Enterprise to Celebrate Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month

USS Enterprise (CVN 65)

The Shuttle Newsletter Edition

“We are Legend”

May 17, 2012 Issue

Enterprise to Celebrate Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month Story by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Gregory White USS ENTERPRISE, At Sea- Sailors and Marines aboard point is for everyone to get involved. This is a multicultural aircraft carrier USS Enterprise (CVN-65) are scheduled to event.” celebrate Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Quino said that she is very passionate about the MCHC and Month in the ship’s hangar bay May 18. the events that the committee hosts. When she first joined the Celebrated across the nation during May, Asian American/ Navy, she wasn’t sure how diverse it really was.

Pacific Islander Heritage Month is “When you start seeing things like a celebration of Asians and Pacific these events, it makes you feel like Islanders living in the U.S. the Navy, and America as a whole, Enterprise’s Multicultural Heritage is embracing you and your culture,” Committee (MCHC) is responsible for said Quino. “It gives you that sense of planning and hosting the observance hominess. I’m very excited about this. aboard the Big E as the carrier continues I enjoy seeing the dances and hearing its 22nd and final deployment. The the songs and poems. I like trying the observance will focus on this year’s different foods and learning about theme: “Striving for Excellence in different cultures. It’s kind of magical.”

Leadership, Diversity, and Inclusion.”

“It’s nice to know peoples’ The celebration planned by MCHC backgrounds and origins,” said Secord. will educate the crew about the AAPI “It’s just interesting. It’s nice to know culture. our military is so diverse.”

“It’s about bringing together all The MCHC is confident the the different ethnicities of the Asian celebration of diversity will be a good countries to represent their cultures,” time for everyone involved. said Hospital Corpsman 1st Class John “The performers have been putting a R. Julian. “All the communities will lot of time and effort into their practice come together to put on a show centered to ensure a good show for everyone,” on the Asian cultures.” said Julian.

The show will include dance, song, Asian American/ Pacific Islander an informational speech, a poetry Heritage Month was first introduced reading and a “Haka.” in 1977, when Representatives Frank Horton and Norman Y. “A Haka is basically a war chant,” said Chief Aviation Mineta introduced a resolution that called upon the president Structural Mechanic Lorraine Marie C. Secord. “A very to proclaim the first 10 days of May as Asian American/Pacific long time ago, the chant was created as a way to intimidate Islander Heritage Week. enemies.”

A year later, in 1978, President Jimmy Carter signed a joint The Haka to be performed derives from the island of Samoa. resolution designating the annual celebration of AAPI Heritage The dance portion of the show will include Hula, an week. interpretive dance style from Thailand and a Tahitian dance.

May was chosen for the AAPI Heritage observance to “There is a lot of diversity in the Asian and Pacific Island commemorate the immigration of the first Japanese people to countries,” said Julian. “Of course, you have the big countries the United States on May 7, 1843, and to mark the anniversary that everyone knows about like China and Japan, but you also of the completion of the transcontinental railroad on May 10, have smaller countries, like Thailand, and a lot of islands that 1869. Much of the work on this railroad was completed by many people have never even heard about.”

Chinese immigrants.

Lt. j.g. Hosannah R. Quino, the master of ceremonies for In 1990, President George H.W. Bush signed an extension, the event, said that the observance is a celebration for everyone making the week-long celebration a month-long. and that it can serve as a great learning experience for the entire All hands are invited to attend the observance May 18, at crew.

2000 in the Big E’s hangar bay.

“We are going to mix it up a little bit,” said Quino. “The

Page 2

The Shuttle

Thursday, May 17, 2012

Big E Commemorates...

ASIAN AMERICAN PACIFIC ISLANDER

HERITAGE MONTH - MAY 2012 During the month of May, the Defense Department takes time to recognize and honor the dedicated service and contributions of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, both past and present, through military service in defense of our nation.

Timeline of Memorable Contributions

1863-

Chinese American William Ah Hang becomes one of the first Asian Americans to enlist in U.S. Navy during Civil War.

Navy Fireman 2nd Class Telesforo de la Crux Trinidad, a Filipino, earned the Medal of Honor during a boiler explosion incident aboard the USS San Diego.

1941-

U.S. Congress resolutions allow almost unlimited enlistment and employment of Filipino Americans in war effort.

First Chinese American officer in U.S. Marine Corps, Wilbur Carl Sze, commissioned as second lieutenant.

1946-

-1959

Jiunzo Matsumuna, first Japanese midshipman at U.S. Naval Academy (Class of 1973), admitted.

Astronaut Air Force Lt. Col. Ellison Shoji Onizuka dies in space shuttle Challenger explosion. Onizuka, a Japanese American, served on the first DoD space shuttle mission.

1994-

-1943

The 442nd “Go for Broke” Regimental Combat Team receives the Presidential Distinguished Unit citation from President Truman in Washington.

World War II Army Capt. Daniel K. Inouye, holder of the Distinguished Service Cross, becomes first Japanese American elected to the U.S. House of Representatives (1959-63); later becomes U.S. senator.

1969-

-1915

-1986

Chinese American Frederick Pang sworn in as assistant secretary of defense for force management policy.

Design concept unveiled for National Japanese American Memorial in Washington. Initially intended to commemorate Japanese American war veterans, the purpose has been extended to honor the patriotism of all Japanese Americans during World War II.

-1997

“Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders comprise many ethnicities and languages, and their myriad achievements embody the American experience. Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders … are leaders in every aspect of American life -- in government and industry, science and medicine, the arts and our armed forces, education and sports.”

- President Barack Obama

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 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

Thursday, May 17, 2012

Page 3

In the News

Top U.S. General in Kabul Likely to Leave Command for Europe Post

By Greg Jaffe, WASHINGTON POST

Marine Corps Gen. John Allen, the top commander in Afghanistan, is expected to leave his post early next year and take over the U.S. European Command, officials said.

Allen has spent much of his tumultuous year in Afghanistan helping to negotiate a longterm security agreement with the Afghan government and overseeing the initial drawdown of U.S. forces from the country.

He has shifted American troops from a counterinsurgency strategy, with a focus on governance and reconstruction, to a more limited mission of training the Afghan army and fighting the Taliban.

The planned promotion to head the U.S. European Command will allow Allen to remain deeply involved in Afghanistan policy and work with NATO allies who have maintained a presence in the country despite the war’s growing unpopularity in Europe.

Defense officials cautioned that the plan could change if conditions in Afghanistan shift.

“No final decisions have been made regarding a followon assignment for Gen. Allen or the future of European Command,” said Capt. John Kirby, a Pentagon spokesman.

If the White House nominates Allen, the general will have to be confirmed by the Senate.

Allen, who had been expected to spend two years in Afghanistan, would leave his post early to take the job as the supreme allied commander in Europe, Defense officials said.

Senior Pentagon and White House officials do not want to pull out the top commander in Afghanistan in the middle of the country’s fighting season, which runs from spring through the fall.

Replacing Allen in the winter would give his successor a few months before the start of heavier fighting to learn the territory.

Adm. James G. Stavridis, head of the U.S. European Command, has been asked to stay a few months beyond the end of his four-year term so that Allen will have time to return from Afghanistan and prepare for his new command.

Allen’s major task over the coming months will be to reduce the American force in Afghanistan to about 68,000 troops by the end of September, down from about 100,000 last year.

At the same time, he will have to rely increasingly on Afghan forces, bolstered by American training teams, to hold ground taken from the Taliban.

Defense Cuts Would Cripple Va. Economy, Leaders Warn

By Bill Bartel, THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT who voiced concern about the

CHESAPEAKE--If Congress doesn’t stop $1 trillion in automatic budget reductions set to begin unrolling in January, Hampton Roads and Northern Virginia will see such dramatic cutbacks that a statewide recession is likely, a public policy expert warned.

Professor Stephen Fuller of George Mason University told more than 500 people at a congressional listening session that the deep cuts, including about $500 billion in defense cuts, would be “devastating,” given that 10 cents of every defense dollar is spent in the commonwealth.

“These would be enough to drive the economy into a recession in 2013,” Fuller said, noting that 20 percent of all the jobs in Virginia are dependent on military spending.

Fuller was among several speakers

automatic budget cuts at the first of several special meetings set up by U.S. Rep. Randy Forbes, R-Chesapeake, and other members of the House Armed Services Committee.

The nationwide “Defending Our Defenders” tour aims to raise awareness about the impending automatic defense cuts, as well as the $487 billion the Obama administration has proposed to cut at the Pentagon over five years.

The $1 trillion in cuts were set in motion after congressional negotiators failed late last year to approve a plan to cut the federal deficit. When no agreement was reached, the law approved by Congress required that the cuts be made in the budget, half of the amount coming from defense and the other half from social programs.

“The purpose of this tour is not to say ‘What is the best way to fix it?’ but to say ‘What are the repercussions if these cuts actually came to be?’“ Forbes said before the two-hour session began in the Chesapeake Conference Center. The problem today, he said, is that the impact of the automatic cuts is not being discussed in Washington.

He was joined by U.S. Reps. Scott Rigell, R-Virginia Beach, and Rob Wittman, R-Westmoreland County, both members of the armed services panel.

While Forbes and others have argued that the cuts would hinder the nation’s ability to defend itself and protect its interests, many of the speakers Monday night were more focused on concerns about the direct impact on the region’s economy.

The Shuttle

Page 4

Thursday, May 17, 2012

Sailors of the Day Aviation Ordnanceman 3rd Class Matthew F. Bahner

AO3 Matthew Bahner, from Mount Holly, N.J., joined the Navy four years and five months ago to be a part of something worthwhile and to travel the world.

He enjoys sport shooting, basketball, reading and listening to music. Bahner plans to make a career out of the Navy and possibly become a teacher one day.

Airman Apprentice William E. Draughon

AA William Draughon, from Fayetteville, N.C., joined the Navy eighteen months ago to make a better future for himself. Draughon enjoys exercising in his spare time. His future goals include going back to school and working toward becoming a firefighter.

Big E Entertainment

I wish he had conserved water when he had the chance...