tester 021314

By Capt. Ben ShevchukNaval Air Station PatuxentRiver Commanding Officer

Tuesday we kick off theNavy’s annual Solid

Curtain-Citadel Shield (SC-CS) exercise that runs for thenext two weeks. Our navalair station is uniquely config-ured for our research, devel-opment, test and evaluation(RDT&E)mission, sowehaveto maximize opportunities

suchasSC-CS to improveourantiterrorism/force protec-tion (AT/FP) capabilities andreadiness.

During these two Navy-wide, back-to-back trainingevents, everyone at Pax Riverwill be tested on various cri-ses we could face, from howwe respond to elevatedForceProtection Conditions be-cause of an active shooter/hostage situation, tohowyou

report suspicious packages,vehicles or people.

Though 2013’s budgetcuts limited the activitiesduring Solid Curtain lastyear, we were able to moveforward with local CitadelShield events, and we didverywell. This year, I’meagerto see our security forces andbasepopulaceperformeffec-tively during both.

For the past few weeks,

Tester articles have providedyou with key informationto know and actions to takeduring the different trainingevolutions. If you haven’thada chance to read throughthem, I encourage everyoneto do so soon. The “SC-CSCountdown” articles areavailable on the News sec-tion of our website, www.cnic.navy.mil/patuxent.

Whether you’re NAS or

CNO BlogsAbout IntegrityPage 3

Paying Homageto Black HistoryPage 4

CelebratingService1

VOLUME 71, NUMBER 6 Celebrating 70 Years of Community Partnership February 13, 2014

TESTERNaval Air Station Patuxent River

Navy’s two-week ATFPexercise starts Tuesday

Earth-shaking test sparks media attention

U.S. Navy photo/Connie Hempel

Capt. BenShevchuk, Naval Air Station Patuxent River commanding officer, speakswithWBOC16 reporters fromMaryland’sEastern Shore outside of the Patuxent RiverNaval AirMuseum, Feb. 10. Reportersmade the three-hour trek to the naval airstation to discuss supersonic flight tests along theDelmarva Peninsula that put residents and state emergency officials on alertfollowing an earth-shaking sonic boomFeb. 6.Maryland, NewJersey andVirginia emergencymanagement personnel andgeologists said they received numerous callsand “tweets” from residents at the Eastern Shore, NewJersey and theNorthernNeck of Virginia reportingwhat they thoughtto be an earthquake.Members of theAtlantic Test RangeSustainabilityOffice atNASPaxRiver determined the cause of thesonic boom to be an F/A-18 andF-35C fromPax on routine flight tests in the Test Track located near theDelmarva Peninsula.While sonic booms fromsupersonic flights are nothing out of the norm for that area, theweather office onbasedeterminedthat day’s atmospheric conditions -- temperature inversion and calmsurfacewinds -- were conducive for the sonic boom topropagate further than normal.

See Solid Curtain, Page 2

By Donna CipolloniTester staff writer

Tax season is here andthe Volunteer Income

Tax Assistance(VITA) center,located in thelegal office atNaval Air Sta-tion PatuxentRiver, is openfor business nowthrough April 15,providing free electronicself-service tax preparationand filing.

There is no cost to file afederal return or up to threestate returns.

“We can save you any-where from $15 to $125 intax preparation fees whenyou file your basic taxeshere,” said Chief LegalmanStacey Mincey, “and therewill be IRS-trained and cer-tified volunteer tax assis-tants available for help dur-ing the filing process.”

Aviation Electrician’sMate 1st Class Shawn Ad-kins, from Air Test and Eval-uation Squadron (VX) 23, isone of those volunteers.

“The service is mostlygeared toward our junior

troops so they can savesome money filing theirtax returns [and elimi-nate the guesswork] by be-

ing able to askquestions,” hesaid. “Throughthe years, I al-ways had a lot ofquestions aboutwhat this or thatmeant when Iwas filling out my

own return. Volunteering forthis program gave me theopportunity to learn moreabout taxes and I feel I’mway more informed. Anyoneneeding assistance with theprocess or having a questionabout their taxes can ask avolunteer for help.”

Some of the basic infor-mation VITA volunteers canprovide includes special taxcredits a person may qualifyfor such as Earned IncomeTax Credit, Child Tax Creditand Credit for the Elderly orDisabled.

The Navy’s VITA/Elec-tronic Tax Filing (ELF) ser-vice, accessed through Mili-

VITA offers Sailors freetax help, electronic filing

U.S. Navy photo/Donna Cipolloni

CS2 JeremyAndersen, left, takes advantage of the free taxpreparation and filing available to Sailors at the Volunteer In-come Tax Assistance center at Naval Air Station Patuxent River.LS1Mark Pollard, a certified volunteer tax assistant, is on-handto help with the process and answer tax-related questions. TheVITA center is located in Building 409, Room219.

See VITA, Page 12

Valentine’s DayFriday February 14

VITA/ELF hours8:30-11:30 a.m. and

noon to 3 p.m.Tuesday-Thursdayby appointment only.Call 301-342-7643.

2 Thursday, February 13, 2014Tester

NAVSUP commander celebrates corps’ 219 years

U.S. Navy photo/MC2 Kenneth Abbate

Rear Adm. Jonathan Yuen, commander of Naval Supply SystemsCommand and chief of Supply Corps, speaks at the219th Supply Corps Birthday Celebration Luncheon at the Tides Restaurant in Lexington Park, Feb. 6.

By Marcia HartProgram Executive Officefor Tactical AircraftPublic Affairs Officer

Beyond the traditionalpassing of the military

torch, the recent change-of-command ceremony forthe Airborne Electronic At-tack Program Office (PMA-234) gave guests reasons tosmile.

Held Jan. 24 at the RearAdm. William A. Moffett atNaval Air Station PatuxentRiver, the ceremony ush-ered in Capt. John “Bails”Bailey as PMA-234’s newprogram manager andbid farewell to Capt. John“Fozzy” Green, who takeson new duties leading theElectronic Warfare Infra-structure ImprovementProject Advance Develop-ment Program Office, whichis aligned under AcquisitionProgram Management, orAIR 1.0.

Guest speaker Rear Adm.Donald Gaddis, who leadsthe Program Executive Of-fice for Tactical AircraftPrograms (PEO(T)), praisedGreen for his ability to with-stand the “peaks and valleysthat came with managingthe PMA and one if its ma-

jor projects, Next Genera-tion Jammer,” the subjectof a recent contract protest.

“Dr. [Martin Luther]King once said ‘The ulti-mate measure of a manis not where he stands inmoments of comfort andconvenience, but where hestands at time of challengeand controversy,’” Gaddissaid. “Thanks, Fozzy, forstanding through the con-troversy.”

Bailey, who has beenstationed at Pax River since2003, most recently servedwith the Air Warfare MissionArea/From the Air ProgramOffice (PMA-298) as the in-tegrated product team leadfor all Integrated Fire Con-trol capability increments.He earned his Naval FlightOfficer wings in October1992 and has more than2,600 hours in 23 differentjet, prop and rotary-wingaircraft. The new programmanager graduated fromthe Naval PostgraduateSchool in Monterey, Calif.,in 1998 with a master’s de-gree in aeronautical engi-neering. His awards includethe Meritorious ServiceMedal and the Navy andMarine Corps Commenda-tion Medal.

Gaddis congratulatedBailey on his new posi-tion and offered tips for hisprogram manager’s “play-book.”

“Bails, you have somebig shoes to fill, and I knowyou are eager and extremelycapable of continuing the

road map that has been laidbefore you, but I offer you abit of advice,” Gaddis said.“Take the lead and shapethe dialogue. Have a strongbackbone because appre-ciative inquiry doesn’t al-ways exist in this business,so you must develop a thick

skin while not allowing it tomake you jaded.”

In his remarks, Baileythanked his family membersfor their support saying hewas honored and humbledto serve the PMA and theNavy and looked forward tothe cheers and challenges

that come with the job.“As I walked up to the

podium and looked aroundat all of you, I realized thatwe all have something incommon here today,” Baileysaid. “None of us really have

Challenges, cheers as Navy leaders pass torch for PMA-234

Photo by David Dejetley

Rear Adm. Donald Gaddis, ProgramExecutive Officer for Tactical Aircraft (PEO(T)), delivers remarks as Capt. John “Bails” Bailey,Airborne Electronic Attack ProgramOffice (PMA-234) incoming commander, looks on during the PMA-234 change of commandceremony Jan. 24 at the Rear Adm.WilliamA.Moffett Building here.

See PMA-234, Page 12

tenant staff, military or civil-ian, AT/FP readiness must becontinuously pursued. Don’taccept the status quo; remem-ber, we need constant vigi-lance by all hands. It will takeevery one of you to make thisyear’s SC-CS a success.

We’ve thought outside theboxwhenplanning thescenar-ios and you can expect to bechallenged these two weeks,some more so than others.Our goal is to train and pre-pare you, and I encourage youto learn from these challenges.

As with any security train-ing, you can expect some de-lays and other inconvenienceswhich may impact your nor-mal routine: closed parkinglots, rerouted traffic, addition-

al barriers, etc. We will workhard tokeepyou informedandtomitigatedelays, butweneedto keep the response and reac-tions to the training events asrealistic as possible. Remem-ber, the objective is to test andtrain to keep us all safe.

Pay attention to the up-dates and messages broadcastvia AtHoc and the Pax Riverwebsite. If you haven’t signedup forAtHocalerts, do it today.AtHocmessages canbe sent toas many as three different de-vices: home and cell phone,TTY/TDD phone, pager, fax,andpersonal andwork emails.Messages provide official up-dates on base delays and earlydepartures, as well as othermass notifications that affectthe base population.

Solid Curtain is here; we’reready.

SOLID CURTAINContinued from 1

3 Ways to Register/Update AtHoc1) HYPERLINK “http://www.Ready.Navy.mil” www.Ready.Navy.mil. Click onStay Informed and then Wide Area Alert Notification.2) From an NMCI computer, right click on the purple globe located on thebottom right of the screen and then left click “Access Self Service.”3) Call 301-342-6325 with your computer name and asset tag number.

Thursday, February 13, 2014 3Tester

On base:

Mandatory CounterintelligenceAwareness BriefsFeb. 21, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Building 2109

Eagle’s Nest Conference RoomThese NCIS CI briefs aremanda-

tory annual training for all Depart-ment of Navymilitary and civilianpersonnel. Each brief will be fiftyminutes in duration and begin ev-ery hour on the hour.

Apply for NAVAIR LeadershipDevelopment ProgramDeadline: Feb. 26The three- to five-year program

consists of classroom-based lead-ership training, mentoring, jobshadowing, networking and rota-tional assignments. Open to civilianemployees in grades GS-13 to GS-15or with salaries equivalent or higherto GS-13/14 for other pay bands(i.e., STRL/FWS) andmilitary O-4and above. Apply online at https://myteam.navair.navy.mil/corpapps/dpt (select email certificate).

Apply for Merit-basedCollege ScholarshipsDeadline: Mar. 17TheMarine Corps Aviation

Association (MCAA) John GlennSquadron is accepting applicationsfor our 2014merit-based collegescholarships. Applicantsmust beTri-County area high school seniorspursuing a STEM-based college de-gree who show interest in a careerfield that will support the Depart-

ment of Defense. Visit www.mcaa-jgs.org/scholarship.html to apply.

Apply for USNA Summer SeminarNow accepting applicationsA fast-paced, six-day experience

designed to introduce the NavalAcademy to rising high schoolseniors. Students choose eightworkshops in a variety of subjects.Applications andmore informationare available at www.usna.edu/ad-missions/nass. NASS session dates:May 31 through June 5, June 7-12and June 14-19.

US Naval Academy SeeksSummer STEM studentsNow accepting applicationsU.S. Naval Academy’s Summer

Science, Technology, Engineering,andMathematics (STEM) Programis scheduled for June 2-7 for rising8th and 9th grade students, andJune 16-20 for rising 11th gradestudents. Students are able toparticipate in project-basedmod-ules using a hands-on, real-worldapproach to solving design andanalysis problems in the academy’slaboratory facilities. Apply at www.usna.edu/admissions/stem.

New Customer Service Hours forLegal Assistance, Command ServicesLegal Assistance: Monday-

Wednesday, 8 to 11 a.m. and 1 to3 p.m. only; Thursday 8 to 11 a.m.only; closed Friday.Command Services: Monday-

Wednesday, 8 to 11 a.m. and 1 to 3p.m.; Thursday, 8 to 11 a.m. only;Friday, 8 to 11 a.m. only.

Tax Services at NAS Legal OfficeBy appointmentThe Navy’s Volunteer Income

Tax Assistance/Electronic Tax Filing(VITA/ELF) Program is available atthe Naval Air Station Patuxent RiverLegal Office by appointment. Ap-pointments are available from 8:30a.m. to 3 p.m. weekdays. Call 301-342-7643.

Free Tax Filing ServiceMilitary OneSource provides

access to an online tax filing ser-vice at no cost to servicemembersand families. For information, visithttp://www.militaryonesource.mil/pfm/tax-planning-and-preparation?content_id=274861.

Register and Request Ballotsfor Upcoming ElectionsTo vote in a Federal Primary or

Special Election inMarch, April orMay 2014, visit FVAP.gov for infor-mation on registering; requestingyour absentee ballot according toState deadlines and requirements;and to view the complete 2014Primary Election Calendar. Statesmust provide requested ballots 45days before an election. If you donot receive your requested Stateballot at least 30 days before anelection prepare, print and sign thebackup Federal Write-In AbsenteeBallot (FWAB) at FVAP.gov.

Phishing Scam TargetsGovernment Card HoldersCiti, the Government Travel

Charge Card provider, is alertingcardholders of phishing text mes-

sages from [email protected] requesting personal informa-tion to keep the card active.This is not an official Citi mes-

sage and Cardholders are advisednot to respond to the request forinformation.

Navy Marine Corps Relief Societyon Facebookwww.facebook.com/Navy-

MarineCorpsReliefSocietyPatuxentRiverIn an effort to bemore acces-

sible to clients, a Facebook page hasbeen established. Like us for a quickpoint of contact for our offices, andfor information and updates.

Where’s Gnorman?Somewhere in this issue we’ve

hidden Gnorman the gnome. Any-one spotting Gnorman can [email protected] or phone301-342-4163 now through 4:30p.m. Friday, and include a briefdescription of where he’s located.All correct answers are entered intoa drawing and one name is chosento win a Center Stage Theater movieticket. The same person cannot winmore than once permonth. Lastweek’s winner was Arnel Dizon whofound Gnorman on page 4, in theApprentice Sailors photo.

Reporting a PotholeTo report a pothole at NAS

Patuxent River, phone the IAPService Desk at 342-4206 with adescription of the pothole and itslocation.

Naval Health Clinic now on ICEThe Interactive Customer Evalu-

ation system allows customers toprovide feedback tomanagement,and Naval Health Clinic PatuxentRiver is now on ICE. Customersproviding their name and contactinformation will receive a personal-ized response. Access ICE throughNHCPR’s website at www.med.navy.mil/sites/paxriver/Pages/index.html and click on the ICElogo located at the bottom of thehomepage.

NEWS BRIEFS

St. Nicholas ChapelService ScheduleCatholic ServicesMass: Sundays at 9 a.m. and 5p.m.Weekdays at 11:35 a.m.Continuing CatholicDevelopment (CCD):Sundays from 10:30-11:30 a.m.

Protestant ServicesWorship: Sundays at 11 a.m.Men’s Discipleship: Sunday,6-7:30 p.m. at the ReligiousProgramming CenterWomen’s Study: Tuesday, 6:30-8 p.m. and Thursday,10-11:30 a.m. at the ReligiousProgramming Center

From Chief of Naval OperationsPublic Affairs

Chief of Naval Operations(CNO) Adm. Jonathan Green-

ert released a video blog messageSunday reinforcing the Navy’scommitment to ethics, particu-larly integrity.Speaking about ethical fail-

ure and cheating on tests at theNavy’s Nuclear Power TrainingUnit in South Carolina, Greenertsaid, “These events must serve toremind us that, although the vastmajority of our Sailors live ourNavy ethos and core values, wemust always remain vigilant tothe potential to make mistakes.This is particularly critical whenit comes to integrity.”“A failure of integrity under-

mines a unit’s trust,” Greenertsaid, in his Ethics blog to Ship-mates. “As Sailors, our very sur-vival is founded on trust — it isthe core of our success at sea —

and has been for centuries.”Based on recent incidents

across all the services, there is aninvigorated effort across the De-partment of Defense to reinforceethics and service core values.Before the weekend, on Friday, inlight of recent allegations of mis-conduct in the military services,Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagelannounced that a senior officerwill be appointed to promote andenforce a culture of ethical behav-ior and good moral character. Ad-ditionally, DOD released last weekfurther details into Hagel’s ethicsinitiatives and orders to Navy andAir Force to conduct reviews ofthe nuclear enterprise.Within one of Greenert’s three

videos in this blog he explainswhat these reviews will look atwithin the nuclear enterprise.And in a second video he provid-ed initial thoughts on what Navyleaders need to reinforce as they

face a recent number of missteps.“I don’t think we have an eth-

ics problem across the Navy. ButI think we need to reinforce ourcore values and our core commit-ment to that,” he said. “We needto talk about integrity.”

Core values should be an ev-eryday discussion, in every oper-ating environment. The discus-sion should be active and recipro-cal, Greenert stated.Lastly in the video blog Green-

ert addressed what is expected

from today’s Sailor, be it senior orjunior.Senior leaders are especially

tasked with upholding the ex-ample of strong core values to thejunior sailors, Greenert said.“What I expect from our lead-

ership is honor, courage and com-mitment,” he said.Commitment to the institution

should be the basis of ethical de-cision making, Greenert said.“When we raised our right

hand we said, ‘I will support anddefend the Constitution of theUnited States against all enemies,foreign and domestic; that I willbear true faith and allegiance tothe same’ that means the institu-tion,” he said. “We need to and wewill remain vigilant. We will con-tinue to drive home to our peoplethe importance of integrity: thefact that it is the foundation of allthat we do in the U.S. Navy.”

CNO video blog: ‘We need to talk about integrity’

A failureof integrity

underminesa unit’s trust.

Adm. Jonathan Greenert

Chief of Naval Operations

Greenert’s video blog can be viewed atcno.navylive.dodlive.mil/?p=1185

U.S. Navy photo

All classes are held at the Fleetand Family Support Center inBuilding 2090 off of Bundy Roadunless otherwise noted. Classes areopen to active-duty and retired mil-itary and Reservist. Reservations arenecessary and can be made at FFSCor by calling 301-342-4911.

ClassesAnger Management (six, two-

hour sessions) - Feb. 19 and 24, 2-4p.m.

Stress Management - Feb. 13,2:30-4 p.m.

Infant Massage at Glenn ForestCommunity Center - Feb. 27, 9-9:45a.m.

Closed Presidents Day - Feb. 17Financial Considerations for

Families and Deployments - Feb.19, 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

Ten Steps to a Federal Job - Feb.19, 1-4 p.m.

Myers Briggs - Feb. 20, 8 a.m. tonoon

Shred-it - Feb. 25, 11 a.m. to 1p.m.

Ready Navy/Operation PrepareWinter is here! Get a free infor-

mation packet on how to preparefor winter weather and other emer-gencies at the Fleet and Family Sup-port Center.

Clinical Counseling ServicesClinical Counseling services can

directly improve the quality of lifeof service members and their familyby addressing the stressors facingtoday’s military: family hardships,

marital conflicts, parent/child is-sues, money concerns, frequentmoves, health and environmentalfactors, etc. To make an appoint-ment with a counselor, call 301-342-4911 or 202-685-6019.

Exceptional Family MemberProgram (EFMP)

EFMP is a DOD program thataddresses the special needs of mili-tary families. Sailors with an excep-tional family member — a familymember with special needs such asa medical or educational disability— are encouraged to enroll in theEFMP so the Navy can do its part incaring for EFM needs.

Email James Lettner at [email protected].

Financial Counseling ServicesThe Personal Financial Educator

can help individuals and families inmanaging their finances, resolvingfinancial problems and reachinglong-term goals. Take control ofyour finances and make an ap-pointment with a counselor by call-ing 301-342-5442.

Playgroup at Glenn ForestThursdays, 10-11 a.m.

Moms, dads and caregivers areinvited to bring their children forplaytime at the Glenn Forest Com-munity Center.


See more FFSC classeson Facebook.

Stay up to datewith us onFacebook

Naval Air Station Patuxent River • [email protected] • www.facebook.com/NASPaxRiverThe name Tester is a registered mark in the

state of Maryland.This paper is published by Comprint, Inc., 9030

Comprint Ct., Gaithersburg, Md. 20877, (301) 948-1520, a private firm in no way connected with theU.S. Navy, under exclusive written contract withNaval District Washington.

This commercial enterprise newspaper isan authorized publication for members of themilitary services. Contents of the Tester are notnecessarily the official views of, nor endorsedby the U.S. Government, the Department ofDefense, or the Department of the Navy. Theappearance of advertising in this publication,including inserts or supplements, does not con-stitute endorsement by the Department of De-fense or Southern Maryland Newspapers andPrinting of the products or services advertised.

Everything advertised in this publication shall

be made available for purchase, use, or patron-age without regard to race, color, religion, sex,national origin, age, marital status, physical handi-cap, political affiliation, or any other non-merit fac-tor of the purchaser, user, or patron. If a violationor rejection of this equal opportunity policy by anadvertiser is confirmed, the publisher shall refuseto print advertising from that source until the viola-tion is corrected.

Editorial content is edited, prepared, andprovided by the Public Affairs Office. News copyshould be submitted by Friday to be consideredfor the following week’s edition. All material is ed-ited for accuracy, brevity, clarity, and conformity toregulations. To inquire about news copy, call 301-342-4163 or fax the Tester at 301-863-9296.

Commercial advertising may be placedwith the publisher by calling 301-862-2111.

Capt. Ben ShevchukCommanding Officer

Capt. Heidi FlemingExecutive Officer

Cmd. Master ChiefWilliam Lloyd-Owen

Command Master Chief

Connie HempelPublic Affairs Officer

Donna CipolloniStaff Writer

Frederick C. FairVolunteer

Breton Helseland

Deirdre ParryCopy/layout editors

FFSC

From Chief of Naval Personnel andDefense Media Activity

The Navy joins the nation in cel-ebrating the vibrant history and cul-ture of African-Americans and blackSailors during African-American/Black History Month throughoutFebruary. This year’s theme is “CivilRights in America.”

African-American Sailors have alegacy of honorable service that per-meates U.S. Navy history throughevery major armed conflict since theRevolutionary War.

Celebrating the exceptional anddistinctivecontributions,historiesandcultures African-American and blackshipmates bring to the Navy, Tester ishighlighting African-Americans whoblazed trails and changed the courseof history in each February issue. Lastweek’s Tester highlighted Phyllis MaeDailey, the first black woman to be in-ducted into theU.S.NavyNurseCorpson March 8, 1945, and Vice Adm. Mi-chelle Janie Howard, who, in 1999,became thefirst blackwoman to com-mand an amphibious dock landingship, USS Rushmore (LSD 47).

A full-color brochure on the histo-ry of African-Americans in the UnitedStates Navy is available for downloadon the the Naval History and HeritageCommand website.

Editor’s note: This is part two of afour-part series.

African-American firsts: Paying homage to black history

John Henry Turpin enlisted in the Navy on Nov. 4, 1896, at age 19. Hewas a surviving member of USS Maine’s (ACR 1) crew when she was de-stroyed by an explosion in February 1898. He also survived the boiler ex-plosion on USS Bennington (PG 4) in July 1905. He served on several otherships and left active duty in 1916. He was recalled in April of 1917 whenthe U.S. entered World War I. On June 1 of that year, aboard USS Marble-head (C 11), Turbin became a chief gunner’s mate, one of the Navy’s firstAfrican-American chief petty officers. He served actively in that rank untilhe transferred to the Fleet Reserve on March 8, 1919. John Henry Turpinretired as a chief gunner’s mate on Oct. 5, 1925.

Graphics by Willie Kendrick III, Defense Media Activity

Master Chief Carl Brashear, the Navy’s first African-American master diver,taught people world-wide that you can achieve your goals and can be heldaccountable by your characteristics as a person, and not by the color of yourskin. Brashear joined the Navy in 1948. His unwavering determination to serveas a Navy diver paid off in 1954 when he was accepted and graduated fromthe diving program. In 1967, a year after an injury aboard the salvage shipUSS Hoist (ARS 40) cost him his left leg, Brashear became the first Navy diverto be restored to full active duty as an amputee. He was the first black man toever become a master diver in the Navy, a position he held from 1970 to 1979.

Master ChiefCarl Brashear

Chief JohnHenry Turpin

For all MWR news, visit www.cnic.navy.mil/Patuxent and click onthe Fleet and Family Readiness tab.

Phone directoryEnergy Zone 301-995-3869Liberty Center 301-342-3565Information, Travel andToursOffice

301-342-3648River’s Edge 301-342-3656CustomizedCreations 301-342-6293Rassieur YouthCenter 301-342-1694

Rassieur Youth CenterRegistration for Mattapany DayCamp begins Feb. 24.

Registrations accepted basedon the following schedule: currentschool-age care youths, Feb. 24-28;military, March 3-4; DOD civil-ians, March 10-11; and contractors,March 17-18.

Customized CreationsThird Annual Spring Fling Artsand Crafts Show Registration

Craft Show is April 26. Regis-trations are accepted until filled.Registrations accepted based onthe following schedule: active duty,retiredmilitary and past crafters,ongoing; and DOD and contractors,Feb. 18. Craft spaces are $65; tableand chairs also available to rent.Call 301-342-6293.

River’s Edge Cateringand Conference CenterNow open for lunch11 a.m. to 1 p.m. weekdays

Bald Eagle Pub remains closed

until all repairs are complete to theRiver’s Edge Catering ConferenceCenter.

Valentine’s Dinner/Dancingwith a DJ

Canceled due to repairs neededfrom burst water pipe.

Energy ZoneZumba KidsRegister byMarch 3

Tuesdays,March 4, 11, 18 and 25,5:30-6:30 p.m. Cost per child: $40;$20 for additional sibling or friend.

Ballroom DancingRegister byMarch 28

Thursdays, April 3, 10, 17, 24,andMay 1 and 8, 6-8 p.m. Cost perperson: $48

ITTLocation: Building 2655, in frontof the drill hallHours: 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays

Vacations and Tickets availableto all hands, some restrictions doapply.

Going on vacation for SpringBreak? Keep inmind that sometickets require a 21-day advancepurchase.

TheMorale, Welfare and Rec-reation ITT Office sells Disney andUniversal packages and tickets,Cruises, all-inclusive vacation pack-ages and vacation packages to justabout everywhere.

Discounted tickets available:Green Day’s American Idiot - Na-tional TheaterAdvanced Auto Parts Monster Jam -Baltimore ArenaMammaMia! - National TheaterHarlemGlobetrotters - VerizonCenterBlueMan Group - National TheaterWest Side Story - National TheaterThe Lion King - Kennedy Center

Philadelphia Flower Show Bus TripMarch 6

Bus transportation and admis-

sion: $90. Bus transportation withgarden tea (only 12 seats): $115

Great Wolf Lodge AdventureJune 13 and 14Order byMay 15

A 67,000 square foot, indoorentertainment area with its own gi-gantic water park. Sell price is $468which includes a suite that sleepssix, six passes to the water park, and$8 worth of arcade tokens. Registerat the ITT Office. Call 301-342-3648.

LibertyPre-Valentine’s Day PedicuresFeb. 13; bus departs at 5:30 p.m.

Cost: $15

Medieval Times Liberty TripFeb. 22; bus departs at 4 p.m.

Cost: $34, includes admission,transportation and dinner

Auto Skills 101Feb. 23, 11 a.m.

Cost: Free


Scan to seemore MWR events

on Facebook.

MWR

By Kelly BurdickProgram Executive Office for AirAnti-Submarine Warfare, Assaultand Special Mission Programs(PEO(A)) Public Affairs

More than 350 acquisitionprofessionals from the ProgramExecutive Office for Air Anti-Sub-marine Warfare, Assault and Spe-cial Mission Programs (PEO(A))gathered Feb. 4 at Naval Air Sta-tion Patuxent River Center StageTheater for a Hot Topics forum.

Spearheaded by PEO(A)’s Com-mander, Rear Adm. CJ Jaynes, theforum marked the first of what’sto become an annual event spon-sored by the Defense AcquisitionUniversity (DAU).

PEO(A) personnel had an op-portunity to whet their acquisi-tion appetite with upper-echelonperspectives on the re-issuanceof the DOD Instruction 5000.02,an interim document designedto streamline the acquisition pro-cess, which was put in place byformer Deputy Defense SecretaryAshton Carter. Attendees hearddirectly from the decision-maker’sarena through Katrina McFarland,the assistant secretary of defensefor acquisition. McFarland is theprincipal adviser on acquisitionmatters to Secretary of DefenseChuck Hagel and Frank Kendall,the undersecretary of defense foracquisition, technology and logis-tics.

McFarland kicked off themorn-ing with a detailed discussion onthe instruction’s shift from whathas long been known as rules-

based program planning to thatof a tailored and thoughtful ap-proach; one that now focuses onprocess intent as well as the acqui-sition program’s product charac-teristics and unique circumstanc-es, including operational urgencyand risk factors.

Program management respon-sibility and key supporting disci-plines have also changed in theinstruction. McFarland remindedeveryone that the business of pro-gram management is really the“management of people; it’s themanagement of functional area;it’s the management of how youmake the trade space happen

within the confines of all of thosethings that influence and impactyour program.”

With efficiency and produc-tivity in defense acquisition as ageneral part of the overall theme,McFarland also discussed “Bet-ter Buying Power 2.0” initiativesand “should cost” management.Overall, McFarland’s key takeawaywas flexibility with the acquisitionprocess.

DAU instructors Brad Batesand Brian Schultz then providedsome DODI 5000.02 “Rapid De-ployment Training,” which pro-vided a closer inspection of thenewly revised document.

After the DAU training, Jaynespresented her PEO(A) long-rangestrategic objectives.

Jaynes reported to PEO(A) inJuly 2013, at which time she set outto establish a means to ensure heroffice was providing the best sup-port possible to the programs and

program managers.Since then, she has worked with

a team to develop her long-termstrategy, which defines the meth-odology used to develop PEO(A)’smission, vision and values. It also

‘Hot Topics’ event focuses on naval acquisition efficiency

U.S. Navy photo/Kelly Schindler

Assistant Secretary of Defense for Acquisition KatrinaMcFarland, standing,answers questions fromProgramExecutive Office for Air Anti-SubmarineWarfare, Assault and Special Mission Programs (PEO(A)) professionals onupdated acquisition policy and processes at the Naval Air Station PatuxentRiver Center Stage Theater, Feb. 4.

PEO(A) presents inauguralAcquisition Excellence Awards

Capt. Dean Peters and Larry Pugh, the program manager/prin-cipal deputy program manager team for the Presidential Helicop-ters Program Office (PMA-274) received the first Program ExecutiveOffice for Air Anti-Submarine Warfare, Assault and Special MissionPrograms (PEO(A)) Acquisition Excellence Leadership Award duringa recent PEO(A) Hot Topics forum. Peters and Pugh were selectedfor their outstanding executive leadership, acquisition innovation,creativity, and program affordability for the Presidential HelicopterReplacement Program (VXX) efforts in 2013.

The PEO(A) Acquisition Excellence Team Award was presentedto the MH-60 Common Weapons Team from the Multi-Mission He-licopter Program Office (PMA-299). In 2013, this team supportedthe fleet by fielding two Fast Attack Craft/Fast InShore Attack Craft(FAC/FIAC) threat response weapons on the MH-60S, and success-fully deployed the M197 20-mm gun and the LAU-61 C/A launcherusing High Explosive and Flechette warheads on a 2.75-inch rocketon the MH-60S. These weapon systems are now integrated, certifiedairworthy, and are readily available to the operational commandersto counter the FAC/FIAC threat. The team is alsoworking closely withthe Direct and Time Sensitive Weapons Program (PMA-242) to de-velop and integrate the Digital Rocket Launcher.

Teammembers include: Lt. Cmdr. Walter Sandell, Robert Brewer,RalphDemmick,MikeDuncan, Eve Ford, Randall Gross, SusanHam-mel, Ken Cadena, John Male, D’Ann Morris, Ron Phetteplace, BruceSchmidt, Judy Walker, John Fahnestock, Gene Clark, ChristopherEarly, Cmdr. Scott Stringer, Cmdr. John Schultz, Lt. Daniel Personand Kacie Fleck.

See Topics, Page 6

Thursday, Feb. 136:30 p.m., ParanormalActivity: The Marked Ones

A group of party goerssets out with a camera toinvestigate after a womandies in the apartmentbeneath them, and theydiscover items associatedwith black magic rituals.When Jesse discovers amark on his arm, strangeforces pursue him whilehis loved ones attempt tosave him. Rated: R (1 hr,24 min)

Friday, Feb. 146:30 p.m., Lone Survivor

This movie tells the sto-ry of four Navy SEALs onan ill-fated covert missionto neutralize a high-levelTaliban operative who are

ambushed by enemy forcesin the Hindu Kush regionof Afghanistan. This storyof heroism, courage andsurvival is based on TheNew York Times bestseller.Rated: R (2 hr, 1 min)

9:30 p.m.August: Osage County

This tells the dark,hilarious and deeplytouching story of thestrong-willed women ofthe Weston family, whoselives have diverged until afamily crisis brings them

back to the Midwest housethey grew up in, and to thedysfunctional woman whoraised them. Rated: R (2 hr,1 min)

Saturday, Feb. 154 p.m., The Legendof Hercules (not in 3D)

In this epic origin story,the mythical Greek heroHercules — the son ofZeus, a half-god, half-manis blessed with extraordi-nary strength. Betrayedby his stepfather, theKing, and exiled and sold

into slavery because of aforbidden love, Herculesmust use his formidablepowers to fight his wayback to his rightful king-dom. Through harrowingbattles and gladiator-arenadeath matches, Herculesembarks on a legendaryodyssey to overthrow theKing and restore peace tothe land. Rated: PG-13 (1hr, 31 min)

6:30 p.m.,August: Osage County9:30 p.m., Lone Survivor

Sunday, Feb. 162 p.m., The Legendof Hercules (3D)

Monday and Tuesday

No Movies

Wednesday, Feb. 19

6:30 p.m.,

Lone Survivor

Coming Soon:

Ride AlongThe Nut Job (3D)I, FrankensteinHerJack Ryan:Shadow Recruit


CENTER STAGE MOVIESl Movie Line: 301-342-5033l Reservations: 301-342-3648l Ticket Prices: E1 - E5 Adult, $3.50;Child (6-11), $2.50;All other adults, $4.50;

Child (6-11), $3.50; 3-D Glasses, $1

l Authorized ID required for admission

breaks down the strategicfocus to the program man-ager, showing how they willalso reach their long-termstrategic focus.

Jaynes’ three strategicobjectives — program ex-ecution, affordability andpeople — are the founda-tion for developing the op-erational objectives thatwill drive performance andultimately ensure measure-able success in supporting

the programs and meetingcustomers’ expectations.

The event wrapped upwith a surprise presenta-tion, the PEO(A) Acquisi-tion Excellence Awards.

New to the PEO(A) com-munity, the awards wereinspired by Jaynes — one

to recognize program man-agement excellence, an-other to recognize an ac-quisition team effort. Theawards are sponsored bythe DAU Alumni Associa-tion and will be presentedannually by PEO(A) andselect DAU representatives

at the annual PEO(A) HotTopics Forum.

The PEO(A) Acquisi-tion Excellence Leader-ship Award was presentedto Capt. Dean Peters andLarry Pugh, the programand deputy program man-agers for the Presidential

Helicopters Program Office(PMA-274).

The PEO(A) AcquisitionExcellence Team Award waspresented to the MH-60Common Weapons Team,representing the Multi-Mis-sion Helicopter ProgramOffice (PMA-299).

See moreCenter Stage movieinformation online.

TOPICSContinued from 5

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Commentary byFather Mike DolanSt. Nicolas Chapel

One of the exciting thingsabout the Gospel is that thereare always new avenues pre-sented to enliven our faith.

At a recent mass the Gospelintroduced the baptism of theLord by John. The next day’sGospel reading recalled Jesussummoning Peter, Andrew,James and John to follow him.Howmight these readingsper-tain to our time and space?

Interestingly, it does in anumber of ways. But, let mespeak of just one.

Little attention is given tothe fact that these men leftparents and committed as-sociates behind. Indeed, theyjust walked out on them.

John left his family andlived as a hermit eating locustsand wild honey. Matthew3:4 notes John was dressedin clothing made of camel’shair and a leather belt aroundhis waist, similar to how theprophet, Elijah, dressed 800years earlier.

Can you imagine whatJohn’s parents were think-ing? What did Zebedee thinkwhen his sons James and Johnabruptly walked away frommending their fishing nets?

What did Peter’s and An-drew’s associates think whenPeter and Andrew walkedaway after having relied onthem for their livelihood with-out so much as a “see ya?”

Yes, these men seemed tohave “jumped ship” similar tomany of our youth today, buttheirs was a leap of faith intothe service of God.

These men trusted thatGod would never mislead orabandon them. It was not anescape into a self-serving egotrip, as we too often see today.

In the end, all five menmerited eternal life, and themost bizarre earned the praiseof Jesus who said of him thatno one greater has arisenamong those born of women.

So to parents I say, bringthe children up as best as youcan with God as the center ofyour lives and theirs, and thenhang on for the ride of yourlife.

CHAPLAIN’S CORNER

Jumping ship or leap of faithYes, these menseemed to have‘jumped ship’similar to manyof our youth today,but theirs was aleap of faith intothe service of God.

Father Mike Dolan

Carrasquillo surprises wifeduring retirement ceremony

U.S. Navy photo/MC2 Kenneth Abbate

ChiefWarrant Officer 4 JoeCarrasquillo renews his vowswith his wife, Maria, during his retire-ment ceremony Feb. 7 at the Air Test and Evaluation Squadron (VX) 1 hangar at Naval Air Sta-tion Patuxent River. Carrasquillo retired after 30 years of Navy service. FatherMike Dolan, fromthe St. Nicolas Chapel, officiates the couple’s renewal ofmarriage vows.

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8 Thursday, February 13, 2014Tester Thursday, February 13, 2014 Tester 9

By Donna CipolloniTester staff writer

When Mike Oliver says he’s happy to be atwork, he isn’t kidding.

Sitting in his office at Public Works, behinda desk clutteredwith paperwork, fielding ques-tions from coworkers who poke their head inhis door, Oliver — utility and energy manage-ment branch head with Naval Facilities Engi-neering Command—handles it all with a calmdemeanor and a smile.

He’s learned not to sweat the small stuff;he’s learned to appreciate life and all that it in-cludes — and he learned it in the hardest waypossible.

Back in June 2011, Oliver was visiting NorthCarolina for a family reunion. With some timeto kill, he decided to go skateboarding down alocal hill.

“After a while, I began sweating badly anddidn’t feel well,” he said. “It was hot and humidand I thought maybe I was suffering from heatexhaustion.”

Feeling ill, Oliver didn’t attend the reunion;and he still felt bad the following day when hiswife drove him back to their Lexington Parkhome.

An unexpectedawakening

Later, in the wee hours of the morning, hebecamenauseated and a visit to the emergencyroom showed he was having a heart attack. Hewas then flown to Washington Medical Centerand put onmedication.

“Things kept getting worse and theycouldn’t figure out why I was feeling so poor-ly,” he said. “It was while I was having an an-gioplasty, which I was awake for, that I beganvomiting blood.”

During the angioplasty, a weakened wall inOliver’s heart — undiagnosed since childbirth—blewahole, and just days after happily coast-ing down that North Carolina hill, he foundhimself lying immobilized in a hospital bed,hooked up to heart/lung bypass life support.

“If that hole had blown out anywhere elsebut the hospital, I’d be dead,” Oliver said.

The diagnosisOliverwas suffering frombiventricular heart

failure — failure affecting both sides of theheart—whichmeant he couldno longer pumpenough blood to keep his body’s organs func-tioning normally. He was immediately placedon the heart transplant waiting list.

After three weeks on life support and notknowing whether a donor heart would arrivein time, Oliver was accepted into a program atVirginia Commonwealth University MedicalCenter and was implanted with the SynCardiaTotal Artificial Heart on July 22, 2011.

“I woke up in August in intensive care and Iremember my wife sitting onmy bed,” he said.“I had chest tubes and [tracheotomy] tubes,and I was in bad shape. My wife told me I nolonger had a heart and was being kept alive byamachine. It was overwhelming.”

According to the SynCardiawebsite, the sur-gery Oliver underwent involved removing theleft and right failing ventricles of his heart, re-moving his four heart valves, and sewing quick

connects into his intact atria, aorta and pulmo-nary artery. The Total Artificial Heart was thenimplanted and attached via the quick connects.

In his chest beat a plastic device, poweredwith air and vacuum provided by a pneumaticdriver that weighedmore than 400 pounds.

“Two hoses ran from [themachine] directlyinto my chest,” he said, “and it was so heavythat once I was finally able to walk again, twonurses had to drag it along while I walked be-hind it andmywife followedwith a chair in caseI got tired.”

A Maryland f irstEventually, on Sept. 21, Oliver became the

first person in Maryland ever to be dischargedfrom the hospital without a human heart. Hewas able to do so using an experimental wear-able portable driver which powered his arti-ficial heart using precisely calibrated pulses.Powered by two rechargeable lithium-ion bat-teries, it weighed 13.5 pounds.

“It looked like a backpack,” he said, “andmy wife and I had to go through training to

learn how to keep the chest tubes sterile, howto change the batteries and what to do in caseof emergencies. If something failed or wentwrong, my heart would stop and there’d onlybe about seven seconds to fix it.”

While Oliver said he wasn’t in pain with theartificial heart, it did beat harder than a normalheart and it was fairly loud.

“It kindof sounded like an agitatingwashing

machine,” he said. “And if I was lying in bed, Icould feel my head automatically bobbing tothebeating rhythm. Iwas told I’d get used to thesound, but I never wanted to. I hoped I didn’thave it long enough forme to get used to it.”

The longawaited cal l

On Dec. 10 at 1:30 a.m., Oliver got the callhe’d been hoping for — a donor heart had be-come available and he had to get himself toRichmond as quickly as possible. After fourhours in surgery, he awoke two days later in ahospital room - to silence.

“When you’re prepped for a transplant, youcan never be sure it’ll work,” he said. “Some-thing could go wrong and you could wake upwithout a newheart.When Iwokeup, I listenedfor that device. When I didn’t hear it, I knew itworked. It was amazing.”

Just 21 days later, Oliver was released fromthe hospital, anxious to reclaim his old life.Sure, he takes about 20 medicines a day andsuffered a few side effects. His voice has beenpermanently altered by the breathing tubes hetolerated and he has hand tremors - he jokesthat he’s terrible with a laser pointer - but he’salso grateful for the technology and the medi-cal professionals that saved his life, and for thepeople who got him through it all.

“I wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy,but I’m glad it happened to me,” he said. “It

changed my perspective on life and it’s touch-ing to know all the friends, family and cowork-ers who thought about me. It was awesome tohave that support system.”

That “other”s ide ef fec t

Oliver admits to beingmore spiritual now.“I’m an engineer and I tend to look at things

logically,” he said. “But I hadmyownwhite lightexperienceand therewere things thathappenedtome, people I saw, that I just can’t explain.”

Having settledback intoa routineandbeliev-ing theworstwas over,Oliver’swife, Ronda,wasunexpectedly diagnosed with breast cancer inMarch 2013, following a routine mammogram.Now it was his turn to be there to care for her.

“I believe it was all part of the plan,” Oliversaid. “If the artificial heart hadn’t been availabletome, Iwouldn’thavebeenherewhensheneed-ed my help.” Fortunately, Ronda is cancer freenowbutstill facesseveral reconstructivesurgeriesbeforepossiblygoingonthatmuch-neededvaca-tion the couple has been talking about.

“The last few years have been rough,” Oli-ver said. “We need to get away, relax and enjoyourselves.”

ThemessageOliverwants people to get fromtheir ordeal is to realize what’s important in life,take care of yourself by going for routine check-ups, and consider becoming an organ donor.

“I don’t know anything about my heart do-nor except that he was in his 30s and died fromhead trauma,” he said. “But I feel blessed thatsomeone cared enough to help others. I’m def-initely a proponent for organ donation now.One body can help somany people.”

There’s one more claim Oliver appreciatesbeing able tomake.

“I get to celebrate two birthdays now,” hesaid laughingly. “The day I was born, and theday I receivedmy donor heart.”

KING OF

HEARTS


In September 2011, Mike Oliver became the first person in Maryland to be discharged from the hos-pital without a human heart. For five months, Oliver - utility and energy management branch head atNaval Air Station Patuxent River - was kept alive by the SynCardia Total Artificial Heart until undergo-ing donor heart transplant surgery.

Courtesy photos

Oliver shown wearing the Freedom® portabledriver that kept his artificial heart pumping afterhe left the hospital. Resembling a backpack, thedriver could be plugged into a wall outlet to pow-er the unit and keep the batteries fully charged. Italso had an adapter that allowed it to be pluggedinto a car.

Oliver, shown here after receiving his artificial heart at the Virginia Commonwealth University Medical Center, underwent a total of 18 surgeriesthroughout his ordeal; 14 of them just to stabilize him for transport from Washington, D.C. to the medical center in Richmond, Va.

Nicknamed Big Blue, this 418-lb. driver is whatOliver learned was pumping his SynCardia To-tal Artificial Heart when he awoke from surgery.After a long bout of immobility, grueling physi-cal therapy was necessary for Oliver to regainhis muscle strength and function. Once hewas finally able to take walks in the hospital, ittook two nurses to drag this along as he trailedbehind it.

Facts from SynCardia:™ There have been more than 1,200 implants of the Total Artificial Heart, accountingfor more than 335 patient years of support.™ The Total Artificial Heart provides immediate blood flow of up to 9.5 litres per min-ute through each ventricle.™ The longest a patient has been supported with the Total Artificial Heart is 1,374days (nearly four years) prior to receiving a successful heart transplant.™ About 3,100 people in the United States are on the waiting list for a heart trans-plant on any given day, but only 2,200 donor hearts are available each year.

I get to celebrate two birthdays now;the day I was born, and the dayI received my donor heart.

Mike Oliver

Naval Facilities Engineering Command Utility and EnergyManagement Branch Head


Courtesy of Naval Health ClinicPatuxent River

Urgent care services are medicallynecessary services needed to treat an ill-ness or injury that could develop into afurther disability or even death if treat-ment for that illness or injury is delayedlonger than 24 hours.

Urgent Care During Clinic HoursTRICARE Prime patients in need of

urgent care services during the NavalHealth Clinic Patuxent River clinic hoursshould call the clinic directly at 301-342-1506. A nurse will determine if same-daycare is needed based on information re-ceived over the phone. If so, the patientwill be offered an acute appointment atthe clinic if one is available.

Ifnoappointmentsareavailableat the

clinic, a referralmaybeenteredauthoriz-ing a visit to a local urgent care center.

Urgent Care After Clinic HoursAfter normal clinic hours, to include

weekends,patients inneedofmedical careare authorized to seek urgent care in thecivilian network only after consulting withthe naval health clinic on-call provider.Call the on-call provider at 301-342-1506.

TRICARE Prime patients who obtainurgent care before getting an approvalshould call the clinic the next duty day, ifpossible, to request a referral for that ur-gent care visit. TRICARE Prime patientswho do not obtain a referral from theirprimary caremanager at the clinicwithinthree business days will be charged forthe off base urgent care visit.

Urgent Care When Traveling

TRICARE Prime patients who re-quire urgent care while traveling mustcoordinate that care with their prima-ry care manager or the TRICARE NorthRegion contractor, HealthNet, beforereceiving care.

TRICARE Prime patients unable toreach their primary caremanager shouldcall 877-TRICARE (874-2213) to notifythem of their need for urgent care.

TRICARE beneficiaries should carrywith them a TRICARE pocket card or the“Traveling with Prime” info sheet whentraveling for quick access to importantphone numbers. Both of these are avail-able online at www.tricare.com.

For more information about urgentcare, phone Cmdr. Alison Faith at 301-995-3681.

Getting Urgent Care for TRICARE patients

Dunkirk Urgent Care (Dunkirk)10845 Towne Center Road, Suite 108Phone: 410-286-79116-10 p.m. weekdaysNoon to 10 p.m. weekends

Solomons Urgent Care Center (Solomons)Phone: 410-394-280014090 Solomons Island Road6-10 p.m. weekdaysNoon to 10 p.m. weekends

St. Mary’s Express Care (Charlotte Hall)Phone: 301-290-591037767Market Drive4-10 p.m. weekdays10 a.m. to 8 p.m. weekends

Breton Medical Center Urgent Care (California)J. Patrick JarboeMedical Center building behind the CVS22590 Shady CourtPhone: 301-737-05008 a.m. to 8 p.m. weekdays9 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekends

TRICARE-affiliated Urgent Care Centers in Southern Maryland

By JimGaramoneAmericanForcesPress Service

Balance is the key to handlingbudget reductions for the next fiscalyear, which begins Oct. 1, DefenseSecretary Chuck Hagel said during apress conference Feb. 7.

Hagelhas tocut$41billion fromthepresident’s planned fiscal 2015 budgetrequest, scheduled to be released March 4, and Pentagon plan-nersareworkingwith theWhiteHouseandtheOfficeofManage-ment andBudget on the submission.

“You have to come at all these things from a holistic point ofview,”Hagel told reporters at a Pentagonnews conference.

The secretary noted that the major parts of the budget fundreadiness, modernization and capabilities. “As you assess yourresources and youmatch your resources to mission,” he added,“those are three priorities that always must be in front of every-thing else.”

Because it is impossible to cut $41billion fromjustoneaspectof the budget, Hagel said, “you assess the strategic interest andguidanceand themission todefendyour country,what it’s goingto take to do that, and then you start working through that.”

“Will there be cuts across the board? Of course there will,” hesaid. “You can’t do it any otherway. Are there going to be adjust-ments across the board?Of course. But youmust preserve readi-nessandmodernizationandthecapabilityandthecapacity inor-der to do the job of protecting this countrywithin the frameworkof the resources youhave.We’ll do that.”

Hagel said he is satisfied that the proposed Defense Depart-ment budget will protect the United States today and in the fu-ture. “I think it’s a very good plan. I think it’s an effective plan,”he said.

Balance is key to fiscal2015 budget reductions

Courtesy photo

Chuck Hagel

1041398

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Hocker commitsto six more yearsMaster-at-Arms 1st Class (SW)ArmanHocker, left, Naval AirStation Patuxent River SecurityDepartment, and reenlistingofficer, ChiefWarrant Officer 3Roland Brown fromFleet Air Re-connaissance Squadron (VQ) 4,following Hocker’s reenlistment,Feb. 10. Hocker, with nearly 14years Navy service, committedto sixmore years.

Celebrating service, continued commitment

Batty marks 35 yearsEdward Batty III, left, receives acertificate celebrating 35 yearsof service as a federal employeefromMichael Breckon, Naval AirWarfare Center Aviation Division,director of Logistics and Industri-al Operations. Batty, the DeputyAssistant ProgramManager forLogistics and theObsolescenceTeamLead for AV-8BHarrierProgramOffice (PMA-257),received his certificate Jan. 15during the Naval Air SystemsCommandHot Topics Forumatthe Center Stage Theater.

U.S. Navy photo/Gary Younger

U.S. Navy photo/Connie Hempel

Pax River’s newest working dog

Aisa, the newestmilitary workingdog at Naval AirStation PatuxentRiver, conducts aroutine random

search in the hall-way of Building 409on Feb. 6 with her

handler, MA3 LanceKalahar. Aisa, a five-and-a-half-year-oldGerman Shepherd,

joined Abba andBleck as the third

MWD for the instal-lation’s Public SafetyDepartment when

she reported for dutythis past September.


1033882


As of Feb. 7Intramural Bowling League

WSI 53-15Big 10 49-19Gutter Trash 44-24Hang ‘emHigh 40-28Goat Locker 36-32Ten PinMafia 34-34Gutter Clutter 32-36Rollin’ Thunder 31-37Warlocks 31-37High-n-Low 29-39Spare Time 22-46

Intramural Graybeard Basketball LeagueW.W.D. 6-0ATR 4-1VX-23 4-2River Dawgs 4-2MAG-49 3-2Loggies 2-3FRC 2-5Ballers for Life 1-5VX-1 (withdrawn) 0-6

Intramural Volleyball LeagueMonday/Wednesday DivisionOld School 9-0Need For Speed 4-5MAD 3-6Shaw Road 2-7Tuesday/Thursday DivisionBrew Crew 14-1Servin’ It Up 12-3Great Balls Of Fire 8-7STK 7-8Notorious D.I.G. 2-13Grateful Digs 2-13

Intramural Basketball LeagueMonday/Wednesday DivisionGrind Time 3-0Jumpertime 2-1Ballsohardu 2-1Tigers 1-1Ground Zero 1-2WEPS 0-2Team America 0-2Tuesday/Thursday DivisionVX-1 5-0MAG-49 3-1Phoenix FRC 2-2A/O 2-2Underdogs 2-3MAD 1-3Warlocks 0-4

SCOREBOARD

any idea of what I am aboutto say.” Bailey’s remarksreceived chuckles from thecrowd. He tempered hislevity, telling his new staff,“We remain a country atwar and, as such, we mustcontinue to provide ourforward operating forceswith the tools they need tomake the fight as unfair asour ingenuity and technol-ogy enables. I will not letyou down.”

Gaddis returned to oneof his favorite movies,science-fiction film “TheMatrix,” as he summed upGreen’s tenure at PMA-234.

“Navigating the Navy’sacquisition process can befilled with many trips andturns, and a program man-ager’s success or failurecan be as simple as red orblue,” Gaddis said. “In themovie, Morpheus is letting[protagonist] Neo choosewhether he wants to swal-low the blue pill or the redpill. If Neo swallows the

blue pill, then he can ‘be-lieve whatever he wants tobelieve.’ If he swallows thered pill, then he will know‘how deep the rabbit holegoes.’ I got Fozzy to swal-low the red pill.”

PMA-234 is responsiblefor acquiring, deliveringand sustaining the EA-6BProwler aircraft and Air-borne Electronic Attacksystems, providing navalaviators with capabilitiesthat enable mission suc-cess. The primary missionof the Prowler is suppres-sion of enemy air defenses

in support of strike air-craft and ground troopsby interrupting enemyelectronic activity and ob-taining tactical electronicintelligence within thecombat area.

The Prowler is a long-range, all-weather air-craft with advanced elec-tronic countermeasurescapability. Manufacturedby the Northrop Grum-man Systems Corp., it isa twin-engine, mid-wingconfigured aircraft thathas a side-by-side cockpitarrangement.

PMA-234Continued from 2

tary OneSource, is availableto all active-duty military,Guard and Reservist andtheir dependents authorizedin the Defense EnrollmentEligibility Reporting Sys-tem, commonly referred toas DEERS. Members retainthese benefits for up to sixmonths after they separateor retire from the military.

“Individuals with morecomplex taxes or tax needsbeyond the scope of theself-assistance program

may be referred elsewhere,”Mincey said.

The VITA/ELF centeris located in Building 409,Room 219, with services byappointment only. A com-pleted VITA intake form isrequired and is available atthe legal office.

“When people contact usfor an appointment, we’llemail them an advance re-minder of what informa-tion and paperwork will benecessary for them to bringalong to complete their taxreturn,” Adkins said. “It’s apretty smooth process.”

VITAContinued from 1

1041455

1041454



St. Mary’s County:Introduction to Grant Seeking and WritingTonight, 5-7 p.m.Lexington Park library

Staff from St. Mary’s County libraries andCollege of Southern Maryland Nonprofit In-stitute will present an overview of researchinggrant opportunities and the grant writing pro-cess including a hands-on demonstration ofusing the Foundation Center databases to findsources for grants and a review of the strategyfor applying for grants. Free, but registrationrequired at 301-863-8188 or www.stmalib.org.

How to Train a RobotTonight, 6-7 p.m.Charlotte Hall library

Youth ages 9-13 will learn to use SNAP!programming language to control the Finchrobot and solve challenges. Presented byGreat Mills High School and AP ComputerScience students. Free, but registration re-quired at 301-884-2211 or www.stmalib.org.

Walden Sierra Maryland Health ConnectionSaturday, 1-5 p.m.Charlotte Hall library

Maryland Health Connection informa-

tional session and one-on-one enrollmentassistance.

Libraries ClosedMonday

All St. Mary’s County libraries are closed inoberservance of President’s Day.

Teen NightTuesday, 5-8 p.m.Lexington Park library

Minecraft, Wii, games, computers, crafts.Hang out; bring a friend.

Introduction to the InternetWednesday, 5:30-7:30 p.m.Leonardtown library

Adults will learn terms and basic pagefeatures of the Internet and pick up tips onbrowsing and evaluating sites. Free, butregistration required at 301-475-2846 orwww.stmalib.org.

Calvert County:Valentine Open MicTonight, 7-8:30 p.m.Prince Frederick library

Bring your love/hate poetry, stories, musicand improv! Register for a 10 minute slot at410-535-0291.

Yes! You Can Use a ComputerSaturday, 10-11 a.m.Prince Frederick library

Tips and tricks for using Google to searchthe Internet. Training will last one hour and takeplace in small groups. Register at 410-535-0291.

Libraries ClosedMonday

All Calvert County libraries are closed inobservance of President’s Day.

Calvert Marine Museum Summer CampsNow open for registration

Trying to line up activities to keep yourchildren busy during the lazy days of sum-mer? Calvert Marine Museum offers fun andeducational camps for children entering firstthrough ninth grade, led by our trained edu-cators and docents. The lineup is available forregistration at www.calvertmarinemuseum.com/education/education-youth-summer-camps.php or by calling 410-326-2042, ext. 41.

AROUND TOWN

1039006

Complimentary RoseWith Any PurchaseFebruary 11, 12, 13 & 14

Now Open In LeonardtownRt. 5 26005 Point Lookout Road

Leonardtown, MD 20650301-997-1100

Rt. 235 at Laurel GlenCalifornia, MD 20619301-862-1100

www.gandh.net

T6616620

H H H HTHE RÉSUMÉ EXPERT

n Federal/Civilian/Military Transition Résumés n

n Database Input n Résumé Writing Training n

n KSA’s n Job Search Assistance n

“Mobile Service”

NON-EMPLOYMENT RELATED SVCSH H H Hnn Situation Specific Writing Projects n

Please call Phyllis Houston at 301-574-3956

01040948

1039007


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Documents

test track

thedelmarva peninsula

navalair station

sonic boom topropagate

test sparks media attentionu

news section

routine ight tests

supersonic ight tests