LANDMARK Volume 7, Issue 2
May 2016
The Official Newletter of USS Emory S. Land (AS 39)
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Machinery Repairman 2nd Class Kyle Wilson embraces his wife after returning to Guam following a five-month deployment. The return is Emory S. Land’s first since shifting its homeport from Diego Garcia to Guam, December 23.
LANDMARK Table of Contents
Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention Month
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SAPR Team In honor of April being Sexual Assault Awareness month, get to better know your SAPR team.
16 ESL Family Life ET1 Thomas and ET3 McClelland share their experiences being away from their families during the deployment.
21 New CMC!
Get to know the ship’s new Command Master Chief!
6 10 Personality Feature Return to Guam See how HTFN David Gleeson is getting fit!
19 New JEA SWAG! Check out the new Junior Enlisted Association t-shirt!
Get a look at photos of the ESL’s return to Guam.
20 Farewell CMDCM Smith Read CMDCM Smith’s farewell to Emory S. Land.
22 Chaplain’s Corner Check out Chaplain Skelton’s first address to the crew! LANDMARK MAY 2016
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EMORY S. LAND PUBLIC AFFAIRS
MEET YOUR SEXUAL ASSAULT PREVENTION AND RESPONSE TEAM!
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{ { { {
Name: BM1 Jason Womack Hometown: Mount Pleasant, Texas
{ { { {
Why I Became A SAPR VA: I became a SAPR VA because sexual assault holds no place in our navy and I want to do everything I can to help people, bring awareness and prevent it from happening.
Name: MR2 Reynante Taa Hometown: San Jose, California
Why I Became A SAPR VA: I like to help others
in general and the idea that someone would have someone to speak to about their problems with. At least I’d be there to listen and show that I care.
Name: MM2 Vanessa Wilson Hometown: Columbia, South Carolina
Why I Became A SAPR VA: At my first command,
there was an incident with one of my shipmates and it kind of struck home with me. I became really passionate about the program. I learned about the opportunity to become a VA and I took it. I think it’s a really good program and our Sailors should reach out if they’re in need.
Name: IT3 Ashley Benjamin Hometown: Daegu, South Korea
Why I Became A SAPR VA: With my dad being in
the Army and being the person you call if something happens and my mom working for the military and doing the safe-kits, it was just ingrained in me that I need to help.
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EMORY S. LAND PUBLIC AFFAIRS
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“Floating Like a Butterfly, Stinging Like a Sailor” By MC3 Zach Kreitzer
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EMORY S. LAND PUBLIC AFFAIRS
T
he lights brighten, and
taught me how to be a man and
heavy hitting have drawn fitness
the roar of the crowd
how to respect myself, as well as
enthusiasts from around the ship
rises as the challenger
others through boxing.”
to him for training.
enters the ring. He focuses on his
opponent for a moment before
spans more than a decade, and
“I saw him hitting the heavy
bag one day,” said Electrician’s
unleashing a flurry of jabs,
Mate 1st Class Yuji Toda, an
followed by an uppercut and a
assistant command fitness
vicious right hook.
leader aboard Emory S.
Land. “I thought he was one
The opponent is sent
rocking back as the crowd goes
of the best boxers on the
wild! The roar of the crowd rises
ship because of his power,
to new heights as his opponent
form and speed, so I asked
falls to the ground, defeated.
him if he could teach me.”
Training other people is
Around the world boxing
is a popular sport. Many people
something quite new to
who box, have been fighting
Gleeson, having only started
from a young age and enjoy the
training his shipmates in
workout and stress-relieving
January, but it’s something
aspects of the sport. One such
he’s quickly learned to
person is Hull Maintenance
enjoy.
Technician Fireman David
Gleeson, from Boston, assigned to the submarine tender USS Emory S. Land (AS 39), who used boxing for more than stress relief when his Navy career was at stake.
“My dad taught me how to be a man and how to respect myself, as well as others through boxing.”
“I didn’t like to train
others at first,” said Gleeson. “Now I like seeing people improve, seeing the drastic difference someone can make in a couple days. Just
has helped him release stress
getting the right technique and the
after his long workdays, meet new
power comes right after that, it’s a
me into boxing,” said Gleeson. “I
friends on the ship and improve
beautiful thing to see.”
started off very overweight as a
his overall fitness.
child, I was always bullied. My dad LANDMARK MAY 2016
training is also noticed by those he
8
Gleeson’s boxing journey
“My dad is the one who got
Gleeson’s hard work and
Gleeson’s newfound love of
works with.
FEP,” he said. “Once I got off FEP
working out, and now that he’s
I kept boxing to keep myself off of
come back to that and is training
a great attitude that’s always
FEP and to stay in shape”
people, you can tell he’s happy. It
willing to help,” Said Electronics
is a part of who he is.”
Technician 2nd Class Derek
been noticed by many around the
Mitchem. “Especially when it
ship, and more importantly his
his journey to a healthier body
“David is a great guy with
Gleeson’s weight loss has
Gleeson plans to continue
comes to
and mind and
boxing, it’s
training those
something
who wish to
that he really
learn the art of
loves to do.”
boxing.
Boxing
“It keeps me
for Gleeson
motivated,” he
is also a way
said. “Working
for him to
out with people
improve
and being the
his physical
catalyst for that
fitness. His
group helps
weight gain
motivate me
during “A” school and at his first command caused some setbacks.
When he reported
“Just getting the right technique and the power comes right after that, it’s a beautiful thing to see.”
to the Emory S. Land, he was enrolled into the Fitness Enhancement Program (FEP). Being enrolled in FEP inspired him to begin boxing again.
“I got in shape by working
out and boxing on my own after
to keep on track with my own workouts and being healthier.”
change in morale.
“You see more optimism
in what Gleeson does,” said Mitchem. “He’s doing something that he loves; there is no simpler way to put it. He loves boxing and
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EMORY S. LAND PUBLIC AFFAIRS
EMORY S. LAND RETURNS TO GUAM
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EMORY S. LAND PUBLIC AFFAIRS
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EMORY S. LAND PUBLIC AFFAIRS
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EMORY S. LAND PUBLIC AFFAIRS
Hull Technician 1st Class Joe Thomas greets his family for the first time following a five-month deployment. (U.S. Navy photo by MC3 Jason Amadi)
Emory S. Land Family Matters
Story By Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Jason Amadi
I
t’s a Monday morning and
could once again feel the humid
behind their success and is the
the final few hours of a five-
Guam air against their skin. They
reason they put on their uniform
plus month deployment.
were excited to return to their
every day. The moment a Sailor
friends and family.
reunites with family is one they
Sailors throughout the ship woke up knowing they were mere
dream of the entire deployment.
minutes away from donning their
Joe Thomas, assigned to the
dress white uniforms, manning
submarine tender USS Emory S.
from manning the rails and
the rails and feeling Guam
Land (AS 39), has served in the
most Sailors headed back in,
beneath their feet.
Navy for 12 years and had been
Thomas waited on the ship’s aft
on four previous deployments,
quarterdeck. He stood watching
into Apra Harbor, many Sailors
but this was the first time he’d
as the brow was erected, staring
manning the rails were greeted by
left behind a family. For many
down onto the pier with his eyes
familiar sites, familiar faces and LANDMARK MAY 2016
Sailors, family is the driving force
fixed on his wife Nicole and two-
As the ship pulled back
16
Hull Technician 1st Class
After the crew secured
Modern methods of communication like Facetime
had sharpened his linguistic skills
and Skype allowed him to keep in
in the time he was a way.
touch his wife and child, but there
“When I left he was saying
was no substitute for actually
words here and there, but when
spending time with them.
I got back he was saying entire
“I talked to them every
Thomas picks up his son for the first time after deployment. (U.S. Navy photo by MCSA Alana Langdon)
quickly found that his young son
phrases and whole sentences.
chance I got. I wasn’t there, but
You have to watch what you
just seeing them on-screen would
say around him, he’s repeating
make the day better. My biggest
everything. I was shocked by how
concern was my son being kind
much he learned,” said Thomas.
of distant from me, because the
While the majority of the
year-old son Joseph.
ship’s crew were free to
Thomas was
spend time with their
selected at random to
families and explore
be the first Sailor off the
Guam, for duty section one
ship to greet his family.
it was business as usual.
As soon as he was able,
They got out of their dress
he stormed down the
uniforms and immediately
brow, swept his son
got into uniform of the day
up into his arms and embraced his wife. It was in that moment that Thomas realized that he’d finally returned home. “This is the longest I’ve been away from both of them,” said Thomas. “My wife and I said if we can make it through this deployment, we can make it through anything.”
Thomas rushes on to the pier to pick up his son. (U.S. Navy photo by MC3 Jason Amadi)
only time he’d really seen me was through a computer screen. But it took him maybe 15 minutes before he was saying ‘daddy, daddy, daddy, daddy.’ He’s like my little liberty buddy everywhere I go,” said Thomas. Once he was able to spend more time with him, Thomas
to stand watch and protect the ship. “It was especially difficult leaving because I had duty the day before that as well,” said Electronics Technician 3rd Class Aaron McClelland. It was tough because I felt like I’d have to lose one extra day. That might not seem like a big deal, but it felt like a big deal to me.” LANDMARK MAY 2016
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EMORY S. LAND PUBLIC AFFAIRS McClelland has served
After working he worked
what it means to be a Sailor and
in the Navy for just three years,
through the nerves however, he
the challenges that come with it.
but has been deployed three
was immediately overwhelmed by
times. The stresses that go along
the joy of seeing his wife and he
for. Everybody has to do it at
with being deployed take their
was finally able to process the fact
some point. You never want to
toll on him, but he suspects the
that he’d returned home.
be the guy who’s away when
separation may actually take a
“I’m walking down the brow
greater toll on his wife Tiffany.
your kid is being born or during
and I can see the car and I just
Christmas, but everybody has
couldn’t stop smiling. I got in the
to deal with it. Fortunately,
harder for her than it was for me.
car, kissed my wife and we drove
when we’re deployed you’ve got
She gets stuck in Guam and it’s
back to our house and it all felt
the whole crew with you going
“I would imagine it was
hard for her to find work so
through the same thing and
this time we decided to just
they’re always a big help,”
send her back to the United
said McClelland.
States, especially because
Thomas and
this deployment was during
McClelland’s experiences
all the major holidays,”
are not new. Sailors have
said McClelland.
been deploying away from
Once the duty day was over however, it wasn’t the stresses of the deployment McClelland
loved ones for hundreds The Thomas family enjoys their first moments together post-deployment. (U.S. Navy photo by MC3 Austin Ingram)
of years. And even though modern technology allows them to stay more
was concerned about. It was
surreal almost. It took me a little
connected than ever, reuniting
seeing his wife again for the first
bit of time to get adjusted, but I
with family is still one of the best
time in more than five months.
definitely feel a lot of my stresses
things about coming home.
“It’s almost nerve racking when you’re meeting somebody again like that for the first time.
18
“It’s what we signed up
are gone now that we’re back,” said McClelland. Now that McClelland has
It made me nervous meeting my
had a chance to settle back into
wife, as silly as that sounds,” said
his home life and get reacquainted
McClelland. LANDMARK MAY 2016
with his wife, he can reflect on
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EMORY S. LAND PUBLIC AFFAIRS
Friends , Family, and Crew of the USS EMORY S. LAND First and foremost, i want to express my gratitude to all those who helped make our homecoming to Guam a special day. This includes our Ombudsman, Mrs. April Pacileo, Naval Base Guam personnel, Naval Base Guam MWR, Miss Guam, our own stay-behind crew, the crew of USS Frank Cable (AS 40), and our many family and friends who came to the pier for our arrival. Watching our Sailors re-unite with their families, as captured by the many photos in this issue of the Landmark, was heartwarming. We are exited to be in Guam and have already begun to make an impact on the waterfront by performing maintenance and repair on three different submarines. Additionally, we have successfully completed several inspections and re-integrated more than 200 additional crew members. We remain focused in the challenges ahead: shifting to Polaris Point and completing the repair facility turnover with Frank Cable; performing maintenance and repair on forwarddeployed submarines as Lead Maintenance Activity; and continuing to successfully complete our many inspections. Although Emory S. Land has returned to her homeport in Guam, we are keenly aware that many members of our crew are still far away from their families and friends. To those members of our family and friends back home, we miss you. We think of you every day and you are the reason why we work so hard to ensure the submarine force has a safe harbor. It’s only through the hard work and dedication of our wives, husbands, sons, daughters, and friends, that we are able to accomplish our mission. Thank you USS EMORY S. LAND family for your continued love and support!
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C
haplain’s orner
Lieutenant Takana Skelton Command Chaplain USS Emory S. Land (AS 39)
O
ne of my most favorite
Do we become frustrated and see no
life offers us, we should take those
quotes is by Dr. Martin
future?
lemons and make lemonade.
Luther King Jr. The quote
Do we allow the character
James 1:2-4 “When troubles
states: “The ultimate measure of a man
displayed in our happy moments to
come our way, consider it an opportunity
is not where he stands in moments of
change to match our circumstances?
for great joy. For you know that when
comfort and convenience, but where
Do we allow our morals to decline and
your faith is tested, your endurance has
he stands at times of challenge and
become pessimist? What do we do?
a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when
controversy”
your endurance is fully developed, you
the man behind the quote who took
will be perfect and complete, needing
around us and everything is going our
the lemons he was given and made
nothing.”
way, it is extremely easy to be happy,
lemonade. He saw the injustice within
excited and feeling completely fulfilled.
the system and fought to make it better.
we are being developed and becoming
We may even exhibit the most upstanding
He didn’t quit when times became hard
the person who were are designed to be.
character, patience and joy ever seen by
instead he kept pushing forward as
Let us remain dedicated to the one life
human eyes.
he stood in the face of his haters. He
we have been blessed to live and live that
However, how are we when life has
remained dedicated to his cause even
life filled with purpose even in the face of
handed us a big bowl of lemons?
when faced with death.
adversity.
Do we give up?
We may never find ourselves in the same
Do we walk away?
shoes as Dr. King but whatever lemons
When life is going well all
We should look at the life of
It is in those dark moments that
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EMORY S. LAND PUBLIC AFFAIRS
FAIR WINDS AND FOLLOWING SEAS!
ESL Warriors! It has been my pleasure to serve as your CMC for the past 13 months. As I reflect back on our time together, I can’t help but be proud of the success and many accomplishments of the command and the crew. You have met every challenge head on and always accomplished the mission. I know you are in good hands with CMDCM Greene and I look forward to hearing about the great accomplishments yet to come.
V/R CMDCM (SW/SS) Victor Smith “This Land is Your Land”
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Interview with CMDCM William L. Greene Q: Where is it that you call home? A: Jasper, Texas. Texas will always be home for me. Q: Do you have a favorite football team? A: I’m a big bandwagon Texas fan. Whoever is doing the best out of Texas is who I’m rooting for. Q: Do you have any strong feelings about 5K runs? A: I’m not a big fan of paying to go run. It almost seems like a scam to me. Q: How long have you been in the Navy? A: June will make 19 years. Q: How has the Navy changed in that time? A: It’s changed a lot, but the underlying core values: Honor, Courage and Commitment, those things haven’t changed. But the Navy adapts in different ways. Lately, the big new policies have been about doing whats right and providing equal opportunities for Sailors. We’ve gone from excluding some people to including them and making opportunities available for Sailors, whether male or female, to serve in all different types of roles. Q: What has been your impression of the ship and its crew thus far? A: Amazing. Being on submarines, I’ve been involved with submarine tenders before, but just walking around and seeing the capabilities and seeing what the Sailors can do has been incredible. Seeing how they can turn just a big piece of steel into something useful either for this ship or a submarine has been amazing. I was just very surprised at the capabilities as I walked around. Q: Finally, do you have a message you’d like to deliver to the crew? A: Everyone has the right to a good and safe work environment. We’re going to work hard and we’re going to play hard, but we always need to make sure the work environment is safe. If anything is ever broken, don’t hesitate to e-mail me. I can’t fix what I don’t know is broken. I’m excited to be here. I want people to be excited to come to work, excited about being on Emory S. Land and fixing submarines.
Electrician’s Mate 2nd Class Abdias Reyna, assigned to the submarine tender USS Emory S. Land (AS 39), greets his son for the first time following a five-month deployment. The return to Guam is Emory S. Land’s first, since changing homeport from Diego Garcia to Guam Dec. 23. Emory S. Land is an expeditionary submarine tender conducting coordinated tended moorings and afloat maintenance in the U.S. 5th and 7th Fleet areas of operations. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Jason Amadi/Released)
The Official Newsletter of USS EMORY S. LAND (AS 39)
Commanding Officer Captain Mark A. Prokopius Executive Officer Commander Brian C. Rednour Command Master Chief CMDCM (SS/NAC) William L. Greene Public Affairs Officer Lieutenant Bradley Newsad JAGC Leading Petty Officer MC1 (SW) Brandon Shelander Editing/Design/Journalism MC3 Jason Amadi MC3 (SW) Austin Ingram MCSN Daniel Willoughby