June 23, 2012
Vol. 1 Issue 26
Nimitz Sailors Prepare for 3M Assessment Story by MCSN Jesse Monford
The aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN 68) is using its time while underway for Rim of the Pacific to prepare for the upcoming Maintenance Material Management (3M) systems assessment. This inspection will be conducted by Command, Naval Air Forces (CNAF), where Nimitz reports its maintenance activity. CNAF is responsible for keeping track of U.S. Navy aircraft carriers. “[Not conducting maintenance] is a big reason a lot of ships today fail the Board of Inspection and Survey (INSURV),” said Lt. Harold Honeycutt, the 3M officer. “It’s the
Sailors perform maintenance on life vests in hangar bay three . Photo by MCSA Ryan Mayes.
‘in-service’ inspection. If the material condition of the ship isn’t working, it’s normally because the ship doesn’t conduct planned maintenance, not fixing things that needed to be fixed or not using corrective maintenance.” There are going to be Damage Controlman Fireman Jonathan Fienberg performs maintenance on a number of a Self Contained Breathing Apparatus assembly. Photo by MC2 (SW) Robert different things Winn.
that CNAF will be looking for as a whole. It is very intensive and fastpaced process from seeing how the ship conducts its maintenance to the quality of the maintenance itself. “When they come aboard, there is going to be a large number of personnel,” Honeycutt said. “They will conduct spot checks of all of the maintenance throughout the ship.” CNAF will also be analyzing Nimitz’ corrective side, such as how they write their jobs, how they process paperwork and how the crew members close out the jobs, he said. See “3M” page 3
USS Nimitz’ Sailor of the Day Capt. Jeff Ruth, commanding officer of USS Nimitz, named Electrician’s Mate 3rd Class Kenneth Morgan, Sailor of the Day, June 22 in the Pilot House. Photo by MCSN Jess Lewis.
Commanding Officer CAPT Jeff S. Ruth Executive Officer CAPT Buzz Donnelly Command Master Chief CMDCM Teri McIntyre Public Affairs Officer LCDR Karin Burzynski
Editor MC2 Robert Winn Lead Designer MC3 Jacob Milner
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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3M: Assessment to keep maintenance on track Continued from page 1
Aviation Boatswain’s Mate (Fuels) Airman Adrian Davis performs maintenance on a float coat. Photo by MC2 (SW) Robert Winn.
With 3M maintenance, every member of every department will have a role in helping make the assessment a success. These Sailors are getting prepared now by training for the assessment. “All rates on board Nimitz will participate in some form of the 3M systems assessment,” Honeycutt said. “Not every divisional work center has specific maintenance, but they will have things that are common to all of them.” Even though the Sailors are trained on 3M when they go through command indoctrination, the 3M office on board the ship is offering training to all levels weekly, said Master Chief Hull Maintenance Technician David Conduff, the 3M administrator. The Sailors are now asking their chain of command more
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than they ever have. “They want to see it (maintenance) instead of just trying to read and understand the training,” he said. “They’re actually seeking to have somebody to show them, whether it’s their division or the 3M office where we conduct the training.” Conducting daily maintenance aboard a ship is important regardless of how little it may seem. “Without every Sailor doing their part in 3M, whether it’s the brand new Seaman, Airman, Fireman all the way up to the Captain, the ship will not maintain its life, therefore the ship cannot succeed,” said Conduff. The assessment is scheduled to take place Aug. 5 to Aug. 10.
crimson care Story and photos by MC3 Ian Cotter
Hospital Corpsman 2nd Class Elizabeth N. Anderson reaches for a sample of blood spinning in an agitator in the pathological laboratory in Nimitz’ Medical Department. Page 4
Everyone needs blood. It is the human body’s transportation highway for oxygen, nutrients, minerals, vitamins and proteins. Without the right amount of blood, people can’t operate, and when they have blood related issues, they normally consult a pathological laboratory. This may seem impossible for a Sailor or Marine aboard the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN 68) as the ship cruises across the Pacific Ocean, but deep beneath Nimitz’ flight deck lies a lab at sea. “We process and test bodily fluids down here,” said Hospital Corpsman 2nd Class Elizabeth N. Anderson, one of the lab technicians aboard Nimitz. “Becoming a lab technician requires 13 months of training in ‘C’ School and certification from the American Society of Clinical Pathologists.” Blood is the most common bodily fluid processed at the lab, but urine, synovial fluid and cerebral spinal fluid are processed there as well. “Most of the time, patients come to get their blood drawn for their BMR (birth month recall), HIV testing and dive physicals,” said Anderson. “Other patients come in from sick call when their providers order specific tests for them.” According to Anderson, the lab processes between 20 and 25 patients per day and draws seven to 21 milliliters of blood from each patient; that’s enough to overflow a 16 ounce Monster can. “We usually test for bacteria and infection,” said Anderson. “We can also test for lipids and cholesterol. We’re able to process samples like an ER (emergency room) to quickly help providers with diagnosis.” After blood is drawn, it will start to coagulate. In order to counter that, a device called an agitator is used. “The agitator allows for the blood to not clot when it’s not being used for testing,” said Anderson.
Hospital Corpsman 2nd Class (SW) Brent Hammond examines a sample of blood through a microscope in the pathological laboratory in Nimitz’ Medical Department.
“When it’s ready for testing, we just pull it out of the lab where it will be tested for blood type compatibility, before the donor can give the required amount of machine.” Part of blood testing involves examination under a blood.” With a trained crew, Nimitz is always ready to microscope, which uses oil immersion and can magnify transport blood through its passageways and spaces up to 100 times regular size. “We smear the blood on a slide and wait for it to dry during a mass casualty, just as efficiently as the ship before applying modified Wright stain,” said Anderson. transports fuel and water through its piping systems. “The stain will color red blood cells pink and white blood cells bluish-purple to make it easier to check for blood cell size, shape, quantity and deformities.” Unlike a civilian or shore-based clinic, Nimitz’ blood laboratory does not store any blood due to space and temperature constraints. Instead the blood is stored in the bodies of each Sailor and Marine and in the event of a mass casualty, a walking blood bank is activated. “During a mass casualty, I collect and process blood for what the provider orders,” said Anderson. “When the walking blood bank is activated, donors will meet down and white blood cells become visible through a microscope. A special dye is used to visually in Dental and get their blood drawn. After Red separate cells, coloring red blood cells pink and white blood cells blue. that, a runner will take the samples to the Page 5
Seaman to Admiral S
ailors assigned to Carrier Airborne Early Warning Squadron (VAW) 117, currently aboard the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN 68) are taking advantage of one of the many commissioning programs offered to all enlisted personnel, the Seaman to Admiral (STA) 21 Commissioning Program. STA-21 is designed to meet the goals of the Navy in the 21st Century, while at the same time creating a fair and reasonable system for outstanding active duty Sailors to receive a top-notch college education and become commissioned officers. “The Seaman to Admiral program gives enlisted folks the opportunity to earn a commission,” said VAW-117 Command Master Chief (NAWS/ EXW/SW) Spike Call. “Any program that leads to pushing young professionals higher and giving them opportunity is awesome.” Some of the previous commissioning programs required
Sailors to pay their college tuition by themselves or removed them from active duty status. The perk to the STA-21 program is its fairness to the Sailor. All participants can stay in active duty status at their current enlisted pay grade and will be eligible for advancement while in
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officer ranks all while being paid and given the chance to attain a degree at a very challenging and demanding college or university,” said Lt. Christopher Kingery, a STA-21 commissioned officer assigned to VAW-117. The program allows Sailors to apply to the core program or
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Story MC2 (SW/AW) Eva-Marie Ramsaran
[STA-21] allowed me to take my experience as an enlisted nuclear machinist’s mate and apply it to other facets of the Navy.
-Lt. Christopher Kingery, a STA-21 commissioned officer assigned to VAW-117
the program. This means they will receive all the pay, allowances, benefits and privileges they currently enjoy and be working toward their degree. “The Seaman to Admiral program provides Sailors an excellent opportunity to bring their experience and skill to the Page 6
a target group option. The core program allows participants the most flexibility in selecting a major and requesting schools to attend. Sailors selected into a target group option will, upon commissioning, be assigned to that option’s officer community such as pilot option, naval flight officer, medical corps,
special warfare and more. “[STA-21] allowed me to take my experience as an enlisted nuclear machinist’s mate and apply it to other facets of the Navy,” said Kingery. “It provides an opportunity to those Sailors possessing exceptional potential to attain higher ranks with greater responsibility more commensurate of their abilities.” “We are going through trying times with ERB (enlisted retention board) and PTS (perform to serve) in today’s Navy,” said Call. “Having this opportunity for people to grow, earn a commission and really do something they are passionate and enthusiastic about is going to make our Navy better and make them better. All around it’s a win-win situation.” To be eligible to apply for STA-21, a Sailor must first be a U.S. citizen, recommended by their commanding officer and be a high school graduate or GED equivalent. For the complete list of eligibility requirements, visit www.sta-21.navy.mil/eligibility.
Eligibility requirements for STA-21 • •
Be a citizen of the United States. Be recommended by the Commanding Officer. • Be serving on active duty in the U.S. Navy or Full Time Support • Meet physical commissioning standards. • Be able to complete requirements for a baccalaureate degree in 36 months or less. • ACT minimum score of 41 is required. • Have no record of driving while intoxicated (DWI) or driving under the influence (DUI) within the three (3) years. For more information visit www.sta-21.navy.mil/eligibility.
No Hollywood Showers! Be A Shipmate Get In Get Out Get On With Your Day
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Channel 5
Channel 6 Channel 7 Channel 29
0800 / 2000 Hot Shots
Boyz in the Hood
Predators
Inception
1000 / 2200 Anchorman
The Last Airbender
The Ice Age: Rocketeer Dawn of the Dinosaurs
1200 / 0000 Grown Ups
Sex and the City
Jonah Hex
Sherlock Holmes
Sweet Home Alabama
Face Off
The Green Zone
Charlie St. Cloud
K2
Happy Gilmore
Cyrus
Rules of Engagement
Legend of the Guardians
1400 / 0200 Mrs. Doubtfire 1600 / 0400 Get Him to the Greek
1800 / 0600 Small Soldiers
TV LINEUP 2 - AFN Sports 3 - AFN NEWS 4 - AFN XTRA 5 - 8MM MOVIES 6 - 8MM MOVIES 7 - 8MM MOVIES 8 - ROLLER 9 - DVD TRAINING 10-FLIGHT DECK 11-CNN 29-DVD MOVIES