The Carl Vinson Voice is an internal document produced by and for the crew of the USS Carl Vinson and their families. Its contents do not necessarily reflect the official views of the U.S. Government or the Departments of Defense or

the Navy and do not imply any endorsement thereby.

See`FROCKING` page 2

VOL 1 / NO 55 December 23, 2010

Story by MC3 Lori BentUSS Carl Vinson Staff Writer

More than 200 Carl Vinson Sailors were frocked to the next pay grade during a ceremony in the ship’s hangar bay Dec 22.

During the ceremony, the newly advanced petty officers were presented with a certificate of promotion and congratulated by Commanding

Officer Capt. Bruce H. Lindsey, Executive Officer Cmdr. Putnam H. Brown and Command Master

Chief (CMDCM) April D. Beldo. “It’s always a pleasure to recognize Sailors when they are successful,” said Chief

Personnel Specialist (SW) Ron Allen. “Four of my Sailors are among the group

being recognized and that’s a good testament for the leadership in our department. We refer to it as training

our reliefs.”For Electrician’s Mate 1st Class (SW)

Wesley Nabulsi of Reactor Department, earning the title of a first class petty officer

means becoming a better mentor for Sailors. “I tell my junior Sailors to study hard and learn the

basics of our job,” said Nabulsi. “Learning your job and basic military knowledge is the key to success.”

Newly frocked petty officers have waited a long time to wear their first chevrons. Prior to being frocked, junior Sailors are required to attend a petty

U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Travis K. Mendoza

Carl Vinson Voice2

Publisher Capt. Bruce H. Lindsey

Commanding Officer

Executive Editors Lt. Cmdr. Erik Reynolds

Public Affairs Officer

Lt. Erik Schneider Deputy Public Affairs Officer

Managing Editor MC2 Ashley Van Dien

Photo Editor MC2 Adrian White

Layout and DesignMC3 Patrick Green

Staff Writers/PhotographersMC2 James R. Evans

MC2 Byron C. LinderMC3 Lori Bent

MCSN Timothy HazelMC3 Travis K. Mendoza

MC3 Aaron ShelleyMCSN Christopher K. HwangSTA

FFCarl Vinson Voice2

`FROCKING` Cont.

By IS1(AW) Ricardo AmezcuaFCPOA Member

officer indoctrination course where they learned how to take on their new leadership roles.

“It feels like I accomplished something,” said Culinary Specialist 3rd Class Romisha Watson of Supply Department S-2 Division. “It’s just a great feeling to move up and assume greater responsibilities.”

Senior Chief Culinary Specialist (SW/AW) Andre Harris, Leading Chief Petty Officer (LCPO) Supply Department S-2 division, witnessed the frocking of eighteen Sailors from his department.

“This is true honor, courage and commitment at work,” said Harris. “When our Sailors make it to the next step of their careers, it shows that our training and mentoring is successful.”

Lindsey wrapped up the ceremony with words of advice and encouragement.

“Promotions represent the goodness you represent. You are a hard working crew and you should be proud of and happy for your Shipmates,” said Lindsey. “Sailors who are working on getting promoted and those who we just promoted, we need to work together and do even better on the next exam.”

What Does it Mean to be a Petty Officer?

Does it mean that I have reached a milestone in my career? Does it mean that now I have greater respon-sibility? Does it mean that I am held to a higher standard? Each of these statements is true, along with many others.

When I earned the rank of third class petty officer, I felt both relief and elation. I was congratulated by more of my Shipmates during that time than any other. It was a truly amazing experience. My dad was a petty officer in the Navy on USS Con-stellation and USS Ranger. I am very proud to follow in his footsteps.

A positive attitude and drive put me in position to take a leadership role. I was viewed differently due to the fact that I joined in my late twen-ties, but it was my dedication to the mission, my job and my Shipmates that really set me apart.

When you take yourself and your profession seriously and commit to the Navy’s core values, your chain of command will take notice. Chal-lenging yourself with difficult jobs and collateral duties is the calling of a petty officer and your motivation will affect both junior and senior Sailors around you.

Petty officers of every rank, from the Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy (MCPON) to the newly frocked third classes, are viewed as role models and mentors by some-one. You might not know it, believe it, or want to admit it, but we are considered leaders. Everywhere you turn, someone is watching you. They are observing your behavior and they are formulating what it means to be a petty officer. You can do your part by ensuring you always do what is right and correct those who don’t with tact and respect. We can make our mark by being great examples of charity, kindness, loyalty, honor and fellowship to our Shipmates.

Sailors scream congratulations to the newest petty officer frockees in the ship’s hangar bay. U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Adrian White.

First Class Petty Officer Association

3December 23, 2010

Carl Vinson Ensures Hearing Conservation

Story by MC2 Byron C. LinderUSS Carl Vinson Staff Writer

Robert Webb of Aegisound helps Aviation Boatswain’s Mate (Handling) Airman Austin Bauer assigned to Air Department’s V-1 Division, fit custom hearing protection. U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Timothy Hazel.

Carl Vinson Sailors are con-stantly reminded to be safe on board their ship. Between simple transit in the industrial environment to the steps re-quired to work during air op-erations, safety is emphasized to maintain a Sailor’s health and ability to perform assigned duties and responsibilities.

In many spaces, dispos-able foam earplugs are readily available to combat exposure to high noise levels. These ear-plugs offer a degree of defense, but Vinson Sailors are now given the opportunity to have solid molded hearing protec-tion as part of an overall Navy initiative to modernize the protection of Sailors in their high-risk environment.

Robert Webb, a program manager with the Aegisound company manufacturing the

solid earplugs, explained the program’s genesis.

“There was a recognition that the newer jets like the F/A-18’s and the F/A-35’s coming out are significantly louder. The existing cranial systems designed 50 years ago are inadequate to pro-vide proper hearing protec-tion, so the Navy contracted our sister company to develop new hearing protection and communications equipment,” Webb said.

Manufacturing the new custom hearing protection, explained Webb, required me-ticulous craftsmanship. Bright yellow and worn on a lanyard around the neck, the solid plugs are the result of more than a month’s worth of work.

“[The ear plugs] we’re pro-viding are custom-molded. We took a silicone mold of the ear cavity, took it back to the office, scanned the image and created the plugs from that.

On Carl Vinson, we had 542 impressions over three days, and it took six weeks for the manufacturing,” he said.

As advanced as personal protective equipment can be, it can only be effective when properly and consistently worn. As elementary as the idea of putting in earplugs seems, Webb had some sur-prising statistics.

“The individual molds themselves provide better rat-ed protection, and our plugs are much more consistently put in. The Navy’s done stud-ies that say only 70 percent of people wear the foam ear-plugs correctly, so we provide better protection and more consistency,” Webb said.

Premature hearing loss can be both personally and profes-sionally devastating. Hospital Corpsman 1st Class (AW/FMF) Alfonso Camacho, an aviation medicine technician on board Carl Vinson, ex-

plained how hearing protec-tion is an ever-present effort extending beyond the ship.

“The Navy has recognized there’s been a significant amount of compensation for hearing loss. I’ve heard it costs about $30,000 in benefits over the course of a Sailor’s life-time for hearing loss. More important than that, imagine if you have kids or grandkids and not being able to listen to them or hear them laugh or cry or anything else like that,” Webb added.

“Early hearing loss from be-ing exposed to loud noises on board a carrier increases the chances of needing a hear-ing aid earlier in life. On the flight deck, you’re exposed to 140-plus decibels of noise,” Camacho said. “And with the increased rate we have of peo-ple using earbuds to listen to loud music, Sailors should be concerned with hearing loss both on duty and off.”

Carl Vinson Voice4 Carl Vinson Voice4

U.S. Navy photos by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Adrian White and Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Travis K. Mendoza.

5December 23, 2010

EM3 DAVID SALYERS

AZ3 ZANIA SAUNDERS

ABF3 SEAN SERABIAN

RP3 JESSE SEWARD

AO3 ROBERT SHARRAR

LS3 LATOYA SINGH

AO3 WILNER SISON

AM3 KENEISIA SMART

EM3 DAKOTAH SMITH

AO3 DECARLOS SMITH

LS3 MATTHEW SULLIVAN

HM3 VICTORIA SYAS

ABF3 JAMES SYMON

ABH3 MICHAEL TRAVERSE

AO3 BRANDON TRUSTY

CS3 BOBBY TURMAN

AT3 EDWARD

VANDERMEULLEN

CS3 ROMISHA WATSON

GM3 RYAN WERSCHLER

AO3 RICHARD WHITMORE

AO3 GEORGE WILLIAMS

MM3 JASON WILLIAMS

ABH3 KENNETH WILSON

AO3 JOSEPH WORST

ABH3 KRISTOPHER YOUNG

ABF3 KEVIN ATKINS

ABF3 EDWARD MONTOYA

ABH3 NATHAN CASE

AO3 MARSADES CEASAR

AS3 JOSHUA CASARES

AT3 MICHAEL LUTZ

AZ3 JONATHAN SUB

CS3 DANIELLE PINANGO

CS3 DERRICK BATES

HT3 KATIE POST

IC3 CHARMAINE JEFFEREY

LS3 AARON HOUGHTALING

LS3 ROBERTO LOPEZ JR.

LS3 JAMES ZUMWALT

MM3 CHRISTOPHER DE

GUZMAN

MM3 ZACHERY HIGLEY

PS3 ERIK SERRANO

SH3 DENNIS HARTGROVE

YN3 MICHAEL PROCTOR

RP2 EHRMAR MACARAEG

HM2 SHEILA WILLIAMS

LS1 MAGGIE APPLEWHITE

LS1 BRANDI BOWERS

EM1 DANIEL CAIN

ET1 TITAN CHEN

MM1 ZACHARY DRAKE

MM1 JASON ECKEL

ET1 RYAN FATCHETT

ABE1 DERRICK FRASER

EM1 JAVIER GONZALEZ

MM1 JAMES HAMRICK

ET1 CHRISTOPHER HANSON

AT1 AUNITRA HOLLAND

AT1 STANDLEY HOOKS

MM1 DANIEL HOWARD

AM1 DANIEL KOZLOWSKI

AT1 JASON LECHOWICZ

MM1 DANIEL MCCRACKEN

AO1 JASON MCMEANS

EM1 WESLEY NABULSI

ABH1 JOSE NARANJODEALBA

EM1 JOHN NIELSEN

DC1 JERRAMIE ORTIZ

MA1 STEVEN PABON

MM1 JOSHUA POPLASKI

MM1 DAVID RANDALL

MM1 CAMERON RHYNE

ET1 GEORGE ROMER

IS1 NICHOLAS SKORUP

MM1 ROSS THIBODEAUX

ET1 CAMERON WILES

EN2 TIMOTHY BAKER

MM2 STEVEN BAXTER

DC2 WILLIAM BECK

AT2 JOHN BLACKWOOD

AM2 CHRISTOPHER BOEHLERT

ET2 GLENN BROWN

EM2 WILLIAM BUCK

AT2 MATTHEW CLARK

AC2 NATHANIEL CRASK

SH2 RODNEY DOCKERY

DC2 DANIEL DUTTON

AO2 DESERI FERNANDEZ

IT2 ANTHONISHA FOX

HM2 MARVIN GALAPIN

ABE2 VICTOR GAMBOABARRERA

MM2 TRAVIOUS GIVENS

AO2 BRIAN GONZALEZ

AD2 RODRIGO GONZALEZ

ET2 ARTHUR GRAYSON

LS2 PAUL GRISSOM

DC2 DAVID HEATH

LS2 ANDREW HINCHEE

ABE2 HIPSHER

LS2 CHARLES HOBSON

AT2 NICHOLAS HOUSE

AE2 JEREMY IRELAND

HM2 ROOSEVELT JOSEPH

AZ2 ZOEKIA KELLER

HT2 BRANDON KEY

ET2 SEAN KILCOYNE

HT2 BRICE LITTLE

MM2 EDWARD LOMONGO

MM2 JOSHUA MADDOX

ET2 MISTY MILLS

MM2 GREGORY MOSELEY

GM2 SHANE OSTER

CTM2 COLIN PALMER

MM2 TONY PHAM

AC2 KYLE PIERCE

ET2 JAIME RAMOS

OS2 MARK RANDALL

MM2 DONALD REECE

HM2 THOMAS SORIANO

CS2 JASON THOMPSON

MM2 JANICE TORRES

CS2 CASEY TRAVERSIE

QM2 MATTHEW TRUJILLO

IT2 HEATHER VANHASSEL

AO2 AARON VAVAS

LS2 KEVIN WADE

PS3 SIDIK ABDULMUMUNI

ABH3 ARISTOTLE ALIPOON

DC3 ANDY BARNES

MC3 ZACHARY BELL

EM3 MATTHEW BENGTSON

ABE3 ALEXANDRA BETHEL

AT3 DAVID CARLEN

AG3 ZACHARIAH CARRUTHERS

ABH3 ANTHONY CHILDERS

CS3 RENARDA COLLINS

ABE3 DREW CROSLOW

ATI3 LIAM CUMMINGS

ABH3 JOSHUA DEPPELER

GM3 TIMOTHY DOUGLAS

IT3 MITCHELL EASLEY

OS3 QUESTON ELLIOTT

CS3 JASMINE FERNANDEZ

CS3 PAUL FISHER

AE3 JAMIE FISHER

DC3 KIONA FOSTER

ABE3 JOHNATHAN GALE

ABH3 DAVID GARZA

CTR3 CAMERON GATTIS

ABF3 PATRICK GILL

ABF3 TYLER HALE

ABE3 BRANDON HALL

MC3 MATTHEW HARAN

HM3 ROBERT HERBST

AT3 ISIAH HERNANDEZ

MC3 CHRISTOPHER HWANG

AT3 STOUWEED INNOCENT

LS3 JOSE JAUREGUI

CS3 KAYLA JOHNSON

ABH3 LOGAN JUDD

LS3 JAMES KEE

MM3 DUSTIN KIMBALL

QM3 EDDIE KING

PS3 KENNETH KIRLIN

AZ3 PAUL KYLES

AS3 TRAVIS LAUGHTON

CS3 BEE LOR

CS3 GABRIELLE LOXTON

DC3 JOSEPH MACIEJEWSKI

AO3 JERICA MALLORY

CS3 YUL MARCHAN

SH3 ROBERT MASHEK

BM3 SHANE MAURIN

EM3 WILLIAM MCNEIL

MC3 LUKE MEINEKE

MM3 CARLOS MENENDEZ

SH3 JESSICA MILLARD

AT3 KEVIN MOORE

CS3 JOSEPH MUNDY

HT3 JOE MUNOZ

QM3 ADAM NARANJO

PS3 RICHARD NAVALLO

AE3 JOHN OSGUTHORPE

EM3 MICHAEL PAMPLIN

ABE3 NABIL PAREJA

AS3 STEPHAN PARKHURST

ABH3 MIGUEL PIZANOJAIME

HT3 JAMES POWELL

CS3 SHANIKA PRIOLEAU

AO3 MATTHEW RENTSCHLER

CS3 ROBERT RHODES

QM3 MATTHEW RIVERA

AM3 BRENDON ROBERTS

EM3 JAMES ROBINSON

Congratulations Vinson Frockees!

Carl Vinson Voice6

Deckplate Dialogues“What does becoming a petty officer mean to you?”

“I believe this is an opportunity for me to set good examples for others to follow.”

Hull Maintenance Technician 3rd ClassJames Powell

“It shows that if I set goals then good things will happen. Hard work will equal

success.”

Aviation Electronics Technician 3rd ClassEdward Vandermeulen

“To be a positive source of information for junior Sailors and be able to make a

difference to them.”

Machinist’s Mate 3rd Class Carlos Menendez

Sailors rest in the hangar bay while waiting to relieve line handlers during an underway replenishment with USNS Guadalupe (T-AO 200). U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class James R. Evans.