Nimitz News, Feb. 3, 2011

February 3, 2011

Vol. 36, No. 5

Injuries on the rise

Culinary Specialist Seaman Qudus Sannie prepares salad for lunch, Feb. 2. Nimitz was awarded the Edward F. Ney Award for their excellence in food service.

Nimitz wins Ney Award

By Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Shayne Johnson USS Nimitz (CVN 68) was U.S. Navy,” said Captain Paul awarded First Place in the Monger, commanding officer aircraft carrier category for of Nimitz. the Captain Edward F. Ney The award recognizes the Memorial Food Service Award, work of Nimitz’ entire food Jan. 27. service operation – leadership, The award, established culinary specialists and food in 1958 by the Secretary of service attendants. the Navy and International Food Service Assistants Food Service Executives (FSA) also had a lot to do Association, recognizes the with winning the Ney Award, quality of food services in said Chief Culinary Specialist the Navy, and encourages (SW/AW) Jade Metz, food excellence in Navy food production chief of S-2 division services. of the Supply Department.

“Of course, I’ll tell you that “FSA’s are critical to our we have the best (food service operation. They are a vital operation) in the entire world, part to our S-2 division,” said but we definitely have the best Metz. among all of the carriers in the “I am extremely proud of

our CS’s and the FSA’s,” said Metz. “It’s like being a coach of a football team. You have these people come together as a team and see them do their work on their own. It’s the Ney Award. You’re the best of the best in the fleet.”

Culinary Specialist 1st Class (SW/AW) Gerardo Martinez is excited about Nimitz winning the award.

“The Ney Award is the best recognition in food service. It doesn’t get better than that,” said Martinez.

“I’m proud to be a part of a team that’s known as the best in the fleet,” said Information See Ney Award on pg. 6

By MC2 Nathan Gomez Since arriving in Bremerton, 19 accidents, 12 on duty and 7 off duty, have been reported to Nimitz’ Safety Department.

In the past week, a Nimitz Sailor fell two decks while climbing down a vertical ladder.

The Sailor was treated and released for recovery.

Initial safety reports indicate the Sailor failed to follow the “3-points of contact on a ladder” rule.

Also in the past week, two ship yard workers cut into live 110 and 440 volt wires. which could have resulted in death.

“We need to take a good look out there and remember it’s each one of our responsibilities to watch out for ourselves,” said Capt. Paul O. Monger, Nimitz Command Officer. “If you see something wrong, report it.”

Nimitz Sailors are working daily in an environment that is unfamiliar to them.

“The yard area is far more dangerous than launching planes at sea,” said Cdr. Todd McVay, Nimitz Safety Officer. “When we go out and operate [at sea], everyone is trained for their job and everyone knows how to keep each other safe.”

There seems to be a lack of respect for the yards, said McVay. Sailors aren’t using situational awareness, which is a primary cause of recent accidents.

“Now, more than ever, we live, eat, and sleep in an industrial environment. We have to pay particular attention to our surroundings,” said Nimitz Command Master Chief William LloydOwen.”It’s not just the job at hand, but it’s also the getting to and from the ship and barge where things can happen.”

“Take Two For Safety”, a Nimitz Safety Department document concerning 10 different accidents and incidents on or around the ship, been distributed to departments for review during quarters or during a training session.

See Safety on pg. 6

Eye on the Fleet Navy Announces New Uniform Components And Rules (NAVY NEWS SERVICE 27 JAN 11) Chief of Naval Personnel Public Affairs

WASHINGTON -- The chief of naval operations approved Navy Uniform Board recommendations Jan. 25.

The recommendations include a new cutlass for chiefs, an overblouse for female officers and chiefs, updated rules for portable communication devices and clarification on the manner of wear for flight suits.

“Whether addressing new proposals or updating old regulations to the current operating environment, the Uniform Board has taken input from the fleet and provided the best recommendations and proposed solutions for CNO’s approval,” said Capt. William Park, head, Officer Personnel Plans and Policy, who also oversees the Uniform Matters Office. “The result is a set of adaptive uniform regulations that maintains the professional appearance of our Sailors.”

Designed to be worn by members of an official party during ceremonies requiring officers to wear swords, the chief petty officer (CPO) cutlass may be the most visible of the announced uniform changes. With a twentysix inch stainless steel blade and four laser engraved CPO anchors (CPO, SCPO, MCPO and MCPON) on the base, the new cutlass is expected to be available for purchase in August.

As an optional uniform item, the Uniform Board sought to ensure uniformity in appearance by directing the cutlass to be worn only when all members of an official party are wearing swords.

The next change was the approval of an overblouse option for female officers and chiefs when wearing the poly/wool service khaki uniform. Since the roll-out of the service uniform for junior enlisted, the Office of Women’s Policy had received regular feedback from the fleet, requesting a similar overblouse option for female officers and CPOs to wear with their service khaki uniform. When this change takes effect in sixty days, female officers and CPOs will be able to wear the overblouse with slacks or skirts.

Portable electronic devices were another topic of concern for Sailors, which prompted the Uniform Board to make several noteworthy Commanding Officer CAPT Paul Monger

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Nimitz News

February 3, 2011

changes. Effective 60 days from the announcement, Sailors will be authorized to use these devices while in their service or working uniform, to include when walking. Although authorized, the device must be conservative in color and design, cannot distract from the appearance of the uniform, must be worn on the belt aft of the elbow and cannot interfere with the rendering of military courtesies and honors.

The final set of changes announced in the update were regarding the manner of wear for the aircrew flight suit. While in the continental United States, the green flight suit will be worn with a black undershirt, while overseas, aircrew may wear tan flight suits with brown undershirts as determined by the Navy component commander.

To support the Centennial of Naval Aviation, CNO is allowing flight suits to be worn at designated events in calendar year 2011. A list of these approved Centennial of Naval Aviation events will be released quarterly by Commander, Naval Air Forces.

Gates Says New Military Policy On Gays Can Start Soon (NEW YORK TIMES 27 JAN 11) Thom Shanker and Elisabeth Bumiller

OTTAWA — Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said that the military could be ready this year to carry out the repeal of a ban on gay men and lesbians serving openly in the armed forces, and that he has accelerated efforts to revise training and regulations.

“We don’t know how long it’ll take to train the entire force, but I’m confident we can get it done this year, and we’re shooting to get it done sooner rather than later,” Mr. Gates said late Wednesday as he flew to Ottawa for meetings with his Canadian counterpart. “We will move as fast as we responsibly can.”

Pentagon officials said Thursday that they had nearly finished revising Department of Defense rules on personnel, recruiting and housing and were close to completing plans for the training of commanders and the rank and file.

Mr. Gates said the overall plan “involves several phases: rewriting the regulations, putting together the content of the training, and then ‘tiering’ of the training.” He added, “And the front end of that I’ve asked to be accelerated to get done as quickly as possible.”

Pentagon officials said the defense secretary’s reference to a “tiering” of training referred to different levels of preparation to allow gay and bisexual troops to serve openly: one for

Public Affairs Officer LCDR Steve Ruh

Media Dept MC2 J.D. Levite MC2 Scott McCall Executive Officer Layout/ Designer MC2 James Mitchell CAPT John Ring MCSN Ashley Berumen MC2 Amara Timberlake MC2 Adam Wolfe Command Master Chief Editor MC3 Casey Amdahl CMDCM (AW/SW) William MC2 Nathan Gomez MC3 Ian Cotter Lloyd-Owen MC3 Peter Merrill

senior administrative officials and personnel officers who need a deep understanding of what is permitted or not under the new regulations, another for commanders who will have to carry out the changes in their units and a third for all personnel.

Pentagon officials, who planned to hold a news briefing about their plans on Friday, said the core of the training was expected to communicate to 2.2 million members of the armed forces these basic points: The Defense Department will not require anyone to disclose his or her sexual identity; local commanders are authorized to determine housing and privacy requirements; all service members are expected to conduct themselves in a professional manner and treat one another with dignity and respect; leaders at all levels are to establish a climate of tolerance in their units; harassment or violence toward another service member will not be tolerated and will be dealt with swiftly.

Pentagon officials said each branch of the armed forces was developing its own training plan, although the substance over all would be the same. The officials said they did not know how long the training would take, though a 2010 Pentagon plan for carrying out the repeal recommended that training be simple and efficient, particularly for deployed combat troops. The Pentagon said Thursday that the training would not be available online.

Regarding the rules revisions, Pentagon officials repeated on Thursday that samesex marriages could not be recognized by the Defense Department because they were not recognized under federal law. As a result, the implementation plan does not allow a samesex spouse to live with a partner in military housing, although it holds out the possibility that exceptions could be made. The plan also says that same-sex spouses would not be eligible for the military health care benefits of their partners.

The comments by Mr. Gates on Wednesday followed a pledge President Obama made Tuesday night in his State of the Union address on the timetable for lifting the ban, known as “don’t ask, don’t tell,” which Congress approved in December.

“Our troops come from every corner of this country — they are black, white, Latino, Asian and Native American. They are Christian and Hindu, Jewish and Muslim,” Mr. Obama said.

“And, yes, we know that some of them are gay.

Starting this year, no American will be forbidden from serving the country they love because of who they love.”

MC3 Matthew Patton MC3 Mark Sashegyi MC3 Thomas Siniff MC3 Glenn Slaughter MC3 Nichelle Whitfield MC3 Devin Wray YN3 Sang Nguyen MCSN Shayne Johnson MCSA Alexander Ventura II

“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.