USS Enterprise (CVN 65)
The Shuttle Newsletter Edition
“We are Legend”
June 15, 2012 Issue
Enterprise: Learning From the Past to Prepare for the Future Story by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class (SW) Robert Guerra training, improved firefighting equipment as well as facilitated more demanding qualification and certification requirements.” All Sailors receive damage control training during basic training, and through simulated drills, which culminate in a realistic training scenario called “Battle Stations,” are given their first glimpse into what may face them in their upcoming career. Upon checking aboard Enterprise, that training is taken a step further. All hands are required to attend basic damage control training designed to provide ship-specific information and lay a foundation and skill set for damage control efforts aboard the ship. “Every Sailor and Marine aboard needs to know the basic damage control equipment and procedures aboard the ship,” said Porter. “In an emergency the initial actions that are taken can make the difference between containing a casualty and losing control. The objective is to always keep casualties isolated and minimized to the smallest area possible.” Senior Chief Aviation Boatswain’s Mate (Handling) Rashien Simpson, watches Sailors in proximity firefighting suits prepare to simulate overhauling an aircraft fire during a general quarters drill. Enterprise Sailors routinely hone and develop these (Photo by MC3 Scott Pittman) skills through drills known as General Quarters (GQ). USS ENTERPRISE, At Sea – Fire and metal rained down from GQ can deal with scenarios ranging from mass casualties to the sky. Smoke consumed everything. Explosions occurred compartmental flooding and shipboard firefighting, all of which in unison, four at a time, as Mk 82 bombs “cooked off” in are synonymous with shipboard damage control. the fire that engulfed the flight deck. Burning fuel, like lava, “The GQ drills that we conduct aboard are evolutions poured down through the holes caused by the explosions. The designed to instill and reinforce procedures and techniques compartments below became host to class alpha, bravo and Sailors already posses,” said Porter. “All hands are required to charlie fires as the intensity of the stream ignited everything it attend a ‘live’ firefighting school every six years and our GQ came into contact with. drills work to strengthen that training.” The officers and crew faced catastrophe. All hands Damage control aboard Enterprise is an important and vital scrambled to their repair lockers, gathering equipment to consideration to all hands. However, firefighting has clearly combat the emergency. The crew fought both above and below distinguished itself as a top priority since any fire has the decks as the ship maneuvered to put the 18-knot winds toward potential of becoming an inferno that can threaten the life of the the fantail, away from aircraft and the island. Before the crew ship and crew. successfully extinguished the flames and suppressed the threat, Proper training in the areas of damage control and 28 Sailors had been killed, and 314 others were injured – many firefighting are the keys to success in meeting the ever-growing severely. challenges of shipboard life. The diligent implementation of January 14, 1969, is a date that has been permanently forged GQ drills ensures that the Big E’s crew is ready and prepared to into the history of the legendary aircraft carrier USS Enterprise respond to any casualty they may face. (CVN 65). For it was on this date, her crew fought through peril “We work hard to maintain everyone’s training proficiency,” and adversity with selfless determination to save their ship. said Porter. “Whether personnel are members of a repair locker As Big ‘E’ steams forward through her final deployment, the or in-port emergency team, we ensure that they’re ready to go effects of that day can still be felt. at all times without doubts as to the actions necessary to take “Because of tragic events such as the 1969 fire, Navy control of any casualty they may face.” damage control training programs have dramatically Through regularly scheduled GQ drills, Enterprise and improved,” said Master Chief Damage Controlman Glen her crew continue to show their resilience, determination and Porter, Engineering department, DC division leading chief commitment to learning from the past in order to better prepare petty officer. “The lessons we’ve learned have aided in better and respond to emergencies in the future.
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Friday, June 15, 2012
Big E Happenings
Logisitics Specialist 2nd Class David Pazrosas, Humble, Texas (Photo by MC3 Scott Pittman) Air Crewman Rescue Swimmer 2nd Class Ben Cook, Eustis, Fla. (Photo by MC2(SW) Brooks B. Patton Jr.)
Photo by MC3 Gregory White
Seaman Kenneth Hayes, Atlanta, Ga. (Photo by MC3 Scott Pittman)
Photo by MC3 Brian G. Reynolds
Photo by MC3 Scott Pittman
Aviation Ordnanceman Airman Shawn Bohn, College Station, Texas (Photo by MC3 Scott Pittman)
Photo by MC3 Brian G. Reynolds
The Shuttle USS Enterprise (CVN 65)
Photo by MC3 Scott Pittman
Did You Know? USS Enterprise (CVN 65) crossed the Equator for the first time in August of 1964.
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 Editors MC2 (SW) Kristin L. Grover MC3 Brian G. Reynolds
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Friday, June 15, 2012
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In the News Service Members, Families, Get Pacific Buildup Free Pass to National Parks Will Bring in By Lisa Daniel, AMERICAN FORCES PRESS SERVICE
WASHINGTON - Service members and their families will be able to enter all of America’s national parks free of charge until May 15, 2013. The pass – the America the Beautiful National Parks and Federal Recreation Lands Annual Pass, which normally costs $80 – is now available to service members and their dependants. The passes allow the holder and passengers in a single private vehicle access to some 2,000 sites that charge per vehicle. At sites where entrance fees are charged per person, it covers the pass owner and three adults age 16 and older. The National Park Service estimates that giving away the passes to service members and their families will result in a revenue loss between $2 million and $6 million, but Jarvis
that won’t cause a significant impact on the agency, which collects about $150 million in fees each year. Military personnel can get the passes at any national park or wildlife refuge that charges an entrance fee by showing their military ID. Family members also will be able to obtain their own pass, even if the service member is deployed or if they are traveling separately. The pass will be accepted at National Park Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Bureau of Reclamation, Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Forest Service and U.S. Army Corps sites that charge entrance or standard amenity fees. The free pass will be made available for activated members of the National Guard and reserves, but not for military veterans or retirees.
By ANGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
“Al-Qaeda is still resisting and there are battles in and around the city,” where many of Al-Qaeda’s leadership is known to be hiding, the official told AFP on condition of anonymity. He said the army has “surrounded the town from three sides.” In Azzan, a resident said dozens of people “have fled” since the early morning drone strike. “The explosions were very strong... they shook the whole town,” said the resident who spoke on condition of anonymity. The capture of Zinjibar and Jaar marked the first major victories of a month-long army offensive to destroy Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, the name given to the network’s Yemen branch. The militants, taking advantage of a central government weakened by last year’s Arab-Spring style uprisings, had overrun most of Abyan, taking full control of the capital, Zinjibar, as well as Jaar, Shuqra and several villages.
‘US Drone Strike’ Against Al-Qaeda in Yemen Kills 9 A US drone strike on a house and car in Yemen’s restive southeastern Shabwa province killed nine people, believed to be Al-Qaeda militants, a tribal source said. “A US drone struck a house where Al-Qaeda militants were meeting, and a car nearby,” in the town of Azzan in Shabwa province early in the morning, a tribal source told AFP on condition of anonymity. He said “nine people were killed in the explosions.” A local medic confirmed the toll. Several hundred Al-Qaeda militants are believed to have fled to Azzan in the hours before two Al-Qaeda strongholds in Yemen’s southern Abyan province, Jaar and Zinjibar, were recaptured by the army. Al-Qaeda gunmen were also believed to have fled to the town of Shuqra, east of the newly recaptured towns, where according to one local official, fierce clashes raged between troops and jihadists.
Navy’s Top Craft By Audrey McAvoy, ASSOCIATED PRESS
The commander of the U.S. Pacific Fleet said Monday the Navy will be sending its most advanced vessels and aircraft to the AsiaPacific region as it builds up its presence by assigning most of its fleet there. Adm. Cecil Haney said a policy recently outlined by Defense Secretary Leon Panetta to deploy 60 percent of the Navy’s ships fleet to the Pacific by 2020 is about capabilities as well as quantity. “It’s not just numbers - it’s also what those platforms, what those units, bring to the table, ”Haney told The Associated Press in an interview at his headquarters in Pearl Harbor. Haney cited as an example the Littoral Combat Ship which can operate in shallower waters than other vessels. The U.S. plans to begin deploying one of the ships to Singapore next year. The EA-18G plane - which can jam enemy air defenses and fly faster than the speed of sound - is another. Haney said squadrons of these aircraft would be coming through the region. There’s also the Navy’s most advanced submarine - the Virginiaclass. Several of these subs are based at Pearl Harbor. “Yes, it’s about having numbers in that 60-40 split, but also about having the right capability,” he said. The policy offers further detail to the Obama Administration’s announcement earlier this year of a new defense strategy that places greater emphasis on a U.S. military presence in the region in response to Asia’s growing economic importance and China’s rise as a military power.
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Friday, June 15, 2012
Sailors of the Day Logistics Specialist Seaman Herlinda Maldonado
Aviation Structural Mechanic 2nd Class Chad Mcgowen
LSSN Herlinda Maldonado, from Weslaco, Texas, joined the Navy three years ago to protect the freedom of her loved ones. In her spare time, Maldonado enjoys reading. Her future goals include earning a master’s degree in accounting, getting a job with the FBI and helping mothers who have lost their children.
AM2 Chad Mcgowen, from Shawnee, Kan., joined the Navy five years ago to see the world and follow a family tradition. Mcgowen enjoys shooting pool and spending time with his 8-year-old son. He looks forward to advancing in rank and taking a vacation with his family.
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