JULY 16, 2013
Vol. 2 Issue 60
DAILY DIGEST PRIORITY MAIL POSTAGE REQUIRED
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o otooren h P M nd aul a R y or 3 St MC by
USS NIMITZ (CVN 68)
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and-written love letters, photographs of newborns, snack favorites and other carefully wrapped gifts from home that keep Sailors going have long voyages before reaching their destinations aboard the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN 68). These care packages are important to the crew’s morale, but the journey doesn’t simply end at a sliding pad eye station during a replenishment at sea (RAS) or on the flight deck during a carrier on board delivery (COD). Whenever mail arrives on board Nimitz, the responsibility of organizing and handing it out lays in the hands of a logistics specialist. “My job is postal clerk, we take in everyone’s Continued on page 3
Sailor of the Day
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Story and Photo by MC3 Derek W. Volland
noticed and work hard,” said Rosette. His completion of 56 maintenance actions encompassing more than 100 man-hours, while executing 24 arming evolutions enabled the squadron’s 100 percent sortie completion rate in Operation Enduring Freedom. As a Carrier Air Wing 11 arm/de-arm team member, he assisted in 228 launch and recoveries, along with the safe arming and disarming of 1,000 platforms. Additionally, as a morale, welfare and recreation representative he has raised more than 300 dollars for the VAQ 142. His courteous and congenial attitude promotes loyalty and fosters camaraderie.
or his outstanding performance, Aviation Ordnanceman Airman Fernando S. Rosette, a native of Bakersfield, Calif., was selected as the Sailor of the Day aboard the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN 68) July 15. “This is great,” said Rosette. “It just proves that I was doing the right thing and someone noticed.” As avionics armament airman of Electronic Attack Squadron (VAQ) 142, Rosette performed his demanding duties in an exemplary and highly professional manner. “I would tell anyone who wants to make Sailor of the Day for themself to make yourself Commanding Officer CAPT Jeff Ruth
Executive Officer CDR John Cummings
Editor MC2 (SW) Jason Behnke
Command Master Chief CMDCM Teri McIntyre
Public Affairs Officer LCDR 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
mail,” said Logistics Specialist 3rd Class Amanda Dix, from New Orleans. “During a RAS, we take on all the pallets, separate them and sort through wherever they have to go.” Nimitz received close to 40,000 mail items totaling approximately 10,000 pounds during the RAS on June 29. “We untie the cargo nets and unpack all the mail and set it all up in one of the hangar bays,” said Dix. “Once we finish receiving all the mail, we go through the boxes and scan anything with a tracking number.” Mail is then organized and separated into triwalls for departmental mail orderlies to pick up. If the mail arrived by COD, mail is picked up from the mailroom. According to Dix, the sorting process usually doesn’t end on the same day of a RAS, because some items take longer to sort than others. There are ways to speed up the process, though. “We have left-over packages, like things ordered from Amazon, that don’t have departments and divisions on them when we go through. So we go through them a second time with the Alpha roster of the whole ship to find out where they go,” said Dix. “This might take an extra 2-3 days.” Dix had additional information for squadron members. “Squadrons aren’t supposed to use the ship’s address, but if they do, it’d be best if they put their squadron on there because they’re not on our alpha roster,” said Dix. “These items may be returned to sender.”
Sailors sort mail in the hangar bay.
Finally, after hours of careful box cutting, code scanning and sorting, “mail call” is heard throughout the ship. It is then up to mail orderlies to carry the mail to their respective owners. “My favorite part of the job is when we do mail call and people see their own packages,” said Dix. “It makes me happy knowing I’m not going through all the trouble for nothing.” For Sailors like Aviation Boatswain’s Mate (Equipment) 1st Class Brain Robinson, mail from home gets him the supplies and sweets he can’t find overseas. “It feels good to receive mail,” said Robinson. “I get that Kool-Aid in the plastic container with the sugar already in it. The ship store doesn’t have that, so you need that extra love from home.” The Nimitz post office staff operates daily, sending and receiving mail whenever possible. They are the first stop for souvenirs going home after a port visit, and the final stop for the crew’s care packages.
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Around the Fleet The Military Sealift Command mobile landing platform ship USNS Montford Point (T-MLP 1) is floated out of General Dynamics NASSCO shipyard. - Photo courtesy of General Dynamics NASSCO
FIRST
MOBILE LANDING PLATFORM DEPARTS
SAN DIEGO Story from Military Sealift Command Public Affairs
USNS Montford Point (MLP 1) departed San Diego July 12 for Naval Station Everett, Wash. Montford Point is the Navy’s first mobile landing platform, delivered to the Navy in San Diego May 14, and is expected to be fully operational in fiscal year 2015. The ship, crewed by 33 contract mariners working for a company under charter to Military Sealift Command, will perform system tests during the voyage to its temporary layberth. Montford Point is scheduled for final contract trials in September, with its core capability set installed later this year. The Navy’s second MLP, John Glenn, had its keel laid in December, with completion and delivery expected in March 2014. The MLP class of modular, flexible ships belongs to MSC’s Maritime Prepositioning Force as a mobile sea-base option that provides our Navy fleet with critical afloat capability, supporting the flexible deployment of forces and supplies. Contract mariners will operate and navigate the MLP ships on behalf of the Navy and Marine Corps. “Montford Point will provide the key link - ‘the pier in the ocean’ - that will permit the military to engage in true seabasing sustainment of equipment and supplies to our troops ashore, from beyond the horizon,” said Mike Touma, assistant engineering officer in MSC’s Prepositioning Program. 4
Designed to increase inter-theater agility, the MLP is ready to support our warfighters wherever and whenever needed. MLP is a highly flexible ship class that provides logistics movement from sea to shore supporting a broad range of military operations. Leveraging float-on/float-off technology and a reconfigurable mission deck to maximize capability, the MLP provides a seagoing pier when access to on-shore bases and support are unavailable. The platform includes add-on modules that support a vehicle staging area, vehicle transfer ramp, large mooring fenders and up to three Landing Craft, Air Cushioned vessel lanes to enhance its core requirements. Notably, the MLP can operate up to 25 miles from shore and transfer equipment at sea with 1.25-meter waves and when its mission deck is removed, it can serve as a semi-submersible platform, offering salvage and point-to-point capabilities as well. Military Sealift Command operates approximately 110 noncombatant, U.S. Navy civilian-crewed ships that replenish U.S. Navy ships, conduct specialized missions, strategically preposition combat cargo at sea around the world, and move military cargo and supplies used by deployed U.S. forces and coalition partners.
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Sailors prepare to perform a maintenance check on a EA-6B Prowler.
By MCSA Aiyana Paschal
THROUGHTHE ENS L
By MC3 Chris Bartlett
AD2 Susana Chinea inspects the disconnect jaw of a helicopter.
AM3 Megan Brooks removes rivets in the airframe shop.
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By MCSA Kelly M. Agee
By MC3 Derek W. Volland
HM3 Vladimir Villa-Tavera shoots a 9 mm pistol.
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