VFA-211 Holds Aerial Change of Command

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USS Enterprise (CVN 65)

The Shuttle Newsletter Edition

“We are Legend”

May 8, 2012 Issue

Story by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Scott Pittman

USS ENTERPRISE, At Sea – Cmdr. John Bixby relieved Cmdr. James A. McCall as commanding officer (CO) of the Checkmates of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 211 in an airborne change of command ceremony in the skies over deployed aircraft carrier USS Enterprise (CVN 65) May 7. Bixby and McCall both flew in F/A-18F Super Hornets assigned to VFA-211 as they read their orders, with McCall giving the final flight lead to Bixby as they flew over Enterprise. “Now it’s just a matter of taking the baton from Cmdr. McCall and keeping the squadron going down the right path,” said Bixby. “As one man, I cannot change how well the squadron performs, it’s a matter of all 250 of our people doing what they do, and have been doing, to get the job done.” This deployment will be the final deployment for any squadron embarked aboard Enterprise, as the ship is scheduled to be decommissioned following its return to homeport in Norfolk, Va., making this the last in-flight change of command

the Checkmates will have over Enterprise. “I’m an aviator, so anything we can do in a jet is better than something we can do on the ground, and I’m all for that,” said Bixby. When asked his departing thoughts, McCall stated that leaving while his squadron was still flying combat missions was the best way he could think to depart. “As for the Checkmates, it has been the greatest honor of my career to lead this team. It’s made up of a tremendous group of Sailors who are dedicated to their craft and our country,” said McCall. “I know Americans can sleep safely at night with this team out here doing what we’re doing today.” Shortly after the ceremony, McCall departed Enterprise to report to his new command, Joint Theater Air and MSL DEF ORG. With the completion of the change of command, VFA-211 pilots will continue to fly combat missions in the U.S. 5th Fleet area of responsibility.


The Shuttle

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Tuesday, May 8, 2012

Big E Happenings

Photo by MC3 Scott Pittman

Photo by MC3 Scott Pittman

Photo by MCSN Heath Zeigler

Photo by MCSN Heath Zeigler

Photo by MC3 Scott Pittman

Photo by MCSN Heath Zeigler

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.

Photo by MCSN Heath Zeigler

Commanding Officer Capt. William C. Hamilton, Jr.

Executive Officer Capt. G. C. Huffman

Command Master Chief ABCM (AW/SW) Eric M. Young

Public Affairs Officer Lt. Cmdr. Sarah T. Self-Kyler

Editors MC2 (SW) Kristin L. Grover MCSN Brian G. Reynolds


The Shuttle

Tuesday, May 8, 2012

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In the News

At A Hearing, 9/11 Detainees Show Defiance By Charlie Savage, NEW YORK TIMES Amid disruptions both passive and GUANTÁNAMO BAY, Cuba — aggressive, the government’s attempt Khalid Shaikh Mohammed fingered to restart its efforts to prosecute the his long, henna-dyed beard and stared five defendants in the long-delayed down in silence, pointedly ignoring Sept. 11 case got off to a slow and a military commissions judge asking rocky start in a trial that could in vain whether the self-described ultimately result in their execution. architect of the Sept. 11 attacks After hours of jostling over understood what was being said procedural issues, all five defendants and whether he was willing to be deferred entering a plea. The judge represented by his defense lawyers. set a hearing date for motions in midMinutes later, Ramzi bin al Shibh, another of the five detainees arraigned June; the trial is not likely to start for on Saturday as accused conspirators in at least a year. The Bush administration had the attacks, stood, knelt and started praying. Later, he shouted at the judge started to prosecute the men in the that he should address their complaints military commissions system in 2008. The Obama administration tried about prison conditions because to transfer the case to a federal court “maybe you are not going to see me in Lower Manhattan, a short distance again.” from the World Trade Center site, but “Maybe they are going to kill the plan collapsed amid security fears us and say that we have committed and a backlash in Congress. suicide,” he added. As defense lawyers repeatedly One defendant, Walid bin Attash, tried to change the subject to security was wheeled into the courtroom in a restrictions that they say have restraint chair for reasons that were hampered their ability to do their jobs, not disclosed.

the judge, Army Col. James L. Pohl, struggled to stick to a military commissions script that had been rewritten the day before — and so was not yet translated into Arabic. The judge, however, was determined to keep the case on track. When a lawyer for Mr. Mohammed, David Nevin, explained that his client had decided not to respond to the judge’s questions about his assigned defense lawyers in order to protest what he saw as an unfair process, Colonel Pohl replied that he would assume that he had no objections to being represented by them. “He has that choice,” Colonel Pohl said of Mr. Mohammed’s silence. “But he does not have a choice that would frustrate this commission going forward.” The arraignment was the first time since 2008 that the five high-profile Qaeda detainees had been seen in public.

Debate Slows New U.S. Cyber Rules By Zachary Fryer-Biggs, DEFENSE NEWS

Despite the ongoing concern about the escalating pace of cyber attacks, a new set of standing rules of engagement for cyber operations -- policy guidelines that would specify how the Pentagon would respond to different types of cyber attacks -- is being delayed by a debate over the role of the U.S. military in defending nonmilitary networks, sources said. The new policy, in the works for years and set to be completed in the next several months, according to Defense Department officials, is meant to update rules put in place in 2005. Those rules were of a limited scope, specifying a response to attacks against only military and government networks. This time, the department is looking for more latitude as it considers how to defend critical infrastructure and private corporations, with the division of responsibility between DoD and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) contested. “This is a turf war,” said James Cartwright, the retired U.S. Marine Corps general who stepped down as vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in August.

Cartwright, now with the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington think tank, said the debate boils down to concern over how well DHS is defending the public, and whether DoD needs to step in. “The Constitution doesn’t allow for idiocy,” he said. “You either make DHS do their job or you find another way.” The idea of DoD, in the form of U.S. Cyber Command (CYBERCOM), assisting when it comes to attacks against private entities runs into potential legal problems, said Dale Meyerrose, former associate director of National Intelligence and founder of the Meyerrose Group. “It’s against the law,” he said. “We sometimes forget that the United States military does not protect the United States except in a very gross aggregate sense. The United States military does not operate within the borders of the United States. What they’re calling for is a redefinition of that role.” Meyerrose encountered some of these legal limitations roughly 15 years ago when he was still in the military, and he tried to lend advice to private companies experiencing attacks.


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The Shuttle

Tuesday, May 8, 2012

Big E Entertainment 38. Half note 39. 71 in Roman numerals 40. Seated oneself 41. Blockade 42. Polite 43. Callous 45. Accumulate 49. French for “Summer” 50. Outflow 53. Germless 57. Beside the point 59. Operatic solo 60. Found in some lotions 61. Related to tides 62. Fastens 63. Dispatched 64. Incline 65. Feudal worker

ACROSS 1. Style 5. Lights 10. “Smallest” particle 14. False god 15. Normal 16. Abundant 17. Solitary 18. Mediterranean woody annual plant

20. Former Greek currency 22. An abusive word or phrase 23. Also 24. Adolescents 25. Near 32. A single-masted ship 33. Heroism 34. 25 in Roman numerals 37. Avid

DOWN 1. Gentle 2. Smell 3. Spanish lady 4. A subatomic particle 5. Stumblebum 6. Largest continent 7. Cup 8. Piece of glass 9. Swill 10. Mountain crest 11. Church offering

12. Frequently 13. Encounters 19. Fertilizer ingredient 21. A rigid circular band 25. Requests 26. Urgent request 27. He writes in verse 28. Wall climbers 29. A skin disease 30. Extraterrestrial 31. Male cat 34. 26 in Roman numerals 35. 24 in Roman numerals 36. Wicked 38. Minimum (abbrev.) 39. Educated 41. Rope fiber 42. Give as an example 44. Homestead 45. Assumed name 46. European blackbird 47. Moses’ brother 48. Shooting sport 51. Obtains 52. Wicked 53. Break 54. Colored part of an eye 55. Mortgage 56. Leisure 58. Big fuss


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