VA Gulf Coast’s new call center aims to improve call response times for veterans ... The Department of Veterans Affairs
Gulf Coast Veterans Health Care System has announced the operation of its call center. The call center will operate from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. When calling, veterans will notice a new telephone greeting which gives them quicker access to staff and the area they trying to reach. Veterans should listen to the options carefully as many have changed to expedite their call and provide prompt customer service. Veterans can continue to contact their Patient Aligned Care Team and specialty care clinics for their appointments, although the call center provides veterans another way to access care. In Pensacola, call 912-2000 and toll free (866) 927-1420; for Eglin AFB: (850) 609-2600 and (866) 520-7359; in Biloxi: (228) 523-5000 and (800) 296-8872.
Vol. 77, No. 38
VT-86 to change command From Lt. Dan Daly VT-86
In a change of command ceremony to be held at 10 a.m. today (Sept. 20) in the National Naval Aviation Museum, Marine Lt. Col. Glen B.C. Cauley will turn over leadership of training squadron VT-86 to Cmdr. John Tutwiler.
VISIT GOSPORT ONLINE: www.gosportpensacola.com
September 20, 2013
SecNav: We will come together as a family From www.navy.mil
In a recent video message, Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus spoke to the Navy family about the events of Sept.16. “The awful events that happened at the Navy Yard today (Sept. 16) were an attack on our Navy family. The men and women we lost today died in the service of their country. They were, each, patriots. We will come together, as a family, to deal with this. “If you were at the Navy Yard today, if you had a friend or a loved one, or just as a part of the Navy family, if you need assistance in dealing with this, we’ve set up a center at Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling. Please call (800) 222-0364 and someone will help you work through this awful, awful event. “Again, we will come together as a family, and support those who have given so much and those who have lost so much today.”
Cmdr. John D. Tutwiler
Tutwiler was commissioned through the Reserve Officer Training Corps upon earning a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from the Illinois Institute of Technology in 1996. Following naval flight officer school and S-3B fleet replacement training, he reported to NAS Jacksonville, where he was a tactical coordination officer assigned to Sea Control Squadron 24. While attached, he served as aircrew training, NFO NATOPS, aircraft branch, line division and tactics officer. During deployments aboard USS
Lt. Col. Glen B.C. Cauley
Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71) and USS Enterprise (CVN 65), he flew combat missions in support of Operation Allied Force/ Noble Anvil, Operation Southern Watch and Operation Enduring Freedom.
See VT-86 on page 2
Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel, right, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Jonathan Greenert, Secretary of the Navy (SecNav) Ray Mabus, and Adm. James A. Winnefeld Jr., vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, render honors during a wreath laying ceremony at the U.S. Navy Memorial. Photo by MC1 Arif Patani
NAS Pensacola Air Operations remembers Sept. 11, 2001 ... NAS Pensacola CPO Selectees LNC(Sel) Tiffany Garfield, MAC(Sel) Brian Percle and RPC(Sel) Curkeena Campbell stand in front of NASP’s Forrest Sherman Field control tower with a garrison-size American flag they deployed Sept. 11, 2013. The three were pinned as chiefs Sept. 13. Photo by Jennifer Hathaway
Pensacola State College awarded 2014 Military Friendly Schools designation From Sheila Nichols Pensacola State College
Victory Media, the media entity for military personnel transitioning into civilian life, has named Pensacola State College (PSC) to its Military Friendly Schools list. The 2014 Military Friendly Schools list honors the top 20 percent of colleges, universities and trade schools in the country that are doing the most to embrace America’s military service members, veterans and spouses as students and ensure their success on campus. “Veterans have been an important part of PSC’s rich heritage since we opened our doors in 1948,” said Pensacola State College President Ed Meadows. “Since that time, thousands and thousands of veterans
and their family members have attended Pensacola State College.” More than 1,200 veterans and active-duty military personnel are currently enrolled at PSC for the fall term.
“Inclusion on the 2014 list of Military Friendly Schools shows Pensacola State College’s commitment to providing a supportive environment for military students,” said Sean
Collins, vice president at Victory Media and a nine-year veteran. “The need for education is growing and our mission is to provide the military community with transparent, world-class re-
sources to assist in their search for schools.” The Military Friendly Schools media and website, found at www.militaryfriendlyschools.com,
See PSC on page 2
Showing support for ombudsmen, suicide prevention initiatives ... NAS Pensacola Commanding Officer Capt. Keith Hoskins speaks to a group gathered for a proclamationsigning ceremony Sept. 9. With Hoskins (left to right) are Angela Smith, suicide prevention coordinator for NASP Fleet and Family Support Center; NASP Command Chaplain Cmdr. Steven “Todd” Orren; NASP Suicide Prevention Coordinator (SPC) ADC Termaine Pruitt; and QM1 James Russell, assistant SPC for NASP. Hoskins signed two proclamations, one to designate September as Navy Suicide Prevention Month and the other in support of the Navy Family Ombudsman Program (NFOP). Rear Adm. Rick Williamson, Commander, Navy Region Southeast, signed similar proclamations in Jacksonville Sept. 9. Photo by Janet Thomas See stories and photos on page 4.
Published by Ballinger Publishing, a private firm in no way connected with the Department of the Navy. Opinions contained herein are not official expressions of the Department of the Navy nor do the advertisements constitute Department of the Navy, NAS Pensacola or Ballinger Publishing’s endorsement of products or services advertised.