USS Milius Sailors Relish Age-Old Pastime

ByPettyOfficer1stClass

GregoryJohnson

Commander Task Force 71/Destroyer Squadron 15

Spending weeks at a time on a piece of ground slightly smaller than a football field isenoughtogivemostpeopleacaseofcabin fever, and that may be especially true when that “piece of ground” is actually floating amidst the hollow seascape of the Indo-Pacific.

ForSailorsassignedtotheArleighBurkeclass guided-missile destroyer USS Milius (DDG69),thatscenarioisarealityofeverydaylifeunderway Thoughdayscanbelong andinsulatedfromactivitiesandrecreations ashore,MiliusSailorshavemanyoptionsto relaxandunwindintheirdowntime,including a fully-stocked crew library offering hundredsofbookstoanyoneatanytime

“Having a well set-up library contributes to the success of our sailors,” said Ensign Matthew Martin, Milius’ library custodian andnativeofCincinnati.“Alibrarycanserve asadestinationtopursuepassionsandgrow personallyandprofessionally Ourcommand andoursailorsallbenefitgreatlyfromhaving thisresourcewhileoutatsea.

Lt Daniel Lubega, Milius’ chaplain and a native of Huntsville, Alabama, formed a teamof11Sailorsdedicatedtoreorganizing theship’slibrary,facilitating24-houraccessibilityandkeepingthebookselectionfresh andinterestinginanefforttoinspireSailors to read more often to improve their minds, aswellasentertainthemselves.

Theteamoverhauledthelibrarybydonatingsomeofthebooksthathavebeenonthe shelves for a while and re-organizing the entire catalog into genre-specific sections Theireffortsculminatedinagrandre-opening March 10, attracting dozens of Sailors who lined the ship’s passageways hours beforetheevent.

“I think the event definitely helped morale,” said Boatswain’s Mate Seaman Christopher Palacios, from El Paso, Texas. “With the high-tempo nature of the work wedoouthere,it’sgoodtogetabreakevery once in a while Taking a little time and to immerseyourselfinadifferentworldevery now and then by reading a book can be a reallypositivething.”

According to Fire Controlman 3rd Class KaylaKerns,aCanonCity,Colorado,native and member of the ship’s library team, a modesteffortseemstohavemadeasizeable impactonmorale “It’s reassuring to see how many people were waiting to use the library,” said Kerns, “It was reallya very simple effort to reorganizethingsandmakeitmoreaccommodatingforthecrewandIthinkit’sanexampleof howitreallydoesn’ttakethatmuchtomake a difference I hope we can continue to do moreofthat.”

With books in high demand and the library back in full service the focus now is onfutureimprovements WithMiliusscheduled to enter dry dock this summer plans areintheworkstoreplacealloftheshelving to accommodate more books and provide easier access to them, add a desk with two computer work centers and comfortable seating for Sailors to sit and read at their leisure

“Milius Sailors are among the finest in the world, said Lubega. “They expertly perform some of the most difficult tasks in theIndo-Pacificareaofresponsibilitywhile under incessant and intense stress I envision our ship’s library team continuing to develop a peaceful place for all Sailors to read or secure the books they need in order to de-stress recharge, develop their minds and hone their skills, empowering them to maintain the mental toughness and spiritual fitness necessary to be able to fight and defendtheAmericanpeopleagainstaggressiveadversariesaround-the-clock.”

Milius is assigned to Commander, Task Force 71/Destroyer Squadron (DESRON) 15 the Navy’s largest forward-deployed DESRON and the U.S. 7th Fleet’s principal surfaceforce

7th Fleet is the U.S. Navy’s largest forward-deployed numbered fleet, and routinely interacts and operates with Allies and partners in preserving a free and open Indo-Pacificregion

Surface Warfare Center Philadelphia Division

Several Naval Surface Warfare Center Philadelphia Division (NSWCPD) employees attended the Maritime Sustainment Technology and Innovation Consortium (MSTIC) general membership meeting at the Philadelphia Marriot Downtown on March14-15,2023

EstablishedinJune2021,MSTICaffords industry academia and government stakeholdersenhancednetworkingopportunities todevelopandsustainstate-of-the-artMaritimetechnologiesthroughinnovativeprototypingprojects Inaddition,thisConsortium modelallowsforNSWCPDtoobtainindustry feedback and input on rapidly evolving technologiesearlyonintheprocess.

MSTICisacollaborationexecutedunder an Other Transaction Authority/Agreement (OTA) with NSWCPD to develop and maturetechnologiesthatenhancetheNavy’s missioneffectiveness.

“I’m really excited about today, and I’m excitedfortheConsortium[MSTIC] The Consortium continues to grow Since we were here in July of 2022, there’s been 90 companies to join the Consortium We’re really excited about that. The number of projects continue to grow as well,” MSTIC Executive Director William Deligne said duringhisopeningremarks,reflectingupon thestateoftheConsortium.

The collaboration event also included a varietyofspeakersfromNSWCPD NSWCPD’s MSTIC OTA Program ManagerJacobUdellprovidedinformation on the MSTIC goals and process, as well as anupdateontheoverallprogram.

“We’restartingtoseesomeprojectsfrom our first cycle come to fruition. For example,wehaveaprojectcalledthesmalllinear actuator test stand We already have it in Philadelphia.I’veseenitmyself It’sexciting to see and we’re almost complete with the testing on that,” Udell said in referencing a contractthatwassourcedfromaStatement ofNeed(SON)request.

In June 2022, NSWCPD awarded this firstcontractundertheOTAforthedesign, development, and delivery of a small actuator test stand to evaluate electrohydraulic actuatorsthroughtheMSTIC

NSWCPD’s Technical Director Nigel C. Thijs spoke about the critical role the

MSTIChaswiththecommand.

“It’s important for us [NSWCPD] to delivercapabilitiestothewarfighterquickly Thethreatisreal.Weareakeycontributorto delivering combat power to the warfighter Our products enable ships, carriers, and submarinestobeonstationandprovidethe abilitytolaunchstrikes,”Thijssaid

The keynote speaker Naval Sea Systems Command Headquarters Executive Director, Program Executive Office (PEO) Strategic Submarines Matthew Sermon gave a speech on a variety of issues the Navy must overcome, including the ongoing war for talent.

“Wehavetosendmessagestoouremployees that they belong We care about you. You’re doing an important job You’re connectedtonationalsecurity,”Sermonsaid, referringtotheshortageofemployeesworkingintheNavalsubmarineindustry.

The event was followed by other speakers, new member introductions and SON requests Additionally,one-on-onesessions between government personnel and industrycompanieswereheldonMarch15,2023

NSWCPD employs approximately 2,800 civilian engineers, scientists, technicians, and support personnel. The NSWCPD team does the research and development, test and evaluation, acquisition support, and in-service and logistics engineering for the non-nuclear machinery ship machinery systems and related equipment and materialforNavysurfaceshipsandsubmarines NSWCPDisalsotheleadorganization providingcybersecurityforallshipsystems.