Nimitz News Daily Digest - Nov. 23, 2013

Nov. 23, 2013

Vol. 2 Issue 147

DAILY DIGEST

WALLBANGER PLANE SWAP SQUADRONS TRADE HAWKEYES Story by MCSN (SW) Kole E. Carpenter

T

he “Wallbangers” of Carrier Airborne Early Warning Squadron (VAW) 117 performed a “plane swap” with the “Liberty Bells” of VAW 115.

Eight aircraft were traded directly between the aircraft carriers USS Nimitz (CVN 68) and USS George Washington (CVN 73) Nov. 22.

“This is something totally outside the scope of what a normal squadron does,” said Capt. Kevin

Mannix, commander of Carrier Air Wing 11 (CVW). “Delivering four E-2’s, at the end of an arduous combat deployment to another air wing is a very, very difficult task. Since I’ve been with the air wing, it has been one of the primary goals to deliver pristine aircraft to CAG 5. I’m proud of the aircraft we delivered.”

Master Chief Avionics Technician Stefania Mathis is the maintenance master chief of VAW

117. She explained the purpose of this operation was to equip the George Washington with new and improved equipment to support their participation in aiding those affected by the recent natural disaster in the region.

Additionally, according to Mannix, by transporting the aircraft Nimitz received back to the United States, the Navy will save the enormous cost of shipping them.

Continued on page 3

SAILOR OF THE DAY

Stories and photo by MCSN (SW) Aiyana Paschal

sion repair parts petty officer. Her dedication to more than 120 hours of troubleshooting led to the correction of five system faults correcting four critical system casualty reports. She has set the standard of triple-warfare qualified Sailor with her recent achievement of Enlisted Aviation Warfare Specialist.

Algarin offered some advice to other Sailors and Marines that might be wishing for success.

“I think the biggest thing is to always have a positive attitude,” said Algarin.

C

ryptologic Technician (Technical) 3rd Class Megan E. Algarin, from Kapolie, Hawaii, was named Sailor of the Day Nov. 22.

“I felt very relieved when I found out I was Sailor of the Day,” said Algarin. “My chain of command made me think I was getting in trouble. I didn’t know what for.”

Algarin meticulously managed $132,000 in repairable and consumable items encompassing three work centers as operations signal diviCommanding Officer

Executive Officer

Command Master Chief

Public Affairs Officer

Capt. Jeff Ruth

Capt. J.J. Cummings

CMDCM Teri McIntyre

Lt. Cmdr. Karin Burzynski

Editor MC3 (SW) George J. Penney III

Lead Designer MC3 (SW) Raul Moreno Jr.

Nimitz News accepts submissions in writing. All submissions are subject to review and screening. “Nimitz News” is an authorized publication for the members of the military services and their families. Its content does not necessarily reflect the official views of the U.S. Government, the Department of Defense, the Department of the Navy, or the Marine Corps and does not imply endorsement thereby.

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AM3 Cody Graves signals to the pilot of an E-2C Hawkeye previously assigned to VAW-117 on the flight deck.

help them a lot too.”

Mathis gave a shout-out to the entire squadron, and said she has complete faith that the operation will be a success in the long run.

The reason, she said, was that the Sailors of VAW 117 always have each other’s backs.

“The ‘Wallbangers’ are a great team,” said Mathis. “We try to do everything as a family.

They always look out for each other. We’re trying to give them the best product we can, and

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make sure they’re ready to go out there.”

Mannix also expressed his appreciation for the members of the “Wallbangers”, especially those who have kept the Hawkeyes in fighting condition since April.

“The credit truly goes to the maintainers,” he said. “Keeping four aircraft flyable for all of cruise is a very difficult task. I’m really proud of VAW 117. This is a huge testimony to the professionalism of that command.”

By MCSN (SW) Siobhana R. McEwen

Continued from page 1

“Some of those E-2’s have to go through depot-level maintenance,” Mannix said. “Which is only available in the United States, and very costly. The Navy will benefit immensely by the cost-saving measures that were put in place by this air wing, which enables us to stay combat ready.”

Mathis said the Hawkeyes aboard the George Washington are outdated. Much of the gear has been in use since the early 80s. The upgrades, dubbed “advanced navigation” will revitalize their systems with additions like new digital instruments in the cockpits. According to Mathis, these updates will make a large difference for the “Liberty Bells” aboard the George Washington.

“I think once they see what these new planes have to offer, it will be a great benefit to them,” said Mathis. “It’s helped us out here. We’ve had great missions. We’ve helped out the whole CVW, and I think it will

Active Duty and FTS Petty Officer Advancement Quotas Released From Chief of Naval Personnel Public Affairs

Sailors take the E-5 Navy-wide advancement exam on the mess decks.

nity decreased slightly, from 28.94 percent to 27.71 percent, a decrease of 1.23 percentage points.

Advancement opportunity for active duty E6 Sailors this cycle increased to 19.20 percent from 17.46 percent last cycle, while E5 Sailors saw opportunity drop slightly to 25.06 percent this cycle compared to 26.51 percent last spring. Sailors advancing to E4 had opportunity dropped to 40.23 percent from 43.77 percent last cycle.

Opportunity for FTS E6 Sailors this cycle is 14.98 percent, a small drop compared to 15.65 percent last cycle. E5 Sailors’ opportunity dropped slightly to 24.93 percent from 25.45 percent last cycle. E4 Sailors saw a small rise in opportunity 4

at 52.55 percent this cycle, up from 51.6 last cycle.

The names of individuals selected for advancement, to include active duty, FTS, and Reserves, are expected to be released early next week.

BUPERS Online (BOL) is not expected to be available for viewing of results.

Commands may view results on the Navy Enlisted Advancement System (NEAS) website and Sailors may view their profile sheets on Navy Knowledge Online (NKO).

The names of selectees for active duty, FTS and Navy Reserve petty officers will also be posted on www.navy.mil/cnp.

Follow @usnpeople on Twitter to learn when the names are posted online.

By MCSA (SW) Kelly M. Agee

M

ore than 21,000 active duty and 500 Full Time Support (FTS) Sailors are expected to advance to E4, E5, and E6 with the release of the Fall Petty Officer Advancement Results early next week.

“Our goal is to man the Fleet with Sailors who have the right skills and experiences in order to help maximize readiness,” said Fleet Master Chief of Manpower, Personnel, Training, and Education April Beldo.

As expected, advancements to E4, E5, and E6 remains above the 10-year average. Enlisted advancements are based on vacancies in the fleet, and correlate with efforts to balance the force.

“After every exam we ask leadership, our Chief’s mess and our First Class to sit down with those petty officers who didn’t advance,” said Beldo.

“Through career development boards we look at their test scores, evals, performance and help them develop a plan to keep moving forward. We want to make sure these Sailors understand there is still an opportunity to stay Navy and advance.”

This cycle, overall opportu-

YOU’RE

COUNTED ON BY ALL OF YOUR SHIPMATES

ALMOST 9 MONTHS OF DEPLOYMENT

THERE IS NO ROOM FOR COMPLACENCY

STAY MOTIVATED 5

By MCSA (SW) Kelly M. Agee

AN Brittany Hagwood performs maintenance on a catapult.

AOAN Matthew Church fires a .50-caliber machine gun on the fantail during a live-fire exercise.

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By MCSN (SW) Siobhana R. McEwen

SN Joan Edwards, left, and SN Thomas Smith steer the ship from the bridge.

By MCSN (SW) Derek Harkins

By MCSN (SW) Siobhana R. McEwen

An F/A-18E Super Hornet, assigned to VFA-147 lands on the flight deck.

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I ROBOT

THE INCREDIBLES

THE EAGLE

YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN

THE FAST AND THE FURIOUS

JOURNEY 2: MYSTERY ISLAND

MEET THE FOCKERS

THE GREEN HORNET

FANTASTIC FOUR

THE ROOMMATE

THE DILEMMA

UNKNOWN

PIRATES: DEAD MAN’S CHEST

KILLING THEM SOFTLY

SPARKLE

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CHARIOTS OF FIRE

SANCTUM

GNOMEO AND JULIET

QUANTUM SOLACE

SAFE HOUSE

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THE RITE

BIG MOMMA’S HOUSE 3

I AM NUMBER FOUR

LEGEND OF THE GUARDIANS

THE VOW

1800/0600

40 YEAR OLD VIRGIN

WALK THE LINE

NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM

21 JUMP STREET

THE THREE STOOGES

TV

02 - AFN News 03 - AFN Xtra 04 - AFN Sports 05 - 8MM Movies 06 - 8MM Movies 07 - 8MM Movies 08 - Roller 09 - NTV Star Wars 10 - Flight Deck 11 - CNN 29 - DVD Movies 30 - DVD Movies ON THE COVER: An E-2C Hawkeye, previously assigned to the “Liberty Bells” of VAW 115, flies overhead.

-By MCSN (SW) Siobhana R. McEwen