IN THIS EDITION
Spectrum Analyzer TR/CVW17 Integrate Medical Teams
Sun King’s Change of Command
Wo m e n ’ s H e a l t h C l i n i c
T S TA F E P
D ay s o f R e m e m b r a n c e
170426-N-TQ088-018 PACIFIC OCEAN (April 26, 2017) A Sailor uses a light wand to illuminate his ascent up the ladder of an F/A-18E Super Hornet assigned to the Stingers of Strike Fighter Attack Squadron (VFA) 113, aboard the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71). Theodore Roosevelt is underway conducting a tailored ship’s training availability off the coast of California. (U.S. Navy photo illustration by Lt. Aaron B. Hicks/Released)
PHOTOS BY THEODORE ROOSEVELT MEDIA
Sun Kings B Y M A S S C O M M U N I C AT I O N S P E C I A L I S T S E A M A N R A C H A E L T R E O N U S S T H E O D O R E R O O S E V E LT ( C V N 7 1 ) P U B L I C A F FA I R S
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he “Sun Kings” of Carrier Airborne Early Warning Squadron (VAW) 116 performed an airborne change of command ceremony above the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71) April 13. Cmdr. Josh “Spoiler” Wenker relieved Cmdr. Matt “Gucci” Thomas as commanding officer of VAW-116. Wenker arrived from U.S. Northern Command to lead the Sun Kings through the remaining work-up cycle and into the upcoming deployment with Carrier Strike Group (CSG) 9. A native of Tinley Park, Illinois, Wenker graduated
from the United States Naval Academy in 1999 with a Bachelor’s of Science Degree in History. “The ceremony was incredibly humbling to be a part of,” said Wenker. “The Sun Kings are an absolutely amazing squadron and I couldn’t be more honored to join this team. Cmdr. Thomas led the squadron through a difficult maintenance phase and worked extremely hard to keep the aircraft in good shape, morale high and the vision on the mission.” Thomas is slated to be the executive officer of the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN 68) after attending
Change Command
at Sea
Nuclear Power School in Charleston, S.C. “Skipper Thomas was a great leader, respected by everyone and very loved by his ready room,” said Lt. Cmdr. Dave “Pawnshop” Wiltshire, Thomas’ pilot during the ceremony. “Everybody appreciated his calm demeanor and after our 10-month deployment he allowed the squadron to recharge and rebuild while still participating in as many events as we could.” Thomas is a native of Nashport, Ohio and graduated with highest distinction with a Bachelor’s of Science in Mechanical Engineering from the United States Naval
Academy in 1997. The change of command took place during Theodore Roosevelt’s first day of cyclic flight operations since completing of its Planned Incremental Availability (PIA) in 2016 making the ceremony monumental for not only VAW-116 but also for the ship’s entire crew. “I look forward to working with everyone aboard the TR and bringing our part to the mission,” said Wenker. “I plan to keep the squadron focused, safe, and having fun because if you’re not having fun then you’re not doing something right.”
Spectrum Analyzer DONT BECOME THE PREY
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B Y M A S S C O M M U N I C AT I O N S P E C I A L I S T S E A M A N A L E X C O R O N A U S S T H E O D O R E R O O S E V E LT ( C V N 7 1 ) P U B L I C A F FA I R S
he coastline can be seen on the horizon from the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71). A Sailor walks quickly toward the fantail, hoping to get a little bit of cell phone service to text his girlfriend back home. The Sailor sneakily looks down at his phone hoping to see one bar of cell phone service. It’s there. He furiously begins to text, hoping to get a message off before anyone notices. Before his thumbs can even hit that oh-so-familiar send button, suddenly, he gets a tap on the shoulder. “Our job is make sure the ship isn’t transmitting any signal,” said Cryptologic Technician (Collection) 3rd Class Kevin Serpa, member of the Own Force Monitoring team. “This can jeopardize our mission because then the enemy can spot us when we are trying to set Emissions Control.” Any electronic device that emits a signal, like cell phone service or Bluetooth, can be picked up by the spectrum analyzer, said Serpa. This device is essential in the ability to detect Sailors not following the policy to keep their phone on airplane mode at all times during an underway. A spectrum analyzer measures the amount of electrical signal, dominant frequency, bandwith and other spectral components of a signal that are not easily observed from a given electrical device. It is used to detect any signal coming from wireless transmitters.
“When in areas like the 7th fleet area of operations, creating boundaries is essential to keeping our ship and Sailors safe,” said Serpa. “Not only could this compromise our safety, but it could also give away our position when we are trying to remain undetected.” Every time that EMCON is set, the OFM team will patrol with the spectrum analyzer, said Serpa. They also will patrol when instructed. “It’s an issue that the crew should be aware of and help monitor, so that no one has to get their phone taken or face the punishment handed down by the chain of command.” said Serpa. Remember to keep your phone on airplane mode, said Serpa. Keep your Bluetooth off, unless you’re using it for headphones, and turn hydras off in EMCON. Back on the fantail, the Sailor turns around sharply as he feels the touch on his shoulder. To his disappointment, it’s not a friend. It’s the OFM team. The team confiscates his phone. The Sailor asks if they are going to inform his chain of command. They instruct the Sailor that they are going to inform his chain of command and his leading chief petty officer will need to come with him to pick up his phone. If another infraction occurs he will be speaking with the Captain.
WIFI. WILL BE HUNTED.
CVW 17, Roosevelt Combine Medical Teams STORY BY MASS COMMUNICATION SPECIALIST SEAMAN NICHOLAS BURGAINS
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N AV Y P U B L I C A F FA I R S S U P P O R T E L E M E N T W E S T
light surgeons and hospital corpsmen from Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 17 integrated with the medical staff aboard the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71) while underway during a Tailored Ship’s Training Availability. The integration provides efficient, quality care to personnel aboard the Roosevelt while underway. According to Lt. Aaron B. Hicks, a flight surgeon assigned to CVW-17, the respective medical departments needed to cooperate to provide personnel aboard Roosevelt quick, reliable care, regardless of which doctor tends to them. “If it wasn’t for an integrated medical department, the ship would be at a loss,” said Hicks. “People would’ve gone to the wrong place or got misdirected and not received the medical care that they need.” The biggest challenge the medical department faced is the increase of personnel. “The ship has gone from caring from 3,000, to 5,000 personnel in the same space,” said Hicks. “The medical department streamlined their patient care and procedures as a result.” The medical departments started collaborating in early January as CVW-17 staff arrived on board to start TSTA. TSTA is a process that prepares the ship and crew for integration into a carrier strike group
through a wide range of operations. “We started discussing with the ship’s medical staff in January about how we saw the transition going,” said Lt. Dani Leary, a flight surgeon assigned to CVW-17. “Once we got on board for TSTA, we started to put that plan in action.” CVW-17 also helped the Roosevelt’s staff maintain medical readiness during this underway. “They’ve helped us remain ready throughout the year,” said Hospital Corpsman 1st Class Lawrence Jimenez, an independent duty corpsman aboard Roosevelt. “They’ve participated in the medical emergency drills and tests based on their specific roles.” The carrier air wing and the ship’s crew are now sharing resources. “It’s been a welcome addition so far,” said Jimenez. “From the moment they’ve stepped on board, they’ve been like family.” The collaboration allowed the medical departments to work together and provide all patients quality care. “The end goal of integration is to provide the best possible care to the air wing, ship’s staff and everyone on board,” said Leary. “We want to take great care of our Sailors and Marines.” Theodore Roosevelt is currently underway conducting TSTA off the coast of California.
Tobacco? Want to quit?
Need Help?
Women’s Health Clinic BY MASS COMMUNICATION SPECIALIST SEAMAN RACHAEL TREON USS THEODORE ROOSEVELT (CVN 71) PUBLIC AFFAIRS
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new and improved women’s health clinic is prepared to serve the women aboard USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71). Lt. Cmdr. Frank Arnold, a medical physician, developed the clinic to provide women the same services offered by family practitioners and gynecologists without needing to leave the ship. Women are offered services regarding annual exams, sexual health, contraceptives, sexuality, and other issues a woman may have questions about. Obstetrics is the only service not provided on the ship. Appointments are offered Thursday afternoons and can be made by visiting medical. Appointments are available all day Thursday while in-port. Same day appointments are available for urgent situations and can be made through sick call. A female nurse and corpsman are also available during sick call upon patient preference. Testing for sexually transmitted diseases is always available. STDs can be diagnosed and treated aboard the ship. Service providers will
ensure maximum treatment by offering followup appointments. Preventative contraceptives offered include birth control pills, patches, implants, DepoProvera shot, NuvaRing and Intrauterine Device (IUD). Emergency contraceptives are also available even while at sea, no questions asked. The women’s health clinic also assists Sailors with questions regarding their sexuality. Service providers are prepared to help individuals receive knowledge and training to better understand their sexuality and can refer Sailors to the ship’s psychologist for counseling. Women’s health services are provided by Arnold, Lt. Michael Feroli and the ship’s nurse. “I want women to know that I’m right here on the ship,” said Arnold. “The women’s health clinic is available for the convenience and health of the women on board. They don’t need to wait until we get back in-port to receive needed help. Use this resource and provide feedback and concerns so this program can continue to grow.”
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his year, Holocaust Days of Remembrance began April 24. It is a time when people reflect on the strength of the human spirit which was so critical in the fight against tyranny. When Allied soldiers arrived at the concentration camps, many of them could not believe what they were seeing. At Dachau, U.S. Army journalist, Bill Barrett wrote: “They had gone without food so long that their dead wrists were broomsticks tipped with claws. These were the victims of a deliberate starvation diet.” To be sure, the actions of the Nazis were done in the name of the Aryan race. They relied on fear and indifference to carry out a plan to systematically murder and enslave anyone who didn’t fit their racial or ideological mold. This wasn’t a new concept. What the Nazis did was apply the principles of industry to genocide. They assumed the people they targeted were generally unwanted, so nobody would stop them. They may have been right about governments of other nations, but they were wrong about people. They were wrong about the willingness of the oppressed to fight back, and they were wrong about people’s willingness to stand up for their neighbors and friends, even in the face of overwhelming odds.
According to the Yad Vashem organization, people like Irena Sendler, a social worker in Poland who helped 2,500 Jewish children escape the Nazis, and Miep Gies, the Dutch woman who hid Anne Frank and her family from the Nazis, were normal people who couldn’t stand to see their friends and neighbors be treated as though they were less than human. Even the Nazis’ allies, the Japanese, refused to participate in their scheme to eliminate ‘undesirables’ from the European gene pool. Chiune Sugihara was the Japanese Consul-General in Kaunas, Lithuania, and continued to stamp visas after explicit orders to desist, even as he was on a train leaving the country. Throughout Nazi territory, even in Germany, people resisted. There were no less than 27 attempts on Hitler’s life. People who were neighbors refused to cooperate with the Nazis’ attempts to eliminate whole sections of humanity. Willem Arondeus, an openly gay man living in Amsterdam, was a member of the Dutch Resistance who forged papers for Jews fleeing the Nazis and led a group to bomb the Amsterdam Public Records Office to stop the Nazis from identifying Dutch Jews. According to Who’s Who in Gay and Lesbian History, his last public announcement was
Remembrance By Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class (SW/AW) R. David Valdez, USS Theodore Roosevelt Public Affairs
through his attorney. Arondeus said: “Let it be known that homosexuals are not cowards!” Despite the Nazis’ plans, there were survivors. People from all of the populations the Nazis tried to eliminate live in the same countries where the death camps existed. Those camps are now memorials to those who lost their lives to that madness and serve as reminders to those of us who are left behind. Since then, the world has seen other examples of genocide, but it has also seen tolerance develop. In the United States, we have integrated our military first by race, then sex, and eventually sexual orientation and gender identity. We must live by our Navy Core Values. It is our responsibility to find those who would oppress others or deny people their basic human rights and stop them. We must encourage those who are different from us in expressing their right to self-determination and learn to appreciate and even celebrate our differences. According to the FBI 2015 Hate Crime Statistics report, there were 5,818 single-bias incidents that involved 7,121 victims. As a point of comparison, there are about 5,000 Sailors and Marines aboard the aircraft carrier USS
Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71). In the report, 56.9 percent of those single-bias incidents were motivated by race or ethnicity, 21.4 percent were prompted by religious bias, and 20.1 percent were a consequence of sexual orientation or gender identity bias. African-Americans, Jewish people, homosexual men, and transgender people all top the lists as targets of crimes motivated by race, religion, sexual orientation and gender identification. Article 1164 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice reads: “Equal opportunity shall be afforded to all on the basis of individual efforts, performance, conduct, diligence, potential, capabilities and talents without discrimination of race, color, religion, sex (including gender identity), national origin or sexual orientation. Naval personnel shall demonstrate a strong commitment to stand on these principles and carry them out.” Regardless of any differences, people who are different are not “them.” They are us. They laugh, cry and bleed just like we do. They are our friends and neighbors, and here aboard the Big Stick, they are our shipmates. To borrow a line from SAPR, what hurts one affects us all.
Tailored Ship’s Training Availability and Final Evaluation Problem
TSTA FEP
By Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Austin R. Clayton USS Theodore Roosevelt Public Affairs
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he Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71) commenced its longest underway in more than a year to begin the Tailored Ship’s Training Availability and Final Evaluation Problem, April 8. The purpose of TSTA is to train and evaluate the Sailors ability to enhance the ships operating ability while integrating the embarked air wing, with the ultimate goal of the ship being able to self-train. “While preparing a ship to self-train you see the progression from each training team, whether it’s the Medical Training Team or the Damage Control Training Team,” said Damage Controlman 1st Class Narrean Brown, inspector for the Afloat Training Group. “There’s a sense of accomplishment when ship’s company takes over and uses all the tools and references to the best of their ability.” TSTA is a multi-phase event. There are five phases of TSTA; TSTA In-port, TSTA I, TSTA II, TSTA III and TSTA/FEP. The TSTA phases prepare the ship for FEP. During FEP, the ship’s ability to survive complex casualties and the ability to control emergency situations is evaluated by ATG. After
the completion of TSTA/FEP the ship is on its own, says Brown. “The first thing I noticed was the DCTT organization. TR’s Damage Control Central is one of the best I’ve seen on the waterfront,” said Brown.” “Nothing gets past them in terms of a causality. They made my job harder to help the Fire Marshall create drills to challenge them.” On the ship, FEP is a more elaborate general quarters drill. The Damage Control Training Team trains Sailors through drills in preparation for realworld events. “Our TSTA/FEP was reduced from 25 days to 10 days,” said Chief Warrant Officer Danielle M. Wiley, Theodore Roosevelt’s Fire Marshall. “We knocked it out of the park.” At the end of FEP, Wiley was impressed that 2,900 people could come together as one. Her ultimate goal was to ensure the growth of her junior Sailors. “Our training has been 100 percent effective. Now we just have to keep up with proficiency,” said Wiley. “Keep trucking TR. We have a deployment to take care of.”
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STAFF COMMANDING OFFICER Capt. Craig Clapperton EXECUTIVE OFFICER Capt. Fred Goldhammer PUBLIC AFFAIRS OFFICER Lt. Cmdr. Beth Teach MEDIA OFFICER Lt. Michael Hathaway SENIOR EDITOR MCC Jennifer Roy MCC Jay Pugh EDITOR MC1 Michael Russell MC3 Alex Perlman ROUGH RIDER CONTRIBUTERS Lt. Aaron Hicks MC1 R. David Valdez MC2 Paul Archer MC3 Spencer Roberts MC3 Victoria Foley MCSN Rachael Treon MCSN Alex Corona MCSN Bill Sanders MCSN Nicholas Burgains COMMAND OMBUDSMAN
cvn71ombudsman@gmail.com
NAME: ADAN John Georgescu HOMETOWN: Detroit, MI Favorite Thing About the Navy: “The constant need for higher knowledge.” Message to the crew: “Always push to be the best version of yourself.” Favorite Food: Romanian Food Favorite Movie: Good Will Hunting
The Rough Rider is an authorized publication for the crew of USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71). Contents herein are not necessarily the views of, or endorsed by, the U.S. government, Department of Defense, Department of the Navy or the Commanding Officer of TR. All items for publication in The Rough Rider must be submitted to the editor no later than three days prior to publication. Do you have a story you’d like to see in the Rough Rider? Contact the Media Department at J-Dial 5940 or stop by 3-180-0-Q. CHECK US OUT ONLINE about.me/ussTheodoreRoosevelt @TheRealCVN71 TR