equipment we work on, flight operations could not happen.” If a piece of equipment from the flight deck simply cannot be fixed in time to be useful, it will be brought down to the hangar bay and replaced with equipment that works. That equipment will then be held in the hangar bay until it is fully fixed. “About two months ago we had a P-25 fire truck that would not start,” said Melony. “It was an electrical problem, but it took us about three weeks to find and fix the issue.” IM-4 also maintains and fixes the equipment used in the hangar bay. Routine jobs include replacing dead batteries, fixing small systems such as power steering and replacing starters and engine belts. Belvins and Melony both said that often times their crews have to work around the needs of others in their respective environments.
ASAN Jason Kashan poses for a photograph in front of a tow-tractor.
“There is always moving aircraft in the hangar bay,” said Melony. “A lot of times our guys will have to stop working and pack up their gear to get out of the way.” “It can be hard to find a place to work where you’re not in someone’s way,” said Belvins. “We have to work in certain locations to accommodate others.” Like the equipment they work on, ASs have to be prepped in the hangar bay before heading up to the flight deck. “It’s something a lot of people aspire to do,” said Melony, of working on the flight deck. “There’s not a lot of time to train people, so people need to have more knowledge or experience to work up there.” “It’s a rush,” said Blevins. “I enjoy the fast pace of working up here.” Back on the flight deck, Ringer has gotten the tow tractor up and running. He’s headed over to run some maintenance on a P-25 fire truck, keeping his head on a swivel as he works. Melony said it’s easy to overlook the equipment and work of IM-4. Most people don’t realize how valuable that equipment is until it’s not working right. He encouraged others to respect the gear. “Remember,” said Melony, “there’s no air support without ground support.” 3
AROUND THE FLEET
GENERAL MILITARY TRAINING SCHEDULE ANNOUNCED FOR FY14
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By Cmdr. Kelly Brannon NETC Public Affairs
opics for General Military Training (GMT) for Fiscal Year (FY) 14 were announced in NAVADMIN 264/13, Oct. 9. The announcement, usually released Oct. 1, was delayed due to the ongoing effort to streamline or eliminate administrative burdens on the fleet, allowing more time to focus on mission readiness. In support of this effort, known as Reducing Administrative Distractions (RAD), a revision of the GMT instruction is nearing completion. “Through RAD and other feedback, the Fleet has been pretty clear that they want us to give this a good hard look,” said Vice Adm. Bill Moran, chief of naval personnel. “We need to find the right balance of required training and white space for our commanders.” While each of the GMT subjects are important, Moran said his staff’s review of the instruction will ensure training requirements are validated, inefficiencies are eliminated, and improvements are made to overall program effectiveness. The intent of the GMT instruction revision is to provide clear communication of requirements and to establish an annual review process for each topic.
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There are two categories of GMT topics that must be completed in FY 14. Category One topics must be conducted via face-to-face, instructor-led training sessions provided at the command level. Senior leadership, command training teams, or collateral duty training officers/chief petty officers will conduct Category One GMT. The FY 14 Category One GMT topics are: Alcohol Abuse Prevention and Control; Equal Opportunity and Grievance Procedures; Hazing Policy and Prevention; Personal Financial Management; Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Awareness; Sexual Harassment and Grievance Procedures; Stress Management; and Suicide Awareness and Prevention. “These are the opportunities for leadership to engage and have frank and deliberate discussions about command-delivered training, ensuring Sailors understand their roles and responsibilities,� said Capt. John Newcomer, Commanding Officer at the Center for Personal and Professional Development (CPPD). The remaining required GMT topics are Category Two topics that can be completed via Navy e-Learning or through face-to-face, command-delivered training at the discretion of the unit commander. The Category Two GMT topics for FY 14 are: Anger Management; Antiterrorism/Force Protection; Combating Trafficking in Persons; Counterintelligence Awareness and Reporting; Domestic Violence Prevention and Reporting; Drug Abuse Prevention and Control; Fraternization Awareness and Prevention; Information Assurance; Operational Risk Management; Operational Security; Physical Readiness; Privacy and Personally Identifiable Information Awareness; Records Management; Sexual
Health and Responsibility; and Tobacco Use Prevention and Cessation. In order to allow sufficient time to complete the GMT program review, formulate program change proposals, and implement the approved changes, completion of Category Two GMT topics is waived for FY 14 except for the following topics which must be completed: Antiterrorism/Force Protection; Combating Trafficking in Persons; Counterintelligence Awareness and Reporting; Information Assurance; Operational Security; and Records Management. Standardized training material for Category One and Category Two training is available for download from the Personal Development GMT page on the Navy Knowledge Online (NKO) webpage at www.nko.navy.mil. Training completion of Category One topics must be recorded in Fleet Training Management Planning System (FLTMPS) via learning event completion forms. Additionally, a GMT calendar for FY 14 is also available on the NKO GMT page, including recommended training delivery months to coincide with Navywide training themes. GMT questions should be addressed to Lyman Watts, GMT program manager at 757492-0763, DSN: 492 or via e-mail to the Center for Personal and Professional Development at gmt.distribution@navy.mil. Additional information about GMT training requirements for FY 14 is detailed in NAVADMIN 264/13. For more information on the Naval Education and Training Command, visit the NETC website at: https://www.netc.navy.mil. For more news from Naval Education and Training Command, visit www.navy.mil/ local/cnet/.
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By MCSN (SW) Derek A. Harkins
AE2 Alyssa Poole, assigned to HSC-6, performs maintenance on an MH-60S Seahawk helicopter in the hangar bay .
By MC2 (SW) Devin Wray
By MCSN (SW) Kole Carpenter
Lt. Matthew Brunelle signals an F/A-18C Hornet assigned to VMFA-323 to launch from the flight deck .
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AN Colt Colvin uses a baroscope to inspect the inside of a jet engine in the jet engine shop .
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O N THE COVER: AS2 Tyle replaces r Smith a battery on a spo the hang tting dolly ar bay. in