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on GladiatorBy Laura M. Seal

Page 4

INSIDE — Ascension island ‘home’ for some mariners • USNS Shepard christened

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January 2007

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January 2007

INSIDE — Ascension island ‘home’ for some mariners • USNS Shepard christened

Make no mistake, whenever youstep off your ship or walk out

of your building, you are an ambas-sador of Military Sealift Commandand, if you’re overseas, of the Unit-ed States. That’s a shared responsi-bility that comes with this profes-sion and an integral part of person-nel readiness.

By and large, we handle this re-sponsibility pretty well. In fact, lessthan one percent of MSC employeesworldwide have ever been involvedin inappropriate behavior, whetherin foreign or domestic ports or justin our hometowns and neighbor-hoods. Unfortunately, those that doexhibit inappropriate behavior havea measurable, negative impact,which can have strategically adverseconsequences.

Now, I realize that none of us aresaints. There are always occasionswhere we need to relax and getaway from the job, if only for a fewhours. But there’s still a need to doso responsibly. You’ve got to askyourself if what you’re doing issomething that you’d do home or inthe presence of family members orclose friends.

Since I took command of MSC inMarch 2006, there have been ninenegative conduct incidents involvingpersonnel embarked on MSC shipsoverseas. Excessive use of alcoholwas a common factor in most of theincidents. Nine incidents may notseem like such a big deal, given thesize of our work force, but just oneincident is one too many.

Let me state up front that this isnot about controlling anyone’s liber-ty: those sparse, precious momentsthat hard-working sailors and

mariners squeeze in between the de-manding, dangerous and all-consum-ing time spent at sea. This is notabout morality, or dictating whatyou do on the beach or whereveryou go to make the most of your lib-erty time.

This is about operational risk man-agement, personal safety and securi-ty, being fully cognizant of your sur-roundings, understanding your obli-gations as a member of the MSCteam and an ambassador of the Unit-ed States and being 100 percentready to resume your duties and re-turn to your watch station.

Ashore or afloat, if you’re incapac-itated or otherwise unable to reportfor duty, you’re not the only one thatsuffers. Someone has to cover yourjob. That puts extra stress on ship-mates and co-workers, and stress canlead to mistakes.

A good day for me is one wherethere are no reports of MSC peoplebeing hurt or getting into serioustrouble. Likewise, I review every re-port dealing with conduct incidentsashore and require feedback on ac-tions being taken to hold individualsand their commanders, ships’ mastersor supervisors accountable. Conse-quences for the command when wehave an incident of inappropriate be-havior that involves separation of theoffending employee include lostwork time and the cost of replacingthat employee. That means time,training, qualifications and, depend-ing on where the incident takesplace, whether repatriation to theUnited States is involved. Overall,the cost could be upwards of$10,000, or possibly more, dependingon repatriation costs. Notwithstand-

ing the additional operational riskand the need to spread the lost crewmember’s workload to his shipmates,no operationally and efficiency-fo-cused organization would willinglyabsorb these adverse personnel im-pacts and unnecessary cost increases,which ultimately get passed on to ourcustomers.

When an incident happens over-seas, there is the real possibility thatwe will have violated some sensitiveagreements between us and a hostnation and that liberty privilegescould be suspended for all Navyvessels in that particular port or na-tion. In fact, Navy ships might notbe allowed to dock at all. That im-pacts our mission, too.

So, what are the options for anyonewho may be involved in an incidentof inappropriate behavior that is fu-eled by alcohol?

If you’re military, there’s the drugand alcohol abuse program. Your su-pervisor or commander can help yougain access to the program whereyou’ll find assistance, guidance andtreatment options. It’s an avenue tohelp and hope.

For civil service employees,whether ashore or afloat, supervisorscan direct you to the Civilian Em-ployee Assistance Program, orCEAP. It’s a lifeline -- a free andvoluntary program that offers assis-tance, guidance and referrals. Theprogram keeps all client informationconfidential.

Commercial mariners and contrac-tors ashore can check with theirunions and companies to see whatavenues are open to them and whathelp is available.

The bottom line is that none of us

likes to see inappropriate behavior.It’s bad for the individual. It’s badfor the command. It’s bad for the na-tion. As ambassadors, we all have topresent our very best behavior, nomatter where we are and no matterwhat the occasion.

We can be very proud of the factthat more than 99 percent of MSC’speople are good ambassadors. We’veearned an excellent reputation in theNavy and the maritime community.However, there is little margin forerror in the seagoing profession,given the challenges we face and thedangerous places we frequent. Wecannot afford to allow those whoabuse drugs and alcohol to add tothese challenges.

If you know of someone whodrinks to excess, get help for them.Don’t ignore the problem. This is afundamental tenet of leadership.

If you have a problem, then gethelp yourself.

If you have read this article andbelieve that it doesn’t apply to you,that no one is going to tell you whatto do on the beach and that the occa-sional drunken sailor is part of ourbusiness, I highly recommend youseriously consider another line ofwork. Too much is at stake here foryou, your shipmates and our nation.

Sail safe and keep the faith,

By Gillian BrighamSEALOGEUR Public Affairs

Halfway between Africa and SouthAmerica lie the islands of St. He-

lena and Ascension, British overseasterritories flung deep within the wateryheart of the South Atlantic.

Slightly more than twice the size ofWashington, D.C., with little more than7,000 inhabitants between them, St.Helena and Ascension went undiscov-ered and uninhabited until Por-tuguese explorers stumbled uponthem in 1502. After moonlight-ing as Napoleon’s exiled re-treat from 1815 until hisdeath six years later andserving as a British mili-tary staging base duringthe short-lived FalklandsWar of 1982, the islandshave otherwise main-tained a low profile as asmall stopping point fortransatlantic travelers.

One regular band ofwayfarers calling onthese two islands is thecrew of Military SealiftCommand’s MaritimePrepositioning SquadronOne ship MV Tech. Sgt.John A. Chapman. For Chap-man’s crew, St. Helena and As-cension are more than just promi-nent geographical points on theirjourneys through the European the-ater. The islands are a second place tocall home.

As a prepositioning ship permanent-ly forward deployed to the Europeantheater, staging military cargo at sea,Chapman travels from port to port,keeping its supplies readily available toU.S. forces in Europe should a crisisrequire their use. However, unlike itsfellow MPS Squadron One ships thattravel to a host of European ports,Chapman’s options are more limited.Because the ship is carrying primarilyhighly explosive U.S. Air Force muni-tions, it sails outside of the Mediter-ranean between more remote ports inthe Eastern and Southern Atlantic.

The inhabitants of Ascension and St.Helena seem glad to have the company.

During Chapman’s last visit to St.Helena in October, the crew and localislanders took full advantage of thefew weeks they had tospend time to-gether.The

shiphostedSt. Helena’sgovernor MichaelClancy and others for an American-style barbeque and let a troop of localBoy and Girl Scouts spend a day expe-riencing life aboard ship — an eventthat garnered a full page of attention inthe local paper the next day.

Ashore, two U.S. Merchant MarineAcademy cadets spending a semesterat sea with Chapman and one of theship’s able seamen took turns hosting alocal radio show. The cadets also visit-

ed a school and answered students’questions about life at sea.

“The ‘saints’ on both islands havebeen very good to us,” said Chapman’smerchant marine master Capt. Joe

Sohlberg. Locals refer tothemselves as

saints. “Bothislands

are

very social.[The residents] are very

welcoming and enjoy having long con-versations about just about anything.”

According to Sohlberg, the ship hasbeen calling on Ascension for aboutthree years and St. Helena for two.With three week-long port calls, thishas given Chapman’s crew substantialtime to become honorary ‘saints’

themselves.“Being down here is very comfort-

able,” said Sohlberg. “The officers andcrew are welcomed into the homes ofthe locals.”

“The local governments have alsobeen generous in their support ofChapman,” noted Navy Cmdr. HitchPeabody, Sealift Logistics CommandEurope’s Operations and Plans director.SEALOGEUR’s Operations Depart-ment oversees Chapman’s missions tothe Eastern Atlantic and works with

MPS Squadron One to schedule thesquadron’s movements and port

calls throughout the theater. “Chapman’s mission requires

remote sites, and we havebeen grateful for the hospi-tality extended by St. Hele-na and Ascension.”

That hospitality extendsboth ways. The local gov-ernments occasionally relyon Chapman and her crewto help them shuttle mail,supplies and other packagesbetween the two islands.

In September, the shipeven delayed her departure

from Ascension to bring St.Helena’s new surgeon, Dr.

John Sharpe, to his post. Thesurgeon flew into Ascension’s

British military airfield andhitched a ride aboard Chapman

from Ascension to his new home inSt. Helena. Without the ship’s assis-tance, the island would have beenwithout a surgeon for more than amonth.

“The St. Helena government is ex-tremely grateful to the captain andcrew of MV Tech. Sgt. John A. Chap-man,” said St. Helena officials in apublic statement thanking the ship forits efforts.

For Sohlberg, the ship needs no thanksfor such small gestures of solidarity.

“When you live and work in these ex-treme locations it is always nice to havefriends that will lend a hand,” he said.

Sealift is an authorized publication for membersand employees of the Navy’s Military SealiftCommand. Contents of this publication are notnecessarily the official views of or endorsed bythe U.S. government, the Department of De-fense or the Department of the Navy. Sealift ispublished monthly by the Military Sealift Com-mand Office of Public Affairs as authorizedunder NAVPUBINST 5600.42A. Submission ofarticles and letters should be addressed to Edi-tor, Sealift, Military Sealift Command, 914Charles Morris Court, S.E., Washington NavyYard, D.C. 20398-5540; phone (202) 685-5055or DSN 325-5055; fax (202) 685-5067; or viathe Internet, sealifteditor@navy.mil. All photo-graphic submissions must be sent by an ex-press mail or parcel service.

COMSC Rear Adm. Robert D. Reilly Jr., USN

Director, Public Affairs Timothy Boulay

Editor Chris Johnson

Writers Edward Baxter, SingaporeBill Cook, Norfolk, Va.

Susan Melow, Norfolk, Va.Laura Seal, Washington, D.C.

Gillian Brigham, NaplesJames Jackson, San Diego

Christine Albert, Washington D.C.

Art Director Dale Allen, Washington, D.C.

Photographer Barry Lake, Washington, D.C.

Graphics Susan Thomas, Washington, D.C.

Military Sealift Command reports to the Com-mander, U.S. Transportation Command for de-fense transportation matters, to the Chief ofNaval Operations for Navy-unique matters andto the Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Re-search, Development and Acquisition for pro-curement policy and oversight matters.

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Printed on recycled paper

Commander’s perspective

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Conduct ashore is serious business

Robert D. Reilly Jr. Rear Admiral, U.S. Navy

Commander, Military Sealift Command

From the editor: readership survey

Chapman sails with ‘saints’

Above: Military Sealift Command container ship MV Tech Sgt. John A. Chapman sits pier-side. Chapman, an Air Force munitions prepositioning ship regularly spends its time in thearea around Ascension Island and St. Helena in the Southern Atlantic. Right: A whale shark skims the ocean’s surface off Chapman’s bow. Whale sharks, as wellas other sea creatures, are a common sight for the ship’s crew.

J.S

ohlberg,photo

In November, MilitarySealift Command conduct-

ed a readership survey for theSealift newspaper. The goalwas to determine whetherSealift is meeting the readers’information needs and whereimprovements are needed.Readers were given the op-portunity to respond to 15questions, either online or viafax or mail.

The survey generated 88responses from across abroad spectrum of the globalworkforce. Civilians and mil-itary, both at sea and ashore,participated in the survey.

The respondents wereasked where they worked,how often they read Sealift,how they felt about the vari-ous components of thepaper and how well they'rerepresented in the contentsof the paper.

Readership trendsFindings: Of those re-

sponding, an overwhelmingmajority read it everymonth. The majority of thosewho read Sealift, read the

print version, either at theoffice or at sea. A full quar-ter of respondents readSealift online.

Next steps: MSC willcontinue making Sealiftavailable online and will re-search ways to make it moreavailable to the entire work-force. For those who can’tget Sealift online, we willensure that the newspaper isgetting into the hands of itsprimary target audience, theMSC workforce. You shouldbe noticing by now thatyour command is receivingmore copies each month, ina timelier manner. If thatisn't the case, please let theeditor know.

ContentFindings: Sealift readers

are happy with the newspa-per's content. About 85 per-cent ranked news stories andthe Commander’s Perspec-tive column as good, verygood or excellent. Graphi-cally, Sealift scored evenhigher, with 92 percent say-ing they liked the new layout

and 95 percent saying theyliked the photography.

Next Steps: MSC willcontinue to provide cover-age of key commandachievements and day-to-day operations around theworld. The goal will be topresent this information in agraphically compelling, eas-ily readable format.

Command representationFindings: A majority of

respondents felt that theirsegment of the workforcewas adequately representedin the newspaper. However,of concern, a full 46 per-cent of survey respondentsfelt that their segment ofthe command wasn’t ade-quately represented in thenewspaper. The biggest re-sponse came from the civilservice mariners.

Next steps: Greater effortwill be given to the develop-ment of photo feature storiesabout the seagoing opera-tions of MSC’s civil service-crewed ships. Toward thisend, your help is needed. If

you're a civil servicemariner, please help shed alittle light on the importantrole that you and your ship-mates play in today’s U.S.military. Again, story ideasand high-resolution photog-raphy are needed. Please getthe word to your Sealift Lo-gistics Command public af-fairs officers, or to the editor

Sealift’s Compass Head-ings column will continue totarget MSC’s 4,700 civilservice mariners with infor-mation tailored to their spe-cific needs, as well as up-dates on individuals receiv-ing awards, being promotedor retiring. For more de-tailed information of thistype, readers will be direct-ed to the MSFSC newsletterat www.msc.navy.mil/msfsc/newsletter

If you have any questions,concerns or story ideas,please feel free to contactthe editor, Chris Johnson, ei-ther by phone at 202-685-5054, or by e-mail atchristopher.g.johnson@navy.mil

Against a backdrop of grayskies, diving pelicans and play-ful dolphins, the black-hulled

Military Sealift Command-charteredheavy-lift ship Condock V cut through

the cool air and calm waters of theCorpus Christi Channel on Dec. 11.Protruding from the top of CondockV’s open-air cargo hold was the mastof a U.S. Navy ship.

The surreal sight of the 224-footNavy ship piggy-backed on another shipwas the culmination of a months-long

contracting and engineering effort ledby MSC to move Navy mine counter-measures ship USS Gladiator from itshomeport at Naval Station Ingleside,Texas, to Bahrain. Gladiator is one of

the Naval Mine andAnti-Submarine War-fare Command’s 14active mine counter-measures ships andsix active coastalmine hunters.

“It is best to trans-port Gladiator viaheavy lift, because thisreduces wear and tearon the ship during itsnearly 10,000-milejourney, ensuring thatit will not only arrive

more quickly, but also operationally-ready,” said Tom Walters, MSC’sheavy-lift specialist.

MSC chartered Condock V in Septem-ber 2006 after receiving the request tomove two MCMs from Ingleside toBahrain. “Sometimes it can be difficultto obtain a ship with the unique float-on/float-off capabilities needed to trans-port Navy vessels, but for this move wesolicited far enough ahead of time sothat we had good competition,” saidKen Allen, MSC contracting officer.There are only 22 float-on/float-offships operating worldwide, and they areoften booked years in advance.

The 1,300-ton Gladiator was loadedonto Condock V Dec. 4 using a processcalled “float-on,” which is used forcargo too large to lift by crane.

Condock V filled its ballast tanks, sub-merging its open-air cargo deck underabout 32 feet of water. The Gladiatorthen was maneuvered into position overCondock V’s deck with the help ofpusher boats and lines. With Gladiatorcorrectly positioned, Condock Vpumped water from the ballast tanks,raising the submerged deck as Gladiatorsettled onto specially constructed sup-ports. The process took about 12 hours.

“This move presented a unique chal-lenge because it was a really tight fit.We only had about five feet of space be-tween the Gladiator and the walls ofCondock V’s cargo hold,” said Walters.

“We did a lot of on-site calculations,”

said James Kent, naval ar-chitect and MSC’s lead en-

gineer on the move. “In addition to thetight fit, the delicate nature of Gladia-tor’s hull, which is constructed of woodcoated with glass-reinforced plasticsheathing, made it very important to en-sure that Gladiator was moved andstored carefully,” said Kent.

As the contracting agent, MSC coordi-nated the engineering effort with NavalSea Systems Command and the com-mercial company that operates CondockV. An independent marine surveyor wasalso on hand.

The Condock V lift is the seventhfloat-on/float-off move orchestrated byMilitary Sealift Command for the U.S.Navy since 2000. The most well-knownof these moves was the transport ofguided missile destroyerUSS Cole from Yemento Pascagoula, Miss.,following the terroristattack in 2000 thatripped a 40-by-40-foothole in the ship.

The British were thefirst to use the heavy-lift technology to movea naval vessel whenthey transported one oftheir Royal Fleet Auxil-

iary ships, which was heavily damagedduring the Falklands War in 1982, hometo England in 1984.

MSC’s first float-on/float-off move isbelieved to be in 1988 during the Iran-Iraq war, when the guided-missilefrigate USS Samuel B. Roberts struck amine in the Persian Gulf while escortingKuwaiti tankers. Roberts was towed toDubai, where it was loaded onto heavy-lift ship Mighty Servant 2, whichbrought Roberts to Newport, R.I.

Gladiator will replace one of twoNavy coastal mine hunters being de-commissioned and transferred to Egypt.A second mine countermeasures ship isscheduled to be transferred via heavy-lift from Ingleside to Bahrain on anoth-er MSC-chartered Condock ship.

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Navy mine countermeasures ship USS Gladiator is slowly pushed into the submerged cargo hold of Military Sealift Command-chartered float-on/float-off ship MV Condock V. Condock V istransporting the ship from Ingleside, Texas, to Bahrain to avoid excess wear and tear on Gladiator’s engines. This is the seventh time MSC has orchestrated such a move.

Above: Navy mine countermeasures ship USS Gladiator sits on specially contructed supports inside the cargo hold of MSC-char-tered float-on/float-off ship MV Condock V.

T o m W a l t e r s , h e a v y - l i f t s p e c i a l i s t

“It is best to transportGladiator via heavylift, because this re-duces wear and tearon the ship during itsnearly 10,000-milejourney.”

J a m e s K e n t , n a v a l a r c h i t e c t

“The delicate nature ofGladiator’s hull ...made it very importantto ensure that Gladia-tor was moved andstored carefully.”

MSC’s heavy-lift specialist Tom Walters, left, and MSC naval architect James Kent ex-amine supports underneath USS Gladiator.

U.S. Navy mine countermeasures ship USS Gladiator rests securely inside the cargo hold of Military Sealift Command-chartered float-on/float-off ship MV Condock V.

Military Sealift Command-chartered MV Condock V crew members move a steel supportstructure into place underneath U.S. Navy mine countermeasures ship USS Gladiator.

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MSC Flag Aide Navy Lt. Will Bu-ford received a Navy AchievementMedal in a ceremony held Nov. 28. Bu-ford earned the award for his serviceaboard dock landing ship USS Rush-more, his previous assignment.

Navy Capt. Cynthia Varner, MSCcontracting director, received a Merito-rious Service Medal at the same cere-mony, for her service on the staff of theassistant secretary of the Navy for Re-

search, Development and Acquisition. Sealift Program’s Andria Davis was

honored as the third quarter civilian ofthe quarter. Command, Control, Com-munications and Computer SystemsDirectorate’s Navy Information Sys-tems Technician 2nd Class Ray Elli-son was named the third quarter sailorof the quarter.

The following people received their10-year Length of Service Award:

Robert H. Atlas, Shaun A. Kanak, V.A. “Ginger” Garbarini, YarinettSouffrain and Ronald C. Wesley.

Receiving their 15-year Length ofService Awards were: Shah F. Abbas,Juanita J. Broennimann, Cynthia A.Minor, Melissa K. Morgan, DavidNava, Michael V. Tisler, Archille E.Broennimann, Steven J. Delong,Wilton M. Dunton, John P. Hepp,Edward B. Salgado and Brendan R.Thompson.

Receiving their 20-year Length ofService Awards were: Kenneth D.Allen, Abdul “Rasheed” Khan andJohn “Gordon” Spicer.

Receiving their 25-year Length ofService Awards were: John J.Burkhardt, Kathleen D. Montgomeryand Gladys G. Salyers.

David G. Ranowsky received his30-year Length of Service Award.

MSC headquarters welcomes Lam-ont A. Nowlin to the AdministrativeSupport Center; and Silvia Molinillo-Coral to Contracts and BusinessManagement.

MSC bids farewell to Engineering’sLiem Nguyen; Legal’s Dan Wentzell;and Command, Control, Communica-tions and Computer System’s WilliamMurphy.

Navy Capt. Susan Dunlap, Com-mander, Sealift Logistics Command,Far East and Capt. Tae-Wook Kim, Re-public of Korea navy and chief of theDisaster Management Division, co-chaired the 41st annual Republic ofKorea Flag Shipping Work Group Con-ference, Nov. 14-16.

Navy Cmdr. Ron Oswald, command-ing officer of MSC Office Korea, andBrian Tully, SEALOGFE’s director ofplans, also participated at the conference,which was designed to strengthen Mili-tary Sealift Command’s partnership withthe Korean navy, Ministry of MaritimeAffairs and Fisheries, Ministry of Na-tional Defense, and U.S. forces in Korea.

Oswald and Army Lt. Col. Joe Calisto,commanding officer of the U.S. Army’s837th Transportation Battalion, SurfaceDeployment and Distribution Command,co-hosted Korean army Maj. Gen. Yong-Shin Choi, commander of Korea’s 53rdInfantry Division, Oct. 25. Navy RearAdm. Sharon Redpath, vice commanderof the Navy Expeditionary CombatCommand and commander of Navy Ex-peditionary Logistics Support Group,visited Nov. 9.

Nov. 11-12, Oswald hosted Pat Tully,Military Sealift Command’s deputy jointplans officer, and Army Lt. Col. DavidEskelund, MSC’s joint plans director,for port familiarization visits at Busan,

Gwangyang, Mokpo and Pyongtaek.Tours included briefings by port man-agers to showcase the growth in Korea’sport infrastructure.

In other news from the Far East, Col.Tay Kian Seng, operations director forthe Republic of Singapore’s Navy and10 other officers under his commandvisited roll-on/roll-off ship USNS Gun-nery Sgt. Fred W. Stockham while theship was in Singapore, Nov. 6. Thegroup, hosted by ship’s civilian masterCapt. John Galgano, toured the shipand received a briefing on ship opera-tions by the embarked military detach-ment Officer-in-Charge Navy Cmdr.John Braunschwieg.

Navy Lt. Cmdr. Greg Haynes, com-manding officer of Military Sealift Com-mand Office, Diego Garcia, presentedcertificates of appreciation on Oct. 24 tothe contracted port operations team re-

sponsible for providing launch servicesfrom shore to MSC prepositioning shipsanchored in the lagoon.

Sealift Logistics Command Far Eastwelcomed Navy Capt. Bob Kennedy,MSC liaison officer to U.S. Pacific Com-mand, Nov. 28-29. Kennedy met withCapt. Dunlap, as well as commander,Logistics Group Western Pacific Chief ofStaff Navy Capt. Ed Falcon. Kennedyalso toured fleet replenishment oilerUSNS Tippecanoe, hosted by ship’scivilian master Capt. Garth Kirk.

SEALOGFE welcomed new adminis-trative officer Navy Yeoman 2nd ClassRoger Fry to the command in November.

Retired Navy Capt. Donald J. O’Sheapassed away Nov. 18 in Las Vegas. Be-fore he retired, O’Shea commandedboth Military Sealift Command, South-east Asia and Military Sealift Com-mand, Far East.

Dave Spilholtz joins SEALOGPAC’slogistics support team after servingmore than 16 years on various MSCships; Larry Larson joined the Opera-tions Department after spending 10years working for MSC in Bahrain; andTony Strafford took over as facilitiesand security manager.

Navy Chief Operations Specialist

Terry Glen Weatherly and Navy Elec-tronic Technicians 2nd Class IveyJohn Stallings reported for duty aboardUSNS San Jose. Navy Chief Opera-tions Specialist Kyle R. Graham re-ported for duty aboard combat logisticsship USNS Niagara Falls. Navy Store-keeper 2nd Class Verleo D. Quinajonreported for duty aboard combat stores

ship USNS Concord, and Navy Opera-tions Specialist 2nd Class Rachel H.Cook reported for duty aboard ammuni-tion ship USNS Shasta.

Navy Lt. Cmdr. Richard Tschieggretired after more than 20 years of mili-tary service. During the last three yearswith SEALOPAC, Tschiegg played akey role during the command’s transfor-mation process.

Elmer Nagrampa, assigned to thecommunication department, retired aftermore than 42 years of federal service.Nagrampa retired from the U.S. Navy in1985 and has spent the last 21 years in

other federal government positions inSan Diego.

Navy Information Technician 2ndClass Michael Stack, assigned to thecommunications department, was pro-moted to petty officer first class.

Navy Operations Specialist KeithSanders re-enlisted for three years. Heis currently assigned to the SEALOG-PAC military detachment, and he willlater report to fleet replenishment oilerUSNS Yukon. Navy Electronics Tech-nician Brian Cook re-enlisted for sixyears and will report to fleet ocean tugUSNS Navajo.

Six MSC reserve units assigned toSealift Logistics Command Europe par-ticipated in Exercise Sealift Familiariza-tion Area of Operations Scenario Train-ing Europe in Washington, D.C., No-vember 16-18.

Personnel from SEALOGEUR 101,based in Quincy, Mass., and SEALO-

GEUR 102, based in Adelphi, Md., at-tended the exercise, while reservistsfrom Expeditionary Port Unit 105,based in Wilmington, Del.; EPU 106,stationed in Baltimore, Md.; EPU 107,from in Raleigh, N.C.; and EPU 113,based in Fort Worth, Texas, participat-ed online.

According to SEALOGEUR reservecoordinator Navy Lt. Cmdr. ToddCheek, who traveled from SEALO-GEUR headquarters in Naples, Italy, toattend SEAFASTEUR, the exerciseconsisted of multiple real life scenariosthat an MSC representative might en-counter while conducting sealift opera-tions in the European theater.

MSC fleet replenishment oiler USNSKanawha departed the 6th Fleet area ofresponsibility in late November after anaction-packed deployment. Navy Capt.

Nick Holman, commander of SealiftLogistics Command Europe, sent theship and its crew a well-deserved bravozulu as they sailed home to Norfolk, Va.

“Thank you for your excellent serv-ice to this AOR, the U.S. Navy andyour country,” said Holman in his mes-sage to Kanawha.

SEALOGEUR personnel enjoyed anevening of dinner and dancing at thecommand’s annual holiday party heldDec. 1, at La Sirena restaurant inNaples, Italy.

Nikolaos Kritikos, acting directorof Ship Support Unit Bahrain, contin-ues to press to complete hiring of per-sonnel for the ship support unit. Cur-rent vacancies exist in the areas of fi-nance, mechanical engineering and in-formation technology. Although short-handed, SSU Bahrain provided supportin November to fleet ocean tug USNSCatawba and fleet replenishment oilerUSNS Tippecanoe.

SSU Guam, in addition to supportingcombat stores ships USNS NiagaraFalls, USNS Concord and USNS SanJose and fleet replenishment oiler USNSPecos, found the time to assist MSFSCin its civil service mariner recruiting ini-tiative. Navy Cmdr. John Eckardt re-ported that of the 346 individuals whosigned in at the November MSC JobFair on Guam, 139 had merchantmariner documents. As the day came to

an end, 12 completed CIVMAR em-ployment applications were submitted.The current tally of new CIVMAR re-cruits from Guam stands at 43 people .

Louis Smith, SSU Naples director,and his staff were busy in Novemberassisting the USS Mount Whitneyprincipal port engineer to prepare forthe scheduled dry-docking of the ship.

Mike Sullivan, SSU San Diego di-rector, and the San Diego crew havebeen busy throughout the month ofNovember supporting or preparing tosupport repairs and shipyard periodsfor the following ships: Fleet replen-ishment oiler USNS Ericsson, fleet re-plenishment oiler USNS Kaiser, fastcombat support ship USNS Rainier,ammunition ship USNS Shasta, hospi-tal ship USNS Mercy and fleet oceantug USNS Navajo. Port engineerswere also aboard fleet replenishment

oiler USNS Guadalupe during the pe-riod to provide assistance to bothships force and the Shipboard Materi-al Assessment and Readiness Testingteam as the ship prepared for itsSMART inspection.

USNS Tippecanoe was also support-ed by SSU Singapore during Novem-ber. Arriving in Singapore in late No-vember, the ship was briefly dry-docked. Along with preparing thespecification package for the yard pe-riod, Navy Lt. Cmdr. Quentin Burns,SSU Singapore officer in charge, andhis personnel supported USNS Con-cord and fleet replenishment oilerUSNS Walter S. Diehl.

Seven civil service mariners enteredthe retirement rolls in November. Fairwinds and following seas to Deck En-gineer Machinist James M. Brown,Purser Francis Delacruz, StewardUtilityman Virginia Jackson, SupplyOfficer Elmer Abuel, BoatswainMark Alford, Boatswain MateLawrence Bailey and Able SeamanWilliam Koraska.

Military Sealift Fleet Support Com-mand wishes to congratulate the fol-lowing petty officers upon their notifi-cation of advancement: JeremyAndel, Bryanlee Banaga, CharlesBoyce, Clifford Brown, ShameekaBrown, Wendell Cadiente, AshleyCarroll, Brandon Carroll, BrandonCoss, Richard Eichele, RichardFlemming, Reynol Flores, FredrickFoster, William Grant, Vanessa Hor-ton, Parry Jerzak, Cecilia Jones,Corwin Jones, Preston Joyner,Kathryn Kelley, Crystal Kierum,Andrew Lang, Rachelle Larsen,Dustin Lyle, Jared McKean, DavidMullard, Yanika Pongsudhiraks,Clint Reichenberger, Analilia Ros-alesregalado, Demetrius Rose, Kas-sidy Sharp, Thomas Trudzinski andAlicia Wildman.

For additional information fromaround the globe regarding MSFSCand MSC’s fleet of government-owned/government-operated ships,please visit the on-line newsletter atwww.msc.navy.mil/msfsc/newsletter

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FFAARR •• EEAASSTT •• HHAAIILLSS

EEUURROOPPEE •• NNEEWWSSHHQQ •• HHIIGGHHLLIIGGHHTTSS

PPAACCIIFFIICC •• BBRRIIEEFFSS

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Fleet replenishment oiler USNSKanawha returned to Naval StationNorfolk on Nov. 18 following a four-month deployment — the vessel’s sec-ond in 14 months. The ship providedstores to USS Enterprise, USS Roo-sevelt and USS Eisenhower carrierstrike groups; USS Iwo Jima, USSKearsarge and USS Wasp expeditionarystrike groups; plus USS Mount Whit-

ney and Standing Maritime Groups 1and 2. Kanawha steamed more than21,000 miles and took part in morethan 50 underway replenishmentevents, delivering more than 1,200 pal-lets of cargo and supplies while de-ployed to the Mediterranean Sea, Per-sian Gulf and Red Sea.

Fleet replenishment oiler USNSLeroy Grumman also returned to Naval

Station Norfolk in November, two daysafter Kanawha. During Grumman’s six-month deployment, it provided under-way replenishment to 5th Fleet in sup-port of U.S. Naval operations in thePersian Gulf, Arabian Sea, Gulf of Adenand the Red Sea. During this deploy-ment Grumman supported NATO shipsin Operation Steadfast Jaguar and sup-ported U.S. naval vessels returning fromOperation Neptune Warrior. Grummansteamed more than 45,000 miles andtook part in more than 100 underwayreplenishment events, delivering morethan 10 million gallons of fuel and morethan 900 pallets of cargo and supplies.

A retirement ceremony for SealiftLogistics Command Atlantic’s seniorenlisted advisor, Navy Master ChiefQuartermaster Tom Stock, took placeNov. 22 after his 30 years of service tothe U.S. Navy. Stock has been thecommand master chief for the last year.As a Navy master diver, he was in-volved in many newsworthy events,such as the recovery of the remainsand orbiter fragments of the SpaceShuttle Challenger explosion; the re-covery of John F. Kennedy Jr.’sdowned aircraft and remains; and therecovery of the turret of the Civil Warera iron-clad USS Monitor.

AATTLLAANNTTIICC •• LLIINNEESS

CCOOMMPPAASSSS •• HHEEAADDIINNGG

MSC moves fire trucks to AfghanistanTwo firetrucks sit in thecargo hold of Military SealiftCommand large, medium-speed, roll-on/roll-off shipUSNS Shughart while theship was in Charlotte, N.C.,Nov. 16. The trucks werebeing delivered to Mazar-i-Sharif Airport in NorthernAfghanistan.

Since International Civil Avi-ation Organization standardsrequire that international air-ports have adequate rescueand firefighting capabilities,Baltimore-Washington Inter-national Thurgood MarshallAirport donated the surplus1988 Oshkosh trucks.

MSC worked with the U.S.Federal Aviation Administra-tion to move the trucks soAfghanistan could begin re-building its civil aviationsystem.

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Oil tanker MT Libera approach-es the coast of Cartagena,Spain, on Nov. 6, the day it washired by Military Sealift Com-mand to support tanker missionsin the Mediterranean Sea.

MSC chartered the Malta-flagged ship for 30 days to helptransfer and deliver fuel through-out the Sealift Logistics Com-mand Europe area of opera-tions.

Together, MSC government-owned tankers and charteredtankers like Libera deliver 90percent of the fuel used by themilitary globally.

During its time hauling fuel for ahandful of the 13 military fueldepots located in the Europeantheater, Libera stopped in Spain,Greece and Turkey. In 30 days,the ship moved more than 27.7million gallons of fuel.

chartered tanker Liberia delivers in Europe

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Crew members from Military Sealift Command large, medium-speed, roll-on/roll-offship USNS Dahl donated Christmas presents and money to Guma Esperanza, a shel-ter for battered, abused and homeless spouses and children on Saipan. Originally, thecrew wanted to use money the ship won as part of a quarterly safety award. Whenthey learned that wouldn't be enough to help all the children at the shelter, many crewmembers made up the difference with personal donations. All 72 children got presentsand the shelter was able to buy a tree, decorations and food to celebrate.

MSC Public Affairs

USNS Alan Shepard, the Navy’snewest dry cargo/ammunition ship des-tined for crewing by Military SealiftCommand civil service mariners, waschristened Dec. 6 during a ceremony atGeneral Dynamics National Steel andShipbuilding Company in San Diego.Shepard is expected to be delivered toMSC this summer upon completion of aseries of tests and sea trials.

When delivered, Shepard will becrewed by 124 CIVMARs, part of theapproximately 4,700-member seagoingfederal workforce that operates thecommand’s nearly 40 government-owned, government-operated ships.Prospective master Capt. Greig Haguesaid, “Shepard is a highly capable shipthat will be an outstanding addition toMSC’s fleet of combat logistic forceships. The ship will provide another op-portunity for our CIVMARs to demon-strate their skilled seamanship, highproductivity and ability to provide topservice to the fleet.”

The Lewis-and-Clark-class ship isnamed after Navy Rear Adm. Alan B.Shepard Jr. Like the famous explorersMeriwether Lewis and William Clark,for whom the first ship of the class wasnamed, Shepard bravely volunteered toexplore the unknown and became thefirst American in space.

“[This is] a good ship, named after agood man by a grateful nation,” saidJohn H. Sununu, former governor ofNew Hampshire, as he delivered theceremony’s principal address.

Laura Churchley, Shepard’s eldestdaughter, served as sponsor for the ship.The launching ceremony commenced intime-honored Navy tradition whenChurchley broke a bottle of champagneacross the bow to formally christen theship “Alan Shepard.” About 600 peopleturned out for the ceremony.

USNS Alan Shepard is the third ofthe Navy’s T-AKE 1 class. These com-bat logistics force vessels are intendedto replace the T-AE 26 Kilauea class

ammunition ships, T-AFS 1 Mars-classcombat stores ships and, when operat-ing with T-AO 187 Henry J. Kaiser-class oiler ships, the AOE 1 Sacramentoclass fast combat support ships.

Designed to operate independentlyfor extended periods at sea, the ship willtransfer ammunition, food, limitedquantities of fuel, repair parts, ship storeitems and expendable supplies and ma-terial to U.S., NATO and other alliedships while at sea.

USNS Alan Shepard is 689 feet long,has an overall beam of 106 feet, a draftof 30 feet and displaces approximately42,000 tons.

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Future CIVMAR ship christened

Military Sealift Command dry cargo/ammunition ship USNS Alan Shepard slidesbackwards into San Diego Bay during a christening ceremony held at General Dy-namics National Steel and Shipbuilding Company. Shepard is the third Lewis andClark-class ship to be launched and is scheduled to join the fleet this summer.

Navy Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Patrick M. Kearney, photo

Susan Roy and Dave Hatcher from Military Sealift Command’s StrategicPlanning office, in Washington, D.C. show off gifts the command donated toWalter Reed Army Medical Center. Since service members are sent to Wal-ter Reed from the battlefield, most arrive without many basic personal items.The command donated more than $1,000 worth of clothes and gifts.

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USNS Shepard getting ready for delivery to MSC in 2007

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“The ship will provideanother opportunity forout CIVMARs to ...provide top service tothe fleet.”

The holidays are a season of giving for MSC