The Shuttle
USS Enterprise (CVN 65)
Newsletter Edition
March 21, 2012 Issue
“We are Legend”
Enterprise Sailors Conduct Missile Upload Story and photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Scott Pittman
Sailors aboard aircraft carrier USS Enterprise (CVN 65) conducted an ammunition upload for multiple weapons systems used in shipboard defense March 15-17. Enterprise is equipped with two phalanx close-in weapons systems (CIWS), two NATO Sea Sparrow Missile Systems, and two Rolling Airframe Missile (RAM) mounts. “Our primary responsibility, as Combat Systems, Weapons Division, is ship’s self-defense; meaning if the tactical action officer needs us to destroy a threat to the ship, we are able to register a threat and neutralize it,” said Ensign John Tatro, fire control officer for Enterprise. “With us, ensuring everything is operating properly and safely is a key concern.” In order to arm the weapons systems of Enterprise, Sailors with Combat Systems department must follow proper procedures to ensure the ammunition used to defend the ship does not harm the crew in the process. “There are a lot of safety precautions we take in order to ensure the safety of the ordnance handlers and the crew,” said
Chief Fire Controlman John Tuley. “Our ordnance handlers have to become qualified, we hold a safety briefing before the actual ammunition loading, and we have safety observers onscene while loading, among other personal safety precautions.” During the upload, the ship sets Hazardous Electromagnetic MISSILE continued on page 2
Surface Fleet’s ‘Huge Shift’ Includes Tougher Inspections, Revamped Training By Sam Fellman and Gidget Fuentes, NAVY TIMES surface Navy’s top flag officers and lays After years of mounting concerns out all assessments, certifications and that short-staffed crews and a rapid inspections ships will have complete, operational pace were wearing down the from the shipyard through the training fleet, the surface Navy has revamped the 27-month training and maintenance cycle phase and into deployment. More than 60 ships have trained under the pilot version between ship deployments, adding new of the readiness cycle, which will become inspections and a phased approach to the fleet standard beginning this summer, ensuring ships are ready for sea. officials said. The new plan, known as the Ships will undergo one big material Surface Force Readiness Manual, inspection per cycle, along with seven establishes standards for the surface progressive readiness evaluations. fleet’s maintenance and training and This new plan doesn’t extend to is a blueprint for the interdeployment aircraft carriers, whose readiness is cycle. It was approved March 9 by the
managed by Naval Air Forces, or littoral combat ships, which rely on rotational and module-based crewing. It also doesn’t apply to forward-deployed ships, which have a heightened state of mission readiness. But for the rest of the fleet, the readiness manual is the new bible. The new plan brings the surface Navy in line with submarine and air wing preparations for deployment, said Adm. John Harvey, head of Fleet Forces Command, who called this a “huge shift” because it unifies training through FLEET continued on page 3
The Shuttle
Page 2
Wednesday, March 21, 2012
Big E Happenings The USS Enterprise Navy and Marine Corps Relief Society Fundraiser has begun!
The NMCRS is committed to ensure that all available resources are used to assist personnel of the Naval Services - active, retired, and their eligible family members - to achieve financial self-sufficiency and find solutions to emergency needs.
Contact your division NMCRS representative and donate today! Navy and Marine Corps Relief Society Fundraiser ends March 31, 2012.
Have a Great Navy Day!
TIGER CRUISE VOLUNTEERS NEEDED Enterprise’s 2012 Tiger Cruise coordinators are seeking volunteers for this year’s Tiger Cruise Committee. At least one CPO or Officer representative from each department is required but, other volunteers who wish to assist are also welcome. Contact Lt. Cmdr. Reyman or ABHCS Williford via e-mail if interested in joining the committee. MISSILE continued
Radiation to Ordnance (HERO) conditions, in order to reduce risk of damage to uploaded explosives. “It’s nerve-wracking working around live ordnance, and you don’t want to become complacent,” said Fire Controlman 3rd Class Wayne Pattillo. “Listening to the assigned team leader is paramount, they are the only voice on the missile platform.” The ammunition upload took approximately three days, the efforts of an entire division of Sailors, and resulted in the loading of 2,800 rounds into the CWIS mounts, eight
RIM-7M missiles loaded into the Sea Sparrow Missile System, and 21 missiles loaded into each RAM mount. “The ordnance handling and loading teams did outstanding,” said Tatro. “All the team leaders were on point, they followed procedures exactly, and they far exceeded my expectations.” Enterprise is conducting its 22nd and final deployment in support of maritime security operations and theater security operations in the U.S. Navy’s 5th and 6th fleet areas of responsibility.
The Shuttle USS Enterprise (CVN 65)
3M Question of the Day: What are the five modes for IFF?
Yesterday’s ESWS answer: The purpose of IFF is to identify friend or foe.
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 Harry Gordon
3M
3M Question of the Day: Who is responsible for ensuring that the ship’s CSMP accurately describes the material condition of the work center? Yesterday’s 3M answer: The Division Officer is responsible for the effective operation of the 3M system within the division.
Page 3
The Shuttle
Wednesday, March 21, 2012
World News Transition Benefits: ISP Requirements Reminder By Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class LaTunya Howard, NAVY NEWS SERVICE MILLINGTON, Tenn. -- A Navy message released March 19 reminds Sailors of requirements associated with receiving involuntary separation pay (ISP). According to NAVADMIN 093/12, all Sailors involuntarily released from active duty, to include Sailors affected by the Enlisted Retention Board, may be eligible for ISP. Command leadership, career counselors and affected Sailors must review the message to ensure timely actions are met to receive payment. ISP has Navy Reserve requirements and obligations. Career counselors and command leadership can assist Sailors with applying for affiliation in conjunction with ISP. All Sailors who apply for ISP must obligate in the Ready Reserve for a minimum of three years past their initial military service obligation. The Ready Reserve has two branches, the Selected Reserve (SELRES) and
Individual Ready Reserve (IRR). The SELRES consists of drilling reservists and units. SELRES typically fulfill the traditional service commitment of one weekend a month and two weeks a year. The IRR offers Reserve affiliation benefits without the SELRES drill requirements or Reserve pay. Sailors in the IRR have to maintain mobilization readiness and must keep the Navy informed of any address changes or conditions that may affect their readiness. While the Navy wishes to afford every Sailor an opportunity to transition to the Navy Reserve, SELRES billets are limited. Involuntarily separated Sailors E3 through E6 can apply for a SELRES quota via Perform-to-Serve/Fleet RIDE. Once approved for a quota, Sailors can contact the Career Transition Office (CTO) to complete the process. If a SELRES quota is
FLEET continued the pre- and post-deployment periods under the Fleet Response Training Plan. “This kind of approach is standardsbased, it’s materialconditions based, and it’s manning-based,” Harvey said in an interview March 9, after the plan was unveiled at Naval Surface Forces headquarters in Coronado, Calif. “It’s focused on what the ship is going to be expected to go do, and the time frame in which it’s expected to do it. It’s got tremendous flexibility.” “What I’m hoping,” Harvey added, “is that the CO and the wardroom and the chiefs’ mess will see a much more coherent approach to getting ready to deploy.” The new plan has a ring of “Back to the Future” about it, with the surface Navy circling back to older requirements that were jettisoned over the past decade, said one former cruiser commanding officer, who asked not to be named because of current business dealings with the Navy. “It’s a logical approach to current problems, and although the names have changed, the intent of the requirement appears familiar,” he said. The plan comes after a decade-long slide in ship
not available, Sailors can request to affiliate with the IRR. A Sailor who affiliates with the IRR must have their command complete a NAVPERS 1070/613 form and send it to their supporting personnel office. This must be accomplished prior to separation to ensure payment of this benefit, according to the message. If a signed Reserve affiliation contract is not completed prior to separation, Sailors must petition the Board of Correction for Naval Records to receive ISP. Under current legislation, Sailors who collect ISP and later collect a military retirement must repay their ISP upon retirement. Under current legislation, ISP must also be repaid upon receipt of Department of Veterans Affairs disability compensation. The Defense Finance and Accounting Service will reduce retirement payments until the ISP amount is repaid.
maintenance standards that stems from underfunding, understaffing and perpetual organizational changes, according to a fleet review panel that labeled this a “downward spiral.” In its 2010 report, the review noted a decrease in the number of repairs a ship’s crew could complete, a rise in Board of Inspection and Survey assessment failures, and higher casualty reports. “But more alarming is the amount of effort, money, time and outside assistance required to make a ship ready for the INSURV certification,” reviewers noted. In 2011, after the report was issued, there were two INSURV failures, the same as the year before; there were four failures in 2009. A central problem was that crews were unable to identify, let alone repair, broken gear and corroded materials, the panel said. Its members called for more inspections by visiting experts to find and document problems so they can later be fixed, and said that task must become a standard part of the interdeployment cycle. Because each ship is required to complete an INSURV every five years, these rigorous inspections typically fall within every other 27-month training cycle.
Page 4
The Shuttle
Wednesday, March 21, 2012
Sailors of the Day Fire Controlman Seaman Elias S. Opp
FCSN Elias Opp from Pinckney, Ill., joined the Navy three years ago for educational and travel opportunities. Opp enjoys working on his Jeep in his spare time. In the future, he plans to earn his ESWS pin and finish his college education.
Aviation Ordnanceman 3rd Class Heather L. Douglas
AO3 Heather Douglas from East Haven, Conn., joined the Navy one year ago because she wanted to travel the world. In her spare time, Douglas enjoys reading and hiking. She plans to attend Officer Candidate School in the future.
Big E Entertainment