Category: Defense

Source: United States Navy

NORFOLK, Va. – The Naval Helicopter Association (NHA) held its annual symposium at the Marriott Norfolk Waterside Hotel, May 11-13, 2022, centered on how the human advantage strengthens Naval Aviation’s rotary wing community.

On May 12, the first full day of programming, the event featured a Major Commanders Panel featuring leadership from various facets of the rotary wing community.

The panel was moderated by Capt. Newt McKissick, executive officer, Naval Base Coronado, and included Capt. Brent Gaut, commanding officer, USS George Washington (CVN 73); Capt. Sam Bryant, commodore, Fleet Logistics Multi-Mission Wing; Capt. Ryan Keys, commodore, Helicopter Sea Combat Wing Atlantic; Capt. Teague Laguens, commodore, Helicopter Maritime Strike Wing Atlantic; Capt. Ross Drenning, deputy commander, Carrier Air Wing 11; Capt. Derrick Kingsley, executive officer, Naval Air Station Patuxent River; and Capt. Joseph Murphy, commanding officer, USS Bataan (LHD 5).

These Major Commanders discussed a range of topics including how to support teammates mentally and emotionally, the effects of technology, and what motivates them to stay in such a challenging and demanding career field.

“Naval Aviation is a team sport and there doesn’t seem to be that same camaraderie in the civilian world,” said Drenning. “I look out in the audience and I see my flight school roommate who is also in a leadership role as a deputy commodore; those relationships are like no other. You get to mentor people and have the ability to really change someone’s life. Captains in the U.S. Navy have the authority to make a lot of decisions that other services may not have. You can influence a junior officer’s career path to make sure they’re successful and happy, and you get to have a little piece of that. It’s watching your children take over the world.”

On the second and final day of programming for the event, Vice Chief of Naval Operations (VCNO) Adm. Bill Lescher met for a discussion with lieutenant commanders followed immediately by a meeting with junior officers. Both groups were able to ask questions of the VNCO in an open forum.

In the final event on the final day of the symposium, NHA held its annual Flag Panel discussion featuring senior leaders from across the fleet.

The Flag Panel was moderated by retired Rear Adm. Daniel Fillion, NHA national chairman, and participants included Vice Adm. Jeffrey Hughes, deputy chief of naval operations for warfighting development, N7, OPNAV; Rear Adm. Alvin Holsey, commander, Navy Personnel Command; Rear Adm. Andrew Loiselle, director, Air Warfare Division, N98, OPNAV; Rear Adm. John Menoni, commander, Expeditionary Strike Group Two; and Rear Adm. Max McCoy, commander, Naval Aviation Warfighting Development Center (NAWDC).

The conversation was wide-ranging, with panelists taking many questions from the audience. However two major themes emerged: leadership and the Chief of Naval Aviation’s “Get Real, Get Better” guidance.

Leadership fit in well with the conference theme—The Human Advantage—with the admirals discussing how to help and learn from more junior officers.

“They all want to perform; they all want to be warfighters,” said McCoy. “As we look at new ways of doing things, we have to capitalize on the young people coming into the force…but we also have to give them the tools to dominate in the battlespace.”

McCoy’s daughter is a junior Naval Aviation officer.

In terms of “Get Real, Get Better,” panelists emphasized this means not taking on tasks that commands aren’t resourced to perform. It also means being honest with leadership about what is wrong, not only showing what is right. Despite that, McCoy said that looking for the positive is also important.

Naval Aviation, he explained, has always been a leader in Get Real, Get Better thinking.

“The mission debrief is the best example of how we use Get Real, Get Better every day,” he said. He later added that those debriefs are open discussions not limited by rank that can be applied to other aspects of Naval Aviation and the Navy.

The Naval Sustainment System-Aviation’s (NSS-A) effects on readiness were also mentioned. Metrics from that effort are showing real results that are improving readiness.

For additional information, check out the NAE on Facebook @NAEready and on Twitter @NAE_Readiness.

The NHA Symposium is an annual event run by the NHA—an independent, nonprofit organization supporting the development and use of naval vertical lift aircraft in the United States Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard.

The Naval Aviation Enterprise is a collaborative warfighting partnership wherein Naval Aviation leaders leverage their assigned authorities to deliberate and resolve interdependent issues across the whole of Naval Aviation to provide combat-ready naval air forces to the fleet.

Source: United States Navy

NAVAL SUPPORT ACTIVITY SOUDA BAY, Greece – Logisticians assigned to Naval Supply Systems Command Fleet Logistics Center Sigonella (NAVSUP FLCSI) and their mission partners at Naval Support Activity (NSA) Souda Bay Greece coordinated the loading of cargo, mail and food provisions to USNS Supply (T-AOE 6) at the Marathi NATO Pier Complex, May 3, 2022.

USNS Supply departed the pier with 18 pallets of milk equaling 6,000 gallons after the cargo onload, delivering the provisions to the Harry S. Truman Carrier Strike Group (HSTCSG) during a replenishment-at-sea (RAS), May 7, 2022.

“The customer service and flexibility demonstrated by our NAVSUP FLCSI team at NSA Souda Bay was critical for the mail and provisions load to USNS Supply,” said Bong Cabling, NAVSUP FLCSI executive director. “In particular, our customs clearance agents worked with Greek officials to clear the milk and fresh frozen provisions before a national holiday.”

The RAS this month is the most recent of multiple replenishments for HSTCSG since it arrived in the Mediterranean Sea in December. In February, NAVSUP FLCSI and its mission partners supported the replenishment of HSTCSG from strategic locations at Naval Air Station Sigonella, Italy, and NSA Souda Bay in support of the NATO-led activity Neptune Strike.

“NAVSUP FLC Sigonella has been critical to our success throughout this entire deployment,” said Cmdr. Autumn Daniel, USS Harry S. Truman’s supply officer. “They’ve played a key role in keeping our Sailors fed and healthy, along with keeping us materially ready.”

The HSTCSG has been on a scheduled deployment in the U.S. Sixth Fleet area of operations in support of naval operations to maintain and generate maritime stability and security for the U.S., and Allied and Partner interests in Europe and Africa. Read more about HSTCSG’s presence in the Mediterranean Sea here.

Truman, flagship of the Harry S. Truman Carrier Strike Group (CSG), along with the Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser USS San Jacinto (CG 56); Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyers USS Gonzalez (DDG 66), USS Cole (DDG 67), USS Bainbridge (DDG 96), USS Jason Dunham (DDG 109) and USS Mitscher (DDG 57) have supported NATO enhanced Air Policing missions and national and Alliance interests during their time in theater, bolstering the defense of the NATO Alliance. They have been joined at various points in deployment by NATO Allied and partner ships, including the Norwegian Royal Navy Fridjof Nansen-class frigate HNoMS Fridjtof Nansen (F310) and Italian Navy Bergamini-class guided-missile frigate ITS Carabiniere (F 593).

Fritdjof Nansen recently detached from the HSTCSG after a cooperative workup cycle and deployment with the strike group for the past eight months.

USNS Supply is one of Military Sealift Command’s fast combat support ships whose ability to replenish ships at-sea provides greater flexibility to remain underway for extended periods of time.

NAVSUP’s mission partner in Greece, NSA Souda Bay, is an operational ashore base that enables U.S., allied, and partner nation forces to be where they are needed and when they are needed to ensure security and stability in the U.S. European, Africa, and Central Command areas of responsibility.

FLCSI is one of NAVSUP’s eight globally-positioned commands that provides for the full range of solutions for logistics, business and support services to the U.S. Naval, Joint, NATO and Allied Forces across 14 enduring and forward operating sites; forward contingency and cooperative security locations in 13 countries in Europe and Africa.

(Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Jamica Johnson, Carrier Strike Group 8 Public Affairs contributed to this story)

 

Source: United States Navy

The Navy Exchange Service Command’s (NEXCOM) NEXT gen Scholars Program offers qualified students the opportunity to win $2,500, $1,500, $1,000 or $500 each quarter for earning good grades in school. The next drawing is at the end of June 2022.

To enter the drawing, students must be full-time with a “B” grade point average equivalent or better, as determined by their school system. Homeschooled students can also qualify with acknowledgement that the student has a “B” average or equivalent record of accomplishment.

Students must bring their current report card or other performance document to any NEX, fill out an entry card and have any documentation validated by an NEX associate. Once entered, the students will be given a coupon good for $10 off a one-time NEX purchase of $20 or more.

Eligible students include dependent children of active duty members, reservists and military retirees as well as U.S. civilian Department of Defense employees stationed outside the continental United States and U.S. civilian employees of firms under contract to the Department of Defense outside the continental United States. Students must be enrolled in 1st through 12th grade. Dependent children without an individual Dependent Identification Card must be accompanied by their sponsor to submit their entry. Each student may enter only once each grading period and must re-enter with each qualifying report card.  

Thanks to its vendor partners, NEXCOM has awarded a total of $826,500 in savings bonds and monetary awards to students since the program’s inception in 1997.

For more information on the NEXT gen Scholars Program visit myNavyExchange.com/NEXTgen.  

Source: United States Navy

 A former operations officer of destroyer USS Forrest Sherman (DD-931) gifted a painting to the crew of the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Forrest Sherman (DDG 98), April 27.

Retired U.S. Navy Cmdr. George Keller presented the painting, a departure gift he received when concluding his tour on Forrest Sherman (DD-931), to commanding officer of Forrest Sherman (DDG 98) Cmdr. Greg Page and the Forrest Sherman crew. The painting will be hung in the Lion’s Den Café, the crew’s mess decks.

Keller explained how walking around the newer Forrest Sherman gave him flashbacks to great memories he had on the former destroyer, which was first in its class and named for the 12th chief of naval operations, several decades ago.

“This vessel is a hell of a lot bigger than DD-931! Seeing all of the Sailors working around the ship, with smiles on their faces, is something great to see,” Keller said.

In June 1972, Forrest Sherman (DD-931) embarked on a UNITAS XIII deployment and headed to South America. Keller was the operations officer aboard the ship for the deployment. During the deployment, the ship sailed from Connecticut to Puerto Rico. From there, the ship sailed around South America for several months.

“I think the UNITAS deployment was my fondest memory during my time on Forrest Sherman,” said Keller. “UNITAS was something I always wanted to do, and I was lucky enough to participate in the Shellback ceremony. I remember pulling into Cartagena, Colombia, and I was driving the ship inbound for our port visit. The winds and seas were just perfect. All I needed was a little rudder, all back to stop the ship, and over line one.”

UNITAS is a series of evolutions in which U.S. Navy ships circumnavigate the South American continent, operate with several foreign navies, and return to the Atlantic through the Panama Canal. Held each year since 1959, ships have participated in this long-standing exercise, which includes traditional at-sea exercises and in-port training activities. It presents an opportunity to build capabilities and cooperative relationships among U.S., South and Central American maritime forces.

Forrest Sherman (DD-931) was built by the Bath Iron Works Corporation at Bath, Maine, on October 27, 1953, and was commissioned on February 5, 1955. After commissioning, she transited to her home port of Naval Station Newport and arrived on January 15, 1957. Some of her most notable deployments included NATO Operation Strikeback, where she screened a carrier strike group off of Norway, and Operation Inland Seas, where she served as the escort to the Royal Yacht HMY Britannia with President Dwight D. Eisenhower and Queen Elizabeth II embarked.

Source: United States Navy

For military families with special needs, the Department of Defense Exceptional Family Member Program provides support and resources to help members and their families thrive in military life.

At Joint Base San Antonio, EFMP programs are available to all branches of the military, but an added bonus for Navy personnel in and around San Antonio is that they have their own case liaison for the program.  

Josephina “Josie” Rangel is the new Navy EFMP case liaison for DOD’s largest joint base.  

“We all know the struggles of moving from place to place, and the stress it can put on families with exceptional family members,” she said. “I encourage Sailors to reach out to their command’s EFMP coordinator, and that person can reach out to me if a Navy family needs additional resources.” 

The need for a case liaison specifically for South Texas Navy families was established through a pilot program that took place from November 2019 through November 2021 on JBSA-Fort Sam Houston at the Military and Family Readiness Center.

In the pilot, the JBSA EFMP office gathered daily information on the contact made with service members, Rangel said. This data was reported to the Office of Special Needs on a bi-weekly basis.

The reports confirmed the necessity for a Navy case liaison in the JBSA area, she said. 

Now that the service has its own point of contact for EFMP needs, Navy members are encouraged to reach out through their command EFMP coordinator, or directly if needed.  

“My cases include family members who live in Austin, Houston, and as far south as the McAllen, Texas, area,” Rangel said. “Navy Recruiting Command has a big presence in the area, as well as this being the place where Sailors come to “A” school and “C” school, schools where Sailors go to receive technical training and in-depth instruction in their selected military occupational specialty.

“These service member’s Military Treatment Facility coordinator is in Corpus Christi, so it may be difficult for members to coordinate services,” she said. “I can take care of coordinating their enrollment, disenrollment, and updates locally, and then provide that information to the MTF coordinator in Corpus Christi.” 

Rangel said enrollment in EFMP is essential for all military personnel with family members needing continual medical, educational, or behavioral health care, noting that there are over 200 Navy EFMP family members in the region.  

“If members want to meet up to discuss their EFMP enrollment, I am available to meet with them,” she said. 

Navy EFMP participants are also eligible to attend classes, events, and other EFMP offerings at JBSA. 

“By contacting us, we can get members added to our JBSA EFMP distribution list so they receive information on all the things we offer,” Rangel said.  

Navy members can reach out to Rangel by phone at 210-221-2705, by email at: 802FSS.FSYR.EFMP-FS@us.af.mil, or at the JBSA-Fort Sam Houston Military and Family Readiness Center, which is equivalent to the Navy’s Fleet and Family Support Center.