NIMITZNEWS VOL. 8 | ISSUE 3 Sept. 3, 2017
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CONTENTS Vol. 8 | Issue 03
4 Halfway Home - Timeline
By MC2 (SW/AW/IW) Holly L. Herline
NIMITZ NEWS
Capt. Kevin Lenox Commanding Officer Cmdr. J.W. David Kurtz Executive Officer CMDCM Jimmy Hailey Command Master Chief
MEDIA DEPARTMENT
Lt. Cmdr. Theresa Donnelly PAO Ens. Meagan Morrison DIVO MCCS Ahron Arendes Media DLCPO MCC Grant Probst Media LCPO MCC (SEL) Porter Anderson Media CPO (SEL) MC1 Jose Hernandez Media LPO MC2 Holly Herline Creative Lead MC3 Weston Mohr Phojo WCS
It has been a long year for Nimitz and her crew. Take a look back on all they have accomplished to get to the halfway mark of deployment
10 Look at it This Way
By MC3(SW) Leon Wong
MC1 Marcus Stanley MC2 Austin Haist MC2 Erickson Magno MC2 Elesia Patten MC2 Ian Zagrocki MC3 Chad Anderson MC3 Kenneth Blair MC3 Colby Comery MC3 Marc Cuenca MC3 Deanna Gonzales MC3 Ian Kinkead MC3 Liana Nichols MC3 Cole Schroeder MC3 Leon Wong MC3 Bethany Woolsey MCSN David Claypool MCSN Cody Deccio MCSN Emily Johnston MCSN Kennishah Maddux MCSN Jose Madrigal
Get a little perspective on how long Nimitz has been at sea and how much time is left.
6 A Sailor’s Purpose
Story By MC2 (SW/AW/IW) Holly L. Herline
Sailors belong on ships, ships belong at sea. Translation: Sailors belong at sea.
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Read about how Nimitz Sailors are finding thier purpose and making a home away from home at sea.
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Both of these definitions relate to Sailors, or according to the online dictionary, a person whose occupation is Sailing or navigation. Sailors are unique in the fact that they have multiple homes. They have the family and house that make up the home they leave behind while they take to the sea and they have the ship that makes them who, or rather what they are; Sailors. “The maintenance, watchstanding and everything, big or small, that we do on a daily basis at sea all combine to make us who we are,” said Chief Boatswain’s Mate John Parkowski, of North Baltimore, Ohio. Home: “A place where something flourishes, is most typically found, or from which it originates” The aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN 68) has become the temporary home of nearly 5,000 Sailors. Out on the water is where Sailors put their training to good use, their heritage is celebrated and carried on and their purpose is met. This definition rings true for those assigned to Nimitz who have spent more than a year honing their skills as Sailors and proving their worth. The Sailors aboard Nimitz are currently putting their ability to answer the call of arms to the test as they support combat operations in the Arabian Gulf. This deployment has been a long time coming for these Sailors. Their success and resiliency are a direct result of the countless days they spent underway in the months before they departed on their six-month deployment. “This tempo has been the highest that I have been a part of in 18 years,” said Parkowski. “It’s been the toughest so far, but I think it’s good for us.” Sailors are trained to operate ships at sea, not moored to piers. The expertise of navigating a ship through the shallowest of waters, launching multimillion dollar jets from the flight deck and monitoring enemy entities from counter defense systems is nearly useless when bound to the shores of the U.S. “You can fall out of the rhythm of your job,” said Parkowski. “The more we are operational and the more that we are doing our job on a daily basis the more proficient you get at it and the more you meet your purpose.”
Despite the challenges that can come with being away from land for long periods of time the crew aboard Nimitz are doing what they are meant to do; operate at sea. “It tests your commitment and willingness to strive in a new environment and adapt,” said Seaman Ann Marie Rogers, of . “We need that so the ship can do what it needs to do. So we can finish our deployment. So we can achieve our mission out here. So that we can keep moving forward.” Every Sailor has a reason why they raised their hand and swore to commit themselves to the patience, situational awareness, momentary adaptability and motivation it takes to serve. They also committed themselves to all the hardships and rites of passage that would one day allow them to truly call themselves Sailors. A Sailor is someone who has met the challenges of missing loved ones during long periods spent on vast oceans, who has accomplished tasks well before the sun has rose above the horizon until long after it has disappeared again and who has innovated and persevered in finding a way of making life at sea a home, away from home. “The purpose of a sailor is to know when and where you are needed and to be available to help out,” said Rogers. “If something needs to be done, it is up to a Sailor to make sure that it is accomplished.” 9
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C3 (SW Story by M
Taking a look at the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz’ (CVN 68) schedule for the past year, it’s obvious it has been exceptionally busy for the crew. The compressed training cycle, time away from home and long monotonous days in the heat of the Arabian Gulf are starting to take its toll on the crew, and it is visible on the faces of the personnel walking throughout the passageways. Although the faces of these Sailors seem to be drained of energy and motivation, their eyes can tell a different story: the story of tenacity and determination to follow through with what they have started.
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Nimitz recently completed three months of a slated six-month deployment, and there is only one thing on the crew’s mind: we’re halfway done! “We still got about a month and a half left on station doing our nation’s business,” said Command Master Chief Jimmy W. Hailey. “The longer we are here, the harder it gets. This is where we really see our Sailors dig deep and push forward.” Setting deployment milestones, personal goals or finishing up qualifications can help aid the push to make the next few months pass by just a little quicker. “It’s not hard to forget what day of the week it is,” said Hailey. “People need to think about finding those little goals to break up the monotony of deployment and what we are doing out here. You have to break it down into little perspectives. We just left Bahrain, in less than a month we will be in Dubai, and in less than a month after that, we will be chopping out of the Arabian Gulf and transiting home.” Other things to look out for besides port visits are possible shipboard events, such as steel beach picnics, swim calls, etc. “After we pull in to Hawaii, we’ll send a bunch of people home and bring the Tigers aboard and commence that final phase of deployment,” said Hailey. “If we’re able to do Wog Day, we will. It’s all up to our schedule.” Aside from the possible events, the all-to-familiar appeal to earn qualifications will always exist. This time is unique in that there are minimal distractions that keep a Sailor from getting their qualifications, and there are Sailors awake 24-hours of the day to help. “People need to look at the fact that now is the time to be working towards the goals and qualifications,” said Hailey. “When we pull back into Bremerton, you will have lots of distractions like wanting to be out
doing other things or spending time with family. A lot of these qualifications are harder to obtain when you are in the yards and that should be a really big driving factor to get these things done.” Deployment provides a prime opportunity to get a considerable amount of qualifications knocked out of the way. Setting little goals and working towards something can also serve as a distraction and help time pass quicker. “The plan when we get home is to take a knee for about a month,” said Hailey. “We’ve been working everyone hard. After that, we’re going to come back and jump right into getting everyone ready for dry dock in March.” With nearly three months left of deployment, the faces of the Sailors slowly start to brighten. Their eyes tell the same story of tenacity and determination as it did before, though they must not lose sight of what is in front of them: the finish line to the marathon. “We have to remember that every day done is one day closer to home,” said Hailey.
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crossword
channel list CH. 02- TRAINING CH. 03- MOVIE CHANNEL CH. 04- MOVIE CHANNEL CH. 05- MOVIE CHANNEL CH. 06- AFN CH. 07- AFN CH. 08- AFN CH. 09- MOVIE CHANNEL CH. 10- ILARTS CH. 11- MOVIE CHANNEL CH. 12- TRAINING CH. 13- SCROLLER
SuDOKU
Find Chester Admiral Chester Nimitz’s face is hidden somewhere in every Nimitz News. Can you find him?
Brainteaser
Nimitz sails past Seattle heading home to Bremerton in 1991.
There are four possible outcomes when you flip two coins: heads & heads, tails & tails, heads & tails, or tails & heads. Because at least one of the coins is tails, that leaves you with only three possible outcomes. Out of these three outcomes only one of them satisfies the condition of both coins coming up tails, therefore the probablility for both coins being tails is 1/3.
weekly throwback
Your friend flips two coins behind your back and tells you: “At least one of the coins came up tails.” What is the probability that both coins came up tails?
Nimitz News accepts submissions in writing. All submissions are subject to review and editing. “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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