NAVFAC Seabee Divers Rescue Capsized Boater off San Nicolas Island

By Mason Lowery, Naval Facilities Engineering Command Public Affairs

SAN NICOLAS ISLAND, Calif. (NNS) -- Naval Facilities Engineering Command Engineering Service Center (NAVFAC ESC) Seabee divers rescued a capsized boater who had been drifting in the ocean for five hours Friday, Sept. 14.

Local boater Ivan Jureczky, 60, clung to the keel and straddled the hull of his 15-foot capsized sailboat Friday afternoon, praying for rescue and losing hope 10 miles offshore between Point Mugu and San Nicolas Island. Five hours passed as he drifted further out to sea, fighting waves, hypothermia and exhaustion.

Jureczky's fate was almost left to ocean currents, but as the sun sank lower and lower on the horizon and visibility waned, a team of Seabee divers were returning from an annual maintenance mission just off the island aboard the Diane G, a Naval Air Systems Command contract vessel based out of Port Hueneme.

Trevor Rowe, captain of the Diane G, spotted what he thought was an odd looking piece of debris floating 1,000 yards off the ship's bow. He diverted course for inspection and the crew and passengers sprang into action 200 yards from the debris when they realized it was a capsized boater.

Three of the NAVFAC ESC Seabee divers launched their 19-foot inflatable boat from the Diane G and rescued Jureczky.

Once aboard, the Seabee divers, who are trained in first aid, immediately treated Jureczky for mild hypothermia.

"It is my professional opinion that if the [captain] had not noticed the overturned vessel, Mr. Jureczky would have not survived the night," said Senior Chief Eric M. Eaton, NAVFAC ESC Dive Locker command master diver. "He had no operable radio, no distress equipment or lights and was dressed in jeans and a light jacket. He had overturned near Channel Islands Harbor and drifted for what he estimated was five hours. He was picked up at dusk in Sea State 2 and there were no civilian boats operating in the immediate area and he was far outside the regular sea lanes. He was not expected home until later in the evening and so was not even noticed as missing yet."

The average water temperature where Jureczky was rescued is 62 degrees, according Lt. Sean Arumae, U.S. Coast Guard Sector Los Angeles-Long Beach. The air temperature on Friday was about 80 degrees, but dropped to 65 after sunset. In those conditions, according to the Coast Guard's probability and serviceability decision aide, a person matching Jureczky's body type would suffer loss of functionality due to hypothermia after approximately nine hours, and suffer cardiac arrest after 12-14 hours.

"Had those Seabee divers not come upon him, we would have been looking for a person in the water, not a drifting vessel," Arumae explained.

Jureczky was overcome with gratitude to the Seabee divers and crew of the Diane G following his rescue.

"My family and I are so grateful to you for very likely saving my life," said Jureczky. "Your unparalleled professionalism and positive attitude saved the day for many people."

The Seabee divers assigned to the NAVFAC ESC Dive Locker are specialized Navy divers. Their specialization includes providing small boat and diving operations, planning and support for projects and tests, as well as underwater construction equipment procurement support and acceptance testing.

Their mission offshore of San Nicolas Island Friday was to replace the island's fuel hose and inspect its moorings. In order for the island to receive fuel, large barges must connect to the hoses that are a 1/4 mile offshore and pump the fuel to the supply tanks for the island.

The divers disconnect the hose from the riser (underwater connecting point) and a crane pulls the hose up on the barge and sends down a new hose for the divers to connect. They also take measurements and do minor repairs on the four buoys around the hose for barges to moor to when they offload fuel.

Association of Naval Services Officers' Convention Welcomes CNO

By Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class (SW/AW) Byron C. Linder, Navy Public Affairs Support Element West San Diego

SAN DIEGO (NNS) -- Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) Adm. Jonathan Greenert addressed attendees of the Association of Naval Services Officers' (ANSO) 32nd annual convention at a luncheon, Aug. 9.

ANSO fosters the growth, advancement and recognition of Hispanic officer and enlisted personnel in the uniformed naval services, encompassing the Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard. Their annual convention focuses on leadership, professional development and training through a series of workshops.

Greenert took the stage and reflected on the history of Hispanic contributions to the naval services, noting former Secretary of the Navy and ANSO founder Edward Hidalgo and Adm. David Farragut, the first Hispanic admiral in the U.S. Navy.

"I need some ideas to be better in our ability to recruit and retain Hispanic officers and enlisted leaders," he said. "We need to continue to nurture and bring this along, and ANSO is a very good source for that. It's a very good institution."

Greenert emphasized the importance of diversity in the naval services, citing teamwork between the services as a key element to successfully accomplishing the nation's tasking.

"When all of us are out there as a team, that's when we're most effective. We need the imagination of a diverse force. It's a military necessity and a business necessity," he said. "The best are out there. It's about mining that wide range of people. It's not about quotas. A diverse team will always perform better than a group of similar thinkers from the same background."

Greenert proceeded to take questions on a variety of topics, ranging from perform to serve (PTS) to educational opportunities. ANSO president, retired Rear Adm. Will Rodriguez, presented Greenert with a package of ANSO coasters to bring the luncheon to conclusion.

Rodriguez noted the ANSO convention provided many unique opportunities for the attendees.

"The CNO understands what we need to do. He's dedicated to what we do and to the Sailors. We can't fight without the people, and that's his number one focus," said Rodriguez. "If you come to ANSO, you're going to get access to these key leaders and commercial leaders that can help you transition. You're going to get things like one-on-one flag mentoring that you wouldn't be able to otherwise."

The ANSO convention will conclude Aug. 10.

California National Guard assists with battle against Robbers wildfire

By Spc. Grant Larson

69th Public Affairs Detachment

SACRAMENTO, Calif. - The California Army National Guard has been working with local and state first responders to suppress wildfires in the Placer County area.

 Aircrews of the California Army Guard are using four UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters to assist the California Department of Forest and Fire Protection (Cal Fire) by dropping thousands of gallons of water on the fire. Meanwhile, crews aboard one California Air National Guard HH-60 Pavehawk helicopter have been providing medical evacuation support.

As of July 15, 20 percent of the fire, which started July 11, has been contained and more than 2,250 acres have burned as of Sunday evening, with one home destroyed. 

California Gov. Edmund G. Brown, Jr. activated the California Guard July 13 to assist Cal Fire efforts to suppress the fire.

“The California Army National Guard brings a specialized set of skills, assets and personnel to Robbers that allows us to focus on fighting the fire,” said Army 1st Lt. Matthew Miklos, a platoon leader and pilot with  F Company, 2nd Battalion, 135th Aviation Regiment (General Support).

“We’ve had a lasting relationship with Cal Fire,” said Chief Warrant Officer Robert Brockly, operations officer and senior instructor pilot. “We are at Cal Fire’s beck and call. Once we receive a call from them, we have our birds in the air in five to 10 minutes.”

 Cal Fire personnel have been appreciative of the California Guard as well. 

“The California Army National Guard Soldiers are trained very well and it feels really good that they’re focused on fulfilling the mission,” said David Ito, a Cal Fire captain and agency aviation military liaison. “They’re an outstanding resource for the citizens of California and Cal Fire.”

The helicopter crews are putting in 14-hour duty days, with eight of those hours in the sky.

The Robbers fire is hitting home for some who are helping out in the effort.

“I grew up in the hills of Placerville and worked for Auburn State Park, so I’m honored to be a part of this,” said Miklos. “It’s pretty awesome to get to help out your neighbors.”

Before the start of the fire season, the California Army National Guard and Cal Fire conducted a range of training from bucket drops to radio communications, for new and current team members, said Brockly. A requirement for pilots is 500 hours of aircraft commander time.

“The stress that’s involved in flying in combat translates into fighting fires as most pilots have been in combat at least once or twice,” said Brockly.

 “You train so much that it’s instinctive, it’s muscle memory, and that’s a good feeling,” said Miklos.

But for many of the California Guard members it simply comes back to serving.

“The Robbers fire is why we joined the Guard,” said Brockly. “It gives us the opportunity to serve our own country and state.”

Face of Defense: DOD Needs More People with More Languages

By Natela Cutter

Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center

MONTEREY, Calif., June 20, 2012 – Few people can claim they have been portrayed in a major Hollywood movie as a result of their actions during their government careers. Even fewer can say they contributed to the success of two major covert operations in U.S. history.

Michael G. Vickers, a two-time Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center graduate and the current Undersecretary of Defense for Intelligence, can take the credit for both, though he is reluctant to admit it.

In the 2007 movie “Charlie Wilson’s War,” Vickers was depicted as a young paramilitary operations officer who contributed with “brains and brawn” in the mid-1980s to the withdrawal of Russian troops from Afghanistan. In more recent history, Vickers has been recognized as a man who was instrumental in the planning, finding, and killing of the world’s most-wanted terrorist, Osama Bin Laden.

But Vickers says it was technology and a combination of human intelligence that really contributed to finding bin Laden.

“Human intelligence, signals intelligence and geo-spatial intelligence all played very important roles. A major part of the challenge of that operation was locating him in the first place, and that was a long time coming -- a very patient intelligence operation,” he explained.

On whether knowledge of language contributed to the success of the operation, Vickers said, “I can’t go into more detail -- but, in each of those disciplines, the ability to have officers or translators who were fluent or very professionally competent in a language made all the difference.”

A firm believer that foreign language knowledge “is critical for our national security,” Vickers, who graduated from the DLIFLC Czech course in 1977 and the Spanish course in 1979, has a good understanding of how vital this language skills are for the success of military operations in the field. He spent three years in Panama in a Special Operations unit in the 1980s, during a time when insurgency and terrorism were at an all-time high in Central and South America.

“I taught classes to Latin American officers in Spanish and I worked with them on operations, so, it [language] not only helped me to communicate, but it also gave me a real insight into how they think and approach problems,” he explained.

He told a congressional hearing in May the United States could benefit by having more Defense Department personnel proficient in foreign languages. “It’s an area [foreign language proficiency], frankly, we still need to improve -- both as an intelligence community and in the Special Operations field. It’s very hard to maintain high levels of proficiency in languages if you’re not using it all the time,” said Vickers, drawing from his own experience as a linguist in Spanish and Czech.

Offering incentives to those willing to maintain high language proficiency may be the answer, Vickers said.

“For example, Secretary of Defense [Leon E.] Panetta, when he was director at the CIA, mandated professional fluency in a foreign language to get promoted. And, it certainly had an impact on the number of people working harder at it,” Vickers said, adding that the key to maintaining a pool of highly proficient linguists depends on the requirements put in place.

“You just have to insist on the standards or it will never happen,” he said.

Vickers reiterated that foreign language instruction and training is vital to national security.

“There is an inherent federal government responsibility, as we learned early in the Cold War with national security education … Government investment in that is very important,” he said.

”A second point I would make is that early language education is critical,” to providing candidates for a pool of seasoned U.S. government linguists.

Safety First - Naval Base San Diego Hosts Summertime Safety Fair

By Communication Specialist 3rd Class Charlotte C. Oliver, Navy Public Affairs Support Element West

SAN DIEGO (NNS) -- Sailors from Commander, Navy Region Southwest attended the 6th Annual Safety Fair at Mariner's Park May 23.

According to Commanding Officer Naval Base San Diego, Capt. Winton Smith, the time period between Memorial Day and Labor Day sees an increase in recreational related accidents and mishaps, with about 30 deaths last year.

Nearly half of these were motorcycle related.

Smith spoke to the crowd of Sailors warning them just how deadly and unpredictable the summer months can be. With the summer months starting this Memorial Day weekend, Smith stressed that Sailors take the appropriate precautions to stay safe.

"With this week being Memorial Day, we want to reach our Sailors to make the right choice one last time before the long weekend." Smith said.

Occupational safety specialist Scott Simerson and his team from Commander, Navy Region Southwest, had booths set up from various companies to teach Sailors an array of safety practices from proper use of power tools to a Naked Juice booth that promoted a healthier lifestyle to Sailors.

Sailors were also given a presentation by the San Diego Coast Guard Auxiliary on the proper use and wear of life jackets including choosing the right life jacket depending on what water activity they may be participating in.

Before Sailors were allowed to venture out to the booths and enjoy free food hot off the grill, singer and traffic school teacher Michael "Big Daddy" Laughbaum entertained the crowd with a musical lesson about traffic safety, and a comedic twist on ZZ Top's "La Grange" to the theme of how not to be "That Guy."

"I wanted to put in Sailors' minds of what can happen if they decide to drink and drive," said Laughbaum.

Vendors from the San Diego area gave training and provided information on products ranging from power tools, to registering your bicycle with the naval base and personal protective equipment. Representatives from Maddox Defense also provided information on some of their military-based high tech portable solar panel devices and ecological "green" cleaners and degreasers geared toward making commands more eco-friendly.

The event was coordinated by the Safety Office at Naval Base San Diego with the support of various commands in the region.