Oct. 17, 2013
Vol. 2 Issue 124
SAFETY DEPARTMENT SAILORS KEEP THE CREW SAFE
Story and photo by MC3 Linda S. Swearingen
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s Sailors make their way through various spaces throughout Nimitz, they may stumble upon what is commonly referred to as “green hats.” Green hats are worn by a select group of Sailors whose job it is to maintain the overall safety and enforce safety procedures throughout the ship. There are currently 11 Sailors who work in the Safety Department on board Nimitz whose positions include the ship’s safety officer, the industrial hygiene officer, the industrial hygiene technician, zone manager and hazardous materials (HAZMAT) control technician and others. Logistics Specialist 2nd Class Ricky Crews, of Pensacola, Fla., is the Safety Department’s new zone manager and HAZMAT control technician. “The main job I do in safety is preventing mishaps throughout the ship,” said Crews. “Hearing
conservation, proper PPE [proper protective equipment], electrical, HAZMAT and sight conservation are just some of the things we are in charge of.” A typical night for Crews involves conducting routine checks on all the HAZMAT storerooms throughout the ship to ensure they have proper ventilation, working eye wash stations, properly labeled containers, temperatures under 100 degrees Fahrenheit and minimizing the amount of HAZMAT stored on board. “I also make sure there aren’t incompatible materials being stored together which can cause a chemical reaction,” said Crews. “The LSs [logistic specialists] who work in the HAZMAT locker do the daily operations of storing the HAZMAT and keeping the storerooms within regulations. My job is to inspect the HAZMAT store rooms and make sure they are Continued on page 3
Sailor of the Day
Story and photo by MCSN Eric Butler
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ull Maintenance Technician Fireman Douglas J. Harris, from Amarillo, Texas, was selected to be Sailor of the Day Oct. 16. “It feels good,” said Harris. “I was pretty surprised about it.” Harris, who said he had only been on board for three months, completed all damage control, watch station, and in-rate qualifications well ahead of schedule. His technical skills corrected 50 auCommanding Officer Capt. Jeff Ruth
tomated work requests including weld repairs and the replacement of two laundry dryer motor shafts. Additionally, he conducted numerous hours of preventative and corrective maintenance on welding gear and assisted in the construction of Nimitz’ dunk tank used during the steel beach picnic. Harris’ advice to any Sailor looking for recognition of their hard work is to simply be a “hard charger.”
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
up to standards. I also inspect the satellite lockers which are in different work centers throughout the ship.” Religious Programs Specialist 1st Class Joshua Smith, of Groveport, Ohio, who has been Safety Department’s assistant leading petty officer for over a year, works with Crews on the night shift to ensure that all the safety standards throughout the ship are up to par. “Some of the main tasks we perform every night are daily safety inspections,” said Smith. “We walk around the ship all the time to ensure Sailors are being safe and that there is nothing out there that can potentially hurt someone or equipment.” In addition to checking the HAZMAT stations throughout the ship, Crews and Smith walk the decks to check for safety discrepancies. “The most common discrepancies we see are dead-end cables with frayed wires which are very dangerous because they can shock someone,” said Crews. “They are high priority repairs and when we put in the work order they have to be repaired immediately because if shocked with a high voltage someone could get killed.” In addition to dead-end wires, both Smith and Crews look for damaged handrails on the ladderwells on their rounds as well as checking department check-off lists and making sure all the CO2 bottles on board are properly labeled and stored. “We also walk the hangar bay to make sure the people who are painting the aircraft are wearing the proper PPE such as eye protection, gloves, and respirators,” said Smith. Smith and Crews also monitor fork lift operations in the hangar bay and make sure the forklift drivers have a spotter and everyone involved is wearing hardhats and safety boots. “We also issue respirators for ship’s company and we approve cold work chits mostly for painting
and priming for the entire ship, not just ship’s company,” said Crews. “We are the final approval for all the cold work chits. We check the spaces to make sure the recirculation ventilation has been secured and all smoking and hot work has been secured within 10 frames, [ensure] workers has proper PPE and the MSDS [material safety data sheets] have been read by the Sailors doing the cold work. For ship’s company we issue the respirators with the 24-hour cold work chits.” According to Smith, working in the Safety Department can prove to be challenging at times and the biggest obstacle he faces on a daily basis are Sailors wearing their PPE incorrectly. The improper use of mandatory PPE can cause injury and in some instances death if not worn correctly. However with all the challenges of working in the Safety Department, Smith said that he enjoys the interaction with Sailors from every department and division throughout the ship. “The most gratifying thing about working in Safety is that it has opened my eyes to the bigger picture from the environmental safety to what we can do to help preserve our world for future generations,” said Smith. “It has inspired me to refocus my [college] degree plans to pursue my Bachelor of Science degree in environmental engineering.” According to Smith, safety is the responsibility of everyone on board and not just for the personnel who work in the department. “Take charge of the safety within your work center and lead by example,” said Smith. “I know that we have been out to sea for a long time, but remember: horse play leads to sick bay. Don’t put yourself in an unsafe situation that could get you hurt. If you get hurt they are not going to fly out a replacement for you. Your job will be put on other people that already have their own jobs to do. This might cause undue stress on the crew.”
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MAKING A DIFFERENCE SAILORS ENCOURAGED TO TAKE NEW SEXUAL ASSAULT SURVEY
Story by MC1 Peggy Trujillo Defense Media Activity - Navy
The Secretary of the Navy has announced a new Department of the Navy sexual assault survey for 2013, which started Oct. 15, and can be taken online via any device that can access the internet. The Department of the Navy Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Office (DoN SAPRO), which answers directly to Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus, created the survey to assess the Department’s progress, and learn what more Sailors and Marines think should be done to fight sexual assault. “We can’t help them if we don’t know what the issues are, and we don’t know if our training is working,” said Jill Loftus, director of DoN SAPRO. “If they think our training is horrible, then we’d like to know that, so that we can switch gears. We’d also like to know if they think that it is worthwhile and if they’re learning stuff because then we can continue in that vein.” From previous surveys, DoN SAPRO has learned that the majority of sexual assaults in the Navy and Marine Corps happen to 18 - 24 year-olds in social settings involving alcohol, and that the assaults usually occur at A-schools right after boot camp, or at the first duty station.
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priorities. Rear Adm. Sean S. Buck, the director of N-17, spends time with Sailors to get feedback. “When I visit with Sailors, I am constantly asked - ‘what else can I do to make a difference?’ Besides looking out for your shipmates and actively intervening when necessary, surveys like this are your chance to do something, to make your voice heard,” Buck said. Although the survey is a chance for Sailors and Marines to be heard, it is completely anonymous. No one will get a reminder to complete the survey because no one is tracking the individuals who take the survey. “We won’t know if you haven’t filled out the survey,” said Loftus. “There’s no fingerprint. There’s no electronic tag to our survey. It can be taken from a smart phone; it can be taken from a tablet; it can be taken at the Apple store; it can be taken at your desktop or at home. We have no idea who you are and so you won’t get that email reminding you to take it.” Loftus said that some of the initiatives that Mabus has instituted, based on previous survey results, included doubling the number of sexual assault investigators at NCIS, increasing the number of sexual assault response coordinators, 66 full-time victim advocates that are civilians trained as counselors, who will help victim support. The JAG is also instituting a victim’s legal counsel who will help victims through the process and the Navy is deploying civilian resiliency counselors, who are also certified SARCs, on every big deck. “I think that the Navy and the Marine Corps are really spending the resources and putting the attention on prevention, victim care and support,” said Loftus. “We think that if Sailors and Marines are honest and forthright in taking this survey, and we get enough of them, that we’ll be able to show the nation and other service people that we’re really taking this seriously, that we care, and that we don’t want victims. We want to prevent sexual assault. This is a way for every member of the service to help us do that.” The survey is available at www.donsapro.navy. mil/donsas.html, password: 2013survey.
“We’ve used that information to set up pilot programs,” said Loftus. “Our Great Lakes experiment that we’ve been very successful with came from information we learned from our surveys.” The experiment targeted Training Support Center Great Lakes, mainly the Sailors who have recently graduated boot camp. The program brought together the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS), local hotels, commanding officers, and others to put an end to the risky situations Sailors may encounter. The program also incorporated bystander intervention training, “No Zebras, No Excuses” training, Sex Signals training, a large group presentation on sexual assault and two small-group presentations with discussion groups. Referring to Great Lakes, Loftus said, “Using anonymous surveys, we have seen a 60 percent reduction in sexual assaults over the past 34 months.” This year’s survey incorporates questions from previous surveys, Department of Defense surveys and academic surveys. Pulling from the surveys and lessons learned, DoN SAPRO made the survey more concise to pinpoint the information they’re trying to find, while taking less time from Sailors and Marines. “The 10-minute survey that’s online focuses directly on the issues surrounding sexual assault, and addresses issues such as perceptions, attitudes of Sailors and Marines about the issue of sexual assault,” said Cmdr. David McKay, a research psychologist at DoN SAPRO. “We’re also interested in understanding reporting behaviors and attitudes about reporting. “Sexual assault is one of the top priorities of the Secretary, and should be a top priority for all Sailors and Marines, to try to figure out how to combat sexual assault. The survey is important because it does a couple things. One, it helps us gauge progress on the different interventions we’re implementing. Secondly, it provides an opportunity for Sailors and Marines to speak directly to the Secretary about their experiences about sexual assault.” The 21st Century Sailor and Marine Office (N17) lists combating sexual assault as one of its main
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By MCSN (SW) Kole E. Carpenter
Cpl. Joshua D. Duso, left, and Sgt. Orlando J. Ortiz install avionics equipment on an F/A-18C Hornet assigned to VMFA-323 in the hangar bay.
Lt. Cmdr. Bethany Busch executes a take don on Lt. j.g. Jennifer Cox in the hangar bay.
AN Patrick D. Bryant, right, helps ADAN Sergio Becerril put away chains used to secure aircraft on the flight deck.
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By MCSN Eric Butler
By MCSN (SW) Siobhana R. McEwen
By MCSN Eric Butler
PR3 David Steffen squats during a weightlifting competition.
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