www.flagshipnews.com | The Flagship | Section 1 | Thursday, December 14, 2023
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IN THIS ISSUE
COMNAVSURFLANT hosts annual Junior Officer Training Symposium The one-day symposium provided a venue for Rear Adm. Joe Cahill to bring JOs together to encourage discussion about transforming the culture of the Surface Force. PAGE A4 VOL. XX, 31, NO. NO.44, XX,Norfolk, Norfolk,VA VA| flagshipnews.com | flagshipnews.com
December 14-December 20, 2023
Navy wounded warriors participated in a seated volleyball game hosted by Commander, Navy Region Mid-Atlantic’s Navy Wounded Warrior Program at Naval Station Norfolk, Dec. 1. The program allows service members to focus on their recovery, while its team of experts resolves non-medical problems and prepares them for transition back to active duty or civilian life. (U.S. NAVY PHOTO BY MASS COMMUNICATION SPECIALIST 1ST CLASS MADDELIN HAMM)
Navy Wounded Warrior Program hosts seated volleyball game By MC1 Maddelin Hamm and MC2 Jordan Grimes CNRMA Public Affairs
NORFOLK, Va. — Navy wounded warriors participated in a seated volleyball game hosted by Commander, Navy Region Mid-Atlantic’s Navy Wounded Warrior Program at Naval Station Norfolk, Dec. 1. The event was held to culminate the month-long initiative of Warrior Care Month which was established in 2008. Ruth Freeman, a medically retired Infor-
mation Systems Technician 1st Class, said the Wounded Warrior Program gave her a family of other veterans who understood what she was going through. “I was diagnosed with cancer in 2016, and my Chief brought me to Navy Wounded Warrior, and they helped me and my family with everything,” said Freeman. “They introduced me to adaptive sports in November of 2018, and in 2019 I competed in six sports.” Freeman, who served in the Navy for 13 years, explained the specific rules of seated volleyball to the participants and coached
them during the event. “Every single athlete that I’ve met has become family, so when we need to vent we always have people to talk to. It’s that camaraderie that most of us think we wouldn’t have after getting out of the military,” Freeman shared. Marcie Slusher, a recovery care coordinator for the program and coordinator for the event, said events like this play an important part in the Navy Wounded Warrior Program and Warrior Care Month. “The events conducted during Warrior
Care Month are [held] to increase awareness of the Navy Wounded Warrior Program throughout the Navy and Coast Guard,” said Slusher. “Being aware of the program helps Sailors help their shipmates struggling with serious medical situations.” The program allows service members to focus on their recovery, while its team of experts resolves non-medical problems and prepares them for transition back to active duty or civilian life. The program offers Turn to Wounded Warrior, Page 2
JEBLCFS remembers Pearl Harbor By April Phillips
JEBLCFS Public Affairs
VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek-Fort Story (JEBLCFS) paused to remember the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor with a ceremony held Dec. 7 on base. JEBLCFS’s ceremony was held 82 years after the surprise attack by Imperial Japanese fighter planes that killed more than 2400 people and destroyed or damaged 20 ships and 300 aircraft. Little Creek is home to a Pearl Harbor memorial erected decades ago by survivors of the attack who settled in the Hampton Roads area. These survivors have now all passed away, but their family members still attend the ceremony every year to pay homage to those known as “the greatest generation.” “Even though they’re not here with us anymore, we need this ceremony. It keeps their spirit alive, and it reminds us that we need to tell their stories so they’re not lost,” said Ellen Burns, daughter of Pearl Harbor survivor Frank Chebetar. She attended the ceremony with her husband and daughter, as well as her brother Gerald and his family. Amanda Williams, museum director of the MacArthur Memorial in Norfolk, and guest speaker for the ceremony, echoed
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that sentiment. “We’re in the twilight of the World War II generation,” she said. “Those of us here today have been drafted to remember their sacrifice and tell the story.” JEBLCFS Commanding Officer, Capt. David Gray spoke to the young service members in attendance, noting families stateside also made sacrifices during World War II. “Folks back home were issued ration books. These books contained stamps that people exchanged for items like sugar, meat, cooking oil, and canned goods. When we go to the grocery store today, we just expect those items to be on the shelf, but that was a time when all Americans did their part for the war effort by making due with less.” He continued by making a comparison many in the audience were able to understand. “It was a somber day. It is also a day that fewer and fewer people among us were alive to remember. Just as everyone in my generation will remember where we were on 9/11, so it was with Pearl Harbor Day,” he said. Family members then placed a carnation in the memorial wreath to honor their loved ones. A Soldier, Sailor, Airman, Marine and Coast Guardsman each also placed a carnation in the wreath to honor the members of each service who lost their lives in the attack. The ceremony then paused and moved from
Amanda Williams, museum director of the MacArthur Memorial, and Capt. David Gray, commanding officer of JEBLCFS, place a wreath at the installation’s Pearl Harbor memorial during a ceremony commemorating the attack 82 years ago. (PHOTO BY APRIL PHILLIPS, JEBLCFS PUBLIC AFFAIRS)
the base chapel to the memorial, where Gray and Williams placed the wreath. “Thank you to everyone who came out
today,” Gray said. “It’s important that we take time to learn, to remember, and to reflect.”
New Parent Support Group ends the year with holiday social
During the social, families sang songs, read books, ate holiday treats, and participated in a mittens and book exchange. In addition, presentations were given on managing holiday stress and staying within a budget, important topics for new parents and families. PAGE A3
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