HS-11 Holds Aerial Change of Command

USS Enterprise (CVN 65)

The Shuttle Newsletter Edition

“We are Legend”

July 7, 2012 Issue

HS-11 Holds Aerial Change of Command Story by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Brian G. Reynolds

HH-60H Seahawk helicopters, flown by Cmdr. Edgardo Moreno and Cmdr. Ryan Keys, fly over Enterprise during an aerial change of command ceremony for HS-11. (Photo by Randy J. Savarese)

USS ENTERPRISE, At Sea – Cmdr. Ryan Keys relieved Cmdr.

Edgardo “Cheech” Moreno as commanding officer (CO) of the Dragonslayers of Helicopter Anti-submarine Squadron (HS) 11 in an airborne change-of-command ceremony in the skies above deployed aircraft carrier USS Enterprise (CVN 65) July 6.

The ceremony began on the flight deck as Moreno addressed the crew of HS-11, offering his appreciation and gratitude to the squadron he had led.

“You are my family,” said Moreno. “I have nothing but love and respect for all of you.”

Moreno also expressed a deep honor for having the opportunity to lead the Dragonslayers.

“When you say ‘take care of your people,’ that’s easier said than done,” said Moreno. “You have to do a lot to take care of your people. The first thing you have to do is lead from the front.”

Following the airborne portion of the ceremony, which included a ceremonial “lead change” carried out by Keys and Moreno, Keys took center stage and addressed the crew as the new commanding officer of HS-11.

“We will continue the Dragonslayer traditions of mission

accomplishment, safe flying and mentorship,” said Keys. “Every person in this command plays a critical role on this team and must respect each other.”

Keys, the previous executive officer of HS-11, then offered his thanks to Moreno for setting a favorable leadership example for him to follow.

“Thanks Cheech, for all that you’ve done for the squadron for the past two and a half years,” said Keys. “You didn’t tell me how to be a good CO. You showed me how to be an outstanding CO.” Capt. Jeffrey Trent, commander of Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 1 also addressed the HS-11 crew, expressing gratitude for a job well done by Moreno and welcoming Keys as the new commanding officer.

“He [Moreno] cares deeply about his people,” said Trent. “He holds his people accountable.

Most importantly, he loves you

Dragonslayers.”

“I know he (Keys) will continue to take the Dragonslayers to bigger and better heights,” added Trent.

This deployment will be the final deployment for any squadron embarked aboard Enterprise, as the ship is scheduled to be inactivated following its return to homeport in Norfolk.

This makes the last in-flight change of command the Dragonslayers will ever conduct aboard Enterprise.

“It feels bittersweet, but I am honored to have had the opportunity to do an airborne change of command on this final historic deployment of the Big E,” said Moreno.

Moreno will go on to attend the National Defense University in Washington, D.C. With the completion of the change of command, HS11 pilots will continue to fly combat missions in support of Operation Enduring Freedom in the U.S. 5th Fleet area of responsibility.

“I would like to say that it has been an absolute privilege to serve with each and every one of my Dragonslayers,” said Moreno. “I am fortunate to have had the opportunity to serve with such a phenomenal group of consummate professionals.”

The Shuttle

Page 2

Saturday, July 7 2012

HS-11 Change of Command

Cmdr. Edgardo Moreno is doused with water by pilots from his squadron. (Photo by MC3 Scott Pittman) Cmdr. Edgardo Moreno bids farewell to members of his squadron.

(Photo by MC3 Scott Pittman)

Crewmembers from HS-11 stand in formation during the change of command ceremony. (Photo by MC3 Heath Zeigler)

Cmdr. Ryan Keys speaks during the ceremony.

(Photo by MC3 Randy J. Savarese)

Capt. Jeffrey Trent addresses Cmdr. Ryan Keys during the change of command. (Photo by MC3 Scott Pittman)

Cmdr. Edgardo Moreno speaks during the ceremony.

(Photo by MC3 Randy J. Savarese)

HS-11 leadership and Capt. Jeffrey Trent,, commander of Carrier Air Wing 1, listen to the briefing for an airborne change of command ceremony. (Photo by MC3 Scott Pittman)

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

An HH-60H Seahawk helicopter, flown by Cmdr. Ryan Keys, lands on the flight deck following the change of command ceremony. (Photo by MC3 Randy J. Savarese)

Editor MC3 Brian G. Reynolds

The Shuttle

Saturday, July 7, 2012

Page 3

In the News Syria’s Assad Says He’s Willing To Step Aside

By Roy Gutman, McClatchy, MCCLATCHY NEWSPAPERS

ISTANBUL -- After losing his most important supporters outside Syria, President Bashar al Assad said his office “doesn’t mean anything to me” and he’s willing to give up it up, though preferably after national elections.

“If the president’s departure is in the interest of Syria, the president should naturally go. This is selfevident,” he told the Turkish newspaper Cumhuriyet. “You should never stay in office one day if the people do not want you; and the elections are the means through which the people show whether they want you or not.”

Assad gave the interview Sunday, a day after Russia and China joined the United States and other major powers to call for a transitional government with full executive powers to replace Assad’s one-man rule.

Some pro-democracy rebel groups that have been fighting the regime for the past 16 months rejected the plan, drafted by United Nations special envoy Kofi Annan.

Their chief complaint was that at the insistence of Russia, Assad’s most important backer, the plan didn’t explicitly require Assad to go.

Assad withheld criticism of the Annan plan and entertained several questions about how long he would stay in office.

“The most important thing is that everything should be decided inside Syria, not outside it,” Assad said, according to the English translation posted on the Syrian presidential web site.

He also didn’t rule out departing office through some means other than elections, such as the Annan plan, which calls for a transitional government that could include members of the regime if they’re acceptable to the opposition. Annan said he doubted the opposition would agree to anyone with “blood on his hands” to be in the transitional government, a clear allusion to Assad.

Assad was not invited to send a representative to the conference about his country’s – and his own – future.

Northern Routes To Be Vital To Afghanistan Withdrawal

By Craig Whitlock and Karen DeYoung, WASHINGTON POST

Even with the reopening of critical supply routes through Pakistan, the U.S. military confronts a mammoth logistical challenge to wind down the warin Afghanistan, where it must withdraw nearly 90,000 troops and enormous depots of military equipment accumulated over the past decade.

Assuming Pakistan doesn’t seal its border again, U.S. and NATO commanders still face the prospect of pulling out at least a third of the cargo from northern Afghanistan on a winding, makeshift network of railways and roads that cross the former Soviet Union.

Those routes carry strategic risks of their own. Access to the transit lines depends on the whims of several authoritarian Central Asian leaders as well as Russian President

Vladimir Putin, a longtime nemesis of NATO. Moreover, the cost of shipping goods along the northern routes is about triple that of the muchshorter Pakistani lines.

The only other option for departing landlocked Afghanistan is by air — an even more expensive alternative, costing up to 10 times as much as the Pakistani ground routes.

All told, U.S. military logisticians are preparing to bring home 100,000 shipping containers stuffed with materiel and 50,000 wheeled vehicles by the end of 2014, when U.S. and NATO combat operations are scheduled to cease.

The U.S. military has increasingly relied on the supply lines that cross the former Soviet Union to deliver cargo into Afghanistan since those routes opened in 2009.

IN-Brief

News you should know...courtesy of OZ division Pres. Ahmadinejad: Iran has Never Been After Taking Revenge

TEHRAN, July 5, IRNA – IRI President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said here Wednesday in a meeting with new Portuguese ambassador to Tehran, despite suffering lots of hardships due to Europeans’ behavior, Iran has never been after taking revenge.

According to the IRNA Wednesday night news team, the IRI Presidential Office information website further reported President Ahmadinejad as saying in his Wednesday evening meeting with the new Portuguese Ambassador to Iran, Mario Fernando Damash Nunes, “The international relations must be regulated based on mutual friendship and respect among the governments and nations and no nation can keep on living without friendly and constructive relations with the other nations.”

The president pointed out that the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Republic of Portugal have had good and constructive relations during the course of the past two decades, reiterating, “Iran is always willing to have good and improving relations with entire world countries.”

President Ahmadinejad pointed out that the Iranian nation has suffered numerous blows from the side of European countries, such as those during the course of the eight year (Iraqi) imposed war, but the Iranians have never been after taking revenge.

He furthermore, reiterated, “Of course Portugal’s stands at that time were positive, but many European countries have encountered the Iranian nation antagonistically, without having any logical reason for doing so.”

The Shuttle

Page 4

Saturday, July 7, 2012

Big E Entertainment 39. Clothing 40. Lasso 41. Hopelessness 43. Lively tempo 44. Threaded 46. Sailing ship 47. Tablet 50. Tiny balls strung together 53. Equal 54. Record (abbrev.)

55. Narcotic 60. Unusual 61. To a complete degree 63. Largest continent 64. Smack 65. Fruit of the oak tree 66. Not us 67. Male deer 68. Verse ACROSS 1. Decrease 6. Cover with asphalt 10. To cast aside (archaic) 14. Craze 15. Among 16. Bright thought 17. Kirk’s starship 19. Auctioned

20. Sewing tool 21. Cacophony 22. Double-reed woodwind 23. It makes dough rise 25. Inclination 26. Historical periods 30. Impassive 32. Hanging platform 35. Rats

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10. Disarrayed 11. Pueblo brick 12. Criminal 13. Washed-out 18. P 24. Donkey 25. Related to tides 26. Quaint outburst 27. Be worthy of 28. Anagram of “Salt” 29. Backwash 31. Take it easy 33. Give a speech 34. Small dam 36. Near 37. Tropical tuber 38. Put away 42. German measles 43. Ottoman officer 45. Ambrosia 47. Small fatty European fish 48. Tether 49. Eagle’s nest 51. Man’s best friend 52. Lance 54. Impetuous 56. Skin irritation 57. Greeting at sea 58. School session 59. Sea eagle 62. Choose