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Bataan Sailors Give Back To Local Community

VOLUME 3 ISSUE 6Bataan Sailors Aboard WaspAre You Ready To Go When Needed?

The editorial content of this newspaper is prepared, edited and provided by Bataan’s Public Affairs Office. This newspaper is an authorized publication for members of military services at sea. Its contents do not necessarily reflect the official views of the U.S. Government, the Department of Defense or the U.S. Navy and do not imply endorsement thereof.

Commanding OfficerCaptain John “J.C.” CarterExecutive OfficerCaptain Eric N. Pfister

Command Master ChiefCMDCM(SW/AW) Scott HarvillePublic Affairs Officer MCC(SW/SCW) Dennis Herring

News Team 5MCC(SW/SCW) Dennis HerringMC1(AW/SW) RJ StratchkoMC1(AW/SW) Julie Matyascik

MC1(AW/SW) Gary Prill MCSN Caleb StrongSN Raymond Minami

Layout and Design MCSN Caleb StrongEditor MC1(AW/SW) Gary Prill

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The Keep What You’ve Earned campaign seeks to encourage responsible drinking among Sailors by celebrating the achievements in their Navy careers. Through recognition of their hard work and dedication, Sailors are reminded of their accomplishments—and how much they have to lose if they make poor choices regarding alcohol. The campaign actively engages Sailors as advocates for responsible drinking.

What You Can DoAs alcohol abuse prevention personnel, you are our frontline of defense against destructive drinking habits in the Navy. However, you can’t do it alone.

•Reach out to fellow ADCOs/DAPAs to get help answering your questions and share best practices.

•Engage local organizations and businesses to provide safe-ride programs, support alcohol-related policy enforcement and offer alcohol-free social, extracurricular and public service options as alternatives to drinking.

•Share ideas with local supporters on prevention programs, intervention strategies and other ways to promote responsible drinking habits and discourage excessive alcohol use.

Go to WWW.naDap.navY.mil•Learn how to engage Sailors in meaningful ways that respect their careers,

achievements and personal decisions.

•Download the implementation guide and suite of multimedia products for display on your base.

•Use the campaign resources to support all levels of Navy leadership.

key Tips To share wiTh sailors•Plan ahead for a safe

ride home.

•Don’t try to “keep up” with others.

•Know your limit before you get there.

Help our sailors Keep wHat tHey’ve earned

KEEP WHATYOU’VE EARNED

DRINK RESPONSIBLY.

YOU’VE EARNEDKEEP WHAT

YOU’VE EARNEDKEEP WHAT

KEEP WHATYOU’VE EARNED

DRINK RESPONSIBLY.

navy alcohol and Drug abuse prevention

For more information:

Visit www.nadap.navy.mil or call 1-866-U-ASK-NPC

Department of U.S. Navy Navy Personnel Command OPNAV/N135 5720 Millington, TN 38055

encourage our sailors to Drink responsibly.

Tips for navy alcohol abuse prevenTion personnel

They’ve earneD iT.help Them keep iT.

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PETTY OFFICER INDOCStory by MCSN Caleb Strong

Sailors from Bataan recently advanced to new ranks, petty officer first class, second class and third class.

All new petty officers go through training lead by first classes and chiefs that will help them know what choices to make and what to do as their new rank. As a Sailor rises in the rank structure, there are different kinds of challenges they face and new responsibilities.

Aviation Structural Mechanic 1st Class Justin Palmer from Norfolk, Va., an indoctrination instructor, thinks the training is very important in the steps of becoming a good leader.

“Petty Officer Indoc (indoctrination) is the Navy’s way of shaping our future leaders,” said Palmer. “We make this happen not only with power points, but also through sharing first hand experiences.”

“I think Petty Officer Indoc was pretty informative when it came to being a better leader and what new responsibilities we face as 2nd classes,” said Fire Controlman 2nd Class Matt Mancuso, from Houston. “I liked it overall; I learned how to delegate responsibilities between subordinates.”

“It re-instilled the values of honor, courage and commitment and made me think even more now about how others look at me,” said Culinary Specialist 3rd Class Andrew Iroff, from Edison, N.J. “I now feel I understand what is expected of a 3rd class petty officer and know how to lead by example.”

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NORFOLK, Va. – Sailors from Bataan spent underway time aboard USS Wasp (LHD 1) recently to maintain their qualifications for AVCERT (Aviation Certification). The time at sea allowed the group to maintain future readiness as the ship completes its time in BAE Shipyards.

As always in the Navy, many qualified Sailors have transferred from the ship. New Sailors, whether those from basic training or those who have never served on this class of ship, come as replacements, but do not have the qualifications they can only receive while the ship is at-sea.

“We had a turnover [of Sailors] when we got into the shipyards and we will lose more people when we leave,” said Senior Chief Aviation Boatswain Mate (Handling) Lance Butler of Deptford, N.J. “Having sent Sailors to the Wasp, we are ready with the right people, with the right qualifications.”

“For Bataan, it means that they were getting their qualifications and we are losing people so they are filling those spots and they are qualified,” said Aviation Boatswain Mate (Handling) 1st Class Shawn Conway from Woodland, Calif. He spent 17 days on Wasp with the 15 Sailors that were working on their qualifications. “They know how to do the job now, so they’ll

teach the future people coming in.”AVCERT is an ship’s qualification

that ATG (Afloat Training Group) conducts to make sure Bataan passes standards for deployment.

“We took 15 Sailors to get qualified for AVCERT to make sure we are okay to pass all the standards to fly when we come out of the yards,” said Conway. “We have a certain amount of qualified people in all our specialties, like directors, elevator operators and traffic drivers.”

The Bataan Sailors were underway for 17 days. Out of those days, 16 were spent with aircraft flying. For the

first week it was six of the new F-35 Joint Strike Fighters (JSF) and two SH-60 Sea Hawk helicopters that flew support, according to Conway.

“We would practice moving them [F-35 JSF] around on the flight deck, putting them in different spots, mainly where we put the AV-8B Harriers. We did elevator runs with them and we took them down to the hangar bay and spotted them there,” said Conway. “The next 13 days we flew with the Wasp’s MEU (Marine Expeditionary Unit). We did 1608 evolutions, 803 launches and 805 landings which involved the AH-1 Cobra, UH-1 Huey,

Story by MCSN Caleb Strong

Bataan Sailors Spend Time At Sea

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MV-22 Osprey, SH-60 Sea hawk and the MH-53 Sea Dragon.

During her maintenance availability, USS Bataan has received Thermion coating on her flight deck. USS Wasp has Thermion as well and is testing it.

“Along with the F-35s, the ship was testing Thermion. Wasp has Thermion because it’s the test platform for the JSF and the Osprey. It holds heat better than traditional non-skid, but they had to make reinforcements on the deck in order for them to launch their strike

fighter. The reason Bataan is getting Thermion is for the MV-22 Osprey. It works well and it holds the heat well.”

Sailors agree there are numerous benefits from getting temporary duty to other ships.

“Our Sailors benefit from going to a different ship. They get the experience handling aircraft and working around different people,” said Butler. “They see different ways to do things and experience different leadership skills. It also benefits Sailors who have not

been on deployment yet.”“Say I had a Sailor that got here

towards the end of our cruise so he only got “chock and chain” handling experience. Now he goes out on the ship and is qualified.”

Those Bataan Sailors who were underway aboard USS Wasp are now back aboard Bataan in the ship yards and are ready for their jobs on deployment and can train the next generation of Bataan Sailors.

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Think about it. You may be thinking you’re stuck here in Norfolk for a while. Think again. How many shipmates do you know who’ve been sent on temporary orders to another unit? At any moment, a Bataan Sailor could deploy. You should always be ready to answer that call. Not only would your personal affairs need to be in order, but also there are mandatory items that are required to be complete by your command before undertaking the next tasking or mission.

Bataan’s Executive and Medical departments have important information to share that will help you stay ready. It is mandatory for every Sailor to see these two departments when checking on or off the ship.

“Sailors are always getting orders to go temporarily to assist other commands in departments where they are undermanned,” said Chief Personnel Specialist Anastasia Johnson from Detroit. “A request will be put in with the Training Department for the Sailor prior to detachment. Then the Sailor must update their Page Two (Record of Emergency Data) and SGLI (Servicemembers Group Life Insurance) forms before undertaking their assigned mission. They must also have temporary orders for the assignment from the Training Department.”

The simplest piece of unsigned paperwork could be the deciding factor between a Sailor seeing the world and serving their country, or being stuck at home sitting on their hands.

“There’s a minimum amount of paperwork, which is basically a verification of records and making sure they are up to date,” said Johnson. “Unless you are meeting a ship that is already deployed, then a line of

accounting data would have to be established to cover travel cost so you can travel to meet up with the other ship. The best things a Sailor can do on the personnel side of things is to just always ensure your Page Two and SGLI information is updated.”

Now when it comes to the medical side not only is there an official process, but you must also keep healthy in your personal life to stay deployable.

Hospital Corpsman 2nd Class Scott Stenner from Chicago, shared that anyone on temporary orders must come by Medical Department and ensure they are medically ready.

“Since you are already attached to Bataan, which is a deployable unit, you should already have your sea duty screening completed,” he said. “You’ll also want to make sure you have all the vaccinations you need depending on where you are going in the world, which we verify with the Center for Disease Control .

He also advises that if you’re not fit for full duty in any way you can’t go, as well as if you have any pending lab results that are serious enough, it could affect you.

“When all of this has been verified

to finally detach there is a form we will have you fill out that tells us where you will be going so we can track you in case of an emergency,” said Stenner. “We can communicate with the other command about your medical record; this is essentially a patient check-out sheet.”

Medical Department will issue a condensed medical record with all the most pertinent and up to date medical history, which some call a combat record.

It is your responsibility and duty as a Sailor to be always ready to answer the call of your country. You never can be sure when that moment might be in this line of work, but staying prepared is another aspect of being in the Navy.

Before going on mission, another bit of advice everyone agrees with is to ensure that you have a will that states your wishes in the case of the unforeseeable, and a living will in case you are incapacitated. Also give a power of attorney to a responsible and trustworthy person. If one follows this advice, they should expect to have an easy process of getting underway and a good time with the minimum amount of stress possible.

Are You Ready To Go When Needed

Story by SN Raymond Minami

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Do you feel a calling to give back? Do you want to help others around you? Every week Bataan Sailors are out and about giving back to the local community. Whether helping on the construction of a house, or cutting someone’s grass, Bataan Sailors are there. There are many opportunities for Sailors to get involved and many different things to do that might interest people with different talents and skills.

“COMRELs (community relation) are projects intended to build a sense of community with one another, and to give a face to the name USS Bataan in the local area,” said Lt. Gary Peppers, Bataan’s Chaplain who is from Jacksonville, Fla. “Even though we are a force of readiness that is prepared to help or aid any country, and our own, we are ready to build that unity with our community. We want to let people know as we defend our country and peoples’ freedoms, we are building a love and appreciation for one another in how we can serve each other in the community.”

Any Sailor may participate in a COMREL. All they need to do is

communicate their interest to their chain of command and discuss upcoming events with a ship’s COMREL representative.

“Everybody has an opportunity to serve,” said Pepper. “There might be a particular event that a Sailor is interested in, but it might not be the upcoming COMREL. There are always opportunities to learn a new skill by trying your hand at something new.”

“The goal is to have every Sailor do one COMREL during thier tenure on Bataan,” he added. “It will expose them to opportunities that they might want to pursue further.”

Sailors up and down the chain of command on the ship agree they like to participate and give back. Most say they take away something personal from each experience.

“I’ve participated in two COMRELs,” said Ship’s Serviceman Seaman Nicholas Perez from Bronx, N.Y. “I helped at a food bank bagging groceries and hygiene products for families in need and I helped reconstruct and organize a storefront shop for Habitat for Humanity.”

“I think doing things like this shows the community that we have a higher standard then most other organizations,” he added. “Little kids look up to us; we’re considered hero’s in some people’s eyes. We just want people to feel like we are with them, we are here supporting your efforts at home and also we are protecting you.”

“For those aboard Bataan who are interested in getting involved in one of our upcoming events,” said Pepper. “Keep an eye on your email for announcements. Ask your chain of command about upcoming COMRELs, and they should be able to point you in the right direction. There are many more COMRELs coming up, and they are always available to be volunteered for. Let’s get out there and make people smile!”

Bataan Sailors Give Back To Local CommunityStory by SN Raymond Minami Photos by MC1 Gary Prill