PIECES OF HISTORY: BULL DISRUPTS AIR TRAFFIC FOR DAYS PAGE 14 VOLUME 52 NO. 12
MARCH 28, 2013
SERVING NAVAL AIR STATION OCEANA
INSIDEJET
FFSC HELPS TEENS WITH JOB SEARCH
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VA. BEACH, OCEANA TRAINING TOGETHER
PAGE 12 Panda Express, located at the Oceana NEX food court, is holding their grand opening today, March 28, with a ribbon cutting at 9 a.m. In celebration, 100 percent of the day’s sales will be donated to the Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society.
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DAM NECK ANNEX
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NALF FENTRESS
Oceana celebrates Woman’s History Month
STORY/PHOTO BY MC2 ANTONIO P. TURRETTO RAMOS NAS Oceana Public Affairs
Sailors and civilians gathered to celebrate the contributions of women to the Navy and society in observance of Women’s History Month at the Dam Neck Chapel by the Sea March 22. The theme of this year’s observance is “Women Inspiring Innovation through Imagination.” The event had several speakers and a unique mime performance that rang true to this year’s theme. Keynote speaker, Dr. Betty B. Hanawalt personified the 2013 theme with stories of her life experiences as a teacher and Navy wife. Hanawalt spoke about her time as a teacher for children who had learning disabilities and the clever techniques she used to teach them. “One young man in the seventh grade would not write his assignments in cursive,” reflected Hanawalt,as she shared one of her stories with the audience.“Every time he did his homework in cursive, the whole class got to eat a bowl of popcorn, but they had to eat it with chopsticks. He did not realize that he was remediating those small muscles that help with cursive writing.” Among many other stories shared by Hanawalt was one of an eighth grade boy who could not read well, but was mechanically gifted. Hanawalt had the boy bring one of his bicycles into the classroom and break it down into pieces. After sharing her experiences as a teacher and Navy wife, keynote speaker, Dr. Betty B. Hanawalt “Every time he learned to spell a long word, he got to put is applauded by those attending the Oceana Women’s History Month Observance at the Dam — See Observance, Page 15 Neck Annex Chapel by the Sea March 22.
Oceana firefighter’s achievements continue to inspire others CATHY HEIMER Jet Observer Lead Firefighter Capt. Joe Voloski from the Navy Region Mid-Atlantic Fire & Emergency Service joined a very elite group of first responders last month when he was awarded the professional designation of fire officer (FO). From the 131 FOs worldwide,Voloski is just one of two in the U.S.Navy and one of eight Department of Defense (DoD) firefighters to earn the certification from the Commission on Professional Credentialing, an entity of the Center for Public Safety Ex-
cellence, Inc. Voloski, who began his federal firefighting career in 2006 at Yorktown, arrived at NAS Oceana nearly a year ago, on Easter Sunday,April 8 — just two days after the aircraft mishap. But that professional award pales when compared to his most important personal accomplishment — surviving a vehicle accident 14 years ago that left him in a coma for 23 days. “I had a nice 23-day nap,” he joked, adding “My mother told me it was the longest 23 days of her life.” As an 18-year-old high school senior and a
member of his school’s Air Force Junior ROTC unit,Voloski was on his way to a Veterans Day parade when his truck veered off the road and the high schooler was ejected face first, into a fence. With his cheekbone knocked out of his face and teeth scattered on the ground, his injuries were so horrific that a responding EMT, who was on her first day on the job,quit that same day,Voloski was later told. The resulting facial trauma meant that over the years,“everything from my eyes down have been — See Fire captain Page 13