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March 23, 2020
CONTENTS OF THIS ISSUE 6 WEAPONS DEPARTMENT Back home on the ship
8 PERSONNEL DEPARTMENT Transfers and Separations division now working aboard the FAF
12 COOKING UP THE COMPETITION Award-winning GW Sailors participate in Joint Culinary Training Exercise at Fort Lee, Va.
16 NMCRS By Our Own - For Our Own
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COVID-19 BRINGS ABOUT CHANGES PRT 20-1 canceled and advancement exam delayed
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URVEYOR Vol. 20, issue: 5
March 23, 2020
USS George Washington (CVN 73) Commanding Officer
Command Master Chief
Executive Officer
Surveyor Magazine Editor-in-Chief Lt. Cmdr. Stephanie Turo
Copy Editors Capt. Kenneth Strong
Capt. Michael Nordeen
CMDCM Maurice Coffey
Lt. Tyler Barker MCC Christina Shaw MC1 Gary Johnson
Media Department Deputy Public Affairs Officer
Public Affairs Officer Lt. Cmdr. Stephanie Turo
Lt. Tyler Barker
Departmental LCPO
Divisional LCPO
MCC Christina Shaw
MCCM Reginald Buggs
MC2 Trey Hutcheson
Layout Designers MCSN Cory Daut MCSN Robert Stamer
Production LPO MC1 Gary Johnson
Journalists MC3 Adam Ferrero
Media Department Requests
MC3 Michael Botts
PRINT REQUESTS
PHOTO/VIDEO REQUESTS
E-MAIL MEDIA PRINT REQUESTS
(757) 534 - 2369
MCSN Cory Daut MCSN Preston Cash
mediaprintrequests@cvn73.navy.mil
Customer Service Hours MONDAY, WEDNESDAY & FRIDAY: 0800 - 1300
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2600 WASHINGTON AVE. SUITE 203
A special thank you to all those who let us tell your stories to the crew and to the fleet. The Washington Surveyor is an authorized publication for Sailors serving aboard USS George Washington (CVN 73). Contents herein are not the visions of, or endorsed by the U.S. government, the Department of Defense, the Department of the Navy or the Commanding Officer of USS George Washington. All news releases, photos or information for publication in The Washington Surveyor must be submitted to the Public Affairs Officer.
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SAILOR IN THE SPOTLIGHT
GW’S NEWEST WARRIORS
ABHAN Hunter Arkanoff ABHAN Shelby Gilman AN Lucia Samano AN Robert Garcia AO2 Kayla Griffin AO1 Nancy Toney AO1 Tylor Hitchcock DCFN Keith Dresser EMN3 Dakota Phelps ET3 Patrick Williams ETN3 Jennifer Kennedy ETN2 Andrew Childress ETN2 Nelson Reyesciena EMN1 Katherine Hughes MMN3 Christopher Goodwin MMN3 Daniel Cardona MMN2 Jose Serna
CS3 Benjamin Hampton HOMETOWN: Harrisburg, N.C.
WHERE HE WORKS: Supply (S-2) ABE3 Daves Sibayan CS3 Ashley Roedmond AE2 Marshall Harrison EMN2 Emily Henson AN Keairra Carter HM2 Rafael Eseo AN Samantha Mazza HN David Bautista AN Nick Rubio MMN1 John Windle AO1 Ulysses Evangelista SN Mykiah Morris AS3 Charles Ventura YN2 Haylie Price AZAN Chikiya Sumpter
WHY HE JOINED: He comes from a military family. Both his father and step-father were Marines, his greatgrandfather was a Sailor so he decided to follow in his footsteps.
HOBBIES: He loves the outdoors-hunting, hiking, and being on the lake.
S-2 GENERAL MESS DIVISION LEADERSHIP NOMINATED HIM BECAUSE: CS3 is the Commanding Officer's cook, and he’s only been on board for about four months and already earned that responsibility. He also recently represented GW on the Navy Culinary Arts team.
CTT3 Angel Morales IS2 Kendall Phillips IS3 Thomas Stabile IT3 Jacob Boudreaux
ESWS Coordinators
EAWS Coordinators
EIWS Coordinators
CSC Joe Magri MMC Floyd Hollier
AOC Volario Lott CSC Jose Valencia
CTT1 Nicollette Jeffery
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CTMC Kathleen Chandler
LO C K E D, LO A D E D, AND BACK ABOARD STORY AND PHOTOS BY MC3 ADAM FERRERO Last month, the deck department moved back aboard the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS George Washington (CVN 73), becoming the first department to do so since the crew’s move to the floating accommodation facility (FAF) at the start of refueling complex overhaul (RCOH). As of March, however, the crew can take pride knowing that deck is no longer alone in that accomplishment. On Wednesday, March 2, George Washington’s weapons department joined deck back aboard the ship, officially completing its move aboard and bringing the ship one step closer to functioning independently from the FAF. “It feels good being centralized back aboard the ship,” said Cmdr. Tommy
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Hinnant, weapons department head, or "Gun Boss". “Being able to have the ordnance handling officer over there leading production with all our people feels much more effective.” Accomplishing departmental move aboard is no small feat and it requires much work and planning over a long period of time, and from many different personnel. “I came back to weapons department from the Advance Planning Team last January,” said Aviation Ordnanceman 1st Class Enrique Rios, the leading petty officer of weapons department’s G1 division. “At that point, we had to get our divisions on the same plan. My responsibility last year was running production, directing the divisions to priority one spaces. We started
identifying spaces for office work, then [started] making the move into them. The [principal assistant] moved into Ready Room 2 between September and October. After that, we really started making the push to move off the FAF.” Reclaiming spaces on a ship during RCOH can hardly be accomplished with just one department or one group of people, however. It can be a bit like Tetris, where departments lend spaces to others while they work on their own, then Sailors must coordinate with others to rearrange working locations. “Reactor was using our aft magazine space as an office and muster location,” said Rios. “After they wrapped up there, we moved in, and it now serves as a central hub
for our production divisions.” With Sailors working all across the shipyard and throughout the Hampton Roads area, working together is not always as simple as it may sound. Despite challenges, the experience and expertise brought by George Washington’s different departments assure that everyone can bring something to the table to help out others. “The biggest challenge was the communication,” said Hinnant. “It’s difficult trying to communicate on a ship that doesn’t have J-dials, and at the time, we only had two computers. It’s tough when you have almost 200 people and you are trying to get work done. We had to work with combat systems to get everything that we needed to be able to function as a department, such as computers, printers, and other things of that nature.” By working with George Washington’s combat systems department, the weapons department was able to overcome numerous challenges moving forward. "It's easy to tell the Sailors to move, but
without computers and communication, we hit major roadblocks,” said Rios. “Combat systems was awesome. They provided a ton of assistance, helping us fix those logistic issues.” Though some of their equipment hurdles may be handled, there are still difficulties that come from being one of the few departments moved back onto George Washington. “It’s been a challenge,” said Hinnant. “Most of the meetings are over on the FAF, and the production aspect of our department is over on the ship, so transiting back and forth is pretty challenging. Our next big step that we’re looking at, the hardest, is crew move aboard because, even though we are all mostly over there now, crew move aboard opens up more spaces for us and allows me and [Master Chief Aviation Ordnanceman Tyese Pressley] to move over there as well.” Despite its challenges, the weapons department is in a stronger position now when it comes to production. "It feels good being back aboard," said
Rios.“It puts us on the deck plates on a daily basis, and that allows us to see the production to completion more effectively on a daily basis as time goes on. It also just feels good to have space ownership.” The recognition for this achievement belongs as much to the weapons department’s junior Sailors as it does its senior personnel. “I personally want to recognize the E-4 and below Sailors of weapons department,” said Rios. “They were the ones behind the production that made this possible. The road to reclaiming George Washington from the shipyard has been a long one. Still, each incremental milestone brings the crew toward the finish line, and thanks to the Sailors of the weapons department, the Spirit of Freedom is now one step closer to completing RCOH and rejoining the fleet in prime fighting shape.
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MOVIN' ON UP: PERSONNEL SETS UP SHOP ON THE FAF STORY BY MC3 MICHAEL BOTTS George Washington Sailors who are transferring commands or separating from the Navy rely on the diligent work of the ship’s personnel department to get to their next stage in life. Now, these Sailors have a much shorter trip to get over to transfers and separations, as this can now be done within the confines of the shipyard, not at the bank building. Recently, the separations and transfers division of George Washington’s personnel department has relocated to the 2nd deck of the Floating Accommodation Facility (FAF), allowing for ease of transfer and separation to the personnel specialists completing this paperwork, and the Sailors looking to effect these orders and changes. “We moved aboard the [FAF] to improve the efficiency of our divisions, as well as improve our customer service interactions,” said Personnel Specialist 2nd Class Angel Ortega, the leading petty officer of the transfers and separations division of the personnel department. "By moving over here, it helps us as a department to better connect with our shipmates and it helps us accommodate their busy schedules by not
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having to transit all the way from the ship or the FAF over to the bank building.” Along with better accommodations, moving over to the FAF from the bank building makes it a lot easier for Sailors to get what they need to be done correctly and promptly. “Working on the FAF makes it easier for us to do our jobs because it eliminates the break in communication between the member and their clerk,” said Personnel Specialist Seaman Sean Haug, assigned to the transfers division of the personnel department. “Having the ability to see many of the Sailors on our ship on a daily basis makes the collection of required documents much more efficient and puts personnel one step closer to being where they belong – on the ship.” The customer service hours for these two divisions are from 7:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., five days a week, Monday through Friday, unless otherwise noted. For now, the other divisions of personnel are still located at the bank building, so Sailors needing help from personnel with pay issues, common access card issues, or other issues requiring assistance, will still need to check
in with the personnel specialists at the bank building for these services. These other divisions of personnel department, however, are working to follow the lead of transfers and separations. As more departments move back aboard the ship, more space is opened up on the FAF for some departments, like personnel, to move back into the shipyard. George Washington is preparing for her next major milestone of crew move aboard, slated to take place in August 2020. During this time, most departments working off-site, at the bank building, or various other buildings in the Hampton Roads area will start their transitions of getting back onto the ship. For now, deck and weapons departments are the first two departments to move back aboard the ship fully, but come August, most departments will be close to working on the ship entirely. Moving the transfers and separations division closer to the ship is an early and critical step in the crew move aboard process for personnel department.
FIELD DAY PHOTOS BY MCSN BONNIE LINDSAY
George Washington Sailors give the ship a deep clean, March 13.
CO UP CO
STORY BY MCSN PRESTON CASH, PHOTOS BY MCSN CORY DAUT
OOKING P THE OMPETITION
Sailors from the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS George Washington (CVN 73) recently competed in the 45th annual Joint Culinary Training Exercise (JCTE) held at the MacLaughlin Fitness Center at Fort Lee in Virginia. The JCTE is the largest annual armed forces culinary competition put on by the American Culinary Federation, which promotes the top military cooks across the globe. It brings together a competitive spirit, as well as camaraderie amongst some of the military’s top chefs. “George Washington was fortunate enough to have two applicants,” said Lt. Evan Bloxham, the principal assistant for services aboard George Washington. Those applicants were Culinary Specialist 3rd Class Benjamin Hampton and Culinary Specialist Seaman Nakia Lanee.
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“It’s a popular competition within the culinary teams of all the armed forces,” said Chief Culinary Specialist Jose Valencia, the leading chief petty officer of the general mess division in supply department aboard George Washington. “It’s an opportunity for some of the young Sailors to show and display their talents in the culinary arts.” Before Sailors are afforded the opportunity to display those talents for the judges, however, they must apply and be selected to the program. Starting last fall, Sailors such as Hampton and Lanee traveled to local military bases to create dishes and get graded by U.S. Navy culinary specialist chief petty officers using select ingredients. Traveling to Naval Station Norfolk for her competition, Lanee was provided chicken, potatoes, and carrots.
Using those ingredients, as well as some seasonings, Lanee made chicken curry. The chiefs liked her meal so much, they selected her to move on. Once the Sailors were selected in the first stage, they traveled to Fort Pickett, a Virginia Army National Guard installation, for a nearly two-month long training course in preparation for the upcoming competition at Fort Lee. During training, the applicants learned many techniques to help them with the competition. These techniques included properly cutting vegetables, menu development, and the proper way to prepare meat, known as fabrication. The Sailors were humbled and happy for the opportunity to take part in the program and competitions while
representing George Washington. “I didn’t know I was getting selected,” said Hampton. “My chief came up to me one day and was like, ‘hey would you be interested in this’ and I was like, ‘absolutely. Sign me up.’” “I was happy I was selected,” said Lanee. “I was a little nervous at first at what I was getting myself into, but it was nice.” Like Lanee, Hampton was also grateful to be afforded the opportunity to challenge himself and hone his culinary talents. “I’ve had a good, successful couple of years with the Navy so far, and this is just the next step above,” said Hampton. “It’s humbling to be here.” During the final competition at Fort Lee, George Washington Sailors competed as part of the Student Team of the Year category, where each memebr was
responsible for a section of the overall dish. Lanee was responsible for the salad, collard greens, and mashed potatoes while Hampton worked on the peach cobbler. The competitive spirit made the cooking a little more hectic than Lanee and Hampton were typically used to. “You had a schedule you needed to stick to, and if you don’t stick to it, you get points taken away, but I’m very proud of myself and the people I worked with,” said Lanee. “They became really great friends of mine. We put a lot into it, and I’m proud at what we accomplished.” “We kind of butted heads a little bit as all teams do, but we worked around that,” said Hampton. Lanee and Hampton made a great name for George Washington’s supply department, especially the culinary specialists, and their outstanding
performance was recognized and appreciated by their divisional leadership. “There’s nothing better than seeing your Sailors succeed in what they like, and be able to push them to where they want to be,” said Valencia. “Maybe not exactly where they want to be, but maybe where they never thought they could be.” Despite the differences in the equipment used during the training and competition, Lanee hopes to take what she has learned in the past couple of months and help everyone back at George Washington. The day following the competition, the winners were announced. Lanee and Hampton received a bronze medal for Student Team of the Year and the U.S. Navy placing fourth overall with 15 medals total.
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N AV Y - M A R I N E C O R P S R E L I E F S O C I E TY : B Y O U R O W N, F O R O U R O W N STORY BY MCSN CORY DAUT, GRAPHIC BY MCSN JACK LEPIEN Dead broke. Four days until payday. Then the Red Cross message came through and he didn’t know what to do. A flight, rental car, place to stay, and his mother is sick. He couldn’t pay for it all. What could he do? Service members that encounter tough situations like this have many solutions at their disposal, and the Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society (NMCRS) is one valuable resource available to them. From March 1 through April 15, the NMCRS is hosting an Active-Duty Fund Drive in the Hampton Roads region to encourage Sailors and Marines to contribute to the program. These contributions directly help local Hampton Roads active duty and retired Sailors, Marines, and their families in a variety of ways. “You can come to NMCRS and get a zero-interest loan or possibly even a grant to solve your problem, depending on what it is,” said Scott Sandquist, a shipboard program coordinator at the Norfolk Navy Relief office. “The best part about us is it’s all of your donations that make this possible.” According to Sandquist, the most used service from NMCRS is their quickassistance loan. This loan can amount up to $500 interest-free with no questions asked when a service member is in need of money. This can save service members money that they won’t have to pay back due to interest to banks, credit unions, and payday lenders. To receive this loan, the member must go into a NMCRS office. Once there, a NMCRS representative will evaluate the situation and decide on whether to approve the loan. NMCRS will also work a repayment plan, and may also decide to grant the recipient money during this meeting.
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You name it, we can help out,” said Sandquist. “Rent, utilities, food, gas, car payments, car insurance, car repairs, getting your vehicle back from reposition, preventing evictions, helping pay medical bills, and lots of emergency travel for death and illness in the family. Everything is a no-interest loan. If it is needed, we can grant money to their circumstances.” According to the NMCRS website, http://www.NMCRS.org, the organization has been helping service members and their families since 1904. They started when several Naval officers, wives of Naval officers, and civilian friends saw the need for more formal and organized assistance. It has continued to grow in support of the Navy and Marine Corps family, and last year in the Hampton Roads area alone, the society provided more than $7.7 million in financial assistance with 10,554 assists to families. “NMCRS takes care of active duty, their dependents, military retirees and their dependents, widows of military members, and reservists that are on active duty more than 30 days,” said Sandquist. ”We take care of every service. We can assist them also, so we are all working together and interconnected.” NMCRS raises its money by receiving donations and running fundraisers every year to keep its services available. While contributions are encouraged throughout the year, March and April are when commands throughout the world commit time and effort into educating and informing their Sailors and Marines about the benefits of the program. “Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society Campaign is upon us,” said Lt. j. g. Jeremie Gilbert, the command NMCRS
NMCRS representative. “Each department has a departmental representative to spread awareness within your perspective departments. As a command, we focus on educating our Sailors on every resource available.” Anyone can donate to NMCRS by going to their website, clicking on the “donate” button on the right side of the page, and following the prompts. Sailors interested in finding more information about the program or how they can donate should contact their departmental and command representatives. “Last year we raised $68,000 for the Fund Drive, and as a command we borrowed $123,000 from the NMCRS and awarded $1,800 for grants,” said Chief Aviation Boatswain’s Mate (Handling) Hamilton Bryant, the assistant command NMCRS representative. “That is why it is important to donate.” Gilbert echoed the importance of education to and contributions from Sailors and Marines to help fellow Sailors and Marines. “We look forward to raising awareness and contributing to keeping the NMCRS afloat while continuing to provide services for any Sailor with a need,” said Gilbert.
Navy - Marine Corps Relief Society Fund Drive
Financial Assistance
Budget for Baby
Education Assistance
Visiting Nurses
Emergency Travel “By Our Own, For Our Own�
The Navy - Marine Corps Relief Society provides financial and educational assistance to Sailors, Marines, and Family Members in need.
Quick Assist Loans PA Y
Disaster Relief
March 1 - April 15
Thrift Shop
Command POCs: Lt. j.g. Gilbert - jeremie.gilbert@cvn73.navy.mil ABHC Bryant - hamilton.bryant@cvn73.navy.mil
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NAVY NEWS
Navy Cancels Spring 2020 Fitness Cycle, Delays Advancement Exams
From Chief of Naval Personnel Public Affairs
In response to Department of Defense efforts to contain the spread of COVID-19, the Navy announced the delay of the spring Navy Wide Advancement Exams with NAVADMIN 069/20 and the cancellation of the spring 2020 Physical Fitness Assessment Cycle in NAVADMIN 071/20, released March 17. The messages were released March 17 and 18, respectively. The measures were taken to limit exposure of Navy personnel to the coronavirus by following guidance from Centers for Disease Control advising against large gatherings of people. “With these exam date changes, the Navy Advancement Center (NAC) is focused on making sure no Sailor is disadvantaged in the advancements processes,” said Tom Updike, deputy director of the NAC. All enlisted advancement exams scheduled to be administered after March 17 are now rescheduled with the following administration dates: May 21, 2020: Cycle 247 (E-4) only Active Duty and Full-Time Support (FTS) regular NWAEs May 22, 2020: Cycle 106 (E-4 through E-7) Selective Reserve (SELRES) NWAEs approved for late administration on the first available drill weekend after this date June 12, 2020: Cycle 247 (E-4 through E-6) final date to adminster substitute exams The rescheduled dates result in no change to the advancement candidate’s final multiple score or eligibility requirements. Eligibility dates remain the same as listed in NAVADMIN 284/19,
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no new candidates will be added because of the delay. The delay in testing also means there will also be a shift to the right of advancement results. E-4 through E-6 Total Force advancements as well as Selected Reserve and Full-Time Support E-7 Selection Board Eligibility are anticipated to be released in July 2020. Results will be heavily dependent on commands promptly processing and returning answer sheets. Navy officials also cancelled the Spring PRT out of an abundance of caution to ensure COVID-19 does not spread further to Navy personnel. “Ultimately, the intent of the Navy’s PFA and the associated physical readiness standards are to maintain a baseline level of physical fitness for Sailors,” said Paul Rosen, acting director of the 21st Century Sailor Office, which oversees physical readiness policy for the Navy. “This is a unique situation that calls for a unique response. We know the coronavirus is highly contagious, and unnecessarily increasing the risk of infection due to the close physical proximity required to complete the PFA is not in the best interest of our Sailors or our overall mission readiness.” Commands that have already begun or completed the official PFA testing should stop immediately and take no further action in Physical Readiness Information Management System. Commands that have not started the PFA should not enter any data in PRIMS for Cycle 1 2020. Commands are also directed to stop all
organized or group physical training until further notice. This includes the Fitness Enhancement Program. Sailors with a Soft End of Active Obligated Service before July 30 who are ineligible for retention or cannot submit a Career Waypoint application to reenlist because of PFA failures are eligible for a one-time extension, the message states. A commanding officer’s recommendation is required for the extension, which can’t go beyond Sept. 30, 2020. Additionally, all Navy commands are directed to immediately suspend all organized or group physical training, to include the Fitness Enhancement Program, until further notice. Sailors not expecting not to participate in the spring Physical Readiness Test because they scored an excellent low or better on the fall 2019 PRT, will be required to participate this fall. That’s because NAVADMIN 141/17 states such exemptions are only valid for the following cycle only. Sailors should be prepared to complete their PFA in the fall cycle. More information is available in NAVADMIN 069/20 and NAVADMIN 071/20. Get more information about the Navy from US Navy facebook or twitter. For more news from Chief of Naval Personnel, visit www.navy.mil/local/cnp/.
GAMES CORNER
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HAMPTON ROADS EVENTS