Nimitz News - Oct. 6, 2013

OCTOBER 6, 2013

Vol. 39 No. 35

INSIDE: DESIGNATED NFL WEEK 5 PREVIEW

PG. 4

PG. 10

NIMITZ NEWS | OCTOBER 6, 2013

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Commanding Officer Capt. Jeff Ruth Executive Officer Capt. John Cummings Command Master Chief CMDCM Teri M. McIntyre Public Affairs Officer Lt. Cmdr. Karin Burzynski Media DIVO Ensign John Mike Media LCPO MCC Mike Jones Media Production Chief MCC Gregory Roberts Media LPO MC1 Michael Cole Editor MC2 Jason Behnke Lead Designer MC3 Raul Moreno Jr. Media Department MC2 Jacquelyn Childs MC2 Ashley Berumen MC2 Devin Wray MC2 Ryan Mayes MC2 Alexander Ventura II MC3 Shayne Johnson MC3 Jacob Milner MC3 Christopher Bartlett MC3 George J Penney III MC3 Linda S. Swearingen MC3 Jess Lewis MC3 Vanessa David MC3 W. J. Cousins MC3 Derek Volland MC3 Phil Ladouceur MC3 Sam Souvannason MC3 Nathan McDonald MC3 Joshua Haiar MCSN Kole Carpenter MCSN Derek Harkins MCSN Kaitlyn Haskett MCSN Eric Butler MCSN Siobhana McEwen MCSA Aiyana Paschal MCSA Kelly Agee MCSA Victoria Ochoa MCSA Andrew Price

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.

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By Lt. Benjamin Box

The Red Sea Reminder

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hat does the water you see every day have to do with how you can experience peace of mind, despite your biggest challenges? Plenty…

As we continue operations in the Red Sea, many of us call to mind the biblical significance of this location.

The book of Exodus tells us of how God divided these very waters, allowing the children of Israel to cross on dry ground with “a wall of water on their right hand and on their left.”

They left behind their lives of slavery in Egypt and emerged from the Red Sea as free people, bound for the Promised Land. This formative episode in the life of the nation would serve as a powerful foundation for generations to come, reminding them of God’s deliverance, His power, and His trustworthy character.

Do you remember the drama of that day? The Israelites found themselves trapped between the Red Sea and Pharaoh’s fast approaching army.

Their response was to freak out, or as the Bible puts it, “they were very afraid.” Their problems were real, the stakes were high, and they found themselves overwhelmed with dread and panic. Does this sound like you?

Are you facing overwhelming challenges right now? Are your problems causing you to freak out? If so, please take to heart the reminder of the Red Sea: God is bigger than your biggest problems.

The Israelites had big problems and seemingly zero good options.

However, when all appeared to be lost, hope yet remained, even if they couldn’t see it at the time. Moses assured the people during their moment of despair that, “the LORD would fight for them.” He instructed them to “stand still and see the salvation of God,” saying, “do not be afraid,” “you shall hold your peace.”

Let me encourage you today to give your problems over to God, to trust in Him and His loving care. He is strong; He is able to deal with whatever you are facing. Don’t panic, even when you can’t see a way out, hope remains.

God is good, He is in control, and He will see you through.

We know how the story ends.

Israel danced and sang of how “The LORD triumphed gloriously, with Pharaoh’s armies thrown into the sea.”

God demonstrated that day how He is there for His people, how He will fight our battles for us, and how we can trust in Him. As we find ourselves “on-location” in the Red Sea, where these profound events transpired, may these waters remind us that God is bigger than any problem we face. Each day as we gaze into this special sea that surrounds us, let us hold our peace, let us not be afraid. For even when all seems lost, hope yet remains.

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Batteries thrown in the wrong dispensers could become fire hazards.

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A Perfect Strike Story and photo by MC3 Chris Bartlett

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efore the Navy, Aviation Support Equipment Technician (AS) Airman Taylor Endress attended Allegheny College majoring in environmental science while throwing javelin for the varsity track team and playing soccer for their varsity team.

“I have always been super social and I guess the social life became my number one priority when I was in college,” said Endress. “I realized that I wasn’t where I wanted to be and that I really needed to get a bearing for my life.”

Her choice to join the Navy was to help her grow up and get her life together.

“I joined as an undesignated airman, honestly because my MEPS [Military Entrance Processing Station] visit was a total disaster,” said Endress.

When she went in to get her job they told her that the system was 4

down and the only available jobs they could offer her was undesignated airman, undesignated seaman and culinary specialist.

“I knew I wanted to go aviation because I had an original plan of choosing aviation structural mechanic or aviation machinist’s mate so I essentially had no other option at the time,” said Endress.

Being undesignated can be discouraging at times in a way that really can’t be explained unless you live it.

“Well being undesignated you don’t really get a lot of information on how the system works until you show up to your Air Department division and finally sit down with your career counselor,” said Endress.

As an undesignated Sailor, it can be a very frustrating experience, full of ups and downs. In the end, it takes a strong individual to overcome.

“I have a very driven personality so I want to succeed and I am very

hard on myself when I feel as though I’m not excelling at the level I want to be at,” said Endress. “Everyone in the Navy says you are in control of your own career, set yourself up for excellence etc., etc., and yet I felt as though I was just spinning my wheels.”

Her journey on Nimitz started in primary flight control where she credits a lot of her success.

“I feel so blessed to have had such an amazing work center that was behind me,” said Endress.

She found out about the aviation support equipment technician rate from her mentor Chief Aviation Boatswain’s Mate (Handling) Terrone Wolliston, who told her to look at the rate because it was similar to the other rates she originally wanted.

“I sat down with him one night and basically vented about my frustration and how I was just ready to be done and he calmly just sat

ASAN Taylor Endress conducts repairs on a tow tractor in the hangar bay.

me down and told me about being an AS, and of course I was like yeah-yeah…Wait, what’s that?” said Endress.

Wolliston placed a call to the IM-4 shop to let them know that Endress was coming down to check things out.

“I walked down to the shop and I spoke to some of the guys that work down there and they sold me on the job,” said Endress.

Endress did her research, kept to her gut with her interests and let those with good advice keep her on the right course.

“I mean after waiting so long you never expect to ever really get the job or whatever your goal might be. But now saying that I’m at the end point of that chapter and I can really work towards something is a great feeling,” said Endress.

Endress just recently struck aviation support equipment technician

and enjoys every moment of it.

“I love working with my hands and that’s obviously exactly what I do as an AS, it’s a mechanical rate,” said Endress. “I’m huge on feeling like I put in a hard day’s work, after 12 hours I really want to feel as though when I lay down at night that I have a right to be tired.”

Due to the amount of different types of equipment, there are so many licenses and so much to learn that there is never a point where Endress feels that she is done with her advancement.

“Being a new kid I have a lot to learn so we do a lot of training on our different licenses that we have to get and just basically there is a lot of work to be done almost every day,” said Endress. “People don’t realize how much equipment we really do work on, in fact I had no idea the amount of equipment or the various types of stuff we truly do mainte-

nance on until I got down there.”

In a sense, an aviation support equipment technician is a jack-ofall-trades when it comes down to the gear they work on.

“Essentially if the aircraft or aviation community needs it to do their job, more than likely we can fix it,” said Endress.

This includes tractor diesel engines, P-25 firefighting engines, generators, nitrogen carts, hydraulic jacks, forklifts, cranes, the flight deck scrubber, and everything in between.

When asked what are some of the highlights of her yet still developing Navy career she said becoming Sailor of the Day and of course picking up her new rate sits right at the top.

“It was a huge relief and it finally feels like I’m working towards something,” said Endress.

NIMITZ NEWS | OCTOBER 6, 2013

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Search & Rescue

Photo story by MC3 (SW/AW) Jess Lewis

A group of naval aircrewmen (helicopter), assigned to the “Indians” of Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron (HSC) 6 perform routine search and rescue exercises in the Arabian Sea.

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NIMITZ NEWS | OCTOBER 6, 2013

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Visual Communicators: A history of communication from ship to ship Story by MC3 (SW) Phil Ladoucer

In this age of GPS, satellite navigation, and video teleconferencing, it might seem strange to some that the Navy still uses something as simple as a few flags to communicate.

Or that there are still Sailors with a working knowledge of Morse code and semaphore, forms of communication that are nearly 200 years old.

Some things the Navy holds on to because of tradition, others because of practicality. Visual communications is a little of both.

Master Chief Navy Counselor Lloyd Stanford was a signalman first class prior to converting in 2004, when the Navy merged the signalman rate with quartermaster. He misses his old job.

“I do my best at anything I do,” he said. “I enjoy being a career counselor, but I loved being a signalman.”

“It was all visual communications, that’s what the rate consisted of. Flaghoist, flashing light, and semaphore, those were the three forms of communication.”

Stanford helps out training the quartermasters on board Nimitz, since he has the background.

“I feel like it’s something I should be doing. If I know it, I’m going to share it,” he said.

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FLASHING LIGHT Using flashing lights, quartermasters can communicate with other ships. Each letter in the alphabet is represented by a combination short and long pulses of light. A short pulse is a ‘dit’ and a long pulse is a ‘dash.’

Though plain language messages can be sent, most of the messages are sent in codes that are laid out in several codebooks. A Morse code message of three letters might correspond to a specific question or answer.

Two people work together to record a message. One looks through the binoculars and calls out the signals, and another records it. When the message is finished, it’s taken to the officer of the deck (OOD).

Of course, Morse code has applications beyond just sending a message to another ship when you’re out at sea.

Cmdr. Jeremiah Denton was a prisoner of war in 1965, and when he was filmed for propaganda purposes, he managed to blink out a single word in Morse code: Torture. It let American forces know for the first time that the North Vietnamese were torturing POWs. He was later awarded the Navy Cross and promoted to rear admiral.

“You don’t have to depend on a circuit not going out.

You don’t depend on power.

Just a person out there doing it.”

-Stanford

FLAGHOIST

SEMAPHORE

Flaghoist is probably the form of visual communication that most Sailors are familiar with.

“The most common flags you’ll see us fly are bravo, foxtrot, hotel, and kilo,” said Quartermaster 2nd Class Gregory Celia.

These flags indicate specific things that correspond to each flag, but most of the communications with flaghoist correspond to codes listed in codebooks.

“It’s the same general flags,” said Celia. “But depending on who you’re talking to you might use a different book and so it can mean something different.”

Different codebooks are used for talking to different ships from different countries. Combinations of flags indicate specific messages, and the positions also indicate where everyone is at in the communication process. There are three positions: closed-up, at the dip, and hauled down.

Just like in basic firefighting, flaghoist involves repeating back messages to ensure that the message is received.

“Initially they put it up at the dip, and at the dip is three quarters of the way,” said Stanford. “When you’re repeating back, they’re at the dip. And each ship responding puts them at the dip.”

“If USS Nimitz was to put up flags and we’re sending a signal to another ship then we would put up our flaghoist and then they would put it up and it would be the exact same to let us know that they understand what we’re transmitting,” said Stanford.

Then, when all the ships have closed up, the information is relayed to the OOD. The main ship hauls down all their flags; other ships haul down theirs. This is the signal to execute. Then you re-stow your flags and get ready for the next message.

“So you can actually move an entire battle group,” said Stanford. “With flags.”

Semaphore is a method using either flags or light wands, depending on the circumstances.

It’s a different alphabet; arms moving around like a clock, with different positions representing different letters.

You have to spell out words one letter at a time.

“When you bring your hands to the front, that means you’re complete with that word,” said Stanford.

It may be slow and have limited range, but it’s completely reliable. Only two arms and the knowledge are necessary.

“You don’t have to depend on anything else,” said Stanford. ”You don’t have to depend on a circuit not going out.

You don’t depend on power. Just a person out there doing it.”

Of all the forms of visual communication, this is the one he liked most.

“There’s something about being able to talk with your hands, and everybody’s just looking at you, wondering, ‘What are they talking about?’” said Stanford.

And sometimes it’s not about codes or important safety signals. Sometimes it’s just about doing something different.

“When we pulled out for deployment in Everett, we actually spelled out ‘Fly Navy,’” said Quartermaster 3rd Class Antoin Gray. “I don’t know what it’ll be when we pull back in from deployment, but it’ll probably have something unique again like that,” he said.

NIMITZ NEWS | OCTOBER 6, 2013

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WEEK 5

2013 NFL Season

This weeks predictions by Senior Chief Horatio “Tiny” McDaniels

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t’s hard to believe, but the NFL season is already one quarter of the way finished (and if you’re a Steelers or Giants fan it’s already finished). It’s been an interesting ride so far. Peyton Manning is playing better than ever, even though he’s getting close to the end of his playing career. Cleveland got rid of their best player and has been undefeated since then. Kansas City is undefeated… wait, that can’t be right. Cleveland and Kansas City are good teams and the Giants and the Steelers are 0-4? I guess this is why we love this game.

Sunday, October 6

Baltimore at Miami The Super Bowl champs head to Miami to play a surprisingly good Dolphins team. Although Miami got destroyed by the Saints on Monday, they’re still 3-1 and they’ll look to bounce back from the beat down they received from New Orleans. On the other hand, the Ravens are 2-2 and coming off a loss as well. Can the Super Bowl champs win in Miami? Maybe, but I doubt it. I think Miami wins in a close one.

New England at Cincinnati The Patriots have been finding a way to win all year, even though they have been missing some HUGE weapons on offense due to injury. Add to that the recent season ending injury to Pro Bowl defensive tackle Vince Wilfork, and this team has a tougher time for the rest of the season. But, they seem to find a way, and I think that continues this Sunday. It will probably be another uncomfortably close one for them though.

New Orleans at Chicago New Orleans heads to Chicago with an undefeated record. Chicago suffered their first loss of the season last week to Detroit. Drew Brees is having one of the best years of his career and Jay Cutler looks, well, like Jay Cutler. Even though Chicago’s defense is outstanding, I can’t believe they can shut down Brees, and I highly doubt Cutler can keep up. The Saints win by a couple touchdowns.

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Detroit at Green Bay This is an interesting one. Detroit is playing really good football right now. They are on top of the NFC North, and Green Bay hasn’t been as dominant as many thought they would be. That said, Green Bay had a week off last week, and the game is at Lambeau Field. I think Green Bay plays this game like they have something to prove. Sorry Detroit, at least you still have crippling unemployment and a cityscape that looks like post war Berlin to brag about.

Seattle at Indianapolis This is another interesting game. Seattle is 4-0 and Indianapolis is 3-1.

The Seahawks have been dominant… when they’re playing at home.

The two games they’ve played on the road weren’t all that pretty. Seattle will go far this year, but I think the Colts hand them their first loss today.

Jacksonville at St. Louis This is truly a battle of titans. The 0-4 Jaguars take on the 1-3 Rams.

It looks like Daryl Richardson will be sitting this one out, but the Jags are awful. Just the fact that they felt Blaine Gabbart gave them the best chance to win says it all. They need to grab Josh Freeman from free agency and see if they can get a win or two this season. This one is all St. Louis.

Kansas City at Tennessee This could be the game of the week right here. Kansas City is another surprising undefeated team. The Alex Smith experiment seems to be working in KC. On the other hand, the 3-1 Titans are without their starting quarterback Jake Locker, but Ryan Fitzpatrick is a very capable back-up. This is a tough one to call. Both teams have very good defenses, but I think the Chiefs keep their streak alive in a very, very close one.

Philadelphia at N.Y. Giants This game seems pretty easy to call for me. The Eagles have a terrible defense, and the Giants have a terrible defense. The Eagles have a pretty good passing game, and the Giants have a pretty good passing game. The difference maker to me seems to be the rushing game.

Philadelphia has the best rushing attack in the NFL and the Giants have one of the worst. The Giants will get ran all over here to keep them winless.

NIMITZ NEWS | OCTOBER 6, 2013

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Carolina at Arizona This one is kind of a toss-up for me. Carolina is 1-2 and coming out of a bye week. The 2-2 Cardinals played 57 minutes of pretty bad football last week against Tampa Bay, but managed to turn things around at the end of the game. Both teams have mediocrity written all over them, but I’ll take the Panthers in a close, and maybe ugly, game.

Denver at Dallas The 37-year-old Peyton Manning is well on his way to his fifth MVP award and quite possibly his third Super Bowl appearance. No team has even come close to beating Manning and his Broncos yet this year.

That said, Dallas can put points on the board too. This one should be an epic shootout, but Tony Romo and the Cowboys will have to play mistake free football to pull off the win. I don’t like their chances. The Broncos will be 5-0 after today.

Houston at San Francisco With both of these teams you never know who will show up. Will it be the Texans team that beat the very tough Chargers and Titans earlier this season, or the team that was destroyed by the, in my opinion, very average Ravens team a couple of weeks ago. The 49ers were embarrassed in Seattle earlier in the season, but they beat the Packers and destroyed the Rams. Both teams are also riddled with injuries right now. I’ll take the 49ers, but I don’t feel great about it.

San Diego at Oakland One of the story lines before the season began was that Phillip Rivers was finished. Rivers has thrown 11 touchdowns and only two interceptions with a 118.8 QB rating. The Raiders might have found their quarterback of the future in Terrelle Pryor, but they need to get some more weapons around him before they’ll know for sure. The Chargers have won 17 of their last 20 meetings against the Raiders. That trend should continue tonight in a game that should help Rivers quiet a few more naysayers.

Monday, September 9 N.Y. Jets at Atlanta There should be no question that Atlanta will have their way with the Jets on Monday night. Let me say that again, there SHOULD be no question. These Falcons don’t look like the same team that almost went to the Super Bowl last year, though, and the Jets don’t look nearly as awful as we all thought they would be. The Falcons only have one win this year, but their next four games are very winnable for them. Look for them to start the four game streak on Monday.

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MOVIELISTINGS RATINGS BY IMDB

BY MC2 (SW) DEVIN WRAY

NIMITZ NEWS | OCTOBER 6, 2013

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Finance

20 Car Buying/Leasing A Fun and Easy Guide Cmdr. Matthew Miller

Editor’s note: Cmdr. Matthew Miller has transferred from Nimitz, but he left this series of articles to aid the Sailors and Marines aboard in making sound financial planning and investing. He is not a Certified Financial Planner. The opinions expressed in this series of articles are his and do not guarantee any type of financial success whatsoever. There are many rules and regulations associated with taxes, fees, withdrawal penalties, and other complications that require a detailed understanding of various financial products. Before investing you should review the prospectus associated with the financial product and check with a professional to ensure you understand it and that it is right for you. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.

Key Terms (my words)

ing you cash back, but just allowing you to pay less for the car.

Extended Warranty – An option to extend the manufacturer’s warranty (typically at least three years/36,000 miles). This is generally not a good idea to buy on a new car.

Dealer Invoice Cost – The cost to the dealer for the car. This is also still misleading because manufacturers will frequently offer additional incentives to dealers as they sell more cars (this is why dealers can sell cars “below invoice” and still remain profitable).

Car Buying – You own the car and if you borrow money to buy the car, the bank/credit union/finance company/etc. has a lien on the title until you pay it off.

Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price (MSRP) – This is basically the full price suggested by the manufacturer (Ford, Toyota, GM, etc.) for a new car. This is almost always higher than what you should pay.

Auto Loan Interest Rate (Including Zero Percent Financing) – This is the interest rate you will pay if you borrow money to buy a car. In the current general low interest rate environment we are in, many dealers will offer zero percent financing (or very low interest financing) for people with good credit. However, the interest rate is only one part of the cost to you. If the dealer significantly raises the price and offers you zero percent, this may not be a good deal.

Cash Back – Generally an incentive offered that reduces the price of the car – it’s rarely actually giv-

Car Leasing – A leasing company owns the car and you are basically renting it for a fixed period of time with the option to buy at the end of the lease period.

Purchase Price – The effective sale price of the car (remember that you aren’t actually buying the car).

Residual Value – The projected value of the car at the end of the lease (generally expressed as a percent of initial value – like at the end of the three years, the car will be worth 52 percent of the original price).

Money Factor – This is a tricky term that basically means the same thing as interest rate (i.e., it reflects the time value of money and that money in the future is worth less than the same amount today because of inflation).

Mileage Limit – The maximum amount of miles you are allowed to drive without penalty (usually expressed as thousands per year – like 12,000 per year

Introduction

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s many of us have already bought and/or leased a car, I thought this article may come in handy.

I will cover some key terms involved with buying or leasing a car and my personal thoughts on the subject. There are certainly pros and cons to each approach, including the decision to buy a new or used car.

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or 15,000 per year). If you turn in a leased car that is over the mileage limit, it can cost a lot (upwards of twenty cents per mile).

Monthly Payment – This is what you are negotiating for. Dealers can manipulate the purchase price, residual value, and money factor, but ultimately with a lease it comes down to what you are paying per month.

Capital Cost Reduction – This is just a fancy term for down payment. When leasing, you should really try to minimize this and ideally drive it down to zero.

Lease vs. Buy - General Guidance A frequent question I get is “should I lease a new car, buy a new car, or buy a used car?” The short answer (as usual) is “it depends.” From a purely economic perspective, unless you are using the car for business and can write-off the lease payment as a tax deduction, the most economical thing to do is buy a used car (a few years old) and keep it as long as you can. This will end up costing you the least amount of money and you should get significantly more value for your money. The next most economical thing is to buy a new car and keep it as long as you can.

Getting a new car every few years (whether you are leasing or buying) is not a smart economic thing to do. New cars have an accelerated depreciation which means they lose a disproportionately high percentage of their value very quickly (the first couple years). If you are routinely getting a new car, you are paying significantly more due to this depreciation. That being said, here are some general points: Lease instead of Buy If you own your own business and can write off your lease payments as a tax deduction, it can be a great idea to lease.

If you like to have a newer car every few years, it can be more cost effective to lease.

If you want a more expensive car than you can afford to buy, you can get this through a lease.

If you never want to be responsible for maintenance (other than routine oil changes), leasing could be better.

If you don’t drive too many miles per year (know the mileage limit associated with the lease), then leasing could be better.

Buy – basically the opposite of Lease Negotiation Strategies The most important thing you absolutely must do is upfront research. There are a lot of different websites available, but the best one I have used is www.edmunds.com. There is a ton of information available about new cars, used cars, dealer invoice costs, and on and on. Being armed with information when you walk into a dealer is critical. If you don’t like negotiation, you can either go to a no haggle dealer (like CARMAX for used cars, or www. fitzmall.com, or even USAA for new cars), or you can bring someone with you who is good at it. You should settle on what you are willing to pay ahead of time and be prepared to walk away. If you feel uncomfortable with how things are progressing, you should walk away.

Remember, the salespeople are professionals and do this all day long – they are very good at manipulating people and it is all business (although they try very much to make it personal). Similar to financial planners, car salespeople are not bad people. They are earning a living and it is reasonable that they should earn a fair profit and be paid for their efforts.

It is not reasonable for them to guilt you or manipulate you into paying more than you should.

Closing A car will generally be one of your biggest outlays of money (after retirement, housing, and education).

It’s also not very frequent that you go through a car purchase/lease transaction, so most people aren’t very good at it. I encourage you to arm yourself with as much information as possible, plan on conducting test drives, and be prepared to walk away from a negotiation you feel is not going well. Lastly, remember that a car is a DEPRECIATING asset and should be treated as an expense (as opposed to an investment). A house and an education are generally APPRECIATING assets, so you are making an investment (recent current housing crisis notwithstanding) that will benefit you in the long run. If you have to make a trade-off on a more expensive car versus a more expensive house or better education, I would highly encourage you to put the money into the house or education before putting it into a car.

NIMITZ NEWS | OCTOBER 6, 2013

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