crash, salvage: ready on arrival

May 5, 2012 Issue“We are Legend”Newsletter Edition

USS Enterprise (CVN 65)

The Shuttle

USS ENTERPRISE, At Sea – As aircraft carrier USS Enterprise (CVN 65) steams along through its twilight deployment, members of Air department’s V-1 division crash and salvage team are working to ensure that the ship remains “ready on arrival” if an aircraft mishap should occur. The 30 highly-skilled and diverse Sailors who make up the crash and salvage team are responsible for maintaining 43 flight deck firefighting stations, three mobile firefighting vehicles, two crash forklifts and the crash crane. Their primary duty requires them to be ready at a moment’s notice to save lives in the event of a flight deck mishap. Their highly specialized training revolves mainly around aircraft rescue and firefighting, but also demands a familiarity with aircrew extraction procedures. “Enterprise’s mission is to safely launch and recover aircraft,” said Aviation Boatswain’s Mate (Handling) 1st Class Richard Haugh, crash and salvage division’s leading petty officer. “Without crash and salvage personnel and equipment at 100 percent, we wouldn’t be able to fulfill that obligation.” In addition to their regular responsibilities, they are in charge of training all flight deck personnel on aircraft firefighting, rescue procedures and salvage procedures. The crash and salvage team manages to keep all hands trained and confident if a disaster should strike aboard Big E. “I couldn’t have asked for a better group of individuals,” said Haugh. “Their dedication to the mission at hand makes all the difference.” Should a mishap occur, Big E’s crash and salvage team members are well-trained and prepared to handle even the toughest jobs. “(Since COMPTUEX 2010) We have responded to 76 flight deck emergencies with zero damage to personnel or aircraft,” said Chief Aviation Boatswain’s Mate (Handling) Frank A. Markulin, crash and salvage division’s leading chief petty officer. “We are the flight deck firefighters and we are responsible for clearing the landing area in case of emergency from hydraulic failures, loss of steering or an actual crash or flight deck fire so that we can safely and efficiently land the other aircraft.”

Crash, Salvage: Ready on ArrivalStory by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class (SW/AW) Jared King

Aviation Boatwain’s Mate (Handling) Airman Ryan S. Papanek and Aviation Boatwain’s Mate (Handling) 3rd Class Brian A. Whitford maintain the P25 fire truck watch during flight operations aboard aircraft carrier USS Enterprise (CVN 65) (Photo by MC3 (SW/AW) Jared King)

Should disaster strike on a Navy vessel, the crew relies on their training in order to save themselves and the ship. If an emergency occurs on the flight deck, pilots and crew rely on members of the crash and salvage team to respond in order to maintain flight operations as well as manage the damage control. “If there is a casualty on the flight deck, be it a fuel station fire, fuel leak or crash in the landing area, crash and salvage are the first responders,” said Markulin. “There is no outlying field for these pilots to fly to, so it is essential that we clear all emergencies quickly.” The division knows it is their job to head directly into harm’s way if an emergency situation should arise. All hands involved, from the most senior Sailor in the department to the most junior, take the responsibility seriously and continue to train in the event their skills are tested. “It’s all about our Sailors,” said Markulin. “They are the ones putting on the proximity suits, the ones working on the flight deck, the ones studying the manuals on how to shutdown aircraft, rescue pilots and put out fires. Those guys really deserve all the credit.”

Saturday, May 5, 2012

The Shuttle is published and printed daily underway and bi-weekly in port by the USS Enterprise (CVN 65) Media Department, FPO AE 09543-2810. This newspaper is an authorized publication for members of the Department of Defense. Please direct all story ideas, questions and comments to MC1 (SW) Steve Smith at [email protected].

Public Affairs OfficerLt. Cmdr. Sarah T. Self-Kyler

Executive OfficerCapt. G. C. Huffman

Commanding OfficerCapt. William C. Hamilton, Jr.

EditorsMC2 (SW) Kristin L. Grover

MCSN Harry GordonMCSN Brian G. Reynolds

The Shuttle

USS Enterprise (CVN 65)

Command Master ChiefABCM (AW/SW) Eric M. Young

Big E HappeningsThe Shuttle

Big E PersonalitiesDo you or someone you know have an interesting story that needs to

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If so, contact MCSN Brian Reynolds via email [email protected]

The Big

ECystic Fibrosis

AwarenessWalk

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suffering from Cystic Fibrosis

Sunday May 6, 20120800-1000

On the Flight Deck

Photos by MC3 (SW/AW) Jared King

Saturday, May 5, 2012 The Shuttle

In the News

WASHINGTON (NNS) -- The Navy will christen and launch the dry cargo/ammunition ship the USNS Cesar Chavez, during a ceremony at the General Dynamics NASSCO shipyard in San Diego today. The ship is named to honor prominent civil rights activist Cesar Chavez, who served in the Navy during World War II. Juan M. Garcia III, assistant secretary of the Navy for manpower and reserve affairs, will deliver the ceremony’s principal address. Serving as the ship’s sponsor is Helen Fabela Chavez, widow of the ship’s namesake. The ceremony will include the Navy’s time-honored tradition of the sponsor breaking a bottle of champagne across the bow to formally christen the ship. Continuing the Lewis and Clark class T-AKE tradition of honoring

Navy to Christen USNS Cesar ChavezBy Department of Defense Public Affairs

legendary pioneers and explorers, the Navy’s newest underway replenishment ship recognizes Mexican-American civil rights activist Cesar Chavez (1927-1993), who served in the Navy during World War II. Chavez later went on to become a leader in the American Labor Movement and co-found the National Farm Workers Association, which became the United Farm Workers. Designated T-AKE 14, Cesar Chavez is the final of the Lewis and Clark dry cargo/ammunition ships, all of which will be operated by the U.S. Navy’s Military Sealift Command. To help the Navy maintain a worldwide forward presence by delivering ammunition, food, fuel, and other supplies to U.S. and allied ships at sea, T-AKEs are serving as combat logistics force (CLF) ships. In support of the enhanced maritime prepositioning

ship squadron concept of operations, two T-AKEs are being allocated to the maritime prepositioning squadrons to provide sea-based logistics support to Marine Corps units afloat and ashore. As part of MSC, T-AKE 14 is designated as a united states naval ship and will be crewed by civil service mariners. This is the first Navy ship named after Chavez. For CLF missions, the T-AKEs’ crews include a small department of sailors. Like the other dry cargo/ammunition ships, T-AKE 14 is designed to operate independently for extended periods at sea and can carry two helicopters and their crews. The ship is 689 feet in length, has an overall beam of 106 feet, has a navigational draft of 30 feet, displaces approximately 42,000 tons and is capable of reaching a speed of 20 knots using a single-shaft, diesel-electric propulsion system.

Stavridis: Europe Remains Vital to Current, Future SecurityBy Donna Miles, AMERICAN FORCES PRESS SERVICEWASHINGTON – U.S. European Command, along with NATO allies and other close partnerships in Europe, remains critical to the United States, even as it implements new defense strategic guidance focused on challenges in the Asia-Pacific region and the Middle East, Navy Adm. James G. Stavridis, the Eucom and NATO’s supreme allied commander for Europe, said. “Let’s face it: our most enduring pool of partners exists in the European theater,” Stavridis said during a recent interview with the Pentagon Channel and American Forces Press Service.He noted the strength of the 28-member NATO alliance, a 3 million-strong force with 24,000 aircraft and 800 ships. In addition, the allies have a $31 trillion collective

gross national product, about $300 billion of which is devoted to defense budgets. “This is an alliance of enormous resources, and it represents those that stand with us today in Afghanistan, in the Balkans, in the Libya operation and in [counterpiracy],” Stavridis said. “So these strategic, enduring partnerships in Europe are going to underpin the strategic focus on the challenges in Asia and in the Middle East.” That demands even more focus on Europe and NATO, explained Navy Rear Adm. Mark C. Montgomery, Eucom’s deputy director for plans, policy and strategy. To address that risk elsewhere on the globe, he said, “we need to actually redouble our efforts to maintain our partners’

capability and capacity.” Navy Vice Adm. Charles W. Martoglio, Stavridis’ former chief of staff and now deputy commander, called the U.S. military “the glue that enables NATO to operate at the high level of efficiency that it does.” The U.S. military presence in Europe offers assurance to allies while helping them maintain the stability and economic foundation that helps create security, he explained. “So it is a win on the U.S. side, and it is a win on the European side,” he said. The new force posture in Europe, with a 15-percent troop reduction to be offset partially with increased ship, aircraft and special operations capabilities, ensures the proper force number and configuration to support the new strategy guidance, he said.

Saturday, May 5, 2012The Shuttle

Big E Entertainment

PSSN Daniella Arelline, from San Diego, joined the Navy one year and eight months ago to travel the world and to meet new people. In her free time, Arelline enjoys watching movies, eating and sleeping. Arelline’s future goals are to advance in rank and to earn money.

Personnel Specialist SeamanDaniella Arelline

Sailors of the Day

ABHAN Matthew T. Aucoin, from Saraland, Ala., joined the Navy two and a half years ago to follow in his family’s footsteps and to see the world. Aucoin enjoys working out and playing the guitar. Aucoin plans to advance in rank and to start a family in the future.

Aviation Boatwain’s Mate (Handling) AirmanMatthew T. Aucoin