The Penny Press, Volume 25, Issue 18

INSIDE

4 6 8 10 2

9/11 Ceremony

Willis the Willing

Chief Pinning

Around The Fleet

New School Year by Cmdr. Carl P. Koch, PA, CRMD

The summer is ending and the new school year has begun. Many ask, “Where did the summer go?” while others say, “I’m glad it is over!” Many are sending their kids to school for the first time. My wife and I are; what a change! My wife, as a stay-at-home mom, is taking it harder than I am. In life, change is inevitable. Work aboard Abraham Lincoln may seem like the movie, “Groundhog Day.” Sometimes it seems as though every day is the same, with one day blending into the next. Sometimes it feels like the job is never any closer to being finished. I spend a lot of time talking to people about this, but

I assure you, there will be a day when Lincoln is back in the fight, even if we have moved on to a new command or have even gotten out of the Navy. Change happens. There’s nothing we can do to stop it; instead, we must adapt to the change. How can a person handle the stress of change? Here are a few suggestions to help you deal with the stressful changes life brings: First, accept the change. This may seem simple but it tends to be the most difficult. When I was pastoring churches, this became a matter of getting people to accept that the way the church worked in the past is not the way the church works today. Second, do whatever it takes to evolve with the change. This may mean learning new skills, gaining new tools, going back to school, or just following a new procedure. Do whatever is needed to become just as proficient at the new way of life as you were with the old. Third, get enough sleep, work out, and make healthy food choices. All of these things will help you relieve the stresses involved with change and equip you to make the most of the changes that will come into your life.

Lincoln Sailors Take Part In 9/11 Remembrance Ceremony Story and photo tby MC2 Rusty Pang

Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) remembered the 9/11 attacks with a ceremony that included Newport News, Virginia, officials and the former commanding officer of sister ship USS George Washington (CVN 73). A flash moment in history is when an event impacts a nation so heavily, that it becomes commonplace for people to remember exactly how they felt at the exact moment they received the news of the event. Some examples of flash moments are John F. Kennedy’s assassination on Nov. 22, 1963; the first moon landing on July 20, 1969; and the terrorist attack of Sept. 11, 2001. The attack on Sept. 11, 2001 that claimed the lives of 2,977 victims was the largest terrorist attack ever carried out on American soil. Events like 9/11 leave a lasting impression for generations and we hold remembrance ceremonies to remind ourselves of that dark day and to honor those we lost. In the city of Newport News, Sailors stationed aboard the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) gathered along with members of the Newport News police and fire departments at Victory Landing Park to take a few moments to solemnly remember the events and people lost during the terrorist attack 13 years ago.

while a Newport News police officer played “Amazing Grace” on the bagpipe. For Madrid, 9/11 represents more than a tragic event-- for her it was the catalyst for deciding to join the Navy. “I was operating a forklift in a warehouse moving holiday items when someone heard the news on the radio,” Madrid said. “I stopped and stared. It was this shocking feeling of disbelief. It didn’t seem real. I visited the recruiter the next day. The rest is history.” Operations Specialist 2nd Class Dominique Bowder was in the 11th grade when she heard the news. “I thought it was a movie. It was surreal,” Bowder said. “I remember feeling an incredible sadness that all these people died at once.” “I feel a deep and real pride in my military service because I am protecting people,” Bowder said. “Ceremonies like this transcend politics, religion and race. It’s about remembering and honoring human beings.” Lincoln is currently undergoing a refueling complex overhaul (RCOH) at Newport News Shipbuilding, a division of Huntington Ingalls Industries.

Lincoln’s Commanding Officer, Capt. Ronald Ravelo, introduced the keynote address, given by retired Rear Adm. William McCarthy, who commanded USS George Washington (CVN 73) as it famously provided air defense off the coast of New York city following the 9/11 attacks.

Lincoln is the fifth ship of the Nimitz class to undergo an RCOH, a major life-cycle milestone. Once RCOH is complete, Lincoln will be one of the most modern and technologically advanced Nimitz-class aircraft carriers in the fleet and will continue to be a vital part of the nation’s defense.

Lincoln Sailors were humbled and honored to play their role in the remembrance ceremony.

For more news from USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72), visit www.navy.mil/local/cvn72/.

“It is an honor to be here. I’ll never forget what happened 13 years ago,” said Chief (Sel) Aviation Structural Mechanic Joanna Madrid. “I just want others to know why we are here. We are willing to give the ultimate sacrifice.” During the ceremony, Madrid read the poem “Names”

Willis the Willing

Photos and Story by MC2 Rusty Pang

A ship without a functioning rudder is adrift with no purposeful direction. Similarly, without goals, a Sailor lacking direction may not be proactive about a career: instead, drifting to and fro without a clear and successful path. Not true for Operations Specialist 2nd Class Petty Officer Jewell S. Willis, who operates on a different wavelength. Willis, a New Orleans native who is currently assigned to the USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72), did not start her career in the Navy with large ambitions. Laughing, she says, “I looked at the long line to register for the next semester in college and I left. I couldn’t do it.” As she reflects on the whimsical decision she made that day, her eyes drifting slightly into her memories, she says, “It seems like a silly reason, but I wanted a change. I left and when I got home, I told my mom that I was going to join the Navy.” According to Willis, her mother didn’t believe she was serious about enlisting until the day before she left for boot camp. The decision to stop waiting in line for something she didn’t enjoy turned into four years of a career that she says has brought tremendous satisfaction. “I love the amount of travel I’ve had over the years, whether it was through deployments or military connections and transfers. But it’s more than that,” she says. “It’s about the whole Navy, even working outside your rate. It’s wonderful. In fact, I would describe my career as unbelievable.” Willis is an operations specialist (OS) who currently is temporarily assigned to security aboard Lincoln. But when working in her rate, she performs many different functions, depending upon the operational environment. Sailors within the OS rating work in all areas: air warfare, surface warfare, undersea warfare, mine countermeasures, littoral warfare, naval surface fire support as well as search and rescue operations. Within each of these unique domains, an OS must keep track of many moving targets, friend or foe. They provide navigation and plotting for each of the warfare areas, operate communication and surveillance

equipment, and make recommendations to senior decision makers based upon intelligence information. If that seems complicated, it is because an OS must accomplish the mission despite a constantly changing sea of data while still maintaining a calm and collected demeanor. Willis has flourished in this difficult environment. She obtained the rank of second class petty officer within two years and earned both the surface warfare and air warfare qualifications within that time. The speed of her promotions and receipt of both qualifications sets her apart in the Navy as a focused individual who is not afraid to tackle the challenges before her. According to Willis, excellence and efficiency are virtues that drive her and sometimes lead to unexpected changes. “Change isn’t bad. Sometimes it’s good. And sometimes it’s necessary,” she says. “Life is what you make it. Make it or it will make you.” Lincoln is currently undergoing a refueling complex overhaul (RCOH) at Newport News Shipbuilding, a division of Huntington Ingalls Industries. Lincoln is the fifth ship of the Nimitz class to undergo an RCOH, a major life-cycle milestone. Once RCOH is complete, Lincoln will be one of the most modern and technologically advanced Nimitz-class aircraft carriers in the fleet and will continue to be a vital part of the nation’s defense.

Week With Lincoln

Photo by MC3 Jonteil Johnson

Photo by MC3 Jonathon Lockwood

Photo by MC2 Rusty Pang

Photo by MC3 Jonathon Lockwood

Lincoln Pins New Chiefs Story by MC3(SW) Zachary A. Anderson

“Ask the chief,” is a phrase Sailors throughout the Navy hear almost daily, but what does it mean? When someone tells a Sailor to “ask the chief” they are saying to go ask the subject matter expert, to ask someone who has been there before, to ask someone who cares about a Sailor’s success. Sailors aboard the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) had the honor of welcoming 23 new chiefs to the chief’s mess in Jacob’s Theater at Fort Eustis, Sept. 16. “I’ve been striving for this for a long time,” said newly pinned Chief Electrician’s Mate Daniel Vigil. “It is such a surreal feeling to know that I have finally achieved that goal.” Capt. Ronald Ravelo, Lincoln’s commanding officer, spoke on the importance of the role chief petty officers play in the navy. “This is one of the biggest milestones in an enlisted Sailor’s career,” Ravelo said. “Every Sailor is expected to

be a leader on the deck plates, but when a Sailor becomes a chief, that is when we truly rely on them to be deck plate leaders.” Training future chiefs has many benefits for Lincoln’s chief’s mess. “Training a new group of chiefs is refreshing. It really re-energizes the mess,” said Command Master Chief Gregg Weber. “It reinforces what it means to be a chief and gets the mess prepared to face the challenges that we will face in the coming year.” As soon as the ceremony is concluded Lincoln’s new chiefs assume their new roles in their departments as chief petty officers. “I can’t wait to start the task at hand of leading my Sailors through the [refueling complex overhaul],” Vigil said. “Over the years the training process for new chiefs has changed,” Weber said. “It is more focused, specialized and effective, but one thing has never changed: at the end of the day it teaches Sailors how to be a chief petty officer.”

Photo by MC3Jonteil Johnson

Photo by MC3(SW) Zachary A. Anderson

Photo by MC3 Jonathon Lockwood

Photo by MC3(SW) Zachary A. Anderson

Washington Navy Yard Remembers Shooting One Year Later From Naval Sea Systems Command Office of Corporate Communication

It was a day no one who worked on the Washington Navy Yard will ever forget. Shortly after 8:00 a.m., on Sept. 16, 2013, Navy contractor Aaron Alexis entered the Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) headquarters building and killed 12 people while wounding four more - including two police officers. A year later, though much of the NAVSEA workforce is still displaced and many struggle to make sense of the tragic events, Washington Navy Yard employees met to remember the lives of coworkers, friends and loved ones during a short, 8:00 a.m. ceremony on the base. Attended by more than 2,000 Navy Yard employees, the purposely low-key ceremony featured remarks from both Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus and Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Jonathan Greenert.

“We know now that, although we have healed, our Navy and Marine Corps family will never feel completely whole...that even though we remind ourselves it is impossible, we will never quit thinking, if only for an instant, that those we lost will come to work again and that it will be as if nothing has happened,” said Mabus. “But in the midst of these hard, awful truths, we also know that bright, wonderful memories will be with us and sustain us always. We know that their lives are defined, not for how they died, but for how they lived and will be remembered always.” Though the event was designed to memorialize the tragedy, each of the speakers highlighted how much the command has achieved in the wake of the shooting. NAVSEA, responsible for designing, building and maintaining the Navy fleet, was able to almost immediately reconstitute the majority of its

PACIFIC OCEAN(Sept. 15, 2014) The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Stethem (DDG 63) fires a Harpoon missile during a sinking exercise as part of Valiant Shield 2014. Air and sea units from the U.S. Navy, Marine Corps and Air Force participated in the sinking exercise of the ex-USS Fresno to gain proficiency in tactics, targeting and live-firing against a surface target at sea. U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Alonzo M. Archer (Released)

SAN DIEGO (Sept. 15, 2014) Sailors and Marines man the rails as the future amphibious assault ship USS America (LHA 6) passes Naval Air Station North Island and makes its way to a new homeport at Naval Base San Diego. America will be commissioned Oct. 11 during a ceremony in San Francisco. U.S. Navy photo by Senior Chief Mass Communication Specialist Donnie W. Ryan (Released)

workforce in satellite offices around the metro area - many were back to work the day after the shooting. In the immediate aftermath of the shooting, the command awarded $1.6 billion worth of contracts, delivered a littoral combat ship, christened a submarine and aircraft carrier, and provided oversight to all of the Navy’s new ship construction and maintenance programs. “As we come together during events like this, we remember our lost shipmates and their families. We also rededicate ourselves to our mission, a mission

PACIFIC OCEAN (Sept. 15, 2014) The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Mustin (DDG 89) fires two SM-2 missiles during a sinking exercise as part of Valiant Shield 2014. Air and sea units from the U.S. Navy, Marine Corps and Air Force participated in the sinking of ex-USS Fresno (LST 1182). Valiant Shield is a U.S.-only exercise integrating U.S. Navy, Air Force, Army and Marine Corps assets. U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Beverly J. Lesonik (Released)

they fully supported, and do our best for our nation,” said Vice Adm. Willy Hilarides, NAVSEA Commander. “We mark today as a day of remembrance and a day of inspiration. Remember the shipmates we lost,they’re with us every day as we continue to move forward.” The command continues to conduct its mission despite being displaced from its headquarters. The building - now officially renamed the Joshua Humphreys Building in honor of the Navy’s first naval architect - is undergoing a 16-month, $44 million renovation designed to repair damage and give returning employees a new sense of place. The renovation will also allow the Navy to incorporate an area memorializing the fallen. Employees will begin returning to the building in February. For more on the WNY anniversary, visit http:// www.navy.mil/local/wnym/index.asp.

CAMARILLO, Calif. (Sept. 11, 2014) Steelworker 2nd Class Troy Franklin, from Cathedral City, Calif., unfurls the national ensign during a Patriot Day ceremony for students of the University Preparation School. Seabees from Naval Construction Group (NCG) 1, Ventura County first responders and other service members participated in the observance commemorating the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on New York and Washington. U.S. Navy photo by Chief Mass Communication Specialist Lowell Whitman (Released)