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INSIDE — Mariners win AOTOS awards • Students learn about CIVMAR life

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December 2006

By Ed BaxterPage 4

Lebanon aid continues asMSC moves U.N. forces

INSIDE — Mariners win AOTOS awards • Students learn about CIVMAR life

By Laura SealMSC Public Affairs

To 21 people around the globe who foundthemselves fighting for their lives against

seemingly unbeatable forces of nature andfate, the arrival of Military Sealift Com-mand’s civilian mariners on scene was thesole factor tipping the scales from tragedy torelief.

In the past year, mariners from severalMSC ships rescued eight crew members of acommercial vessel ablaze off the coast ofWest Africa, pulled seven drowning Liberianfishermen from the water near their capsizedboats, transported one heart attack victim ona U.S.-flagged fishing vessel to a medical fa-cility, coordinated with the U.S. Coast Guardto save four recreational boaters caught in adeadly storm and aided efforts that rescuedtwo U.S. Marine aviators following a heli-copter crash off the coast of East Africa.Ashore in Singapore, one mariner rushed tothe aid of an attack victim on the city’s darkdowntown streets.

In addition, an incalculable number ofpeople were aided by the civilian crew of anMSC ship that rode out Hurricane Katrina inNew Orleans and rendered assistance to apopulation fighting for survival in the devas-tation and chaos that besieged their belovedcity.

From among this distinguished group, thecivil service mariner masters and crews oftwo MSC ships and one individual civil serv-ice mariner were honored for their valiant ef-forts at the maritime industry’s most presti-gious event, the United Seamen’s Service’sAnnual Admiral of the Ocean Seas, orAOTOS, Awards dinner held in New York onNov. 3, 2006.

The awards are named for ChristopherColumbus, who was bestowed the title, ad-miral of the ocean sea, by the king and queenof Spain to reward Columbus for his voyagesto the new world.

Chief Mate Troy Bruemmer accepted fleetocean tug USNS Apache’s AOTOSMariner’s Plaque on behalf of the ship’s cap-tain and crew. They were honored for extin-guishing a fire on an Estonian commercialvessel off the coast of Liberia in August2006, saving the lives of eight crew mem-bers. Bruemmer was also honored with theAOTOS Mariner’s Rosette for his role in therescue. The rosette is awarded to individualsin recognition of their exemplary contribu-tions to a rescue effort.

“I appreciate the award, but I would notexpect an award for this. This is what wedo,” said Bruemmer.

Capt. Michael Flanagan accepted theAOTOS Mariner’s Plaque on behalf of thecrew of combat stores ship USNS Spica,who were honored for their rapid response tothe crash of two U.S. Marine helicopters offthe coast of East Africa in February 2006.

“I had an incredible crew whose experi-ence ranging from communications to small

boat operations and the ability to get that oldengine going at full speed made this possi-ble,” said Flanagan.

“The Honored Seafarer awards were estab-lished to recognize valor exercised bymariners on the high seas,” said MarkBeukema, assistant director of operations forthe United Seamen’s Service. “This year’swinners exemplify that spirit.”

Testament to the caliber of the AOTOSAwards were the evening’s distinguishedguests. Air Force Gen. Norton A. Schwartz,commander of U.S. Transportation Com-mand; Rick Haynes, executive director ofMilitary Sealift Command; and the directorsof seafarer unions Masters Mates and Pilots,the Marine Engineer’s Beneficial Associationand the Seafarer’s International Union wereamong the 700 industry heavyweights pres-ent to honor the awardees.

MSC also nominated the master and crewof large, medium-speed, roll-on/roll-off ship

USNS Seay for aiding in the rescue of threerecreational boaters, the master and crew offast combat support ship USNS Rainier foraiding a heart attack victim stranded at sea,the master and crew of fast sealift shipUSNS Pollux for aiding the residents of NewOrleans following Hurricane Katrina, andThird Mate Colin Campbell from the crew ofsurvey ship USNS John McDonnell for aid-ing an attack victim ashore in Singapore.

The masters and crews of five other ships

received AOTOS Mariner’s Plaques, includ-ing one U.S. Coast Guard cutter that rescueda sinking fishing vessel and three private in-dustry ships, two that responded to HurricaneRita and two that rescued the crew of a sink-ing tug boat. Bruemmer received this year’sonly AOTOS Mariner’s Rosette.

“We were so close to the burningship, we were sweating from the heatof the flames.” — Troy Bruemmer

On the morning of Aug. 10, 2006, USNSApache’s crew spotted thick, black smoke asthe ship approached port in Monrovia,Liberia.

The ship’s phone rang, and the U.S. em-bassy military attaché on the other end of theline verified that an Estonian commercialvessel, MV Tahoma Reefer, was on fire.

Apache’s crew immediately jumped to ac-tion. Once the flaming ship was pulled awayfrom port, Bruemmer maneuvered toward the

Tahoma Reefer in a rigid-hull, inflatableboat, or RHIB, through 6 to 9 foot oceanswells in order to cut the burning ship’s 75-foot long mooring line, which threatened toentangle Apache’s propeller.

“We had to make several approaches sothat we didn’t get caught in the line,” saidBruemmer. Once the line was cut, Apache’sCapt. Charles Rodriguez maneuvered Apachetoward the burning vessel in order to fightthe flames.

“Captain Rodriguez is an excellent shiphandler,” said Bruemmer. “The skill that heneeded to display in order to bring Apachewithin inches of Tahoma Reefer with verylittle damage to Apache is remarkable,” hesaid.

Meanwhile, Bruemmer and the others inthe RHIB coaxed the burning ship’s crewwho were unable to swim, uncertain of theirlifejackets and visibly rattled by the situation,to leap from the flaming ship into the RHIBboat below. With the rescued crew memberssafely aboard Apache, Bruemmer againboarded the RHIB, this time with firefightingequipment so that he could douse Tahomareefer from the opposite side.

Four hours after first spotting smoke, thefire was out and eight lives were saved.

“We just wanted those young Marinesto be alive.” — Capt. Michael Flanagan

Around 10 p.m. on Feb. 17, 2006, USNSSpica received a call that two U.S. Marinehelicopters crashed off the coast of Dji-bouti, East Africa, while perform-ing a routine exercise. Spicaimmediately changed di-rection, and with theship’s embarked Pumahelicopter alreadyscouring the oceanfor survivors, headedat full speed to thepresumed crash site 53nautical miles away.

“The day beforethis happened I wasin the exchangeon base in Dji-bouti and Isaw someyoung avia-tors,” saidFlanagan.“I won-dered ifthese were

the same young men. We just want-ed those young Marines to bealive.”

The first coalition ship to ar-rive on scene three hours later,Spica dispatched a team ofcivil service mariners in theship’s RHIB and, with thehelp of night vision gog-gles, the mariners searchedthe dark water until they lo-cated the wreckage. Of the 12Marines who crewed the downedhelicopters, only two, who had beenrescued earlier by the Djiboutian mili-tary, survived.

Once Spica’s crew located the debris,Navy divers were able to recover the bodiesof the lost Marines and return them to theirfamilies.

“We would do it again in a heartbeat,”said Flanagan. “There was nothing that weweren’t going to do to save those youngMarines.”

In the style typical of civilian mariners, allof the honorees and other rescuers echo onerefrain, “This is just what we do.” Norecognition is expected beyondthat given to the men andwomen whoserved withthem.

Let’s assume that I’m driving out ofstate to visit family for Christmas. Be-fore I leave, I’ll plan my route and checkto see what the weather will be. I’ll getthe car serviced. I’ll put some emer-gency stuff in the trunk: kitty litter fortraction on ice, a small shovel in case Ihave to dig out of a snow bank, a blan-ket, a candle and matches, a first-aid kit,etc. Then, I’ll get a good night’s sleepbefore I start out.

I’ll have also used operational riskmanagement, or ORM. When I plannedmy route, checked the weather, servicedthe car and got a good night’s sleep, Iwas identifying possible risks. When Iconsidered the weather and any mechan-ical problems my car might still have, Iwas assessing the hazards. Because Ithought the risks were acceptable, I de-cided to go on the road trip. But I imple-mented controls when I added the bag ofkitty litter and other stuff in my trunk.And I’ll supervise the journey all theway, watching for additional hazards thatmight pop up without notice.

We need to weave safety into every-thing we do. Operational risk manage-ment isn’t just something that we shoulduse in our work places. It’s a process thatwe should incorporate into our everydaylives.

The five steps sound daunting, I know,but we all do them in a split secondevery morning when we walk out ourfront doors. In simplified terms, ORM islooking before we leap.

However, the instantaneous risk as-sessments we make throughout our daybecome second nature to us, and drop tothe back of our minds. When we get tothe workplace, it seems the same thinghappens with tasks we’ve completed athousand times. We just seem to forgeteverything we ever knew about safetyand risk management. That’s the attitude

we need to change. The MSC family recently suffered the

loss of two good people in Guam duringwhat should have been a routine mainte-nance procedure. Unfortunately, it mayhave become so routine that equipmentwas not tested prior to use and standardprocedures weren’t followed. As a result,two lives were lost.

In another incident, we were luckier.Some MSC crew members were work-ing on a lifeboat winch that was havingproblems. The winch handle was in-stalled to make manual adjustments dur-ing the maintenance procedure. Unfortu-nately, no one turned off electrical powerto the winch and tagged it so it wouldnot be inadvertently turned on at thewrong moment, which it was. The crewmember who was standing next to thewinch was truly lucky in that he wasonly bruised. Had he been 12 inchescloser, he could have lost an arm, orworse.

Following correct procedures, everytime, is part of managing the inherentrisks that go with the maritime environ-ment. While both of these incidents tookplace aboard MSC ships, they can anddo happen throughout MSC, as well aselsewhere in the world.

Consider the lint traps on clothes dry-ers. It only takes a couple of seconds topull them out and clean them after youuse a dryer. If you don’t, the conse-quences can be devastating, as they wereaboard the passenger ship Ecstasy in1998. The resultant fire injured 14 crewmembers and eight passengers. Damagesexceeded $17 million, and the ship wasout of commission for two months.

Closer to home, we recently had aU.S. Coast Guard inspection aboard oneof our ships. One portion of the inspec-tion involved checking the immersionsurvival suits issued to every crew mem-ber in case they were required to aban-don ship. Immersion suits are critical tomaintaining body heat if you end up inthe water. They don’t work at all ifthey’re full of dry rot. More than half ofthem were. Yet the suits are supposed tobe inspected monthly during lifeboatdrills. Five extra minutes, once a month,could mean the difference between beingrescued and being recovered.

Even taking the suit with you during alifeboat drill is apparently an issue. Oneof my staffers noted that during his ori-entation ride aboard an MSC oiler, hewas the only one to show up at the drillwith his immersion suit. What if it had-n’t been a drill? Does the bell sound dif-ferent when it’s a drill than when it’sreal? Are you willing to take the chance?

Safety has to be one of those thingsthat is part of what we do and who weare. It has to be so much a part of ourlives that we act safely without having tothink about it.

A safe ship, a safe home, a safe office,a safe person – those are the elementsthat will help us all have a bright future.

Keep the faith,

Sealift is an authorized publication for membersand employees of the Navy’s Military SealiftCommand. Contents of this publication are notnecessarily the official views of or endorsed bythe U.S. government, the Department of De-fense or the Department of the Navy. Sealift ispublished monthly by the Military Sealift Com-mand Office of Public Affairs as authorizedunder NAVPUBINST 5600.42A. Submission ofarticles and letters should be addressed to Edi-tor, Sealift, Military Sealift Command, 914Charles Morris Court, S.E., Washington NavyYard, D.C. 20398-5540; phone (202) 685-5055or DSN 325-5055; fax (202) 685-5067; or viathe Internet, sealifteditor@navy.mil. All photo-graphic submissions must be sent by an ex-press mail or parcel service.

COMSC Rear Adm. Robert D. Reilly Jr., USN

Director, Public Affairs Timothy Boulay

Editor Chris Johnson

Writers Edward Baxter, SingaporeBill Cook, Norfolk, Va.

Susan Melow, Norfolk, Va.Laura Seal, Washington, D.C.

Gillian Brigham, NaplesJames Jackson, San Diego

Christine Albert, Washington D.C.

Art Director Dale Allen, Washington, D.C.

Photographer Barry Lake, Washington, D.C.

Graphics Susan Thomas, Washington, D.C.

Military Sealift Command reports to the Com-mander, U.S. Transportation Command for de-fense transportation matters, to the Chief ofNaval Operations for Navy-unique matters andto the Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Re-search, Development and Acquisition for pro-curement policy and oversight matters.

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Printed on recycled paper

Commander’s perspective

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Left: Chief mate Troy Bruemmer accepts the Admiral of the Ocean Seas Mariner’s Plaque on behalf of MilitarySealift Command fleet ocean tug USNS Apache. Right: Capt. Michael Flanagan accepts the award on behalf ofMSC combat stores ship ship USNS Spica.

Heroic mariners honored

Civil service mariners aboard USNS Apache fight a fire aboard an Estonian commericalfreighter. The crew was honored for their actions by the United Seamen’s Service duringthe Admiral of the Ocean Seas Awards banquet in New York on Nov. 3.

Make safety a priority

Robert D. Reilly Jr. Rear Admiral, U.S. Navy

Commander, Military Sealift Command

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Military Sealift Command andother U.S. TransportationCommand elements teamed

up with the Indonesian military for animportant mission: transporting cargoto war-torn Lebanon for Indonesianpeacekeeping forces.

Beginning Nov. 2, Russian-built ar-mored personnel carriers, as well as 5-ton trucks, trailers, patrol vehicles, am-bulances, water tanks, constructionequipment and shipping containers car-rying various supplies were packedaboard the MSC-chartered SS Wilsonin around-the-clock cargo operationsover the period of two days. About 200of these pieces of equipment, paintedbright white with U.N. markings, wereloaded aboard at Tanjung Priok con-tainer terminal, just outside of Indone-sia’s capital city of Jakarta.

The ship was chartered by a team ofsealift and contracting specialists fromMSC. For MSC, who routinely chartersships to move Department of Defensecargo around the world, obtaining aship was all in a day’s work. The com-mand quickly coordinated with US-TRANSCOM and the U.S. Army’s Sur-face Distribution and DeploymentCommand to carefully define the re-quirement: a ship to move 27,000square feet of equipment and suppliesfrom Jakarta to Beruit.

On Oct. 18, MSC released a solicita-tion to ship operators and brokersaround the world — ensuring maxi-mum competition. Only two days later,the contract was awarded to Sealift Inc.of Long Island, N.Y, for the charteringof the 610-foot, 32,000-ton Wilson, aU.S.-flag break-bulk vessel.

According to Wilson’s civilianmariner master Capt. Paul James Mal-lory, the ship was making a routineport visit for supplies in Cape Town,South Africa, just prior to receiving thecall to head to Jakarta. The ship sailedfor Jakarta, arriving Nov. 1 for its U.N.mission.

“While the news to carry Indonesiancargo to Lebanon came as a surprise tothe crew, we were honored to supportsuch an important mission,” Mallorysaid.

Hostilities erupted on the Israeli-Lebanese border last July whenLebanese terrorist organization Hezbol-lah launched several rockets near theIsraeli coast town of Zarit. The situa-tion escalated when Hezbollah fighterscrossed the border into Israel and at-tacked an Israeli patrol, killing three

soldiers and capturingtwo others. Hostilitiesintensified in the weeksthat followed, and thou-sands were displacedfrom their homes,wounded or killed. AU.N.-brokered cease-fire went into affectAug. 14.

Leonard Bell, deputyoperations officer withSealift Logistics Com-

mand Far East, was on site in Jakartato coordinate shipboard cargo opera-tions with Wilson’s master and withpersonnel from the Army’s Surface De-ployment and Distribution Command.The 836th Transportation Battalionfrom Yokohama, Japan, performed alladvance planning for the Jakarta load-out with the Indonesian army. “Weworked with the Indonesian army forseveral weeks to coordinate the arrivalof cargo at the port of Jakarta and de-veloped a plan to load it aboard thevessel,” said Army Lt. Col. ColicePowell, the battalion’s commander.

Some cargo, including trucks, awater purification system, an electricalgenerator, a land cruiser and shippingcontainers was sent by aircraft toLebanon. Personnel from the U.S. AirForce’s Third Logistics ReadinessSquadron, based out of Elmendorf AirForce Base in Alaska, worked with In-donesian forces to develop a plan toload the equipment aboard a Russian-built Antanov 124 aircraft. .

Wilson arrived in Beirut with itscargo in late November to meet upwith 850 Indonesian troops. Indonesiajoined 20 other nations comprising theUnited Nation’s Interim Force. The In-donesian forces are expected to remainin Lebanon for up to one year.

MSC helps U.N. take a step

toward a peaceful Lebanon

Left: Military Sealift Command-chartered break-bulk ship S.S.Wilson arrives in Jakarta, Indonesia, to haul Indonesian armycargo to Lebanon for peacekeeping duty.

Far left: Indonesian army vehicles, repainted with distinctive U.N. peace-keeping force markings , sit on a pier outside Jakarta waiting to beloaded aboard SS Wilson. The U.S.-flagged ship was chartered by Mili-tary Sealift Command to haul the Indonesian cargo to Lebanon, where itwill be used to monitor a peace agreement between Lebanon and Israel.

Left: Indonesian soldiers prepare to board Wilson to assist with the cargoonload.

Above: An Indonesian army ambulance, repainted with U.N. peacekeep-ing colors, is loaded aboard S.S. Wilson.

Front page: Indonesian Army vehicles sit on a pier outside Jakarta, In-odonesia, as SS Wilson pulls into port.

Ed

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Twenty-four people assigned toSealift Logistics Command Pacific re-ceived a Meritorious Unit Commenda-

tion for support provided during opera-tions Noble Eagle, Enduring Freedomand Iraqi Freedom. Jennifer Ball,

Robert T. Almario, Richard Appling,Thomas Brown, Michael Bryant,William Garvais, Kimberly Harwell,Larry Larsson, Timothy McCully,Gladys Miller, William Parry, PhilipPatton, Gary Talbott, Dean Johnson,Steven L. Busby, Kathleen O’Leary,Linda Harman, Robert Pleas, Bernie

Donathan, William Homer, GaylianReina, Woodrow P. Ross, James Mc-Diarmid and David Spilholtz wereawarded.

Gladys Miller, of SEALOGPAC'sLegal Department, received her 35-years-of-service award during the com-mand’s annual awards ceremony.

Sealift Logistics Command Atlanticwelcomes three new people to the team.Navy Lt. j.g. Nathan Aiken and Antho-ny Clark are newly assigned to the an-titerrorism force protection office andNavy Chief Petty Officer Paul Phillipsis SEALOGLANT’s new representativeat Naval Weapons Station Earle, N. J.Aiken, a Brevard, N.C., native, has beenin the U.S. Navy four years and was pre-viously assigned to USS Whidbey Islandat Little Creek Naval Amphibious Base,Va. Clark comes to SEALOGLANTfrom MSC’s PM-23 program at LittleCreek, where he was involved with oper-ations and security as well as port engi-neer and port captain functions. He is anative of the Hampton Roads region in

Virginia, and has been with MSC since1991. He has also worked at MSC head-quarters and brings a wealth of informa-tion and experience with him to the newjob. Phillips is the acting officer incharge of SEALOGLANT’s Earle de-tachment. He comes to the commandfrom USS Gunston Hall, also at LittleCreek. Phillips, who hails from RhodeIsland, has been in the U.S. Navy for 19years.

Navy Command Master Chief TomStock, SEALOGLANT’s commandmaster chief for the last year, retired inNovember after a 30-year naval career.Stock is also one of the Navy’s elite mas-ter divers. The command sends bestwishes to Stock and his wife, and thanks

them for their service to the country.USNS Apache returned to Norfolk,

Va., on Oct. 4 after a nearly seven-monthdeployment. During that time, Apachewas in Liberia to conduct a harbor sur-vey and perform repair work on the portof Monrovia's pier as an ongoing effortto strengthen the United States' emergingpartnership with that nation. While there,Apache responded to a call for assistanceon the burning commercial freighterTahoma Reefer. Apache rescued thefreighter's crew and was able to bring thefire under control. Apache also conduct-ed a number of dive exercises withNATO and U.S. partner nations such asFrance, Albania, Croatia, Bulgaria, Ro-mania and Ghana.

USNS Saturn returned to Norfolk, Va.,on Oct. 22 following a six-month de-ployment in the Mediterranean Sea, Per-sian Gulf and Red Sea. Assigned to pro-vide stores to both the Enterprise carrierstrike group and the Iwo Jima expedi-

tionary strike group, Saturn steamedmore than 20,000 miles and took part inmore than 50 underway replenishments.While deployed, Saturn supported shipsfrom Germany, England and France.

SEALOGLANT sends a farewellsalute to retired USNS Santa Barbara.The ship was decommissioned andadded to MSC’s fleet in 1998 and retiredin 2005. Santa Barbara had a long anddistinguished career as an ammunitionship. As Santa Barbara’s final voyage,USNS Apache towed the retired vessel toBrownsville, Texas, to be scrapped. Dur-ing its active Navy career, Santa Barbaramade numerous deployments and wasawarded the Meritorious Unit Commen-dation in 1973 for the many records it setreplenishing ships at sea during the Viet-nam War. The ship also participated inOperations Desert Shield and DesertStorm and earned multiple citations in-cluding four Battle “E” awards and threeMeritorious Unit Commendations.

October saw the departure of MilitarySealift Fleet Support Command’s com-mander, Rear Adm. Carol Pottenger.MSFSC Deputy Commander Jack Tay-lor has temporarily taken the helm as ex-ecutive director; Chief of Staff, NavyCapt. Fred McKenna, is filling thedeputy slot, and Operations Director,Navy Capt. George Teufel, is actingchief of staff. MSFSC welcomes NavyCapt. William Ramsey, who is acting asoperations officer.

MSFSC would like to thank NavyCmdr. John Eckardt and Ship SupportUnit Guam for not only providing out-standing support to ships of the MSC

fleet, but supporting afloat personnel ef-forts as well. Eckardt attended a civilservice mariner recruiting event atGuam’s Andersen Air Force Base. He iscurrently supporting MSFSC’s humanresources and manpower department andits recruiting contractor, along with theU.S. Coast Guard, in conducting a Sea-farers’ Day in mid-November.

Although not fully staffed, Ship Sup-port Unit Bahrain has been recently en-gaged in providing engineering supportto fleet replenishment oilers USNSTippecanoe and USNS Laramie. Niko-laos Kritikos, SSU Bahrain’s acting di-rector, has been fully engaged in support-

ing ships while actively recruiting to fillthe organization’s vacant billets.

Director Sam Reynolds and personnelat Ship Support Unit Japan were busy inOctober. A brief glance at one week’s ac-tivities indicates, beyond supporting gov-ernment-owned/government-operatedships (USNS Rappahannock, USNS Nia-gara Falls and USNS Walter S. Diehl),MSFSC staffers assisted USNS Victori-ous and USNS Loyal in Yokohama,Japan, and USNS Charlton, USNSRichard G. Matthiesen and USNS BruceHeezen in Sasebo, Japan.

Mike Sullivan and his team at ShipSupport Unit San Diego have devoted animpressive amount of work in recentweeks, supporting contracting and logis-tics for the repair of USNS Sioux; pro-viding contracting, logistics and engi-neering support for the development and

award of voyage repair period materialsand service contracts for USNS Henry J.Kaiser and USNS Guadalupe; and pro-viding port engineering and electronicssupport to USNS Pecos and USNSRainier.

Six civil service mariners entered ontothe retirement rolls in October. Fairwinds and following seas to 2nd OfficerSteven Peterson, 2nd Assistant Engi-neer Steven Mahaffey, 3rd AssistantEngineer Donald Bellis, BoatswainMark Alford, Boatswain’s MateLawrence Bailey and Pumpman JoseRosa.

For additional information fromaround the globe regarding MSFSC andMSC’s fleet of government-owned/gov-ernment-operated ships please visit theon-line newsletter at www.msc.navy.mil/msfsc/newsletter

MSC fleet oiler USNS Patuxent par-ticipated in Exercise Neptune Warrior2006, held off the coast of Faslane,Scotland, Oct. 23-Nov. 2. Neptune War-rior is a NATO exercise designed to im-prove interoperability between the sur-face, submarine and airborne assets ofparticipating nations.

During the war game, participantswere split into two opposing militaryforces to simulate a surface conflict.Patuxent acted in multiple anti-surface,anti-submarine warfare and maritime

interdiction scenarios that pitted thesetwo forces against each other. The oilerposed as a high-value unit, beingchased by one force while the otherforce protected the ship.

Patuxent also conducted 43 underwayreplenishments for 11 ships involved inthe exercise from the United States,United Kingdom, Denmark and Greece.

Military Sealift Command tankerUSNS Lawrence H. Gianella wrappedup a 122-day deployment to Europe andAfrica in October. During the deploy-

ment, Gianella and its crew traveled toEngland, Spain, Italy, Greece, Turkeyand Algeria, delivering more than 97.4million gallons of fuel critical to the op-eration of U.S. and NATO basesthroughout the U.S. European Com-mand area of responsibility.

“To the captains and crew of Gianel-la, your performance in this theater andsupport to the U.S. and NATO forcesoperating within it has been exempla-ry,” said Sealift Logistics CommandEurope Commander Navy Capt. NickHolman in a message to the ship.“Thank you and bravo zulu.”

Fair winds and following seas toNavy Cmdr. Elizabeth A. Knutson,MSC liaison officer to the U.S. Euro-

pean Command in Stuttgart, Germany.Knutson retired from the U.S. Navyafter 26 years of service Oct. 27. MSCcommander Rear Adm. Robert D.Reilly Jr. presided over her retirementceremony. Capt. Holman also attended.

SEALOGEUR welcomes aboardKnutson’s relief, Navy Cmdr. Jim Sires.Sires reports to the U.S. EuropeanCommand from MSC headquarters inWashington, D.C., where he was thecommand’s reserve program manager.

SEALOGEUR also welcomesaboard incoming Marine Transporta-tion Specialist Al Dickerson. Prior toarriving in Naples Oct. 20, Dickersonworked as an MSC representative inJacksonville, Fla.

Navy Lt. Victor Cirilo, Sealift Lo-gistics Command Far East special mis-sion ship director, received the IraqiCampaign Medal from SEALOGFEcommander Navy Capt. Susan Dun-lap at a ceremony held Oct. 5. Cirilowas assigned to the Riverine Assis-tance Support Team at Umm QasrNaval Base, Iraq, from October 2004to February 2005, providing maritimeoperations training to 15 Iraqi navalofficers and 50 enlisted members from

the newly formed Iraqi navy.Navy Capt. Al Oshirik, U.S. de-

fense attaché to the Republic of Singa-pore, paid an office call to Sealift Lo-gistics Command Far East headquar-ters on Oct. 17, meeting with Dunlapand operations staff members.

Maritime Prepositioning ShipSquadron Three bids farewell to ForceProtection Officer Navy Lt. GregMadea. Navy Lt. j.g. E. BrennanEgan replaces Madea, who received a

Navy and Marine Corps Achievementmedal recognizing his one-year tourwith the squadron. Navy Capt. FredMcKenna, Military Sealift Fleet Sup-port Command chief of staff, took theopportunity to present the MeritoriousService Medal to Navy Cmdr. GlennStafford, departing military depart-ment officer-in-charge of USNS Nia-gara Falls at a ceremony held at ShipSupport Unit Guam in late September.McKenna also presented Navy Yeo-man 1st Class Ursula Wilson with acertificate marking her selection asSSU Guam Sailor of the Quarter. Inother news from Guam, Capt. BobHolley, master of USNS Kiska, Capt.Steve Perdue, master of USNS Erics-

son, Capt. Dan LaPorte, master ofUSNS Niagara Falls, and Navy Capt.Dennis O’Meara, commander of MPSSquadron Three, joined SSU Guamcommanding officer Navy Cmdr.John Eckardt and SSU Guam staffmembers Sept. 25 for a welcome din-ner in honor of McKenna.

SSU Guam also sponsored an MSCall-hands social event at Gab GabBeach, Naval Base, Guam, on Sept.29. MSC personnel from SSU Guam,MPS Squadron Three, USNS Concord,USNS Kiska and USNS Niagara Fallsattended.

Guam also welcomed contracting in-tern Lance Nyman and contracting of-ficer Tom Bickley.

Navy Cmdr. Steve MacDonaldwas honored at his retirement ceremo-ny on Nov. 8 at the Navy Museum onthe Washington Navy Yard in Wash-ington, D.C. MacDonald arrived atMSC in July 2005 and served as thedirector of strategic studies and wargaming. He retired after serving 20years in the Navy.

Navy Chief Yeoman Irene Pieperretired from the Navy in a ceremony onNov. 16 at the Navy Memorial inWashington, D.C., after 30 years ofservice. Pieper reported to MilitarySealift Command in March 2006 asRear Adm. Robert Reilly’s flag writer.

Talishia Smith of the ComptrollerDirectorate recently graduated from

the Navy financial managementtrainee program. This rigorous two-year program prepares employees forfinancial management positions withinthe Department of the Navy. Smithexpanded her experience with Navyfinancial management by spendingtwo months each at the Pentagon’sOffice of Financial Management andBudget, the Navy’s Office of Finan-cial Operations and Military SealiftFleet Support Command.

MSC welcomes Pamela Castellanoand Joel Weger, Office of Council;

Hannah Tekele, Command, Control,Communication and Computer SystemsDirectorate; and Sherri Jennings, Of-fice of the Inspector General.

MSC headquarters bids farewell toKelley Wall, Contracts and BusinessManagement Directorate; ChristineAlbert, Office of Public Affairs; andAnthony Clark, Special Mission Pro-gram, who transferred to Sealift Lo-gistics Command Atlantic, where he isthe anti-terrorism and force protectionofficer.

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Stevedores load Polishmilitary helicoptersaboard the Military SealiftCommand-charteredheavy-lift ship CEC Pacif-ic in Szczecin, Poland,Oct. 13-14. The shrink-wrapped helicopters ar-rived in Ash Shuaybah,Kuwait, on Nov. 9, enroute to Poland’s detach-ment of coalition forcetroops operating in theMiddle East. Followingthe helicopter off-load,CEC Pacific remained inKuwait to load an addi-tional 11,000 tons ofcargo returning to Polandas part of a routine equip-ment swap.

Sealift Logistics Com-mand Europe has playeda key role in supportingthe deployment of coali-tion forces to the MiddleEast amid Operation IraqiFreedom and the ongoingglobal war on terrorism.This is the second load ofPolish coalition forceequipment MSC shipshave delivered this year.

MSC moves Polish helos to IraqJohn Quandt (center), of MilitarySealift Command’s Business De-velopment program, meets seniorexecutives from industry and theDepartment of Defense, includingSecretary of the Navy Donald C.Winter (inset), at a major confer-ence on expeditionary warfare.

The event was hosted by the Na-tional Defense Industrial Associa-tion Oct. 23-26 in Panama City,Fla., and was attended by nearly700 participants.

Quandt, with an MSC exhibit onafloat prepositioning as his back-drop, was featured in a short newssegment by the local NBC televi-sion affiliate. He said, “This eventprovides an excellent opportunityfor leaders inside and outside thegovernment to exchange ideasand obtain new information thatmay benefit the development ofexpeditionary warfare.”

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By GillianBrigham

SEALOGEURPublic Affairs

For most people, amention of the

French Riviera con-jures up visions ofred wine, million-dollar sailboats andbrightly coloredbeach umbrellas.Navy ships role-playing war gamescenarios do not im-mediately come tomind.

For 8,000 menand women sta-tioned on 50 shipsin the Mediter-ranean Sea, howev-er, the Riviera’sidyllic stretch ofsand and sea recent-ly took on a newidentity as host ofmultinational mili-tary exercise Bril-liant Midas 2006.

Maritime Preposi-tioning ShipSquadron One flag-ship MV 2nd LTJohn P. Bobo participated in BrilliantMidas from Sept. 29 to Oct. 13. Play-ing the role of a vigilante commercialship carrying illicit weapons and cargo,Bobo was used as a training platformfor NATO ships and personnel brush-ing up on their ship interception and

boarding skills. Turkish, Spanish andItalian teams boarded the ship andsearched Bobo for contraband, whileTurkish and Dutch ships practiced es-corting Bobo through enemy blockadesand economic exclusion zones. Bobo’sparticipation in the exercise also gave

U.S. Marines and other ground forcesthe chance to learn a little more aboutthe squadron that has been preposition-ing their equipment at sea in the Euro-pean theater for more than a decade.

“Brilliant Midas 2006 gave us theopportunity to work with nine other

NATO countries,”said MPSRONOne CommanderNavy Capt. JimDriscoll. “It alsogave Marines andsailors the oppor-tunity to embarkthe MPS SquadronOne flagship andbecome familiarwith off-load pro-cedures and theship itself. All inall, it was a verysuccessful twoweeks.”

Bobo was notthe only MSC shipsailing off thecoast of Franceduring the exer-cise. Fleet oilerUSNS Laramiewas also on-handto provide under-way replenishmentand refueling sup-port.

Brilliant Midaswas designed totest the readinessof NATO’s Re-sponse Force. Theforce is a 25,000-

person multinational land, air, sea andspecial forces body commanded byNATO. This force, which was pro-posed by U.S. Secretary of DefenseDonald Rumsfeld in 2002, enablesNATO to respond quickly to variouskinds of crises anywhere in the world.

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‘Rouge’ Bobo trains with NATO Response Force

Ships participating in the multinational NATO Exercise Brilliant Midas 2006 patrol the waters off the coast of France after aday of training.

Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Leonardo Carillo, photo

By James Jackson SEALOGPAC Public Affairs

All-hands training has new meaningfor 17 high school students from

the San Diego area after they had theopportunity to see what life at sea islike aboard a Military Sealift Com-mand ship. The students spent threeweeks serving side-by-side with civilservice mariners aboard fleet replenish-ment oilers USNS Pecos and USNSGuadalupe, which were operating offthe coast of Hawaii.

MSC has had a partnership withMar Vista High School in ImperialBeach, Calif., since 2001 in an effort toencourage students to pursue careers ascivil service or contract mariners. MSCships are crewed by about 7,000 suchmariners.

Each student was assigned a ship-board mentor and was exposed toevery aspect of general shipboard life.Under the direct supervision of theships' crews, students spent time ineach department, learning about up-keep and maintenance, cargo and rigduties, firefighting, electrical systemsand other shipboard systems.

“We really wanted to ensure the stu-dents got a hands-on orientation on allfacets of general shipboard duties. Thecrew really enjoyed having the stu-dents on board and made sure that theyhad a good seagoing experience,” saidUSNS Pecos master Capt. Paul Nies.

“Because we were underway duringmost of this training cycle, our stu-dents were exposed to the entire range

of what MSC replenishment ships do.They got some on-the-job trainingwhen we conducted numerous under-way replenishments, vertical replenish-ments and helicopter operations whileoperating off the coast of Hawaii,”Nies said.

The course at Mar Vista HighSchool is designed to provide gradu-

ates who are trained and qualified forentry-level seagoing positions Theprogram increases public knowledgeof the many opportunities for employ-ment in the U.S. maritime industry andprovides an increased number oftrained and qualified people for em-ployment in that field.

The Mar Vista program is one of al-

most 50 such apprentice training pro-grams offered around the country.These programs promote and supportthe growth of unlicensed vocationaltraining in U.S. high schools and col-leges. The courses provide an opportu-nity for both vocational and high schoolstudents to receive high-quality, profes-sional and practical training at sea.

SEALOGPAC hosts summer school for CIVMAR recruits

USS Shiloh crew members play traditional Japanese taiko drums during the final moments of an under-way refueling with fleet replenishment oiler USNS Rappahannock. Shiloh, a Ticonderoga-class cruiser ispermanently forward deployed to Yokosuka, Japan, and is currently operating in support of the USS KittyHawk Carrier Strike Group as part of a scheduled deployment.

Rappahannock gets drum roll from Shiloh