The Shuttle March 13, 2012 IssueWe are LegendNewsletter Edition

USS Enterprise (CVN 65)

By Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Scott Pittman

Reactor Department Steams Ahead The Reactor department aboard aircraft carrier USS Enterprise (CVN 65) is using lessons learned during their composite training unit exercise (COMPTUEX) and exercise Bold Alligator 2012 to keep the ship cruising throughout deployment. The Reactor team, working in tandem with Sailors in the Engineering department, is responsible for systems that provide steam for the ship, the aircraft catapults on the flight deck, and powering the four propulsion plants which move the ship. Were not necessarily involved in the day-to-day operations that people hear about so much, but nothing could get done on the ship without the nukes, said Lt. j.g. Sarah Kuehl, a reactor mechanical division officer. During COMPTUEX, Enterprise Sailors working in Reactor department spaces ran continuous training evolutions ranging from propulsion drills to reactor casualty drills. The primary concern, besides ensuring the ship is able to complete operational commitments, is always the safety of embarked Sailors and Marines. There is constant training, said Machinists Mate 1st Class Carlos Jimenez, assistant leading petty officer of Reactor Mechanical Division 22. We perform drills in case there is an

emergency so we can respond correctly, figure out the cause, and fix the problem. Enterprise, the Navys oldest nuclear powered aircraft carrier, is also the only aircraft carrier that houses eight nuclear-powered reactors and four propulsion plants. Nimitz-class aircraft carriers also carry four propulsion plants, but only house two nuclear reactors. This presents a unique challenge for Reactor Sailors aboard Enterprise, as they

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Photo by MC3 Scott Pittman

are part of one of the largest reactor departments in the Navy. Sailors of Reactor and Engineering Departments manage and maintain the most complex steam engineering plant, not only in the United States, but of any Navy in the world. said Cmdr. Kirk Weatherly, Enterprises Reactor officer. They do it every day of the week to keep this 50-year-old warship moving through the water, giving the Captain and the Admiral the operational support they need. Enterprise is currently deployed to conduct maritime security operations and theater security operations in the U.S. Navys 5th and 6th fleet areas of responsibility. This is Enterprises 22nd and final deployment.

his shipmates and readied himself for his first time at sea. Airman Myles Thompson of Colombia, Tenn., didnt know Ray Godfrey, but he knew what the older man represented. They laid the groundwork for us, he said. Were just following in their footsteps. This is being billed a business-as-usual deployment for the nations oldest aircraft carrier, which will lead a strike group into the perilous waters of the Middle East. The crew will

Ray Godfrey was a 21-year-old Sailor on the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise when it first deployed 50 years ago. It was about duty, truthfully, how to serve my country, he said. I liked it 16-hour days. As he spoke pier side on Sunday at Naval Station Norfolk, the Enterprise prepared to leave for its final deployment, ending a remarkable run that began in 1962 and saw it serve in major conflicts from the Cuban Missile Crisis to the Middle East wars. On the flight deck Sunday, another 21-year-old Sailor manned the rails with

Big Es Final JourneyBy Hugh Lessig, NEWPORT NEWS DAILY PRESS

Tuesday, March 13, 2012Page 2 The Shuttle

Big E Happenings

The Shuttle is published and printed daily underway and bi-weekly in port by the USS Enterprise (CVN 65) Media Department, FPO AE 09543-2810. This newspaper is an authorized publication for members of the Department of Defense. Please direct all story ideas, questions and comments to MC1 (SW) Steve Smith at smithsw@cvn65.navy.mil.

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

Executive OfficerCapt. G. C. Huffman

Commanding OfficerCapt. William C. Hamilton, Jr.

EditorsMC2 (SW) Kristin L. Grover

MCSN Harry Gordon

The ShuttleUSS Enterprise (CVN 65)

Command Master ChiefABCM (AW/SW) Eric M. Young Yesterdays 3M answer:

The # symbol means mandatory related maintenance.

3M Question of the Day: Who is responsible for determining

IEM status for equipment?

3MSMOKE DECK RULES:

No food on or around the Smoke Deck No open or unopened soda cans on or

around the Smoke Deck. (Refillable water bottles are allowed)

NO TRASH in the butt kits.

No smoking while cleaning the Smoke Deck.

When the smoke deck gets secured for the above mentioned, it will be the Sailors on the Smoke Deck at that time that will do the cleaning and trash separation.

worry about the usual things: pirates, mariners in distress, humanitarian crises and the ever-present threat of hostilities in hot spots like Iran and Syria.The Enterprise will handle another task that has also become routine. It will take another generation of Sailors to sea. And across the years, those Sailors have more in common than might be apparent at first glance.Unconventional Paths Godfrey, now 72 years old, joined the Navy after dropping out of high school. I made it all the way through the ninth grade, he joked.That didnt stop him from taking on a big challenge: entering the Navys nuclear program. After being selected, he began a rigorous period of academic study and trained on prototype nuclear equipment. The Enterprise was being constructed as the nations first nuclear-powered flattop. There was no other ship on which he could practice. Shortly after his maiden voyage, the ship was reloaded and sent south. It was the fall of 1962. All of a sudden, we were off the coast of Florida and the water was warm and President Kennedy got on and told us what was going on, Godfrey recalled. The young Sailor found himself in the midst of the Cuban Missile Crisis, a dangerous standoff that brought the U.S. and the Soviet Union to the brink of war. We just went down there and did our job, Godfrey said. Thompson, the young airman, followed a different path to the Enterprise, but it also might be considered unconventional. He didnt plan on entering the military at all. He spent time applying to colleges, but that didnt work out. I needed something to get my life started, and I decided the military was at least a way to get it started, he said.Thompsons friend had joined the Navy the previous year, so Thompson chose that path as well. Getting his start on the Enterprise was icing on the cake. I got switched here and got orders to the Enterprise, he said. I actually got told it was the some of the best orders I

could have gotten. Like Godfrey, Thompson has no illusions about the dangers of life at sea. In his case, it has tragically hit home. The friend who convinced Thompson to join the Navy was Petty Officer 2nd Class Matthew Bergman, who was lost at sea while serving on the USS Boxer last year in the Gulf of Aden. On Sunday, Thompson wore a wristband inscribed with his friends name as the Enterprise headed out. Thompson has an entire career ahead of him, and if he needs inspiration, he can look to Godfrey, who did pretty well for a high school dropout. Godfrey not only received his high-school equivalency diploma while in the Navy, but his military training catapulted him to career with Westinghouse. He worked in research and development on spent nuclear fuel and moved into senior management all without a college education.Capt. William Hamilton Jr., the Enterprise commander, said that first crew represented something special. These are the guys who invented this stuff, he said. They were the pioneers in this eight-reactor nuclear warship that was the largest ship in the world at the time it was built. We appreciate them a lot and we owe them a lot.

Photo by MCSN Harry A. Gordon

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oversee arrangements after their death and whom we will take our direction from in fulfilling the Sailors final wishes, said Swope. According to Swope, the Page 2 and Servicemembers Group Life Insurance (SGLI) forms are among the first documents the Navy will turn to in the event a Sailor is very seriously injured or dies. Unfortunately, we sometimes find out when we need to notify family members of injury or the death of a service member, that the information [in the Page 2 and SGLI] is outdated or incomplete which hampers the notification process, said Swope. Not maintaining up-to-date Page 2 information could delay notification to next-of-kin and the distribution of death benefits. Also, during a Page 2 update, Sailors should identify three people that they would desire to be bedside should they be injured and incapacitated. The Navy has a Bedside program that allows up to three family members to be present at an injured service members bedside should the injury be sufficient enough to warrant it.

Tuesday, March 13, 2012 Page 3The Shuttle

World News

MILLINGTON, Tenn. - Off-duty accidents and illnesses were among the leading causes of death for Sailors in calendar year 2011, said a Navy official March 9. As service members, we usually remember to update our emergency data prior to a deployment or individual augmentee assignment, said Hospital Corpsman 1st Class Dana Swope, leading petty officer and licensed mortician, Navy and Marine Corps Mortuary Affairs. Non-combat related incidents such as car accidents, happen daily so we should get in the practice of verifying our records at a minimum of twice a year. Sailors must keep their Record of Emergency Data (DD form 93) and Dependency Application Record of Emergency Data (NAVPERS 1070/602 also known as your Page 2) updated with their primary and secondary next-of-kin upon marriage, divorce, the birth of a child or any other significant life changing event. During a Page 2 update, Sailors should identify a person authorized to direct disposition (PADD) of the deceased. The PADD is the individual the Sailor appoints to

Up-To Date Emergency Data Vital For Family ReadinessBy Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class LaTunya Howard, Navy Public Affairs

WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama, Vice President Joe Biden and Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta issued statements marking the upcoming one-year anniversary of the 3/11 earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disasters that devastated Japan. Obama said he and First Lady Michelle Obama join all Americans in honoring the memory of the 19,000 victims lost or missing. We continue to be inspired by the Japanese people, who faced unimaginable loss with extraordinary fortitude, he said. The 8.9 magnitude earthquake struck northeastern Japan in the afternoon of March 11, triggering a tsunami. The disasters killed an estimated 16,000 people and destroyed coastal villages, towns and cities in the Tohoku region. The earthquake damaged the Fukushima Dai-Ichi nuclear plant, which suffered cooling system failures, fires and explosions continued through March 15.

Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan said the disasters were the worst crisis his nation had faced since World War II. Some 3,000 Japanese people remain missing. In todays statement, the president said the United States mobilized immediately to aid Japan in a relief effort named for the Japanese word for friend. At the peak of Operation Tomodachi -- our single, largest bilateral military operation with Japan ever -- the Department of Defense had 24,000 personnel, 190 aircraft, and 24 Navy ships supporting humanitarian assistance and disaster relief efforts, Obama noted. Japans government has led rebuilding efforts over the past year, Obama said, while U.S. experts continue to support Japans ongoing efforts to deal with the challenges associated with Fukushima. Obama said he and the first lady are grateful for the contributions American

U.S. Leaders Recall Japan Disasters, Relief EffortsBy Karen Parrish, AMERICAN FORCES PRESS

civilians and service members have made to Japans recovery. On this day when our thoughts and prayers are with the Japanese people in remembrance of the hardship faced one year ago, let us also celebrate the recovery under way in Japan and pay tribute to Japans unflagging dedication to bettering the lives of others throughout the world, the president said. Biden, in his statement, recalled his visit to Japan five months after the disasters. The survivors I met in Natori and Sendai made clear to me that the disaster met its match in the resilience and fortitude of the Japanese people, the vice president said. While struck by the scale of the devastation, I also witnessed remarkable and inspiring progress in rebuilding homes, schools, and workplaces. In Sendai, Biden said, he visited an airport that had been flooded and later became a refugee center.

Tuesday, March 13, 2012Page 4 The Shuttle

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01/09/12 SIT TIGHT Gail Grabowski, edited by Stanley Newman

Puzzle (c) Stanley Newman, distributed by Creators Syndicate, Inc. Hosting & Software (c) PZZL.com

Across1 Japanese martial art 5 Oregon or Oklahoma10 Make, as tea14 Digital music player 15 Is everything all right?16 Go here and there 17 Solitary18 Kitchen appliance 19 To __ (perfectly)

20 Explosive letters 21 Wait!23 Jumped25 In plain sight 26 Unvarying28 Helpful hints 30 Wipe, as a blackboard 31 Horses gaits 32 Place a wager 35 Roof overhang

36 Competed in a marathon 37 Decorate anew 38 Sandwich bread 39 Bees defense 41 Welcome words to a hitchhiker 42 California/Nevada lake43 Tell, as a story 44 Gleam46 Gave out cards 47 Wait! 50 Mischievous kid 53 Home for a pet fish 54 Overcooked 55 Neutral or reverse 56 Suggest strongly 57 Exact duplicate 58 Poker-pot starter 59 Borscht vegetable 60 Madrid mister 61 Dance moveDown1 Abandon at the altar2 Once __ a time . . .3 Wait!4 Verse of praise5 Like molasses 6 Breakfast bread 7 Moms sister 8 Ancient Roman garment9 Barely makes, as a living10 Prepares for a jolt

11 Helicopter blade 12 Important happening 13 Dandelion, for one 21 Green gemstone 22 Nights before holidays24 Make simpler 26 Crystal-ball user 27 Highchair feature 28 Construction-site machine29 Lasting quite a while 31 Duet plus one 32 Wait!33 Fix up, as prose 34 Sound quality 37 Breadbasket item 39 Fell gradually 40 What preschoolers learn41 Lettuce purchase 42 Box-office purchase 43 Tenant44 Fixed gaze45 Door attachment 46 Beats me! 47 Checkbook remnant 48 Regulation49 __ the other hand . . . (alternatively) 51 Spouse52 Make ready, for short55 Hydrogen or neon