USS Enterprise (CVN 65)
The Shuttle Newsletter Edition
“We are Legend”
September 20, 2012 Issue
ESWS & EAWS: Down to the Wire
Story by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class (SW) Brian G. Reynolds USS ENTERPRISE, At Sea – Ask any chief about what should be at the top of a junior Sailor’s “to do list” while on deployment, and they will probably mention warfare qualifications. While warfare pins are not necessarily a must for reenlistment, they definitely contribute to ensuring success in advancement and receiving auspicious orders. With the current deployment of aircraft carrier USS Enterprise (CVN 65) coming to a close, many Sailors aboard the carrier are making a final push to obtain their warfare pin aboard the legendary “Big E.” “We’ve seen a major influx of Sailors trying to receive their warfare pins now that we are in the final stages of deployment,” said Senior Chief Machinist’s Mate Kenneth Crowley, the ship’s Enlisted Surface Warfare Specialist (ESWS) coordinator. “Right now there is a major push throughout the command to get all of the Sailors up there to take the test and board prior to returning to homeport.” The large amount of Sailors now testing and boarding for their pins comes as no surprise to the program coordinators. “We sort of expected that we would have quite a few Sailors that would be in a rush to get their pins at the end of deployment,” said Chief Aviation Structural Mechanic Lorraine Secord, the Enlisted Aviation Warfare Specialist (EAWS) coordinator. “Though it is currently too late to enroll in the EAWS program (to become qualified by the end of deployment), we still encourage those who are already enrolled not to wait to take their test and board.” As it stands, both the EAWS and the ESWS programs
already have scheduled dates that crewmembers must adhere to in order to receive their warfare pins during deployment. The final ESWS board will be held in the Foc’sle Oct. 15, whereas the final EAWS board will be held Oct. 27. This will be the final opportunity for Sailors to test their skills and receive their warfare pin before returning to Norfolk. “We are currently holding four to five boards per week to ensure that those who are already enrolled have an opportunity to receive their pin,” said Secord. Crowley also mentioned that although they will work with anyone who wants to get their pins, they should avoid waiting until the very last minute. “Don’t wait until the last minute, where it is an emergency,” said Crowley. “People should let us know ahead of time to make sure that they have the right credentials and everything that they need in order to take the test and board.” Although there are deadlines to become qualified while on deployment, both EAWS and ESWS programs will not end for Enterprise when it returns to Norfolk. The EAWS program is scheduled to officially terminate March 13, 2013. There is not currently a scheduled termination date set for ESWS. “As far as the ESWS program goes, it will continue after we pull back into Norfolk, said Crowley. “This ship will still be here and we will still give Sailors the opportunity. We will still conduct trainings and walkthroughs.” Though both programs will continue after the current deployment ends, there is something to be said about obtaining a warfare qualification aboard the world’s first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier while it is underway on its final deployment.
U.S. Curbs Joint Afghan Operations, Commander Shifts Strategy By Nathan Hodge, WALL STREET JOURNAL
KABUL - The U.S. military, in the wake of several deadly attacks and the fallout from an anti-Muslim video, is pulling back on cooperation with Afghan forces, altering the U.S. strategy here until further notice. The U.S. shift limits the small-unit joint patrols and training that have been central to the current military strategy, which is intended to prepare Afghan forces to take over the fight against the Taliban once most American forces leave in 2014. Under a directive by Marine Gen. John Allen, commander of the International Security Assistance Force, all joint operations have been restricted to the level of battalion command and above, barring a special waiver. The shift comes as a suicide bombing outside the Kabul airport on Tuesday, cited by an insurgent group as a response to the video, killed 12 people, including nine foreigners, the
deadliest bombing targeting foreign civilians in 11 years of war. The restrictions in cooperating with local troops won’t alter the U.S. plan to complete a transition to Afghan-led security and withdraw most troops by the end of 2014, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said on Tuesday. Pentagon press secretary George Little said the uproar in Afghanistan and elsewhere over the video mocking the Prophet Muhammad had “given cause for ISAF troops to exercise increased vigilance” in their interactions with Afghans. Over the weekend, six coalition personnel were killed by Afghan forces, bringing the total of such “green-on-blue” deaths this year to 51, or 15% of all coalition fatalities. On Monday, Afghan demonstrators burned tires and blocked traffic on one of Kabul’s main roads.
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Thursday, September 20, 2012
Replenishment at Sea
Chief Aviation Machinist’s Mate James Lyles, assigned to the Knighthawks of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 136, stands on the flight deck. (photo by MC3 Scott Pittman) An HH-60H Seahawk helicopter assigned to the Dragonslayers of Helicopter Anti-Submarine Squadron (HS) 11 prepares to drop cargo onto the flight deck. (Photo by MC3 Jared King)
A view of the hangar bay during a replenishment at sea. (Photo by MC3 Jared King)
Sailors, assigned to Air department’s V-4 division, man sponson one while taking on 300,000 pounds of JP-5 jet fuel. (Photo by MC3 Jared King)
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
Aviation Boatswain’s Mate (Handling) 3rd Class Cole P. Steyer stands crash and salvage watch on the flight deck. (Photo by MC3 Scott Pittman)
Thursday, September 20, 2012
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In the News Iran Launches Submarine As U.S. Navy Drills In Gulf
By REUTERS
DUBAI -- Iran launched a submarine and a destroyer into the Gulf from Bandar Abbas port on Tuesday at the same time as U.S. and allied navies held exercises in the same waters to practice keeping oil shipping lanes open. Tehran has repeatedly threatened to close the Strait of Hormuz, a route for oil exports from the Gulf, if Iranian nuclear sites are attacked by Israel, which believes Tehran is trying to develop an atomic bomb. The United States, Britain, France and a number of Middle Eastern states are conducting a naval exercise in the Gulf this week, focusing on how to clear mines that Tehran or guerilla groups might deploy to disrupt tanker traffic. Iran’s refitted Tareq-901 submarine and Sahand destroyer were launched on the direct orders of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the official IRNA news agency reported. On the other side of the country, Khamenei visited the northern coastal city of Nowshahr on Tuesday to watch naval cadets practice planting mines, freeing hijacked ships, destroying enemy vessels and jumping from helicopters, his
official website said. “The armed forces must reach capabilities such that no one can attack the strong fence of the country and the dear people of Iran,” Khamenei told army commanders, according to the Iranian Students News Agency. Iran’s Tareq-class submarines are diesel-electric boats that were originally built in Russia in the early 1990s, according to the Nuclear Threat Initiative, a non-profit organization which focuses on security affairs. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday that Tehran was close to being able to build a nuclear bomb, fuelling speculation about an Israeli strike. Iran insists its nuclear program is peaceful. Publicly, Iranian military officials have sounded relaxed about the U.S. naval exercise. “This exercise is a defensive exercise and we don’t perceive any threats from it,” Mohammad Ali Jafari, commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, told local media. “We are not conducting exercises in response.”
World Powers To Discuss Iran Nuclear Program At U.N. Next Week By Sebastian Moffett, REUTERS
BRUSSELS -- Foreign ministers and the chief negotiator for world powers will meet next week to try to figure out how to break an impasse in negotiations over Iran’s nuclear program, after talks on Tuesday yielded no sign of progress. Six world powers, represented by European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton, have sought to persuade Iran to scale back its nuclear program through intensifying economic sanctions and diplomacy. The powers fear Iran is developing a bomb, but Tehran says its program serves peaceful purposes only. In the latest talks, Ashton and Iran’s chief negotiator Saeed Jalili held a meeting in Istanbul that was described as “useful and constructive.” It was “an important opportunity to stress once again to Iran the urgent need to make progress,” according to Ashton’s spokesman. Though three rounds of talks since April have made little progress, neither side wants to break off negotiations because of concerns that this could lead to a new war. Israel, believed to be the only nuclear-armed state in the Middle East, sees a possible Iranian nuclear bomb as a threat to its existence and has said it may resort to military means if diplomacy and sanctions fail. Any deals are likely to be struck only during political talks between Iran and the six powers - the United States, Russia and China, plus three EU nations: France, Germany
and Britain. Ashton “is planning to meet the Foreign Ministers of the EU 3 + 3 in the margins of the UNGA (United Nations General Assembly) ministerial week in New York in order to assess the situation and to discuss the way forward,” her spokesman said in a statement. Ashton is to leave for New York on Sunday and will likely stay until the following Friday, her spokesman said. Pressure on Iran has been rising in recent weeks. A meeting of EU foreign ministers in Cyprus earlier this month produced support from France, Britain and Germany for further sanctions on Iran. The EU has already banned oil imports from Iran and isolated its banking sector, while the United States ratcheted up sanctions over the summer to punish banks, insurers and shippers that help Tehran sell oil. British Foreign Secretary William Hague said last week that EU members were drawing up the new sanctions with a view to discussing them in mid-October. The International Atomic Energy Agency censured Iran last Thursday for defying international demands to curb uranium enrichment and failing to address mounting disquiet about its suspected research into atomic bombs. At the core of the discussions are Iranian efforts to enrich uranium to 20 percent fissile purity, an advance that would bring it close to acquiring weapons-grade material.
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Thursday, September 20, 2012
Sailor and Marine of the Day Logistics Specialist 3rd Class David Murphy
Corporal Ryan Walter Condreay
LS3 David Murphy, from Harlem, N.C., joined the Navy two years ago to support his family. In his spare time, he enjoys working out and preparing his officer package. In the future, he plans to become a supply officer and become the best father figure he can be.
Cpl. Ryan Walter Condreay, from Oquawka, Ill., joined the Marine Corps three years ago to see the world and experience new things. In his spare time, he enjoys the outdoors and motorcycles. In the future, he plans to get married and start a family.
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