The Shuttle
USS Enterprise (CVN 65)
Newsletter Edition
“We are Legend”
January 20, 2012 Issue
Enterprise Sailors Take CPO Exam Story and photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Eric Scot Brann USS ENTERPRISE, At Sea -- The aircraft carrier USS Enterprise (CVN 65) administered the chief petty officer exam to 285 first class petty officers Jan. 19 while underway in the Atlantic Ocean. The annual exam must be completed in less than three hours and consists of 200 questions; 100 test the Sailors’ rating knowledge and the remaining 100 questions cover general Navy topics. “The test can be stressful and challenging,” said Chief Navy Counselor Ross K. Tenny, Enterprise’s command career counselor. “You have to prepare yourself and not be the one Sailor who drops out of the race. The exam is built to see what level of knowledge an individual has.” Tenny said there is rarely enough time to study on the ship because of the workload and busy schedules, but making time is important for a Sailor’s personal career progression. “The ones wanting to take the exam should be prepared far in advance,” said Ensign Daniel R. Morrison, Enterprise’s educational services officer. “It’s best to start by going back to the basics and studying everything on the bibliographies. There are resources out there and they are there to help you.” Morrison said his department helps ensure all who are wanting to advance have their paperwork in order. The petty officers eligible for the exam are notified of any issues with their service record well in advance. The rest, however, is up to the individual Sailor. “I have put in two months of studying,” said Personnel Specialist 1st Class Jasper D. Mitchell. “I study off and on
because I want to make sure I have a clear head. If you overdo it, you won’t retain it.” “When I take a test, I always answer what I know and then look over the questions I am not sure of,” said Tenny. “I break the question down to help find the answer. There is always one choice that will make no sense. Then I look at the best possible choice of those remaining.” “These Sailors are the future leaders of America and are the guys who should be the ones taking care of the junior Sailors. It’s all about training and getting to the next level,” said Morrison. Exam results typically come out in March. Those who pass the exam have their records reviewed by the chief petty officer selection board. The board takes into account myriad factors, including performance evaluations, while ranking the Sailors eligible for selection. They then make the difficult final decision of which first class petty officers they will choose to become the next Navy chief petty officers.
Page 2
The Shuttle
Friday, Jan. 20, 2012
CSG 12 Happenings Ready, Aim, Fire! Story and photo by MC3 (SW) Jesse L. Gonzalez USS PORTER, At Sea. – Sailors assigned to the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Porter (DDG 78) successfully completed a live-fire exercise of its entire array of gun weapon systems Jan. 17th while underway conducting its composite training unit exercise (COMPTUEX) with the Enterprise Carrier Strike Group. Porter fired 47 blank load and powder rounds plus three illumination rounds from the MK-45 5-inch/54 caliber lightweight gun at a moving target that was approximately four nautical miles away, said Ensign Lauren M. Chatmas, the ship’s ordnance officer. Porter also successfully fired 55 rounds from the MK-38 25mm machine gun, 300 rounds from the M2 .50 caliber machine guns, 600 rounds from the M240 machine guns and 200 rounds from the MK-15 20mm close-in weapons system (CIWS), said Chatmas. “Each station is manned by a number of qualified individuals,” said Chatmas. “For the M240 machine guns, .50 caliber machine guns and the MK-38 25mm machine gun, there is at least two Sailors per station.” According to Chatmas, most Sailors assigned to the gun mounts are Gunner’s Mates and Fire Controlmen, but there are also some other qualified rates, such as Sonar Technician (Sur-
The movie schedule can now be found on the Intranet and Channel 3
face). The MK-45 5-inch/54 caliber lightweight gun typically requires four Gunner’s Mates to man the gun control computers and other equipment, as well as a crew of Sailors in the projectile magazine to reload the weapon if necessary, said Chatmas. “There is also a Fire Controlman stationed in combat at the Mk-46 Optical Sight System to visually lock on a target,” said Chatmas. “We currently have six crew-served weapons mounts that have weapons on them, and more mounts that will be armed and manned while on deployment.” Live-fire training events are important to improving crew proficiency at countering smaller sized, asymmetric threats. The maneuverability of the NAVAIR remote-controlled targets and having the ship moving at 15 knots presents a more realistic and
challenging training opportunity, said Cmdr. Martin F. Arriola, Porter’s commanding officer. “For the Sailors, the immediate feedback of seeing rounds impact maneuvering targets is immeasurably important and builds tremendous confidence,” said Arriola. According to Arriola, the importance of well-trained Sailors is critical to the successful completion of any mission. Being able to repeatedly and successfully execute tasking when the call comes is probably the most valuable outcome of any training. “I am proud to serve with the men and women that make up “Team Porter” because they are professionals of the highest caliber who have proven time and time again that they are ready for any challenge,” said Arriola.
The Shuttle USS Enterprise (CVN 65)
ESWS Question of the Day: What is a pelican hook? Yesterday’s ESWS answer: The capacity of each of the ship’s five distilling units is 70,000 gallons per day.
The Shuttle is published and printed daily underway and biweekly 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
Public Affairs Officer Command Master Chief Lt. Cmdr. Sarah T. Self-Kyler ABCM (AW/SW) Eric M. Young Editors MC2(SW) Kristin L. Grover MCSN Eric Brann MCSN Harry Gordon
Friday, Jan. 20, 2012
The Shuttle
Page 3
Around the Navy San Diego Navy Ship Helps Another Iranian Boat By Jeanette Steele, SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE The San Diego-based destroyer Dewey helped an Iranian fishing crew in a sinking boat Wednesday, the third American maritime relief effort in the Arabian Sea since tensions flaired between the U.S. and Iran two weeks ago. On Tuesday morning, Navy helicopters from a North Island Naval Air Station squadron spotted a fishing boat, called a dhow, in distress and tethered to two similar fishing vessels. One person was still aboard the sinking dhow; the rest had fled to the two other boats, the Navy said. The Dewey dispatched a boarding team to help. The U.S. Sailors then provided more than 150 pounds of supplies, including food, water and medical and hygiene supplies. The destroyer is finishing up a deployment with the John C. Stennis aircraft carrier group that has become controversial. On Jan. 3, Iran announced that the U.S. carrier that just left the Persian Gulf, the Stennis, should not return. The
statement came as the United States and its allies threatened sanctions on Iran’s petroleum exports and Iran threatened to close the Strait of Hormuz, a key sea lane for oil. On Jan. 5, two San Diego-based ships, the destroyer Kidd and the cruiser Mobile Bay, rescued 13 Iranian fishermen who had been held captive by pirates for more than a month. Then, on Jan. 10, a U.S. Coast Guard cutter Monomoy rescued six Iranians from a flooded cargo boat in the Persian Gulf. The Iranians used flares and flashlights to hail the cutter in the middle of the night, the Defense Department said. The Pentagon and the Navy have been quick to publicize the rescues, including organizing a media conference call with the Stennis carrier group commander to discuss the Kidd rescue. Iran has given a mixed response to the efforts. One news outlet called the pirate rescue “humanitarian,” and another accused the U.S. of having staged a Hollywood-style action scene.
Panetta: U.S. ‘Fully Prepared’ For An Iran Challenge By Robert Burns, ASSOCIATED PRESS WASHINGTON— The U.S. military is now “fully prepared” to deal with any Iranian effort to close the Strait of Hormuz, a vital Gulf avenue for international oil shipments, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said Wednesday. At a Pentagon news conference, Panetta was asked whether, in light of Iran’s threat to close the strait in retaliation for stronger international economic sanctions, Washington is adjusting U.S. forces in the region. “We are not making any special steps at this point in order to deal with the situation,” Panetta replied. “Why? Because, frankly, we are fully prepared to deal with that situation now.” He noted that routine planning continues as the U.S. and its allies consider a range of potential Iranrelated problems. The Navy this month added a second aircraft carrier strike group in the Middle East, portraying it as part of a normal rotation and not a deliberate buildup of force. The
carriers are the USS Carl Vinson and the USS Abraham Lincoln, under the control of U.S. Naval Forces Central Command in Bahrain. The U.S. has kept a continuous naval presence in the Gulf region for decades, but international concerns about a potential confrontation have grown amid tensions over the advancement of Iran’s nuclear program. The U.S. also has military forces in nearby United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait and other Gulf nations. Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, the country’s most powerful military force, says Tehran’s leadership has decided to order the closure of the Strait of Hormuz if Iran’s oil exports are blocked as a result of sanctions. A senior Guard officer said earlier this month that the decision has been made by Iran’s top authorities. Iranian politicians have made the threat in the past, but this was the strongest statement yet that a closure of the strait is official policy.
In his remarks at the Pentagon, Panetta said he still holds out hope for a diplomatic solution with Iran. “It takes two to be able to engage, and we’ve always expressed a willingness to try to do that,” he said. “But we’ve always made clear that in terms of any threats to the region, in terms of some of the behavior that they’ve conducted in the region, that we’ll also be prepared to respond militarily if we have to.” In what some view as a sign of concern about aggravating tensions with Iran, the U.S. and Israel have postponed what Panetta has called the largest-ever U.S.-Israeli air defense exercise. It was supposed to be conducted in April. Israeli government spokesman Mark Regev said on Monday the postponement was a “joint” decision with Washington. “The thinking was it was not the right timing now to conduct such an exercise,” he said. He refused to elaborate.
Page 4
Friday, Jan. 20, 2012
The Shuttle
Sailors of the Day
Seaman Josh Selvidge
Corporal Loies P. Loyola
Photo by MCSN Harry Andrew D. Gordon
Seaman Josh Selvidge from Morgantown, Ky., joined the Navy almost one year ago for a challenging career and a broad range of opportunities. In his spare time, Selvidge enjoys working out and studying for his rating exam. Selvidge hopes to advance to E-4 in the future and take online college courses.
Cpl. Loies P. Loyola from Union, N.J., joined the Marine Corps seven years ago to instill discipline into his life. Loyola enjoys exercise, sports and hanging out with friends and family. His future goals include earning his Certified Personal Trainer License, completing college and retiring early.
Big E Entertainment DURIE