Vinson Voice MAY15_LQ

I T I: S T | OMSI R | P’ D | H I

Vol 03 No 50 | May 15, 2012

Vinson Prepares for Final Port Call STORY BY

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

S

ailors are preparing for our arrival to Pearl Harbor, Hawaii today and there are several events planned for the final port call of deployment before returning home to San Diego.

Sailors will man the rails in dress whites as the ship approaches Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam. Before mooring, we will pass the USS Arizona Memorial and honor the Sailors who perished in the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, December 7th, 1941. Chief Aviation Boatswain’s Mate (Equipment) (AW/SW) Andrew Mudd, Air Department’s arresting gear chief and Vinson’s manning-the-rails coordinator, recalled our visit to Pearl Harbor last year.

Cover illustration by: MC3 Travis K. Mendoza | Carl Vinson Staff Photographer

“After seven deployments, last year was my very first time pulling into Pearl Harbor. There is no greater honor than to demonstrate our solemn respect for the Shipmates who fought and died in those waters,” he emphasized. “Pearl Harbor was extremely weakened December 7, 1941. When the ship started the transit into the bay, emotions filled my heart with the memories of my father and grandfather’s time in service and knowing now I’m the one out here for my family like they were.”

Once the ship is clean and liberty call is passed, Sailors will be able to explore the island. MWR offers kayaking tours around the island of China Man Hat, another more extensive tour of Oahu itself, and a Chinatown walking CONTINUE ‘HAWAII’ ON PAGE 2

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Vinson Voice

FROM ‘HAWAII’ ON PAGE 1

tour. The base’s Outdoor Adventure Center offers rental surfboards, kayaks, fishing equipment and mountain bikes. Eleven Sailors will re-enlist at the Arizona Memorial May 17, and a promotion ceremony aboard the Battleship Missouri Memorial is also scheduled that day.

Vinson’s staff judge advocate, Lt. Cmdr. Mitch D. Eisenberg, reminded Sailors they would not be the only military members in Hawaii.

“Hawaii’s a tourist destination, but there’s a large military population. Local law enforcement and the SLG (shore liaison group) do not allow stupidity.

Watch your alcohol consumption and don’t be belligerent or you’ll be wrapped up and sent back to the ship. You don’t want to be stuck on the ship when we pull back in to San Diego,” he warned.

Eisenberg acknowledged while the number of alcohol-related incidents in Hawaii last year was low, the severity of the ones that did occur was significant.

“Last year we had a couple of DUIs. If you’re going to drink, don’t drive a car. We had a couple of guys get really intoxicated and took it too far,” he said.

“This isn’t the place to go crazy. It’s a couple of nights before we head home, so go out and keep it low-key.”

Although it’s not mandatory, Sailors are advised to go out with a liberty buddy during their time in Hawaii.

“Get a sense of where you are and travel with a liberty buddy because it’s always smart to have some friends with you. You don’t want to be out there alone,” he said. “What happens in Hawaii doesn’t stay in Hawaii. It will follow you the rest of your career. If you get in trouble out there, when we get back to San Diego, not only will you be stuck on the ship but you’re going to have to pay your own way to go back to Hawaii to go to a court case should something happen.”

When the port call concludes, Vinson will depart with 956 “Tigers”, friends and family members of Sailors who will have the opportunity to ride back to San Diego and experience a small taste of their Sailor’s day-to-day life underway.

Events planned for this year’s Tiger Cruise include ship tours, a Tiger group spellout on the flight deck, gun shoots, and an air and sea power display.

Tigers will also have the opportunity to complete a “Tiger PQS” for the cruise’s duration.

Vinson Sailors man the rails as the ship arrives in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii last year.

Photo by MC3 (SW/AW) Rosa A. Arzola

Vinson is tugged past the USS Arizona Memorial and USS Missouri Museum as it departs Pearl Harbor, Hawaii with Sailors’ friends and families aboard for a Tiger Cruise last year . Photo by MC2 (SW) James R. Evans

Above: Sailors man the rails as Vinson passes the battleship USS Missouri and the USS Arizona Memorial on its way to moor in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii last year . Photo by MC2 (SW) James R. Evans

May 15, 2012

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Vinson’s Surgical Technicians STORY BY

MC3 (SW/AW) Nicolas C. Lopez | Carl Vinson Staff Writer

A Cut Above

Carl Vinson’s surgeon and three surgical technicians boast some impressive numbers when accounting for the last six months.

More than 194 procedures were performed in Vinson’s operating room this deployment, triple the amount from last year. Seventy-eight were minor operations (such as wart or mole removals), 37 were emergency operations (appendectomies), and 20 were major surgeries (necessary but non-life-threatening operations, like repairing a hernia). In addition, 14 endoscopies and 45 oral surgeries were performed, ensuring the Sailors tasked with carrying out their assigned missions had the capability to continue to do so.

“It’s a great job being a surgical technician. It’s exactly what I wanted to do since I went into the recruiting office,” said Hospitalman (SW) Herman Cervantes, assigned to Dental Department. “When I was in ‘A’ school, I was at the top of the class. I had the privilege to choose what I wanted and there has not been one day where I regret what I’m doing in the Navy.”

The Hospital Corpsman rating requires three months of “A” school in Fort Hood, Texas. The school is joint service, allowing corpsmen to train alongside counterparts they might find themselves working next to in an emergency situation. Depending on their rank in school, they are able to choose what to do next, either go straight to the fleet or choose a “C” school, such as surgical technician.

Although Cervantes is assigned to Dental Department and performs oral surgeries there, he assists with Medical Department surgeries due to the small number of technicians.

“The difference between a medical surgery and dental surgery is that at the end of an operation in medical, Medical Department’s ward takes care of the patient. After an oral surgery, that patient is my responsibility. If they need more attention I must react,” Cervantes said.

A surgical technician does not have a day check or night check. When an emergency surgery takes place in the middle of the night, these technicians are expected to perform at full capacity.

“For my surgical technicians, anything can happen at anytime and that is why they are they best. They would perform their duties professionally and efficiently,” said Lt. Cmdr. Mathew Tadlock, the ship’s surgeon.

In a shore-based hospital operating room, there is a surgeon, a second physician and a scrub nurse who help perform the surgery. Aboard Vinson, surgical technicians act as an operating room nurse and a surgeon’s assistant, serving in either role at any time and sharing the responsibilities among each other.

“They do a lot. They have to prepare the operating room, place the patient correctly, and then prep the patient sterile,” Tadlock revealed. “During the surgery I need these surgical technicians to help me do my job. One has to assist me, one has to hand me instruments, and the third one has to circulate (perform other miscellaneous tasks such as opening up extra gear for the surgical team).”

“It’s extremely hard when performing a surgery aboard the ship, especially during rough seas. You have enough people on shore to do one specific job, but here we manage with three surgical technicians,” said Hospital Corpsman 1 st Class (FMF) Rashan Robinson, senior surgical technician.

Before every surgery begins, Senior Medical Officer Air Force Col. James E. Boyd is notified. He then relays the message to the bridge so they can stop the ship. Cervantes cited a particularly grueling challenge was performing surgery during rough swells in the 7 th Fleet area of responsibility.

“When the ship rocks, the operating room rocks as well.

It could be really dangerous if the cart of instruments falls over and hurts a patient,” Cervantes said. “I have been involved for 10 out of the 11 appendectomies, and one thing I know is to never get complacent when involved in a surgery.”

Surgical Technicians HN Herman Cervantes, left, HM1 Rashan Robinson, center, and HN Francis Barongan, right, are pictured in the operating room aboard Vinson.

Vinson’s surgical team has performed 148 general surgeries, including 36 urgent emergency procedures, and 180 oral surgeries for Sailors assigned to Vinson and Carrier Strike Group 1 since the ship deployed Nov. 30, 2011. Photo by MC2 (SW) James R. Evans

Vinson Voice

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Vinson Concludes Historic Mission STORY BY

C

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

arl Vinson and Carrier Strike Group (CSG) 1 ended their operational support of Oceania Maritime Security Initiative (OMSI) today, completing the inaugural OMSI mission performed by a carrier strike group.

OMSI is a Secretary of Defense executive order, which leverages Department of Defense (DoD) assets transiting the region to increase maritime domain awareness (MDA) and support for maritime law enforcement operations, particularly targeting illegal fishing.

Illegal fishing has the potential to harm the future economies of the Pacific Island Countries (PICs) and the U.S., by harvesting tuna fish resources from the exclusive economic zones (EEZs), or sea-zones stretching 200 nautical miles from a country’s coast over which that country has rights to the exploration and use of those living marine resources within that 200 nautical mile zone.

Oceania contains 43 percent, or approximately 1.5 million square miles, of the U.S.’s EEZs. Cmdr. Mark Morin, Chief, Incident Management Branch, United States Coast Guard (USCG) and Coast Guard liaison officer (CGLO) for OMSI, embarked Vinson in Perth, Western Australia for the transit to Honolulu, Hawaii.

Each year the PICs of Oceania suffer the loss of $1.7 billion in regional gross domestic product (GDP) to Illegal, Unreported Unregulated (IUU) fishing, Morin said. With 57 percent of the world’s tuna fish caught in this region, the tuna fishery has a profound impact on the PICs economic survival, he added.

“Their livelihood is so dependent on the tuna resource, that if the tuna resource continues to be illegally exploited, it places the PICs in real danger,” Lt. Cmdr Erich Schaller, CSG1’s assistant surface operations officer and liaison for OMSI explained. “We’ve all see how that type of situation has

played out in other parts of the world and everyone wants to avoid that.”

To support OMSI, Vinson employed its resources as it transited the Oceania region during operations in the U.S. 7th Fleet area of responsibility (AOR). Schaller said it was important Morin embark ahead of when Vinson was slated to execute its mission to build an understanding of what OMSI is and why it is important throughout the ship.

Excited at a strike group’s operational potential, Morin said he was interested to witness the capabilities of the different aircraft in a strike group. With most of his experience using SH-60s helos and C-130s, Morin wasn’t sure what the F/A-18Cs, Prowlers and E-2C Hawkeyes were capable of in regards to sighting and documenting fishing vessels.

“These single-pilot F/A-18Cs – I was incredibly surprised to see the clarity of the images of these particular vessels that they took with hand-held cameras at the altitudes and speeds they were flying at,” Morin said. “The imagery taken from fixed-wing aircraft was excellent, and it was excellent for documentation purposes. We were able to use the stills to identify the vessel’s name and also its documentation numbers on the side of the vessel.”

The OMSI mission played to our established strengths, Schaller said. “We should always be building maritime domain awareness and, frankly, our team has gotten very good at that. When considering we are now at the tail end of deployment, and we’ve been doing it for months and months in 7th and 5th Fleets, they’ve gotten quite good at it.”

Vinson’s acumen has produced 27 fishing vessel sightings to date.

With the previous 10 OMSI missions supported by the Navy documenting 82 sightings, Morin credited the prodigious number of sightings CSG-1 produced to the size and scope of its operational capabilities. Vinson received daily intelligence products from Morin’s command, Coast Guard District 14 and Maritime Intelligence Fusion Center Pacific located in Alameda, Calif. In order to obtain a “real-time assessment” of fishing vessel locations, Morin said the strike group “relied heavily on the

Rhinos (F/A-18F Super Hornets) and the E-2C Hawkeyes to paint them a picture” of the AOR. F-18Cs, and especially the SH60s, were then used to further investigate vessels of interest.

Along with the extended effective range provided by both the fixed-wing and rotary aircraft, CSG-1 cut a wide swath thanks to USS Halsey (DDG 97) to the west of Vinson and USS Bunker Hill (CG 52) to the east.

“We hit eight different foreign and domestic EEZs as we transited through Oceania,” Schaller said. “I’m pretty sure no other OMSI patrol has had that widespread of an impact.”

“With a carrier strike group you can cover a lot of ground,” Morin added.

“We’ve had about 29 helicopter sorties and 29 fixed-wing sorties during this mission.

It’s a lot of time and effort, but it’s up to the point where we’ve reached a third of the vessels that we’ve been able to document in the previous 10 missions combined.”

Though none of the fishing vessels that were sighted were fishing illegally, Vinson’s efforts yielded a stockpile of information.

Still pictures, video images, and vessel identification, documentation and location data was compiled and sent to the Coast Guard and the Foreign Fishery Agency (FFA) to help develop their database.

“We were able to identify the fishing grounds where these particular foreign vessels operate,” explained Morin. “We are trying to establish a track pattern or fishing pattern of these particular vessels to see where they could lead and how they operate.”

As well as gaining a clearer picture of Oceania’s tuna fishing concentrations, the message sent to the entire fishing community was a powerful one, Morin said.

“Even though we didn’t locate any violators of the IUU, we’ve established a presence out there amongst the fleet that the Navy is heavily involved in the enforcement of foreign and domestic fishery regulations,” Morin explained.

Citing Morin in the role of CGLO, and the improved communication between USCG and U.S. Navy personnel as instrumental, Schaller said Vinson “did well laying the groundwork” during its CONTINUE ‘OMSI’ ON PAGE 5

May 15, 2012

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Parent’s Day Celebration STORY BY

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

C

arl Vinson and Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 17 Sailors celebrated Parent’s Day May 13 with a ceremony in the ship’s forecastle.

The event, sponsored and coordinated by the Second Class Petty Officer Association (SCPOA) and Vinson’s chapter of the Coalition of Sailors Against Destructive Decisions (CSADD), highlighted the sacrifices all parents make while on deployment.

SCPOA’s vice-president Interior Communications Electrician 2nd Class (SW/AW) Joshua Aziz, the event’s master of ceremonies, explained although the ceremony fell on Mother’s Day, the importance of showing appreciation to both fathers and mothers who sacrifice family time in order to serve their country was the main message to convey.

“I just want to say thank you, for being a father, a mother, a Shipmate and a Sailor,” Aziz said. “The sacrifices you make on a dayto-day basis truly exemplify the honor, courage, commitment and obligation to duty that you display as Sailors and parents.”

Guest speaker Chief Operations Specialist (SW/AW) Scott Quinn explained how spousal support is an important key to a successful

A Sailor kisses his daughter as Vinson returns to its homeport at Naval Base Coronado. Photo by MC3 (SW/AW) Christopher K. Hwang FROM ‘OMSI’ ON PAGE 4

mission operation.

“I think we’ve shown just how great an impact a strike group can have on this mission,” he said. “For the next strike group, hopefully there’s less of the education process in terms of what OMSI is and what the patrol is going to entail, and the CGLO who comes onboard can start working the asset-to-task planning sooner. Then they can bring even more strike group assets to bear on their transit through the EEZs.” “I think the playbook for OMSI in the future is going to be a heck of a lot more streamlined,” Morin agreed. “We’ll have all of the documentation already in our folder on the ship that can be passed on to the next CSG coming through. It’ll make it that much easier for the CGLO coming onboard to interact and have a plan of how to lay out OMSI for the next CSG.” Schaller said through Vinson’s post-deployment brief and lessons-learned database, the next Navy strike group or units will be more informed and therefore better prepared. Based

return to family and loved ones, in addition to communication.

“When I came back home from a deployment, my teenage daughter refused to talk to me for the first two weeks because she was mad I was gone so long,” Quinn said. “It’s something difficult.

What we do out here is not for everyone. It takes a special person to come out and deploy and serve their country. But it takes another very special person to stay behind and take up the slack of the deployed parent.”

Quinn noted maintaining communications with loved ones through telephone calls and e-mails can make it easier for a deployed Sailor and a loved one to stay in touch.

The second guest speaker, Navy Career Counselor 1st Class (SW) Amy Bileck, explained how to use the many support programs available for military parents – such as United Through Reading and the Fleet and Family Support Center – to communicate with family as well.

“We are not alone in this experience. There are thousands of other military people before us that have left their kids, come home, had successful families and successful children,” she said.

The event concluded with a slide-show displaying Carl Vinson Sailors’ children, followed by a chance to socialize with other military parents over cake, cookies and fruit.

A Sailor is welcomed by family members as Vinson returns to its homeport at Naval Base Coronado. Photo by MC3 (SW/AW) Christopher K. Hwang

on the high number of EEZs transited and the many contacts located and imaged, Schaller also said he considered the mission a success and one in which Vinson and CSG-1 performed admirably.

“Beyond that, I evaluate our success on the incredible relationship we established with the Coast Guard,” he added.

“That, to me, is the cornerstone for future success for OMSI, and I could not have hoped for a better working relationship than what we established here. I’m very positive that is important for future success.”

Morin called the mission a “success, absolutely”, saying, “I think it demonstrates the ability of a carrier strike group to be able to do a mission like this. We had the support of Admiral (T.K.) Shannon, the Navy, the Bunker Hill and the Halsey – who were committed throughout. It proves the carrier strike group has the capacity and the capability of insuring maritime domain awareness within our Oceania region and that it can be completed on a transit.”

Welcome back to the U.S.!

Welcome back to the U.S.!

You are subject to all local laws.

“Aloha”. It’s not corny, it’s used throughout The drinking age is 21.

Hawaii and is good for coming or going. Also say Tigers will be boarding while we’re in Hawaii. “Mahalo” (thank you)!

15 May: Duty Section 4/8 16 May: Duty Section 1/5 17 May: Duty Section 2/6 MWR Pierside Hours: 0800-1700 *(808) 473-0792* MWR ITT Booth - Discount ticket sales Hotel and Car Rentals The NEX and Food Court: Open from 0900-2100 every day, vendors and concessions.

Free shuttle bus service around base, operates same hours as NEX, picks up at pier bus stop every 20-30 minutes.

Uniform Center is located on base and is open from 0900-1700.

So much to do!

Aloha Stadium Swap Meet Ala Moana Shopping Center USS Arizona Memorial at Pearl Harbor Waikiki and Waikiki Beach Diamond Head Statue of Kamehameha the Great Hawai’i State Capitol, Fort Street Mall Chinatown, Dole Pineapple Plantation Polynesian Cultural Center

Off Limits Per Command Navy Region Hawaii, the following locations are OFF LIMITS: 1. Hawaii Natural High 2. The Waianae Area 3. The Dungeon 4. Flesh Taxi Info 5. After Hours “The Cab Company” are the only cabs that 6. Sexopolis can get on base. Call (808) 422-2222.

7. The Shelter Taxis will be available at the pier bus stop.

SLG will patrol these areas regularly.

Club Pearl Open 0900-0200 Lively Atmosphere Games 12 Plasma Screens Overstuffed Couches Country Bar Taco Bell & Pizza Hut FREE Internet Access

Liberty Safety Tips No photography allowed on base.

Don’t overindulge in alcohol.

Don’t argue with police or bar security.

Be mindful of your purse and wallet.

If it looks like a shady area, best stay away.

Sailor Family Tours Sailors must be in uniform to bring their friends and family on board. All guests must Outdoor Adventure Center be checked in at the Entry Control Point (ECP) Rentals available: with Security, where they will be signed in and Boards, bikes, diving equipment, camping out. Guests should be at least eight years old. All gear, etc. guests will be requested to leave the ship no later Mon-Fri: 1100-1800 than 2200. Tigers will be checking onboard.

Sat-Sun: 0900-1600 Sponsors are required to escort their Tiger at all (808) 473-1198 times. Remember OPSEC. For more info: www.greatlifehawaii.com

Important Numbers

OOD .............................................................808-321-3021 JOOD ...........................................................808-321-3110 CDO..............................................................808-321-3130 Admin/Safety/Training ...........808-321-3132 AIMD Duty ............................................808-321-3140 Air Duty ...................................................808-321-3146 CRMD/Dental/Medical...........808-321-3162 CSD/Media/Navigation ...........808-321-3165 Deck/Weapons Duty ...................808-321-3212 Engineering Duty..........................808-321-3215 Intel/Legal/Operations ..........808-321-3218 Reactor Duty.....................................808-321-3221 Security Duty.....................................808-321-3223 Supply Duty...........................................808-321-3228 CACO...........................................................808-321-3231 SAPR..............................................................808-321-3232 Tiger - LCDR Kehrt .......................808-321-3237 Tiger - LT Kay .......................................808-321-3249 Tiger - ATCS Armetta ...................808-321-3282 Tiger - Fun Boss................................808-321-3287 Tiger - Supply Rep.............................808-321-3303 Shore Patrol 1...................................808-321-3309 Shore Patrol 2...................................808-321-3335 Shore Patrol 3...................................808-321-3367 Shore Patrol 4...................................808-321-3370 Shore Patrol 5...................................808-321-3419 Shore Patrol 6...................................808-321-3420 Shore Patrol 7...................................808-321-3431 Shore Patrol 8...................................808-321-3440 Shore Patrol 9...................................808-321-3444 Shore Patrol 10 ................................808-321-3461 Shore Patrol 11 ................................808-321-3466 Shore Patrol 12 ................................808-321-3476 Shore Patrol 13 ................................808-321-3477 Shore Patrol 14 ................................808-321-3480 Shore Patrol 15 ................................808-321-3500

Honolulu Police Department Emergency: 911 HPD Headquarters: 801 South Beretania St, Honolulu; (808) 529-3111/3362 District 3 Substation (Covers Pearl City): 1100 Waimano Home Road, Honolulu; (808) 723-8800 District 6 Substation (Covers Waikiki): 2425 Kalakaua Ave, Honolulu; (808) 5293801 LIBERTY EXPIRATION 17 May 2012 All hands must be aboard NLT 2359 on 17 May. That includes all Tigers and sponsors. If you have additional questions, make sure to ask your chain of command prior to departing on liberty. There are no stupid questions! Have fun!

The NEX Shuttle

Pearl Harbor Map

Vinson Voice

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DIALOGUES D E C K P L A T E

| What are you going to do in Hawaii? |

“I want to go to the beach and see a luau.”

MM2 (SW/AW) D e m a l e C r e w s

“I’m going snorkling with friends.”

A m y

AMAN (AW) L a n d o s k y

“I’m going home to see my newborn baby.”

“I’m going to see a luau and eat cheesecake.”

DCFN B r a n d o n M i l l e r

DCFN T i a N i x

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

HM3 (SW/AW) Ryan Newkirk, President of Vinson’s Coalition of Sailors Against Destructive Decisions (CSADD) Chapter, speaks with Sailors about motorcycle safety at a Motorcycle Bash held in Vinson’s hangar bay. Photo by MC2 Benjamin Stevens

|EDITOR IN CHIEF|

MCC (SW/AW) MONICA R. NELSON MEDIA ALCPO

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

|PHOTO EDITOR|

MC2 (SW) JAMES R. EVANS

|GRAPHICS/LAYOUT| MC3 PHOENIX C. LEVIN

|STAFF WRITERS/PHOTOGRAPHERS| MC2 BENJAMIN STEVENS MC3 (SW/AW) ROSA A. ARZOLA MC3 (SW/AW) CHRISTOPHER K. HWANG MC3 (SW/AW) NICOLAS C. LOPEZ MC3 (SW/AW) LUKE B. MEINEKE