COVERING PUGET SOUND NAVAL NEWS FOR BREMERTON | BANGOR | KEYPORT
Kitsap
VOLUME 1, NO. 39 | 23 DECEMBER 2011
www.kitsapnavynews.com History making flight
Working against Bremerton’s veteran unemployment By JJ Swanson jswanson@soundpublishing.com
Bremerton Goodwill workers are the next contenders in the effort to counter a growing veteran unemployment problem. “Our approach is very holistic,” said Amy Olson, site manager for the Bremerton branch’s Job Training and Education. Goodwill’s strategy is much the same as the military itself, build the whole person
SEE UNEMPLOYMENT | PAGE 8
THIS EDITION A sailor gives the signal to add tension to the catapult to launch an E-2C Hawkeye Dec. 18, 2011 before the launch of the last sortie in the U.S. war with Iraq ending 21 years of air operations over the now autonomous nation. See story on page 2. U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Benjamin Crossley. U.S. NAVY PHOTO BY MASS COMMUNICATION SPECIALIST 3RD CLASS BENJAMIN CROSSLEY.
Military spouses open to pursue licensed work By JJ Swanson jswanson@kitsapnavynews.com
New state legislation will help military spouses transfer their out-of-state professional licenses so that they have a better shot at employment when they relocate to Washington. Gov. Chris Gregoire signed Senate Bill 5969 into law on Dec. 20. The bill requires that licensing agencies expedite licenses for military spouses moving to Washington for a new duty station as long as they meet minimum requirements for their profession in another state. Professions that require licenses or certificates include nurses, engineers, hairdressers, accountants and teach-
ers. In other words, a nurse from Norfolk can still work as a nurse in Bremerton without waiting through all the red tape. Kitsap County military spouses are delighted to hear the news while some licensing agencies are unsure of what specific changes will come. “This should have been done a long time ago,” said Joey Price, president of the Navy Wives Club No. 46 in Bremerton. Price, who was a Navy wife for most of her life, moved with her husband to countless duty stations before settling in the county. She said that licensing obstacles and career mobility shaped her career
choices. She took secretarial work as an accountant’s assistant rather than become a certified public accountant because “it was better not to be certified, no licensing worries, you could take that anywhere.” “It really is a pain for young Navy families moving constantly from state-to-state,” said Price. She commented that many families simply can’t afford for the wife to go back to school to re-qualify for a job that she was already doing in another state. Eva Craven, a Navy spouse from Silverdale, said that she has was limited by licensing when moving to
SEE LICENSED | PAGE 8
Sailors make history with “first kiss”..............pg. 2 Sarah Smiley | The sun also rises.......................pg. 4 Stennis Carrier Group tangles with pirates ......... pg. 12 USS Griswald, a devil at sea for 30 months ..... pg. 11