Vinson Voice MAY13_LQ

I T I: C’ C | M V. P | G G | M S

Vol 03 No 49 | May 13, 2012

STORY BY

S

MC3 (SW/AW) Luke B. Meineke | Carl Vinson Staff Writer

ailors celebrated Asian Pacific American Heritage Month with a cake-cutting ceremony on the ship’s mess decks and an evening presentation with multiple cultural dances in Hangar Bay 2 May 11.

The events, sponsored by Carrier Strike Group (CSG) 1 and Vinson’s American Heritage Observance Committee (AHOC) and performed by its members, began in the afternoon. Vinson’s “Cake Boss”, Culinary Specialist 3rd Class (AW) Samantha Achille of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 25, baked another enormous cake for the occasion.

Capt.

John Steinberger, commander of Destroyer Squadron (DESRON) 1, spoke to the more than 150 Sailors who gathered to kick off the day’s events.

“I find it very fitting that this is our final diversity and culture celebration AHOC is putting on for us this deployment,” Steinberger said. “I think the Asian Pacific Americans share the richest and most diverse culture out of all that we have celebrated so far,” he added, noting more than 40 different countries and cultures span the Pacific region.

Cover illustration by: MC2 (SW) Patrick Green | Carl Vinson Staff Graphic Artist

CONTINUE ‘AHOC’ ON PAGE 2

Vinson Voice

2 FROM ‘AHOC’ ON PAGE 1

Steinberger briefly highlighted the interconnected heritages of Asian Pacific Americans and the U.S. military before extending his appreciation to AHOC and their efforts throughout Vinson’s Western Pacific deployment.

“I’ve been blown away by the quality of their efforts,” Steinberger said.

“The education, the remembrance and the celebration of our diversity and our different cultures has just been phenomenal.”

Commodore Steinberger and Chief Hospital Corpsman (SW/ AW) Webster Nicholson, the AHOC president assigned to Vinson’s Dental Department, together cut the cake and presented it to attendees.

The evening celebration could not have been scripted more appropriately, Webster said. Inspiring visions of tiki torches, bonfires and beaches, a scaled-down AHOC band simply featuring acoustic guitar, bass guitar and drums, ever so coolly and with rhythmic ease welcomed Sailors as they gathered in Hangar Bay 2.

With pitch-perfect accompaniment, the open elevator door played a refreshing breeze across the evening’s celebration.

The program featured Asian Pacific American history, music by the AHOC band, and traditional dance, including a Tahitian dance and a Hawaiian hula performed by Aviation Boatswain’s Mate (Equipment) 1st Class (AW/ SW) Cassandra Poepoe, arresting gear leading petty officer assigned

to Air Department V-2 Division, and Yeoman 3rd Class (AW) Melrose Afaese, assigned to CVW-17’s Administration Department.

Lead vocalist and guitarist for the AHOC band, Aviation Support Equipment Technician 3rd Class Robert Saaga, a native of Samoa assigned to Aviation Intermediate Maintenance Department’s IM-4 Division, said the night’s celebration was totally fitting.

“It was the most important show for me, not only because it’s my last one, but it’s great because I feel like I was able to represent who I really am as a Pacific Islander,” Saaga said. “That made it really special to me.”

Saaga said he also experienced the same benefit AHOC prepares for every Sailor around the ship. A musician prior to enlisting in the Navy, Saaga initially joined AHOC to reconnect with performing music. Through it, he came to appreciate the valuable service they offer.

“AHOC represents the diversity of the Navy and puts a little spotlight on everybody’s ethnic background,” Saaga said. “It gives Sailors the opportunity to get up there and represent who you are and where you are from and to give your story. For me, it was a way to show everybody where we are from – it was a chance to say, ‘This is us.’”

The night’s keynote speaker, Lt. Nomer I. Gatchalian, an Aircraft Launch and Recovery Officer (Shooter) onboard Vinson, spoke on the executive order which provided the foundation

for the celebration’s theme, “Striving for Excellence in Leadership, Diversity and Inclusion”.

“The purpose of the order is to realize more fully the goal of using talents of all segments of society,” Gatchalian said. “To recruit, hire and promote and retain a more diverse workforce and to create a culture that encourages collaboration, flexibility and fairness to enable individuals to participate to their full potential.”

Gatchalian then related, with great ethos, his grandfather’s story of enlisting in the U.S. Navy, transferring and then saving in order to eventually move his wife and 10 children to the United States, affording them opportunities they did not have in the Philippines.

While a personal story, Gatchalian said his family’s story is indicative of the American Dream as well as the foundation of America’s potential and capacity.

“Our nation has always derived strength from the diversity of its population and from its commitment to equal opportunity for all,” he said. “We are at our best when we draw on the talents from all parts of our society.”

With the closing remarks, Nicholson said he hoped the evening’s show helped others to reflect on their own heritage and culture, as well as bring Sailors across Vinson together. With Hawaii next on the crew’s list of destinations, celebrating Asian Pacific American Heritage Month now couldn’t be more fitting, he added.

American Heritage Observance Committee (AHOC) members YN3 Melrose Afaese, left, and ABE1 Cassandra Poepoe, right, dance during an Asian Pacific American Heritage Month celebration in Vinson’s hangar bay. Photo by MC3(SW/AW) Nicolas C. Lopez

May 13, 2012

Forgiveness part two

PROVIDED BY

W

3

Lt. Thomas Cook | CVW-17 Chaplain

e talked about the reasons to forgive a month ago, which is actually a part of the process for finally forgiving someone. Chances are better than good that you are in need of forgiving someone. If you remember what I wrote last time, you will understand why I say that you are probably in need of forgiving someone. The first thing we need to recognize in the process is some of what was mentioned last time, and that is not only that forgiveness is an important part of healthy relationships but it is vital for healthy living. The old adage, “Never apologize, your friends don’t need it and your enemies will not respect it,” is simply not true. This is more review, but it is important. Forgiveness brings reconciliation and personal peace, of which justice is able to elicit, but ultimately only forgiveness provides.

Take an important relationship in your life, for example. You have an argument and some hurtful things are said. In the end you find out that you were right, and you get your way. Apologies are made, and you go on until the next argument. And you begin the cycle again, until years later you look at that same person or they look at you and the friendship and the love have disappeared. What happened? You thought your conflicts were being resolved, maybe you even said the words, “I’m sorry,” and heard them as well. Justice can make you right, and even give you a sense of resolution, but without forgiveness, hurt can fester like a splinter until it gets infected with bitterness. “I love you, but I am not in love with you,” is a telltale sign of someone who has not resolved hurt feelings. This is not just for married couples by the way; forgiveness is necessary for every healthy relationship—even when they end.

So to complete our review from last time we need to recognize our own need for forgiveness and we need to come to terms with the reality that because people are not perfect they are going to hurt us. We also need to understand that this is a process. Forgiveness is not a destination, it is a state of mind that will take your entire life to perfect. It begins with the pieces we have already discussed, which provides you the perspective you need to view others properly. The biggest part of that is our need for others to act a certain way, or to receive from them what we believe we deserve.

Many of you will recall this from the marriage series we have aired called Love and Respect. We often fail to resolve conflicts because we expect the other person to give us something we believe we deserve, specifically in matters of friendship and love, but also professionally. Your need for them to give you what you deserve is a major obstacle to not only forgiving, but also happiness. This step will allow you to forgive even when the other person has not asked for it, a key ingredient to forgiveness.

In the movie, Finding Bobby Fischer, our young genius is struggling with the concept that the teacher is trying convey to him, “That he must hate his opponent.” Our young man simply states, “But I don’t hate them.” In the end the young boy teaches the teacher the truth. In an act of pure forgiveness he offers a draw to his arch nemesis, even though he knows he has won the match.

The next step in forgiveness is just that, you no longer need justice.

Now there are many reasons to want justice, so don’t misunderstand this for suggesting otherwise. We are talking about interpersonal relationships here, not geopolitical realities. At this point in the process you no longer need them to suffer or pay for their crime, even though society as a whole and the need for a civil society requires it.

You no longer need it for yourself. This is the hardest part and the point in the process where we struggle the most, because we all have a heightened sense of justice. That is why at this point it is necessary for us to remind ourselves of our own need for forgiveness.

And so the process will go, in some cases with us daily revisiting an offense and reminding ourselves that we have forgiven the offender. Until in time the feelings become less painful and we find ourselves no longer holding the offense against the other. Notice that the process of granting forgiveness never requires the offender to actually ask for forgiveness. I highly recommend it if you are the offender, but our need to forgive is not dependent on another person.

And this is in no way suggests that there is not a need for justice, but we are not talking about justice here. You are probably saying there is no way you can forgive like that. I understand, and I never said it would be easy. It may be that you’ll just have to look outside yourself for the strength to forgive like that, but seeking to forgive like that will give you the kind of life free of such burdens, the kind of life that you may have been hoping for.

AEAN David Garibay, assigned to Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 22, waits with chocks and chains as aircrafts recover on Vinson’s flight deck. Photo by MCSN George M. Bell

Vinson Voice

4

PHOTOS BY MC3 (SW/AW) Nicolas C. Lopez MCSN (SW) George M. Bell MCSA (SW) Andrew K. Haller Carl Vinson Staff Photographers

May 13, 2012

5

Military Vs. Predator STORY BY

MC3 (SW/AW) Rosa A. Arzola | Carl Vinson Staff Writer

O

ne of the benefits of a deployment is to save money or pay off debts using a combination of tax-free, imminent danger pay and money not spent on simple dayto-day activities at home like dining out or going to the movies.

“Unfortunately some people on deployment didn’t save money. Either their debts are more than they could handle, they overspent during port calls, or their spouse didn’t manage the money well,” acknowledged Vinson’s Leading Command Financial Specialist Senior Chief Fire Controlman (SW/AW) Harold Cramer.

Predatory lending services, which offer quick cash loans to be repaid in a specified timeframe, have advertisements on every major media outlet. Cramer warned against military members in troubled financial situations taking these services up on their advertisements.

The cash loans these companies provide carries highinterest fees and targets customers who have little ability to repay it.

Examples of predatory loans include payday loans, car title loans, tax refund anticipation loans, check-cashing stores, pawnshop loans, subprime lending institutions, and home improvement scams.

Predatory lenders often target groups who need money immediately and can’t qualify or wait for a loan. A service member is a predatory lender’s favorite customer, revealed Vinson’s judge advocate, Lt. Cmdr. Mitch Eisenberg.

“If you go around any military installations, typically there are payday loans outside the gate,” Eisenberg said.

“There are lenders out there who are willing to give military members a loan because they know that you receive a paycheck every 15 days.”

Cramer explained how a small loan from a predatory lender could double up with just a missed payment.

Borrowing 200 dollars at a 390 percent annual interest rate (or 32.5 percent interest per month) totals about 265 dollars owed with fees added.

“But let’s say you still find yourself low on money and you can’t pay off the loan after two weeks, so you extend it. Now they apply that 390 percent interest on your new loan of 265 dollars. You can end up owing an estimated 351 dollars,” he said.

Eisenberg noted even if predatory lenders know service members are protected under the Military Lending Act against high interest rates, many will still try to get them to sign on the dotted line.

“They don’t necessarily ask you if you are military and inform you of this law,” he said. “Their job is to make money.”

Eisenberg added Sailors who fail to pay debts risk can lose their security clearance, and subsequently their rating.

The Military Lending Act is a law that provides protection for active-duty service members, active National Guard or Reserve personnel, and their dependents against high-

Whoever Wins, You Could Lose

interest loan rates by lowering them to an annual rate of 36 percent.

Although the Military Lending Act defines payday loans as loans of closed-end credit of 91 days or less and no more than 2,000 dollars, many of these services will try to find loopholes around this law, such as extending the credit past 91 days, to still charge Sailors high interest rates, Cramer said.

Cramer emphasized the most important thing is for Sailors to understand how to avoid being under financial stress.

He advises setting up a budget and seeking help from their department’s financial specialist or the Fleet and Family Service Center (FFSC).

“Sailors already under financial stress should notify their chain of command,” Cramer continued. “They can also seek monetary management assistance from the Fleet and Family Service Center or the Navy and Marine Corps Relief Society (NMCRS) while in San Diego.”

“Sit down and have a sense of what bills and lawful obligations you have,” Eisenberg added. “We all get into situations were we need extra money. Maybe an emergency flight comes up, someone gets sick, you get into an accident – there are resources out there other than these predatory lenders that can help. You can go to a legitimate bank where you can get a personal loan.”

The NMCRS also offers interest-free quick-assist loans to service members in need of short-term financial assistance.

ABH2 Jathan Lane, assigned to the Air Department’s V-1 Division, directs the movement of aircraft during foul weather on Vinson’s flight deck. Photo by MC2 (SW) James R. Evans

Vinson Voice

6

AND NOW FOR MY FINAL 24 THOUGHTS COLUMN BY

MC2 (SW) Byron C. Linder | Carl Vinson Staff Writer

As this is the final Gadget Guru column, I thought I’d take a break from singing annoying fanboy praises or tarring and feathering a half-baked idea that somehow made it to production. Instead, I submit 24 condensed opinions that I just couldn’t warrant entire columns on, either because they were a little too niche or because I couldn’t think up enough pithy observations.

1) Paragon NTFS for Mac – Set of drivers allowing Windowsformatted hard drives to be written to on a Mac. Fantastic program.

Get it.

2) Turbo.264 HD video conversion program – A little faster than HandBrake and creates quality files. But no ability to embed external subtitles is a deal-breaker. Don’t need it.

3) Adobe Creative Suites 6 is coming out. Lot of online-only features worth approximately jack and squat without a constant Internet connection. But I’ll still download the demo because of my irrational need to upgrade.

4) Diablo 3 is out May 15. YAAAAAY! There is no offline mode.

SCREW THAT! 5) Top 5 games I want on iPad: Diablo 2 (with offline play), NFL Blitz, NHL Open Ice, Psychonauts, and Fallout.

6) A Bard’s Tale on iPad is awesome. Highly recommended for Diablo fans with a sense of humor.

7) I want another Destroy All Humans game that doesn’t make me wail and gnash my teeth in sorrow at how a quirky, fun series got so boring.

8) Bioshock Infinite has been delayed until fall of this year.

Bioshock 2 was a disappointment, but I haven’t given up on the franchise yet.

9) A USB 3.5 floppy drive is hard to find in stores, but I got a SmartDisk model online for about 30 bucks. It’s held up well over the deployment and been quite useful since I like to write my stories and this column on my laptop and not burn a CD for a simple Word document.

10) I’ve had the same Sony multi-flashcard reader since 2007, and even though it’s been bent, dented and scratched to oblivion, it still works.

11) My Beats by Dre Tour earbuds died earlier this week. They lasted almost a whole year, and I did put them through hell. I might buy another pair.

12) The Google Chrome web browser currently has no extension that beats Mozilla’s Firefox browser’s Video Downloader extension when it comes to downloading YouTube and other Flash videos.

13) My two Western Digital 4TB hard drives have lasted another deployment. This will probably be their last tour on a ship, since it’s

easier to watch things on the iPad and keep those files on smallform drives, and I don’t watch anything on the laptop anymore.

14) I have a very positive opinion about the Green Smoke e-cigarette, which you may ask me about in person or via e-mail.

15) The Kensington all-in-one travel power adapter has been keeping me going since 2007. No matter the country I go to, it keeps my laptop charged (and all my other gadgets charged by proxy via USB).

16) USB cord wrapping straps are a nice idea, but a roll of black electrical tape costs the same, lasts longer, and doesn’t look fruity.

17) All anyone needs is a mini-USB cord, a micro-USB cord and an Apple cord. These days, pretty much all those things can be plugged into a device and charge from a laptop or a USB plug.

18) If I was stuck on a desert island and could only play one video game, it would be Fallout 3: Game of the Year edition. Also, I’d be very upset because I was stuck on a desert island that somehow has the existing infrastructure to power a television and a game console, but didn’t have a telephone.

19) The PS Vita will need at least three must-have exclusive games before I can consider buying one. I waited until the PSP had Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories, Crisis Core, and God of War: Chains of Olympus before buying one. Mrs. Linder bought my 3DS with Legend of Zelda for my birthday, and since then I’ve enjoyed StarFox, Mario Kart, Resident Evil, and many more.

20) Buying Tekken and Rayman for 3DS were bad decisions.

21) I want a Metroid title for 3DS that’s not developed by the nitwits who made the Wii’s Metroid: Other M (a.k.a. Team Ninja, developers of such scintillating fare like Dead or Alive: Xtreme Beach Volleyball).

22) The PlayStation 3’s incorporation of a Blu-Ray player was a decisive factor in helping Sony’s Blu-Ray beat the cheaper HDDVD high-definition format. I have no idea what the next evolution beyond Blu-Ray could be. Physical media may be a dying breed, but I don’t see it going completely extinct. Sony’s own PSP Go experiment didn’t exactly set the world on fire with its downloadonly software acquisition method, so there’s still some life in physical media for as long as the alternative - legit digital media - continues to be hampered with digital rights management restrictions.

23) I have never been fully immersed in a 3D movie. There is nothing that has been done with the format that screams “Hey look! 3D! Isn’t that fantastic?!” Well no, because I’m sitting in a room with a bunch of strangers, my feet are stuck to the floor, and some parents of the year brought a screaming two-month-old to the 10 p.m. show of an R-rated movie.

24) I watched Avatar in 3D at the theater, at home on my 46-inch HDTV, and on my iPad. It was a terrible movie every time.

Thanks for reading.

C ANOW R L V I N PLAYING SON CINEMA

May 13, 2012

CHANNEL 6

CHANNEL 7

ALL REQUEST Call J-6789

SUNDAY

PG&PG-13

7

PG-13&R

A request will only be taken when the previous movie’s credits start rolling.

Requests are first come, first serve.

Once a request has been made, no more requests will be taken until another movie is over.

Make sure you request a movie rating appropriate to the channel.

0815 1015 1215 1500 1700 1915 2115 2315 115 0400

FAST AND FURIOUS 4 AWAY ALL BOATS KELLY’S HEROES RUDY DIE ANOTHER DAY BIG MIRACLE FAST AND FURIOUS 4 AWAY ALL BOATS KELLY’S HEROES DIE ANOTHER DAY

0815 1000 1245 1515

DID YOU HEAR ABOUT THE MORGANS? WHERE EAGLES DARE HARRY POTTER: PRISONER OF AZKABAN BACK UP PLAN, THE

MONDAY TUESDAY

HORRIBLE BOSSES KINGDOM, THE ENTER THE DRAGON TAKE ME HOME TONIGHT UNKNOWN 27 DRESSES SWORDFISH D HORRIBLE BOSSES ENTER THE DRAGON TAKE ME HOME TONIGHT UNKNOWN 27 DRESSES

FUNNY PEOPLE LOVE GURU, THE BATTLE: LOS ANGELES GRAN TORINO

0815 1000 1200 1345 1530 1730 1930 2115 2300 0100 0245 0430

0815 1045 1215 1430

Vinson Voice

8

DIALOGUES D E C K P L A T E

| What are you getting your mom for Mother’s Day? |

“A flight to Hawaii.”

“Flowers with chocolate and strawberries.”

IC3 (SW) Trish-An C ampbell

CS2 (SW/AW) L o n n e l l N e e l y

“I will be taking her out to dinner in Hawaii.”

“A bouquet of her favorite flowers.”

AN Kaleb W h i t e

AM3 (AW) J a s o n K u b b V F A - 8 1

STAFF

|PUBLISHER|

STAFF

CAPT. KENT D. WHALEN COMMANDING OFFICER

|EXECUTIVE EDITORS| LT. CMDR. ERIK REYNOLDS PUBLIC AFFAIRS OFFICER

LT. ERIK SCHNEIDER

ASSISTANT PUBLIC AFFAIRS OFFICER

|EDITOR IN CHIEF|

MCC (SW/AW) MONICA R. NELSON

ESWS||EAWS

The CDC is responsible to the Operations Officer for the coordination of all matters pertaining to combat operations, the proper functioning of CDC, and the aircraft under its control.

CDC is also responsible for the execution of tactical orders for the carrier and air wing during battles. Orders are issued by the CV Tactical Action Officer (TAO) under the direction of the Commanding Officer. The TAO is also responsible for the coordination and control of the various warfare modules in CDC.

EMCON and ZIP LIP impose restrictions on the use of electronic systems to deny information to the enemy for determining the location of the carrier. When imposed, radio transmissions between pilots, and between pilots and carrier control agencies, are held to the minimum necessary for safety of flight.

MEDIA ALCPO

|MANAGING EDITOR| MC2 (SW) BYRON C. LINDER

|PHOTO EDITOR|

MC2 (SW) JAMES R. EVANS

|GRAPHICS/LAYOUT| MC2 (SW) PATRICK GREEN MC3 PHOENIX C. LEVIN

|STAFF WRITERS/PHOTOGRAPHERS| MC2 (SW/AW) LORI D. BENT MC3 (SW/AW) ROSA A. ARZOLA MC3 (SW/AW) NICOLAS C. LOPEZ MC3 (SW/AW) LUKE B. MEINEKE MCSN (SW) GEORGE M. BELL MCSA (SW) ANDREW K. HALLER