Nov. 09, 2013
Vol. 2 Issue 137
DAILY DIGEST
“WRAP THE WAIST” W Story and photos by MCSN (SW) Kole E. Carpenter
e live on an aircraft carrier. And as the name implies, its purpose is rooted first and foremost in its aircraft. This ship was built to facilitate air missions. Not just taxi jets, but actually launch them from incredible distances in the middle of any ocean on earth. These aircraft were meant to fly, and without the Sailors
who launch them, they would never get off the non-skid. Aviation Boatswain’s Mate (Equipment) 2nd Class Martina Camacho is the work center supervisor of Waist Catapult 3. Dubbed, the Waist Cats, they are the crew responsible for the equipment at the starting line. “We launch,” Camacho said. “We’re the primary mis-
sion division. Without us, this would be just another big boat floating around.” According to Aviation Boatswain’s Mate (Equipment) 3rd Class McCord Brickle, a grueling 18-hour workday is commonplace for the cats. It can be even longer if anything goes wrong. Maintenance, repairs and recalibrations often push their Continued on page 3
Commanding Officer
Executive Officer
Command Master Chief
Public Affairs Officer
Capt. Jeff Ruth
Capt. John Cummings
CMDCM Teri McIntyre
Lt. Cmdr. Karin Burzynski
Editor MC3 (SW) George J. Penney III
Lead Designer MC3 (SW) Raul Moreno Jr.
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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workday closer and closer to the 24-hour mark. Brickle said that if their equipment is off by even a small margin, it may be damaged, or send an aircraft into the water. “My team works hard,” Camacho said. “Day in and day out with countless working hours, endless maintenance and what seems to be nonstop flying.” And on top of that, Camacho added, their work center may be among the hottest on board. “It’s extremely hot back here,” she said. “The space regularly reaches 120 degrees.” On deck, they are right at the forefront of the action. Brickle is the primary topside petty officer for catapult 3. He described his position as “final checker.” Before every launch, he personally attaches aircraft to the catapults. Several times a day, he finds himself just a few feet away from active jet intakes. So often in fact, that he says he has become “perfectly comfortable in a very dangerous position.” “Not too comfortable though,” he asserted. “No matter how many times you do it, you always have to be aware on deck.” As dangerous and demanding as their job can be, the grind doesn’t get them down.
Steam rises from a catapult on the flight deck.
For a group under so much stress on such a regular basis, the waist cat team is incredibly high-spirited. According to Camacho, they are a tight-knit group that works extremely well together. “Everybody down here pulls their weight,” Brickle said. “I love my job. It can be tough, but it’s a lot of fun.” “We’re a family,” Camacho added. “We always have each other’s back. We make it work. No matter how much we all go through, the bad doesn’t matter with my crew. We make the best of every situation. I’ve been with these people for seven months, but it’s like we’ve known each other for years.”
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A DIFFERENT PATH
SAILORS REAP REWARDS IN CHALLENGING ROLE AS NMTIs Story by Sue Krawczyk Training Support Center Great Lakes Public Affairs
N
ot knowing precisely what an Navy Military Training Instructor’s (NMTI) job entails is one of the contributing factors of the current demand to fill vacant billets at Training Support Center (TSC), Great Lakes. NMTI manning is at 76 percent and there is especially a need for female Sailors to provide mentorship to the growing female student population. TSC receives approximately 10,500 students per year, 40 percent of all Recruit Training Command (RTC) boot camp graduates. “Being an NMTI may be the most demanding leadership challenge that you will face in the Navy,” said Capt. Henry “Hank” P. Roux Jr., TSC’s commanding officer. “If you want a challenge, if you want to improve your leadership skills, and if you want to make a difference in the future of the fleet, those are all the things an NMTI directly does on a daily basis.” Roux explains there are significant differences when students come to TSC with the most important one being the Sailors now are allowed to make their own decisions. “We have a population of primarily 18- to 24-year-olds and the NMTIs are responsible for helping them make the right or good decision rather than the bad or wrong decision,” said Roux. “The students have freedom and outside influences because, unlike boot camp, they are not held here 24 hours a day, seven days week as they are allowed to go on liberty and to make decisions all
day. Making the wrong decision will set you on a course you may not be able to turn back from.” NMTI Master Chief Fire Controlman (SW) Nicholas Petric, TSC’s operations staff leading chief petty officer, has first-hand experience with recruits, having served as a Recruit Division Commander (RDC) at RTC from 2003 to 2007. “There’s a perception out there that you come here and you teach in a schoolhouse for a year and then go to a barracks for a year, you get a break, and then you go back to the schoolhouses. It’s not like that at all,” said Petric. TSC is where NMTIs get to take the tools RTC gave the recruits and teach them how to apply those tools in their training as well as in everyday life. NMTIs are in charge of anywhere from 150 to 400 students in the barracks. Depending on the length of their training, students remain at TSC for as little as a few weeks or up to a year. “The job we do here at TSC is as important as the job the RDCs do at RTC; there’s just a different level of responsibility,” said Petric. “We are still in the process of continuing what was taught at RTC taking a basically trained Sailor and expounding on that training, only we get every outside influence on the Sailors you can imagine added to the day.” NMTI’s make up approximately 80 percent of TSC’s enlisted military staff in the barracks providing around-the-clock supervision, leadership, training and professional development of accession Sailors prior to their arrival to the 4
Fleet. They are the staff members who conduct inspections of living quarters and uniforms, overseeing watch standing, and upholding all Navy regulations and standards. They constantly ensure the students maintain their military bearing such as making sure they render proper salutes or greetings, and that their appearance and uniforms meet Navy standards. NMTIs conduct frequent room inspections to ensure cleanliness, racks are properly made, belongings are correctly secured, and look for any discrepancies such as improper use of lighting or extension cords, and safety violations from minor infractions to major discrepancies. They also oversee administrative paperwork such as student records, quarterdeck logs and watch bills and monitor room key control. Each week NMTIs conduct liberty briefs with the students to review rules and regulations prior to the weekend. When NMTIs first arrive to TSC, they attend the three-week Navy Instructor Training Course to prepare them for their leadership roles. They also attend a newly formed one-week NMTI academy for a more in-depth instruction of what is expected of them in the barracks, types of situations that may arise and the specific resources available to them to handle any issues, and how to conduct uniform and room inspections. Additionally, they receive in-depth training in suicide awareness and prevention, bystander intervention, and Sexual Assault Prevention and Response (SAPR), which is a Navy strategy to address changes in attitudes and behaviors about sexual assault and prevention. Roux stresses the impact NMTIs have on mentoring and the Sailorization of their Sailors because one never knows how far a Sailor will achieve in their naval career.
“If you do your job well, you may be molding more than just a future petty officer, you may have the future MCPON or future CNO,” said Roux. “If you do the right things, you will set them on a path for success. If you do it wrong, you may make one of these young men or women that were going to be something and now they’re never going to get started.” Shore duty at TSC lasts for 36 months and NMTIs are able to make their own schedules rotating between a chief and petty officers in each barracks for morning, afternoon and evening shifts. As the Navy prepares to train an even greater number of recruits in the next year, the need for more NMTIs on staff rises. “If you want the most difficult leadership challenge you will ever face in the Navy and if you’re up to the task, then I challenge you to accept the responsibility that comes along with being an NMTI by coming to Great Lakes and you will get exactly what you ask for,” said Roux. “You will have that challenge because it is a challenge - it’s not for the faint of heart. You have to have it inside you that you want to make a difference for the fleet of the future. The reward is that they will never forget you.” While the job itself may be demanding, one of the rewards of such hard efforts is the chance for advancement as well as the opportunity to obtain Master Training Specialist designation. “The advancement rate is respectable the following year after they leave here,” explained Petric. “You’ve set that foundation that when you go back out to the fleet, people will advance. A majority of chiefs out there that did not make chief while they were here did so about a year after they left and then end up coming back here for the rewarding benefits.” 5
ABEAN Michael Martinez helps prepare an F/A-18C Hornet of VFA-146 for launch from the flight deck.
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By MCSN (SW) Derek Harkins
HT3 Travis Waldecker sets material condition yoke.
By MCSN (SW) Siobhana McEwen
By MCSA (SW) Kelly M. Agee
AD3 Andrew Coates, assigned HSC-6, performs maintenance on an MH-60S Seahawk helicopter on the flight deck.
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O N THE COVER: The pers 3 pose fo o n n e l of r a photo Waist Ca on the fli tapult ght deck .