ROUGH RIDER USS THEODORE ROOSEVELT (CVN 71)
APRIL 26, 2013
Taking the
Lead
Theodore Roosevelt Carrier Strike Group Receives New Commander
it’s all about the
kids
TR celebrates the month of the military child story and photos by MCSN Christopher A. Liaghat
2
NEWPORT NEWS, Va. (April 19, 2013) — In 1982 the U.S. Senate and the House of Representatives set aside the week of June 6-12 to raise awareness for the prevention of child abuse. The following year, the entire month of April was declared Child Abuse Prevention Month. Since the program’s inception, programs, activities and ceremonies promoting the prevention of child abuse have been held across the country during April of each year. “This is the time to focus our attention on prevention efforts that support parents and create healthier communities for our children,” said Erica S. Charity, Fleet and Family Support Center (FFSC) command representative and domestic violence prevention educator. “Each year children die due to child abuse and neglect. The highest percentage of child victims for abuse and neglect are under the age of three.” To combat this trend Congress mandated the FFSC New Parent Support Home Visitation Program (NPSHVP), a program offering free support services to families with children under the age of three. “The program’s mission is to educate parents on healthy parenting practices that would ultimately minimize the risk for child abuse and neglect,” said Charity. Not long after the creation of Child Abuse Prevention Month, former Defense Secretary Caspar Weinberger started The Month of the Military Child in 1986 as a way to honor the children of U.S. military members throughout the month of April. One resource that Sailors who are nearing deployment can take advantage of is Commander Navy Installations Command (CINC) readiness programs. These programs offer a wide variety of resources to assist Commands, Sailors and their families with the stresses that deployment can have on families. CINC provides information on its website, cnic.navy.mil, about deployment readiness programs that can connect parents with resources for children, including assistance with child care and providing an online community for military children. Sailor’s who have children with special needs can also help their children by enrolling in The Exceptional Family Member Program (EFMP). EFMP is a multidisciplinary assignment tool that works
with other military and civilian agencies to provide complete and coordinated medical, educational, community and personnel support to military families with special needs. Sailors interested in the program should contact their local EFMP coordinator for additional information. The focus on children in April can also extend to Sailors with children entering adulthood. Military members can help their older children by transferring to them their unused Post9/11 GI Bill benefits. Approved service members with six years of service who commit to an additional four years of service can transfer the benefit of a college education to their child. Children who are eligible are entitled to a monthly housing allowance as well as a books and supplies stipend. Children can also receive benefits more than 15 years after their parent’s last separation from Active Duty. However, children may not be transferred Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits until they have reached 18 years of age or until they have attained a secondary school diploma or equivalency certificate, and may not use the benefit after 26 years of age. According to the TR Personnel Department, there are approximately 836 Sailors with children serving aboard the TR. The month of April is a time to remember the sacrifices they make and the challenges they face as the ship returns to the operational fleet. Kid-friendly community events coming up include: • 1st Annual 5K Sexual Assault Awareness Month Fun Run on Friday, April 26 from 11–1 p.m. at WPNSTA Yorktown Gym. • Community Empowerment Fair on Saturday, April 27 from 9-3 p.m. at the Peninsula Town Center, Hampton, Va. • 2013 Children’s Festival of Friends on Saturday, May 4 from 10-5 p.m. at Newport News Park. For more information about NPSHVP and other resources contact the Fleet and Family Support Center at (757)887-4606. Join the conversation with TR online at www.facebook.com/ USSTheodoreRoosevelt and www.twitter.com/The RealCVN71. For more news from USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71), visit www.navy.mil/local/cvn71/.
Interior Communications Electrician 2nd Class Marco Chavarria attends a children’s safari with his daughter at Naval Weapons Station Yorktown
Kid-friendly community events coming up this month:
1st Annual 5K Sexual Assault Awareness Month Fun Run on Friday, April 26 from 11–1 p.m. at WPNSTA Yorktown Gym. Community Empowerment Fair on Saturday, April 27 from 9-3 p.m. at the Peninsula Town Center, Hampton, Va. 2013 Children’s Festival of Friends on Saturday, May 4 from 10-5 p.m. at Newport News Park.
3
Carrier (Flagship)
Carrier Strike Gr holds change o Story by MC3 (SW) Brian G. Reynolds
Cruisers
Destroyers
Recently, Rear Adm. Kevin J. Kovacich, Commander, Carrier Strike Group 12 (CCSG-12) visited USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71). Operationally, CCSG-12 is also Commander, Theodore Roosevelt Carrier Strike Group, serving as Immediate Superior in Command for USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71), Carrier Air Wing One (CVW 1), Destroyer Squadron TWO (CDS 2), USS Normandy, and USS Vicksburg. CCSG 12 exercises oversight of unit level and integrated phase training and overall operational readiness for the entire Strike Group. Periodically, we will provide information about the other assets included in the strike group. On April 15, Carrier Strike Group (CSG) 12 held a change of command ceremony at the Pennsylvania House on Norfolk Naval Base. During the ceremony, Kovacich relieved Rear Adm. Walter E. “Slapshot” Carter, Jr. as Commander, CSG 12. Carter assumed command of CSG 12 in October 2011 and led the strike group through a wide array of missions and exercises, including the 25th and final deployment of the Enterprise Carrier Strike Group (ENTCSG) “Slapshot, you’ve done a phenomenal job,” said Adm. Bill Gortney, Commander, U.S. Fleet Forces Command. “If you want to know how a strike group commander should command, then this is it.” “When you get to the point where you have a team as good as we’ve had here with the Enterprise Carrier Strike Group – and now
“
4
Commander, CSG-12 Rear Adm. Kevin J. Kovacich
We will d the CNO ha us with – tha operating fo always read
roup 12 of command the Theodore Roosevelt Carrier Strike Group - it means I have a long string of thank yous,” said Carter. Carter went on to thank several of the members of CSG-12 along with many others. Carter, a native of Pascoag, R.I., graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1981 and was designated a naval flight officer in 1982. He graduated from the U.S. Navy Fighter Weapons School (Top Gun) in the last all-Phantom class in 1985. His next assignment will be president of the Naval War College in Newport, R.I. “We have some challenges ahead,” said Kovacich. “We will do the exact things the CNO has already entrusted us with – that is war fighting first, operating forward and being always ready. I’m convinced that we will be -once again - the lead service as we come out of this [sequestration].” Kovacich, previously the Director, Joint Capabilities and Integration Division (N83), Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, in Washington, D.C., is a 1980 graduate of California State Polytechnic University at Pomona, with a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting. He worked as a Certified Public Accountant before joining the Navy in 1983 through the Aviation Officer Candidate Program. Kovacich earned a Master of Political Science from Auburn University Staff College. Join the conversation with TR online at www.facebook.com/USSTheodoreRoosevelt and WWW.Twitter.com/The RealCVN71. For more news from USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71), visit www.navy.mil/ local/cvn71/.
do the exact things as already entrusted at is war fighting first, orward and being dy.
VFA-11 The Red Rippers
VAQ-137 The Rooks
VFA-211 Checkmates
VMFA-251 Thunderbolts
HS-11 Dragonslayers
VAW-123 Screwtops
VRC-40 Rawhides
VFA-136 Knighthawks
5
&
Changing Appearances Changing Lives Story by MCSN Christopher A. Liaghat and MC3 (SW) Brian G. Reynolds
Hospital Corpsman 2nd Class Adra P. June A young Dominican child shied away from Hospital Corpsman 2nd Class Adra P. June as she attempted to comfort him. He wouldn’t even look her in the eye. He was embarrassed and traumatized because of the way he looked. His face was disfigured and missing a critical feature. A void stared June in the face where his nose should have been. As if the child’s facial deformity was not enough, he was also devastatingly poor – leaving the odds of ever being able to afford medical attention very slim. Normally this affliction would be something that the child would have to live with for the rest of his life. Healthcare in developing countries like the Dominican Republic is not exactly up to par with the more advanced countries like the United States. This is where June’s expertise comes in. “He was a six-year-old child and the most traumatic case we saw,” said June. “While he and his brother
6
were playing, his brother bit his nose off. He had no nose, just empty space. When I saw him the first year and introduced myself, he wouldn’t even look at me. Gradually every year he came back and now he has a regular nose. This past year, he was at the hospital when we got there and he ran up and hugged me and said, ‘thank you so much, you changed my life.’ That one is my personal favorite.” June is a surgical technician stationed aboard the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71). Three years ago while on deployment to Afghanistan, a friend asked her if she would like to join an Army and Navy medical team on a joint mission to help people with facial deformities. The team is based out of Bethesda, Md. at the Navy National Medical Center. Surgeons, who go on the mission every year, select surgical technicians from all over the world. “When I got picked, I was flattered,” said June. “I was in Afghanistan working with a plastic surgeon from Bethesda and his tech was one of my friends. Since I’m from the Dominican Republic and I speak the language, she suggested I help. I got back from Afghanistan in February. They called me and ask if I’d like to go and I left for the mission in March.” The team offers their services for free and even pays for buses to go out to small towns in the country and bring people back to the hospital. Patients and their families stay at the hospital for the surgery and the post-op, which lasts a few days after surgery. “They start advertising that we are coming a month out,” said June. “We get patients from all over the country. The farthest one was from the border of Haiti.” “The first day we get there, everything is flown in on big pallets and we set up two operating rooms (OR),” said June. “It’s not like an OR here in the states. It’s a Third World country, so it’s really out dated. The only thing of theirs we use is the OR bed.”
While June and the rest of the team set up the operating rooms, doctors are busy screening patients and deciding which ones they are able to help. Not all patients receive treatment. If a patient’s risk level outweighs the benefits of the surgery, they are turned away. “In medicine we call it ‘life over limb,’” said June. “The most challenging part of the job is when we can’t help somebody, but if the cons outweigh the pros we won’t do the operation. Saying ‘no’ to a family that came from three hours away is hard, but we can’t help everybody.” The importance of screening became very real for June when a routine cleft-lip operation on a threeyear-old child nearly took a turn for the worse. “We almost lost him,” June said. “He started having bronchial spasms. His airway was compromised and his oxygen level dropped dramatically. He was there for a cleft lip. That is a pretty simple procedure, but a lot of those kids have colds and their parents can’t afford to buy them medicine. If you have a lot of mucus in your nose and throat, then it makes it hard for us to do our job.” After three years on the team, June is being recommended for a Humanitarian Service Medal. “After dramatically changing someone’s life and appearance, it can be different coming back here since the work we’re doing now doesn’t give instant results,” said June. “I like going because I was born there, so it’s a personal thing for me. I try to go as my way of giving back.”
“
This past year, he was at the hospital when we got there and he ran up and hugged me and said, ‘thank you so much, you changed my life.’ That one is my personal favorite.
”
-- HM2 Adra June
7
photos of the month
2)
1)
3)
1) Ship’s Serviceman 3rd Class Isaac H. Jenkins performs maintenance on a drain in the XO’s head. Jenkins is doing proper maintenance - using an MRC and wearing the proper PPE. (Photo by MC3 Cory Asato) 2) Culinary Specialist Seaman Jeremey Jones stirs a copper of soup in the galley (Photo by MCSN Christopher Liaghat)
8
4)
3) TR’s Command Master Chief, Jack R. Callison, receives a Meritorious Service Medal from Capt. Daniel Grieco during an all-hands quarters. The new CMC will report onboard in late April and CMC Calllison will leave in early May. (Photo by MC3 (SW) Brian Reynolds) 4) Members of TR’s Run Club go for a jog at Huntington Hall. (Photo by MC2 (IDW) Eric Lockwood)
9
Photo Feature: Anchor Drop
1
10
2
3
Boatswain’s Mate 2nd Class Mercy Terry poses with Lt. Cmdr. Little and Capt. Daniel Grieco. Terry was commended for calling in a pierside safety violation when a boat drove beneath the anchor as it was being made ready to drop.
1. Seaman Apprentice Nicholas Ferrari checks the anchor chain during the anchoring evolution. 2. Boatswain’s Mate Seaman Jonathan Huckeba, left, and Boatswain’s Mate 3rd Class Michael Coleman, right, turn the brakewheel during the anchoring evolution pierside 3. Boatswain’s Mate Seaman Jonathan Fioris turns the brakewheel during the anchoring evolution pierside 4. TR conducts an anchoring evolution pierside
4 11
photos from around the fleet Ensign Kristine Mun keeps an eye out for contacts from the bridge of the forward-deployed amphibious dock landing ship USS Tortuga (LSD 46) as the ship transits toward White Beach, Okinawa. Tortuga is part of the Bonhomme Richard Amphibious Ready Group, on deployment in the U.S. 7th Fleet area of responsibility. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Amanda S. Kitchner/ Released) Sailors assigned to the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Pinckney (DDG 91) conduct an Earth Day beach clean up organized by Volunteer Ventura! at Harbor Cove. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Daniel M. Young/ Released) Rear Adm. Bill Lescher, commander of Expeditionary Strike Group (ESG) 5, speaks with Sailors and Marines aboard the amphibious assault ship USS Kearsarge (LHD 3). Kearsarge is the flagship for the Kearsarge Amphibious Ready Group and, with the embarked 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit (26th MEU), is deployed in support of maritime security operations and theater security cooperation efforts in the U.S. 5th Fleet area of responsibility. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Abraham Essenmacher/Released)
12
ROUGH RIDER of the
WEEK
Yeoman Seaman
Matthew Quenga
Hometown: Sacramento, Calif. How long have you been in the Navy? “I’ve been in the Navy since Jan. 12, 2012.”
What are your goals while you are in the Navy? “To finish my BA degree, make 2nd Class and to become dual qualified.” Why do you think that you were chosen for Rough Rider of the Week? “I get my work done in a timely manner. I am willing to go above and beyond to help my customers and am always a team player” What are your hobbies? “I enjoy working out, outdoor activities and reading murder mysteries.”
13
May
Asian/Pacific Islander Heritage Month
5
Cinco de Mayo
27
12
Mother’s Day
Memorial Day
9-10
24-22
XO Readiness Exercise
XO Readiness Exercise
TR PhotoFind
TR The Man
Cat
NES Controller
Batman
World
Penny
Broom
14
1. What is the Command Climate Assessment? A: The Command climate assessment is an annual survey administered by the command to, simply said “check the command pulse” on morale, Equal Opportunity and Command programs. This year the Assessment coincides with the change in Commanding Officer. 2. When is the Command Climate Assessment? A. April 29 3. Why should I participate in the Assessment? A. This assessment will give you a voice, the past cannot be changed but the future is what we make it. The only way that we can make a change is by knowing what the positives and negatives are. Examples of questions that will be asked are, do you think the award system aboard is fair? Are there any Equal Opportunity issues? What are the positives in the command? 4. How can I participate? A. Each Sailor will receive a password and access to the website. 5. Is The Assessment Anonymous? A. YES, the only information that is gathered is demographics. NO ONE WILL KNOW YOU SUBMITTED THE DATA.
2013 COMMAND CLIMATE ASSESSMENT APRIL 29 - MAY 10
Staff Commanding Officer Capt. Daniel Grieco Executive Officer Capt. Mark Colombo Public Affairs Officer Lt. Cmdr. Patrick Evans Media Officer Lt. j.g. Michael Larson Senior Editor MCCS (SW/AW/EXW) David Collins Public Affairs Supervisor MC2 Sean Hurt Editor MC3(SW) Brian G. Reynolds Layout MC2 Sean Hurt MC3(SW) Brian Reynolds Rough Rider Contributors MC2(IDW) Eric Lockwood MC3(SW) Brian Reynolds MC3 Cory Asato MCSN Christopher Liaghat Command Ombudsman April Kumley cvn71ombudsman@yahoo.com The Rough Rider is an authorized publication for the crew of USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71). Contents herein are not necessarily the views of, or endorsed by, the U.S. government, Department of Defense, Department of the Navy or the Commanding Officer of TR. All items for publication in the The Rough Rider must be submitted to the editor no later than three days prior to publication. Do you have a story you’d like to see in the Rough Rider? Contact the Media Department at 534-1406 or stop by 3-180-0-Q.
15