Navy to Christen Guided-Missile Destroyer Delbert D. Black

The Navy will christen the newest guided-missile destroyer the future USS Delbert D. Black (DDG 119), Saturday, November 4 during a 10:00 a.m. CST ceremony at Huntington Ingalls Industries Shipbuilding in Pascagoula, Mississippi. 

The future USS Delbert D. Black is the first ship to bear the name of a Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy (MCPON) and is named for the first person to hold that office. Black began his 30-year Navy career in the spring of 1941. After completing recruit training, he reported to his first assignment USS Maryland (BB 46) in Pearl Harbor where he witnessed the Japanese attack that drew the United States into World War II. Over the next 26 years, he rose through the ranks to Gunner's Mate Master Chief before his selection in 1967 to serve as the first MCPON. The MCPON is the senior enlisted leader in the Navy and serves as an advisor to the CNO and to the Chief of Naval Personnel in matters dealing with enlisted Sailors and their families.

MCPON Steven S. Giordano, 14th and current Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy, will serve as the principal speaker during the ceremony. Mrs. Ima Black, MCPON Black’s widow and a World War II Navy veteran herself, will serve as the ship’s sponsor and break a bottle of sparkling wine across the bow to formally christen the ship, a time-honored Navy tradition.

“It is a fitting tribute to the Master Chief who set the tone for all of us to follow as authentic, competent and courageous leaders,” Giordano said. “This ship represents the enlisted force perhaps more than any other ship in the Navy.”

Delbert D. Black will be the 69th Arleigh Burke-class destroyer and is currently the fifth of 13 ships currently under contract for the DDG 51 program. The ship will be configured as a Flight IIA destroyer, which enables power projection, forward presence and escort operations at sea in support of Low Intensity Conflict/Coastal and Littoral Offshore Warfare, as well as open ocean conflict.

Delbert D. Black will be equipped with the Navy's Aegis Combat System, the world's foremost integrated naval weapon. The ship will also incorporate Cooperative Engagement Capability that when combined with the Aegis Combat System will permit groups of ships and aircraft to link radars to provide a composite picture of the battle space effectively increasing the theater space. The capability is designed to provide the Navy with a 21st century fighting edge.

The nearly 9,500-ton Delbert D. Black is 509.5 feet in length, has a waterline beam of 59 feet and has a navigational draft of 31 feet. Four gas turbine engines will power the ship to speeds in excess of 30 knots.

Media may direct queries to the Navy Office of Information at (703) 697-5342. Additional information on Arleigh Burke-class destroyers is available online at http://www.navy.mil/navydata/fact_display.asp?cid=4200&tid=900&ct=4

Injured Marine Fulfills Dream of Learning to Surf

By Shannon Collins DoD News, Defense Media Activity

WASHINGTON, Nov. 1, 2017 — Growing up in Gardena, California, now-Marine Corps Cpl. Leighton Anderson recalled that as a boy his Navy father would take him to military airshows.

At that time, Anderson said he wanted to be a fighter pilot.

“I [later] realized I can’t do that because of my eyesight. But my dad took me over to [Marine Corps Air Station] Miramar, and I saw all of the aviation things and the people flying. I always wanted to be a part of the Blue Angels with their jets,” Anderson said.

Anderson didn’t get assigned with the Blue Angels maintenance and support team, but he did get become a crew chief with MV-22 tilt-rotor Osprey aircraft at Okinawa, Japan.

As an Osprey crew chief, Anderson said he inspected the aircraft, repaired the engines and replaced worn parts.

“While we’re flying, we back up the pilots. We load cargo and passengers as well,” he said.

Injury

In December 2016, after serving four years on Osprey aircraft, Anderson was severely injured in an Osprey crash during a training mission.

“We crashed at 200 mph, and I was strapped down,” he said.

Anderson said he received a concussion, and injured his jaw and one of his eyes. He said he was required to wear an eye patch over the injured eye, which required stitches.

Anderson said he also broke his right hand and right foot.

“I broke some ribs and collapsed my left lung,” Anderson continued. “I bruised my heart and fractured my right scapula.”

Anderson said he also has traumatic brain injury and post-traumatic stress disorder.

Surfing Clinic

Today, Anderson is a patient at Naval Medical Center San Diego, where he’s learned how to surf as part of his recovery.

Anderson said he looked at the other recreation programs the Naval Medical Center San Diego’s Health and Wellness Department’s Wounded, Ill and Injured Wellness division offers, but the surfing clinic stood out to him the most.

“I’ve always wanted to learn how to surf since I’m from California,” he said. “I tried it three times in my life and never did it. And I was like, ‘Let me try it through the program here.’ And then after that, I was hooked. It was pretty sweet.”

Anderson said the surfing clinic has helped him physically and mentally.

“I had so many barriers because once I was injured I was like, ‘I don’t know if I can do that. I might hurt myself,’” he said. “I have a little bit of PTSD, and I didn’t think I would enjoy anything.”

Anderson added, “Once I tried it, I broke down a lot of barriers I had mentally and physically. I had weak tendons in my hand and my foot, but with surfing they’re starting to get better. And mentally, it makes me happy. I love it. Everybody’s really supportive. It’s just something everybody should take on.”

Honor Guard Brings New Perspective for Airman

By Air Force Airman 1st Class Suzanna Plotnikov 81st Training Wing

KEESLER AIR FORCE BASE, Miss., Nov. 1, 2017 — A yearlong commitment to the honor guard here was not what Air Force Tech. Sgt. Benjamin Graham expected it to be.

The noncommissioned officer in charge of the honor guard’s Delta Flight, Graham said he didn’t know a lot about honor guard when he joined. “I just saw the face of the Air Force Honor Guard -- them doing shows, performing and twirling rifles. Now that I’ve gotten into it, it means a lot more.”

Each Keesler Honor Guard member goes through several months of training to be proficient in the skills required to post the colors and fold the flag and serve as a member of the firing party or as a pallbearer. Despite learning to maintain a stoic demeanor, execute precise facing movements and maintain a meticulous uniform, when it comes time to do their jobs, honor guard members can face unexpected challenges.

Arriving to his first funeral at a dark, cloudy rain-filled New Orleans cemetery Graham said he had to focus on keeping his military bearing to present the proper military honors for a grieving family.

Change of Plan

“It was raining several days prior to the funeral so the cemetery was run-down, the tombstones were folded over and weeds were growing everywhere,” Graham said. “There was two inches of muddy water throughout all the gravesites, so it gave it a really disturbing look. The whole group was trying to get our bearing to figure out each honor guardsman’s position.”

The final handing off of the flag to the next of kin can be one of the most memorable parts of a military funeral. Like some parts of life, not every situation goes to plan and for Graham, handing the flag to the mourning family at his first funeral was no exception.

“The family showed up to the funeral 30 minutes early so we had to improvise,” he said. “There were tons of people in a small area so it gave me a claustrophobic feeling. There was nowhere for the family to sit so I had to hand the flag to someone who was standing up instead of the norm of them sitting down.”

Looking into the eyes of someone you don’t know and handing them the U.S. flag may bring a sense of sadness to anyone, but according to Graham, this last moment of each military funeral reinvigorates each honor guardsman to perform better at each funeral.

“They’re crying and they’re thankful; you’re kind of healing their sadness a little bit,” he said. “It’s something I’ve been very appreciative of, and I think that’s what reignites the fire into most of the honor guard teams whenever they’re handing off that flag.”

Graham said he wouldn’t have had a chance to experience the sense of pride and patriotism that comes with performing honor guard duties if it weren’t for his superiors. After speaking to his mentor, Graham realized he was going to be a part of something much bigger than himself and possibly the last time some families have contact with the military.

“Most people who aren’t affiliated with military don’t really know what to expect from military members and this might be the first and last time they see a military member,” he said. “They can see how passionate we are and it instills some sense of pride in America and gives them hope that there are people who are still willing to do what needs to be done … even as an honor guardsman.”