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Standdown
The new year has passed on Big Abe and it’s back to work! RCOH is still running strong, and with the efforts to repair our girl comes added safety risks. Among all the loud machinery and sweat, the threat of hearing loss has become a major concern. Personnel division is still charging hard to take care of each Abe warrior. Despite their relocation to Newport News, they still provide a duty office for Sailors still working on the ship. And among all our hard work, we must still take the time to remember our core values as Sailors, which this week means preventing sexual assualt.
In Tune with Hearing Safety Story by MC3 Jonteil Johnson
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mong the hazards Lincoln Sailors will face during the Refueling Complex Overhaul (RCOH), hearing loss is something a lot of sailors aren’t trained to protect against. Lincoln’s Industrial Safety Officer wants to change that. The human ear contains a spiral-shaped cavity called the cochlea that contains nerve endings vital for hearing.According to Lt. John Engel, Lincoln’s Industrial Safety Officer, if these nerve endings are exposed to noise louder than 85 decibels, it can damage the ear, and noise that loud is common aboard ships in shipyards. “If you think about just being in the hangar bay, a good way to tell if you’re over 85 decibels is if you need to raise your voice to speak to someone who is three feet or one arm’s length away,” said Engel. “You can transit the environment no big deal, but if you’re working in the environment for eight or more hours, then you may need to have protection.” Engel said hearing loss was mainly a concern for sailors who work on the flight deck during flight operations. A single aircraft can create 140 decibels of noise. The pain threshold is only about 104 decibels. So Sailors are required to have double hearing protection on the flight deck. “The thing is, there is no treatment for hearing loss,” said Engel. “The extent of the damage will determine whether it’s temporary or permanent.” Now that Lincoln has started RCOH, Engel said there are many new opportunities for hearing
damage. The Safety Department distributed ear plugs throughout the ship for the crew to utilize. These ear plugs are sufficient protection from most of the hearing hazards aboard Lincoln. In certain areas however, double hearing protection is required. Such spaces are denoted with a sign. In these spaces, it mandatory for a Sailor to wear ear plugs, but it is also mandatory to wear ear muffs over the ear plugs for added protection. “If it’s painful, you’ve probably crossed the 104 decibel threshold,” said Engel. “You should most defintely have hearing protection with you at all times.” Engel said the best way to avoid hearing loss is to have your hearing protection with you at all times and to have easy access to double hearing protection if you’re near an area where it is mandated. Damage to the cochlea is often times irreversible, so the Safety Department encourages Sailors to use good judgment when entering areas that have the potential to be harmful. “Unfortunately, we can’t tell you when you’re going to lose hearing, we can only tell you when you’ve lost it,” said Engel. “A good rule of thumb to go by is when in doubt, wear your hearing protection.”
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Huntington Hall Provides Lincoln with more than a Home Story and photos by MC3 Zachary Welch
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untington Hall serves as the primary bachelor housing for Sailors attached to ships at Newport News Shipyards. The barracks has been a Newport News mainstay for the last 30 years, providing Sailors with housing arrangements and a plethora of amenities to boost morale for the Sailors who call Huntington Hall home. Originally built in 1924, the building once served as Newport News High School, boasting one of the finest athletic fields in Virginia at the time, Saunders Stadium. In 1980, the school closed. The building was then purchased and converted into a housing unit by the Navy. The majority of Sailors who live in Huntington Hall are from aircraft carriers. However, Huntington Hall also provides services to various other military personnel. “The bulk of the Sailors that are here are normally attached to carriers undergoing Refueling and Complex Overhaul (RCOH),” said Leslie Holmes, the facilities manager at Huntington Hall. “We also provide rooms for submarine personnel, as well as rooms that are for Marines when they are here to protect the fuel.” Aside form being a barracks, Huntington Hall boasts an assortment of facilities for Sailors to make use of. Huntington Hall has a recreation center, fully equipped with pool tables, TVs, video game systems, a computer lab, a 12-person movie theatre, and a state of the art gym. The former Sanders Stadium behind the hall was renovated into an artificial turf field with a rubberized track surrounding it.
“This feels like home to me,” said Aviation Boatswain’s Mate (Equipment) Airman Dustin Beitzel, a Sailor stationed aboard aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72). “The rooms are clean, the gym is awesome, there’s a store and even a movie theater to watch DVDs when you’re bored.” The facilities were a part of a recently completed $6 million dollar facelift to Huntington Hall. “We tore down the store building and put a beautiful Astroturf track and field in the back,” said Irene Rawles, the housing management specialist for Huntington Hall. “It has a rubberized track so it’s easier on Sailors’ feet when they run and PT. We used to have a gravel track with potholes and we were always afraid of Sailors running and twisting their ankles and getting hurt.” Rawles said that not only was the track renovated, but the Liberty Center was totally gutted. All new electrical, new heating and air conditioning, and state of the art equipment were installed. The rennovations in the gym included women’s and men’s locker rooms, a sauna, updated basketball goals and the padding on the walls of the basketball court. The resident rooms have been renovated. An aerobics room with CD player, also television and speakers were added during a in the renovation as well as doubling the size of Huntington Hall’s NEX. “With everything Huntington Hall has to offer, Sailors now have a lot of things that are free, fun and safe in the immediate area,” said Rawles.
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Putting a Stop to Sexual Assault Story by MC3 Joshua Walters
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s part of the Navy’s continuing effort to prevent sexual assaults and promote essential culture changes within the force, a SAPR Task Force has been established under the command of the Deputy Chief of Naval Operations for Manpower, Personnel, Training and Education to create sexual assault prevention training for all active and reserve personnel. Sexual assaults wound Service members and families and deeply scar the Navy’s profession. Sexual assault endanger Sailors, violates the Navy’s professional culture and core values, erodes readiness and team cohesion and violates the sacred trust and faith of those who serve and whom the Sailors serve. The Navy now makes sexual assault prevention and response a top priority. Sexual Assault Prevention and Response is not just about a program, it is about leadership. Sexual assault prevention and response must be a part of every-day planning, training and mission execution.
The crime of sexual assault has serious consequences for both the victim and the accused. The severity of these consequences underscores the importance of impartially administering justice in order to promote accountability and confidence that such allegations are taken seriously. Commands exercise accountability through appropriate utilization of the full range of disciplinary options afforded by the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) as well as a variety of administrative measures. DoD’s policy and focus on sexual assault crimes more broadly incorporates numerous inappropriate and prohibited criminal misconducts as well as rape. It also includes other unwanted sexual acts and contact that are aggravated or abusive in nature. Sexual assault is a problem that the Navy faces today, one that can only be resolved as a team effort. It must be a joint force effort of the chain of command and the fleet, worthy of the faith of the American people and the trust of those who serve and with whom the Sailors serve.
USS Abraham Lincoln’s Command SAPR Representitive is Ensign Mercado. His office is located on board at 2-181-2-Q.
Lincoln Sailors
In anticipation of Martin Luther King Day Jr. on Jan. 21, the group of Sailors gathered around the statue for a group photo. “It was cool being here and showing recognition to Martin Luther King Jr.,” said Aviation Boatswain’s Mate (Fuels) 3rd Class Scott Turney. “The whole Story and photos by SN Phylicia Sorenson experience of this trip was something else. I had a great ednesday morning a group of 40 Sailors from time!” USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) travelled to Washington D.C. to learn more about the nation they serve. The first stop, Ford’s Theater, where the ship’s namesake was shot in 1865. Below the theater there is a museum display about Abraham Lincoln growing up, becoming president and all the great things he accomplished as president. “Seeing the history behind the man that our ship is named after,” said Operations Specialist 3rd Class Michael Adams, “makes me honored to call myself a Lincoln Sailor.” “Capt. Karl Thomas, when first arriving at the command, thought it was very important for our Sailors to know the history of the man who our is our ship’s namesake,” said Chief Hospital Corpsman Brandon Carrillo. “I think that this trip was awesome, and I agree with the CO. It is very important for our Sailors to understand who Lincoln was.” After leaving the theater, Sailors went across the street to the Petersen House where Lincoln took his last breath. Replicas of the original furniture remain in place as well as quite a few displays of historical artifacts from Lincoln’s funeral, the chase and capture of the group of conspirators, and the reprecussions of President Lincoln’s death. “It was really amazing to see the videos in the museum about how revered Lincoln was, even after he had died,” said Electric Technician 2nd Class Christian Early. Continuing on, the group walked the National Mall and saw the Washington Monument, the World War II Memorial, Vietnam Memorial, the Lincoln Memorial, the Korean War Memorial, the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial, and the Franklin D. Roosevelt Memorial. After visiting the war Memorials Sailors were in awe of the number of lives given in the fight for freedom. “Just think of all the people who died in these wars,” said Chief Aviation Ordnanceman Andrew Pearson. “To us they are thousands of names on a wall to honor, to their families they were sacrifices for our country.”
Explore Namesake
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PERSONNEL
An Inside Look at Lincoln’s Admin Warriors Story and photo by Seaman Phylicia Sorenson
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incoln’s Personnel division is comprised of 23 Sailors who handle education, advancement, pay and keeping Sailors’ records up to date. The Education Service Office (ESO) is a major key to a Navy career, whether to further education through the variety of classes offered through corresponding colleges or through tuition assistance to a college of the Sailor’s choice. ESO also manages and controls all the paperwork needed for advancement exams and the evaluations to accompany the exams, according to Personnel Specialist 2nd Class Jennifer Brenke. “With exams right around the corner.” said Brenke, “ESO is working hard to make sure all the sailors are getting the best chance to advance.” Personnel is the hidden hero behind our paychecks, ensuring that our pay stays up to date with advancements and deductions. “We are the ones who manage finances when the Navy receives a pay raise or and advancements,”
said Personnel Specialist 3rd Class Megan Mcnulty. “Without us, our Sailors wouldn’t be getting paid properly.” Whether finishing a career, or deciding to continue in the Navy, there are many steps and lots of paperwork. Personnel’s people are trained in making career transitions smooth; and have some advice in making transitions smoother. “Sooner is always better as a general rule,” said Personnel Specialist 2nd Class Hellen Streeter. “The sooner you get your transfer information to us the sooner we can get the papers processed so you can leave on your assigned transfer date.” Customer Service is the entirety of Personnel; they deal with all of the everyday items such as marriage, divorce, Page. 2’s, ID cards and any other customer service issues that arise on a day-to-day basis. “We are a customer service rate,” said Mcnulty. “Our job is to help our Sailors with any issues that come up in their paperwork.”
What’s Your Story Story and photo by MC3 Mason Campbell
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viation Boatswain’s Mate(Handling) Airman Andrea Kyttle, a native of Carrollton, Texas, joined the Navy Sept. 13, 2010. Kyttle has been on two deployments with Lincoln. “I was big on travel, so leaving home wasn’t a big deal. Singapore has got to be my favorite country I visited,” said Kyttle. Along with getting Kyttle out to see the world, the Navy has provided momentum for Kyttle’s educational ambitions to become a firefighter. “What I wanted to do was become a firefighter paramedic. Joining the Navy helped that along quite a bit as far as providing an education. Now I have a better chance to get my foot in the door,” said Kyttle. For now Kyttle is an ABH striker on board the Lincoln. “It has its benefits but it’s just like any other job. I’m close to becoming a director so my job is getting more exciting,” said Kyttle. Kyttle is currently attending college courses that are related to her interests in the paramedic field. “The plan is to get my degree while I’m still in the Navy. I’m on my way to earning an associate’s in fire science. By the time I get out of the service I’ll already be well on my way to getting a job in the fire department,” said Kyttle. Kyttle spends the majority of her spare time outdoors. “I’m either fishing or hunting. I just love to spend life outside,” said Kyttle.
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THE PENNY PRESS
Story and photo by MC3 Christina Naranjo