Enterprise Sailors Conduct Final Community Relations Project in U.S. 5th Fleet AOR

USS Enterprise (CVN 65)

The Shuttle Newsletter Edition

“We are Legend”

October 3, 2012 Issue

Enterprise Sailors Conduct Final Community Relations Project in U.S. 5th Fleet AOR Story and photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class (SW) Scott Pittman

Sailors assigned to aircraft carrier USS Enterprise (CVN 65) paint cartoon characters on a wall during a community relations project (COMREL) in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

USS ENTERPRISE, At Sea – Sailors and Marines from aircraft carrier USS Enterprise (CVN 65) and Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 1 participated in a community relations project at the Christ Church of Jebel Ali, United Arab Emirates (UAE), Sept. 30 and Oct. 1st.

The project, coordinated by the Enterprise’s Religious Ministries department, gave service members the chance to provide a local Anglican church with some much needed upkeep and help the people of the UAE. “It gives our Sailors and Marines the chance to meet some of the local population and give back to the community in a positive way,” said Lt. Cmdr. Henry Holcombe, a chaplain aboard Enterprise. “Our efforts allow us to do something interactively with the local community.”

The project offered Sailors and Marines a personal benefit as well.

“Part of these projects is providing a positive example of American service men and women volunteering their skills, time and energy to help the local population,” said Hospital Corpsman 1st Class David Hall, one of the Sailors who volunteered for the event. “But, most of all, each time we complete a community relations project, it instills in us a certain amount of pride and accomplishment.”

While at the church, service members worked with building

caretakers and groundskeepers on assorted beautification projects, ranging from chipping paint and priming walls for paint jobs to painting rooms and stairwells and drawing cartoon murals in a children’s play area.

“To help people, even when they don’t always have the best opinion of us, is an expression of who we are as Americans,” said Holcombe. “When we help people it gives them a chance to meet the average American and allows them to see that we have good hearts and have the same dreams and hopes they do.

To help people is a natural part of who we are.”

Hall agreed that volunteering in an area where Americans are not always welcome made the project that much more important. “(Not always having the best reputation in this area) just made me appreciate the opportunity to assist the local population more,” said Hall.

This event was the last scheduled community relations project for Enterprise and CVW-1 in the U.S. 5th Fleet area of responsibility.

“It is an incredible experience to be able to be a part of a ship that has such a legendary legacy,” said Holcombe. “To do some good work for people in different countries just adds to the legend of Enterprise.”

The Shuttle

Page 2

Wednesday, October 3, 2012

Big E’s Last 5th Fleet COMREL Photos by MC3 Scott Pittman

Cpl. Yehia Said, from Wappingers Falls, N.Y., assigned to the Thunderbolts of Marine Fighter Attack Squadron (VFMA) 251, paints a stairwell in Christ Church of Jebel Ali during a community relations project.

Aviation Electronics Technician 1st Class Wayne Clark, from St. Louis, Mo., chips paint off a wall of Christ Church of Jebel Ali during a community relations project (COMREL) between aircraft carrier USS Enterprise and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Hospital Corpsman 1st Class David Hall, from Fort Wayne, Ind., peels paint off a wall of Christ Church of Jebel Ali during a community relations project (COMREL) between aircraft carrier USS Enterprise and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Logistics Specialist Seaman Kendrick Littlejon, from Spartanburg, S.C., paints the walls of a stairwell in the Christ Church of Jebel Ali during a community relations project (COMREL) between aircraft carrier USS Enterprise and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

The Shuttle USS Enterprise (CVN 65)

The Shuttle is published and printed daily underway and bi-weekly in port by the USS Enterprise (CVN 65) Media Department, FPO AE 09543-2810. This newspaper is an authorized publication for members of the Department of Defense. Please direct all story ideas, questions and comments to MC1 (SW) Steve Smith at smithsw@cvn65. navy.mil.

Commanding Officer Capt. William C. Hamilton, Jr.

Executive Officer Capt. G. C. Huffman

Command Master Chief Public Affairs Officer CMDCM (AW/SW) Dwayne E. Huff Lt. Cmdr. Sarah T. Self-Kyler Editor MC3 Brian G. Reynolds

Hosptial Corpsman 3rd Class Mary O’Connel draws a cartoon flower on a wall during a community relations project (COMREL) in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Wednesday, October 3, 2012

The Shuttle

Page 3

In the News

CNO: High Op Tempo Straining Fleet

By Sam Fellman, NAVY TIMES

With four carrier strike groups responding to crises, the fleet is nearing the limits of a sustainable deployment pace, the Navy’s top officer said Sept.

27, an acknowledgment that comes as the defense secretary decides whether to continue a two-carrier presence requirement in 5th Fleet that’s already entered its third year.

The Navy has stationed two carriers in the Middle East for nine months a year since 2010, a heavy request for forces that officials refer to as a 1.7-carrier requirement. The Navy had been committed to this through September; after that, Navy officials planned to revert to a 1.0 presence. But that possibility seems more and more unlikely as the fleet responds to Iranian saber-rattling, a territorial dispute between Japan and China and the latest wave of unrest sweeping the Middle East.

The Enterprise and Eisenhower carrier strike groups are deployed in the Middle East, and the Stennis and George Washington strike groups are underway in 7th Fleet. On top of this, there are four ships in the Red Sea -- amphibious assault ship Iwo Jima, amphibious transport dock New York and destroyers Jason Dunham and Farragut -- ready to respond to crises from North Africa to Central Asia.

“So [there’s] a lot of activity obviously going on around the world today in your Navy,” Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Jon Greenert said in a Sept. 27 speech. “It’s driven op tempo up higher than we would

like, but we’re here to respond.”

Greenert, speaking to an audience of officers and contractors at an Association of the United States Navy luncheon in Washington, said the Navy was close to its limit under the fleet response plan, the model for training and deploying ships. Four carriers deployed, per the plan, requires six to be underway and training back home, Greenert said. Two carriers are being over¬hauled, and Enterprise is set to be deactivated this year.

Greenert hinted that the biggest hurdle is explaining the fleet has hit its limit.

“Our hardest problem will be, ‘You can’t do more?’” he said. “And say, ‘No, not with what we have.’ And so ... I would tell you that [Defense] Secretary [Leon] Panetta asks a lot of insightful questions about -- and worries about -- the people first, our crews and that rotation.”

Ashton Carter, the deputy defense secretary, is studying the Navy’s fleet response plan “in great detail,” Greenert said. “Some say, ‘Oh golly!’ I’m like, ‘Bring it on. Let’s look at this. If there’s another way, that’s fine.’ But the point is, we’re being looked at very closely and I’m comfortable with it.”

Greenert was optimistic the Navy could get more funding but cautioned that upcoming budget cuts will have real-world implications.

“If you want to have less, you’re going to get less coming, more than likely,” he said.

U.S. Abandoning Hopes For Taliban Peace Deal

By Matthew Rosenberg and Rod Nordland, NEW YORK TIMES

KABUL, Afghanistan — With the surge of American troops over and the Taliban still a potent threat, American generals and civilian officials acknowledge that they have all but written off what was once one of the cornerstones of their strategy to end the war here: battering the Taliban into a peace deal.

The once ambitious American plans for ending the war are now being replaced by the far more modest goal of setting the stage for the Afghans to work out a deal among themselves in the years after most Western forces depart, and to ensure Pakistan is on board with any eventual settlement. Military and diplomatic officials here and in Washington said that despite attempts to engage directly with Taliban leaders this year, they now expect that any significant progress will come only after 2014, once the bulk of NATO troops have left.

“I don’t see it happening in the next couple years,”

said a senior coalition officer. He and a number of other officials spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the delicacy of the effort to open talks.

“It’s a very resilient enemy, and I’m not going to tell you it’s not,” the officer said. “It will be a constant battle, and it will be for years.”

The failure to broker meaningful talks with the Taliban underscores the fragility of the gains claimed during the surge of American troops ordered by President Obama in 2009. The 30,000 extra troops won back territory held by the Taliban, but by nearly all estimates failed to deal a crippling blow.

Critics of the Obama administration say the United States also weakened its own hand by agreeing to the 2014 deadline for its own involvement in combat operations, voluntarily ceding the prize the Taliban has been seeking for over a decade.

The Shuttle

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Wednesday, October 3, 2012

Sailors of the Day Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Randy J. Savarese

Aviation Ordnanceman 3rd Class Darrick Barnett-Pratt

MC3 Randy J. Savarese, from Naples, Fla., joined the Navy one and a half years ago to add another chapter to the story of his life. In his spare time, he enjoys spending time with family and living life to its fullest.

In the future, he plans to be the best husband and father he can be and to build upon the shell of his old production business a new and more innovative venture.

Operations Specialist Seaman Jonathan Harmon

AO3 Darrick Barnett-Pratt, from Watterville, Maine, joined the Navy five and a half years ago to see the world. In his spare time, he enjoys watching movies, spending time at the beach and skiing. In the future, he plans to advance in rank and continue his education.

OSSN Jonathan Harmon, from Lubbock, Texas, joined the Navy three years ago for eduational benefits. In his spare time, he enjoys reading, watching movies and playing guitar. In the future, he plans to obtain a college degree.

YN2 Allan Hurst, from Belton Mo., joined the Navy 20 years ago. In his spare time, he enjoys spending time with family, hiking and reading. In the future, he plans to retire from the Navy and breed and train horses.

Yeoman 2nd Class Alan Hurst