Training Support Center San Diego Receives NETC Excellence Award

By Ensign Michael Patronik, Training Support Center, San Diego Public Affairs

SAN DIEGO (NNS) -- Training Support Center, San Diego (TSC SD) announced May 7 their receipt of Naval Education and Training Command's 2013 Training Excellence Award (TEA) for superlative performance in every training support functional area.

The annual awards recognize commands that demonstrate the highest standards of training excellence by consistently producing Sailors possessing relevant and effective skills that enable them to succeed by meeting the needs of the fleet and increasing the Navy's mission readiness.

In addition to its highest overall 2013 TEA honor, TSC SD was recognized for superior support of NETC's mission in planning and programming, logistics management, training support management and financial management.

According to Scott Trulove, executive director of TSC SD, winning the TEAs have become a legacy for the command.

"This level of recognition for the fifth year in a row is the highest form of acknowledgement from NETC that our folks are the absolute best of the best at what they do - providing the finest education and training support in the Navy," he said.

"We are honored to be recognized by NETC with the overall and functional TEA awards," said Capt. Robert Beauchamp, commanding officer of TSC SD. "The credit lies with the civilian and military staff members here who are consistently focused upon getting Sailors prepared to report to the fleet. This team gives its best, day after day; their consistency is remarkable."

Training Support Center San Diego provides centralized student management and support to 17 Naval Education and Training Command learning sites in Navy Region Southwest.

Constitution Sailors Complete Successful St. Louis Navy Week

By Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class John P. Benson, USS Constitution Public Affairs

ST. LOUIS (NNS) -- USS Constitution Sailors wrapped-up a successful trip to St. Louis Navy Week on Sunday, May 4.

A team of six Sailors from Old Ironsides, led by Constitution's 73rd Commanding Officer, Cmdr. Sean Kearns, helped promote America's Navy and America's Ship of State throughout the St. Louis area during the Navy Week, April 28 - May 4.

St. Louis Navy Week was the second of five Navy Weeks Constitution Sailors will participate in throughout 2014. The primary purpose of Navy Weeks is to increase awareness by presenting the U.S. Navy to Americans who live in cities that normally do not have a significant naval presence. St. Louis Navy Week showcased the mission, capabilities and achievements of the U.S. Navy and provided residents the opportunity to meet Sailors firsthand.

Constitution's week began with a visit to the St. Louis Veteran's Affairs Hospital, followed by a visit to St. Louis Children's Hospital as part of the Caps for Kids campaign to visit with child patients and present them with their own USS Constitution command ball cap.

"It was a great experience," said Logistics Specialist 3rd Class Jessica Carey, a member of Constitution's St. Louis team. "It was humbling meeting veterans and going to the children's hospital to put smiles on their faces. It was something that I'll forever hold in my heart."

Constitution Sailors then performed mid-week color guards, dressed in their 1813-era uniforms, during the singing of the national anthem in front of nearly 40,000 spectators prior to two St. Louis Cardinals baseball games at Busch Stadium.

Shifting from stadiums to schoolrooms, the Constitution crew gave numerous STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) presentations about Old Ironsides and her rich history to more than 2,000 students at Ridgewood Middle School, Lincoln Middle School, St. Gerard Majella School, North Kirkwood Middle School, and Belle Valley School throughout the week.

"It was an incredible experience," said Gunner's Mate Seaman Amada Williamson, a Constitution St. Louis participant. "Being able to inspire the school kids and light a fire for history was very rewarding."

The Sailors also made a visit to the O'Fallon Boys & Girls Club, where they spoke to youth about career opportunities in the Navy, followed by a friendly soccer match in the gym.

"I literally grew up in a Boys & Girls Club," said Chief Hospital Corpsman Louis Del Prete, Constitution's leading chief petty officer for the Navy Week. "To be given the opportunity to speak with young minds about their potential and what the Navy can do for their wellbeing is simply priceless."

Of course, no Navy Week would be complete for Sailors stationed on the oldest commissioned warship afloat in the world without actually sailing, and that is exactly what they did with the St. Louis Area Sea Scouts Saturday morning.

Meeting at Creve Coeur Lake, Sailors and Sea Scouts cast off from the shore in sailboats on the troop's first adventure of the year.

"It's great to see a program like the sea scouts familiarizing young adults with elements of our sailing history, particularly when it comes to sails and nautical terminology," said Builder 2nd Class Daniel McCluskey, a Missouri native and Navy Week participant.

The capstone event for the crew was a dinner with the Patrol Craft Sailor Association Reunion Saturday night, where Cmdr. Kearns was the keynote speaker.

"The Crew and I have enjoyed a fantastic week here in one of our nation's great cities," said Kearns. "Interacting with the people of St. Louis, especially the school-age kids and veterans, has been very rewarding. I can't think of a better way to wrap up our week here than by sharing dinner with Navy veterans of the Patrol Craft Sailors Association, getting to hear about their experiences in the Navy, and paying our respects for their courageous service that paved the way to our own."

Constitution's St. Louis crew now heads back to Boston to prepare for the ship's first underway of the year to be held June 6, but won't soon forget the experiences afforded to them in St. Louis.

"I'm thankful to have been given the privilege and opportunity to go on the St. Louis Navy Week," said Williamson.

USS Constitution, the world's oldest commissioned warship afloat, actively defended sea lanes against global threats from 1797 to 1855. Now a featured destination on Boston's Freedom Trail, Constitution and her crew of U.S. Navy Sailors offer community outreach and education about the ship's history and the importance of naval seapower to more than 500,000 visitors each year.

JBER's Consolidated Library hosts the annual Princess and Pirates Ball

by Airman 1st Class Tammie Ramsouer
JBER Public Affairs

5/6/2014 - JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, Alaska -- Military members and their families participated in the fifth annual Princess and Pirates Ball at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson's Consolidated Library, May 2.

The library hosted the event, which included many different hands-on activities for children and their parents. More than 300 military members and their families participated in this year's ball.

"We have so many things for the children to do at the event," said Kathryn Ruhl, Consolidated Library librarian. "Parents are welcome to do everything the kids do as well, instead of just sitting in a corner."

Volunteers gave props to children at the front door such as wands and scimitars, which were made from recycled cardboard, feathers and other materials.

"We started this event with the idea of making it with as much recycled materials as possible," Ruhl said. "Not only that, we had mainly girls events, so we came up with something both [genders] could enjoy."

Volunteers guided parents and children to stations as soon as they came in the doors of the library for the event.

One of the 10 stations for the children to play with was the racecar chutes, which children could race small toy cars down at an angle. Children had the opportunity to learn how to share with others while playing with cars, as there were only four cars to use.

"One day, when we were remodeling the library, I saw this man about to throw away these long cardboard pieces and I asked him if I could take it and he said 'sure,' so we made them into racecar chutes," Ruhl said.

Another station was the science station, where volunteers showed children and their parents how to separate colors in milk. A volunteer would pour a thin layer of milk into a bowl and one drop of four different colors in the same bowl. Then they would hand the children a cotton swab with dish soap on the end of it and the child would dip in the color and watch the colors separate.

There were more than 30 volunteers at the Princess and Pirates Ball helping with the coordinating and supervision of the children and stations.

"This is my first time volunteering at the Princess and Pirates Ball," said Parker Rose, 14, a volunteer at the Princess and Pirates Ball. "It's been fun doing this part of it because I get to see the reaction on the kids' faces when the color separates."

Frida Johnson, wife of Army Staff Sgt. Michael Johnson, 425th Brigade Special Troops Battalion, said she enjoyed interacting with her child during the ball.

"We love this event," she said. "It is really fun just to get out of the house and get the kids doing something hands-on."

For information about future events, call the Consolidated Library at 384-1648 or visit the library website at http://jber.ent.sirsi.net/client/default.

Airmen participate in Navy combat medic training

by Staff Sgt. Alexander Martinez
15th Wing Public Affairs

5/6/2014 - JOINT BASE PEARL HARBOR-HICKAM, Hawaii -- Two Hickam Airmen had their medic skills put to the test while attending Navy combat medic training April 30 through May 2.

Staff Sgt. Tyrone Shannon, 15th Medical Group, and Senior Airman Jazzmine Rolon, 15th Aeromedical Dental Squadron, participated in Tactical Combat Casualty Care training hosted by the Navy.

The quarterly training is designed to teach medics basic combat tactics and medical practices while in combat, and to prepare medics for deploying to a combat zone. The three main phases of training were medical care under fire, tactical field care and tactical evacuation.

"There's nothing better than teaching a young Sailor or Airman how to effectively engage an enemy, treat their casualty, and get their casualty out of the kill zone," said Navy HM2 (hospital corpsman) David Shepardson, the lead instructor for the training.

Shepardson said this is the first known time Air Force medics have participated in this type of training here.

"Overall this class did very well," he said. "For our Air Force students being outside their normal training environment, they did fantastic. They actively participated in the class and were very knowledgeable."

Navy HM1 Trevor Wallace, Naval Health Clinic Hawaii and assistant lead instructor of TCCC, said the training is important and effective because it helps medics adjust to difficult conditions encountered in a combat zone.

"There are a lot of limitations a medic might run into while taking care of someone in combat," Wallace said. "When you're in a [typical] hospital, you're not providing care while surrounded by people who want to kill you. It adds pressure and stress that you wouldn't experience anywhere else."

To try and mimic combat pressure and stress, the instructors "aggressively motivate" the students by talking loud, close and direct.

"It's a pretty intense course," Shannon said. "I didn't know what to expect because I hadn't heard about it. I think every medic should experience this type of training."

The final day culminated with a demanding exercise scenario where students had to navigate past aggressors with paintball guns, enter a dark and smoky "kill house," and treat and recover a dummy with simulated injuries. Once recovered, the students had to explain to instructors the injuries and methods of treatment, all while under pressure from speakers blaring combat noise and yelling instructors.

"You find out quickly what it's like to experience fear and pressure while trying to care for someone," Rolon said. "I feel like if you're going to deploy as a medic you should do training like this because it's effective."

TCCC instructors hope to have more participation from all military branch medics in future classes.

"We're definitely trying to open this up and make it more of a joint-service training," Wallace said. "Hopefully having the Air Force train with us is the first step in making that happen."

Shannon shared some advice for medics who plan to attend TCCC in the future: "Be in shape because the class is non-stop and intense, and know your basic life support."

DOD, College Basketball Coaches Kick Off ‘Commitment to Serve’

By Army Sgt. 1st Class Tyrone C. Marshall Jr.

American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, May 7, 2014 – The Defense Department began its “Commitment to Service” initiative today, hosting USA and collegiate basketball coaches for a panel discussion on leadership.

Army Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, opened the event, welcoming the coaching panel and moderator Jay Bilas of ESPN.

“This is a Hall of Fame group right here,” Dempsey said to a Pentagon Auditorium audience. “You all may have one or two other favorites, but this is about as good as you’re going to see assembled in one place to lead elite athletes in a very, very complete sport -- a sport I love dearly.”

Dempsey also recognized the coaches’ spouses for their commitment, noting that like those of military spouses, they are part of a team.

“They take and share what is sometimes a burden, but it’s probably most often a blessing as you watch these kids grow and develop and you nurture them,” he said.

The chairman said this event serves to “connect the best with the best.”

“These are the best coaches in the land,” Dempsey said. “They coach the most elite basketball players in the land at the college level.” He explained that he wants to connect them with the best soldiers, sailors, airmen, Marines and Coast Guardsmen on the planet, and said that’s what the initiative is about.

“It’s also about reminding ourselves that whatever endeavor in which we find ourselves, whether it’s professional basketball, collegiate basketball, any other sport or the military, it’s about the country,” Dempsey said.

“We’re looking forward to partnering with not just the teams and these coaches, but with a much broader audience,” the chairman told the audience. “It’s all about service.”

Bilas -- who the chairman noted was his favorite basketball player on his favorite team when the ESPN basketball analyst was a four-year starter at Duke University in the 1980s -- expressed his gratitude to be able to reach service members and their families via broadcasts from American Forces Network to troops around the world and ships at sea.

“It is a singular honor for all of us to be here among you,” he said. “All the coaches -- we’ve spent the last day and a half talking about the awe that we have for you and the commitment to selfless service that all of you have made.”

This summit conference is on leadership, Bilas said, and there’s certainly some overlap.

“The consequences in your game are a little bit different than the consequences in this game,” he noted. “But I think there are lessons that all of us can learn from each other, and that’s why we’re here today.”

Each of the seven coaches participating in the panel discussed, among other concepts, what leadership is to them.

Geno Auriemma, women’s basketball coach for the 2014 NCAA champion University of Connecticut team and Team USA, said he really embraced the idea that he can’t control everything.

“There are things that I can spend a lot of time on,” he said. “We can work as hard as we can to prepare the players to be ready to do certain things, but when it’s time to perform, I really can’t control the outcome.”

Syracuse University men’s basketball coach Jim Boeheim said adversity can reveal leadership. “It’s when you lose a game or two that you really come to find out who are the guys that are going to step up now,” he said. “It’s those guys that can do it when things are not going well.”

Just making sure not to overreact is a useful lesson, University of Pittsburgh men’s basketball coach Jamie Dixon said he has learned in his coaching career.

Michigan State University men’s basketball coach Tom Izzo shared his thoughts on the term “lead by example.”

“To me, ‘lead by example’ is OK, but it’s kind of a selfish way of looking at things,” he said. “If you’re not leading by bringing others with you, … you’re relying on those other players to see what you’re doing.”

Kevin Ollie, coach of the University of Connecticut’s 2014 NCAA champion men’s basketball team, told the audience he believes leadership is “two-fold.”

“It’s either I’m liked or I’m respected,” he said. “I want to be respected. I want to challenge everybody around me. I also want to do a self-[evaluation] of myself and look in the mirror,” he said, asking himself, “Am I’m doing the best things possible to lead my basketball team?

Texas Tech University men’s basketball coach Tubby Smith said he learned if “you take care of business, it’s like a team.”

“We’re all on this team,” he said. “Everybody has a role to play.”

Villanova University men’s basketball coach Jay Wright said he values “people who believe their value is their impact on others.”

“When you meet people that value themselves by how they impact others, those people are usually great leaders,” he said.

The panel discussion concluded after more than an hour, having touched on topics of leadership, recruiting and retaining talent, and helping young players transition to the next phase of their lives.

Brent Colburn, assistant to the secretary of defense for public affairs, thanked the panel on behalf of Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, the chairman and =the audience.

“They say this all the time, [but] they really do believe our strength is that our people want to constantly learn [and] constantly get new skills,” he said. “So thank you all for being down here, and thank you for everything you do,” Colburn said.

Strong U.S. Military Makes World Safer, Hagel Says

By Army Sgt. 1st Class Tyrone C. Marshall Jr.

American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, May 7, 2014 – As nations worldwide experience a period of unprecedented economic and political transformation, the world would be a more dangerous place without a strong U.S. military, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said during a town hall meeting yesterday at Naval Station Great Lakes, Illinois.

During the second stop on a two-day trip to Illinois, Hagel visited the Recruit Training Command School, where he discussed the current world situation and took questions.

“I don’t think we’ve seen such a time since right after World War II,” Hagel said. “And, again, the United States is an essential architect of this process.”

This process must continue at a time in which the nation must wisely use all of its resources, dimensions and instruments of influence and power, the secretary said. Though the big issues and challenges the world faces mostly cannot be solved militarily, Hagel said, the world becomes more dangerous without a strong, cutting-edge U.S. military that has the best-led, best-trained, best-educated and most-motivated people.

“And our options become fewer and fewer in helping build a better world for the first part of the 21st century,” he said.

Hagel said most service members, just as he does, focus on their day-to-day jobs and responsibilities. But occasionally, he added, it’s important to step back and take a broader view of the work they do and what the point of having a great military is. Great militaries always are integral to the influence and defense of a nation’s values, principles and interests around the world, he said.

“So I note that,” Hagel continued, “because it’s an area that I spoke about this morning in my speech to the [Chicago Council of Foreign Affairs], and in answer to some questions I got from our students there from the University of Chicago. You’re living in a historic time. You’re making history. You are doing something that few generations ever have the opportunity to do, and that is to truly transform things for a purpose. And that purpose is to continue to build a better world.”

Hagel said he wanted to express his appreciation to service members for their role in this transformation, and he encouraged the troops to keep doing what they’re doing.

The few hours he had spent at the naval station, Hagel said, gave him a good understanding of the importance of the Recruit Training Command School and what it means to the defense enterprise and the nation.

“I want to also thank you personally for what you do,” he said. “I know this is your job. I know this is something that you’re very good at, and you like to do it, and you’ve had other jobs. But I know it’s not easy. I know it’s tough on families. It’s a big sacrifice to do this, and I appreciate that.”

CSAF describes Air Force’s ‘precarious’ position

By Claudette Roulo, American Forces Press Service / Published May 06, 2014

WASHINGTON (AFNS) -- After 23 years of high-tempo operations, the Air Force is in a precarious position, Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Mark A. Welsh III told the Senate Armed Services Committee May 6.

The general was joined in his testimony by his fellow members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, including the Joint Chiefs chairman, Army Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, and the vice chairman, Navy Adm. James A. “Sandy” Winnefeld Jr.

Airmen have performed spectacularly well over a period that included numerous routine deployments and contingency responses, Welsh said.

“I believe they've earned every penny they've made,” the general added. But per-capita costs for Airmen have grown more than 40 percent since 2000, he noted.

“Last year, our readiness levels reached an all-time low,” Welsh said. “As we struggle to recover, we don't have enough units ready to respond immediately to a major contingency, and we're not always able to provide fully mission-ready units to meet our combatant commanders' routine rotational requirements.”

The Air Force’s modernization forecasts also are bleak, the general said. About 20 percent of its aircraft flying today were built in the 1950s and 1960s, he noted, and more than half of the rest are 25 years old or older.

“And now, due to sequestration, we've cut about 50 percent of our currently planned modernization programs,” Welsh said.

The fiscal situation has forced the Air Force into some very difficult decisions, the general said, particularly in the area of pay and compensation reform.

“No one takes this lightly,” he said, “but we feel it's necessary to at least try and create some savings.”

Without these tough calls, the Air Force “will be neither ready to fight today, nor viable against the threats of tomorrow,” Welsh said.

Slowing the rate of pay increases, gradually reducing housing pay, reforming the TRICARE health care plan and reducing commissary subsidies will certainly hurt, the general said. But, he added, “what my secretary and I owe the nation, the joint team and our Airmen, more than anything else, are the training and tools necessary to fight and win and survive.”

If Congress fails to pass the proposed compensation reforms, the Air Force will be forced to cut $8.1 billion from readiness, modernization and infrastructure accounts over the next five years, Welsh said.

“We'll take significant cuts to flying hours and weapons system sustainment accounts, reduce precision munitions buys, and lower funding for training ranges, digging our readiness hole even deeper,” the general said.

“We'll likely have to cancel or delay several critical recapitalization programs,” he continued. “Among those probably impacted would be the combat rescue helicopter and the TX trainer. Abandoning the TX program would mean that future pilots will then continue to train in the 50-year-old T-38. We'll also be forced to cut spending on infrastructure beyond the $5 billion we've already recommended to cut over (the next five years).”

These cuts would come in addition to the recommendations the Air Force already made, Welsh emphasized, including decreasing its force strength by nearly 17,000 Airmen next year, divesting the entire A-10 Thunderbolt II and U-2 reconnaissance aircraft fleets and possibly divesting the KC-10 Extender fleet.

“None of these options are good ones, but we are simply out of good options,” he said. “It's time for courageous leadership. We simply can't continue to defer every tough decision in the near term, at the expense of military readiness and capability over time.”