Nimitz News Daily Digest - Oct. 15, 2013

Oct. 15, 2013

Vol. 2 Issue 122

DAILY DIGEST

STRIKING FOR THE

JET SHOP Story and photos by MC2 (SW) Devin Wray

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fter watching the unique air show from the flight deck Oct. 5, some Sailors had a chance to see the capabilities of the roaring jet engines. It might be a surprise to some that nine of the 17 Sailors that maintain these engines in the jet shop on board are strikers, or previously undesignated airmen, who chose the aviation structural mechanic (AD) rate.

“When they come to us, the (leading petty officer) will assign them to days or nights,” said Aviation Structural Mechanic 2nd Class Ryan De-

guzman, the floor supervisor for the jet shop. “If they are put on days, they focus on tearing down engines; for nights we have a crew for test cell.”

The test cell is a phase in which jet shop personnel hook up a jet engine to a type of simulator and run the engine through a series of tests to see if it’s ready to be re-installed after it has been fixed.

Airman Colt Colvin is part of the test cell team that performs analyses on the engines in this final phase.

“I think it’s fun to push the engines to their Continued on pg. 3

Sailor of the Day

Story and photo by MCSN (SW) Siobhana McEwen

reset of a cable miswrap on the Airborne Low Frequency SONAR system, which prevented an inflight discrepancy. He also consistently displayed unmatched motivation and work ethic in the completion of 174 man-hours of preventative and corrective maintenance.

While serving as plane captain, O’Donnell personally performed six daily and turnaround inspections, guaranteeing 2,874 mishap-free flight hours during 838 sorties.

“I’m excited to be Sailor of the Day,” said O’Donnell. “I couldn’t have done it without the support of my supervisors and chain of command.”

viation Electronics Technician 3rd Class Paul O’Donnell, assigned to the “Wolf Pack” of Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron (HSM) 75, was named Sailor of the Day Oct. 14.

O’Donnell is a native of Pasadena, Texas, and joined the Navy in 2009 in order to better support his growing family. A father of three, he said his children would enjoy seeing pictures of him driving the ship, one of the perks of being named Sailor of the Day. O’Donnell’s superb knowledge of the MAH60R avionics system led to the identification and

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Commanding Officer Capt. Jeff Ruth

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 MCSA (SW) Andrew Price

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 pg. 1

Deguzman said that strikers start out by doing smaller tasks like changing cables or assembling parts of the engine by following a manual, so they get to know the different tasks involved in fixing a jet engine.

Giving strikers specific jobs can also give them a specialty for them to focus on allowing the ADs to focus on jobs that require an in-depth skillset.

Skills like building engines are more commonly taught when ADs go to shore commands, where they assemble them on a production line.

On a ship, ADs are required to fix different discrepancies in engines that are already assembled.

“I was in V-2 before this,” said Colvin. “There everything was bigger and we would just put it together and it would work. Switching to jet shop everything is more fine-tuned.”

Working together, ADs and their strikers build the engines capable of keeping the air wing flying.

“When you put the engine back in the bird and you see that aircraft fly, it makes you feel proud,” said Deguzman.

limits,” said Colvin. “It makes sure that when the pilot has to go full throttle, the engine does what it’s supposed to.”

Colvin’s job wasn’t always to keep a pilot flying. He said he used to work in Nimitz’ Air Department doing odd jobs that some wouldn’t find as satisfying.

“A good thing I noticed about this job is that when they [strikers] come from Air Department, they learn what they are doing for the Navy, they’re given a purpose,” said Deguzman.

Colvin found his purpose in a job where he had similar occupational knowledge as a civilian.

“Before the Navy I built cars just to see them run, but I think it’s cooler seeing it happen with jets,” said Colvin.

Before these strikers are given more important jobs, they are given smaller ones to get them familiar with the engines.

“Our job is purely OJT [on-the-job training],” said Aviation Structural Mechanic 2nd Class Dino Tobia. “It can take three to four months for [strikers] to start grasping things.”

A jet engine is tested on the fan tail.

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NIMITZ TRANSITIONS TO MEDICAL HOME PORT MODEL Story by MCSN (SW) Derek Harkins

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n the past, Sailors and Marines may have been frustrated by dealing with a revolving door of doctors and hospital corpsmen at Naval medical facilities. While the medical care itself was designed to be efficient, they may have never had one consistent team of medical personnel they interacted with.

Now, following the example of Naval stations across the fleet, Nimitz “MHP is a Navy-wide medical initiative to improve the continuity of care provided to Sailors and Marines,” said Hospital Corpsman 2nd Class Dustin K. Horton, a sick call and clinic supervisor aboard Nimitz. “For Nimitz specifically, it will allow patients to get to know their providers one-on-one and build a rapport. [It’s] patient-centered care.”

MHP was designed to increase access to care, clinical quality and patient satisfaction.

Patients aboard Nimitz are divided among medical personnel so that each Sailor will be assigned to a specific medical team. This creates a more organized and pro-active approach to health care.

“It also allows Sailors to address questions and concerns directly to their dedicated provider,” said Horton. “Our vision is that when a Sailor checks on board, he or she will be seeing the same provider 90 percent throughout their tenure [aboard the ship].”

By being a patient’s primary source of health care, doctors and hospital corpsmen can keep track of their patients’ conditions and lifestyles while ensuring that all of their patients are receiving the help they need. MHP is intended to prevent disease and maintain overall wellness.

“Your provider will see you for all medi-

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cal issues, consult you to higher echelons of care and manage your medication and birth control while monitoring your physical health assessments for downward trends,” said Lt. Jennifer Murie, a ship’s family physician aboard Nimitz.

According to Horton, MHP will not slow down the administrative process or impede the ability of Sailors or Marines to receive appointments in a timely manner.

“MHP is designed so that patients can make appointments to see their primary care providers within at least 1-2 weeks or even as soon as one day, depending on the schedule,” said Horton. “Also, [patients] will continue to have 24/7 access to care.”

The new policy will not affect sick call; patients will still receive immediate assistance when it is needed, particularly under critical circumstances.

“We will continue to see emergencies,” said Murie. “Chronic and non-emergent sick call patients will be given an appointment with the duty provider. All of Nimitz’ medical staff is more than qualified to care for any emergent needs that one may have.”

MHP is intended to improve the ability of healthcare providers to diagnose and treat patients while improving their satisfaction.

By embracing this health care model, Nimitz’ Medical Department can improve the quality and accessibility to health care for everyone on board.

“MHP helps us continue to improve the quality of care we provide for our patients,” said Horton. “This model is team-based, comprehensive and designed to fully [meet] primary health care and wellness needs.”

From Navy Personnel Command Public Affairs

STRESS CONTROL MANDATORY FOR DEPLOYING SAILORS

YNC Michael Trisler leads operational stress management training aboard the USS Boxer.

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n support of the Navy’s 21st Century Sailor initiative, NAVADMIN 262/13 announced that starting Jan. 1, Sailors will be required to participate in Navy Operational Stress Control (OSC) skills training within the six months prior to deployment.

According to Rear Adm. Sean S. Buck, director, 21st Century Sailor Office, the training will allow “leaders to be able to assess individual and unit stress, take appropriate actions to mitigate stress issues before they become problematic, and eliminate negative attitudes associated with getting help.” Training is delivered by mobile training teams (MTT) that are homeported in both Norfolk, Va. and San Diego.

The OSC program focuses on building resilience and mitigating stress. This training will 5

provide Sailors the skills necessary to maintain readiness and warfighting effectiveness.

“Commanders will schedule specific OSC training for their khaki leadership, and deckplate leaders (E4-E6) within the six months prior to deployment,” said Buck. “The OSC MTTs will prioritize and coordinate their schedule so that we meet the six-month objective for the Fleet units getting ready to deploy.”

The teams will travel anywhere in the world to deliver the two courses: Navy OSCLeader (NAVOSC-LEAD) for E7 and above and Navy Deckplate Leader OSC (DPL-OSC) for E4-E6 personnel. The MTTs will consider training underway as an option. MTTs are comprised by a total of six teams - three on the West Coast and three on the East Coast.

Each team has three master training specialists.

Sailors move an F/A-18C Hornet, assigned to VMFA-323, on the flight deck.

By MCSN (SW) Siobhana McEwen ABHAN Nicole Cruz, left, and Airman Jennifer Pereamarcial transport an EA-6B Prowler, assigned to VAQ-142.

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By MCSA Kelly M. Agee

By MCSN(SW) Siobhana McEwen

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