COVERING PUGET SOUND NAVAL NEWS FOR BREMERTON | BANGOR | KEYPORT
Kitsap
VOLUME 1, NO. 38 | 16 DECEMBER 2011
www.kitsapnavynews.com
Veterans board sends levies to BOCC
Ready force support
By JJ Swanson jswanson@soundpublishing.com
The Kitsap County Veterans Advisory Board Wednesday voted unanimously to place a new levy on property and place an sales tax levy increasing the county’s sales tax 8.7 percent. “People may not like it, but our veterans are in an emergency situation, and it’s getting worse,” said board chairman Fred Scheffler. The levy will go before the Board of County Commissioners for approval without a vote of the people. During November’s general election county
SEE BOCC | PAGE 7
THIS EDITION A Sailor wipes down an F/A-18F Super Hornet assigned to the Black Aces of Strike Fighter Squadron 41 aboard the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis. John C. Stennis is deployed in the Arabian Gulf as part of Operations Enduring Freedom and New Dawn. U.S. NAVY PHOTO BY MASS COMMUNICATION SPECIALIST 3RD CLASS BENJAMIN CROSSLEY
Unemployed sailors on the job hunt Kitsap WorkSource aids Naval Base Kitsap sailors laid off in nationwide downsizing By JJ Swanson jswanson@soundpublishing.com
The Navy laid off 15 enlisted sailors the first week of December. As they join 3,000 fellow sailors across the county in the first of two down sizings, the Naval Base Kitsap sailors scramble to find civilian jobs in the worst economy in our, Kitsap WorkSource gives them a leg up. The final phase of the Enlisted Retention Board, which evaluated sailors in overmanned rates from E4 to E8, closed on Nov. 29.
The command at Naval Base Kitsap notified everyone on the “not selected for retention” list and informed them of their options, according to Sheila Murray, public affairs officer for Navy Region Northwest. The deadline for transfers into other Navy ratings has also closed which means that sailors will join the 9 percent of the american workforce in the unemployment line. Though the Navy is offering some help such as extended health care coverage for six months, NEX and commissary privileges for two years, and paid time off for job and house hunting, finding a new career is still up the to sailors. “These guys are going through a lot. They may have heard about [Kitsap WorkSource] in their TAP programs, but everyone agrees they get so much information there, they are usually overwhelmed. So we’re personally inviting them to come in and talk,” said Margaret Hess, Director for WorkSource Center. Hess does that by sending applications to all those who have recently filed
unemployment claims with the military. Representatives are also making calls to people who have been profiled as having difficulty translating their military experience into a civilian job title. “It’s true that the Navy has more transferable positions, especially with the shipyard here. A Navy mechanic or supply officer may be able to translate his work skills more easily than, say, an Army infantryman. Some fields are really difficult to translate,” said Hess. Qualities like having a security clearance or experience with specific technology make ex-Navy men and women particularly attractive to federal contractors, explained Hess. In fact, some contractors prefer that nothing be translated or “civilianized,” rather that Navy applicants present themselves through military terminology, according to the director. However, the majority of human resources departments
SEE UNEMPLOYED | PAGE 7
Stennis sailor chats up the President ...............pg. 2 Training dogs and children | Navy Wise ..............pg. 4 It’s over, time to support the veterans .................. pg.4 Penetta and Dempsey, Iraq ends ......................pg. 5