Time change this weekend: Spring ahead ... At 2 a.m. Sunday, March 10, clocks will move an hour ahead (or spring forward) to begin daylight saving time. By act of Congress, civil clocks in most areas of the United States are adjusted ahead one hour in the summer months (known as daylight time) and returned back one hour in the winter months (known as standard time). You’ll lose an hour, mornings are darker and evenings are brighter. For more, visit http://www.usno.navy.mil/USNO.
VISIT GOSPORT ONLINE: www.gosportpensacola.com
Vol. 83, No. 9
March 8, 2019
NHP corpsman receives Purple Heart By Jason Bortz Naval Hospital Pensacola
On Feb. 22, a Sailor assigned to Naval Hospital Pensacola (NHP) was awarded the Purple Heart for wounds received in action during a 2011 deployment. In October 2011, HM2 Steven Martin was a young hospitalman who had been deployed for only two weeks to Afghanistan when he suffered two concussions within 72 hours from separate improvised explosive device (IED) attacks during patrols while assigned to the 1st Marine Division. The first IED occurred while returning from night observation post with his squad. While maneuvering from a cornfield into an irrigation ditch that was approximately two feet deep, the squad leader stepped on an IED. Martin was directly behind the squad leader when the IED detonated. “The next thing I know, I’m trying to get my bearings because it knocked me down,”
Martin said. “When I began to regain a little bit of orientation, I realized the IED blast ended up doing a bilateral leg amputation along with a couple of fingers on the squad leader. I treated him and we got him a causality evacuation.” After suffering a concussion, a mandatory 24-hour observation period had to be completed prior to conducting another patrol. Following his observation period, Martin’s next mission was to conduct a night patrol. A sudden moment of familiar disorientation occurred when another IED detonated. “The same thing happened where the person in front of me stepped on an IED, and I got my world rocked a little bit,” Martin said. “He was a single leg amputation, and I was treating him with the light on my Kevlar while taking (fire) from across the river. I got two concussions back-to-back in a matter of about 72 hours.” After the two IED explosions, Martin received the Bronze Star of Valor for his
HM2 Steven Martin, assigned to Naval Hospital Pensacola (NHP), shakes his father’s hand, Wilbur Martin, during a Purple Heart awards ceremony at NHP Feb. 22. Photo by MC1 Brannon Deugan
efforts as a corpsman and was approached by his leadership about the Purple Heart. “I was 20 (years old) and I didn’t feel like I deserved the same award as my friends who had lost their limbs,” Martin said. “In my mind, it didn’t equate as the same thing for me.”
However, more than seven years later, Martin has developed a better understanding of how the injuries he sustained have impacted his life. “I’m experiencing first-hand how a traumatic brain injury actually gets worse over time,” Martin said. “At the time, I
was just having occasional prolonged headaches or tinnitus. However, now I go to neurology for Botox (injections) because I have constant migraines. It was a slow development, but now I understand I See Purple Heart on page 2
Three things to know about Navy College Program App updates From Naval Education and Training Command Public Affairs
The Navy College Program (NCP) mobile application features improvements that expand support for Sailors’ educational needs when they are on the go with the latest app update release, Feb. 28. The NCP app is primarily for activeduty members and is a key tool for educational service officers and career counselors. The app provides access to voluntary education planning tools; the
Navy College Virtual Education Center (NCVEC) through phone, live chat, or help ticket; contact information on open overseas Navy College Offices; the MyEducation module; training videos and additional resources. Here are three NCP app updates every Sailor should know about: 1. Look and feel. A new and improved design makes it easier to navigate the app, and even after adding new
NASP Notes ... NAS Pensacola Motorcycle Skills Fair today, March 8 ... From 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. today, March 8, NAS Pensacola will sponsor a Motorcycle Skills Fair for all personnel assigned locally. The Skills Fair is open to both military and civilian personnel. You are welcome to participate all three hours or just participate for one hour. The purpose of the skills fair is to not only encourage additional practice but to encourage a comradery among local riders. Beginners can benefit from experienced riders and experienced riders can always continue to develop their skills. Participants will receive hands on practice with a qualified motorcycle instructor. Scenario layouts will depend on rider level. Riding methods and tips will be covered. Demonstrations, along with sign in sheets will be available for riders. Additional motorcycles will not be provided so bring in your ride and show it off proudly. The Skills Fair will be held at the Radford Drive Parking Lot near the Seawall on the Naval Air Station Pensacola. For more information, call 452-8167.
features, the app takes up less space on devices. 2. MyEducation ACCESS. The MyEducation module and required training videos can now be accessed by entering in name, date of birth, and Department of Defense ID number instead of using a Common Access Card (CAC) for those times when Sailors cannot log on to a CACenabled computer. 3. 24-hour support during the
week. Combining the NCVEC hours (6 a.m. to 6 p.m.) with the hours of 11 overseas Navy College Offices gives Sailors 24-hour support Monday through Friday. A new app feature connects Sailors with contact information for any open Navy College Office. Sailors can now also search frequently asked questions, another self-service tool right at a Sailor’s fingertips with the app. “Today’s Sailor does everything See NCP on page 2
NROTC units participate at Mardi Gras drill meet Story, photo by MC1 Amanda S. Kitchner Naval Service Training Command Public Affairs
NEW ORLEANS (NNS) – Future military officers from across the United States made the trip to Tulane University in New Orleans to participate in the 46th annual Mardi Gras Drill Meet, March 1. One of the largest drill meets in the country, the Tu-
The University of North Georgia’s drill team, The Blue Ridge Rifles, participate in platoon basic drill as part of the Mardi Gras Drill Meet hosted by the Tulane University NROTC unit on the Tulane campus.
lane Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps (NROTC) unit-hosted meet was attended by 26 teams from 19 different universities spanning all branches of the armed services. “I hope that each competing unit walks away with the realization that practice and commitment do, in fact, pay off in very rewarding ways,” Tulane NROTC unit Commanding Officer, Capt. Daniel Senesky said. “For the Tulane Midshipman Battalion, I hope that they, too, recognize that the long hours spent planning and coordinating the many facets of this event were well worth it.” The Mardi Gras Drill Meet is significant to the training and development of Tulane midshipmen, is one of two leadership evaluated events the unit conducts, and is designed to be intermediate in complexity for midshipmen to plan and execute. Leadership evaluated events are exclusive to the Tulane University NROTC unit and intended to provide additional and exceptional leadership, planning, and crisis management training to aspiring Naval and Marine Corps officers. “The number one focus of the Mardi Gras Drill Meet is to provide leadership development training to our midshipmen. For six months, they have planned and organized everything from security to facilities, with minimal input from the overseeing leadership of the unit,” said Marine Officer Instructor and lead staff See NROTC on page 2
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