Sunday, May 20, 2012

NAVSEA Commander Discusses Shore-Based Energy Initiatives


From Naval Sea Systems Command Office of Corporate Communications

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (NNS) -- Commander, Naval Sea Systems Command, met with executives with Duke Energy Center to discuss shore-based energy initiatives May 17 during his two-day tour of Charlotte.

Vice Adm. Kevin McCoy was given a tour of the Duke Energy Center, a LEED Platinum-certified building built to high energy efficient standards.

"It is great to hear about the active initiatives Duke Energy is undertaking to reduce energy consumption," said McCoy. "Developing new relationships with our industry partners and working together is win-win for energy independence, the Navy and all Americans."

McCoy's visit to Duke Energy is part of the Navy-wide 50-50 program, which is sending 50 Navy leaders to 50 cities across the United States to meet with corporate executives, civic leaders, government officials, educators, non-profit executive directors, veterans and members of the media. The campaign is designed to increase Americans' understanding of the Navy's mission, capabilities and relevance to national security.

"I am impressed with the new energy standards that Duke Energy is working on to help the U.S. become more energy independent," said McCoy. "This has been a great opportunity to share ideas between the Navy and Duke Energy."

McCoy's two-day visit to Charlotte included visits to the Veterans Affairs Outpatient Clinic, Providence High School, Bank of America, Charlotte Mayor Anthony Foxx, the Wells Fargo trading floor, Charlotte Motor Speedway, Armed Forces Career Expo and the Charlotte Navy League.

The Naval Sea Systems Command is the largest of the Navy's five systems commands and is responsible for engineering, building, purchasing and maintaining ships, submarines and combat systems for the U.S. Navy.

New Web-Based Housing Early Application Tool


From Commander, Navy Installations Command Public Affairs

WASHINGTON (NNS) -- Commander, Navy Installations Command (CNIC) announced the phased Navy-wide release of the Housing Early Application Tool (HEAT) beginning in May.

This web-based tool will allow Sailors and their families to apply for housing online from any computer.

"HEAT makes the Navy house hunting process smoother and less stressful for our Sailors and their families. By providing the early housing application online, Sailors and their spouses can use HEAT to review housing and community information, and make an informed decision on a home before receiving their permanent change of station (PCS) orders," said Vice Adm. William French, commander, Navy Installations Command.

HEAT utilizes authoritative systems to reduce the amount of personal information and to steam line the online process. HEAT can be securely accessed from any computer with an internet connection. Service members or their spouses can use HEAT prior to receiving permanent change of station (PCS) orders to request information about community housing or check on their eligibility for military and privatized housing. They may also submit HEAT requests to multiple Installations if they are not sure where they may be stationed next.

"Our goal with HEAT is to reach out to Sailors early in the PCS process to reduce stress and provide proactive support when moving from one duty station to another," said Corky Vazquez, CNIC housing program manager. "With HEAT, Sailors and their families are able to make contact with our Navy Housing Service Centers and Privatization Partners to discuss their housing needs and learn about their housing options at any time. HEAT makes it easy to connect with our housing professionals and make informed decisions before even having orders."

HEAT will be deployed Navy-wide by Navy Region according to the following schedule:
* Naval District Washington, Navy Region Mid-Atlantic and Navy Region Midwest began May 1,
* Navy Region Southwest began May 8,
* Navy Region Southeast began May 15,
* Navy Region Europe, Africa, Asia beginning May 22,
* Navy Region Hawaii beginning May 29,
* Navy Region Japan, Navy Region Korea and Singapore Area Coordinator beginning June 8,
* Joint Region Marianas beginning June 15.

HEAT will be implemented by region and will be Navy-wide by June 30.

To access HEAT and for more information about when your base will have HEAT, visit http://www.cnic.navy.mil/HEAT.

Face of Defense: Quick-thinking Airman Prevents Tragedy


By Air Force Senior Airman Michael Charles
379th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs

SOUTHWEST ASIA  – While preparing for her night shift, Air Force Senior Airman Lanea Trevino noticed something odd about the shower stall next to hers.

The shower supplies, visible through the half-opened curtain, had remained untouched for the entire time she had been there.

"It was strange," Trevino said. "I had seen nobody else in the facility so it was odd that an entire set of supplies would be left."

While some might dismiss the empty shower stall and shower supplies as a case of forgetfulness, Trevino decided to walk through the facility to be sure. After noticing an occupied female toilet stall, Trevino knocked on the door and asked the person inside if she had left her shower supplies.

There was no response.

"I immediately began to worry," Trevino said. "I could see that she was in the stall but wasn't moving."

Trevino reached her hand under the stall and shook the girl's leg but there was no response. She quickly peeked under the stall and noticed the airman was unconscious. Taking immediate action, she ran to the nearest trailer and told the first person she saw to call emergency responders.

"My first instinct was to get help," Trevino said. "I couldn't tell if she was breathing or not but I knew that she would need additional medical assistance either way and ran to get it."

Fearing the worst, she grabbed a male, who had been walking by on his way to lunch to help her get the unconscious individual out of the stall. The door had been locked from the inside and the only way into the stall was to climb over top of it. The male lifted her over the stall and she opened the door from the inside.

Using a fireman carry, Trevino dragged the unresponsive female out of the stall and laid her flat on the ground. Moments later, paramedics from the 379th Expeditionary Medical Group arrived on scene and begin caring for the individual, who was later diagnosed with severe dehydration.

Being vigilant and watching out for your fellow wingman is the responsibility of all airmen, said Air Force Chief Master Sgt. William Harner, 379th Air Expeditionary Wing’s command chief.

"Trevino displayed the ethos we expect from all our Air Force teammates," Harner said. "She paid attention to her surroundings, noticed that something was not right, and acted accordingly. Her vigilance yielded a life or death result."

Heat-related injuries can include dizziness, confusion, heavy breathing or unconsciousness, Trevino said.

"It's our duty to look out for each other,” she said, “especially in the summertime when the heat takes its toll on your body."

Thanks to Trevino's actions the service member is due to make a full recovery.

"I would expect anyone else to do the same for me," Trevino said. "As airmen in the U.S. Air Force, we are part of a unique family and you never have to have a reason to look out for your family members."

Locklear: Pacom’s Priorities Reflect New Strategic Guidance


By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON  – With clear direction from President Barack Obama and Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta, the new U.S. Pacific Command chief said he’s using the new strategic guidance as a roadmap as he sets priorities and engages with the region.

Navy Adm. Samuel J. Locklear III, who assumed his post in March, said he feels fortunate to have taken command when the strategic guidance succinctly defines leadership emphasis and priorities across his vast area of responsibility.

“Every military commander wants to know what is expected of him or her and how to proceed toward the future,” Locklear said during an interview with American Forces Press Service. “So the president and the secretary of defense have given me through their strategic guidance clear direction on what they want [and] what they expect to see.”

The 14-page strategic guidance, released in January, recognizes challenges as well as opportunities in a region that covers 52 percent of the earth’s surface and includes some 3.6 billion people in 36 nations. Asia and the Pacific, Locklear noted, represent half the world’s trade, a transit point for most of its energy supplies, and home to three of the world’s largest economies and most of its major militaries.

“I think the strategy is recognition that we, as an American people, are a Pacific nation,” as well as an Atlantic nation, the admiral said. “We are a Pacific nation, and what happens in the Asia-Pacific matters to us. And this strategy helps reemphasize that.”

In implementing the new guidance, Locklear has outlined five basic priorities for Pacom:

-- Strengthen and advance alliances and partnerships;

-- Mature the U.S.-China military-to-military relationship;

-- Develop the U.S.-India strategic partnership;

-- Remain prepared to respond to a Korean Peninsula contingency; and

-- Counter transnational threats.

Alliances and partnerships are key factors for regional security and stability, Locklear said. He vowed to work to strengthen the United States’ alliances with South Korea, Japan, the Philippines, Australia and Thailand.

“These alliances are historic,” he said. “They underpin our strategy in the region and they underpin the security arrangements in the region.”

Locklear noted promising developments within these alliances, such as the new Marine rotations in Australia and improving special operations and counterterrorism capabilities in the Philippines’ armed forces.

Pacom also will focus on establishing and building partnerships with other nations that share the United States’ interest in security and economic prosperity and increasingly, human rights, he said.

“We are going to put more time and effort into making sure that those relationships are built for the future,” the admiral said.

Locklear recognized the United States’ already-strong military-to-military ties with Singapore and its “very much improving” relationships with Indonesia.

In addition, the United States wants a long-term strategic relationship with India, a large regional democracy and rising economic power that’s also increasing in military capability.

“We hope to partner with them to share the strategic landscape as it applies to how we apply security to the globe that allows prosperity and peace, freedom of movement and allows prosperity in the world,” the admiral said.

Locklear said he also hopes to strengthen military-to-military relations with China. China is an emerging power with many significant decisions to make, he said, adding that the United States would like to play a role in helping influence those decisions in a way that promotes a secure global environment.

“One way to do that is to communicate better,” Locklear said. “The last thing you want to have is miscalculation between large militaries.”

One way to build trust and confidence between those militaries, Locklear said, is through military-to-military operations.

“You learn to operate together, you learn to cooperate, you learn about each other’s families. You get a personal view of each other” that can pay off in helping resolve any differences that may arise.

Locklear said North Korea looms as the most-pressing trouble spot. Its new, untested leader and its pursuit of nuclear weapons in defiance of U.N. Security Council resolutions and world pressure create a tenuous, unstable situation.

“If there is anything that keeps me awake at night, it’s that particular situation,” the admiral said. “We have to ensure that we maintain as much of a stable environment on the Korean Peninsula as we can.”

Transnational threats pose another concern and area of emphasis for Pacom. Locklear identified cyber threats as the most daunting, noting the importance of secure networks not only for Pacom’s military operations, but also for regional stability and economic viability.

The admiral said his command’s Cyber Pacific organization is working closely with U.S. Strategic Command and U.S. Cyber Command to identify better ways to defend Pacom’s networks.

“No matter what happens out there on the Internet and Facebook, we still have to be able to operate the networks that allow us to produce combat power,” Locklear said. “And so one of my priority jobs is to ensure those [command] networks will survive when they have to survive.”

Terrorism is another major concern for Pacom, the admiral said, as violent extremists increasingly seek safe havens in the Asia-Pacific region. Locklear said he recognizes the need to continue adapting U.S. forces to deal with the challenge.

“In the terrorist world, as you squeeze on one side of the balloon, it pops out somewhere else. [Terrorists] look for areas of opportunity. And they find areas of opportunity in places that are disenfranchised, that have poor economies and opportunity to change the mindset of the people looking for a better life but don’t know how to get it.”

Locklear said the kind of environment the United States and its allies and partners in the region are working to promote is the best response.

“In the long run, the solution for that, I think, is prosperity, and the general sense of security that makes it so that these terrorist organizations can’t thrive.”

Locklear also noted the problem of narcotics, particularly methamphetamine production in the region, which provides the financing for terrorists to operate.

“We are seeing an increasing amount of that activity. And that money, we know, goes to the terrorist organizations,” he said. “So we are going to have to make sure we keep our focus pretty tightly on this, because that transnational threat is equal or more damaging to our national security than any of the others.”

In leading Pacom’s response to these threats, Locklear noted the positive impact of more than six decades of U.S. presence in the region.

“The U.S. military presence in the Asia-Pacific has provided the security infrastructure that basically underpins the security environment which has led to an environment that allowed … emerging economies [and] emerging nations to thrive -- from Japan to Korea to Australia to the Philippines to China, to the U.S.,” Locklear said. “We are part of that.”

Pacom’s activities today will have a long-term impact for the future, the admiral said.

“We have tremendous interest that will carry forward, not just to the near term, but to our children and our grandchildren and their children,” he said.