Skywriter- March 2020

What’s Inside...

Public Affairs Officer Howard Sam Samuelson Deputy Public Affairs Officer Briana Baglini Editor MC3(SW) Jacob Smith

Furry Veterans Page 4

Skywriter Staff MC3 (SW) Jacob Smith MC3 Olivier Clement MCSA Rafael Avelar Host Nation Relations Masako Takakura Maika Fujisaki Ikumi Tanaka

Six Hands Stay Busy Page 10

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Her Service

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ON THE COVER

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LT. MATTHEW BAGLINI OF HEL I C O PT ER MARITIME STRIKE SQUADRON 77 “SABERHAWKS” COMPL ETED HI S FINAL FL IGH T W HI L E AB OARD NA V A L A I R FAC IL ITY ATS UG I .

CMDCM CORNER With Command Master Chief Daniel Irwin There has been several announcements this past month, such as the Limited Duty Officer (LDO) and Chief Warrant Officer (CWO) selections and also the Command Master Chief/Command Senior Chief selections as well. I want to say CONGRATULATIONS to those selected across the installation. These selections are a career milestone and those selected have worked very hard for this, so again congratulations.

Shipmates, here we are moving rather quickly through 2020 and doesn’t look like it will slow down any time soon. I know Captain Mack will be talking about the Corona Virus or COVID-19, which is heavily on everybody’s mind so I will not spend much time on it, but want to assure everybody that we are taking the situation very seriously and monitoring it every day. Our number one concern is the health and welfare of everybody on the installation. Please keep an eye on our official media outlets for the most up-todate information. I would also suggest to contact your OMBUDSMAN and if not already done so, get on their distribution lists. The OMBUDSMAN are a critical link from the command to the families and get all the updated information as well, so highly recommend you reach out to your command OMBUDSMAN.

That’s all for this month. Thank you for all you do, and remember, if you have any questions, ASK THE CHIEF!

March 4, 1776

March 21, 1917

March 15, 1889

March 30, 2007

Loretta Walsh becomes the first woman Navy petty officer when sworn in as chief yeoman.

The schooner Grampus, commanded by Lt. Francis H. Gregory, captures a pirate sloop off the southern coast of Puerto Rico.

A typhoon strikes Apia, Samoa, where American, German and British ships are protecting their national interests. The typhoon drives USS Trenton, USS Vandalia, and USS Nipsic ashore, killing 51 crew members, and sinks all three German ships with the loss of 150 crew.

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USS Hawes (FFG 53) provides medical assistance to Liberian cargo vessel MV Harmony while conducting Maritime Security Operations (MSO) in the southern

Furry Veterans Story by MC3 Jacob Smith Photos by MCC Benjamin Farone

Humans began the domestication of ancient canines well over 10,000 years ago. The partnership increased the effectiveness in hunts, allowing both to reap the benefits. While we are more likely to have a dog around for companionship versus the survival of yester year, dogs are still being employed in militaries and police forces around the globe.

March 13th is the unofficial K-9 Veterans’ Day, honoring Military War and Working Dogs (MWDs) and their contributions to fighting for their nation. Military Working Dogs are canines that have been trained to support and protect humans in dangerous situations and perform multiple jobs using their powerful sense of smell to locate improvised explosive devices, weapon caches, prevent the entry of illegal narcotics onto military installations and track down suspects, among a variety of other important and essential tasks.

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One of the most decorated dog of all time was Sergeant Stubby.

During World War I, Sgt. Stubby was the only dog to ever be promoted to sergeant through combat actions. He engaged in four offensives and 17 battles, sustaining injuries including from mustard gas, but always returned to duty. He was able to detect the dangerous gas, locate injured soldiers, and alerted his unit to incoming artillery fire. In an act that is thought to have earned his rank of Sergeant was when Stubby held a German spy by the seat of his pants until the dog’s unit was able to apprehend him. He was just one of the millions of dogs to help fight in the Great War, with over 1,000,000 canines being killed in action.

On March 13, 1942 the K9 Corps was established, officially bringing dogs into the ranks of the U.S. military.

Unfortunately, there was still a major lack of protection for our fur-covered

comrades, for when the Vietnam War came to a close, many of the dogs were abandoned in the country, or worse, euthanized, being seen as ‘surplus equipment,’ making it the one war where no dogs were sent back home. This finally changed in 2000 when, after the story of a MWD named Robby, who’s former handler petitioned to adopt him but was denied and subsequently euthanized, was shared with the public. By September 27, 2000, U.S. Representative for Maryland’s 6th congressional district Roscoe Bartlet had submitted a bill, known as Robby’s Law, and was signed into law by then President Bill Clinton in November. It mandated that all suitable MWDs be available for adoption after retirement, with priority given to their current or former handlers. Years later in 2015, the Military Dog Retirement Bill was introduced and signed into law by then President Barack Obama. It stipulated that MWDs would no longer be deemed as equipment, securing the transportation back home of all dogs after retirement just like any other service members.

While K9 Veterans Day may still be unofficial, it was created by Joe

White of Jacksonville, Florida. White was a K9 handler and trainer during the Vietnam War, and chose March 13th since it matches up with the K9 Corps formation back in World War II. Even with his passing in 2009, the torch is still being carried by his wife, Sally, and other advocates that the holiday will one day be officially recognized and celebrated across all war dog memorials, including the one at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas, where all MWDs go to train.

While they may not be able to walk on two legs or speak like we do, our K9s serve every bit as much as their human handlers or any other service member, and deserve to be recognized and appreciated for their dedication and loyalty. Even after several millennia, we still depend on “man’s best friend” not just to keep us company, but to stand watch alongside us, keep eyes and ears open to danger while we sleep, and sometimes even make the ultimate sacrifice if need be.

Sergeant Stubby

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Around the Command

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From the Readership

Miura-Kaigan Cherry Blossom Festival - Maricris Escares

The Olympic Rings at Odaiba Rainbow Bridge - Amber Irvine 7

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Six Hands Stay Busy Story by MC3 Jacob Smith

3rd Marine Division, 2nd Raider’s sign on Bougainville

Wherever the Navy goes, support for the fleet is needed. This can be in the form of customer service at the Navy Exchange, the multiple restaurants that can be found on bases, and often enough, construction to renovate old buildings to support residences for Sailors. Often it’s the Seabees who pick up the hammer.

The United States Naval Construction Battalions, or the “Seabees,” were formed March 5, 1942 during World War 2, when dangerous wartime environment prevented civilian construction workers. (If the civilian construction warriors were to resist attacks, their actions could designate them as guerilla

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fighters according to international law.) The first Seabees were construction tradesmen, with higher pay to reflect the advanced skills and experience they brought with them, making them the highest paid military group in WWII. To get the manning they wanted, the usually rigid age and physical standards were lowered, seeing men up to 50 years of age being recruited, ending with an average age of 37 in 1942.

In addition to all the construction training, the Seabees are also combatants; despite being a Navy rate, they train and deploy with the Marines, Seabee historian William Bradford Huie wrote, “that the two

modern military, Durling had this to say:

“It is important to have construction engineering in the military because if it does come to war time, we are the ones who build the Forward Operating Bases. To insure that our infantry and other personnel that go out and do patrols and convoys have a place where they can rest properly and have some comfort while on base. During peace time, we do a lot of humanitarian work from national disasters relief, building new schools, hospitals, and other facilities to support civilians affected.”

The motto for the Seabees is “Can do,” a simple but powerful statement that encapsulates everything you ever need to know about them. Whatever task is put before them, no matter how daunting, they will accomplish it. This is compounded with another saying of the Seabees, “The difficult we do now, the impossible takes a little longer,” to show their unrelenting determination to get any job done. This remains true 78 years later as it did all the way back at the formation of the Seabees.

have a camaraderie unknown else-wheres in the U.S. military.”

Here on Naval Air Facility Atsugi, the Seabees serve a variety of roles, such as repair and construction work, building, engineering and construction, as well as being able to provide expertise with carpentry, metal work and electrical work. They are also responsible for repair and construction on the base to keep it operational operational after typhoons, cutting down and relocating fallen tree branches, and for containing and treating any hazmat spills that fall into the base’s river so it does not affect the host nation’s populace.

“To me, being a Seabee means being a jack of all trades, you may be doing carpentry one day, and then you may being performing electrical or plumbing work [another day],” said Construction Electrician 2nd Class Shane Durling. “There’s always a sense of pride when working because at the end of the day, that’s our name that’s on that project.”

When asked about why it remains important for Seabees to be around in our

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Her Service

Story and Photos by MC3 Jacob Smith

Silent Sentinels picketing the White House

The 20th century held many advances for the rights of women in the United States. The 19th Amendment was added to the Constitution almost 100 years ago, granting women the right to vote, and 1964 initiated the rise of the Civil Rights Acts outlawing discrimination against anyone on the grounds of race, color, religion, national origin, or sex. It provided women equality with men, and in 1986 Congress dedicated the month of March as Women’s History Month, a time to focus on the contributions of women in U.S. history, including the efforts of women during wartime.

Before the United States was even free of Britain’s rule women enlisted in the Continental Army in order to fight for freedom, often in disguise

as men. One such woman was Deborah Sampson, better known as ‘Robert Shurtliff’ to her comrades.

Sampson served for a year and a half, engaging in several skirmishes, the first of which caused her to endure wounds, including two musket balls getting lodged in her thigh. To prevent detection from a doctor and be exposed as a woman, she tended her own wounds with a knife to scoop out the musket ball she could and sewed her own wound closed, living the rest of her life with one musket ball inside her that was too deep to be removed on her own. She continued to serve, receiving an honorary discharge at the end of her enlistment.

Women would continue to serve in some capacity in every war going forward, mostly in the nursing field or in administrative, clerk-like jobs, and often would not receive the same respect or benefits as their male counterparts. It was not until 1948 that women were finally made a permanent part of the military, and in 1976 the first group of women were admitted into the U.S. military academy. From this, several firsts have been met in U.S. military history, such as the ‘first female executive officer of an aircraft carrier,’ a title held

by Capt. Amy Bauernschmidt. Bauernschmidt served on Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72) from June 2016 until January 2019, helping bring the ship out of its Refueling Complex Overhaul (RCOH) and Carrier Qualifications (CQ) phase. She has since 12

moved onto the San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock USS San Diego (LPD-22), where her performance can possibly lead her to an ever more prestigious title, first female commanding officer of an aircraft carrier.

In today’s military, women are allowed into every field of military, including serving in combat zones in 2013. The first group of enlisted females were recruited into the submarine field was in 2015. As of 2018, females made up 16 percent of the enlisted and 18% of officers in the U.S. military.

“In terms of my earlier career days in the Navy, when I first enlisted I was the only female in my apprenticeship program of 48 students,” said Cmdr. Sophia Lawrence, Branch Health Clinic Atsugi’s Senior Nurse Officer. “The Navy was still a men’s game and very evident even in the late eighties and early nineties. I didn’t really face any criticism personally, but there were some challenges in terms of sexism that manifested as reduced training standards for women and stereotypes surrounding what women could and couldn’t do in terms of duty capabilities. The Navy has evolved drastically in terms of gender roles and Capt. Amy Bauernschmidt equality. I think the war on terror influenced a lot of changes and cultural shift with this—everyone must be prepared to fight, as opposed to earlier decades, there were limited opportunities and roles for women.”

While there remains pockets of inequality in the world for both men and women, as Americans we should take this month to reflect upon the achievements made by women, appreciate women’s roles, and keep moving forward to dispel any lingering traces of sexism to finally reach true equality.

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Deborah Sampson Gannett at Rock Ridge Cemetery, East Street and Mountain Street, Sharon, Mass.

Abdalian, Leon H., 1884-1967

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