Starting “NAVY DAILY NEWS” From Navy News Service
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Navy News Service for Thursday, June 19, 2008
NNS080619-12. CNO Praises Navy Recruiters
– http://www.news.navy.mil/search/display.asp?story_id=37957
NNS080619-11. Navy Family Housing in Hawaii Reduces Carbon Footprint
– http://www.news.navy.mil/search/display.asp?story_id=37946
NNS080619-10. Continuing Promise Brings Peruvian Minister of Defense to Boxer
– http://www.news.navy.mil/search/display.asp?story_id=37951
NNS080619-09. Ronald Reagan CSG Arrives in Hong Kong
– http://www.news.navy.mil/search/display.asp?story_id=37950
NNS080619-08. Thailand Phase of CARAT Closes
– http://www.news.navy.mil/search/display.asp?story_id=37949
NNS080619-07. Under Secretary Bradshaw Visits NSA Naples
– http://www.news.navy.mil/search/display.asp?story_id=37948
NNS080619-06. Thai Navy Doctors Discover Prevention is First Choice aboard USS Tortuga
– http://www.news.navy.mil/search/display.asp?story_id=37944
NNS080619-05. Former Sailor Interred at USS Utah Memorial
– http://www.news.navy.mil/search/display.asp?story_id=37913
NNS080619-02. USS Kitty Hawk, USS George Washington to Conduct Turnover in San Diego
– http://www.news.navy.mil/search/display.asp?story_id=37945
NNS080619-01. COMSUBFOR Visits NJROTC Cadets at Rickover
– http://www.news.navy.mil/search/display.asp?story_id=37939
NNS080619-13. Daily News Update for June 19, 2008
– http://www.news.navy.mil/search/display.asp?story_id=37958
NNS020418-28. This Day in Naval History – June 20
– http://www.news.navy.mil/search/display.asp?story_id=1392
Eye on the Fleet – U.S. Navy Photo of The Day
– http://www.navy.mil/list_single.asp?id=60372
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NNS080619-12. CNO Praises Navy Recruiters
By Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Doug Kimsey, Naval War College Public Affairs
NEWPORT, R.I. (NNS) — Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) Adm. Gary Roughead praised the work recruiters of the sea services are doing to assure the Navy and Marine Corps continue to attract quality people, June 17.
Roughead’s comments came during a media availability following his keynote address at the Current Strategy Forum (CSF), which is being held at the Naval War College. CSF invites more than 1,400 public servants, business leaders, military scholars and active, reserve and retired officers to enter into a discussion about future strategy and policy for the maritime services.
“(Recruiters) are meeting their goals and bringing in quality people. I can’t say enough about the work they do in a very demanding environment,” Roughead said. “It is hard work. Only 28 percent of men and women in America today even qualify for military service. And all branches have to compete.”
Earlier this year, Roughead said attracting good recruits is key.
“To me the biggest challenge is to make the young people of our country aware of the opportunities and the excitement that exists in the United States Navy,” Roughead said. “The term that I use is that we have to make it possible for young people, diverse young people, to find the Navy. Because once you find it, the future explodes.”
The CNO also commented on the motivation of today’s Navy and Marine Corps recruits.
“Fifty-one percent of today’s Navy came in after 9-11. That tells me there still are young men and women who see purpose in serving and are excited to serve.”
For more news from Naval War College, visit www.navy.mil/local/nwc/.
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NNS080619-11. Navy Family Housing in Hawaii Reduces Carbon Footprint
By Don Rochon, Naval Facilities Engineering Command Pacific Public Affairs
PEARL HARBOR (NNS) — The Navy and Marine Corps’ Public-Private Venture (PPV) housing contractor in Hawaii, Forest City Military Communities, held a photovoltaic (PV) “commissioning” ceremony June 16 at a Navy family housing community center to help commemorate a prestigious energy award they received.
The ceremony at the Halsey Terrace community center took place on a picture-perfect day, and it highlighted the abundant Hawaiian sunshine as an important energy source for the 477 PV panels that lined the rooftops of the center’s buildings.
The 477 PV panels will deliver 107 kilowatts (kw) of peak energy capacity, enough power for 10 homes. The 107 kw of renewable electrical energy means that 270 barrels of oil a year will not have to be used to generate the same amount of electricity. It also means that annually, 140 tons of carbon and sulfur dioxide will not be placed into the environment.
In addition to the hundreds of PV panels soaking up the sun, many dignitaries were on hand to also bask in the beautiful Hawaiian sunshine, including Governor of Hawaii Linda Lingle, Thomas Kimbis, director, Solar America Showcases for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), John Wallenstrom, senior vice president of Forest City Military Communities Hawaii, Rear Adm. Townsend Alexander, commander, Navy Region Hawaii, and Rear Adm. Michael Giorgione, commander, Naval Facilities Engineering Command (NAVFAC) Pacific.
“This is a very significant event for the Navy in Hawaii, and Navy Region Hawaii is absolutely committed to energy conservation and exploring alternative sources of energy,” said Alexander. “Our Sailors who live in these homes and the others built by Forest City know that when they deploy, their families are safe and are living in good quality homes and neighborhoods, and that is one thing they don’t have to worry about.”
Lingle praised the military and Forest City for making renewable energy a high-priority.
“Every step forward is an important step as we make this transformation away from an over dependence of oil, and toward one of energy independence and energy security,” she said.
The Halsey Terrace PV project was selected by the DOE in 2007 as one of three premiere Solar America Showcases projects. The DOE provides technical assistance to large-scale (in excess of 100 kw), high-visibility solar installation projects that have the ability to impact the market for solar technologies through large project size, the use of a novel solar technology, and/or use of a novel application for a solar technology.
“The Solar America Showcases program is part of the Solar America Initiative, a presidential initiative designed to lower the cost of solar electricity so that it’s competitive with grid electricity by 2015,” said Kimbis during the ceremony.
With the prestigious selection by the DOE, a dedicated team of scientists and technical specialists in renewable energy development came to Hawaii to complete a comprehensive survey and analysis of Navy and Marine Corps housing properties on Oahu for Forest City.
One recommendation from the study was the development of solar photovoltaic renewable power to supplement energy purchases. Thus, the Halsey Terrace Community Center PV energy system was born, making it the first solar PV system being installed in Navy-Marine Corps family housing on Oahu. With this system, the PV-generated electricity will be sold back to the NAVFAC Hawaii grid in a net-metering arrangement.
“While Hawaii Navy and Marine Corps family housing has been a leader in the million solar roofs initiative for solar hot water heating, this is the first Navy family housing photovoltaic system project undertaken by a public private venture,” said Brad Davis, NAVFAC Pacific PPV Program Manager. “This is a giant step in harnessing opportunities to reduce family housing dependency on electricity.”
Over 6,500 Navy family homes have been privatized in Hawaii as part of an overall 61,500 privatized home portfolio nationwide.
For more news from Naval Facilities Engineering Command, visit www.navy.mil/local/navfachq/.
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NNS080619-10. Continuing Promise Brings Peruvian Minister of Defense to Boxer
By Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Joshua Jarvis, USS Boxer Public Affairs
USS BOXER, At Sea (NNS) — USS Boxer (LHD 4) hosted Peru’s Minister of Defense, Antero Flores Araoz; the United States Ambassador to Peru, P. Michael McKinley; and distinguished visitors, June 13, as part of Continuing Promise (CP) 2008.
CP is a collaborative effort between the United States and military partners, non-governmental organizations (NGO) and partner-nation support organizations to build strong partnerships that can be called upon in the event of a regional situation requiring cooperative solutions.
The group toured the ship’s medical spaces to learn about Boxer’s medical capabilities, while also meeting with Peruvian patients being treated aboard. The guests then attended a luncheon in the ship’s wardroom, held in their honor.
“The ship brought with it many health professionals who came for civic humanitarian work, but they don’t do the work here alone,” said Flores. “The work was accomplished by in collaboration with professionals from our own sectors of health. The collaboration allows us to give medical attention of the best quality.”
Following the luncheon, the group traveled to the town of Barranca where they toured the mission’s medical and engineering operations ashore. At a press conference there, the Peruvian Minister of Defense praised the Continuing Promise mission coming to his country.
“Some of you say that this was an invasion. Sure they invaded us, but they invaded us with medicines, with surgical equipment, with medical care, and with cooperation,” Flores said. “I want to thank the United States for the great work they are doing.”
Boxer’s mission exemplifies the U.S. maritime strategy which emphasizes deploying forces to build confidence and trust among nations through collective maritime security efforts that focus on common threats and mutual interests.
For more news from USS Boxer, visit www.navy.mil/local/lhd4/.
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NNS080619-09. Ronald Reagan CSG Arrives in Hong Kong
By Lt. Ron Flanders, Carrier Strike Group 7 Public Affairs
HONG KONG (NNS) — The six ships and more than 7,000 Sailors of the Ronald Reagan Carrier Strike Group (CSG) arrived in Hong Kong June 19 for a scheduled port visit.
The strike group is comprised of the flagship, the Nimitz-class nuclear aircraft carrier, USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76); embarked Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 14; and the ships of Destroyer Squadron (DESRON) 7; the guided-missile cruiser USS Chancellorsville (CG 62), the guided-missile destroyers USS Decatur (DDG 73), USS Howard (DDG 83) and USS Gridley (DDG 101) and the guided-missile frigate USS Thach (FFG 43).
The port is the first stop for the strike group in its 2008 Western Pacific deployment.
“Our Sailors could not be more excited,” said Capt. Kenneth Norton, USS Ronald Reagan commanding officer. “Hong Kong is one of the greatest cities in the world, and our young men and women will have ample opportunities to take it all in.”
More than 300 strike group Sailors are scheduled to make a difference in the Hong Kong community, participating in community relations (COMREL) projects at local schools, elderly care centers and charity foundations.
“Hong Kong is a place I’ve always dreamed of visiting,” said Storekeeper 1st Class (SW) Tina Pugh, volunteer for one of the COMRELs. “When I participate in COMRELs and do things for other people, I feel better about who I am and my place in the world.”
Currently in the U.S. 7th Fleet’s area of responsibility (AOR) as part of a regularly scheduled deployment to promote cooperation, security, and stability in the region, the Ronald Reagan Carrier Strike Group is commanded by Rear Adm. Phil Wisecup.
For more news from USS Ronald Reagan – Ronald Reagan Strike Group, visit www.navy.mil/local/cvn76/.
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NNS080619-08. Thailand Phase of CARAT Closes
By Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Dan Meaney, Commander, Task Force 73 Public Affairs
SATTAHIP NAVAL BASE, Thailand (NNS) — The Thailand phase of Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training (CARAT) 2008, ended with a closing ceremony at Sattahip Naval Base, June 16, following five days of exercises at sea.
The formal ceremony included elements of the U.S. Navy, Coast Guard, Royal Thai Navy and the Marine Corps standing at attention in ranks along a two-mile-long pier before assembled ships from the Thai fleet. Bugles sounded and Sailors aboard every vessel saluted as senior officers drove to and from the ceremony.
Rear Adm. Nora W. Tyson, commander, Logistics Group Western Pacific, commended the assembled Sailors and Marines for staying the course despite rough seas, rainy weather and overcast skies to complete what she called the “most successful CARAT Thailand ever.”
The exercises of this phase included visit, board, search and seizure training, gunnery training, nine community relations projects, a joint engineering civil action project between Thai and U.S. Seabees, joint medical and dental civil action projects between the two country’s sea services and a drone exercise in the Gulf of Thailand. During the drone exercise, the Royal Thai Navy (RTN) corvette HTMS Sukhothai scored a direct hit on an incoming drone at sea with a missile. Nearly 100 cross-decked personnel were involved in the joint training.
Additional training included cross training between an embarked diving and salvage team from USNS Safeguard (T-ARS 50) and their Thai counterparts, and a mine clearing operations exercise conducted in the Lam Theian Harbor.
Vice Adm. Chanchai Charoensuwan, deputy commander, Royal Thai Fleet, expressed his appreciation and recognized the U.S. contribution to the exercise.
“We’ve had a very good relationship for a long time,” Charoensuwan said. “We’ve strengthened our bonds of friendship, and we know we are even more prepared to work together to face any possible regional crises because of this friendship.”
With handshakes, military honors, bugle calls and a setting sun, the ceremony brought this year’s Thailand CARAT phase to a conclusion.
Ships participating in CARAT include USS Tortuga (LSD 46), USS Jarrett (FFG 33), USS Ford (FFG 54), USNS Safeguard and USCGC Morgenthau (WHEC 722). A detachment from Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 133 is embarked on Tortuga, and a unit from Hawaii’s 3rd Marine Regiment, Combat Assault Company is also participating in the exercises.
CARAT is an annual series of bilateral military exercises between the United States and Southeast Asia nations designed to promote operational readiness and cooperation.
For more news from Commander, Task Force 73, visit www.navy.mil/local/clwp/.
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NNS080619-07. Under Secretary Bradshaw Visits NSA Naples
By Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class (SW/AW) Marc Rockwell-Pate, Commander, Navy Region Europe Public Affairs
NAPLES, Italy (NNS) — The Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Civilian Personnel Policy Patricia Bradshaw visited Naval Support Activities (NSA), Naples, Italy, June 18-19 to discuss the Department of Defense’s (DoD) present and future civilian policies.
“My goal for this visit is to inform the DoD civilian employee’s what the Department of Defense strategies are,” said Bradshaw. “I can accomplish that by reaching out through town hall meetings where I can also get input from people who are working on the ground.”
During Bradshaw’s two-day visit, she held three two-hour long town hall meetings, covering in detail the DoD’s continually evolving guidelines on civilian employee benefits, how employee’s work experience is evaluated, and pay/advancement issues; all of which are covered in the DoD’s current civilian management system, the National Security Personnel System (NSPS).
“Historically, if you talked to civilian employees who worked overseas and came home, they would tell you that their experience was not valued as much as it should have been,” said Bradshaw, a 30-year veteran of the DoD’s human resources division. “Now, that experience is becoming more important than ever with joint enterprises and jobs that go beyond Army, Navy and Air Force.
“The military has a career track, for example the Navy’s five-vector model,” added Bradshaw. “Civilian employees will now have a career track too.”
Phillip Mancici, a management analyst for Commander, Navy Region Europe (CNRE) Naples, said that because he is still relatively new in the DoD’s civilian system, the “five-vector model” track Bradshaw presented at the meeting excited him because it illustrated a career track and the potential for advancement.
Along with discussing NSPS, Bradshaw also covered the DoD’s recent push to utilize civilian employees for crisis management teams. The DoD hopes to do this by gathering information on employees’ additional skills, such as an ability to speak a foreign language, and place it in an easily accessible data system, said Bradshaw.
Even though she covered many important topics, Bradshaw said receiving input from employees and service members is the greatest benefit to holding town hall meetings.
“I believe that we can never reach out enough to get ideas and reactions from people and see what is happening around the DoD workforce,” said Bradshaw. “That’s where you learn, getting out and talking to people.”
“Our diverse civilian workforce is critical to the overall success of our mission throughout Europe and Africa,” said Adm. Mark Fitzgerald, Commander, U.S. Naval Forces Europe. “Interaction with our senior civilian leadership like Patricia Bradshaw helps ensure they have a voice as well as a greater understanding of workforce issues that may impact them today and in the future.”
For more news from COMNAVEUR/COMSIXTHFLT, visit www.navy.mil/local/naveur/.
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NNS080619-06. Thai Navy Doctors Discover Prevention is First Choice aboard USS Tortuga
By Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Dan Meaney, Commander Task Force 73 Public Affairs
SATTAHIP, Thailand (NNS) — Medical teams from the Royal Thai Navy (RTN) rode USS Tortuga (LSD 46) to observe the operation of a ship’s medical department, June 15, during Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training (CARAT) 2008.
The Thai medical riders spent five days at sea aboard USS Tortuga. The CARAT exercise provided them with their first experience at sea as well as their first opportunity to observe shipboard medical and dental departments in action.
“So much of what we do—our two navies—is similar: the physical exam cycles, the dental check-ups and many of the procedures,” said Cmdr. Puthaparn Prasan, an RTN nurse. “But I found something new that is very interesting and could be something we in the RTN will institute.”
Prasan found that her U.S. counterparts place a high emphasis on preventive medicine to avoid medical problems while underway, especially following port visits. The creative ways U.S. Navy medical personnel promote prevention made her think about how the Thai Navy could learn from the U.S. Navy. Specifically, she felt the RTN could emulate U.S. Navy shipboard health fairs.
Several times a year, Tortuga’s medical and dental departments hold underway health fairs shortly before the ship pulls into port. At these fairs, they focus on personal health. They held the most recent health fair prior to arriving in Thailand for CARAT. Health professionals set up stations featuring information on sexually transmitted diseases, oral hygiene, pregnancy awareness, women’s and men’s health, condom use, sun safety, cholesterol awareness and high blood pressure. They also made tests for blood pressure and cholesterol available.
The Sailors usually stop by the health fair simply because it gives them a break in their workday. But, by the time they leave they are more health conscious than when they came in and, not surprisingly, the Sailors’ behavior during the port calls is more subdued, relaxed, and healthy. “It’s really a win-win situation,” Dr. Kathiria said.
During the CARAT deployment, the ship is holding a Biggest Winner contest. However, Dr. Kathiria said it’s really about the biggest loser—-the Sailor who loses the most weight before they reach their home port in Sasebo, Japan. The ship regularly holds contests challenging Sailors to lose weight and quit smoking while on deployment.
Although Dr. Kathiria said Tortuga has also started offering healthier food choices on the mess-decks, Prasan weighed in with his own suggestion for improving the diets of Tortuga’s Sailors.
“Start serving Thai food on your Navy ships,” Prasan said. “Then you’ll be getting somewhere!”
CARAT is an annual series of bilateral military exercises between the United States and Southeast Asia nations designed to promote regional cooperation and operational readiness.
For more news from Commander Task Force 73, visit www.navy.mil/local/clwp/.
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NNS080619-05. Former Sailor Interred at USS Utah Memorial
By Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class (AW) Eric J. Cutright, Fleet Public Affairs Detachment Hawaii
FORD ISLAND, Hawaii (NNS) — Pearl Harbor survivor and former crew member of USS Utah (AG-16) had his ashes returned to his former ship during an internment ceremony held at the ship’s memorial on Ford Island, Naval Station Pearl Harbor, June 11.
Petty Officer 1st Class Jimmy Oberto’s ashes were taken by National Park Service divers and one Navy diver who placed the remains inside the sunken ship to rest with his lost shipmates.
Oberto is the seventh crew member of the Utah to have his ashes interred inside the ship.
Oberto’s family members flew to Hawaii from Arizona to fulfill his last request. In attendance were his children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.
“His family made it all possible,” said retired Master Chief Yeoman Jim Taylor, liaison for the Pearl Harbor Survivors Association. “The Navy performed, as its usual outstanding self rendering honors to him, along with the National Park Service divers and the Navy diver.”
“He gave me all the information before he passed away and said that after he was gone, I was to follow through and complete this for him,” said Oberto’s daughter, Leean O’ Malley.
“It’s just a big deal,” said Oberto’s grandson, Raymond O’ Malley. “It’s something he asked me to participate in and do, which is why I received his flag here today. It’s just a very big deal to me.”
Oberto who was getting ready to go on liberty so that he could attend a music festival, found himself instead on his ship when it was attacked by the Japanese on Dec. 7, 1941.
“He scrambled to safety to the main deck from the third deck and somehow managed to get off the ship,” said Taylor. “He ended up sliding across the side and the bottom of the ship, which ended up cutting him pretty badly because of the barnacles on the side of the ship.”
Oberto then swam to shore, mostly underwater to avoid strafing bullets from the Japanese aircraft, according to Taylor. When Oberto reached Ford Island he ran to safety and was placed on another ship where his injuries were cared for.
“He witnessed tragedy with dead bodies all over the place and even dead bodies being towed,” said Taylor. “It was something he remembered all his life.”
Oberto served four and a half years in the Navy in which he was crew member on both the Utah and Brooklyn-class light-cruiser, USS Honolulu (CL-48).
He survived the Japanese attack on his ship at Pearl Harbor and was a veteran of thirteen naval battles across the Pacific Theater.
After the Navy, Oberto saw his time spent as a disc jockey, a musician in the Chicago Orchestra, a cook, and a music teacher.
He passed away April 16, 2007, at the age of 85.
For more news from Commander, Navy Region Hawaii, visit www.navy.mil/local/cnrh/.
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NNS080619-02. USS Kitty Hawk, USS George Washington to Conduct Turnover in San Diego
From Commander, U.S. Pacific Fleet Public Affairs
PEARL HARBOR (NNS) — The USS Kitty Hawk (CV 63) and USS George Washington (CVN 73) turnover originally planned for early June in Pearl Harbor will now take place in San Diego in August as a result of the fire that occurred aboard George Washington on May 22.
Kitty Hawk will then proceed to Bremerton, Wash., to complete her decommissioning on schedule. George Washington’s schedule has not yet been determined.
The Chief of Naval Operations has directed a Manual of the Judge Advocate General investigation headed by the Commander, U.S. Pacific Fleet, headquartered in Pearl Harbor, to determine the cause of the fire. Additionally, the Navy is conducting a Safety Investigation Board by the Naval Safety Center, Norfolk. The Navy is accumulating lessons learned on this incident to be shared with the fleet.
The U.S. Navy assessment of the mechanical, electrical, electronic and structural systems affected by the May 22 fire aboard George Washington is substantially complete. Damage to George Washington is primarily electrical in nature with limited structural and mechanical associated damage. Fire and heat affected electrical cabling and components in approximately 80 spaces of the more than 3,800 spaces on George Washington.
The repair work is being performed by U.S. Navy Shipyards and by private-sector shipyards in the San Diego area. An estimated completion date, as well as an estimated timeframe for George Washington’s arrival in Japan, has yet to be determined.
The Navy is working with crewmembers from USS Kitty Hawk and USS George Washington and their families to minimize the impact of these events. This is the Pacific Fleet’s top personnel priority.
For more news from Commander, U.S. Pacific Fleet, visit www.navy.mil/local/cpf.
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NNS080619-01. COMSUBFOR Visits NJROTC Cadets at Rickover
By John Sheppard, Naval Service Training Command Public Affairs
CHICAGO (NNS) — Vice Adm. John J. Donnelly, Commander, Submarine Force, visited Hyman G. Rickover Naval Academy in Chicago, June 12.
Force Master Chief (SS) Jeff Garrison and Donnelly’s wife, Mimi accompanied Donnelly.
They were escorted aboard by Rear Adm. Arnold O. Lotring, commander, Naval Service Training Command (CNSTC); Retired Cmdr. Michael Tooker, commandant at Rickover; Navy Junior Reserve Officers Training Corps (NJROTC) Cadet Alexis Contreras, Rickover battalion commander; and Michael Biela, Rickover’s principal.
Lotring, Biela, Tooker and Contreras escorted their guests on a walking tour of the school and were greeted by cadets and teachers.
Cadet Anthony Mead took the opportunity to quiz both Lotring and Garrison separately about their jobs in the Navy. Mead began his conversation with Lotring by exclaiming, “You were on one of my tests!” Lotring is in the NJROTC chain of command as CNSTC.
More than 75,000 cadets are enrolled in NJROTC programs worldwide. NJROTC instills in high school students the values of citizenship, service to the United States, personal responsibility and a sense of accomplishment. Rickover boasts 311 students this academic year and next year they will expand to their capacity of 450 students, according to Tooker.
“We teach our freshmen physics, which is unusual,” said Derrick Svelnys, physics teacher at Rickover. The Academy holds a nuclear physics summer school program with nearby Argonne National Laboratory in Dupage County, Ill., every June.
ACT scores have risen at Rickover since it opened, according to Tooker.
“One of the reasons we’ve become so successful is because the civilian staff is so dedicated,” said Tooker.
Twenty-three teachers are assigned to the school. Students spend as much as two-and-a-half hours a day in the Academy’s after-school program.
“It’s great to have these guys [NJROTC cadets] here,” said Biela. “They’re amazing.”
“It’s such an honor [Donnelly's visit],” said Cadet Carmen Correa, a sophomore at Rickover. “It’s great having him here.”
Rickover, which opened in 2005, is located on the campus of Senn High School, a Chicago public school. Rickover is one of four military academies in the city supported by the Chicago Public School system and offers a college preparatory curriculum with an emphasis on science and history.
It was named in honor of Adm. Hyman G. Rickover, a graduate of Chicago’s Marshall High School and “Father of the Nuclear Navy.” Donnelly’s first command assignment was as commanding officer of the ex-USS Hyman G. Rickover (SSN 709) from 1991 to 1994.
The following day, Donnelly participated in a recruit graduation ceremony at the Navy’s only boot camp, Recruit Training Command (RTC) at Naval Station Great Lakes.
“As you leave today, you will join another team, the Navy team,” Donnelly told the recruits during his remarks at the ceremony. “That is the team that makes America’s maritime forces the finest that the world has ever seen.”
RTC transforms 40,000 recruits into Sailors annually.
During the visit, Donnelly toured RTC facilities, including the state-of-the-art physical fitness center “Freedom Hall”; the recruit barracks “USS Arizona” (all barracks at RTC are named after ships); and the “Battle Stations 21″ training facility.
Donnelly had the opportunity to interact with recruits during “pizza night,” a pre-graduation event.
Donnelly assumed command as the Commander, Submarine Force, in 2007. He is responsible for all U.S. submarines and their crews and for all foreign submarine operations when assigned to NATO.
For more information about Navy Junior Reserve Officers Training Corps, visit https://www.njrotc.navy.mil.
For more news from Naval Service Training Command, visit www.navy.mil/local/greatlakes/.
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NNS080619-13. Daily News Update for June 19, 2008
From the Navy News Service
WASHINGTON (NNS) — Daily News Update features six newscasts each day – one two-minute newscast and five one-minute newscasts.
Two-minute newscast-
- USS Essex’s (LHD 2) Sailors take a tour through the jungles of Pattaya, Thailand, during a port visit.
http://www.navy.mil/dnu.asp?id=11127
First one-minute newscast-
- Headlines from around the fleet: The Navy is accepting applications for duty aboard USS Constitution; The 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit is wrapping up pre-deployment training in Indiana.
http://www.navy.mil/dnu.asp?id=11128
Second one-minute newscast-
- Construction Battalions assigned aboard USS Boxer (LHD 4) renovate schools in Barranca, Peru.
http://www.navy.mil/dnu.asp?id=11129
Third one-minute newscast-
- Veterinary Care Teams assigned to USS Boxer (LHD 4) began the final phase of Continuing Promise 2008 by visiting farms in Vegueta, Peru.
http://www.navy.mil/dnu.asp?id=11130
Fourth one-minute newscast-
- Command Indoctrination Courses at bases worldwide help Sailors find housing.
http://www.navy.mil/dnu.asp?id=11131
Fifth one-minute newscast-
- The base football team at Yokosuka, Japan, allows Sailors to compete against other services across Japan.
http://www.navy.mil/dnu.asp?id=11132
Naval Media Center produces six Daily News Update (DNU) newscasts: a two-minute newscast and five one-minute newscasts. DNU can be seen throughout the day and evening on the Direct-to-Sailor (DTS) satellite television service available aboard 160 ships of the fleet and via the Navy web site at www.navy.mil. Check your local DTS program schedule for air times. DNU can also be seen throughout the world on the Armed Forces Radio and Television Service (AFRTS).
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NNS020418-28. This Day in Naval History – June 20
From the Navy News Service
1813 – Fifteen U.S. gunboats engage three British ships in Hampton Roads, Va.
1815 – Trials of Fulton I, built by Robert Fulton, are completed in New York. This ship would become the Navy’s first steam-driven warship.
1898 – U.S. forces occupied Guam, which became first colony of United States in the Pacific.
1913 – First fatal accident in naval aviation, Ensign W. D. Billingsley killed at Annapolis, Md.
1934 – Commander in Chief, Asiatic Fleet Adm. Frank Upham reports to Chief of Naval Operations that based on analyses of Japanese radio traffic, “Any attack by (Japan) would be made without previous declaration of war or intentional warning.”
1944 – Battle of Philippine Sea ends with Japanese losing two aircraft carriers and hundreds of aircraft.
For more information about naval history, visit the Naval Historical Center Web site at www.history.navy.mil.