nimitz news - july 22, 2012

July 22, 2012 Vol. 37, No. 25

July 22, 2012

Public Affairs OfficerLt. Cmdr. Karin BurzynskiMedia Division OfficerLt. Jason Scarborough

Media LCPOMCC Mike Jones

Media Production ChiefMCC Gregory Roberts

EditorMC3 Ryan Mayes Lead Designer

MC3 Renee L. Candelario

Nimitz News accepts submissions in writing. All submissions must be in by Friday, COB. Submissions are subject to review and screening. “Nimitz News” is an authorized publication for the members of the military services and their families. Its content does not necessarily reflect the official views of the U.S. Government, the Department of Defense, the Department of the Navy, or the Marine Corps and does not imply endorsement thereby.

Commanding OfficerCapt. Jeffrey S. RuthExecutive Officer

Capt. Buzz DonnellyCommand Master Chief

Master Chief Teri M. McIntyre

Media DeptMC1 Sarah MurphyMC2 Michael Cole

MC2 Jacquelyn ChildsMC2 Ashley BerumenMC2 Nathan Gomez

MC2 Vladimir PotapenkoMC2 Eva-Marie Ramsaran

MC2 Mark SashegyiMC2 Thomas Siniff

MC2 Nichelle WhitfieldMC2 Robert Winn

MC3 Jonathan A. ColonMC3 Dustin Sisco

MC3 Ian CotterMC3 Andrew Jandik

MC3 Shayne JohnsonMC3 Jacob Milner

MC3 Glenn SlaughterMC3 Devin Wray

MC3 Christopher BartlettMC3 Alexander Ventura II

MC3 Dereck VollandMCSN Jesse Monford

MCSN Jess LewisMCSN William CousinsMCSA Vanessa David

It's About TimeStory by Lt. Cmdr. Chaplain Richard Townes

I’ve spent a lot of time on airplanes in my life. While riding on them, I have time to think about things - A LOT OF TIME. One of the things that frequently crosses my mind as I pass away the hours crammed into middle seat is how traveling from one place to another will cost me a whole day. I leave one town, Seattle for example, on a Monday evening and arrive in Grand Rapids, MI the afternoon on Tuesday. Aside from eating the box lunch and watching some really bad movie, usually something along the lines of “Cars 2” (I told you it was bad), I didn’t accomplish much at all. Idleness drives me absolutely crazy.

In Psalm 90 we read, “Teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom.” This simply means that we desire to make the most of the time we’re given here on earth. Instead of letting life pass us by we seek ways to fill our days with worthwhile events.

We’ve been stationed in a place that offers many activities to enrich our lives. We can travel to Vancouver or take in a multitude of interesting local sites ranging from the Gum Wall to the Fremont Troll to Snoqualmie

Falls. We’re only a weekend trip away from great hiking or skiing adventures or while we are at sea we can take in towns such as Honolulu and San Diego. We can volunteer to help children, paint a historic ship, feed the homeless or help in an animal shelter. Another way to “number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom” is to sign up for college classes or click onto Navy Knowledge On-line.

But I really believe that the best way to “number our days” is to attend chapel frequently. Coming to church will help you to gain wisdom that literally lasts forever while leading you to a fuller understanding of the direction of your life. Try it and see if your days seem just a little more purposeful after being filled with the Word of God.

I won’t promise you that attending chapel services will make you faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a locomotive, or even able to leap a tall building with a single bound, but it will help you to fill your days with a new joy and zeal for life.

See you in the chapel.

Players from the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz' (CVN 68) basketball team, “TNT,” pose with Nimitz commanding officer, Jeff Ruth. "TNT" took home their championship win of the 2012 Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) Basketball Tournament. Photo by MC3 Jonathan A. Colon.

July 22, 2012

Capt. Jeff Ruth, commanding officer of USS Nimitz (CVN 68) named Aviation Machinist's Mate Airman David Hernandez Sailor of the Day, July 21 in the Pilot House.

A viation Machinist’s Mate Airman David

Hernandez, a power plants technician, attached to Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron (HSM) 75, was selected as the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz’ (CVN 68) Sailor of the Day, July 21. As a plane captain and junior mechanic, Hernandez was instrumental in the completion of two phase inspections and three functional check flights on deploying squadron aircraft. Hernandez also completed 101 maintenance actions and 21 special inspections. Additionally, Hernandez’ unwavering dedication and tireless work ethic ensured

the expeditious removal and replacement of a main rotor blade fold motor and subsequent functional check flight of Lone Wolf 716.

A native of Pasadena, Calif., Hernandez was the first of his family to join the Navy at the age of 25. Hernandez enjoys working on the engine of one of the squadron’s aircraft.

“I love everything about my rate,” said Hernandez. “I’m really proud of everything I do.”

While in port, Hernandez enjoys spending his free time at home with his wife and two daughters, working on cars and hiking. While out to sea, Hernandez is studying for his

USS Nimitz' Sailor of the DayStory and photos by MC3 Renee L. Candelario

enlisted aviation warfare specialist pin, keeping in contact with his family and exercising.

“Being Sailor of the Day is incredible,” said Hernandez. “My chain of command is very proud and supportive.”

Sailor of the Day, Aviation Machinist's Mate Airman David Hernandez, a power plants technician for Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron (HSM) 75 works on an engine in the hangar bay of Nimitz.

July 22, 2012

Quartermaster 3rd Class (SW) Kandice Norris plots the position of the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN 68) from the ship’s pilot house.

STORY AND PHOTOS BY MC3 DEVIN WRAY

T he quartermaster is one of the oldest jobs in the Navy. They communicate with other ships using

signal flags and lights, but more importantly, they keep the ship along the right path. The quartermasters in the Navigation Department aboard the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN 68) serve the same purpose as navigators from millennia ago – to get us where we need to be, safely.

“Navigation has been around for as long as people could float on something at sea and use visuals to find where they were,” said Lt. Joel Martinez, Nimitz’ assistant navigation officer.

Approximately 4,500 years ago, Minoan sailors discovered they could use the stars to find their location, thus, celestial navigation was founded. In the 1800’s, navigators first used tools like the sextant and

the chronometer to help find their way around the seas. Even by finding the depth of the ocean floor, sailors could calculate their distance from land. Navigation has evolved in many ways over the years.

Today, quartermasters have multiple tools at their disposal; one of the most important tools is their charts. A quartermaster looks for the ship’s heading, which can now be found on a monitor along with information like the rotation of the ship’s rudders and the ship’s speed. Using the ship’s heading, drafting compass, pencil, and Weems ruler, a quartermaster can use their charts to calculate the estimated ship’s position, the ship’s destination,

where the ship can be located in a set amount of time, and even what speed a ship should go to reach a destination on time.

"The best part of the job is that we are some of the most informed about where we are and where

the ship is going."

July 22, 2012

Quartermaster 3rd Class (SW) Kandice Norris analyzes a nautical chart of the Hawaiian Islands in the pilot house of Nimitz.

Quartermaster 3rd Class (SW) Kandice Norris plots the position of Nimitz.

“The best part of the job is that we are some of the most informed on where we are and where the ship is going,” said Quartermaster 3rd Class Tesia Braswell, the ship’s deck log petty officer.

Charts can be used to plot things like previous ship wrecks, hazardous buoys, areas where the ship may run aground, and dozens of cables on the sea floor called submarine cables, which are used to do things like provide communication and internet.

“Charting submarine cables can be difficult,” said Quartermaster 3rd Class Kandice Norris, the ship’s chart petty officer. “They change all the time and have many points where they change directions.”

Advances in today’s technology have changed the way the ship finds its way at sea. A new system called the Voyage Management System (VMS), which has been used by the Navy for the past few years, aims to augment the chart system aboard Nimitz by spring of next year. Similar to a GPS, the VMS displays information and visuals previously calculated manually on charts.

Quartermasters are currently training to integrate the use of this system in their daily routines.

VMS is updated weekly by manually inputting information put out by “Notice to Mariners”, a website maintained by the Coast Guard. This system could potentially change some ways the quartermaster rating is run since this type of technology is fairly new to naval navigation.

“I think it will shift our guy’s abilities,” said Martinez. “If we ever suffer from GPS jamming or go into a spot where our signals are lost, they will need to revert back to things like celestial navigation to find our way.”

Nimitz is currently using VMS to traverse waters near the Hawaiian Islands, which is helping the ship stay within its operating area as it shares the waters with ships from various nations during Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) 2012 exercise.

The use of electronics plays a vital role in navigation, but it hasn’t replaced every aspect, such as determining when the sun or moon will rise or set. Although having a super powered GPS on board can help, quartermasters believe their traditional skills will continue to serve them.

“Not everyone can lay out a course or calculate a sunset manually,” said Norris. “I think it’s a more valuable skill to know how to use charts, not just type it into a computer.”

Even as technology makes its way into our lives, the daily routine of the quartermasters of Nimitz’ Navigation Department proves that you can still, as the saying goes: ‘trust your keel to those who wear the wheel.’

July 22, 2012

Such an innocent piece of metal, a simple trinket

that conveys so many things, the challenge coin to some, it represents more than any award or letter of commendation ever could.

Of questionable beginnings, origin stories ranging from the mundane to the extraordinary give rise to a certain mystique around the tradition’s roots.

There is one account of a young, well off, officer in the U.S. Army during WWI who had medallions made for his troops to commemorate their time in service. Yet another story begins with Soldiers during the Vietnam conflict who would etch designs into a particular bullet which they would use to ensure their never being captured by the enemy.

“I heard a story from one of my chiefs in preventative medicine school,” said Hospital Corpsman 3rd Class Michael

Waltich. “She told me that it originated from an Army aviator in WWII that was a coin maker before the war. He made a coin for his squadron and gave them out to their personnel. Shortly thereafter one of the other aviators was shot down and ended up in a German POW camp. He later escaped and was apprehended by French forces and had only the coin to use for identification. It worked and he was handed over to the American forces.”

Still others claim that the beginning of the challenge coin started with Roman emperors and statesmen who would have their likeness inscribed on medallions to display their prominent wealth and position.

Whatever the origin, the modern tradition of “coining,” or presenting another service member with a coin displaying one’s own unit or command, is mixed with a complex ritual to

COINStory and photo by MC3 Jacob Milner

THE

VALUEOF A

July 22, 2012

instill respect and honor to the recipient.“It goes back to Roman times,” said CMDCM (AW/SW)

Curtis Miller, Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 11, command master chief. “Soldiers would have some sort of trinket to present one another as a way of identifying one another.”

In the modern military, the challenge coin takes on a different life. As a reward to service members for going beyond what is required, coins are slyly passed between the palms of a handshake to show appreciation for a job well done.

“Many things can merit a coining,” said Miller. “Good behavior, doing a good job or sometimes just because someone had a long hard day and overcame a challenge. I do it as a way to thank them for what they’re doing. It’s just a way of saying ‘good job shipmate.’”

Though over the years service members may collect dozens of different coins from a multitude of commands and personnel, they will always remember their first.

“I got my first one in 1995,” said Miller. “I got it from an Air Force command in Guam. I stopped to ask a question at the weather station and a guy walked up and gave it to me. I thought it was strange because I had no idea what it was for. I later found out that my own command had one. Now, I have so many that it’s unreal. The collection has just grown so much that I need a full desk with about five rows just to hold them.”

Though some have gathered challenge coins from around the world for many years, others are just at the beginning of their own collection, and look forward to more.

“I have a handful so far,” said Waltich. “It’s one way for Sailors

to signify some of the more important things that they’ve done in their career.”

Even though the first coin a service member receives will always be their first, others collected throughout one’s career can hold a special meaning as well.

“I actually have two favorites,” said Miller. “I got one from the White House intelligence chief and I have another that symbolizes the World Trade Centers from 9/11. When I got the White House coin, I actually got it from a friend who had worked on the presidential limousine. When he gave me the coin, I traded him one of the coins from my squadron at the time.”

Though the act of collecting and trading coins amongst each other is practiced throughout the military, the meaning of the act should not be lost.

“Honor,” said Miller. “Honor and history are what these coins represent because the tradition goes so far back. It’s good to trade coins but if you understand why you’re doing it, it means so much more.”

It’s really only a piece of metal with an etching on either side. It’s worth less money than the materials used to make it, yet Sailors, Marines, Soldiers and Airmen trade them between one another for various reasons only to collect more of these small tokens of appreciation.

The value of these coins is only equal to the respect and honor shown by those who give and receive them, making them worth more than their weight in gold.

July 22, 2012

of the WeekFlashbacksForeign Object Damage walkdown prior to flight operation Saturday morning. Photo by MC3 Ryan Mayes.

July 22, 2012

of the WeekFlashbacks

Plane captains assigned to the Black Knights of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 154 on board the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN 68) monitor the movement of their assigned aircraft prior to flight operations. Photo by MC3 Ryan Mayes.

Seaman Yohanna Duvall stands watch as a phone talker at hanger deck control of the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN 68) during an underway replenishment. Photo by MC3 Dustin W. Sisco.

Chilean officers working from USS Nimitz during Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) 2012. Photo by MC2 (SW) Robert Winn.

Electronics Technician 3rd Class Demi Muha makes repairs in the micro miniature shop aboard the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz. Photo by MC3 Devin Wray.

July 22, 2012

July 22, 2012

Page 15

You Know What Really Grinds My Gears?

2 - AFN Sports3 - AFN NEWS 4 - AFN XTRA5 - 8MM MOVIES6 - 8MM MOVIES7 - 8MM MOVIES8 - ROLLER9 - DVD TRAINING10-FLIGHT DECK11-CNN29-DVD MOVIES

TV LINEUP

All Request Sunday

Your PicksYour Flix!

On the cover: Photo by MC3 Ryan Mayes

On July 27th, the world and at least a quarter of the United States will sit and watch the Summer Olympics in London. I know I am super excited to watch sporting events like trampoline, equestrian and rowing. In all honesty, there is a large percentage who watch diving and secretly hopes the diver pulls a Greg Louganis and hits their head on the diving board. RAISE YOUR HAND! You know I am right! Let’s face it; the Olympics are not that fun to watch. They are boring events that 20 people in each country do very well and then they win a medal. I am really good at throwing a rock at a garage door. I bet we can find 19 more people with that talent and we can create an Olympic event. I really think I am on to something here.

Seventeen days of normal programming will be cut out so they can show an epic Badminton match. Isn’t there supposed to be beer and bbq involved with badminton? Dear God, shoot me now. Seriously, trampoline? Handball? We can’t even have softball or baseball in the Olympics? What a joke. If you don’t agree with me, then you are wrong.

Basketball is the worst offender of this. Basketball is boring because you have NBA players who don’t want to play as a team and want to have amazing highlights, rather than route a team from a third world country that cannot afford two basketball hoops. Where have you gone Dream Team 1? Thank God we are out to sea!

Now, here are some of your responses from last week’s article: -A First Class Petty Officer wrote: “Sir,I could tell by the article you were a redsux fan from the start. It

sounds like someone is bitter being 10 ½ games out of first. How is that Bobby V thing going for you guys?”

Roundhouse: First off, I am thrilled that you have friends that will help you out with using a computer, (being a Yankees fan and all.) Secondly, I know Bobby V is awful, but nobody can take away 2004. Every argument you come at the Red Sox Nation with comes back to, the Yankees are the kings of choke.

P.S. I had a nightmare last night; I was at Yankee Stadium on purpose!

-A Third Class Petty Officer wrote:“Sir,I myself am a diehard Tigers fan and despise the Yankees for how

good they are. But seeing that you are a red sox fan and to pick out the Yankees and say they “suck” is very biased. Plus you are wrong for saying that they suck seeing that the Red Sux are 10.5 games behind the Yankees and the Yankees have the best winning percentage in

baseball right now. Good luck to you and your Red Sox getting into the play offs seeing that they are still 8 games behind the Baltimore O’s and your team is in 4th place in the East.”

Roundhouse: Shipmate, I think it is adorable that you are a Tigers fan. The last time the Tigers were relevant was 1984 when you won the World Series against the school for the deaf and blind, er, The San Diego Padres. Oh and don’t come at me with you made the World Series in 2006. You were ridiculous favorites to beat the St. Louis Cardinals and failed. Hold on a sec, I need to get these TWO World Series rings out of my ears that were won THIS century.

If anyone else has any comments and wants to discuss their love for the Olympics, please send them to me at [email protected] so I can have a good laugh.

A Sports Commentary by Lt. T. "Roundhouse" Fergusson

Photo by MC2 (SW/AW) Eva-Marie Ramsaran

nimitz news - july 22, 2012

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