In This Issue: Command Financial Specialists | Planned Incremental Availability | The Gold Eagle Gavel | Ammo Onload
Vol 02 No 76 | December 8, 2011
Did someone say, “Coffee?!” C h u c k i e ’s C a fe Op en F or B u si n e s s STORY BY
MC2 (SW) Byron C. Linder| Carl Vinson Staff Writer
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Photo By: MCSN George M. Bell | Carl Vinson Staff Photographer
The Carl Vinson Voice is an internal document produced by and for the crew of the USS Carl Vinson and their families. Its contents do not necessarily ref lect the official views of the U.S. Government or the Departments of Defense or the Navy and do not imply any endorsement thereby.
arl Vinson increased its caffeine intake when Chuckie’s Café opened Dec. 6 on the starboard side aft mess decks. Offering seven different 16-ounce Starbucks beverages, the effort to bring an ashore comfort afloat is part of a Navy-wide initiative for aircraft carriers. On opening day, Sailors eagerly lined up in the passageway to sample the café’s wares. The first customer, Vinson’s Executive Officer Cmdr. Paul Spedero, ordered a hot caramel macchiato prepared by Ship’s Serviceman Seaman Magali Pujol, a New York City native. “I was excited, but I was kind of nervous for the grand opening,” Pujol said. “It felt really good when the XO said I did a good job. I was just glad I didn’t mess it up.” Aviation Boatswain’s Mate (Handling) 1st Class (AW) Miguel Norales, a San Francisco native, and Air Department V-3 Division’s assistant leading petty officer, awaited his white chocolate mocha. “For us coffee lovers, it’s a great idea. I’m glad our guys can take a few minutes of their tough day to enjoy a cup of coffee and get back to work,” he said. “It is definitely something to look SEE ‘COFFEE’ ON PAGE 2
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forward to every day,” added Aviation Structural Mechanic 2nd Class Alvita Darby, assigned to Helicopter Antisubmarine Squadron 15. After seven and a half hours of operation throughout the day, the Sailors’ enthusiasm spoke loudest in the form of dollars. “The first day’s sales exceeded my expectations. We expected to take in between four and five hundred dollars, and we made over eight hundred,” said Senior Chief Ship’s Serviceman (SW/AW) Hector Quiroga, a Tracy, Calif. native, and Supply Department S-3 Division’s leading chief petty officer. “For a consolidated amount of hours, that’s outstanding. For many Sailors, this was part of their daily routine in port. They stopped at Starbucks before coming on the ship and beginning their work. Now it’s right here on the mess decks.” Quiroga explained how, unlike the two existing MWR-run carrier cafés in the fleet, Vinson’s is staffed by Supply Department’s S-3 Division personnel, and the subsequent benefits are passed on to the Sailors. “We tailor more toward giving the benefit of the markup percentage to the crew and we are significantly cheaper than the Starbucks out on the pier,” Quiroga said. Before the first cup could be poured, several concerns had to be internally addressed, Quiroga said. Cost-efficiency, supply sustainability throughout deployment, paying for the coffee machines and preparing the space demanded careful planning. Installing the equipment required reaching across departmental lines for assistance. “Engineering Department personnel played a major part in making this happen, getting all the equipment installed in a timely fashion so we could get the training from the Starbucks personnel. We made it happen as a team effort with Engineering,” Quiroga said. A Starbucks representative came aboard Nov. 29 to train two S-3 personnel on barista procedures for the chain’s signature beverages. Ship’s Serviceman Seaman Clinton Guthrie, a Cincinnati native and newly-minted barista, praised the intensive two-hour training session. “It was very detailed. He told us why certain beverages taste a certain way, so it was an insight as to why they do things at Starbucks the way they do,” Guthrie said. Chuckie’s Café operates from 0830-1000,
1200-1600 and 1800-2000, seven days a week. The menu currently consists of chocolate, white chocolate, latté original/ flavored, mocha, cappuccino, caramel macchiato and Americano drinks, served hot or cold. A reusable 16-ounce Chuckie’s Café-branded plastic coffee cup is currently in development, and the café will continue to operate in port. Quiroga welcomes input for the café’s selection during the monthly ship’s store review board.
Photo By: MC2 (SW) James R. Evans | MCSN George M. Bell | Carl Vinson Staff Photographers
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Command Financial Specialists
Helping Sailors Balance Their Checkbooks STORY BY
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MC3 (SW) Luke B. Meineke | Carl Vinson Staff Writer
uy a car. Get furniture for assigned to Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 81’s Avionics Armament my home. Increase capital Division. ”I am going to limit myself with my Navy cash card, only to start my business. Move into allow a certain amount every paycheck and spend only $500 in my first house. Pay off my credit port.” cards, my student loans, my With multiple deployments under her belt, Carr has learned the mortgage. need to limit spending both on the ship and in port, and advises The goals to save money this taking advantage of special programs and offers from Morale deployment are as unique as Welfare and Recreation (MWR). Vinson’s Sailors, and so are the “Use all the Navy programs you can,” she said. “Do tours and plans to reach them. anything that allows you to drink or eat for free.” Aboard Carl Vinson, Sailors Some Sailors like Aviation Structural Mechanic 2nd Class (SW/ are fortunate to have access to AW) Mike Mahoney, assigned to Aviation Intermediate Maintenance command financial specialists (CFSs), Department’s (AIMD) IM2 Division, are building towards a singular who are trained on resources the Navy goal: owning their own home. offers to help Sailors wisely invest and “I’m buying a house – no loan, no mortgage,” Mahoney said. “My manage their money. goal for this deployment is to save about $25,000. I’m putting 20% Senior Chief Fire Controlman (SW/AW) into my Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) every month, which includes Harold D. Cramer, Combat Systems CS-7 100% of my special pay and sea pay.” Mahoney has developed a very Division’s leading chief petty officer, is the lead structured plan, incorporating TSP and sending monthly allotments command financial specialist onboard. Like all to a separate bank account he has no means of tapping in to. This CFSs, Cramer’s role is to help Sailors reach their keeps him disciplined to fulfill his goals. financial goals. Not everyone can meet their financial goals as easily as Carr and “[CFSs] try to get a picture of how [Sailors] stand Mahoney, so Cramer urges those Sailors especially, to meet with a financially,” Cramer said. “First, we talk about your assets. CFS. What do you have? How much cash do you have on hand? I “I am more than happy to help you,” he said, “because the feeling like to see a bank statement of just being crushed by seeing how much you have If you are interested in contacting or debt is a terrible feeling. in checking and savings. Do Not having debt – being you have CDs? Do you have meeting with one of Vinson’s Command able to do what you IRAs? Do you have savings Financial Specialists, you can email would like financially bonds? Do you own a home? FCCS (SW/AW) Harold Cramer, or call and still knowing you’re Do you own a car outright, or saving and investing for J-DIAL 2676/2647. any other property? Those are your future – it’s great.” assets. Then we talk about your living expenses – rent, mortgage, Assuming the role of lead command financial specialist shortly utilities, entertainment.” before deployment, Cramer hopes he can positively impact Vinson The confidential sit-down session with a CFS also covers spending Sailors. habits. “A lot of people I see will be like, ‘Wow, I didn’t realize I spent “I would like everybody to have their finances under control,” he that much,” Cramer said. said. “Maybe not everybody can be debt-free because of needs and However, while CFSs have been trained to provide a complete wants, but I would like them to know they have options.” picture of a Sailor’s finances, they are only as good as the information He also recognized the difficulty of improving one’s life they’re given. financially. “It’s important you bring your information and you’re honest “You really have to give 110%, and if you’re married, your spouse about it,” Cramer said. “The more accurate the information the has to give 110%, too, because it’s not a one-person game if there more accurate the budget will be, and we’ll be able to see how you are the two of you. You both have to be willing to commit to the stand financially.” budget.” Regardless of one’s financial situation, Cramer hopes all Sailors As for Cramer, he chose to be a CFS because he knows what it is will sit down with a CFS. like to struggle with finances and ultimately overcome them. “I would recommend everybody talk to a CFS. If you’re having “I had over 10 credit cards, four vehicles and was over $60,000 issues, come talk to us. If you are ahead of the game, come talk to us. in debt, and that was as a chief petty officer,” Cramer said. “I’ll tell Share what you have. Share your knowledge with us, because maybe people, ‘Look, I’ve been there, I’ve made the mistakes. This is what we can pass that on, too,” said Cramer. I did to learn from there.’ I do this job because I really believe in the “I am saving up to remodel my kitchen and fix my bachelorette program, because it helped me. The more people that know how to pad,” said Aviation Ordnanceman 2nd Class (AW) Cassandra Carr, manage their finances – I feel better.”
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Vinson Takes Steps Toward Planned Incremental Availability
Fa il u r e to Report A NOTE FROM
STORY BY
Lt. Cmdr. Mitch D. Eisenberg| Carl Vinson Judge Advocate
MC3 (SW) Luke B. Meineke | Carl Vinson Staff Writer
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s Carl Vinson steams west to conduct the nation’s tasking, a small percentage of Vinson’s crew remained behind on Naval Base Coronado to engage in preliminary coordination for Vinson’s upcoming Planned Incremental Availability (PIA) period to follow deployment. PIA is scheduled so Vinson can achieve the 50-year service life required for Navy aircraft carriers by conducting deep, depot maintenance during a ship’s dry dock period. “Deep maintenance is being able to tear into things and have them torn apart for several months,” said Chief Engineer and PIA Availability Manager Cmdr. Dan Lannamann. “Normally when we’re in port and we’re having maintenance done, we have a Readiness For Sea (RFS) posture.” RFS maintenance, like the maintenance undertaken during Vinson’s in-port period, allows for up to 96 hours of offline equipment. PIA maintenance takes certain equipment offline for months. “We’ll be tearing berthings apart, [tearing] heads apart,” said Lt. Wayne Oxendine, Vinson’s maintenance manager and the PIA assistant availability manager. “Systems will be gutted. The ship will be swarming with bodies nearly 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The ship will not look like a ship.” In order to support the rehabilitation work that will take place during PIA and accommodate those Sailors living on the ship, berthing and messing barges will be tied to Pier Juliet, where the ship will be moored upon return to San Diego. “As it stands right now,” Oxendine explained, “we’re going to have one barge strictly dedicated to berthing and another barge with messing facilities and [additional] berthing areas. Everybody will have a place to lay their head; it will be equivalent to what they have here aboard the ship.” Carl Vinson will be at Coronado from the end of deployment until February 2013, but this time does not allow for Sailors to slough off from work. “When we come back from deployment, we’re going to have a month of POM [post
December 8, 2011
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Damage Controlman 2nd Class Stephen Turnbull, left, and Damage Controlman Fireman Andrew Conant, right, both assigned to Engineering Department’s Damage Control Division, inspect Aqueous Film Forming Foam (AFFF) injection station No. 4. (U.S. Navy Photo by MC3 (SW) Christopher Hwang)
overseas movement] leave,” Oxendine said. “Everybody’s going to have that opportunity to decompress from the cruise and relax. July 5th, we will hit the deck running hard. It’s going to be a steady strain from the beginning of July all the way until February.” There is an urgency to work hard and continuously because all of the nation’s aircraft carriers have an interconnected operational schedule, Lannamann said. “If you are late, you impact everybody else,” he explained, referring to work-up and deployment schedules. “We cannot be late because the country cannot afford it. It is very important that we go through the process now.” Oxendine recommended departments “walk through spaces to identify lagging in need of fixing, tiling in need of replacement and spaces in need of painting.” Preliminary identification of problem areas will benefit the ship and crew during PIA, Lannamann said. Maintenance requiring advanced training and expertise will fall to contractors. They will install new equipment and systems, update existing systems and remove antiquated equipment. “The contractors and the ship yard workers are not doing all of the work,” Lannamann warned. “There will be a big demand on
the ship’s force to staff up teams. We’ll have tiling teams, watertight door teams, lagging teams, cableway inspection teams, tank and void inspection teams, an island painting team and a mast painting team.” Both Lannamann and Oxendine acknowledged keeping the crew motivated and focused will be difficult, but stressed PIA is in direct relation to fulfilling Vinson’s ultimate purpose. “The ship’s mission is going to change,” Oxendine said, referring to short-term missions. “Right now it’s warheads on foreheads, projecting power and doing the national tasking. The national tasking is also going to be to fix the ship and get it ready for operations after the PIA. In February, we’re going to get underway. It falls to us to make sure our ship is put back together in the condition we want to accept it in.” Sailors are encouraged to not lose sight of the maintenance availability’s end goal. “We were built to be on the tip of the spear, providing air superiority to the combat forces on the ground,” Oxendine said. “This ship presents power for the nation. We are there for humanitarian relief and to show our allies support. Every day we sit in San Diego with the system torn apart preventing us from getting underway – that’s one less day we can do that for the nation.”
avy Regulations Article 1137, Obligation to Report Offenses states: “Persons in the Naval service shall report as soon as possible to superior authority all offenses under the Uniform Code of Military Justice which come under their observation, except when such persons are themselves already criminally involved in such offenses at the time.” If you witness or know about a military member committing a crime, and you are not connected to committing that crime yourself, you are obligated to report that crime. You may report it to your chain of command or to the security department. Failure to report subjects you to possible disciplinary proceedings (NJP) or administrative repercussions (loss of security clearance, letters of instruction, removal of frocking, etc). Some Sailors feel uncomfortable reporting another Sailor’s misconduct. Excuses for not reporting include, “it’s none of my business,” “I do not want to sell out a shipmate,” or fear because “snitches get stitches.” The Carl Vinson and Quicksand team is a complex organization reliant on each and every Sailor aboard to do their job with integrity to complete the mission safely. This mutual trust permeates everything we do, from pilots trusting their maintenance team to perform sound maintenance, to each of us trusting the culinary specialists to prepare quality food in a safe manner. Violations of the UCMJ degrade this system. Whether it is the use of drugs, smoking in an unauthorized space, or having contraband on board, it is EVERYONE’S business because it affects EVERYONE. Even if you only have suspicions of misconduct, report what you
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know. The ship’s security force or NCIS will investigate. Your failure to report misconduct allows that misconduct to continue. Misconduct is your business – report it! When you report misconduct you are not “selling out” someone. First, it is that person’s own actions that got them into trouble and not the reporting of those actions. Second, that person is not a shipmate. Shipmates do not put their fellow Sailor in this type of position. It is Ship, Shipmate, Self. If you fail to report a shipmate, you are misplacing your loyalty and the ship suffers. The old saying of “snitches get stitches” is simply not true. Today’s Navy is a professional organization dedicated to a safe working environment. Allegations of intimidation and threats both inside and outside of the workplace are taken very seriously. If you have concerns your report of a Sailor’s misconduct will subject you to violence, make sure you express those concerns when you report the misconduct. Our mission is to promptly and efficiently execute any and all national tasking -we project power at sea and ashore; protect Carl Vinson and all aboard against all threats at home and abroad; and though our actions make this ship the finest warship in the fleet. Misconduct and violations against the UCMJ break down our team and are antithetical to completing our mission. Not only do you have an obligation to report violation of the UCMJ but it is the right thing to do.
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Courtesies, Customs and Ceremonies Courtesies, Customs and Ceremonies Taken from the 24th edition Blue Jackets’ Manual
The Address
There are really two different situations you must consider when it comes to addressing people in the Navy: introductions and conversation. Introducing people requires a degree of extra formality over merely addressing them in other conversation. When you are introducing someone, you should use their entire title, but some - such as vice admiral or lieutenant commander - are too long and encumbered to use in normal conversation, so
you would shorten them by dropping the first part off their titles. You would introduce “Lieutenant Commander Jones” but then you would refer to him or her in conversation as “Commander Jones,” or simply “Commander”. However, if several people of the same rank are together, it is proper to use both title and name, such as “Admiral Taylor” or “Chief Smith,” to avoid confusion. In the military, rank establishes the order of introduction: introduce the junior to the senior, regardless of either one’s age or sex.
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December 8, 2011
SEA SPARROW
PHOTOS BY
M I S S I L E
MC2 (SW) James R. Evans | MCSN George M. Bell | MCSA Dean M. Cates |Carl Vinson Staff Photographers
U P L O A D
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DIALOGUES D E C K P L A T E
| What is your favorite Starbucks drink? | “My favorite drink is an iced latte with four shots of vanilla.”
“I love Caramel Frapuccinos.”
Q M 1 ( S W / A W ) J on at h a n R o y s t e r
A Z 2 Daniel Merrow
“I really like Caramel Macchiatos.”
“My favorite drink is definitely a Raspberry Mocha.”
S N Eric Elfenbein
A B H 1 ( A W ) Ta m a r a C a r p e n t e r
THE
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
PREMIERES SUNDAY ON SITE TV CHANNELS 5, 6 & 7 AT 1800!!!
|EDITOR IN CHIEF| MCC (AW) MONICA NELSON
ESWS||EAWS
MEDIA ALCPO
|MANAGING EDITOR| MC2 (SW/AW) LORI D. BENT
|PHOTO EDITOR|
MC2 (SW) JAMES R. EVANS
|GRAPHICS/LAYOUT|
AS-390: Known as the “SPIDER” for the way it looks. These antennas are used for surface-to-surface and surface-to-air communications.
Flight Quarters entails the manning of stations required for the efficient and safe conduct of flight operations.
MC3 (SW) MEGAN L. CATELLIER
|STAFF WRITERS/PHOTOGRAPHERS| MC2 (SW) BYRON C. LINDER MC3 (SW) CHRISTOPHER HWANG MC3 (SW) LUKE B. MEINEKE MCSN GEORGE M. BELL MCSA DEAN M. CATES