Nimitz News - May 26, 2013

May 26, 2013

Vol. 39 No. 19

INSIDE:

Wog Day Photos

UpInThe Air A Pilots 4,000th Flight Hour

Commanding Officer Capt. Jeff S. Ruth Executive Officer Capt. Buzz Donnelly Command Master Chief Master Chief Teri M. McIntyre Public Affairs Officer Lt. Cmdr. Karin Burzynski Media Division Officer Lt. Jason Scarborough Media LCPO MCC (SW/AW) Mike Jones Media Production Chief MCC (SW) Gregory Roberts Media LPO MC1 (AW/SW) Michael Cole Editor MC2 (SW) Jason Behnke Lead Designer MCSA Andrew Price Media Department MC2 (SW) Jacquelyn Childs MC2 Ashley Berumen MC2 (SW) Robert Winn MC2 (SW) Andrew Jandik MC2 (SW/AW) Glenn Slaughter MC2 (SW) Nichelle Bishop MC3 (SW) Renée L. Candelario MC3 (SW) Ryan Mayes MC3 Shayne Johnson MC3 Jacob Milner MC3 (SW) Devin Wray MC3 Christopher Bartlett MC3 George J Penney III MC3 Raul Moreno MC3 (SW) Alexander Ventura II MC3 Linda S. Swearingen MC3 (SW) Jess Lewis MC3 W. J. Cousins MC3 Derek Volland MC3 Phillip Ladouceur MC3 Vanessa Y. David MCSN (SW) Sam Souvannason MCSN Kole Carpenter MCSN Derek Harkins MCSN Nathan McDonald MCSN Joshua Haiar MCSA Aiyana Paschal MCSA Kelly Agee MCSA Victoria Ochoa Nimitz News accepts submissions in writing. All submissions must be in by Friday, COB. 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.

CChaplain’s orner T wo months down on deployment.

How are you doing on your physical fitness?

Are you finding time to PT amidst the long hours of work or standing in line for this or that? Ultra Iron Goat Challenge is a great way to test yourself and measure your fitness against a standard. Of course, the next PRT cycle will be here before you know it as well.

Unlike physical fitness, it is unlikely someone is going to test your spiritual fitness during deployment, however it is just as important, and as a chaplain I say more so. King David wrote in Psalm 139:23-24, “Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me and know my anxious thoughts; And see if there be any hurtful way in me, and lead me in the everlasting way.”

To pray such words requires a willing spirit. David was not confessing that he was never anxious or without fault but that it was his desire to be so.

The first step to being spiritually fit is being honest with yourself and honest before God. Have you ever stopped and conducted an assessment, “what is the status of my soul”? Are you anxious? Is your attitude towards others to be helpful or hurtful? Furthermore, what place does the eternal have in your daily thoughts?

I find it interesting that as David prayed for God to search his heart that he asked not only for evaluation of hurtful ways, but also of anxious thoughts. Our level of anxiety is a definite indicator of the status of our spiritual fitness. Anxiety results from a failure to deal with stress. From a spiritual perspective, anxiety is the result of not depending on God. Jesus warned his followers, “Can a man add an hour to his life by worry?”

(Matthew 6:27).

Paul cautioned, “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication let your requests be known to God.” Once again, anxiety and faith are listed as opposites.

Maintain your spiritual fitness by taking care of stressors that you can control and trusting God for the rest.

A favorite hymn of mine is “It is Well” and the songs reads, “When peace like a river, attendeth my way. When sorrows like sea billows roll. Whatever my lot, thou has taught me to say, It is well, It is well, with my soul.” It is surely easier to sing that my soul is well through sorrow than to live it, but there is an extra measure of encouragement in the history behind the song. “It is Well” was penned by Horatio Spafford, a wealthy Chicago attorney struck with immeasurable

grief in a short time. His son died at only four years old and shortly after he lost nearly everything in the great Chicago fire.

Following the fire, he planned a trip to Europe as a break for the family.

Due to business issues related to the fire, Spafford was not able to make the trip but sent his family ahead. The ship was struck by another ship and quickly sank with his four daughters drowning in the tragic collision. His wife who was rescued sent a tragic telegram saying simply, “saved alone.”

Horatio Spafford traveled to meet his wife on the first ship available and he penned the words of his now famous hymn as the ship sailed near the place where his daughters perished. His sorrow was great, but his soul still found peace.

What is the status of your spiritual fitness? Allow God to search your heart, where you are found wanting, turn your anxieties over to him. Take time for prayer and meditation, for rest and recuperation.

Reevaluate how your time is spent and adjust accordingly. At the end of the day, hopefully you too can say, “It is well with my soul.”

Blessings, Chaplain Jeff Jenkins CVW-11 Chaplain

D

WarGames

Hashirajima Harbor

uring the same week that the Battle of Coral Sea was being fought, the battleship Yamato was host to another battle.

Splendidly attired in their dress uniforms, a stream of admirals, each with an entourage of staff, made their way onto Yamato. There were so many admirals aboard that the captains had to eat standing up outside on the deck. It was the dry run for the Japanese invasion of Midway Island.

T

The Plan

he Japanese battle plan was huge and complex. At the time it was the largest naval-amphibious operation in history. Virtually the entire Japanese navy was committed to the attack, which included operations from the Aleutian Islands in Alaska all the way south to Midway.

The force consisted of 200 vessels, 700 planes, dispersed into five different groups. A total of 28 admirals would lead them into battle. It would use as much oil as the Japanese navy normally used in a year.

The reason for this complexity was to disguise the strength of the forces being brought to Midway. Adm. Isoroku Yamamoto knew that if Adm. Chester Nimitz thought the invading force was too strong, he would simply refuse to engage and preserve his aircraft carriers. But if he could be tricked into thinking that the odds were in the favor of the Americans, Yamamoto could spring a trap on the American forces.

“Although the enemy lacks the will to fight, it is likely that he will counterattack if our occupation operations progress satisfactorily,” according to the planners. The entire plan hinged on this contradictory premise.

They believed that Americans were not a fighting people, that the public’s isolationism before the attack on Pearl Harbor was a sign of weakness. Yet the

Playing the Game Story by MC3 Phillip Ladouceur

Battleship Yamamoto battle was predicated on the belief that they would accept the challenge and meet the invasion force.

But looking for flaws in the logic of the plan wasn’t on the agenda.

T

Cheating

hey gathered around a huge wooden table in the Yamamoto’s mess area.

Here the senior officers that would carry out the invasion of Midway gathered as the commanders of the ‘Blue’ (Japanese) Force. Other officers represented the ‘Red’ (American) Force that would oppose them. A judge would make rulings, with dice representing the element of chance.

From the beginning, there was a sense that this was simply a matter of form, nothing necessary. Instead of trying to find the problems with the plan, most of those who participated were focused on demonstrating its perfection.

The judge made two rulings during the game that clearly demonstrated this attitude.

In the first case, the Red Force commander put his carriers to sea earlier than the predicted time, and placed them on the flank of the Japanese invasion force. As it would turn out, this is where the American carriers would end up attacking from.

But the judge ruled that the move would not be allowed because it was too improbable. The Americans were not bold enough to attempt such an attack. The Red Force commander protested the decision, with tears in his eyes according to at least one witness.

The second ruling occurred when the Red Force commander’s aircraft attacked the

Part 5 in a Series

Japanese carriers. When the dice were rolled to simulate the damage, they showed nine hits and two carriers sunk.

Again, the judge declared the outcome too unlikely to stand, reduced the number of hits to three, and ruled that one carrier was damaged and only one of them was sunk. Later in the war game, during the simulation of an invasion of Fiji, the judge allowed the sunken carrier to be placed back on the table.

A

The Armored Gauntlet

T

A Gamble

s news began to trickle in from Coral Sea, it became clear that several ships, including the aircraft carriers Shōkaku and Zuikaku, scheduled to participate in the invasion of Midway would not be available. It also showed that the American carriers were not passively waiting to be lured out from Pearl Harbor.

None of these facts changed any of the assumptions or plans of the Japanese navy.

Near the end of the war game, Yamamoto himself asked, what would happen if something unexpected occurred, what if everything did not go exactly as planned?

Speaking for the majority, Cmdr. Genda Minoru replied, “Gaishu Isshoku,” an idiomatic phrase that literally means, “One touch of the armored gauntlet.” Its meaning is something like “We’ll wipe them out!”

With that dismissive phrase, the last chance for honest conversation about the coming battle came and went without notice. he Japanese navy had convinced themselves that Coral Sea had been a victory. One if not two American carriers had been put out of commission.

Individuals who thought differently kept their opinions to themselves.

Even Yamamoto only expressed his doubts in private.

Japanese society at this time had effectively eliminated dissenting voices.

A series of assassinations carried out by junior officers in the 1930s had not only removed alternative civilian viewpoints, but they had the effect of pushing senior leadership toward war. Even Adm. Yamamoto

had gone to sea duty in 1939 because it was thought to be the only way to protect him from being killed by Army officers.

The argument could be made that had World War II in the Pacific not happened, there would have been a civil war in Japan. And Midway reflected this fact. It was a bold and audacious plan that would have hugely increased the prestige of not only the Japanese navy, but also Yamamoto.

Yamamoto, a man who loved gambling, was perhaps betting that one more great victory would give him the ability to politically challenge the Japanese army, and steer the conflict with the United States toward a negotiated settlement. He certainly knew that he was running out of time.

Sooner or later the American industrial machine would be turned completely to the war effort.

“Anyone who has seen the auto factories in Detroit and the oil fields in Texas knows that Japan lacks the national power for a naval race with America,” said Yamamoto.

The invasion of Midway was underway. As the Japanese began to move their pieces into place on the board, they intercepted a message from the American military forces on Midway to Pearl Harbor: Fresh water was running low because their saltwater evaporator was broken.

Suspecting nothing, a Japanese transport ship was loaded with two new salt-water evaporators. Yamamoto didn’t know it, but he had just tipped his hand.

Adm. Yamamoto & Staff

4,000 Hours Story and photo by MCSN Nathan McDonald

We mark our existence with milestones – events or accomplishments throughout life that represent high points in our careers or personal lives. Great or small, it is these moments that give our lives color and meaning.

Cmdr. William ”Bill“ Reed, commanding officer of the Wallbangers of Airborne Early Warning Squadron (VAW) 117, recently marked such a milestone by logging 4,000 hours of flight time.

More than a milestone, logging so many hours is also a rarity for pilots who fly the E-2C Hawkeye.

“There are two other active aviators that have 4,000 hours logged in the Hawkeye,” said Reed.

“It’s like the equivalent of 1,000 traps for a (F/A18) Hornet pilot.”

Reed has more hours logged than any other pilot in VAW-117.

“There’s no one even close to him for hours logged,” said Lt. Cmdr. Cory Gassaway, maintenance officer of VAW-117. “The next closest pilot in the division has about half as many hours.”

For Reed, logging so many hours is just as much the fulfillment of a childhood dream as it is a landmark event in his career.

“I’ve wanted to be a pilot since 6th or 7th grade,” said Reed. “You could say I was a product of Top Gun. I’ve always wanted to fly and I knew the best way to do that was through the military.”

Reed attended flight school in 1998 and has been flying ever since. While he was aware of how many hours he was logging, the event itself snuck up on him.

“Every month you review your logbook and to see what you’ve done,” said Reed. “I was aware that I was approaching 4,000 hours, but this came quicker than I thought it was going to.”

Reed credited his achievement to the crew who maintains and readies his plane. While somewhat soft spoken and humble, Reed is quick to praise

“

It’s all the people who help you. The amount of people who put blood, sweat and tears into my airplane is humongous.

- Reed

”

his crew, and his face beams with pride when he speaks about them.

“This isn’t about me,” Reed said. “It’s all the people who help you. The amount of people who put blood, sweat and tears into my airplane is humongous.”

Getting to this point was not without its challenges, however. As he was approaching his 4,000th flight hour, Reed encountered a harrowing situation.

“It was raining out and we lost our hydraulics, so we didn’t have any windshield wipers,” said Reed. “I couldn’t even see the nose of our aircraft.

We had our most junior pilot flying, so we had to swap seats without autopilot. It’s like going from the passenger seat to the driver seat in a car while you’re driving.”

Reed drew upon his training and experience to work through the emergency.

“Anytime when you get into an emergency procedure you want to relax, remain calm and rely on your emergency training,” said Reed.

“We recognized that we had a hydraulic leak and used the remaining bit of fluid we had to drop our landing gear, adjust our flaps and drop our tail hook before we lost the ability to do so. Understanding your aircraft systems helps you do that.”

While Reed’s straightforward recounting of events belied the seriousness of the situation, Gassaway provided an outside perspective.

“He had a complete combined hydraulic failure,” said Gassaway. “On his first approach he had no visual reference to the ship. On the second approach he picked up the ship about a quarter of a mile from the ship, which is about five seconds before landing.”

Gassaway described the same calm Reed referenced when he was debriefed after the landing.

“When he came back in for the debrief he was completely calm about it and started going over the situation so we could take learning points from it,” Gassaway said. “It’s a privilege to serve under him. He takes time out of every single day to teach us how to be better officers and pilots.”

Reed said that putting others first and having fun with your work are the keys to finding career fulfillment.

“Just have fun,” said Reed. “It’s a lot easier to work hard at something that’s fun than if it’s something you don’t feel passionate about. The credit really belongs to the people around me who service the aircraft. I get to go have fun and fly.

Without them, I wouldn’t be able to do that.”

A Sea of

RED Story by MCSA Aiyana Paschal

When Aviation Ordnanceman (AO) 1st Class Calvin Pratt joined the Navy in February 2012, he wasn’t sure what he wanted to do.

“A friend that was in the Navy told me aviation was the way to go,” said Pratt. “I looked through the list of jobs that were available and I chose AO. I have been loving it ever since.”

Shortly after Pratt was assigned to his first ship, the aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis (CVN 74), the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001 occurred.

“That’s when it got real for us,” said Pratt. “We were

one of the first carriers to get out there on station.

We were building bombs basically for the freedom of America and to me that was huge. I had never been a part of anything that big, so the feeling of knowing we’re out there, doing something, defending our country, that’s when I really started to appreciate the job.”

AOs work in different departments and divisions, and all have specific jobs that need to be done.

“AO is a very dynamic rate,” said Pratt. “We all have different responsibilities including the AOs in the squadron. AOs just have massive amounts of jobs, but

at the end of the day we all come together as brothers.”

Transporting and building ordnance might not be the safest or easiest job out there, but Pratt does it every day with a smile.

“If you’re not a red shirt, you’re not living life,” said Pratt.

AOs are not the only red shirts aboard Nimitz.

Aviation Boatswain’s Mate (Handling) Airman Sarah N. Nicholls is one of the red shirts on the crash and salvage team.

The crash and salvage team mans the flight deck in what they refer to as “prox gear” or proximity gear, as they watch for any safety violations that may lead to a fire or crash.

“Taking care of the flight deck is what we do,” said Nicholls. “We sit in prox gears, our firefighting equipment, so we can be ready to fight a fire if we need to.”

The crash and salvage team has a rotation, so no one has to roast in the hot firefighting gear all day.

“We get a break to be off deck because the gear is so thick and it’s so hot up there,” said Nicholls. “We have a crew in prox gear and a stand-by crew in the trucks so the deck is always manned.”

Crashes aren’t common, but when they do happen Nicholls and the rest of the crew have to be ready to respond at a moment’s notice. One thing no one on the crash and salvage team ever wants to hear is hydraulic failure.

“It’s scary when you hear there’s hydraulic failure over the brick,” said Nicholls. “The hydraulics brings down the landing gear of the aircraft. If that goes out then there’s a possibility the landing gear will collapse.”

When there is hydraulic failure on an aircraft, it is the crash and salvages job to move the aircraft out of the landing area of the flight deck, make sure everyone is in a safe place, and then proceed to remove the liquid oxygen (LOX).

“We take care of over haul, which consists of putting the fire out, taking the lox out, which is liquid oxygen, the air pilots use to breathe, because liquid oxygen is highly flammable,” said Nicholls.

The crash and salvage team is important because they take care of the people on the flight deck. They’re always watching and ready for whatever may happen.

“We’re the first responders during a disaster on the flight deck,” said Nicholls. “What makes my job cool is I’m running toward the fire while everyone else is running away.”

Layout by MC3 George J. Penney III

F

or many Sailors, the discussion of sexually transmitted infections (STI), can be an uncomfortable conversation. However, it is something that needs to be addressed.

STIs are illnesses or infections that are transmitted between humans by means of human sexual behavior.

Some STIs can be cured, but others are not curable, and it is important that Sailors know the risks involved with unprotected sex.

“The most common STIs [we see in medical] are chlamydia and gonorrhea,” said Hospital Corpsman 1st Class Thomas A. Robertson, a member of Nimitz’ preventative medicine team. “Both are curable with antibiotics, however there are strands that are antibiotic resistant. Those strands are very hard to cure, if not impossible to cure. While a strand of the antibiotic resistant versions have been detected in Europe, they are predominately found in South East Asia.”

According to Robertson, there are between three to six

STI cases reported on board Nimitz a month, but that number goes up to six to twelve cases a month after a port visit.

“Those are just the people who come into medical with symptoms,” said Robertson. “For chlamydia and gonorrhea there are no symptoms for most females.

Males will experience painful urination and consistent discharge [from their penis] as primary symptoms.”

The second most common STI contracted by Sailors on board Nimitz is herpes.

“There is no cure for herpes,” said Robertson. “It can be anywhere from two days to months before symptoms appear. Symptoms include open wound sores that are painful and resemble lesions. The symptoms only show during flare-ups, which can last for any amount of time dependent upon the individual’s immune system. It can be treated with oral medication however.”

Syphilis is another common STI that Nimitz’ Health Services Department treat Sailors for. Syphilis is curable if treated in time.

“There are three stages of syphilis,” said Robertson.

“The first stage consists of a painless sore on your body where the transmission has occurred. In a week or two it will go away without being treated. The second stage involves breaking out in a rash generally on the torso of the body or the hands. The person infected may or may not have sores where the rash is. It will disappear within one to two weeks without any treatment. If you haven’t been treated by stage two, you will eventually die from syphilis. The third stage is when the syphilis starts eating away at your body and your brain until your body starts to rot from the inside out. Archeologists are able to tell that people died from syphilis by the scars on their bones. Syphilis is easily treatable and curable in the first two stages by antibiotics. There is no reason for someone to die from syphilis if they seek medical attention during the first two stages.”

Nimitz medical personnel test every Sailor on board bi-annually to help prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS. There is currently no cure for HIV/AIDS. “However, there has to be a certain level of the disease in the body before it can be detected as a positive test,” said Robertson. “It can take a while before there’s enough of the disease [in the body] to test positive for HIV/AIDS.” Added in recent years to the list of STIs that Sailors can catch through unprotected sex is the human papillomavirus (HPV). HPV can cause genital warts and it causes cervical cancer in women.

“There are hundreds of strands of HPV and there is

no cure,” said Robertson. “Most people have no signs or symptoms. There is an immunization now that is offered to both males and females, even if you have not been sexually active. It is generally more effective in women under 26 years old and males under 21 years old.”

The best way to prevent getting STIs is to not be sexually active with someone you don’t know and to use condoms every time you engage in sexual activities.

Other ways to prevent contacting STIs are to practice abstinence or to be in a long-term mutually monogamous relationship. A long term mutually monogamous relationship with sexual partners should be at least one to two years and condoms should be used at all times before that time is reached.

“Not using condoms is a huge risk factor,” said Hospital Corpsman 3rd Class Michael A. Waltich, a member of Nimitz’ preventative medicine team. “You never know if someone has a sexually transmitted disease.”

Nimitz Health Services Department provides free condoms at their front desk and also in the birth month recall (BMR) office.

“When we pull into ports medical will put condoms on the quarterdeck,” said Waltich. “No questions will be asked if someone asks for condoms, whether they are male or female. It is completely anonymous who takes the condoms. There is no limit to how many condoms can be taken, take what you need.”

Sailors who think they may have contracted an STI are encouraged to come to medical during sick call hours.

“For discretion, they can put ‘personal’ on the form that is filled out while in line for sick call and they will be seen by a provider and treated by a provider,” said Waltich. “After being treated they will be sent to preventative medicine for STI training. It’s not a form of negative counseling, it’s just to teach the individual more about sexually transmitted diseases.”

According to Waltich, STIs can affect mission readiness due to the physical symptoms that make it difficult for Sailors with STIs to function at the performance level they should be at.

Nimitz’ medical personnel are available for any questions or concerns a Sailor may have regarding STIs and no appointment is necessary.

“Anyone is welcome to come to the medical department at any time and ask questions about anything that is sexual,” said Waltich. “Everything discussed with medical personnel is held in the strictest of confidentiality.

#5 Finance

College

Savings

A fun and easy guide by Cmdr. Matthew Miller N33/N35 Sub Ops/Future Plans

I feel this is a great topic because as a parent, I want to do everything I can for my kids, which includes supporting them through their college education. By the way, they are on their own for graduate school, although they may not know it yet. Before I begin though, I want to provide you with two thoughts. One, how many ways are there to pay for college? Two, how many ways are there to pay for retirement? It surprises me how many people feel “guilty” about saving for their kid’s education at the expense of not saving for their own retirement.

I can think of many ways to pay for college such as scholarships, grants, loans, family members, and yes the post 9/11 GI bill, but I can’t think of a single bank or institution that will give you a loan to retire. That seems obvious, but I wanted to illustrate the point that unless you’re maxing out on your retirement savings ($17,500 TSP/401K plus $5,000 Roth/Traditional IRA), you might want to reconsider your strategy.

529 Plans

(named after the section of the tax code that established them) • Exist as a ‘pre-paid’ tuition plan or a college savings plan – the rest of this discussion focuses on college savings plans because the pre-paid tuition plan only really makes financial sense if you can predict

where your kid is going to college and that’s a tough prediction to make early on.

• State sponsored savings plan that allows you to save for your child’s college costs.

• Allows you to save tax free for college (no federal or state taxes on your earnings as long as you use the money for qualified higher education expenses like tuition, room & board, fees, books, computers, etc.).

• Account owner is generally a parent with the child as the beneficiary.

• Anyone can contribute.

• Money in the plan counts towards parental assets for financial aid calculations.

• May provide you a tax deduction on your state taxes (depending on the state).

• No restrictions on income to establish a 529.

• High maximum account balances ($250,000 plus depending on the plan).

• High individual contributions allowed (up to $60,000 per person over a 5 year period – so your rich uncle could put in $60K all at once (but would have to wait 5 years before he could add money again).

• If you don’t use the money for higher education expenses, you do have to pay taxes on your earnings plus a 10% penalty.

• It is straight forward to change the beneficiary, so if one of your kids doesn’t go to college or gets a scholarship or something, then you can just change the beneficiary to another of your kids (or anyone else).

Coverdell Education Savings Accounts (formerly the Education IRA)

• Maximum of $2,000 per year.

• Account is in the child’s name - so you will lose control of the money once your child is 18 (in most states).

• Contributions are non-deductible.

• Earnings grow tax free as long as they are used for Education expenses (not necessarily ‘higher education’).

• Income limits exist for these accounts.

What are the real reasons to start a 529 Plan?

In reality, there are really three reasons to establish a 529 plan for your child and the tax benefits are the

LEAST IMPORTANT.

contribute to the account.

1.

Provides an opportunity for relatives and friends to support your child’s education in a meaningful way – as an Aunt and Uncle, Yoly and I make contributions to all of our nieces and nephews 529 savings accounts.

If these accounts did not exist, we would most likely spend the same amount of money on barbie dolls, star wars toys, leggos, playstation III games, and who knows what else. Instead we have the opportunity to help fund the long term growth and education of our nieces and nephews. They may not appreciate it now, but I think they will later on. Remember, a gift of knowledge is a gift for a lifetime.

2.

I would blow off the Coverdell because the limits are low and the assets are in the child’s name – lots of bad things can happen when the child turns 18 and gets control of all the money. Also, who wants the admin of managing multiple accounts with different rules when you could do it all in one? Not me.

2.

Helps provide discipline into what will be one of the largest expenses in most of our lives (after retirement and our homes). Most of us do not automatically save for longer term items and taking the time and effort to establish a 529 plan greatly increases the odds that paying for college (or a portion of it) will be manageable.

3.

Gives you tax benefits. Earnings are generally free from federal and state taxes. You may receive a deduction (different from a tax credit) from your state income taxes depending on the state (e.g., Maryland has up to $2,500 per year deduction, D.C. has up to $10,000 per year deduction, and Virginia has up to $2,000 per year deduction). Multiply the amount that can be deducted times the state marginal tax rate to figure out the value (e.g., D.C. is $10,000 X 8.7% = $870 maximum for a given year).

What Would I Do? This is the part where I remind you that I am not a financial planner, so I encourage you to get whatever advice you feel you need before you make any moves.

Nonetheless, here is what I would do.

1.

Regardless of where you live, establish a 529 account (mine is at USAA) and choose the aggressive age based option. This means USAA will automatically rebalance your assets (between stocks and bonds) based on how long your child has until college age.

USAA’s plan is based in Nevada meaning the money can be used at most schools in the U.S. and anyone can

3. Send deposit slips to aunts, uncles, and grandparents so they can easily contribute to your child’s future if they so choose.

Here’s the part that gets really contentious and some people will disagree with me (although the facts are the facts): If you start funding early enough (i.e., your child is 5 or younger), the lower expenses and indexing strategy that USAA uses will almost for sure beat out any additional state tax benefits you get from using your home state’s plan. For example, even if you deduct $10,000 from your DC state tax return (savings of around $870), USAA’s lower expenses will more than make up for this over time. This logic does NOT hold true if your child will be in college soon because you won’t have time to make up the difference.

Bottom line: Start Early and use an aggressive age-based option.

Mathematical Fact If you are contributing to your retirement account on a regular basis (401(k), IRA, and/or TSP), then when the stock market goes down, you buy more shares. That is a simple fact. So when the market drops or gyrates as it is doing now, a long term investor who is following a pre-determined strategy shouldn’t even blink an eye.

Retiring with a lot of money is extremely simple, it just requires patience and discipline as you execute a long term strategy. Although no one can predict how the market will move this week, this month, or even this year….it’s a pretty safe assumption that the market will match it’s long run average of about 10% over time.

We are investors – not traders.

pretty cool how it all “It’s worked out, it’s unique for sure.“ -Seebach

AE1 John Greenlee and AD3 Tyler Seebach work on an F/A-18C Hornet

RECRUITED Story and Photo Layout by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Raul Moreno Jr.

Throughout our lives we meet people and move on. We normally never see them again, but life works in mysterious ways and brings us back to some of these individuals.

Sometimes when we least expect it.

Aviation Electrician’s Mate (AE) 1st Class John Greenlee made the choice to leave Anchor, Ill., and join the military because he wanted to do something in the aviation field.

Naturally, he decided to join the Air Force.

“I was actually at the recruiter’s door two days after Sept.

11th,” said Greenlee. “9/11 was like the spark plug, the catalyst on getting me going.”

Greenlee felt destined and ready to join the Air Force, but he couldn’t find any representatives at the office. Before he knew it, his trip to the recruiter’s office ended differently than what he expected.

“I was already walking away when I heard a ‘Hey! Hey!’ from behind,” said Greenlee. “I turned around and the Navy guy was dragging me in.”

Greenlee said he never really considered joining the Navy since he thought the Air Force was the right choice for him.

“Next thing you know, I was talking to the Navy guy about all the opportunities that the Navy had,” said Greenlee.

After learning about aviation jobs available in the Navy, he made the decision to join. Fast-forward a couple years, and Greenlee was doing his own recruiting tour in Ohio.

“Me and a buddy of mine both played football together, so I was going to join the Army with him,” said Aviation Machinist’s Mate 3rd Class Tyler Seebach, from Akron/Canton Ohio.

According to Seebach, he was living a fairly mundane life, and school wasn’t a choice at the time. The Army offered him a $24,000 signing bonus, so he decided to join with his friend.

Then he met Greenlee at the recruiter’s office in Ohio.

“He was an AE2 at the time when I met him,” said Seebach. “He’d always come to my school and play basketball with us.”

Both Greenlee and Seebach shared similar interests, especially sports. Greenlee said they’ve even watched their favorite football teams, The Cowboys and The Seahawks, go head-to-head against each other.

“I had a different connection with him than the Army

recruiter,” said Seebach. “I always worked with cars as a kid, and I told him that if I could work on engines then I’d join the Navy.”

During his recruiting duty in Ohio, Greenlee didn’t find many recruits interested in the aviation field.

“I really latched on to him because he seemed like the type of guy who would do well in aviation, and I know he was wavering between Army and Navy,” said Greenlee.

Seebach made the decision to let go of the Army’s $24,000 signing bonus.

“I chose the Navy over the Army because of who my recruiter was. He was a cool dude and got me the job,” said Seebach.

The two went their own ways after Ohio. Seebach left for boot camp and Greenlee ended his recruiting tour and returned to the world of aviation.

“I liked getting back to getting my hands dirty and working on aircraft again,” said Greenlee.

He began working out of Naval Air Station Lemoore, Calif., and was surprised to run into a familiar face once again.

“I was actually driving down the street on base one day and saw a figure that I recognized,” said Greenlee. “I holla’d out at him, he turned around and it was Seebach.”

They talked for a while and found out that they were working on the same base.

“He was at a shore command then,” said Greenlee. “Pretty soon I ran into him again on base and he said he’s coming to (VFA) 146. That’s even cooler.”

Today, Both Greenlee and Seebach are assigned to the Blue Diamonds of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 146, currently embarked aboard Nimitz.

“Coincidentally, he’s one of my first contacts when I go to talk to his work center,” said Greenlee. “I work on wires and he basically works on the aircraft engines. So we have to work together a lot.”

“It’s pretty cool how it all worked out, it’s unique for sure,” said Seebach.

Seebach has recently reenlisted and said he plans on taking the same steps as his predecessor toward making the most of his Naval career. Greenlee is considering getting back into recruiting to bring in the next generation of Sailors.

“It’s just crazy to have this guy I recruited and that I’ve seen every step of the way, come along and work right beside me,” said Greenlee.

NBA WEST

Story by Todd Brandonburger

PLAYOFFS

EAST VS.

T

he Indiana Pacers are all that remain between King James and Co. and a date with the NBA

Finals.

The Pacers were one of only a handful of teams to manage a winning record over the Heat during the regular season, which makes this a marquee matchup for both the Eastern Conference and the NBA. Game 1 featured a defensive struggle anchored by the Pacer’s Roy Hibbert, who was inexplicably taken out during the key play of overtime, allowing James to score an easy go-ahead layup and give Miami the victory.

Indiana Pacer’s coach Frank Vogel’s decision to keep Hibbert off the floor in such a crucial juncture is baffling at best.

His ability to alter shots in the paint is necessary when the alternative is James manhandling his way to the basket at will.

I don’t expect such lapse in judgments to continue, but I still give the Pacers little hope in dethroning the Heat as Eastern Conference Champions.

Heat in 4

VS.

T

he Memphis Grizzlies will not make the playoffs/contend if they trade away Rudy Gay. This was the consensus feeling upon Gay’s departure from Memphis to the Toronto Raptors at mid-season. Yet, they now battle the Spurs, the NBA’s model of consistent excellence, for supremacy in the West and a ticket to the NBA Finals.

With Tony Parker playing at an allworld level and a rejuvenated Tim Duncan causing havoc for Memphis’s big men, it might be the end of what has been an extremely successful season for Memphis.

After losing games 1 and 2, the Grizzlies return home to a ferocious crowd of supporters for what is expected to be a crucial game 3. Can Zach Randolf and Marc Gasol right the ship?

I say no, Spurs in 5

DID YOU KNOW?

Lebron James moved into a tie with Wilt Chamberlain with ninth career plalyoff triple-double Wednesday. James is hot on the heels of Larry Bird (10) and Jason Kidd (11), but still has a long way to go before catching all-time leader Magic Jonson (30). Source: basketball-reference.com