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STOCKING UP Supply prepares for galley openings
September 28, 2012
EXTREME SHIP MAKEOVER Sailors overhaul rusted spaces
Story and photo by MC3 (IDW) Eric Lockwood USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71) Public Affairs
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CHIPPING AWAY
SAILORS WORK THROUGH 10
hree Sailors stationed aboard USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71) are currently in the process of rehabilitating seven spaces that have hardly been touched in more than a decade. Damage Controlman Fireman Anthony Brooks, Hull Technician Firemen Michael Slater, and Mayra Sanchez of Engineering Department’s A-Division spend their days needle gunning, grinding deck, chipping paint, pulling rust off walls, and shoveling the deck of their mess in the ship’s catapult vent piping rooms. When they first started, Brooks said the team was carrying about 12 bags of trash from the spaces each day. “We had to shower three times a day to get all the dirt off,” Sanchez said. In addition to the spaces being open to the outside, and therefore the open ocean, they also served as the exhaust pipes of the ship. Chief Machinist’s Mate (SW/AW) Lucas Foster from A-division said the team had to work through a 10-year buildup of sea salt, rusted metal, chipped paint, corrosion, and fumes that had accumulated all around the spaces from top to bottom. One room was so bad they christened it the “Red Room.” “It looked like a scene out of Mars,” explained Brooks. “It was rusted through so thoroughly we punched through to the outside of the ship while needle gunning. We weren’t sure if the deck was stable enough to grind.” He was unsure because when they sound tested the deck a hollow sound rung through their ears. A solid deck produces more of a “thud” when tested. Originally, the job was going to be put off until the ship’s next Planned Incremental Availability Period (PIA), but since the spaces were in such bad shape ADivision decided to proceed with the repairs before then. Damage Controlman Fireman Anthony Brooks needle guns an overThe overall task was obviously daunting to these head in one of TR’s catapult vent piping spaces Sept. 19. young Sailors, but they said they found ways to keep themselves motivated. basis. “The journey of a thousand miles starts with one “Sometimes random chiefs would come through and praise us,” step,” Brooks said. Foster said he tried to help boost morale for his team said Sanchez. “It helped a lot.” The overall amount of money these three Sailors saved the Navy by letting other chiefs around the ship know about the impressive work they were doing in the space on a daily ran in excess of tens of thousands of dollars, said Foster. Page 2
Story and photo by MC2 (SW) Austin Rooney USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71) Public Affairs
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MEET ET3 HARRIS
Inventor, pilot, carpenter, Sailor
hat do remodeling houses, building custom furniture, flying airplanes, inventing power tools, and eating a teaspoon of cinnamon in under a minute all have in common? Electronics Technician 3rd Class Roy Harris is an expert at all of them. Growing up in Mayport, NY, Harris developed unique hobbies early on. Since he was an only child, Harris learned that he had to make his own entertainment, which is how he got started reading textbooks and dictionaries. “It’s sort of a hobby of mine to learn about different fields,” said Harris. “I used to read textbooks from classes I wasn’t enrolled in just to learn on my own.” It wasn’t all about academics for Harris; he also spent a lot of his time helping his father work on re-facing kitchens and building furniture, a skill that he honed while working on nearly 400 kitchens in New York. Harris’s father, an ex-Army electrician, eventually began teaching him about electronics, something that would begin to define his life. Once he mastered the basics, Harris started finding practical applications for his newfound skill. “I started building little inventions to make our job easier,” said Harris. “I just kept it as a hobby and kept inventing things.” As his interest in electricity grew, so did his interest in a diverse range of other hobbies—namely his dream to fly. While he was attending the Brookhaven Career Center School for electronics, he decided he would take flying lessons and attempt to earn his pilot’s license. Harris said that on his first day of flight school the instructor told half of the class to stand up. That half of the class, the instructor told them, would probably fail. The half sitting down was also likely to fail. Harris did not fail. Instead he became one of four out of the original 25 students who ended up earning their license from the class. “My first solo flight was hard to describe,” said Harris. “It was a really proud moment for me.” When Harris decided to join the Navy, his love of electronics trumped his love of flying, and he became an electronics technician. Since joining the rate, Harris has kept his love of inventing alive. In his designated “lab” at home, he has invented everything from a belt that lights up when fastened, a thermos that cools itself, and a replica of the “proton pack” from the movie Ghost Busters. He also invented a tool for testing the amplifiers and toners on Navy sound-powered phones, an invention he plans on submitting to the Military Cash Awards Program (MILCAP), an incentives program that awards inventors up to $25,000 for ideas that will benefit the Navy. “I like to try to make tools that are useful to people when I’m not just having fun,” Harris said of his inventions. “Right now I’m working on a way to keep camelbacks cool.” Harris’s hobbies and skills have all come in handy since he joined the Navy. His skill for inventing tools is helpful for his job with USS Theodore Roosevelt’s (CVN 71) Combat Systems
Electronics Technician 3rd Class Roy Harris shows off his latest invention, a portable cooler designed to keep Camelbaks cold, in his work center onboard USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71) Sept. 26.
department, since the ship’s current work environment is very industrial and requires a lot of maintenance and upkeep. Another skill that Harris gets to use on a daily basis is his love for entertaining people. Since workdays are longer on the ship and the work is getting harder in his division, Harris says he always tries to keep up a good attitude and entertain those around him. Sometimes with jokes, other times with unusual skills, such as completing the “cinnamon challenge,” which consists of eating a teaspoon of cinnamon in under one minute. “I’m kind of the ‘class clown’ for my division,” admitted Harris Harris said he has not yet decided whether he will make the Navy a career, but he is sure that no matter where he ends up he will never stop inventing things. He also plans someday to buy his own airplane for recreational use, as well as, upgrade his home laboratory to be able to handle more electricity.
MC2 Rooney is currently trying to find TR’s most interesting Sailor. If you know of a Sailor with unique hobbies or an interesting background (or if you think you are the most interesting person on the ship) please contact Rooney at rooney.austin@cvn71.navy.mil, or call the Media Department at 4-1406. Page 3
STOCKING
UP
SUPPLY PREPARES TO OPEN NEW GALLEYS
Story and photos by SN Eric Norcross USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71) Public Affairs
B
eef loin t-bones, western omelets, shrimp, loaded potato skins, danishes, brownies, and ice cream are some of the items Sailors can expect from the galley
in the near future as USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71) goes to the Navy-wide 21-day cycle menu, starting Oct. 1. When the basic allowance for sustinence (BAS) ends next month, more Sailors will utilize the food services aboard TR for their daily meals. With the expected influx of Sailors eating at the galley, additional food supplies are needed. “We have been working a modified menu to take care of who we’re feeding in the shipyard right now, with Sailors still
“USUALLY WE ONLY RECEIVE SIX PALLETS OF FOOD. THIS WEEK WE HAD 65, TOTALING ALMOST $150,000.”
receiving BAS and being able to go out and purchase food,” said Master Chief Culinary Specialist (SW/AW) Stephan Jones. “With BAS going away on Oct. 1, we will be ordering more food to accommodate the increased amount of Sailors now eating aboard the ship.” Beginning Sept. 27, larger shipments of food provisions will arrive onboard TR to support the Navy-wide 21-day cycle menu. “We bring in food stores every Tuesday and Thursday, for the most part,” said Culinary Specialist 2nd Class Robert Westphal. “Usually we only receive six pallets of food. This week we had 65 pallets, totaling almost $150,000.” When a shipment arrives, Westphal and his cargo team from Supply Department’s S-2 Division have the task of getting the food from the hangar bay to the storerooms located several decks down. “The shipyard workers deliver them to the hangar bay. Then we send them down to the storerooms with the support of A Division from Engineering Department, who helps us man the conveyors,” explained Culinary Specialist 1st Class (SW/AW) Christopher Stebbins, S-2’s cargo supervisor. When storerooms are completely stocked, the fully-manned ship can be fed for 90 days. Currently five of 12 storerooms are available, but more are expected to open in the coming weeks, according to Stebbins. “The more galleys we open up, the more food we need,” explained Culinary Specialist Seaman Joseph Nunley, part of TR’s cargo team. “The more food we need, the more storerooms we need.” While there is a push to get more storerooms turned over to S-2 Division to become closer to fully operational, the need for
Culinary Specialist Seaman Joseph Nunley, assigned to S-2 Division’s cargo team, helps unload boxes of frozen food into a storage space onboard USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71) Sept. 25.
these additional spaces is not imperative at this time. “Yes, the increase amount of food we order will lead to more storerooms opening up,” said Jones. “However, we can support it with the holding areas we have right now.”
DC 301-306
DC 307
ROAD TO ESWS ONE SAILOR’S JOURNEY BEGINS
DC 308
3M 301
3M 302
3M 303
DCPO
MOOW
POOW
AMR
BOOKS
TEST
WALK THRU
BOARD 1
BOARD 2
Story and photo by MCSN Casey Cosker USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71) Public Affairs
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ike many other junior Sailors onboard USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71), I was given a large packet upon my arrival to this command in May. I was told that I should get many people to sign many signatures on the many pages of this packet. This, along with professional knowledge that I would exhibit through answering questions on an examination and in two boards staffed with people who outrank me, would qualify me to wear an enlisted surface warfare specialist (ESWS) pin. I knew that getting the pin was mandatory, but what would it qualify me to do? How would it benefit my naval career? More to the point, who were these people who would sign their names in my packet? These were the questions I ignored as I, like many other junior Sailors, shoved my large packet into a drawer in my room at Huntington Hall. Recently I have decided how I will go about answering these questions: journalism. As a Mass Communication Specialist (MC), it is my job to tell stories about the Navy. While many of these stories are about Sailors going on runs, picking up
trash in communities or learning about the benefits of not drinking alcohol prior to operating a motor vehicle, it occurred to me that I could use my skills as an MC to tell my story as I blunder my way toward earning my ESWS so that other Sailors aboard TR might have a better idea about the process. Someone, I think, although I can’t remember who, told me that my duty fire marshal had to give me a test to qualify for DC 307. So I spoke to Damage Controlman 2nd Class (SW/AW) Donnell Chapman Sept. 14 about taking the test for DC 307, which I failed spectacularly. Chapman went over the test with me and explained the answers I’d gotten wrong. I took time in the next week to study my DC handbook. I read everything the handbook had to say on patching, plugging, shoring and dewatering, and on my next duty day, Sept. 22, I went back to Chapman to take the test. “All right,” Chapman said. “You got your PQS’s with you?” I drew a blank. I was pretty sure I’d heard of something called a PQS before. Apparently, Chapman informed me,
KNOW YOUR RATE
SHIP’S SERVICEMAN
W
hen Sailors are deployed or in port, their job performance and mission readiness rests on one important factor: their morale. Morale can be boosted in a variety of ways, and basic services, such as vending machines, snacks and free haircuts go a long way to Page 6
accomplish that goal. Ship’s Serviceman (SH) are the Sailors who are assigned to manage and operate all shipboard retail and service activities, including those mentioned above. “We work the vending machines, barber shop, laundry and the ship’s store,” said Ship’s Serviceman Seaman Tamara Pope, assigned to USS Theodore Roosevelt’s (CVN 71) Supply Department’s S-3 division. Originally, said Senior Chief Ship’s Serviceman (SW/AW) Sharon E. Franck, back in the 19th century those we would call Ship’s Servicemen today were stewards to the commanding officer. In 1943, the rate was officially established, and today there are more than 2,400 SHs in the fleet. “The barber shop provides free hair-
I had to have several pages worth of DC 307 prerequisites signed by more than one damage controlman before I could take the test. Chapman sent me to Damage Control Central to talk with Damage Controlman (SW) 3rd Class David Boone about DC 307. Boone and Fireman (SW) Shaunna Edwards reviewed with me everything I’d studied for in my DC handbook and more. We discussed everything from dewatering a space with a perijet eductor to what a damage controlman would do in the event of a nuclear detonation. “Is this how all PQS’s work?” I asked. “You sit down with someone and go over the material and have them educate you?” “That’s how it should work,” Edwards said. I met with Chapman afterward. He administered the DC 307 test. I passed, and he signed off on my PQS. I was now one step closer to earning my ESWS pin. I, MCSN Cosker, am on a quest to earn my ESWS pin. If you think you can help or have a way to make this process more streamlined, email me at coskercp@cvn71.navy.mil or call the Media Department at 4-1406.
Story and photo by MC3 (IDW) Eric Lockwood USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71) Public Affairs
cuts for Sailors on the ship,” said Pope. “The store is basically for the crew living on the ship day to day, but we also have vending machines in case the store is closed.” The rate also provides Sailors with excellent opportunities should they decide to leave the Navy. Sailors will learn premium skills in retail, marketing and management that will potentially make them much more attractive to post-Navy employers. “With my experience in this rate I could open my own store if I wanted to,” Pope explained. Pope summed up her rate as one that provides much needed morale to the Sailors it serves. “The people need to be able to come into the ship’s store and get a snack after a long days work,” she said.
PHOTO OF THE WEEK
Staff Commanding Officer Capt. William Hart Executive Officer Cmdr. Mark Colombo Public Affairs Officer Lt. Cmdr. Patrick Evans Media Officer Lt. j.g. Michael Larson Senior Editor MCCS (SW/AW/EXW) David Collins Editor MC2 (SW) Austin Rooney Layout MC3 Katie Lash
Seaman Holly Baver, assigned to USS Theodore Roosevelt’s (CVN 71) Deck Department, takes measurements in a space before laying down nonskid Sept. 19. Photo by SN Eric Norcross
PHOTO FIND Can you find the 8 out of place items in this photo? 1. TR the Man 2. Snowman 3. McLovin 4. Smiley face 5. Tack 6. Earth 7. Waldo 8. Orange Machinist Mate Fireman Ariel Marquis receives her annual influenza vaccine Sept. 19. Photo by MC3 (SW/AW) John Paul Kotara II. Photo Illustration by MCSN Casey Cosker.
Hispanic Heritage Month
Rough Rider Contributors MCSN Casey Cosker MC3 (IDW) Eric Lockwood SN Eric Norcross Command Ombudsmen 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 5341406 or stop by 3-180-0-Q.
The Diversity Team will be hosting a Hispanic Heritage Month celebration Thursday, Oct. 4 from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m. in Wardroom 3 (2-200-0-L). Following the program, a special Hispanic meal will be served on the aft mess decks for lunch. Page 7