ATI The
Official
Magazine
AROUND THE ISLAND
of
USS
MAKIN
ISLAND
(LHD
8)
BDAY No.
239
THANKING THOSE WHO SERVED US
Commanding Officer: CAPT Alvin Holsey Executive Officer: CDR Kreg Kelly Command Master Chief: CMDCM(SW/AW) Thomas Moore Public Affairs Officer: LCDR Michael L. Smith
TABLE OF CONTENTS MC Corner pg. 3
This month’s contributor:
Deputy PAO: MCC(AW/EXW) Bradley Sapp
Chief Pinning pg. 4-5
Media LCPO: MCC(SW/AW) Adam Vernon Lead Editor/ Quality Control: MC1(SW) Corwin Colbert Editor: MC2(SW/AW) Lawrence Davis Staff:
Navy Birthday pg. 8-9
MC1(SW/AW/SCW) Ronald Gutridge MC2(SW) Princess Brown MC2 (SW) Christopher Lindahl MC3 Ethan Tracey MC3 Robin Peak MCSN Dennis Grube AROUND THE ISLAND is an authorized publication for the crew member of USS Makin Island (LHD 8). Contents herein are not necessarily the views of, or endorsed by the U.S. Government, the Department of Defense, the Department of the Navy or the Commanding Officer of Makin Island. AROUND THE ISLAND is edited, prepared and provided by the MKI media division. All news releases, photos or information for publication in AROUND THE ISLAND must be submitted to the Public Affairs Office. All submissions are edited for accuracy, clarity, brevity and conformance to style. The staff reserves the right to edit or reject any submission.
Master Chief’s Corner
Sailor representing the past pg. 10-12
CTF 51 VISIT pg. 13
CSCM(SW/AW) Dendee Caniban I’m one of the newest members of the MKI Chief’s Mess. I checked onboard couple of months before we went on deployment from the mighty warship USS RONALD REAGAN CVN - 76. Thus far, I’m very impressed with the quality of Sailors and Marines we have onboard and at the same time I’m honored to be part of Team Raider. Recently I celebrated a milestone in my career as I reached 24 years of active duty. Looking back through my time in the Armed Forces I can truly say that it’s been a wonderful experience and a blessing to me and my family to have served in our Navy. Growing up in the Philippines it was hard to imagine myself being in the Navy or making it all the way here to the land of opportunity. I joined the Navy in July of 1990 via recruiting “A” station, Subic Bay, Philippines where opportunity was very limited. It wasn’t easy I assure you, and whenever I get a chance to share my story I always tell people that I took the difficult route. Imagine it - out of hundreds of applicants only a few were allowed to join. I mean maybe one or two of all those applicants will make it to boot camp. The process was very keen and only limited quotas were allowed to enlist per year. I came to the United States with 50 dollars in my pocket and every time I got more than that in my wallet I just smiled with gratitude. Let me share a few things that helped me to get to this point in my career. First, love your job. That means you need to be excited about being here! A successful NFL coach Bill Belichick once said, “to be successful in anything you do in life - first, you MUST love and embrace it with open arms.” I just finished a three year tour onboard USS RONALD REAGAN as Department Leading Master Chief prior transferring to the MAKIN ISLAND. I’ve been an AMPHIB Sailor most of my career but for the first time I tried a CVN. It turned out to be the best and most successful sea duty I’ve had in 24 years of naval service. The biggest contributing factor to our success on the REAGAN was the fact that everybody loved their jobs. No matter what challenges we encountered, from OPERATION TOMADACHI during the 2011
deployment to changing homeport to Bremerton, Washington, in 2012 for a Dock Planned Incremental Availability (DPIA) or shifting homeports again 15 months later back to San Diego in 2013, we met ALL of these challenges head on with a positive attitude, and always achieved SUCCESS! Second, be part of the Process. Regardless of your pay grade, you are always a part of Team Raider. Every Sailor and Marine onboard is a vital component to our team and mission success. You hear it all the time that the military’s biggest ASSET is not the equipment or the high tech weapon systems…it’s our people. (That’s YOU!) It couldn’t be more true. Our new Supply Officer, Cmdr. Blake Kent, said it during his very first meeting with the department, “Great ideas come from everybody.” Don’t be gunshy to share your brilliant minds among your peers and seniors alike...it’s always encouraged. Third, pick the right mentor. Throughout my career, I’ve always sought advice from people that are successful in the business with tons of experience who might have a better perspective to point out my mistakes. Learn to accept criticism. We expect junior Sailors to make a mistake…that’s given, but surround yourself with successful and modest people and I guarantee you will eliminate those mistakes that may end your career. In closing, continue to work hard, stay motivated and take advantage of what the Navy offers, whether you’re getting out after you first enlistment or choose to make it a career. Remember, the days will go by fast…especially when you’re having fun. I didn’t plan or expect to stay in the Navy this long, but I’m still here and still enjoying it. HOOYAH!
Congratulations Congratulations Story Story by by MC2 MC2(SW) (SW) Princess Princess Brown
Class of 2014 Class of 2014
U
.S. 5th FLEET AREA OF RESPONSIBILITY - Ten Sailors were pinned to chief petty officer (CPO) during a ceremony held aboard the amphibious assault ship USS Makin Island (LHD 8), Sept 16. Sailors assigned to Makin Island, Tactical Air Control Squadron (TACRON) 11 and Assault Craft Unit (ACU) Five received their combination covers, anchors, and a warm welcome into the CPO mess after a six week indoctrination phase. “Today’s ceremony was surreal for all types of reasons,” said Chief Hospital Corpsman (SW/FMF) Jamie Garza, from Corpus Christi, Texas. “It was one of the most fulfilling days of my life.” During the past six weeks, the seasoned CPOs aboard worked around the clock with the new chiefs providing training and mentorship in preparation of their induction into the CPO mess. Garza stated that one key element that assisted in his selection to CPO was having great mentors. “Once I made the decision that I wanted to be successful I sought out a mentor,” said Garza. “I sought out a chief and asked what types of things I need to be doing so I could head in the right direction. I’ve been lucky to have a lot of great chiefs take me under their wing.” Guest speaker, Capt. Alvin Holsey, commanding officer of Makin Island, gave encouraging remarks to the newly pinned CPOs during the ceremony. “Today is a great day to lead,” said Holsey. “Leading, by its construct, is hard. Hard doesn’t mean impossible. Today you complete one journey and in a few minutes you’ll start another one. You’ll make tough decisions, face different challenges and yes, some of them will be hard but again, they’re not impossible. Why? Because you are chief petty officers in the finest Navy the world has ever known.” Holsey stated he was proud of the group’s accomplishment and reminded them of an old saying. “I know this milestone did not come easy, but we’ve all been told over the years that anything worth having never comes easy,” stated Holsey. At the conclusion of the ceremony the new chiefs were gifted with a special and deeply personal gift, courtesy on the CPO Mess. “One of the most touching moments was after the ceremony – they had a video with messages from our family,” said Garza. “Throughout this process of being underway, we haven’t had a lot of communication with our families.” Garza continued to stress the importance of family and how he and his fellow CPOs have become a great support system for each other as they continue on their deployment.
argued that a fleet would defend the seacoast towns, protect vital trade, retaliate against British raiders, and make it possible to seek out among neutral nations of the world the arms and stores that would make resistance possible. Still, the establishment of a navy seemed too bold a move for some of the timid men in Congress. Some southerners agreed that a fleet would protect and secure the trade of New England but denied that it would that of the southern colonies. Most of the delegates did not consider the break with England as final and feared that a navy implied sovereignty and independence. Others thought a navy a hasty and foolish challenge to the mightiest fleet the world had seen. The most the pro-navy men could do was to get Congress to urge each colony to fit out armed vessels for the protection of their coasts and harbors.
Commodore Esek Hopkins (1718-1802), Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Navy, 1775-1777.
The Birth of the Navy of the United States On Friday, October 13, 1775, meeting in Philadelphia, the Continental Congress voted to fit out two sailing vessels, armed with ten carriage guns, as well as swivel guns, and manned by crews of eighty, and to send them out on a cruise of three months to intercept transports carrying munitions and stores to the British army in America. This was the original legislation out of which the Continental Navy grew and as such constitutes the birth certificate of the Navy. To understand the momentous significance of the decision to send two armed vessels to sea under the authority of the Continental Congress, we need to review the strategic situation in which it was made and to consider the political struggle that lay behind it. Americans first took up arms in the spring of 1775, not to sever their relationship with the king, but to defend their rights within the British Empire. By the autumn of 1775, the British North American colonies from Maine to Georgia were in open rebellion. Royal governments had been thrust out of many colonial capitals and revolutionary governments put in their places. The Continental Congress had assumed some of the responsibilities of a central government for the colonies, created a Continental Army, issued paper money for the support of the troops, and formed a committee to negotiate with foreign countries. Continental forces captured Fort Ticonderoga on Lake Champlain and launched an invasion of Canada. In October 1775 the British held superiority at sea, from which they threatened to stop up the colonies’ trade and to wreak destruction on seaside settlements. In response, a few of the states had commissioned small fleets of their own for defense of local waters. Congress had not yet authorized privateering. Some in Congress worried about pushing the armed struggle too far, hoping that reconciliation with the mother country was still possible. Yet, a small coterie of men in Congress had been advocating a Continental Navy from the outset of armed hostilities. Foremost among these men was John Adams, of Massachusetts. For months, he and a few others had been agitating in Congress for the establishment of an American fleet. They
Then, on 3 October, Rhode Island’s delegates laid before Congress a bold resolution for the building and equipping of an American fleet, as soon as possible. When the motion came to the floor for debate, Samuel Chase, of Maryland, attacked it, saying it was “the maddest Idea in the World to think of building an American Fleet.” Even pro-navy members found the proposal too vague. It lacked specifics and no one could tell how much it would cost. If Congress was yet unwilling to embrace the idea of establishing a navy as a permanent measure, it could be tempted by short-term opportunities. Fortuitously, on 5 October, Congress received intelligence of two English brigs, unarmed and without convoy, laden with munitions, leaving England bound for Quebec. Congress immediately appointed a committee to consider how to take advantage of this opportunity. Its members were all New Englanders and all ardent supporters of a navy. They recommended first that the governments of Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut be asked to dispatch armed vessels to lay in wait to intercept the munitions ships; next they outlined a plan for the equipping by Congress of two armed vessels to cruise to the eastward to intercept any ships bearing supplies to the British army. Congress let this plan lie on the table until 13 October, when another fortuitous event occurred in favor of the naval movement. A letter from General Washington was read in Congress in which he reported that he had taken under his command, at Continental expense, three schooners to cruise off Massachusetts to intercept enemy supply ships. The commander in chief had preempted members of Congress reluctant to take the first step of fitting out warships under Continental authority. Since they already had armed vessels cruising in their name, it was not such a big step to approve two more. The committee’s proposal, now appearing eminently reasonable to the reluctant members, was adopted. The Continental Navy grew into an important force. Within a few days, Congress established a Naval Committee charged with equipping a fleet. This committee directed the purchasing, outfitting, manning, and operations of the first ships of the new navy, drafted subsequent naval legislation, and prepared rules and regulations to govern the Continental Navy’s conduct and internal administration. Over the course of the War of Independence, the Continental Navy sent to sea more than fifty armed vessels of various types. The navy’s squadrons and cruisers seized enemy supplies and carried correspondence and diplomats to Europe, returning with needed munitions. They took nearly 200 British vessels as prizes, some off the British Isles themselves, contributing to the demoralization of the enemy and forcing the British to divert warships to protect convoys and trade routes. In addition, the navy provoked diplomatic crises that helped bring France into the war against Great Britain. The Continental Navy began the proud tradition carried on today by our United States Navy, and whose birthday we celebrate each year in October.
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Presenting the Past:
Makin Island Sailor Portrays Navy's History Story by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class (SW/AW) Lawrence Davis, USS Makin Island Public Affairs
Photos courtesy of Cryptologic Technician (Maintenance) 1st Class (SW) Jayson N. Mallari
h e callous life and times of a World War II era Navy Sailor stationed aboard the largest commissioned aircraft carrier in the world at the time, USS Midway (CV 41), is one of many presentations of naval history in which this Sailor portrays for the modern public. Cryptologic Technician (Maintenance) 1st Class (SW) Jayson N. Mallari is a collector of historical Navy artifacts and a self-proclaimed naval historian. One of Mallari’s favorite pastimes is learning and educating others about the customs, traditions, and significant events in naval history through portrayal and re-enactment. “Our Navy’s history is endless,” said Mallari. “Every day is an anniversary for some type of historical naval feat or event.” Ever since childhood, Mallari recalls having an extraordinary interest in the culture of the “cracker jack,” and idolizing the Sailors who served aboard the largest, most intimidating ships he’d ever seen. He remembers being proud seeing his older brother, who served aboard the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70), in uniform. His interest in portraying naval history stems from his first time aboard a naval ship. “As I approached the ship, I experienced a feeling of being overwhelmed and amazed at the size of it and couldn’t believe man had the capability to build such things,” Mallari explained about his first visit aboard Vinson. “Seeing the Sailors working in their uniforms was classic. It was how I’d always pictured them,” Mallari continued. He recalled a lot of walking and climbing steep ladder-wells, which he related to that of a tree-house and said it was fun for him as a young boy. Years past, and Mallari’s relationship with his older brother continued, even through six deployments. His brother would write him and send pictures and articles of the day-today shipboard activities, giving him a glimpse into what Navy life was like. At age 17, Mallari’s father took him to speak with Navy recruiters, which was when Mallari says he began to seriously consider the Navy. A year later, Mallari reported for boot camp. He spent much of his personal time reading the Navy Bluejacket’s Manual. “I remember being intrigued by the Navy’s history, customs and traditions,” said Mallari. “A lot of the stories about naval leaders, such as Admiral Halsey and Admiral Farragut are depicted as them being legends of their own time.” Mallari said his reading gave him a great sense of duty and honor and it was something to take example from. Soon, just reading about naval heritage would no longer satisfy his craving. “I wanted to learn more about the history from a perspective of the past,” said Mallari. A few years into his Navy career, he began attending Living History events where he met other historians with the same interests as himself. “That’s when I realized it was limitless,” said Mallari. “I didn’t have to settle for just
the black and white text, I could actually get my hands on uniforms from veterans who served in earlier times.” Mallari was invited by the Living History unit to be part of an event. He jumped on the opportunity to help portray past significant naval times. His first event was an interpretation of a World War II Navy signalman working at the Point Loma Lighthouse during the attack on Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. “At that time, the lighthouse and surrounding areas were in charge of protecting the naval base in San Diego against Japanese attack as well as guarding the coast,” said Mallari. “It was there that the first news of the Pearl Harbor attack was received by the continental
U.S., although it was initially intended for San Francisco.” Mallari explained that due to bad weather interference, the message was accidentally diverted to San Diego. “When I learned about this I was amazed at the fact that I was standing in the very place where such a significant piece of naval history had occurred,” said Mallari. Mallari recalled being a bit nervous before his first portrayal because he knew there would be veterans in attendance and wanted to make sure that he was depicting history as accurately as possible. However, he was more excited at the opportunity to educate. “The public loved it, especially the kids,” said Mallari. “The parents would point out
CTF 51 VISITS MKI
our uniforms to their kids and say, ‘this is what your grandparents wore when they served.’” Mallari continued about his experience. “People would often come up to me and share their personal stories of their relatives’ experiences in the Navy during earlier war times,” said Mallari. Mallari spoke about the gratification he gets from participating in Living History events and shared his opinion on the importance of re-enacting historical naval events. “It gives me a sense of satisfaction, the gratitude people show for us providing historical visuals,” said Mallari. “When it comes to history, it’s something that’s not just written in a book by an author. I regard it as someone’s personal experience. Re-enacting that is being a part of something huge, and that’s what I mean by history being limitless.” To date, Mallari has participated in more than 15 portrayals of historical events including a Navy beach battalion on D-Day, Sailors reactions to the Attack on Pearl Harbor, and Spirit of 1945 where he portrayed a Sailor returning home from the war in the Pacific. For more than five years, he has collected military memorabilia and has acquired items such as Navy World War I and II dress uniforms, a 1917 Fifth Edition Bluejacket’s Manual, which was issued to World War I Sailors, and a stack of letters written by a Sailor serving in the Pacific spanning a time period from 1942 to 1945, that also includes the Sailor’s Shellback certificate. When asked about the history he was personally creating in the midst of reenacting others histories within the Navy, Mallari thought for a moment and replied, “It’s such a humbling experience to think about all this history I’m studying and rarely think about the history I’m here creating now,” said Mallari. “It may not get recognized in the history books, but it’s still someone’s personal accounts.” Mallari plans to continue with his hobby of re-enacting historical naval events and aspires to one day become a high school history teacher or a college professor.
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Story by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Christopher Lindahl USS Makin Island Public Affairs
he Commander of Combined Task Force (CTF) 51, Marine Brig. Gen. Carl Mundy, visited the Sailors and Marines aboard amphibious assault ship USS Makin Island (LHD 8) to tour the ship and pass along a few words of encouragement, Sept. 28 and 29. Makin Island is the flagship for the current Amphibious Ready Group/Marine Expeditionary Unit (ARG/MEU) operating in the U.S. Central Command/U.S. 5th Fleet area of responsibility (AOR). CTF 51 provides command and control of the Makin Island ARG and embarked 11th MEU. While speaking at an all-hands call on the flight deck, Mundy spoke about the high level of performance expected while in the Arabian Gulf and his expectations of the crew while deployed in this AOR. “You’ve entered a professional playing field out here,” said Mundy. “I say that knowing that you all are worthy, you’ve met the mark on all of your at-sea periods.” Mundy made no attempt to mask the ARG’s visibility in the AOR and stressed the importance of security as it relates to stability and the importance of both in the region. “You’re presence out here sends a reassuring calm across all the nations that see you floating out here, or that you train with, because they recognize that this is part of the American commitment to come out here and make what (has typically been an) unstable region a little bit more stable. That’s what you’re there for,” said Mundy. Mundy used the analogy of playing on the varsity team, or highest level possible, with the deployed forces and stressed the importance of building relationships and representing themselves well in order to continue to foster conditions that enhance trust, cooperation and mutual respect with partner nations. “Every issue that you deal with out here is going to be looked at from that level,” said Mundy. “It is incumbent on those veterans who have done this once or twice, to put your arms around the more junior Sailors and Marines to make sure you guide them and show them the way.” While hosting generals and admirals is a relatively common occurrence for flagships, the visit served as the first that Makin Island hosted for Mundy in his current role as commander, CTF 51. Mundy recently made the transition from deputy commanding general, I Marine Expeditionary Force and Commanding General, 1st Marine Expeditionary Brigade at Camp Pendleton, California, to his new role at U.S. 5th Fleet. “Having Gen. Mundy aboard in his new capacity highlights the importance of our role in the region,” said Capt. Alvin Holsey, commanding officer of Makin Island. “He’s no stranger to Makin Island and knows firsthand capabilities of this ship and the rest of the ARG /MEU team.”
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REMINDER Fitness Tip
fitness
Blood Bank pg. 13
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