Vol 03 No 46 | May 3, 2012

I T I: V V | OMSI | P H | C E | A W

CONTINUE ‘CO-OP’ ON PAGE 2

Carl Vinson Sailors welcomed aboard six Australian Defence Force (ADF) officers from April 29 to

May 2, giving them an opportunity to observe first-hand a U.S. aircraft carrier in action as the ship continues its deployment in the U.S. 7th Fleet area of operations.

Royal Australian Navy (RAN) Lt. Cmdr. Michael Jagger, RAN Lt. Daniel Boettger, RAN Lt. Stephen Blume, RAN Lt. Liam Walters, Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) Lt. John Micu, and RAAF Lt. Chad Myles have since participated in various simulated battle scenario

Cover photo by: MC3 (SW/AW) Rosa A. Arzola | Carl Vinson Staff Photographer

MC3 (SW/AW) Rosa A. Arzola |Carl Vinson Staff Writer

STORY & PHOTOS BY

Australian Defence Force Teams Up with CSG-1

exercises alongside Vinson and embarked Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 17 Sailors.

Blume and Walters are both fighter controllers in the RAN, equivalent to a USN air intercept controller (AIC). They participated in flight operations by assisting Vinson’s AICs in the ship’s Combat Direction Center, controlling live aircraft and communicating tactical maneuvers for air defense.

“When they go back to their ships, they are going to take some of the duties some of our cruisers do now

Vinson Voice2FROM ‘CO-OP’ ON PAGE 1

compare it to their models back home and have the option to scale it.”

Lt. Cmdr. Mike Svatek, assigned to Carrier Strike Group (CSG) 1 as a staff meteorology and oceanography (METOC) officer, worked closely with Jagger and Boettger. He explained their assistance and training in providing weather forecasting and oceanographic data not only helped out Sailors onboard, it also built closer partnerships within both the naval services.

“If there were real-world operations where partnership was required, the ADF are already tuned into our battle rhythm,” Svatek said. “They understand what is expected, such as chain-of-command reporting, briefing schedules, etcetera. Therefore, they can coordinate their information-sharing with us and us with them. This understanding highlights the value of timely and accurate information sharing to the decision-making process and ultimately to mission accomplishment.”

“We never pass up an opportunity to work with the United States Navy,” Jagger added. “This experience allowed us to understand how you guys work, operations-wise, and vice-versa.”

for future joint exercises - assist our aircraft carrier in communicating with our fighters where unidentified aircraft is,” explained Strike Group Air Intercept Control Supervisor Chief Operations Specialist (AW/SW) Greg Glaeser, assigned to CVW-17. “Our fighters then find, identify and evaluate that unknown air contact to later determine what actions to take.”

Glaeser noted the Australians’ transition to working Vinson’s flight operations was a seamless one.

“They are very knowledgeable. They definitely know their job,” Glaeser said. “Some pilots who participated in the flying events mentioned they performed an outstanding job.”

Blume said this experience has increased his professional knowledge on a broader scale.

“This is the greatest thing that could have happened to me this year so far,” he said. “It’s not usual for us to have, for example, 11 jets or anything like that launched off. It was something new for me.”

Walter explained since the RAN does not currently operate aircraft carriers, the opportunity to participate in flight operations while out to sea is a rare one.

“We gain experience by working with the U.S. Navy, swapping techniques and just learning from each other,” Walters said. “What better way to build relationships within our navies than to train together? We fight wars together, why not train together?”

Micu and Myles are air combat officers in the RAAF who conduct airborne early warning missions. They run the mission equipment and use radar to communicate with pilots.

Myles explained although they do not perform their job while out to sea, the knowledge they acquired from Carrier Airborne Early Warning Squadron (VAW) 125 will help them

assist the RAN from their position on the shore.

“We do a lot of work with our navy and the U.S. Navy as well. I work in an airborne commanding control platform,” Myles said. “We are used to working with agencies from other countries.”

Meanwhile, Jagger and Boettger, both meteorology operations officers, primarily worked in the Meteorology Room training Vinson Sailors to understand the region’s weather dynamics, specifically dynamics surrounding our southern transit. Jagger noted a numerical model is necessary in order to make weather predictions in this region due to a lack of real-time observation systems.

“There are slight differences between all these programs and you can take different approaches to solving the weather. Our model is just for our region. We successfully tweaked it over the years to give the best performance in terms of weather prediction,” he said. “We are providing high-resolution models of what’s happening in terms of wind, swell data, long-range forecasting, and then the U.S. Navy can

Above: OS1 (AW/SW) Linda Richard, right, stands an air intercept controller watch alongside Royal Australian Navy Lt. Stephen Blume, left, in the combat direction center aboard Vinson. Australian Defence Force officers are aboard participating in simulated battle scenario exercises alongside Vinson and Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 17 Sailors.

Left: From left to right, Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) Lt. Chad Myles, RAAF Lt. John Micu, Royal Australian Navy (RAN) Lt. Liam Walters, and RAN Lt. Stephen Blume pose for a group photograph in Vinson’s hangar bay.

May 3, 2012 3

Nazi invasion, if the expected invasion was attempted. But he knew if the invasion was successful, the British navy – virtually the Atlantic arm of U.S. sea defenses – would be gone. � e United States would be le� with a one-ocean Navy stationed in the Paci� c to cope with a German-dominated Europe and a hostile Japan. � is set of circumstances convinced Vinson that sea power was the crux of the American defense problem. Vinson also signi� cantly regarded the reports from England that the Germans had done little damage to British shipyards. He concluded that Hitler wanted the shipyards practically intact when he invaded England, giving Germany an even greater lead on the U.S. in shipbuilding capacity.

� e second major task of the United States, Vinson believed, was completing the two-ocean Navy as rapidly as possible. � e naval construction program was tied in heavily with the aid-to-Britain plans.

“Even when we have built our two-ocean Navy, we must keep on building if the Axis powers continue to build. We must, together with the British, always have greater naval strength than the combined naval strength of the Axis powers,” Vinson said.

Not until December 1941, a� er Japan attacked Pearl Harbor, did the value of Vinson’s contribution to the growth of American sea power become evident. A large portion of the Paci� c Fleet was destroyed, but the U.S. was not as crippled by the Japanese blow as it might have been. From the Vinson-Trammel Act in 1934 to the events of December 1941, Vinson had authored and guided through the House of Representatives measure a� er measure authorizing an adequate defensive Navy and adequate facilities for the Navy’s expansion.

Vinson VignetteVinson VignetteWho Was Carl Vinson?

Throughout 1941, Chairman Vinson adopted a vigilant attitude, determined to use the resources of his committee

in every way possible to speed the increase in sea power. During that time he believed the task of the United States was

twofold. First, England had to be aided, not merely to gain time to arm

for World War II, but because joint control of the seas with England was necessary if the Western Hemisphere was to remain safe from Nazi invasion.

“If Germany takes over the British Isles, the Axis powers not only

will have a combined naval strength much greater than this

country’s, but they will have shipyards capable of building each year � ve times as many ships as we can build,” Vinson said.

Vinson believed the British would � ght to the last ship to hurl back a

that time he believed the task of the United States was twofold. First, England had to be aided,

not merely to gain time to arm for World War II, but because

joint control of the seas with England was necessary if the Western Hemisphere was to remain safe from Nazi invasion.

“If Germany takes over the British Isles, the Axis powers not only

will have a combined naval strength much greater than this

country’s, but they will have shipyards capable of building each year � ve times as many ships as we can build,” Vinson said.

British would � ght to the last ship to hurl back a

Sailors assigned to the Air Department’s V-3 Division perform corrosion control on hangar bay deck edge doors during heavy seas aboard Vinson. Photo by MC2 Benjamin Stevens

Vinson Voice4

lot of money in that particular region,” he explained. “If they don’t have us to help them, if they don’t have a carrier strike group passing through providing domain awareness and seeing who the bad guys are and what they’re doing out there, there’s a chance that these states could become failed states, like Somalia.”

� ough not the initial thrust, a tactical reason behind OMSI is to prevent the openings and vulnerabilities failed states are susceptible to. If they lose their legitimate ways to make money, they’re going to look for ways to make a living, possibly illegitimately, Morin said. “If they make connections with the wrong people, they [might] start paying them money to come into their ports, using it as a staging area, o� -loading area, possibly a terrorist training camp, things like that.”

“My hope for our OMSI patrol, and I’m very con� dent in this, is that, � rst o� , we make a positive and profound impact as we execute this mission,” Schaller added. “It’s very important to us and it would be very bene� cial for our partners in the Western Paci� c in combating illegal � shing and that exploitation.”

Another objective of this initial OMSI mission involving a strike group is to forge a way ahead, and formulate an operating plan for future strike groups to follow, Morin noted. “How are we going to employ this particular OMSI mission using a strike group?” he asked. “It’s easier when you go to a DDG or a cruiser – you get on an SH-60. You launch the SH-60 into this area and go. You get a carrier strike group, you’ve got a lot of assets and you don’t want to waste their time – you don’t want to be redundant.”

“Because this is the � rst time we’ve really employed a carrier strike group in doing this, I hope we’re going to set the benchmark and set it high for how they do it,” Schaller added. “As we are going along, we’re going to be thinking about observing lessons, building on previous lessons learned, thinking about how we can do it better and how that next strike group is going to do it better as they come through. � is has been signed and this is going to be a future mission for our ships as they pass through this area, so they will undoubtedly bene� t from our experiences on this patrol.”

Vinson MakesHistory With OMSI

Carl Vinson and Carrier Strike Group (CSG) 1 will become the

� rst carrier strike group to participate in the Oceania Maritime Security Initiative (OMSI) during Vinson’s operations in the U.S. 7th Fleet area of responsibility (AOR).

OMSI is a Secretary of Defense executive order which leverages Department of Defense assets transiting the region to increase maritime domain awareness and support for maritime law enforcement operations. Illegal � shing has the potential to harm the economies of Paci� c Island countries, and it is combated by conducting surveillance for maritime domain awareness (MDA) of the region.

“If the U.S. Navy has any ships passing through the Oceania AOR and they can assist with respect to MDA, you’re more than welcome to a Coast Guard Liaison O� cer (CGLO), which is what I’m doing now,” said Cmdr. Mark Morin, Chief, Incident Management Branch, United States Coast Guard (USCG). “You provide us with the intelligence we need to make the appropriate decisions with respect to our assets on where to put them for maritime domain awareness and situational awareness of our Paci� c Island countries in our exclusive economic zones (EEZs) – foreign EEZs as well as U.S. EEZs.”

Since the initiative’s issue in 2007, the Navy has conducted 10 patrols supporting OMSI, logging approximately 89 sightings, of which eight were potential Illegal, Unregulated and Unreported (IUU) � shing vessels.

“� e IUU vessels are the ones that don’t have permits in the foreign and U.S. EEZs,” Morin explained. “� ey basically are harvesting tuna resources from both U.S. and foreign EEZs.”

From Palau and the Federated States of Micronesia in the West, to Kiribati and the Cook Islands in the East, Oceania spans a vast region, more than 12 million square miles. � is makes patrol and security markedly di� cult, and the Navy’s involvement especially promising.

“We don’t have the cutter coverage in the AOR that we need,” Morin explained. “We have 90 days a year allotted for a cutter to go downrange and do their patrols throughout the region. OMSI, basically, is a force-multiplier.”

“We’re talking about such a huge area and one that’s very di� cult to cover,” added Lt. Cmdr. Erich Schaller, CSG-1’s assistant surface operations o� cer (N32 A) and liaison for OMSI. “OMSI makes sense because here you have a Navy strike group transiting through – which is the � rst opportunity since 2007 that we’ve actually had a strike group transiting through this area – that is able to provide that robust assistance to the Coast Guard and our partner nations here in the Western Paci� c region.” With the strike group covering a wide swath of ocean as it transits the region, CSG-1 is well-set for success in supporting OMSI, Schaller added.

� e scope and � exibility of mission capabilities, derived from their multiple ships and aircra� , grants strike groups a unique ability to assist with MDA. � e potential amount of information which can be collected by strike groups can a� ect the whole AOR.

Utilizing Vinson’s many radar and communication systems, Morin can connect with maritime security agents throughout the Oceania region, passing them real-time intelligence to a� ect their operations, i.e. whether or not to respond to a particular vessel sighting. � is direct link, conveying the substantial information-gathering potential of a strike group, will bene� t anyone in the AOR, Morin said.

Morin hopes the bene� t will be seen in the reduction of Oceania’s $1.7 billion annual regional gross domestic product (GDP) loss to IUU � shing, citing the regional security is tied to environmental sustainability. With 57 percent of the world’s tuna � sh caught in this region, particularly a belt � ve degrees above and � ve degrees below the equator, the tuna � shery has a profound impact on Paci� c Island countries, Morin said.

“� e Paci� c Island countries rely on the � sh for three reasons: they catch it to eat it; they catch it to sell; and they also sell the permits to � sh, which are worth a

STORY BYMC3 (SW) Luke B. Meineke |Carl Vinson Staff Writer

May 3, 2012 5

STORY BYMC3 (SW/AW) Nicolas C. Lopez |Carl Vinson Staff Writer

Sailors are preparing for a return to homeport by attending a series of different workshops tailored to

address a variety of needs.The Fleet & Family Support Center (FFSC) from

Naval Base San Diego and Naval Air Station Oceana sent instructors to offer life skills workshops for Sailors beginning May 1 and ending today.

“I have been doing this for 12 years and I absolutely love doing this,” said Pat Henderson, a deployment specialist from FFSC Naval Air Station Oceana. “My ultimate goal is to give as much information to Sailors before they head off the brow to the pier to assist them in breaking the tension with loved ones at home.”

One key message instructors emphasized was how communication with spouses, children and family members might have changed over the course of a six-month deployment.

“The instructors gave us a few pointers in communication we should be thinking about while deployed,” said Personnel Specialist 3rd Class (SW/AW) Luis Cano, assigned to Administration Department. “It helped me see things from my spouse’s perspective, because out here all we’re thinking about is getting qualifications. The instructor suggested trying to communicate a little more for one day.”

Each workshop provides services and guidance for Sailors so they don’t just have one mindset when they come back, explained Tony Gomes, a work and family consultant for FFSC San Diego. “We want to show them that there are different options and there might be a better

one than the one they are focused on.”Each class has a different outcome for each Sailor, and

one class in particular – “Returning to Children” – has a huge impact on Sailors because they have been gone for months at a time, Henderson said.

“Life doesn’t stop when members are deployed. Their children are in different grades, watching new television shows and now we try to give you the tools to adapt and overcome.”

Throughout deployment, Sailors have been saving money in their bank accounts or through the Savings Deposit Program, and now have extra money to spend. In the car-buying class, Gomes presented information he had received from FFSC San Diego staff members who had gone to dealerships posing as active duty service members and spouses to collect tips and tricks for the crew aboard the Vinson to use. Gomes noted most Sailors who head off the ship are impulsive buyers because they are buying stuff they don’t need, especially when it comes down to cars, and his class encourages a measured approach to determining individual needs.

Henderson noted the classes have a proven track record for success.

“Many Sailors who attended the workshops came up to me and told me ‘thank you for all the information and it was very helpful with my relationship’,” he said. “We get a lot of positive feedback from the leadership. If the workshops were not effective, then the leadership would not support any of the classes.”

Sailors are encouraged to consult the Plan of the Day for class listings and locations.

Preparing for Home

Tony Gomes, an instructor from Fleet and Family Support Center, San Diego, teaches the center’s return and reunion car-buying class to Sailors in the ship’s chapel aboard Vinson. Photo by MC2 (SW) James R. Evans

Vinson Voice6

Carl Vinson and Incontro Restaurant

Create Fusion Experienceindustry of culinary arts works and how to be successful in it,” he said. “� is was a blessing, because it brought back some of the

things I used to do when I cooked for commodores and in � ag messes that I hadn’t done in awhile.”

Roberts didn’t know what to expect when he � rst set foot in Incantro’s kitchen, but was pleased with the results.

“I was expecting to just be told ‘I need you to get this, I need you to get that.’

But it was hands-on. ‘You’re going to develop the dish, and I’m just going to tweak it before it goes out.’ � at was very enlightening.”

Over the course of four-and-a-half hours, the two Vinson CSs worked alongside the restaurant chefs preparing meals for Incantro’s patrons. Roberts cited a seasoned grilled shrimp dish with corn, tomatoes and caramelized Brussel sprouts as particularly notable.

“It was a very hearty dish. It was Mediterranean-Spanish fusion and really was what this whole experience was all about. We all created this collaborative e� ort together,” he said.

Culinary specialists aboard Carl Vinson and chefs from Incontro

Restaurant of South Perth conducted a two-day personnel exchange April 25 and 26 during Vinson’s port visit to Perth, Western Australia.

� e exchange, which consisted of six restaurant chefs visiting Carl Vinson and two culinary specialists visiting the restaurant, was part of the Chef and Cooks Exchange Program. Established in 1984, the program allows civilian and military counterparts to swap jobs and gain valuable � rst-hand experience and knowledge of how food service business is conducted.

� e Incontro chefs toured Vinson’s culinary spaces April 25, meeting the Sailors working in the chief petty o� cers’ mess, the wardroom, and the enlisted galley. � e group discussed a variety of topics ranging from how to address logistical concerns to a cook’s collateral duties aboard a U.S. Navy ship.

Following the tour, the chefs manned their positions on the galley serving line and served lunch to Sailors. � e chefs engaged the Sailors in conversation and made recommendations for the meal’s o� erings.

Peter Mani� s, Incantro’s executive chef, has been cooking for two decades. His � rst visit to an aircra� carrier proved to be an eye-opening experience.

“It’s been fantastic. Seeing the processes for how you do things here aboard the ship has been quite interesting. I didn’t think we’d have as much room here as we’ve got,” he said, sweeping his hand across the galley. “It’s quite roomy compared to how I thought it was going to be.”

Mani� s praised the galley sta� ’s enthusiasm for their job.

“� ey’re all personality. You have to have personality to work in the kitchen, because you’ve got to be like this all the time in front of people,” he said. “I’m

looking forward to getting your cooks out to my restaurant and putting them through their paces.”

� e following day, Culinary Specialist 2nd Class (SW) Roosevelt Roberts, assigned to Supply Department’s S-5 Division and Culinary Specialist 2nd Class Lennie Brown, assigned to Carrier Strike Group (CSG) 1’s Flag Mess, visited Incantro to collaborate with the chefs on dishes for the day’s lunch menu. Roberts attends culinary management classes at the Art Institute of San Diego while in port, and welcomed the opportunity to ply his trade outside Vinson’s wardroom galley.

“I was very happy to cook with the Australians and learn how they cook, as well as get some knowledge about how the

STORY BYMC2 (SW) Byron C. Linder |Carl Vinson Staff Writer

Head Chef Josh Kucharick speaks with visiting Culinary Specialists, assigned to the Vinson and the Bunker Hill at the Incontro Restaurant in Perth, Australia during a chef exchange visit. Photo by MCSN Dean M. Cates

“It was a great experience, far more friendly, open,

and more often than not hilariously entertaining,

than I could have expected.”| Josh Kucharick, Head Chef,

Incantro Restaurant |

May 3, 2012 7May 3, 2012 7

STORY BYLt. Cmdr. Robert Lippy |Carl Vinson Psychologist

This week I wanted to write about something I spend a lot of time talking about with my patients who come to me with a

multitude of problems. � e topic is our thinking. “Why thinking?” you may ask. � e answer is because our thoughts are the key to our emotions. Most of my patients come to me for help with negative emotions such as anger, depression, anxiety, guilt, or shame.

Let’s take anger as an example (a common issue that I hear about on this ship). Anger, like all emotions, is created by your thoughts. Before you can feel any emotion related to an event, you must � rst become aware of the event. It is during the process of you perceiving the stimuli around you (people, activities, objects), that you experience thoughts about that event. Your feelings result from the meaning you give to the event, not from the event itself. � erefore, it is not other people that make you angry, it is the way that you interpret what others say and do, and the actual thoughts that go through your head, which cause you to be angry. Let me say it again: other people don’t make you angry, you make yourself angry. No matter how outrageous or unfair others might appear to you, they do not, never did, and never will upset you! � is is a very hard concept for most people to accept, but the bitter truth is that you’re the one creating every bit of the anger, irritability, or annoyance that you feel.

You may be thinking, “When I get angry there’s a justi� able reason”. You’re right: there certainly is plenty of genuine unfairness and cruelty in the world. However, your feelings about these events

are still created by the interpretations you place on them.

In many cases, your anger or whatever negative

emotion you may be experiencing is created

by subtle cognitive distortions. Many of your

perceptions/thoughts are twisted, one-sided, or just

plain wrong. For example, one of the most common cognitive

distortions that we all do from time to time is labeling. We

think to ourselves “He’s stupid…a jerk…” When we allow ourselves

to label others, we are judging their entire essence, rather than keeping our

anger/ resentment con� ned to what the person did. � e reality is every human is a complex mix of positive, negative, and

neutral qualities. Labeling is a distorted thinking process that causes you to feel inappropriately indignant and

morally superior. It’s destructive to build your self-image this way. O� en what is really going on is that you are

involved in a defense of your self-esteem. � e other person may have threatened you by insulting or criticizing you, by not listening to you, by not liking you, or by not agreeing with your ideas. � e

problem is that the other person is not totally worthless, no matter how much you insist! And, furthermore, you cannot enhance your own esteem by denigrating someone else even, if it does feel good temporarily. � ere is one and only one person in this world who has the power to threaten your self-esteem – and that is you!

Another common cognitive distortion is thinking with should or shouldn’t statements. You tell yourself that someone “shouldn’t” have done something they did, or that they “should have” done something they failed to do. Before you can feel anger, you must necessarily make the interpretation you are entitled to get what you want in this situation. Consequently, you see mistakes, errors, disrespect etc. as injustices. � is perception leads to you feeling angry. When you insist on perfection or respect from others, you will simply make yourself miserable and become immobilized. Irrational should statements rest on your assumption that you are entitled to instant grati� cation at all times. People who are anger-prone o� en formulate their desires in moralistic terms such as this: if I’m nice to someone, they should be appreciative. But, other people have free will, and o� en think and act in ways that aren’t to your liking. All of your insistence that they must fall in line with your desires and wishes will not produce this result. � e opposite is more o� en true. Your attempts to coerce and manipulate people with angry demands most o� en will alienate and polarize them and make them much less likely to want to listen to you. � is is because other people don’t like being controlled or dominated any more than you do. Your anger will simply limit the creative possibilities for problem solving.

� e perception of unfairness or injustice is the ultimate cause of most, if not all, anger. In fact, we could de� ne anger as the emotion that corresponds in a one-to-one manner to your belief that you are being treated unfairly. � e problem with this belief, is that there are very few, arguably no, universally accepted concepts of fairness or justice. � ere is an undeniable relativity of fairness. “Absolute fairness” does not exist. “Fairness” is relative to the observer, and what is fair to one person can appear quite unfair to another. Social rules and moral structures accepted within one culture can vary substantially in another. You can protest that this is not the case and insist that your own personal moral system is universal, but it just isn’t so.

� e underlying message is that as you learn to replace these distorted thoughts with others that are more realistic, accurate, honest and functional, you will feel less irritable and gain greater self-control. � oughts have great power. � ey have power over our emotions. Since most people’s daily problems involve distressing negative emotions, if you can begin to pay more attention to your thoughts, and exert more control over what thoughts you allow to go through your head, you will be more e� ective in managing your daily emotions. Mental well-being and resilience is about managing the things within your control, which, hopefully as this column has pointed out, includes your thoughts and emotions. Make no mistake, this task is much easier said than done, but well worth the e� ort if you work at it. Good luck!

Remember, if you have speci� c questions or other topics you would like me to cover, feel free to e-mail me at Robert.Lippy@cvn70.navy.mil with the subject line “Ask the Wizard.” If I do not receive questions, I will continue to present topics that I think will be bene� cial for the crew as a whole.

Ask The Wizard!Thoughts and Mood

Vinson Voice8

DIALOGUES

STAFF

STA

FF|PUBLISHER|

|EDITOR IN CHIEF|

|EXECUTIVE EDITORS|

|MANAGING EDITOR|

|PHOTO EDITOR|

|GRAPHICS/LAYOUT|

|STAFF WRITERS/PHOTOGRAPHERS|

CAPT. KENT D. WHALEN

MCC (SW/AW) MONICA R. NELSON

LT. CMDR. ERIK REYNOLDS

LT. ERIK SCHNEIDER

COMMANDING OFFICER

MEDIA ALCPO

PUBLIC AFFAIRS OFFICER

ASSISTANT PUBLIC AFFAIRS OFFICER

MC2 (SW) BYRON C. LINDER

MC2 (SW) JAMES R. EVANS

MC3 PHOENIX C. LEVIN

MC2 BENJAMIN STEVENSMC3 (SW/AW) ROSA A. ARZOLA

MC3 (SW/AW) NICOLAS C. LOPEZMC3 (SW) LUKE B. MEINEKE

MCSN DEAN M. CATES

ESWS||EAWS

D E C K P L A T E

| What are you looking forward to during tiger cruise? |

“I’m looking forward to meeting everyone’s tiger.”

“Looking at the tigers’ reaction as they come

aboard.”

“Having days off with my family and friends.”

OSSNB r i o n a S m i t h

MMFNA n t h o n e t t e J o n s a y

“Waiting for the tigers to enjoy our great meals.”

LS3D e n n i s V i n c e n t

ABFANA n t o n i o H a r r i s o n

Bitts are heavy vertical cylinders, usually arranged in pairs, used for

making fast lines that have been led through chocks. The upper end of a bitt is either larger than the lower

end or is fitted with a lip to keep lines from slipping off accidentally.

As bitts are required to take very heavy loads, extra frames are

worked into their foundations to distribute the strain. Usually there is a set of bitts forward and aft of each chock. When constructed in

pairs, each bitt is sometimes called a barrel.

The TD-1A quick-release aircraft tie-down chain assembly has been

used almost exclusively aboard ship and ashore for nearly 20

years. It has a safe working load of 10,000 pounds. The single greatest

difficulty with this chain tie-down is that the chain can be

inserted in two positions in the tensioner assembly. To eliminate

the problem of incorrect assembly of TD-1A tie-downs, the Naval Air

Warfare Center and manufacturers’ engineers have developed a new

one-way chain, the TD-1B.

Pat Henderson, from FFSC NAS Oceana, speaks with Sailors about money management in Vinson’s hangar bay. Photo by MC2 Benjamin Stevens