Pacific Partnership 2014 Kicks Off in Vietnam

From Pacific Partnership Public Affairs

DA NANG, Vietnam (NNS) -- The Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) Osumi-Class JS Kunisaki (LST 4003), carrying a multinational crew of U.S., Australian and Japanese personnel arrived in Da Nang June 6 for Pacific Partnership 2014, beginning nine days of collaborative medical and engineering activities with the people of Vietnam.

Members of the media and local officials welcomed the first-ever Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force ship to serve as the primary mission platform for the U.S. Pacific Fleet's annual humanitarian and disaster response-focused mission.

An official welcoming ceremony hosted by local authorities and attended by Japan's Ambassador to Vietnam, the honorable Hiroshi Fukada, took place pierside. Immediately following the ceremony, PP14 Mission Commander U.S. Navy Capt. Brian Shipman; Deputy Mission Commander JMSDF Capt. Yoichi Matsui; and Mission Chief of Staff Australian Army Lt. Col. John Cronin interacted with members of the media in attendance.

"It's an honor to be in Vietnam for this years Pacific Partnership," Shipman said. "Over the next week and a half we'll work with our partners to help strengthen the local community. Building these relationships will help us all when it comes to having an immediate need of assistance so we can better work together."

In addition to the medical and engineering engagements, ship tours, band concerts, and community service events, U.S.-Japanese-Australian-Vietnamese sporting events are also planned. These activities underscore closer ties between the partner nations.

"I know all of us on the ship are looking forward to working with the Vietnamese people to get some great outcomes," Cronin said. "It's a great opportunity to get to know the Vietnamese people and culture. For me personally it's nice to be back in Vietnam."

This year marks the fifth time a Pacific Partnership mission has visited Vietnam.

Kunisaki will also visit and directly assist host nations Cambodia, and the Republic of the Philippines with a number of engineering, medical, and civic projects.

While training in simulated crisis-conditions, Pacific Partnership missions to date have provided real-world medical care to approximately 250,000 patients, veterinary services to more than 37,000 animals, accomplished more than 170 engineering projects, and enabled critical infrastructure development in Cambodia, Federated States of Micronesia, Indonesia, Kiribati, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Republic of the Philippines, Republic of Marshall Islands, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Timor-Leste, Tonga, Vanuatu and Vietnam.

HSC-15 Search and Rescue Team Saves a Life

By Mass Communication Specialist Seaman (SW) Matthew A. Carlyle

PACIFIC OCEAN (NNS) -- USS CARL VINSON, At sea (June 5, 2014) -- The Red Lions of Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron (HSC) 15 performed a search and rescue (SAR) mission after an F/A-18E Super Hornet made an emergency crash landing in the ocean June 4.

The USS Carl Vinson SAR team recovered the pilot after he ejected from the aircraft prior to the aircraft impacting the water. The team was in the helicopter providing routine over-watch during night flight operations when they got the call that there was a man in the water. A call they are well trained to respond to but hoped would never come.

That's when Naval Aircrewman (Helicopter) 3rd Class (AW) Aaron Perez, the rescue swimmer who executed the rescue, knew his first rescue mission had arrived.

"As soon as I started getting dressed out, I got really nervous," said Perez, a 25-year-old native of Corpus Christi, Texas. "I didn't want to mess anything up; this is what you train for. We have people who have been in 20 years and never had a rescue so I thought to myself, 'This is it.'"

With the helicopter positioned over the pilot, Perez was lowered in full SAR swimmer gear and quickly began using the training he learned at SAR school in Pensacola, Florida.

"Once I got in the water, it all came back to me," Perez said. "First, I talked to the pilot to let him know what the plan was and that we were going to get him out of there as soon as possible. Then I pulled him out of his raft, disentangled him, and signaled for the rescue litter. The rescue litter came down and I got him all strapped in. I hooked him up and gave the thumbs up to my crew chief so he knew to pull him out of the water."

After Perez was recovered from the water, he talked with the F/A-18 pilot as the helicopter made its way back to Carl Vinson.

"I just kept talking to the pilot, asking him how he was doing," Perez said. "He said he was fine, just cold. By the time we got a blanket on him, we were already touching down on the carrier. Then corpsmen rushed in to grab him."

Perez admitted that he was impressed by how composed the pilot was in spite of the dangerous circumstances and attributed the mission's success to how well both parties employed the training they had received for these emergency situations.

"When I got to him in the water, he was just lying in his raft, with his hands on his flotation, just waiting," Perez recalled. "He was very calm and cooperative. It made it really easy. Our training helped us out a lot because we both knew exactly what to do and how to help each other."

That's why the Navy motto "train like you fight" never rang more true than that night, when a potential disaster was calmly contained through prompt and skillful execution.

"It felt huge because we train a lot, for a lot of different things, that some people don't ever get to do," Perez said. "It really felt good to get to use it to help that pilot."

Carl Vinson is underway conducting a Joint Task Force Exercise (JTEFX) off the coast of Southern California.

Blue Ridge Promotes Peace in Indo-Asia Pacific Region During Patrol

By Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Kelby Sanders

YOKOSUKA, Japan (NNS) -- U.S. 7th Fleet flagship USS Blue Ridge (LCC 19) returned to Yokosuka, Japan June 7, after successfully concluding a five-week patrol of the Indo-Asia-Pacific region.

Blue Ridge along with embarked 7th Fleet staff (C7F), Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron 12 (HSC 12), and Marines from Fleet Anti-Terrorism Security Team Pacific kicked off a string of port calls with a visit to Thailand, the U.S.'s oldest ally in Southeast Asia. She followed with visits to Malaysia and Indonesia before steaming back to CFAY.

"Blue Ridge completed a very successful underway period thanks to the great work of her crew and the embarked 7th Fleet staff," said Blue Ridge Commanding Officer Capt. Richard McCormack. "The flagship sailed more than 8,400 nautical miles and completed three successful port visits in support of our Theater Security Cooperation mission."

A key component in assuring Blue Ridge is always mission ready, is the implementing of an aggressive underway training schedule, which includes simulated casualties, security breaches and combat scenarios among other things.

Fifty-one enlisted Blue Ridge and C7F Sailors obtained their Enlisted Surface Warfare Specialist (ESWS) qualification while five more worked diligently to qualify as Surface Warfare Officers during the patrol.

"Qualifying in ESWS is a huge milestone in a surface Sailor's career," said Chief Information Systems Technician William Bennett, Blue Ridge ESWS coordinator. "It proves that he or she is committed to being the best Sailor they can be and that they will be a valuable asset in a time of crisis."

Blue Ridge's Damage Control Training Team also conducted 35 training drills over the course of the patrol. In simulated scenarios, Sailors battled numerous types of fires, ruptured piping systems and repaired critical structural damage.

"The drills improve our ability to confidently work as a team under pressure," said Machinery Repairman 3rd Class (Select) Gabriel Donovan. "Junior Sailors in particular are getting the training they need in order to be prepared to competently handle real-life damage control situations."

While port visits allowed Sailors and Marines an opportunity to relax between underway periods, 74 Blue Ridge crewmembers also volunteered to participate in four community service (COMSERV) events, interacting with 275 local nationals in Malaysia and Thailand.

"Every COMSERV we participated in was a successful," said Religious Programs Specialist 1st Class Brian Jewell, lead COMSERV organizer. "They strengthened our partnerships with the host nations we visited and ensured the time we spent with the local nationals was meaningful to all involved."

"Blue Ridge is just one of the many 7th Fleet assets that demonstrate our country's enduring commitment to our allies and friends throughout the region every day," said McCormack.

Blue Ridge has been forward deployed to Yokosuka, Japan for 34 years. As the flag ship for Commander, U.S. 7th Fleet, Vice Adm. Robert L. Thomas, Blue Ridge is vital in maintaining partnerships in the 7th Fleet area of operations.

USS Missouri Returns from Surge Deployment

By Lt. Timothy Hawkins, Submarine Group 2 Public Affairs

GROTON, Conn. (NNS) -- Virginia-class attack submarine USS Missouri (SSN 780) returned home to Groton, Conn., June 8, after completing an 11-week surge deployment overseas.

Missouri's crew of more than 140 officers and enlisted personnel departed March 24 to conduct assigned theater security missions in the U.S. European Command region.

Cmdr. Michael Luckett, Missouri's commanding officer, said his team excelled.

"I am proud and they should be proud of what they accomplished," he said.

Luckett challenged his team to "sustain the standard of excellence" when Missouri completed an inaugural six-month deployment last December. Today he said the crew met that challenge thoughout the ship's second overseas stint.

Submarine force leaders sent congratulatory messages to the crew days before Missouri arrived home.

"Our citizens are frequently unaware of the sacrifices that our submarine force makes to support our nation," wrote Vice Adm. Michael Connor, commander, Submarine Forces. "As your force commander, I am grateful and humbled by the sacrifices made by the crew and families of Missouri."

Rear Adm. Ken Perry, commander of Submarine Group 2, said Missouri demonstrated "readiness and responsiveness" when it answered the nation's call to go back out and conduct forward operations only three months after returning from the 2013 deployment.

Missouri is equipped to conduct covert surveillance, attack land targets with Tomahawk cruise missiles, support special forces, and hunt other ships and submarines.

It is the Navy's seventh Virginia-class submarine and fifth vessel named for the nation's 24th state.

Hurricane Hunters fly first storm reconnaissance mission of season

by Master Sgt. Brian J. Lamar
403rd Wing Public Affairs

6/7/2014 - KEESLER AIR FORCE BASE, Miss. -- The Hurricane Hunters of the 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron flew to the southwest quadrant of the Gulf of Mexico June 6 to gather weather data in their first storm reconnaissance mission of the 2014 Atlantic basin hurricane season.

According to Maj. John Brady, an aerial weather reconnaissance officer with the Hurricane Hunters, the forecasters at the National Hurricane Center saw a tropical disturbance in the region and tasked the unit to take a closer look.

"When a storm looks like it might begin to form, the NHC sends us there to gather real-time data. When we get there, we will be looking for a circulation of wind in all four quadrants of the area around the low pressure center," said Brady.

According to reports from the NHC, satellite data showed a 30-knot approximate wind speed.

"If we find that the winds are circulating around the low-pressure center, the NHC could classify this as a tropical depression," said Brady.

During the infancy of a storm, the hunters fly at very low altitudes to stay under the "weather" at an altitude of 1,000 feet. Once storms increase in intensity, the pilots raise the flight level to 10,000 feet for safety reasons.

The original takeoff for the flight was scheduled for 11 a.m. from Keesler, but shortly into the flight, Brady noticed a fuel leak out of his window and the crew returned to Keesler. The crew then took off in another aircraft at 3 p.m.

According to Lt. Col. John Talbot, the chief meteorologist for the 53rd WRS, the maintenance delay backed up the timeline enough to change the goal of the mission.

"By the time they get down there, it's possible that part of the storm may be over land in Mexico. Their new objective will be a coast patrol mission. They will most likely fly five miles off shore and gather wind speed data," said Talbot.

The Hunters searched for the low-pressure center, but the center was already over land, where it will likely break apart and weaken. The NHC cancelled future flights into the storm system.

After the data was submitted to the NHC, they issued an update regarding the status of the storm based from the information gathered by the 53rd WRS.

"Surface observations and reports from an Air Force Reserve reconnaissance aircraft indicate that the center of the low-pressure system near Vera Cruz is just inland," according to the NHC release. "However, some chance for development still remains because the center is very near the coast and a slow and erratic motion is possible overnight. Regardless of whether any development occurs, this system will continue to produce gusty winds and heavy rains, along with life-threatening flash floods and mud slides, over portions of southeastern and eastern Mexico during the next day or two."

Although the first storm of the season didn't grow into a named storm system, this was an opportunity for Brady to get back into the swing of things.

After the winter, there is always anxiety associated with the first storm of the season, said Brady. I use the first storm to clean out the cobwebs and my comfort level comes back. After this one, I feel prepared for the rest of the season.

San Diego Logistics Center Wins Prestigious Fuels Awards

By Candice Villarreal, NAVSUP Fleet Logistics Center San Diego Public Affairs

SAN DIEGO (NNS) -- Personnel assigned to NAVSUP Fleet Logistics Center (FLC) San Diego received special recognition for their efforts in winning a prestigious fuel terminal award aboard Naval Base Point Loma in San Diego, June 4.

Commanding Officer Capt. Christopher Mosher met with command fuels personnel to deliver the trophy that accompanied the 2013 American Petroleum Institute (API) Outstanding Bulk Fuel Terminal Award, awarded to recognize Defense Fuel Support Point - Point Loma as the activity that made the most significant contributions to the Department of the Navy in fuel operations, petroleum supply chain management, and fleet fuel support.

"To have a fuel terminal undergoing a $195 million military construction project while meeting all mission requirements - under an aggressive workload - speaks volumes about the caliber of personnel we have on the job," said Mosher.

NAVSUP FLC San Diego won not only for the bulk fuel terminal category, but also for their over-the-horizon Navy retail fuel activity at Naval Air Station (NAS) Fallon. To wrap up their award trifecta, Stephen Isaacson of their NAS Fallon was named Navy Fuel Civilian of the Year.

"From Point Loma in San Diego to Mr. Isaacson in Nevada, they keep warfighter support, safety and environmental responsibility as their top priorities in all they do," said Mosher. "It's their dedication that won us these awards."

The API - an internationally recognized petroleum trade organization - announces winners for excellence in fuel management and outstanding performance each year.

"The award really came as a great surprise; a long overdue surprise," said Southwest Regional Fuels Director Stephen Frey. "We're elated that we got this recognition; it means a lot to us and we're very proud of the prestige that comes with it."

Lt. Cmdr. Rick Collazos, regional fuels officer, echoed Frey's sentiments.

"The last time we won the bulk terminal award was in 1993, so it's great to bring it home," said Collazos. "We won this over a period of performance that handed us nonstop challenges, between the construction projects, the facility transitions, the tank closures and learning new systems while still maintaining a high operational tempo."

The NAVSUP FLC San Diego team successfully met all customer requirements on time and on specification to aid in their receipt of the awards, processing more than 162 million gallons of petroleum products in support of the warfighter; all with zero spills.

The bulk fuel terminal also underwent a multi-million dollar construction project with zero days lost due to accidents and is slated to be the first Department of Defense operation of its kind to receive a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification for its groundbreaking efforts in green initiatives and environmental responsibility.

"We just went to work every day doing what we needed to do to support the warfighter, no matter what we had on our plate," said Collazos. "We knew we needed to keep providing these critical services to the fleet, and so we took it head on and made it happen."

NAVSUP Fleet Logistics Center San Diego, one of eight fleet logistics centers under NAVSUP Global Logistics Support, provides global logistics, business and support services to fleet, shore and industrial commands of the Navy, Coast Guard, Military Sealift Command, and other joint and allied Forces. Services include contracting, regional transportation, fuel, material management, household goods movement support, postal and consolidated mail, warehousing, global logistics and husbanding, hazardous material management, and integrated logistics support.

NAVSUP GLS comprises more than 5,700 military and civilian logistics professionals, contractors and foreign nationals operating as a single cohesive team providing global logistics services from 110 locations worldwide.

A component of the Naval Supply Systems Command headquartered in Mechanicsburg, Pa., NAVSUP GLS is part of a worldwide logistics network of more than 22,500 military and civilian personnel providing combat capability through logistics.