SHUTTLEtheUSS Enterprise (CVN 65) - Sunday, May 29 2011

Photo by MSN Jared M. King

We Remember

Memorial Day 2011

Rear Adm. Terry B. Kraft, commander of Enterprise Strike Group, addresses the crew during the Memorial Day Commemoration in the hangar bay aboard the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise (CVN 65).

While deployed to the Arabian Sea supporting Operation Enduring Freedom, Kraft hoped this backdrop would provide a visual reminder of the importance of keeping the true meaning of the holiday alive. “Years from now, when you’re out of the Navy, you’ll realize that for many Americans Memorial Day is just a chance for a three-day weekend,” said Kraft. “I want you to remind yourself, your children, and someday your children’s children about a short ceremony you attended on board Enterprise that reminded you about the true meaning of this day.”

USS ENTERPRISE, At sea - The deployed aircraft carrier USS Enterprise (CVN 65) held a Memorial Day commemoration ceremony May 27 to honor those who made the ultimate sacrifice in service to their country. Enterprise Sailors specifically paid tribute to those who died in service to Enterprise and the seven ships that shaped the Enterprise legend. “For 230 years, Enterprise has lost shipmates in battles and tragic events, and it is this weekend that we stop to reflect on those that have served Enterprise and our nation’s military forces,” said the ship’s Commanding Officer Capt. Dee L. Mewbourne. Enterprise and her crew paid homage to their fallen brothers and sisters in a wreath-laying service, committing a flowered wreath to sea to symbolize those who are forever entombed in the great depths of the oceans. “We gather here today for one singular purpose, to remember the sacrifices made by men and women in uniform who served before us,” said Cmdr. John B. Owen, the ship’s Protestant chaplain. Enterprise Sailors carried the wreath to the

edge of the hangar bay and dropped it into the ocean, as a Sailor played “Taps” on the trumpet and the choir sang the Navy hymn. “The choir was heartfelt, and the wreath made me think about those who served before me,” said Aviation Boatswain’s Mate (Handling) Airman Desian M. Joseph, a division training officer for V-4 division. “I’m very thankful to those who died while serving this country to preserve our freedom and our rights.” The ceremony concluded with a 21-gun salute and a short prayer. While the ceremony

lasted less than an hour, Rear Adm. Terry B. Kraft, commander of Carrier Strike Group 12, said hoped what the Sailors heard and saw during the observance will stay with them for a lifetime. Memorial Day is a national holiday that is observed on the last Monday of May each year. “It is a tribute to the men and women who selflessly donned the cloth of their nation,” said Capt. Jeffrey L. Trent, commander of Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 1. “When America asked, ‘who will do our work? Who will do the nations bidding?’ They replied just as you did, ‘I will’,” said Trent.

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Enterprise NewsBy MCSN Gregory A. Pickett IIUSS Enterprise Public Affairs

Enterprise Sailors remember their fallen comrades

Cmdr. John B. Owen, the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise’s command chaplain, invites the crew to join him in prayer at the commencement of the Memorial Day Commemoration in the hangar bay of the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise (CVN 65).

Photo by MC3 Alex R. Forster

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Memorial Day Commemoration

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Memorial Day Commemoration

Photos by MCSN Jared M. King and MCSN Gregory A. Pickett II

important responsibilities, Gates told the graduates. “These qualities have their roots in the small decisions you have made here at the academy and will make early in your career,” he said. “And [they] must be strengthened all along the way to allow you to resist the temptation of self before service.” Navy Secretary Ray Mabus joined Gates in congratulating the new graduates and welcoming them to military service. Citing the Navy’s and Marine Corps’ busy operational tempos, Mabus told the class, “you will need all the training you have gotten here.” Mabus called on the graduates to take their academy lessons with them as they continue growing as leaders in the fleet and Corps.

ANNAPOLIS, Md. – Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates delivered his last commencement speech as defense secretary May 27, calling on graduates at the U.S. Naval Academy to become the best leaders possible, setting the example and putting their people and organizations above their own interests. Gates thanked the 1,006 graduates assembled on the field at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium here for choosing to serve their country and fellow citizens in uniform. “In everything you did here, … you have grown together as a team,” he said. “But there has also been something bigger uniting you: your willingness to take on a difficult and dangerous path in the service of others.” The secretary noted that the midshipmen entered the academy at the height of the Iraq war, when casualties were at an all-time high and “prospects of success uncertain at best.” Meanwhile, the Taliban were making a comeback in Afghanistan, and Osama bin Laden, “history’s most notorious terrorist,” was still at large. “As a result of the skill and sacrifice of countless young warriors and patriots -- many of them graduates of this institution

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Navy NewsBy Donna MilesAmerican Forces Press Service -- I am proud to say that

we face a different set of circumstances today,” he said. “Iraq has a real chance at a peaceful and democratic future. In Afghanistan, the Taliban momentum has been halted and reversed. And Osama bin Laden is finally where he belongs” -- a statement that sent the entire stadium into wild applause. Gates urged the graduates, when called on as leaders to defend the United States in faraway lands, to “hold your values and your honor close to your heart.”

“Leadership has to be earned day after hard

day. Go earn it. Earn the respect of your sailors

and Marines. Earn it by leading from the front. Earn it by the way you

treat those you lead and the way you treat

their families. Earn it by listening and not just to those above you. Earn

it.”

Hon. Raymond Mabus, United States Secretary

of the Navy

Gates cited his own public service experience in the Air Force, CIA, White House and Pentagon, and said he’s had the opportunity to observe many great leaders along

the way.“From this I learned that real leadership is a rare and precious commodity,” he said, sharing some of the qualities he said make true leaders. Gates urged the graduates to exercise what he called a true measure of leadership: common decency in treating others, regardless of their station. He challenged them to threat others with fairness and respect, and to use their authority to protect and champion those under their charge and their families. “Common decency builds respect and, in a democratic society, respect is what prompts people to give their all for a leader, even at great personal sacrifice,” he said. The qualities of leadership don’t emerge overnight or after assuming

Gates Offers Leadership Lessons to Naval Academy Grads

U.S. Navy Photo by MC2 Kevin S. O’Briend

Newly commissioned Navy ensigns and Marine Corps 2nd lieutenants from the U.S. Naval Academy Class of 2011 celebrate their graduation with the traditional hat toss at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis, Md.

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U.S. NewsRed Cross Eases Access to Emergency Communication Services

WASHINGTON – As part of an ongoing effort to better serve the military community, the American Red Cross will move to a single telephone number for its emergency communication services next month. Beginning June 13 at 8 a.m. Eastern time (EDT), service members and their families can use one toll-free number -- 877-272-7337 -- to send an urgent message to a service member. “The Red Cross has always been there for us,” Robert L. Gordon III, deputy assistant secretary of defense for military community and family policy, said. “It’s critically important to our men and women serving away from home that their families

know whom to call in the event of an emergency. The Red Cross is now making it even easier to make that call.” In the past, military families living outside an installation needed to remember the phone number for their local Red Cross chapters for emergency communications, while those living on a military installation used the 877-272-7337 number. Now, military members and their families can use this single number to initiate an emergency communication, regardless of where they live. For those stationed overseas, the three options for calling will remain the same: calling 877-272-7337 direct, accessing the number through a military operator or calling their local Red Cross station. “An emergency situation

can be a very stressful time for a military family, and having just one common telephone number to remember can make a difficult situation a little easier,” said Sherri Brown, senior vice president for service to the Armed Forces. “U.S. military personnel and their families can remain confident that the Red Cross will be there to keep them connected when there is a crisis at home.”

Through this number, Red Cross emergency communications services can put military personnel in touch with their families following the death or serious illness of an immediate family member, the birth of a service member’s child or grandchild or when a family faces other emergencies. Additional Red Cross services such as case management and emergency financial assistance also are available.

From an American Red Cross News Release

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Answers can be found on Big ‘E’ Net at S:\Public\MEDIA\GM\Crossword and Sudoku answers

FUN ZONE!Down1 Diminishes2 German number3 Encircle4 Join together5 Guilt-ridden6 Kid in Kilmarnock7 Blackguard8 1973 Woody Allen film9 Elves10 Management skill11 “As You Like It” exile site12 Exact moment13 Agitated mood18 Extent22 Franchise24 Little troublemaker25 “Vamoose!”26 “All The Way” lyricist27 Litter’s smallest28 Hawaii32 Flaky rock33 Places of refuge34 Egg holder38 Inveigled 39 Laura or Bruce of film40 Paper pastime41 Chinese “way”42 Cambridge college43 Summary46 Wears47 Lacking sense48 Where Durban is49 Candle component51 Guzzler’s sound52 Eastern royal53 Faulkner’s “Requiem for ___”54 NYC culture site57 Conducted

Across1 Jittery5 Grade-school basics9 Smacks14 Verve15 Biblical king16 Onetime Argentine leader17 English county19 Math measurements

20 Brandy cocktail21 Clear23 All-powerful25 Abrasion29 Taxi ticker30 Dragged31 Newspaper employee35 “It can’t be!”36 Engage

37 Punctually42 Deceptions44 “It’s the end of ___!”45 Meal46 Theatrical49 Absent50 Rues, for sure55 Biblical patriarch

56 South American plateau region58 Italian noble59 Butcher’s wares60 US motto word61 Injured sneakily62 Sans purpose63 Lollobrigida of film

Sailors of the DayInformation Systems Technician SeamanSeth Andrew Piper- Greensboro, NC

ITSN Piper, a tech control operator for Enterprise’s Combat Systems Department, joined the Navy one year and one month ago to better himself, serve his country and see the world. Piper says the most rewarding aspect of his job is making sure communications systems are operations, which helps provide tactical information for the ship and improves quality of life through working phone lines and internet. Piper wants to earn both his enlisted aviation and surface warfare pins and aspires to become a third class petty officer. Piper is also working toward earning a collge degree. In his spare time, Piper enjoys listening to music.

AD2 (AW) White, an aviation machinist’s mate for Carrier Airbourne Early Warning Squadron (VAW) 123, joined the Navy four years ago to “work on aircraft engines and support my wife.” White says the most rewarding aspect of his job is trouble-shooting a difficult problem on an aircraft, then “watching it fly off and come back “successfully. White wants to continue to work hard in the Navy and earn the licenses neccesary for him to be successful outside of it, so he can later retire to Texas. When he returns from deployment, White wants to surf, ride motorcycles and spend time with his family.

Aviation Machinist’s Mate 2nd ClassCharles White- Harlingen, TX

Photos by MCSN Gregory A. Pickett II